How I Spent My Summer Vacation…

It’s so cliché’ to say “time flies when you’re having fun” but it really does! That saying is popular for a good reason.

As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, we sold the farm and moved into this apartment during the second week of May this year. People kept asking me “won’t you get bored without all the animals to take care of” and “won’t you miss it?” My reply was always, “Probably.” But, we were ready for this move and it’s been great so far. Yes, we missed all the new babies in the spring and well, to be honest, that’s probably all we’ve really had time to miss. We’ve kept ourselves extremely busy and really haven’t given a lot of thought to what we’re missing by not having the farm. I do miss sitting on our porch and enjoying the scenery there and watching the alpacas and horses graze was very relaxing. The apartment, however, has a huge balcony that our patio set fits nicely on and we hung a hummingbird feeder early on and have enjoyed catching the hummingbirds trying to sneak a drink from the feeder. A couple of potted plants to water and we’re happy! Most of the month was busy just getting unpacked and settled.

In June, storm season, we were concerned that my truck would get door dings, hail damage and/or storm damage, so we rented a garage here at the apartment…the first time Jon parked the truck in the garage, I realized it was not going to work…it simply wasn’t big enough for that big truck and well…I don’t trust my parking skills well enough to squeeze it into such a small space and even Jon was concerned. SO, we thought maybe a covered car port would be sufficient so we traded in the garage for a less expensive car port. However, parking under the car port, we had to decide if it would be better for the front end to get hail damage or the back end…the car port wasn’t long enough to cover the whole truck. One day, it dawned on me that…well…why do we need the farm truck when we’re no longer hauling feed, hay, & every other which thing we needed to haul on any given day? I mentioned this to Jon & the next thing we knew we were out shopping for a new vehicle…one that would fit in the garage or carport! A few days later, I was driving home in my new yellow and black Jeep Wrangler! A week later, we had it in to KC Customs for a lift and bigger wheels & tires, bug guard and a few other little personal touches. I know I’ve driven people crazy with my chatter about the Jeep so I won’t get into it again here.

Anyway, we’ve had lots of free time to take road trips in the Jeep for the day & have spent several weekends at Truman Lake with our dear friends Bill & Rhonda. Rhonda’s dad lives right on the lake and she & Bill bought a pontoon boat this spring that we have thoroughly enjoyed “breaking in” this summer. Another long weekend was spent at Table Rock Lake celebrating Jon’s 50th birthday at White River Lodge Bed & Breakfast. We participated in a gruelling day doing the Warrior Dash. A crazy, 5k run with obstacles in 100+ degree temperatures. I won’t say that was fun just yet. It’s still too fresh in my mind. Several weeks later though, I participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, which was a blast! I’ll do that one again, any day! This summer has really given us a chance to really focus on eating better, “cleaner, ” getting healthier and dropping a few unwanted and unneeded pounds. We both still have some room to improve in all those areas so that’s the plan going into fall now.

I’m counting the days now for our trip out to California to visit my brother and his wife. I went last summer and had a blast so I decided this summer I would take Jon along with me and make it our last “hoorah” of the summer. We are, however, looking forward to taking a 3-day SCUBA diving course coming up later this month and getting our SCUBA Open Water Certification next month at Table Rock Lake. With this, we’ll be able to SCUBA dive in the ocean and on our trip to the Caribbean this winter. That being the final countdown event of the year for me…

March Forward

March is here which means spring is just around the corner!  I couldn’t be more excited!  Just thinking about the warmth of the spring sunshine and the coming of the green!  Trees begin to bud, flowers emerge from their winter hibernation, the grass turns green and lush.  Birds of every color appear in flocks once again searching for handouts at the bird feeders.  Production begins of the sugar-water to fill hummingbird feeders in hopes of beating the tiny winged birds as they make their way to warmer places.  Orange slices and grape jelly go out to entice my favorite, the Baltimore Orioles to hang around as long as possible before they venture on.  Ahh…spring!

It’s been a long winter, that’s for sure.  More snow than we’ve seen here in years has fallen and actually stayed on the ground most of the season.   A few short breaks is about all we were allowed this year.  I feel in my bones though, that this is all about to change.  The snow is starting to melt, the sun actually warms the truck through the windows and the glass on the storm door heats the rug inside the house if the door is left open.  The anticipation warms my soul and lifts my spirits to new heights!

Soon, we’ll be working outside to clear the grunge left from months of snow, wind, rain, and whatever else has blown in.  Raking flower beds, trimming bushes, planting new flowers and suddenly colors will burst forth from every angle.  The flowering trees will yawn & stretch their buds wide open to reveal the miraculous beauty within.  People will smile more.  Laugh more.  Spend more time outdoors.  Grimy vehicles will spend time in the car washes and many will get special treatment in the driveways of homes all over the state…buckets of suds and sponges, Armor-All and chamois…all will work to make these cherished autos sparkle and shine.

March also brings with it a rite of passage.  Our son, Justin will be 25 in eight more days.  I find that hard to believe.  He’s still my little boy.  My ray of sunshine.  Always has been.  Always will be.

With 12 more days till Daylight Savings time and 19 days till the first official day of spring…what is it that you’re looking forward to the most this spring season?

Hello February!

I know I’m a couple of days late with this post but my last one really took some effort.

There is a saying among writers: “To write more, write more.”  Makes sense.

I joined WordPress’ Post-A-Week challenge on December 31, 2011.  They’re doing a Post-A-Day challenge as well, but I know myself too well and well, that one seemed a bit over the top for me right now.  I aim for every day but try to post at least once a week.  I’ve only slipped up once. )  The idea behind the challenge was to encourage bloggers to write on a regular basis and to offer each other inspiration and encouragement.  I get regular emails from WordPress with ideas to write about but what I usually do is read the ideas and most of the time write about something completely different that one of those ideas sparked in my head.  I also get emails from subscribing to some of the other Post-A-Day/Post-A-Week participant’s blogs.  SO, I’m writing a LOT more and making new friends as well!   It’s all good.

I’ve  officially completed the month of January with only the one slip-up.  Here is a recap and highlights from the month.

POSTS I WROTE:

1. Life’s Defining Moments
2. My Brain Hurts
   
3. 2010 In Review
   
4. Regrets or Dreams?
   
5. 2011 Predictions
   
6. On Being Productive
   
7. Packy & Kimo’s Warm & Fuzzy’s
   
8. I Have A Dream
   
9. As I Was Saying…
   
10. Out With the New, In With the Old
    

The award for the MOST ACTIVE POST goes to: 2010 In Review with 31 visitors.

 

People loved to visit my blog on the 11th of January – 55 views!

I want to thank all of my friends, old and new who stopped by:

• Norm, my most active commenter, encourager & fellow alpaca breeder
• Claire, a most courageous person that I admire
• A Piglet in Portugal that’s always cooking up a storm
• Poor Penniless Tim who was snowed in with 5 small kids
• The Running Garlic, another friend who loves to cook
• Deb, well, we’ll just say she will determine my next move…
• Marjorie, owner of Barnett’s Creek Alpaca Farm
• Donnahuebsch, who’s dog loves watermelon-whole.
• Mike Hoffman, an OLD, old, friend who should start his own blog ;o)
• Catherine, my yarn spinning & fiber fanatic friend that inspires me
• Jeanne, a daughter,  sister,  friend,  wife,  mother, encourager, prayer warrior,  servant & Christ follower.

Thanks you to all of my visitors who came and left incognito, without saying hello. Trust me I appreciate you too!  Next time though, don’t be shy.  Because of all the silent and chatty visitors, total traffic on my blog for the month of January topped out at:

595!

You guys are all awesome !