Vacation Get Away!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

I haven't said anything to anybody about this until now because we wanted to wait until things were final.

We just purchased a one bedroom condo near Sanibel Island in South Florida as an investment property.

It finally closed last week, so I thought that we would let you all know in case anyone is interested in accommodations for an upcoming getaway.

It's available for weekends or on a weekly basis. For now, I will be handling bookings until I can find an agent.

Weekends will cost about $150 for three nights and $350 for the week. These prices are low because YOU are friends and family.
Prices will be a bit different for people we don't know, but we will discuss that on an individual basis.

In any case, it's a one bedroom, high-rise unit that overlooks the ocean, nestled among lush greens, and has an awesome ocean view from every window!



See a photo below.

Let me know if you're interested. Talk to you soon!

GOT ME TOO!!! I WAS PACKING MY BAGS

This too shall pass

I am feeling much better now. Saturday was a wonderful experience even though I had to work on my weekend off. I actually did a funeral in a small town near by where we lived the first 12 years of our marriage and where I actually got my calling into the funeral business. I saw many dear friends and it was indeed like going home. Other than work on Saturday it has been a very relaxing weekend and Shannon has been very helpful pitching in on all the catching up I needed to do. I got so down last week that I just gave up on keeping the house in order and it was in pretty bad shape by the time he got home. I also cooked today for the entire week, so no eating out (hopefully) and my family is in casserole heaven!! School is out tomorrow for Columbus Day so we both went ahead and took the day off so we will have another day to catch up (and sleep in!!) Blake has a friend over tonight, so as long as we can keep the wrestling to a minimum, it should be a peaceful evening.

Church was wonderful this morning, we talked about being a "Front Porch" kind of church and how we have gotten accustomed to just sitting in the air conditioning and not venturing out to get to know our neighbors and share the love of Jesus with them. I can so relate to this but was thinking the whole time what wonderful neighbors I have; as I returned from the grocery store on Saturday night, I discovered some delightful treats and a beautiful pumpkin my neighbor and friend Natalie had left me while I was gone. This brought a smile to my face and helped me along in my journey of seeing the world as a brighter place once again.

Warning, this post may depress you

Yesterday turned out to be a pretty rough day. It seemed by the end of the day I was just an outsider looking in and thinking, I don't even like myself right now. I talked to several friends and they seemed to be feeling the same way, so maybe it is just the weather. I feel like I have been burning the candle at both ends for so long and I am completely out of energy. I am seriously questioning if I should remain in my profession. When I first started on this endeavor I felt like being a Funeral Director was indeed what God intended for me to be. I met with families and felt that I was making a difference and showing the love that Jesus would have shown. Now I feel like it is a "job" and it has consumed my whole entire life and most of the time my own children are the ones who make all the sacrifices. To top it all off I went to the podiatrist and am now scheduled for surgery on October 19Th. They will be doing a bunionectomy and injecting a heel spur. This should put me out of commission for at least 6 weeks and I will not be able to keep up with my exercises and will probably gain weight. Well this post is getting depressing so I think I will go take a nap.

http://www.tfda.com/associations/1339/files/Funeral%20Directors%20Proclamation%202006.pdf

Guess I should have been an "Administrative Assistant" or something, at least I might have gotten a plant.

I love Maxine!!!

Dreaming of a day off

So much for a day off. There was a death during the night and even though I am not on duty, I have already buried two people in this family so they only want to deal with me and I don't feel right not going down to take care of them. So, I'll meet with the family and dress and casket today, visitation on Friday and probably funeral on Saturday. Guess I can always hope for Sunday and Monday.

Yoga

Nothing like a good yoga session to relieve the stresses of the day. I had not been to a class in over a week because my favorite instructor was gone. I tend to get really aggravated with the ones I am not used to and an hour and 15 minutes is a lot of time to waist if you are not going to feel good when your done.

I have longed all week for the relaxing feeling we all felt on our vacation to Colorado in August. I have been looking through our photos and remembering what a good time we had and especially having fond memories of the slow pace. I am attaching a photo of the boys fishing that I took from our bungalow. A good time was had by all. I am looking forward to the next several days, I am supposed to be off Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday!!!! I have my doubts that will happen but one can always dream. It is so hard to plan anything when you are in the funeral business and that is a huge cause of burnout in this profession.

Tomorrow I go to the foot doctor and will probably be having surgery on my left foot soon. I have a bunion and a heel spur that are both killing me. I had the right foot done about two years ago and have been putting this foot off but have decided I should have it done on our current insurance before Shannon (hopefully) changes jobs.

Yuk

Don’t forget this brand of fresh lettuce, folks. What probably happened is the water the lettuce was washed in contained polliwogs and these became fresh new frogs, right in the packages. So if you're looking for salad fixings with a little more body, then be sure and try this brand. Don't forget, it's the extra care that Mexican companies take that makes the difference.