So it is my Friday, and I am ready for a few days off! The next four days off in fact ! It is our sons last few days of school. We have awards ceremony tomorrow night for FFA and excited to see him shine like the star he is in our eyes. We are celebrating his amazing year with our good friends on Friday and taking him for a fantastic burger (he is quite the burger aficionado). I am hoping for a few hikes/waterfalls if it works out. Also planning on a visitor that may come before my surgery and trying to narrow down all the things to show her !

I treated myself to a new coloring book and some better pencils. I have one more coloring book coming today. It has to do with hiking and although I am sad about having to slow down my plans, I hope that motivates me to do everything I can to get back out there ! Yesterday, I just wanted to strap my backpack on and head out….somedays I feel like I want to get lost in the woods for a few days. Something about just having no noise besides the trees is just what my ♥️yearns for !

Deep in a forest in France there is a remarkable community of “makers”building a medieval castle from scratch. In other words no modern conveniences or pre-fabbed materials. I secretly always wanted to be airdropped to a remote location and build a cabin in the Alaska Wilderness and live off the land and away from civilization. A plan that was never to be as I am not exactly good with tools. Although I once managed to build a fairly epic chicken coop out of pallets.

Guédelon Castle was showcased on CBS Sunday morning today and I was amazed. I added a video below that I found that gives you a chance to see this totally cool place that if I were to go to France, would be first on my list to visit.

Me on the other hand need to adjust my crown and head off to the gym and then to work ! Be sure to check out the video below🏰👑♥️

I would like to think that everyone would practice the above statement. That we would give each other grace and practice patience. In my former role as a special education teacher, I spent so much time trying to impart wisdom and positive coping tools to the students. Empathy is a hard one to teach and I feel that is part of why the world is so messed up. Turning on the news and seeing members of the US house of representatives who seem like a bunch of kids talking smack in a high school bathroom is very sad to me. I am not looking forward to a mud slinging election year. I just want to go disappear on the Appalachian Trail and lose myself in the peaceful tranquility that these mountains offer.

Another long day at work today so no hiking or waterfalls but one of the best parts of my days at work is sharing my passion for this special place with the people who shop at this amazing little store in the Georgia Mountains. I am going to do a segment next week breaking down more of the places I have discovered and what to do in each town. I still have every intention of hiking the Appalachian Trail after I recover from knee surgery but there is so much more to discover and explore in this corner of the world that is now truly my home💚Have a wonderful weekend and I hope you have people that surround you who are kind and supportive🩷.

I would love to have just a small fraction of O”Keeffe”s artistic abilities. Artistic expression comes in many forms. Writing has always been the way I have expressed myself but there is something very satisfying to me to create art despite my limited talents. Coloring is something I enjoy but do not do enough of it. When I taught, coloring was a way to connect with kids and many great conversations would occur while coloring at a small kids table. So when I ran across a coloring book while trying to get the house in shape for my knee surgery, I decided maybe it would be a good recovery activity. I forgot how relaxing coloring is. In the short time coloring, I felt very calm. Mindfulness and breathing are important coping tools and coloring fits right in. I may have to get a better set of pencils and some more books to amuse me and distract me from discomfort ! Check out my work below….definitely no O”Keeffe but I will keep at it ! Finding coping tools for your “tool box” does not end when you are an adult…in fact adulting is not for the faint of heart so you will need all the tools so you do not turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms to deal with all the nasty adult things that come your way ! Let me know what works for you! ♥️

I have some pretty great friends. After my post yesterday, several reached out about the bullying incident and I am so appreciative of the support. So I had to share this quote as it totally fits how lucky I feel.

School Update: the school counselor pulled out our son to listen to his concerns and when we picked him up from after his school activity, he seemed to be in much better spirits. He also was pretty excited as he will be receiving an award next week and he was given his itinerary for the FFA trip when he goes to state next month. Many good things on the horizon plus only another week of class so he is pumped for that.

I am trying to prepare for knee replacement. So trying to get some things done to make it easier on everyone and for myself. I have been hitting the gym pretty hard and working on upper body strength and strengthening the other knee to help be ready to conquer a second replacement ! We are doing hot yoga today at the gym. If you have not ever tried it…I highly recommend! I have to modify quite a bit but there is no judgement and after an hour I leave feeling more flexible and detoxified ! Ed even loves it ! I have the urge to go hike and chase waterfalls and will try to get a few more trips in over the next month before I am down with the knee for just a bit ! I do get happy just running to the gym…..with views like below. It has almost been a year and mountain life never gets old ♥️

Yesterday our sweet boy came off the bus looking dejected. After a little bit of conversation it was clear he was being targeted by a few bullies and this Mama was about to come unglued. The quote above is true…..the mama bear comes out when any one I love is disrespected and hurt. So I emailed and called the school but had to spend the night seething as I received no response until this morning.

I did receive a response first thing this morning and they assured me they will deal with it. I assured them I will be following up on this and any other future instances. That being said I worry about retaliation and making it worse. I told our son that we have to speak up and that if everyone stays silent this problem will continue to fester and others will be hurt and the cycle will spin round and round.

I remember when at a teacher inservice a few years ago, we were being trained what to do in the event of a school shooter. One-of the facilitators stated that “ You teachers are the first line of defense to prevent school shootings”. That pissed me off as there were plenty of concerns I had had over my career that were reported to administration and to law enforcement and yet little to no action was taken.

I shared that with the admin who called and said, I am tired of lip service and no action and that we need to do better…be better…and that I will not go away easily. So while I will not bring real matches…I will fight injustice whenever I can.

Yesterday, we visited the newly opened Rabun Social in Clayton, GA. We had not planned on doing so today but I messaged our good friends here that they were starting their full menu today and they said “Want to go??” and so go we did ! It was Wonderful ♥️

The Service was:Outstanding !

The ambiance was : Perfection !

The food was: Simply Fabulous!

From our amazing server Maddie(not sure if this is the correct spelling! ) to the kind hostess, and the owner Michael who took the time to visit with us and make us feel welcome we felt the service was a definite A++

The ambiance is very inviting. I especially loved the Andy Warhol inspired art on the walls !

The food was On Point ! I had the poke bowl which is one on my favorite dishes when I am able to get to a place that serves it! I also tried my husband’s Ramen Bowl and it was delectable with a mushroom broth that i could drink just by itself! Our friends had the Mongolian Beef Short ribs and the Waygu Smash Burger with house fries. Also ordered was a california roll and dumplings that were excellent! Definitely want to return to try more of their menu and sit outside for happy hour. They also had live music recently and I think it would be amazing to sit outside on a beautiful evening in the beautiful town of Clayton and listen to some tunes. They have a walk up bar and beautiful patio that compliments the tastefully put together inside 😎 Definitely check them out !

This is going to be my challenge this week. To put my phone away more and be present and intentional with my interactions with others. When we first moved here to these mountains, we had no internet and no tv. We finally got some but it was horrid. Now we have starlink and it is wonderful however I find myself missing the peace and quiet. So I need to make myself have more technology breaks and put down the darn phone.

One of my favorite breakfast/lunch spots in Clayton, GA is the Rusty Bike. They have wifi if you need, but the password is: Getoffyourphone. I love that. So this is my challenge this week and I will let you know how it goes and how I do ! Have a wonderful week ♥️

So this is the first Mother’s day with no mother. Last Father”s day was the first with no father. Many people are sad today due to many losses….some old, some new and all painful.

Today I reflect on the influences of my Grandmothers and my Mothers They helped shape me. I miss you but know you are watching over me.

Today I think about my amazing children all of whom made me a mom and all of whom I am proud of. It was not always easy. I made a ton of mistakes. They were many challenging times and I had many people in my village who helped through many difficult days. I will always be grateful for that.

Yesterday, when getting home after a very long day at work, there was an Amazon package that was addressed to me but I knew I was not expecting anything. It was a nicely boxed candle and no card. When j took it out and upon closer inspection, it was clear which child of mine sent it. It was a small gesture that had a big impact as it was exactly what I needed. (see below)

So Happy Mother”s Day and to anyone hurting…much love and I hope you have your people to hold you close.

To my amazing husband, my wonderful children and my supportive village….thank you 🩷

This is an issue close to my ♥️. This morning, CBS profiled the book:

Profiles in Mental Health Courage by Patrick J Kennedy and Stephen Fried

I have not read it, but it is now on my list. I have spent most of my life advocating for students, families and my family members who needed help navigating the complex system of getting help for mental health.

If you have a physical issue, it is much easier to get help than if you have a mental health issue. Especially if you live in rural areas and/or have limited funds and nonexistent or inadequate health insurance.

Normalizing conversations and fighting against the stigma that has been at the center of this rather large problem needs to occur. I will be reading this as soon as I get a chance. In the mean time here is a video with a little more info on the book.