So last weekend, I decided to see how much this old body could take. I found out not as much as it could years ago!
Saturday was my day to stay at home and work. Megan was still at the beach so I kept the puppy company (took him everywhere I went) and worked...and I mean worked all weekend.
I awoke at 7:00 and was up and moving by 7:15. I made coffee (YAY) and had a bite of breakfast. As soon as I could, I went outside and started cutting down limbs from trees that were hanging down way too low. They were causing me issues when I used the riding lawn mower. I used one of these pole blades that will let you either saw the limb or if it's small, place the limb in the crook of it and pull a rope which then cuts the limb. I went to the front yard and trimmed the lowest limbs of the purple Japanese Maple that I love so much. Then, I cut down a Mimosa tree that volunteered beside the only Pine tree in the front yard. After that, I went to the Propane tank and took down some type of tree that another Mimosa tree was going to kill eventually. The Mimosa would provide better shade eventually and it's already 8 feet tall.
Then it was time for the backyard.
The backyard had been ignored for years. I'd never cut back the Red Tips when they were bushes...and they turned into trees. My neighbor on the other side of the fence keeps them cut back on her side (and that's okay by me), but when we first moved here in 1993, there was zippo shade in the back yard. I knew I was going to have a toddler in two years wanting to play outside and we needed shade. I went to work on the red tip TREES in the back yard. The area below is a natural area and when I finished, I could see all the way through to my neighbors backyard. No privacy issue as she has two lots and I can see the garage from my yard. I found 2 tires (seem to be good...guess I'll sell them) and tractor implements (and the tractor now belongs to my brother in law, but I have the crap sitting around here).
I just kept gathering the limbs in the yard and then went into the neighbors yard and started cutting tree limbs and vines on two small trees that I later realized were basically dying from all the vines. This wore me out completely. So - I pulled the vines and trimmed the limbs, then I threw them over the fence to vacant land, and then through the gate of the fence into my property, then through the gate to the front yard and deposited them to the curb. By the time I finished all of this it was late and the sun was going down.
I put away my tools and went inside and took my shower and rested/slept the rest of the night.
Sunday, I got up early and went to the farmhouse. after picking up produce from the garden...Oh yes, we have a garden...another thing to work me into a stupor (but I love canning veggies). Mom,Dad and I worked on drywall putty (3rd coat) for Aunt Sacks Bedroom. After working on that all day, my shoulders decided they would rather live with someone else. Keep in mind, all of this work is being done on a broken ankle (4 weeks in) and I'm wearing my air cast for extra support. So - Home, dinner, rest, washed and dried clothes and readied myself for another work week.
I called the City to come get the debris on Wednesday, so Tuesday I couldn't resist going out and getting even more done on the yard. I went back to the area where the vines were killing the trees (behind my overgrown herb garden - really....my Rosemary bush is so big I can't get my arms around it). I cut the trees back drastically and had to leave the old woody vines but I'm coming back for ya Saturday. The Water Oak was bent over from the weight of the vines. I hope it will recover. Again, in the neighbors yard, throwing limbs and vines over the fence, through my fence to back yard, through the gate to front yard and to the curb.
Then, I started on the side yard. I trimmed trees and got as much of the vines as I could (saving my Clematis vine), took all that to the curb. There is at least 12 feet wide and 4 feet tall tree limbs and vines. Megan is home and while she was outside talking to me, Chaos rolled around on a dead frog, so Chaos got a bath. After I finished, I had 4 tomato plants and 3 pepper plants that I hadn't planted. I planted them all in my strawberry planter. Will be interesting to see if they live.....
Next Saturday if the weather is pretty, I will cut down the trees in the L shaped flower bed along the front and side of the house. I also have to dig up a lot of the yellow iris. They won't bloom because they are too thick. I will take them to the farmhouse and plant them. I had I also have two areas of Hosta that will have to be cut down and dug up. Oh joy! Then trim the Azaleas and hopefully ALL I'll have will be Azaleas left. Hmmm, then cut down the rest of the bushes near the propane tank....and use Roundup around the fence and do some string trimming.
And the best news of all folks... I'm on vacation starting Friday June 22nd at 5pm and I will be returning to work on July 5th at 8:30 AM. Yes - 12 days including weekends...and believe it or not...I started thinking about the Thursday and Friday after 4th of July (5th and 6th) thinking that 16 days beats 12. Now - lets not get greedy.
Here's the plan for staycation:
1) Drywall at farmhouse
2) painting at farmhouse
3) gardening at farmhouse
4) Starting to clear out things at my current house
5) setting up sales locations on Facebook and Amazon to sell anything not carrying with me.
6) Locating new cabinets for the farmhouse (know of any pretty ones that are inexpensive?)
7) Selling junk
8) Getting current home ready to put on market/sell
9) Lots of other stuff.....
And before I got back to work...spending a few days at my sisters pool. Thanks Paula!! :)
I'm tired. Bedtime.. Nite!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
2012 May 15 - McDonalds. Paid for it.....Do you really want it?
You've paid for it...do you really want it.
So - I left a very busy day of work today! It was wide open busy all day long. I've got a broken ankle and it hurts...more now than it did when it happened two weeks ago. So, I try to keep it lifted and try to stay off of it when I get home, but it still hurts...(but I digress).
I stopped at McDonald's restaurant because the huge salad I ate was long gone by 5pm. It was starting to rain. I paid for my meal and went up the window to receive my food. This girl acted like she wasn't all there...intentionally or not... Anyway, She finally tells me to 'Please move up (where?) and it will take 2 minutes to cook my fish sandwich.
Ok, I'm game. So I pull up but there isn't a specific place for me to park. There is a sign at the only park in front of the drive through and it says DO NOT EVER PARK HERE! OK then. So, I am sitting out in the way as far down the drive through as I can. It starts to rain harder. I sit and wait. They are supposed to bring me my food. Nothing. Finally after 7 minutes, I park the car in the next available park and I walk to the restaurant.
Then, I walk in and one girl is leaning on the wall behind the counter. I walk up and say 'Yes, you CAN help me!" I ask if she can help me get my food that I was sitting outside waiting for and was only supposed to take 2 minutes and now 10 minutes later I don't have. Then there is all kinds of discussion about it. One of the servers (?) ask me if I was the one getting the fish sandwich. "Well YEAH, supposed to". I was a bit sarcastic.
Everyone looking at each other and one young man goes to get my food and on the way back throws in (unknown) 2 apple pies. I thank him when he apologizes and I stalk (as best I can with my cast on and glad they can see me hobbling) out the door, into the rain and into my car.... I'm still seething halfway home. Had to make myself relax. Oh well. I won't ever again pull forward. I will make them change my order before doing that again. :(
So - I left a very busy day of work today! It was wide open busy all day long. I've got a broken ankle and it hurts...more now than it did when it happened two weeks ago. So, I try to keep it lifted and try to stay off of it when I get home, but it still hurts...(but I digress).
I stopped at McDonald's restaurant because the huge salad I ate was long gone by 5pm. It was starting to rain. I paid for my meal and went up the window to receive my food. This girl acted like she wasn't all there...intentionally or not... Anyway, She finally tells me to 'Please move up (where?) and it will take 2 minutes to cook my fish sandwich.
Ok, I'm game. So I pull up but there isn't a specific place for me to park. There is a sign at the only park in front of the drive through and it says DO NOT EVER PARK HERE! OK then. So, I am sitting out in the way as far down the drive through as I can. It starts to rain harder. I sit and wait. They are supposed to bring me my food. Nothing. Finally after 7 minutes, I park the car in the next available park and I walk to the restaurant.
Then, I walk in and one girl is leaning on the wall behind the counter. I walk up and say 'Yes, you CAN help me!" I ask if she can help me get my food that I was sitting outside waiting for and was only supposed to take 2 minutes and now 10 minutes later I don't have. Then there is all kinds of discussion about it. One of the servers (?) ask me if I was the one getting the fish sandwich. "Well YEAH, supposed to". I was a bit sarcastic.
Everyone looking at each other and one young man goes to get my food and on the way back throws in (unknown) 2 apple pies. I thank him when he apologizes and I stalk (as best I can with my cast on and glad they can see me hobbling) out the door, into the rain and into my car.... I'm still seething halfway home. Had to make myself relax. Oh well. I won't ever again pull forward. I will make them change my order before doing that again. :(
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Rainy days and Sundays.....
It hasn't been a bad weekend, I'm just having issues trying to stay interested in anything. Yesterday was gorgeous and hot. Today it's cold and rainy. I heard the rain and thunder twice during the middle of the night. Didn't realize the cat was still outside (Sorry Max). No worries though folks, we keep the garage door open so that he can get in and I'm sure he was toasty and warm (probably not completely comfy as he doesn't like noise...but then what cat does?).
I went to the farmhouse and checked on Dad, took him some lunch and have made my way back home. I was walking the dog (in the rain) and looked up into one of the huge oak trees to see where the branch that is just barely hanging on (about a foot long) was located. I didn't want to be standing under it if it decided to let loose. Just at that moment, a HUGE water droplet landed in my right eye. Kind of freaked me out, but just a bit.
We went into Dad's Motorhome which was interesting, because for some reason or another Chaos has decided that he doesn't like the motorhome. I think he doesn't like that Dad smokes (who likes that? Other than Dad? = No one). Anyway, we stayed in there for a few then went over to the den in the farmhouse to visit (since more room to move around and Dad can smoke without causing any stress for Chaos).
Dad ate the lunch I brought him (Beef-a-roni) and I ate a couple of spoonfuls of it myself. Gave Chaos some of mine and then we hung out a while longer and then came home. So now, I'm lying on my bed and catching up on the freebies sites and thinking how I need to be organizing my computer including checking accounts, etc and getting ready for another big week at work.
The weekends just fly by (and kiddies....this gets worse as you get older!) I feel like I'm always working. The good news is the tax refund comes back sometime next week. I have two bills to pay off with it and then put some in savings. I'm going to go to Walgreens or Walmart and buy the 'MagicJack' (and I'm going to keep my same phone number). I recently changed my phone line back from one with all the bells and whistles to what is called a POTS line. This is telephony language for Plain-Old_Telephone_Service. Meaning a dial tone plus the taxes and surcharges (another name for taxes). When I go to Magic Jack, the original cost is '75.00' I think and it will plug right into the telephone system and let me use my current phone number. Then I'm going to call the phone company and tell them to turn off their land line services (POTS line) and with Magic Jack I will have all the bells and whistles again. I've actually stopped answering the phone because I didn't know who is calling me. Caller ID rocks....and I look forward to having that back. 2nd order of business is to get rid of the Internet bill. It has gone up again and it's ridiculous to pay enough to take a cruise (yearly cost) for tv. So -
I'm going to be looking for an antennae (will take it to the farmhouse when I move) and/or a tuner box that will take the place of the cable box and then we can watch free tv channels with the tuner/antenna and I can either buy Roku or use the new desktop for HULU and watch TV shows. Any of the shows I live to watch like the food channel, and HGTV...I can catch thru Roku or HULU and use the TV screen (which is really just a big screen monitor). Then, as stated before, I'll take my current phone number and my free tv to the farmhouse with me when I move. One of my major goals going forward is to take back from the utility companies. I hope that in the future years, I'll be able to buy some solar panels to use for some of the electrical at the farmhouse.
If I could at least handle the hot water heater and the pool....that would be a winning situation. Needless to say, I'm beginning to feel hopeful again about life. I've gathered (not on my own) too much debt and I'm starting to figure out a way to get rid of it. I'm going to be diligent and I'm going to be completely debt free within two years. And along the way, I'm going to figure out ways to make money. I'd love to be able to put in geo-thermal heat at the farmhouse.
A friend of mine does this and he gets money back by selling energy to the county. THAT would rock. We've done all we can to make things as green and energy efficient as we can. I'm tempted to take my Jennaire stove from this house with me when I leave. It has gas top and the oven is electric. I would be comfy with that...but have to have cabinets made to fit it. LOL! So on this note, I will go for a while and see what I can get done to organize. First year in a while I'm getting anything back on taxes.....and I need it. I'll be paying off a couple of bills. ONE that I abhor the idea of paying off. Gregg went to the ER several years ago and had a catscan. My insurance company paid it, then took it back 2 years later. So - now his insurance company says no. OH IF YOU SEE KAY! Insurance companies suck and with OBAMA-SCARE it's going to get worse. I hate not being rich! I'm working on it though. This girl is going for a new job (at the same company).....got to get some bucks!! :)
I went to the farmhouse and checked on Dad, took him some lunch and have made my way back home. I was walking the dog (in the rain) and looked up into one of the huge oak trees to see where the branch that is just barely hanging on (about a foot long) was located. I didn't want to be standing under it if it decided to let loose. Just at that moment, a HUGE water droplet landed in my right eye. Kind of freaked me out, but just a bit.
We went into Dad's Motorhome which was interesting, because for some reason or another Chaos has decided that he doesn't like the motorhome. I think he doesn't like that Dad smokes (who likes that? Other than Dad? = No one). Anyway, we stayed in there for a few then went over to the den in the farmhouse to visit (since more room to move around and Dad can smoke without causing any stress for Chaos).
Dad ate the lunch I brought him (Beef-a-roni) and I ate a couple of spoonfuls of it myself. Gave Chaos some of mine and then we hung out a while longer and then came home. So now, I'm lying on my bed and catching up on the freebies sites and thinking how I need to be organizing my computer including checking accounts, etc and getting ready for another big week at work.
The weekends just fly by (and kiddies....this gets worse as you get older!) I feel like I'm always working. The good news is the tax refund comes back sometime next week. I have two bills to pay off with it and then put some in savings. I'm going to go to Walgreens or Walmart and buy the 'MagicJack' (and I'm going to keep my same phone number). I recently changed my phone line back from one with all the bells and whistles to what is called a POTS line. This is telephony language for Plain-Old_Telephone_Service. Meaning a dial tone plus the taxes and surcharges (another name for taxes). When I go to Magic Jack, the original cost is '75.00' I think and it will plug right into the telephone system and let me use my current phone number. Then I'm going to call the phone company and tell them to turn off their land line services (POTS line) and with Magic Jack I will have all the bells and whistles again. I've actually stopped answering the phone because I didn't know who is calling me. Caller ID rocks....and I look forward to having that back. 2nd order of business is to get rid of the Internet bill. It has gone up again and it's ridiculous to pay enough to take a cruise (yearly cost) for tv. So -
I'm going to be looking for an antennae (will take it to the farmhouse when I move) and/or a tuner box that will take the place of the cable box and then we can watch free tv channels with the tuner/antenna and I can either buy Roku or use the new desktop for HULU and watch TV shows. Any of the shows I live to watch like the food channel, and HGTV...I can catch thru Roku or HULU and use the TV screen (which is really just a big screen monitor). Then, as stated before, I'll take my current phone number and my free tv to the farmhouse with me when I move. One of my major goals going forward is to take back from the utility companies. I hope that in the future years, I'll be able to buy some solar panels to use for some of the electrical at the farmhouse.
If I could at least handle the hot water heater and the pool....that would be a winning situation. Needless to say, I'm beginning to feel hopeful again about life. I've gathered (not on my own) too much debt and I'm starting to figure out a way to get rid of it. I'm going to be diligent and I'm going to be completely debt free within two years. And along the way, I'm going to figure out ways to make money. I'd love to be able to put in geo-thermal heat at the farmhouse.
A friend of mine does this and he gets money back by selling energy to the county. THAT would rock. We've done all we can to make things as green and energy efficient as we can. I'm tempted to take my Jennaire stove from this house with me when I leave. It has gas top and the oven is electric. I would be comfy with that...but have to have cabinets made to fit it. LOL! So on this note, I will go for a while and see what I can get done to organize. First year in a while I'm getting anything back on taxes.....and I need it. I'll be paying off a couple of bills. ONE that I abhor the idea of paying off. Gregg went to the ER several years ago and had a catscan. My insurance company paid it, then took it back 2 years later. So - now his insurance company says no. OH IF YOU SEE KAY! Insurance companies suck and with OBAMA-SCARE it's going to get worse. I hate not being rich! I'm working on it though. This girl is going for a new job (at the same company).....got to get some bucks!! :)
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Quality Control - Process Process Process
The middle of the week has come and gone. This has been a decent work week with much accomplished. I had a meeting today that I usually am so busy that I don't get the minutes out until the next meeting (two weeks later). Minutes are done and have been sent out. YAY!
I finished my documentation for another group and have one more document that has to be completed asap. Tomorrow I will work on our new process that we are implementing later this month. I need to create a flow chart of my responsibilities and go over all the documentation I have to ensure I have what I need to create my job. We have a process document of high level responsibilities but I will be creating the flow chart and the process document in a step by step manner of how I expect my job functions to be. Should be interesting. I'm hoping it will help me to identify gaps beforehand.
I still have so much to do at home and tonight I was so exhausted that I just fell asleep on the bed when I got home. Sucks to be old. Pray that tomorrow night I get home and get all the tax work finished (as the deadline is upon us), plus work on organizing my paperwork and life. I have been so disorganized the past year or two...that I'm struggling to get ahead of the game again. I fear something happening to me and leaving a mess for Megan to figure out.
Well, it's late...and I will be sleepy tomorrow. Got to get some shut eye.
Later
Monday, April 2, 2012
What to do? What to do?
Last week while at the beach, my neighbors decided to have their storm windows changed out for new energy efficient vinyl windows. I can't blame them. It should help their energy cost and the windows look wonderful. They already replaced the ones around the main part of the house. These were large storm windows that were a part of the sun porch. I spoke with Edna the other day and when I found out they had new windows on the sunroom, I asked what they would be doing with the windows. Edna said they were throwing them away. This included a really nice storm door in good shape too.
I'm always on the lookout for a good window or door for the farmhouse, so I asked if I could have a few of the windows. She said "Sure, they are behind the garage". So - I've walked outside with the dog and these windows and doors are lying on the curb on the property beyond their house. I walked out to make sure I was seeing windows and a door and there they were. So believe it or not, stupid me picked up the big heavy storm door and manhandled it back to the house. Now I'm trying to decide whether to take the car over and put them in the back of the car or just get up early in the morning and let Steve know I'm getting the windows. I want 3 of the windows to use as a green house. You know, build a frame open on 3 sides (use the windows) with wood at the back. Put shelves on the back wall....to start seedlings or have plants in. These neighbors are immaculate in cleaning and preserving the things they have so these windows and door are like brand new.
Guess I'll wait till tomorrow morning, get up an hour early and go over and get the windows. Maybe Dad can use them on the small house to cover up the area that is now just broken windows. The only problem is those windows are tiny..... so we may need to go ahead and cut the window larger, create a window frame and put these windows in temporarily until we can put new vinyl windows in and vinyl siding on the house.
I'm not sure if I can put these windows in the trunk of my car without causes breakage or scratches, so I'll probably hitch up the trailer to the lawn mower and go get them that way.
Anyway, I know my neighbors are going to wonder about me when they look on the carport and see that heavy storm door leaning against my wall. HA HA!
I've got a feeling that storm door is going to work nicely on the back door of the farmhouse. The front of the farmhouse has two 36 inch doors (yeah - wide), but they aren't regular height. I can stand on the threshold and there is about 3 inches above my head....so height is under 6 feet. Dad has to lean over going in those doors.
Wish me luck!! :)
I'm always on the lookout for a good window or door for the farmhouse, so I asked if I could have a few of the windows. She said "Sure, they are behind the garage". So - I've walked outside with the dog and these windows and doors are lying on the curb on the property beyond their house. I walked out to make sure I was seeing windows and a door and there they were. So believe it or not, stupid me picked up the big heavy storm door and manhandled it back to the house. Now I'm trying to decide whether to take the car over and put them in the back of the car or just get up early in the morning and let Steve know I'm getting the windows. I want 3 of the windows to use as a green house. You know, build a frame open on 3 sides (use the windows) with wood at the back. Put shelves on the back wall....to start seedlings or have plants in. These neighbors are immaculate in cleaning and preserving the things they have so these windows and door are like brand new.
Guess I'll wait till tomorrow morning, get up an hour early and go over and get the windows. Maybe Dad can use them on the small house to cover up the area that is now just broken windows. The only problem is those windows are tiny..... so we may need to go ahead and cut the window larger, create a window frame and put these windows in temporarily until we can put new vinyl windows in and vinyl siding on the house.
I'm not sure if I can put these windows in the trunk of my car without causes breakage or scratches, so I'll probably hitch up the trailer to the lawn mower and go get them that way.
Anyway, I know my neighbors are going to wonder about me when they look on the carport and see that heavy storm door leaning against my wall. HA HA!
I've got a feeling that storm door is going to work nicely on the back door of the farmhouse. The front of the farmhouse has two 36 inch doors (yeah - wide), but they aren't regular height. I can stand on the threshold and there is about 3 inches above my head....so height is under 6 feet. Dad has to lean over going in those doors.
Wish me luck!! :)
Sunday, April 1, 2012
What a crazy weekend!
Saturday was just an awful rainy and yucky day, that I stayed inside and worked all day on personal stuff and cleaning. Yes, the never ending cleaning. I ended up staying up till 2am Sunday morning to work on paperwork and things that were so very far behind. I think often that I will never catch up. Oh well.
So today was crazy, I got up late (again up till 2am). So - I went to the Grocery store and purchased lots of groceries. Managed to spend $37.00 on the dog and cat for their food. Wish I could claim them on my taxes. Anyway, picked up a birthday card for Jason as Megan was going to Memeaw's for lunch. Returned home, put away the perishables. Cooked something for Dad and then Chaos and I took it to Macclesfield. Stayed for a while and chatted. Called my cousin Willie while I was there to settle some questions about the garden we are planting next weekend. Left there and drove to Speed NC to pick up some bricks and a few odds and ends I'd negotiated for on www.freecycle.com. Picking them up and putting them in my car (yes my car) wore me out.
I arrived back at home, and cleaned the carport of that nasty yellow pollen we'd been dragging in. Then I managed to clear out a flower bed that had this awful sticky green plant that left sticky pills on your gloves. I then removed a nasty wasp (and killed him) from my bird feeder and filled it up so the birds can use it...not the nasty wasps. After that I moved my car to the backyard and removed all the bricks and cleaned it out.
I then pulled the umbrellas from the garage and put them on the back deck. Next I went inside and helped Megan cook dinner. I ate, cleaned the kitchen, put a load of clothes in the washer and then got my shower and played on FB for a while. I ordered a free 8 x 10 collage from Walgreens and now it's time for bed. I'm just amazed at how much I got accomplished today.
In order to celebrate, I'm going to sleep and pray that this old body will forgive me and get up without too much pain in the morning.
Good Night All! Superwoman signing out! :)
So today was crazy, I got up late (again up till 2am). So - I went to the Grocery store and purchased lots of groceries. Managed to spend $37.00 on the dog and cat for their food. Wish I could claim them on my taxes. Anyway, picked up a birthday card for Jason as Megan was going to Memeaw's for lunch. Returned home, put away the perishables. Cooked something for Dad and then Chaos and I took it to Macclesfield. Stayed for a while and chatted. Called my cousin Willie while I was there to settle some questions about the garden we are planting next weekend. Left there and drove to Speed NC to pick up some bricks and a few odds and ends I'd negotiated for on www.freecycle.com. Picking them up and putting them in my car (yes my car) wore me out.
I arrived back at home, and cleaned the carport of that nasty yellow pollen we'd been dragging in. Then I managed to clear out a flower bed that had this awful sticky green plant that left sticky pills on your gloves. I then removed a nasty wasp (and killed him) from my bird feeder and filled it up so the birds can use it...not the nasty wasps. After that I moved my car to the backyard and removed all the bricks and cleaned it out.
I then pulled the umbrellas from the garage and put them on the back deck. Next I went inside and helped Megan cook dinner. I ate, cleaned the kitchen, put a load of clothes in the washer and then got my shower and played on FB for a while. I ordered a free 8 x 10 collage from Walgreens and now it's time for bed. I'm just amazed at how much I got accomplished today.
In order to celebrate, I'm going to sleep and pray that this old body will forgive me and get up without too much pain in the morning.
Good Night All! Superwoman signing out! :)
Saturday, March 24, 2012
A Place at the Beach, Atlantic Beach NC - It's over and back to reality!
Atlantic Beach Condos - A Place at the Beach (APATB) Atlantic Beach NC.
Mom and Dad bought a condo room for the 12th week of the year (end of March) each year in the 1980s. It's a two bedroom 2 bath, but one of the bedrooms is small and has a single bed with a trundle/mattress under it. There is no bathroom attached to the 2nd bedroom, but it's at the front of the unit. When you wake up, you are facing the dining room and on the other side of the dining table is the sliding doors/beach view. Well, you can see you're at the beach but it's a long way away so you have to stand up and look out to see a small area of the sand/ocean. But I love it. Their unit is Unit 316 (3rd floor near the steps and now elevator). When they purchased it, there wasn't an elevator. There was many years of going here where I traveled those stairs coming and going. Building L. There is another building on the property and it's 2 bedrooms but the unit is larger. The Becks had a unit at #377 for the week before Thanksgiving. I always would try to go to that trip. It was tons of fun. We had Thanksgiving dinner there once.
The Condos are 3 building/units away from Fort Macon. You can easily walk there. On the other side is the inlet and once I actually saw a beautiful HUGE ship come out. I wish I'd taken a picture of it. That HUGE ship coming out of what appears to be a small inlet...close enough to almost touch.
Back to Building L, Room #316.
So, I left the beach early. Instead of driving home (3 hours) on Saturday Morning (after rushing around like crazy to be out by 10am), I packed almost everything up on Friday Morning, then went out to the beach and spent the whole LOVELY day (11:30AM - 4:00 PM) sitting on the beach. I took extra care and put up an umbrella and a chair, plus Megan's Snap On Tool beach towel (to lie out on of course). I started reading my Harlequin Mystery Books (two of them), then walked down the beach, came back and watched folks, sat and watched the waves coming in....just loving every minute. At 4:00 I took everything down, and dropped off the umbrella and chair into the car. No need to take it all back up to the 3rd floor. I knew I had 3 trips down to take all the baggage (including groceries, etc) and didn't want to make it four trips.
I went back to the condo (Room #334), took a shower and shaved my legs (with my nice sunburn/tan I wanted to wear shorts home. Cleaned up everything, and put the condo back in order, finished packing and took everything downstairs. I planned to be on the road at 5pm, but yeah...it was 6pm when I dropped off the keys and finally left.
It was a long drive home. My travels home took me through Morehead City, Jacksonville, Havelock, New Bern, Little Washington, Greenville, Farmville, Fountain, Macclesfield, Elm City and then TADA Rocky Mount. LOL! I entertained myself by adding these sites to Foursquare (not while driving) so by the time I got home, I'd received a new badge for over check-ins. LOL!
I was able to get home and bring everything into the house from the car. I figured I had Saturday to get everything put away. I'd washed almost all the clothes before I left. The condo had this awesome website where you could monitor your clothes washing...yes....that's just crazy sick, but I'll take it. First thing I noticed when I got out of the car, I saw both cars were covered with yellow. The carport and steps into the house were covered with yellow. The pollen had hit with a vengence.
Saturday, I awoke to the reality of being home and pollen. The good thing about coming home on Friday night is sleeping in my own bed. Another good thing of course is seeing my family (1st), and another great things this year is.....I didn't have to drive home in the crazy weather we had. It rained and stormed all day on Saturday. Tornado watches were out until midnight. Another reality I awoke to was being so sore. My hips and legs are horribly sore and my sinus cavities are on strike. They hate me. I have to put together a plan that provides enough money for me to leave Eastern NC every year when the pollen invades. Hopefully I will continue to work in an environment where I can possibly work from home and I'll just have to clean up and clean out my home (if I have to stay in Eastern NC) so there is very little dust or things to irritate my sinuses.
So, here I am at 1:31 AM on Sunday and I'm still awake. It's ok - I took a 2 hour nap earlier. I've been busy cleaning and putting things away and I'm still not completely finished. I have a lot to get done on Sunday so calling it a night. Hoping my sinuses will allow me to work at the farmhouse tomorrow. If not, I'll cook something to take to Dad and work on planning the garden.
I didn't get half of the things done this past week that I wanted. I will pray that God will give me the strength to get things done quickly. I want to get back to a point where I have time to enjoy myself. It was amazing to me that being at the beach alone, and thinking I would just let myself relax,....I couldn't. I have so many items on my To Do list that I can never truly relax. I'm always thinking of what I need to be doing and feeling guilty that I'm not getting it done. This wasn't always this way for me. But the past few years...it's the norm. Big plans for the future. Going to get it done and going to survive and GOD will help me, cause I'm going to do everything I can to make GOD's plan my plan. :)
Good night all! :)
Mom and Dad bought a condo room for the 12th week of the year (end of March) each year in the 1980s. It's a two bedroom 2 bath, but one of the bedrooms is small and has a single bed with a trundle/mattress under it. There is no bathroom attached to the 2nd bedroom, but it's at the front of the unit. When you wake up, you are facing the dining room and on the other side of the dining table is the sliding doors/beach view. Well, you can see you're at the beach but it's a long way away so you have to stand up and look out to see a small area of the sand/ocean. But I love it. Their unit is Unit 316 (3rd floor near the steps and now elevator). When they purchased it, there wasn't an elevator. There was many years of going here where I traveled those stairs coming and going. Building L. There is another building on the property and it's 2 bedrooms but the unit is larger. The Becks had a unit at #377 for the week before Thanksgiving. I always would try to go to that trip. It was tons of fun. We had Thanksgiving dinner there once.
The Condos are 3 building/units away from Fort Macon. You can easily walk there. On the other side is the inlet and once I actually saw a beautiful HUGE ship come out. I wish I'd taken a picture of it. That HUGE ship coming out of what appears to be a small inlet...close enough to almost touch.
Back to Building L, Room #316.
So, I left the beach early. Instead of driving home (3 hours) on Saturday Morning (after rushing around like crazy to be out by 10am), I packed almost everything up on Friday Morning, then went out to the beach and spent the whole LOVELY day (11:30AM - 4:00 PM) sitting on the beach. I took extra care and put up an umbrella and a chair, plus Megan's Snap On Tool beach towel (to lie out on of course). I started reading my Harlequin Mystery Books (two of them), then walked down the beach, came back and watched folks, sat and watched the waves coming in....just loving every minute. At 4:00 I took everything down, and dropped off the umbrella and chair into the car. No need to take it all back up to the 3rd floor. I knew I had 3 trips down to take all the baggage (including groceries, etc) and didn't want to make it four trips.
I went back to the condo (Room #334), took a shower and shaved my legs (with my nice sunburn/tan I wanted to wear shorts home. Cleaned up everything, and put the condo back in order, finished packing and took everything downstairs. I planned to be on the road at 5pm, but yeah...it was 6pm when I dropped off the keys and finally left.
It was a long drive home. My travels home took me through Morehead City, Jacksonville, Havelock, New Bern, Little Washington, Greenville, Farmville, Fountain, Macclesfield, Elm City and then TADA Rocky Mount. LOL! I entertained myself by adding these sites to Foursquare (not while driving) so by the time I got home, I'd received a new badge for over check-ins. LOL!
I was able to get home and bring everything into the house from the car. I figured I had Saturday to get everything put away. I'd washed almost all the clothes before I left. The condo had this awesome website where you could monitor your clothes washing...yes....that's just crazy sick, but I'll take it. First thing I noticed when I got out of the car, I saw both cars were covered with yellow. The carport and steps into the house were covered with yellow. The pollen had hit with a vengence.
Saturday, I awoke to the reality of being home and pollen. The good thing about coming home on Friday night is sleeping in my own bed. Another good thing of course is seeing my family (1st), and another great things this year is.....I didn't have to drive home in the crazy weather we had. It rained and stormed all day on Saturday. Tornado watches were out until midnight. Another reality I awoke to was being so sore. My hips and legs are horribly sore and my sinus cavities are on strike. They hate me. I have to put together a plan that provides enough money for me to leave Eastern NC every year when the pollen invades. Hopefully I will continue to work in an environment where I can possibly work from home and I'll just have to clean up and clean out my home (if I have to stay in Eastern NC) so there is very little dust or things to irritate my sinuses.
So, here I am at 1:31 AM on Sunday and I'm still awake. It's ok - I took a 2 hour nap earlier. I've been busy cleaning and putting things away and I'm still not completely finished. I have a lot to get done on Sunday so calling it a night. Hoping my sinuses will allow me to work at the farmhouse tomorrow. If not, I'll cook something to take to Dad and work on planning the garden.
I didn't get half of the things done this past week that I wanted. I will pray that God will give me the strength to get things done quickly. I want to get back to a point where I have time to enjoy myself. It was amazing to me that being at the beach alone, and thinking I would just let myself relax,....I couldn't. I have so many items on my To Do list that I can never truly relax. I'm always thinking of what I need to be doing and feeling guilty that I'm not getting it done. This wasn't always this way for me. But the past few years...it's the norm. Big plans for the future. Going to get it done and going to survive and GOD will help me, cause I'm going to do everything I can to make GOD's plan my plan. :)
Good night all! :)
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
2012 Mar 21 - God lives at the Beach
So, This week I'm at Atlantic Beach and I'm having a great time so far! Dad and Chaos (14 month old Pit Bull) and I came down on Saturday evening and Dad stayed from Saturday till Tuesday. Megan and Zack came down on Tuesday and stayed overnight. They left this morning (Wednesday) and took Chaos with them. Chaos enjoyed the beach so much! Even though, he had to be on a leash anytime we were outside. Last night he was able to run down the beach with Zack and so few people were on the beach, that we let him run loose. Chaos has loved every minute of being here.
After everyone left, I took a nap. I got sunburned on Monday so I wasn't in a big hurry to get outside during the hottest part of the day. So - I waited till about 3:30 and went out. I walked down the beach toward the entry to the sound and picked up a few shells. Funny thing I was only interested in ones that had rolled around in the surf until they were smooth. The first one was all white and looked like a guitar pick. It was so cool. As I was walking back passed Fort Macon, I started praying. I hate that I've not prayed much lately as lately is when I've needed to pray. I started praising God for all the blessings that I have, even though I know the flesh has been so weak and sad for the past few years. So much change. I can honestly say that although I haven't heard the voice of God, he truly spoke to me today and I was open and ready to listen. I was glad I was wearing huge sunglasses as I was crying and sobbing and although very few people were on the beach, I didn't want them to wonder what the crazy lady was doing. God told me that he has blessed me (and I know this is true). He also told me that he isn't finished with me yet. That like the smooth seashell that I preferred, I've had to roll around in the surf of misery and despair to become a stronger better Christian and person in general. It was amazing. I was this empty vessel and He was filling me up so quickly, that the emotion was too much and the tears flowed. Although I didn't feel the warmth (like a hot flash) that I had years ago in a small Church in Currituck County, I know it was the Holy Spirit that touched my soul and filled me so fully! I'm thankful to God! I will go forward differently! I will (with God's assistance) make plans for my future as I was so disgusted with my failures that I wasn't planning anymore and wasn't moving forward. I know that GOD's plan for my life will be the plan that occurs and I am supportive of his plans for my life. I will pray that he leads me to make plans for myself in the future, instead of just making plans on my own or not making any plans at all.
So - God does live at the Beach. Or - The Beach is the place where I'm able to hear him more clearly. Praise GOD and thank you Father for your love, understanding and patience with me. I will learn to be more receptive to you and your blessings in the future.
GOD bless you all and I love you all!
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