oh summer......where did you go????

second half of August…..🦀💦☀️🍉

where did SUMMER go????

TI visits | cousin time | crabbing | catching minnows | slip -n- slides & water guns | beautiful sunny days & blue skies | boat days | visits with Mom ❤️ | hanging with the grands | slow days at home | and all things crab 🦀 streamed crabs, soft crabs, crab cakes, and snow crab legs!!! 

Goodbye August, I am so sad to see you go!😞

#august #summer #summervibes #endofsummer #TI #littlevisits #thisisus #lifeisgrand #grands #family #boatdays #crabbing #cousintime #crabs #steamedcrabs #softshellcrabs #allthingssummer

a weekend of therapy......

a weekend of therapy ☀️🌊 Thursday | Friday • we did our annual White Marlin Open day in OC and while we lucked out and had the most beautiful weather/temps at the beach, the wind kept most of the boats in on Thursday! We tried subs from Primo Hoagies for lunch - very good [but Anthony’s subs are still our fave]!🤤 Dinner at Crab Alley 🦀🙌🏻 and a room with a [bay] view🌅 a much needed overnight getaway. We were also able to see Mom both days and had a little Kamry visit.❤️

Saturday • unexpected days are the best! We ended up taking Logan back after the funeral and got to visit Mom again❤️ It was such a gorgeous evening we ended up going to dinner at Ray’s Shanty before heading home.🌅 

Sunday • we watched church and had a quiet day at home. Dinner on the grill today: chicken/bacon/bbq skewers & grilled cabbage and fresh tomato/mozzarella/basil w/balsamic. 

A boat day.....a little getaway.....being with family.....cooking.....these are some things that are therapy for me! What's your therapy? (we checked an item off of our Summer Bucket List ☑️ beach day in OC) @oakridge.live @craballeywoc @white_marlin_open @oceancitymaryland @comfortinngoldcoast @primohoagies #refresh #therapy #summer #summervibes #sunset #boating #boatdays #ocmd #whitemarlinopen #oceancitymaryland #beachday #grilling #raysshanty #freshseafood #craballey #roomwiththeview #comfortinngoldcoast #primohoagies #weekendvibes #littlevisits #lifeinpictures #thisisus #lifeisgrand

Happy 63rd Birthday!!

06.29.25 • Celebrated Peter’s 6️⃣3️⃣rd Birthday in one of his favorite places!! 🎉☀️🌊🦀 

ocean views 🌅 

late lunch at Crab Alley 🦀 

sunset on the boardwalk🎡

and we ended the day on our balcony with Flagship subs from Anthony’s.🤤 

@hiltonhotels @craballeywoc @anthonys_liquors @oceancitymaryland

Word of the Year: Perspective

Shew!....what a year! While I was thinking about how crazy, weird, sad, and even scary this year has been, still so many awesome memories started popping in my mind from this past year. One of the biggest bright spots in 2020 was the birth of Kole. What joy he has brought to us! My year was also sprinkled with lots of time spent with my family, many hours with the grandkids, just soaking up the smiles and hugs, and savoring any time we got together. I missed greatly taking a big vacation- but thankful we did go on two mini- getaways. I miss work - after 17 years at the bed and breakfast, it was over just like that. I’m sad I’m missing so much time with Mom and Dad and the rest of the family again after going a few months of all of us being together. I’m normally a pretty optimistic person, but this year has done something to me. It's changed my outlook on many things, it's made me fearful at times, it's caused my feelings to be all over the place. I overthink things, I doubt myself, I'm just not the same person I used to be.

A few years ago, I started picking a word for the year. 

This year I chose......PERSPECTIVE.

Every day is a gift from God, an opportunity, and what we do with it and how we look at it is up to us. Our perspective on things can change how we think and feel. 

This picture is bittersweet.....at first look it makes me want to cry that this is as close as Mom and Dad get to a visit at my house, but it melts my heart to see their happy faces talking to Kole through the glass. Today, I’ll count this as a joy!!! ❤️❤️❤️ 

We can’t always change our circumstances, but we can change our perspective. I am praying that I will stop dwelling on the negative and instead, look for the blessings each day has to offer. 🙏🏻❤️🙌🏻

2020 Word of the Year: BALANCE

My word for 2020 is BALANCE ✨

I noticed this holiday season that the calendar was slammed with parties, activities, to-dos, and gatherings - pretty much something every day in December. While I enjoy all of it, I also LOVE being home, slowing my pace, being with my family, and even enjoying some quiet time just for me. I ended up only choosing a handful of things that I absolutely wanted to do and didn’t stress about not getting to everything. I stretched out the holiday fun with the kids and get togethers with my family and friends over the entire month and just enjoyed the slower, laid back pace so much. I can honestly say it was one of the best (less stressed) Christmases ever. As I get older, I realize how important BALANCE is for my well-being, that it’s okay to say no to things when your plate is too full and it’s ok to not be doing something 24/7. Rest is good, quiet is good, and being home is good. This doesn’t mean I won’t still be busy because I love doing things with and for my family and friends, I enjoy my job, (which keeps me busy all summer), I love taking part in church and town activities, I love cooking big family dinners, I enjoy our home so much and love doing things around the house. BUT...my goal in 2020 is to find more BALANCE in the midst of all the busyness and just slow down and enjoy when I can, and I’m looking for less guilt when it comes to that way-too-full calendar and endless to-do list. 

#goals

a few of my favorite things.....

🌲 Christmas Morning oils in my new diffuser making my favorite spot in the house even cozier. ❤️

*Logan, Lindsey, and Kamry gave me a new diffuser and some awesome smelling oils (REVIVE). 

I got the cute shelf from Etsy ($18 unfinished), which I stained with Espresso stain.

Nathan, Kayla, and Rowen gave me new journals, devotional, and pens which I can't wait to start using on January 1st! (Tina gave me the Be Still devotional). 

 I'll share more of my Christmas gifts in my next post.

                                             These are a few of my favorite things!

Be Intentional....

✨I recently made POST 1,000 on my Instagram account✨ that’s a lot of little squares. ☺️❤️

I went back and looked though all of my posts that cover the past 5 years since starting this IG account. It’s filled with lots of food pics☺️, fun times, vacations and holidays, family gatherings, milestones, and just lots of special little moments that make me so very happy. 

I read a post a few weeks ago about striving less to be [perfect] and instead, being more intentional - to make your time count, to enjoy the little things, to grab those special moments whenever you can and to stop comparing your life to other’s [perfect] little squares. ❤️ 

Don’t get me wrong, I follow and love many of those types of accounts - but this unfocused, unpropped, unphotogenic me picture makes my heart melt because that was a moment I want to always remember- gathered around the kitchen table with both grandkids sitting on my lap. ❤️ 

can’t wait to see what the next 1,000 squares hold! 

{my word for 2019}

For the past few years, I have chosen a word for the year. Last year my word was SAVOR, to be more in the moment and enjoy and soak up all the good things God has blessed me with. I actually found this word coming to my mind many times during 2018 as I spent time with my grandkids or had a little quiet time for myself or with family and friends.

This year, I chose the word LESS. I’m always in a constant struggle with too much stuff, too much on the schedule, even too much worrying. I want to scale back in many areas of life and focus on what’s most important —doing less extra activities, having less stuff to try to keep organized, and having less distractions that keep me from enjoying things and freeing up more time. Time to simplify - less really is more!

#lessismore #less #goal #wordoftheyear#2019 #scaleback #simplify #simple#keeplifesimple #onelittleword#newyearnewyou #enjoy #declutter#minimal #minimalist #enjoythelittlethings#newyear #wordof2019 #2019word