10 Life Lessons People Learn Too Late

Branson Stagecoach Campground - Branson, MO 

June 16 - 29, 2014

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CONTENTS

RV LIFE

TN HOUSE

TO PONDER

BROWSING THE WWW

PETS

RESTAURANT REVIEW

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RV LIFE:

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before. Just too much going on in this aging brain of mine.

Our Full Time RV'ing is nearing an end. We close on the house July 15. We began FT'ing July 18th, 2011.
Who knows, after 10 years in the house, we may be up for going on the road again for a year or two for our last hoorah before settling into a retirement community. Most FT'rs, it seems, don't even start their adventure until their mid 60's, so we are 10 years ahead of the game.

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TN HOUSE:

So I again have been on Pinterest getting ideas, for all kinds of things. This morning, I've concentrated on fencing and how to display all the shawls I've made. Here are some contenders below.

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TO PONDER:

Merikay mentioned in a recent blog post...

"The KOA keeps the mosquitos under control by fogging. I heard the truck the other night.  I'm not sure what I think about that. I don't like the thought of the poison in the air and on the grass, but I also hate mosquitos. Spray or not?"

I also have the dilemma of poison or deal with the pests. I use flea/tick control liquid drops on our dogs, only when I really feel it is needed. Luckily, I only have to use it every 4-5 months, instead of the recommended monthly. What to do? Put poison on my dogs or have them suffer with fleas. Put poison on my dogs, or have them develop tick born diseases. Put poison in my dogs, or have them possibly suffer heartworm.

When it comes to skeeters, a fan is your best friend. Mosquitoes can’t land in a crosswind and hate flying against it, so they’ll avoid breezy areas. Sit directly in front of your fan and enjoy a mosquito-free afternoon. Cocktails optional.
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BROWSING THE WWW:
Marc and Angel Hack Life -  Practical Tips for Productive Living

'Here are ten things you need to know, before it’s too late:

1. This moment is your life. – Your life is not between the moments of your birth and death.  Your life is between now and your next breath.  The present – the here and now – is all the life you ever get.  So live each moment in full, in kindness and peace, without fear and regret.  And do the best you can with what you have in this moment; because that is all you can ever expect of anyone, including yourself.  
2. A lifetime isn’t very long. – This is your life, and you’ve got to fight for it.  Fight for what’s right.  Fight for what you believe in.  Fight for what’s important to you.  Fight for the people you love, and never forget to tell them how much they mean to you.  Realize that right now you’re lucky because you still have a chance.  So stop for a moment and think.  Whatever you still need to do, start doing it today.  There are only so many tomorrows.
3. The sacrifices you make today will pay dividends in the future. – When it comes to working hard to achieve a dream – earning a degree, building a business, or any other personal achievement that takes time and commitment – one thing you have to ask yourself is:  “Am I willing to live a few years of my life like many people won’t, so I can spend the rest of my life like many people can’t?”
4. When you procrastinate, you become a slave to yesterday. – But when you are proactive, it’s as if yesterday is a kind friend that helps take a load off your back.  So do something right now that your future self will thank you for.  Trust me, tomorrow you’ll be happy you started today.  
5. Failures are only lessons. – Good things come to those who still hope even though they’ve been disappointed, to those who still believe even though they’ve tasted failure, to those who still love even though they’ve been hurt.  So never regret anything that has happened in your life; it cannot be changed, undone or forgotten.  Take it all as lessons learned and move on with grace.
6. You are your most important relationship. – Happiness is when you feel good about yourself without feeling the need for anyone else’s approval.  You must first have a healthy relationship with yourself before you can have a healthy relationship with others.  You have to feel worthwhile and acceptable in your own eyes, so that you’ll be able to look confidently into the eyes of the people around you and connect with them.
7. A person’s actions speak the truth. – You’re going to come across people in your life who will say all the right words at all the right times; but in the end, it’s always their actions you should judge them by.  So pay attention to what people do.  Their actions will tell you everything you need to know.
8. Small acts of kindness can make the world a better place. – Smile at people who look like they are having a rough day.  Be kind to them.  Kindness is the only investment that never fails.  And wherever there is a human being, there’s an opportunity for kindness.  Learn to give, even if it’s just a smile, not because you have too much, but because you understand there are so many others who feel like they have nothing at all. 
9. Behind every beautiful life, there has been some kind of pain. – You trip and you fall, you make mistakes and you fail, but you stand strong through it all – you live and you learn.  You’re human, not perfect.  You been wounded, not defeated.  Think of what a priceless gift it is to grow through these experiences – to breathe, to think, to struggle, and to overcome challenges in the pursuit of the things you love.  Yes, sometimes you will encounter heartache along the way, but that’s a small price to pay for immeasurable moments of love and joy.  Which is why you must keep stepping forward even when it hurts, because you know the inner strength that has carried you this far can carry you the rest of the way.
10. Time and experience heals pain. – Several years ago when I asked my grandmother about overcoming pain, this is how she explained it to me:  Look at the circles below.  The black circles represent our relative life experiences.  Mine is larger because I am older and have experienced more in my lifetime.  The smaller red circles represent a negative event in our lives.  Assume we both experienced the same exact event, whatever the nature.  Notice that the negative event circles are the same size for each of us; but also notice what percentage of the area they occupy in each of the black circles.  Your negative event seems much larger to you because it is a greater percentage of your total life experiences.  I am not diminishing the importance of this event; I simply have a different perspective on it.  What you need to understand is that an overwhelmingly painful event in your life right now will one day be part of your much larger past and not nearly as significant as it seems."

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PETS: 

Have you ever heard of  Dog Shaming??? Maybe you've seen something similar on TV. When a teen disrespects or does something wrong, they are made to stand outside with a sign stating what they did? Very embarrassing for the kid.Well, dog shaming is along the same lines, although the dogs make look like they are embarrassed, I'm not sure they can actually feel embarrassment. 

Remember the Barbie doll 1800's dress I crocheted? It took me a long time because it was not enjoyable to crochet, but I loved the end result.

Well here's the doll and outfit today...

Does he look ashamed? Does he look remorseful?

One thing I have learned is to not get upset over these things. What can I do? Will getting angry put it back together? No. Will getting angry make Devin say I'm sorry? No. Will getting angry make me feel any better? No. In fact, I'd probably feel terrible if I made Devin fear me. In fact, if I would blow up, I'd also make Hubby upset. So, there's no good in getting angry.

We decided to go to breakfast and we've been having good luck leaving the dogs loose. So breakfast was within walking distance and we wouldn't be more than an hour. We put the garbage can in the bathroom, we put the dog treats high up and out of jumping reach & I made sure my knitting was not laying around. We had an enjoyable breakfast (review below). Here is what we found (besides my damaged Barbie) when we returned to the RV.

Little white dots are hundreds of beads

More beads and slobber

All the items on "display" were originally in the green and white tote bag (that I also made). The tote was hanging on a hook, NOT laying around for the taking.

It looks worse than it was. Yarn unwound can be rewound, beads strewn all over can be gathered up. He did chew part of the handle, but it has already been fixed...and the crocheted dress on the Barbie? Miraculously, none of it was damaged except the feather in the hat. But, I'll wait to reassemble and display until we move into the house.

We believe this happened because there are some loose cats outside and Devin is getting over excited. When he gets excited and he needs to release, which is usually by grabbing a toy and playing with us.Since we were home, he played with Barbie.

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RESTAURANT REVIEW:

Ruthie's Tumbleweed Outpost Grill - Branson, MO

Our rating 4 out of 5

This rating is related to "diner" style food.

Ruthie's is located within walking distance of the RV park, in fact is it part of Branson Stagecoach Campground and also open to the public.

For such a plain building, the inside is decorated very nice in a cowboy/South Dakota kind of feel. Behind the counter is a beautiful wood background that almost reminds me of an old fashioned bar. 

We were here for breakfast.

Pancakes: average

Hashbrowns were shredded potato type and were simple, but delicious. Just the right amount of crispiness and grilled in some kind of oil/butter that gave it a very nice flavor.

Vegetable Omelet with Swiss Cheese was huge and delicious.

Biscuits & gravy was my side in lieu of toast. They gave me two biscuits cut in half and loaded with sausage gravy. I've had better biscuits and gravy, but it was really nice to see sausage in the gravy as their norm.

The coffee was better than most diners. I was able to drink it black.

There is also home made bread for toast offered.

They have a revolving array of pies and rolls. You never know what they'll have. It is at the discretion and whim and mood of the baker.

Blackberry/Cherry pie was delicious.

Cinnamon rolls are huge and very good. They are more bready than a sweet roll, but once you accept that, there is plenty of cinnamon syrupy goodness throughout. Topped with their cream cheese icing. Yum! I did go back just for the cinnamon roll to bring home.

Service is very pleasant. The servings are huge! I only ate half my breakfast. Took the rest home, which was enough to fill me up for dinner.