21 days.

I've been counting down since the day I flew back from Japan on April 10 this year.

That was the last time I held my brand new grand son in Japan. My visit there lasted 10 days but I made the most of it! Little Ray Andrew was born on February 26 (USA) time, February 27 (Japan) time, so he was a little over 1 month old when I first held him. I can't say that I haven't seen him since! Thankfully, via Skype, Facebook and email, I have been able to literally watch him grow. He will be 10 months old when I see him again and even though I fell like I know every inch of his sweet face, mine will be that of a stranger. I am hoping that he will at least recognize my voice...who knows. At 10 months of age, babies are usually fairly aware of people around them and very sensitive to new and strange faces. His initial reaction may not be at all what I expect as a doting grandma...so I will have to be patient. My son, his wife and her brother, will be staying with us for about 10 days! We will be celebrating Christmas together...a first for Naomi who is Japanese and has no idea what Christmas is.



I spent 3 Christmases in Japan when I went to visit my son there. Sadly, even though there are plenty of Christmas decorations, music, and lights everywhere, it is only a "shopping" holiday and nothing more. Ironically, while it's been deemed politically incorrect to say "Merry Christmas" in America, in Japan it is completely fine! In fact, I saw so many banners and signs depicting Mary and baby Jesus that I had to laugh at the irony of it all.

Check out these statistics:

84% to 96% of Japanese adhere to Shinto and Buddhism are not based on self-identification but come primarily from birth records, following a longstanding practice of officially associating a family line with a local Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine. Furthermore, 64% do not believe in God, and 55% do not believe in Buddha. With this said, Japan is a country full of temples and shrines.


My son said that Naomi is curious about Christmas and would like to go to a Christmas eve service at my church. I am so excited about this and am looking forward to sharing the Christmas story with her!

For now, I am in the final 13 days of my semester for grad. school. Three more projects and a final stand between me and a much needed Winter break from classes. To top it off, I off on Christmas break on the 17th from where I work and I can't wait! It's that time of year where a much needed break will not only help me regain some rest but hopefully help to get rid of the bags under my eyes. I can't wait to only be able to focus on getting the house ready and doing some much needed stuff around the house.

I made a list. It's long and dare I say--a bit overly ambitious? But, even if I don't get it all done, I will have fun trying.....right?

I still can't believe that tomorrow is Friday! Where did this week go?

I haven't decorated the house yet...but, hope to at least get the lights up outside this weekend. I have a huge paper due on Monday so unless I finish early, the inside of the house will have to wait until next weekend.

It hardly seems like it's been 10 months. Coming home from dinner tonight, my husband and I agreed that it couldn't possibly be Christmas again. It's the day after Thanksgiving and some houses are already decorated with the traditional lights and outdoor decorations. Can it be? This year has come and gone in an unprecedented speed of "life"! This is what led me here to see just how long ago it was that I last made an entry.

Yikes!

Well, I will not berate myself nor feel guilty. What good will that do...and, judging from the profile hits and lack of comments....the only one who has really missed on my ramblings is really just me.

One good thing is that of all my diary and journal attempts in my life, this one has been the most consistent. So, rather than delete this one and start over, I will pick up where I left off. I want to add a section where I can post some of my reflections on teaching students with learning disabilities and one for being in school (this time grad school!) and how challenging it can be when working full time and trying to have a life. I am also a first time grandmother! Thank God for Facebook and Skype...My son and his family are still in Japan and will be visiting over the Christmas break! (27 days and counting)

This is it for now. I wonder if anyone will even read this!

Learning to FLY...

I know that you are wondering why on earth I selected the post title that I did. Am I going to learn how to really fly a plane??

Far from it. This is a term that is all too familiar for a program that I am pursuing in order to maintain some sort of order in my busy life. By definition, I am merely a flybaby taking baby steps. Ok....what is this program? It's the Fly Lady program!

What is it?

"FLYLady is a personal coach for housewives. She helps even the most desperate women get their homes and lives together. Marla Cilley is the FLYLady. Thousands of women follow FLYLady's advice. FLYBabies are SHE's (sidetracked home executives).

Marla Cilley (aka FLYLady) keeps her FLYBabies informed through email. The email consists of daily reminders, thoughts from Marla (God Breezes) and also testimonials from FLYBabies around the world..."

To see what this is all about, check out: www.flylady.net

If you choose to sign up, it's totally FREE! If you sign up for the daily email reminders of what Zone you are in and all sorts of encouragement and advice, be sure to select ONE email per day! I get an email every day telling me what "to-do" for that day and what room(s) to focus in for that week. I use a 15 minute timer quite diligently and am amazed at how much I can really get done in 15 minutes. I am not perfect and have a long ways to go but that's ok.

The Fly Lady (Marla) doesn't want us to beat ourselves up (perfectionism) nor does she put up with our whining about what we can't do....instead, she encourages us to pick ourselves up and start over and do it all in baby steps.

I decided that this is the year that I want to become better at managing the way I care for my home and family. I know it won't happen overnight and that it will take a lot of patience on my part.

It all started with a book I bought by Marla years ago called
"Sink Reflections". I started just with cleaning my kitchen sink every night. This alone changed my outlook on housework!

If you are like me, I encourage you to check out her website. I work full time and am also going to school so time is very limited. Even though I no longer have little ones at home, I feel like my time is spread thin amongst other activities and responsibilities...

If you are already "FLYing" then I would love to hear from you too!

I have found Marla and FlyLady on Facebook as well.

I look forward to hearing from you....