Time Off from Work

They say that you should eat right and exercise. They say you shouldn't stress too much and should have a positive attitude. They say that you shouldn't be a workaholic! Unfortunately, I'm not perfect at any of those things, but I sure try to be.

So with that in mind, I decided it was time to take some time off at the beginning of June. I planned it perfectly where it was right when the kids (er I mean teenagers) ended school. We had planned to spend some quality time together and just enjoy a little of summer, before the heat gets unbearable. And yes, we managed to have a great time!



Anyone who knows me personally, knows I work in the transportation industry. This career is very demanding and requires a certain skill set. In fact, when I first began as a simply receptionist, I had no idea it would evolve into my career. Ten years in and I wouldn't change a thing! It's fast-paced, real-time driven, high-pressure, and high-reward. My boss and coworkers are amazing and the job is exciting every day!

There are serious challenges in the industry from DOT mandates, to driver shortages, driver-less trucks, and shipper/consignee issues. Those are problems I may touch on in another post, but for now just know that there are a select few people who can do this. And I feel lucky enough to be one of them.

Moving along, I did make sure we kept busy with all kinds of fun from swimming to gaming and painting to kickstarters. To be clear, we received one of our kickstarters called Joan of Arc (wave 1) during my break. Kinda awesome! Btw, the archer on horse I shared below is less than 2 inches tall!!

We spent a lot of time together and I just found myself enjoying a chance to relax.

Some of the great things we did included building some Necromunda models. For those who are unfamiliar with Necromunda, it is a game system created by Games Workshop originally in the '90s. The game is a tabletop skirmish game where you take post-apocolyptic bands of miniatures and fight for resources and territory. It is easy to play and when I finally got to building the reboot models, I was more excited than ever to start painting them! I forgot how detailed the models are and loved how Games Workshop made them so easy to build, as well. I built the Escher band and the hubby built the Goliath gang.

A few weeks after building the gangs, then we put together another part of our gaming that correlated with Necromunda. Another kickstarter we got into was Tinkerturf. The kickstarter was for building terrain that was basically just like the original terrain for Necromunda, but it was even better! Very easy to build, great material, and customizable as all get out! We just finished building the 2nd part of that set and look forward to playing a game with the new terrain. In the meantime, feast your eyes on my 1 (Yes just 1, at the time) painted Necromunda model on the Tinkerturf terrain. Pretty cool eh?

We also played an Age of Sigmar game (my favorite game system Games Workshop has made). I played a ghost army against the Iron Jaws (Orks). Unfortunately, I lost, but then I was playing against a former GW employee and gamer all around. I still don't stand a chance! lol

Iron Jawz Won!!

Beyond games like that, we also decided to get in a game of Munchkin-a really cool card-based game focused on killing monsters and keeping your opponents from winning. Of course, we had not played the 40K version, so we opened the box and went for it! Jay won. Darn it.

As foretold, my daughter and I decided to start a painting. Originally it was supposed to be the whole "painting with a twist" idea of getting it done in one night, but there was no rush. So instead we finished it in 3 days. I was very proud of her work on the dusk scene and glad to start/finish a painting myself so quickly. This was the kind of thing I need to do more often in my off time.

  

And of course, no summer is complete without swimming!

So we did get that in after some hard labor at my Sis-in-Law's house to get their pool area ready. The kids enjoyed that relief.


Lastly, no vacation is complete without the modern video game time. I am a ridiculously avid fan of Minecraft (specifically on survival mode). So I played hours of that, and have continued since. There is something oh so very exciting about finding diamond ore or fighting a blaze in the nether world. It sends my adrenaline racing!!

We also explored the fun of beat saber (because I finally ordered it for our ps4 VR. It did not disappoint! The family all supported one another as we tireless played through each level, trying to beat it. *Que music

All in all, it was some great family time and that's what mattered.

So what do you do when you get a little time off? Any kinds of games and activities you prefer to do with the family? Share in the comments below. And in the meantime, have a great day!!