Despite Everything, 2020 Was A Good Year!

For most people, 2020 was one huge dumpster fire!  

It was riddled with anxiety, seclusion, social upheaval, and for some, sickness.  And while I'm not trying to be dismissive of those things, for me, 2020 has been a pretty good year.

The first four months of the year were a bit scary.  I'm a nurse, and seeing the pandemic work it's way here was very unsettling.  But I work for the most awesome hospital system and they held our hand and were with us every step of the way.  I never felt abandoned or on my own - even when PPE was in short supply.  My employer took care of their staff and made sure we were safe every.single.day.

By May I was able to have the corrective surgery on my foot.  It was a struggle to get to my surgery date because of COVID, but it taught me to be humble and patient.  It was truly God's hand at work that I had the surgery when I did.  My recovery was long, but not painful. By October I was back at work full force and I have not slowed down yet!

The holidays were very special to me.  It was the first time in about 30 years that I've had my little family all to myself.  We had no commitments to travel anywhere else, and I relished having all my babies at home and making the seasons magical for them.

I'm also in the best health of my life!

I've never felt better and continue to improve my diet and now my fitness (thanks to my new foot!) daily.

2020 has also definitely taught me a few things like:

Finding happiness in simple things.

Difficult times reveal the truth about people.

Freedom should never be taken for granted.

I can do hard things.

Making self care a priority, not a priviledge.

And to be thankful for EVERYTHING!

Whatever 2021 brings, I'm going to hold on to the lessons I've learned and treasure each day for what it IS, 

not for what it should be.

Merry Christmas from the Creamers!

May the spirit of Christmas, 

and the love of Christ, 

bring you and your family 

hope, love, and happiness 

throughout the new year!

The Family Christmas Book

26 years ago I was standing in a Barnes & Noble bookstore and came upon this book:

I had just had our first son, Ryan, a few months before and I knew I had to get this book to chronicle each Christmas of his life 

and of our new family.

Our very first Christmas as a family:  1994

Every year that I pull it out, I just smile as I leaf through the pages.  I remember each Christmas like it was just yesterday.  It has a place for each year's Christmas card, a small section for writing down memories of the past year, a place for pictures, and names of those you gathered with.

Doug's grandmother's last Christmas letter.

We filled up the book last year,

25 YEARS of memories, y'all!

And now we are on to Volume 2!

I just ordered a second book this week 

to continue our memory journey.  

I'm so happy the publisher still prints this book, 

because I'm sure going to have a LOT to write about 2020!

Christmas art projects by Ryan from when he was in KINDERGARDEN!

And it gives me great joy that when I'm long gone, 

my children will have this book to show their own children.  

They'll remember and laugh about the wonderful, and some times not so wonderful, 

years in this family.

I encourage you to start your own Christmas memory book.

In the blink of an eye, it will be full!

And you'll be so glad you did it.

Back to Work

In October I came back to work, but on light duty.  My wonderful team allowed me to do desk duty while I got stronger and finished my Physical Therapy.  

I'm not going to lie, it was tough!  

I went from 5 months of sitting in a recliner and watching Netflix like it was my full time job, to getting up at 5 am and trying to make it through an 8 hour day.

October flew by and it was now time to transition to my regular position as a nurse in the OBED.  

This was busy 12 hour shifts and on my feet most of the time.  

And you know what?

I DID IT!

Not only did I manage to do my required shifts per week, I signed up for extra shifts ('cause Christmas is coming!).  

I actually did THREE back to back 12 hour shifts on my new bionic foot and I was just fine!

After that 36 hour marathon, I DID sleep for two days!  

But that's beside the point! 

 I am so grateful for two good feet, the gift of healing, and am so excited about the year to come.

The Fall Garden

The Fall garden is in full swing and I find myself out here most days just sitting in a chair.  The days are cooler, the air smells sweeter, and the sun feels so good on my skin after being mostly inside for the last six months.

The garden is wooing me, y'all!

And I must GO!

October Has Been Busy!

What a whirlwind of a month October has been!  

Let's see where to start...

October 5th I went back to work.  Imagine going from laying around in your pajamas in a big comfy recliner all day, to being on your feet for eight hours!  It was quite a shock to my new bionic foot!  But on the days I worked, I also went to Physical Therapy afterwards, they massaged out the tension and helped me get stronger.

We celebrated Mary Grace and John Paul's birthdays this month.   We took a sweet day trip to Galveston for Mary Grace and sent John Paul off to party with his friends in Houston at one of the big haunted houses.  My babies aren't babies anymore.  No longer are the days they are content at home with LEGOS and helping me decorate their cakes.  Their interests lie away from home and their "toys" have gotten more expensive!

Mary Grace is angry she had to take a picture with the boys.

Doug and I celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary on the 23rd.  We went back to Galveston for a long weekend ALONE.  It was wonderful, relaxing, and just the break we needed.

We did the early voting thing.

We did doctor visits.

Lots of physical therapy.

Doug has been working more since 

I don't need him as much at home.

Ryan took a trip to Boston.

Kyle's baseball team won his division.

And just the business of everyday life.

I'd like to get all the Christmas decorations out and settle into this final season of the year.  I want to enjoy every second of the coziness and sparkle....

But it appears I have a gigantic mess to clean up first.

Just par for the course of this busy month, I guess!

Happy Birthday, Mary Grace!

Our last baby celebrated her last year in the single digits this week.  She's just like her mama, so of course we headed to the beach...

Happy 9th birthday!

We love you so much and hope you had the best day!

Progress, and I'm Not Talking About My Foot!

Last year in November when I first saw my surgeon, he told me he would not take me to the OR in the condition I was in.  He challenged me to get healthy before performing my surgery.  

Let me tell you, pain is a great motivator!  

I desperately needed to have my foot corrected, so I began to alter my eating habits.  Exercise was out of the question since it was so painful just to even walk.  But with eating a ketogenic diet, I found I didn't have to do strenuous exercises at all to lose weight.

The picture on the right was me in December 

when I began this journey.  

The picture in the middle is me in May, 

down 50 pounds in five months!  

And the picture to the left is me TODAY.  

(I went shopping for scrubs since none of my old ones fit anymore!)

I still have about 20 more pounds that I'd like to lose, and now that I am able to be more active, I have no doubt I'll be at my target weight by December (maybe before!).  And it's all thanks to the surgeon who cared for his patient as a whole person...not just her messed up foot!

If you'd like to know more about the ketogenic diet, check out the links below:

THE KETOGENIC DIET FOR BEGINNERS

KETO 101

KETO CONNECT - The source of ALL things keto!

The Easiest Pickled Peppers

There is never a shortage of peppers in the summer garden. Peppers LOVE the Texas heat and my plants usually produce well into late October.  My boys love pickled jalapeños and pepperochini on just about everything, so I’m sharing the easiest quick pickled peppers recipe. It’s my favorite way to preserve peppers. 

PICKLED PEPPERS 

1 cup of vinegar (either white or apple cider)

1 cup of water

Three cloves of garlic smashed

1 Tbs salt

1 Tbs honey (optional)

Combine all the ingredients into a saucepan and heat until boiling.  Remove pan from heat and add sliced jalapeños.  Give it a quick stir and allow to cool slightly before packing into clean jars.  Seal jar with lid and cool on your counter until room temperature. You can enjoy them then or put them in the fridge for a couple of days to let the flavors develop. 

These peppers will keep up to three months in the fridge...

IF they last that long!

Saving Summer, Saving Seeds

For the most part, the summer garden is done with.  The only thing that loves this Texas heat are my peppers.  Since getting my cast off, I've really wanted to get out in the garden (because who wants to garden with a heavy, hot, sweaty cast!).  So earlier this week, the boys helped me weed some beds and I gathered the last few bits of summer from the garden.

Beautiful and fragrant Holy Basil for winter teas.

Besides the peppers, my herbs are the only plants still going strong.

Due to the pandemic, many seed companies are sold out due to panic buying.  But if you already have a garden, it's as simple as letting a bit of your harvest dry on the vine.  With a handful of our favorite pole beans, we'll have way more seed than we need for next year.

Same with the cucumbers.  Just let them over ripen on the vine and harvest hundreds of seeds.  And although I wish I could say this was all an experienced gardener's calculated move...

in honest, I simply let my garden go to hell because it was to hot to tend to it!

I even harvested the sunflower seeds that the birds didn't take!

I love that the garden is so forgiving.

Even if you neglect it, you still can reap it's bounty.

One fun project I did was stringing chili peppers for drying.  It's the first time I've dried peppers this way and I can't believe I haven't done it sooner.  When these beauties are dried, it'll be just in time to make the mole sauce for our Christmas tamales!

And you better believe I'm going to be saving those seeds!

I might even just leave it hanging in my kitchen so I can save the remnants of summer just a little longer.

Ten Weeks Post-Op

I had my 10 week post op check on Friday and things are going GREAT!  I got my cast removed, x-rays taken, and I was deemed well enough to begin life in a boot with partial weight bearing.

In typical "me" fashion, I was sure that as soon as that *$#@ cast came off that I'd be able to walk in a boot without any aides.  

I was wrong.

My leg muscles are extremely weak, my foot is still half numb and just imagine with every step you take you have the WORST case of pins-and-needles known to man.  

Trust me, it's not as fun as it sounds!

Don't let him fool you, he's just after my coffee!

So I hobble with crutches and sometimes my walker.  

I do my exercises and foot massage religiously.  

I will see the doc in three weeks and begin Physical Therapy.

I'm ready.

I have a lot to do!

Thank you for your prayers and company during this journey.

Cucumber Salad

Our #4 son, Daniel, played in a summer baseball league. It is a little over an hour from our home, right in the heart of Houston.  We usually had time to kill before the games and we soon discovered a wonderful Mediterranean market and deli nearby.  The shopping was so fun and the food was amazing!  We started a habit of taking a picnic dinner to the ball field every week. 

Since I don’t eat carbs, my favorite thing to get was a cold cucumber salad with warm chicken shawarma sliced on top. 

Let me tell you, it is DIVINE!

 

Our season is now over and we don’t have an excuse to travel to Houston at the moment, but I still find myself craving this salad.  I set out to try to recreate it (thank you, Pinterest!), and I think I’m pretty close.  Thank goodness for a late season bumper crop of cucumbers in the garden!

MEDITERRANEAN CUCUMBER SALAD 

3 Roma tomatoes diced very small

2 English or 4 Persian cucumbers diced small

1/2 cup diced red onion

1 green bell pepper

2-3 TBS each of dill, parsley, and cilantro

1 TBS dried mint OR 1/2 cup fresh

Juice of 2 limes OR 4 TBS red wine vinegar

3 TBS EVOO

Chop all the vegetables finely and then dress with the herbs, oil, and acid.  I am not a great lover of mint, but trust me, you do not want to omit it in this salad!  Dried mint brings so much flavor to this and it makes it different from any other cucumber salad you’ve had.   

It is the perfect summer salad. 

Now If I could just figure out how to make shawarma without the giant spit oven!