A Magical Place to Grow Up

We went by PJ’s dad’s farm yesterday to get a few things for our farm, and spent some time wandering around the over 100 acres. PJ grew up here and always talks about what a wonderful childhood he had out there. I could listen to him tell me stories for hours (and I have). I sometimes find myself wishing I had known him forever. Do you do that, too?

I always try to picture little him running around barefoot, climbing and swinging from trees, swimming in the creek, accumulating his many scars he now has as an adult from all of the shenanigans he got into when he was younger. My little wild man- so cute!!

It really is a beautiful farm. Doesn’t it look like something out of a fairytale? Like a little woodland creature could pop out behind a tree at any minute? Our farm doesn’t nearly have this amount of beautiful trees (some more shade would be nice out at our place!!), and we don’t have a creek like this one, either.

The farm has been in his family for 100 years and it feels old, established, historic.

Magical indeed.

xoxo

A Beautiful Start to the Weekend & Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, friends!

First off, I’ve loved reading everyone’s thoughts and perspectives on yesterday’s post. Thank you for weighing in!! I find it so interesting to hear what people from all over think about the CDC’s new ruling and how you plan to protect yourselves and your family going forward with or without a mask. Whatever you choose, please stay safe!

Secondly, today has been the most beautiful day. Perfect start to the weekend. Sis and I had to run into town to pick up groceries we had delivered to our house, which, now that I’ve finally bitten the bullet and done it, I am never going back! Have you ever tried it? I don’t love all the plastic bags the groceries come in, but right now our Walmart isn’t letting anyone bring their own reusable bag anyway due to COVID, and it’s soooooo convenient! All of our groceries were patiently waiting for us on our front porch when we pulled up. Total bliss.

I made a beef stroganoff for dinner tonight using a really cool appliance that we’re doing a partnership with, and I am obsessed with it!!! Some of our readers from other countries might know what it is, and if you do, it’s likely you love it, too. We’ll be able to post about it next month, but just know, it’s absolutely amazing and so much fun to cook with.

Two movies featuring two of my favorite actresses (Angelina Jolie & Amy Adams) came out today, so I think we’ll watch one of them tonight after the kiddos go to bed- so excited!! They both look thrilling in different ways, but I think we’ll start with The Woman in the Window; it looks like a good wine and popcorn on a Friday night movie, doesn’t it? And you know what I mean whenever I say that.

Meanwhile, our oldest kiddo is trying to make a deal with me that if he wins in a “race challenge” outside he will get his T-Rex toy back that he lost as a consequence earlier today, so I’m off for the weekend.

Have a good one, y’all!! xx

If You’re Fully Vaccinated, Will You Still Wear a Mask?

As of today, the CDC says fully vaccinated people are not required to wear masks outdoors or indoors anymore (yay!!!), but will you still wear one anyway?

"We have all longed for this moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Thursday. "Based on the continuing downward trajectory of cases, the scientific data on the performance of our vaccines, and our understanding of how the virus spreads," Walensky continued, "that moment has come for those who are fully vaccinated."

The CDC also says you’re no longer required to social distance (in most cases) if you’ve been fully vaccinated. Doesn’t that sound weird for some reason? I think we’ve accepted this as our new normal, as hard as it’s been, and I never thought a return to normalcy would happen so “soon”.

Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, thinks "It’s exactly what we ought to be doing right now.” Over 35% of the population (around 117 million people) has reportedly been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC, so it definitely seems like things are moving in the right direction.

Over the last year masks have, sadly, almost become a political symbol, and are often signs of what your values and morals are, both personally and politically. As a family, we’ve all proudly worn our masks to protect ourselves and our loved ones, and socially distanced according to CDC guidelines. However, with the news breaking today, and with both of us being vaccinated, I think we will be easing up (if not completely foregoing them all together) on the mask wearing.

What do you think? If you’re fully vaccinated, will you be leaving the mask at home? Or are you still going to take every precaution until you’re fully comfortable? Whatever happens, I personally feel so much joy and am looking forward for more breakthroughs like this. And of course, as always, I’m endlessly grateful for the scientists working day and night to help keep us all safe.

Take care of yourselves, friends!! xo

The Second COVID Vaccine Wiped Me Out

I was completely useless yesterday.

We both got our 2nd COVID vaccines two days ago (which, looking back, may not have been the smartest thing to do, as we probably should have staggered them a little more instead of both getting them on the same day), which we’ve been looking forward to, as everyone has, for a year. We’re taking our first family vacation ever in a few weeks and we wanted to be fully vaccinated before going.

So we got the vaccines at 11a and felt fine the whole day. I was a little more tired than usual that night, but that’s about it. However, the next morning was a completely different story.

I woke up and felt like I had an enormous hangover. I was tired, dizzy, had a massive headache, and felt achy all over my body. Everything hurt. Everything. PJ and I already suffer from back issues, but the achiness amplified every single one of them, making it difficult to get comfortable even when lying down on the couch.

I had a fever of 100.4 and had chills all day. I couldn’t get warm. But when I finally did get warm, I was burning up. The social distancing really paid off last year as none of us were sick past March, and I gotta say, I didn’t miss being sick one bit.

I had no patience the entire day (because does anybody really have patience when you feel like crap?). I may have yelled a little louder than usual when the kids were running around the house as I was trying to rest on the couch. Usually only one of them is taking naps right now, but I put all three down so I could get some sleep and try to relax, but there was a fly buzzing around the entire living room (this being a farm and all, there are lots of flies) whose only mission in life seemed to be to keep me from falling asleep. Mission accomplished. However, I was able to fall asleep for a few minutes a one point or another during the day.

And can I just say: feeling under the weather when you have kids is in no way shape or form ideal. It’s the opposite of ideal. It’s…awful. There’s no other way to put it. I felt so much shame and guilt because PJ and I both have responsibilities when we’re out here: PJ installing fences and clearing brush and renovating Holiday House, and I cook and clean and take care of the dogs and do showers and blow snotty noses (which there are currently three of in this house and they all belong to people under the age of 6). When one of us isn’t 100%, it’s noticeable and felt throughout the whole house. It means the other person is going to have to pick up the slack, and I always hate it when that person is PJ. So, friends, remind me never to get sick with kids again.

The kids and I took a few walks in an attempt to let the fresh air do its thing and make me feel better. Spoiler: it didn’t work. Our evening walk was a lot better than our afternoon one, though (where I actually felt like a zombie walking through the hot sun, stumbling through the field as I tried to keep my eyes open), because the sun was going down and the air was cooler and honestly just looking at the mountain calms me and instantly made me feel more relaxed. Forever grateful to be out here. AND! Our oldest kiddo picked me some flowers so that I would feel better. How sweet is that?

One of the biggest mistakes I made was not showering all day. I always feel better, no matter what, when I shower, but I just couldn’t muster up the energy to do it until after the kids went to bed last night. And when I finally did, I felt worlds better. My fever had broken at that point and I was mainly just weak and tired. I felt at least 70% better by 10p, so I put on a big comfy shirt, sat on the couch with PJ and Meryl and Jolie, popped some popcorn, and resumed watching Jupiter’s Legacy with Josh Duhamel on Netflix. Have you seen it? Highly recommend!

So even though it was hell for a day, it was obviously worth it (that goes without saying) and I’m grateful we both finally have these vaccinations. It gives us so much peace of mind to leave for vacation knowing we’re that much more protected, and it brings us one step closer to a return to some normalcy (whatever that means).

Today I feel better, but still a little blah. I’m still feeling super cold one minute and super hot the next, and I’ll break into sweats here and there, but my fever is gone, thankfully.

Have you gotten both of your vaccines yet? How did you feel afterwards? Sending virtual hugs your way regardless!!! xoxo

The Night the Sky Was On Fire

I couldn’t get enough of the sky at the farm the other night.

It looked like it was on fire and was drawing me in closer every second the sun was lowering beneath the clouds. It looked like a painting. Isn’t it so…majestic?

In the photo above, I love how the pink clouds are peeking up from the mountains in the bottom left corner. Just saying hi!

xoxoxo

Feels Like Fall & Happy Friday!

Good afternoon friends, and happy Friday!!

I let the dogs outside this morning and it was so chilly and breezy that it felt like an early fall day in the most refreshing way. I know the calendar says May 7, but it could have easily been October 7 this morning. PJ and the kiddos went for a walk and found some teeny tiny strawberries that we have scattered throughout our fields at Ocoee Farm. PJ thinks it could have been a strawberry farm or something at one point. Who knows?

Mother’s Day is this weekend and I have a confession: I have yet to get my mom anything. I will be the first to admit I am the world’s worst shopper. I never know what to get people, even PJ (especially PJ), as gifts for special occasions. Gift cards are always easy to fall back on but I usually feel guilty and lazy when I give those. Do you know what I mean?

The kiddos and I came into town for a bit to do some laundry that has been piling up for way too long now. We still don’t have a washer and dryer out at the farm so we have to come home every few days when we need to wash clothes and towels. But you know, it always feels nice and different to come back to our house in town after being out at the farm for a while. It feels…new, like I’m looking at the house we’ve lived in for the last four years for the first time or with a fresh set of eyes. It makes me even more grateful for this old house of ours.

Speaking of being at home, how beautiful are the roses on PJ’s climbing rose bush?! They’re blooming and they’re SO BIG. PJ’s been training this thing for many years and how lucky are we that we get to experience the fruits of his labor? That’s pretty much the story of our lives, so I’m going to go ahead and say we’re pretty lucky :).

Below are some of the knockout roses in our backyard:

I love the way they just seemingly take over everything and give the backyard a sense of magic and wonder. Our backyard is small and has almost no grass (next year!), but the roses make it feel beautiful and private back there.

The kids are napping currently and I’m thisclose to laying down on the couch to take a nap, but I think I’ll just make some coffee instead. And then maybe take a quick nap after that.

Have a great weekend, friends!! xoxo

Old Photos of Men in Love

The Advocate shared a few photos from the beautiful new book LOVING. A Photographic History of Men in Love, and I found them so fascinating and, to be honest, somewhat heartbreaking.

Seeing these men, who look so in love (hence the name of the book), and knowing they had to hide that love and who they truly were from everyone in their lives, made my heart hurt a little. I can’t imagine what life was like back then for the LGBTQ+ community, though I know how hard it is still today in pretty much every part of the world.

The photos are intimate and stunning, and The Advocate describes that the book:

“…portrays romantic love between men in hundreds of moving and tender vernacular photographs taken during the 100-year period between the 1850s and 1950s. This visual narrative of astonishing sensitivity brings to light an until-now-unpublished collection of hundreds of snapshots, portraits, and group photos made in the most varied of contexts, both private and public. Some are formal studio portraits, others were shot at the beach, in suburban settings, in the countryside, and at home. The range of individuals shown is extensive, covering nineteenth-century working class men, fashionably dressed businessmen, university students, and soldiers and sailors of all ages—spanning the time between the Civil War and World War II, and into the 1950s.”

You can click here to order LOVING: A Photographic History of Men in Love, and check out The Advocate to see more and read stories of the photos.