Goodbye Summer

My kids have not stepped foot in a school since March.

While some children would probably be chomping at the bit to get back to routine- not my kids.

They loved being quarantine.

They love summer.

They love home.

They remind me of simpler time when our young hearts were not quite weighed down with all of the problems in the world.

Tonight we say 'Goodbye' to watching movies late at night, 

to "car" birthday parades,

sleeping in while the fan blows cool air, 

swimming in the heat until too tired to suntan, 

ice cream dinners, 

walks on the trail,

napping with Maggie Cuddles, 

cooking hotdogs on the grill under the stars, 

splashing in the swirly creek, 

giggling with cousins on a weeknight...

Goodbye Summer

The Wild (Safe) and Wonderful Sechrists of West Virginia

The Wild Safe and Wonderful Sechrists of West Virginia 

I really wasn't expecting to go on any vacation this year due to all that is going on but I was supporting a plan that had us going away for a few days.

Between remote learning, COVID, taking care of family, and other juggling acts- The Sechrist Fam needed to get away for a few days.

Imagine my surprise, when Darren said that we were all going on a trip toooooo:

West Virginia. 

(ummmm.  ok.)

My husband is not political or "scared" of COVID but he is proactive and respectful of anything that he can do to protect his fellow human,

and most important of all- 

he isn't going to lose a dollar in case of cancellation. 

Let me just tell you friends, West Virginia has quite a reputation but did you know they rank #1 in the nation for their timely COVID response.  They also continue to rank bottom 10 for COVID cases in the United States.  

I didn't either until I did some research (and here).

Anyway, I stopped asking questions a long time ago.  

I just get in the van with a suitcase now.  

After a few hours we entered the wonderful mountains of West Virginia (hold the 'tooth' brush jokes please).

Darren booked us at a small resort called 

Glade Springs.

We stayed in a little apartment called Poplar. 

As in....

(I called it 'Windy Poplar' anyway.)

Don't the kids look sweet and precious? 

They argued/bickered the whole time.

I mean the whole time.

I mean the WHOLE TIMEEEEEEEE!

I mean...

I will NEVER ride anywhere in a car over an hour with them again.

I mean... 

I'm going to lock them up in my basement.

I'm going crazy.

***

Moving on, 

our vaycay spot was cozy.

Every single person that we met on this trip was so friendly.  The staff had a lot of young people and they were well spoken and very helpful.

Now don't ask me how the same person who has ordered the SAME thing off the Taco Bell menu for the last 17 years is able to find these out of the way, secluded, and very unique places...

but Darren does it.

Social distancing was NOT a problem because 

NO one was there.

I mean... 

No One. 

(I really want to talk to the Chamber of Commerce in this area because I have ideas.  They are simply not taking advantage of this area.)

Connor and Darren brought their tennis rackets and had the place to themselves every morning.

Carlee and I had the indoor pool to ourselves

&

don't forget the 

hot tub.

There was an arcade, spa, and bowling alley.

   

In the evenings we would walk to the outdoor pool. 

Carlee is becoming such a good swimmer! 

Of course Connor found one boy his age.  

He is the only person I know who can find people where there are no people.  They played a few games of ball together and became 'Instagram' friends.

  Most everything was in walking distance. 

  I haven't worn makeup since March.

We had great weather (the mountains protected us from Hurricane Isaias). 

Darren has this thing for bridges (perhaps we will go birdwatching next).

He really wanted to visit 'New River Gorge Bridge'

(the fourth longest bridge in the US).

Off we went.

It truly was such a lovely place.

Connor got a new phone, so I switched my SD card to his old one because it has two camera lenses.  

I thought the pics really captured this place.

I don't know about longest bridge but they had the most steps of any place I had been (Lord, help me for I am so out of shape.  My mask was going in and out so much, I bet people thought I was trying to eat the darn thing in an exercise induced seizure.)

It was beautiful and I think the hiking was really good for all of us (even though I pretended to tie my shoe 100 times so I could breathe and not die because not dying is good).

The shopping outside of the resort did not offer a lot of choices but we ventured out about 45 minutes and found a few things for Back to School.

  Matchers #shorts

Connor and Darren had an epic disagreement over shoes (every year).  Darren is more of a 'two choices in life' man- black or brown (pink on a teen boy is way outside of the box).

Connor is a 2020 kid-  let me buy all the colors and be ME.  

I decided to intervene because you all know I have the soul of Funky Coal Medina and understand such things.

  

When we FINALLY found the right back to school shoes I said to the young man selling, "Do you have two shoes that match of this brand?"

Store Clerk:  "They actually come that way mam', different colors".

My TEEN Son (after clerk checks size):  

"Geez MOM. White and nerdy much?  Embarrassing."

So maybe my soul is more like Weird Al Yankovic (but I'm still cool and I'm still holding the debit card.... word to ya' mother).

Meanwhile, my daughter felt this $1300.00 dollar mirror was important for Back to School.

  No.  We are not shipping a diamond mirror from West Virginia.  No.

If this vay cay seems a little subdued, well it was...

I thought I was going to have to sneak off to Boone County to visit with the Whites to kick this party up.  

We decided to actually return a day earlier because I've become...

I don't know if I can say it but I've become...

A Crazy Dog Mom!!!

I missed my dog.

(oh shut up)

I'm not that bad.

Ok.  so, I made a Youtube Video when I picked Maggie up from the vet after housing her in that cold kennel.

Maybe I'm a little bad. 

She has separation anxiety. 

Leave me alone.

A little time away was a great thing.

After all we are the Wonderful Sechrists of West Virginia and no matter what is going on...  

the party is in our hearts! 

 

Third Grade Glam Up

The countdown for school has began.

I always find it interesting when people say "my kids miss school so much, they can't wait for school". 

I've never experienced that attitude in my house.

Both brother and sister feel that school is 'Clark Kent' and home is 'Superman'.

My kids have worries during school norms without having today's current events and commentaries.  

Also my kids are going through MAJOR transitional years.

We need prayer and peace for so many reasons.

Carlee is saying good-bye to primary and hello to the fast paced world of intermediate school, testing, and quick curriculum.  

It's enough to send anyone in a panic.

I decided that we would take a day and do a full GLAM UP- Carlee Style.  

(See Urban Dictionary if you must. ) 

That includes a day of hair, clothing, shoes, school supplies, etc.

In this COVID crisis all dressing rooms are shut down, so clothing shopping has been a nightmare for the sensory kid who has a girl body. The clothing industry have sizes so messed up that we almost can't tell what size she needs.  I have had to return a ton of stuff and have experienced even more tears (too short, too long, doesn't fit the waist, fits waist and not hips, texture is wrong, don't like buttons, I don't like pink, etc. etc.)! 

Still, we finally made it to a fun Glam Up day.

I don't know what I was thinking (my hands are still blue) but this may give us JUST the right confidence to tackle the most unusual start to a school year ever. 

Enjoy our video.

Summer Autobiographies

Title:  "Open Book"

Author:  Jessica Simpson

Rating:  4/5 Stars

Genre: Autobiography 

I remember being a young cashier at Food Lion looking at all of the magazines on a slow night (it was my favorite hobby).  In the early 2000s, there was always another blonde "pop star" with a half shirt on the front of every magazine.  One night out of boredom,  I started to read about this new "blond" called "Jessica Simpson" and found myself super interested in the article.  For lack of a better word, this girl seemed "insecure" and that insecurity made me instantly relate.  I became a fan right then and loved her music even more.  I bought up the first two CDs she put out.  Her music still evokes good memories of my 20s.

                                                        

Down the road, Darren and I got totally hooked on the show "Newlyweds" that premiered the same year we were married. Once again I just loved Jessica Simpson because she seemed so 'real' and like me, she was always saying silly things.  

This summer, I could not wait to buy her story!

I lapped up the first half of the book as Simpson wrote about her family, pressures to be thin, how people judged her for having a naturally curvy figure (yasss), her experience in the church, and her battle with addictions.  Even though Simpson is a 'famous star', I believe any woman could relate to her.  She also let go of a lot of juicy secrets before, during, and after Nick Lachey (sigh. RIP NICK.  I wish they could have made it.)

The second half of this book fell a bit flat for me.  Simpson made everything seem a little too good and unrealistic, including where she landed spiritually.  If you look at her Instagram account for 2 minutes, you will see she has NOT let go of addictions/issues with her body.  She has lost too much weight too fast, and she posts photos of her figure that can only come from compulsive workouts.   It bums me out because I know she still feels the pressure.  

I recommend if you are even close to being a Jessica Simpson fan.

Title:  "Full Circle: From Hollywood to real Life and Back Again"

Author:  Andrea Barber

Rating:  5/5 Stars

Genre: Autobiography 

Let me start by saying that I don't even like the show "Full House" that much, and I've only watched "Fuller House" once and it was so cheesy I couldn't finish the episode.   While I love Candace Cameron Bure, I know nothing about Andrea Barber the actress who plays the annoying "Kimmy Gibbler" on both shows.  (Ps.  Kimmy Gibbler has grown on me now.)

This week, I happened upon an old Dr. Oz clip where the actress Andrea Barber sat down to plug her book.  She began to speak about her anxiety and how it connected to her health journey.  I was immediately interested.  Her real life persona is nothing like her TV character.  I decided to treat myself today. I purchased this book at lunch on my Kindle and had it finished by dinner!  It was that good.  Don't you think the cover is adorable??

This book starts with a little "Full House" background, info on her coworkers, and how Andrea Barber got into acting.   I still remember her from "Days of Our Lives".  After "Full House" wrapped Andrea went out to do other things (like a real human) such as pursue college, study abroad, work, and start a family.  While she states that she is luckier than most and has a trust fund,  finding additional work is still critical to 90% of working actors and actresses in Hollywood today.  

Hands-down she gives the best account of what it is like to work and manage family, while battling generalized anxiety disorder.   It was so rewarding to read about a real person who shares that panic attacks and anxiety are real and can also distort reality.  She is really blessed to have a supportive family (unlike many in fame).  I also appreciated that she didn't seem to overdramatize the events of her life.  She writes, "When my anxiety is at it's worst, my world closes into a pinhole-sized view...tasks that once seemed easy and fun suddenly feel insurmountable."

I think this book mostly appealed to me because of the timing.  I battle with generalized anxiety disorder myself and for me that anxiety has been completely heightened in the past 5 months.  I could relate to each word of this book including how the side effects to most anti-anxiety/depression pills bring more issues than the actual disorder.  Not to say people should not take meds because she did but I appreciate that she did speak on the true challenges of that decision.   

Chapter 10 "Running for My Life" was my favorite.    I was most inspired by how she worked to come back to herself after many challenges.  She learned to pinpoint lapses and found things that worked for her.  Isn't that what we all work toward?  

"If I want to fight it and remain healthy, I have to incorporate ALL of my strategies... even when I'm too busy or don't want to.  It's not optional, it's a lifestyle."