Before I get into my wrap up, I want to update about our vacation and get some advice from my readers. As a teen, I seriously loved the ocean. I never saw myself getting married and staying in the mountains. I considered the Coast Guard. I considered dolphin assisted human therapy. Heck, because I didn’t know any better, I even considered Sea World. Just anything to get me close to the ocean and to the creatures in the ocean.
I met my husband when I was sixteen and by the time I was eighteen, we were married and expecting our first child together. I gave up my dreams and I learned to fall in love with the mountains. Truly, for the last seventeen years, I’ve been relatively happy with mountain living. But, I’ve not been happy with how big my “small town” is getting. With a population of 17,000 for the city our address states (because our town doesn’t have its own postal services) and 3,994 in our part of town, crime is on the rise. I don’t like it.
In addition to crime, I’m highly allergic to pine trees and I live in the mountains. Great, huh? I wake every single morning of my life with a headache, a nose that is stuffy yet draining, itchy eyes and I live under a cloud of constant fatigue.
So, we vacationed at the beautiful town of Ocean Isle, NC. Population: 582. Even the week of the fourth, it wasn’t crazy crowded.
Being back reminded me of all the feelings I had as a teen. How badly I wanted to be at the ocean. I said nothing to my husband but just like the last time I was at the beach twenty years ago—I felt better. I can breathe. Not one headache while I was there. My joint pain is improved. I could sleep there. No tinnitus (ringing in my ears) or scratchy throat. More importantly, Arie had very little joint pain there. She played hard and she slept. My sixteen year old’s POTS symptoms improved and her joint pain. Her fatigue was greatly improved. Blood pressure at home— 90/49, blood pressure there, 109/65—a change which caused her to have much more energy. Yes, she has flared badly since we arrived back home yesterday.
In addition, my husband has been unhappy. There is very little growth here financially. My husband makes more as a furniture worker than most here but with six children it’s often not enough. We’re scraping by to make it. That median where we get no help from the state but often struggle to meet all our needs.
He’s always been interested in Real Estate but we’ve had no real motivation to do it. Partly because of how stagnant things feel here and how stifled we feel. We always have and it affected his happiness more than mine. He’s easily stressed. He feels trapped.
Several days into our trip he dropped the bomb that “This feels like home” and I don’t mean the county where we currently live. I mean home—the place where your heart feels happy.
Being there brought all those feelings back for me too but until he expressed it—I said nothing. I just kept my thoughts to myself. Now? I want to explore the idea of him actually going into a real estate business. I want to pursue it here—paying off debt and then moving.
All that to ask this of you—my blog followers who have stuck through and read this long post…
Would you want to see posts about my personal thoughts and dreams HERE or on another site? I feel like this is my BOOK space and not my dream space. I also am interested in getting back into the full swing of my crafting and opening a shop. One filled with my ocean themed photography, jewelry and the like. An endeavor to pour all money made in that shop into our dream. I also don’t want the family to really know our plans. I’d say most don’t even read these wrap-ups so I hid my thoughts here. A second blog would be kept secret from the family and then those that I’ve made friends with here will have a place to keep up with my more personal things.
Now, moving along, I promise!
New on the Blog (Week 26)
- [25 Jun] Weekly Wrap Up: Week 25
- [25 Jun] I’VE BEEN NOMINATED | BLOGGER RECOGNITION AWARD
- [26 Jun] Goodreads Monday
- [27 Jun] The Girl Who Could See|Spotlight
- [27 Jun] The Girl Who Could See by Kara Swanson ★★★★
- [28 Jun] Israel – God’s Heart by Ron Gafni, Kathleen Barrett ★★★★
- [29 Jun] Wings of the Wind (Out from Egypt #3) by Connilyn Cossette ★★★★½
- [1 Jul] Unblemished by Sara Ella ★
New on the Blog (Week 27)
- [3 Jul] Goodreads Monday
- [4 Jul] The Gift by Wanda E. Brunstetter ★★★★
- [5 Jul] Hey, You! The Christian Book Blogger…
- [6 Jul] The Photograph by Beverly Lewis ★★½
- [7 Jul] Light of Dawn by Vannetta Chapman ★★★★★
- [8 Jul] The Christmas Bus by Melody Carlson ★★★★★
Upcoming Reviews
- 11 Jul: The Writing Desk by Rachel Hauck
- 12 Jul: Dragon Seed by Marty Machowski
- 13 Jul: His Guilt by Shelley Shepard Gray
- 14 Jul: A Patchwork Christmas Collection by Judith Mccoy Miller,Nancy Moser,Stephanie & Grace Whitson
Goals for this Week
Hi. So much to say… want me to post it all here or send it somewhere else? As for the private versus personal blog, I think it comes down to how you want to represent yourself to everyone else. If you organize your posts and clearly show in the subject when it’s a review or other items, then people can follow for different reasons and skip the ones they aren’t interested in. If you have many blogs, then you can create the better mood or ambiance for the tone of each one…
Here is fine:) the plus of another blog is not exposing plans to extended family and local acquaintances
Right…. then you can not show pictures, not have anything too specific enough to connect you. But if they are reading this commentary, then they know you might have another one!
Yes but the likelyhood of them reading my wrap up at all is small so I felt safe disclosing things here. Just not specific posts revealing our heart.
My family isn’t too tech savvy. As long as I don’t spill anything on fb, we’ll be okay :D Plus, by setting up the other site, I can launch my other products that are not bookish themed there.
I think you’ve found your answer. Then it’s just how to tell folks about it without putting it on your site. You’ll have to private message the ones who need to know.
Yes, I’ll have to think on how to reveal that to select peoples like yourself and bloggers Ive gotten friendly with that actually care about these things outside of books. It’s too bad that wordpress doesn’t have a messaging system.
I know… a bit painful. :( let me know if I can help with anything!
Will do! <3
As far as the move… you definitely need to come up with your plan and how this would work best. But if all signs are pointing to this being a good thing, it probably is…. a few days to reflect will help.
reflecting on it a bit, I think you’d probably want a second one then. books separate from all the life stuff. gives you more freedom. allows different level creativity. opportunity to take chance.
Kristin, I’m so excited for you! The prospect of moving to a new place, especially with the prospect of better health and living near the ocean…your dream! Yay!
I love the idea of adding personal stuff to your blog, I’m one of those who likes to know the blogger behind the blog lol. If you were to start another blog, though, I would definitely follow :)
Do what you gotta do! It will all fall into place!
Jo-Ann
I did start another. I dont want to say the name here for fear family/locals will see. I will figure out a way to get the info to you :)
I do think I will start doing more personal stuff here too but I just dont want family all up in my business right now. ?
Hi Kristin, I have been thinking about you since I read this on Sunday, and I do think that the move is wonderful if that is your dream. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and is guided by God, so perhaps that is what led to your families vacation and the feeling of the beach being “home” and the realization that everyone’s health was so improved there! I will certainly keep you in my thoughts and prayers as your family makes these steps. And I know how important it is to do it for health reasons!!
I saw where you said you had started a new blog, and I would have done the same thing. I’ve not told my family or friends, besides my husband and kids and BFF, that I have started a blog because they would think it the craziest, most insane thing ever. Except for my mother, no one in my family reads, so they would laugh at me. I’ve taken flack for years for being a “literature professor” and the jokes are rampant about my degrees and pursuit of a PhD. So I truly understand wanting to keep your personal life, well personal. I hope that you find a way to continue to do so. I hope to be able to stay in touch with you on your new blog when you are able to pass on the new info! Family can certainly be a mixed blessing…
<3 Ty for this reply! I did start the new site and will figure out a way to get the info to those that are interested in the URL. I'm reluctant to post it here in the odd event that family should happen to see my post. Though I think they likely will not.
You're welcome to email me at kristin@asimplyenchantedlife.com and I can send the URL that way :)
You are so welcome!! I will definitely send you an email! And I understand your worries…you never know if they will or not but it’s not a chance you want to take!