Where the hell have you been RCGG? Well I’d like to say that I was out travelling around the world and having a blast but the truth is that I’ve been so busy with school and house work that I have just been a really crappy blogger this year! So bad that I let my blog hosting lapse this year and I had my bluehost account suspended. I just got off a chat with their support and I was able to get it renewed! So I’m back and ready to go.

So what’s been going on in the RCGG world? I have been working on some new content in the last few months. I’ll be sharing that very soon. The new content is going to be so much fun. I have had a YouTube channel for years and have never done much with it. Especially after House of Rose stopped doing Stop and Smell the Roses vlogs. She has stopped blogging all together now but doing those videos has always been something I loved and I want to continue with video content. I recently bought a small video camera and I have made a few videos already. I’m working on editing them and I’ll have one or two up next week or the week after. I’m looking forward to this new venture in the RCGG world. It is going to be a mix of crafts, DIY projects, recipes, and every day life.

I’m also working on being more active in my facebook group Random Crafty Georgia Girl Community and the Random Craft Georgia Girl Facebook page. I’ll post the videos there as well as on the blog and YouTube.

I have also neglected my newsletter and I’ll be getting that up and going again in the next few weeks. I’m wanting to be able to get a newsletter out to ya’ll monthly if not two times a month. In the newletter I share what’s been going on during the month and some behind the scenes of the RCGG world. I haven’t blogged in so long and I really missed it.

So what’s really been going on in the RCGG world since my last post in DECEMBER? I couldn’t believe it was that long ago that I wrote a post! See, I told you I have been a crappy blogger this year! Well, Mr. RCGG and I have been living our best life! He’s been working and helping me with whatever housework he can. He’s really great about helping me catch up on whatever needs to be done. My parents came to visit in April. This was the first time I had seen my dad since 2019. There was some stuff that went on and I hadn’t seen him in a long time. I’m not going into detail what exactly that stuff was because I don’t share that much into my personal life with ya’ll. Anyway, it was a great visit! I’ll get a post up with everything we did and a few more updates later.

We also went to the Fort Worth Zoo a few months ago. We had so much fun and I may have seen the lions several times during the day! I love lions. I’d have one as a pet if I could!

Over the Labor Day weekend we went to South Padre island for the first time. We loved it. It was our first time seeing the gulf coast and the water is so blue! It was so much prettier than what we were used to at Jekyll Island and St. Simon’s Island. Charlie loved the beach. He was a little rambunctious during the day when there were so many people out there but we took him back later in the evening around sunset and he loved running through tide pools and jumping over the waves coming in. It was starting to rain when we were out and at home he refuses to go outside when it is raining. He didn’t even care that he was getting wet though. I’ll get an update post on that for ya’ll too.

So as you can see it’s been quite a year for the RCGG family. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has for us. I’ll get the YouTube channel going and those updates ready to go. Now I have to take Charlie out since he’s at the back door whining. Have a great day and…

STAY CRAFTY YA’LL!

Every year I choose a word or phrase for the upcoming new year. I have used words such as Serenity, Care, Love, etc. Usually when deciding my word or phrase I don’t look for the word. I let the word come to me. Over the last few years I haven’t been really listening to God’s voice. I hear things He tells me but I don’t really listen to what I think He is telling me.

I started seeing the words BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD come up on facebook, instagram and sometimes even tiktok. I took this as God’s voice telling me that I need to sit down shut up and listen to Him.

In 2024 I will Be Still and listen for God’s voice. I will hear what He has to tell me and know that He is God.

I have a hard time keeping up with a devotional. I try it at the beginning of every year but usually after a week I have given up on it. It’s not that I don’t want to study the word of God. It just doesn’t hold an interest for me. I want to change that. I want to make time for God every day in a way that interests me. A few years ago I got a coloring book that has Bible verses as the coloring pages. I’m going to take some time every day to color part of a page. It might not look like studying the word of God the way it does to some but it’s a start right?

As 2023 comes to a close I can’t believe that another year is almost upon us. So many times we take for granted that a new year is a time for new beginnings. The past couple of years have been a testimony of new beginnings for the RCGG family. I’ll get more into that in a later post though. So here’s a look back into 2023 Year in Review.

2023 started out very slow as every year does. Mr. RCGG took a few days off work and we enjoyed spending time together. I was taking two classes and it burned me out! I am not doing that again. Haha!

February brought our first Texas ice storm. That was something! The ice covered our back yard and we thought Charlie would refuse to go outside. Well we were wrong. He loved going out and trying to run across the yard but when he stopped he slid three feet. The first time he was confused but then he started to do it on purpose. Haha! It was so cute.

We survived the ice storm with only one mishap of our heat going out but it was fixed after a couple of days. We just made sure to have lots of blankets and bundled up in the house to keep warm. I was wearing socks and that tells you something about how cold I was because I HATE wearing socks! I also wore one of Mr. RCGG’s thermal shirts under a t-shirt to keep warm. It was a long couple of days but with the small space heaters we bought and bundling up it wasn’t too bad.

Mr. RCGG’s parents and brother came to visit in April. We had a nice visit with them. We took them to Silos in Waco and of course I went to the bakery to get some cupcakes. We also went to the Audie Murphy museum in Greenville. It was interesting to learn more about the most decorated war hero in history. His unit was sent in to Anzio Italy to help get out the first Rangers which was my Poppy’s unit.

In June we had a really bad thunderstorm. We had just gone to bed when the I heard that too familiar freight train sound right before the tornado sirens went off. I got Charlie and Cami in the bathroom while Mr. RCGG made sure everything was okay. he’s one of those people that will go out and watch a tornado go by while I’m huddled in the bathroom taking shelter. Haha! The power went out and didn’t come back on until around 10:00 the next morning. I can’t sleep with it being completely dark and no sound so it was a very long night for me. That freight train sound is something you never forget! Even though it wasn’t technically a tornado (classified it as straightline winds) it sounded exactly the same as the tornado in Newnan. There was lots of damage to our small town but we only had a little bit of fence damage. The bank lost the drive through. It was gone! I still don’t think it was straightline winds and say it was a small tornado.

Later on in June we went to see Matchbox 20 in Dallas. It was so much fun! Rob Thomas hasn’t changed at all since our younger days! Haha!

A few days after the Matchbox 20 concert we went to another concert in our town. It was Raelynn, Bryce Leatherwood and A Girl Named Tom. They were all on The Voice. We enjoyed Raelynn and A Girl Named Tom. Bryce was okay but we think he still needs a bit more work on his concerts. He did good on The Voice because he won but he wasn’t as good live as he was on the show.

Mr. RCGG’s parents and brother came back for the Fourth of July and to take their new puppy home. The bought a beagle puppy from Texas and we went to get her while they traveled to Texas to take her home to Georgia. It was long few days with her and Charlie. He wasn’t sure what was going on and didn’t like that there was another dog in his house. Cami didn’t like that he couldn’t go in his bedroom but when they were getting ready to leave he came out of our room and went in while they were still here. Both of them were glad to have their house back.

July is my birthday and our anniversary month. Mr. RCGG usually takes those two days off but something came up at work and he had to go in. His boss told him around eight to go home and spend time with me because it was my birthday. He came home around eleven. We didn’t do much to celebrate like we usually do though because we were going to a celebration of life service later that day. One of Mr. RCGG’s employee’s 16 year old son passed away from cancer. It was a very nice service for a young man that was loved by so many family and friends. Our anniversary is the day after my birthday and we spent time together just relaxing and enjoying the day.

It’s hot in Texas during the summer. August was HOT! That’s all I can say about August and most of September! Haha!

In September we drove from Texas to Georgia for a wedding. That trip was something else! It was an event I’ll tell you that! We almost left Cami in South Carolina because he flipped out and we couldn’t get him in his crate one day. We were able to get animal control to get him in his crate and took him to the vet before heading back to Texas. He’s NEVER traveling again.

Also in September we went to the BEST CONCERT EVER! We went to see Luke Bryan! It was so much fun! We had tickets for the lawn and after the two opening acts someone working at the venue came up to us and gave us ticket upgrades! We were so close to the stage and I was in HEAVEN! I put my photos from the concert in an album on Facebook and I put the description on this concert album as I’m shaking it for Luke. Mr. RCGG’s just here. Haha!

In October I went to the Moms in the Making conference again. I loved being able to share this experience with my mom this year. She wasn’t sure what to expect but by the end she loved it just as much as I do. She has a group of friends that call themselves the Divas. On Sunday she was telling me that this group of ladies are my Divas. She could see the love and support we have for each other during the struggles of infertility. She told me that I may tell my best friend what is going on but these ladies know exactly how I feel because they are going through it too. I can’t wait for next year’s conference!

Mr. RCGG and I we went to the Texas State Fair in October too. We went early in the day and spent most of the day there. It was so nice to get there early enough to walk around and enjoy the fair instead of feeling like we were being pushed around. We were actually able to walk around and shop the vendors and sample the fair food. This year we go to see the Budweiser Clydesdales up close.

November is Mr. RCGG’s birthday. He wanted to do something different this year that wasn’t going out to dinner or staying home. So we went to Broken Bow Oklahoma. We had gone before and loved it. We love the peacefulness of it. We wanted to see if we could leave Charlie at the cabin and go do something without him for a couple of hours. So we went to get ice cream, a winery (and got two bottles of wine from the wine tasting we tried) and a distillery. Charlie did so good at the cabin without us there. he probably just took a nap on the couch like he does at home. Haha! Now that we know he will do good by himself we can explore more of the town when we go back.

Thanksgiving was good. We tried brining our turkey for the first time. I have always wanted to try it and it was so good! I also basted it with a butter and herb sauce. I can’t wait to do it again next year!

For Christmas we invited Mr. RCGG’s parents and brother to come but they decided they weren’t able to make the trip with their dog. She hasn’t been on many car rides and they didn’t want to make such a long trip with her. So it was a nice quiet day with just us and the fur babies. I’ll have a complete Christmas recap for ya’ll later!

I hope you had a great 2023. As new year approaches remember to take time for yourself. self care is important to our mental health because it gives us a chance to do something for ourselves and unwind from the every day stresses of life.

Twenty two years ago people went to work as usual on that morning not knowing that our country would be forever changed! We thought it was just a regular morning but it wasn’t. New York City and Washington DC were soon under attack when planes crashed into the World Trade Centers and Pentagon. It was a day we NEVER FORGET!

It is said that every generation has an event that they will always remember where they were when they heard a new story. In my parents generation it was when President Kennedy was killed or when John Lennon was killed. For my generation it is where were you when you heard the news of 9/11. Here’s my story of where I was on that day:

It was a Tuesday morning in Carterville Illinois. I woke up at 7:30 AM. I turned on the TV as I was getting ready for a doctor’s appointment and school later in the day at John A Logan College. I saw the World Trade Centers on fire and thought oh the Trade Centers are on fire and went back to sleep for a few minutes before my second alarm went off. I woke up again after that just to see them crumble to the ground. I got up and ran to my parents room to tell my mom. We sat there watching and crying as the video played over and over. It’s an image you don’t forget.

I had to get ready for my appointment so I got a shower and got dressed. As I was driving to Carbondale I had the radio on. Usually the morning show on CIL-FM was playing music and having fun conversations with the hosts and listeners. That morning they were just talking about what had happened. I remember people calling into the show sharing stories of what they heard about it. One caller said that they worked at the Williamson County Airport, a small airport on highway 148 and State Highway 13 in Herrin Illinois. They said that there was a plane that was supposed to be landing an hour before and it had just disappeared from the radar. They couldn’t find it anywhere on the radar or couldn’t get in contact with the pilots. As the caller was talking to them the plane started to land on the runway. It was very weird to why it had gone off the radar and I don’t think it was ever figured out why.

While I was waiting for my appointment it was so quiet in the office. Usually there’s people talking and usual doctor’s office noise but that morning everything was just quiet. I went back and the radio was on. People were still calling in with stories. After I saw the doctor I went to Subway to get lunch before going to school. I wanted to get there before my class to work on my homework a little. Not that I understood anything about it since it was a math class but I was kind of understanding a little bit of it with the help of a friend. Anyway, I was sitting in a common area eating my sandwich and looking over homework. There were TVs brought into the common areas and people were just gathered around them watching the news. This wasn’t a normal thing. The commons were usually quiet with people sitting there getting ready for classes or taking breaks between classes. People were gathered around watching with others they didn’t even know embracing and comforting each other. As it came time for my class to start I go into the classroom and my teacher came in and said that with the events that happened he didn’t think it was appropriate to have class so class was cancelled.

As I was walking through the halls I walked by the military recruitment office. There was a line twenty feet long of people waiting to talk to the recruitment officer. The student worker in the office was a classmate of mine and I’d pop in to the office to say hi every time I saw him in there but I didn’t that day because he was so busy. I talked to him at our next class and he said that he missed two classes the day before because of the line of people. There were so many students that wanted to enlist because of that day.

Looking back on the events 9/11, I feel that we came together to comfort strangers and friends. We banded together to bring the terrorists that caused this tragic event down. In recent years however that sense of coming together has faded away. Now we are turning against each other just because of political views. If someone has a different viewpoint than you that makes them a horrible person. I believe that we can live together in a world where we have opposite views if we can talk about them without arguing. I don’t see that happening though.

As ya’ll know, I love to read. My mom instilled the love of reading early in my life. She was always reading a book and quite often you can still find her reading a book. If she isn’t in her sewing room that is! Haha! For 2023 I made a reading goal to read 20 books. Well, I have passed that goal already! I’m currently on my 26th book of the year.

I have been reading the Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn this year. Ya’ll have probably watched the Netflix series. Everyone always says the books of any movie/tv show adaptation are so much better. This is so true of the Bridgerton series. I have loved every one of the books I read so far with the fourth one being my favorite. There’s eight books in the series by the way. The Netflix series is a little more detailed than the books. Usually it’s the other way around.

In early tabloid style the gossip of the season is written through a newspaper written by the mysterious Lady Whistledown. Who is she? How is she getting all her gossip?

The series starts with The Duke and I. It is about the family’s oldest daughter Daphne as she goes into the London season. The series takes place in England during the 1800s. Daphne enters the season to find her husband. She meets the Duke of Hastings and they do not find love immediately. It takes a while. Daphne’s brothers know the Duke and don’t want her alone with him but eventually they decide that he is a suitable husband for her.

The second book is The Viscount Who Loved Me. This one is about the oldest son Anthony. I found this one to be a little flat in the storyline. I actually liked the tv show better than the book on this one. In this story Anthony is courting a girl but instead has fallen in love with her sister.

In book three, An Offer from a Gentleman we see the second son Benedict fall for Sophie. He sees her at a costume ball and instantly falls in love with her. He has never seen her face though. He sees her in his dreams and knows he must find her. However she is not who he thinks she is.

My favorite of this series has been Romancing Mr. Bridgerton. Book four follows Colin Bridgerton, the third born son, and Penelope Featherington. Penelope is best friends with Colin’s younger sister, Eloise, and has had a crush on Colin for YEARS! She goes unnoticed in seasons on the marriage market and still pines for Colin. Does she finally find love? Does Colin ever notice her? How will this effect her friendship with Eloise? I have been waiting for this book to be made into the Netflix series. Even though it is book four it will be season three of the series coming out by the end of 2023! I cannot wait to see this one!

To Sir Phillip with Love is about the second Bridgerton daughter Eloise. She starts a pen pal friendship with Sir Phillip Crane. He’s a widower with two children. Eloise leaves home to go live with him and his children. They learn to love each other, and his children learn to accept Eloise as their mother.

That’s as far as I have gotten in the series. There are three more books I still need to read! I can’t wait to read the rest of them and find out about the other Bridgerton family members.

I love decorating our house for every season. My favorite decorating season is Christmas but I love making sure there’s something for the rest of the year as well. I am loving gnomes at the moment! They are just so cute!

We have an old dough bowl that we found at a flea market when we lived in Atlanta and I put it on our entertainment center under our tv. For Spring I had my gnomes, easter eggs, and flowers in it. I loved how it looked with the wooden vases I got at Little Shop on Bosque in Waco last year.

For Summer I found some custom made baseball gnomes. I got an Atlanta Braves gnome and a Texas Rangers gnome. We will always be Braves fans, but living in Texas we like to go to Texas Rangers games. Mr. RCGG says they can both be favorite teams because one is in the National League and one is in the American League. I put them in the dough bowl and a couple of baseball signs to go with it. It’s very simple but I love it!

The signs I bought on Etsy turned out so cute! The one on the left says “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game. -Babe Ruth” and the one on the right says “There’s No Place like HOME” I thought it was a perfect combination of my loves for Wizard of Oz and baseball!

Have ya’ll seen how well the Texas Rangers are doing this year? They have been having a great season so far this year and are in first place in the AL West! The Braves are also in first place in the NL East! How awesome would it be to have them both in the World Series this year! I think if that happens we will try to get tickets to one World Series game.

Have you ever noticed that life has a way of kicking you down? I know I haven’t posted anything in a long time because life has been kicking me in the butt recently! School is getting harder for me and I have been working most days on my homework instead of putting together blog posts. Charlie tries to help write my discussion posts so they end up taking longer than usual because I have to delete what he typed while walking across the keyboard. If he’s not trying to help with my schoolwork he’s chasing Cami or barking a high pitched bark that echos in my ears! The latter especially in the mornings right after he wakes me up by jumping on me.

Don’t get me wrong! I love my little dude so much but I don’t like being jumped on every single morning. He’s getting better about it and a few days a week he sleeps in to about 9:30 instead of 8:00.

I started journaling again. Just as a way to get my thoughts from the day out of my head. It helps me to write things out sometimes.

How is school going for you RCGG? Well, let me give you an update! I finished my first year at SNHU in mid December and I started my second year in January 2023. I started taking two courses instead of one and I’m excited to start my classes for my degree. I’m taking Introduction to Creative Writing and Introduction to Literature during this first term.

Last year I took an English class, two social science classes, a humanities class, a natural science class, and a math class. As I was taking the math class we were moving from Georgia to Texas right in the middle of it. I was afraid I was going to get behind but I didn’t.

I have been able to maintain honor roll through all my classes. I never made honor roll in high school and I was so excited the first time I got it and I have been able to do it again and again!

As of right now my gradation date is fall 2026 but my advisor has said that with taking two classes I should be able to speed that up a little. I’m looking forward to the next couple of years and learning all that I can about writing and literature!

I have done this post before with Ollie and Peachy and then again with Peachy and Chester. I decided to do it again with Cami and Charlie.

Do you have a nickname?
Cami said: Mommy and Daddy thought I was a girl until I got a bit older! That’s why my name is spelled with an i at the end. Anyway, Mommy calls me Cami Cat, buddy, and baby boy
Daddy calls me Cameron and buddy

Charlie said: My name is King Charles Alfred Lavon. Mommy calls me Charlie Bear, buddy, buds, sleepy bug, and bugs.
Daddy calls me Charlton Heston, and buddy.

What is your favorite time of day?
Cami said: When Daddy comes home from work. Charlie’s naptime because he’s not chasing me, Bedtime after Charlie has curled up under the blankets because I get to play with my laser without Charlie running after it too.

Charlie said: Breakfast, playtime with my brother, naptime, outside playtime, when Daddy gets home from work, dinner, after dinner playtime, bedtime

What’s your favorite treat?
Cami said: I like my blue food, American Journey treats and Tuna Fridays

Charlie said: I love carrots and blueberries. Mommy gives me a blue buffalo bone every night at bedtime. I haven’t found many foods that I don’t like yet!

What is your favorite toy?

Cami said: My laser

Charlie said: My Buccee Beaver that Cami got me for Christmas and my duck that Yay Yay (Mommy’s momma) got me when she came to visit.

What is your favorite thing to do during the day?

Cami said: Running around with Charlie but also sleeping in my condo in the front bedroom

Charlie said: Running around with Cami, playing with Mommy and taking a nap on the couch while Mommy does her schoolwork

Cami is two years old. He loves his little brother even if he doesn’t show it sometimes. He’s such a great big brother to Charlie. We weren’t sure how Cami was going to react to him at first but they have become best friends.

Charlie is a seven month old long haired dachshund. He’s grown so much since we got him in September! He’s lost most of his baby teeth and is starting to get his long hair. He loves giving kisses and cuddling up under the blankets at night.