POSITIVE thinking!

According to my MIL's blog it was POSITIVE thinking day yesterday. Being that I am on a different time zone, I am just going to go with today being POSITIVE thinking day for me. A young girl came up with this idea, which is really exciting! I love the thought of doing a post that is entirely (well almost) POSITIVE. If you are feeling happy (or down) and want to read others POSITIVE thoughts then just click on http://dustbunnyhostage.com/. There you can read other posts and find out how this day got established.

On with the POSITIVE talk....Let me first say that POSITIVE has not been in my house lately. It started with the death of my sister-in-laws husband. It was tragic and very sad. He was only 26 years old. This got my husband thinking that death may be just around the corner for him. I mean heck, we are 28 years old, already older than Russ ever made it in life!!! As soon as we got back from the funeral, we celebrated our daughter's 1st birthday (which was a happy time). But that was also the start of several TDY's for my husband. There was no down time for him to truly grieve or come to terms with it. It became a dark time in our lives, being that several things also came up. I won't go into detail, for the details don't really matter, but it was a hard time. Truth is that it's still a hard time, but this week has been better. Nick has been home on leave and we have had time to hang out and reflect on a lot of things. I have been a POSITIVE thinker most of my life, and refuse to let the negative things to get me down anymore. There are so many POSITIVE things in my life right now that I would like to share with you. The number one POSITIVE thing in my life is my daughter. She is the happiest child! It's hard not to be happy around her because she's so happy and full of life. We tried for a long time to have a child and were blessed with an amazing little girl. She is absolutely breathtaking! Secondly, my husband and I just celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. The odds have never been in our favor so this is a huge accomplishment! We had a couple's massage, nice dinner and lunch, and watched a movie at the theater (Harry Potter). It was the first time that we have left Kara with a sitter for us to go and do something together. It was much needed, and I think we may do it more often. More good news is that we will be PCSing in Feb./March of next year. We have missed the states so much and are so happy to returning soon. This week has been filled with talk of houses, decorating, and furniture for our future! We are also keeping POSITIVE that we will end up back in Florida, which is near Maddy, my family, and friends! Nick has even agreed to try to hang out with (and get to know)my friends and their husbands! This is a super HUGE deal to me. Nick has come out of his shell so much since being in Okinawa. He has learned that having friends is fun and vital in life!! We have been spending a lot of time at the local pool, which is so stress free and fun. I also enjoy having a tan from doing so!!! We are trying to appreciate the time we do have left here and make the best of it. In November, we have a trip to Tokyo Disney planned!!! I can't tell you how trilled I am about this. I love Disney! The thought of going to Disney in Japan is just so exciting. The memories we have to make!! It gets me all happy inside. Speaking of... FALL is always a happy time for me and it's just around the corner. There is something about the crispness that the air brings when the temperatures start to drop. Thinking about it gets my heart all a flutter!! YAHOO! So there you have it just a few reasons why I am feeling POSITIVE today. I will end this with my most favorite (and a little cheesy) quote: When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade!!!

Where is the meaning in things?

Recent events in my life have caused me to think about things, a lot of things. So while lost in these thoughts I have started to wonder why people do the things they do. Why is it that we usually throw out "love ya" instead of "I love you"? Are we really so lazy we can't say the full phrase? I may be a little silly in saying this, but doesn't "love ya" sound kind of dull and less meaningful than "I love you"? I think most people I exchange these words with say only "love ya". It was brought to my attention the other day when my mom actually said all three words to me. Not that I have ever doubted her love for me, but she usually just says "love ya" or we don't say it at all at the end of our conversations. It actually made me feel really good when she said it. It meant more to me for some reason. Which brings me to my next thought. Why are people such creatures of habit? You know, everyday my husband kisses me goodbye before he leaves for work and goodnight every night. What's the problem you ask? The problem is that this is a habit, not something he does because he is feeling romantic or loving. Not that I don't enjoy him kissing me, I do, but I miss the times he would kiss me for no reason at all. What happened to those kisses? What happened to the "I missed you so much that I want to kiss you right now" or the "I am so attracted to you I want to show you" kisses? Sure there are times my husband will kiss me other than the usual two times a day, but usually it's because he wants something more (you know what I mean). I look at teenagers and feel envious of them. Silly I know. But don't you remember when kissing was all you did, so you did it often and it had so much meaning? Sometimes I wish my husband and I would make out like teenagers and it could end there. Not that I don't enjoy the other things that usually happen with our make out sessions, but we have a one year old and there isn't always time for that. Where is the spontaneity? Does anyone else wonder these things? I know I am not entirely alone in these thoughts because my BFF (April) said she feels the same way. My main reason for posting this is to get some insight on why people think things get this way. Do you feel that habits can make things lose meaning? Do you thing saying "love ya" after every phone conversation can make it lose meaning? I have so much more I could go on and on with this topic but I don't want to bore you to tears so I will stop for now.....tomorrow I maybe back on my soapbox. LOL Stay tuned!

A girl and her monkey

Kara loves her George so much! He is her best friend, that goes everywhere she goes. I actually managed to give him a much needed bath the other night, while she was sleeping. She didn't even miss him because I returned him as soon as she woke up. You have to be sneaking with things like this. He is in most of the pictures I take of her lately, but the top one of this post is by far the sweetest and most precious one!

Nothing is safe

She's into everything...Drawers, countertops, and cabinets are her playground these days!

Decorating in my mind....

It seems the closer we get to leaving the island the more I think about about decorating my new house. Yeah, the house I don't have yet!!! But in my mind it's beautiful and colorful!! And I am hoping, wishing, and dreaming it is in Florida!! But anyway, while thinking of color schemes and decorating ideas I have come up with a few things I want to do. But before I reveal those things here are a few things I found at a local store to help my inspiration.

This is a picture frame that I chose for my room. I actually bought two of them so that both, Nick and myself, can have one on our nightstand. They are 5x7s, which is my favorite picture size!!! They are a lime green with a small light blue stripe. LOVE these colors together. I also bought a candle plate in the same green for $2 in the clearance section of Target.com. YAHOO! Now if I could only find a comforter to match. Anyone seen anything that might look good with this? If so tell me where!!!Now this is what really got me excited... A picture frame and candle holder for Maddy's room. I knew I wanted to do her room in bright colors, so when I saw this I was in awe! I know what you are thinking, it's just a picture frame....but it's lovely isn't it? I have also found her a comforter set on JCPenny.com that is just gorgeous. I am thinking of painting one accent wall in her room of this same pink and doing the other three walls in this green-blue. What do you think? Oh and another reason I liked the candle holder so much is that it has a little Japanese decor on it, which Maddy will love. I wanted something to remind her of her time here!!

As for the rest of the house.....I know most of the color schemes but am still working on what I need to buy for them. One thing I am certain on is how I want to paint Kara's room, but am having a hard time finding a comforter that I like for it. Her room will be done in the lovely pink/brown that I wish I would have done for her nursery. I want to do the bottom half of her wall in 12 inch stripes of alternating chocolate brown and pretty pink. Then the top half will be solid pink with large brown polka dots. I will need to get some kind of molding to be the separator, which will most likely be white. I am also planning on redoing some old book shelves we have in storage for the girls rooms. I am going to paint them white and may do some stenciling on them for extra flare, but I am not sure yet. That way the girls have somewhere for their books. Both of our girls love books and need somewhere to put them.

My living room will be done in blue/brown. I have several little items that I have been collecting for a while to decorate with. But we will need to buy new living room furniture (in either brown or tan) and end tables. I figure that will be something I do when I get back to the states. CAN'T WAIT!!!

My dining room will be done in purple, because I just can't give up having at least one purple room just yet. I have a really pretty purple tea set that's going to look so pretty in a china cabinet. Also that will leave me with a place to put my purple/silver Christmas tree! hee hee! Have I mentioned I can't wait?

The kitchen and bathrooms are still up in the air for me. The are really last on my priority list of things to decorate, because they will be easier to do. I know one bathroom will be done in blue/brown because I already have the stuff, but otherwise I have no clue. This is the stuff that keeps me up at night. But it is fun to think about. I am so tired of plain white walls. Help me Tom Cruise...help me! Okay couldn't resist a little line from the movie "Talladega nights" sorry!!

So thankful...

The last few weeks I have been having a time with Kara getting into my cabinets in the kitchen. I have the locks to put on them, but it looks too complicated for me to do. At our friends house she loves playing with their kids refrigerator magnet toys. So I had an idea: get her the same magnets to keep her out of my cabinets. At our BX they didn't have what I was looking for so yesterday we went to the PX and found it. Once I handed Kara the box, she started grinning from ear to ear. Then once she realized that I was getting it for her she kept signing "Thank You" to me over and over again. It was the cutest, sweetest thing ever! I love that she thanks me when I give her things. I hope she will continue this in the future and always be thankful for what she is given. The magnets are working out pretty well for now. So far she ha s only gotten in the cabinets twice. And it taught her how to say cow. She was walking around saying, "Cow, cow". She is learning so much these days. I almost can't keep up with her. She mimics most things I do and sometimes things I say. I think this is my favorite age so far. We have so much fun together.