those red head girls

For Elaine

2010-09-20T02:00:00.122-05:00

In this land of dangers going here and there
Trusting in the blessed Savior's love;
Tho’ we may be strangers, in this world of care,
Looking for a city built above.

We’re looking for a city, where we’ll never die,
There the sainted millions, never say good-bye,
There we’ll meet our Savior, and our loved ones too,
Come O Holy Spirit, all our hopes renew.

~Looking for a City

This precious, old hymn is a favorite of my husband's family. It seems we sing it every time a loved one goes home to Jesus. It's not new, it's not contemporary, but like my MawMaw use to say... if it's new, it's not the Truth, cause the Truth ain't new.

This blog post is about Barbara, my mother in law's baby sister and her husband, Bill. Barbara will always have a special place in my heart because she played the music at our outdoor wedding, and because she and Bill were truly lovely people.

When I was in my early 20's, we went to visit Aunt Barbara in the hospital. She was in the final stages of her battle with cancer and barely 40 years old. To most people I am sure that they would say that cancer won the fight, but it did not win the war.

I remember going in to the hospital room and seeing her husband crouched over his Bible, he barely acknowledged us as we entered the room, he was in deep battle. He was reading scripture out loud, I will never forget his voice, the look of determination on his face or what he was reading ... "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." It bring tears to my eyes every time I think of that day. I had never seen that before, someone fighting a spiritual battle over a physical disease. I watched the two of them.....saints fighting an invisible, ferocious enemy, but they were not alone, and they both knew it, and they weren't afraid. Perhaps sad at the thought of being separated, but not afraid because they knew what awaited them, a city built above where we never say good-bye.

If I remember right, Bill eventually had to be hospitalized because he was a diabetic and had refused to eat, but continually fasted and prayed. His physical needs were not being met and his earthy body needed rest and food to continue, but he refused to stop. I wish I could adequately describe him to you, he was a big, mountain of a man, but with the face of a little boy who might even be up to a little mischief. His countenance was kindness and grace and he always had a big, huge smile on his face. He was a gentle giant. At least, that's how I remember him. But on this day, he was a mighty warrior, a knight in shining armor boldly standing before the throne of Grace interceding for his lovely bride before our Holy and Merciful God.

This was all new to me, I had certainly never seen that kind of suffering first hand, and I had never seen such faith. These precious souls weren't weeping and wailing and blaming God. They were worshiping a Risen Savior. I was in total awe. It's been more than 20 years since this happened and I still remember it like it was yesterday. I sit here now with eyes closed vividly recalling that day. I was in this hospital room watching this story of life and death unfold. I remember feeling like I didn't belong there, what was happening around me was too intimate, too tender, too private, too holy, and I was not worthy to witness such grace. I was very new in my relationship with God, but I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that this was God fearing, Bible believing, mountain moving faith. And I wanted some of it. I was truly awe stuck at what I was seeing. These dear ones were true Christians, the kind I hope to one day be.

Not long after that visit, God gently lead Barbara home. Years later, Bill joined his beautiful bride in paradise. The legacy of their love for their family and our God lives on through their children and grandchildren, and anyone that was fortunate enough to know them. I am grateful to have known them, to call them family on earth and in heaven. I am blessed to have married into such a precious Godly family, I only hope that some day, I measure up.

Blog Award

2010-07-22T19:05:00.002-05:00

I've recieved my first blog award! How fun. Thank you to Jill-

Here's a link to her precious blog.

The Rules:

1. Post the award on your blog.

2. Link the person who has given out the reward.

3. Pass the reward to other blogs you have discovered.

4. Let these people know you have given them a reward!

The blogs I'm rewarding are...

The Holman's in Bolivia

The PWoods

I'm going on vacation!

2010-07-22T13:40:00.001-05:00

And, I am so excited. I am traveling on Sunday, which happens to be my birthday,
with some of my oldest and dearest friends in the world. We are headed to sunny Florida

and on Monday we'll hop aboard a cruise ship headed for Key West & the Bahamas.

To get into the spirit of the trip, we have all re-named ourselves with Spanish names....don't really know

why we picked Spanish? I think Maria started that, yes it was Maria. Any how, Maria, Consuela, Lupita

& myself, Sarita are so very excited. I have only cruised once, back in November with 44 of my church pals, and the other senoritas haven't ever cruised before. So, it is definitely the blind leading the blind.

We really don't have much on our agenda, we want to visit Hemingway's house in Key West,

do some people watching, read a book, giggle & laugh and act like we did in Jr. High.
Oh, it's going to be great!

Bon Voyage!

Sarita

We're getting our own boy!

2010-07-10T10:31:00.006-05:00

This little fella is Brandon, isn't he adorable? He and Violet are buddies, just like their mommies have been most of their lives. Well, we found out on Wednesday, Violet's 3rd birthday that Jill is having a boy! A boy! Our very own BOY! In case you didn't hear me the first 3 times............... WE'RE GETTING A BOY! 27 years and 5 girls later.... we are getting a boy!

He will not be spoiled. I can promise you that, after all, Violet isn't spoiled either. If you believe that, let me see what else I can sell you.

To say the least, we are excited. But, I was excited already at the idea of having another grandbaby around. Everyone said, I bet you want a boy, don't you? But, I had already decided that surely one of my girls would eventually have a son, so I was prepared to just sit back and enjoy the ride. And even if I have only grandgirls I will be happy all the days of my life! I just want happy, healthy grandbabies, that live their lives for Jesus. Truly, that's all I want in the world. My prayer for our baby boy is the same prayer I have prayed for Violet since she was in the womb. That he would be happy and healthy, that God would write His name upon his heart, that he would follow Jesus and be found pure and righteous and holy in His sight. A tall order to be sure, but isn't that what we all really want? To find favor with God and honor Him all the days of our lives. Amen.

ps - Violet is going to be the best big sister Ev-ah!

Violet is 3!

2010-07-07T10:52:00.003-05:00

Violet Soleil
07.07.07

Dear God, thank you for choosing me to be her grandmother!

"You must really like that grandbaby"

2010-07-06T10:40:00.007-05:00

I do, I do!

Recently at my class reunion, a classmate said that to me. She was referring to my facebook wall where I post quite a few of Violet's pictures and escapades. It kind of bothered me. I mean, of course I really like her. I adore her. In fact, Jeff and I are madly in love with her. Aren't we suppose to be? I mean we are her grandparents. At the time I wish I had some witty come-back to throw at her, but I didn't. I just said "of course I do."

Later, I thought about what she had said to me and then I considered her facebook wall. It has pictures of her dog all over it. Her dog on the bed, her dog in a dress, her dog in the yard, you get the picture. It's a very nice dog, but it's a dog. It's not like she doesn't have children, because she does. And it's not like I don't love Mr. Colby, because I do, but he's a dog.

I know, I know.... what if she sees this? I am not too worried about that. Because anyone that thinks their dog is better than my grandgirl doesn't care about what I think or even read my silly, little blog.

Violet's Gigi...

Little Garden

2010-06-22T13:50:00.008-05:00

We have been so busy at home these days. One of our many Summer projects was to build a garden. Just one problem, Olive. Olive likes to dig, she digs about 10 holes per day, but has slowed some because of the heat. So, our solution... vintage gates. We have over the past 7-8 years been collecting these vintage gates and not doing anything with them. We knew we would think of something sooner or later, but truthfully I was beginning to have real doubt about them. We were trying to find a spot for a little garden, I had an idea. What if we only made the garden large enough to be surrounded by the gates? A plan was born.

Jeff spent a good deal of time building boxes, having to terrace them on the side yard and making a path down the middle to service the rows. And then he put the gates up, with .... zip ties. That's right, the entire thing is attached with zip ties. Southern ingenuity at it's finest.

We pretty much planted everything from seed, with the exception of the tomato plants, shown hanging in the baskets and in the vintage washing tub.

These pictures were taken about a month ago. We have already harvested quite a bit of summer squash, tomatoes and enough cucumbers to make pickles. Our little garden has more than doubled in size.

Of course, we couldn't have done it with the help of our Violet girl!

She told her mommy, "I'm working!" Gardening is hard work. That's for sure, even when it's as small as a postage stamp. We are amazed at all the bugs that have found our little garden already.

Violet is taking very good care of her watermelon & cantaloupe plants. Can't wait until they are ready..... Yum!

Happy Summer!

Update: A few pics from today... see how our little garden has grown!

A whole lotta nuttin'

2010-05-06T23:16:00.010-05:00

I know, I know....... I need to post something, but I just ain't feelin' it. I have begun 4 or 5 posts but haven't finished any of them. At least two of them involve photos which have been removed from my camera by one of my children and loaded onto a computer which I do not have the password to retrieve. Hmmm, whose bright idea was that?

We have been busy putting in a garden, planning and attending my 30th high school reunion and work, work, work. It was great to see old friends and I do mean old! Here is a pic of some of my oldest & dearest... then & now... life just wouldn't be the same without them.

Then... 1980

Now.... 2010

We are looking forward to a wonderful Summer, even if we haven't a clue what we shall do yet. We thought we were going to a family event, but they have pretty much 'priced' us out of it. Asking a family with 3 full time college students to take a 4 day trip to Colorado costing 5K is just too steep for us. Jeff and I were planning on taking a trip abroad for our anniversary, but we have decided to wait until 2011 since we will be welcoming a new grandbaby into the world before the end of the year. We will however be taking a few trips along the way.

We recently traveled to Kansas City for Baseball & BBQ. KC has a gorgeous downtown area and we enjoyed our trip immensely. Let me just say that Arthur Bryant's has the absolute best bbq. Here is my sandwich, there is not way I could eat all of it. Fries are their specialty, yum!

We have begun to make plans for a trip to Arkansas in July & Las Vegas in September with Tara and Darrell. We had such a great time on our last adventure we can't wait to do it again.

So, here's wishing you a wonderful Summer filled with great friends, old & new. Simple times like building a garden and exciting trips near & far.

We'll talk again soon, this time I promise it won't be so long.

Violet's Fairy Garden

2010-04-04T10:37:00.007-05:00

Ok, so I posted a while back that I wanted to make a fairy garden with Violet. Jeff got the entire 3 day weekend off and we decided to make the fairy garden on Easter Sunday while Violet was here. We did most of our shopping on Friday and I picked up a few more things on Saturday. And later in the day Jill and Violet made a surprise visit. So, even though Jeff was tilling up a section in the backyard for our new garden, he took time off to come and help with Violet's Fairy Garden.

First, we rounded up a container. I had this very, very old galvanized wash tub that we had just taking up space in on the back porch. Then we thought it needed to be up a bit higher, so we used the stand to a broken chiminea. And voila', perfect!

Next, we started planting. We used Scottish moss and a low growing,creeping Thyme for the lawn. A Rosemary tree, some spiney grass, and a fern for the bushes. A few other small plants to finish it out.

Then we used pebbles and river rocks for the path around the pond. Which was Violet's favorite part.

Then it was time for a popsicle break! Gardening is hard work.

Then we needed to add a garden shed and water well. Just the right size for fairies.

Violet loved tossing pebbles into the pond. She said can we go swimming now? Then she said the funniest thing... I fink I need a water fairy. So, you know what happened then. Gigi took off to Wal-mart to find some fairies. I found a set of 5 including Tink (Violet's favorite) that are just the perfect size. First thing, she took them all swimming in the pond!

We played and played until the evening bugs drove us inside. So how much did this little project cost?
Plants: $36 - Green's Produce
Container: Free
Pebbles & Stones: $3 - on sale @ Michael's
House, wheelbarrow & well: $16 - Hobby Lobby
Fairies: $10 - Wal-mart
I am sure I could have saved that $16 and made the house and such, but... I knew I didn't have time for that, so the convenience for me to go ahead and purchase the items was worth it.

First home improvement project: A fence. Made from twigs and a glue gun.We are now working on a toadstool and a very tiny garden gnome.

Violet's Fairy Garden!

We had soooo much fun creating this little garden for and with our precious grandgirl, who by the way is going to be a big sister! Some of my friends have started calling me Super G. I love it. That is my goal, to be the best Grandmother I could possibly be. I am very blessed.

He has called me by name, I am His

2010-03-07T12:07:00.001-06:00

Isaiah 43:1-7

"But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'
and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth-everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

A few years ago a friend of mine came to me and told me that God spoke to them regarding me. She said that God told her that this scripture was for me, she said that God had never done that to her before. At the time I was confused, I mean... that's kinda weird. Right? So, I said thank you and went on. A few weeks later things began to happen, and I was scared, desperate, depressed and felt I was without hope. Then my friend came to see me and the minute I saw her I remembered what she had said. God had given her scripture and said it was for me. For me! Before the dawn of time God spoke these words with me in mind, He thought of me. Me, poor, pitiful, pathetic, sinner, me. Me! It is still more than I can fathom, me. When I am facing a crisis, feeling lonely or depressed, I read Isaiah 43, and I am reminded that God thought of me and knew that one day I was going to need to know I wasn't alone, that I was created with purpose and value. And the beautiful part is, He meant it for you too.

Be encouraged my friends, you are not alone.

I love you still

2010-02-25T09:37:00.038-06:00

I awoke from a dream this morning, I was dreaming of you. I dreamed that you had abandoned me... again. Old hurts sometime remain, under the surface, I guess. I didn't even realize that today was your birthday. I know that last year it came and went before I remembered it. I miss you. I might have forgotten your birthday, but I have never forgotten you.

Your hatred for me as a child is well known by many but, I loved you still. You were my mother. You did not protect your children, and as our mother you should have. You spent my childhood blaming me for your mistake. Openly saying you wish you had prevented my birth and that you hated me. I have tried desperately to forget how you berated and abused me and in the end disowned me. I have come to realize that I have not walked in your shoes, not cried your tears, nor felt your loneliness or your heartache for lost love. I forgive you Momma, I love you still.

Some of my friends, and now anyone that would read this will know, that I do not remember my life before the age of 12. God is gracious like that. I have no desire to uncover those memories, He has cast them aside as far as the East is from the West. I know bits and pieces as told to me by my 5 siblings, and that is enough. And a hand full that return from the few photos I have. Years ago during a counseling session, my therapist told me that as my children reached certain ages, it could trigger memories of me at that age, and yes it did. Mostly unpleasant, but some were wonderful. You taught me to make a skirt when I was only 6 years old, it even had a zipper. I can sew and I can sew well, and that is because of you. I love my family desperately, and that too is because of you. I gave my life to Jesus and brought my children up to know Him, and that in a strange way is your doing too. I ached and cried out in my soul to be different from you and that led me straight to Him.

And then you disowned me, October, 2001. Why? I saw you many times in stores around town, you would look straight at me and then turn away, like I was nothing, no one. It broke my heart. I saw you several years later at Jeremy's wedding, you looked unwell. Teresa encouraged me to speak to you, I did. I told you how I missed you, how much I loved you, how I wanted us to not be at odds against each other any more. You made a scene at the wedding, you told me you didn't want to have anything to do with me, that you hated me. Why? I remember a few months before you died, I saw you in Walmart in the check-out lane. I remember I stood behind a display rack about 20 feet away and just watched you, listened to your voice as you spoke with the cashier, and the little girl inside me cried out to her mother, I love you still.

In December, 2005, I received a phone call that you were gone. I was devastated, no more time to make amends, no more second chances. No more I love yous. But, the caller was mistaken and you were indeed alive, but only barely. When I got to the hospital as ill as you were you remembered that you were mad at me. It was difficult, heart breaking. But, as a few moments ticked by you softened towards me. You told me you loved me and I you. You told me you had always loved me and were very proud of me. .... and then you were gone. I had waited 42 years to hear those words and then you were gone. No more second chances, no happy ending...just gone, but you loved me still!

I think you had known Him for sometime, your sister told me as we were preparing for your funeral how you came to know Him. What happened? Why did you turn your back on Him? I have over time thought about it, and I have an idea in my mind. I think you were angry, so angry that you blamed yourself and you blamed Him. And because of that you would not accept His love for you, you couldn't forgive yourself for what you had done and you couldn't forgive others, but He loved you still.

I know that I have not always treated you with respect, and many times I got what I deserved from you. I was a smart mouth kid, but my children and I did nothing to deserve being disowned by you for 5 long years. You cheated my girls out of a grandmother, and now that I am one, that is unacceptable. But, also now that I am one, I realize that you suffered a greater loss by not knowing them. I am grieved by that, but.... they love you still.

There are many similarities between our relationship and the one we share with God. We abuse Him, mistreat and ignore Him, but He loves us still and He is always ready to forgive and give us a second chance. I was not always that forgiving towards you, but I came to understand that through His forgiveness, I too must forgive. I am ever grateful that your last words were that you knew Him, believed in Him and would see us again, You loved Him still!

Don't for one second believe that it was easy for me to write this or to learn to forgive my mother. It has only been by the grace of God that I am able to do both and it has taken a long time to do so. And to never share this part of my life would be to never share how God used it for the better. I have always loved my mother and I know now that she has always loved me and because of God's grace, inspite of ourselves, HE LOVES US STILL.

I miss you more than words can say & love you still,

Him: Jesus, our Savior & Redeemer

Chasing the KWS Band

2010-02-22T22:09:00.005-06:00

Noah Hunt (lead vocal), Jeff, me, Kenny Wayne (world's greatest living blues guitarist!)

This past weekend, Jeff and I set out on another road trip. Chasing the Kenny Wayne Sheperd Band to Antone's in Austin.

It was a quick trip for us, leaving after work on Saturday around 3pm and return a mere 24 hours later on Sunday. We arrived at the Hilton Austin just before 6pm, not leaving us very much time to change clothes, find something to eat and get to the venue. We were lucky enough to get a hotel fairly close to Antone's which was on the same street about 5 blocks down. That made it much easier. So, once we walked down to the concert site and checked it out we knew it was safe to try to grab a bite to eat. We ended up eating at a little deli a few doors down from Antone's, Hog Head Deli or something like that. We shared a sandwich and cheese fries! Yummo. The sandwich was a Caprese salad sandwich with a few slices of salami on it, it was light and refreshing and absolutely yummy. (So yummy in fact, that Jeff came home Sunday night and whipped us up a few for dinner.)

Then we headed over to the concert, waited in line for about 30 more minutes and then we were let inside. It was a sold out concert and no doubt many were turned away, but we had purchased our tickets online several weeks back. There was an opening acting, someone called Shurman, but we really weren't interested.... we were waiting for the real deal. Since we are members of the KWS fan club, we had passes to go 'back stage' so to speak and we spent that time waiting for our chance to meet with Kenny. When we did.... we were a little star stuck, but luckily we weren't the only ones. I am telling you that if you like blues music, you have absoutely got to see the KWS band in concert. They put on a great show, and Kenny is just incredible. The show Saturday had to be the best we have seen.

We had a great time, after the concert around 12:15am we were starving, remember we shared a sandwich earlier. So, Jeff drug me all over downtown looking for somewhere to eat, he drug me over to 5th Street and after about 1 block I put my foot down and said I wasn't going any further. Doesn't he know we are old? Way too old to be on 5th Street on a Saturday night. We headed back to the hotel and ordered room service, a toasted Ruben, fries and a bowl of tortilla soup. Then we were out like a light, missed the breakfast buffet the following morning. We packed up and headed for the Green Mesquite and had some delicious BBQ and chicken fried steak. A couple of funny things there... the back of our waitress' shirt read, "God knows if you don't tip" and a sign on the wall read "Horrifying Vegetarians Since 1988". Pretty funny. Highly recommend the Green Mesquite on Barton Springs.

As we drove around Austin with the windows down and the sunroof open, enjoying the 77 degree weather, we decided to make one more stop before heading home. We drove down Congress and stopped at Hey Cupcake and shared a 24 Carrot stuffed with fresh whipped cream and listened to the guitar player who serenaded us in the sunshine. The we jumped on 35 and headed home, of course making one more stop at West to buy some kolaches for the girls. Whew! We have had a busy couple of weeks, time for some rest.

Magic & Whimsy

2010-02-22T14:15:00.011-06:00

Ok, I really don't believe in magic, but I that doesn't mean I don't think things need to be magical. Like weddings, childhood & love stories. We didn't have lots of money when our children were small (still don't for that matter), but I tried my best to make things special & maybe even magical for our girls.

I remember the first time Jill, Jordan & Justine saw Willie Wonka. I bought each of them a giant chocolate bar and gave it to them and told them they couldn't open it until Charlie found the golden ticket. They sat there anxiously awaiting the moment that Charlie found the golden ticket. Their bars were beginning to melt because they held them so tightly. With each bar that Charlie opened they would begin to tear theirs open only to be disappointed that he hadn't yet found the ticket. Then when he did, their excitedly opened their bars. They were so cute.

Then there was the first time we took them to Disney World. I remember asking Jeff, if I can make enough money can we go to Disney World for New Years? It was late September at the time. He said sure, I mean seriously... I didn't have a real job, only my little craft business, so there really wasn't much chance I could do it. I don't even think we even knew anyone personally who had ever been to Disney World, it seemed like such a far off dream. But, I worked hard, planned and scrimped and on a shoestring budget of $1200, we took 6 people for 6 days to WDW and stayed in a Disney park! I remember watching Justine at the tender age of 5 staring up at Minnie in the Light Parade, her eyes as big as saucers... "I love you Minnie", she said. Jill & Jordan watched wide-eyed as Beauty danced with the Beast and of course Jaley toddling along mostly afraid of every character, but the trip was precious & priceless & magical.

One year my brother, dressed as Saint Nick banged on their window and they screamed with excitement and that visit convinced them to believe for several more years. There are lots of little memories including birthdays and picnics and many of the magical moments moments are the ones the girls created for us and each other.

What started this whole magic post? I found this little blog it has directions for making a magical fairy garden.

It reminded me of the time Jordan made and painted a fairy door for Jaley. She wanted to put it in her room. It was so cute and magical and full of whimsy. I think I am definitely going to have to make one for Violet. I am excited to share fun times with her and then she can be my little partner when more grandbabies are added to the family. My goal: to be the world's best, funnest and most magical GiGi! Sounds kinda selfish when I put it like that.... doesn't it? It's all about making magic and whimsy and happiness for those same four little red head girls....and their children! So really, not much has changed.

1226 miles and 3 days later!

2010-02-15T10:18:00.003-06:00

Ok, once again we have survived a road trip. I think I am really getting to old for this. We

filled our cupboards and frig with food, told our children to not leave the house and then .... headed out on our road trip in the snow!

We spent the night in Bossier City. Already totally wiped out after what should have been a 3 hour drive but turned into a 5 hour drive because of the weather. Here we are the next morning getting ready to drive another 6.5 hours.

We ran into trouble in this snow because the freeways & overpasses were closed and we had to drive around Bossier City and make a big loop to get back on 49. We saw a lot of crazy drivers and quite a few wrecks along the way. We had planned to be in New Orleans by lunch, but after way too many hours on the road we made a pit stop at Race Trac for hot dogs and finally made it to the New Orleans Hard Rock at about 3pm. Here we are with the staff of HRC New Orleans.

Then we made our way on to Biloxi. Where we checked in to another hotel, changed our clothes and headed over to Hard Rock Hotel/Casino/Cafe' Biloxi for the concert.

Heart put on an awesome show and we were about 15 feet from Nancy & Ann! Here is Nancy belting out Barracuda!

Then we headed over to the cafe' and had a later dinner. We had a great time and I think Darrell has turned Jeff into a HR groupie like himself! Here we are with the staff at HRC Biloxi.

When we got up Saturday morning in Biloxi, we were exhausted. We couldn't believe we had to do that drive all over again. I mean... seriously, what were we thinking? We are definitely too old for this. We drove back through New Orleans as Saturday was the first day of the Mardi Gras parades. The town was a mad house. We stopped and ate lunch at one of Jeff's favorite places, Frank's and had muffelatta sandwiches. The walked around the square for a little bit. We walked down Bourbon Street for about two blocks and decided we were just not part of that crowd, if you know what I mean. We quickly detoured and headed toward Cafe du Monde for biegnets.

As we began to head home from New Orleans at 4pm on Saturday we quickly realized that we did not want to make the long trek of 8 hours home that day. We finally found a hotel in Alexandria and spent the night. We we began making plans for this trip we had no idea that we would be hitting New Orleans during Mardi Gras and thus making every hotel from Biloxi to Baton Rouge booked up and even Shreveport/Bossier was full for Saturday night because of Valentine's Day. We finally arrive home about 4pm on Sunday, exhausted but content.... and ready to plan our next adventure! But next time.... if it's more than about 3 hours, we're flying!

Hello from New Orleans

2010-02-12T18:17:00.001-06:00

Hard Rock Cafe Staff & us, New Orleans LA

Ok, because it's almost Valentine's Day... let's get this out in the open...

2010-02-10T11:03:00.002-06:00

"Exercise is a dirty word.
Every time I hear it I wash my mouth out with chocolate."

~ Charles Schultz

The Road Trips are coming, the road trips are coming...........

2010-02-09T16:19:00.010-06:00

Jeff and I have big plans for the next two weekends. I am so excited. Our friends, Terrell & Derrell* & Jeff & I are going to Biloxi to see Heart in concert at the Hard Rock. And on way we are going to stop in and see New Orleans by way of Bossier City. Sound like fun? When we planned this trip we had no idea we would be in New Orleans the weekend before Mardi Gras and of course now that NO is the home of the Super Bowl 43 Champions I am sure it will be 'partay town'. We are going to hit two Hard Rock Cafes in the process. T & D have a love affair with HRs. They travel round the globe visiting HR. It's going to be fun!

Here we are at the Hard Rock, Dallas.

Next weekend, we are heading to our favorite Texas city, Austin! My beloved, Kenny Wayne is going to be there. I just can't believe it! I was on the fan site a few weeks ago just checking to see how far we were going to have to drive this year to see him and there it was listed, KWS at Antone's in Austin. Austin, just down the road a piece. So, Jeff I will head to Austin next Saturday. It's going to be great!

Pics coming soon... hopefully one with me, Kenny & Noah!
PS - Happy Birthday Jussy! ~xoxox Mom

* Terrell & Derrell, aka Tara & Darrell or is it Tara & Dara?

They made it!

2010-02-08T14:42:00.005-06:00

The Haitian Sensations have arrived!

These two little Haitians are now Peytons and learning to ride bikes, eat s'mores, and not be surprised to find food in the cupboard! I met the boy, J on Sunday, and he is precious.
To read more about these 5 little ones, visit Peyton's Pandemonium.

OUTRAGED

2010-01-25T12:01:00.004-06:00

This post is going to be controversial and unpleasant. So, if you can't stomach it... click out now. That means you... Jill.

I just read this article in the Texan. Loophole Lets Virginia Woman Kill Baby, Go Free.

Apparently, a woman gave birth to her full term baby at home and wrapped it in bedding and suffocated it. The woman's mother called 911. When paramedics arrived the baby was still wrapped in bedding with the umbilical cord and placenta still attached. According to Virginia Law this baby did not have a 'separate existence' from it's mother. Thereby giving her the right to kill it by any means she chose. "In the state of Virginia as long as the umbilical cord is attached and the placenta is still in the mother, if the baby comes out alive the mother can do whatever she wants to with that baby to kill it," Emerson told WSLS. "She could shoot the baby, stab the baby. As long as it's still attached to her in some form by umbilical cord or something, it's no crime in the state of Virginia." ~ Campbell County Investigator, Tracy Emerson

Apparently, this is the second such case in the good state of Virginia. The first mother actually shot her stomach while she was heavy with child on her due date, there by killing her unborn baby.

Do we still not see that our abortion laws are out of control? And what is wrong with the people in Virginia? I have no idea if other states have similar laws, but God help the United States, because we are in trouble. I can't help but wonder.... what happened to this state? I mean was not Virginia the birthplace of our nation? George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were both from Virginia. I am pretty sure this is not what they had in mind for the future of their beloved state.

I know that normally this blog is about fluff and stuff, and I am not really a political person, but some things cannot be ignored.

Created in His Image,

Learn more about what you can do to help change Abortion Laws - National Right to Life

2010-01-23T10:35:00.008-06:00

"God is so big He can cover the whole world with His love, and so small He can curl up inside your heart."
~ June Masters Bacher

Rescue Orphans

2010-01-23T08:21:00.023-06:00

I have a co-worker who along with his wife have been in the process of adopting two siblings from Haiti for almost 3 years now. He affectionately refers to them as the Haitian Sensation. Their children are in the last stages of adoption with hopes of being here by February. Of course that was before the earthquake. Their adoption home was near Port Au Prince. We can all imagine the great anxiety they are feeling right now. They have been told in the last day or so that their children will receive their VISAs on Sunday, and that they should be prepared to be in Florida to pick them up! Praise God! David told me that there are about 300 children that should qualify for the 'early release' even though their paper work is not ready.

Recently, I read this on David's blog. It is an excerpt from an essay called The Mega Issue written by the President of World Orphans, Paul Myhill. Paul writes:

Do you desire to assist the poor and crush poverty? – Rescue orphans.
Do you wish to combat HIV/AIDS and other heinous diseases? – Rescue orphans.
Do you hope to prevent pedophiles from abusing young children? – Rescue orphans.
Do you want to stamp out prostitution? – Rescue orphans.
Do you yearn for the end of drug dealing and addiction? – Rescue orphans.
Do you crave to uphold the worth and significance of women? – Rescue orphans.
Do you long to stop violent extremism and the placement of children into radical schools? – Rescue orphans.
Do you dream to crush illiteracy? – Rescue orphans.
Do you aspire to eliminate child labor? – Rescue orphans.
Do you seek to eradicate the recruitment of child soldiers and atrocities they are forced to commit? – Rescue orphans.

Wow! That cuts to the chase, doesn't it? Who doesn't want to rescue an orphan after reading that? And this month in the Southern Baptist Texan newspaper there are several articles regarding adoption and the New Testament Church."Adoption is not just about couples who want children—or who want more children," according to author Russell Moore. "Adoption is about an entire culture within our churches, a culture that sees adoption as part of our Great Commission mandate and as a sign of the gospel itself."

I also have a friend whose organization helps children in India. This excerpt is from their website regarding the plight of children in India: "Out of the 1.2 billion people in India, approximately 200 million are children. Nearly 100 million of these children have little or no access to school. Most of these children are born into large families with illiterate, alcoholic and abusive parents. The children are left to fend for themselves. They end up working in small tea shops, hotels, sweat shops or beg on the streets." AIM

Perhaps we are not all called to adopt an orphan. But, there are other ways to be a part of their rescue. Pray, Give, Go.

Heartsick... but not without Hope,

To learn more about sponsoring a child in India click here.

Admiring God, even though it stinketh much

2010-01-18T11:04:00.002-06:00

Once again here at work, we have been paid a visit by a skunk. For some reason he likes to get under our building and spray. It is not pleasant, and the smell lingers for days. It makes it a little hard to concentrate on my work, especially when it seems to cling to my clothing. It is potent stuff. I wonder why skunk spray lasts seemingly forever, but my perfume wears off in 4 hours.

So it makes me wonder.... why did God make skunks? I think perhaps for the same reason He created lightening bugs and platypus. He has a sense of humor. God is good .... and sometimes He is pretty darn funny too.

... You hold his nose!

Cartoon: Little Critters

My friends, the Missionaries

2010-01-15T06:00:00.009-06:00

I am very proud to say that I have some friends that are missionaries. It's not anything that I did, it's what they did. And since they are nice Christian folks, they let me be their friend.

One family, the Holmans, have 11 children and are now living in Bolivia. They are an incredible family. They are serving the Lord with great joy and excitement. They are so adorable, and they make living in a 3rd world country look like Disney World.You can read more about the Holmans in Bolivia on Denise's blog.

And then there are a couple of other families one in Switzerland and another in an unknown country. Unknown because it is not safe for them. I have known both of these girls most of their lives. Jeff and I taught their Sunday School class when they were in high school. Now they are all grown up and serving as Missionaries in far away places.

What prompted me to write this post? The sweet family that is serving in a foreign land that I do not even know the name of and I cannot even list their names here because it is unsafe, well, they are missing home and Mexican food. Yep, fajita seasoning, goldfish crackers, and hot cocoa. I am packing and sending a care package.

And as I get this little box of goodies together to send to a 3rd party who will send it on it's way. I am so incredibly touched by my friends sacrifices. How they have given up their homes, their friends and families, and their country to serve our God. Words cannot express my gratitude and heartfelt admiration for them. I am also thinking about Haiti and her people and the missionaries serving there.

I pray that my dear friends will be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that his/her labor is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:58 (emphasis & personalization, mine)

Sometimes I do stupid, implusive things.

2010-01-14T12:58:00.008-06:00

Ok, ok, my family would probably say that a lot of times I do stupid, impulsive things.

Recent idiotic behavior: Impulsive shopping. I don't do this one often, but when I do... it's a doosie. We have this pub style table and four chairs in our kitchen.

And often, 4 chairs are plenty, but sometimes we need another chair. And just any old chair won't work because this table is tall. Of course we could go to the dining room and seat 8, but here lately... the dining room is temporarily serving as a 'holding tank' for Justine's apartment furniture. Any how, so I had been thinking about purchasing a couple of bar stools to use at the pub table. So I picked a couple out that I thought would be really cute and they stack, even better. They are not wood, but they are metal and I like the style, they look like this.

Kind of industrial and retro at the same time. Since the pub table has a metal ring around the bottom and my antique baker's cabinet that looks very much like this but with a metal tabletop (actually mine is prettier than the one in the pic.) And the backspash in our kitchen is a vintage style metal tile like this one. I though metal might be a fun addition for the spare chairs.

Ok, so I made the purchase on Overstock.com and the stools arrived. But, because of my excitement to order the stools I made a error. I purchased the barstool height instead of counter height. Darn! So much for $2.95 shipping, now I have to pay $15 to send them back. Justine scolded me pretty good. I hate it when I do stuff like that when there are witnesses around. Dagnabit!

Pub Table & Chairs: Ashley's Furniture
Metal Stools: Overstock.com
Baker's Cabinet: Antique Shop in Glen Rose,TX
Tin Look Metal Tiles: Lowe's

I'm so excited.......

2010-01-13T12:59:00.005-06:00

I found these lovelies on Ebay and they are on their way to live with me! Have you ever bought anything on Ebay? I know some people are a little afraid of it, but don't be. It is so much fun! And for all you collectors out there you could hunt forever in shops and not find the things you see on Ebay. I'm not giving up my antique mall/ yard sale affliction anytime soon, but Ebay is loads of fun. Happy shopping!

Making a few changes

2010-01-12T15:40:00.006-06:00

I have decided that my blog needs to look a little more like me and a little less like I got it off a free site, so I am going to make a few changes. I work on a website for my job almost every day and I have fallen into a rut when it comes to my own blog. I have just been.... lazy. So, I am going to try out a few new things. Some will work, and others I have already found out do not. So here goes. A new siggy for starters, and hopefully a new layout/template by the end of the week. If you want to try your hand at something new for your space check this out.

Jeff's Addiction

2010-01-09T13:04:00.015-06:00

I think I have mentioned it before, Jeff's errrr 'problem'. He's got an addiction... it's collecting stuff. It began a long time ago, I really don't even remember the first time. But, it started slow, almost unnoticeable. But, now... he has made me into an enabler. He lured me in with this.

These were definitely not the first signs he purchased, these were the signs he began to purchase for 'me'. Once he made them a gift for me, he knew he could continue on with his behavior.

A fairly large(19 X 27) vintage metal, blue-green Red Rose Tea Sign. Then he bought another one, this orange Red Rose Coffee sign.

Then came the little samples, these are small collectible versions of the coffee/tea ads, they are marked with the year on one side and the ad style on the other.

As you can see these are not tiny signs, and after many years of hanging them in the garage and being reminded by our children how much money was lying about in the garage I gave in and let them come into the house. Gone were my beautiful bird and topiary wall art and floral drapes and furniture. Now vintage signs are everywhere. I will post some more pics later along with more of Jeff's collection (50+). I have finally convinced him that until we get a larger place he is going to have to be satisfied with collecting license plates, and for now... he has agreed.

I often try to find blogs about vintage metal & porcelain signs, but haven't had much luck. If you know of one, leave a comment with the blog so I can check it out. We have really enjoyed the signs, although sometimes I feel like I live at Chili's or TGIF. It sort of suits us though, bold, bright colors and very graphic and nostalgic. So for now... we're keeping them up.

Granddaddy killed the King of England

2010-01-07T15:36:00.021-06:00

Actually Great Grandaddy X 13. I suspect that not very many folks can say that. But, tis true. I was working on a ancestry gift for my little brother for Christmas and I decided to frame this picture of my dad and then list his heritage on the Thomas side as far as I could go. And since Jim is the only Thomas male in our branch of the family I figured he would really get a kick out of it, and he did!

The finished product looked a little like this, but in a beautiful frame with mat, sorry I didn't take a picture of it.

Frank Lawrence Thomas, Jr
B 5 Oct 1925 Coleman County, TX - D 19 May 1992 Dallas, TX

Frank Lawrence Thomas, Sr.
B 31 July 1886 Texas -D 29 Nov 1967 Bangs, Brown, TX

Joseph Smith Thomas

B 21 Jan 1862 TX -D 24 Dec 1953 Coleman, TX

Asbury S “Seth” Thomas

B 26 Aug 1833 TN -D 5 Feb 1904 Denton, TX

William Thomas
B 1810 Polk, TN - D 1850 LA

William Thomas

B 17 Jan 1790 Galax, Grayson, VA -D 17 May 1866 Edgewater, Grayson, VA

Jonathan Thomas

B 29 Nov 1762 Orange, NC -D 13 Dec 1838 Bridle Creek, Grayson, VA

Owen Thomas
B 1731 Grayson, VA -D 1769 Orange, NC

John KL Thomas

B 22 Sept 1710 Pender, Edgecombe, NC -D 1751 Edgecombe, NC

William Thomas

B 1660 Isle of Wight, VA -D 1710 Isle of Wight, VA

Philip Thomas

John Thomas

B 1628 Queens Creek York, VA- D 1655 James City, Nansemond, VA

John Thomas

B 1585 Carmarthenshire, Wales -D 1653 Queens Creek, York, VA

Jeven Thomas

1555

Rhys Ap Thomas
B 1449 Cantref Mawr, Carmarthenshire, Wales -D 1526 Carmarthenshire, Wales

Thomas Ap Gruffudd

B 1425 Cantref Mawr, Carmarthenshire, Wales -D 1474 Bardsey Island, Carmarthenshire, Wales

Gruffudd Ap Nicolas

B 1393, Maenordeilo, Carmarthenshire, Wales -D 2 Jan 1461, Hereford, Herefordshire, England

Nicolas Ap Philip

1367, Maenordeilo, Carmarthenshire, Wales

Philip Ap Elidir FitzUryan

1320, Dyenevor, Glam, Wales

Elidir Ddu Ap Elidir

1246-1283, Llandeilo Fawr, Carmarthenshire, Wales

Rhys Ap Gronwy

1190, Carmarthenshire, Wales

Gronwy Ap Einion

1160, Carmarthenshire, Wales

Einion Ap Llywarch

1130, Carmarthenshire, Wales

Llywarch Ap Cynhaethwy

1190, Wales

Cynhaethwy Ap Gwrwared

1070, Wales

Gwrwared Ap Seisyll

1050, Wales

Seisyll Ap Rhun

Wales

As you can see, I wasn't always a Thomas. Ap means 'son of' or something like that, and way back then fellas took their dad's first name as their last and so forth until about 1500 or so and then we became Thomas. See the fellow marked in red. Yep, that's him. He killed King Richard and even served Henry VII and VIII. You can read more about it here . It's very interesting reading and I guess... well somebody's gotta be related to him, right? I didn't know any of this stuff until I had given Jim his gift, he was so excited that he started researching the older names on the list. And bam, that's when he found it. We had our own castle and everything. We also learned that some of those other guys were part of 'The Crusade'. Apparently one Great-Granddad is also the Great-Granddad of HRH Charles. Hmm. Somehow I think I might have gotten the rotten side of the tree. Next thing you know, I will find out that I am descendant from . . . the 'Doubting Thomas'.

Oh Daddy, how I wish you were here to discover all this history with us. Missing you still....
julie lynn

ps - Thanks Cuzn' Jimmy for all your hard work on this ancestry junk, you are so much better at it than I am. ;)

Collecting Vintage Christmas

2009-12-22T08:55:00.026-06:00

I love Christmas...everything about it. I especially love that it is an entire month dedicated (or should be) to our Savior's birth. But, I also enjoy the St. Nicholas part too, and items that evoke thoughts of simpler times, like vintage Christmas.

I think I started with Santa mugs, and then books and on to figurines. My favorite items are by Holt Howard. I search out Christmas at yard sales, flea markets, antique malls & Ebay throughout the year. My girls have generally teased and made fun of me until about a year ago and I won Jill over to collecting Angels.

About 8 years ago Jeff found me an adorable set of 8 placecard holders and since then he has found me 2 more sets.

I have an adorable bobblehead Santa with an open sack that I fill with candy canes, many of my figures are salt and pepper shakers. One Santa's bag is a bank. I also have Santa mugs in every size and shape.

I have a few vintage Christmas books, my favorite is How Come Christmas by Roark Bradford, copyright 1930 and is illustrated with woodcuts. It's a mingled story of 'modern day', the baby Jesus, Sandy Claus, Methuselah and Moses.

An excerpt from How Come Christmas: Well, hyar we is, chilluns, and hyar hit is Christmas. Now we all knows we's hyar 'cause hit's Christmas, don't we? But what I want to know is, who gonter tell me how come hit's Christmas?

When shopping for vintage Christmas look for items in good overall condition, no chips or breaks and stay away from items that have been repainted. Also, try to purchase items that still have their original box, many of mine still have their boxes that are like a cardboard jewelry box with Christmas designs printed on the box. Also check for their original labels on the bottom, signatures such as HH (Holt Howard) and sometimes even original price tags are intact on the bottom of the figures. What about price? I have paid as little as a .25 for a small mug but as much as $7 for a small HH mug. Figures like the bobblehead Santa and the Santa with Mrs. Claus, sleigh and reindeer or the stage coach Santa NOEL could be more than $50.

Merry Christmas and Happy Collecting!

Julie

Julie's thoughts on Julie/Julia

2009-12-09T17:45:00.003-06:00

I have been so busy at work lately, to much playing for me that I haven't been posting! Any how I realized that I have quite a few posts unfinished and in draft status. So I am going to try to finish a few.... so here's one.

Julie the Book/Movie Critic Strikes Again............

Julie/Julia

I didn't like it, not one bit. Not the movie, nor the book. I would have much preferred the love story between Julia & Paul Child. I love to cook and read blogs but not Julie Powell's. My Book Club read the book, and I just didn't like Julie Powell's character, I guess I don't like Julie Powell. Mmm. That doesn't sound very nice does it, after all she is a real person. I just didn't care for her from the very beginning of the book. I didn't like the fact that she was selling her 'eggs' to pay her credit card bill or the way she talked about the 911 families, or the how she treated her husband. Or the way she would just begin to swear like a sailor for no apparent reason. She just didn't seem wholesome to me. I guess I don't know a lot about Julia Child, but I envision my grandmother or something when I would watch her cook on PBS, very down to earth & wholesome. Let's just say... it wasn't my 'plate of beef bourguignon'.

Gigi, don't go!

2009-11-12T11:47:00.009-06:00

That's what my girl said to me as I hugged and kissed her goodbye last night as we left her at her new house. It just tore my heart right out of my chest. She just kept sobbing, Gigi, don't go! Jill texted me on the ride home and said she had finally calmed down, her Mommy had given her milk & tunes. That's my girl.

Violet's Gigi~

btw, I am still swaying from my cruise! pics coming soon.

We raced Ida home... and we won!

2009-11-10T16:22:00.008-06:00

Just a quick note that we did survive the cruise. It was extremely rough seas but, we had a great time. I have lots to talk about, but today is for working and tonight is for visiting my Violet girl in her new home!

tata for now,

Julie

A new adventure across the sea....

2009-11-04T23:01:00.006-06:00

Ok, I am about to call it a night. My friend, Tara has already been delivered to my house by her husband and son and we are soooooooo excited for our adventure to begin. Tomorrow at 6am sharp my sister will pick us up and we will have just one more stop to make... to pick up Sendy. Then it's off to the Port of Galveston! There we will hook up with 40 other friends to sail to the Caribbean. I am taking the dell mini, but I don't know if I will be able to post anything while on board the ship. But, I will definitely post when I get back.

I will be missing my fella, as I don't like to travel without him, but somebody's gotta stay here and spoil that Violet girl for me while I am gone.

I'm Packing Again....

2009-11-02T10:03:00.005-06:00

<-------My Fairy Violet!

It has been a crazy few months for Jeff and I. It sort of feels like we have been living in suitcases. I am about to reach my 10th night on Hotels.com since March, and we didn't even use it when we went to Comanche or New England. So that's about 19 hotels stays since March. That has to be some kind of record for us.

This trip I will be venturing out on my own without my fella. He says it will be good for me, but I still wish he were going. So I am once again packing a bag. I am excited to spend 5 days/4 nights with 44 of my nearest & dearest. I just hope there isn't any girl drama! ;)

I return on Monday evening and on Saturday, Jeff & I and a couple of dear friends are going to the Children's Christmas Toy Fundraiser called the 'Margarita Ball' and after all that dancing we're planning on dinner downtown and so we are staying over in Sundance Square for the night. That should be fun too, love to get all dressed up and spin around the dance floor with Jeff. It's kinda like a prom for grown-ups! But better still..... it helps kids gets toys for Christmas!

Then the next Thursday - Saturday I am off on a Mission Trip to Laredo, TX. It's actually a vision trip to learn about the needs and how we can partner with other organizations already serving in the area. I am excited about it.

Then it will be time for Thanksgiving and my Violet girl should just about have a room of her own by then. Her parents are house hunting and my girl apparently has to go with them! That's ok, they need their family time. Besides soon it will be time for the Big Family Trip, leaving a few days after Christmas for a whole week in a lodge at the Coast. Reading books and playing on the beach and fishing all night! Great fun. I am blessed beyond measure.

100% American, or pretty darn close

2009-10-27T21:49:00.019-05:00

This is my dad, Frank Lawrence Thomas, wasn't he handsome? He looks a lot like my little brother, Jim.

I am a genealogy buff, like my dad. But, I am not very good at it. My cousin is much better than I am. I wish I had more time to spend on it but I haven't lately, but he has been busy. Just a little trivia I would like to share with you in memory of my dad.

Here you go Daddy, you were right.... as close to 100% American as you can get.

My lineage on my father's side. American born since 1611!

John Thomas, 1611, born Queens Creek, York County, VA
John Thomas, (year uncertain)
William Thomas, 1660
John Thomas, 1710
Owen Thomas, 1740
Jonathon Thomas, 1762
William Thomas, 1790
William Thomas, 1810
Asbury Thomas, 1833
Joseph Thomas, 1862
Frank Thomas, 1886
Frank Thomas, 1925 (my dad)
Julie, 1962 (me)

My grandparents,
sitting, Frank Thomas, Sr.
standing, Dealvia Thomas
circa 1925

ps - Violet is the 15th generation American born!

Everything you need to know... is on YouTube

2009-10-23T11:24:00.005-05:00

Got up this morning with a dead battery. I knew it was coming, it has been slow to start for a week or so. Of course, this morning I was parked behind Jordan in the drive and Jill was parked on the other side and she was .... of course running late for her school commute to Denton. So we did some finageling and got her car out without too much damage to the grass. Any how, my Knight in Shining Armour came home from work to change out the battery, but try as he might he couldn't figure out how to get the battery out of my PT Cruiser. It was trapped! So, I told him I would go look it up on the internet. Viole'! Everything you want to know... or not know is on YouTube.

Sleeping......it use to be my favorite hobby.

2009-10-20T12:07:00.007-05:00

But now it never comes to visit any more.

At first, I thought it was just because I was uncomfortable sleeping because of my arm... you remember. Then my arm started feeling better, or maybe I just got use to it hurting. But, I still couldn't sleep. Then Jill got engaged and we were in full wedding swing, but the wedding came and went and .......... still no sleep. Jeff and I went on a wonderful vacation to Maine.......still no sleep. Seriously, I mean no sleep, maybe 2 hours all broken up at best and some nights, NONE. I have tried everything, Tylenol PM keeps me awake, Sleep MD makes me want to throw up. So, I finally went to the Dr. He prescribed Ambien. I read all those side effects, and said so what, I am TIRED! I took that silly pill for 3 weeks straight before it did me any good and now I am out. I called and begged the pharmacy, nothin'. Then I called and begged the Doc and after 3 days, EUREKA! It's not the greatest sleep I've ever had, not even close.... but I am able to function again. It still takes me about 2 hours to fall asleep after I take it and that is only with ear plugs in. Boy, getting older stinks. Don't like it! As my sweet Violet would say. Don't like it!

Tired in Texas

More about Insomnia

Road Trips & Kenny Wayne, 2009

2009-09-26T10:53:00.012-05:00

Jeff and I have once again embarked on what is now known as our 'Annual Pilgrimage' to see the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band. We began our trip on Thursday afternoon driving to the half way point between Mansfield and Vicksburg, MS... Bossier City, LA. We had plans for dinner, I know how shocking that is for most of you! We wanted to go to the Cypress Inn, nestled on a beautiful lake in Bossier City. Well, apparently the original burned down about four years ago and it is now nestled in a strip mall. The catfish was ok, just.... ok. And of course, the ambience is gone. It was nice enough though. When we got to the hotel to check in they wanted a $100 cash deposit 'just in case we decide to fill the in-room hot tub with jello shots'. Seriously that is what the clerk said to me. Did a little gambling at the casino, lost about $30 in a penny slot machine. I am NOT a gambler. Ok, we are not going to talk anymore about that.

Friday we got up and drove the final 3 hours to Vicksburg. Stopped at a Love's along the way and the first thing Jeff did was lock our only set of keys in the car. But something magical happened... a sweet LA Highway Patrol officer came along within about 5 minutes and got them out for FREE! Then we were on our way again. We stopped for lunch somewhere around Monroe and had BBQ. Yep, BBQ. Mmmm good. We stopped at a new place called Bodacious BBQ. Not a very unique name, but the Q was good. As we were about to get into our car the 'pit master' walked over to us and asked us how it was? We told him we thoroughly enjoyed it, he said this was their 5th week open. It's nice to see small food places thriving. Three cheers for the little guy!

We arrived safely in Vicksburg, and I must say the only thing this town has going for it is a couple of casinos and a giant cemetary. We tried our best, but we couldn't find anything to do. Found one or two antique shops, but nothing we even thought twice about buying. Saw a show at the Bottleneck Blues Bar on Friday. A group called Ugli Stick, just back from a USO Tour, they were good. If they ever come to Texas I would go and see them again.

Saturday was Jeff's birthday and it was all about the KWS show that night. We were super excited because the venue (Bottleneck Blues Bar) was so small and we had VIP seating. Sure enough we were up close and personal. Kenny & Noah and the guys put on an awesome show. After the show we went up to the steak house in the casino for a celebratory birthday dinner, Kenny was there too! Ok, ok, he wasn't exactly sitting at our table or anything, but he was there. Next morning when Jeff went down to get coffee at the hotel Kenny was there too. It was a great weekend.

Ok, as for next year.... Kenny please play somewhere close to Texas. Please ! Even though right now I can see on your calendar you will be in New Orleans and that looks like the closest, at least we can fly there for a decent price. So until then Kenny, take care!

Last Year's Pilgrimage.

Oh Heavenly Day

2009-09-16T11:50:00.031-05:00

Absoutely beautiful photos by our fabulous photographers, Joel & Laura Malone . I cannot brag on them enough, they were delightful to work with, and their work speaks volumes as to their talent.

In this pic you can see the aisle decor for the outside ceremony. I purchased small shepherd hooks from Jo-Ann's on sale for about $2 each. Then bought the mason jars at Walmart by the case. Then used ribbon that I purchased online to dress them up. They had 3 gorgeous roses bundled together inside the jar. (Total per hook, roses & all... about $6 each) They were beautiful and worked well with the beauty of the courtyard. This beautiful picture is a special edit by Joel & Laura shows the beautiful bouquet that Jill's high school friend (FlourFlower) made and my own handiwork is Matt and all the fellas bouts.

Laura snapped this sweet pic just after my sister gave Jill my mother's vintage amethyst ring to wear for the ceremony. The girls have all decided that although it now belongs to Jussy (my mom's gift to her before she died) that they all want to wear it to their weddings, something old, new, borrowed and well... kinda blue depending on the light. And Nanny will be beautifully
represented in spirit too.

This is a great picture of the girls. Didn't their sundresses turn out beautifully? You can see my bridesmaids bouquets along with the one from FlowerFlour. They look great together. I got great tips and inspiration from the flower shop I used. I will definitely do it again.

ps - aren't the girls shoes tooooo cute!

Our NEW family.

We couldn't be more pleased with how the day turned out,
it was a beautiful celebration of love, hope, faith and happiness.

The most precious flower girl ever, notice her mommy standing by.

So sweet.

That's all for now. I am going to share some of my other tips and tricks for personalizing a wedding in the near future.

Tata for now,
Violet's Gigi

All photos Joel and Laura Malone

Jeff made me steal a woman's purse....

2009-09-06T17:10:00.007-05:00

Friday, my much anticipated passport arrived in the mail! Coincidentally, Jeff and I were headed off on a trip to San Antonio. No you don't need a passport to travel to SA. As we were driving down I35 we passed through Hillsboro. When in Hillsboro I am always reminded of another time Jeff and I were there.......and Jeff made me steal a woman's purse.

It was August, 2000, Jeff and I were headed for a long weekend to Fredericksburg for our 20th anniversary. It was our first trip away from the girls. Did you hear that correctly, first trip together away! My inlaws came to stay with the girls, ages 8-16 or so. Any how, we started our trip early in the morning and decided to stop at Shoney's in Hillsboro for breakfast. We had been sitting there for some time when Jeff noticed the couple sitting across from us had left the restaurant and the woman had left her purse sitting on the table. He said, 'Julie, that woman left her purse. Go get it off the table run it out to the parking lot.' So, being the obedient, dutiful wife (LOL) that I am, I did just that. I went across the restaurant, snatched up the woman's purse and took off running out into the parking lot. Mmmm, there is something wrong with this picture. There I stood in the Shoney's parking lot looking for some woman..... my only description of her was that, well.... she didn't have a purse. To say the least after about 5 minutes, I didn't find her. I went back into the restaurant fully prepared to hand the purse over to the cashier when much to my surprise there sat Jeff, red faced..... you see the couple had not left the restaurant as Jeff had thought.... they had merely gone to the buffet line! I had no choice, but to walk over to their table and give her purse back. They sat there dumbfounded, they didn't even realize it was missing. I had stolen it right before their eyes. Jeff and I were so embarrassed. The couple were really good sports about it and bought the whole story, after all it was so pathetic they had to.

I vow to never again feel peer pressure from my husband and steal a purse.

Elephants and Tigers and Horsies, oh my!

2009-08-14T11:40:00.006-05:00

Last night BumBum and I took Violet to the Greatest Show on Earth... The Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus. You might remember that we also took the whole gang last year to the Shrine Circus. This year however, it was only the three of us. Violet is crazy about elephants and horses right now. She was such fun. She was in sensory overload... so were we.

There are two major differences between the Shrine Circus that we attended last year and this one. Costumes & price! That lovely little light up thingy cost me a whopping $22 bucks. I bought a slightly smaller version last year at the Shine Circus for $8. Snowcones and cotton candy were $12 each last night. But our girl only had eyes for... corn dog, popcorn, nachos (note the cheese still on her sweet face) & sugared pecans. This girl loves nuts. Yes, dinner at the circus set us back about $65 bucks. But when you only have one grand girl, it's worth it. Someday when I have a truck loads of these babies, I'm gonna have to rethink my spending habits. But somthing tells me they aren't going to suffer any. This Gigi is gonna spoil them all rotten..... and then quietly send them back to their mommies!

Gettin' ready to cruise....

2009-08-13T11:13:00.004-05:00

I am going today to get my passport. I am so excited! I am been assured that I don't necessarily have to have it for my cruise will all the girls in November, but I don't want to take any chances. Besides, as my dear friend, Barbara says "you should never be without one, because you never know what opportunities might arise". And she is right. So world travel... here I come!

Days 7 & 8.... a bluuurrrrr

2009-08-06T08:39:00.010-05:00

We are home safe and sound from our trip to beautiful New England. After 7.5 hours & 3 flights aboard the same aircraft we arrived in Dallas on Tuesday afternoon. Southwest insists that they have direct flights, but as near as I can tell Manchester, NH to Orlando, FL to New Orleans, LA to Dallas, TX is not a direct route!

I joked and said that I was going to eat lobster three times a day. Truth is I never did that and only ate it twice one time. That was enough. It was quite enjoyable, but they constantly wanted to serve it with fries and truth is.... that got old quick. We did have delicious food on numerous occassions.

Our favorite had to be at Red's Eats in Wiscasset, ME which was featured on the FoodNetwork. This was the restaurant (er.. shack) the entire trip was planned around. Yes, we traveled 2500 miles one way to eat here. We were afraid it might not be worth all the hype... we were wrong. It was delectable. They don't dress the lobster rolls at Red's. It comes plain on a warm toasted bun and you get to choose whether you want mayo or buttah! It was devine!

29th Anniversary.... Day 6

2009-08-02T21:38:00.012-05:00

Bubble Rock, elev. 14,000 ft
Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, ME

Cadillac Mountain, elev. 16,000 ft.
Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, ME

New England... Day 5

2009-08-01T18:45:00.008-05:00

We began our day at the Coastal Coffee House & Internet Cafe just a few blocks down from our campground in picturesque Searsport. The shop is just a tiny coffeehouse but came highly recommended by a lady at the bathhouse. We packed up the mini and decided to try it for breakfast. I ordered Dave's Fire in the Hole. An everything bagel toasted perfectly with a sort of spanish omelet with spicy sausage and peppers and a couple different types of hot sauce. Any how...it was great. So good in fact we went back for lunch and ordered lobster rolls to go so we could picnic on the beach. The owner remembered us and called us the Texas Bluebonnets. What fun.

When we went back for lunch to the little cafe' had about 6 customers on Harleys they were Canadian and were speaking french. The funny part was that they kept opening and closing the screen door that led to the outside dining area... they finaly turned to us and in english said ' we just love that sound' it was the squeaky screen door. French Canadians are everywhere. At home the second language is Spanish. Here when you use the ATM it prompts English or Francis?

We stopped at a few antique shops Jeff bought a sign. Headed on up to Penobscot Narrow Bridge and Fort Knox. We went up the tower at Penobscot which was equilavent to 42 stories and could see for miles. It was a beautiful day. Then we toured Fort Knox. No money there...

Then we headed back to Searsport which is just lovely and ordered our lobster rolls to go and had a picnic on the beach.

After we got back to the campground we decided to take a hike. We walked the water's edge which is not sandy. It is what they call craggy, full of rocks, large and small, much of it granite. The hike took us about 1 mile to Moose Point State Park in search of wild blueberries. We didn't find any, but hiked on out to Moose Point proper and then back again, about 3 miles. We had just enough time to clean up and get ready for our Lobster Bake on the beach.

The campground has a lobster bake on Saturdays and it is only by inadvance ticket purchase. Jeff ordered our tickets when he reserved the campground. There were about 20 or so of us eating down on the beach. The meal began with steamed mussels that were harvested straight out of the bay earlier in the day. I decided you can eat anything if you dip it in melted butter. I tried a few, ok maybe more than a few about 6. I left the rest for Jeff. He enjoyed them all. We got to know our fellow campers, a young couple from upstate NY that had just arrived about an hour earlier, and a family of 6 from Chattanooga. We had a fabulous meal. They unloaded the lobster which had been steamed in an outdoor brick oven. The lobster was covered by seaweed, which they called rockweed which is what they make MSG from. They told us that because the seaweed is a natual flavor enhancer and it is what the lobster is blanketed in it would be tastier. They were right. It was by far the best lobster we have had the entire trip. Our meal included all the clams & mussels we could eat, homemade bread, baked potatoes and corn on the cob. Followed by homemade peach/blueberry cobbler and ice cream from a local dairy.

I am now on laundry duty and Jeff is playing with fire. This will be our last night in Searsport as tomorrow begins our trek southward toward Manchester and then home again. We are having a wonderful time, will greatly miss New England.

BTW, everyone that we have encountered whether it has been service personnel, cafe owners, vacationers, etc has been wonderful, northerner and southerner alike... and a few Canadians too!

Travel New England sometime soon, you will love it!

Got Lobstah?

2009-07-31T22:06:00.009-05:00

Howdy from New England ... Day 4

I am exhausted after today's activities but I wanted to share with you what we have been up to day:

Woke up @ the campground, showered and headed for the festival in Rockland
Drove through Camden, location of the apartment Katherine Heigl's character lived in in the movie 27 dresses
Went to the Festival ate lots of lobster, had our picture made with King Neptune & a giant Lobster
Walked around this lovely little town
Drove over to the Breakwater Lighthouse and walked the 3 miles in the drizzle to get to it, but it was worth it, we packed tennis shoes and rain panchos
Arrived back at our campsite to find that it had been raining HARD all day
Went to a hole in the wall restaurant in Searsport, called Captain Shorty's and had the best all you can eat Fish Fry EVER!
Came back to the campsite to find it still RAINING
Played a little table tennis with Jeff in the rec room
Came back to the tent and settled in for the night, it's cool outside, slightly raining, but comfortable and dry in our tent. I am sitting here on an air mattress using a battery operated lantern and typing this from my new Dell mini, which I wasn't too sure about before we left but am crazy about it now.
Just realized today that we are only about 200 miles from the Canadian border.
Having a great time in Maine, wish you were here.

New England ... Day 3

2009-07-30T20:47:00.009-05:00

Today we awoke in New Hampshire and packed our belongings and headed for Maine. You had no idea how close all these little states are, they are crammed right up next to each other and when you are driving you just weave in an out of them. Our first stop today was a Starbucks in Portsmouth. Just an adorable little town on the coast where the Declaration of Independence was read.

Next we stopped in York. I have ancestors that were born, raised and buried there. I wanted to find their gravesites, but I had already been told earlier in the week that I wouldn't find their graves. They were buried on one of these small islands and erosion has washed most of the graves away (era 1650 - 1700) and add to the fact that there were no stone masons here during that time for markers to be made. That was disappointing, but it was exciting as well. You see my great grandfather X8 & 9 are from the Isle of Shoals, just off the coast of Maine @ York. I did get to copy a number of books that had some information about them and a few more clues about them. I know one was a butcher and that they were colorful characters. Mmmm, I wonder if I am anything like them?

We stopped for lunch in Cape Elizabeth at Two Points Lighthouse. Delicious lobster rolls. Here is a photo of my lunch. Note the picture with the quarter next to it. I wanted to show you how big this sandwich really is... not very big for $13. It was a little pricey, but look at the view. We ate outside with a beautiful view of the Cape with a lighthouses on either side of us. It's Wicked Awesome! To quote a local phrase.

On to Searsport. This was quite a drive, but it will put us very close to Rockland (which is all booked up for the weekend). When we booked this trip we didn't realize that we would be here during the 62nd Lobster Festival in Rockland, but we were very happily surprised. We arrive at this little campground for our first night of tent camping. We unpacked our suitcase complete with tent, 2 sleeping bags, sheets, lantern, flashlights, tablecloth, rain panchos, 4 pillows and bug spray. Which was the first thing that got used. Set it all up and realized that we were maybe 50 yards from the ocean. Beautiful. Jeff started a fire and cooked us a delicious dinner of ..... hot dogs. That's ok, it's the first meal we have had in 3 days that hasn't included seafood and since we are hitting the festival tomorrow, we decided to take a break. It was a great meal complete with s'mores. This campground has WiFi which is great. It is not a large campground and a little quirky... just like us. We are going to sleep tonight under the tall pines and stars.

(Me at our campsite on my dell mini)

Let's chat again tomorrow... same time, same channel.

julie

Hello from New England

2009-07-30T07:58:00.004-05:00

Jeff and I have begun our adventure.
Day 1: Travel from Dallas to St. Louis to Philly to Manchester!
Day 2: Spent the day at Hampton Beach and then dined on fresh lobster.
Day 3: Leaving New Hampshire and heading for the coast of Maine.

We had no idea that New Hampshire had so much to offer the summer traveler. Everything is beautiful and green and lush. I can't even describe it... it's a little like northern California and Colorado all rolled into one but with a beautiful beach thrown in.

Jeff and I stopped off this morning in Portsmouth on our way to Searport. That is our next camping destination. Yes we are camping our way through New England! So far we have stayed in a pretty rough cabin but tonight begins tent camping. It rained last night and more showers are expected. We are ready for it. We are going to Two Points Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth today.

Jeff asked me if I wanted to stop at Starbucks down on the old market square and get on the net, I said sure. He said you wanna stay about an hour? I said I don't know, can we. He said 'Baby you get to make all the rules on this trip'! WhooWeee!

This picture was taken at the Wakeda Campground in Hampton Falls, NH. When we saw it we just cracked up, with both the doors open and the flower box and looking all cute.

Tata for now,
Julie & Jeff

Happy Birthday Again?

2009-07-25T09:43:00.000-05:00

I am once again celebrating the anniversary of my 29 birthday! That's all I have to say about that. Had a great day and felt much loved!

<--Engagement picture, Winter 1979

You will remember a few weeks ago I posted a picture of Jill trying on my wedding dress and many of you asked if I would post a picture of me wearing it. I was so young. Omgoodness! I turned 18 on a Friday and then got married on Saturday of following week!

<-- Check out that hat!

Here is another picture at the wedding. Check out Jeff's glasses and white tux! So 1980! It was an outdoor wedding at FW's Botanical Gardens and it was one of the hottest day on record 111 degrees, the heat wave began on June 23 and ended on August 3 with 42 consecutive days in a row of 100+ temps. That Summer people began wearing shirts that read 'I survived the Texas Heat Wave'. Yep, we got married outside at high noon! Our minister (Jeff's Grandfather) almost passed out from the heat, and our little flower girl fainted! It was hot! But luckily, the reception was down the street at a local hotel and we got to cool off a bit. That was 29 years ago! Boy, how times flies.

Hey... don't eat that!

2009-07-22T13:55:00.009-05:00

That's a familiar phrase around our house.

Don't anybody cut that before I get a picture of it! What were you thinking... that's for my blog! Hey Matt, put that down! Whatever you do... you better not touch the prettiest piece of fish!

Jill & Jordan have this thing about taking pics of the food they prepare. You watch them lovingly prepare a wonderful dish of food, choose just the right serving plate, garnish, etc. & suddenly it is wisked away to a room with a better view or lighting.

In addition to posting pics on their blogs, they also submit photos to allrecipes.com. Jill has become quite 'published' for her food stylings. I never thought I would live to see the day that these girls are so caught up in their recipes & food art. Makes a momma proud.

Happy Birthdays!

2009-07-19T10:45:00.009-05:00

Violet & Grandmere (pic taken on Violet's 2nd birthday, July 7. Grandmere's birthday is July 24)

Today Jill & Matt celebrate their birthdays, so... Happy Birthday!

Jill was talking yesterday about what she wanted for her birthday meal and how she would like to celebrate it. I don't remember exactly what the top two choices were, but I do remember Matt's response.... it was my birthday first! Ha! He had her there. Matt is 6 years to the day older than Jill. Matt had to go in to work today and will not be home until later. Violet & Jill will spend at least part of the day celebrating another person's birthday. Brandon DeJohn is turning 1! Happy Birthday sweet lil' Brandon. His birthday isn't for a few more days, but today is his party.

We are just about 'Birthday Poor' in the Summer! We have already celebrated 4 counting those today since June 16, we will celebrate 3 more this coming week! Then 3 weeks later Jordan's birthday and 3 weeks later Jeff's. It keeps us celebrating the entire Summer and we wouldn't have it any other way. Everyone except Jussy was born in the Summer.

<------ Jill & Matt heading out for some
sushi to celebrate their birthday!

ps - Jeff & I have decided to travel to Maine's coast instead of NY and we leave in 9 days! If you have any tips for us, please send them my way.

tata for now!
j

Sources....

2009-07-14T14:20:00.030-05:00

Jaley has a favorite saying that goes something like this...

'The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.'

That might be true... and I don't particularly like to give that stuff away, but the secret to saving money is having friends that will share at least some of their secrets! I hope if you are planning an event and you need a few things that this list will help.

So, here's a list of wedding vendors/suppliers that I used:

Rose Chapel - gorgeous event space with fabulous staff

Joel & Laura Photography (which includes the Little Black Booth photobooth) We love 'em!

DJ Connection - greatest DJ ever

Cast Your Bread Catering - delicious, reasonably priced & fabulous...is all I can say!

*The Connection - Beautiful flowers & they will tell you everything you know so you can DIY.

Michael's Crafts Stores - be sure and clip those 40 & 50% off coupons.

Hobby Lobby - I bought lots of things like, vases, candle cups, stuff for the 'bouts, sticks for ribbon wands and program fans & lots of ribbon here all at 50% off. Watch for the sales, if it's not on sale this week it will be in a week or two!

JoAnn Fabrics - bridesmaid dress pattern, fabric, table runner fabric, veil material 50% off coupons!

*Mr. Bucks - personalized ribbon at a great price! Quick delivery, I didn't even order this until June 18!

*Anna's Bridal Bargains - great prices on custom paper napkins.

*Paper Mart - incredible prices on the little white chinese take out boxes.

*Beall's - adorable attendant dresses. The key is once you find the dress, buy it online for best size selection.

*Dillards - flower girl dresses, and I didn't have to search all over town for the correct sizes.

*Payless Shoes - all 5 pair online and I didn't drive all over town to find the sizess.

*Cards & Pockets - DIY wedding invitations, great prices

*EFavor Mart - ribbon for ribbon wands & ceremony decor. I spent about 1/3 of what the price on sale @ Hobby Lobby would have been. Incredible.

* Etsy - jewelry

*Save-On-Crafts - cupcake tree!

*Oh Nuts - delicious candy

*M & Ms - I watched for online specials and bought 3 bags & got 1 free & saved on shipping

*Oriental Trading - Candy & paper parasols

Red Oven Bakery & Patty's Pantry - both in Arlington, TX mmm...Red Velvet Cupcakes & cheesecake

*Totes - ballet slippers, adorable

Marshalls/Home Goods - candy buffet jars

*Pottery Barn - really nice 3 gallon glass drink dispensers

Walmart - misc.

*David's Bridal - my dress online without trying it on! 1/2 price!

Alfred Angelo - wedding dress, quick 2 week delivery.

*Decal Paper - water slide decal paper for mason jar monograms

*Candle Soylutions - daisy die cut jar lids
*Ebay - lavender straws & my dancing shoes

*Metro Candy - Rock Candy Swizzle Stix

*Violet Crumbles - Matt's favorite candy and it is no longer sold in the US, airmail from Australia

Kohls - usher's shirts & ties, attendants shoes
Build A Bear - Teddy Bear Toss
*Newport News - brides shoes

*Denotes online purchases I made! I joke and say this is a wedding the internet built!

I tried not to purchase candy online because of it's shipping weight, but I did purchase candy online when I couldn't find what I wanted in local stores. Also, I never paid full price for anything! When I shopped online I did web searches for coupon codes etc, local stores I watched for coupons & sales. Researching pays off!!!

The Newest Mr. & Mrs.

2009-07-11T23:55:00.002-05:00

Weddings

2009-07-01T22:26:00.006-05:00

Funny pic.
The other night Jeff & I were in the pool and Jill came scampering out wearing my wedding dress. She mocked me and said she felt like a cupcake or something like that. It was a beautiful dress. Also, even though I was the 5th child, I was the first one to get married. It was very momentous. My parents were divorced when I got married and there wasn't much money for frivolous things such as a wedding dress. Jeff & I paid for most of our wedding, but my big brother, Robert gave me the money to buy this beautiful dress. Two of my friends even borrowed this dress to wear at their own weddings, they are both divorced now. Is it bad luck to wear someone else's wedding dress on your wedding day?

Since Jill & Matt's wedding day is a mere 9 days away... it has me thinking about the mine and Jeff's wedding and all the similarities. Jill is getting married a week before her birthday (actually their birthday). I got married 1 week & 1 day after my 18th birthday. They are getting married just a few days after their oldest daughter's birthday (Lord willing there will be many more!) Jill was born 6 days before my 21st birthday & 2 weeks before mine & Jeff's 3rd anniversary. Jill & Matt are getting married outside in FW. Jeff & I got married outside at the FW Botanical Gardens. We are praying for unseasonably cool weather for Jill & Matt. Jeff and I got married in the middle of the Summer of 1980 Heat Wave, it was unseasonably HOT, even for Texas! There are other things that are totally different and some that are the same. One thing I pray that will be the same is this, that they have a healthy, happy and abundant life. That God would bless them with more healthy, happy babies, that they would always be each other's best friend. That they would appreciate every day they have together, and most of all just like Jeff & I... that they would live happily ever after!

Farewell Dear Friend

2009-06-25T09:06:00.009-05:00

Oh the sadness of it all. I will survive without you, although it won't be easy.

Don't scoff or scorn me. It's just too painful. My beloved Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion is no longer with us. I have every issue from the past 11 years stashed away in my closet to treasure and admire. To those of you that have never turned the page on the lovely magazine I pity you. You will never know the beauty of her page layouts, her delicious recipes (unless you read Jordan's blog), the whimsy of her adorable paper dolls which came free in every issue and so on. Oh the misery of it all........................

I first knew something was up when I received a copy of Martha Stewart Living in January. I thought what the.... And then another one came and then another and then finally a letter came telling me the sad truth of it all. Home Companion has not survived the economic downturn, but Martha has! Her magazine is nice and all, but SHE AIN'T NO MARY ENGELBREIT!

The final 3 weeks

2009-06-19T10:17:00.004-05:00

This is what I accomplished in the past two weeks:
~90+ hours at work - a big project is almost finished!
~Mother-in-law arrived at the airport for all the craziness
~Bridal shower
~Finished decaling 140 mason jars (see them over on Jill's blog)
~Bridesmaid's dress fitting (remember 3 of those are mine)
~Jaley's graduation
~Jaley's graduation dinner
~Met with florists, sort of.... I think that's me
~Jaley's graduation/birthday party
~Bridal portraits at the arboretum
~Took mother-in-law back to the airport
~Painted 125 dowel rods for wedding wands
~Jaley's (real) 18th birthday party
~Finished the last 7 boutonnieres
~Took nephew to get his tux fitting
~Purchased 2 pair of shoes for the sweet little hostesses (my nieces that will be at the guest book table)
~Dentist appointment
~Trip to Sam Moon to purchase wedding jewelry for bridesmaids - today sometime... as soon as I can get the bride moovvvvvving.
Floral class - Sunday, Father's Day

Whew! Truly, I think we are going to make it.
However, we have a few more things to do:
~I have about half of the wedding program fans sticks painted. Not sure of the exact program yet so those can't be printed yet. Jill & Matt are still working all those details out.
~Finish ribbon wands, waiting on ribbon purchased via the internet
~Add trims to cupcake tower
~Purchase candle holders for tables
~Tie ribbons on ivy bowls for Shepherd hooks for outside ceremony
~Finalize bulk flower order

That's all I can think of for now.......I am certain that I have forgotten something. As long as we remember before July 9, we're still ok!

Full Circle

2009-06-09T16:51:00.006-05:00

Jaley, MHS Class of 2009
Justine, MHS Class of 2006
Jordan, MHS Class of 2003
Jillian, MHS Class of 2001
Julie, MHS Class of 1980
Jeff, MHS Class of 1976

Prom Dress Update!

2009-05-30T21:18:00.007-05:00

My baby girl went to the prom tonight! I can hardly believe it. And in only 4 more days we will be through with public school forever! Amen Sister, can I get a witness?!

This dress was a doozie, but it was worth it because Jaley looked absoutely gorgeous. At the last minute Jaley decided that she wanted the black scarf so we already had the black lace and I hemmed it up and it was perfect with the dress. She looked a little like a Spanish Princess! For anyone out there that sews, the bottom skirt on this dress took 9, NINE yards of hem tape ... the dress took more than 3 spools of thread ... and the net ruffle took 15 yards of netting! I began to think I would never finish this dress, but alas with about 6 hours to spare I did it! Thank you Jesus for Your gracious mercy.

Now on to those 144 mason jars that need to be decaled. I'll show you those in a day or two.

Tata for now.
Jul

Proms and Showers & Weddings... OH MY!

2009-05-27T19:10:00.008-05:00

Ok, so I have been in wedding mode for a good 4 weeks now. I think at least 3 days a week we get a delivery via UPS from all of our many, many purchases on the internet. But, right now I am suppose to be making a prom dress for my youngest. The prom was suppose to have taken place the first weekend in May, but was cancelled because of the threat of Swine Flu in our area. So the prom has been rescheduled for this weekend... and I have been procrastinating. ALOT! It took me 3 days to cut out the pattern out! That is my least favorite part. It has been several years since I have taken on a sewing project of this size. What was I thinking? And to make matters worse I have all this wedding stuff to do, and I am moving offices at work. I am a little stressed. It is Wednesday and the prom is Saturday. I am over half way finished, but I just can't seem to get this dress done and the lure to play with my little Violet girl seems to be overtaking me most of the time.

So, what's next? Prom, bridal shower brunch, graduation, Jaley's 18th birthday!, bridal portraits, July 4th, Violet's 2nd birthday, THE WEDDING.... Jill & Matt's birthday, my birthday, our wedding anniversary (a trip for two to NY City), Jordan's birthday... and that only gets us through August!

Ok, I think I can do this.... besides, I always work better under pressure!

PS - I am so happy Jill made me hire a seamstress to sew the bridesmaid dresses... money well spent!

Going Postal!

2009-05-19T08:15:00.004-05:00

Ok, so there is alot going on at the Henderson Household these days. I have made about 5 trips to the post office in the last week. I have spent a small fortune there as well.

105 Save the Date Cards - $46.12
103 Wedding Invitations - $62.83
1 to China, 2 Canada - $6.00
105 RSVP Cards - $48.30
36 Wedding Shower Invitations - $16.56
24 Graduation Announcements - $11.04
1 to China - .98

Yikes! I didn't realize that postage needed to have it's own line item in the wedding budget!

Book Club

2009-04-29T11:19:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I got caught up in the Twilight phenom. I met with a couple of friends over lunch and discussed the 4 books in the series. Then I watched the movie, The Jane Austen Book Club....so I bit the bullet and asked 20 friends on FB if they wanted to read a book with me and discuss it over coffee. Much to my surprise, 12 of them said yes! I mean, who knew? I picked a book that my Twilight friends said they would be interested in reading and that's how we chose the book. We are going to read 'Thorn in My Heart' by Liz Curtis Higgs. It is a historical type romance set in 1788 Scotland, but follows the storyline of Jacob and Esau, Leah and Rachel, from Genesis 25 & 27-29. I hope it is good, because I went ahead and bought the entire Scottish Lowlands series. Although this book has some biblical background, I have promised my friends that we will not always choose this type of book, afterall, I did just read 6 vampire books in a row. The books arrived from Amazon yesterday and I am excited to get them to their new owners. So I guess in about 4 weeks we'll get together over a cup o' Joe and have a little chat about our new tome.

Outside of a dog a book is man's best friend...inside a dog it's too dark to read.
~Groucho Marx

Happy reading.
j

I Believe...

2009-04-29T11:08:00.001-05:00

I Believe...
That just because two people argue, doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, doesn't mean they do love each other.

I Believe...
That we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I Believe...
That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I Believe...
That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I Believe...
That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I Believe...
That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I Believe...
That you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I Believe...
That you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I Believe...
That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I Believe....
That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I Believe...
That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I Believe...
That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I Believe...
That my best friend and I can do anything, or nothing, and have the best time.

I Believe...
That sometimes the people you expect to kick you When you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.

I Believe...
That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I Believe...
That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had, and what you've learned from them.....and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I Believe...
That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I Believe...
That no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I Believe...
That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I Believe...
That you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I Believe...
Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I Believe...
That your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I Believe...
That even when you think you have no more to give, if a friend cries out to you........you will find the strength to help.

I Believe...
That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

Keeping Austin Weird

2009-04-13T13:28:00.013-05:00

This weekend the girls and I are roadtripping to Austin, we're doing our part in trying to 'keep Austin weird'. Jeff has a contractor coming in to do some work and he said he wants us out of the way. So we're heading South to Austin. Our favorite home away from home. I would love to go to the Continental Club on Congress and hear some great music, but Miss V is going and I will opt to stay in with her. Perhaps we'll take a swim in the indoor pool, that is a fine substitute for me, especially since my fella won't be there to dance with. One thing I know for sure is we will have some good food. We'll hit Shady Grove for Hippie Sandwiches & Tortilla & Queso Fried Catfish, or maybe Gueros Taco Bar, or maybe BBQ at Ironworks or my fav Salt Lick. I hope the weather is nice on Sunday so before we head out of town we can go to Maria's Taco Xpress for Gospel Brunch and Hippie Church. Taco Xpress has the best Tacos al Pastor and live music and it's a great place to sit back, relax and people watch. Only catch... it's all outside! I hope the next time you're in Austin, you'll try one of these spots, but this is the short list as Austin if full of unexpected and wonderful surprises. Hope to see ya there sometime soon afterall it won't be totally weird if you're not there!

Violette

2009-04-09T08:54:00.006-05:00

oh la la!

Obsessions...

2009-03-16T21:32:00.007-05:00

I think I might have mentioned before, Jeff and I have a few obsessions.

Our 5 girls
Antiquing
BBQ
Tacos
Blues Music

When we travel Jeff makes it is his job to find all the best places to eat. He usually consults our favorite travel companions (Rachel & Giada) for their suggestions. It usually includes BBQ. It most definitely includes whatever the local delicacy might be. His newest thing is from Texas Monthly's issue on tacos, The 63 Tacos You Must Eat Before You Die. No pressure there. Well we checked another one off the list today. Taco Taco. Their tagline is it tastes so good we named it twice. It was pretty darn good too. We have already hit all the ones in DFW. We kinda got hung up on the list for a while because we kept going to the same one (Cafe San Miguel) over and over again.

BumBum and Violet at the River Walk.

Yesterday we went spent the day at WonderWorld. It was fun. Violet enjoyed it. I spent the day looking for Justine & Jaley. Never did find them. They didn't come. But old habits are hard to break. I miss them. We went to dinner at La Hacienda. It was featured recently on Showdown with Bobby Flay. They are famous for their puffy tacos. We got this crazy big family style dinner. It was a giant platter with ribs, chicken breasts, beef fajitas, peppers, onions and stuffed bell peppers and the whole thing was topped with ..... tons of curly fried bacon. Bacon! Oh my goodness, bacon. It was the craziest thing I have ever seen.

We spent today at the Alamo and River Walk. We had lunch at Taco Taco, a tiny hole in the wall that was jam packed with people. They are said to be the best taco in the US by Southern Living Magazine, Bon Appetit, and the FoodNetwork. They have also had a visit from Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Let me just say that as far as Jeff is concerned this is a shrine.

Tonight we went out to dinner again... at a little place called Rice. It was delicious. Here's a pic of my dinner. Sesame chicken. Violet ate her weight in LoMein noodles. Tomorrow some more family will be arriving and we are having a cookout. Grandma is having tests run all day, so I'm not sure what the plans will be. The weather has been lovely and we are having lots of fun. I hope you are having a great Spring Break too!

One more thing about that cruise.

2009-03-12T15:26:00.002-05:00

You are probably wondering why I'm not taking my 5 favorite girls with me on this cruise. Well, I thought about it. And I decided this. I cannot take every female in my husband's life (his wife, his mother, his 4 daughters, his granddaughter, his only sister, and all his sister-in-laws on both sides) and put them on the same ship and then sail off into the sunset. HE WOULD STARVE!!!

The Getaway Girls

2009-03-11T14:45:00.008-05:00

Ok, so a couple of friends got this idea to go on a cruise. They asked me if I wanted to go. I really wasn't sure, so I drug my feet a little. Then they got a little more persistent and I told them that I was kinda particular about who I slept with. I know it sounds bad. Anyhow one of them said then find 3 people to share your cabin. I said ok. Surely I can find 3 people to cruise to Mexico with me, right? Well, I called up my sister-in-law in Virginia and asked if she wanted to go. To my surprise she said yes. That's when it all started..................

My mother-in-law and three of my sister-in-laws are going. No room for me in that cabin. So I started to find 3 more friends so I would have somewhere to sleep. I asked a friend, she said yes, then I asked a couple more thinking that one of them might go. They all said yes. Dang it, there goes my bed in another cabin! Then just when I thought it might work I asked my sister, she said YES! And then asked about her friend Mary. Of course Mary could come, she is my sister's best friend and I have known her most of my life. And it would make the trip extra special for my sister. So, now I have no where to sleep all over again. I am seriously considering booking my own cabin all to myself. Then there will be plenty of space for whoever needs to sleep there. I told my friend DaSha (who started this whole mess) it's a runaway train and I can't make it stop. Oh the fun we will have "The Getaway Girls Cruisin' to Cozumel" !

WooHoo! Aren't friends wonderful! Right now we are at 31 and counting...................

Therapy 101...........

2009-03-09T09:18:00.008-05:00

I guess since Matt's dad died I have been a little melancholy and reflective in my moods recently. It got me to thinking about how much we miss Walter aka Peepaw. (Jeff's dad) He has been gone about 7.5 years now. This summer we have alot going on and oh how I wish he could be here to celebrate Jaley's high school graduation and Jill's wedding. He was always so much fun. He loved his kids and grandkids and wouldn't miss a big event for anything. It didn't matter how far he had to drive, he would be here. That got me to thinking about my own dad, who died when Jaley was only a year old. She really never knew him. He adored my girls too. Which makes me think about how Walter, my dad and Karl didn't choose to be away from their grandgirls. My mother did. I guess I am still angry at her. It is more that I am angry about what I missed with her. For the last 5 years of her life she ignored them and me. Then she died and Jordan didn't even get to see her. It breaks my heart. The other girls got to see her in the hospital one last time, tell her they loved her and she them. But then she was suddenly gone. My mother lived right here in this small town with us. Saw me at the grocery store and would turn away from me as if I were a stranger. She would tell people my children didn't exist. Because she was mad at me. She could have been the most adored grandmother on the planet. Mary Nell (Jeff's mom) is adored like that and she lives 8 hours away. When I think about Violet and what I want her to know about me........ I think about how I want her to know that I adore her. That I am her biggest fan. Even if I have 20 more grandgirls, I will adore them all and life will be good!

Alzheimers Sucks!

2009-03-02T09:11:00.005-06:00

There's just nothing good to say about it.

Karl Kuhlmann, Violet's paternal grandfather left this world and went to be with his Savior on Sunday, March 1 at only 59 years of age from complications of early onset severe Alzheimer's. My heart breaks for this loss. We were all so excited to share in the upcoming nuptials with Matt's parents. And the happiness we felt that Violet would grow up with 2 sets of loving grandparents. But our (and more importantly Karl's) hope and faith is not in the things of this world, but in God.

Please pray for the Kuhlmanns.

julie

Insomnia Fairy

2009-02-23T09:21:00.006-06:00

Main Entry: in·som·nia
Pronunciation: \in-ˈsäm-nē-ə\
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin, from insomnis sleepless, from in- + somnus sleep — more at somnolent
Date: circa 1623
: prolonged and usually abnormal inability to obtain adequate sleep
— in·som·ni·ac \-nē-ˌak\ adjective or noun

{merriam-webster.com}

Insomniac. That's me. I can't sleep. It all started with my arm. I just can't get to sleep, and then when I do any tiny thing will wake me up and then I can't go back to sleep. My routine is off. It all started about 26 years ago. I was a stomach sleeper. Then I got pregnant with Jill and the rest is history. So I slept on my stomach for the first 20 years of my life. Then I gradually had to change to side sleeping. My right to be exact. 26 years sleeping on my right side. Then I hurt my right arm and had to immediately change. I am no good at change, ask anyone! I tried my left side, it's just not the same. I tried my back, I hate it! I tried going back to my stomach, that is gone forever. So now I just toss and turn. I have a lovely mattress, a beautiful room (compliments of Jeff's handiwork). So why can't I sleep? It seems as though when I lay down all noises are amplified. The most annoying sounds right now are... my little dog that sleeps under my bed. He snores. And when he isn't snoring he is scratching and jingling his collar, or walking around on the wood floor and his nails are going click, click, click. Or I can hear Jeff, sometimes snoring. Not always though more annoying that than is just breathing. I can hear everyone breathing. I am starting to go crazy. I am tired. Sometimes I will just lay there, for hours not sleeping and then I will finally nod off around 1am or so. Then out of the blue Jeff's alarm will go off. At 4am! You must understand. He has no intention of getting up when it goes off. And it is all the way across the room, so he will have to get up and turn it off, but he doesn't, he sleeps though it. But, I am awake at the first buzz! Then he will set his phone alarm and leave it in the bathroom. Intentionally! I am going crazy, I am tired. Then he will just continue to sleep through both alarms. Sure he will get up and turn them off but it is too late for me. I will lay there and get madder and madder because he woke me up for no reason and then is able to sleep through it. I can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about it. I will never go back to sleep. This little scenario takes place about 6 days a week. Yes 6. Poor Jeff usually works 7 days a week, and he is tired too. Alas 2 alarms in 2 different rooms. I think we both need a vacation. Maybe we could find a cozy little sleep lab somewhere close.

Where the Hell is Matt?

2009-02-12T08:58:00.005-06:00

Not our Matt, 'dancing Matt'.

This video will make you smile. Justine is very adventurous, I can just imagine her doing something like this. You can learn more about Matt on his site.

Hope you enjoy!

Surveys and Stitches...

2009-02-09T16:18:00.007-06:00

I got a survey from one of the girls a while back. You know, answer these questions and then send it to 10 people, so you got to see every one's answers at the same time. The question that I thought was so funny was. Have you ever had stitches before? If yes, where? This is what it said. Yes, in my head. Yes, in my head. Yes, in my head. Yes, in my head. All four in the head! There's not competition here, right?

Let's see who was first... Jill.
Jill was 7 when she did a triple flip off the monkey bars in elementary school. 9 stitches in her lower lip and she lost a tooth. She was so mad when the doctor stitched her up with the really fine black thread (you know the kind that isn't suppose to leave a scar). She sat up in the bed and said that doesn't match me, I'm peach not black! She was furious!

Second... Jaley.
Jaley was about 2 and all the girls were playing in the backyard. For some reason Jordan who was about 7 at the time had a pick/hoe in her hand and she was marching around like she was a soldier or something. Anyhow Jaley got too close and well, slit her head open. Right between the eyes. Jaley was wearing her favorite Barney shirt, it was covered in blood. Jordan was horrified and grounded herself to her room. Jaley got 2 stitches. Jaley was devastated that we had to throw the Barney shirt away.

Third... Justine.
I don't remember exactly how old Justine was maybe 2nd grade. That seems to be the year that everyone got hurt. My friend Ruthie came over and Justine was very happy to see her. Justine jumped into Ruthie's suburban and then proceeded to jump over the seats. She hit the dome light and knocked the cover off. I am sorry to say I cannot remember how many stitches that took. Jeff could probably remember. I do remember that the doctor wanted to use staples to close her head up. I won't let him, I told him kids might call her Frankenstein if she had staples in her head, he looked at me like I was crazy and then sewed her up. I also remember that Jeff wanted me to just braid her hair really tight to close up the wound and not get any stitches at all. I told you with Jeff it's always about the money. :-)

Fourth...Jordan.
I thought we were out of the woods. I didn't think anyone else was going to get hurt. Jordan was about 15 and playing in a softball tournament. The sun was really bright and all of the outfielders were having trouble with the fly balls. Jordan's coach talked her into putting on a pair of sunglasses and that's when it happened. Wearing the glasses, Jordan couldn't judge the ball and it hit her right in the head out in left field. It knocked her straight to the ground. I remember Jeff and I were keeping score and we were watching pretty closely, we could see that she was moving, and I know she has a hard head. We had seen all of our girls get hurt to some degree playing sports and we didn't want to run out too soon, because we would hear about it later if they were embarrassed. Anyhow that's about the time we heard the word, PARAMEDIC! screamed across the field. We jumped up running to left field. The coach stopped me and said, "it's pretty bad." trying to keep me from getting any closer, that's when I said, "then you better get out of my way." Jeff ran and got the car and we loaded her up there on the field and took her to the ER. It was a pretty bad hit. You could see the imprints of the softball stitches on her forehead. Ouch. She got quite a few stitches and had one heck of a shiner. She was admired by every one (especially boys) in her school that next Monday. She was cool!

Another girl turns 21!

2009-02-09T10:20:00.022-06:00

Today is Justine's 21st birthday. Wow! That sounds crazy to me. Not because it seems like she was just born yesterday, but maybe last week or last month. Justine has been quite a hand full from the very beginning. She has kept us in stitches since she was very small. One time when she was about 3 she got into some baby powder. What I actually mean is that she sprinkled an entire bottle of baby powder all over herself and proceeded to slide up and down the hallway on the wooden floor. The powder 'smoke' was so thick you couldn't breathe. It set off the smoke alarm. Another time when she was only 2 we went on vacation to Colorado. She could repeat anything you said. I mean anything. And that wasn't always good.

Once Jeff muttered under his breath a 'swear' word when I biker darted behind us. She stuck her head out the window and yelled it over and over at the top of her lungs. Needless to say Jeff is still embarassed about that one. She was constantly runing all around the Royal Gorge, scaring me half to death. I would say to her, "Jussy don't do that you are scaring me." She would repeat in this little elf like voice, "I sker you Mom ma." "I sker you Mom ma."

When she was about 5, I was working on some things for my VBS classroom. It was a wall murual, you know the kind the kids add something to everyday. Anyhow, Justine just kept bothering me and I couldn't seem to get it done because she wanted to 'help'. Anyhow, I finally told her she couldn't help and to let me be. A few minutes later a note appeared out of nowhere. It read "Deer Julie, plese let Justine color wit you. luv god." I still have the note, tucked away with all my other millions of sweet memories of my girls growing up years.

Once Justine drew this giant picture on the kitchen wall with crayons. I was furious. I asked her did she do it, knowing all too well that she had. She said no. I asked over and over again, she said no. Finally I went at it from another angle. I said, "I sure wish I knew who drew this beautiful picture on my kitchen wall." Bam. She was there taking all the credit. I know it was a sneaky thing to do. She got into a lot of trouble. She still hasn't forgiven me for my unethical tactics. Sorry baby. Please forgive me. One summer she went to stay with her grandparents down at the coast, she was gone for about 5 weeks. We all missed her so much. When we went to pick her up we almost didn't recognize her, she was well ... kinda chubby. She said, "Hey Mom, Grandma lets me eat off the adult menu!"

Justine has always been lots of fun. She is also my helper. She is always there to pep me up when I'm feeling down. Helps me clean house and loads the dishwasher when no one else will help.

Thank you Juss for being a wonderful daughter. I can't imagine my life without you.

Happy Birfday! (it's an inside joke)

XOXO Mom

How the world sees Texans...

2009-02-06T07:39:00.010-06:00

I don't watch Ellen, not that I wouldn't, she's very funny, but I don't watch daytime tv. I saw this on Facebook and it is hysterical, you gotta watch it. Gladys sounds like she could be your grandma or aunt or something. What a hoot!

2 Funerals and a trip to the Orthapedic Surgeon

2009-01-29T18:44:00.000-06:00

That's what I been up to this week.

A couple of my dear childhood friends lost their dad. He was a man of few words, a good man. Not that a quiet man is the only kind of good man. I just realized how that sounded. He was quiet, but when he spoke you listened. He was a big part of my growing up years. I am a better person having known him.

While I was at Calvin's funeral, my friend Mary's mother died. She lived a long and full life, a beautiful God-fearing woman. I went to her service on Friday. It was a precious tribute to a woman that will be greatly missed. I hope that someday I will have left a portion of the kind of legacy that she has left to her children, grandchildren, etc.

Ok, as you all know this arm thing has been going on since September. Actually since last January, but really giving me trouble since September. I have probably had more than 40 dr. appts over the past 5 months. I'm tard of this! It has gotten better in a lot of ways. My regular doc sent me to an Orthapedic doc last week. He said I would have to have surgery. He also said that he wanted to give me another cortisone shot. Mmm. I already had one, it didn't work. He said this time he would inject it deep in the joint this time. Oh, that doesn't sound good. So, he hooks me up to a sonogram machine, finds the inflamed tendon, locates the joint and shoves in a needle about 6-8 inches long. All the while we are watching it on the sonogram machine. Interesting, huh? It felt better immediately, but I remember this from the previous shot, the initial relief is from the lidocaine that is put in with the cortisone. It wears off in about a day. So skip forward one week, this week. I go back to the ortho doc and my movements are much better now, much less popping, etc. He says that the shot worked and that although I will still have to have surgery at some point, I won't have to have it now. He did say that an injury like mine can take up to 18 months or better to heal. I have been released to do whatever I want, except bench press weights. Or anything that would resemble that. That's ok, because I gave up my bid for Miss Muscle America a while back! I still have pain, but it is getting better. At least I know now that I am truly on the mend. Hooray!

Swing dancing, here I come!

Fascinated

2009-01-25T19:06:00.011-06:00

I am completely facinated by Bento box lunches. Have you seen them? I don't mean the kind you get from the local Japanese restaurant with hot food. I mean these.

They use little, tiny containers for sauce and ketchup. Cute little picks to skewer fruit and veggies and such and use little dividers to keep everything in it's place. I really think I am going to have to try this. Click here to view some more bento boxes, and try this great blog for ideas, and to get some stuff try here.

Media Slant?

2009-01-23T09:55:00.003-06:00

Headlines On This Date 4 Years Ago:
"Republicans spending $42 million on inauguration while troops Die in unarmored Humvees"
"Bush extravagance exceeds any reason during tough economic times"
"Fat cats get their $42 million inauguration party, Ordinary Americans get the shaft"
Headlines Today:
"Historic Obama Inauguration will cost only $120 million"
"Obama Spends $120 million on inauguration; America Needs A Big Party"
"Everyman Obama shows America how to celebrate"
"Citibank executives contribute $8 million to Obama Inauguration"

Top 10 Reasons why Violet is Terrific!

2009-01-22T08:30:00.012-06:00

10. She's magically delicious. Just look at that Cheeto coated face.
9. She's loves to whisper. Shhh............

8. She's generous. Always taking a Cheeto from her wet little hand and shoving it into your mouth when you least expect it.

7. She's very polite. She always says 'Thank You'.

6. She thinks her mommy is the Little Mermaid.
5. She likes cheese! All kinds, even Bleu.

4. She's extra sweet. She loves to give 'movie star' kisses. Muah!

3. She's gorgeous. Just look at those eyes.

2. She made her own name for Jeff, "BumBum". Isn't that adorable? He dances with her and hums the 'My Girl' song. Get it?
1. She can say 'Gigi' perfectly.

Jordan's Blog

2009-01-21T12:18:00.004-06:00

I have no idea why the link on my page will not work for Jordan's blog. I have done it repeatedly, sometimes it works, but most of the time it doesn't. I checked Jill's blog and it is working fine there. I am sure it is operator error. I get paid to do this for a living, but I can't work a free site for nothing.

So............................................ here it is JordiePorgie!

My Violet Girl.

2009-01-20T17:04:00.003-06:00

Dang, she's cute!

Bored.

2009-01-20T16:37:00.002-06:00

I am easily bored. I don't do well when I'm idle. I know you are probably questioning that statement since my previous 3 or so posts are regarding the movie theater! It's this silly arm of mine. I can't do nothing! I was informed last week that they will be sending me to an orthopedic surgeon, yippee. That should be fun. Back to the topic at hand. I have warned you before about my 'rabbit chasin'. Just did it again. When I am at home all I can think about is all the stuff I need to be doing like cleaning baseboards and scrubbing tubs, so when I can't stand the tv any longer I drag someone to the movies. I'll be happy when it's warmer out so I can just be outside. But then I just need to pull weeds and stuff and I can't do that neither.

I am at my best when I'm planning (er...plotting) something. Vacations are my favorite thing to plan, and parties are fun too. So now I am planning a big party, Jill & Matt's wedding. A vacation for two with Jeff to Boston/New York when the big day is finally over. And a short trip for the 3 'little' girls possibly over spring break. Justine really wants to go to Vegas, but my vote is Puerto Rico. Hopefully we'll find some good deals or we'll end up at Porto Loyd Park! So, at night when I can't stand no more tv and there's nothing at the movie theater to go and watch you'll find me with the my laptop searching for wedding ideas, and far away vacation destinations for me and my nearest and dearest.

I am embarassed to say...

2009-01-19T19:14:00.005-06:00

I saw two movies this weekend! Yes, 2. It's humiliating.

We have wedding on the brain around here. We booked the event location on Friday and ordered the dress on Saturday. So in honor of this, Jordan and I went to see Bride Wars. It was ok. It was not nearly as good as it should have been considering the two huge stars that were in it. It was fun to see Van from Reba in an adult role.

Saturday afternoon Jeff and I drove over to the Magnolia in Dallas to try for the 3rd time to see Slumdog Millionaire. For the 3rd time it was sold out, so we had dinner and walked around and finally got to see it. It was great! It makes me never want to visit India, but it was great. It was fast moving, funny, sad, poignant, gripping and very humbling. Making me ever grateful that I live in America. I hope you all get a chance to see it soon, but you will probably have to wait for the dvd as I am sure it is soon to leave the theater, but I don't know why. The only place we could find it still showing was the Magnolia and it is continually sold out. It was definitely worth the wait, and wait and wait.

One More Movie

2009-01-13T21:37:00.002-06:00

I totally forgot that I even saw this movie. It was to say the least...forgettable.
Seven Pounds. Felt like Seven Years!

Me, the Movie Critic?

2009-01-12T12:16:00.006-06:00

Ok, here is a list of the movies I have seen in the past month or so. It's a lot. Disclaimer. Look away from the computer if you don't want to know any of the details of the following movies:

The Reader
Jeff and I wanted to see Slumdog Millionaire. It was sold out and so we saw this instead. Ok this movie was pretty good. I don't think they billed it correctly, I think the poster in the theater said something about it being a wonderful, feel good movie. Ok, it's about an older woman (Kate Winslet) who seduces a 15 year old boy. Then you find out that she was a Nazi prison guard that was responsible for killing at least 300 women. Then the 15 year old grows up and never has a long term relationship with a woman because of her. A good movie.
Across the Universe -dvd
Fabulous, loved it. I thought it would be all drugs, sex, etc but it wasn't, or maybe I am really naive. It was great.
Made of Honor - dvd
Exactly what you expect it to be . . . cheesy. But still cute.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
I read the book and it was really good, I mean we're talking F. Scot Fitzgerald here. The movie's special effects were good, but the 'new' story line made no sense and I think it ruined the movie. This movie was long and slow. So slow in fact that when we went into the theater it was 2008 when we came out it was 2009!
The Golden Compass - cable
I told my children they could not under any circumstance watch this movie. Then, I watched it. They found out and gave me grief. I was very beautifully made, costumes, etc. I don't know any of the background, haven't read the book. So I guess if you don't know all that stuff that is suppose to be hidden between the lines, you're good.
Let the Right One In - subtitles
I wanted to see The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. I saw this instead. Spooky. I don't like scary movies and I saw the scariest movie ever. It's about a little girl, and she's the vampire! It is set in Russia or somewhere like that, scared the dickens out of me, but very good.
Twilight
Another vamp movie. I enjoyed it, I like movies with a happy ending. I know that doesn't make sense considering it's a vamp movie. But it was cute. Justine bought me the book, so let's see how it measures up.

We made the home page!

2009-01-01T15:44:00.003-06:00

Ha. I went to the website of our dance studio and there we were, on the home page. Crazy! http://www.dancemakers.com/

The Curious Case of a really bad movie!

2009-01-01T15:30:00.003-06:00

How do you turn a really good F. Scott Fitzgerald story into a really crappy movie? Apparently just add Brad Pitt and a terrible screen writer.

I was so incredibly disappointed in this movie. I had read the reviews and was pretty sure it would be bad, but I could not believe how incredibly bad this movie was.

I cannot even count the number of discrepancies in this movie. I am not talking about the book, just about the fact that it didn't make sense. What a shame.

Getting a tattoo?

2008-12-28T11:47:00.003-06:00

Since my 40th birthday I have said that I want to get a tattoo. Ok, I am a little past 40 and I am still thinking I want a tattoo. Just one. I want it to really mean something to me. I want it to remind me of the people I love when I look at it. When I first found out that I was going to be a ...grandmother, I wasn't sure if I liked the idea. I mean, I'm still pretty young. Right? Then once she got here, bam I was in love. Now, I happily long for my life a few years from now when I get a whole house full of those little darlings. Any how, I thought maybe I would get a small violet flower tattoo, you know marking my entry into grandparenthood. Well, that did not fly around here. The girls kept saying that unless I planned on getting a tattoo for every grandchild, I could not do it. You see, we do not allow favortism regarding grandchildren in this family. It is a bigger taboo than a tattoo! In fact it would warrant, stoning. So, since then I have still been trying to decide on a tattoo. I think I have finally chosen. Since Jaley was born, I started signing Christmas cards, gifts, etc with this mark. J6. Representing all of us. Well, that is going to be my one and only tattoo. Jordan came up with a whole slew of ideas for me. Now, I think I have chosen one, but I don't know where to put it. I vote for my shoulder, but the girls say my foot. Mmmm.

Several of the girls are saying that they want to get their own version of J6 tattooed on them too. I know it sounds kinda crazy, doesn't it? I didn't know I was such a rebel. Well, on second thought, maybe I did.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T11:31:00.014-06:00

My shoulder still hurts and I can't even decorate the tree. Violet is so much fun! Justine came home for a visit! Everyone has a cold. Violet is so much fun! Jill is making us crazy with wedding plans and she isn't even engaged. Jeff works too much. My shoulder still hurts. Justine came home for a visit! Violet is so much fun! Baby, it's cold outside. Jaley goes to school without complaining! Jordan made good grades! Everyone still has a cold. Violet is so much fun! Jill got engaged! Jeff got bit by our dog on Christmas morn & got 3 stiches, we spent 4 hours in the ER. Baby, it's cold outside. Violet is so much fun! Jill is still engaged... Jeff needs to work some more! Violet is so much fun!

Christmas Eve Tradition

2008-12-26T11:00:00.008-06:00

(Mr & Mrs Peepaw)
Christmas 2000

We have this tradition of giving PJs on Christmas Eve. Every year the girls get to open one gift and one gift only. It is the gift marked with a heart, and inside is always a new pair of pajamas. We joke alot about this because when Jill was about 8 years old, she said hey...is this gonna be stupid pajamas again? We also usually try to go to the movies on Christmas Eve, then come home open our PJs and then sit around the fire and read the Christmas Story and sing caroles. The last few years have been a little different because Violet isn't really up for the movies just yet. But, next year should be a different story. This year we had a little Christmas party and invited Matt's family. So, we had a pretty good crowd at our house feasting on tamales, cheese dip, spinach artichoke dip, brie, shrimp cocktail, homemade chili, lil smokies, etc., along with an assortment of sweets made by Jill and my sweet friends, Trisha & Martha! We had a great time.

Then the time came for us to open our PJs, we usually don't do it with anyone but family there and usually everyone that is there gets PJs, whether it's Grandma & Grandpa or the girl's boyfriends or whomever. But this year Matt's family was there and so we just went along with our tradition. Everyone opened there PJs and Miss Violet was already wearing her new slippers and we realized there was an extra gift for Jill. So I gave it to her and told her that here was a gift for her and Violet to open. She said ok, ...like she didn't even think that was strange. (remember 1 gift and 1 gift only on Christmas Eve her entire life!) Then as she began to open the gift she found a candle and said this is pretty, who is it from? Matt then bent down on one knee in front of the entire room (Jill, Violet, Matt's Mom, Matt's Dad, Matt's only sibling, Brett, Me, Jeff, Jordan, Justine, Jaley, Jaley's boyfriend, Jeb, and Jaley's best friend, Zach) and asked Jill to marry him!

Because you see tied to this pretty little candle was a beautiful engagement ring. She thought it was just an embellished candle! Sometimes I wonder if she is really my kid?! Crazy girl. She was completely caught off guard. Which is exactly the effect Matt was going for. It was great! You see, everyone knew except Jill.

I gotta run! I have to start planning the 'wedding of the century' on a budget!

I am going to post something...

2008-12-08T08:53:00.006-06:00

but probably not until tomorrow. So be sure and check back then. In the mean time.

9 Words Women Use

Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.
Five minutes: If she is getting dressed, this mean half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.
Go ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't do it!
Loud sigh: This is actually a word, but is non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here, arguing with you about nothing*. (*refer back to #3.)
That's okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a woman can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.
Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you're welcome. This is almost always true unless.. she says Thanks a lot, that is pure sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say you're welcome, that will bring on whatever.
Whatever: Is a woman's way of saying #@% you!
Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?" For the woman's response will be #3!

I think that Jeff is an expert in this type of theory!

TAG...I'm it!

2008-12-01T14:55:00.008-06:00

TAG RULES.
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about you.

Mmmm. 7 weird or random facts about me.

My driver's license says JulieT. Not that I am named Juliet, just Julie. My maiden name begins with a T.
I met my husband after a rowdy ride on a motorcycle with 2 other people (riding on the same bike) and I was well, sort of arrested. He was at the police station with his best friend, a cop.
My husband and I both have 4 brothers and 1 sister, giving my children 20, count it 20 aunts and uncles!
I won Miss Mansfield, twice. Miss Burleson & Miss Keller, once, and was runner up to various other pageants. I think my mother truly wanted a Miss America, but alas, all she got a Mrs. Henderson!
I only like to watch movies that have a happy ending, real life is sad enough. Titanic was so disappointing to me, my kids said, come on Mom, surely you knew it would sink. I can hope, can't I?
I like to do genealogy research, I can trace my paternal grandmother all the way back to the 13th century. I am related to Edgar Allen Poe & Ulysses S. Grant. I think that might explain alot.
I have no memories of my life before the age of 12, except those that have been told to me in the past few years. And that is a story for another day.

I would love to hear some random, crazy stuff about you too, drop me a note and let me in on your secrets.

Kevin & Kim's Wedding

2008-11-23T19:49:00.013-06:00

Our neice, Kim was married last weekend. It was a beautiful ceremony. We were so happy that we got to share in their big day. They are still honeymooning in Hawaii, 2 1/2 weeks in paradise! Lucky girl.

Violet talking to the bride & groom at the rehearsal dinner.

Jaley did Peyton's hair (my niece, the flower girl)

Justine did Kim's hair and Jill did her make up.

Violet dancing with Uncle Dennis (father of the bride) at the rehearsal dinner.

More redheads! The girls with cousins, Brian & David

Easy does it...

2008-11-18T08:16:00.006-06:00

I am still taking it easy, but I have been perusing the super highway in the slow lane and I have come across a few things that I want to share with you. On Election Day I posted a picture of what looked like a sucker, marked VOTE. It was actually something called a cake ball. Here is a Thanksgiving version. Cute, huh? Stop by Bakerella by clicking on the turkeys below and see how you can make your own.

Shoulder Update

2008-11-05T15:14:00.002-06:00

After 5 weeks of weekly doctor visits, an MRI & an EMG I have finally been diagnosed. I have carpal tunnel and shoulder tendonitis/impingement. I go to the therapist tomorrow and back to work, however, I can't do much of anything. This typing w/ one hand is harder than it would seem, especially if you want to spell words correctly. :)

Those girls voted! ?

2008-11-04T22:16:00.001-06:00

Those crazy girls... I just found out that two of my girls voted for a Libertarian just because they liked his name. I wonder who it was? Neither could remember his name after the fact. Good grief!

Election 2008

2008-11-04T11:09:00.001-06:00

I voted!

Read anything good lately?

2008-11-04T11:06:00.002-06:00

I think I might go to the bookstore and get something to read besides a magazine. Has anyone read anything good lately? If you have, don't keep it a secret, let me know!

Misery loves company...

2008-11-03T17:14:00.008-06:00

How come? Why do people that are unhappy want everyone else to be unhappy too?

I have used this cartoon pain scale more times that I can count in the past 5+ weeks going back and forth to different doctors. I bet you didn't know it was called the Wong-Baker Pain Scale, did ya? That's all I have to say about that, just useless trivia for a game of Trivial Pursuit.

I have noticed since my arm has been hurt that some people enjoy telling me how bad it is going to get. For example, tomorrow I am going to have a nerve study done. Everyone that has ever had a nerve study (EMG) or knows of someone that has had one practically relishes in the fact that it is going to be painful. I even got a call today from my case worker today telling me how bad the test was going to be. Yippee! I cannot wait. I am nervous about the test, but more than that, I am just ready to get this over with and an EMG along with last week's MRI should get me one step further down the road to recovery.

To those of you that are reading this right now, if you are happy .. I jump for joy with you! I am happy for you and if you are feeling blue, I am sad for you. I don't want any company on the misery train. So keep off! This train if full. Now go on, be happy!

ps- I have also figured out that after about 15 minutes of typing my arm starts seizing up and hurting, so if I can keep this posting to a minimum of about 5 minutes, I am good and pain free.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T13:55:00.008-05:00

Creative Jordan playing with photoshop
cavewoman

geisha girl

jordan, jill, matt & v

jordan, v & grandpa

me & v

We had a good time at the Fall Festival @ church. V particularly loved the cotton candy and hot dogs. She also was quite taken with the dog shaped blow up bounce house. Violet had her first hayride with Aunt Jawjie, Grandpa & me. People asked Jeff & I what our costumes were? I said I was a 'broken grandma' and Jeff said he was a 'broke grandpa'. It's always about money for Jeff! :)

I apologize in advance for this joke, but remember...I'm bored

2008-10-30T16:56:00.004-05:00

This joke is from my friend,
Trisha, a real live So. Cal. Hillbilly!

Never Choke in a restaurant in the South

Two hillbillies walk into a restaurant. While having a bite
to eat, they talk about their moonshine operation.

Suddenly, a woman at a nearby table, who is eating a
sandwich, begins to cough. And, after a minute or so,
it becomes apparent that she is in real distress. One of
the hillbillies looks at her and says, 'Kin ya swallar?'

The woman shakes her head no.

Then he asks, 'Kin ya breathe?'

The woman begins to turn blue and shakes her head no.

The hillbilly walks over to the woman, lifts up her dress,
yanks down her drawers and quickly gives her right butt
cheek a lick with his tongue. The woman is so shocked
that she has a violent spasm and the obstruction flies out
of her mouth. As she begins to breathe again, the Hillbilly
walks slowly back to his table.

His partner says, 'Ya know, I'd heerd of that there
'Hind Lick Maneuver' but I ain't niver seed nobody do it!'