JUNE IN REVIEW

Wow!  It's already the middle of 2013!  Where does time go?  I do know that it waits for no one!  Here it is, the first month of our summer break, come and gone within a blink of an eye.  From the time I closed the school doors after our end of the year party to today, a lot has taken place, but not much that is productive.   Sigh.

First week, hubby took the week off and we took a desperately needed trip to the beach (without all the kiddos).  Neither of us had been to this particular beach in close to 20 years.  I think it tickled my hubby to hear me say randomly, "I am having such a wonderful time....without the kids."  You see it is not often that we (he & I) get to get away like this.  But it was an absolutely wonderful trip, even if it only lasted 2 days.

The rest of the week was spent cleaning house and getting the kiddos and ourselves ready for a week at CAMP EUNICE, one of our homes away from home.  On Thursday, I took my brood over to Nan and Pop's (sorry, dad, I like the name Pop...fits better with Nan :) for some R&R.  I spent the next couple of days fishing with my dad off his dock on Lake Eufala.

We caught over 50 fish!  I came home with a cooler full of fish to put in the freezer (points for my preparedness project).

Hubby and I each taught a class of high schoolers at camp.  I perfected my skill at power point presentations and at least entertained a few of the girls in my class and actually had one come to me at the end of the week and tell me my class was just what she needed for that week.  Imagine my joy to hear that!  Something I did made a difference!

While at camp we had our roof repaired.  That is a huge load off my mind, especially when it rains now.  BUT...while the roofers were here, they blew the fuse in the laundry room where my freezer is located.  IMAGINE if you will my distress as I lifted the lid to the freezer and found that most everything was completely defrosted and was rotting.  The stench that rose from the destruction nearly made me vomit.  Veggies, FISH, steaks, roasts...all now garbage!  So that Saturday was filled with cleaning out & disinfecting the freezer and outdoor fridge.  Fuse was replaced and now everything is working as it should, praise the Lord!

 The following week, the kids and I returned to my parents on Wednesday for some restocking on fish.  I was not so productive although I did learn a lot about noodling for Catfish. (I pulled in a hefty 8lb cat!)   My Aunt B was visiting, too, and I enjoyed spending time with her, especially in the mornings and afternoons, as we drank our Caffeinated coffee!  (My mom  cannot have caffeine, so mom went out and bought it special just for us.  Thanks, Mom)  I found we have a lot more things in common besides our birthdays and coffee. As we prepared to go home, my parents handed me the fish caught that weekend, to restock my freezer, but it didn't feel right to me.  My Aunt had come all the way from St. Simons to visit with my parents and fish, and she hadn't caught anything.  I insisted that Aunt B take it home and enjoy!  And I would restock the next time.

I absolutely got nothing done this past week.  It was, let's say, a vacation from vacation.  Hubby and I did take a plunge and purchased smart phones on Friday and since then that is all we have done...learn about this new piece of technology that may one day make or break us.  Needless to say, 4 of our daughters (ages 16-25) are super excited that we were catching up with the rest of the world in communication.  I am a little skeptical still, but psyched I can take better pictures now.  LOL  (And facetime my rising star;)

So, there you go, JUNE in REVIEW.

Today is July 1st, and I am determined to use the next few weeks to clean and organize, etc as much as possible before our next rush of camp duties is upon us.

My goals for the rest of the year: I am restarting the 3 day Military Diet today.  (Lost 20+ lbs from Oct-May, hope I can lose another 30 before Christmas!) I am going to return to the gym with my sis, (its the only time I get to see her), I want to finish at least one home remodel project before Christmas,  I want to finish writing a novel that my rising star and I started, I want to plant a garden, and get a good start on our preparedness project. 

So, with all of these goals listed here before me, I feel the urgency to leave my computer and actually put my hands to a more productive purpose...laundry.  (uggh)  Until next time, be blessed and rest in the Lord!

Mama D

STILL CLIMBING ABOVE MEDIOCRE

Greetings my friends!

How I have long missed writing and journaling my thoughts and experiences here!  LIFE happens. I am sure you can relate.

Its been almost a year since my last post!  Due to moving our school out to the country, technical difficulties with my computers, and my Adult ADHD (ha) blogging was put on a back shelf somewhere.

Dusting off my technical skills and imagination I am back at the keyboard ready to share more on my journey.  I feel there is SO much I must tell you about this past year, but one blog would bore you senseless.  So I digress.

I will just hit the high spots.

I finished my first year of school successfully.

After our annual church-wide tent camping trip to NC last summer, my husband and I felt the need to move the school to our church property.  Very exciting!

I just completed my second year of school, also, successfully.  My oldest graduated.  That brought on a myriad of emotions that I still haven't dealt with and tucked away.

I have toyed with writing my novel(s), started several projects, and experienced many things this past year.  My projects include: a family cookbook; a FB page devoted to connecting to distant family members, their recipes, and old ways of doing things; losing 50 lbs (I have lost 20lbs so far); dropping processed foods and making as much as I can from scratch; getting mentally and physically prepared to being a self-sufficient homesteader; making home repairs; being prepared in case of a drastic economic down-turn; and I am sure many other projects I have failed to mention will surface after I post this blog.

I sometimes still see myself as a teenager that lost something important in the pile of stuff on the floor in my room.  As I search for "it", I find many other things I forgot I had lost and  then get lost myself in the memories they hold.  Can you relate?  So goes my life...

Sometimes, I wish I could compartmentalize like my husband.  You know, everything (thoughts mostly) in a neat organized box in a location that is easy to find and to get to when you need it.  Oh, well, guess that means I still have some growing to do and some organizing:)  

It's a great day today!  I am excited to be blogging again!

Talk to ya soon!

Mama D

Life Givers

On my journey of "rising above mediocre," I look at the Proverbs 31 woman.

Let's glance at Proverbs 31 for a moment:
¹¹ The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
¹² She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
¹⁵ She also rises while it is yet night,
And provides food for her household,
And a portion for her maidservants.
²⁰ She extends her hand to the poor,
Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
²¹ She is not afraid of snow for her household,
For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
²⁶ She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.

In these few short verses we see that God has gifted women the opportunity to be life givers.
Of course the obvious one is childbirth.  What an awesome and beautiful thing it is to bring life into this world.  how precious are those little ones we carried for nine months when we finally get to hold them close in our arms?  Men will never know.
Another way women can give life is to give life to their husbands or the men in their family (if the woman is single)  How? you might ask.  R-E-S-P-E-C-T.  If I have learned anything in the last few years of being married to my hubby, it is that men thrive on respect.  I am still learning and growing, as is he, but there is LIFE when there is respect.
I am borrowing from a book I am reading entitled, "31 Days to Clean-Having a Martha House the Mary Way" by Sarah Mae for a few of these points:
Ways women give life: (chapter 2, paraphrased)
-by our words
-in our homes by decorating, preparing meals, and creating an atmosphere of peace and hospitality
-Educating ourselves, your children, and others
-Using our gifts
-Socially, by bringing life through encouragement and empowerment and example
-by inspiring others through culture and creative arts by sharing an appreciation for both
-through heritage and tradition by enriching the lives around you.

{This is an unfinished post I found and felt it best to leave as is and post anyway.}

Mama D