Despite the chilly weather this Spring Break, I was able to make a quick trip down to my hometown to see my folks. We decided to make a trip to Matagorda one evening for dinner. They must have known my soul was calling for some salt water therapy!
While we didn’t get on the beach, just being near it was enough for me. The smells, the salt in the air, filled my heart up. We hit up some of the local shops and then had dinner at Poco Playa. Despite the weather, there were quite a few people in town. It had been years since I had eaten at this restaurant and I was excited to see if anything had changed.
While we were at a place that served seafood and we were on the coast, I took a different route and listened to my cravings. Beef fajita tacos! Mattie followed suite and got Beef fajita quesadillas! It warms my heart to know that she loves Beef just as much as I do!
My folks shared a seafood platter and the onion rings on this bad boy looked amazing! There was plenty of food to go around and lots of left overs to take home. I made a note to myself at the beginning of the year that I wanted to get to the coast at least once a quarter this year. I am happy to say, I have that first quarter checked off! I can’t wait until the weather warms up and I am able to start traveling more.
If you have never been to Matagorda Texas, you should check it out. It is a quiet little town but packed with people once the temperatures start rising. Since it is close to home, this was my go to place anytime I went to the beach. While it has changed some over the years, there is nothing like feeling that coastal salt air hit you when you get there.
As always, share some love, we could all use a little more love XOXOXOXO Casey
If you have read any of my previous blogs or seen any posts on my social media you will know that 2022 has been a rough year. It has been a huge year of learning. Trying to learn and understand people, trying to understand why things happen they way they do. Trying to pick up the pieces of blown up plans. Trying to fill a hole from the loss of people who I just knew would be around for the long haul. Trying to understand why the people you trust the most, hurt you the worst. Trying to raise an almost teenage daughter and all the wonderful mood swings that brings (oh and I know it is only going to get worse).
Yet the hardest part of it all has been trying to figure it out alone. Granted, I have my wonderful family that supports me and I am super lucky to have them, but I think we can all agree that it isn’t the same. Being alone and doing life alone, is probably one of the scariest/hardest things, for me anyway. I have a couple theories on this, but we will save that rabbit hole for another day. Being alone is a journey that I need to take.
For years and years society/movies/parents/books have all told us, go to school, get married, and have a family. What happens when that isn’t the norm for you? What happens when you have tried so hard for so long and it never seems to work? What happens if you decided to break the norm? Something that I learned a little late in life but, you are truly the only person that can make yourself happy. Happiness, what does that look like, what does that feel like? What does it look like for you?
For me, to truly discover happiness, I have started writing down the times I feel joy, the times I am happy. To know and understand that happiness doesn’t come from a single person but from moments in time spent with people you care about or things that make you laugh and bring you joy.
Ice skating with Mattie was one of the best things I have done in a long time. The joy it brought her and the laughs that we shared, pure happiness.
The random working group texts that I get that have me rolling with laughter. (Shout out to my Amarillo/San Angelo peeps). That brings laughter into my life which brings joy and happiness.
Watching Mattie sing her little heart out every morning on the way to school like she is a bad ass, makes me wonder why I missed so many morning drop offs this year.
Sitting on the beach with my toes in the sand, watching and listening to the washes crash in, that fills my soul.
I am slowly learning that it is the little things that brings us the most joy. Not a person, not love, although I am quite sure both of those add to the happiness list in some form or fashion. But it is the little moments in time that mean the most. I also started a gratitude list, every morning I list five things from the day before that I am thankful or grateful for. I heard this on the Rachel Hollis podcast, but this enables you to start looking for the good. Once you start looking for the good, that is all you will start to see.
So, while I am counting down the remaining days of 2022, I am also really excited about 2023 and the blessings it will bring. It will be full of adventure, happiness, joy, and laughter. We all have hard seasons in life, but to be honest, I have had about enough of mine. So I am choosing joy. I am choosing kindness this next year. I am choosing to make new friends. I am choosing to find happiness every single day. Most of all, I hope Mattie sees a happy mama. One that through it all, has never given up. I hope she sees that with hard work, your dreams really are possible.
2022, I know we have a few more weeks, but it’s been real, and not really fun, and now you have to go. No more tears, no more questions, no more wondering, just finding joy in each day. Loving my journey for all the ups and downs because without it, I wouldn’t be who I am today. Checking into 2023 mode begins now.
As always, share some love, we could all use a little more love XOXOXO Casey
Who has gone on The Polar Express train ride? Was it in Palestine or some other location? I recently did The Polar Express in Galveston. I will admit that I did not do any research on this beforehand. The family was going and I said sure, I will go. I think I was expecting a little more than what it actually was. For one, I don’t think the train actually went anywhere, I am pretty sure we just went back and forth on the tracks at the museum. Mattie is at the age where she was probably a little too old for this but her little cousin loved it. They had some dancing and singing, then served hot chocolate and cookies. It wasn’t a bad experience, and maybe my expectations were too high, but I was just expecting a little more. Everyone else I have talked too said the one in Palestine is really good.
Even though the weather was chilly and rainy we got to do the Festival of Lights at Moody Gardens, this was pretty interesting. They had a tent called Ice land, where everything inside the tent was made of ice. They even handed out parkas when you went inside because it was that cold in there. I had on pants, a sweater, a sweatshirt, a jacket, the parka, a beanie, and some gloves and I was still a little chilly. They even had an ice bar in the middle of the tent. This was really cool, although I did feel bad for the worker having to work the bar.
Next we did the light tour. I will admit, I have gotten a little spoiled riding the hay ride to look at lights at Santa’s Wonderland. This time, we had to walk, which exercise is good. Just know that it is roughly a mile walk. If you are unable to walk, they do have golf carts that you can sign up for that will take you around. As we were touring the lights, we found the highlight of the whole trip, the skating rink.
We arrived at it just in time for Mattie to be able to skate some. That 15-20 minutes of skating, made her whole trip. I even got out there and joined in on the fun!
Overall the trip was a lot of fun. If you like the coast and enjoy the sea, this is definitely a place to check out. I also think everyone needs to try The Polar Express at least once, you never know, it may be the highlight of your trip!
Besides Santa’s Wonderland, does any body else have any Holiday Traditions that they partake in or go too?
As always share some love, we could all use a little more love XOXOXO Casey
Casey.Lynn 