Coping Mechanisms

One time I asked Trent what coping mechanisms he used to drag himself up when he was feeling down.  He responded with a blank stare and the answer "none."

If doing nothing doesn't help, there's always the Don Draper approach- "First I abuse the people whose help I need, and then I take a nap."

I prefer to choose one or more options from my personal list until something works.  My list of coping mechanisms goes on and on:  drink water, drink a diet coke, put on lipstick, change clothes, escapist reading, play the piano, make something with my hands, get out of the house, go to the gym (that's rare), eat a large amount of something, pray, pray with guidance from the Book of Common Prayer, sing loudly, put on music, make lists, snuggle with the cats, start texting people, wine, move furniture, go outside and stare at the sky.  The list goes on and on.

Also included:  try a new recipe.  It's anything to get moving and not sit and dwell.

Blueberry crumb cake was an overall winner on so many levels.  First there is the general mood boost of reading Smitten Kitchen.  Then there's the confidence boost of a simple recipe that turns into an insanely delicious homemade cake.  We all got to eat cake for dessert.  And we all got to eat cake for breakfast.

A Fail and Something Better

I regret every publicly announcing that I would not be purchasing anything for myself in 2015.  All it took for that to completely fall apart was family watching kids for two hours.  One innocent trip *by myself* to buy the boys bathing suits turned into a full-out binge, the resulting purchases equivalent to an alcoholic waking up in another state among a pile of empty bottles.

The upside is that I really haven't been buying any craft supplies, which means the cross stitch sampler is coming along-

But overall, not buying things?  Disaster.  No further comments.

We All Have Choices

Recently I have heard of more than one product that will track your water intake.  One was a water bottle that allowed parents to track their children's water intake, another was created to allow adults to track their own water intake through their phones.

I'm starting a new business called Relax.  If you are thinking of making a purchase because you want or need constant praise or pandering and don't mind spending money on things you don't need, contact me.  Let's say, for example, that you want to spend $50 on a water bottle app.  Instead of buying that, you send me half the price of what you were going to purchase, so in this case $25, and I will send you a few texts of encouragement.  Texts include things like:

You're doing fine!
Everything is cool!
It's all going to work out!

If you are considering making an expensive, ridiculous purchase but would like to spend half the price, contact me through the comments.

And if you're not sure about your water intake...are you thirsty?

Jet and Bean Endorses

Last weekend with Trent's family

we went to the

which is right on the Neches River

and next to a super awesome park

where the boys ran around and "stuck together like glue" and

where I hope to one day return for more seafood nachos and castle storming.

A Quick Review of the Gulf Coast

After 2000 miles on I-10:

Louisiana-  Louisiana has a lot of character and will suck you in immediately.  Swamps!  Zydeco! The Mississippi River!  Geaux Tigers!  THE FOOD!  I will overlook miles of crummy highway for a boudin ball, although until I get to Louisiana I forget that being born and raised and still living in Southeast Texas*, this is the food I eat all the time and a lot of the culture as well.  I hear zydeco music and it just reminds me of being at something fun outside, in Texas.  I can literally be eating a bowl of gumbo that I made for my daughter's first birthday and sit there thinking, wouldn't it be fun to take a trip to New Orleans?  Then all of a sudden I've driven seven hours to pay $13 for a bowl of red beans and rice.  At this very moment I just finished eating a bowl of red beans and rice in my own kitchen, and I'm thinking, maybe we'll go to Baton Rouge sometime.  Well played, Louisiana.  Well played.

Texas- If you live in another state and watch the news, you might get the idea that people in Texas are crazy.  Some are, some people everywhere are crazy.  Texas is too big to describe.  NASA.  Cheese enchiladas.  Cowboys.  I wouldn't live here if it wasn't awesome.

Florida-  I love Florida.  It's tropical and full of beaches, it has Disney World, and in the spring the whole state smells like orange groves.  I don't even have to be on a beach; just standing in a hot Florida parking lot and feeling the sun is enough.

Mississippi-  If an interstate runs through your state, at the very minimum you should be able to provide a place to get gas, something to eat, and a decent motel at a reasonable price.  In Mississippi, I find myself throwing chicken mcnuggets into Happy Meal boxes and hurrying people to the car so we can move on as quickly as possible.  It's never for a vague reason but because the person cooking just didn't wash her hands after going to the bathroom or because what looked like a playground was actually just generic ipads stuck to walls.  It's every trip.  Mississippi is the worst.  I try to fine one redeeming thing about it, but I think even their tourism slogan might be something like, "Racism!"  I would cut it out of the U.S. and send it floating out into the gulf, but that would make it difficult to go east and there are a lot of places to the east where I want to go.  I recommend that Tennessee absorbs Mississippi and we just start calling it South Tennessee.  Maybe they can fix it.

Alabama-  It is possible to stop in Alabama and get a clean, reasonably priced hotel with very friendly people working in the lobby.  Mississippi, please take note.

File Under "Best Vacation Ever"

Every vacation should fall into the category of "Best Vacation Ever".

So many factors contribute to a great vacation:  

beignets,

 breaking a stroller trying to walk to the birthplace of the muffaletta, only to make your kids walk a million miles on foot to see a statue of Ignatious J. Riley,

a more or less random visit to the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola turning out to be one of the top museums I've ever been in,

a sandy trip to a Florida beach,

 munchkins,

Flipper's Pizza,

Trent finding a hardware store to fix the stroller, then having the wheel pop off in the morning at the Magic Kingdom, then not stressing out one bit about being in Disney World with three kids anda broken stroller,

a little one napping under her "1st Visit" Disney World pin,

 a carousel,

 realizing you have a really fun traveler when it's pouring rain late at night and you ask a tired six-year-old to walk to the car in the parking lot instead of taking a tram because his siblings are sleeping in the stroller, (Great Rush quote, when asked if his feet were tired, "Well, I know I have to keep walking, so I just keep walking.")

the MOST AWESOME PARKING GARAGE Trent has EVER SEEN and he will be more than happy to tell you about,

 and just DISNEY  WORLD!

And the best sign of a fabulous vacation?  Exhaustion.

Success!