Beach Vacation

Lately I've been writing newsletters for my children since they all live away from home. It's easier to just copy and paste here in my blog so here you go:

Get ready for a lot of pictures; I had an awesome vacation this past week with my mom, sisters, and Jessica and Abby. I would share more pictures but these are ladies I love and I wouldn’t throw them under the bus by over sharing swim pics…they’d better have the same respect!

Kelly found this rental house right on the beach in SC, check it out: https://beachfrontmyrtle.lodgify.com/

This was our view from the master bedroom, the bottom level porch where they had a water spigot to rinse off sand, the top level screened in back porch, and back porch that led to the beach:

It was a ton of stairs for the week but oh, so worth it! The kitchen was stocked with new knives that Dad would have been proud of because they were so sharp, beach chairs, wave boards, and a beach umbrella. We used them all.

One afternoon Grandma, Aunt Kelly, and I were sitting under the umbrella on the beach while Jessica and Aunt Theresa were out in the water. I noticed a lot of people getting out of the water and congregating about 50 yards to our side where a couple was fishing from the shore. He was holding up what looked like a shark! Kelly and I grabbed our phones and went running over just as he threw it back into the water. Yep, his wife had caught a hammerhead from the shore! (I guess I never realized they had tongues that would stick out.)

 Aunt Theresa noticed us running (I think we must have looked like sexy babes auditioning for Baywatch as we ran but Theresa was cracking up and said No, we definitely did not). She also noticed what the guy was holding so she and Jessica hurried out of the water. No big deal, the shark was little and this was his natural home. Of course he was going to come investigate when the woman was using chum for bait. We were back in the water within 15 minutes. (Side note: The guy lying under the umbrella next to us not only knew where Goshen, VA was but he’s driven through it many times! What are the odds of that!?! He and his wife were super sweet and helped us get our umbrella back up after it blew away. What can I say; I’m from the mountains so beach stuff is foreign to me.)

 We never saw any more sharks but we did see dolphins jumping not too far away from us and twice Kelly was surrounded by schools of fish.

 One day the waves were intense, here’s Aunt Theresa about to be bowled over. We all swallowed a lot of sea water that day and had our sinuses cleaned out but it was oh so fun imo. And here are my sunburned legs I got day one.

We found fun shells to collect, I had plenty of hair to braid and play with (isn’t Grandma’s hair amazing?!?), we played lots of card games and read books, and even had a spa day with manicures and massages.

Of course we had to try out the local seafood buffet, Crabby Mike’s. It was delicious and so much fun to get out of our comfort zone and try new foods.

This was for sure one of my favorite vacations! Now I’m home and having the typical crash but I’m happy to admit that it’s not nearly as bad as what I’m used to after traveling. This is great news because I’m actually feeling up to a Costco run later this week. Y’all know how much I love me a Costco run.

  Love you all,

Mom

PS: You should ask Amanda about her teaching career; she’s got some wild stories to tell!

 

Rednecking at its finest!

I married a redneck and I love it! You guys, really, I am so impressed by my husband and his brother. Jonathan came for the weekend to help David install the lights in his shop. Unfortunately the tallest ladder we have was not tall enough or sturdy enough for two grown men to use. If you look in the background of this picture you can see what I’m talking about; it's propped up against the wall. So you know what these guys did? They turned an old pallet and some extra lumber we had lying around into a basket that they strapped on to a farm tractor. Btw, this farm tractor is not ours, it belongs to another brother. 

Can I just tell you how proud I was of myself for driving this tractor over to our house? It's a stick shift but it’s got air conditioning in there you guys! I did get a few double takes from some men who were pulled over on the side of the road directing traffic, I think it’s because they weren’t expecting to see a woman driving that beast. Ha ha, I loved it! As one of my daughters would say, I got to add some points to my man card. :) To give you some perspective of the size of this thing, here is me (trying to avoid the cow poop because this is a farm tractor after all.)

You know I had to try out the lift, here’s proof I went up in it one time. Let’s just say I don’t like heights and there is no way I was going up and down in that thing all day.

I helped by documenting the day and being the gopher…you know, making trips back and forth to get stuff they needed. (In full honesty I have to admit I made all those trips on the 4 wheeler because come on, I do have fibromyalgia so I can’t overdo it physically without paying a high physical pain cost. It’s my way of modern day “farming”…minus the animals.)

Here’s a picture of the men at work and the job completed. (I added a video to Facebook if you want to watch it and see how David got in and out of that basket. Shudder!)

I hate to admit that an animal was harmed in the day’s adventure (and both guys drew blood on fingers but they were patched up with band aids so nbd.) This is probably TMI but its reality. I was helping them sweep up at the end of the day when I saw this on the shop floor:

It’s a newborn rabbit I think. Of course no momma rabbit was anywhere near all the noise and commotion and no way would she choose a concrete floor to give birth. I did notice a rabbit strangely close to our garage near the house every time I went outside. The only thing I can think is that she gave birth in some tall grass near there and I must have accidently run over her nest on one of my 4 wheeler trips. This little baby must have gotten stuck in one of the tire grooves and made the ride out to the shop. Oops, I felt bad! Accidents do happen, I just feel like I'm more accident prone than most. :(

Well done David and Jonathan, I can’t believe y’all got it done in one day! 

 

No Longer Sedated

I saw this image on social media and it totally explains how I’ve been feeling lately, I thought I’d share.

I can’t even tell y’all how much better I’ve been feeling! I’m actually noticing the benefits of this “brain fry”. No, chronic pain isn’t totally gone but I’m finally seeing the polished side to my life. The depression and hopelessness is much better and I’m better able to keep the chronic pain from taking over. I feel like I’ve been in a sedated pain prison for the past 15 years; sedated in all aspects of my life: physically, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, socially, etc. The pain has lessened enough that it’s manageable and I’m venturing out into the real world again.

Do you want to know what’s throwing me for a loop? Things are so much different in the real world nowadays verses when I first started my stint in pain prison. No wonder I’m so confused and feel like I have to relearn everything again, it’s a weird sense of déjà vu. It’s loud and chaotic now; too much information from too many sources so how do you know what is true?

I guess I’m realizing that everyone should be able to relate to this apple in the mirror picture. Most of us would like to show our shiny, unblemished side to the world. We want to project confidence and perfectionism…and maybe optimism, too? But we all have our battered and bruised side; problems, pains, and fears that others don’t see. Some might only have a small worm hole of problems while others could be bitten all the way to the core. Sometimes we can glimpse that hurt side and sometimes we can’t.

Here is kind of a paradox I’m puzzling over…How do you keep it real and describe the bad side without being a pessimist or without bringing others down? Because I’m seeing so much out there where it seems like people are only showing the bad side; so much anger, hate, sadness, and flat out rudeness that was unacceptable when I first went to pain prison. I definitely don’t want to add to that by blogging about my experiences.

I guess I just want my friends and family who read this to know that I’m trying to find a balance. If I seem overly optimistic by sharing the Disney side of my life stories, please know that I’m not bragging or showing off. There are pros and cons to everything. And on the flip side, if I’m complaining, please remember that there is a shiny good side to my stories somewhere in there, too. Sometimes those are harder for me to see in the moment but eventually I’ll figure it out. 

My goal is to be kind and understanding, to share positivity but still keep it real. Real life is just like the pain prison I’ve been in; there will be good days vs bad days, good people vs not so good people, happy times vs sad times, fun filled days vs pain filled days. Life in the real world is not always fair, it’s not always equal, it doesn’t always make sense in the moment, but it is the same learning experience for everyone.

If all of God’s children are apples and we all work together we can make some pretty dang tasty apple cider, can’t we? Stay happy my friends, it makes everything better!

Farming Adventure: The Shop

My husband’s birthday, father’s day, Christmas, and every other gift for the year next 5 years is finally ready to be revealed. Of course it’s not completed yet…but at least I’ll have more to write about at a later date. J

Remember, the original barn started out looking like this:

 

 By the end of June it looked like this, a huge slab of concrete:

 

I have to admit, this was the most disappointing stage in the game. The concrete has some cracks in it and it’s not exactly level. Super disappointed about that because it does come into play later. And yes, these were “professionals” who do this for a living.

At the beginning of August the new shop was put up. Y’all, huge shout out to pre-fab buildings! We ordered this thing months ago and it was drawn up with everything ready to go in pieces. We’ve had a home built before (and lots of upgrades of existing homes) and this was smooth sailing in comparison!

A crew of 5 men showed up on a Monday morning and they were finished by Friday evening. I never would have believed it had I not seen it with my own two eyes. Yes, I set a tripod up in an upstairs window and put the zoom lens on my camera so I could take pics every few hours. What can I say; I’m a creeper like that. J It’s called modern day journaling my friends.

Here’s the process in pictures:

They brought their own equipment and didn’t have to borrow our stuff. Now these guys were professional! They laughed and chatted amongst themselves, singing along to their radio, they had all the nuts and bolts and whatevers they needed; not a once did I have to run in to town to Lowe’s to grab something they forgot. Amazing!

You know I wasn’t content only taking pictures from the window. They were good sports about letting me snap away throughout the week.

 

To be fair, the crew lived about 3 ½ hours away so they stayed at a hotel in the main town about 30 minutes away the entire week. It was still foggy/misty when they’d show up about 7:00am and the sun would be setting when they left about 12 hours later.

Welcome to your new home, shop! Four RV sized garage doors in front, one single garage door on the side closest to the house, a man door on each side, and one window.

If you look closely you’ll be able to see the frustration of not having a level, smooth slab of concrete. See how the doors have gaps at the bottom? It was a nightmare for the installers and we do get water pooling in when it rains. Grrr! Another project for another day to fix that.

 

Here’s an idea of the size of this thing, look at my lawnmower tucked away all tiny looking in the corner.

Why on earth do we need a shop this big? It’s a guy thing I guess. J No, really, Hubs wants to put a lift in it to rebuild a truck and do vehicle maintenance. He also plans on putting in shelves and work tables for all his tools. Now we’ll have a place to park all the extra farm equipment and cars that don’t fit in the garage. Don’t you worry; we’ll have it filled soon enough.

The shop itself is put up, gutters are on, the excavation work and gravel is almost all completed (enough that we can drive things in it now), and the next step is installing electricity and lights. Oh, and to make it more friendly for me, Hubs is planning on putting in a garage door opener for the single garage door. I say it’s his shop but I’m sure I’ll enjoy it, too.

Who woulda thunk this city girl would have so much fun out in the country?