SusanintheSC.com

Jamaica

Well, we went on our 25th anniversary trip to Jamaica…

Then the world turned upside down.

We, of course, knew we were super fortunate to be able to take that trip, but we had no idea how fortunate we were at the time! If our trip had been just one week later I don’t believe we would have been able to go. And, if we had went, it definitely would’ve been a lot more stressful! It’s amazing how this whole pandemic thing is playing out for so many reasons, but what I’m talking about is how quickly things have changed. As in, daily! When we left on March 1st to go to Jamaica we knew about the Coronavirus, but we obviously had NO idea the magnitude of this thing! If I’m honest, I thought it can’t be THAT bad. I really thought the media was playing it up (as I believe they often do) so I wasn’t super concerned. Thankfully! Looking back on things now, I’m so glad we had no idea what was in store!! We were able to enjoy our trip and I’m soooo thankful for that!! If timing had been any different I would’ve been concerned about many things and either a) we would’ve cancelled altogether or b) we would’ve went and I would have worried (what if we can’t get back home..among millions of other things) the entire time we were gone. So, thank you Jesus!! Ignorance is bliss.

I know there are so many people having to postpone or cancel big events and I feel so bad for them. At the moment, we are all trying to figure out how to move forward with Caisey and Ben’s wedding plans.

It’s just so hard right now! Everything just seems so strange and bizarre. I constantly feel like we’re all in a fictional movie. Idk, it’s just a weird feeling, but we’ll get through.

Back to our Jamaican trip (because that’s waaay more fun to talk about), we had a really fun time!! We had never been to Jamaica or an all inclusive resort so we weren’t sure what to expect. It was AMAZING!! I kept finding myself comparing the resort to a cruise and there are many differences and many similarities. Overall, I really enjoy both and I would do both again…providing there’s no pandemic, of course. The thought of being stuck on a cruise ship is terrifying so I think it’ll be a while before we try that. And also, we just wiped out our vacations savings so there’s that. 😩

So, this is a Bob Marley. And, it is really good!! Joe asked for one so our butler continued to send them to us everyday. I don’t even know how many of these we had. 🤪

My breakfast one day. It does not get any better than this! Well, except maybe a donut would’ve been better.

While in Jamaica, we had our own butler (to cater to our every need and want), we enjoyed a candle light dinner on the beach, we had a couple’s massage and we flew first class! So, I guess you know who planned and booked this trip. Definitely not me. My wonderful husband whom never ceases to amaze me planned it all by himself. And, whom also never seems to look at a price tag! 🙈

If you followed along on my social media while we were away then you know all about the cats at the Sandals resort where we stayed. I’m not sure how common that is for resorts in other countries, but it could not have been more perfect for me! We first arrived to the resort on Sunday evening and we spotted several cats…I was so excited!! The next morning we found several more. Later that day we walked around the place to see the sights and found little feeding stations set up for the cats by the International Spay Neuter Network. They trap, spay/neuter the cats and they also feed them. This made me so happy to see they are well taken care of. We were able to pet the kitties and play with them several times. There’s not much I love more than tropical beaches, warm weather, and kitty cats!! It was pure bliss.

This is what I look like crawling around on the ground trying to pet a cat. 🤦‍♀️

We only saw them in the mornings and evenings usually. I’m sure they slept during the day.

This kitty decided to join me on my beach chair. So sweet!! ❤️

One day we decided to take a little sail boat out on the water. I thought it would be so fun and relaxing. Boy, was I wrong!! I was pretty much terrified the entire time we were out on the water. Joe sailed the boat. I sat there. He did a great job…now that I’m safe back on dry land and some time has passed I can say he did a great job! At the time, I was sure we were going to fall off the boat and drown. I’m not sure why I was so anxious, but I am sure Joe will never get on a sail boat with me again. Oh and, I lost my sunglasses on that boat ride…at least they were cheap.

Another day we took a trip out in town. (We decided to take a risk…you only live once! If you’ve ever been to Jamaica then you completely understand what I’m talking about, if not, let’s just say their driving is SCAAARRY… 😱 to say the least!!) We decided going to a resort in Jamaica is nice, but you don’t really see Jamaica if you stay at the resort. So, we went on a boat ride in the Black River. We saw several crocodiles…that was amazing!! Also, we toured the Appleton Rum Estate. That was really fun! After the tour we participated in their rum tasting. It was a great experience, but I don’t really like rum by itself. I think Joe enjoyed that more than I did. A couple from the UK joined us this day, it was super nice to chat with them and hear how things are in their neck of the woods.

On the Black River next to where we boarded our boat. I’m guessing these were fishing boats.

Our rum drinks for the tour. Mine was mixed with pineapple juice.

The Kentucky boy next to all the Rum …instead of Bourbon.

We had a great trip!! Jamaica is absolutely beautiful. The South Coast Sandals resort was amazing. The people of Jamaica were all very nice to us. I loved the laid back culture of the island and listening to their people speak Jamaican Creole. It’s interesting, when you’re in a place like that you quickly realize how sheltered we are here in the States, how many laws and rules we have and how “up tight” we must be. In Jamaica they definitely live by the motto that “every little thing will be alright!” I loved loved loved that environment, but I also really love the whole tropical, beachy vibe too and I think those two go hand in hand. Ya know?

That yellow thing is a float big enough for at least two people. We sat in it once, I loved it! Super relaxing!!

The mountains with homes in the distance.

Well, as I sit in my bed finishing this up on quarantine day # 984, I hope you are doing well and staying healthy!! I have been praying for all of our family and friends to stay healthy in this crazy time and I ask you to do the same. God hears our prayers! I also think we should be praying for all of the healthcare workers on the front lines of this terrible virus and for the essential workers that are still trudging through these days…especially those that work in the grocery stores and such!

We are all in this together. 🇺🇸❤️

Ya, Mon! 🇯🇲

Love Y’all and thanks so much for reading! ~Susan

Our Myrtle Beach Home

It’s hard to believe…

But, we’ve been in our Myrtle Beach home 10 months already!! We closed on this house last March as crazy as it is. Of course, you may not think it’s that crazy, but to me it doesn’t really seem like it’s been that long. Now, the boys and I didn’t move into our house officially until June of last year due to them still going to school in Summerville so maybe that’s why??

Moving here to this area and this house specifically has been a really good thing. We both love it here!! We feel like MB has been a great fit for our family…well, at least for Joe and I. Don’t get me wrong, Addison seems to enjoy MB and he’s starting to get connected at school and at church and he’s on a (different) church basketball league so that’s great, but I think he misses quite a few friends from Summerville. I’m 100% sure he will be fully adjusted in time, after all he has his best friend, Ryan, here! 😀And then of course the rest of our crew are out of the house (most of the time — Bradley comes home on college breaks, but even those stays are shorter than they used to be). Going from at least 3 kiddos at home at one time to now 1 has been quite the adjustment! It’s very quiet! 😔

You know the saying, “the days are long, but the years are short.” Such truth!!

Back to our new home and hometown, a few weeks ago I found myself driving back home from the beach. I had decided to take my walk on the beach that day. On my drive back, I took a route I don’t normally take, thanks to my GPS (because I still need it…don’t judge! 😜) While looking around at unfamiliar sights I noticed lots of beautiful palm trees and pretty homes. I just thought to myself “I love it here!!” This is such a pretty place…now, of course that depends on what part of Myrtle Beach you’re looking at because there are definitely some parts of MB that are NOT pretty, but I think that’s anywhere. There’s MUCH less traffic here than in Summerville!! Beach access and parking is usually not a problem. We have tons of great restaurants and shopping. Lots of activities to do…like, car races for instance! 😜

Then, there’s our home. You see, I’ve wanted a previously lived-in, not brand new home for several years so this time, I got it!! I won. 🙌 Joe loves moving into a brand new home, but I don’t, necessarily. I know that might sound kinda strange, but I like to fix and change things to my style. I love to make rooms look pretty to me. I, also, love to redo and update. I love to have projects going! And so, when I move into a brand new home it’s hard to justify changing a lot of things so I usually don’t. And so, that’s boring to me.

Before: Master bathroom (blue walls), my latest project

After: new wall color (whiteish/creamish/grayish) and shelves to store my necessary stuff!

This boy can climb a ladder quicker than any human. He likes to help paint, also.

Our house was 12 years old when we bought it. I know that’s not super old by any means, but there were lots of things I wanted to change. Cosmetic things. We’ve changed quite a bit, but we still have a lengthy list of things we want to do. With home ownership, I don’t think you really ever get the to-do list completely finished. At least I/we don’t.

Something else I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE about an “older” home is an established neighborhood. I can’t get enough of the big tall trees and the great big (flowering) bushes!! So beautiful!! When you move into a new home, usually it’s in a new neighborhood with super small (if any) trees. Blah! I’m over it.

I’m not sure what this is called, but it’s beautiful and it’s right outside our kitchen window.

This is not at our house, but it’s so pretty I had to share.

And, this view never gets old!! I wish this were my backyard view. But, a 15 minute drive to this ain’t bad! 😜

——————–

So, today is January 24th and this is my 2nd blog post of 2020! For me, that’s pretty stinkin’ great! 😁In my last blog I let y’all know my goals for 2020 and I’ll have you know I’m still going strong on all accounts. Yay!! For 24 days I’ve only had water and coffee to drink…honestly, it hasn’t been a big deal. I do still enjoy creamer in my coffee…that’s probably never going to change. Another one of my goals was to blog more consistently so that’s why I’m here today. But, I do have a favor to ask…if you like reading my blog even just a little bitty bit please give me ideas/things to write about. I did receive a few requests the last time I asked and I plan to use some of those ideas. One request was to write about my “awesome husband.” While he is pretty awesome in a lot of ways, I bet you can’t guess who made that suggestion!? 😜

Well, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy. Love ya, Susan

2020 Goals

Christmas is over and now New Years Day is over..

So, like the rest of the world, I decided to set a few goals. Nothing too crazy, just a few things to develop better habits and to enjoy more fulfillment in life. Speaking about more fulfillment in life, just yesterday I glanced up at the TV and the commercial was advertising some sort of app that will make you loose weight and solve all of your weight loss dilemmas…I just laughed. I thought how funny that everyone is trying to sell their own thing that promises more money, easier weight loss, better time management, etc., etc. and if you purchase these things your life will be instantly better and you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it?!?! Really?!

Maybe it made me stop and think because for the past few days all I’ve heard about is our budget and how we’re going to start using a program/app to better improve our budget. 😉So, I’ve looked into a few different budgeting apps myself, but Joe has probably read every review to every budgeting app out there. He’s also tried a few. At this point I’m not certain which one we are going with, but I’m betting it’s going to be great..and, we’re going to be millionaires in just a few short months! 😉(One can wish.)

As I was saying, I’ve set a few goals for myself this year and one is to blog more consistently. I enjoy it! And, it’s a great way for people “back home” to know what’s going on with us here in SC. Or, at least with me. 😀 I decided to share this goal so I can be held accountable! If you enjoy reading my little spiel even a tiny bit and you don’t hear from me at least once a month give me a yell or a nudge. Please.

My other goals (I prefer goals as to resolutions…do people actually stick with resolutions?) are pretty simple. Nothing crazy! I have several “things” I’d like to work on and I feel like if I make these huge, lofty goals all at once I will likely not stick with any of them. I try to not be an all or nothing person, but sometimes I am. Blah!

If you’re interested in my little goals for 2020, here they are:

Eat more nutritious foods and less junk, not illuminating the junk because life is waaaay too short for that! We have a big year ahead…our 25th wedding anniversary is in February so we are going to Jamaica in March; I am SOOOOO excited AND our daughter’s wedding is in June!! All of that to say, Mama needs to look good this year! 😁 Of course, most importantly I want to FEEL good! Healthy-ish eating and exercise are so important to feel my best. The looking good is a huge perk, but I when I go a long time without taking care of me I feel like garbage. Plain and simple.
Exercise more. My goal is at least 30 minutes a day 3-5 days a week. For the most part that is what I already do, but I need to step it up a notch. If I’m running short on time during any given day my workout is the first thing to get nixed. Time to stop that!
Keep a gratitude journal. I’ve done this off and on and it’s very rewarding! It’s so good to take a breather and to stop and think what am I grateful for? Life can change in such an instant, I think it’s so good to be in the moment as often as we possibly can. This past year has been a huge reminder to me of who/what is really important…family, friends, health! But, it’s also good to be grateful for the little things like ..*sleeping in today (I ❤️Christmas break!!), *my very very favorite candle “Winter” by Bath and Body Works, *my kitty cat snuggles 😄, *sunshine, *coffee, you get the point. We all have SO SO SO may things to be thankful for!!

I realize these goals are super typical. Sorry if I disappointed you. 😉 What are your goals? Anything fun, new, interesting?

Matthew snuggles. He loves Hannah…she tolerates him.

As I begin to wrap this up, I want to say I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! We sure did!! Our Christmas was definitely not the average Christmas simply because we dined at the Waffle House for dinner that night and exchanged gifts with Caisey in Bradley’s dorm room. Lol The only kiddos we had at home on Christmas morning were Addison and Damian. And, we were just fortunate that Damian could be with us on Christmas morning this year! Not sure how many we’ll get to enjoy with him being in the Marine Corps now, but we’ll take what we can get. The day after Christmas we went to Kentucky for a super short trip to spend a couple of days with family. It was so great to have that time with the fam!! We miss family and friends so much!! Perhaps they should move to SC. 😀

Christmas evening. All four together, unfortunately Ben was sick.

Dec. 28 Damian’s bday! The only cookie cake to be had in Lou., Ky on UK/UofL game day.

My niece, Savannah, joined our crazy crew in this photo and I’m so glad she did!

These two drive me crazy most days, but I don’t know what I’d do without them! I love them so!

I look forward to a new year and I hope you do, as well. My prayer is that it will be your best year yet! 😁 Thanks for reading! Love y’all~ Susan

“Believe”

Hi y’all! 😁

My last post was roughly 9 months ago. Due to life and lots of craziness (like relocating…again) my blog has taken a back seat.

I will TRY to do better and stay more consistent. We’ll see.

So, if you follow me on social you know my latest news! I got a tattoo!!! And, I’ll have you know, three days later I still love it. 😜 Also, as I stated, it has a special meaning to me. After several people asked me to explain and my husband telling me I should blog about it…well, here I am.

Several years ago (at least 4/5) I started tossing around the idea of a tattoo. —I am clearly not impulsive! lol— I knew where I wanted to put it, but I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted. After much thought I decided my faith in Jesus Christ is the most important thing to me and that’s never going to change so my tattoo was going to be faith based. I narrowed it down to three ideas and tossed those around for quite some time. My three options were a small cross, the word “faith,” or the word “believe.”

Then one day it hit me. I need to pick “believe!” While my #1 reason for deciding on believe is to always believe in Jesus Christ my #2 reason is to always believe in myself! Now, anytime I have self doubt, I am reminded to “believe” in myself. ❤️

So, I knew exactly what I wanted for a LONG time before finally getting it. As I stated above, I’m definitely not impulsive…quite the opposite, actually. Anyway, a few weeks ago, we went to a new church in the area and in the sermon the word believe was said numerous times. When we left I told Joe I was ready to get the tattoo. He was ready to go that very day, but I wasn’t really up for making it a family affair with our kiddos!

This past weekend we had a date night with our friends and got tattoos! Lol Note: the guys didn’t participate in the tattoo party, only the girls did. 😝

Just a regular Saturday night out in Myrtle Beach…😂

Everyone asks if it hurt…YES. It hurt. I think what hurt the most was when he filled in the letters. It wasn’t terrible, but it was more uncomfortable than I expected. Luckily, my tattoo is pretty small so he finished it in about 10 minutes. I can’t imagine getting a large one!! No thanks!! Now, I do hear they are addicting and most people get more than one. At this time, I have no plans for another. I guess time will tell. Ha!!

Well, I hope y’all enjoyed reading about my latest adventure. And, I realize tattoos aren’t for everyone, so please don’t rain on my parade! 🤣

Thanks for reading, my friend! ~Susan

My Reasons To Be Thankful…

It’s that time of year, again. The time of year when we are thankful. Or, we are more aware of being thankful. At least, I hope we are.

I’ll be the first to admit, it’s super easy to get sidetracked by the ‘to do list’ and kinda forget about the being thankful part.

I have found myself a little more thankful this year than is typical for me. Not to brag or anything. 😉 I’m pretty sure the reason for that is because for the past few months I have been writing down at least 5 things to be grateful for daily. It has been really nice to focus on positive things going on in my life because if I allow myself I sometimes tend to focus on the negatives a bit too much. I’ve found if I’m looking for good things to journal about then my mood is usually more uplifting and, therefore, less grumpy.

And, for that my family is thankful. 😉

This time of year it’s common for people to post what they are thankful for so I thought I would share mine. Please do not take my list too seriously. 😉

What my family is thankful for… can you guess who said what?
family, dessert, Brad, Bourbon, life, chicken …geez!

In no particular order:

The sunshine! I love, love, love the sunshine!!
My family, of course. My hubby and kiddos make my world go round. Seriously!
My loves.
My kitty cats. I never knew I could love an animal so much (or a species of animals).
My furry feline friends.
Stretchy pants. Especially at Thanksgiving.
The beach! Such a relaxing and beautiful place to me.
Perfection
Coffee. I seriously do not understand how people start their day without it.
My new car… that’s in the shop indefinitely. And, car insurance.
In her better days. Before the back end was torn to pieces. 🙁
Music. Christian, country, 80’s, pop. I like all sorts of music. Especially Michael Jackson.
Social media/my iphone. I have a mild addiction to these things.
My relationship with Jesus Christ! I told you, these are in no particular order. 😉 I can’t imagine trying to get through life without this relationship. Truly!
Dessert, the best part of any meal. Chocolate candy, ice cream, cookies, cake, donuts, pie…any of it is great with me. I don’t like coconut though, so I’m not grateful for coconut.
Exercise. Mostly cardio. I need to do weights more, but that’s not what I prefer. I love to work up a good sweat and feel sore the next day, makes me feel like I am accomplished.
Paint. I love to paint a room or two.
Books. If I could, I would read 24/7.
Podcasts, for the times I can’t physically read a book. I love to listen to podcasts.
Mexican food! Yummm!!
Friends! I have some of the best friends!! Several of my good friends and I can go long periods of time without talking then pick up right where we left off. I have some truly special friendships that I will always cherish.
My health. I try not to ever take that for granted. Not much else is more important than good health.
Vacations. It’s always so fun to travel and explore new places, especially warm places. 🙂
Flowers, planting flowers is my jam and I’m usually fairly successful at keeping them alive.
My flowers! This is current. November 21, 2018…partly because I live in The Lowcountry of SC and we haven’t had any frost, yet. They still look so pretty although this pic was taken at night so it’s not the best quality.
The holidays. Decorating our Christmas tree, listening to Christmas music, seeing family and eating delicious food is probably my very favorite part.
Throw pillows, candles, rugs…all the fun accessories that make a house a home.
Basketball games, car racing, and boxing. The very best kinds of entertainment! 🙂
Google! Y’all I do. not. know how we did anything pre-Google. Like, how did we know anything?!?
Palm trees. We’ve lived around palm trees for almost 3 years and it never gets old seeing them. I love palm trees like some love snow. I can’t imagine loving snow, but I’m sure there are some that do. 😉

I could list lots of other things I am thankful for, but I think you get the gist. Now, what are you thankful for this holiday season?

May we never take for granted the “things” we should truly be grateful for. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy celebrating the day with family and friends…and, lots of good food, of course.

Y’all!! One last thing… I am super thankful for family!!! I think we have the best extended family around. Seriously! Also, because we have the best family around I don’t have to cook Thanksgiving dinner and I am beyond thankful for that!!! 🙂 🙂

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. Psalms 9:1

Thank you for reading! ~Love, Susan

I got a NEW CAR!

Well, since we can’t seem to sell our house…

I got a new car! 🙂

That seems logical, right?!

Our plan was to sell the house, move into the new house, get Bradley moved into college and then I could get a new vehicle. Yeah, we see how all that worked out. I think God finds our “plans” humorous. We think we are the ones in control. Ha! Then, he reminds us that HE is the one in control. You see, I have an issue with control…I think I can handle things and I can make things happen. Then I usually have to learn the hard way that that’s not how things work. Funny, this past Sunday at church guess what the sermon was about?

You guessed it…control.

OK, God, I get it! Now that I know you’re the one in control, can you PLEASE sell our house?!?! 😉

My beloved Armada was about 6 years old and she needed some work. New tires and some other minor repairs. And, since 90% of the time it was just me in that great big 8 passenger vehicle we decided it was time down size in vehicle and to save a little (or a lot!) of money in gas.

A few weeks ago, we woke up, got ready and hit the road in search of a “new”er smaller SUV for me. Now, I knew what I wanted and my first choice was not a Nissan Murano, so Joe found the exact vehicle online. It was in Myrtle Beach, funny enough. We drove the almost 2.5 hours to the dealership. We pulled onto the lot and there it was…a 2017 white Volvo XC60 with all the bells and whistles that I wanted. I loved it!! One problem though, it smelled like cigarette smoke–badly! And, if you know my husband at all, that is NOT going to fly. HA! To be honest, I didn’t want that, either. Now, if you smoke in your car, that’s obviously your prerogative, but we don’t smoke so we don’t like the smell, at all! We test drove the car (twice), but we just couldn’t get over the smell and the car itself was smaller on the inside than what we were expecting. So, I looked around the lot a little and spotted the brand new 2018’s…now we we’re talking! 🙂 We test drove the one we liked, it obviously had the new car smell so that was great and it seemed roomier on the inside. We both loved it! But, we didn’t love the price…not even a little. We refused to pay Armada prices for an XC60! I do absolutely love Volvo XC60’s and one day, I hope to have one, but not in this season of life. And, that’s absolutely ok!

So, needles to say, we left the car lot disappointed. To be honest, we pretty much felt like nothing was going our way as we drove by the house in MB that we have a contract on. I guess you could say we were feeling sorry for ourselves…poor pitiful us. 😉 I will never forget Joe’s response though when we got back in my old car because it was super sweet. He put his hand on my lap and looked at me and told me he was sorry. He knew that was the car I wanted and he always tries his best to give me what I want. I am spoiled and I know it! 🙂 Of course, I told him it was ok! I’m not THAT bad! Geez!! But, I did win the husband lottery…most days.

After driving around for a few minutes and getting ready to make the 2.5 hour drive back home in the same Nissan Armada, Joe asked if I’d like to go look at the Muranos. We had narrowed our search to the XC60 or the Murano, but I had decided I only wanted the XC60. After giving it some thought, and pouting a bit, I’m sure, I decided it won’t hurt to look. We pulled up to the Nissan lot around 6:15/6:20ish, they closed at 7. The salesman walked out, we gave the Muranos on the lot a quick look over and picked out the one we wanted to test drive.

I loved it!! Joe loved it!! And, we both loved the price!! So, after approximately 5 hours at the Volvo dealer and 45 minutes at the Nissan dealer we had a brand new Nissan Murano!! 🙂

Proud Mom! Caisey told me she liked the car until I put that sticker on it, now it looks too Mom-ish. Ha!

We were pretty excited to drive our fun, new, smaller SUV home. We pulled up to the house and the boys walked out to check out the new ride. They both seemed to love it as much as we did!

Then Damian said, “I thought you were getting a Volvo…” I asked him if he wanted to continue to eat?!

I have loved driving my new Murano, so if you’re in the market for a new, smaller SUV, give the Murano a look. No, this is not an ad. 😉 I just really like mine. I like it so much I find myself admiring it from afar (like from inside the house while it’s parked in the driveway), often. Now, I do miss my Armada! I loved that big ol’ white tank, as we often referred to it and I’m so grateful for all the memories we made in it, but we are all in a new season of life. Joe and I are doing our best to embrace the fewer children household that we find ourselves living in. In less than one calendar year we will be down to 1 child in school (excluding college, of course). What the what?!?! We might or might not be excited about this… 😉

Our last day together. It was definitely bittersweet. I think I was more attached to that car than any house we’ve ever lived in!

Y’all! I left my MJ cd in the Armada!!! I’m so sad about this…who does such?!?!

So, I guess the moral of the story is, God keeps showing me he’s the “boss.” And, that’s ok, because His ways are always so much better than mine.

Something I keep reminding myself, that I recently heard in a sermon, “Even when our day is bad, God is still good!” I couldn’t agree more, but it sure is nice to be reminded.

Thank y’all for reading! Hope you have a Happy Halloween 🙂

~Susan

Our First USC Football Game #gogamecocks

Am I the only one that sometimes wants coffee in the middle of the day, but doesn’t want to make a whole pot?? Man, what to do?!

Coffee or no coffee? Be sleepy or not be sleepy? Drink water instead…?

These are the times when I sure do miss my Keurig!! May she RIP, sadly.

Today, coffee won. As usual. 🙂

Last weekend we all went to Columbia to visit Bradley and to watch the home football game, as you may have noticed from my social media. We had SO much fun!! I’m so glad we were able to go. And, boy was it a memorable game!! We decided to go to that game in particular because it was family weekend. So, that means there were lots of parents and families on campus. Bradley wasn’t the only student with his family following him around like little puppy dogs, I’m sure he was glad about that. When I found about family weekend several weeks ago I immediately looked it up. After finding out how expensive tickets were (for 4 people plus his at a discounted rate) we decided to just go to the game. Because, #imcheap! Also because, we could practically take a family vacation for that much $$$! Instead, we went to the game (which that in itself was pretty pricey) and hung out in Columbia for the weekend.

We got in town on Saturday around 11:30ish, had a quick lunch on campus at Chick Fil A, then caught the shuttle over to the stadium. On the way over to the stadium Bradley warned me about what all I might see…in particular, how the college girls dress. He told me nothing surprises him anymore. Lol Once we were dropped off from the shuttle we began the long walk into the stadium then up to our seats. We arrived late (I know, The Dotson’s running late..imagine that?!) 😉 so we had to squeeze through other people in our row to get seated. That’s always fun. I was absolutely amazed how big that stadium is!! It’s really very cool to see! We sat there for the first half dripping in sweat, it was SO SO SO HOT! The sun was shinning fiercely with very little breeze and we were packed in there like sardines. Then, half time started so some of the people cleared out. That was nice! We watched the marching band performance which was very entertaining, they did a fantastic job!

Bradley and I. Again, we were so hot in the SC sun!

Then the second half started…and so did the rain. After a few drops of rain hit me, I got up and walked out to the covered area. Joe and the boys stayed in the stadium telling me it was going to blow over. A good hour later or maybe an hour and a half later, the first round did blow over. HA! Needless to say, they were soaked!!! At one point Addison brought me his phone asking me to hold it with a big grin on his face. He had the best time out in the rain, dripping wet, and watching football with his Dad and Damian. Bradley joined me under the awning for most of the time. *See my pic of him on Instagram and FB,* he’s such a great young man!!!

My boy, see my social media for this description.

It finally stopped raining so Bradley and I went back out to the stadium to watch the game, he had been watching it on his phone. A lot of people had left so there was plenty of sitting room at that point, which was nice. We sat there and watched the game and then when there was about 2 minutes left (and a very close game!!) they delayed the game for 30 minutes due to lightening being 8 miles away! 2 minutes left and lightening was 8 miles away!!!! We decided to wait it out. Thirty minutes later, it was delayed again. So, after getting soaked and I do mean soaked (not me though…remember I was under the awning ;)), we decided to leave. And then, it started raining again. Once again, we waited under the awning. Finally, the rain cleared out and we walked back to the shuttle. While on the bus back to campus, the game finally started back up. Bradley, Joe and some others on the bus all had the game streaming on their phones. I’m glad to tell you, after a super close ending, The Gamecocks won! PTL!! 😉

Like I said, it was a very memorable game!! 🙂 And, I’m so thankful we were able to go and take the boys. I think they enjoyed it tons! I even enjoyed it, there was lots of great people watching!! Ha!

By the time all of that excitement was over with we were starving. We then went to the fav choice in Columbia…Red Robin. After dinner we dropped Bradley off at his dorm (I’m pretty sure he was done with us) then went to our hotel for the night.

Sunday morning, we picked up Bradley and went to Krispy Kreme Donut Factory. I meant to get a pic of the donut factory, it’s quite large and impressive, but I forgot the pic. Bummer! After driving around campus looking at a few things we went to the bookstore for more USC stuff. Apparently you can’t ever have enough University of South Carolina garb! 🙂 We then went to WalMart to get the poor college boy some snacks and body wash because that’s what any good parent does. 😉 By that time, it was time for (more) football. On Sunday we watch pro football, of course. We then went to Buffalo Wild Wings for football and wings. I’ll admit, not really my cup of tea, but I so much enjoyed watching all of my favorite guys hang out together!! Joe misses watching football with Bradley, so I know they enjoyed their time together.

The building Bradley works in. If you are an USC alum, he’s going to be calling you! 😉

Happy boys eating some wings, despite how A looks.

They get so tired of me taking pics of them. I don’t care one little bit! They will smile and like it!!

After one set of games were over (because there were many screens, with many games going), we left. It was then time to drop Bradley off and for us to head back home, sadly.

As much as I miss him, I am so thankful he has the opportunity to attend his school of choice. He seems to be enjoying college life and I know he is growing (not just his hair! 😉 ) in so many ways.

Well, I hope y’all have a great weekend ahead!! Go do something fun… attend a football game, watch a football game on TV, or people watch. I prefer the latter 😉

Thank you for reading! xoxo, Susan

Learn Some Stuff: Six Things I’ve Learned

In my almost 43 years of life, I’ve learned a few things…

If we live long enough, we will all learn things.

Some things can not be taught, they have to be lived.

And, sometimes we have to learn things 2 or 3 or 29 times for them to stick. 😉

In no particular order because I don’t play favorites…just ask my kids! 😉

Never say never! More times than I can count, I’ve been taught this simple truth. Before any of our kids were old enough to throw tantrums or act crazy out in public (because that’s what kids do) I remember thinking my kid will never act like that! Yeah. Well, considering we have 4 kiddos and fostered 1 more, we’ve had our fair share of kids acting like have lost their complete minds out in public!! Or when I said, “I would never allow a cat on my kitchen counter, that’s disgusting!” Now, we have two cats and I eat my words every. single. day. They are always on our counters. I don’t love that they do that, I tried “training” them not to, but then I quickly learned they are cats and they do what they want. End of story. So now, we all just understand that they will get on the counters. I clean the counters often and life goes on. They’ve trained Joe and I well. 😉 …You get the picture, I could go on and on giving examples of this. I now try really hard not to say “I will never…” because often times that’s exactly what God would have me do.
They run the show around here. Clearly.
Bigger is not always better! Despite what they think in Texas. Ha! If I have learned anything over the past few years, it is that bigger houses and bigger cars and bigger checkbooks are not always better!! Sure, those things are really nice to have, but they are not fulfilling. What is fulfilling is loving what you have and being genuinely grateful. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15
Don’t judge others! I know, I know…that’s easier said than done. Admittedly I struggle with this. I shouldn’t, but I do. I catch myself thinking things and then I have to make myself stop. A few years ago I found myself in a situation that could have been easily misjudged by someone else. It was hugely eye opening for me! Let me explain, as I stated above, we were foster parents in the past and typically when children are in foster care they are on state medical insurance. I went to pick up my child’s prescription at our local pharmacy in their drive thru. We had just purchased our brand new Nissan Armada. If you don’t know, the Armada is a HUGE bus-like SUV. At the time we had 4 kids at home and one away in college so we needed a big, huge SUV. So, I pull up to the drive thru and instantly I start thinking ‘what are they going to think of me whipping out my state medicare card for this prescription in my brand new white, shiny massive SUV?!’ I’m sure I had a Coach purse sitting in the seat beside me, also. Anyway, I gave the lady working the insurance card, she gave me my prescription, and I gladly left. I don’t remember her having any kind of judgmental reaction. I’m sure she didn’t even notice, BUT that was a huge lesson for me! I learned right then and there that things aren’t always what they seem and we should not judge others. As I stated, I’m still a work in progress with this, but I do remind myself of this when I start to go down that rabbit hole.
Less is more! This kind of correlates with bigger is not always better. I think in today’s society we are always striving for more, more, more. And, that’s great and all, but is it worth the cost that more requires? I love my life, don’t get me wrong, I am extremely blessed in so many ways, but I do think back to the days when we were in our first home and life was simpler…smaller house= less to clean, less expense, less stuff and no constant communication via cell phones, email, texting (those things existed just not to the extent they do today…we’re talking all the way back to 2000!! ha!) and no social media. Like I said, there is nothing wrong with those things, but I’m learning that oftentimes less is more satisfying.
Everyone is going through something! So, be kind. Life is hard. We all have our “stuff” that we are dealing with or trying to navigate through. When I meet someone and they aren’t exactly friendly I try to remind myself that I don’t know what their situation is or what they are dealing with.
I realize this pic has nothing to do with anything, I just think it’s pretty. That blue pitcher is my latest Goodwill find and I love it! We are still trying to sell our house so I bought some flowers to pretty it up.
Learn some stuff! I’ve learned that I need to keep learning. 🙂 When we stop learning we start dying. Really! I’m not talking about actually enrolling in college classes, unless that’s what you want to do. Our daughter, Caisey, graduated from Murray State 2 years ago and our son, Bradley, is currently a freshman at the University of South Carolina. I couldn’t be prouder of them!! Our youngest son and I were recently talking about him graduating high school and what that might look like for him, he quickly told me he didn’t want to go to college. I told him that’s perfectly fine, he doesn’t have to go to college. He does not enjoy school and I don’t think college is a good fit for him (as of now, of course that could change down the road). I did tell him, though, that there are lots of ways to continue learning. We have so much at our fingertips today…podcasts, Google, Youtube, books, conferences, etc. We can pretty much learn anything we want to know! When I first started this blog I had absolutely NO idea how to do any of it!! So, I Googled ‘how to start a blog’…it may have taken me 47 years to finally publish my first post, but I did it! Over the course of the year that I’ve been blogging I’ve learned lots of things and there are still LOTS and LOTS of things that I need to learn. Over time, I will. 🙂
(In case you can’t read that)
I LOVE Podcasts!!! I listen to them all the time. Which ones do you listen to? I’d love some new recommendations!

So, these are a few of my little nuggets. Most of these sayings I’m sure you’ve heard also, but sometimes it takes living life a little to truly understand what they mean.

What could you add to the list? I’d love to hear!! 🙂

One last thing I’ve learned — treat yo’self! I took this pic the other day after getting my hair done. 😉 We all HAVE to make time for ourselves.

Y’all take care and thank you for reading! ~xoxo, Susan

Our Hurrication

We’ve called SC home for the past three hurricane seasons.

We’ve endured a hurricane or tropical storm all three of those years.

Two of those years we were asked to evacuate by the governor.

Since we aren’t from here, I thought that was normal for this area. However, after talking to some folks that are either from here or have been here longer than us, I’ve learned that dealing with a such massive storm is not a normal, annual thing.

Of course. 😉

So then, I started thinking, when we lived in NC years ago there were at least 2 hurricanes that went through that area that I can remember…and we only lived there for roughly three years!

I mean, seriously?!

I’m not sure if we are bringing the bad luck or not, but I will say, so far we’ve been very fortunate through these storms!! PTL!!! 🙂 🙂

While no one enjoys a situation like this, (although I think D would love for a big massive storm to come through and cause major destruction, he says he would love the adrenaline rush that would create… he’s clearly a 17 year old boy with no clue) it has been super nice having all of our kiddos at home with us! We’ve all had a little hurrication. 🙂 It’s been so nice to hang out with them, talk and laugh, watch TV, read, take walks (before the rain started, of course), eat, go to the grocery for food and supplies, eat, go to the store for more food, and eat some more! Y’all I’m sure we’ve gained some poundage due to this storm that didn’t really storm (for us). But, that’s ok…I’m certainly NOT complaining!!!

shopping trip # 2, maybe # 4…you know, the essentials! ha!

on this trip Publix had plenty of water!

Ever seen this? A closed Walmart in the middle of the day. WM actually closed Tuesday – Saturday!!

This past Monday afternoon the schools here closed for the remainder of the week. At the time, they closed until further notice, but that turned out to be until the end of the week. Since the hurricane was originally expected to make landfall on Thursday they were giving everyone time to evacuate. This hurricane was so unpredictable, that was the craziest thing about it. One day it looked like Wilmington was going to get pounded then the next day it looked like Charleston was going to get the brunt of it! I don’t really think anyone truly knew what to expect. Even after it made landfall there was still a big question as to what it was going to do next. We talked about staying and then we tossed around the idea of leaving. It’s so hard to know what to do! Ultimately, we decided to stay home. And, I’m super glad we did!! The big thing about leaving is getting back home. Traffic is usually pretty bad getting back. Another big reason for us to stay is we have three animals. And, there are 6 of us! Talk about a lot of work just to get us out the door! I just wasn’t up for it. Not to even mention the expense of it. Sheesh!! Now, I do always say, if it’s a cat 4 or 5 and it’s predicted to come straight for us, we’re out!

Cleaning off the front porch. Getting it hurricane ready.

The kitties liked the front porch chairs in the dining room.

Took a little walk. It was great to get outside pre-Florence.

As I stated, we really avoided this hurricane and I am SO SO thankful!!!! THANK YOU to everyone that prayed for us, text us, called us, FB messaged us, and offered their homes to us!!! We have THE BEST friends and family — seriously! We appreciate it more than y’all know. 🙂

So glad my kiddos could come home and hang for a few days.

So, we are now at day 5 of being in the house, for the most part. I think we’re all starting to get a little stir crazy. The good news is we just received a call that Berkeley County Schools are expected to be in session on Monday. Caisey also got her notification that Charleston County Schools are in session on Monday, as well. Bradley goes back to class on Tuesday, but I think he’s planning to head back to Columbia tomorrow. Our little “vacay” has been nice, but we’re all ready for some sort of routine again, I think.

The best thing about windy, rainy days…kitty snuggles, good books, and tv time. 🙂

In closing, I want to ask that we all pray for those that were affected by Hurricane Florence. My heart absolutely breaks for them!! Such devastation. And, such loss.

Thank you for reading!! xoxo~ Susan

Easy Peasy, Right?! Wrong!

‘Now is a good time to do this.’

—

‘This won’t be too bad.’

—

‘It’ll definitely be easier than last time.’

—

‘I’m sure it won’t take as long.’

Yada, yada, yada…you get the picture. Yeah, those were my thoughts at the very beginning of summer when we first started planning our next big move. I just knew it was going to be easier than the last time we made a big move. You remember that move, just 2.5 years ago. 😉 You know the one, where we moved 600 miles from home. The move that required us to leave our family and friends and everything we knew?! The move that transitioned our boys from their old, comfortable schools to new, much larger, more diverse schools. Yeah, that move. That had to be waaay more difficult than our upcoming relocation was going to be, right?!

So, let me define “big move” — when one is relocating themselves and their family at least 2 hours away from their current homestead. To me, that qualifies as a “big move.” Really, any move can be considered a “big move” in my book. Moving is hard, stressful, exciting, back breaking–literally, adventurous, exhausting, etc., etc. Anything that can have so many descriptors is “big!”

As I was alluding to,

I really thought this time was going to be different. Surely, it was going to be easier! It HAD to be!

Yet, here we are still in Summerville, SC — waiting. UGH!!!! At least some of us are. And, some of us are in Myrtle Beach working. Because you know… the job. And, the bills. And, the reason for the move.

Our sunsets here are absolutely amazing almost every single night. Looking on the bright side, people! 🙂

I was recently asked what I was looking forward to the most about moving to Myrtle Beach, while living closer to the beach ranks pretty close to the top of my list, the thing I’m most excited about is being “settled.” >>I use quotations around settled because…well, we don’t seem to mind moving. Ha! However, I am praying that we will settle in Myrtle Beach for the long haul, but only God knows what our future holds.<<So, as I was saying, I am looking forward to getting involved with a church in MB (for Joe, myself and our boys) and hosting get togethers at our house. I think we are all craving that connection…the boys, also, rather they realize it or not!

As I sit and think back to mid June, I’m really kinda shocked that we’re still waiting to move. I really did think it would be a pretty smooth transition. I thought our house would sell in a timely manner, we would move to our new home before school started, the boys would start the new school year in their new schools and life would just go on. Easy peasy, right?!

WRONG!!

So, now I’m quickly realizing God has His plan and I have mine. Often times, the two do not align. And, even though I don’t understand what the deal is, I’m doing my best to trust in Him. His ways are so much better than mine! But golly, when I’m in the midst of something that I don’t want to be in, I get frustrated! Anyone else? Or is it just me?!

It’s funny how when life is going great we think we don’t really need God; we got this. Yet, when life gets hard, who do we turn to?!? Him, of course! As we should. We should always turn to Him!

I have realized though, in tough times and in times of waiting, those are the times that I grow THE most. I look to Him for guidance. For understanding. For peace. For courage. For all the things! I know that with Him all things are possible, but apart from Him I have nothing. He knows the big picture where as I can only see a small piece. So, as I wait, I will trust in Him to work all the details out for us and when the time is right, we will move. And, what a glorious day that’ll be!! 😉

In case you’re wondering, we’ve made some progress with selling our house, but we’re waiting on some other things to work out. So far that hasn’t happened. I don’t really want to share too much on my blog just yet. When the time is right and we head to closing, y’all will know, trust me! 🙂 In the meantime, if you could pray for all things to work out so we could sell this house and move that would be super fantastic!!! While I’m on the subject, what can I pray for you about?

I’ve been journaling the things I’m grateful for. It’s something I am starting to look forward to every morning. Life is too good not to!

Well, we’re hoping to have our new guest room ready to habitate soon, friends!! I can’t wait to see y’all!!! There’s nothing I like more than to get the guest bedroom and bathroom ready…one day, one day… I’m going to have an Air Bnb and if I’m really dreaming big a beach condo to rent out and for us to use. 🙂

In case you didn’t see my post, Bradley came home this weekend!! We were SO excited to see him and to hear about his college experience thus far. His brothers and Matt-the-cat have missed him, also! 😉

On Monday, Joe cooked breakfast and dinner! I was #winning !!

Then, Monday evening, Bradley had to leave us and return to college. Unfortunate for us and fortunate for him, I’m sure! 😉

Thank you for reading!! xoxo, Susan

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