Giving Thanks...

Psalm 107:1"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."

I have been planning to make this post since Thanksgiving Night, but quite honestly, for the past few nights,I have been falling in bed exhausted.

It was a little strange this past Thanksgiving morning without the smell or a turkey roasting in the oven. We are all three vegetarians and planned a Non-Traditional Turkey-less Turkey Day! We actually made veggie sandwiches and had a picnic at a local park. It was a little chilly, but Hubby and Daughter got in some Frisbee action. Kinda ironic, on the way to the park as we drove through the countryside, Hubby spotted about a dozen wild turkeys on the side of the road. I want to stop and take a picture, but we didn't. It would have been captioned "We survived, we survived!!".

Got in some Christmas shopping over the weekend--NOT on Black Friday! Alexis is very proud of her new Nike shoes--Her first pair! My rule is that you have to be in middle school before you get Nike. I have seen babies with Nike shoes and think "Man, what a waste!". I mean, how long before they grow out of them? But that's just me! Hers are an early Christmas present.

Well, that's all for now.

Moving Down the Simple Path,

Robin

I like dreamin'...

Yes, I do like dreaming! I am an RV wanna-be and have been looking into this seriously for at least the last 5 years! For now, I live through other peoples adventures found in their RV Blogs. I have so many reasons why I wish to be a full-time RVer. First, I just have the travel bug and would like some adventure. Secondly, it seems a very good way to live a simple life. Also, I have made alot of friends on Facebook who have Sarcoidosis too and I would like to "Connect the Dots" and meet them. While I am out on the road, I plan to raise awareness about Sarcoidosis and possibly do some fund-raising for research. There are so many other reasons and I will probably talk about these at a later date. Hubby is not as sold out on RVing as I am, but he is considering it. Daughter Alexis is ready to go!

I have looked around at different models of RVs and have really decided (with Hubby) that we would probably be best suited for a Class C model, like the one in the picture.  These Class C models are very expensive when purchased new, however, we will be purchasing a used model. There are two reasons, as we see it, for purchasing used. First of course, is the low price. We will be living a simple life, and that includes being frugal. The second reason is that a used model will have already done a lot of outgasing of the dangerous chemicals. As a person with Sarcoidosis, I am like a canary in a chemical enviorment, and that is not good for me! Think about that new car smell as a load of toxic chemicals. Besides, Class C models are just so darn cute! :)

Moving down the simple path,

Robin

Reflections

To me, Autumn equals nostalgia!I was born in the Autumn and  it is my favorite season of the year. I love the feeling at the end of the summer when you begin to notice a hint in the air that cool, crisp air is on the way! I  always loved the beautiful gold and crimson leaves on the trees, especially in the North Georgia mountains! It's a little different experience now that I'm blind but I still enjoy the crisp cool air,the crunching of leaves underfoot, and the woodsy smell of the burn pile. In the last few months, I have been reminiscing with a dear old friend and it has motivated me to become more of my real authentic self, instead of becoming this disease of Sarcoidosis! Sarcoidosis robs you of your health and trys to destroy you. I must not let it win! I want to live and be as fully alive as possible! Thank you David!

Today was a good day spending time with two of my Daughters, Alexis and Melissa, and my Grandson Dylan. We sorted through some books--some to keep, some to sell. we even got in a little Christmas shopping. I wasn't up for a whole lot, and was very sore when I got home.

Tomorrow is my husbands birthday as so I want to wish him an early happy birthday! Happy birthday Mike--My Sweetheart, Best Friend, Love, and Husband! He is my Rock and my soft place to fall (and fall apart)! Thank you honey :)

Moving Down the Simple Path,
Robin

Going Vegetarian...

We have been researching information on nutrition, health, and wellness for the past few years. What we have found has led us to a vegetarian diet. Mike was a vegetarian for eight years prior to us getting married. After we married, he joined in with me on my "all-you-eat buffet" diet and gained some weight. He has started having health issues, such as Diabetes, and decided that we all need to make better food choices for our family. Alexis became a vegetarian about six months ago and loves to prepare food such as Vegan Vanilla Pancakes, and Fruit-Soy milk Smoothies. Mike and I became vegetarian in September of 2011. Let me confess here that although my husband and daughter are strict vegetarians, I am a cheater! Although I know that it is not good for me, I sometimes crave meat. (and sometimes eat it!)

I am so excited about what happened to me only two weeks in to being a vegetarian! I couldn't even believe it while it was happening! Having a healing crisis can be very scary, especially when you don't know it's going to happen. I began to have extreme pain deep in my sinus'. It felt like something going Pop! Pop! Pop!. Not to be gross, but it seemed a lot of mucus was leaving my body that was tinged with blood. I was almost concerned enough to go to the Emergency Room, but if you know me you know that I reserve the ER for Life-Threatening emergencies only. The pain was overwhelming! Even though this Healing Crisis lasted about a week, I could already breathe better that first night! Praise the Lord! Due to the Sarcoidosis, and the Sinus issues (Infections and Polyps), I had not been able to breathe this deeply and clearly in decades! The vegetarian diet is a non-inflammatory diet, and my body has responded  well because the Sarcoidosis is an Inflammatory disease. My Sinus' have been healed by eighty to eighty-five percent. Hallelujah!!

Also, even though I am still overweight, I have recently lost over 60 pounds. Yay me! We are always looking at ways to improve our health and wellness. We are also into supplementation, and I will talk about that in another post. More on some alternative theories as well...

Moving Down The Simple Path,
Robin

Sorting Through, Moving On...

My Grandson Dylan as a  newborn!

Still sorting through--old papers, pictures, and even books. Lots of papers going into the trash--YAY!! Old pictures that I can no longer see (do to blindness) are going out the door to my three older children, nieces and nephews, and most anyone else who happens to be a subject in the picture. Freedom--the load gets lighter! The books are even being divided into keepers, ones that we will sell at the final big F, T, B Sale (Furniture, Tools, Books). We have a pretty massive Library, especially homeschooling books! Alexis is currently in the 6th grade, and has been home schooled since day one. She is every Teacher's dream student!

The above picture is my grandson Dylan when he was a newborn. (May 2009) Okay, so yes he is adorable, but how does that tie into this subject? Well, about three years ago when I started going blind, I also found out that my middle Daughter, Melissa, was expecting. We worked out an agreement to benefit both of us. She would move in with us and we would help her and the baby while she would be another adult presence in the house. (Sort of Caregiver) This worked out pretty well and I had the added benefit of living with my precious Grandson and helping to raise him. Of course, we needed a larger house to accommodate all five of us. A few months ago, Melissa met and Married the man of her dreams (Kenny). So here we are, in a house too big for just the three of us! Of course Grandma misses Dylan dearly, as I helped raise him for 2 1/2 years. But life goes on, and now, thankfully, Dylan has a family of his own, with a Daddy! He also inherited an older sister and brother, as Kenny had two children from a previous marriage. They are all very happy, and I am very happy for them! We are looking for what comes next, but we know that our next housing option will be  smaller as we prefer.

Moving Down the Simple Path,

--Robin

Skylar's Stuff Shop--A Success!

I came up with an idea a few weeks ago--that I would be just like the Ice Cream Man that comes in our neighborhood every now and then, except I would sell candy (Yes, I realize I would be called the Candy Man. Don't laugh! Well, I guess Candy Girl would be more appropriate.), among other things. Well, today I finally launched it! :) I had planned earlier today to make Chocolate Chip Cookies, and when I asked the Twins, A.K.A. Abby and Britney (Our next-door neighbors, and my friends) if they would like one, of course they said yes! So, they came over, and I decided now would be a perfect time. They had gone home for a minute to check in when I put the box full of candy outside. When they came back over, they thought I was giving it out for free, but when they found out that it cost money, they added up the total for all the things they wanted, and went home to go get money! I was surprised, because I didn't think my Stuff Shop would actually work, but it did!  When the cookies were done (They were GIANT!!), the Twins came back over, with more money, and bought a few more things. It started raining after that, so they went home, but a few minutes later they came running over,  holding up more money, yelling "We got more money! Mama let us get  a dollar out of our rainy day savings!"  "Is your rainy day savings actually FOR a rainy day, or something?" "No, it's just called that."
So, by the end of the day, I had made about $5.00.  Not bad for a first day, if you ask me. And only 2 people came over!!
I've figured out a schedule: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I'm going to sell candy & food stuff, & Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I'm going to sell other stuff, like M & M pen holders, and rings and stuff like that.

Well, just wanted to post about the success of Skylar's Stuff Shop!!!


Au Revoir!
~Alexis

And another cat....

Okay, so Mike and I found out that we are both Animal Lovers! This means of course that along the way we have adopted several pets to join our home. Mike already had 2 dogs when we got married and I had 2 cats. Soon, it seemed that we had developed a reputation for Animal Rescue. We always would leave food out for the strays and at some point people would drop off animals that they could no longer take care of. We have even found a few kittens (Including the one shown above) at a nearby dumpster. Naturally, we brought them home. We have found a good many homes for these animals over the years, but need to place many, many more. It was enjoyable work and very rewarding when we both were participating. But now, since I am blind, all of the duties at our private animal rescue fall on my husband Mike. This has just become way too much work for him on top of his full-time job. The other thing that hurts is our budget, because every dime that goes into the rescue is ours. We love these animals and want to find The Best homes for them! In order to get to the simple life that we want, we have a BIG job ahead of us, finding homes for these remaining animals. We pray that this will happen soon, as we do have a time constraint. This will take a large load off of my husband's shoulders. However, we do not regret  the past 5-6 years that we have rescued animals and saved their lives when possible. I cherish the memories of all the precious animals that we lost and believe in my heart they will all be waiting at the Rainbow Bridge. Thank you Lord!!

~Robin

Purple Hot Chocolate, Cool Hat, New Pink Headphones, Broken Game, & Lumosity

The Package to the Hot Chocolate.

THE CHESHIRE CAT!! :D I love Alice In Wonderland, and especially the Cheshire Cat!! :)

~Wonderfully Wacky~

Vile Villains!

My  new AWESOME (!Hot Pink~!) Ear buds for my Zune...Yes, I'm listening to Taylor Swift..

My SUPER awesome new hat...COOKIE MONSTER!! :D (Tori, I know you're jealous :D ) It's upside-down BTW, I was trying to get the fluffy ends part in the pic...

Me, with the hat on! (Yes, I know I look dorky.)

The Purple Hot Chocolate:

It actually tasted pretty good, despite the fact that it looked funny. Well, it did taste kinda weird cause it had soy milk in it, but after you got used to it it was good. :)

Cool Hat:

Like the Hat..? I know YOU do, Tori!! ;) (Thanks Dad!)

New Headphones:

I think I'm cursed to have every pair of headphones I own to break within weeks after buying them. No, seriously!! EVERY SINGLE pair of headphones I have had in the last 3 months (And I've had a lot of pairs..) have A.Ripped Apart, or B. Someone, (That's name starts with D...Dylan, you wouldn't happen to know anyone like that WOULD you?!) has broken them. Or, C. I lose them. Very Frustrating. Anyway, Daddy was really nice and bought me some Hot Pink (My fave. color!) headphones!!! :D

Broken Game:

My stupid DS game broke! The one I've been playing for FOREVER to get where I'm at! and now it's re-started itself back to the beginning!!

Lumosity:

http://www.lumosity.com/

Lumosity is this really cool site where you can train your brain, so to speak...I went to my brain profile, and these are my scores...I'm best at memory! :D

Your BPI

Percentile Comparison

Your percentile for each category shows you how you compare with other Lumosity users who are within five years of your age. For example, if your percentile in a given category is 40%, that means that you have a higher BPI than 40% of the Lumosity users in your age bracket.
Note that since you're being compared to other people training with Lumosity, your percentile rank isn't as high as it would be if you were just compared to the general population.

Overall

442

Speed

395

Memory

1108

Attention

315

Flexibility

184

Problem Solving

210

Later, 'gators!

~Alexis

One Obstacle--Sarcoidosis

One of our biggest obstacles that affects everything that we do is my
(Robin) disease of Sarcoidosis. Two months ago, very thankfully, I celebrated my fiftieth Birthday (Thank you Lord!!). That means that I have been suffering from this disease for half of my life. Even though I began getting ill near my twenty-fifth Birthday, I was not diagnosed properly for another ten years. After Mike and I were married and began talking about a more simple life, my disease seemed to be ramping up. We think that this may have had a great deal to do with the home we had purchased and recently moved into. It seems that our little nest had been extensively fumigated  with anti-termite  chemicals only months before we moved in. With me being somewhat of a "Canary", we believe that these chemicals helped to damage my immune system and allow the Sarcoidosis to flare.  Obviously, this took our focus off of most everything except my illness. I even had to abandon my dessert catering business, which i dearly loved. My disease has continued to progress over the years and three years ago it caused me to go blind. Part of our dream of a simple life is to bring my husband Mike home from full-time work to part-time as soon as we get some of the bills paid. This will allow us more time to be together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is Sarcoidosis? Sarcoidosis (pronounced SAR-COY-DOE-SIS) is an inflammatory disease that can affect almost any organ in the body. It causes heightened immunity, which means that a person’s immune system, which normally protects the body from infection and disease, overreacts, resulting in damage to the body’s own tissues. The classic feature of sarcoidosis is the formation of granulomas, microscopic clumps of inflammatory cells that group together (and look like granules, hence the name). When too many of these clumps form in an organ they can interfere with how that organ functions.

In people in the United States, sarcoidosis most commonly targets the lungs and lymph nodes, but the disease can and usually does affect others organs, too, including (but not limited to) the skin, eyes, liver, salivary glands, sinuses, kidneys, heart, the muscles and bones, and the brain and nervous system.

Charlie ate our pumpkin! *A Picture Blog*

We brought our pumpkin in after it had been decorating our porch with a Autumn scene along with it's buddy, Mr. Acorn Squash...and THIS is what happened to it! He (Charlie*) ate it!  Notice the stem..or, the lack of it? Yes, it had one! He ate it!!

We decided to have a little fun with it, since Charlie ate it....my creation~~He's making Pumpkin Pie!! :D

Dad's face..

Annnnd, the culprit!! :D

This is a duplicate, sorry.

**Charlie is our Basset Hound**~Alexis

An Introduction

  This blog will be a family project used to discuss our life journey together and help to navigate the path. Our small but close family of 3 have adopted the motto "FROG turtle"! F.R.O.G. means Fully Rely On God! And Turtle means living life in the slow lane--a simple life! Most of the posts will probably come from Robin (The Wife~), unless otherwise noted. Hopefully along the way Mike (The Husband~) and Alexis (The Daughter~) will interject their thoughts.
  Before we became a couple, we had separately been feeling the need for a simple life. We had been on different roads throughout our lives but each felt that we had found a special place with each other--home!! Our journey so far together has been filled with many obstacles but we have survived Together. In the beginning our blog may be filled with many thoughts and feelings that we will digest and use to help us find what's next on our path. The one thing that we do know is that we do Fully Rely On God, and are headed to a more simple life!

By this point, we have made many donations to Goodwill and have had quite a few yard sales to help us pare down our belongings. I am also sorting through the many items that I have saved for my oldest three children from their childhood. They will be receiving these items soon!! :) We do plan to host one more major sale on our way to simplicity. We plan to begin to live the next chapter of our lives with only the bare essentials--no clutter!!

More on this later..

--Robin