Need to Create an Off the Beaten Path Map

I want to share this amazing place we found on New Years Eve.  My darling husband and I were traveling to North Carolina to visit my Father and stopped in Southern Virginia for the night.  Right off of I-95 in Petersburg Virginia we found a place to stay and set out for a place to eat dinner.

We had big plans to ring in the New Year at a local bar, but anyone who knows me knows that midnight is the name of a cat, not a time of day that I see on a regular basis.  I can admit it, I like my 8 hours of sleep so much that I try to get 10.

https://www.facebook.com/LighthouseRestaurantandbar

We found our way to a restaurant we found online called – the Light House.  The menu online looked great and was close enough for us to walk.  When we walked in the door, we did a double take.  It was a restaurant/bar that was not in any way as pretentious as it seemed online. 

The first thing we saw while waiting for the hostess to come seat us was a patron at the bar go face first onto the floor, with a blonde right on top of him.  We told the hostess, “we will eat at the bar. “ I was not going to miss any of this fun.

We had the most awesome dinner, fried shrimp and haddock that had to have been deep fried in what can only be described as seasoned oil; and a bartender/waitress that had the greatest southern accent.  When she asked me what I wanted to drink, I had to spell WATER since the way we pronounce it (wooder) was foreign to her down home ears. 

They treated us like we were regulars.  Everyone was friendly, open and ready to share a laugh or a story.  The greatest moment came when the DJ began playing a series of tunes such as, Lynrd Skynrd – Give me Back my Bullets and then Hank Williams Jr – I got Rights.  Each one was better than the last and only made the night more memorable.

I highly recommend you get off the beaten path and find a local gem, there is nothing like it.  If you make it down to the Light House, make sure you look for our dollar on the ceiling!

I may be Stupid, but 7 Days Into the New Year and I Haven't Quit Yet!

Who doesn’t begin a brand new year with resolutions and dreams of being a better person?  We all want to be thinner, richer, healthier, and happy, but how do we get there?

I have done the “workout” resolution for years.  Every year I say to myself, “self, you’re a fat ass, it’s time to get on the ball and lose some weight;” and every year I fail miserably because, well, chocolate and cheese.  The two greatest things ever discovered by man are the downfall to my self-control.  That and Chic Filet, but that’s another problem for another day.

If I were to take a real inventory of my being, it wouldn’t be that difficult to find those spots that need work.  I have been eating better, more to the benefit of my health than because of any resolution to enhance my vanity.  Eating better and exercising each day takes on a life of its own.  I won’t say that what I do is considered working out, because that would be a ridiculous overreach.

Finish What You Start

A good resolution to have might be for me to finish what I start.  I get all gung ho on some activity, diet or challenge and then realize that I never finished, leaving half sewed projects, half written books and half-baked foods for me to clean up..  

On that note, I am currently working on a 21 Day No Junk food Challenge, and so far, as of Day 3, I have been pretty good.  Here is what is not allowed:

• No Chocolate
• No Candy
• No Cake, Doughnuts or muffins
• No Pastries
• No White Bread
• No chips
• No Fast Food
• No Carbonated Beverages
• No Ice Cream

Who wants to join me and who wants to take bets on whether or not I can make it another 18 days?

Stop Being so Judgy and Gossipy

One thing that I have been working on for a looooooong time, is the “if you haven’t got anything nice to say rule.”  I seriously suck at this.  I mean well, I wake up every day and tell myself, “Self, don’t be such a bitch today.”  People aren’t perfect and it helps to remember that even if you can’t remember all of your transgressions, I can guarantee you that someone out there can.

Sharing other people’s bad decisions and poor judgement doesn’t make me look better, it makes me look smaller, personality wise that is, because if being petty was a diet, I would be back in a size 3.  This is what I really want to change this year.

I would be wrong to not admit that occasionally, just sometimes engaging in some light gossip is like a balm.  Like Aloe to my own personal burned self-perception.  It is because it feels so good that I need to not do it. 

Say You’re Sorry

Let me start 2016 by apologizing.  I really want to apologize to anyone that I owe an apology to that might not have received it from me.  I can state with 100% accuracy that I know each time I did someone wrong.  Many times it was unintentional and other times, it goes back to being a bitch.  Either way, I am sorry that my insecurities, my ego, my jealousies, or my stupidity made me behave offensively.

You should try it, it really feels good to let go and admit being wrong.  Every fight doesn’t have to be to the death, yes family members this means you too!  Every argument doesn’t have to end with silence and judgement.  Life is too short and I am too tired to keep that kind of negativity alive, so if the apology is what you are waiting for, here it is; delivered with sincerity and love.  Sometimes the answer really is a simple as “I am stupid and I am sorry."

Happy New Year to You!