So I Was Just Thinking

Wow, it's July and I have managed to stay focused enough to stick with something and not drop out. I would say that is something new and different for me. My friends and I are still reflecting on our words and continuing on this journey together. Come share the journey with us. Discipline “Discipline is remembering what you want.” David Campbell “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” Jim Rohn “Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability.” Roy L Smith “Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.” Buddha My daughter epitomizes the definitions of discipline described above. She has working since September towards the goal of attending the Showcase National Dance Competition. By setting an achievable and measurable goal, she was able to see that dream come to fruition this past weekend. Caitlin spent several hours a week attending ballet, tap, jazz and technique classes wit...

Discipline can sound like such a harsh word. It often conjures up thoughts of detention, grounding, the principal's office when actually it should be just the opposite. A person who lives a life of discipline is living a directed and goal oriented life - setting their sites on the prize and making sure everything that she does will lead toward that end. When I chose Discipline as my word for the year, it was because I saw my life spinning out of control. I was completely living in the moment which is not always a bad thing. However, I was letting circumstances dictate my actions instead of the other way around. It was a life full of excuses and shortcuts. For example fast food instead of cooking because I had too many things to do. A Disciplined life does not come over night. It is long journey, but it is one I am glad to make with my supportive bloggy friends. Continue reading to hear how these wonderful women are coming along on their personal journeys. AVTCoach : The way I see ...

Two months have now passed since my friends and I decided to work together to keep ourselves on the straight and narrow path towards our individual goals. This month someone got the bright idea that we should write songs (okay just lyrics) to express our individual Words for the Year. Let's start with Peggy from Middle Aged Rambling s: "Where is the Love" by the Black Eyed Peas. "Where is the Balance" Listen to what your body and feelings are telling you Like most things in life, It takes practice and experimentation. We need to make adjustments, As we go along. We need to stop and reflect, To see which parts of our life, Are out of Balance. Then take the steps, To put them back in Balance. So remember to stop and ask yourself, Where is the Balance..... Where is the Balance..... Where is the Balance...... Next on our list is the AVTCoach who has written a wonderful song inspired by George David Weiss and Bob Thiele's song "A Wonderful Wo...

What does that word mean? dis•ci•pline 1. Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement. 2. Controlled behavior resulting from disciplinary training; self-control. 3. Control obtained by enforcing compliance or order. 4. A systematic method to obtain obedience. 5. Discipline aims at the removal of bad habits and the substitution of good ones, especially those of order, regularity, and obedience. 6. Training to act in accordance with established rules; accustoming to systematic and regular action; drill. How does that fit into my life? Definitions 1-4 are more in fitting with my daily life at school, but I am currently working on definition #5 - removing bad habits and substituting them with good ones. The bad habits are numerous and include: Drive Thru Restaurants Sweet tea Internet Usage Couch Potato Lifestyle Procrastinating Spending Money Staying up late The good habits I would like to replace ...

It is that time of month again…the time when my friends and I come together virtually for our discussion on the words of the year. This month we are using an animal to describe or word or ourselves. I choose the ant. The ant has received a bad rap throughout history as a pest, a nuisance, an annoyance. While in Puerto Rico, I would often be surprised to find ants in my sugar, but no one else would be surprised. In Texas we are known for a more ferocious type, the fire ant - certainly not a little creature to be reckoned with. While thinking about this critter, I began to realize the one thing no one has ever called an ant is lazy. When you see ants, what are they doing? Moving, carrying, building, preparing for whatever may come. If you destroy their home, the very next day they have set up shop just on the other side of the sidewalk. Which brings me to my story... In a field one summer's day, Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing gleefully. Ant passed by, bearing alo...

So this is what a grocery cart looks like when I am able to go to the market without worrying about my three year old running away. My refrigerator isn't going to know what to do when the vegetable bins are full of produce. For once, I already know what I will be serving for dinner this week without including a trip through the drive-through. I can actually pack a lunch and not rely on school cafeteria "pot luck." What has brought on this miraculous change? My husband is home! I was actually able to go to the store without making an event of it - no packing a change of clothes for a still potty training boy or playing hide and seek through the dairy section. Before reinforcements came from the Philippines in the form of my wayward husband, I would only go to the store when we were out of milk or cereal. I would do it on the way home from school between dance classes and the picking up the youngest from daycare. This is my first step in my journey toward a more disciplined...

Summer is coming to an end and our worlds are coming back to "normalcy." So it is time to share with you all our monthly reflections on our word for the year. With our busy lives, it could be really easy to neglect our words, but AVTCoach's determination to keep the wheel rolling brings us back to our monthly posts. Therefore, it is only fitting that I share her word first. In August, I recognized the ABUNDANCE of seeing old friends, listening to great music, feeling the cool mountain air, and having a real time phone conversation with a good mate! Flygirl: I have found that JOY is all around me.... It just takes opening my eyes and heart to really see it and feel it! Miruspeg: Striving for BALANCE between complexity and simplicity, constantly evaluating and re-evaluating the trade-offs I have to make to get there. Octamom : Excellence: A process and a discipline, not a destination. Which ties neatly into mine: Discipline is setting your eyes on the prize, recognizing ...

As you arrive to my blog you might be hearing a song I learned as a little girl. Life is a process. One I don't have to do alone. Through the power of God's hands and with a little help from some very special friends, I started on a journey of living a more disciplined life. This month my friends and I have decided to post videos for our words. Some of us have found YouTube videos to represent our words while I created my own. So hit the stop button on the playlist and enjoy a few videos. Moody Blues - Balance Octamom has sent us an Excellent video. "This is Kari Jobe, a really sweet girl who is dear friends with some of my dear friends. She has a gorgeous song out called I'm Singing and she had viewers add their experiences and included them in the video--and the result is just 'excellent'--really amazing people continuing to walk with joy, even in the midst of some tough times--" Roban said... "When I thought of a video to express some of my thoug...

Dec 24th since I was last online. I'm supposed to be posting my final reflection on discipline, but I don't have a computer. That's so not me. I've adapted. I've been drawing, sketching, designing...things I don't get to do. The big thing I got was a clean house, clean enough for company. In the big world of cyberspace one can feel insignificant, but Peggy let me feel missed. She actually called looking for me. For that I am thankful. Wishing all of you Happy New Year! I hope to be back soon. This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless! To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture . Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

As many of you might remember, my word for the year is discipline. In my quest to live a more disciplined life, I haven't gotten very far, but my journey is at least 3.5 miles (5.6 km) farther than it was the day before. Recently, I was talking to my friend J at school. She said, "Girl, you gotta lose some weight!" (You can say things like that to your real friends.) I gave her that look, like, "You better look in a mirror!" (Yet another thing friends can do.) She then qualified her statement with, "Yeah, we both do." That's when we got this brilliant idea that since her daughter would be at swim practice everyday after school, I would go meet her during practice, and we would walk the nearby track. We worked out an agreeable schedule and planned to meet Tuesdays and Fridays. I don't know if she believed I would follow through, as that is so against my nature, but she didn't know about my search for a more disciplined life. So I think she w...

Flowers have been used to symbolize many things for centuries. The orchid is considered to be one of four noble plants. Because it grew deep in the mountains, it was compared to scholars who had transcended the greed and fame-seeking of the secular world. Orchid growth is affected by everything from elevation and light to humidity, air movement and nutrition. When I looked up how to care for this "delicate" flower, I realized that this is a flower I would probably kill in just a few days. In my search for a more disciplined life, I came to an understanding about myself. I like my laid back life. I love that I am not always worried about menus and shopping lists. My children are healthy and happy. Yes, my house is less than tidy, and my flowerpots outside are less than tended, but I am happy. So as this year of searching for discipline is nearing an end, I will begin thinking about what it is that I would like to work on next year.... I have two more months to think about it. ...

If you saw my Discipline collage , you can tell I have a thing for tissue paper. I have used it make inchies and to paint mountain/sunset scenes. Now I am working on some ATCs . I have done some before using the same cardstock I am using this time. However, I am tired of this background and want to alter it some how, so here's where the process went. (Note: I did try it on some sample-sized pieces of cardstock first so you might see those pop in from shot to shot.) I began with a plain piece of cardstock (it is supposed to be green/yellow.) I lightly drew a line on the card. I then squeezed some glue onto the card (don't ask why it's blue...that's another story.) I used scrap piece of stock to spread the glue to get a perfectly straight edge. I laid the tissue paper onto the wet glue and pressed out the bubbles. (You could use a brayer, it gets messy.) I trimmed the excess tissue. (I have torn it before, too, for a different effect.) After the glue dried, I took the c...

It's that time again. The time when we - my fellow Scrapblog sisters and I - reflect on our words for the year. It has been an interesting year so far, and if I hadn't agreed to do this exercise in personal growth, I wouldn't have realized all the wonderful things that are going on around me. (Contrary to popular belief and every Facebook personality test I have taken, I can be quite the pessimist.) This month we decided that a picture's worth a 1000 words. Although, being Scrapbloggers, we had to throw a couple of words in there. :-) Let's start off with Peggy's photo about Balance: Next up is AVTCoach's thoughts on Abundance: Roban (Flygirl) has chosen to live a life of Faith and Joy: Here's my take on Discipline: And last but certainly by no means least is Octamom's most wonderful shot of Excellence at its finest with a photo of her 7 of 8 showing us reach her goals in recovery of her neonatal stroke: Isn't our God an Awesome God? Please r...