All Eighteen Together, The Barn Christening, Playing In The Crick & My Secret Revealed

On September 3, 2024September 3, 2024 By SuzIn As blogged by Suz11 Comments

I mentioned back in February that Coach’s Mom and Step-Dad celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary, which is amazing because I feel like we just threw them a surprise twenty fifth party.

Sue, Bill, my BIL and Coach in 1974/75.

Eight year old Suz: I’d hit that!

Coach and I wanted to do something special for them, but each idea we had came with roadblocks. They’re very simple and don’t have a desire for anything extravagant. They came up with the idea for everyone getting together in Georgia for some quality time and that seemed like the perfect idea.

The Logistics Worked Because She Asked

I’m sure you know how hard it is to get every family member on board with their schedules to book time, but if Grandma Sue says this is what she wants, by golly, all eighteen made the trek from SW Florida to NW Georgia.

We scheduled it in July while the great-grands would be out of school.

Our current GA house would not fit everyone, so we rented a big house not too far from us where most of the family stayed; we had all our meals there together. Fellowship!

We had no agenda other than being together, so on our first full day together we all met at the Double L Ranch and finally christened the Maintenance Barn and that doesn’t mean what you high schoolers think it means.

I have a rule that I won’t spend any amount of time anywhere that does not have indoor plumbing and thank.the.good.Lord Coach listened to me and had a small bathroom installed in this barn. We ended up spending two days barning, fishing, playing in the crick, running up hills, (not me) eating, target shooting, taking rides in the UTV, generally enjoying ourselves minus screens.

A picnic next to an excavator? Yes, that’s always been on my list.

It’s A Girl!

Everyone was there; my BIL’s three kids and his three grandkids, our two girls and ya’ll, I’ve been holding out, but Coach and I have a granddaughter!

She’s TWELVE, towers over me, is as sweet as can be and after this past visit, she can officially drive the UTV.

And ya’ll thought I was an Open Book. 🤣

Who is the genius who thought to get a group pic in front of Coach’s beloved tractor? Me, that’s who!

Who is the genius that said let’s all make Double L’s and it appears we are making Gun Gestures instead? Me, that’s who!

You guys, we had the best time. I enjoyed myself so much just playing in the *crick with my great niece and great nephew, playing card games at night and generally just visiting with all the family, especially the two that I created in my Lady Kitchen.

*Yankees call them creeks, which is bizarre. 😆

After everyone had to go back home to work and responsibilities, Sue and Bill came to our house and the four of us enjoyed four more days of togetherness, which was a great way to come down from the Big Visiting part.

They are such a wonderful couple who have always inspired the best in us and obviously they raised one hell of a husband for me. Cheers to fifty years!

Crick or Creek?

XOXO

The Best One Yet, My Friday Night Is Every Day

On August 29, 2024August 29, 2024 By SuzIn As blogged by Suz29 Comments

“The best one yet!”

That line was repeated to us, over and over after this past weekend.

Our hearts are full, our azzes are tired and our determination renewed.

Last weekend we held our annual Songwriters For Vets fundraiser and it was a doozy!

Imagine spending the weekend with some of your absolute favorite people, along with another three hundred like-minded, loving humans who all have the same goal: To help our beloved Veterans. I’m still on a high. I think. Well, I’m certainly on something.

A few months ago the Coach had the brilliant idea to add a Friday Night event because the big deal on Saturday night just wasn’t enough. (where is my sarcasm font?) We had our dear, talented friend The Ben Allen Band play a show at our venue Friday and it.was.a.party that went well into the next morning. People were raving. Literally.

Saturday morning, I was regretful for having so much fun, as there was much to do before tonight. I needed about fourteen of those eye patches; I only had two and this is no time for math.

THE BIG DAY, THE BIG EVENT

“The most beautiful beauty comes from the most painful pain.” ~Wyatt Durrette

Wyatt Durrette and Levi Lowrey have seventeen number one hits together; most of them with Zac Brown, a few with Luke Combs. In this snippet, they’re talking about Colder Weather and that extra verse that terrestrial radio couldn’t adhere to because of time limits. Levi wrote the extra lyric on a signed guitar that that baby was auctioned off for nearly 3k.

I WANNA BE YOUR FRIDAY NIGHT, EVEN ON SATURDAY

A newbie artist (to our event) was Eric Paslay and he might be my new fave; such a kind and fun person, not to mention úber talented. Oh, and tall.

You might not recognize his face or his name, but if you enjoy country music, you’d recognize his songs and surely you recognize that I’m wearing a Soma dress. AGAIN.

I saw him sign this guitar (later auctioned off) and I admired how he added his Top Lyrics around the edge. Me: That is SO clever! Eric: Thanks, it’s the first time I’ve done that.

Sorry for the bee-bopping video, I was refraining from dancing!

Our two day Event netted $258,000, which is much more than last year and just a bit more than Coach had anticipated; the generosity in our reach is astounding. We have three main beneficiaries, but are thinking of adding a fourth next year.

The Kevin Popke Foundation, founded by our very close friend Michelle Popke (a veteran) in honor of her husband Kevin, also a veteran. They do so much for our local veterans and Kevin’s story is what inspired Coach to start this whole thing.
Operation 300 was founded in honor of fallen Navy Seal Aaron Vaughn by his parents and sister to assist with the children of fallen soldiers: Gold Star Families. The children enjoy an amazing camp alongside mentors doing things they might have done with their parent who lost their life while in combat. Coach and I visited the camp a few years ago and it’s beyond amazing what they are doing.
Operation Healing Forces. OHF focuses on the relationships of the veterans; designed and tailored to enable these war-torn men and women to break through the silence to openly discuss their battlefield and personal hardships and provide needed support. Ya’ll, they are keeping marriages together, avoiding emotional trauma to be passed down in families, and suicide.

I could not pick one favorite beneficiary or one favorite artist, but I can pick one favorite….

He’ll Always Be My Friday Night

None of this would have ever happened if not for my Mr. Friday night. I know people love to boast about their husbands, but those people are wrong.

Kidding.

Yours are ok. 😆

This guy makes shit happen and it’s always good shit!

He inspires good in people in a ridiculous way. People pat me on the back (even my husband) for this event, but I am the tiniest cog in the machine; he’s the Steam Engine (along with the amazing team of volunteers he’s assembled) and he’s not slowing down anytime soon.

More to come on that.

Do you love a live music event?

Are you a giver? Do you have a favorite charity you’d like to share?

XOXO

Wrapping Up Spain & Portugal: The Time I Wanted To Be A Side Chick, But I’m Always The Main Chick & It’s A Small World After All

On August 20, 2024 By SuzIn As blogged by Suz36 Comments

My friends, this is it.

Martha, our travel architect put THREE HOUR SIDECAR TOUR OF LISBON on our itinerary for our last full day, and we honestly didn’t think much about it until the night before.

Coach and I: So, there will be two motorcycles for us? Each of us will be in a sidecar? Maybe they will have headphones in the helmets so we can both hear what the drivers/tour guides are saying?

We both had that vision in our heads, and that vision was incorrect.

ONE tour guide with ONE motorcycle showed up; Luis was a delightful man and he didn’t seem to notice my face of confusion as he introduced himself and started discussing our upcoming tour, as I was looking around for the OTHER motorcycle and tour guide.

He handed us helmets as I asked: Am I going in the sidecar or behind you?

Luis: for weight balance, you should sit behind me.

Ya’ll, my father didn’t really parent me, but ONE thing he repeatedly said over the course of my childhood was NEVER GET ON A MOTORCYCLE. And for 56 years, I didn’t. Until I met a stranger named Luis in a foreign country, who offered me the tiniest seat and a toy-like handle to hold onto. Again, not one waiver was signed.

THIS MIGHT HAVE BEEN OUR FAVORITE TOUR

Who knew this would be so much fun?

_{Luis was explaining that you should never wait in line for food here; this was probably something someone threw on Social Media to hype it up, but there is wonderful food on every corner.}

Speaking of corners, the roads are super windy, bumpy and lots of activity. Who knew I had such strong core muscles because my silly self never fell off and actually learned to move with the ‘cycle.

We saw so much of Lisbon and learned so much history from Luis; it was the perfect way to end our big trip. He stopped at several spots, we got off the cycle, walked for a few minutes, learned and digested it all.

And then he shared the tastiest thing in Lisbon, which we actually DID wait in line for:

The Pastéis de Nata: Portuguese custard tarts. I’m pretty sure the wings of angels are one of the main ingredients.

We both said we didn’t want any, we weren’t hungry, we didn’t love sweets, but Luis insisted and I’m so happy he did. So freaking delicious! So much so, that later on that day I had another.

And the next day on the plane, I had one, as it was only fitting to enjoy another as my farewell to Portugal. Had I found these earlier, I would NOT have fit on the back of the motorcycle.

WE MIGHT HAVE A CONNECTION

While we were waiting to board our flight from Lisbon to Miami, I noticed two men about four people behind us in line. I noticed them because they were both wearing these:

Normal people wouldn’t recognize the logo, but Bravo people certainly would. Do you think I spoke to them?

Have you ever been in a Side Car or on a motorcycle? Can you believe how brave I was? *me giggling at my bravery*

XOXO

If Undecorating Were A Sport, I’d Expect A Gold Medal

On August 16, 2024August 16, 2024 By SuzIn As blogged by Suz29 Comments

I’ve much to share about our new house. Do I have a few grievances, you ask? I can’t believe you’d even ask that, when you darn well know the answer.

TURN KEY

One thing that is weird to me, but maybe not to everyone, is that the house came Turn Key. We tried to negotiate that part out, but we eventually relented as they gave into other demands. A bonus of it being Turn Key though, is it afforded us to move right in, kind of get a feel for how we will live in the house, because it had everything you need to move right in. (the house is two years old and the previous owners were here for approx. three months over two years)

The downside of it being Turn Key is that there is a lot of stuff here that I need to find homes for; furniture, wall art, dishes, silverware, etc…

We’d been slowly making trips back to the Old House bringing in our personal belongings, while purging. I’m second guessing every single thing I’ve ever purchased or have been given as all those things feel like a burden now. I NEED LESS.

Another grievance, and I didn’t realize this while looking at the house three times before we closed on it was that even though they bragged about having it professionally decorated, I can clearly see that Professionally Decorated doesn’t always mean Pretty and Tasteful. I know, it’s subjective, but I could have done better while spending way less.

This is an example of four pieces of ‘art’ that I took down and now have to sell/donate; these are not inexpensive pieces. How does a sane person put these four pieces IN THE SAME HOUSE?

We were here about two hours before I started removing all the tchotchkes that had been placed by the initial decorator (I shoved them into a bedroom closet) and I realized the decorator must have been Paid By The Pound. Holy Wasteland!

When we initially looked at the house, we fell in love with the layout, the size of the yard, the proximity to the beach and the high-end finishes (flooring, fixtures, moulding, etc) of the house. Those were the most important things. It wasn’t until after I really started to analyze the decor that I had an issue and really, it’s not hard stuff to do: wallpaper replacement, wall decor replacement, swapping out some furniture pieces, etc.

I had a few moments this past week and I stopped by one of my favorite little Mom & Pop stores and scored this Dogs On The Beach pic to replace these hideous paper art hangings.

I spent ALL of Wednesday with my movers; they brought a lot of stuff from the Old House to the New House, some stuff from the New house, has been moved back to the Old House for staging purposes. And some stuff in the New House has been moved around and within to accommodate our internal changes. If you can imagine how much sleep I lost before the Wednesday Move, trying to keep it all straight in my head, you’d understand the bags under my eyes.

I’m ready for the drudgery to be over

Last weekend we had four friends over for dinner and we took a quick (four minutes) golf cart ride to the beach to catch the sunset which is such a luxury! (Suz, Aimee & Leah)

We’re picturing more relaxing days ahead, but not this week as our annual Veterans Charity event takes place in a hot minute. Soon, soon there will be more relaxing and maybe less complaining. But don’t hold your breath. XO

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