Food Organization

A couple days ago, I went through my pantry and other food cabinet to purge expired food as well as organize them. It took about an hour to pull everything out as I looked for expiration dates, wipe the shelves down, and organize it all. I do this about once a year and am always excited about the results. 

Preparing for Next Year's Travels

Within the last four years, I have been traveling a bit more than I ever have. Most of the trips have been within Colorado, and I have thoroughly enjoyed being a tourist in my own state. I know there is more to see, but I also want to branch out more. 

I have exciting plans underway for next year. First, we will be going to Florida for our anniversary in February. Chad wants to do something big for lucky 13, and we have friends that just moved to a lakefront property that have asked us several times to come visit them. Since Chad works for Comcast and can get free tickets, we will also be going to Universal Studios while we are there. Then, we will be going to Utah in June. We will visit his mom for a few days in southern Utah before heading North to visit my dad and (hopefully) run a marathon. Later that month, I will be going on a cruise with one of my best friends. She got some kind of killer deal through her job and has invited me to go along. I'm sure we will fit in at least one camping trip later that summer, but that is yet to be decided. 

I am so excited for next year! Now, all I have to do is save the money to make all of this happen. Wish me luck!

Why I Don't Post as Much

I have obviously stopped posting as much on this blog. It hasn't been a conscious decision for the most part. A big part of it has been because I have been journaling daily as part of my Miracle Morning. Also, I was struggling with knowing what to post and what not to post and had stepped back a bit while trying to make those decisions. 

A paper journal has many advantages. I love sitting down and writing. There is just something cathartic about it that I can't fully explain. I can spill my guts out without judgement or backlash and just sit in the moment. Also, if some server crashes, the journal is still preserved. Having lost my mom at a young age, I see the value in having these records of my innermost thoughts, too. I have no idea if they will have any kind of sentimental value to anyone other than me, but they will be in existence if someone wants to learn about the real me. 

A few years ago, it had become obvious that a few people I didn't really want to know certain things were reading my blog. When I vented about this, the backlash directed at one of the children was horrible. Since then, I have been trying to make sure not to post things that could have those results. It's exhausting and a reminder of the controlling crap I endured in a past relationship. A bout 4 or 5 months ago, a comment left on here made it obvious that at least one of these people are still reading what I post. (Hi!) I went into a spiral of fear and depression that I didn't know how to get out of myself. This sent me into a deeper dive of self-help books than I have ever gotten into, and it is helping. It has also lead me to journaling on paper again. I guess you can say that those who have been doing what they can to cyber stalk me have helped me find the parts of me I didn't even know were missing. Thank you, I guess.

Am I going to continue posting? Yes. I just won't be doing so on a consistent basis. I will still post about books I love, my testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel when I feel inspired to to so, major life events, my knitting or crocheting, and any other time I feel the need to do so. I just won't be posting nearly every day like I had been for a while. My sanity is more important than the $0.03 I earn off of this per month. 

Temperature Change

There is a saying, "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes." It may have taken more than 5 minutes, but there was a significant weather change this week. In Sunday, it was hot. The high for the day was 102. Being someone who struggles with extremes, I was miserable. I went to bed that night feeling very sick from the heat. The last few days have been much better. The temperatures have been comfortable. We have even been able to open up the windows and turn off the window air conditioners. This means that the nights have been quite cool. In fact between Sunday's high and today's low, there was an over 40 degree difference. You've got to love Colorado weather!

Feeling Her Presence

 

Last night, Chad and I did sealings at the temple. This time, we didn't seal any of our ancestry. We helped other people seal together from theirs. It was a wonderful experience, and it felt so good to be back in the temple after being gone for several months. 

At the end of this session, we went into the Celestial Room. As we sat in silence, I prayed for my cousin. Then, I let the peacefulness of the temple wash over me. This was a wonderful reminder as to why I need to do this more often. 

As I went into the dressing room, I was stopped by one of the ladies for whom we did sealings. She told me that when Chad and I sat in front of the sealer with the light streaming in through the stained glass window, I smiled and was absolutely gorgeous. The thought came to my head, "Just like your mom." At this point, I could feel her presence. All I could do was smile and thank her as I felt my mom beaming with pride, standing beside me. 

I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to do this service for other people in the temple. I am thankful we took the time to go into the Celestial Room. Most of all, I am thankful to the sister who took the time to give me a compliment that brought me closer to my mother. I miss her very much and know there will be a day when we will see each other again. 

Time Changer Sweater Update

 

Now that I have passed the German short rows and increases for the yoke of the sweater, I am working on the color work section and loving it. Have I messed up a few times and had to tink back a bit? Yes, but I have stitch markers in and don't have to go back too far to fix it. Each row is a bit more time consuming than knitting with one color, but after only 6 of the 19 rows done, I am already seeing the time changer take shape. I love watching things take shape as I knit or crochet. That's why I keep doing it. 

Day at the Beach

 

Friday, was a good day. We started at the beach and light house in South Haven. I was obviously more excited to be there than the kids, but I expected that because I'm the one that grew up going there periodically. We lakes down the pier to the lighthouse first and took pictures (a must when in South Haven). Then, we walked over to the shore, waded in the water, and played in the sand as we waited for my cousin, Sherry and her husband. 

Then, we went to a tavern for lunch with Sherry before walking around to the shops.

This was followed by another trip to Sherman's Ice Cream where we met up with my cousin, Clint, and his family. Then, we went to Kids Corner (a well known playground out there) and walked back over to the lake.

 At this point, it was finally time to go swimming. I took the kids back to our hotel (only 10 minutes away), left Sean there (at his request), and took Noel back to the lake. We swam and jumped into and over the waves for about an hour before heading back to shore to make dinner plans as Noel and Clint's girls played in the sand and weather a bit more. Then, I went back to the hotel room to shower and change before heading to dinner. 

We met at a brew pub by the harbor for one last meal before going our separate ways. 

I am very thankful to have had this day with my cousins making new memories. It was the best day of the entire trip!

Cemeteries in South Haven

Yesterday, we met up with my cousin, Sherry, and her husband. We met at the lighthouse and headed over to Clementine's, a restaurant my grandpa liked, for lunch. Then, we headed over to the cemetery to visit our grandparents' grave. (They are in a small cemetery not too far from South Haven.) 

Then, we looked up where our great grandparents were buried and found the Flemings were in the same cemetery, so we headed across the grounds to find them. As we did, we saw this really fun unicorn grave marker. 

Then, we made it over to the Flemings. Not only did we find our great grandparents, we also found our great-great grandparents. Their grave markers were covered with moss, and Sherry did her best to wipe it off. There is only so much one can do without the proper tools, though. 

Next, we looked up where my other great grandparents were buried and found that they were in a cemetery on the way back to South Haven. After quite a while of driving around a considerably larger cemetery, we were not finding them, and we each called our parents. My dad said that once we found the Wheelers, they would be to the northwest. The Wheelers were found, but we never found the Mitchells. We eventually had to abandon our search because it was raining. Maybe some day it will happen. Just not on this trip. 

We ended this part of the day with the world's best ice cream, Sherman's.(Seriously, if you are ever in South Haven, this is a must.)

Our Second Destination

Last night we made it to our second destination (the third being home). We are officially in South Haven, MI, and I could be more happy. I thought I would not be back after my grandpa's funeral, but I made it a priority and found a way. 

We dribble about 6 hours from where we were in Illinois to our hotel. I drove the first half and Noel the second half (Sean didn't want to drive). She did both state line crossings in rush hour/vacationer traffic. (We were close the residual traffic from Chicago and drove past a few resort town.) 

I am so happy to be here. It feels like I'm finally home!