Am I the only one that always comes home from vacation feeling like I need another vacation to relax after my vacation?
It was fab though! We had a great time and honestly I think it was truly just the right amount of time. By the last day before coming home I was ready to come home and see the fur kids and just get back to normal. Now I didn't realize that it would be a crazy busy week of normal, but hey, it's all good! We are blessed to have been able to go on a nice vacation, relax and have fun.
So we seen a lot, ate a lot, drank a lot and well......tried to relax a lot! Atlantis if fabulous! Hands down the highlight of vacation was swimming with the dolphins at Atlantis! The whole place is amazing and if you ask me..........well worth the opportunity to go see it and spend some time there!
I also learned that before Jeff and I kayak together again in the same kayak, we MUST learn to synchronize better! I had no idea it could be so difficult for the two of us to be in sync. That said my first clue should have been when we had to take dance lessons for our wedding dance and we still didn't do to well after six lessons. Lets just say that white boy has NO rhythm!
And Key West is a fab little town! I would love to go back one day, spend a little more time and drink a whole lot less! We did a pub crawl while we were there. It was really quite fun.....only my head didn't seem to agree later that day. Thankfully naps are helpful on vacation! ;)
We snorkeled too and that was great. Some of the people snorkeling with us seen a stingray and a turtle. I was really quite sad about not seeing them for myself. But we did get to see an eel and it kind of freaked me out......but I kept my cool. Lots of cool fish and thankfully no sharks!
Did I mention swimming with the dolphins? It really was fab! I'll try and post some pictures soon. It's been quit a busy week and I've not even got to fully download all the pictures.
Easter is finally here! It has been a relatively quiet day. Jeff got called out early this morning and aside from attending church I stayed in today and watched some stuff on the DVR that I had recorded from the past two or three weeks while I was away working. I must admit that this was the first year we observed a full Lent and I did quite good at not having any meat on Friday's and I didn't give in and have the one thing I gave up for Lent. I did indulge in that one thing today though and as did Jeff, first thing this morning! Jeff gave up chocolate and so he had a chocolate covered peep before breakfast. Me, I gave up Diet Dr Pepper, my all time fav and finally caved and had one when I got home from church with a Reese's peanut butter egg. Yum! And yes, Diet Dr Pepper was just as lovely as I remembered it. :-)
So to add, today was a day of another "first". To clarify, our first Easter without my brother. We've had a few "first" since he's been gone but we have many more to come. I suppose the next couple of months will be some of the hardest. Mother's Day is around the corner and I can't even begin to imagine how my mom is feeling. I know her heart is still very full of sorrow. No words can describe how I even feel, so I can only imagine. Then we have his birthday. Again............no words can describe it. And then to follow in June we have Father's Day for those precious babies of his and then the anniversary to his long time love. May and June will be some of the toughest months. Please say a prayer for my family as we endure some of the hardest months ahead. I still find it hard to believe at times. I wouldn't say I am in denial but I would say that there are days it just doesn't seem real. I think of him every day and though I still can't talk about him much to other people without crying, it doesn't mean I have forgotten.
Is it just me or is April dragging by? Could it be because I am ready for vacation and so the days and weeks will drag until we leave?!? Trust me when I say.....this has been a very long month so far and we aren't even to the middle of it yet!
April showers bring May flowers! I remember that saying from when I was a kid. But I was thinking this morning that is seems that it no longer applies like that. Flowers are coming out in February and March as it warms up and showers are just sporadic this time of year in Texas and Louisiana. And while I got my fill of rainy days when I was living in Scotland, I could sure use some rain for the yard right now! I hate dragging out the hose and having to turn the sprinkler on to get some much needed rain. We are forecast for showers today, but if we don't get them I will be dragging the hose out this afternoon for some much needed water for the yard.
As per my previous post.......I feel May is gonna be the month to bring so much needed change in mine and Jeff's life. I hope all changes will be for the better but I am certain those changes are going to come whether we are ready for them or not. And at the same time May will be a month of heart ache and remembrance as we approach my mom and sister in laws first mothers days without my brother and we will also have to endure his first birthday without him here to celebrate. Will be a hard month on us all. We miss him dearly!
Not time change........time for a change! Well really both!
We are gearing up for vacation and I am super excited. Ready for a break away from things, soak up some rays and just relax with Jeff with NO phones! It took me a few weeks to find the right vacation for us but I think we will have a grand time. And I have spent the last week or so getting ready by getting odds and ends we need and getting the fur-kids a sitter and all that fun stuff. There is a lot of prep for us to go on vacation!
And I am thinking about some personal changes. Last week I decided its time to change out the quilt for our bedroom and bring in something new, different. I've found a quilt a really like for the bed but Jeff is kind of a "plain and solid color" kind of guy and I like things that are a little more lively, colorful and have a pattern to them. So we are working our way into a new quilt. ;)
I am also pondering a hairstyle change. Not sure exactly what yet. Maybe it will just be color or maybe it will be a cut or maybe both! I know last week standing in the bathroom drying all this hair when it's hot and humid outside sure makes me want to chop it off! But as sure as I do that I will have wished I kept it longer. So for now........its up in a ponytail most days.
Spring is in the air and I feel summer coming on quick! Not looking forward to those hot and humid Louisiana summer days!
I know it's been a while since I blogged. I am trying to find my motivation again and find something inspirational to blog about. So far nothing has come to me that I honestly thought would be something people would want to read.
I've been trying to keep busy. I took on a job a few months ago and it turned out not to be the most ideal job I could have taken. I was looking for something simple yet challenging and something stress free and hopefully some what on the fun side. I didn't succeed and I will just leave it at that. So I am no longer working there. Hopefully something on the horizon will work out the way I had hoped. I have a few ideas floating around in my head too of some things I would like to try and accomplish over the next year or two.
I am trying to find my inspiration again. So don't give up on me. Check back periodically and hopefully I will start blogging more soon!
It's been a while since I've blogged. So much has happened, so much has been going on that I just hadn't felt like blogging. And even now, as I sit here I am sure you won't hear from me again for a while. I hope to find the inspiration to blog more soon but for now I feel if I blog to much it wouldn't be a whole lot of anything anyone would want to read.
As most of you know, we lost my brother a couple of weeks ago. We sat at the hospital for a week and half before that hoping for a miracle, praying for a miracle!
So to not go into to many details I am sad, mad and angry. Most of the time I am angry and I am trying to keep it at bay and not let it effect the rest of my life. I miss him terribly and yet I can't seem to find a way to cope or to handle it. Most of the days I think I am still in denial and I will see him again the next time I go to visit him at his house. Other days I am totally aware, accepting it and trying to hold it all together for my adorable nieces. Everyone around me is celebrating Christmas and celebrated Thanksgiving and I just can't seem to get excited enough to do either. And while I expect no one to understand........I hope the respect to let me be when I need it will be granted to me.
No words can explain it for me! So maybe soon I can cope a little better and find my inspiration again. I hope when I do I still have some of you around to blog too.
XOXO
Magically over night all the things for Halloween went away or on clearance and all the Christmas stuff came out! Seriously? It's November 1st and I went to Target today get pick up a few things and all the Halloween stuff was on clearance (what was left) and all the Christmas stuff was hung and aisles were being filled with Christmas stuff. One little lonely end cap near the cards had Thanksgiving stuff on it. Just blows my mind!
So Halloween was great! We had several trick or treaters. Not as many as I thought we might have but still quite a few. We had everything from bumble bees and super heroes to fairies, princesses and quite a few Woody's from Toy Story. We even had some that weren't dressed up at all. And we had some teens that honestly didn't need to be out trick or treating. I had one lady walk up with her kid in a wagon (probably about 2 or 3) and beside her was a teen that was probably 16 or 17 and the teen seriously walked up to me and opened up his backpack and said "trick or treat". I gave him candy because I figured if I didn't my house would get egged or the pumpkins would get smashed in my front yard. lol
And the kids that weren't dressed up kind of upset me. Then Jeff made me feel bad because he told me that they might not be able to afford costumes. So I felt bad. But then I thought about it some more and really...........can they not "make" a costume?!?! It doesn't have to be fancy. Just be creative!
And then finally the creepiest costume of all was a kid that was probably about 8 years old and he was wearing a gown that's similar to the ones that surgeons wear and his face was kind of zombie like and on his back was a growth that resembled a little monster! :|
And I put cobwebs all around the front door and even made the kids have to stick their hand through a hole of cobwebs to get to the doorbell. I heard one of the younger teens scream when she first got to the door and she ended up knocking. Serves her right.........she was to old to be trick or treating. But of course at least she did manage to dress up!
Okay so Halloween is behind us and now to push forward and start working on the holidays. Should be busy but fun!
Here is a picture of my pumpkin cake I made for the Trunk or Treat at church last weekend. We had a cake walk and I made this to take for it.
Shouldn't fall be here by now? I am amazed at how I can get up in the morning and it's 50 degrees outside and by noon it's 85 to 90 degrees! Seriously? Can some one tell Mother Nature that it's almost November and I am still waiting for my fall to arrive?
But even without the fall temperatures this is still my very favorite time of year. I love this time of year for so many reasons. I do love the cooler temperatures when we have them but I also love the fall colors that come out this time of year. I love the pumpkin patches, the Halloween decorations and I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving and family and friends! My friends always laugh at me because I tell them that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. And it is! It's my favorite holiday because it's a holiday that everyone sits around the table, enjoys a good meal and is just thankful for so many things. I think we all are thankful on a daily basis but its nice to have a holiday that people really focus on that for one day. No gifts, no pressure of Christmas and all the hustle and bustle that comes with it. Just good food, family and friends and being thankful!
So what have I been up too? Pumpkin Patch! Our church has a pumpkin patch and the money we raise from selling pumpkins goes toward mission trips. But during the week we book out daycares and elementary's to come and bring the kids and we let them walk around the pumpkin patch, take pictures and then we have a little place set up to where the kids can go sit on some hay bales and we tell them stories. I started out this year with just working the pumpkin patch, taking money for pumpkins, etc. Then I got talked into doing the story telling one day. So I did it that one day, then I got ask to do it again the next day, and the next.......and before I knew it I was signed up to be at the pumpkin patch telling the stories for pretty much everyday up until Halloween. But it's big fun and I love seeing all the little kids.
So after Halloween I will start my Christmas shopping. I want to spread it out a little more evenly this year over November and December. I hate the crowds when it comes time to Christmas shop but I am excited to get to do my Christmas shopping this year with my Christmas shopping buddy! ;) I didn't get to do that much last year since I was in Scotland so this year I am really looking forward to it! Yay!
Well the time as arrived and it's time for me to start trying to join the working force again. I think back when we first moved to Scotland and me not being able to work there and I thought for sure I was going to go insane not working. The first six months were brutal! I would literally sit there day in and day out and look for something to do. It took about six months of that for me to adjust and decide that it would be okay if I found other things to do and it wasn't earning a paycheck. For me, I have never not worked. I started working when I was 15 (Sonic was the only place in Brenham that would hire anyone under 16 and you had to be 15) and I have worked everyday since then until right before we moved to Scotland. And I loved my job! Not the one at Sonic, but the one I was doing before we left for Scotland. However, like most of America, the economy is bad and there aren't a lot of jobs in my chosen profession right now. So I am a little nervous to get out there and see what I can find and if it will be something I like. I am likely not going to be doing the same thing, but we will see.
And I can say that if I didn't work I think I would be okay too. But working seems to be the most logical thing to do right now. It's not as if I have a good reason to stay at home, like being a mom or having a super busy day of taking care of the house, etc. So wish me luck as I start this journey. It might have taken me six months to start enjoying not working but I definitely got use to it from that point forward. :)
Jeff and I are very excited to have found a new church in our new home town. It's a very personal choice to me and I don't believe in pushing my beliefs off on anyone. I think to each their own but Jeff and I are very excited to have found a church that we feel very comfortable in and look forward to going.
Personally we feel we both have a lot to be grateful for and we've wanted to find a church together for a long time. It was extremely difficult in Scotland because we just never felt a place was the right place. It was just important to us to try and establish that once we got back to the U.S. And thankfully we found a great place. We look forward to growing with this church!
The pictures are hung, we finally have blinds and all the furniture and our belongings are in place. So this week I actually had a "typical" week, or what I envision will be a typical week for me until I go back to work. You know the usual, clean house, do the grocery shopping, do the household balancing of bills and just everyday things that fill your day up when you do have time off and are at home.
The first couple of days were kind of odd. I felt as if I was suppose to be unpacking a box or maybe putting something away or organizing something! I did get a chance to do those things I've been meaning to do since we moved and haven't. But mostly I found myself actually having to think about what I needed to do for the day rather than looking at my long list and trying to decide what I could get done in one day.
The house looks great and all is in place. We bought a few new furniture pieces and those were delivered yesterday and so to me, short of hanging curtains, the house is the way we like it. It feels cozy and comfy and I hope that it continues to feel like home.
I did find myself this week thinking back on Scotland and wondering what my friends were up too there and wondering what the weather was like and just reflecting on our time there. As happy as I am to be back home, I do miss the friends we made there. And I do cherish the time we had. With it being the end of September I figure that its starting to get pretty chilly there and that the long hours of darkness are starting to inch toward the longest night of the year. There is all the holiday things to look forward to with the American Women's Association and I am sure that they are all busy planning away for the things to come.
Scotland will always be a part of Jeff and I, the wonderful memories and the great friends we made there. I keep on our table two gifts we received from some friends there. One is a Quaich. It's a pewter cup/dish. We were told by our dear friends that gave it to us that you put Scotch in it (or whiskey as they call Scotch) and you share it with a friend, each friend drinking from a different side.
The other gift is a beautiful piece of slate with a soft bottom that you place on a table as a serving platter. Slate like this is used for so many things there. Mostly you find it on roofs there as that is what they use for shingles. But we have some lovely coasters made of it too and of course this fantastic serving platter that our wonderful friends gave to us. I've seen even chargers made of it that you will find in restaurants and such there.
So everyday there is a piece of Scotland in our home and we will always having the great memories of our friends. Thanks friends! :)
Well moving day has finally came and gone and we are settling in. The house is still not quite settled yet but we are making much progress and I think by the end of next week we will be completely settled in. It's really coming together and Jeff and I both really love this house. It's nice and cozy in some places and a bit more open in other places. I am looking forward to having the time to just know it's all together and it's home.
Jeff's been working a lot, which is good but makes it hard to get those things taken care of that involve both of us. He's loving being busy though. I am hoping once we get settled to start looking for work but I'm kind of toying with what to do now and if I want to go back to doing civil engineering or if I want to pursue something different. I guess it will just depend on if the work is there and which direction God leads me.
It's good to be back and we finally got to spend a few days with family in Houston recently. I've missed everyone and it was so good to see everyone and get to visit. I hope we get to make it back down there soon and do some more visiting.
I know I keep saying I'll post pictures of the house soon, and I will......promise! But its still not in order just yet, so we are hoping to get it in order before we start snapping pictures. Soon.......very soon!
Well it looks like we are just days away from closing and so the moving and unpacking and settling will begin again. This has been the toughest close I have ever been through. It's amazing how strict they are and how much information they want now since all the foreclosures and problems of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I feel as if every bit of our privacy has been violated and short of knowing my blood type, the bank knows more about me and Jeff than we know of ourselves! We have supplied them with endless amounts of paperwork and they've called to verify every inch of it. We've jumped through more silly hoops than anyone can ever imagine and as we have a closing date and time for Friday, we still haven't got the all clear from underwriting that they are completely satisfied. Unbelievable is all I can say!
So with any luck we will close Friday and the moving and settling will begin. Looking forward to getting into the house, out of the hotel and mainly just being settled in. I'm looking forward to doing laundry in the comfort of my own home and pulling the car into the garage at night. I'm looking forward to the peace and quiet and no more screaming kids running up and down the halls are late night gatherings in the parking lot of the hotel.
We are fortunate, this I know, but I am really ready to get done with this closing and pray that it all goes well for the rest of the week.
Hopefully the next time you hear from me it will be to say we are moved in, pictures of the house and all that fun stuff!
It's was a little sad to do but I felt it was time to move away from the Scottish themed blog "look". Since we are back in the U.S., in a new city and moving in a different direction I thought it appropriate to go ahead and give the blog a face lift. The Scottish pictures and pictures of our travels are still there, in past posts.
So we are getting closer to our closing date. I am very much looking forward to it. I think the furkids are getting restless (well Simba more so than the others) but I think they are all looking forward to having a bit more roaming room. We are trying to get our closing date pushed up, trying to get settled in sooner rather than later. So cross your fingers and help us hope for a speedy closing.
The car should be here soon........by this weekend I hope and hopefully it will be available to pick up next week. I am looking forward to having a car..........yay!
On a side note.......as I type this my cricket is back! Those of you that follow me on Facebook know what I mean. For those that don't..........here's a little update. One night last week, in the middle of the night...a cricket started making that gawd awful noise they make. I laid there for a moment thinking it would stop, but it did not. So up I came out of the bed and started trailing where the noise was coming from. I found the furkids sitting by the door and so I thought perhaps it was in the hallway. Well no, it is in the wall! The wall, an impossible place for us to get to it. It made that awful noise for a while and it was LOUD. It eventually quit and then we got a little sleep. So a couple of days went by and nothing from the cricket. I was relieved to think he'd some how gotten out of the wall. Well to my surprise a few nights later it started again. And Jeff was here that time and he about went crazy looking for where the noise was coming from too. Once again the cricket stopped, thankfully and back to sleep we all went.
So we didn't hear it for a few more nights and we thought surely it had died if nothing else. I know....it's awful I even thought of death for it but seriously......when you are woken early in the morning hours to a very loud cricket........you wish death upon it...okay! You just do!
So yesterday, around 10am it started again! Again the furkids were at the wall and this cricket went on and on for over an hour. Its like nails on a chalkboard people! Then today.......around 11:00am it started doing it again. And it's doing it RIGHT NOW! Does anyone know how to kill a cricket you can't get too?
While I am super grateful to have a bed to sleep in and a television to watch and a sofa to sit on and just comforts of a small apartment........I am so ready to be in our own home. Between kids screaming and running up and down hallways and knocking on doors and just the overall coming and goings at a hotel.........I am beyond wanting to be in our new home. Hopefully just a couple more weeks. Still waiting for underwriting........as always.
Outside of my rant about kids running the hallways of the hotel.........things are going well. Still haven't got a chance to go see my family or friends in and around Houston but hoping to make that trip soon. Jeff's working a lot and keeping the odd hours he use to keep back in the day before we went to Scotland. It's taking some getting use too but its part of it and we just do it. I don't see him much right now but at least he's getting back to work here and adjusting to the schedule again.
I've not got to spend a lot of time roaming Shreveport but I have really paid attention when I am out to try and learn my way around. I think I am picking it up pretty well and learning more each time I do get out. Looking forward to learning my way around Bossier City a little better but the nice thing about Bossier is that there aren't a lot of main streets out there so it's pretty easy to learn.
Have started job hunting a little and hoping to get some more done this week. It's a little difficult to job hunt when you don't have a car yet to go on interviews or get resumes printed, etc. But hoping that the car will be here next week and hoping that we get settled in soon so I can really hit it hard. Looking forward to getting back to work. Though I'm not sure I am going to like getting up and getting out the door early in the morning. :(
I have been trying to sit down and post for over a week now and I've just been so busy and had so much going on with trying to settle in, I just haven't had the time. I've also had my list of things to do to get a new layout and change the "look" of the blog since we are no longer in Scotland. I will hopefully get that done later this week.
So the first week in Shreveport hasn't been that bad. I've been busy, house hunting and just trying to get settled in a little and getting over jet lag! But it's been a productive first week. I found a house. Jeff is working in West Virginia so he looked at houses with me online. We are just waiting on final financing stuff and hopefully get a closing day for mid August. Underwriting is taking a little bit right now, so we are just hopeful it will be sooner rather than later. The house is great and I think it'll be a great home for Jeff and I for some time to come, or as long as we are in Shreveport/Bossier City.
Adjusting to the weather hasn't been that bad. It's hot here, please don't get me wrong and humid but I really thought I would have a lot harder time acclimating back than I have had. I'm not ready to go run a marathon in the weather but I can get out and about, do things and not mind it so much. It does rain here often right now, but the kind of Southern rainy days where it down pours for 15 to 30 minutes and then it's just hot and more humid than it was before it started raining. I guess some rain is better than no rain though. I will admit when we get that afternoon shower I am less tolerate of the heat and humidity.
Our sea shipment is well on its way and our air shipment arrived last week. I can't wait to get the car back and be a bit more free to go as I please. Of course last week I had a rental car and I hit some of my favorite missed spots like Super Target, Bed Bath and Beyond and I even got to the nail place for a pedicure and manicure. And my most favorite thing was getting to my old hair stylist in Tyler and getting my hair cut and colored. I know this must all sounds superficial but it's the things like this that I don't need but it's sure nice to have when you've not had it in a long time. I also got to see some of my Tyler peeps! And the food.........oh man......I had Mexican food last week and I it was fab! And I got my Chic-fila fix too! I'm looking forward to Jeff being home soon and getting a chance to go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast one morning for some real hash browns and then to get some yummy cajun food! Yes, I'm probably going to gain weight before I lose weight. lol
So we are settling in and the fur kids are doing great. House hunting has been a success and I am thankful for that. I can't wait to get completely settled in and I am hoping to find a job soon too.
I promise to post pictures soon, I just want to get a chance to get settled in and then I'll hopefully get some pictures of the house posted as well as some pictures of various Shreveport/Bossier City things.
