New Weekend Adventure

This past weekend Charles and I had an entire Sunday to spend together (this rarely happens because of his job). We started our morning at church and then wanted to do an activity, something fun, visit someplace we haven't been before. Hiking at Pinckney Island National Wildlife Preserve was it!!

Here we are at the beginning

We left the dogs at home and headed out. Bull Point was our intended destination, but would we make it?? It was going to take around 2 miles to get there but i was excited about a nice long walk with Charles, talking and laughing and taking in all that this beautiful island had to offer. It is a gorgeous island with over 14 miles of hiking/biking/exploring. Tall pines and massive Live Oaks lines the trails.

Charles wanted to pose by the first marsh we walked past...it was low tide

There is a beautiful Butterfly garden...unfortunately not the masses of Butterflies i was hoping for

More massive foliage

OH and in the above pic you can see Skull Creek Boathouse one of our favorite restuarants!

Then we started down a path that we THOUGHT would lead to Bull Point (our intended destination). I should have known by the dark shadows that we may be have headed the wrong direction.

We literally walked for an hour and a half...more amazing Live Oak trees and then we got to a clearing...

It was about this time that i realized for long we had been walking and where we were supposed to be ... and it wasn't anywhere near where we actually were.... in the picture below you can barely make out a tree line in the distance....that's where we thought we were

Finally we made our way back. My hips and shins were killing me (i apparently need new shoes BADLY to run) but we had hiked around 6 miles in gravel and grass! You'll notice the path that was so shadowy and dark is now beautiful and full of light... we were almost done!!

We obviously did not make it to Bull Point, but maybe we will when we go back (Charles grabbed a map). I am excited for our next adventure :) I'll be sure to share when it happens!

~M. Johnson :)

Details

Happy FIRST DAY OF SPRING!!! This is my favorite time of the year!! Everything is blooming (along with my allergies), the colors are so vibrants, the air is warm (but there is always a cool breeze), and people just seem happier. It is obvious that "Spring Fever" has hit my office...everyone seems to want to be outside or at the beach and work seems to get done quicker so that playtime can begin.

I just wanted to write a super quick post about my weekend. In Savannah it was St. Patrick's Day weekend, and if you are familiar with that holiday then you know what an insane party happens in this beautiful city! As for me, i avoided it, and went up to Atlanta to visit my parents and take care of wedding details. On the to-do list was to see my hair dresser and go back to my blond color (long story short that includes some woman turning me orange then chocolate brown), shopping for a wedding dress, looking at invitations, and figuring out what to do for Save-the-Dates. Mom and I also wanted to look at the menus from the caterer and work on finalizing the guest list. Overall i would say that the weekend was pretty successful!

1. I got my hair back!!! It feels awesome to be a blond again! I just feel more like myself.

2. I found my dress!!! First store, second dress I tried on! Of course I cannot post a pic of the dress but i do have this picture of me and my dress consultant. I was her first bride ever, and trust me when i say she did a fantastic job!

3. Invitations  and Save-the-Dates were designed with the help of a fabulous associate at Paper Affair. We are using a silvery grey (wedding color) and they are going to be uniquely ours :) I don't to show those off yet til i get them in all printed and finished :) Save the dates should be printed and picked up before the end of the month... It's very exciting!!!

4. We didn't get to make any final decisions on menus, but we did narrow it down. I definitely feel like we are getting there. I have discussed the pre-marriage counseling sessions with our minister, so hopefully we will begin those this summer and I am getting ready to send an email to the music director regarding the ceremony music :) And we think we have finalized the guest list...we think...

Well that's about it for now. OH and i did my first outside run with my mom ... 2 miles ran, about 1 mile walked...i was pretty proud of myself!!! Moments like that are always encouraging!

~M. Johnson :)

Sometimes...

Sometimes it's just not your day...sometimes you are so busy that you can't seem to keep it all together....sometimes you just get so tired that you can't sleep well...and sometimes you just want to fall to the floor and sit there, alone, in your own self pity...EVERYTIME this happens, I feel a little bit defeated.

You see, i am typically a VERY happy, almost giddy person. it is quite rare to find myself in "a mood" or a funk or sad. It's just not in my nature. Now, i get aggravated and ticked off like the next person, but to just be down-in-the-dumps...yeah, that rarely happens to me. Unfortunately today is one of those rare times...

I have been traveling  quite a bit lately. I was in Memphis, TN the first full week of February, then when i got back to the office i was immediately thrown into planning and preparing mode for my next 2 trips (which were back to back). I had 2 weeks to prepare a day full of appointments for my team on our Sales Mission while also preparing materials and getting the other 3 teams organized for their Sales Missions. I needed to prepare 125 binders, 125 sets of 5 tabs to go into the binders, organize a "packing party", make sure i had all of the materials from my company at everyone's disposal, and basically babysit the packing process. You see, in my job, there are times in which I must be incredibly diplomatic. This is not easy for me by nature, as i am a fairly opinionated person, but sometimes i just can't have an opinion and this packing party was one of those moments, and TRUST ME, i had a million opinions bursting to get out that afternoon. Immediately following the Sales Mission, i had a travel trade show in Louisville, KY. I had enough time between shows to hug my fiance, scratch my dogs' bellies, do laundry, and repack. Off to Louisville i went, for a week. Both trips were hugely successful and I would not have traded them for the world, but, when i got back the time changed and i feel like i am struggling to get back into my normal pace of life.

This week in itself has just been one of those weeks. I moved right before I left to go on my 2 back to back trips, so i am trying to adjust to the new living arrangement. My dog somehow got a gash in his eyelid which led to a $112 trip to the Vet. (Now, don't get me wrong, i would do anything for my dog, but $112, 2 days before the paycheck hits the bank, it just hurts a little) I have inadvertently become the contact person for a major event coming to Savannah in May (for the first time) so a lot has quickly been put on my plate. It is St. Patrick's week here in Savannah and the crazies have been in town since last week. There seems to be a constant line in our office bathroom (you can't close the potty when your office is also a VIC) and people get stranger as the week goes on, so things should get even "better"...And to top it all off, I am heading to ATL this weekend to see my parents and basically focus on nothing but the wedding. Charles will be staying in Bluffton/Savannah because he has to work. This weekend priority #1 is FIND THE DRESS!! Then invitations, save-the-dates, pick a menu, discuss flowers, order bridesmaid dresses, discuss favors, and anything else that needs to be done. I'm tired already, ha ha!! I am not good at making decisions when there are so many options, so i definitely need my mom's help so the time i have with her is precious. The process has moments that are just a little overwhelming...

Now, i know that life could be much worse, and that i have much to be thankful for, and trust me when i say i am thankful for every blessing in my life. I know God has given me so many blessings...just every now and then it's nice to whine a little. I'm am a self-described control freak and may have a slight case of OCD, so when i feel a loss of control (like the last month and a half) it just makes me crazy inside.

I'm finished with my whiny rant now...I'm sure i will be much better next week...can't keep me down for too long! I apologize if you actually read through this entire entry...I know that wasn't fun :( I will do my best to avoid having that happen again!

~M. Johnson :)

here is a picture of my Teddy and his poor wounds :(