I know I already wrote a post about insomnia in February, but obviously it's still an issue. A. I didn't realize that the last time I wrote about this was in February and B. In that post I wrote that it had been going on for a few months. Rediculous! This post is more about the effects of what has now been months of insomnia. Effects that I should have known and should have picked up on much earlier- you know like being tired. I have always been a morning person. In college, I used to wake up at 4am and do my homework because I thought I was more productive in the morning (clearly, I was much of a party girl in college) But now it is harder and harder to wake up in the mornings. I blamed it on the fact that I was working 12 hours a day and had to be at work at 6:30. But then today I finally had that lightbulb-over-the-head moment. I set my alarm for 5--which I always do for work, but have gotten into the habit of pushing snooze until 5:45 or so. Horrible, I know! But today, I woke up at 5 and got right out of bed and realized how much energy I had. Then I thought about the last time I stayed at my parents' house and how much energy I had when I woke up the next morning. Seriously, I felt like a different person!
Let me just give you a preview of Thursday night. I got in bed around 10. Finally fell asleep about 11. Woke up at 12:30, 2, 3, and 4:30. Then my alarm went off at 5 on Friday morning. Yeah, it's no wonder I push snooze! But last night... I went to bed around midnight and woke up at 5am. Now usually I require more than 5 hours of sleep, but I don't remember the last time I got 5 uninterupted hours.
So, the first question I get when I tell anyone about this is "why?" The simple answer: my mind races. I wake up with approximately 7523 thoughts running through my head, give or take and I can't stop thinking and worrying about things until I finally fall back asleep only to wake up and do it all over again in an hour or so. (Yes, DTR group, I have done a break-in on this and yes, I know what the stronghold lie is. The problem, as usual, is breaking out.) But I have definitely noticed that these racing thoughts are consuming my attention more and more at night and are now starting to intrude into my day as well. I'm afraid that all the thoughts, and worry, and stress are becoming idols in my life. I have never understood the phrase "Peace of Mind" more than I do now. So I am publically asking for prayers (privately, I will give more details...) Prayers for rest and for energy. Prayers for peace and comfort. Prayers for faith and dependence. Below is the verse that I put at the end of the last insomnia post. Clearly I need to continue to meditate on this...
"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Fall
Today is the first official day of fall! The exclamation point may have been a slight exaggeration since I am not looking forward to sweaters and cold weather and all that jazz. But I am excited about something I found online--okay who am I kidding, I found it on pinterest. It's a Fall 2011 Bucket List... so fun!
So here's the list:
- Apple picking
- Make leaf art
- Go on a hay-ride
- Have a photoshoot in a leaf pile
- Enjoy a bonfire with s'mores!
- Make caramel apples
- Corn maze!
- Go to a pumpkin patch
- Go on 2 dates!
- Make fall cookies
- Take a nature walk (bring the camera!)
- Trick-or-treat
- Bake pies
- Decorate (carve/paint) a pumpkin
- Drink fancy coffee drinks
- Picnic
Doesn't that sound like fall gloriousness? The cold weather will be a lot easier to take now knowing I have a to-do list. Have I mentioned that I love a good to-do list? We'll see how it goes. All except the going on 2 dates which I may be skipping out on for reasons that would take way too long to post. But ask me about it. Maybe I'll tell you. Maybe I'll give you the real reason... :)
So here's the list:
- Apple picking
- Make leaf art
- Go on a hay-ride
- Have a photoshoot in a leaf pile
- Enjoy a bonfire with s'mores!
- Make caramel apples
- Corn maze!
- Go to a pumpkin patch
- Go on 2 dates!
- Make fall cookies
- Take a nature walk (bring the camera!)
- Trick-or-treat
- Bake pies
- Decorate (carve/paint) a pumpkin
- Drink fancy coffee drinks
- Picnic
Doesn't that sound like fall gloriousness? The cold weather will be a lot easier to take now knowing I have a to-do list. Have I mentioned that I love a good to-do list? We'll see how it goes. All except the going on 2 dates which I may be skipping out on for reasons that would take way too long to post. But ask me about it. Maybe I'll tell you. Maybe I'll give you the real reason... :)
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Ansley Louise McGruder
My sister was induced on Wednesday. My parents and I drove up on Tuesday night to be there for the birth. Jessica and Jeff went into the hospital about 7am Wednesday morning to start the Pitocin (If you read I’m Bringing Blogging Back and watch 16 and pregnant, you are now laughing. Feel free to take a shot). The rest of us stayed home on Marlee duty. We played with her and got her ready for the day before taking her over to a friend’s house to play. Then my mom and I went to the hospital—first stopping by the liquor store to pick up some celebratory champagne! When we got to the hospital, we waited, and waited, talked, slept, watched a movie, and waited some more. Her doctor finally came in at about 5:30 or 6 to check her and decided to break her water. After that, things sped up. She progressed quickly and was ready to start pushing.
Ansley was born at 7:53 pm. She is perfect! And just the opposite of Marlee. I can already tell she is going to be way more laid back. She didn’t really cry when she was born (I mean she made some noises. The doctors weren’t concerned or anything, but she just doesn’t really cry.) Then when the nurse swaddled her, she felt right to sleep. From day one, Marlee hated being swaddled! She would kick and punch until her arms and legs were free. Ansley just layed there peacefully like it was the best thing on earth. Ansley also looked so much smaller than Marlee! Marlee weighed 9’8 when she was born; Ansley: 9’2. Not that much difference, but for some reason Ansley seemed a lot smaller.
My sister did great-of course. Aside from the Pitocin, she did it with no drugs. And made it look easy!
After Ansley was born and I got to hold her some and then I drove back to their house to get my dad and bring him back to the hospital. He was in love and got to hold her and take some pictures, but then it was time to get on the road.
We left Nashville about 11. I slept the whole time in the car while my dad drove. When we got to Memphis (at about 2) I went and slept in my parents’ bed while my dad finished packing. He had to be at the airport at 4:30 to fly to Honduras! He woke me up around 4 so I could drive him to the airport and then I went home to get ready for work. Needless to say, it was an exciting 24 hours! Ansley is wonderful and I’m so glad that I got to be there to see her. The only thing I missed out on was seeing Marlee’s reaction when she sees her baby sister for the first time. But I know there will be many trips to Nashville in the future!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Splat!
Well I was in a car accident on Saturday night/Sunday morning. I'll spare all the details since I feel like I've told them enough that most people have already heard about it. But my car currently looks like this:
So, needless to say, it got towed. And the last 2 days have been spent on the phone with insurance companies- mine and the other driver's. But today I finally got a rental car! Thanks to the friends that have driven me around for the past few days!
Things I learned from all of this: Lesson #1- Life is short. I didn't have one of those "life flash before my eyes" kind of moments but I think I was just in too much shock and the impact of the airbag didn't really help. I immediately got out of my car and walked to the corner (because my car was smoking and I was sure it was going to blow up or something) so I walked to the corner and called my friend because I knew he could get there fast. Then I called the police and reported it and then my dad because it doesn't matter how old I get, I still want my dad there. (Side note: MPD's non-emergency number is 545-COPS. Go ahead, put in your phone. You may thank me later). My first thought was to get out of the car and get away from it. As people were driving by, they would pull over and ask me if I was okay. I thought they were being nice. Then I walked back over to my car and saw the damage for the first time. Yeah, I probably shouldn't have been okay. Lesson #2- God is merciful- like infinitely more than I deserve. Such a sweet reminder. And any time I need another reminder, I can look at the pictures of my car and thank God for his mercy and for life! Lesson #3- Material possessions are just that... things. It's just a car and there are so many more important things to focus on and care about. It definitely helped to put things into perspective for me.
So I walked away from the crash with seatbelt burn, a bruised nose, and a whole new perspective on life... Now off to get a rental!
**August 27 Update: I got a call from Enterprise on Thursday that my sweet Chevy Aveo rental car had been sold so today I had to return it and trade it out for another rental... a Hyundai Accent. His name is Miguel. He is from Florida and he recently quit smoking. Still no power locks or windows...
**September 2 Update: Another call today. From Farm Bureau's Insurance that they are going to total my car. So now I guess it's time to start looking for a new car...
So, needless to say, it got towed. And the last 2 days have been spent on the phone with insurance companies- mine and the other driver's. But today I finally got a rental car! Thanks to the friends that have driven me around for the past few days!
Things I learned from all of this: Lesson #1- Life is short. I didn't have one of those "life flash before my eyes" kind of moments but I think I was just in too much shock and the impact of the airbag didn't really help. I immediately got out of my car and walked to the corner (because my car was smoking and I was sure it was going to blow up or something) so I walked to the corner and called my friend because I knew he could get there fast. Then I called the police and reported it and then my dad because it doesn't matter how old I get, I still want my dad there. (Side note: MPD's non-emergency number is 545-COPS. Go ahead, put in your phone. You may thank me later). My first thought was to get out of the car and get away from it. As people were driving by, they would pull over and ask me if I was okay. I thought they were being nice. Then I walked back over to my car and saw the damage for the first time. Yeah, I probably shouldn't have been okay. Lesson #2- God is merciful- like infinitely more than I deserve. Such a sweet reminder. And any time I need another reminder, I can look at the pictures of my car and thank God for his mercy and for life! Lesson #3- Material possessions are just that... things. It's just a car and there are so many more important things to focus on and care about. It definitely helped to put things into perspective for me.
So I walked away from the crash with seatbelt burn, a bruised nose, and a whole new perspective on life... Now off to get a rental!
**August 27 Update: I got a call from Enterprise on Thursday that my sweet Chevy Aveo rental car had been sold so today I had to return it and trade it out for another rental... a Hyundai Accent. His name is Miguel. He is from Florida and he recently quit smoking. Still no power locks or windows...
**September 2 Update: Another call today. From Farm Bureau's Insurance that they are going to total my car. So now I guess it's time to start looking for a new car...
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
How I Heard from God Through Pinterest
Thanks to Becky Morgan and my Monday Night Group (more on them later) I am learning to hear from God. And not just hear from Him in those times when you are supposed to hear from Him-like when you having your quiet time or praying-but looking for Him all the time. In everything. Just like this little kid. This is me, going through my day overturning rocks trying to find God in each moment.
But first... Pinterest! Ob.sessed. Seriously. If you're not on it, you're missing out. Or you're way more productive than me... either one. Basically it's a digital scrapbook. The days are over of going through a magazine and cutting pictures out and then collecting them in a shoebox or gluing them in a scrapbook. Now they are all online and all in one place... Pinterest. Seriously, go check it out. Now. I'll wait...
You're back? Okay so I'm sure you're in love now too! So the concept is genius! You find things you like on websites, blogs, whatev. and then pin them all in one spot. Get rid of the thousands of bookmarks you have stored. I have basically planned out my entire wedding and designed every room in my future house. Did I mention obsessed? It ties in nicely with my other obsession: blogs. I follow approximately 30 DIY/home improvement blogs and another 45 wedding blogs so pinning things from the blogs was just the icing on the cake! Katie and Sherry (yes, I am on a first name basis with them) just did a fun Pinterest challenge. You can find it here and here.
So enough with my love of Pinterest. Back to the real reason for this post... hearing from God. So I get emails anytime someone repins something that I have pinned or if someone likes one of my pins. Confession: little ego boost. It makes me happy that someone repinned something. In my mind, I'm thinking "oh, they must like it. They think I have good taste." And then the other day it hit me (and by "it" I mean I heard from God) I have nothing to do with these pins. I didn't create any of these ideas or even find an idea and turn it into my own. No, I simply saw something that I liked and moved it to a place that was convenient for me. And that's when God said, "Exactly!" God gave me all these talents and gifts to be used for His glory. I can't take credit for any of me! Nothing like a website to remind me of humility... It was my broken seashell moment ;)
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| Photo courtesy of: thesnailstrail.blogspot.com |
You're back? Okay so I'm sure you're in love now too! So the concept is genius! You find things you like on websites, blogs, whatev. and then pin them all in one spot. Get rid of the thousands of bookmarks you have stored. I have basically planned out my entire wedding and designed every room in my future house. Did I mention obsessed? It ties in nicely with my other obsession: blogs. I follow approximately 30 DIY/home improvement blogs and another 45 wedding blogs so pinning things from the blogs was just the icing on the cake! Katie and Sherry (yes, I am on a first name basis with them) just did a fun Pinterest challenge. You can find it here and here.
So enough with my love of Pinterest. Back to the real reason for this post... hearing from God. So I get emails anytime someone repins something that I have pinned or if someone likes one of my pins. Confession: little ego boost. It makes me happy that someone repinned something. In my mind, I'm thinking "oh, they must like it. They think I have good taste." And then the other day it hit me (and by "it" I mean I heard from God) I have nothing to do with these pins. I didn't create any of these ideas or even find an idea and turn it into my own. No, I simply saw something that I liked and moved it to a place that was convenient for me. And that's when God said, "Exactly!" God gave me all these talents and gifts to be used for His glory. I can't take credit for any of me! Nothing like a website to remind me of humility... It was my broken seashell moment ;)
Saturday, July 30, 2011
25 Years
Well, yesterday was my birthday and it was a great day! Sometimes birthdays are... emotional. (Not the whole getting older thing- I don't get emotional about that.) It all started on the first day of first grade- August 31, 1992. I walked into my classroom and there on John Trussell's desk was a cake hat for his birthday. He got to wear it all day. My birthday, obviously, is in the summer. I never got to wear the birthday hat. On my 12th birthday, my whole family was out of town--except my dad, who was at work all day. So sometimes birthdays are hard. But yesterday was a great, relaxing day.
My 6 days off of work started on Thursday so that is when my birthday celebration began. Thursday was mostly a day of relaxation after my 3 days of work. I did get up and go for a 4-mile run which was wonderful! I may have also gotten a little pre-birthday happy...
If you guessed that there was a special treat of "Pucker Up" inside, you would be right. Things got weird later that evening. I blame it on expectations, but I decided that I needed to get out of the house. So as soon as Big Brother ended, I packed a bag and drove to my parents. It was perfect! I got to hang out with my parents a little that night and then sleep peacefully! The next morning, my mom was going to go to her classroom to finish setting up and my dad went with her to paint some things so I had the house to myself. I walked downstairs to this:
...a sweet note from my mom and another little happy. Inside was a coffee mug!
a. I LOVE coffee mugs! I love the size of this one and the oversized handle.
b. It says "Trust Your Journey" Seriously, my mom knows me so well! It's a little scary and very reassuring!
After that, I did some pampering
and went to the best happy hour in the country!
Then, I picked my mom up from school and took a power nap before getting ready for dinner. Dinner was perfect. I had no idea who would be coming and so I had zero expectations for how it would go. My cousin picked me up and drove me to Cafe Ole. I had given her some email addresses, but she didn't really know the people so she couldn't tell me who was coming either. I was legit walking into this blind. I had no control over anything and I loved it! I know that is a total surprise to everyone- me included- and I know it is totally a minor thing, but this is a big issue so I have to take baby steps (What About Bob style) to learn the freedom of giving up control. Because I am failing miserably at pretty much all of my new year's resolutions, I took no pictures from dinner last night. Oops! But it was a great night with sweet friends that I am so blessed are in my life!
So now for the reflection of the last 25 years of life: things are not anything like I would have imagined. If someone had asked me 5 years ago where I thought my life would be at 25 I would have guessed married, possibly with a child. Yeah, so clearly that's not happening! And I know that it's all for the best. In 25 years, I have learned that God's plan is always better and way more impressive than anything I could even imagine!
But yesterday, really reaffirmed that while I appreciate the presents, gift giving is definitely not my love language-like bottom of the list! I also realized how much I appreciate words of affirmation more than I thought I did. Don't get me wrong, quality time and physical touch will always fight for the number 1 spot, but sweet words warm my heart. See? I'm learning more about myself everyday! Thanks to everyone who made my day so special. I am truly blessed!
My 6 days off of work started on Thursday so that is when my birthday celebration began. Thursday was mostly a day of relaxation after my 3 days of work. I did get up and go for a 4-mile run which was wonderful! I may have also gotten a little pre-birthday happy...
If you guessed that there was a special treat of "Pucker Up" inside, you would be right. Things got weird later that evening. I blame it on expectations, but I decided that I needed to get out of the house. So as soon as Big Brother ended, I packed a bag and drove to my parents. It was perfect! I got to hang out with my parents a little that night and then sleep peacefully! The next morning, my mom was going to go to her classroom to finish setting up and my dad went with her to paint some things so I had the house to myself. I walked downstairs to this:
...a sweet note from my mom and another little happy. Inside was a coffee mug!
a. I LOVE coffee mugs! I love the size of this one and the oversized handle.
b. It says "Trust Your Journey" Seriously, my mom knows me so well! It's a little scary and very reassuring!
After that, I did some pampering
and went to the best happy hour in the country!
Then, I picked my mom up from school and took a power nap before getting ready for dinner. Dinner was perfect. I had no idea who would be coming and so I had zero expectations for how it would go. My cousin picked me up and drove me to Cafe Ole. I had given her some email addresses, but she didn't really know the people so she couldn't tell me who was coming either. I was legit walking into this blind. I had no control over anything and I loved it! I know that is a total surprise to everyone- me included- and I know it is totally a minor thing, but this is a big issue so I have to take baby steps (What About Bob style) to learn the freedom of giving up control. Because I am failing miserably at pretty much all of my new year's resolutions, I took no pictures from dinner last night. Oops! But it was a great night with sweet friends that I am so blessed are in my life!
So now for the reflection of the last 25 years of life: things are not anything like I would have imagined. If someone had asked me 5 years ago where I thought my life would be at 25 I would have guessed married, possibly with a child. Yeah, so clearly that's not happening! And I know that it's all for the best. In 25 years, I have learned that God's plan is always better and way more impressive than anything I could even imagine!
But yesterday, really reaffirmed that while I appreciate the presents, gift giving is definitely not my love language-like bottom of the list! I also realized how much I appreciate words of affirmation more than I thought I did. Don't get me wrong, quality time and physical touch will always fight for the number 1 spot, but sweet words warm my heart. See? I'm learning more about myself everyday! Thanks to everyone who made my day so special. I am truly blessed!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Saturday
In my mind, when I went to bed last night- and when I first woke up this morning around 7- I had big hopes of having a productive day off. My body had other plans... and it won. I didn't feel great all day and was pretty exhausted and wiped. So my day pretty much consisted of cleaning my room, catching up on some DVR, and browsing pinterest (more on that later). I also read some and did some journaling. Oh yeah, and I scoured through wedding blogs for ideas and inspiration and just for fun! But those that know me, know what that means and yes, it was one of those days...
But now I'm going to work on my spiritual timeline and get to bed. My spiritual timeline is for my Monday Night Group (aka my Bible study, book club, the un-GINs, smurfettes, DTR, or anything else we choose to go by for the time being). Clearly, we are still working on a name, but expect a post on them and what a blessing they have been in my life once they have an official title...
But now I'm going to work on my spiritual timeline and get to bed. My spiritual timeline is for my Monday Night Group (aka my Bible study, book club, the un-GINs, smurfettes, DTR, or anything else we choose to go by for the time being). Clearly, we are still working on a name, but expect a post on them and what a blessing they have been in my life once they have an official title...
Friday, July 8, 2011
The Day After
I worked Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday this week so this blog is about what working 3 days in a row looks like:
* Waking up later and later each day (Tuesday I woke up at 5. Wednesday- 5:30 and Thursday 5:50) I didn't even make my bed on Thursday morning and if you know me at all, you know that's HUGE!
* My room getting messier and messier.
* No social media for 3 days.
* Hearing about the Casey Anthony trial in parts as I would go in and out of patient's rooms.
* Getting on Google reader and having 158 blog posts to read (mostly thanks to weddingbee and young house love)
* Needing to do laundry, get groceries, and run errands. But all I want to do is lie around and catch up on the tv shows I've missed out on. I just want to be lazy!
* Waking up later and later each day (Tuesday I woke up at 5. Wednesday- 5:30 and Thursday 5:50) I didn't even make my bed on Thursday morning and if you know me at all, you know that's HUGE!
* My room getting messier and messier.
* No social media for 3 days.
* Hearing about the Casey Anthony trial in parts as I would go in and out of patient's rooms.
* Getting on Google reader and having 158 blog posts to read (mostly thanks to weddingbee and young house love)
* Needing to do laundry, get groceries, and run errands. But all I want to do is lie around and catch up on the tv shows I've missed out on. I just want to be lazy!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
July
I'm going to get better at this, I promise. At least I'm going to try to get better at this. It's July. Wow! This year is going by so fast. July promises lots of things that excite me and some things that make me very nervous! It's my birthday month! And I will be celebrating all month long! Trying to figure out what to do/where to go for it. Thinking about Chicago! :) The things I'm nervous about, I'll keep to myself. But I'll let everyone know in about 2 weeks how things go...
Goal: Posting once a week. We'll see how it goes.
Goal: Posting once a week. We'll see how it goes.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Adventures of Paul and Ela
I just got back from the beach with my family (well, they are all still there. I came back for work) but being with them was so relaxing and just perfect. And it made me realize that I have the best family ever! I know everyone probably says that, but seriously, it's true. So hilarious! Sometimes I wish I could record our conversations so that other people will believe me that they happened. Other times I am glad that there is no evidence of the statements! Ha! But here are just a few of the family stories:
*Background story* My aunt Pam decided that this summer she would start going by "Pamela." She claimed that if we called her Pam, she would call my mom Paul. And so it began...
* Saturday morning, my mom and I rode down with my roommate (Nancy) and her beach crew. So after all the pickups, the caravan was finally on the way to the beach. Like an hour in, someone had to stop to go the bathroom. My mom and I didn't understand. Family story #1: The summer after 3rd grade, my family drove to Oregon to visit my cousins. It took 4 days. We stopped for gas. That's it! We had until the gas tank finished filling up to go to the bathroom and get any food that we needed-even if that meant running across the highway to get what we wanted. My dad even got a port-a-potty to put in the back in case we needed it. Like I said, we didn't stop!
* So after a few stops, we made it. The roommate dropped my mom and I off at our condo and then they went to her place a few miles down the road. My mom and I rented bikes and rode to the market while we were waiting on my aunt and cousin to arrive.When they got there, we hung out for a while and then went to meet Nancy and crew. Hilarity #2: We meet them at a restaurant, sit at the table close by because there wasn't room, and then ordered drinks. While we are waiting on the waitress to bring our drinks, the twins decide they want to look at the bar next door because it looks interesting. They go look and then come back out and decide they want to go there. Umm, we had JUST ordered drinks. So they, just being themselves, ask the waitress if they can take the drinks from one restaurant into another! My cousin, Meredith, and I paid the bill (and left a generous tip!) and then met the twins at the other restaurant...
* Sunday morning Meredith and I decide to go for a run (after being guilted into it by the girl that came into the coffee shop in her running clothes) so we decided we would run the 2 miles from our condo to seaside and then get drinks and take them back to the beach. Running is more fun when there's a reward. :) The run was hot! But fun. It reminded me of the half which was fun, but like I said so hot! So we made it to seaside, found the twins and talked to them for a while, and then got our drinks and started the walk back. Sunday was so relaxing! My sister and brother-in-law hadn't gotten there yet so it was just the four of us on the beach all day. We got to sleep and talk--tell crazy stories and laugh... a lot!
* That night, the McGruders arrived so we took Marlee back to the beach. She wasn't really sure how she felt about it all, but we had fun! The next day, was quite an adventure! Meredith had gotten bit by a yellow fly so we made our way to a little walk in clinic to get it looked at. (This was after multiple trips to publix for benadryl cream and hydrocortisone) So we go to the clinic, then go back to publix to hit up the pharmacy. I wish I had gotten the twins on camera at this point. My mom hurt her shoulder somehow, so she bought some icyhot and had my aunt put it on her- like every 10 minutes. They walked around smelling like icy hot the whole time so we always knew where they were. Then we decided we needed some more beer for the beach so my sister, who is 7 months pregnant at this time, goes and gets the beer. So instead of helping, we stand at the pharmacy and laugh as she brings up the alcohol.
* After that adventure, we finally went to the beach for a while and then met my roommate for lunch- or dinner- or whatever meal you eat at like 2 or 3. Delicious Mexican restaurant. Hilarious conversation- that is way too inappropriate to be posted here! I still laugh just thinking about it! That night we went back to the beach, got to watch the sunset, and take a nap on the beach. It was perfect!
* Tuesday was my last day there :( Woke up that morning and went on a 12 mile bike ride with my mom. It was fun to ride some and to have some alone time with her. Then we got ready to go. Pamela, Meredith, and I had to drive back home so I could go back to work on Wednesday. The ride back was just as much as an adventure. Classic!
* This post doesn't even begin to truly capture the hilarity that was my few days at the beach. It was perfect and relaxing and just enough of a pick-me-up to make it through a few more weeks-I hope!
*Background story* My aunt Pam decided that this summer she would start going by "Pamela." She claimed that if we called her Pam, she would call my mom Paul. And so it began...
* Saturday morning, my mom and I rode down with my roommate (Nancy) and her beach crew. So after all the pickups, the caravan was finally on the way to the beach. Like an hour in, someone had to stop to go the bathroom. My mom and I didn't understand. Family story #1: The summer after 3rd grade, my family drove to Oregon to visit my cousins. It took 4 days. We stopped for gas. That's it! We had until the gas tank finished filling up to go to the bathroom and get any food that we needed-even if that meant running across the highway to get what we wanted. My dad even got a port-a-potty to put in the back in case we needed it. Like I said, we didn't stop!
* So after a few stops, we made it. The roommate dropped my mom and I off at our condo and then they went to her place a few miles down the road. My mom and I rented bikes and rode to the market while we were waiting on my aunt and cousin to arrive.When they got there, we hung out for a while and then went to meet Nancy and crew. Hilarity #2: We meet them at a restaurant, sit at the table close by because there wasn't room, and then ordered drinks. While we are waiting on the waitress to bring our drinks, the twins decide they want to look at the bar next door because it looks interesting. They go look and then come back out and decide they want to go there. Umm, we had JUST ordered drinks. So they, just being themselves, ask the waitress if they can take the drinks from one restaurant into another! My cousin, Meredith, and I paid the bill (and left a generous tip!) and then met the twins at the other restaurant...
* Sunday morning Meredith and I decide to go for a run (after being guilted into it by the girl that came into the coffee shop in her running clothes) so we decided we would run the 2 miles from our condo to seaside and then get drinks and take them back to the beach. Running is more fun when there's a reward. :) The run was hot! But fun. It reminded me of the half which was fun, but like I said so hot! So we made it to seaside, found the twins and talked to them for a while, and then got our drinks and started the walk back. Sunday was so relaxing! My sister and brother-in-law hadn't gotten there yet so it was just the four of us on the beach all day. We got to sleep and talk--tell crazy stories and laugh... a lot!
* That night, the McGruders arrived so we took Marlee back to the beach. She wasn't really sure how she felt about it all, but we had fun! The next day, was quite an adventure! Meredith had gotten bit by a yellow fly so we made our way to a little walk in clinic to get it looked at. (This was after multiple trips to publix for benadryl cream and hydrocortisone) So we go to the clinic, then go back to publix to hit up the pharmacy. I wish I had gotten the twins on camera at this point. My mom hurt her shoulder somehow, so she bought some icyhot and had my aunt put it on her- like every 10 minutes. They walked around smelling like icy hot the whole time so we always knew where they were. Then we decided we needed some more beer for the beach so my sister, who is 7 months pregnant at this time, goes and gets the beer. So instead of helping, we stand at the pharmacy and laugh as she brings up the alcohol.
* After that adventure, we finally went to the beach for a while and then met my roommate for lunch- or dinner- or whatever meal you eat at like 2 or 3. Delicious Mexican restaurant. Hilarious conversation- that is way too inappropriate to be posted here! I still laugh just thinking about it! That night we went back to the beach, got to watch the sunset, and take a nap on the beach. It was perfect!
* Tuesday was my last day there :( Woke up that morning and went on a 12 mile bike ride with my mom. It was fun to ride some and to have some alone time with her. Then we got ready to go. Pamela, Meredith, and I had to drive back home so I could go back to work on Wednesday. The ride back was just as much as an adventure. Classic!
* This post doesn't even begin to truly capture the hilarity that was my few days at the beach. It was perfect and relaxing and just enough of a pick-me-up to make it through a few more weeks-I hope!
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