cold/sore throat remedies

My Love has been a bit under the weather for the last couple days. Nothing serious just bad cold and sore throat... which can sometimes be the worst because you're not quite sick enough to stay home from work, but feeling rough enough that the work day just sucks. Thats him. Well, when I got home from work last night around 8:30 I found him layed out on the couch surrounded by all his cold/sore throat remedies. He obviously had finished off the banana nut cheerios earlier that day and thought it'd be a good tissue trash box. Had went to the pharmacy and gotten Rite Aid Nite Time Cold/Flu Formula (he is the cutest) and then was surrounded by Halls cough drops/wrappers. It broke my heart a little and made me smile... I think I fall in love with him a little more each precious moment.

How do i love the...

Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth, and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with a passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints,--- I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears of all my life!--- and, if God chooses,

I shall but love thee better after death.

~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

A Garden Problem

source

Do you remember this book? Growing up I LOVED this book! Its about Miss Mouse who dreams of having the best, most fabulous vegetable garden in town but ends up getting more than she expected when her garden starts overtaking her house! Her little friends have to come rescue her and, if I remember correctly, have to eat their way into her home to find her! I think they find her in the bathtub among the green beans! Its a precious book.

Well, friends... Miss Mouse and I have something in common. My Love's veggie garden is about to overtake me! A few posts back I wrote how we made dill pickles and it was so sweet and domestic and bla bla bla. Well since then we have made MORE pickles, canned beans, cooked squash, zucchini, beans... you name it. We've given bags away to family, took bags down to the beach to eat. And yesterday, my Love's first day back at work (where he and his partner have their monstrous garden in the back), he came home with ANOTHER plastic bag full! Friends, I need saving from this vegetable garden! You may find me in the tub surrounded by green beans like Miss Mouse!!

Summertime! (and the living is easy)

So apparently today is the first day of summer. Having just returned from our family summer vacation I feel like summer is already in full swing! And with vacation over, what else is there to look forward to? Well, A Southern Summer recently "planned" a trip to London and it was the best trip EVER! What else shall I do this Summer? I do know I'll be taking it easy. Hmmmm....

First things first! What shall I wear? Well, it is HOT HOT here in the south so I need something cool and comfy! Maybe this super cute Anthro dress! Or maybe this Sundance look. I'm all about casual too. And in the hot summer, dresses are the way to go!

Next, its very important to keep hydrated in the summer time. I think I'll just drink something very cold and refreshing from this fabulous drink dispenser! Then relax on the front porch. I love a front porch! Especially with a lovely hammock on it!

And at the beach I started reading Gone With The Wind, a southern classic that I've been trying to read all year! And man, it has captured my soul! I literally have hardly been able to put it down! Talk about the soul of the south! Makes me want to fight those damn Yankees all over again! (no offense to all ya'll northern peeps out there, lol) It really is a tragic, heart wrenching tale. If you haven't read it, read it! I'm half done so I may have to have a blog book club discussion when I'm finished. (So be ware Yankees... um j/k!)

And on that note... what are your plans this summer?

View From the Top

This morning "View From the Top" had an especially beautiful viewing. Because my Love woke early this morning to play a little golf I wasn't able to go back to sleep. Our room faces the ocean and while still in bed I noticed a orangey red sun peaking through my blinds in my room. Heading out to my balcony I was greeted by a quiet morning that still held a bit of coolness and breeziness from the night and the most beautiful sunrise! And these pics don't do it justice. The thing about sunrises/sunsets is that they happen so fast. You can almost blink and miss them! But if you are lucky enough to catch them at their peaks they can leave you slightly breathless. This one left me a little breathless and with a small smile on my face. I felt so blessed to have caught this lovely moment. What a great way to start another day at the beach!

Another kiss from Jesus*

family vacation

This is the third year I've been on family vacation with my Love's family. Being raised by a beach bum, myself, I love vacation because when I do think of vacation I think purely beach. For the last two years we've stayed in Garden City, SC at a beach house called "View From the Top". And it is perfect for a large group (I think we have 28 here!). Having 8 bedrooms, 81/2 baths, a huge kitchen, living room... even an elevator, this large family has found a home away from home.

One tradition in particular I love. My sister- in- law and her 2 girls give out posters at the beginning of the week to hang on each bedroom door that have a specific theme that then correlates to the person. Last year it was devoted to the men and the theme was titles of popular songs. My Love's poster was Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" which suited him perfectly! The year before was dedicated to the children in the families, and this year the women received the posters! The theme: Pioneering women of the USA. My poster: Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross. I love it! My very first poster!

Don't you just love the little things in life*

toes in the sand

Tomorrow my love and I are headed to the coast of beautiful SC to the beach for a little relaxation! Vacation with his family is SO fun and we look forward to it every year with great anticipation! Everyone have a happy weekend! I'm off to the beach!

Owl Love II

love it!

Ok, so I never really do this but I am in LOVE with the necklace that this blog is giving away. Like her I have a thing for owls... I've even blogged about it here before. And I want this necklace!! So please don't try to go over and take my chance of winning it away, but do check out how beautiful this necklace is! I WANT IT! I need it!

all in a days work...

the nursing cap

So work nearly killed me the last couple days...

Yep, almost killed over dead..

Killed over dead...

But, alas, here I am... not dead after all.

I knew I wanted to be a nurse since I was a kid. My mom said even when I was a small girl I was the "nurse" in the family, always taking care of my siblings when they were sick, always doing what needed to be done to make it better. I like that I'm efficient. I'm good at my job. Yes, I like that. I'm proud of that. And I really do like my job. I like the flow, like the rhythm.

And then there are days like today... and yesterday... and I think to myself that I may never be able to walk through those hospital doors again. Physically and mentally just can't do it any more. While talking to one of my girlfriends on the ride home and not being able to think of words to form a sentence, I see the effect of leaving for work at 0530 and returning home at 8:30 at night will do to ya... I sit here and ponder how nurses are able to work for 30 years! After only 4 years I see that emotionally and physical toll its taken on me. (I found a small varicose vein on my left calf the other day!)

But then Jesus kissed me while driving home from work today... I saw the sweetest girl and boy riding horses in a field with total abandonment. They looked so alive...And it made my heart smile. Yes, its just all in a days work...

Moving On...

ME

Here's the thing. I love blogland. I love that on my days off from work I can sit in my snug kitchen in SC and peek into the life of someone else halfway around the world (like Discovery Street), or get a glimpse into the life of a mom raising 3 young boys and 1 baby daughter (Under the Sycamore), and when planning my wedding I was OBSESSED with all the wedding blogs, literally spending hours soaking in all the beautiful brides, perfect flowers, and weddings that would inspire even the most cynical heart. But today I'm saying goodbye to all my wedding blogs out there. Your job for me has passed. That chapter has closed and I'm a married woman now. I no longer feel that obsessive draw to seek new ideas for receptions or wedding dresses that make my heart sigh. It has been fun. And I did wanted to say thank you. Thanks to all those wedding blogs that did influenced my own wedding and helped make it one of the most special days of my life.

But now I'm moving on...

sweet domestic life!

So I've been loving domestic life and "playing house" with my love. One of my new passions has been finding new recipes and trying them out on the hubby. (who by the way is the superior cook to myself, but i like to try anyway, i say you can't go wrong with a recipe, right?!) 2 of my new fav cooking blogs are Sprouted Kitchen (i love her pics) and She Eats Bears. Well, last night when my love got home we had to get down to the important business of making dill pickles! His garden is overflowing with cucumbers so we decided to give pickle making a shot! I must say it was lots of fun! And it was very satisfying when we heard each of our jars "pop" while relaxing on the couch afterwards!

the kiddos

So here's the thing with me and kids. I like kids ok... I mean, they're alright for about 10 mins and then it's time to give them back to their mommy and daddy. You know how some girls just grow up drawn to babies and knowing how to hold them and all that... that's not me. I know I'll feel different when I have babies of my own (and I'll love them like no other!) but I don't have babies yet. None of my siblings even have babies yet. And although many of my close friends and cousins have babies its still not the same. So, I didn't want ANY at my wedding originally. Yep, NONE. I just felt that I'd rather have someone I'd really want taking up that seat rather than some little kid that wouldn't appreciate my day anyway. But, my no kids request didn't really fly with my family, especially my mom. So we had some kids there. And I have to say, we do have VERY cute kids in my family. Gives me hope that in a couple years I'll pop out a cute one :D