Third times a charm?

Ok so I have neglected things once again.  I just have had a hard time with getting started with the whole blogging thing for some reason.  I guess if I got motivated and got a bunch of readers, then maybe I would force myself into blogging more?  Who knows.  Life has settled into a strange rut.  I am back in the US right now on a visit of sorts.  I probably wont go back to Japan until the end of spring/early summer.  The princess started Kindergarden here, and I am not really motivated to move her in the middle of the year unless it is necessary.  We came back to the states to be here while my little sister was recovering from getting her tonsils taken out, and I just don't want to travel back alone again.  I am tired of it, and I know that physically I just can't handle traveling until I am in better shape anyway.  I plan on getting back to taking care of me, I have just let it go for far too long, and for once I plan on focusing on me.  My mom and sister don't mind helping me stay motivated, and helping me out with the princess while I am in the process of doing that either.  The soldier is too busy with work, and getting himself in order, so this rather self inposed seperation will help out us in the long run.  It isnt any  worse than going through another deployment.  I miss so much about Japan, but at the same time I don't.  I did find out this last journey from the states to Japan, that a group of friends that I thought would be there for me, really are not.  I think a huge wedge in the group is one person in particular, but I am not in the mood for childish call outs, rather I would just prefer to back away and let things go for a while.  Maybe in time, these friends and I will meet paths again.  In some ways it really hurts because I am back here, and I would love more than anything to get together and go out with a couple of them to dinner, but this person is usually in the middle.  Oh well.  It has reminded me that my military girlfriends and I are a much stronger knit group of girls.  I have even had one in particular drive over an hour to come and spend some time with me when we scattered dad's ashes.  Her and her hubby totally mean the world to me and words just can't describe the love I have for this couple of people. 

I am back to diving into photography again.  This time I am not going to start then toss it aside.  I plan to learn to use this digital beast, and I plan on trying my best to document what I am learning so maybe I can remember more.  I was getting pretty good with the whole 35mm  film photography when I finally switched to digital, then I got sloppy and let all the automatic settings take over for me and I feel like I have lost some of my vision that manually focusing and setting up shots with film taught me to do.  Not anymore, I gotta play with it all.  So why not show what I am learning as I go.  Who knows, maybe someone out there will learn a thing or two as well.  So lets see how this goes from here, shall we?