Thanks for the Memories!

 

Wow! Where has the year gone? I cannot believe how it has flown by and now we are approaching Thanksgiving. This time of year always bring the fondest of memories shared with my family. When I think of the things I am most thankful for I guess it is those memories that come to the front of my mind. The one thing great about memories and traditions; you can share them and build on them to make new ones.
The memory I have of the Thanksgiving holiday involves the smell of Mom's pumpkin pies, and coconut cake baking in the oven, and watching/helping her make her amazing cranberry relish. 

She would pull out her old crank-handle meat grinder and set up the giant bowl on the counter. We would begin by washing all of the fresh fruit (cranberries, oranges (navels), and apples. She would start chopping apples and oranges into small enough pieces to go through the opening of the grinder. . Mmmmmm all of those fruity smells would fill the kitchen. That smell can send me back through the years in a flash. Then we would start grinding. This was the fun, but tiring part. As the years went by I was allowed to do more and more until one day I made the whole batch myself. I can remember feeling like I was finally grown up. Oh Mom was still right there chit chatting or correcting me on this or that (lol even if I felt I had devised a much better method! :) ), but the time spent together I would not trade for the world. Now that Mom has passed away, I still have her crank grinder, but it sits on the shelf while I use my Kitchen Aid grinder attachment!

We have hit that "all grown up" milestone with my daughter Goo this year. She washed cut and grinded all of the ingredients, then finished off with sugar, crushed pineapple, and chopped nuts. When she was finished she pumped her arms in the air and said "yes! I did it all myself!"  A tear came to my eye (and for those of you that know me, that is a very powerful moment for me.)  I thought how proud I was, how proud Mom would be of her. I thought about the memories we were making. Years from now when she is making cranberry relish with her children, she will tell them how she learned to make it and how "Mom" didn't always want to do it her way but how special the time was together just sharing the same air space and loving each other. When I'm sad and I miss those I love I can hold on to those loving memories with all my might.

So if there is a bigger point to this blog...... Make Memories with those you love every chance you get. We are not guaranteed tonight much less tomorrow or Thursday. If you were gone tomorrow what memories would you leave behind? How many hours of overtime you worked? How much money you made? How clean your house was? I'm guilty of all of these mistakes myself. However, one crystal glass filled with a beautiful memory reminded me what I was forgetting. So I'm passing the reminder on to you!

Snap Crackle PRINT!!!!

Tonight I took my very first photography class. It was a beginners class (and boy is this chick a beginner!) I assumed that when I got in there I would feel very uneducated and photographically challenged. In some ways my assumptions were correct, in others I was pleasantly surprised to understand the explanations coming from the professional teaching the class. I love pictures. Not just the say "cheese kind", but those candid unforgettable moments that are preserved for a lifetime that we treasure. You know what I mean..... the moment your child opens up the perfect Christmas gift that they knew for sure he or she would never get, or the sunset that was so beautiful it made you want to cry. I've tried to take pictures like these only to realize that what I saw didn't come through the camera so great.
Well, now I know what the buttons and gadgets can do on the camera.

 Not all of them, but many. I was also reminded that the best way to preserve pictures is to have them printed and put in albums like "back in the day." Did you know that while individuals take more photos than every before that less than 10% of the pictures taken are ever printed? The instructor pointed out that this mean our grandchildren and great grandchildren will never find that shoebox full of old family pictures like we may have. Sure we save them on computers, thumb drives, and CDs, but these devices will be obsolete some day and we run the risk of loosing the ability to retrieve the photos. As he said this I was thinking of going back through my blog posts and looking pictures of
Goo that I have taken, and true to form, few are printed. I kept thinking, "Wow! She was so little," or "I forgot about these!" No more. From now on my goal is to print as much as I can to capture and preserve memories for her in a way that she can enjoy when I am long gone from this earth.

Oh and BTW, tomorrow night is the ADVANCED CLASS!!!! Yikes!

I'm BAAAAACCKK!!!!

Hello Readers, all the rumors about me being dead are NOT true. I simply took a looonnnggg vacation from blogging. My BFF is always telling me I need to blog again, so after filtering all of the "where have you been!???" computer stuff I'm back and here goes!!!!

Since my last post several years ago..... I know... don't judge me, please, I have completed an Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice and a Master's degree in Psychology. In addition I have become a homeschool mom for my wonderful 11-year-old daughter, and Origami Owl independent designer

         

 

 and partner in a corn hole construction business with my he-man honey.

                                                                                                        I don't have enough space to catch anyone up on everything at once but I have returned to the land of the blogging, and will fill you in little by little.   Glad to be back!!!!!

Tag, I'm it!

It has been sooooooo long since I have written a new post. I'm surprised the blog police have not tracked me down and given me a warning! There is so much to catch up on and I will promise to do so soon. However, today my friend Laura at Goose Hill Farm tagged me with this survey and I decided it was a good place to start. My life is not that exciting but here it is, for what it's worth!!!!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:00 AM
2. Diamonds or Pearls? I'm not picky I will gladly accept either
3. What was the last movie you saw in a theater? What happens in Vegas
4. What is your favorite TV show? Law and Order (all versions)
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Oatmeal
6. What is your middle name? Faye
7. What food do you dislike? Asparagus
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Craig Morgan
9. What kind of car do you drive? Dodger Charger (aka Thekthy)
10. Favorite sandwich? Can't have sandwiches anymore. Used to be a Reuben
11. What characteristic do you despise? Selfishness
12. Favorite item of clothing? Jeans and hoodies
13. If you could go anywhere where would you go? Scotland
14. Favorite brand of clothing? Nautica and Ralph Lauren
15. Where would you retire to? I don't think I'll every be able to afford to retire!
16. What was your most memorable birthday? I actually have two. The first was when James was driving "long haul" and drove all night across several states to surprise me, and actually did! The second is when the best boss I've ever had took me to Disney world for lunch and made me ride the rockin' roller coaster!
17. Favorite sport to watch? Football BABY!!!! NFL rocks!
18. Are you a morning person or a night person? I'm more of a midday person.
19. Shoe size? 8 - 8.5
20. Pets? 1 dog - Lil bit, 1 fancy tail goldfish - Fritz
21. Any new exciting news? Nope
22. What did you want to be when you were little? A professional singer/musician
23. How are you today? Very tired from being up so late finishing homework
24. What are you listening to right now? Anni humming and talking to her toys.
25. What was the last thing you ate? A piece of chicken and a small salad
26. Do you wish on stars? I would if I thought it would help! But I'm with Laura, praying is better.
27. If you where a crayon what color would you be? Periwinkle
28. How is the weather right now? Overcast and COLD!
29. Who was the first person that you talked on the phone today? James
30. What is your favorite soft drink? Diet Barqs Root Beer
31. What is your favorite place to eat at? Outback Steakhouse
32. What is your hair color? Auburn
33. What was your favorite toy as a child? Spyrograph (is that how you spell it?)
34. Summer or Winter or Fall? What happened to spring? Cause I really like spring!
35. Hugs or kisses? Again, I'm not picky, I'll take them both!
36. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate! I miss it.
37. Coffee or tea? Coffee
38. When was the last time you cried? Last week
39. What is under your bed? Kick butt dust bunnies
40. Salty or sweet? Depends on my mood.
41. What are you afraid of? Being alone
42. Do you make friends easily? I'm usually shy around new people. It takes awhile.

Thekthy Is Theckthy No Matter How You Spell It!

This all started back in October when my husband decided to lavish me with gifts for my birthday. I have to say the guy earned some major brownie points! First of all he decided to take me to a concert in West Virginia, and then he had my car windows tinted. Pictured above is the last installment of gifts; personalized plates. This is where it gets a little sticky.

You see, James is known for coming up with some strange little names of affection like boogashay, and shugaboog, and shugalump all of which he knows would be very dangerous (for him anyway) to have printed on my charger!



The only little name he thought would be safe was "Sexy". Well, I'm not at all convinced the term applies to me; however, it was an acceptable tag for my car. Of course when he went to the DMV to order the tags, the standard spelling was already taken. So, after lots of combinations, this is what he came up with. THEKTHY! He said, "I just thought of how Anni says it - and Sam too!"

I laughed and thought it was cute, but now I have realized something. James has taken my intimidating, sexy car with an attitude and given it a lisp!!!


Oh well, if Tham Kiefer can be thekthy, so can my charger.


So if anyone laughs I'll just rev my engine and threaten to run them over!

No Snow Yet But She's Training For It!

Last weekend Daddy had a paper to write and we needed to vacate the homestead and let him have some quiet time. So Anni and I set out to the back yard to find something to do and hopefully Mommy would not freeze her backside off. It was one of those grey cold days in Virginia, where wind was kicking up and it bit you every now and then. Any way, Anni said, "Mama, I got a good I-Plan!" And she was off into the garage to get her shovel.



One thing Anni loves to do with her daddy in the winter is shovel snow. Well, since we haven't had our first snow yet, Anni decided to take advantage of the opportunity to get in shape by shoveling leaves. While most people would use a rake, not our Anni, she prefers her handy-dandy-Anni-sized-little red snow shovel!

Of course the whole process is about having fun so when the pile is complete the only thing left to do is........................... Pick up as many as you can hold and .....................................

THROW THEM INTO THE AIR!!!!!! YAY! She was having such a good time I had to take some pics. The snow is on the way, you can feel it in the air, but playing in the leaves was just fine for now.

The throwing continues until she's exhausted or the leaves have to once again be shoveled. (Got to keep up that training you know!)

Of course she had to show me them "shuga lips" and beg me for some "warm shocolit" (that is the correct Anniese term for hot cocoa.)

Then it was back to the leave pile. Where's Anni?............................. Are you kidding me? She actually almost fell asleep in there. I had to make her get out and get cold again. Then it was time to go bug Daddy.

My Little Fairy Princess

I know, I know, Halloween is over but I was busy with finals last week and I wanted everyone to see my Fairy Princess! She can give you a black eye one minute and the next she wants to be decked out in pink wings and jewels! Go figure!

Well, the Mitchell family as never celebrated Halloween before, because we seriously have some issues with the holiday, however, Anni's school was having a special event the night before and we wanted her to be able to participate. This way she got to do the whole costume thing and get a small amount of candy and be with her little Kindergarten buddies.



This is the principal of Luray Elementary. Don't know what she was smokin'! The assitant principal, pictured below definately had the force with him all evening. I'm beginning to be a little worried about the leadership at this school! Yikes! (actually Mr. Baker (Darth) is pretty cool) But the star trek babe I could do without. Anyhoo!!!!!!


Anni made a finger puppet with Daddy. Looking like the beautiful princess she is!

And then it was on to monster bookmarks with Mom. Still looking like royalty in her little costume.

She got to hear stories, play games and then it was off to get her goodie bag complete with candy, peanut butter and jelly crustable, juice box, and prize. All in all we had a really great time and Anni loved getting dressed up.

Somebody Call 911!!!!

Thursday, the Kindergarten class went on a field trip to our local Police Department and Fire Department. The tour of the LPD was pretty much textbook. First Sergeant Anderson took us through the offices, introduced us to the detectives and gave us a tour of the training room.

But the tour of the fire department was a whole different ballgame. When we entered the garage with about 65 Kindergarten children and about a dozen teachers and parents, the alarms started going off and the men were rushing children across the room to get them out of the way, fire fighters were running to get their gear. A few of the kids started crying but we got them calmed down. If it had been planned it wouldn't have been more exciting. Two tankers and a Haz Mat truck left sirens blaring and lights flashing. The kids had a blast. Then they returned before we left. And the classes were able to talk to the fire fighters about their call. I think it really made an impression on the kids. Many times they see emergency personnel as something fun. But that day they sensed the urgency of what was going on and knew those men were going to help people.

Hope you enjoy the pics below.

It's All Good

October has been a pretty good time for the family. We have gone on a field trip with the Kindergarten class to a pumpkin patch, taken in a concert in the mountains, and enjoyed a evening by the fire pit in our back yard to celebrate my birthday. It's all good, as they say around here.

You know there is just something about looking into a fire that makes you think. (At least it always has that affect on me) As I sat there I thought about everything that has changed in my life over the course of the last year. Wow! The first thing that came to mind was I was convinced that I probably wouldn't be alive this year. I was battling fatigue and depression and the enemy almost won. That's not something I'm proud of but God had mercy on me and helped me get to this point. I have met wonderful new friends, had a great spring with lovedones, and actually got my dream car. I'm 44. Big deal, so I'm getting old. I love my husband, I love my daughter, I'm losing weight, how could I ask for more? When I look at the shape this world is in. I'm glad I've got it this good. It's all good! It really is!

Mommy and Daddy Visit School!

Friday, October 10 there was a special celebration in Anni's class to show off the class' writing skills and achievements. Each child was given a folder in which to keep daily written or illustrated work. I think the idea is to understand the concept of expressing oneself creatively. Since Anni is only beginning to write letters, most of her work was of the illustration variety. But Mommy and Daddy were proud!
The teacher took our picture while Anni was showing us all of her pictures. Many of them were pictures of Mommy, Daddy, Annie and Bit Bit (the dog). She's all about the family! I was happy to see that. She was so proud of her class. She took us around and introduced us to her friends.
We finally got to meet the children we had been hearing about for the past 6 weeks. She really loves her teacher and I am so thankful for that. She seems to really care about the kids and communicates weekly with parents. I failed to get a picture of Mrs. Johnson. I'll be sure to do that next time.I was a little sad though. James and I and one other parent were the only ones to show up for the celebration. We tried to visit all the other kids tables to let them show off their work too. They all seem so little. My heart breaks to think they are disappointed. But I think we spread the love pretty well. Anni seemed to act as hostess taking us from table to table telling us who was who. She always seems to be so sensitive of other people's feelings. I think she felt bad for the other kids too.
This is Anni's beautiful masterpiece of buttons and letters and of course the portrait of Mommy and Daddy dancing at the top.

All in all it was a great time. She's growing so fast. I don't want to miss a minute of it. I know this may not be such an exciting blog for most of you out there, but my little family is one of the most precious gifts God has given me, so that's what I write about.

We love you Anni. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you!

God Must Really Love Me!

This past weekend my wonderful hubby surprised me with an early birthday present. Our little family headed to the mountains of West Virginia Friday night and then on Saturday night James took us to a concert perfomred by my all-time favorite artist; Craig Morgan.

Anni is also a fan and this was her first concert. It was fun to watch her get excited about the music and the lights, although the poor thing was up way past her bedtime and barely made it through the show. But she had a blast! Especially when his encore number was her favorite song: International Harvester. Of course before the show we hit the t-shirt table and Daddy had to get an official Craig Morgan glow stick for the girl. Then it was time for the show. We had great seats only about 11 rows back. It was a pretty small venue. The show was absolutely awesome!!!!

During the show there was much talk of the new CD that will be coming out on the 21st. (the other half of my birthday present). One of the new songs is entitled, "God Must Really Love Me." Craig Morgan is a decorated army veteran and has a firm belief in God, family and country. Many of his songs speak of how God has blessed his life.

While he was singing this song the words jumped off the stage at me.

The fact that I am alive today is proof that God must really love me.

Its a simple thought but sometimes I

think we try to make God's love so complicated. But the truth is, He just really loves us. The proof is all around us. The miracle of a baby's birth or a beautiful sunset and the majesty of his creation.

During the song I looked at James and Anni and almost cried. God must really love me! If i died today, I couldn't ask for more than God has already blessed me with. I have no reason to complain.

I went to this concert excited about seeing a famous artist whom I admire and respect and was given much more than a good show. I was amazed to find my self reminded of what a great God I serve, and how much he loves me!

Look Out World! Anni's 5!

We've all had those days that just do not go as planned. Well, Anni turned 5 on Monday the 15th and we didn't get to celebrate until Saturday, but we had plans. We found a Chuck E. Cheese about an hour and a half away and we planned to surprise Anni with an all-day event. Shopping for presents first then end at Chuck's place. Well, as usual things happened and James ended up on call and we couldn't go that far out of the area. Good thing we had not let Anni in on the plans. I was really bummed, because Anni doesn't have many friends her age and we weren't going to have a traditional party and I wanted the three of us to have a special day together. But I was determined that everything would turn out okay! We asked Anni where she wanted to go shopping for her presents and she screamed, Walmart! But after we offered her the "toy store" (aka Toys R Us) she changed her tune. She had not been there since before Christmas and I think she had forgotten it existed, but she soon remembered. When then started our day at TRU and she had a blast. She had to ride everything, play with everything, and of course wanted everthing. We made our purchases and asked the birthday girl where she wanted to go for dinner expecting "TACO BELL" or "PIZZA HUNT", neither of which are on mommy's diet! Well, at the top of her lungs she cries, "I wanna go to Cwackow Bawwowl!" (aka Cracker Barrel) We both looked at each other and I said, "works for me."
Of course after dinner we had to stop at the toy section, then the traditional game of checkers on the porch. Anni just steals all the game pieces and declares herself the winner. Gonna have to work on that, but hey she's only 5! It is so fun to watch how much she loves life.
Next, we headed home to play with the presents.

While we were in the toy store we asked Anni what she wanted for her birthday. First she said she wanted "lots and lots o bawbees" and "lots and lots o tuff to go wiff em", which she got. Then she spied something and went crazy! "Daddy Daddy! I want one of dem! Pwees, pweese, peese!!!!"

Yes folks, a Hannah Montana skateboard complete with gloves, elbow pads and knee pads. And I wish you could have seen the look on James' face when he asked her if she was sure she wanted to learn to ride a skateboard and our beautiful five year old daughter assures him it will be okay because Cody has one and he can teach her! Cody is the boy next door that turned 14 years old the very next day. James' eyes sort of glazed over but he held it together. Needless to say, the girl got the board, and she didn't do half bad! I was impressed! It was funny how when Cody came out to see us, James suddenly said it was time for the skateboard to go in the garage. Then it was late and we had to go in for our little cake which again is not on Mommy's diet but I cheated just this once.

Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Anni. Happy Birthday to you. (And many more)


Before I go, I must relate a funny story that happened the next evening. We went into town to get a few groceries and when we returned home Anni was helping James get the groceries out of the trunk of the car. In the process he accidentally smacked Anni in the middle of the forehead with a box of Capri Sun Roarin' Waters. Of course, he dropped his bags and checked her out saying, "I'm sorry baby are you alright?" She grabbed her head, rolled her eyes (so sarcastically) and said "yeah Daddy I'm alwite!" While she was walking over to me, I tried to make light of the situation. I thought it might hurt and was going to smooth it over while I was checking her over myself. So, I said,"I saw Daddy try to knock you out! What are we gonna do with him?" While rubbing her forehead, in a perplexed tone of voice, she shook her head and said, "I don't know...................we can't kill him!"

I almost peed my pants. James is now sleeping with one eye open! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! You gotta love the girl!