You know, sometimes you just need to put yourself in a time-out.
Well… at least that’s what I thought-
After finishing our 13th flip last fall I was feeling unplugged and thought that maybe I needed to “flip” myself. As the New Year was approaching my Niece sweetly picked my word for 2017 as “me”.
So much love for her, she knew that it was something close to what I needed for the upcoming year. Problem was, every time I tried to get time for myself it just didn’t happen. As months flew by it was actually getting pretty comical. Every time I turned around something would come up that needed me. I didn’t get it. Now, my husband of nearly 31 years (11/15/17 <3) who is a wonderfully humble man knew that perhaps it wasn’t the right word. I was completely understanding as my year was good, just not what I was expecting. I really thought I was going to say “no” more so I could say “yes” to a few things I wanted to do for myself. Dumbfounded, I just knew that God must have had something different in mind. Instead, I was more involved with giving of myself and my time more than ever before! An important Lesson was learned… life is about giving all you’ve got, helping others when they just can’t help themselves. Spending time with those that just need it. Using my God-given talents to make things to lift someone’s spirits. And always having faith when you’re really not sure you can. Those were the things God wanted for me this year. By not focusing on myself I learned more than I ever expected and he rewarded me with blessings beyond my wildest dreams. Life is so very precious, and God is so incredibly good. I’m very grateful I had this “opportunity” and very thankful to be “me” <3
Here is a little of my year in review-
January-We gathered to celebrate our Mom turning 90 on Friday the 13th complete with a full moon. Her only wish was to become a Great Grandmother by her 90th birthday…. my Brother in law Jim also shares this birthday and at 8:02 during dinner his Son (my Godson<3) Nate and his beautiful wife gave birth to Greyson James- Mom got her wish! It was the craziest night of not one but three very special birthdays!
February- Craig and I traveled back to Puerto Vallarta to celebrate our 30th anniversary. We wanted to recreate our favorite picture from our honeymoon and to our surprise not only was our honeymoon hotel still open, but it was still the only place on the beach to rent the horses! This picture is taken with the same wall behind from 30 years ago!
March had a lot of highs and lows…
Finding this 1930’s gem on Craigslist definitely was a good thing! It was the first time EVER Craig was speechless… but I was soooo EXCITED!!! Meet Miss Vivian Celeste, my new chair to go into a VERY special room. I could not wait for my dear and talented friend Cynthia, owner of The Funky Little Chair to begin the big make-over.
And the special room I mentioned? Well, let me tell you, I not only created a quilt studio in our basement, I now am an owner of a long arm quilt machine! MORE TO COME!!!
April- Waiting anxiously for spring with miss Sadie and spending the next 6 weeks overhauling our rental to get it on the market-we rented it 2 weeks later….
May- a month of new beginnings! The garden was in, the dock and boats all ready to go and the bon fires & sunsets are oh so beautiful!
June- I really didn’t like the look of this, lots of rain and hail damage-so much for the garden and the landscaping….
July- It started off so innocent…
We finally pulled the trigger on the painting our house- it took us 8 YEARS to get the nerve to do this! So many decisions and a ton of stress…
Our painter did everything to finish before the 4th of July … and he did! Of course the night before, the very heavy window box (filled with dirt) falls on my foot… We did see lots of pre-fireworks on our way to the emergency room-lucky me, no break!! I’m not entirely sure flip flops were the right shoe for the job, perhaps steal toe boots?
The 4th is always a great day to celebrate with family and friends! My favorite Son in law did awesome on the grill!! Thanks Ryan!!
The day after the 4th Craig surprised me that we were tearing up the footings on the deck. A week into working on it, Craig had a funny feeling and braced it a little more before going to bed-thank God because just hours later at 2:35 am with absolutely no warning we were hit with a tornado…
I was just stunned. So thankful no-one got hurt and so amazed at how much clean up was needed. Most of the damage was on the boats.
I had one thing I really wanted to do this summer-I wanted a date with Craig with amazing seats to see Earth Wind & Fire. It was so much fun to see them once again and get a picture of the last remaining original three-SO MUCH TALENT!!!
August- yep, August…. the 4th was not a good day. To get a phone call from my mom saying she was ok, but had an accident while going to her clinic was not what I wanted to hear from her. Craig assured me that it was a blessing in disguise… I really didn’t get that but it was. A broken rib, a bashed knee and 6 hours after she passed out while with my sister. That resulted in a little ride with lights to Regions where she remained for 5 days on the trauma floor. The seat belt not only broke her rib, but a mass that was hiding in her kidney was bleeding into her stomach. Mom was joking with everyone and didn’t want to take any pain meds…She is the toughest woman I know! She then spent 21 days at a TCU. You know, it just was not fun. By the way, she walked herself into her clinic unassisted…I think I need to have a chat with that cop- yes, I definitely will be doing that. She is all healed up and walking with her buddies of 30 years at the mall! Her mass has decreased by 50% since the accident and will be checked again in May-it truly was a blessing in disguise!
September was beautiful and full of hope, the crisp weather and the beautiful leaves in a funny way was a welcome change to a summer that just still just amazes me. Even though we didn’t get a lot of time on the lake we were blessed to be able to look at it. Even though 14 tomato plants were destroyed from the storms we took advantage of the great produce from the farmers market. And even though the garden was 5 feet high with weeds, we discovered 8 perfect little pumpkins that grew in the compost! It was a sweet little message that made us decide to scrap the garden next year and put in our very first PUMPKIN PATCH!!!!!!!!!! WHOOOOO HOOOOOO!!! It will be complete with its very own pumpkin fairy too!
October… I quietly celebrated my 5 year anniversary for Mama Carp on October 16th -the same day of my beloved Mother in law Marge’s 95th birthday. It was a great visit and as always – the joy she brings to the world just amazes me!!! Then there is my little Chelser’s – how is it she turned 30?!! I swear it was just a minute ago when we brought her home! Chelsie and her college roommate Paige celebrated their “Dirty 30” together. My very good friends catered the whole party with recipes handed down from their Italian Grandfathers New York restaurant – trust me- IT WAS AMAZING!!!! Hand made manicotti with white sauce, ziti with Italian sausage, antipasto to name a few-if you’re looking for a night of good food contact me for the information on these two !!!!
Which leads me to November….. just when I thought everything was ok I discovered that I will be learning all about the world of gluten free, dairy free. Sadly, walnuts too. And possibly maple syrup. And I thought years of avoiding corn was already annoying. At least I’ll be joined by my Daughter Allie, she has been amazing through this whole transition! Our first challenge (besides day to day eating) is cooking a Thanksgiving feast…Wish us luck! We will be sharing recipes on here for sure!!
December …. after all this- turning 54 has got to be a PIECE OF CAKE! GF/DF cake that is! I’m not sorry for this long post either- I REALLY MISSED MY BLOG!!!!!!