Williamsburg, weddings, and a funeral.

This post is a mash of things that will explain the whirlwind of life that kept happening while we were battle major events.  First, my husband took me to Williamsburg, VA in April for our anniversary.  I had never been.

It was WONDERFUL.  We'll go at least once more before the end of the year, I hope, to take advantage of our annual pass.  It was peaceful, interesting, and basically gave us a chance to be husband and wife again.  We had gotten so wrapped up in being future homeowners, vacating renters, parents, and employees - we barely had time to say, "I love you."  Which is NOT ok.

The trip was a nice reset and while I didn't take many pictures, here is one from our tour of the capital (which was enlightening) of Queen Charlotte.  She is one of the English nobility with a huge amount of controversy surrounding her.  I'll let you see the picture - then you tell me if you can figure out why. 


It's not a great picture, sorry... but I still think it's obvious.

Now, so this doesn't become a boring history lesson.  I will just link to some reading material. Before I do, I would like to note - I don't believe she was England's first (only) black queen.  I just think it's interesting hearing the racial controversy from so long ago.  These "sources" can be taken at whatever value you wish.  They are simply for curiosity purposes:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_of_Mecklenburg-Strelitz; http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/englands-first-black-queen-sophie-charlotte-born; http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/secret/famous/royalfamily.html

It does make you wonder when the whole debate will end, right?  Especially when I think of the looks my husband and I gathered while we were there. 

This is us (at Busch Gardens on the same trip.  Another place I had never been!): 

At any rate, that was April.  We also attended our second wedding of the year in April, another in June, and a fourth in July.  We actually attended our fifth (and possibly last) of this year two weeks ago.  Whew!  In another post we'll talk about the cakes I made for some of these events!

Between packing, moving, and closing on the house - these were welcome deviations from the routine of work all day, work at home, catch a little sleep and repeat.  The only thing that happened that broke my heart was in May.

I lost my dear friend and sister of my heart, Beth, to breast cancer.  She was a confidante, sister in Christ, and fabulous performer that I was blessed to share the stage with - and I will miss her forever.  She actually asked that Heather (our third in our onstage trio) and I come to her bedside on that final day.  Being there when she passed was devastating and yet an honor that she loved me enough to want me there.  I have always struggled with my father's dying unexpectedly in another country and never getting to say goodbye.  I think Beth knew that and I am thankful I got to tell her goodbye and how much I loved her.  I'm sure she (and my Dad and grandparents) are all looking down on me with love.  (and hopefully not shaking their heads too much at times)  I am grateful she is no longer in pain and can entertain our Lord with her clever wit and beautiful voice.

New House Achievement_Unlocked

I love our new house.  It's not perfect, but neither are we, and it's WAY more than we thought we would find in our price range.  Life just continued to throw curve balls our way, and right when we were getting panicky - things fell into place.

The short version is, we were supposed to close at the end of March.  But due to someone (me) screwing up something with her tax paperwork, we were waiting on a single confirmation form from the IRS to complete the financing paperwork. That's it.  We had everything else - but that piece of paper. 

The IRS, in March, is actually kinda busy (go figure, right?) so they wouldn't promise to get it to me for 6-8 weeks.  Which put us past our closing date.  So after much finagling, begging, tears and praying, we got a couple weeks extension from the sellers.  The last possible day before we would have lost the contract, rate lock, and basically - our new house... the IRS sent the form.  I could not have been more stressed. 

I had convinced myself that maybe this wasn't the house for us.  I am still working on restoring my unwavering faith, I'll admit that.  The miscarriage in October really shook my already wobbly foundation and it took me until this past June to really get it together.  The house debacle helped me see that sometimes, you just have to leave it in His hands.  I still struggle with it, but it's a journey, right?

New House and New Cars

It's not what were were originally looking for - I can admit that.  But we couldn't find our european cottage or southern plantation.  We also couldn't afford to build it with the current rules for a construction to perm loan.  So we decided this house would be our 10-15 year house, then when we are tired of stairs etc., we will move to our final home - built or renovated to our dreams.  However, we got MUCH more house than we ever thought we would and it's in pretty decent shape (some issues due to poor maintenance by previous owners) and is only 8 years old.  We have since put in a fence (for the dogs!) and there will be more pictures as we update the deck, paint the shutters (once the HOA approves it - grr), and continue turning the inside into our masterpiece. 

By the way, the new cars? Not in the original plan.

Actually, that's not totally accurate.  We've always known the hubby would need one.  The truck didn't fit our family and the kids are so tall already they were literally NOT able to fit in the back seat anymore.  So, in an effort to go anywhere together, he had to get a different car.  We were planning on getting a used Toyota Highlander, then to keep the price even lower we found a Kia SUV that met our needs.  What did we leave with?  A Dodge Journey that they brought down to the price my husband wanted.  It's a GREAT vehicle.

My new car is a result a a future post involving an accident that was a true wake up call.

All in all, not bad, right?  We are BLESSED!

Meet the new member of the family - Teddy Bear!

Since there has been a rash of events in my life, I'm going to backtrack a ways (if I repeat myself, we'll blame old age) and catch you up!



This is Lola - my dog of 7+ years

This is Teddy Bear, her new brother.

When we adopted Teddy Bear it was after many months of looking for another dog near Lola's size that didn't shed.  We were planning on getting a girl, my husband really wanted her to have a playmate, and had sort of forgotten we were on several rescue lists after not finding a pup for so long.  After the horrendous fall and winter of loss for us, plus the stress of fighting for the new house, another dog was not on my radar. 

We got a message from K9 Rescue and a picture of a woman holding an Ewok.  Seriously, that's what he looked like - he was a year old in February and since his owner (at age 80) had purchased him from a breeder (GRrRrR!) she had been unable to keep up with his care. He hadn't seen a vet in many months, had NEVER seen a groomer (which for a Shih Tzu / Westie Mix is a crime!) and was too much for her to handle.  The poor thing lacked socialization, though was very sweet, non-aggressive (probably because he could never see), and whined a lot.

I could not let him be homeless and without care another day.  When we got him it was right after he had been neutered, treated for tapeworms :(, and shaved bald due to the severe matting.  He had been such a mess.  I took him home and at first Lola was pretty calm and disinterested.  My darling husband was... surprised (it happened really fast and he had to just trust me) about it being a boy.

I'm pretty sure Lola thought Teddy was just visiting.  A couple weeks into it, she kept giving us all dirty looks because he was still around.  Now, they are buddies.  They play together, eat, sleep...just enjoy having a companion.  It's rejuvinated my middle aged girl and given Teddy a pack for the first time. 

The kids love them both, but Teddy is a real energetic guy - so he plays the most.

Not for nothing, that was right around the time I made my very first King cake from scratch.  I know, I'm a lazy southerner, but it's work people!  It came out ok, but now I'm determined to make it perfect (and my own recipe) next year.   I also introduced my hubby to a muffaleta.  It doesn't look so great here, spread open to see the ingredients, but it was AWESOME!!!  He will be coming with me to New Orleans for Christmas for the first time - I'll get him one at home to compare.

 

Forgive the cell phone pics, but at the time these were quick shots for no reason.  I didn't know if / when I would get to return to blogging.  I promise future pictures will be a bit better.  (A bit because I lack the patience of a good photographer.)

And I'm back!

Long story made very short - life got in the way.  I have been dying to blog and have actually written several posts that I was unable to put here.  So, some of this will be old news but here goes...

Since March:

We have a new dog - Teddy Bear.

We have a new house - YES!  (Exhausting but finally done.)

I have started several DIY projects.  I've even completed a few - Progress?

I have discovered architectural salvage shopping - Budget, what budget?

We do not have a new baby BUT we have a new attitude on this subject - Healthy.

My car was totaled (with me in it!) - Not so healthy.

We've attended 5 weddings this year!  I even made the cake for two of them.

We signed up for Country Pride Food delivery - Risky but worth it, and yummy!

We got two new cars - Wahoo!!!  (Again, budget, what budget?)

I am back at the Maryland Renaissance Festival this year - Yay with a teeny little boo.

The family has lost King - lots of weeping.

If that list doesn't convince you I've been running around like a mad woman, I'd like to remind you that I've had to move, still work full time, been renovating and cleaning and helping raise 3 children (two of which are teenagers), caring for two dogs, looking out for my widowed mother and little sister.  Oh - and trying to remember to spend time with my husband and the Lord. 

Yeah, it's been a wild ride - but hang on to your hats, you're going to get to hear all about it!

- N