A Sailor's Life for Me

Sailing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My parents' best friends are their fellow sailors on the docks. They have become family to us! We have had a sailboat since I was 18 months old. In total my parents have had three different boats. Over the years we've upgraded boats as my parents love of sailing has increased (or as my mom gave in to my dad's nagging). At one point in time, I even had a small sailboat of my own on Lake DeGray.

Since the beginning, I've always enjoined spending a weekend at the lake. I have wonderful memories of being woken up way too early on Saturday mornings and listening to Car Talk or the Beach Boys as we drove down to the lake. I think taking us to the lake every weekend also kept my brother and I out of trouble when we reached our teenage years. (The weekends we didn't go with them to the lake definitely led to some 'lectures' when they got home!)

Terms like halyard, jib, main, tacking, heel, stay, and helm come naturally to me now. Sailing is a weird combination of hard work and a laid-back vibe. There is nothing better than a day with great wind that takes you all the way down the lake. We are a part of  the Iron Mountain Yacht Club (website) that has parties and races on different weekends throughout the year. I personally have only won one race, but I did recieve an awesome trophy with a base made of beer cans (it's a prized possession). I hope that sailing will always be in my life. With a beautiful lake only 15 min. from our new place in PA, I've already got my eye on a few boats on craigslist :)  I snapped a few pictures on my last sailing trip with my parents to give y'all a glimpse into what it's all about.

Crazy Week

On top of all the thesis writing I've been doing lately, we've also been taking care of my grandad's farm as he had a stroke last week and has been in the hospital. He is itching to get home today and back to his animals so we will see what happens!

Check out his goats and miniature horses. I want to put one in my pocket they are so adorable!

In my next post, I'm going to share with everyone a family hobby that we've been passionate about for a long time that not everyone knows about us! I'm excited to write about it, but it will probably be later tonight or tomorrow as I am feeling the need to get back to thesis writing. Hope you are having a wonderful Monday!!

My Day on the Farm

While back in Arkansas, I wanted to spend a day with Brett's family out on the farm. I stayed with my brother-in-law, Brandon, and his girlfriend Cat. They sell organic produce that they grow on part of the farm: check out Five Acre Farms on facebook or their blog at thewaywardcarrot. I headed to Pleasant Plains last Saturday afternoon and got to spend time hanging out with them and their chickens! So cute!

They live in in Brett's grandmother's house which they have done a ton of work to and it look so good.

Brandon was definitely missing Brett...I think he felt out numbered by being the only boy. It doesn't help that Cat and I have too much fun messing with him. Love ya, brother! Cat and I tried to get Brandon to take a picture of us. The first is his attempt. The second is our's (much better!).  

I think Brandon was happy to have his good friend, Jerry, to keep him company!

 They invited a few of our friends over for dinner and a bonfire later that night and we had the best time just telling stories and laughing. I always have a good time with them. The next morning after an early wake-up call by Brandon at 5:45am...I went back to sleep for about an hour and half. Haha. 5:45 was just too early for me! After Cat and I woke up, we all went out to plant sweet potatoes- can't wait for them to get big enough to eat! It was pretty hard work, but it was fun getting to see what they do everyday and a little of what I should expect when I get back to PA (I got a job on a produce farm! Eee!).

Sweet Potatoes

Laying everything out. We planted two beds this length.

I wish I had taken a picture after we got everything planted, but my hands were so dirty that I didn't want to touch my camera. This is their first year growing sweet potatoes so we will see how it goes. I can't wait to try them out. It was great getting to spend time with family and to have a little break from working on my thesis. Now...back to writing my conclusion chapter. :)

My Other Half

A question you might be asking yourself (one which I have to remind myself of the reasoning behind every day) is "Why are Brett and Meredith living 1000 miles apart?!". And, believe or not, there is a good answer to that question...unfortunately.

I'm away from Brett because this is what he currently gets to look at everyday -instead of his beautiful wife :)

Brett is working in the midst of multiple green bean farms in Florida. He will be working his way up the east coast with the harvest of the beans. This is his first taste as to what his new job will require of him. Which let me tell you- it is alot! His 15 hr days (with no "off" days for two months) are definitely a test of his work ethic. But, as if any us doubted how hard a worker Brett is, he has received excellent reviews from everyone around him.

As I sit here in my office back on the ol' U of A campus, I am thankful for what Brett is doing for us in Florida and for encouraging me to come back to finish my thesis. It will be so nice when we get back to our little nest in PA at the end of the summer and have two big weights off of our shoulders. -Just keep praying that we make it to that point gracefully :)

Hello, PA!

After a whirlwind of a wedding and honeymoon, we packed everything in our Budget truck and spent two days saying goodbye to our family.

Then we were off on our two day drive to our new home in Hanover, PA. It was hard to say goodbye to Arkansas, but the drive to PA was full of beautiful scenery.

The next couple of weeks consisted of unpacking, learning my way around Hanover, dealing with truck breakdowns, and working on my skills as a wife! But we love our new apartment and we love being married! It is so fun to have Brett to come home to. I'm so thankful for him...he is just the most wonderful thing. The next two months will not be easy while we are away from each other again, but I know that the Lord won't give us anything we can't handle!

There are still a lot of things to organize in our home, but I guess it will have to wait until Brett and I return in July. Here are few pictures:

guest room

our room



Eureka!

While on our honeymoon, we wanted to be sure we took time to tour Crystal Bridges. We left Eureka Springs expecting that it would take us about 45 min. to get to Crystal Bridges....then our car overheated. But it turned into such a fun adventure! The point along the highway where we pulled over was the entrance to the Blue Springs Heritage Center. We hiked a few miles around the springs- it was beautiful!

It was the perfect day to be outside and we really enjoyed taking our time walking around and dipping our feet into the springs.

After we let the car cool down and put some water in it, we were back on the road. We ate lunch at The Flying Fish (one of my favorites) and then finally made it to Crystal Bridges. It did not disappoint. We loved it. I highly encourage anyone in the NWA area to check it out if you haven't already!

The next two days we mostly stayed around our wonderful, amazing treehouse. We did eat at some of our favorite spots (Local Flavor- I could eat there every day) and rent movies (Dances with Wolves...classic). Our last day in Eureka, we drank margaritas on a balcony downtown, shopped, and went to the Christ of the Ozarks.

It was the most amazing thing to spend so much time with Brett. We have the best time together and I can't wait to be reunited with him!!

The Honeymoon

Because Brett and I would be moving across the country the weekend after our wedding, we wanted to stay close to home for our honeymoon. We spent one night at the Dickson Street Inn (amazing!) and had a big brunch at Cafe Rue the next morning. Their brunch consists of the best foods I've ever had.

Then we drove to Eureka Springs and had incredible time! It was the most relaxing and fun few days. We stayed at the wonderful Eureka Springs Treehouses. It was perfect. We decided we would love to have a place just like our treehouse.

Our first night in Eureka Springs we ate at Ermilio's. YUM!



If you guys aren't completely sick of pictures, I'll leave you with one more for today.

In my next few posts, I'll write about our adventures in Eureka!