Love Summertime

August came and went way too fast. My sister and brother in law came down the first week of August. She booked a condo in Gulf Shores, so we (me, Craig, Mom, Dad, Hilary and Matt - Ashley’s best friend and her husband) all headed down there for her birthday. We had fun relaxing at the pool and at the beach. We drank fruity beach drinks and sang happy birthday. For Ashley’s birthday dinner, we met up with Uncle Steven and Aunt Rosey at the Original Oyster House. The food was amazing, and we enjoyed each other’s company. Afterwards, we tried partying at the Florabama, but it was LAAAAAAAME. They had live bands that were evidently on break when we got there (I have no idea why they all were on break at the same damn time). There wasn’t even intermission music playing. We were extremely disappointed, and Hilary and I demanded our money back. Much to our surprise, we got it all back! After the beach trip, we had fun just visiting and we even made a trip out on the boat to Horn Island (imagine that?). We had a really good time with Ashley and Mark during their visit. We really wish they would move back home where they belong.

I was able to attend a friend’s baby shower. Jillian and Cooper were expecting, but they chose to keep the baby’s gender a surprise. Turns out,  A BABY BOY! Little Liam was born on September 18th. Congratulations Jill and Coop! I made one of my diaper cakes as a gift (it’s kinda my thing I guess). I absolutely loved the way this one turned out. I also made another one for a friend who just recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Meryl Gleason was born on August 30th. Congratulations Fallon, Sean, and big sister Shelbi Drew!

My good friend Tiffany recently moved to Gulfport after serving in the military. We went to vet school together and she chose the military route and had been serving at Fort Rucker in Alabama. She is an amazing surgeon, and I know she will make an even better civilian vet (in both ways)! I went over to help her unpack some things and she invited me to go to see Steve-O and Tom Green at the Hard Rock. I had a good time hanging out with my girl. We even got to take a pic with the dude.

I went out on the boat a couple more times with the folks and also made another trip down to Gulf Shores when my other friend from vet school was down. Her family had a condo in Orange Beach and we went down to hang out on the beach with them for the day. I was able to meet her significant other that I heard a lot of good things about. I am so glad that Erin has found someone that makes her truly happy. She is such a good person and deserves that and more. Her family is always very welcoming and we enjoyed hanging out and eating dinner with these fine New Orleanians.

We travelled to Jackson to celebrate Everett’s first birthday. His parents, Mindi and Joey, are good friends, and I was present for Everett’s birth one year ago. He has grown so much and has overcome some major things in his life thus far. He is a strong and amazing little boy. Check out his story here. Happy Birthday Everett! We had a wonderful time seeing all of our friends. We also made it home to boil shrimp and watch the Saint’s first home game. WHO DAT!

A couple of weekends ago was spent mostly on getting things ready to have our floors re-done. We have split brick covering most of the downstairs. We had it resurfaced and new sealant put on. The biggest change though is we took out the carpet in the living room (and pantry area) and had stained concrete put down. I LOVE the look of stained concrete, and I think it would go great with our brick flooring already. I will post pics on a separate blog. We are also putting down hardwood in our dining room, but that will take place at a later date. I was also able to sneak away to Pensacola to watch the Bulldogs play at my Aunt Rosey's house after picking up a relief shift at my previous place of employment. Hey, gotta make tha money!

I haven’t been very diligent with my blog writing, but I have a legitimate excuse. I've been very busy! I accepted a position with Jackson County working as the shelter veterinarian, so August was spent preparing to start work. I had to obtain my license to practice in Mississippi, which was a task in itself. This included a drive to Jackson to sit in front of the board. So, thankfully, I am now licensed to practice in the state of Mississippi and Alabama. Woo! I had to do several tasks to be employed by the county. As the head veterinarian (and only vet), I am in charge of ordering, DEA stuff, and a lot of other things I have never done before, but I am learning a lot. Shelter medicine is a lot different than what I am used to, but I am up for this new challenge. I just hope I can remain strong (and I hope I don’t take in anymore animals). So far, I have enjoyed working here this past month. We even had the chance to sneak away last week to the Smokies. I have several additional blogs in the works, so stay tuned!

 
Cheers!
Tara

Busy Summer

Usually, I try to write one blog once a month but failed to do so in July. Fortunately, I have a lot of material since this summer has been very eventful. There have been a few life changes as well but more on that later. My last blog was right before the Smith family trip to Williamsburg, Virginia in early June. That adventure deserves a blog all on its own, so that will be your next slice of blog pie.

We went out to Horn Island for Father’s Day as this is definitely what my Dad would want to do on his day. A brief summer shower passed through while we were there. This was the first time we’ve been out there when it has rained. He enjoyed himself and caught a couple of fish too.

I was able to take the pups to a dog beach in Pensacola on a day off. It’s a nice, little area called Bayview Park that contains a fenced in “beach.” (It’s really just a sandbar on Bayou Texor.) Bella and Asher made some new friends and had a blast. Well, at least until Princess Bella Brat came out to play and picked a fight. I’m not really sure why she does this or what sets her off. She grew up with tons of dogs of all shapes and sizes (I was in vet school when she was a pup and if you didn’t have a dog, well, then you couldn’t be in the club) and never had any problems until she got about 4 years old. It’s actually quite embarrassing when you can’t control your dog and me being a vet only compounds that fact. I suppose it’s a lot like having a child that throws a temper tantrum or acts out around others. At least, that’s how I will relate it. We were there a little over an hour, so maybe she was just tired and cranky? Anyhow, I’m sure we will be back and next time I will bring my swimsuit so that I can swim with them.

Craig and I decided to take an impromptu trip to Atlanta to meet up with Craig’s buddy, Davo, and watch a Braves game. This game was particularly important to Craig because they retired Chipper Jones’ number (Craig’s favorite player of all time). We ended up having one too many but thankfully had a sober driver to take us back to our hotel, which by the way was very chic and reasonable. If you need a place to stay in the ATL, we recommend the Indigo Hotel. 

We’ve been to Horn Island several times this summer, but the next trip was a bit more special. I brought Raven (my friend and beach buddy) with me. It was her first time to go, and she seemed pretty excited. My Dad was also extremely excited as well. He caught a baby bonnet head shark! Definitely, one for the books!

 

Craig and I got to spend some time with our nieces at the pool just before the fourth of July, which was nice. We celebrated by going to our subdivision’s yacht club and watching the fireworks over the bay. We were able to see Fairhope’s show, Mobile’s show at Battleship Parkway, Dauphin Island’s show, and even towards Pascagoula there were some really large fireworks (not really sure what city). We enjoyed the cookout also. I think next year we are going to try to take the boat out and get up close to the battleship to watch the show.

 

Asher turned 8 years old on July 5^th. I can’t believe he is getting up there. He surely doesn’t act his age and is still very spry. Craig and I made it back down to Gulf Shores once again and partook in beach activities the first weekend in July. I love the beach, but Craig is not too fond so we typically sit under the umbrella. I try to bring an ample supply of booze, which seems to help Craig’s tolerance of “sunburn and sand in the ass crack.” It’s nice to have a beach within 45 minutes, but I could always live closer!

My parents and I travelled up to Indianapolis the second weekend in July to visit with my sister and celebrate my Dad’s birthday. This trip also deserves a blog to itself, so more on that later. When I returned, I was able to go to Tristan’s 1^st birthday party in Florida. Tina did an amazing job with the decorations and theme. I think first year birthdays are more for the parents. It’s a celebration for the parents keeping a human being alive for an entire year, right? Although he won’t remember it, he had fun swimming, eating, and playing, and that’s the most important thing. My favorite part was of course the smash cake!

Recently, we made it to the sandbar also. There’s a small place up the river, north of the bay that we go take the dogs to. Bella loves to swim, so she is able to get her fix safely. I used to take her to Bayfront Park but have seen several rather large alligators swimming nearby so those trips were postponed indefinitely. The pups LOVE this trip and always sleep for at least two days straight afterwards.

The last weekend in July we attend the Cumbest family reunion. Craig has A LOT of relatives. It was nice to see so many folks gathered together to celebrate family. There was so much food, and we got to see our nieces again. Kaleigh is upright and running around like a mad woman. Nothing’s stopping her now.

See! I told you it’s been busy. By now if you’ve read to this point, you are probably thinking, “where does she have the time to do all of this?” Well, this is the “life change” I was talking about earlier. Shortly after returning from Bermuda, my boss unexpectedly approached me. She told me that she had hired an older, more experience doctor whom had a good client following. He would need a “normal” schedule, so she would need me to work every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Now, this caught me completely off guard, and I was a bit upset. I’ve been in this place before and did not want to go there again. Several things were wrong with this proposition, but basically it boils down to this… my hours were cut, my pay was cut, and I would have to work every weekend. Um… no thank you. Bump this! I’m out! So, for the past month and a week, I’ve been unemployed once again. Staying busy has helped keep my mind off my two failed first jobs. It’s quite depressing actually. But, unlike last time, I am in a better place in all facets. God has provided, and he will lead me to next path. I just have to think positive thoughts.

Cheers!
Tara

Live for the Weekend

After our fabulous trip to Bermuda, we returned home to have a very eventful month. Similar to many folks, the majority of our good times occur over the weekend. I get to spend valuable time with my family and friends, make new memories, and travel. Working feeds our bellies, but memories feed our souls.

My Mimi (my grandmother) had her total hip replacement while we were gone, and it went very well. I stopped in to visit her while she was in the hospital. She was in great spirits and already able to walk down the hall. She has been having issues since last July and finally was diagnosed and repaired. I am happy to report that she is doing extremely well and now only needs to walk with a cane. I'm so proud of her achievements.

My Mimi and Poppy <3

Shortly after her surgery on May 10th, Mimi celebrated her 75th birthday. She got to do one of her most favorite things, gambling (We call it "going to the boats" - In Biloxi, they were required to be over water at first). Craig and I surprised her there, and I think we made her pretty happy. Plus, Craig won $70 playing roulette!

I had a couple of friends stop by to say hello. Tina, Drew and Tristan called me up after work and wanted to meet up with us for dinner. They were passing through on their way back from Mississippi, and of course I jumped on the opportunity to see them. Tristan is such a ham. Kati and Luke called me up after work a week later. They were running errands in the area, so I met up with them for dinner as well. I love my friends. I wish we all didn't live so far apart, but I'm so glad that they called even if the visit was brief.

Craig and I were able to finally make it down to Gulf Shores. We live relatively close to the beach (only 45 minutes away), but our schedules never seem to line up. And of course, the Hangout Festival was this weekend as well making the traffic unbearable. So, we decided to go around to Perdido Key instead. Our friends, Raven and Ruth, met up with us, and we enjoyed a lazy day relaxing on the beach, laying out, and having some cold ones. These girls are always a ton of fun. We took the Jeep down there also, so she got a bath afterwards and was looking so fine.

The following weekend, my parents and I got to take the boat to Horn Island for the first time this year. My mom's birthday was on the 22nd, and this is one of the things she wanted to do. (May is a good month for her - anniversary, mother's day and birthday - I would hate the combo gifts!) The weather was perfect, and the water was even warm enough for swimming. The island has changed a lot since last season, but it is still just as beautiful as ever. This is one of my most favorite places. I am looking forward to many more trips there this summer.

I was also lucky enough to be able to attend my niece's first birthday after work on Sunday (the 26th). My favorite part was her digging into her cake. We bought her a swimming pool and pool toys, and she seemed to enjoy it even without water. She is getting so big, and she is such a good little girl. We will get to spend a lot more time this coming week because we are headed to Virginia for our family vacation.

Craig and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary on the 29th. Craig got me one of my favorite flowers (and our wedding flowers), hydrangeas, and he cooked a delicious dinner of stuffed chicken breasts and veggies. We watched our wedding video and reminisced about that amazing day. The next day we travelled to Gulf Shores for our traditional dinner (and drinks) at LuLu's after enjoying a beach sunset. Seriously, the time has flown by so fast. We are growing and learning every day together and are more in love now than ever before. Don't get me wrong. Things aren't always roses and rainbows, but we work on us every day. We are stronger because of the tough times. There is no one in the world that I would rather go through life with, and I am confident the feeling is mutual. And, that feeling, is immeasurable.

Cheers!
Tara