Welcome Baby New Year....we'll miss you Father Time

Holy Crap....it's a new year already. :) I've been feeling lately like I want to go back into my Japanese roots and plant myself there. Last week DJ sent me an email that we needed to divide the stuff in the house. I'll admit it pained me a little to think of losing STUFF. We exchanged a few emails....none of which got us any closer to actual dividing of the STUFF. Then we finally talked it out, and in the end, came to a very amiable agreement on which STUFF to split up. After we hung up the phone, I started thinking of how silly I was to fret over STUFF. STUFF that I can't take with me when I die....STUFF that is totally replaceable with a little money and a trip to the furniture store. :) I will miss lounging on the nice comfy couch we bought when I was pregnant with Emma....it was the only place I could sleep in those last months of pregnancy. It's still more comfy than my bed. :) I hope DJ will enjoy it in his new house. :) I decided to replace the couch with huge bean bags that I will attempt to make.....hee hee. (HELP!) :) Here's where I get back to the original point of getting back to the Japanese roots. :) I'm replacing the table with a Japanese table....one of the ones that's short so you can sit at it with cushions....the kind I remember us having at Obaachan's house when I was little. I just love all my childhood memories of Obaachan's house....the foods, the smells, the plants, the laughter. I want to surround myself with that.

I've been studying Buddhism, and I like the peace I find with the teachings of the Dalai Lama. It doesn't change that I believe in Jesus. I believe that Buddha was an enlightened individual....a prophet who people decided to follow. I think a lot of Buddhist teachings mirror Christian teachings- just with different names. All I want in life is peace and to be a helper to my fellow creatures. I believe God is the Father of us all- and that belief shapes my daily thoughts and actions. I'm still not perfect....but I hope for the possibility of perfection/enlightenment/whatever you want to call it.....someday.
Emma and I spent a day sledding in the snow with a group of friends. I don't know how deep the snow was (in inches), but it was about mid-thigh on me when I tried to walk out and help a kid with a sled. :) It was actually a fairly warm day! 47 degrees when we got to the sledding spot. I almost felt hot wearing a coat. The kids were completely soaked within an hour, we had an awesome snowball war, and I'm sure they all ate about a gallon of snow each. :) Emma LOVES to eat snow....it's like candy to her. :)
We also had hot chocolate....it was HOT, so the kids cleverly put their cups in the snow to cool it off. :) They even made some wicked awesome frozen hot chocolate. :)


New Year's Eve was uneventful. :) We were in bed early. Emma had heard from her Dad something about a ball dropping...and she wanted to see that happen....but I don't know if we even stayed up until 10. Ah well. :) We watched The Last Unicorn, ate popcorn and drifted off to la la land feeling blessed for the past year's goodness and looking forward to another great year of adventure. :)

Which reminds me......Emma and I went to see the new movie, Despereaux. :) It was inspiring and wonderful! I love when I walk out of a theatre with my dreams all seeming possible. :) That is how the cute little mouse hero in this movie made me feel. :) I love to see a positive outlook on life! I totally believe that life is exactly what you make it- no matter your circumstances or station in life....you have a choice in how you view it. :) Cool movie! :)

Mom and Odell sent me the Wicked soundtrack for Christmas. :) Emma and I have been listening to it non-stop. It's made me want to buy the book and read it. It's prompted a lot of good questions from Emma. She asked me if the wicked witch ever became good. She asked me why the wicked witch turned wicked. I told her we all have a choice in what we decide to be. Then she asked me what if we didn't choose good or bad? I asked her what she thought....she said that would make us "just warm". She asked what happens to the witch if she doesn't decide to be good in the end. I told her the wicked witch dies in the end, and she said, "I wish you didn't tell me that. It makes me sad." Truth be told...it makes me sad too. Hearing this story of Elphaba- this version of how she came to be what we knew her as in "The Wizard of OZ"- I'm sad for her sadness. It seems, like all of us, she started out with dreams....and ultimately chose what she became. I like understanding the "why" behind her story....we all have reasons why, don't we? They are OUR reasons- they make sense to us.

Namaste friends. Peace and a prosperous new year to you all. :)