December Photo Project

I've found a fun challenge for December! I'm looking forward to being more aware of my new world! 

Coconut oil...

I first read about coconut oil 4-5 years ago and became very intrigued. I don't remember what directed me to it, but once I started reading about the uses and benefits of coconut oil, I knew it was something I needed to use and consume! I've always loved the flavor and scent of coconut... here's some of the ways I use it.

Homemade deodorant

1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
4 Tblsp. coconut oil
10 drops of essential oils

This time I only had about 1/8 cup of arrowroot powder so I adjusted the recipe by half.
 

Ingredients

I experimented with scent using a combo of these essential oils

Mixing it up

Finished product

I just scoop it out with my fingers and rub it on. The deodorant gets really hard in cold weather, but it melts really quickly once you put your fingers on your underarm skin. I initially tried this in the winter in Central Texas... and knew the real test would be in the summer. I went thru a Texas summer of 100 days of 100+ degrees and it worked very well! It's not an antiperspirant so it won't keep you from sweating... just from stinking!

Moisturizer for my face and body 

- I keep a small jar in the bathroom.

Sunburn soother 

Hair conditioner 

Homemade soap

 

In the kitchen...

add to smoothies

in sauteeing and roasting (especially good with sweet potatoes)

for popping corn

in baking

in coffee (an easy way to get some in; it gives coffee a hint of coconut)

There are many benefits to using and taking in coconut oil. If you google it, you will find many articles on it. Here's one to start with... Health Benefits of Coconut Oil.

Slowin' down...

We are back HOME! We made quick tracks and arrived in the Austin area the day after Thanksgiving. My sweet mom saved us some turkey leftovers and we heated them up just a few short minutes after arriving at their house! We tried to find an RV park but none of them had open spots until today!

So we enjoyed a relaxing weekend at my parents house. They live in a rural area and have a very long driveway so we were able to park the rig and truck there... and sleep in the house! Our youngest son came over on Saturday and spent all afternoon and evening with us... working a bit and watching football. We also got to skype with these two cuties! We haven't had good enough wifi to skype with them on the road, so it was fun catching up with them!

Today we arrived at an RV park in East Central Austin that is just our style. And the biggest surprise... Green Gate Farms is right across the street! I volunteered at Johnson's Backyard Garden a couple of years ago and loved it and the veggies I got "paid" with. We are hoping to do a bit of volunteering at Green Gate Farms as well!

Nothing has felt more right than pulling into the Austin area. Except when we moved here from Colorado. =) I think we've slowly realized how stressful the towing part was for both of us. David never was fully confident and then after the blow out, that confidence was at an all-time low. I wasn't comfortable knowing he wasn't. The best part about that was we did a lot of praying!

We've had one meal out of Tex Mex food... and it was SO GOOD! We've enjoyed my mom's cooking as well! We have a long list of places we want to go to, but keep reminding ourselves we don't have to do it all in a week's time!

We are settling in and excited to see what we get to do next!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Currently

...reading The Power of Half... The concept is an honorable one... the reading is slow as they tell everything leading up to it. And this is a very wealthy family... giving up half still leaves them with more than most of the middle class.

...traveling through Florida

...wearing my ruffled overalls and braids

...needing a Starbucks seasonal drink and some fried shrimp (not at the same sitting)

...wanting a simple Christmas season

...looking forward to seeing our family and friends this holiday season

...eating beef carnitas tacos tonite!

...drinking water and sweet iced tea

...listening to GAC when we get it. None of the previous campgrounds with cable had GAC until we get to Florida!

...creating a scarf

...watching Survivor, Amazing Race, The Voice, Duck Dynasty (Love Uncle Si)

enjoying the warmth of the sunshine!

Friday Favorite Finds...

Graceful Homesickness... this is the blog of the daughter of a friend of mine from Colorado. Sarah has been living in Amsterdam and working as a nanny there. She's met the love of her life and plans on staying there when her job is up. She grew up in front of me and I love the woman she has become!

I love this dining room!

A few recipes I want to try soon!
Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal
Better Than Christmas Poke Cake
Pumpkin Pancakes

And on the menu this week:
Crockpot Beef Carnitas
Basil Chicken with Coconut Curry Sauce

Yes, I've moved into my favorite cold weather past-time... cooking and baking!

Recent pins:

Still searching for a tattoo that i want... I'm most certain it will involve words!

Love this!

You know I love this!

Simple bathroom storage

Beautiful gray hair!

Happy weekending!

Change is in the air...

I've heard (and I'm sure you have too) that the only constant is change. We experience a change in seasons faithfully every year... but not only a change in seasons but changes within seasons. We've been experiencing the changes in nature with the coming of Fall... And we've experienced the newness of it over and over as we've driven south. One of our favorite drives recently was thru South Carolina. I know that SC is not a "known" beautiful Fall place but it was gorgeous! And we are so blessed to be able to experience it!

Change is in the air for David and I too! We are headed back home soon! Actually we are headed that way right now... and will be there before Christmas... Well before Christmas. Our extended stay in Wilmington took the wind out of our sails so to speak. We'd been missing home before our blow out accident and that was just what we needed to put our priorities back in the place they belong. In my last post I talked about being tired of chasing the dream life and stopping to building one... Well, I heard a song on the radio recently during our drive... It's an old Ronnie Milsap song... Smoky Mountain Rain... One line in it is "I've had a change of dreams I'm comin' home".  That pretty much says it!

One thing we've struggled with is feeling somewhat "obligated" to our readers... when you share an adventure with the public, other people who have similar dreams say they are "living vicariously thru you"... so being the people pleasers we are, we don't want to let those people down. But then we start talking about not living our lives for others, but living the life that we are meant to live and what is pleasing to God. We can only hope that our adventure inspires and gives our readers courage to do what it is they dream about.

I started this blog a little late in the game to reflect on how I see this adventure and how it changes me... While the traveling adventure may be coming to a close, I hope and pray that my life is always an adventure. So for the time being, I hope to continue blogging here about our new adventure (whatever that may be). 

Wow! Unintended long blogging break! I must admit, I struggled a lot during our wait for our truck and rig to be fixed and ready to go. People that we came into contact with were friendly enough but not very helpful. Maybe it was my "expectations" of the South... and because I was looking for why God had us in the Wilmington area. But I was never so glad to leave a town! We did our best to be in the moment and enjoy what Wilmington has to offer. We explored downtown Wilmington. We went to the beach. We explored local eateries. So I'm happy to say that we did what we could... 

We are back on the road now... presently in Myrtle Beach! Beaches and the ocean are my favorite places to be and it is really nice here. We are within walking distance to the beach so I can walk out there any time I want. The weather has been sunny... a bit cool but still pleasant. And while I'm enjoying our time near the ocean... things just still don't feel "right". 

One thing God did reveal to both of us while we were stranded in a place where we knew no one, were without the comforts of home and several days lacking transportation, was that we miss "home". And "home" being Texas with our family, a few friends, familiarity, friendly people in general, big open spaces, good Mexican food and BBQ. For me, it has been the realization that I'm weary of "chasing life" and am ready to build one in a place called home. I thought I had a gypsy spirit, but being stranded has made me realize that that is just a small part of me. The bigger part wants to build a life in a community making and keeping friends that aren't just virtual friends. I love my online friendships... I really do. But nothing replaces "face time". The real face time and not on an Iphone! =)

We still have not decided what is our immediate future. We are trusting that God has a plan and we are trying to follow our hearts. Our hearts are telling us to take some time away from Wilmington and feeling forgotten and helpless. Leaving the hotel and moving back into our rig helped a little with that. But it's more. 

It goes back to what we determined we were both missing with this lifestyle. True connections that are consistent... being involved in a community, in something bigger than ourselves. We can continue to try and find that on this adventure or we can build it in a community that we already call home. 

Enough thoughtful thoughts... we've had more heart talks in the past 21 days than we've had in 25 years of marriage! Kinda... 

52 Things Update!

1. See a live starfish in its natural habitat. Hold one if I can?
2. Try stand up paddle-boarding
3. Kayak a river or lake
4. Run a 5k race once a month at least for the rest of our travels, if we can find a race that works for us. (I did run a 5k distance in September but nothing that far since then… I’ve lost my enthusiasm for running!)
5. Visit Washington, DC
6. Visit Asheville, NC
7. Visit Charleston SC
8. Visit Savannah GA
9. Visit as many "homies" as I can (Kristen, Crystal)
10. Get a tattoo
11. Make a supper and invite any "late-arriving" camper that is close to us to share it with us.
12. Make soap in our RV
13. Spend the day in Central Park in NY
14. Highlight my hair with a wild color
15. Buy coffee for the person behind me at a drive thru Starbucks
16. Finish my granny square quilt
17. Finish my scrap knitted scarf
18. Bake treats for grumpy campground hosts (or friendly ones if we don't encounter any grumpy ones) How about pumpkin bread for the guys at the Collision Shop we lived at for almost a week?
19. One month of primal/paleo eating
20. Swim/wade in the Atlantic Ocean
21. Lie on a beach and read
22. Run on the beach
23. Recover the valances in our RV
24. Make covers for the dinette benches
25. Figure out some kinda cover for the loveseat
26. Buy fresh eggs from a roadside stand
27. Eat New York pizza
28. Eat shrimp and grits
29. Eat vegetarian for a month
30. Sit by a fire on the beach
31. Cook a meal over a fire
32. Go to a drive-in movie theater
33. Walk barefoot in the rain
34. Knit a pair of socks
35. Drive the truck pulling the RV!
36. Switch "jobs" with D for an arrival/departure day
37. Go on a dinner cruise
38. Try a new-to-me kinda food/restaurant (Indian, Thai, etc.)
39. Take a cooking class
40. Hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail
41. Attend a yoga class or two
42. Read 52 books (4 read)
43. Be a work camper somewhere
44. Volunteer at a food bank
45. Make a patchwork skirt
46. Hoop every day for a month
47. Make a dream catcher
48. Refashion 12 clothing items
49. Allow D to pick a challenge for me and do it! YIKES!
50. Spend Christmas in Florida with my kids
51. Go to an art exhibit or art museum
52. Live every day like the adventure it is!

Gratitudes Day 3::

... pink contrails
... God's care and provision
... free and good wifi the past two weeks
... moving back into our rig today
... a long hot shower
... a king-size bed that we've slept in for almost 2 weeks

Gratitudes Day 2

... a walk on a beautiful Autumn day in a gorgeous park
... green pines with a backdrop of a royal blue sky (reminds me of Colorado skies)
... laughter
... a chat with this beautiful soul

... country music!

Gratitudes::

... the opportunity to live by faith and not by sight

... the morning's first glow

...Carolina sweet tea
...being able to stay connected with friends and family via the internet
...being on the "same page" with D