I really need to do some shopping…small shopping, though. We are saving all the money we have to be able to go on vacation again this year. So, I guess I will have to wait to get some Pandora earrings. It’s okay, though. A vacation with my family is so much more important for long term happiness than a short term mend with jewelry.
Pictures to come
I know I just posted about our trip and the beautiful hotel, the great walk through the zoo and such. You are probably wondering where in the world are all the pictures that verify these facts, right? Well there are a few in my camera, but being as I am sort of pinned under a sleeping toddler, I dare not stir much in hopes that I can keep her asleep. Mind you, they aren’t the most professional shots. I am not going to be all like Azul Photography, but they are decent. I do try to capture views that are interesting and from a photographic perspective artistic in nature. They are coming, probably tomorrow, if I can get them up while the toddler is busy doing something she likes.
Much needed break
My family and I took a much needed break and trekked down nearly 5 hours to Maryland to visit with some of our dearest friends. They were having a big birthday party for the son, so we decided to make a trip out of it. We stopped at the in-law’s house halfway through to spend the night there and visit with them. Early the next morning, we headed down to our hotel near the venue. It was a gorgeous hotel and thankfully we only paid about 20% of the sale price for a normal weekend night.
We had planned to go see the monuments the next morning, but that didn’t quite work out. We did, however, get to the zoo and take a small part of the trail through as far as the sea-lions and Amazonia exhibits. It was a whole lot of walking, that really told me just how out of shape I have gotten. I still feel as though I was walking in heels for 3 hours, my feet are so cramped. Next time we need to take segues or a trolley of some sort instead of just walking. *If that was allowed, anyway*. We rented a stroller for the baby. Somehow, we forgot our in the house. She had a grand time looking at the animals, trying to touch the fish and frogs, finding the monkeys in the trees, and seeing birds she had never seen before.
After the zoo, we went to the party. The baby was not happy the last 20 minutes of that deal…too much noise and not enough activity for her. Thankfully, we all got in a good time before it was time for us to try and head back to where we originated the trip. We had to pull over twice in order to make it back without us all falling asleep. My husband really sacrificed to be able to make the trip, being as he is still in the same amount of pain he has been for the last 2 years due to that accident back in August of 2011, as well as the tiredness that has accrued from lack of sleep from said pain, the baby not always being cooperative, and working his job. I truly do appreciate the effort he makes to allow us to have as normal a life as possible with all his physical limitations. God gives him strength in the moment, even though he is now so exhausted he couldn’t keep his eyes open for longer than the Super Bowl…and barely that. With everything going on *which I am not privy to discuss* with our lives, we really DID need that break from everything to just bond and reconnect as a family without any real outside distractions.
Playing the day away
At least that’s what I would like to do on my guitar. I love my guitars, and I have always had a penchant for music. I just have not had the inkling or time to really become a better guitarist. I am so tired! It is hard when you have a baby around who loves to be with you all the time *pretty much*.
I have three guitars. My acoustic with the removable electric speaker hookup is Leila. She was a gift from my dear husband when my firstborn was small. My dearly departed father gave me his show stopping electric which has had lots of use in his blues band. That’s Jerry. Then there’s Alvin, the newest addition who is just a humble acoustic with a missing string. I cannot seem to find strings that will work for him just yet. For some odd reason, the standard ends don’t fit him. Guess he’s a lot like my dad. Sure, I could replace him with another guitar, maybe even give in to the talk that the best Godin Guitars at musicians friend, but I cannot. The most I would do is get a travelers’s guitar so I can practice more often when the children are busy or asleep more quickly and, of course, the 12 string that I so desire for the times when I am alone doing worship at different venues. The sound is so much fuller than with just the regular 6 strings. Oh well…maybe one day.
Loss of a friend
Today I lost one my greatest friends. She just couldn’t fight her way back out of it all this time. She is gone. I am so friggin heartbroken. I had JUST talked to her when she was getting rehab for her hip and stuff. She was coming back strong. This all happened suddenly and now she is gone. It’s been 8 years since I lost my heart, my grandmother…one year since my dear father passed…..and there have been friends in between. I hate the process of getting over losing someone. It is TERRIBLE…. I never want my kids to go through this. Oh God.
Mini studio
Not the kind you live in, but the kind you record music in…that’s what we are working with over here. O how I would love to upgrade our systems to include behringer xenyx x2442usb. If I had the money, I would surprise my husband with this for Christmas. He loves mixing and fixing things sound, especially for our ministry music. We haven’t recorded anything together in a while, but I am planning to get back to it very shortly. Meanwhile, we will continue to use our little laptop and studio quality microphone to get the job done.
Re-Building Business
It’s hard work. I don’t even remember how I did it and stayed focused back in 2006. I had one child and a husband who worked all the time. I guess I had a lot of time on my hands to deal with the day to day situations you have to in order to be successful. Then it all changed, and it hasn’t been the same since. All that was due to things outside of my control. The economy of the E-market just drastically reduced my business nearly to rubble. I have been holding on by my fingernails for the last 4 years.
Now I have a new venture with new opportunities, but it seems harder this time. I have 2 children now, my husband does not work all the time anymore, and my mind has changed. Depending on others to make your business successful is tough, but a must since those people are your customers. I care so much about being a success, about making this thing work, about it being something that blows everything else out of the water. The pressure is huge. If I didn’t care as much, it wouldn’t be so tough, but I have no choice but to care. This could make or break our future. Being able to help my husband so that he can alleviate the stress on himself to make ends meet and put food on our table is extremely important to me. He works so hard and in the same pain from the accident back in 2011 as he has ever been…and never complains, never gives up, never! I wish I was more like him in that respect. He is like Batman…and I’m just the bumbling Batgirl trying to be like him.
Helping friends
I was happy our family was able to help out a young man who needed to get his bass guitar strung for church that evening. He was ecstatic that we were able to take him to get the problem remedied. What a great thing to see a young man so devoted to his duties at church that he was willing to drop everything, talk to anyone who could help, in order to get his bass ready for church. It’s a pretty nice bass, too. Just one string had broken. We were able to drop a little knowledge about how he has to replace ALL the strings unless he is in the middle of playing, then only one. Reminded me so much of how my dad loved his fender bass guitar and would play it all the time. He adored all things blues music, and some gospel as long as the sound was right. Amazing how the things that he taught me about music still ring in my ears after he is gone…