Weekend Getaway
Life · Travel

Weekend Getaway

Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment
I say cheese and this is how she responds.

Everyone must have some place they immediately gravitate towards. For some it may be beaches, and don’t get me wrong I love beaches too and I love relaxing in the sun, but that darn sand getting everywhere makes it so hard to want to go often. For the Ciui(Pronounced Chewy) House our go to will probably always be mountains.

What is your go-to vacation spot?

We just love the mountains. We love camping (tents) and we love cabins. Granted, I probably enjoy cabins a lot more than I enjoy tents but you really can’t beat being surrounded by nature and the spectacular view.

Happy Birthday!

We had a weekend getaway this weekend. I wasn’t able to take more than one day off from work but thanks to Airbnb we were able to turn our 3-day weekend into a 3rd birthday getaway for Emily.

To be honest, the weekend totally snuck up on me and I was NOT prepared. The week has been a rush of laundry, packing, and I didn’t even have a chance to think about what we would do in our little cabin. Then found out that forecast showed thunderstorms so that also put a crimp in out plans.

Mouse Trap! Fun for all ages.

But with 2 small kiddos it’s not about trying to cram in all the things you can do in one short weekend, it’s more about doing things the whole family can enjoy. Like visiting nearby farm, or having fun with bubbles or just having a family game night and hanging out playing board games, Mouse Trap is the current favorite. Honestly, I’ve learned not the stress the big things with these kids. I might like to show them new experiences and go and see new things and we still do those things. But they are also perfectly happy relaxing and hanging out in the “cute tiny cabin” as they call it. Of course the birthday cake and presents helped.

Bubbles!

Overall, I think the weekend getaway was needed by all four of us. Having fun at the Darnell farm, spending time together while not being stuck in the house that we’re in every minute of every day was needed. Taking a break from the monotony of our usual routine has been both literally and figuratively a breath of fresh air.

Journaling
Christian Momma · Life

Journaling

Deby Ciui (Chewy)1 Comment

In one of my classes there was a section speaking about your Emotional Intelligence. It touched on the topic of being self-aware and of what you can do to learn more about yourself and one of the things it recommends is journaling a little bit every day. Every day you take a moment to productively journal then after doing it for sometime, you can go back and by reading it can learn a little bit about yourself and can identify trends that you may need to improve on.

I’ve been journaling for as long as I can remember. I have journals dating back to my early teenage years (yikes, those are embarrassing). My journals have evolved with times much like everything else. I have gone from keeping a diary record of everything that had happened during that day and I’ve moved passed the days where I did nothing but vent and complain about the stresses of the day. Now a days my journal doubles as a place where I write my thoughts, vent frustrations, plan, and write out my prayers. Sometimes when I’m trying to meditate on God’s plan for my life, or trying to go to Him in prayer it is easier for me to do it by writing in my journal. The best part, is having this written testimony that I can go back and see just how much He has answered my prayers.

I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.

Flannery O’Conner
Quiet and Coffee
Life

Quiet and Coffee

Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment

Breaking bad habits and changing tactics…

In early 2019 I moved to the second shift because that was the only way I was able to get permission to work 100% remote.

Rain boots and puddles

Then a month later the quarantine started and they moved everyone to work remote (I’m not salty about it or anything). But it worked for us, I was able to spend more time with my two girls and was able to work and not have the 1hr commute eat up my time. Now the girls are older, Anastasia is 4 and Emily is soon to be 3 and life just gets busier and busier. They’re no longer the little babies I could put in the play pen in order to get a few moments to myself, instead its a flurry of arts and craft, toys, mess, and fun.

Now my days run in this never ending cycle: wake up, wake the girls, cook, clean, eat, teach the preschool lesson of the day, work on my own school work, work until 10PM sign off and then I get an hour or two that I actually get to enjoy some time with Josh before we have to go to sleep and then wake up and repeat it all again.

It had gotten to the point where despite the utter exhaustion I’d feel at the end of the day I would purposely stay up late doing whatever, knowing that I would be even more exhausted in the morning, just to have some hours to myself. Sure I got a few hours to myself, the girls were asleep, Josh was asleep, but then come the next day I was just not the same. I would be cranky, tired, and overall unpleasant and then I’d have to go through all the things that needed to get done all over again. I realized that what I was doing was doing more harm than good and have tried to change this bad habit. I try to sleep earlier and instead of taking those hours at night I’ve been working on waking up before my husband leaves for work, while the girls are still asleep, and using that time instead.

Girls joining me for a walk

I use this time to do things that are a benefit to me, reading my Bible and doing school work. I also go for a walk in the neighborhood and take some quiet me-time while getting some fresh air or even spending some time gardening. I am very new at, but it is very rewarding when successful.

But lets not forget, one of the best things about waking up before the girls are awake, is being able to take a seat in a quiet house and enjoy savoring a cup of coffee. I never understood why my mom would just “want some quiet” when I was younger or why I’d find a cup of forgotten coffee in the microwave, but I do now.

It doesn’t matter where you’re from – or how you feel… There’s always peace in a strong cup of coffee.

Gabriel Bá