Hello again. It’s that time of year. Time for me to get a wild hair up my arse and blog.
No, for real. Life has just been so crazy. Being mom (and wife, and daughter/sister, and business person, and me) can be madness. I feel like I am finally coming up for air.
That being said. Let me catch you up on what’s been going on.
In the mom world– Julia is amazing. She has definitely inherited my husband’s smarts and my hardheaded nature. Her humor is a reflection of her mom and dad. She will be turning four in January, boy how time flies! She’s currently obsessed with all things princess and makeup. The girly girl is there but the tomboy most certainly comes out when she’s with her dad exploring bugs and the great outdoors. Toddlers are so funny. They are like moody old people. One minute they are pinching your cheeks loving on you, the next they are throwing things at you telling you they don’t want to eat their mashed potatoes. Julia had a bad case of the terrible threes- I don’t believe the terrible twos exist. She really tested the water with me- just to see how far she could go. Well, not very far. Especially with dad. LOL.
In the wife world- Bubbins (yes, if you aren’t following along, that is the nickname for my husband) and I are chopping our way through the wonderful world of married life. We’ve grown so much since day 1 and still learning as we go. Anyone that tells you that married life is perfect is lying to you and should be slapped (no, not really, I don’t promote violence). If you’re reading this, and in a marriage or in a serious relationship- I know that you can relate. I fall in love with my husband a little more every single day- but there are some days where I am sure he hates my guts like I hate his (I’m seriously just kidding around… calm down). In the end, however, you come back to reality and realize that there is no one else’s guts you want to hate… or love- and God has put you right where you are meant to be. More on the wife life later. To sum it up- I’ve got the things I need to work on- and making progress one bite at a time.
In the daughter/sister world- Families are weird. My sister and I have grown so much closer this year- and I couldn’t be more thankful. My parents have accomplished something great together… again… they finally divorced. Many people say to me “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
Please, no need. While I despise the word divorce and would be a hypocrite to say that I didn’t believe in it (I went through one myself already), I wish there wasn’t a need for it. I guess for the first time in my life, I am actually committed to something, my marriage, with my whole entire heart. I couldn’t imagine going through it with my Bubbins… but I do understand why it had to be done with my parents. My mom and I are business partners- and I really need to work on being more of a daughter. My dad and I are not really on speaking terms- even though he was my “hero” growing up- that person was either a mirage or time has turned that hero to villain. Lots of growing to do on the daughter (and sister) front.
In the business world- This seems to be the cluster fudge of my life right now. Not really in a bad way, but not great either. In “the bad way”- it is affecting the “wife” part of my life in ways that I would really “rather not”. Air quotes!
I am still working with my mom in the construction world. That seems to have gotten easier and more streamlined. She’s doing a fantastic job righting the things that were kind of all over the place. I guess we are just learning- and now that she has more focus- it’s really helped.
I am still helping manage the 15 student properties. Which is a nightmare right now. While I understand many of the tenant’s frustrations, there are others that are just very (had to really stop and think of the right word here) “diva”…?
Many of the homes are older homes and are inhabited by 4 or more students. Each one with their own special qualities. The majority of parents have been ABSOLUTELY amazing and truly understanding. If you’re reading this… you know who you are! But others have been the “mama bears” of helicopter parents. Their kid is right and I am wrong. I get it, to an extent. Your kid not having a dishwasher (because it takes up too much time to wash dishes) is not really on my priority list. Yeah. Don’t worry y’all- this isn’t anything I haven’t said to them.
For a while there, I was getting about 5 to 10 text messages/phone calls a day from tenants. One day, I looked at my phone record and from 9am to 4pm I was on back to back calls. Mind you, all while trying to appropriately raise my daughter, got that sh*t straight quickly.
On a positive note in the “business” sector of my life, I quit working for the Chamber of Commerce (insert angelic ahhhhh) and began working with Trident Shield (insert audience applause and cheer). Trident Shield delivers life-saving training to help protect and prepare citizens for an active assailant. Be it in the workplace, school, or community- Trident Shield can teach you how to “Prepare, Escape, Hide, Defend” when God forbid, the situation arises. I assist with social media (follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), marketing, and operations. I have really found a sense of family and friendship with the team. Most importantly, however, my self-awareness meter has been boosted and I’ve never felt so confident in protecting my family. More to come on that… 🙂
In the me world– I guess all of the above is the “me world”. My thyroid has certainly calmed down and my tests have been coming back “level”. I know I still have a long battle ahead of me but I got this. The depression and mood swings seem to be weakening- although I am still battling anxiety, fatigue, muscle/joint pain, and when I get a cold- it’s HORRIBLE- 10x worse than what I’m sure it really is- and 10x longer to get over it. My hair isn’t thinning out so much anymore- I was seriously considering lace wigs (they make them so pretty now). The weight is partially my fault, but it’s been really hard to not fluctuate from 5lbs a day (so weird) to 10lbs one week and -10lbs another. Going to really dive into KETO- have been low-carbing it- but it’s time to get serious. Wish me luck on that.
This year we have really been focusing on our house. Getting it to that “perfect” place so that we can really be even more of hermits than we already are. We finished our basement- eeeek! I have the home theater I have always wanted (thanks Bubbins) as well as a room that was going to be another guest bedroom- but I have taken over and put Mad Madam Mom’s office and craft room in there hehe. We have finished things on our patio and literally just redid our deck/steps. Now the shifting around upstairs- TV room is going to become the “serious” office. The couches in front of the fireplace went downstairs- so new configuration there…. and then major redo of Julia’s room soon- as well as the room I was using for my craft room/office. Yeah… we’ve been busy.
We’ve also done a little bit of traveling since I was last on here. We just got back from a surprise beach vacation (thanks to Bubbins) to the Outer Banks. My sister and her hubby joined us for the last portion of the trip. I loved it. If only I could REALLY disconnect though- no tenant calls, no computer… just off the grid… maybe one day! Blog coming on that trip too!
I have really started to understand the bible (insert record screech here). Yeah, I have finally found a pastor and church that actually speaks to me- and speaks my language. Center Church in Charlottesville is absolutely amazing. I am so grateful to my friend, HD, for recommending it to my hubs and me. Pastor Josh Miller will explain to you what each section of the bible means- book by book- in real-world terms. My mentor and friend, Staci, has been so incredible in trying to keep up with me and make sure that I’m still walking on the path that Jesus paved for us. I cannot thank my church family enough… and I cannot say I’m sorry enough for not being more involved. Please see above- even though I know it’s not an excuse.
With that said, I have really been bad about keeping in touch with my friends… for that, I am so sorry. At the same time- I have so much going on that by the end of it all, I just want to be with my family. It doesn’t mean you guys aren’t important to me- I literally just haven’t had the time. I know a few of you have gotten hurt because I haven’t responded to texts or calls- probably because you were buried in the tenant texts and calls… but I promise to do better. My 20 year high school reunion is next month, holy sh*t. I also am helping (with what I can) plan that too. Soooo, one bite at a time right?
So that brings me to this blog. This originally started out as a place for me to jot down my instant pot recipes and share it with the world. It morphed into a place where I could share some of my thoughts and things about me… duh, it’s a blog. I will expand on each of the things I mentioned above. I hope you follow along with me on this thing called life… but if not… I wish you the best on your road too!
I have learned so much through my experiences in life- why not share them? So, I have invested in somethings for the blog… lights, camera, action… computer… Mad Madam Mom office… so get ready. Hopefully, I can live up to the promise I am making myself… yet again… and be present on here. Let’s see if I can live up to the vision I have for myself in my head. 🙂
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