Tell Me All About Our Little Trailer By The Sea

Hello, internet friends. Long time no see. That's my fault, I got busy living life and let this old blog collect dust on the sidelines of my internet shelf. You get points for showing up after my ghosting act and bonus points if you can guess the song from my title.

I decided I shouldn't let 2016 close without documenting a little bit of what has happened in the past 6 months of my life. I'm getting old, how else am I going to remember this in a few years?!

// I started a business and I have clients. I thought about telling you all about my business starting venture several times but decided not to bore you with the details. If you want to know more you are welcome to stalk my business website. The extra money is fantastic and if I can keep growing maybe someday it will be the only income maker I need. Goals!

// I bought a house....at the beach! In late October the neighbors showed up and mentioned they were putting their house on the market. I had been staring at their part time vacation house for the almost 5 years I lived here dreaming about what I would do if it were mine. Well, it's mine! WWe closed right before Thanksgiving and then spent the next three weeks moving in and waiting for internet installation. It has 3 bedrooms which if you've followed along before I ghosted you know is the perfect number for us. Best of all a screened in porch where we can enjoy spring, summer, and fall mosquito free. There are still lots of changes we want to make but most will have to wait for warmer weather. In case you are wondering, I did name my beach house as is customary. We are calling her Holy Ship!

// I have read maybe 2 books since July. I've been too busy and distracted to read the way I normally read. I'm hoping after the new year I find a place where reading fits in again.

// My body weight has dwindled and it makes me sad. I know that most people have a problem losing weight  and keeping it off but I have always had a problem gaining and keeping weight on. At this point, I'm so unhappy with the way my body looks I'm glad summer is over so I can hide it for a while. I'm not unhealthy, in fact, I feel great. I sure do miss wearing adult clothes, though.

// I staycationed with my sister at the beach in August and it was just as awesome as it is every time I staycation with my sister. We are staycationing again for Christmas but next year we might actually try some non-beach places for our together time.

2016 was the year of Kelli for sure. How has the end of your 2016 looked?

Beach Scenes - 5/5

I made it, I made it! I'm here for this months beach scenes where I link up with Kristin to show you what's been going on with me in pictures.

K playing t-ball while mommy and daddy watch in our awesome matching shirts made by mommy (Bama has one too). There were beach fun runs and relays for life, my girl likes to run. New shoes needed 5 minutes before school is out, remembering the man who's age inappropriate music was the background to an awesome childhood, dog walking and beach sitting...finally.

A Brookgreen Gardens visit full of sculptures real and Lego, a suntanning alligator, and a storybook playground with a Dr. Seuss house full of  quotes. A few shots of the sky but not as many as I'd like and one visit to the spot with the best view of the beach for a little exploring and dreaming.

What's been going on with you?

Beach Scenes - 4/5

I usually try to have a couple of picture collages when I recap my month but apparently I haven't been as camera happy as usual so you'll have to settle for one really great collage today.

One dog picture for you viewing pleasure, I'm pretty sure Salem spends most of his outside time waiting for the door to open. T-ball things and the funny sign from the tattoo shop. Limited edition brats I can't get enough of, walk to school day in the rain, spring flowers drawn and growing, a picture of the waterfront from the local memorial gardens, and a few sunsets to round out the bunch.

What have you been up to lately?

A to Z's of Beach Life

I've learned a lot of new words since starting beach life so I thought I'd make a list because who doesn't love a good list? Some of these aren't new but they're still beach favorites!

A - Astronomical High Tide. Flooding everywhere, amazing to see.

B - Beach obviously, you can't have A to Z beach life without it.

C - Castle, beach life isn't so without lots of sand castles.

D - Dunes. Keep off, they protect the shore.

E - Ebb tide. The best time for a beach visit, tide pools and no towel moving.

F - Fish, they're out there and sometimes they're close, ick.

G - Gull. Don't feed them, please!

H - High Tide. To me, it means less beach and bigger crowds, the best time for naps.

I - Italian ice. Sold on the beach to keep you cool.

J - Jellyfish, you can't pee on them it's a myth. Try white vinegar instead.

K - Knot. How wind speed is measured offshore, good thing I don't have a boat.

L - Longshore current. A current that pulls you parallel to the beach in one direction or the other (at my beach that's north/south).

M - Marsh. I moved here for the ocean but fell in love with the marshes too, so much wildlife to see!

N - Neap tide. Why the water level rarely changes some days.

O - Ocean. Again you can't have an A to Z beach post without it!

P - Pluff Mud. Generates a smell that takes some getting use to.

Q - EQuatorial Tides - When the moon is directly over the equator.

R - Rip Current. Dangerous seaward current, swim paralell to the shore to escape it.

S - Seashells. Catching them in the waves is my favorite way to find them.

T - Tourists, they're there but the further you walk from the access the fewer the tourists.

U - Umbrella, great for a few minutes of shade when you need it.

V - Vacation. How most people beach, even myself.

W - Waves. Crashing on the shore or jumping them in the water, waves are awesome.

X - EXtra Sunscreen. Okay, I had to stretch for X but seriously protect yourself.

Y - BouY. Floats in the water, make great pictures if you can get close.

Z -  Zone. Know your zone, mine is A. That means I leave first.

Anything A to Z that I'm missing?

Beach Scenes - 3/3

Time for another edition of beach scenes, where you get to see all the fun things I thought I should take a picture of in the last month. These pictures always do a great job of summarizing my life in images.

We'll start with everyone's favorite, sky and beach scenes. It's been raining a LOT here as you can see by the tree in the perpetually flooded ditch and the gray ocean shots scattered around. You might also notice a city scene in there (gasp)!

Next up we have birthday parties (lots of them), valentine's hearts, new cars, and puppy cuddles. I can't get enough of those puppy cuddle pictures. Salem has found his soul puppy in Marina and I couldn't be happier.

What's scenes can you share from your life?

Beach Scenes 2/4

We haven't done beach scenes in a while after school started and the weather got cooler there was a lot less beach scene picture opportunities. Then Kristen announced her monthly What's New With You link up and I decided it would a great time to catch up on my beach scenes.

Old gas pumps, sister pictures taken by a 6-year-old, family footstool time, salty kid footprints from a warm December, the captain that keeps watch over my beach, Holden Hands our Christmas rental, beach flowers in December, sister on the beach in PJ's, sea biscuits, and seagulls.

My collection of favorite sunrises and sunsets for the last few months, you can never have too many pictures of mother nature's art.

Beach Scenes 9/2

It's time for another edition of beach scenes, while I realize this is mainly a picture post it's one of my favorites of the month. I'm interested to see how school and a new schedule changes my beach scenes for next month.

There were more sunsets than sunrises this month including a sunset watched while standing in the middle of the inlet at low tide by myself. A few no swimming days and a full moon photo shoot where the only light in the sky came from a helicopter.

There was a tour of a replica Spanish Galleon ship, which included a picture of the poop deck because hello poop, and an unplanned chance to watch a sea turtle nest inventory by the local beach patrol.

There were days of exploring tide pool heaven at Bama's beach which included; bird watching, looking for shells, finding the local beach mailbox and leaving a note of gratitude, and two guys flying around with big ass fans on their back pointed at parachutes.

What did your month look like?

If You Came For A Visit

Most people don't live in a place where other people want to visit, they live in regular cities and towns where tourists are few and far between. If you came to visit me I wouldn't want to do touristy things though, I'd want to show you my area from the perspective of a local. I've made a list of things we could do and included some pictures, the beauty of the beach doesn't just lie on it's the sandy shores.

First I'd suggest we make our way down to what's known locally as the point to watch sunrise. The point is located where the ocean meets an inlet, it's the perfect place to watch the sunrise and hunt for early morning shells. The early sheller gets the best shells.

Next maybe breakfast made by yours truly, I can't cook a lot of things but I can cook breakfast like nobody's business!

After breakfast I suggest a little relaxing on the beach, after all I know that's why you're really here. We'd head to my favorite beach access and find a place far away from the public walk way. We could tourist watch, book read, or even nap.

That's my man and my kid up there!

After a few hours on the beach I'd suggest a late lunch, probably a made to order deli sandwich from Publix. If you can find a better deli sandwich please tell me where.

Next up a trip to some shops with local flair, we might have to brave a few tourists but the experience is worth it.

For dinner there are options. A cool local seafood restaurant where we many have to wait for our food or a low country boil at home made by Tyson or yours truly. Good friends, good food, and good drinks without the wait.

Sunset would be spent marsh side at the local nature preserve checking out the beautiful scenery including a different view of the point and inlet.

To wrap our day we'd have ice cream on Main St., check out few more local shops, and maybe a few we'd catch a few shag dancers in action.

How we we spend the day if I were visiting you? Is there anything I left off this list you'd want to do while at the beach?

How I Made My Dream Beach Life A Reality

The most commonly asked question I get asked is, how did you end up at the beach? My answer is usually I quit my job and moved her because I had always wanted to live by the ocean. The answer is a little bit more complex than that although that short sentence sums it up nicely. Today I'm going to tell you the story of how I ended up with this awesome beach life. It took a lot of guts and a little bit of luck as you will soon see.

In early 2013 I was toiling away at a job I hated, I had worked at the same company in Charlotte, NC for 12 years and while the benefits were awesome the day to day work environment bordered on abusive at times. Around the end of February I got sick, sick enough to end up in the hospital for seven days while Tyson took care of Little K at home. The diagnoses was ulcers in my esophagus and stomach, no cause found.

Every doctor in the world can tell me stress doesn't cause ulcers and I will call every one of them a bald face liar. Going to work at a job you hate everyday for years is stressful and stress affects your health. While I was in the hospital I was told that I after I was released I would have to be out of work another two to four weeks which meant I had to file for time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act. That meant we would almost drain our savings paying for medical bills and 2 to 4 weeks of unpaid leave from work.

I had specifically set aside that money for a beach relocation which I had actively been pursuing, I'd went so far as to contact companies on the cost of North and South Carolina that did work similar to what I was already doing to see if anyone was hiring.

While I was out on leave my direct supervisor put in his notice leaving me no buffer from the abuse of upper management. I decided I wasn't going back either if I could help it, Tyson, Little K, and I got in the car and headed for my sisters house on the coast to see if we could find work for Tyson since I was almost tourist season. Meanwhile I called every business contact I'd ever made looking for any type of work leads.

Tyson got a job and I got a lead on a possible work from home job. Tyson's check alone wouldn't be enough to hold us for long but it would be enough to hold us until I found local full/part time work or until my work from lead panned out. It was enough for me, I turned in my two week notice and never looked back.

For three months we lived in a house with only power and water, no cable TV and no internet. We scrapped and scrounged but we have never been happier. We ended up having to borrow a little bit of money from my sister to make it through the last couple of weeks until my work from home job finally came through.

I learned a couple of things over those months of job quitting and dream following.

• Living broke and happy is better than living miserably with money
• Big risks sometimes come with big rewards
• Your dreams don't happen on there own you have to make them happen

I've lived here for just shy of 2 and a half years, I've never one time regretted what I gave up to be here. I give thanks every single day that I've been given the opportunity to live my dream life in a place I love.

Have you ever taken big risk that ended with big rewards? What are you doing today to actively make your dream happen?

Beach Scenes - 8/3

It's time for another photo edition of beach scenes, here are cools things I've seen since our last visit. Two of my picture outlines are going to look a little large but I saved and didn't fix so that's the way just the way it's going to be. Living beach life is all about rolling with so that's what I'm going to do.

Sky Things - Sunrises, sunsets, bright beautiful moons, July offered a little bit of everything. The doggie is not sky related other than he is my sky watching partner.

Family Date Night Things - Little K had fun at the "fair", I worked on my night time photography, and daddy enjoyed a summer night off.

Random Beach Things - Trip to barefoot landing, ice cream at YOLO's because YOLO bitches, pictures of the private pier, sand art, and cool local signs at night.

Fun Beach Finds - A few more fun beach finds including trash cans, fire hydrants, and flip flop shutters I need in my life.

What scenes have you seen lately?

10 Things You Need To Live A Beach Life

So you want to live the beach life? There are a few beach essentials you should think about picking up so you can live your beach life in the most comfortable beach fashion.

Multiple Bathing Suits - Beach life is all about going to the beach and when you go to the beach you wear a bathing suit. There is nothing worse than putting on a cold wet bathing suit because the one you rinsed out/washed after yesterday's beach trip is still wet. Buy at least two but three is better, you never know when you might want to beach it twice in the same day.

A Sturdy Beach Umbrella - Don't go to the local tourist junk shop and buy a $10 umbrella, one of two things is going to happen. Your $10 umbrella will become a deadly projectile at the first sign of a little wind or it will turn inside out not leaving you much shade to sit in. After MUCH beach umbrella observation and studying you should find one made of cloth with an SPF factor, the ribs on the underside should be at least as thick as your little finger, and it should be vented on the top so the wind can pass though not carry away. Don't leave the sand anchor behind, spend the extra $15 for easy hole digging.

A good chair - It never fails during tourist season I see at least one broken cheapo chair by the trash can every single beach trip. Who wants to be sitting in a chair when it breaks? Yeah me either. I recommend a beach chair made of canvas material that adjusts to at least 3 different positions. Also get backpack straps there is nothing more awkward than carrying a chair in your hands across the dunes to your chosen spot.

Sand Removal Tools - You will never catch me at the beach without a small bottle of baby powder in my bag. It's perfect for removing DRY sand from your body without having to hunt down a beach shower. My mother keeps a large wall paint brush for brushing off sand and any remaining baby power on her back porch to try to decrease the amount of sand that comes into the house.

A Beach Bag - Please don't let me see you carrying your stuff to the beach in a plastic Walmart bag, just don't. If you're going to live at the beach invest in a nice functional beach bag. My Hurley bag has several pockets mesh and nylon as well as a carabiner to hold my keys and two drink holder pockets on either side.

Sunscreen - Even if you don't live at the beach you should keep and wear sunscreen daily. If you live at the beach you may want to get a couple of different SPF ranges. We keep 15, 30, and 50 SPF in our house, I usually start the summer out with a higher SPF and work my way down to try to avoid that crab red color you see so many people turn. Hot days with high UV Indexes will happen and you'll want the higher SPF for those days too.

Bug spray - I'm not sure about everywhere on the east coast but on the Carolina coasts you don't want to go far from the ocean without bug spray. We have beautiful salt marshes teeming with glorious and not so glorious wildlife including mosquitoes. The prime time for mosquito bitage is dawn and dusk so be prepared.

White Vinegar - While I've always had white vinegar in my home I've just recently started carrying a bottle in my beach bag as well. White vinegar is the best remedy for jellyfish stings, even the life guards on my beach carry white vinegar in their first aid kits.

Tide Charts/Clock - I have tide charts in all my vehicles, my beach bag, my purse, stuck to my refrigerator, and a tide clock on my wall No exaggeration. One thing I've learned is during my beach life is that low tide is the best time for a beach trip. Lots of room to set up and plenty of wave free tide pools for splashing and sometimes even floating. I've also learned that high tide especially during a full moon can cause some of the lower streets in our area to flood. It's always good to know when you might have to "turn around don't drown".

Extra Towels - The same reasoning applies here as it did for the more than one bathing suit point above but also visitors will inevitably forget beach towels. You'll be the hero when you offer to loan them one from the stash in your linen closet.

What is one of your go to beach essentials?

Pier Fear

I'm not usually a person who is afraid of things. If you had asked a few years ago I would have told you I was afraid of nothing. Now when asked my answer is I'm afraid of my kid losing me or me losing her. Pretty normal fears for a mother.

The other night Little K asked to go see the pier in the dark and wanting to take pictures I obliged her request. She asked if we could walk to the end of the pier and although it's the middle of tourist season I said yes. No big deal I've walked on the pier at least 3 other times before without any issues.

As soon as we stepped out of the bait shop onto the pier I was ready to run. Something about the wind speed and wave height made me feel uncomfortable but since Little K wanted to go and we had already paid we set off down the pier.

As we were walking towards the end I kept imagining the pier crashing into the turbulent sea under the weight of all the fisherman and sight seers. I kept seeing Little K slip through the cracks in the rail. I tried to take a few pictures but the wind kept the camera unsteady and I didn't have it in me to manual focus. All my concentration was focused on not running back to the bait shop.

When we finally made it to the very end of the pier my fear eased slightly as the platform spread out and the stairs to the upper level blocked the wind from hitting me. I took a few more pictures and let Little K run around for a very short time before I told her we had to go back. She wanted to climb to the second level but wouldn't do it alone and I surely wasn't ready for that.

As we walked back toward the bait shop I made sure we both stayed in the center of the pier. If people had to move out of my way I didn't care, I wasn't getting any closer to the rails. Once I imagined myself laying down in a ball screaming in fear wondering if someone would help me back or would everyone just stare and take pictures.

Finally we made it to the bait shop and I have never ever been more relieved for something to be over. I'm not sure why I panicked, I was sure we weren't going to make it off the pier alive. I felt every wiggly board and every wave hit the pilings. I haven't heard news of a pier crash so I'm sure it's still there but last night I would have told you differently.

Have you ever been inexplicably afraid of something?

Beach Scenes - 7/13

I love taking pictures, not just with my fancy camera but with my cell phone or my old point and shoot. I'm no camera snob, I'll take a picture with whatever I have handy. I share some pictures on social media but more often than not they sit on my camera(s) and phone only remembered when looking for things to delete. I've been trying to think of a way to share more of these pictures, enter beach scenes. A monthly (or more) post of fun interesting things seen during my every day beach life.

Sunrise Watching - I love watching the sunrise during the summertime. I take Salem with me and we head down to the marsh. Sometimes I leave everyone home and head to the point by myself to watch the sunrise over the barrier island next door.

Interesting Finds - From painted fire hydrants and trash cans to a brightly colored door on the Mexian restaurant there's always something for Little K and I to explore.

Vintage Signs - I was taking a back road in order to avoid tourists when I noticed these cool vintage signs painted on the side of a local building.

Food Things - A late night homemade ice cream trip, Italian ice on the beach, and the best grilled shrimp burger ever. (I clearly need food things practice).

Visiting Bama - We spent 4th of July weekend visiting with Bama (my mom for those of you not yet in the know). There are lots of shrimp boats floating and not by Bama's house.

Beach Time - Enjoying the beach in the evenings after tourists and before dark is one of our favorite things.

Playing Tourist - Every once and a while we venture out to the touristy locales to see what's going on. A visit to The OD Pavilion recently ended in a run for the car in the rain.

What scenes have you captured lately?

Weekend Things

I'm late getting this post up because I my friends have just this AM returned to the land of the connected. I no longer have to walk around the house/yard looking for the perfect cell reception spot to check my social media accounts or new headlines. So lets recap the weekend things list style:

// Thursday - While not really part of the weekend I was off because I was sick yet again. Boooo. I have another doctor's appointment on Wednesday so hopefully something gets figured out soon because I'm way over this shit. Little K and I also moved to my mom's beach house Thursday night as Tyson's family descended on  ours. 

// Friday - Little K and I went lighthouse sight seeing in Caswell Beach, NC. The lighthouse wasn't open but we enjoyed checking out the outside and surrounding areas. I'm hoping this will prompt Little K to stop asking when we are going to stop and see the fake lighthouse restaurant front here locally. We also enjoyed dinner out at my favorite Holden Beach haunt The Provision Company where I ordered what else the grilled shrimp burger. 

// Saturday - We enjoyed some very crowded beach time with my family, minus the dumb asses feeding the birds. I swear I have a sign on my back that says please sit by me and feed the birds. Saturday night we headed to the beach to watch all the fireworks shows up and down the coast of NC/SC. We weren't close enough to see any show specifically but we were perfectly located to see several public and private shows from a distance while enjoying the sound of waves on the beach.

// Sunday - I read my book, the end. No really that's all I did on Sunday, yayyy for lazy days.

// Monday - I am back home working while my house is full of visitors still, tomorrow we're back to status quo and I cannot wait.

How was your 4th of July weekend?

Happiness Is...

I did a post about what happiness is to me in 2013, I saw the title when I was looking through old content for new ideas. I decided not to open it after all what made me happy then may be different than what makes me happy now and I don't want to subconsciously edit my list based on what I thought two years ago.

// A good book, the house to yourself, and big fat reading chair.

// The beach at the end of a work day, cool breezes and no crowds.

// Having friends who live in the same city you do.

// Used book stores with shelves of books crammed full to the ceiling.

// Watching the sunrise.

// Capturing beauty with your camera.

//  Fresh produce from the farmer's market.

// Reading chapter books to Little K in a big fat reading chair.

// Thunderstorms at night.

// A shower after a long beach day.

// Face wash that doesn't break your face out.

// Living by the ocean.

// A text that says your requested library book is waiting.

// Dog walking in the morning when the neighborhood is quiet.

What is happiness to you?