SOOOooooo many posts.

I am way behind because what do I like to do?  Bathe, read, sit in a hammock and take photos of flowers.  OMG!  WHAT IF I HAD A BATHTUB IN A HAMMOCK IN A FLOWER BED WITH A BOOK THAT TOOK PICTURES?

This past weekend, there were many flowers to photograph and I only knew a handful of them, so I had to spend some time looking them up, then yesterday we were out most of the day and then this morning the van was back at the shop (if we don't have our teeth looked at or the van on a rack at LEAST once every 6 weeks, the world will stop spinning, it's my duty).  So now, I am tackling the last of the photos and ID's and can start posting.  As soon as I get the kitchen clean and the laundry done and the living room vacuumed and the marshmallows packaged to go out.   The kids are helping.  In fact, Jake has nearly taken over the gathering, washing and drying of laundry-though I still do all the folding.  I like to lay out my plans and start on everything, then go back and forth until it's all done.  I am very much not a single-task person.

Matt and I are low-carbing this week, which made the marshmallow orders that much harder, but I am down 6 pounds (day 4) and while I know that's mostly my water balance correcting itself, the lower numbers on the scale are really motivating to not eat that coconut and chocolate coated marshmallowy goodness.  Just 4 pounds to my next goal and then it's maintain for a few weeks and do it again.  Planning on 30 pounds total this year, I seem to do better with losing in a chunk and then keeping that off by adjusting my food and exercise levels to maintain.  Kept 35 of the original 40 I lost off, so something in my wobbly plan is working.  Of course that 5 pounds has come and gone like a yoyo on crack, I am anxious to get under that and not see the same range on the scale day after day!

It's the end of the day now, Matt is on his way home.  Since I started this, I have indeed gotten the house cleaned back up to my needed level and I also went and had a nail pulled out of a tire and priced 2 newer tires, which I will get Friday morning because Mr. Holmes can not resist giving me a great deal.  I put a can of freon in the van myself instead of dicking around with stupid mechanics who won't listen to me any more.  It's blowing icy cold to medium cold-colder when the van is moving than when it sits still.  My general consensus when I asked me about it was to wait a few days and add another can if I felt the calling.  Since I was in the 'use a can to fix it' mood, I got some drain blaster and poured it in the hall tub.  I don't ever use stuff like that because we have a septic tank and I like to think I am keeping it active and healthy, I even flush yeast down the toilet a few times a year.  But by gum, that drain was SLOW and I know it's all hair.  It was to the point that to have a bath, flipping the thingy was not really necessary.  The water drained out so slowly, it was a moot point.  It's slicker n'snot now, though.  I will sacrifice a cat to appease the septic tank bacterium.  I know just the one, too.


Hopefully I can start posting our weekend and all my new wildflowers soon, it depends on what I come up with to distract me with.  I don't think I have eaten at all today...what's up with that?

Mid-Week

Another 21 miles, we are doing 5+ miles a day!  60 miles to go for the month!

We have hiked at Pea Island, walked the beach, climbed the lighthouse and the dunes at Jockey's Ridge, walked all over Kitty Hawk and there's more walking coming up!

The vacation is going well, we are sticking to our budget and Matt FINALLY got the money back he spent on the last business trip yesterday.  Just nearly a month after the trip.  Grrrr.  The van is having no issues-well there was one.  The brakes were smoking in the mountains!  I just got work done on them about 2 weeks ago and Mr. Holmes put grease on the rotors because they stick.  Between that and the brake pad/rotor fit working itself out and coming down from 6,000 feet there was a little drama!  It's been so flat since we passed the last round of hills leaving Ashville that it has not been an issue at all.  Oh, and I drained the battery the first night on the island by leaving a flashlight plugged in to charge overnight.  Oops. 

The kids seem to be enjoying themselves.  We went to an aquarium today and Jake had a little angst, he does not like aquariums.  He was a general pill until we left, but had a great time all day.  There are times I'd like to kick his hiney.  We had lunch at Taco Bell, which only helped things-though they did not have chicken burritos!  It was a KFC/TB combo and he got fries and a soft taco.  He was so thrilled, it was the first thing he told Evan about when we got back.

From our walk at the wildlife Refuge

One of many walks along the beach

 From the top of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

Dune walkover

From our walk at Pea Island

We have more exploring planned as well as some down time to just hang out and be at the beach.  We got our fitbugs in last Thursday and have been doing 10,000 steps a day nearly every day so far!

It's been interesting being away from home but in a house and not a tent or Poppy or even a hotel room.  This house is a workout all on its own-6 levels and stairs everywhere.  I have seen about 10 houses out here I would like to live in forever, but this is not one of them!  hahaha  It's great for the week though, but I am looking forward to my own little one-level hacienda when this trip is over.

Down the Rabbit Hole

The kids tried out for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Saturday and did very well, we got news they had been cast late Sunday night.  Chandler will be the Duchess, Ben is playing 2 smaller roles, an animal and a Spade and Jake has been cast as the Gryphon, but they have asked if he would consider the larger role of the White Rabbit if their first choice could not do it.  The casting is not settled at all, it might change by the time they start rehearsals in June, but that's where things are for now.  Matt might or might not be the Knave of Hearts.  I will not be doing any of the roles, it's another musical.

In other news, this weekend has been busy!  We were out all of Saturday then last night until 2 and ALL dang day today.  I plan to stay home until Thursday night, it's too hot and I am ready to be here a while.  I am sure June will not be my favorite month with rehearsals 4 nights a week and then Show Week.  July looks nice.  August will be a little crazy with 8 performances spread over 3 weeks, then September off and October-vacation for a couple of weeks.  We are kicking around camping at Disney or maybe just along the Atlantic Coast.  Maybe still going out west.  It's all balancing on basically house repairs and how much all of that will end up dipping into the budget and Matt's job.  Nothing is happening to his job, but he's traveling more and has more responsibility which means we can't just leave town at the end of the quarter or other busy times for the project he's on.  If we can't plan a 2-week trip until mid-October, it could be snowing in the Rockies already. 

At any rate, things will work out, I am sure of that much. 

Tuesday

Well, I planned to have an adventure on Tuesday, but the weather planned to be chilly, wet and gusty.  So, we stayed home all day other than running to Suzette's to deliver Jake for an overnight stay and dropping off recycling.  Our planned adventure will be Thursday.  Today, we are going to get dressed and leave home and see what happens.  Oh, and get Jake back. Yeah, that.



Is it too early to be dreaming of Spring yet?  The Solstice was a whole week ago, the days are 7 minutes longer already!  I feel full of energy and I am antsy to be DOING...something.  Okay, what I want to be doing is taking a road trip, heading out to see something new.  My brain thrums for new images, my shutter finger is twitchy, my shoulders feel tense with the effort of not slipping on a day pack and walking off into the woods.  My camera is practically sighing, I feel it...judging me.  hahaha!  Okay, no, I don't.  I have no kinship with the camera, it's the photo I hear calling me, if I could draw, I would.

I will leave off to go get me dressed, I have added some reminders of Spring, Mountain Laurel, bloodroot, daffodil, dogwood and fiddlehead ferns.  You can use bloodroot and dogwood medicinally, fiddlehead taste like asparagus.  Mountain Laurel and daffodils are poisonous.

I am currently trying to drink grass jelly drink, I have nearly used up all the liquidy parts and am down to the clumps of jelly.  Made from grass.  Matt loves a drink that embodies colloidal suspension, but I don't like to chew my drinks.  It's green, though.  Surely that has some level of...nutritionish...

Week-end

Another week whisked by, it's amazing to me sometimes how quickly a series of days can pass.  One more whoosh and it will be another year!

This week went well, on Monday, I went in and had lunch with Matt, then went to have the van looked at by someone who can fix the actuator motor in the AC, which I will need before long!   After that, I went to walk the labyrinth, which I really enjoyed.  It's the first time I went alone.  I need to do more stuff like that by myself....

After work, we met back up and walked the Greenway as part of a fitness event for our insurance.  It IS super annoying to have to have a points system in place, but it's all things we SHOULD be doing anyway.  Keeping a closer eye on nutrition and exercise, being aware of our cholesterol and blood sugar levels...

On Tuesday, everyone came over for lunch and Dirty Santa.  I was worried it was going to just be semi-polite Santa, but there was some action before the end.  Poor Cody, before his number, everyone picked a present and there were only a couple of swipes.  He was dying to go and I was just ahead of him.  I stole a present, that person stole one, who stole one and the last person picked, so he had to wait through 4 moves!  Zachary got a couple bags of candy, which he tucked out of sight behind his back, eyes twinkling with visions of sugar rushes, no doubt.  Then a Nerf gun emerged and he SLAMMED that candy in front of himself and started advertising heavily.  There were some scratch-off lottery tickets that enthralled the younger boys.  The older boys just wanted some meat sticks!

On Wednesday, we had lunch at Karen's, finally.  We have been trying for at least 5 weeks.
It was a great visit, lots of chatting and the kids played and played and played.  I did not even think about doing a group pic!  Oops!

Red Rover!

Back home on Thursday, we watched the sky get brighter and brighter instead of the actual sunrise.   Then, we experienced a Solstice Miracle in the form of Crabby Kat snuggling with Muta!  Well, snuggle may be too much...more like shared butt warmth.  : )

Today, Matt is home early, with pizza!  He is off until the 3rd!

Juices Flowing...

Creative, that is. 

I have walked 5 miles in the past 2 days, yesterday I listened to some of my playaway book, it's Firefly Cloak and I love the lady reading it, she's real Southern sounding-exactly the right twang.  

Today, Ben walked with me, rolling his counter wheel the whole time.  3 laps really is a mile!  We did 4 laps-nearly 7,000 feet-and then I mowed the whole front yard from the east fence to the old driveway and back to the back fence.  Tomorrow, I will see about knocking out the parking area and the hill, the backyard and under the trees.  Then there's Judy's yard that has not been mowed in 3 weeks.  With no rain, the grass is not high, just weeds here and there shooting up, looks like both yards have cowlicks.  Her gardenias and magnolia tree are in bloom, we walk up there just to smell the air.

This morning-here is the creative juices part-I hauled out photo albums from when the kids were little and we looked at them for a couple of hours.  I took notes on all the places we went and the kids recounted what they remembered the most about different things we did.  I have been wanting to write a children's book about homeschooled kids, unschooled really, because there are fewer than 40 books out there and they are mostly 'Billy at the kitchen table' or 'Sarah goes to the zoo' type stories that could be from summer vacation or homework time-nothing that really hits home for me anyway.  

I thought I could start off writing something for my kids about their memories and how they learned from things we did and go from there into something with more story to it.  I already know what I will call them in the stories and Matt and I will be Mom and Dad.  Or, Dad and Mom as it were.  And we will have a dog named Rosie Jo.  I think that's about the best dog name ever (this week).  LOL

Our vacation plans for next month have stalled out.  Matt is looking at taking a week before Thanksgiving week, giving us 2 weeks together.  That opens up a good many possibilities for travel...of course we all immediately suggested Disney. It's hard to give up on something we all know we will really love.  But I am digging in my heels to go somewhere new.  We'll see how it all works out.  To get another week, we will have to go unpaid for at least 3 days, plus there's the budget to consider...it would be nice to have lots of money!  i guess I will just have to be content with being good-looking instead of rich.  ha!