The Reluctant Red Nose

So many people despise that word…they want to jump straight to spring. I guess I used to be the same

As a child it meant colds, cough drops, fevers, sickness…and back then…boredom. We didn’t have streaming services for music or television or movies…there was a lot of reading and a ton of dreaming.

I am an extrovert/introvert. What I do for a living and even what I do for fun is not quiet. Playing in front of a large congregation is not quiet. Clowning in front of a lot of kids is not quiet. Owning a retail store is not quiet…so my relaxation time must be.

January is a month where I reset…I look back at the year in my professional life and also my entertainment life and look at what worked and what didn’t. I look at my home, my fitness, what we eat. Where do we want to travel to, what do we want to see. How do we want to spend this year? Is this the year for a new car? What exactly do I need to improve.

Without the winter months, we can’t possibly expect to excel throughout the year. I used to make the mistake of pushing myself constantly…never stopping…never resting. This caused me to either be sick or it caused me to do good things grudgingly instead of a happy attitude.

Winter allows us to sit, relax…cuddle. Winter weather allows your body to find the cozy…it allows puzzles and reading….soups and breads…warm pajamas and fireside chats. It allows times for homemade soaps and bread making….enjoying the small things..dreaming of gardens and greenhouses….

January is a month of not only planning but dreaming. It allows you to read without guilt…which then in turn allows you to rethink how you live your life. I have never enjoyed a month more.

Reset, reorganize, rest and dream of all the possibilities for the New Year.

Enjoy January….don’t rush through it….embrace it.

My blog lately has seemed like an informal book of what is a recipe for a day in the life. I give you what happened…and offer no narrative.

I’m exhausted…I’m exhausted mentally, physically and I’m in between wanting to watch a movie marathon and nap all day…to wanting to go camping and hike and fish…o can’t decide which one. I cry probably once a day…but it’s for things I can’t control. Last week I cried while watching a video of little kids seeing Santa for the first time. Why did they make me cry? Because I realize my kids will never be little again. Do I want them to be little and go through the teen years again? Absolutely not!!! However, my fave days were the days that all the adult kids were in my house and the last few nights were fabulous listening to them talk to each other…and laugh. Then I cry again…but these are happy tears…because they really do love each other. But then I’m sad for my youngest because now she’s all alone with her boring parents.

I’m overwhelmed with work as I get ready next week to do inventory and take down all the Christmas decor…pay all the bills for all the things. I’m overwhelmed at switching my home decor to winter and Valentine’s Day. My house is a dumpster fire and I would like nothing more than a day to purge and clean with no Interference from my better half…

I need to make soap, make bread….finish my last painting project and my last wallpaper project….and just be still. I need to purge and be quiet…get rid of excess and plan the year….

I’ve made appointments for Red Nose Readers which is giving me life…and I hope to make more appointments soon.

We hope to travel to Greece this year….more fishing and camping…and hopefully start to go biking when we go camping….

If you are where I am right now….offer yourself some grace….take one day at a time. Start getting your hands into things that bring you peace. Writing and playing keyboard…making bread and making soap bring such a calm to me…

So let the hush come to you…wave the busy goodbye…form a new plan for the new year…slow life down for a bit….and just let the world go by…

The month of January is fast approaching….today my husband and I did this…

We said goodbye to our son and daughter and her new husband. The only thing that gave me a little bit of small hope is they all live in DC…but I cried…and cried….and then had some retail therapy…and silk pajamas did take away the sting for a bit…clearance pjs are even better.

Life when you have adult kids and you own a retail store is anything but relaxing…and honestly I’m not sad to see the holidays go. It is a blur of constant activity and absolute exhaustion. I feel that I live in a constant turmoil of being pulled in a million different directions and never feel that I am in the right place.

Christmas Day was a beautiful and quiet day. It was filled with just our immediate family. We opened presents slowly…we ate lunch when we felt like it…and it was an incredible day and I am grateful for it.

The month of December brought a staff Christmas party….

Christmas Dress up day….

Playing in church….

Sisters of Solace graduation where we presented the custom made necklaces….

Now we all get ready for a new year….cleaning up the old….throwing out what didn’t work…and working towards more simple…more getting by with less….and I’m ready.

My house has always had good bones…and good layout…she just didn’t look like I lived there….for ten years we have worked on her….and today….she finally looks like she belongs to me.

I know there are many brick purist but this brick on my house was some of the ugliest brick known to man..and no one will miss it.

I started the project with kilz for brick. I started rolling the entire brick but then decided I didn’t like the way the grout was showing through so I decided to brush it.

I also had painted my front door and I do like the color but May change it this next summer. I also plan on painting the patio…

So here is how it started….

And here is how it went….

We then decided to paint the trim black on the garage…and we really like how it turned out!!!

Let me know your thoughts!!!

I have had the paint to do this project for about a year. I have not had the time to do it since we did a “cleaning up” of staff and restructuring. I now have a very capable staff and actually have my life back again who hnos something I haven’t had in such a very long time…that it almost feels weird.

So I started with the Rustoleum Floor system which is a two step process. The directions call for using a roller but I didn’t like the way my bathroom floors turned out, so I brushed all my floors and even though it was tedious the end result is exactly what I wanted!

My floors were the disgusting white tiled with some strange lines in them which made them look dirty constantly. I have hated them for ten years….

I have two dogs and one teen…so we will see how they hold up…but honestly even if I have to touch up every six months it will be worth it…

I did the first two coats and then let dry for six hours….I then did the stencil on top and let that dry for another hour. Then I did the sealer on top of that. The hardest part was my dogs….they did not understand why the kitchen was off limits…so they made it super difficult with them. However, the results were so worth it!

The last month has been a crazy flurry of house projects and camping…work and school….

We took our camper on one last amazing camping trip where the weather was just fantabulous! We started the morning running the Donut Dash…Louie enjoyed it immensely!

Then it was time to go camping!

Then it was time to celebrate Halloween….Ellie decided to dress like her youth pastor and won first place!

Then it was time for me and Louie to show what we got!

Then I clowned at St Francis! The kids are soo great there!

Then we went to the Mayors Thanksgiving dinner and we won an award for our business!!! Totally a surprise!

I then clowned at Roller Rama and enjoyed making balloons

Ellianna had her fall dance….

I will share home projects on another post!

I had a beautiful dress to wear to this event…but this event was outside and decided to be absolutely freezing with a high of like 54 degrees.

We walked up to the amazing tent….

We then waited on the bride and groom to get there…it was quite the ordeal….

The food was amazing!

There was a family dance off!

My only regret is that I should have just froze in my beautiful dress….but I chose comfort over beauty…..

It was a wonderful party….dancers kept dancing until after 8…party was over at 5….

The day decided to turn colder but still bearable…thankful for my shawl.

It rained during the bridal portraits but let up abo 15 minutes before the ceremony….

My daughter was the ring bearer/dog handler….

The dress can be cleaned thankfully, after the dog dragged my daughter through the grass…it provided much humor.

All weddings have hiccups and this one had some….but in the end…all that matters is who is getting married…and we are thrilled with the match!

Our day started with my coffee made with “love” from my fave coffee shop lady…then we took a 40 minute Uber ride out of the city and into the outskirts of Philly.

We arrived at our hotel and they had our reservation, but said we couldn’t check in until 4….we travel a lot and I’ve never heard of this at any hotel we have ever stayed at. I showed my annoyance…but didn’t lose my cool. Explained the situation about how we were here for a wedding celebration and said I hoped we could get a room earlier then 4. We then headed to my husbands sister and her husbands room…where another family member was also hanging out….and that just about sums up the entire next three days…constant flexibility.

We went ahead and went out to lunch and at a a place called Thunderbird. I have always had amazing service in Philly…we have been going there for 6-7 years and this was the first rude experience we have had. My husband said excuse me to the waitress because he couldn’t hear her and she was so flippin ride back I almost slapped her. She got my order wrong, my drink wrong…and lots of other things…but all of us were afraid to complain because we weren’t sure what she would do if we did. The guy behind us glared at us the entire time because apparently we were sitting at his “special table.” I kid you not, I’ve never had this experience….not even in NYC. Them when we got up to leave she complimented my shoes? I was like…take back your compliment…your too cranky to like my cute shoes….

We then headed back to the hotel….

But first Rita’s!!!!

If you’ve never been….just go….then tell me thank you!

Headed back to the hotel and our room was ready and I just about hugged the lady!! God love her! So we were able to move out of my sister n laws and brother n laws and I’m pretty sure they shouted hurray!!!

We then proceeded to get ready and head to my soon to be son in laws parents house….

Ellianna then did a ceremony with her soon to be brother n law…

We then did some Henna…which is a leaf, I never knew that!

Then we had a lovely Indian meal with Naan and some tofu chicken which I had never had before…it was all very good!

Then back to our hotel to get ready for the next day of the actual wedding ceremony!

You can’t go to Philly without seeing the Liberty Bell…and even though I’ve gone before…it’s still a pretty amazing site to see…we explored the city with my husbands sister and her family. This being their first time in Philly it is impossible to see all the things…but we did our best to show them some important things!

We took them to Independence hall….

We then took them to the Museum of the American Revolution museum which has the coolest thing ever that if you are ever able to see you must go!

It’s a very interactive museum…the first time we took Ellie, she was 11 and this time she just played along….

Then we needed to eat lunch so we headed to Reading terminal….which you must absolutely head to!

Straight to bed to begin an exhausting but three day wedding adventure….