My Crazy Life Gets Crazier...on Purpose!

You may remember that my grandson came to live with me on  April 1 of this year. My then 19-month-old grandson. To a home of adults who weren't expecting a little child to be in residence 24/7. We were all a little shell shocked to say the least.

Liam hugs our trees every day
during our evening playtime. 

Talk about a major life changing event for that sweet little boy and all of us, which includes my husband and two young adult sons in their early twenties. The dogs also were taken off guard by this tiny human who thinks that they are little horseys for his riding pleasure.

Here we are just about in mid-August and we all have settled in to a routine that includes locking every door in the house, always having company in the bathroom, and hoping for a good nap time.

Not content to leave things static, I have decided to complicate my life further by going back to college.

Yep, this grandmother (Gigi to be exact) is a college freshman (because my previous college was on semesters and the credits weren't acceptable to my new school). I took the assessment tests and passed all but the math with flying colors! Take that assessment tests!

I will be taking English Composition I and Intro to Speech this semester. I will also be working while going to school because we  have this habit of enjoying food, shelter, and clothing. ; )

I am working on a liberal arts degree, mainly because I am too much of a dilettante to buckle down to just one discipline. I will get to study English, history, French, and art and at the end I will be the proud owner of a Bachelor's Degree!

I am also working on moving my blog at some point to a self-hosted site. As I said, my crazy life is getting crazier on purpose.

I am striving to get back on a blog posting schedule but I am not making any promises. You may have to come see me on Facebook (Holly Williams Urbach) or Pinterest (whollyholly) to keep up with me.

Giving Up Isn't an Option

Mandisa has a song titled "Overcomer". I love this song, especially the chorus.

You're an overcomer
Stay in the fight ‘til the final round
You're not going under
‘Cause God is holding you right now
You might be down for a moment
Feeling like it's hopeless
That's when He reminds You
That you're an overcomer
You're an overcomer

I have had a lot of challenging circumstances in my life to overcome. My parents divorced and remarried multiple times and not amicably. One sister had a terrible car accident. Financial struggles. My husband had a severe head injury and we didn't know if he would recover, my dad died of cancer , then my mother died of cancer, and on and on and on.

 Events happened in my life that made me feel like giving up...but I just couldn't give up. I wouldn't give up. What is it about some people that tough times make them tougher and others crumble?

I became a Christian in 1988 but even before that I was not one to let troubles stop me in my tracks. So, is it in our DNA? Is it how we are raised? Is it just stubbornness?

Some of it has to be our innate personality. I just took an emotional intelligence quiz to learn more about what makes me tick. My result is below.

How Did You Score?
Your results indicate a high score on emotional intelligence.

What Does Your Score Mean?
People who score high on emotional intelligence tend to be skilled at interpreting, understanding, and acting upon emotions. They are adept at dealing with social or emotional conflicts, expressing their feelings, and dealing with emotional situations. 

It's important to remember that no matter how good your score is, there is always room to improve your emotional intelligence. Consider areas where you are not as strong and think of ways that you can learn and grow. Take stock of your strong points and find ways to continue to develop and apply these skills.

When troubles come my way, I often stop what I am doing and cry but I don't stay there. I take stock of my situation, formulate a plan, pick myself up, and move forward. I try to use my problems to improve myself.

So, what do you think? Why do some people rise above their challenges and others go to pieces?

Summer Daycation Plans

Nothing says summer more to me than a cold drink and sunshine!

Summer is about to begin and I am all aflutter with plans to have a fun summer. It doesn't matter that I have little to no money to throw at my summer plans! I have a philosophy that I can enjoy my life without spending a lot of my hard earned money I am very fortunate in that the area of the country where I live abounds with many opportunities for free or very little cost.


There are area lakes, rivers, and dams within an hour's drive from my home. Staying cool when our Texas temperatures rise above 100 degrees will be easy when lounging on an inner tube floating lazily down a spring fed river. There are also many tree covered 
parks where one can hike, lounge, picnic, or barbecue inexpensively. A park near my home is comfy even at 100 degrees. My husband and I enjoy walking there in the summer on the pink granite paths and enjoying the shade of large pecan trees. 

There are museums about a 20 minute drive from me that are either free or offer reduced price admission. I hope this will be the summer I finally take time to enjoy these resources and stimulate my mind. I have my choice of history, art, and science museums for my self-development activities. 

I plan to read many of the books I have downloaded for free on my Kindle. I love taking time during the summer to escape by delving into novels or a novel series. In 2011, I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series; it was the perfect distraction for what was an
otherwise bummer of a summer. So far this summer reading list has the following on it; The Chronicles of Amber, Anne of Green Gables, and perhaps some works by C. S. Lewis. 

I will be spending time working on my landscaping and seeing what I can scrounge for free to add beauty and interest to my yard. I need to finally fill in the garden area I carved out during spring break. It will be a restful spot to linger with those novels on a summer evening. 

Just recently we have been enjoying the light flickering from our fire pit and tiki torches in the seating area near the new garden bed. It is so relaxing having our dinner al fresco and following it with a dessert of roasted marshmallows or s'mores.We feel as if we are on vacation each time we get that fire pit going. 

What will you be doing this summer? How do you relax and entertain yourself on a budget?

Stop Learning, Stop Growing

I am wrapping up a very busy weekend. I took on a new challenge in the midst of an already overbooked life. If I waited until the timing was perfect to add anything to my life, I would never have had my children, or ever tried much of anything.

I LOVE learning new skills and information. I seriously do. When things change-roads, hairstyles, technology, I am usually intrigued by the change instead of bothered.

About four years ago, I was showing a picture of a car driven by a joystick to my youngest daughter, who was about 17 or 18 at the time. She had a very visceral reaction to seeing this photo and was not at all interested in even attempting to think how she could drive a car with a joystick. I, on the other hand, started thinking about how it would be done as soon as I saw the picture.

This is a short post today because I still have to go to the grocery store to get provisions for tomorrow and it is nearly 10 p.m. here.

I just want to encourage you to keep learning, look forward to change, and embrace the possibilities that change brings.