Mountain Adventures

This past weekend, my mother in law, Sandy and I got to enjoy vacationing in the mountains. She was able to rent this cute little home for $50 a night. We arrived Thursday afternoon and left the following Sunday. We sure had fun!

We were a little worried about how the house would look since they were only asking $50 a night. But we were pleasantly surprised to find this cute and clean home. The one weird thing about this house was that there was no driveway. There was a mailbox and that was it! So we had to park the car off the side of the road. 

This was my room! Looks like a comfy king sized bed right? Haha...… It's really two twin sized beds pushed together. But that's okay, I still slept okay in there. (And Sandy insisted that I take this room. She wanted the room that had the patio door so she could step out when she wanted to) I promise, I was polite and gave her first dibs. 

This is the little dining room/ living room. 

Here is the living room. 

This is the room that Sandy stayed in. Through that doorway were four more full sized beds. She chose the pull out couch because it had a comfortable memory foam mattress topper on it. 

This is the same room that Sandy stayed in. It has the patio right outside. 

It's hard to tell in this picture, but there are mountains behind the neighbors property. The view was gorgeous! We had a little bit of rain, but for the most part we had beautiful sunny days. 

We loved that there was a river going through the front yard of the property. The owners let us use all of their fishing gear. I thought we would use regular fishing poles, but the ones they had were about half as tall as a normal one. 

Fun fact. The river is still technically public accessible even if it runs through private property. Sandy and I were a little worried at first because people kept coming and fishing where we were. Luckily everyone we bumped into were extremely nice and gave us lots of tips on how to successfully catch trout.  

This was my first catch! I think it's called a brook trout. I would say it was about a foot long. Those buggers are really hard to catch. They know how to throw the hooks faster than you can reel them in. I got lucky with this guy because he threw the hook after I got him up to the bridge. Then I had to quickly pick him up before he made his way back into the river. 

Neither Sandy or I have gutted a fish before. That was an experience. That was our only catch that day. We were out there for about two hours every time we went out. We fished everyday except on the day we left. 

On day 2 we wandered into Spruce Pines and mined for gems. We actually went to two of these places and actually had better luck at the second place. But regardless it's still a fun activity. 

We both found a lot of cool gems

At the end they tell you everything you've found. Unfortunately there are so many different types I forgot them as soon as he told me what they were! I was lucky enough to find a Sapphire and a Ruby. Sandy found a really pretty canary citrine. (I think that's what it's called)

After we were done looking through our rocks we had lunch at the Anchors Away Café. It was seafood. Yes, we ate seafood in the mountains haha. This is the view outside of the restaurant. We couldn't get enough of the mountain views. 

I texted this picture to my mom and she was like "What am I looking at?" Hello? The beautiful mountains??? haha ;) and the blue sky. 

One of the nights it was pouring down rain so we decided to pull out a puzzle. We finished it that night! We were done around 11:15. It's amazing how fast time can go when you are consumed in a puzzle. 

This was our final catch! Can you keep a secret? We didn't actually catch all of these. Just the one in ice. The rest came from one of the really nice fishermen who came onto our property. He and his buddy had two strings full of fish. He told Sandy to pick the one she wanted and he gave us the whole string! It was super nice of him. But remember, it's our little secret. What happens in the mountains stays in the mountains!

On Saturday we realized how close we were to Tennessee and decided to head that way. Tennessee is one of the states that I have not been to. We went to Johnson City and had lunch and went shopping! This picture isn't of the red minivan. This picture is of JCPenny! The whole mall was open and we couldn't resist. It's been so long since we've been allowed to shop. It was a ton of fun. 

Our last night here we set up the kornhole boards and started a fire. Sandy cooked us steaks on the grill. Then we capped the night off with the last Pitch Perfect movie. 

Sunday, we went back into Tennessee and ate breakfast at Shoney's. I've never been to one of those and they had this big breakfast bar. After that we shopped a little bit more. 

Once we got back, we finished packing up our stuff and headed out a little after 12. It was definitely a vacation to remember. Sandy and I had so much fun together and it was a great bonding experience. We hope to be able to come back again in the future. 

Short and sweet

This past week I decided to use my three days off to go visit my parents in Ohio. I left early Tuesday morning and came home Thursday evening. The fun part of the 8 hour drive is going though the twisty turns in the mountains on highway 58. I wish I was able to stop and get a picture but with all the rain, there was thick white fog at the top of the mountain. I could barely see while driving so a picture was out of the question. But I was able to snap this picture at the base of the mountain. It was still a beautiful drive despite the weather conditions. 

Dixie and I made it home around 3 in the afternoon. I don't like to make a lot of stops when I'm traveling long distances so Dixie was happy to get out in the back yard and run around a little. We stopped one time for a gas fill up and a potty break about 5 hours into our drive and then trucked it the rest of the way. She's a good sport. 

Sterling wasn't able to come with me this time. Right now our work schedules aren't lined up. He gets the weekends off and I get Tuesday through Thursday off. But he was okay with me going home for a little bit. He was also a good sport and took care of the cats while I was away. 

Whenever I make it up to Ohio I make sure to stop and see Grandma Beninghof. She will be 91 this year! When we go visit we always sit in her living room and she has this beautiful picture of Grandpa Beninghof on display. I always loved this picture of him and his dog Brownie. This is one of the reasons why I really want to own a German Shepherd someday. They are just gorgeous dogs! Grandma told us when Brownie died, Grandpa spent about 2 weeks in the hospital because he was so heart broken. That's one heck of a bond, but also one I'm sure a few of us can relate to. I will be devastated when Dixie passes away. 

This is Grandma's cute little kitchen and dining area. She loves blue as much as I do! I believe I also get my sweet tooth from her. She loves chocolate!

I always loved looking around this room and looking at her trinkets and little figures. I swear you can always find something you've never seen before every time you look. It's like she has her own little antique shop in her home. I love it! 

There is always something blue on display. There is so much to look at. 

This is her living room. She has this couch (the one my mom is sitting on) that has a sleeping spell in it. Every time you sit down it makes you want to take a nap. It's super comfortable and she's had it for over 30 years. It's amazing how some of that stuff can hold up for so long. 

And here is the lady of the hour! She's just so cute. I love her very much and I hope to be a cute grandma like her someday. She is a really neat old lady with a bunch of cool stories to tell. I could sit and chat with her for hours. 

I also got to visit with my other grandparents. Yesterday was my Grandma Char's birthday so mom invited them all over for dinner on Wednesday and I surprised Grandma Char and Grandpa Tom. They saw Dixie before they saw me and Grandma Char thought my parents got a new dog haha. It was pretty funny. But it was a nice visit with everyone. 

I enjoyed my short trip to Ohio and I can't wait to go back! You can take the girl out of Ohio but you can't take Ohio out of the girl. It will always be my home away from home. 

Starting THE Journey

Sterling and I have decided to travel down THE path. Before you all get excited, this is NOT a pregnancy announcement. But, with that said, pregnancy and parenthood is the path we decided to follow. Within the last five months, my body has not been cooperating like it should. I finally decided to go to a gynecologist and see why I was not having regular periods. My doctor had put me on a medication to try and force a period and it worked! The next step is always an uncomfortable step for me. I had to go get blood work done on the 21st day of my 28 day cycle. This was a progesterone test to see if I am ovulating. 

I don't know if you can read this, but unfortunately I am not ovulating this cycle. Obviously this is not what I wanted to hear and it was also hard to deal with. We have been trying to get pregnant since September and this is just another bump in the road. Due to my doctor's office closing early today, I did not get to discuss the next step with my doctor. I'm assuming this will be a conversation I will get to have this coming Monday. 

When I came home all I wanted to do was lay in bed. Luckily, I have a wonderful husband who came home and did his best to comfort and encourage me. We are just at the beginning of this journey and there are many options ahead of us. So now my job is to do my best to stay positive and keep trucking and pushing forward. 

But that might have to wait until tomorrow. Tonight I'm going to allow myself to eat my feelings, watch Netflix, and give myself the time to be sad and disappointed. Tomorrow I will push the reset button and we will go from there!

I love you a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck

As most of you know I have been caring for a woman named Hilda Bryant. Also known as Mawmaw. I started caring for her in October of last year and I love working with her. She is always a ray of sunshine and likes calling you pet names such as sweet heart, honey bun, golden girl, dumpling, pumpkin and much more. If you get really lucky Mawmaw will tell you that she loves you a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck!

 Mawmaw used to have cats here at her house but they have passed away. I was given permission to bring my cats every once in awhile so Mawmaw could see them. This is twice now that Tina has been introduced to Mawmaw and she loves it. Every time she sees him she says "Here kitty kitty" calling for him. He is still learning the area but I'm sure soon enough he will get more comfortable and enjoy cuddling with her more.

Mawmaw gets a big smile on her face whenever Tina gets up in the chair with her. 

Tina didn't want to sit still so here is a lovely blooper. Look at that tongue!

This time Tina was trying to get into her side table. He is a goober. 

My pretty boy. I love how his eyes match the carpet. 

Every Friday Mawmaw gets her hair done by Debbie. She gets so excited to see Debbie and loves being pampered and getting her hair done. I always tell her she looks like a hot mama! Smoking hot! Today Phillip and Debbie treated us to Chick Fil A and some yummy chocolate chip cookies. Mawmaw enjoyed the chicken sandwich! And she always wants a good old Dr. Pepper to wash it down. She believes Dr. Pepper is the best stuff in the world and she's gotta have it!

Hilda lives right across from the church. Today was such a pretty day and I had to take some pictures. I have a setting on my camera that takes creative shots like this. I think they turned out pretty cool. 

It's pretty warm here today. I think it's supposed to be in the mid 70's and it's wonderful. As much as I miss my parents and my Ohio home, I'm enjoying this warm weather with my hubby. 

On a different note, we will hopefully get some driveway gravel delivered today! It's been a long time coming and we needed it really bad. 

Happy Friday everyone! Have a good weekend!

My rays of sunshine

Welcome to our neck of the woods! If you haven't seen pictures already, this is the cute little house we have been renting for almost a year now. Sterling and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary on the 19th of this month. The first three months of our marriage we stayed with Sterling's mother Lisa. 

I have attempted to become a gardener this year. It all started in February when we had unusually warm weather and I became infected with spring fever. I went to Home Depot and got stuff to start planting sunflowers. Then more things caught my interest and now I have lots of flowers! 

This is one of two of my pride and joys. This is one of the sunflower sprouts I started in February. This beauty is a mammoth sunflower and is supposed to live up to its name and grow over 6 feet tall. Right now it is almost to my knee. Only two from my February group have grown this big. We'll get to the other ones in a few minutes, but I'm happy with the progress these two are making. It's also planted in front of our living room window, so when it gets to its full potential, we will be able to enjoy it from inside!

This is one of my four rose bushes. This one is actually the runt of the group. Dixie accidentally looped her lead around it and pulled it out of the ground making a run for the door. I thought she killed it because it didn't start sprouting again for weeks. But luckily within the last two weeks or so it decided to come back around. This one happens to be kind of special. Sterling's grandmother on his mom's side used to have a pretty peach colored rose bush at her house. Unfortunately Zoie's dog Onyx chewed it up and destroyed it. So when I went to Home Depot I found this one that is supposed to be a peachy pink color and I'm hoping it can attempt to replace the rose bush the dog ruined. Let's hope it works!

These are just some random flowers that I bought at a little local greenhouse in Burlington. A church member and her son run it so I was trying to help them out a little with my business. They're supposed to bloom red. I'm not really sure what kind of flower it is though. 

This is one of two of my yellow rose bushes. I'm excited to see it bloom. 

This is one of three of my Peony bushes. It's funny because the locals down her pronounce them (PEE-OH-NEES) where in Ohio we pronounce them (PEE-UH-NEES) so the first time I told Sterling what I bought he was like huh? Panties? (Insert eye roll) he's a goober. 

Fun fact: my mom has a bleeding heart bush in her front yard! So naturally I had to follow suit and buy one for myself. ($3 at Walmart if you're interested) I had fun watching this one grow. It's pink and white just like my mama's and it's been growing super fast. 

Sterling and I are planning to build our own raised flower bed. I got us some cucumber and tomato plants to put in it. I hate tomatoes but Sterling enjoys them. I'm hoping to attempt to grow some watermelons and maybe some cantaloupe's too.  

My friend Kaytie and I had fun shopping at some plant nursery's before this Rona thing became a problem. 

Last year when my parents came to visit, they brought me a little oak tree sprout. It's a relative to the tree in their back yard. I'm hoping to see some leaf growth on it soon. It started turning a little green at the top so I'm crossing my fingers. 

This is my other yellow rose bush. This one has grown the most out of all four. It's also the one that has been getting a lot of visits from the caterpillars. I reached out to my grandma Robin and she said if I spray some soapy water on them and diligently pull the caterpillars off as often as I can, it should help keep them healthy.  

My idea here was to line my yard with as many sunflowers as possible. These are the rest of my February batch of sunflowers. I now see that my idea was a little flawed. Since I only dug a hole big enough to plant them, it made it harder for the roots to grow because the ground is packed. If I would have plowed deeper and around them more, it would have allowed them to grow faster. I would say these ones are about half the size of the two big ones in my flower beds. But at least they are still growing. Slowly but surely. The other bad thing is they seem to be getting a little too much water with all the rain. So the leaves have been turning a tad yellow. 

This is one of two Azalea bushes. I have one on each side of the driveway. This one has had a few blossoms on it so far. I'm also in the works of getting a weed eater. I mowed around it with my push mower, but you can't get close enough.  But another fun fact: my mom also has azalea bushes outside her house. She has a pink and a purple one. I was only able to find pink, red, orange, and white. The white ones were too expensive so I stuck with pink. 

I have to say this is one of my favorite sunflowers out in the yard. I call it my tri-wizard cup sunflower. Can you tell why? Ever since it first sprouted, it had three leaves on it instead of only two. It's also the smallest one out there. I'm thinking about digging it back up and putting it in a pot to make sure it grows properly. 

And here is my little gnome! He's been working hard to protect my garden from snakes and other creepy creatures. Way to go Bob!

And this is another repeat picture of my prize sunflower. I'm so happy with how fast it's growing. If you can't tell, sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers! I wish I would have learned to grow them before now. But hey, there's always time to learn something new.