Whitetail Ridge Campground

Hey all sorry I haven't been posting much on here and keeping everyone informed about us. Been preoccupied with "Life" - So I have some GREAT news to share!

We finally found a seasonal campsite from April 1, 2012 to Sept. 2012 it is called White Tail Ridge Campground. We are so excited and have been paying on our site to go there at the end of next month already. We will be there a month ahead of time then everyone else, but that is ok with us. We will get everything set up they way we want it before everyone comes by. I was told I could make my own little garden in the ground if I wanted too. But I am going to have them in pots instead. I am especially excited to finally get out of this COLD duplex and to be able to sit in a WARM place during the day! We will also have WiFi there too, so I will still be able to get online when Don is at work and I can show you all the wonderful photos of this place on my blog. :-)

Here is the LINK to White Tail Ridge Campground

We are allowed to bring our ATV's there and set them on our campsite too. So we will have all three there with us. Yes as I said on my facebook wall - if anyone is interested in going with us atv'ing you are more then welcome to drive out there and go with us. This campground is near the ATV trails. A ATVer dream come true! I have noticed that is one thing that I am able to do today is still ride on my ATV. Ya know I should be able to do some things in life that I enjoy. My doc knows that I am doing this as long as I am not hurting any otherwise he told me to stop doing it then. So far so good. I have to enjoy my life somehow! Yes and as you all know my service dog goes EVERYWHERE with me, tubing down the river and also Atv'ing now too! So why not! Jeff & Tammy of White Tail Ridge are also going to experience having a service dog around too and they are looking forward to meeting him as well.

Ok this campground is beautiful but one down fall no lake or swimming pool. BUT they put on MANY different activities for all that camp there! Atv poker runs, Family Atv rides, Bands, dancing, potlucks, family games, meat raffles and more! They have a bar there and MANY people come there all year too. We are excited to be a part of this BIG white Tail Ridge camping family. This might be a place that we will come back too when we come back to visit Wisconsin for a season. We will have to wait and see! The bar down below has the campground showers and bathrooms too. This place is actually open all year around because of ice fishermen. We found out when there are bad storms that the owners come around to each campsite to warn ya and tell you that you need to come down to the bar or go into the bathrooms for shelter. So that for me is a plus! I can't handle bad storms still today after the Leesome Lake Campground experience.( Just ask me or my parents about it sometime). We think that is great how they go around to warn everyone.

The site that we pick out is way up in the woods and so we are going to have trees all around us. Which is nice in the summer for the shade. But not so good for bad storms..so hopefully those trees are strong and sturdy eh!

Well here are some photos to share: Read below them to see what they are.

When you first come into the campground. 

These are campsites for people on the weekends and weekdays.

Also just across from the blue there on the corner is some more

campsites like these in the trees more. 

off on the left is those other campsites on the corner near the trees.

This is still those campsites looking back where we came in.

Looking up towards where our campsite is in the woods.

Our campsite is BIG ya think! We will in between those two. 

Looking back....just beyond that trailer is a nature walk trail.

Rusty and I are going to use it! 

Looking straight from our campsite, in these woods there is a natural stream.

Going towards the entrance - this is the bar and 

the showers and bathrooms are behind it  - we will be using this in April. 

There is no swimming pool or lake here but they are close by a few lakes which are: 

Bear lake

Ripley Lake

&

Shell Lake Beach

You can also take a hike on their scenic nature, walking, & bike trail through 40 acres of mature trees crossing the stream, while enjoying an abundance of wildlife too.

Or go on the ATV trails which the trail a joins their property.

here are some of the Events: 

Every Friday night after the meat raffle (April till June) they will be raffling of items that Gilbert Brown gave them to raise money for his make a wish foundation before he gets there. These items are autographed Green Bay Packer memorabilia, Gilbert Brown Sweatshirts and etc. 

April 21 - Live Music 8pm by "Rob Knowlton"

May 5 - Live Music 7pm by "The Porch Dogs"

May 26 - Live Music by "Detour"

 June 8 - 7pm "Gilbert Brown & Dorsey Levens" Green Bay Packers will be there in person.

June 15 & 16 8pm both nights- The Pete Byam Show 

(Pete performs all over and is inducted into South Dakota Country Hall of Fame. This should be a awesome show)

June 30-Live Music 8pm by "Detour" 

July 7 - Live Music 8pm by "Rob Knowlton" - Fireworks 10pm

July 21 - Live music 8pm by "Trees on the Moon"

Sept 1 - Live Music by ? 

October 27 - Live Music by "Rob Knowlton"

Nov. 17 - Live Music 8pm by "Rob Knowlton" 

There is also pot lucks and much much more. The bar is open to the public too and from what I gather they are very well known to many in the surrounding area. Many come to dance here...lol I even found out that my physical therapist Tom, comes to go dancing here with his wife. I was told that the owners are quite the dancers! 

This campground actually goes way back out into the woods yet! We were amazed how many campsites there are here. 

Christmas 2011

It is Christmas in 2011


So what did we do for Christmas this year. Christmas is suppose to be full of Joy during this time. It was to a certain extent. I sure miss my son though. Yep I shed some tears on Christmas eve morning but Don held me close. So I am not used to being away from my son like this. I am getting better about this separation anxiety, but there is somethings here and there that get me. My Husband and my friends help me get through it. 


Here is our Christmas tree in our duplex: 

Sorry some of the pictures seem blurry at time - darn hands of mine!!

Well here you can see our Christmas tree above- It is a fiber optic tree but needless to say the bulb burnt out a week before Christmas hahaha so I put some of our LED lights on it. I had to take off all the items on the tree to do that. Ughhh Thank goodness it is just a small tree! LOL 

No Presents under our tree this year and that is because our present to each other is (Click on link to see more of it)  OUR HOME ON WHEELS

This present is a little hard to wrap and place underneath our Christmas tree ya think!

This year we decided that our Christmas money to spend was going to go to us this year. I did however send my son a gift in the mail to Alaska. Oh yea I am also sending our New Years letters to many too this week. (My sister gave me that idea from reading her's ~ Thank you Bee) 

Here is our Santa this year:

Rusty!! He loves to pose for the camera - VERY Photogenic!

Friday night - read about the photos to see what we did (You can click on the photos to make them BIGGER if you would like to see them.


We decided to go check out some of the Christmas lights in town and here is what we seen: 

Cute & sweet - SIMPLE

Then driving around we found out that not to many people were just into the spirit of Christmas this year with the lighting. Economy??

But that is when we figured out why!

These people were sucking all the energy from the others in Rice Lake Wi. LOL LOL

Check out this house out! EVERY part of this house had something on it!!

WHOA! Can you imagine the light bill here!!

                             

These photo were take with my iPhone and Don was moving the truck so they aren't the greatest photos lol but at least you can see what it looks like right! lol

On Christmas Eve we went to my Best Friend's place and I dropped off her gift. I bought here a nice "Life study Bible just like mine but her's has a leather cover and mine is hard. Then I also bought her a "Love Dare" book too. She loved it! 

This is what I received from her and I also love mine as well! 

My most favorite drink! 

Flavored Teas!

I know she gave this to me earlier but I still consider it as part of my gift. A electric blanket for me to keep warm here :-) I Love it!

Thank you Kris ~ Love ya Sis!!

Then it was Christmas Day

Happy Birthday Jesus! I Love You!

Then later that evening we spent Christmas with our close friends which are more like family and that is Jay, Jenn, their kids and Jodie. We had a wonderful time and a great meal with them. Here are some photos to share.

We have a GREAT time with our Family. 

Thank you Jay & Jenn for a wonderful time as always!

You made our Christmas special this year!

Love you guys!

Mama's ~Angel~

                            

When You See This Message

"Next you think of beautiful things, count yourself in."

What have I been up too? Well I have been busy taking photos again with my Kodak Easy Share M532 camera. Yes all these beautiful photos are taken with a little digital camera. I have been trying to get back into the swing of things. I had a freak accident happened on Dec. 2nd with Rusty and I. Well I can't type long..my hand, wrist and lower arm are in a special brace to hold my wrist still. There are possible hair line fractures. They took X-rays in the ER on the 2nd. Now as of yesterday the doctor office took another one to see if there was any hair line fractures in my wrist. Just waiting on the results now, I should find something out on Monday or Tuesday. I have to wear this brace for 3 wks time. How FUN!! NOT!! 

In the meantime I have been trying to find things to do with my time. So I started taking photos again, I love it anyhow and it takes my mind off the pain in my wrist, head, and my body too. So please take time to click on each photo you see on my blogs to get a better view of them. 

ENJOY!

Photo by Lauri Creative Wild Designs Photography ©

When you see this message, 

I’ll be underneath the tree shade. 

Humming to myself, about the billowy clouds, floating above. 

I’ll be looking to the sky, thinking about what’s beyond the clouds. 

Smiling to myself, at the mystery it holds. 

I’ll be closing my eyes, and feeling the breeze. 

Cool and crisp and clean, picking up my hair. 

I’ll be underneath the tree shade, 

Sipping ice cold, sweet, and fresh lemonade, leaning against our strong tree. 

Come find me underneath the tree shade, bring me 

Flowers, pale and dewy. Bring me fresh flowers, pink and yellow. 

Bring me your company, when you come find me underneath 

The tree shade. I can’t wait until you come home from work and 

I’ll be so happy to see you smiling back at me. 

When you see this message, 

I’ll be underneath the tree shade. 

~Author Unknown~

All Photos by Lauri "Creative Wild Designs Photography ©

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

How have I been doing?

How have I been doing! 

This is what I look like on a good day up above. 

These below are me lately: Worried? 

I know I have been and so has Don. 

Even Rusty has been really hanging on me a "LOT!"

Excuse my french! 

I look and feel like shit!!

"Before you judge me... 

deal with what I've dealt with... 

feel what I've felt...

and try to survive what I've survived"

I know there has been family and some others that don't want to hear about my ailments. Look at me! This is what the excruciating pain is doing to me here in the mid west. Let me say this OK and this is important to me. 

I know that I moved up here and everyone was worried about if I was going to be safe or not with Don. I even admit I felt the same way at that time. I have seen my husband struggle with his PTSD issues, neck pain, and back pains. (All Service connected) I know that I love my husband so much that I would bend over backwards for him and I have as some of you know. I also know that some of of you have said I don't know how you can deal with this. My answer is and always will be "God." After all that happened in Arizona and all the trouble we had together and people got involved that shouldn't have been involved in the first place. His problem was the Lithium and the interactions to a lot of the different pills he was on that he shouldn't have been taking together at all that were prescribed by doctors and specialists. The simvistan that he was on for high Cholesterol that he was on "BEFORE" we moved to AZ was a BIG culprit in his mood swings here in WI and yes he was still on it down there as well. Yes we have been in contact with our Family doctor here we have learned a LOT over the year since we have been here!! My Goodness Thank God for Dr. White!! He is our God send! 

So that is settled and Don is no longer on any of those pills anymore and boy what a CHANGE! He is the man I first married again. Thank Goodness! I never want to go through that EVER again! Neither does Don!

As you see way above those photos of me and I asked you if they worry you? Does looking at me worry you like that? Some of you have seen what I looked like in Arizona before I left for here. I felt good yes but not 100% better maybe about 30% to 40% maybe 50% better, but in the winter 20% better. I was still dealing with other health issues with my heart there in the 5,000 ft elevation in the mountains. But then again there was a lot of stress on me too. I still get those feelings in my heart here when I am extremely stressed out or I sit and worry over things that truthfully I shouldn't be worrying over. But then again I also have problems when I get to much sugar in my body too, so I have to be really careful with that. 

First let me tell you that I sacrificed my better health down in AZ to move all the way back to be with my husband so that we could work on our marriage that was tearing apart because of his medications interacting with each other. He even admitted to our Doctor, myself and people around him that he felt like that medication was making him say things that he never meant, he said it was like he was be controlled by the medication only. He apologized to me I don't know how many times. He felt bad for a year up here about it because it caused other things to happen and my niece's weren't allowed to come over even and he loves them very much like I do. He loves children and is very good around them. I trust him completely and so should you. 

 He told me he never wants to be that way ever again and that he feels 100% better now. I Believe him because I see it! My parents were very worried not only because of them feeling unsafe about me being with him, but they knew that coming back here what it is going to do to me health wise. The Mid west life just is not for me any longer that is for sure! I am here because I love my husband so much and we both wanted our marriage to work. It has very much!! I sacrificed a lot because I felt so much better done there in Arizona, maybe not enough to go back to work, but I was able to feel somewhat better then here. Here I am bed and couch ridden all the time. It sucks!

Let me tell you what is going on here with me and the above photos so you all have some understanding why I look that way. Well all of you and maybe some of you that don't know. The reason for the photos above is because I struggle with excruciating pain in my head and my face. Is it Fibro? No, it isn't. People can't use Fibromyalgia as a excuse all the time there is something wrong with a person. This is worse - way worse. I would never wish this upon my worst enemy ever. I have recently found out what I have been struggling with in a certain part of the back of my head and my neck. I have what is called O.N. - what is that you ask? It is called Occipital Neuralgia (Click here to go to my Health Blog). This is part of Trigeminal Neuralgia and it can be worse then the other with all the burning pain, I think it is worst anyhow, some might beg to differ with me on this one. It effects the back of my head to my forehead and behind my eyes. Is it a normal headache? NO it isn't, I only wish I had just normal headaches and then I would just take something for it and then it would just go away. Well with this it isn't the case. I am on NOTHING but will be shortly. (See my health blog to get more info). 

My Alpha Stim 100 Microcurent Unit is my best friend forever, Does this work? It helps relieve it for awhile then I have to do it again and again and again. Boy do I ever see flashes of light when I do this lol, but it helps. I don't sleep much, I probably only get about 3 to 4 hours of sleep and no that is not the deep sleep. I have trouble laying on my pillow the majority of the time because I hurt in my face or my head hurts. I wish I could float on air when I sleep.

What I am trying to say here is that Arizona or any of those Dryer Climate states are where I have to live from now on. I cannot live here in the mid west due to my health problems. I can visit in the summer months but not to live. Yes I have sacrificed my better health in Arizona to come here and I have found out that this time the pain has doubled over on me and I am not making here. I wish there was some way just to make this pain go away. Winter is here and it is cold. 

I want you all to know that I have learned more about my husband being here. Yes he struggles everyday to be my own caregiver, he watches me in excruciating pain and has no idea what to do. Surgery is not a option for me as my Doc says because people that get these pains in their heads and spends all that money on it, end up coming back in to say they still hurt. There is no cure.

 Since I have been here with Don & our marriage is stronger then ever I still see my husband in tears because I have sacrificed a lot to be with him instead of staying down there to feel better. I just never want to hold him back from anything that he wants to do and sometimes I feel like I have because of my health and some other issues that I deal with. I see him struggle and hear me complain a lot about the pain. Like I said he never knows what to do for me. He does tell people I have to get my wife to a dryer climate because I hate to see her in so much pain as he says it at times in tears.

After all that I have been through in AZ 

and now here again in excruciating pain!

 I know I can make it through anything! 

I heard somewhere if your marriage goes to pot 

and there is terrible struggles within the marriage. 

You work on it together. 

You make it work and it is working. 

That your Marriage is VERY STRONG in the outcome!

To my Husband:

The best thing about being me~~

I'm a limited edition~~

there are no other copies~~~

bet you're thinking thank the good lord!!

I AM ALSO STRONG & I AM A FIGHTER!

God is by our sides helping us along the way. God sacrificed his life to be with us. I sacrificed my health to be with my husband. God is Love and I Love My Husband.