Head Vacations

So, what do you do when you are broke, but you still want to do something. If you know me, you know I'm crazy, so...

I go on Head Vacations. (Now this is not the same as "head trips" from the 70's!) I do it to relax, get away mentally, and to keep my "the glass is half full" perspective. Let me explain, before you think I've totally lost it. I'm betting I'm not the only one taking head vacations...

Sometimes my vacations come as a result of being broke, sometimes as a result of being financially OK. Here's an example:

This was about 8 years ago. Dan and I were swimming in our pool, relaxing and counting our blessings. We talked about how there were things we wanted, but nothing we really needed.
We had the "if I had a million dollars to blow" conversation and it went a bit like this:
We would have a huge family reunion with all our parents, siblings and their families, aunts and uncles and their families. Like I said, it would be huge! We would do one side of the family first and then the other side. We decided on a week at Disney World. After we flew everyone down or trained in the non-flyers, we paid for everything, except souvenirs. We booked the Caribbean Beach Resort for everyone. The good part about Disney is that they do all the transportation, so we could come and go and no one had to do any driving. We would all do whatever we wanted during the day, but we had to all meet up for at least breakfast each day. We were family and needed to appreciate that fact. Wherever possible we booked shows, like the Luau at the Polynesian Resort, or LaNouba at Downtown Disney. The idea was to have everyone together to enjoy "FAMILY". Everyone could go to all the parks and water parks as they pleased. We made a suggested agenda for anyone who wanted it. The last night there we all got together for a huge family photo on the steps in front of Cinderella's castle at the Magic Kingdom. We had Family Reunion shirts made up for everyone. Everyone agreed to share their photos and videos with each other so that at the following years family reunion we would all reminisce about Disney World.

So here I am 8 years later still having Head vacations. Kristy laughed at me the other night because I even took out paper and wrote down who I'd invite, where we would go, and things we could do. Maybe I should be a Family Vacations Planner or something??? Anyway, it got me through the "I'm tired of being broke" mood I was in. It's one of those things to do when you are bored and don't have the means to go/do something. I'd suggest the family play it as a game and have the kids look up ideas of things to do. Then save them and hopefully someday turn the dreams into reality. Anyone who knows me is tired of hearing me say "when I win the lottery"...

Here are a few more exaples of Head Vacations I've had:
- there was the time I took 11 other people with me on a tour of England to see where we used to live and all the very cool things there.
- the time my sisters and I went to Key West to just "hang out". (This one actually came true.)
- the one where I take all my Dad's sisters and brothers and we go to Disney to ride on the Merry go round. (That was actually a Head Dream of my Dad's.)
- we rent two 28 bedroom houses in the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a week and have family get togethers.
- we invite people that have helped us out during our lives to spend a week in Florida and relax or do whatever they want to do to get away. (Did this one too!)

There is also another good thing about taking the time to Head Vacation. You find things you can do and appreciate that are within your grasp right now. You see how lucky you are to have what you have and who you have in your lives. So, admit it or not, I'm betting you've all gone n a Head Vacation or two in your time. The question now is will you comment on this blog and share some Head Vacations with me? Who knows, we may have "gone to the same place" and never even knew it!!!

Comments please... fess up!

Don't Faint

So where are we now? Any guesses? We are now back in Melbourne, Florida. The company I was working with part-time in Illinois had a full time opportunity back in Melbourne, so I took it. After all, you know me, only I would go all the way to Illinois to find a job right here in Melbourne.

It was all pretty funny actually. I got a call one day asking me if I was interested in relocating, as I had indicated "yes" when initially applying with the company. I asked where and she said "Florida". As Miami is not a place I'd ever want to move to, I asked where in Florida. At that time my choices were Ocala, Tampa and Melbourne. LOL! Melbourne! I started laughing and she asked why. I told her to check my resume where she saw that I was from Melbourne. We talked about the opportunity and made the decision that Melbourne was going to be a definite option. I talked to Tricia, as her input is just as important as mine, and we said "time to go back to Florida". They also have a position at the Corporate Headquarters in Tampa, but the person in that position now, has not officially turned in her retirement paperwork. Until she does, that option is on hold.

There is also a position open in Naples, Florida. I'm talking with my boss now to see if that would be a better decision and work better for both the company and us. If I go to Naples I also know I could pick up some part time Hallmark work, until the end of the year, to get us back on track. Keep checking in to see the final outcome of this, now 7 month, journey.

There have been so many people that have helped us through all of this mess: Kristy,William and the girls let us stay with them initially and now. Candy and John, my sister and brother-in-law and their family, let us live with them for two+ months, and countless people that repaid loans they had with us, as well as far too many people offering us financial assistance. We had invitations for visits and mini trips at just get away. How do you thank someone for that? We, over the years, never helped people with the intentions of expecting anything in return. (That's not why you help someone.) But the Lord has definitely called in some markers for us. My goal now is to get back on our feet and repay anyone who helped us in any way. There is someone out there who helped us, and asked to remain nameless, who cannot ever understand the help they provided us. You know who you are, and we will never, ever forget your help. If anyone helped us in any way, know we will not forget.

So if you are wondering where we are, for now it's Melbourne. My knees are flat from hours of prayers. I feel as if this may be coming to an end. Where we end up may still be a bit fuzzy, but as always we are together and remaining healthy. As the Lord often does, he tested us. Never will I say we passed with flying colors, but if you've ever read the poem "Footprints", I think He's going to let us walk on our own... for awhile. Thank you Lord! Don't go far...

Relatives...

My Aunt Jane was married to my Uncle Dan. They came to visit us in Florida to celebrate Uncle Dan's 75th birthday. We had so much fun with them. They wore us out with all their energy! We fondly called them Tarzan and Jane! We miss you Uncle Dan.
Aunt Shirley was the aunt I didn't get to know that well until I was older. As the mother of nine children, you can understand why. Now when we see each other we start out with a big hug. She's great!
Uncle Junior is my Dad's brother. He teased us as kids and continued the tradition with my children. Tricia makes a special point to try to see him whenever we go to Two Rivers.
Here are my Aunts and Uncles from my Dad's family. (back row= Uncle Dale, Aunt Louise, Uncle Leroy, Aunt Shirley, Uncle Junior, Uncle Earl, and Uncle Pat. front row- Uncle Frank, married to my Aunt Patsy.) My Grandparents had 12 children. It's so nice to see the eight remaining family members together enjoying each others company. This was the first time I saw my Uncle Leroy in over 35 years! Too long... I could write for weeks with the memories I have of all of these relatives.

I missed so many family events being in other parts of the world during my life. But please know, everyone stayed in my memories and will not be forgotten. Thank you Lord, for the memories!

Wow! 50 Years

This past weekend we had the pleasure of being there when my Aunt Patsy and Uncle Frank celebrated their 50Th Wedding Anniversary. We wanted to make their gift special for them, so we created an Anniversary Cake. My Aunt Patsy is famous for making the most beautiful wedding cakes. Everyone always asks her to make theirs because they not only look beautiful, but they always taste so good. To celebrate for Uncle Frank and the "Cake Lady", Aunt Patsy, (as my kids used to call her when they were little), Tricia and I made this cake for them. The bottom "layer" is a keepsake box with their invitation in the lid, and the entire cake is covered with 50 one dollar bills from my brother Steve, sisters Candy and Marcia, and my Mom. They are very special to us as we used to go to their house to visit when we were kids. We would spend the weekend with them having fun and of course getting into trouble as kids always do.
As I watched my cousins pose for this photo with their parents I was reminded of so many good times we had as kids.
To help make the event memorable, there was a Mock Wedding. Here you can see the "Anniversary Version" of their wedding party. Aunt Patsy and Uncle Frank stood in the middle of this "group", still smiling at the reenactment of their wedding.
This is their original Wedding Party. Quite a different picture, as you can see. I'm so happy for them. Celebrating 50 years is something every married couple talks about. I'm so glad I got to be there for it.