It is hard to believe that another year has gone by. As I sit here and reflect on what happened over the past 365 days, I can say that for the most part this year has been a pretty good one. With that said, there have also been moments that weren’t great but in the end, everyone turned out to be fine. Let’s break this shit down!
Vacay Bitches!
San Deigo/Hawaii
JD and I were lucky enough to be able to go visit a friend of ours who was living in Hawaii for work. We found some really cheap tickets and had a place to stay. We decided to fly into San Deigo so that we could visit our friends who lived there. We got to celebrate Vera’s birthday, play with animals and got to hang out with a sassy little girl.
After a few wonderful days with friends, it was time to head to our final destination….HAWAII!
Our friend Stacey lived on the island of Oahu. The nice thing about this vacation, it is super easy to be very active and still enjoying the relaxation of vacation. We hiked to the Top of Koko Head Trail, we hiked to a waterfall in the Waihee Valley Nature Park, we chilled on the beach of North Shore, we watched the most beautiful sunsets and of course, we got so much needed downtime!
Fun Random Fact: As many people probably know, Spam is a very popular food in Hawaii. But did you know that there are a plethora of various flavors???
When tragedy hits…..
The day after we got back from Hawaii, I was in the middle of cleaning my house when I get a text from my mom. My dad had been in a 4-wheeler accident and had to go to the hospital. It wasn’t until she sent the picture that my stomach dropped.
Being back from a 10-day trip and all I can think is, I need to go home. My boss was super cool about me needing to go home (let’s be honest if she wasn’t, this wasn’t the job for me). I headed home as soon as I could which was about 3 days later. Meanwhile, my mom sent updates. Here is what my dad looked like a day 2…
He looks better right?!?!?! Well, we weren’t out of the woods but at least he is sitting up. I was able to make it home about 3 days later and after his surgery. I went straight to the hospital.
Here is the day after he got out of surgery. I couldn’t even describe what he went through until I saw it (that is later to come). I sat with him and read the most boring material ever- HIPAA. We discussed it and even when my brother came it, he couldn’t believe how lucid he was as well as sharp. He needed something to take his mind off things so I spent the day reading our HIPAA compliance document to him and discussing it.
The next day he was moved from ICU to a regular room and there they changed his bandages. The sight was similar to the movie Face-Off.
They literally scalped my dad to reconstruct his eyebrow (did I mention that his face was crushed by the 4-wheeler?). This was just one of two surgeries that needed to happen. The next one would entail them cutting around his eye and reconstructing his lower eye socket.
He had a long recovery but in the end, he made a full recovery!!
Visiting guests…
After my dad’s injury, I took the youngest 4 (out of 6), nephews to STL for the week over 4Th of July. Oh, what a week! I always try to shock factor my nephews due to the fact they live in a small town. I want them to experience everything they can while they are with me.
In showing them things they had never been nor done, I took them to STL staples. We went to Crown Candy Kitchen, Social House (shock factor), STL Arch, Budweiser Brewery, Top Golf, shooting range (which my youngest nephew shot a shotgun for the first time). We also took them floating when their parents got into town. Probably one of the best weeks of the year!!
This puts us thru July. Having my nephews was actually one of the best weeks ever. I can’t wait until next year!!
Tiny homes…..
The next big thing that happened this year is that we bought a camper. So after buying a $600 tent (our retirement housing for Hawaii), we decided to buy a camper. We went to an RV showcase and found NOTHING that we could afford and if we could afford it we didn’t want it. However, it gave us a lot of info and insight into what we might want if/when we decided to buy. After looking we decided to buy one!
How did you spend Thanksgiving?
Since neither JD nor myself were going home for Thanksgiving, we decided to meet a good friend in New Orleans for a long weekend to celebrate her 40th birthday. We ate all the foods, drank all the drinks and met some truly awesome people.
If you are looking for a place to stay in New Orleans, I highly recommend the Creole Attic- https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1574802?adults=1&s=24&user_id=25229773&ref_device_id=0ed443e41ed96b7ac4bf101eb6ed675e54e091c7&_branch_match_id=742508265867422513&source_impression_id=p3_1578265993_DKoE6VQSj8fsVpjL
A new ride….
When I moved back in May of 2017, I had no job, no car, and no definite place to stay. I was fortunate enough to have JD co-sign for me even though we were going through a divorce. I bought a 2009 Subaru Outback which was named Goldie because, well she was gold. She was a good car for being almost 8 years old. Regular maintenance is all I had to put into her until I noticed that my transmission was slipping.
Now, I’m no mechanic but I had 2 brothers and an ex-boyfriend who would work on cars so I have an understanding of them, the noises they make and the way they feel. I took her to a transmission place and to my worst fear, I needed to replace both front axels, my driveshaft and they need to take apart my transmission to figure out exactly what the issue was. My estimate was $4300 before taxes. I called my lender and found out I still owed $8000 on my car. FUCK MY LIFE!
So my search was on. My dad talked to me about getting a truck so that I could pull the camper. Do you know how expensive vehicles are? Holy fucking shit balls SO expensive! I looked at a Ford Ranger which I really liked but couldn’t stomach $41k plus the cost of my loan that I would need to roll into the loan. That was a no go. As I was working out one day and thinking about my new ride, it hit me. If I’m going to spend this amount of money on something, I’m gonna get what I want. And what I want is something fun, something I have been looking at for years- I wanted a JEEP! Since they came out, I have been eyeing a Jeep Gladiator but A. they are expensive and B. they are new so there are bugs to work out but fuck it, let’s test drive one! I wanted to wait until January so I didn’t have to pay the personal property tax but they gave me such a great deal that I bought it early.
It’s a Christmas thing…..
So I’m not gonna lie, JD and I have a tendency of vetoing the holidays. His parents live so far that it isn’t convenient and my family isn’t quite on the same page so it is just easier for us not to travel during that time. We actually decided to go to Iowa for New Year’s so that we could not only see my family but also meet up with our friends from San Diego.
Our first night we stayed at my Aunt and Uncle’s place where we celebrated the Palmer Family Christmas.
So I’m not gonna lie, JD and I have a tendency of vetoing the holidays. His parents live so far that it isn’t convenient and my family isn’t quite on the same page so it is just easier for us not to travel during that time. We actually decided to go to Iowa for New Year’s so that we could not only see my family but also meet up with our friends from San Diego.
New Year’s came and JD had to work the entire time. We finally went to bed at 2:45 am when he was done working. We never got a chance to meet up with our friends from San Diego. 
I can’t wait to see what 2020 has store for me!!
katie palmer moore 