Posted on by — Leave a comment

Squishy baby birth

My sister had her baby on Thursday, the nineteenth, at 7:07 A.M. I was happy and honored to be in attendance during her labor and birth. It had been awhile, I would guess three years since I’ve attended a birth now. I used to be attend births many times during one month.

It was, at least to me, a nice and easy labor and birth. Though I felt weary after as I’m not used to getting up so early in the morning(3:30 A.M. I was awoken).

I spent most all of the day at her house helping out with laundry, dishes, and food. Also making placenta prints, along with assisting in photographing the placenta. Then I helped with preparing the placenta to be dehydrated and made into nourishing capsules. https://www.mamanatural.com/why-eat-your-own-placenta/

Friday we got our things ready to hit the road as my sister had her baby and we’d been camping on her land for the past month.

We are at our home base in Tennessee for two weeks before heading to Missouri for a rally with other fulltime RV families. This is my first rally to attend and I’m excited to meet more folks like us.

Saturday I did a major Costco haul as I hadn’t been near one in over a month. I also hit up the grocery store. Whew, it was a long day getting stocked up on food and then the fun part, finding places to put it all in an RV.

Today was completely a time for relaxation. We caught up on some shows on Netflix and Hulu as it was a rainy day.

I’m hoping tomorrow I will be back into my routine of journaling and reading. But, these past few days have been good and busy. I am still waiting on the rest of the photos from our RV photo shoot. I’m excited to share these with you all!

Advertisements
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Windy days and yummy food

I’m not very good at writing, journaling, or blogging everyday, it would seem. I haven’t felt much into it these past couple of days, but tonight I did feel like it. Like I was missing an old friend to chat with. I am not using any journal prompts tonight. I really just wanted to pop on here to say a quick hello before I retire to bed. Actually, I’m in bed, so I should say, go to sleep.

It’s been nice weather-wise here. But extremely windy. The children have enjoyed playing outside and getting muddy. Oh the mud! I know as a child it is such fun to be covered in as much mud as possible. To an adult, especially a mom, not so much. I’m all for playing outside. It’s just the mud is so very messy. I believe half of my children’s wardrobe has a brownish hue to it now.

While they’ve been enjoying the mud, I’ve been cooking. I’ve made homemade sweetened condensed milk, bourbon balls, and cream cheese banana bread. The sweetened condensed milk is very good, but more of a pudding-like texture, perhaps due to using coconut sugar. I’ve noticed coconut sugar makes things a bit more on the “fluffy” side. I didn’t have any other sweetener aside from honey and maple syrup, so I assumed coconut sugar would be the best bet. I made the bourbon balls because I had a bag of vanilla wafers my daughters didn’t want to eat and my sister had made a comment last week about wanting some. I made the banana bread because Brent didn’t get any from the loaf I made last week. The sweetened condensed milk was for the bourbon balls. In the past, I’ve made the bourbon balls with corn syrup, but I didn’t have any and with no vehicle to go get any, I found a recipe that used the sweetened condensed milk.

Well, I believe that’s about it for tonight and hopefully I’ll be back to my journal entries.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Journal Entry No. 17

Today was cold with light snow being blown by strong winds. The girls and I snuggled in bed a bit longer this morning since it was so chilly out and Brent is out of town. It was close to 9:00 A.M. before we were done with breakfast and started book work. After this was done, we watched Pippi Longstocking. Then the girls went outside to play with their cousins while my sister and I went for a walk.

I made lactation cookies today for my sister. My phone was disabled for many hours due to an update(the recipe is saved to my phone), so I used a different recipe this time, but my favorite is this one: http://www.drmomma.org/2010/08/lactation-cookies-recipe-increasing.html?m=1

So, on to my journal Entry for today.

What five things would I spend $5 on for fun or self-care?

  • Coffee
  • Books
  • Chocolate
  • Glass of wine
  • Flowers
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Journal Entry No. 16

If I could snap my finger and be any where, I would be in Belize right now. It’s cold and rainy here where I am currently.

I would be lying in a hammock near the beach, sipping on a Mai Tai. The breeze would carry the salty scent of the ocean spray and cool me off. The sound of the ocean waves would sing a sweet melody to my ears. My hunger would be satisfied on a sweet snack of local cashew nuts until it’s time for dinner.

Now, I’ve never been to Belize, but it sounds like a very nice place to relax. I also read up about the Mayan ruins there, which would be interesting site to visit, if I ever got up from the hammock.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Journal Entry No. 15

As I sit here in my bed, in my RV, listening to the patter of rain on the top of the metal roof and the wind whipping about, I feel somewhat restless. Most of the time I enjoy a rainy day as I am able to catch up on reading or spend time watching a movie with Brent.

I did get to watch a movie this morning and with a break in the rain, go for a short walk with my sister, Danielle.

This journal prompt is about “excess baggage” that I might be carrying around. I’ve contemplated it all day. I suppose what I carry about that negatively effects me is that I have a small voice in the back of my head that tells me I’m not smart or good enough. I’m not “real” enough. Or I’m “too different” from other people to relate to them. Perhaps this is why I’ve felt uneasy most of the day thinking about these negative self-beliefs I hold of myself. I would feel so free and light if these thoughts were banished from my consciousness.

How have you released negative self-belief? Is it a continuous journey or do you feel that you truly have over-come it?

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Not a journal entry ☺️

Today I didn’t have time to read, pray/meditate, or do my journaling. But, I wanted to hop on here to jot a few things down that I did. Yesterday we had a photographer come to our RV and shoot photos of us. I can’t wait to see how they turned out(and share them with you all)! She did lifestyle photographs of us inside and outside of the RV. It’ll be wonderful to have this time of our lives documented in photographs.Today, my in-laws came to visit as we are only a couple hours away from them currently. Brent and his father went off to search for some family grave sites that his Dad has been searching for for awhile now. My mother-in-law and my three daughters, plus my sister’s boys(she was grocery shopping and going to the chiropractor), walked down to a little creek off of the property we are staying at. The children had fun splashing about in the creek while Mary and I caught up with each other. Brent and Bill found the grave site. Bill was very happy as he’s tried a couple times before to find this. He enjoys documenting and researching his ancestry. Then we all sat down to a delicious dinner of Feijoada, Brazilian black beans. I also made sautéed collard greens and a salad with vinaigrette. I don’t have a particular recipe for any of these dishes. The beans, I believe, are best made with homemade bone broth(preferably from a smoked beer-butt chicken). The salad consists of chopped tomatoes, diced onion, chopped fresh parsley, fresh lime juice, olive oil, a dash of vinegar, salt and cracked black pepper to taste. I like to make this a couple hours in advance so the flavors can meld together. I’ll be back to blogging my daily journal tomorrow and will share some photos of us and our RV as soon as I get them.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Journal Entry No. 14

These are in no particular order, but it is a list of things that make me happy.

  • My daughters
  • Beaches & oceans
  • Brent
  • Good food eaten with friends and loved ones
  • Books
  • Sunshine
  • Hammocks
  • Babies
  • Flowers
  • Fresh, warm bread

  • Coffee

  • Art
  • Music
  • Wine
  • Chocolate
  • Massages
  • Baths
  • Hot tubs
  • Swimming pools
  • Walks and hikes outside
  • Yoga
  • A clean home
  • Birds
  • Owls
  • Turtles
  • Cooking
  • Traveling to new places
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Journal Entry No. 13

I don’t usually wait to do what I dream of. I do make sure to look into what I’m passionate about or dream of and research it, if needed.

It took me about two years before going out in an RV fulltime.

As I’ve written in past journal entries, I do wish to travel more internationally. I am going to Cambodia this August, but it is not a trip for pleasure, but to serve the Cambodian people(http://www.lohintl.com). I am still excited to go though!

I have thought of obtaining my master’s of family nurse practitioner, but it won’t behoove me now as I travel and my children are so young, needing help in schooling themselves.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Journal Entry No. 12

If I won the lottery jackpot, I would first donate 10%(before taxes) to Legacy Of Hope International(LOHI), the mission group I’m involved in. Then, I would pay off my debts we have. I would put some aside for each child of mine. I would buy an RV Park for Brent and a birth center for myself. I would get weekly massages. I would travel internationally several times a year. I would invest the rest, like a responsible adult should.😊

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Journal Entry No. 11

Recently, my most memorable experience with nature was in Sedona this winter. It was unlike any landscape I’d experienced before. So different than here in the southeast.

I gasped and exclaimed at the redness of the rocky hills. The shapes of the rock formations were so interesting too! I loved the contrast of colors; greens, reds, and browns.

The coolness of the air and the warmth of the sun, all at once while hiking the trails there. It was phenomenal. I cannot wait to visit Sedona, Arizona again. Daphne McIntosh Sedona