SurvivorWoman!!

Hey ya'll!

Have you ever watched the TV show Survivorman on Discovery Channel? On this show, adventurist Les Stroud is dumped into the middle of a survival situation and has to persevere through all kinds of obstacles and setbacks, including no food or sleep in order to survive in the midst of the chaos for one week and then is rescued and lives to tell about it.  Well, move over Les Stroud - within one week of getting a contract on my house, I waded through years of accumulated "treasures", dug through bottomless pits (cabinets, drawers and closets), crawled through the deep recesses of storage crawl space under my house, trekked to Goodwill a thousand times (slight exaggeration, ya'll - but close),  negotiated with my hubs (a great survival skill BTW....I'm being nice here, ya'll) over what to keep and what to pitch (he's a tad OCD so he'd rather pitch it all in the name of order - uh, compromise is a beautiful thing but there was a whole lot of pitching going on!), existed on pizza, burgers and other miscellaneous questionable fast food rations with maybe only a few hours of sleep each night surrounded by vast cavernous mountain ranges of u-haul boxes! I dragged my exhausted body up before daybreak each day with a slug and slurp of coffee and a Zip Fizz energy drink and with my trusty packing tape gun in my hand (after a week I felt as if it were a permanent appendage to my right hand) and my marking pen in the other,  I steeled my aching back (whole body actually) to persevere, conquer and survive my 7 day packing and moving challenge!!!  Annnnnd, whooo! hooo! I did it, ya'll and lived to tell about it (barely)!!!!  LOL!!! Whew - just typing this nearly wore me out!!!

Moving day last Friday was an absolute whirlwind to say the least....up at 5 a.m. and the exodus began!!!  The buyer wanted to be in the house by Friday afternoon to enjoy the long weekend up here in the cool N. AZ mountains away from triple digit heat in Phoenix so she had her carpet cleaning people literally standing at our door waiting for us to get out at noon.  Kinda got on my last nerve, ya'll, but I just kept praising God for selling our home in such a depressed market and like the children of Israel, kept following the moving cloud......in the form of a U-Haul truck, that is!!    I realize I'm not as young as I used to be and a tad, uh - make that allot out of shape, but my goodness, I strained muscles I didn't even know I had!! Ouch, Hallelujah!!....(somehow, I don't think Les Stroud says that!) LOL!!

I always stand amazed at how God does things!  The house we rented in the same neighborhood as the home we just sold already feels like home to us!  I mean, honestly, my hubs and I have both commented on how cozy and peaceful it feels.  And, please don't think I'm nuts, but even my kitties, Murphy and Maggie seem happier and more content here - there was absolutely no adjusting to their new surroundings at all.......kinda like - "OK - we really like it here, we're gonna explore and play for a while and then show us where you put our food, litter box and bed - meow, it's all good"!

(see what I mean.....they don't look too stressed do they!!)

I really love the large open kitchen with skylights and more cabinet and storage space than I've ever had before and absolutely love the huge fir tree just outside the kitchen sink window.  It's like having a huge Christmas tree "in my face" and the fragrance is heavenly......I feel like I'm living in a tree house!  I'm already looking forward to winter snows.......that tree will look like a Christmas card for sure!!!

(wish you could smell the glorious fir tree!!!)

Here it is outside my kitchen window......Luv it!!

And there's a large deck all the way across the back of the house overlooking a creek-bed and a view of the mountains.  The only thing that would make it any better is a hammock!  I can just see me now......chilling in my hammock, listening to the birds, with my Bible, journal, laptop and glass of sweet tea close by......ahhhhh.......yep, I'm getting a hammock, ya'll!! I'm gonna enjoy this mountain home the Lord lead us to until we retire in Phoenix someday - PTL!  We know we'll be in N. AZ for another year of so until my hubs retires but will start looking for a house in Phoenix to buy now while there are so many good deals - we're trusting in His direction and timing in all of this.  He is Faithful!!

I can see forever from my deck!!!  Luv it!!

Had to show you the song birds sitting on the railing
 that serenaded me this a.m.
(BTW, you can click on the pic for a closer look),

and that chair is already my fav place to read my Bible!  Luv it!!

Oh and the place to the right of my chair would be perfect for a hammock - don't ya think??!!

Honestly ya'll, when I posted "Rejoicing and Freaking Out at the Same Time" I didn't know how in the world we could realistically pack and move in one week!!!  And yes, I had a few meltdowns along the way, but glory hallelujah He strengthened us to get it done!!  It was a miracle our house sold in such a depressed market.....there are three other houses on our street also for sale and we KNOW God did this and we give Him all the Glory!!!  Sooo, we stood on Phillippians 4:13 knowing that the same One who sold our house would strengthen and make us able to pack and move in seven days!  And He did!!!.....He is constant - His promises are sure - He is ever Faithful!!  PTL!  Glory Hallelujah!!!

I have strength for all things through Christ

Who empowers me (I am ready for anything and equal to anything

through Him Who

infuses inner strength into me)

Phillipians 4:13 amp

THANK YOU JESUS!!

Well, I've still got alot of unpacking to do, ya'll!!  Since moving last Friday, I've only been consentrating on the most vital essentials things of life like.......sleeeep, finding my clothes, my coffee, my make-up and my MAC!!! LOL!!   Uh, but for now ya'll - I think this SurvivorWoman needs a nap!!

Luv, Hugs and Sweet Blessings!