December Memories, Old and New

You know it seems like December comes along and all of a sudden there is a flurry of special things to do and places to go and spectacular Christmasy things to see and then, all of a sudden Christmas is upon us. It is a special time of year that goes by so incredibly fast. I say this because we are in the middle of this precious time. Don’t forget to enjoy it and spend time with loved ones and take a deep breath and just have fun.

Last Thursday we celebrated my nephew Tyler’s 21st Birthday. He wanted to go to his favorite Mexican restaurant in town so that is where we went. It was a terrible rainy foggy night. I made the cake and it was a disaster. Tyler requested a chocolaty pudding type cake. I had a recipe but I hadn’t made one in years. I don’t know what happened but we had to spoon it onto the plates. It was terrible. My sweet husband insisted on eating a big plate full and assured me that is the kind of cake he wanted for his next Birthday. I think I better stick to what I am familiar with. Tyler got the traditional whipped cream in the face while we sang Happy Birthday. We had so much fun.

The night of the party made me remember the night Tyler was born. He actually is my great nephew, his mom Michelle is my niece. The night he was born it was rainy and foggy. Michelle and her mom went to the hospital as soon as she went into labor and I followed about an hour or so later. It was a Friday night. Tyler was born early the next morning. My sister, Michelle’s mom, and I were there to be the delivery coaches. Michelle had told me that I could cut the umbilical cord so I was beyond excited. Just before Tyler made his appearance I took one look at his head and I felt my knees giving out and down on the floor I went. The nurses said it was probably because I had been standing with my knees locked for so long or emotions or just me being me. I recovered in time to cut the umbilical cord. Tyler likes to tell people that he had popped out in time to ask if I was ok. He had a flattened nose and a cone head. I crocheted that little blue cap he is wearing. Such memories. I think the holidays makes us remember and reflect more than ever.

All grown up now. He sent me this picture last week when he went fishing.

Saturday morning I made a blueberry cobbler. I love to make these for breakfast and have it to eat on all week. I went into Athens to Hobby Lobby and bought the yarn I needed for the temperature blanket. I thought I would have enough of this orange color that I am using for fall but because of all the warm days I ran out and couldn’t continue until I bought this one color. Unfortunately the nearest Hobby Lobby or yarn store where they sell it is about 30-40 minutes away. I also had to return some boots I had bought a couple of weeks ago. I will show you those on Friday Favorites.

Every year around Christmas time I buy a box of these Russell Stover chocolates. I love them. It is a treat that I will only buy once a year and I will savor them.

On Saturday afternoon I added a few more decorations to the inside of the house. Several months ago when we were cleaning out some of the closets in my mother in law’s house I came across a ceramic Christmas tree in a large shopping bag. I decided to bring it home. It was very yellowed with dust. It has a base with a long bulb and then the ceramic tree fits over it. There are holes in the tree that small glass ornaments fit into. I couldn’t believe how nice it looked after I scrubbed it up and put the ornaments back on. My husband said he remembered getting that tree when he was about five years old. He said he and his mom and brother drove to someone’s house and bought it. After a few years his mom stopped putting it out. He was so excited to see it again. He had no idea what had happened to it. It’s about 2 feet tall and I put it on the entry table beside the front door. We love it. More bittersweet memories.

You can see how white the snow is now. You should have seen it when I first started cleaning it. It is pretty in the daytime but look how magical it looks at night with all the different colors of lights.

Kitty Kitty and Gus were so excited about the new decorations in the house. They ran and sniffed and pretended to be scared of some of them. Crazy kitties. It looks like Gus is saying “mom what the heck is this thing?”

I put this snowman throw on the back of the couch and Kitty Kitty jumped up on it and went right to sleep. This is where she has spent almost every day since I put it on the couch.

On Sunday I took it easy and watched some Christmas movies. Join me here on Thursday where I will share my top 10 Christmas movies of all time. I’ll be you’ve seen some of them already.

Last night we had our work Christmas party in Knoxville. It was a lot of fun but about an hour drive for most of us and the traffic was a nightmare. I didn’t get home until almost 11:00 PM and that is late for me. Early bedtime for me tonight.

So that is what has been going on over here how about you? Are you ready for Christmas? Have some fun, share some memories and make some new memories.

Always remember

Love your day your way

Hello Monday

Hello Monday and hello December. I can’t believe Christmas is just a few weeks away!!!! Or that the end of this year is a few weeks away.

I have been a little out of pocket this past week. I had a sinus, stuffy head, coughing, scratchy throat, thing going on. A common cold I guess. One day I felt better and then the next I would feel worse. This went on for over a week. I left work early Friday because I felt so yucky. I went home and pretty much stayed there until this morning. I am feeling much better.

Mark and I had to go to Vanderbillt Medical Center in Nashville last Tuesday for a four month check up for Mark. Everything was good and he got a great report. As I have mentioned before. We leave out at around 5:00 AM and it takes almost four hours to get to Nashville. Our appointment went quick. After we see the Doctor Mark gets blood work and I run to the cafeteria to get us coffee. We later stop and eat breakfast on the way home. Usually once we are back home we take a nap. It is such a tiring drive for one day. But totally worth the peace of mind when he gets a good report.

The hospital courtyard was decorated for Christmas and it was so pretty.

It was actually a quiet morning. We were there very early around 8:30.

Iced Carmel Macchiato for me. Mark likes just plain coffee with a couple of extra shots of espresso.

Wednesday was my little mother in law’s 89th Birthday. I went to see her and I took her some cupcakes. She has really declined in the last few months and it is so hard to see her this way. So many things she enjoyed before she doesn’t now. She doesn’t even like long visits anymore so we just do shorter and more frequent visits. Just being with her and sitting with her is all she seems to need. Isn’t she a cutie. She can get with you when she wants something her way but she always goes back to that little smile.

I stayed in most of the weekend. It was rainy and cool. I read and did a lot of catch up work on the temperature blanket. Then I ran out of a critical color of the yarn that I have to have before I can continue. So I will have to make a trip to Hobby Lobby this weekend. In the meantime I will work on weaving in the billions of yarn ends. I also watched a couple of Christmas movies.

Saturday night Mark and I watched A Charlie Brown Christmas. Because of my nasty cold I missed out on several things going on in the area including our town’s Christmas Parade. But watching A Charlie Brown Christmas with hubs and the fur babies was still pretty special.

A Charlie Brown Christmas turns 52 this year and this scene was almost completely cut out, but Charles Schultz insisted that this scene remain and it has for 52 years. I think it says it all.

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the Angel said unto them, ’Fear not:”

“for behold,I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, ‘ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, Good will toward men.”

By Sunday I was starting to feel a little stir crazy. I decided to make a Christmas wreath. I bought all the materials a couple of weeks ago. so I cut all the mesh, and tied the mesh onto the metal wreath form and then added those two white bells and put it on the door. I like it. I was wanting sort of a red and white candy cane sort of look and I think that’s what I got.

On Sunday night I brought out the Santa collection. I have been collecting these Santas for years. I have about forty small ones and several larger ones that I just place around the house. This old Singer sewing machine belonged to my husband’s grandmother. She gave it to us several years ago. It still works.

And back to work this morning and as soon as I got out on the road I saw this guy. It was very foggy and he (she) and a buddy were crossing the road. I always creep down our road because I see deer almost every morning.

I hope you have a wonderful fun filled week!!!!

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!

Thanksgiving Eve

And just like that is is Thanksgiving Eve. Do you have a big dinner to go to? Do you cook? I will be cooking for Thanksgiving but probably only for my husband and I and maybe a couple of other people. So it will be a very quiet low key Thanksgiving. I can’t help but be a little sad thinking about past Thanksgivings. I remember as a young kid and even a young adult I loved going to my mama’s house for Thanksgiving. All of my brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews would gather there and have a huge feast. It wasn’t about the food as much as the love of family being together and laughing and sharing memories and making new memories. But I don’t think we can live in the past and we just have to go forward and make new memories while we cherish the old ones. And making new and precious memories are fun too. I am so thankful for everything and everyone in my life. I have wonderful family and friends and that means the world to me.

Over the weekend I decided to clear some things out of my closet. I worked for several hours I took six large garbage bags to our local Goodwill. I am embarrassed and a bit ashamed of having so many things that I didn’t need and yet I continued buying more. And I know that more than likely I will continue to do that. Although, I have cut down on buying clothes and “things” and try to ask myself if I really need it, or do I already have something similar that I can use.

Other than the clothes clearing it was a pretty quiet weekend. I put chili in the crockpot and we have been eating on that all week. The weather here was extremely cold last week with temps only reaching 40 degrees F. It has warmed up a little in the last couple of days. Look at this beautiful frost we had last week. It almost looks like snow.

On my way into work Monday I spotted this frost flower. I love them. They’re so delicate. I used to see them all the time when I had to walk the dogs early in the mornings. They are formed when thin layers of ice are pushed out of long stemmed plants that have split open during autumn and early winter. So there’s not a lot of time to enjoy these beauties. As soon as the temperature warms or the sun hits them they are gone. Some beautiful designs are formed from the crystals.

Check out my Diva Christmas tree I put up a few years ago. I found this picture and I think I may have to do another one. I named her Marilyn. For Marilyn Monroe of course.

I am currently making cornbread for my dressing tomorrow and watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving with the hubs. Definitely a quieter time from years past and that is o.k.

I hope you and your family and loved ones have a wonderful and yummy Thanksgiving.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!

Friday Favorites

Hello and happy Friday first let me say Happy Veterans Day to all the wonderful brave men and women who served our country or continue to serve. I thank you and appreciate you more than you will ever know.

How has your week been? Mine was a short work week because I had Monday and Tuesday off. So Friday came quickly and that is a good thing. I have quite a few favorites to share with you this week.

On Tuesday I had lunch with my sister and my niece and a good friend, in nearby Athens. We also went to the Dollar Tree there to check out their Christmas ornaments and decorations. The Dollar Tree in Athens, which is about 20 minutes from us, is the best one around. We found several things and had such a good time together.

Later that day I went in a totally different direction to Sevierville to eat dinner with a friend from Pennsylvania. She was in town for the annual souvenir gift buying show and we met and ate dinner. It was so good catching up with her. Before having dinner I had about an hour to kill so I ran by the TJ Maxx in Sevierville. I love this store it is one of my favorite TJ Maxx stores. We ate dinner at Harpoon Harry’s. I love their Crab Rangoon sushi. Sevierville is about an hour and a half drive for me so I got home really late but it was totally worth it.

I have been working on this scarf. It is a very easy knit. One I can grab and take with me and not worry about a pattern. It is just K2, YO, K2tog. I love the colors and I am going to be a little sad to finish it but I can’t wait to wear it. It’s one that you can wrap around you without it being bulky.

I finally broke down a few weeks ago and downloaded Beachbody On Demand. I had been thinking about it for awhile. Since May I have lost 30 pounds. I was really needing to add some exercise into my daily routine. I have been doing Beachbody for a couple of weeks and I love it. You can download it for a month, three months or a year. I did the year. My nieces have it and they love it. It is a little costly about $130.00 for an entire year, but there are 41 different workout programs and each one has a different set of workouts. I am doing a couple of the country line dance routines and 30 minutes passes by before I know it. They are so much fun. There is also a body sculpting one that works specific muscle groups. I ordered one of those small Pilates balls to use with this workout. I downloaded the app so I can take it anywhere with me. If I am traveling and want to do a workout in my hotel room I am able to without going to a hotel gym, which I am not always comfortable doing. There are also recipes and food plans, I haven’t tried any of those yet because I like my own plan.

This is the Pilates ball I ordered from Amazon. It is small but there are lots of uses for it with many of the workouts on Beachbody.

I ordered this Shacket from Walmart online. I have been wanting one of these with a plaid pattern. I was pleasantly surprised when I got this it is fairly heavy and can definitely be worn as a jacket. It is very toasty. I haven’t seen one like this in our local Walmart but you can find it online.

It seems like I am always on the lookout for face products. I saw this one on TikTok and the girl using it just loved it. Sometimes when I wash my face I wonder if I am getting all of the makeup off of it. This is a balm that you use first, and it sort of dissolves your makeup. You then follow with your regular face cleaning product. I am loving it and the good thing is you can find it at Walmart.

I wanted to give you an update on the press on nails that I used a few weeks ago. The blue ones I put on lasted for about two weeks with me only having to replace two of them. You get thirty in a pack so this was no big deal. They looked great and they are really easy to file down just like your natural nails. The only drawback is that when I took the press on nails off, my nails underneath looked TERRIBLE!!!!! they are pitted and weak and breaking like crazy. So I am not sure if everyone has this problem. But for my nails they are not a good thing. Maybe I shouldn’t have left them on as long as I did. I don’t think I will use them again unless it is just for a special occasion where I will only have them on for a day or two.