Modesty Doesn't Become Him

I was in our bedroom last night, surrounded by wrapping paper, tape, scissors, and yarn, listening to my old albums on that fabulous new record player my daddy gave me for Christmas. The album de jour was the J. Geils Band Freeze Frame. [For the record (pun intended), if this album was not an important part of your 80s experience, then you simply didn't inhabit the same 80s that I did.] I flipped to side 2, which started with "Flamethrower," and I immediately remembered performing a drill team routine to it in the 11th grade. If you were a member of a drill team or cheerleading squad, you have probably experienced the phenomenon which happened to me: although that was over half my lifetime ago, I remembered some of the basic moves of the routine, and began performing them in a manner which would have caused much pain to my former drill team sponsor.

At this point, Hubby Dearest comments, "I remember watching you performing to this song at a basketball game. Didn't I tell you about that?" [We attended rival high schools and didn't meet until May of my senior year. The performance in question would have occurred during the winter of my junior year.]

"Yes, but I thought you must have been mistaken."

"You were on the left hand side, right?"

"My left or your left?"

"Mine."

After a little more discussion, I realized that as amazing as it sounded, he had in fact been watching me. One of his best friends had been with him and had been watching another one of the girls, whom he remembered by name.

"Except he didn't marry her," he said.

And then with a look of what can only be described as smug male pride, nodded and said, "I guess we know who the better man was," and managed to make me feel like he still thinks I'm a catch.

Fall Into Reading: Wrap-Up

Okay, I confess that I posted about Katrina's Fall Into Reading Challenge, but never posted an actual challenge for myself. Basically, my reading goals for the fall didn't sound too fun, interesting, inspiring, or like books anyone would want to take note of for their reading lists (like everyone else's). What I did read, however was exactly what I set out to (although maybe not as quickly as I'd intended). This is a period of my life where rather than a serious reader, I need to be a serious reader (clear as mud, huh?). Here is it:


Macromedia Dreamweaver 8: Training from the Source
I am working on a website for a friend who makes beautiful girls' hairbows, and this is the tool I need to make it happen. It took me forever to complete (lots of kids are fabulous, but not conducive to this kind of reading); sort of like taking a college course in the privacy of my home. It felt like I was chiseling new tunnels in my brain, only slightly less painful.



Adobe Photoshop CS2 Classroom in a Book
This is my current read; I have completed 7 out of 13 chapters. This is my tool for a lovely homepage for that bow site. I learned firsthand that you will not be the life of the party if you talk Photoshop. I was told that my friends' comments meant: "Please change topics - we have nothing to contribute to this discussion." What it sounded like is: "You have become so boring!"

These are books that you read with book in one hand, mouse in the other, while working on elaborate web and design projects. Maybe I can turn this post into an inspiration after all: don't be afraid to seek the information and learn what you need to know to do the things you want to do. You may not have to time or money to go back to school, but there's a lot you can do on your own. I'm hoping to have a lovely, functional site to show for my fall reading efforts!

Go to Katrina's Finish Line post to read about what others have been reading this fall.

Works-for-Me Wednesday: Popcorn and Cereal Night!

Cooking supper every night for nine people gets a little overwhelming at times. Since we always have a big lunch on Sunday and I'm exhausted by the end of the day, we have declared Sunday evenings to be "Popcorn and Cereal Night." I don't have to cook, and the kids think it's the greatest thing ever!

Go visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer for more Works-for-Me Wednesday ideas!

First Corinthians 13: Christmas Version

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows,
strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls,
but do not show love to my family,
I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen,
baking dozens of Christmas cookies,
preparing gourmet meals and arranging
a beautifully adorned table at mealtime:
I'm just another cook.

If I work at a soup kitchen,
carol in the nursing home,
and give all that I have to charity;
but do not show love to my family,
it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels
and crocheted snowflakes,
attend a myriad of holiday parties
and sing in the choir's cantata
but do not focus on Christ,
I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.
Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse.
Love is kind, though harried and tired.
Love does not envy another's home
that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love does not yell at the kids to get out of the way,
but is thankful they are there to be in the way.
Love does not give only to those who are able
to give in return; but rejoices in giving
to those who cannot.

Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things, and endures all things.
Love never fails.

Video games will break,
pearl necklaces will be lost,
golf clubs will rust,
but giving the gift of love will endure.

--Sharon Jaynes

The Birthday Tea, Part 2

Here is the follow-up to Part 1.

One of the first things we did was decorate cookies. We used sugar cookies and gingerbread men, and decorated them with icing, sprinkles, and colored sugar. It was messy but fun!

All of the little girls had such a good time at the tea! You could tell they felt very grown up with their cups and saucers, eating their little finger sandwiches - so sweet! Some dressed up, but brought play clothes, too.

Look at this cute little "tea for one" set: it has the cup on bottom and the teapot on top.

We put ten candles in the cake, and after they were blown out we put in seven and did it again!

After the eating, cake, and presents, everyone went outside to play in the beautiful 70 degree weather. Who could have guessed we would have that for our December party? We have a large Little Tykes playset beside the house, which we were amazed to see in the front yard. Apparently it took four little girls to push it around the house. [I need to go move it before the homeowners' association Nazis drive through the neighborhood this week. Apparently children playing happily on play equipment in their front yards is detrimental to property values - at least in our neighborhood. {meow} ]

I was greatly assisted by the other moms; I expected no less from such a fine group of friends. I think the party was a big success. The most important thing to me was not disappointing my girls, and they had a wonderful time. Thanks for sharing this big event with us!

Happy Birthday, Angel!

Our second daughter, known as angel or sometimes drama queen on this blog, turned seven years old last week! She is a beautiful little girl with a flair for the dramatic - highs or lows, you just never know.
She has a precious little voice, and I remember how my mother always loved to hear her talk. She is very Southern and drops her r's. She just showed me a gift from our neighbor, a necklace with "an angel full of glittah" (that's glitter, by the way).

She is her daddy's angel and a sweet sister, too. Happy Birthday, Angel!

Memory Upon Memory

I know I haven't finished posting about the birthday tea - and I will - but tonight my heart is so full I just need to write it all down. My dad, aunt, cousin, and our oldest son were here tonight for an early Christmas family celebration. My aunt, great-aunt, and cousin will be in Tennessee at Christmas, so this was our time together with them. See, growing up in Arkansas we all lived within a three-mile radius, saw each other on a daily basis, spent all of our holidays together. Time has moved on and we live a little further apart, and many of our dearly beloved have passed on from this life: my mother, all four of my grandparents, all but one of my great-aunts (who is nearly ninety-five).

I posted earlier about memories from my grandparents' home on Christmas Eve. I read a recipe here last month for chocolate-covered cherries, which my grandmother always made from scratch on Christmas Eve; I knew then that making those and the homemade hot cocoa were things I wanted to do when my family got together for Christmas.

Memories from my grandparents' home are very sentimental, especially after my grandmother passed on in August. I had made the fondant center for the cherries, which was in the fridge cooling when everyone arrived, and I'd made the homemade hot cocoa, too. My cousin and I made the rest of the chocolate-covered cherries together, which was just as emotional an experience for her, too. Every step of the way I kept thinking, "This is what my grandmother did." My oldest daughter, who celebrated her tenth birthday last week, was born when I was the same age as my grandmother was when she gave birth to my mother, so she had a ten-year-old daughter at my age, too. Thoughts like this filled my mind all evening.


My dad, who is simply the greatest, gave my husband and me this wonderful record/CD/tape player with AM/FM radio! Growing up, my mother did most of the Christmas shopping; but there was always one day when my dad did his shopping. It was just one gift, but it was always the best. My mom was very practical, even as a grandmother; she hated to see money blown on too many toys or junk. She liked to get clothes, shoes, coats - necessary things. But my dad's gifts were just plain fun; the ones we couldn't wait to open.

Isn't it beautiful?

The presence of the record player meant one thing: bringing up my stash of old albums from the basement.


Would you look at this stash of Elvis albums? I even have the Moody Blue "blue" album and the four-record set of #1 hits.

Do you recognize any of these? I'm betting some of you had them, too.

So that's how I find myself up late at night, blogging and listening to Journey's Escape which I haven't heard in more years than I care to count. And missing my mother and my grandmother. I am so, so thankful for the precious family that surrounded me this evening. I don't know what memories will be special for my kids, but I hope to instill in them a love for home and family, like my parents did for me.

Is someone trying to tell me something?

When I went to post my Christmas Tour of Homes, blogger asked me to jump right in and make the switch to beta, which I did. I just noticed that my profile settings changed in the switch. My email link which should be visible wasn't, and my test blog which shouldn't be visible was. Here was the kicker, however: my birth date was correct, but my birth year was listed as 1756! Any recent visitors from the tour of homes who may have visited my profile would have seen my age listed as 250 years old!

I think I'll go change that now.

The Birthday Tea, Part 1

Saturday was the big day - the birthday tea! My two oldest daughters celebrated their 10th and 7th birthdays last week. I appreciate all of the encouragement and suggestions you gave and now I want to share the results, which I will divide into two posts: party prep and the party itself. Now for the preparation phase:

I stayed up late the two nights before the party baking. I wanted to make goody bags for the guests, but I needed to fill them with the fruits of my labors rather than my pocketbook. I baked batches of snickerdoodles, gingerbread men, and sugar cookies, as well as shortbread.

We bought little white sacks (to look like tea bags) for goody bags, which my kids decorated with teapots which were printed on colored paper and then cut out and glued on the sacks. I found colored markers which were shaped like letter stamps on the ends, and the kids used them to stamp "Tea Time." I wasn't sure all of the girls would drink real, hot tea, so we served Russian Tea and lemonade. We printed cards with the Russian Tea recipe and included them, and an individual bag of fruit-flavored tea, too.

We turned our dining room table sideways and were able to fit two tables in the dining room, which worked out just perfectly!

Last but not least: the cake! Those of you who are experienced cake-decorators might not be impressed with my efforts, but this was my attempt at a teapot-shaped cake. I baked two cakes in my big Pampered Chef glass measuring bowl and stacked them on top of each other, iced in the middle. In the fabric and crafts section at Wal-Mart, I found a foam heart. Unfortunately there wasn't pink, so the red had to do. I was having trouble cutting it in two, so my husband had to do it with a utility knife! One half is on the left, as the handle; the other on the right, as the spout. I stuck toothpicks in the ends to attach it to the cake. I'll give my husband credit: he was having trouble understanding how I wanted him to carve the spout, so I said, "Just make it jaunty!" I think he did a fine job.

I couldn't have pulled this off without the assistance of my ever-helpful retired neighbor, Miss Ann, a true Southern lady. She offered her assistance from the beginning, and arrived on our doorstep that morning with beautiful platters of cream cheese and pineapple finger sandwiches, and small wedges of banana bread. While I raced to Wal-Mart for last-minute supplies, she helped my kids bring over so many cups and saucers that I never even got out my own.

Next will be Part 2: The Party!

For the Kids! (who will appreciate these lyrics)

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

Author: Theodor Seuss Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch.
You really are a heel.
You're as cuddly as a cactus,
You're as charming as an eel.
Mr. Grinch.

You're a bad banana
With a greasy black peel.

You're a monster, Mr. Grinch.
Your heart's an empty hole.
Your brain is full of spiders,
You've got garlic in your soul.
Mr. Grinch.

I wouldn't touch you, with a
thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole.

You're a vile one, Mr. Grinch.
You have termites in your smile.
You have all the tender sweetness
Of a seasick crocodile.
Mr. Grinch.

Given the choice between the two of you
I'd take the seasick crocodile.

You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch.
You're a nasty, wasty skunk.
Your heart is full of unwashed socks
Your soul is full of gunk.
Mr. Grinch.

The three words that best describe you,
are, and I quote: "Stink. Stank. Stunk."

You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch.
You're the king of sinful sots.
Your heart's a dead tomato splot
With moldy purple spots,
Mr. Grinch.

Your soul is an apalling dump heap overflowing
with the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable,
Mangled up in tangled up knots.

You nauseate me, Mr. Grinch.
With a nauseaus super-naus.
You're a crooked jerky jockey
And you drive a crooked horse.
Mr. Grinch.

You're a three decker saurkraut and toadstool sandwich
With arsenic sauce.

Copyright © 1957, Dr. Seuss.

Life Imitates Art (or at least the blog)

Look at this awesome Home Sweet Home banner I found yesterday, now displayed above my sink and The Plant That Ate My Kitchen. Isn't it awesome? Looking back, I wonder if I would have bought it if not for my blog. Honestly... probably not. When I saw it, I knew I had to have it for because of the blog.

I am also possessed by an overwhelming compulsion to decorate for Christmas in pale blue with snowflakes.

Christmas Tour of Homes, Y'all!

Welcome to my home as part of BooMama's Christmas Tour of Homes!

This is part of a Christmas village my in-laws gave us many years ago. I think this is where any similarity to the North Pole ends - we're expecting 68 degrees tomorrow!

This cute little count-down Santa has been part of the family for many years.

There's a daily race to see who will update him - today he's mine!

Here's the tree...

and the new ornament I got at my church sisters' ornament exchange/Christmas party!

The house smells like cinnamon because I've been baking snickerdoodles. Won't you try one?

We have a true Southern wreath, decked with magnolia blossoms. I saw a pricey one like this years ago at T.J. Maxx and decided to try it myself, which was one of my extremely rare forays into the world of crafts. Before we moved, the heat in our attic would bake the flowers every summer and I would make an annual trip to Hobby Lobby to replace them. I'm sure I could have bought that expensive wreath for what I've spent over the years replacing magnolia blossoms, but maybe the fancy ones would have baked, too.

My daughter picked up this quirky sunbathing Santa in his hammock this year. I think we'll have the weather for him!

Our nativity scene is nothing special in the worldly sense - certainly not very fancy; but I like its simplicity and not having to be afraid for the kids to play with it.

Following are more pictures of our Christmas village, which I am afraid for the kids to touch - not that it hasn't happened over the years. The elf who is supposed to be hanging a wreath on the side of the reindeer barn no longer has any arms, which means he isn't even holding the wreath anymore. It's in the box. Oh, well - I'd rather have eight kids than a perfect Christmas village (which is a really good thing since the village hasn't been perfect for a long time). There used to be little flocked trees that lit up, too, but I'm not sure what happened to them.

Be sure to visit BooMama for the Christmas tour!

Gift Ideas

If you're looking for inexpensive, last-minute gift ideas for a little girl this Christmas, I recommend the Graco line of doll accessories. Graco makes products for baby dolls which are modeled after their real baby products. Two of my girls have birthdays this week, so we made a trip to Wal-Mart yesterday so they could spend their birthday $. My ten-year-old bought the pack 'n' play pictured above for $9.22! Last Christmas the three oldest girls got strollers for their baby dolls. Lily is always stealing someone's doll stroller, so we got her one which matches the pack 'n' play for $7.87! If you've done much toy shopping, you probably know that you can't find many things for under $10 that won't be broken in less than a week; however, our doll strollers from last Christmas are still in use.

I like to see toys which encourage little girls to play like little girls (which in this case means playing like little mommies) rather than toys which promote negative, inappropriate dress and behavior for our daughters. I'm not sure how you can create a "baby" line of toys where the dolls look like streetwalkers, but MGA Entertainment managed. I don't even understand what this tagline is supposed to mean:

All nine Bratz Babyz™ know how to flaunt it, and they’re keepin’ it real in the crib!

Huh?

And check out this "manufacturing error." Obviously I'm not the only parent out there who is offended by this trash. I think this post is doing double duty: gift ideas and "what not to buy."

We're only two days away from the big tea party! I have found some fascinating teapot cake ideas at coolest-birthday-cakes.com.

Why are they smiling?

Your child can go to 1-800-972-6242 to hear Santa! By the way, after he reminds them to send in their list, he encourages cleaning up after yourself, eating your veggies, and telling your parents and grandparents that you love them!

Happy Birthday, Princess!

My oldest daughter turned 10 years old on Monday and entered the much-anticipated double-digit status. I am very proud of her and the little lady she is becoming (when she wants to be!).
Last night she decided to actually try her brocolli instead of just saying she didn't like it. She declared it to have a bad taste at first and a bad aftertaste, but to be "just right in the middle." It was an amazing site to behold my pickiest eater putting away her veggies.
She showed another display of maturity when she asked me to prepare warm salt water for her to gargle for a sore throat. My mother was a firm believer in this and I have many unpleasant childhood memories of gagging while gargling the nasty (but effective) stuff. We came down with sore throats at the same time last night. While she was asking for warm salt water, I was mixing up some hot Russian tea. I was quite surprised when I realized she had taken the more hard-core approach!
She is a wonderful big sister and a helper to me. I'm proud of her for the skills she is learning, such as knitting, quilting, cooking, and violin. We love you, Princess!