Sick Days

Here's the thing about sick days. I dream of taking sick days as an "extra" day to finish a home project, clean the house or as a day to refresh my soul. The only problem is that when I take a sick day, I'm really sick. I had a nasty, snotty cold a couple of weeks ago that knocked me off of my feet for the whole week. It totally stunk because I was home, but I sure didn't feel like working on any of my "projects."

{image found here}

Being sick just means I got further behind on things around the house that I wanted to do -- like decorating for the Fall, balancing the checkbook, going to the grocery store, blogging. You know, though, that's life. I am learning that I have to rest and allow myself to get better instead of pushing through to finish the things off of my to-do list. And...FINALLY...after two weeks I have caught up on my stuff. Feels good. I'm glad to be feeling better!

Through and Through

Most of you already know that I am a Georgia Girl through and through. Well, something got into me over the past couple of days. I had to do something that's iconic Georgia. I boiled peanuts and baked a peach pie!! {Well, Mike and I made the peach pie together.}

On Sunday, M and I decided we wanted to observe the Sabbath. This season is always really, really busy for us, and we know how important a day of rest can be when we are working longer days. So, M and I both did things that bring life to my soul. One of those things for me included picking up a pail of peaches from Thomas Orchards, and the other was boiling peanuts. {These are two of my favorite foods.}

So, on Sunday I made the peanuts while I read a book on my patio {more on that soon}. Here are a couple pics of the peanuts. YUM!!!



Then, last night Mike surprised me by cooking supper for me!! It was such a sweet treat. When I got home from work, the table was set, and I had a sweet card from him waiting on my plate. It turns out, we are trying to make Tuesdays our "date night." We can't go out every Tuesday {or most Tuesdays}, but we can try to spend intentional fun time together. After supper, I convinced Mike to help me with another sweet treat - baking this peach pie. It was my first try at making a pie completely from scratch. I used this recipe. It was perfect!!

I worked on the crust, and Mike cut the peaches. It was A LOT of work, but it was a fun way to spend time together. Thanks, babe! Let me tell you, folks, that pie is well worth the effort.

{Yes, that is my pie. I did the basket weave crust. The BEST crust I've ever had!}

So, I guess this proves I'm a bona-fide Georgia girl! I loved inviting my hubs into something that I brings joy to me. I guess this means I'll be watching LOTS of football with him soon {since that's something he loves to do}. :)

Beach Vacation :: Day Three

So, I am WAY overdue sharing the rest of the trip to the beach. But, alas, here's more on our Kelly family vacation. The day ended up being a basic vacation day. We did p90x in the morning, followed by some lunch and an afternoon on the beach. I think we did Yoga X, and it kicked my booty...I ended up being relatively low energy for most of the afternoon. Dave and Greg had to work during the day, but they got to join us in the late afternoon for some time in the sun & sand.

Then, the "kids" cooked fish tacos for dinner that night. Throughout the trip, we had some good meals together!!

My mother-in-law {Georjeanne} dubbed the Kelly's the "Fun Family" long before Greg or myself joined the fun, and we do have a lot of fun together!! We have several "traditions" we started I'm realizing that most of these "traditions" were things that Kim & Greg started last Thanksgiving when we visited them in L.A.

• We all wore silly bands for the week.
• We did p90x together for
• My most favorite, is that we do trivia each night during dinner.  There are prizes for the winner. 

What are your favorite family vacation traditions?

Beach Vacation :: Day Two

Dave and Georjeanne spend the summer at Oak Island, and each Sunday they go to a church that meets on the pier. Mike and I almost missed it, but we managed to make it just in time for the 8:30 service. It was a nice service, and we loved being able to go to an early service so that we could spend more time on the beach.

After church we cooked a big brunch together. Everyone had a part in helping get it ready{somehow, I ended up without a job}. :)

{The family finishing up a delicious brunch}

Then, we headed out to the beach and spent the rest of the day out there. {I managed to convince Mike that we needed to skip working-out so that we could get on the beach}. Mike and I played Dave and Greg in a game of Bocce ball. It was fun, but ended up being really, really hot. I got a little too much sun this day and spent the rest of the week under the tent OUT of the sun.

We also celebrated Mike’s birthday on Sunday. He got to choose his what we had for supper {Dave's ribs}.

{Such a good meal! The ribs were the best I've ever had. Thanks Dave for leaving the beach early to get everything ready!!}

Georjeanne made her famous ice-cream pie for dessert {Mike’s favorite}. Let me tell you, it was to die for!!

{Not sure if you can tell, but I am completely lobster-fied here}

{This is pretty close to heaven!}

Beach Vacation :: Day One

I've been wanting to post about our vacation for a month! Way back in July, Mike and I went on a family vacation with the Kelly clan to Oak Island. We had a really great time together hanging out on the beach, cooking good meals, playing games and catching up on life.

We got to the beach late on Friday night and after saying hello to everyone, we all basically went straight to bed. Thanks everyone for waiting up for us! The first order of business on Saturday morning was to cut Mike’s hair. It was the second time I’ve ever cut his hair.

{before}

{after}

After our workout {more on that later}, we went to the beach for a couple of hours. It was good to get out on the beach. Just before I left Athens, I was sure to get a good beach read. Thanks Leslie for the book suggestion. I spent the week reading The Mermaid Chair when I wasn't playing in the water or snoozing in the sand. I would recommend this read if you're looking for a good book.

That night, we went out to eat for Dave and Georjeanne's anniversary at a local restaurant. We had a great time together, and it was a joy to celebrate my in-laws' marriage with them. {I had the crab cakes, and they were delicious.} It is obvious that my in-laws have a true love and friendship and devotion to one another. I don't think I could have wished or prayed for better.

{The "kids" and Baby S ready to go out on the town for Dave & Georjeanne's anniversary dinner.}

Midday Fail :(

Lately I have been trying to do my part in sticking to our budget. However, one of my favorite things to do is go to lunch with a girlfriends. It's like a special treat in the middle of the day. To remedy this potential dilemma, I've been "brown-bagging it" with my friends this summer. {Of course, it's not as fun as the experience of sitting down at a restaurant and enjoying someone else's cooking.} Folks, I gotta stick to my budget, and I believe that's a good thing.

So, yesterday, I had lunch with my good friend Shelby. It has been FOREVER since we've seen each other {okay, only a month, but it felt like a lifetime}. Shelby and I grew up together, but really became good friends when she moved here for grad school. Before I got married we were roommates for two years and saw each other almost everyday. Little did I know what a sweet time that was. It was just so good to share life with a good girlfriend on a daily basis.

Here's the sweet bag, Shelby brought lunch to share. I thought it was super fun and appropriate!

Anyway, Shelby's a teacher so we can only do lunch dates during the summer. She called me on Wednesday and said she would pick up a Martha's Salad plate from Marti's to share {let me please remind you that I was fully prepared to pack my own lunch, but she insisted}. This salad is the best in town! We were both SO excited. Here's the sad part...Marti's was closed! Every summer, Marti goes on vacation for a couple of weeks after the fourth. Well, once again, we tried to have lunch during Marti's vacation. It's at least the third year running we've done this.

Shelby picked up some chicken salad from another place in town, and it was good. It just wasn't Marti's. Regardless, we had a great time catching up. I loved hearing about her wedding plans and other fun things happening in life. Hooray for fun lunch dates! Thanks for the chicken salad, Shelby! :)

X-ing It!

For the past two months Mike and I have been doing the p90x workout. It's been an awesome run, but I have to admit it's been hard. Yes, hard because the work-outs are brutal, and when I think they'll start getting easier it just isn't so. They get tougher and more challenging because I'm stronger and can do more of the work-out. In the past 2 months, I have gained back 5 lbs. FIVE POUNDS!!! A WHOLE BAG OF SUGAR. Needless to say, I've been very discouraged by this recent addition. The workouts have been really hard, and I'm gaining instead of losing. It's counter-intuitive. {Now, so many of you will say (as I want to do) that it's muscle weight, but I can't let these little justifications creep into my thinking.} What's the truth? I have to realize that this summer has been the summer of mini-family vacations. Vacation. I've eaten the extra cookie and bought the frozen slushie on the beach. Ahhh, they've been good {both the cookies and the vacations}.

On Tuesday, my incredible husband reminded me of all the little "encouragements" I have been sharing with him the past six months. He helped me get my mind right. He said, "we're celebrating the little victories." He said, "today's going to be a good day." He said, "we only have to take one step at a time." He made me say these things with him. It helped shake the funk.

I have loved doing p90x {but not as much as running}. I can tell that we are both getting stronger and in better shape. It's been fun to do something that's this challenging with my hubs. In this last month, Mike as upped the ante for me. If I get to my ever elusive goal weight by the end of the program, he will give me a big prize. One thing that Tony Horton {the founder of the p90x program} says during just about every work-out is "Do you best and forget the rest"! In the next month, I plan to do my best and forget the rest. All I can do is my best and that has to be enough. Here's to reaching my goal!!