Butterflies

I've been wanting a butterfly garden for a while now and just haven't taken the time to make one. Good thing too!  Thanks to the lantana and the butterfly bush our yard is blessed with butterflies!  There are so many, even the big yellow one with the black marks. Charlie ran that one out of the yard once but it came back. She's having so much fun chasing them.  If you want butterflies I strongly suggest getting lantana, it grows at the speed of light and apparently attracts the friendly flyers quite well. 

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today I am blessed to celebrate another birthday with my most amazing mother. She's a fantastic mom and a fantastic person. I'm very lucky God sent me to her!

July 20-28

Whew! Vacation was a whirlwind of fun!  I found it difficult to keep up with my blog during that time though so this one is going to be long and packed with pictures!  My goal is to have 365 blessings blogged by the end of the year and by golly I'm gonna do it! 

There will actually be two separate entries tonight, here goes entry 1: 

July 20: Waking up to the blessings of the ocean!  The sounds of the waves crashing, the smell of the salt air, the dolphins and pelicans larking about, it's a little morning paradise.  My bed was right beside a sliding glass door that opened up to a wrap around porch looking out at the ocean.  It was very relaxing.

July 21: Fort Sumter and Aquarium day!  If you've never been to Charleston, SC I strongly suggest you go.  Granted SC is hotter than the equator we have a lot to offer.  It's beautiful and history wise you are in for a treat.  The first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter and that's just part of the historical side.  As long as I've lived here and as many times as I've been to Charleston I had never actually visited Fort Sumter.  It turned out to be quite a memorable experience.  The night before, around midnight, some other members of our vacation extravaganza arrived.  We had been sitting on the fact that one of our nearest and dearest was expecting for a few months.  The week before our trip she had some testing done that included in some high tech new test that can identify the sex of the baby a little earlier.  She thought she may get a call with the results sometime while we were at the beach.  Sure enough, right in the middle of the Fort Sumter museum the phone rings!  Our families will be blessed with another little girl to enjoy in January!  The other tests came back good too!  Being a part of that wonderful moment was so special and the fact that it was in a historic location like Fort Sumter made it even more memorable.  We followed it up with a visit to the SC Aquarium where we were blessed to see...wait for it....TURTLES!!!!!!

July 22: Beach Day!  Sometimes you just need a play day on the beach!  And sunscreen, don't forget sunscreen.  Reapplying is helpful too!  It was a good day watching everyone relax and play.  The blessing of a carefree day was just what everyone needed.  We made sand sculptures and participated in plenty of shenanigans. 

July 23: Bone-yard Beach!  This entire experience was a blessing!  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves but the bleached out trees are a result of an ever-changing beach constantly battling incoming surf.  

July 24: She's here!!  Having my cousin Kimmy in SC was a huge blessing!  It was nice having family in our neck of the woods. It's always nice to talk and text but sometimes you need an actual person in front of you!

July 25: A carriage ride, some rain, and beach football!  We got up and headed to downtown Charleston for a carriage ride Friday morning. Historical tours are always good but in a horse drawn carriage they are pretty awesome!  Afterwards we went to a nice lunch and made it back to the house in time for some storms. You would think at the beach storms would be a negative but it actually turned out to be fun. The power went out (not the fun part) but we grabbed the football and headed to the beach. It was sprinkling but not bad by then. I've wanted to play ball with the family like that for a long time and was blessed to get to do it.  The power came back on and we got to relax in the air conditioner again. 

July 26: Headed home!  It's good to go away but it's always nice to come home. The fur babies were happy about it too. As yummy as vacation food is, I was ready for dinner at home. My cousins came home with us for another night and we were blessed with a nice crab cake and macaroni and cheese dinner around the table and great conversation...and more shenanigans ;). 

July 27: Last day of vacation. It was sad that everyone went back home but it was nice knowing we had a good time and got to spend time with everyone that was a part of it. The entire trip, the memories, the jokes, and the quality time was truly a blessing. All families are different, made up of different dynamics and personalities, some by blood and some by the Grace of God.  My family is a unique blessing and I love them all!  

July 28: Back to the grind. Getting back in routine after relaxing is good. It gives me a different outlook on things. I was blessed with a fresh take on projects and didn't even realize it till I started to think about what I actually got done my first day back.         

Folly time!

With all the packing and everything going on last night I didn't post. Oops!  The packing got done though and we made it to the beach house. Luckily, we were blessed to have one of my friends come yesterday from out of town to stay with the fur babies this week!  It's nice having someone in the house too. 

This morning we got ready and headed out to Folly Beach. Having a nice vacation, in a nice house, with our family is a blessing for sure. My cousins are so fun to watch in the ocean. I have laughed at them till I had tears today.  Laying in bed I can hear the calming sounds of the ocean, it will be a good night to sleep!

Vacation

Short and sweet tonight, today's blessing - happy vacation to me!  Started off the vacation with a trip to the trampoline park - ouch! ;) Lots of fun though!!

Out to eat

We had Olive Garden for dinner tonight. It was pretty yummy. Our server was clearly new and very nervous. I can remember what that felt like so we were all very patient with her. As much as I don't want to do it again, working in the restaurant business really was a blessing.  I learned to appreciate, and be civil, to people like our new server tonight and others that are working way harder than people think. I also made some very good friends along the way.  It's for sure a good place to learn the value of hard work and a dollar. 

Sore face

Those moments when you laugh until your face hurts. Yup, those are blessings indeed! 

Silly

Silliness. Sometimes just laughing and joking and being silly is just what you need. So today I am blessed to say that I experienced several hours of silliness and  am looking forward to more!

Rivers

As many times as I've played on different rivers it's always a new experience, and a blessing!  I've played in creeks and riversy entire life.  Bumped my rear on rocks tubing down the Roanoke and the Saluda. Each time is an adventure of some sort. If you think about all the different things, besides play, that come from having rivers around you realize what a blessing they really are. Travel, factories, power, fishing, etc.  It's easy to forget these things just driving over a bridge...or floating under one!

Swimming!

Swimming!  Pools are a fun blessing!  Not only are they relaxing they are a great way to have fun...and act like a kid again!  I always wanted a neighborhood pool to go to and now we have two to chose from. I used to love to go to the pool with my cousins when I was little. Now I can take the next generation with me.  Pools make for good family time. My mom pointed out today that she has now been swimming with four generations in the family. I believe that is a blessing for sure!!

 

Visitors

My cousins came today!  We are blessed to have them for 19 days!!!!!!  They are also our first overnight guests in the new house :). 

Meeting at a meeting

Today I was blessed to meet a new member of my Thirty-One team and make a new friend. We had a nice conversation over some yummy yogurt and I'm looking forward to working with her as she grows her business!!  

Get involved

Lately, I've been trying to be more involved with different things, sports, the community, activities, etc. I totally suggest it to anyone. I'm having different and exciting experiences with old friends and at the same time making new ones and in some cases helping others!  It's been quite a blessing. Tonight, after a great dinner with friends, I went to a baseball game to support the Altzheimer's Association.  It was lots of fun. 

Next: Kickball!!

Happy Ears and Happy Lights!

Charlie was digging in her ears pretty hard tonight. She normally does this when her ear infection returns. So I grabbed the cleaner and q-tips and to my surprise...CLEAN!!  Probably the cleanest we've ever seen them.  She'll still have to stay on the medicine some but what a great blessing!  

Also, totally unrelated but this little blessing: 

is a Happy Light. Literally. That's what it's called, a Happy Light. I kept putting off a nightstand lamp but tonight I found this when we were looking for some other lamps. It's a softer light that's suppose to be better for your eyes which is great for me because I have always complained about bright lights at night. It's also suppose to combat the tiredness and malaise associated with the winter blues, help with fatigue and regaining focus. Does it work?  I can't confirm anything yet but, I can say I love the shape and size and the soft light really is plesant on my eyes.  

Wash and fold

I punked out last night but tonight I have two blessings closely related to make up for it. 

Laundry. We all dread it and no one likes to fold it.  It piles up dirty and it piles up clean. Such a 1st world problem. How easy to forget the blessing of wash machines and dryers. No beating on rocks for us!  The days of washboards and ringers are in the past. Clotheslines? Huh?  So while it's easy to complain about "doing" the laundry, I know I'm blessed to have the modern conveniences to do it. 

Then tonight, as I'm folding those clothes I piles up in the floor over the weekend, it occurred to me that I'm blessed to have all these clothes that I'm whining and complaining about having to take care of. Why am I fusing about something I have plenty of when there are people in the world that would be more than happy to have clean, warm clothes. I guess laundry isn't so terrible after all. 

Tickle the Ivories

Today I remember how blessed and lucky I am that my parents gave me piano lessons as a child.  Music was always a good outlet for me.  I pecked at it a couple months ago but hadn't really played in a very long time. Today after giving the keys a good shine I decided to play. Of course I'm very, very, very rusty but it still felt good.  I gotta remember to make more time for that. 

July 4th

I am blessed to live in this great country. I am blessed to live where great thinkers, great heroes, great founders, great people fought, bled, and made the ultimate sacrifice, and great men and women still fight, bleed, and make the ultimate sacrifice for these words, may we not forget them:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

Continue: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html

Happy Fourth of July!!

David & Arthur

The office closed early today to start the holiday weekend. Yay!!  I did have a little couch time but had to go to Hobby Lobby for ribbon for an order. While we were there I found the garden gnome I wanted. I named him David the Gnome after the old Nickelodeon cartoon. :) 

And while I feel blessed to have this gnome that's not where I'm stopping tonight. As we were leaving the store we saw some pretty serious storm clouds and lightning. With Hurricane Arthur lurking up the East Coast I think we are very blessed to just have some storms off of it.  I just got an alert it is now a Category 2.  I pray everyone stays safe through the storm and that it weakens soon. Be safe traveling this weekend!!

Tuesday and Wednesday

I was way too wired to accomplish anything last night including blog... way too wired. Of course once I finally calmed down enough to sleep I turned my head and there was a bug on the wall. I don't do bugs. So the chase ensued and after hunting the beast for a while I swear he disappeared into thin air. Then I had to decompress all over again. Anyway, it was still a good day, I was just hyper. 

I had a meeting at one of the adult recreation centers to try and get my boss on their calendar. We were able to work it out so he could speak there and within the month too. The meeting was a success and since it was closer to my house I was blessed to get home a few minutes early and spend a little time with the babies before my next engagement.  Got to check out the pepper growth too!

I managed to jam/pop out of joint my left pinky finger last night. Now, me dislocating and jamming joints, yeah, nothing new. However, I've been blessed that it has never been anything more serious like a break or a permanent injury.   I am very grateful that all I have is a colorful finger for a few days when others have much more serious injuries.