Saturday, November 27, 2010

Warning! This Post Contains Cute Baby Pics!

Wow, so much has happened over the last month that I've been a bit overwhelmed with the thoughts of blogging about them all.  But today I have a little time on my hands, so I thought I'd catch you up on my granddaughter, Millie. 
  Let's start with Halloween.  Justin and Chelsea brought Millie to Albertville to trick-or-treat because there is nothing but corn fields in Fackler, Alabama!  I'm so glad that I got to go with them on her first Halloween.  Of course, she had no idea what was going on, but Justin strolled the little pirate around, nonetheless.  We went to a neighborhood that really had it going on.  One house had a makeshift graveyard in their front yard.  There were also a few "characters" walking around taking pictures with the kiddoes.  Justin was amazed, and I made his picture with a very tall skeleton man.  The whole neighborhood was crowded with trick-or-treaters.  But, of course, we had the cutest one of all. 

Granda started the Halloween festivities out by giving Millie a mummy sucker.


Is this NOT the cutest thing you've ever seen?!  I LOVE this baby!


Awwww, my son, Justin, with his little girl.


Trick or Treat!!!!

The little family


Justin with the skeleton man

We finished up Halloween, and on November 10, Millie had her first birthday!  Time has flown by so fast!  The following Saturday, I had a little birthday party for her.  By this time, she was walking all over the place!  What a difference a couple of weeks make, because she was hardly walking on Halloween.  Anyway, she loved playing with the balloons more than anything that she got.  She would walk around with one in her mouth while holding two more.  She's such a Silly Millie. 




Granda bought her this cute little outfit.

So, that's about it, for now.  I know that you wouldn't be able to stand it if I posted more cute pics of this baby, right now.  I mean, you might overdose on cuteness. Can you tell that I'm a proud granda?  ;)

Monday, November 15, 2010

What Triggers A Memory?



Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. ~From the television show The Wonder Years



God gave us memories that we might have roses in December. ~J.M. Barrie, Courage, 1922



I've been doing a lot of reminiscing today and even over the weekend.  I wonder if it's just the time of the year that brings back these memories.  I've come upon 2 instances today where other people are reminiscing, too.  My best friend from middle & high school texted me today & it said this:

"You know what I have been craving lately? And, I don't even know if they make it anymore.  It's some of that Pizza Quick you put on loaf bread.  I remember me and you used to eat it all the time, especially when we would come home from the skating rink."
I replied:

"They DO still make it! But get thicker bread, like barbeque bread.  We also use to eat Swiss Rolls & also cake frosting out of the tub.  I still do!  Yum!"
Those were good times.  These days she and I can't get away with many Swiss Rolls (Little Debbie) or cake frosting straight from the can.  But we can splurge occasionally.  It's funny how certain actions that we do trigger memories.  Like, when I cook pancakes, I always think about my best friend from when I lived in Georgia.  Her mom use to make pancakes for us when I would spend the night with her.  Her mom is gone from this life now.  I haven't seen my childhood friend in many many years.  (We have reunited on Facebook!)  But, it never fails that I always go back to that time when I cook pancakes.

I know there are other mundane tasks that I do that trigger these memories, although my forgetful mind cannot think of them at this moment.  But, when they happen, I just smile.  It's nice to go back to some of these memories and cherish them.

 The thought of Thanksgiving coming up has me thinking back to dinners at my mother/father-in-law's home.  She loved to cook a feast for her family.  She passed away suddenly a couple of years ago.  The holidays have not been the same without her.  I miss her dearly. 
While checking my Facebook there was a post for Ree Drummond a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman.  (If you don't follow her blog, you really should.)  She posted this on Facebook:

"Here's a tip: While you're doing dishes on a Monday evening, never hum old-time hymns and think of your grandmother at the same time."
This set off a flurry of comments and memories from her friends and followers, such as:

" Aw! I just canned chow chow relish and thought of my great aunt and her cranberry bogs and blue berry bushes the whole time!"
"I know it's not the same, but I cry when I go into Home Depot, and think of my daddy."
"I get sad when I make Peach cobbler. My Great Aunt, taught me how to make it. First time up at our Cabin, now for the last 8 1/2 yrs I always think of her."
"Must be a day for grandmother memory moments. Mine were while hanging sheets on the line."
"The year my dad died, as I was making strawberry jam and listening to the radio late one night several months later, one of his favorite hymns came on...and I just about couldn't finish the jam I was making for the tears....tears of memories...tears of missing him...tears of joy he was no longer sick..."
"My Cuban grandma taught me how to make black beans and rice.. I can still hear her voice when I cook them. .. and I couldn't understand a word she said. ;) but still I learned. Hope I will be a memorable Grandma someday. thanks for reminding me of her."
"Must be something to do with the holidays coming. I had one of those moments yesterday. "
Yes, it must.  We all need a good cry every now and then.  My husband and I, along with 2 of our sons now live in the house that his mom and dad lived in when I met him. I have her picture on the fridge with one of her magnets which reads, "In my Father's house are many mansions. I hope yours is next to mine."  I do, too.  :')

What brings back memories for you?

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Frugal Crafty Christmas Decor

I recently took a trip to The Dollar Tree.  Everything there is $1.  They have some neat stuff in there, and they have lots of Christmas decor.  They even have a small section of crafts.  It just so happens that I was browsing through a local floral/home decor store and I found some Christmas gift bags on sale.  The bags were very beautiful.  I bought some that were 79 cents each, and I bouth some smaller ones for 49 cents each.  Their regular price was much higher.  My mind got to thinking of other ways to use these bags other than to deliver gifts.  What if I cut out the picture on the bag and framed it?  It could work.  So then I went to The Dollar Tree and I found even more gift bags that would make good pictures.  I also found some unfinished frames to put my new "pictures" in.  Now, wanna see what I did & how it turned out?  Okay, here goes...
I took this gift bag:



And this frame:


I used the glass from the frame to cut out the picture:



I painted the frame with acrylic paint:



Then I put it together:



It needed something more:



Here's the finished product!



I also made a smaller one with a Christmas card that I had leftover from a past year:






The frames for $1 each.
The gift bag was $1.  (And, it still has another side for another picture.)
I already had the acrylic paint.
The 3-pk glitter paint was $1.
The Christmas card was free.

See, it doesn't have to take a lot of money to decorate for Christmas.  I can't wait to come up with some more frugal decor!

I've linked up to Hope Studios' Tutorial Tuesday.  Go visit for more great ideas that you can try!


Sunday, November 7, 2010

Gettin' My Christmas Inspiration On

I don't know how it happened.  I'm one of those people who have always been adamant about waiting until after Thanksgiving to start thinking about Christmas.  Maybe it's the cold weather that has moved in this past week.  Maybe it was my going to the Trees n Trends Christmas bazaar yesterday.  But, I am SO ready to start decorating and shopping for Christmas!  I don't want to shortchange Thanksgiving.  I LOVE that holiday because it is a time for your family to get together just to celebrate what we are all thankful for, without any expectations.  But, the Christmas bug has already bit me, and I am starting to get really excited!  I have even already started to buy a few gifts.  Imagine that!  Me, little miss wait-'til-the-last-minute to buy everything, and then scramble around to get it all wrapped before Christmas morning.  Just last week my boys asked me if I wanted to listen to Christmas music.  I responded with a resounding NO!!  IT'S NOT TIME!!!  But this week my perspective has changed completely.  I've begun to reason with myself about how that maybe the reason I am always behind at Christmas is because I don't get started early enough.  Sounds logical, right?  EXACTLY!!  SEE?!!  I told ya.
 
Anyway, I thought I'd share some of the lovely Christmas arrangements & decorating ideas that were presented at the Chrismas decor presentation yesterday.  What I'm going to try to do is study these pictures, and then figure out how to do it cheaper.  That's my thing.  I love being thrifty, yet stylish.  So here are the pictures.  Enjoy the Christmas eye candy.

Sorry that this one is a bit fuzzy, but you can get the idea.  They showed us how to add the ribbon to the garland.  See that "tree?"  It is actually what they call a "teardrop" turned upside down & hung from a hook to make a tree.  This would be good for a wall in your home or office.


Again, this is fuzzy. (It gets better.)  This was a regular crafty giftbox that has lights inside.  It had a boring bow.  She cut off the boring bow & added her own, along with some branches & bling.


This section of the store was decorated sooo beautifully.  In the upper right hand corner you will see plain bare branches strung with silver icicles/tinsel.  Beautiful!!


This is just a random pic that I took.


This is a beautiful piece that she showed us how to make with 3 berry stems & foliage.






This is cute and should be easy to make.

So CUTE!!!

I love the peppermint look of this.

One of my favs.


Another favorite


I love how they decorated a picture with a garland.


This caught my eye because it is our high school's colors.


I love the playfulness of this.


An elegant mantle


A traditional room


I'm in love with the lime green decorations.


Another beauty


Pretty red, cream & white decor.  I love the presents stacked on top of each other.  Who's that in the mirror, I wonder? ;)