Welcome To My Blog

This will be the first first of hopefully many blogs I write. What do I have to say? Not really sure, but there's plenty stewing up there. I signed up for blogger like two years ago and this blog has been waiting ever since like a baron ghost town. The original title was "Bye Mandisa," and I have NO idea where I came up with a blog title like that. Guess I should have written that one down. The internet is a place we all spend plenty of time and these days everyone is a citizen journalist, so I thought I would try my hand at it as well.

The journey I have been on over the past eight years has been more than a surprise to me. I never thought I would be a country girl, having grown up in New Jersey for the first 25 years of my life. I came to Kentucky with my son and everything I owned (which wasn't much) to survive a break-up and go to college in an area with lower cost of living. It was incredible how much less the rent payments were. I quickly began to make friends at the restaurant that hired me. Let me just say the food industry is the same everywhere in terms of the staff attitudes and lifestyles, so I adapted easily since that was the work I was doing in NJ.

There were days that coming to Kentucky seemed like the biggest mistake of my life, but the good days helped to balance that. I was with my little boy who faithfully accompanied me in our adventure. He was, and still is, my little trooper. (I can officially say little until he gets taller than me.) The apartment we lived in was nicer than any we could have rented in Ocean City, but without the sounds of the waves a block away. Anyone who has lived in the salt air knows what your missing when you don't anymore. I did, however have a spacious open field behind the apartment that I could look down on and watch the train chug by and the bunnies play in the long grass. I never really knew the dangers of the stormy weather in KY until living here for a few years, so back then I would sit at my window and watch the flat winds and lightning bolts in awe. It's actually a beautiful sight.

I caught a break and landed a job landscaping on Fort Knox which is where I realized I never wanted to spend another hour working indoors. It had been almost two years and I still didn't enroll for school. I just didn't have the time or resources (or so I told myself) to do it. I fell into a routine where my bestie and I would trade babysitting. I kept working both jobs and loved it partly because I got to take in the beautiful Kentucky outdoors and partly for the physical fitness it provided.

When I met who would later become  my husband, we were both still employed with the restaurant. His family was originally from New York, so there was common ground between us that was a real comfort. He was the nicest boyfriend I ever had and really seemed to be ambitious. We began to discuss  college and decided to enroll together. Shortly after, we decided to move in together. I found a cute and very affordable, little house to rent with a backyard and a front porch that I adored. About a year later, I found out I was pregnant with our daughter. I put school on hold and he got more aggressive with his education. By 2009 he was an engineer actively seeking employment. In late '09 he was hired by a wonderful company and has been there since. I have been back in school since 2010 and will have my AA by the end of this month. By 2014 I will have a BS in Organizational Leadership. I am not really sure I would have been able to do all of this living in NJ.

The kids and I spend our summers down the Jersey Shore and I think my hubby has grown quite fond of my hometown too. In less than three weeks I will be in NJ with my family and friends, spending time at the beach and on the boardwalk. The best part is being with my parents and sister. This summer my son and I are going to take a side trip to Maryland for a section hike of the AT (Appalachian Trail). We will start at Penmar and finish at Harpers Ferry for a four day, forty mile trek.

Over the summer I'll be blogging about the beach, hiking, gardening and fun!! Stay tuned!!