End of Year Wrap Up 2018

It is in the very wee hours of the morning that I am writing to all of my lovely readers. I have been away for a quite a while focusing on self-care. I decided earlier on in the year that massive self-care was a top priority for my well being all throughout 2018. I wasn’t sure what that looked like when I decided on it, but I was sure to give my mind, body, and soul everything it needed and as much as it needed, in order to get well and heal this year. I will just say that it has been a journey thus far. This year started off with me in the hospital recovering from a surgery that led me to be borderline septic. (You will be able to read all about that very soon. I just need to gather the courage to post it). That was not a fun feat at all. It was a long process of trying to heal and recovery both physically and mentally from what seemed like a never-ending nightmare. I was completely ignorant of how much that surgery would change my life. Never the less, life keep moving folks. You can be going through so much and not even realize that while you are going through whatever it is that you’re going through, days are going by and life outside of your “stuff” is still happening.

So here we are, December of 2018. Honestly, I feel like I have been zapped by a supersonic time machine. While so much has happened this year, I absolutely do not know where the time has gone. I believe the last update you heard from me on this platform was in August when I went with Karina to Puerto Rico to visit her family. Yeahhhhh, I’m sorry to leave you guys hanging like that. I am still a novice to the art of blogging. I am a person that needs to unplug completely at times and that can cause long hiatuses. Not good! I need to work on that. Please try and understand that I am human, and depending on what is going on in my life, I will either want to share and write, or I will just be quiet. Quiet is therapeutic for me. I process when I am quiet.

So what have I been up to you may ask. These days you will find me at home sipping on hot tea in the mornings having long chats with God, smothering and inhaling my dog Rudi, cooking and eating all the yummy food, going to therapy, and really practicing the art on being in the present and enjoying the right now. The mundane, the day to day. I am usually so busy planning for the days, weeks, and months ahead that I miss a lot of the beauty in the right here and now. I have been cultivating the art of being intentionally present. There’s something so loud about being present, it forces you to have an honest eye. It causes you to take stock of your life and do a solid inventory of your blessings. You see, in my head and heart at the beginning of the year, and even halfway through the year, I was wishing the time away. I didn’t want to be present in my body or my brain. I was dealing with a lot of changes both mentally and physically. Looking back on it now, I realize that God was growing and stretching me. Teaching me to trust Him and to Rest in Him, but most of all to surrender. I have been a relentless control freak my entire life. And even now, when I try to surrender, it can still be hard. But the thing about all of that is that God will meet you right where you’re at. His grace is good like that y’all. He knows exactly what we need when we need it.

I may have had my moments of doom and gloom this year but I must say, the year has not been bad despite it all. After Puerto Rico in August, I went to Virginia in September. Technically, I was in Virginia to honor a fallen comrade that got killed when I was in Iraq in 2004. But, I was still able to spend time with some of my favorite people. A trip to Virginia is always so good for me. You can even say that this trip to Virginia was a form of self-care. I got to connect and spend quality time with people who I love dearly, go to the beach (the beach is so therapeutic for me), and eat amazing food. Oh, and did I mention that I got a much-needed haircut. All of those things are of importance to me. It was short but sweet. It won’t be too long before I am back in Virginia for good.

SGT. Carlos Camacho Rivera. I will never forget.

Shawarma from Baladi’s Mediterranean Cafe in Virginia Beach. It is the best Mediterranean food I have ever eaten outside of the Middle East. I stop in every time I’m in town and frequent it a lot when I am living there.

VB Oceanfront

Virginia Beach

It may not look like it, but this is me with a hair cut. My hair was all the way down to my behind before they cut it. Oh what a relief.

In October I went to visit my dad and grandparents to celebrate my grandfathers 83rd birthday. It was such a nice surprise for both my dad and my grandfather since they don’t get to see me often. We celebrated him by having a delicious meal at the house with family, cake, and ice cream. It was nice seeing everyone. The rest of my stay me and my dad went out int to the city and explored around, got a bite to eat, checked out a cool cupcake spot and just caught a vibe. Again, the time always flies when you’re having fun with the ones you love.

My grandpa

83 years young

National Monument In Washington DC

Me and my pops in the city just exploring our hometown. We have been here numerous times. It never gets old!

The beautiful National Cathedral in Washington DC

We transition into fall rather quickly and before you know it, the leaves have all turned colors on the trees around Ft.Knox and they are absolutely breathtaking. One thing that I will miss when I leave Ft.Knox is the changing of the seasons. It is stunning here in the Fall and Spring.

Post Headquarters on Ft.Knox

Look how rich the yellow color of the leaves are on this tree.

Pathway leading to our home. I haven’t seen the leaves so beautiful since I was a little girl.

How handsome is Mr. Rudi

November we went to Texas to spend time with Karina’s family for Thanksgiving and celebrated her niece’s first birthday. Texas was amazing! It was a fresh breath of air for me. It has been freezing here in Kentucky. The temps out in Texas were in the 70’s the entire time of our stay. A girl could get used to that kind of mild weather. After returning home Karina and I had a serious conversation about finding a winter home for us somewhere warm. The older I get the less I can handle these drastic changes in temps. My sinuses especially!

This is where grateful hearts gather.

Food table from Thanksgiving. We had so much food guy’s. All of it isn’t pictured.

Dessert table from Thanksgiving

Family photo with the birthday girl. We’re missing Rosalie

Clean up after the cake

If only you guys knew what it took to get that smile. There was a corral of people in front of her singing the Baby Shark song repeatedly. A favorite of hers.

Nephew’s and niece walking Rudi on Thanksgiving day

And just like that, we return home from beautiful Texas and a day or two later we get a horrible ice storm.

No thank you Jack Frost.

Look how heavy the tree limbs are form the ice.

I cannot conform or deny that Rudi loves his coat, hat, and scarf. It was freezing out so he had to wrap up. Little dogs get cold fast.

And here we are guys. December is here and we have not even 30 days left in the year. As for me and my little family, we will pass Christmas here quietly and bring in the New Year the same. I am so ready and curious to see what 2019 will bring. I pray that it will be filled with kindness and grace. I believe that God has the most amazing plan for my life and for your life as well. We are all on a journey my friends. Life is truly a marathon. Stay the course. Follow your dreams. Be brave and courageous and do EVERYTHING. None of us know when our time will be up. Live your life and live it well. I would like to wish all of my reader’s much love and blessing for the rest of this year and even more overflowing into the next year. From my heart to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.