Staying bizzy

Oh hey blog! so, do y'all remember that awful hair story?  i just went back and read it again... it really was hilarious. sometimes i think it might be a good idea to chop my hair off again and then i snap back into reality. but there really was a day in there that i actually loved my short hair. juuuust one.

hey, did you know we have officially moved back to charleston? um yeah! we're so pumped. not only is there no place like home, but there's no place like charleston. Purriod. 

and since we are back.... i'm seeking to establish my career. couldn't quite do that over the last 2 years of moving around. you know we moved 2x as a married couple and 3x for me in the last 2 years? what?! that's nuts! another reason why we are so glad to be here...cuz we ain't moving again! EVER! that's not entirely true... we are in a condo and will eventually live in a real house but either way, we aren't leaving charleston. i mean, unless God has another plan. but i really don't think He does bc He loves us and we love charleston. Purriod! 

anyway, so glad to be back! so glad to reconnect with the ole blogosphere. not that i had to be in charleston to blog but i think it's easier now that i feel somewhat established. it's hard to keep up anything regular during seasons of change. and goodness knows we went through lotsa change!

anyway... what i meant to ask... if y'all are up for it, will you say a little prayer for my career search? i have an idea of where i want to be but even more than that i want to be where the Lord wants me. so just pray for that.

Thanks a gazillion times, thanks!!

do i dare?

The real us... on one of these crazy snow days in very old clothes. 

parts of me want to delete everything and start completely over with this old blog. i want face lift. a defined purpose and a plan. but then i read this the other day, which i thought to be encouraging for my blog endeavors... and perhaps something specific in your life too...
       

        "When we spend our lives waiting until we're perfect or bulletproof before we walk into the arena, we ultimately sacrifice relationships and opportunities that may not be recoverable, we squander our precious time, and we turn our backs on our gifts, those unique contributions that only we can make. 

Perfect and bulletproof are seductive, but they don't exist in human experience. We must walk into the arena, whatever it may be- a new relationship, an important meeting, our creative process, or a difficult family conversation- with courage and the willingness to engage. Rather than sitting on the sidelines hurling judgement and advice, we must dare to show up and let ourselves be seen."

From the book Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

it's pretty silly how dead on this is to almost everything in my life. i never saw myself as a perfectionist, like AT ALL, but somehow this seems to have crept in. and the silliest part of all is, my Heavenly Father, the perfecter of my soul, sacrificed Jesus for this very reason because i am NOT perfect nor expected to be. so who am i to strive for perfection by my own strengths and by the world's standards?

the point is, perfection is an illusion that doesn't exist so... we are all off the hook! we can stop trying so hard and just enjoy the Glory of the Lord who loves us so incredibly much. good stuff!

So, because i enjoy blogging and think i may actually have the time to do it again. i am daring to start again right where i am.

Seen here: my imperfection in all it's glory! I went to a working interview at a vet's office and had to wear an old pair of scrubs from way back when. apparently that morning, in the morning light, i did not see the huge stain that left me questioning if i pee'd my pants the last time i wore them. i don't recall ever doing that but when i saw this stain, after the 3 hour interview, i wasn't so sure of myself.

working woman

HA!!! i got a job! i am beyond excited. you remember how i finally got the courage to make random small talk at the most amazing local coffee shop in Bluffton? well... that's where i'm going to work! along with its amazing coffee and freshly-made menu variety, the best part is the name... The Corner Perk!! come on! it's perkfect!

Boone Dog update: he had a second surgery. it's still not over. he's in good spirits and feeling spunky, however the original trauma and incision is just not healing very well. i'm over it.... just ready to let him out to play and ready to sleep rather than get woken up every few minutes by his cone hitting EVERYTHING! we've been to the vet 2-3 times a week for the past 5 weeks. ugh.. wearing me out!

life goes on

life goes on! we don't have a super elaborate story to tell at the moment. or maybe i don't feel a need to write a long dramatic story about the past two weeks. sometimes there is this urge to have a beautifully written, detailed post or write nothing at all. i will do neither today.

two weeks ago, Boone was run over by a big, 6 seater ATV. these past two weeks have been focused on his recovery. the first week was pretty awful considering we weren't able to sleep for 2-3 nights. that monday was our 1 year anniversary and we spent the night in tears over our pitiful pup. it slowly got better throughout the week. by friday, i surprised myself as i sat on the couch and was NOT overwhelmed by feelings of defeat. i was tired but i had peace.

oh and not to worry, we were able to have a wonderful night on valentine's in lieu of our anniversary dinner that we missed on the 11th.

that weekend i went to the best baby shower i've ever been to and got to visit with my dearest friends who were in town from DC and NY. oh how i have missed them. not only that, but Ken and Jo were in town from Africa for SEWE and as always, we celebrated my birthday and visited with them. if i could explain how special they are to me, i would. that's a whole nother post for a whole nother day. (yes, i know "nother" is not a word)

last week was getting better though i got a speeding ticket. oops. but as far as Boone goes, getting better. still having to baby him a bit and watch him run into everything with the cone around his head but better still. at least he would actually lie down by this point.

this past weekend was the St. Andrew's women's retreat in Hilton Head. all i can say is AMAZING. just AMAZING. the love and power in Jesus Christ "surpasses all understanding", absolutely unfathomably AMAZING! and because of this, life goes on and things happen but my goodness, there's PEACE in HIM.

we made onesies at the baby shower... so fun!

Anniversary dinner on Valentine's day

Birthday present from my sweet in-laws. still can't believe they drove all the way down here to deliver then turned around and drove all the way back! i love it! 

boo.

heart ramblings

for a number of reasons, we haven't quite found "community" in our new home yet. we were completely aware that it was going to take extra, extra effort on our part due to that fact that we live a ways out of town. it's actually weird... you can't even find us on GPS. on google earth, we are surrounded by trees and water. it's pretty awesome in some way, and in others.... we just knew it would take a lot of effort. in knowing this and praying for some Godfindence, i've started to see changes in myself. i have actually gotten pretty good at talking to strangers. i never really considered myself very good at small talk but i have quickly learned that small talk is pretty much non-negotiable if you want to meet new people. i don't prefer relationships to stay at a surface level very long but i'm learning the value in it for certain seasons. another cool thing is that God is not just teaching me about small talk... he's teaching me how to speak to others just for the sake of love and community. not even for my own sake. if my motivation is self-centered, then small talk just comes off as weird and awkward. but if i am fully aware that God is doing something for that other person, then all of sudden i am not worried about myself. it's pretty cool. so i've been working on this... seeing people and speaking to them out of love for them. and in that, i have managed to make a few connections that have blessed my life. seems so simple. right?

i'm understanding that we were not created to be insecure/self-focused people. we were created by LOVE for LOVE. and in LOVE, there is no fear. no fear of rejection, no fear of offense, no fear of judgement and so on... so once this idea really makes sense, we are able to go out and just LOVE people. nothing else, just LOVE. COOL!

so i have been asking the Lord how i can do this. how can i be LOVE? He said, invite people into relationship... not in a weird way, but be the one that is open and vulnerable and honest, people are blessed by relationships like that. so... where do i start? of course, with an acquaintance of my mother's. the only email address or phone number i have in the area so far. the only place i could possible start. haaa. at first i was thinking that's a little strange, but is it? why is it weird that a young woman would reach out to a older more mature woman? so i got over myself and fearful thinking and i invited her. i invited the woman and her husband for dinner tomorrow night. and i couldn't be more excited that they are coming! funny, huh?! seriously, i am SO excited to have the start of what might be or might lead to a deeper friendship. so while the Lord was dealing with me about getting over myself, He turned the blessing right back on me. that is LOVE!

also, yesterday i got over myself and made random conversation with the lady at a store and she invited me to lunch!! i have never been so excited to have lunch with a stranger!!

and in random, small talk at the local coffee shop, the girl there put me in touch with a friend of hers and i have an interview for a job tomorrow!!

i know it doesn't seem like a big deal to some of you, but it was really hard for me to go out by myself in a new town and just make conversation with people i had never even seen in my life. so hard that this was not something i was able to do at all. when we were in Georgetown, God was dealing with me on this but it was not in motion yet. i'm serious it was something i could not do. and then God showed me it wasn't about me, it's about Him. LOVE!

i am not only thankful that we have been given the blessing to live out here on this amazing portion of God's creation but i am even more excited that He is revealing more and more of Himself to me through other people!

please pray for my job interview, dinner and lunch coming up. THANKS FRIENDS!

the tree projects

this week has not exactly been the most active, most productive week we've had... i have been on the hunt for a job. not fun. not easy. by the way, if you are looking for a job, don't even bother craigslist...unless they send you straight to the company's website. just about all of them out there are scams. i should have known. in order to get a job you have to go get a job. just thought you needed to know that.

also, i wanted to remind you to follow me again since i accidentally deleted my followers somewhere along the line.

so anyway, the only legit stuff i have to show you this week are the most recent little projects.... those of you who follow me on instagram have already seen these. sorry i'm not sorry.

so, because we live in the woods and my husband is a forester, we make things out of trees. these are two end tables we made from a cypress tree. we shawn cut them, we let them dry for weeks, and i finally sanded and polyurethane'd the top. they are super cool and i love them. as always, photos just don't do them justice. 

and the next little project is my favorite! we have been working on these for a while now. it all started a LONG time ago when i saw a thing. my friend had a tiny little dish thing, kind of a flat, tiny plate... for a tea spoon to sit after it had been used. i had never seen it before and thought it was so clever. i cannot believe there is not something like this in every household. let me explain further. i drink a lot of coffee. my family drinks a lot of coffee. everywhere we go, we drink a lot of coffee. every time we pour a cup of coffee and stir in the cream and sugar, we proceed to do 1 of 2 things. if you're looking at me, i place the used coffee spoon directly on the counter and make a sticky brown spot. and get fussed at. or if you are looking at my sister, mom, or husband, they grab a paper towel, paper napkin or dish towel to place the spoon on. better but not ideal. so naturally, when i saw this little plate thing of my friend's, i thought it was genius. and an essential. thus, began my search for a teaspoon plate thing. fast foward. we move to RBP. still have not found a spoon plate thing. some would call this a spoon rest but it's not. a spoon rest is on your stove for big spoons, not ideal for sitting sweetly by a coffee pot... so my search continued. then one day, on a visit, my mom had an idea... "make one out of a tree". so that's what we did. i realize that seems like a very anticlimactic ending to this story. but that's just it... the story is not over. 

we used it for months and it proved to be the perfect little plate thing. i mean perfect. only confirming the thought that these need to be in every single household... and if they're not, that counter top has been missing something. so we made a bunch! and packaged them! and have already mailed one all the way to New Orleans... so come on!! email me if you want your Spoon Stump! 

-100% natural!

-Eco-friendly!

-Sanitized and oiled!

love you all,
biz

date night: spanking hogs

over the past few days...

we've been hog hunting. yep. wild boar hunting. this is where you stop if you're not okay with the idea of hunting.

the first night we weren't all that serious. we struck out for an evening walk in the woods just to get some leisurely exercise and enjoy the peace and quiet. we were just serious enough to carry a rifle with us in case we saw anything. yeah because if we were really serious, shawn would have worn camo or something... i guess carrying a gun is not all that serious. huh. 

anyway, so off we go walking and talking. have you ever noticed that no matter who you are walking with, some of the best talks are had while you're just strolling along. it's true. 

anyway... as we are approaching one of the food plots, which is a field planted with certain vegetation for wildlife to feed; we realize there are several deer already in the field. we then decide to try to be quiet and watch for a little while. there is something so awesome about watching undisturbed wildlife... kind of what i imagine it would be like to be a fly on the wall. 

about that time, we saw a big black hunk of bacon on the far side of the field just pushing his way through. the thing about hogs is they destroy a piece of property. okay, not like destroy beyond repair but they root all over the place and wallow out holes in the roads making big mud holes that are costly and time consuming to repair. they move along rooting all over the place and really make it look bad. i'm sure there is a lot more damage than i know about or you care to read about... all i'm saying is they are considered a nuisance and people try to get rid of them. hence, carrying the gun.

so we watch this big boar for few minutes unable to get a shot. we lose sight of him. we continued our walk thinking maybe we'll catch up to him somewhere else but not really bending over backwards about it. as we were walking down the road kicking up dust and dirt, me in my super comfy sorel boots... i start thinking, i wonder what our friends are doing on this friday night. katie and will had driven down to see some friends in savannah and i was sure their scenery was very different from ours. but were we missing out? maybe missing out on seeing my bf but certainly not missing anything else. and just a few weeks before, shawn and i had gone into savannah for date night at sapphire grill. it was good. it was fairly expensive. worth it? it was for that night. but for tonight, there was no where else i'd rather be than kicking dust and dirt with my hunk, spanking hogs on date night, right here where we're blessed to call home.

as it was starting to get dark we headed back for the house, still not really trying too hard to stay quiet or anything. and what do you know? we walked up on that same boar rooting in the middle of a field. there was a clear shot. shawn hunched over so i could use his shoulder for a gun rest, plugged his ears and waited for me to shoot. i struggled to get steady. i'm blaming it on the new-to-me gun and the hog.

i shot. he ran. sorry for the next part... let's just say, i did hit him and the plantation is down one 210 lb boar. when we found him in the woods on the edge of the field, we realized he was much too gnarly a hog to take to the meat processor. that's the other thing about hogs, they aren't really good for eating so people don't hunt them for meat. they have no natural predators which means they can easily overtake if not controlled...by people with guns. so that's why we hunt them, in order to control the population, in order to maintain the integrity of the property. and to have a killer date night. duh. (pun intended).

"spanking hogs"

we took care of the evidence pig, we turned in for the evening. by this time it was dark and because it was friday night, we enjoyed an adult beverage while discussing the plan for our next date night hunt.

since then we've baited 5 areas with corn and we've walked 2 more nights.... very quietly, for hours, with 2 guns aaannndddd camouflage... and wouldn't you know we haven't seen a single pig! not even a one! and i think, well this has got to be a sight to see for the Man upstairs... here we are husband and wife, decked out in the finest store-bought gear, creeping around His creation, stalking swine as if we can't be seen... i  think again to how it felt that first night being a fly on the wall watching the deer... and... i imagine... man, God must get a pretty funny show from his wall. 

we'll give you an update after tonight's walk. i'm wearing hot pink leopard instead of camo... should be able to sneak right up on 'em.