Feeling Accomplished yet Overwhelmed!

I am at the end of long road that started roughly 22 years ago. I am graduating from college this spring with my A.A. degree. I am excited knowing that I am almost to the finish line, one more semester to go. However, I am feeling extremely overwhelmed by what this upcoming semester holds for me.

For starters, I have to finish 16-credit hours (which is four classes). On top of this, I have to complete my externship (which they informed me is 40 hours a week). I already work two jobs, both from home though as a medical transcriptionist, as well as taking care of home.

The thought of things to come was weighing heavily on me over the weekend. Then, my dear husband said the sweetest thing, "Let me know what I can do to help you." That was music to my ears. Normally, I don't accept help in fear that what I need to get done will be pushed to the side. However, this time I told him for those 12 weeks he needed to take over the finances including the checkbook register. I even told him I would put together a list of when things are do and the websites and passwords to what I take care of online.

I did give him this disclaimer though that I would probably still be overwhelmed and a little short-tempered during this time.

Thankfulness

Thanksgiving is 6 days away, so I thought I would share with you today what I am thankful for. The last four years for my family have been somewhat rough and challenging. At one point, I really thought I had nothing to be thankful for; however, as I enter my 41st year, I have realized I have so much to be thankful for.

I am thankful for this man! My loving, caring husband who has been with me through it all good and bad.

I am thankful for my daughter Jackie and grandson Ashton. My daughter was involved in a serious car accident in June of this year. As a result of the accident, Ashton was born via emergency C-section at 27-weeks.

I am thankful for my other daughter Stephanie. She has been here through it all. I am thankful she has remained calm when I could not.

I am so very thankful to all of our family and friends who have been with us through it all! Without their love and support, I don't think we would have made it through all that we have.

Vacation was awesome!!! My husband and I had not had a real vacation in 17 years. The drive up to the cabin in Murphy, NC was met with a detour. While in Georgia our GPS noted that there was heavy road congestion and decided to reroute us. Where did it reroute us to you ask? Downtown Atlanta, Georgia in the middle of rush hour. It took us about 3 hours to get back on track. Once back on the main highway, we were about 2-1/2 hours away from the cabin, and we were going to arrive in the dark to a place we have never been.

We arrived around 9 p.m. to our cabin. In the dark of night, it looked very scary. For me I have watched one too many scary movies, and I was just waiting for something to come out of the woods. The cabin sat on hill with a long sloping driveway. We were in my husband's little sports car (1995 Acura Integra that he babies) and only made it halfway up the driveway. So we ended parking at the bottom of the driveway and carrying everything up to the cabin.

Once inside, the cabin was so beautiful. It was so cozy and inviting. It was everything we had imagined and more.

The sign says it all!!!

Looks so much better in daylight.

His car finally made it up the driveway.

My favorite seat. At the end of the day, I loved sitting here and watching the sunset.

I will post more pictures throughout the week of our travels. As you can tell from the pictures, the leaves were changing. It was wonderful as here in Florida we don't get to experience the changing of the seasons.

Delay due to illness

I am so sorry that I have not posted anything this last week. Since being back for a week, I have had an upper respiratory infection with double ear infection. I haven't felt like loading pictures or posting much. I am hoping to get back into the swing of things this week, so just keep checking in. I have so much to share about Murphy, NC as well as Concord, NC.

Blessings,

Donna

Back to Reality

Well, I am officially back from vacation. However, after 10 wonderful days, I have a cold. I also have a large amount of laundry to do as well.

The trip was wonderful. My husband surprised me with 7 days in a cabin in the mountains of Murphy, NC. The last 3 days we spent visiting family in Concord, NC. I will be sharing more about our adventure and posting pictures hopefully later on this week.

Blessings,

Donna

As I am new to blogging, I am still trying to figure out how to add pictures, so please bear with me as this is a fun learning process for me.

My husband and I are leaving on vacation this week. Yesterday, I went shopping with a girlfriend to finish up some last minute things I need for the trip. I purchased a traveling outfit as it is a 9-10 hour drive to the mountains from sunny central Florida. The weather here is still warm in the high 80s; however, I have been checking the weather for Murphy, North Carolina and it seems that the high during the day is in the 60s and at night it gets down to the low 40s.

My purchases yesterday consisted of a few essential pieces. First, warm pajamas. Here in central Florida there doesn't seem to be a need for flannel pajamas. I also bought a pair of ankle boots, which can be worn here during our cool weather. My travel outfit that I purchased consists of yoga pants and a long sleeve t-shirt. 

I cannot wait to post pictures from our vacation and the outfits that I have put together for the trip.

Blessings,

Donna

Living Life Backwards

My husband and I say that we are living our lives backwards. What do I mean by this? Well, I married young, had children young and now having grandchildren at an age I consider young. My husband just started a new career in the last year or so. I have gone back to college and about to complete my AA degree next spring. We are planning on moving shortly after I graduate into an apartment and living by ourselves. All of this while we are what I consider to be "young."

I am looking forward to the changes coming up. I see them all as being positive steps for our future. I hear some couples talk about how they grow apart after the children are grown and leave home. I feel that my husband and I have gotten closer. We are looking forward to our alone time.

Welcome to my Blog

I turned 40 November 2012. The last 4 years of my life have been somewhat of a roller-coaster ride. It has been filled with many highs and many lows. In the last year I have started to discover who I am.

During my 20s and 30s I was wife and mother and home-schooled my 2 daughters. They have since graduated. I am now about to finish my AA degree, and hopefully start a new career in the upcoming year. My husband and I are planning on moving to be close to the mountains.

I used to hate change, but now I embrace it with open arms. I hope through this blog that you enjoy the journey with me.