Redo and Rework

Have you ever wished you could just pick up a paintbrush and redo your mistakes? Oops, I forgot to say sorry.....repaint. I said something I didn't mean.....repaint. I didn't make the best choice the first time around so I had to do it again.... repaint.

I Just finished painting a picture of a parrot. I had to redo it and rework it. The initial fear came when I stood looking at the blank canvas. WHERE DO I START????? The next step was drawing a light sketch of what I wanted. Then putting on the layers of paint, determining the light source and the focus point. I initially made the beak too big and down too low, so I had to make some pencil sketches, compare them to my painting and then paint over the original beak. The next issue was the feathers, at first they were too small and close together. It looked like the poor bird had been blown up with air and was going to explode. So I did some research on the internet, watched a few David Kitler videos, and just let go, trusted myself and did it. Surprisingly the large brush was the one that worked the best. I was putting too much emphasis on the details and forgot about the larger picture. The painting isn't what I initially set out to do, it's not a lot like the original photograph, but it's an expression of me. I like the final product.

Painting is so symbolic of life. At some time or another you just have to put something on the canvas. The blank paper is not going to paint itself, you have to trust that you can begin. Sometimes we need to redo something that we thought we already learned. Sometimes we just need to step away and give it some time to process until we start seeing the big picture. Sometimes we need to turn to others for advice and help. Life's issues can get us down, distract our focus and at times simply paralyze us. I think we always have to remember that at anytime in our life we can do a redo or a rework. The life you end up with isn't always the life you thought you would have. The life you wanted may not be attainable, but if we just begin and always remember it's not about attaining perfection it's about the process, then we can live a life that's rich with experience and beauty. So pick up that brush and just start.

"I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him (God) who gives me strength." Philippians 4:12b-13

Thoughts from a Night-Owl

Do you ever stay up late just because you like the sound of silence. I do this when I can. I don't know what it is about the silence but it seems to renew me. It's 2:35am. Everyone's sleeping, I know I should go to bed, but it is so peaceful this time of night. I don't have the luxury of doing this when the school year is in so I'm taking advantage of it this summer.


It's interesting how our bodies will slide back into what is natural for us. I'm a night person. I don't hate the mornings, but it's a discipline to make myself go to sleep early and wake up early. When I don't have to I start sliding back into the stay up/get up late routine. I do my best thinking when it's late at night. I connect with myself and God late at night. I have my greatest creative bursts at night.


Natural inclination and conditioning do play a part in whether you're a night person or a morning person, but I think we are born with one or the other. Whatever we slide back into is who we are. I've always wondered why some people that are morning people think that getting up when the sun comes up is the morally right thing to do. When the morning people are going to bed I'm getting my second wind and accomplishing an amazing amount of work. I would never tell someone that staying up late is the morally right thing to do and right way to live. Perhaps it all springs from the saying, "Early to bed, Early to Rise, Makes a Man healthy, wealthy and wise". If this is a true statement, would it be logically correct to say that the opposite should also be true? "Late to bed, Late to Rise, Makes a man sickly, poor and foolish." I think we should change this saying to say, "Whether Early to Bed or Late to Bed, our life choices have the power to make us healthy, wealthy and wise". It doesn't have the same ring, but it is much closer to truth.


No matter how much I will myself, discipline myself, routine myself to death, I am never as productive in the early morning as I am in the late nights. It's not the late night or early wake that causes health, wealth or wisdom. It's our attitude towards life and whether we choose to be victimized by life or to learn from life. We are a mosaic of our life experiences. Some are wonderful and filled with joy while others are painful and leave scars. It is these very things that make us who we are today. If we were to delete any of our life experiences we would cease to be the people we are today. Do we live with regret? Yes, but we don't wallow in it we learn from it. Do we struggle with moral evil that's been forced on us? Yes, but we don't allow it to destroy our soul. Do we give up and become fatalistic? No, we grow, change, develop, hone the skills we've learned and pass them on to others so that they can live full, joy-filled, productive lives. Do we blame others for where we've landed in our life? No, We choose to walk the road called "Forgiveness" and and push in to God until we believe, see, know, understand and live the life he called us to and created us to be. This is what happens to me when I stay up late and sit in the silence!!!


Well, I will be back to teaching in a little over a month so in a few weeks I will have to start the process of changing my body back over to getting up early. For now I'm just going to enjoy the peace and quiet. Perhaps while all of you morning people are sleeping I'll write a book, solve world poverty or just watch a movie and chat with the other night owls on Facebook or perhaps I'll write a blog for all those fellow night-owls.

Thailand Photo Collages

10 Vacation Tips

Back home in Singapore.  It's always nice to go on vacation, but it's also wonderful to come home.  I always feel a sense of accomplishment.  Lots of adventure on this past trip;  Both Tori and I got the flu, worst I've ever had;  Brie had an ear infection;  I crashed on the motorbike;  ruined my glasses, got a black eye and lots of scrapes; lots of mosquitoe bites, it stinks to be allergic to those little buggers;  ate some great Thai food; The beaches of Thailand are Paradise; Brie is a master bargainer; Crazy shopping in Bangkok.  
Ten Things I learned this vacation;
1.  Vacation always cost more than you budget for.
2.  I would travel anywhere in the world with my two daughters.
3.  Never ride a motor bike in a swim suit.
4.  Scuba is amazing and I can concur deep water.
5.  I'm not really a backpacker, I'm a poshbacker.  I like the adventure, but I want some luxury.
6.  Coconut Smoothies, Heaven.
7.  What's that perfume you're wearing?  Aux des Bug Spray
8.  Sawatdee Khrap means Good Morning, not swatting crap.
9.  I can say thank you in Thai, Khmer, Mandarin, Japanese, Malay, Indonesian, Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese.
10.  Always bring a calculator when shopping in a foreign country.  Calculating the exchange rate can get tricky and get's much harder as you age.
Once again I was reminded that vacation is not just about seeing or experiencing a new place, but it's about reconnecting with the people that you love.  It's about making lifelong memories.  I love you Tori and Brie.  You are great to travel with.

Thailand Pix

Scuba Diving at Sail Rock

Brie'middle name should be Arielle because she is a beautiful mermaid in the water. No fears, just completely free. Swimming comes so natural to her. She could be a dive master. We took an hour boat ride out to sail rock to experience our first dive. Two dives to day, each of them about 50 minutes, down to 12 meters ( 40 feet). First fear to overcome was jumping into the ocean with my gear on. It took me three times before I got up enough courage to take the step off the boat, but I did it. Sail rock was amazing. Sail rock is a large rock formation covered with coral with a cave in the middle of it. During our first dive I had to keep telling myself to breath and relax. The dive instructor held my hand, then for the second dive I relaxed and enjoyed myself. I didn't have to hold the dive instructors hand. Beautiful things under the ocean. Angel fish, porcupine fish, huge groupers, gar fish, eels, sea urchins, huge schools of fish. Made me feel like I was in the Finding Nemo movie or filming a National Geographics special. We got some amazing pictures, I will post them when we get back to Singapore. No Whale Sharks today. They were at the sight the last two days but not today. It was probably a good thing because I think I would of freaked out if I saw a 40ft shark coming towards me. Great experience. I'm ready to do it again.

Pushing Past My Fears.

June 23. Ever since I was a little girl I have been afraid of deep water. There are several reasons for this. First if all I had an older brother who thought it was funny to try and drown his little sister and secondly I stepped in a sink hole at Mauthy Lake and almost drowned. This is the year that I've decided to face my fears. For a month I have been snorkeling in the pool at my condo. I probably looked like a psycho but it helped me get my head under the water and learn to breath with my mouth, through a tube. This has helped to prepare me for the ultimate test, scuba diving.. Yesterday the two girls and I had our first scuba class in the swimming pool. I did ok until I had to put water in my mask and blow it out through the bottom. I panicked and rushed to the surface. But I didn't give in to my fears I kept trying and finally did it. Tomorrow is the big test, off to sail rock. Deep water, large fish and possibly a whale shark. Thanks God for helping me push through my fears. Another beautiful day in the sun drinking coconut shakes. We saw a huge box jellyfish washed up on the shore. It was the kind with the short tentacles and it was dead. Of course Brie wanted to touch it, we flipped it over with a stick. Did you know that jelly fish don't have a mouth or a brain. Basically seaweed with stingers. Makes me a little nervous about the water.