Thankful Thursday

I talk about my grandmother a lot, both on here and in real life. I think about her more than I talk about her. There isn't a single day that goes by that she doesn't cross my mind in some way. Sometimes I'll see a car that looks like hers, I'll cuddle up to the afghan she made, or I'll watch Emma with my mom and just pray she looks at mom the way Whitney and I looked at our mamaw. I wish everyday she was here to meet bebe. Oh, how she'd love him (yes, him. My dad and sister are positive it will be a boy)! And no doubt about it, Bebe would adore her completely. I heard someone else say they wish their grandmother could meet their babies, but that they had no doubt she had already met them before they did? Was that you, Kelli? Whoever it was, I'm stealing your thought. I'd like to think she's preparing him for all the crazy drama that comes with being apart of my family!

She's been on my mind a lot more lately than usual. I'm sure it's a mixture of bebe and the Holidays. It's also because my supervisor at work is teaching me to crochet. She could crochet anything! She also did the needlepoint on plastic canvas. Do you guys know what I'm talking about? If not, here are some pictures I found through Google.

It's basically yarn and this plastic grid looking thing. You can buy books that show you the patterns and stuff like that. She would always make all kinds of Christmas decorations. My mom still has all kinds of stuff she made. They're all a wonderful reminder of what an amazing woman she was. I really want to learn how to do this, so after the holidays I'm gonna start on it. Maybe I can make bebe some things?

Anywho, this turned out longer than I thought it would be, but I just wanted to say I'm so very thankful for her. I'm thankful for her every day and I miss her so much!

Happy Tuesday, ladies!

Good morning, lovlies! All is well here, aside from being dead tired this morning. What's new, huh?

First, I logged in this morning to see I have 24 followers! I know that is a small amount compared to what some of you have, but I was really excited. Thanks for following!

Now, on to the weekend! Mine was super busy with no time to rest, but I had a great time. Saturday the hubs went over to his best friend's apartment (which is actually right next ours) to watch college football, while I stayed home to clean. I couldn't tell you the last time our apartment got a good cleaning! It was a cool, beautiful day, so I turned off the a/c and opened our windows. It was so relaxing! I even put out our Fall decor. I'm definitely ready for Fall now!

Sunday was an absolutely amazing day! I don't know how often I've mentioned this, but when my mamaw passed away in 2000, our family had a huge falling out. About a year ago, some of my cousins and I decided we've had enough and we're tired of not having a family because our parents are mad at one another. Well, all of our determination has paid off and we had a family reunion Sunday! Words can't express how happy I was. Of course, some tears were shed, but we all had the best time. It was like we've never been apart. We've already planned our Christmas dinner and I can't wait!

Yesterday we spent the day at my in-laws and I had the chance to meet the hubs' aunt and uncle who live six hours away. I loved hearing all the stories they had to tell on my FIL! He was such a mean little boy! I have a feeling should we be blessed with a son, he will no doubt take after his papaw!

What about you guys? Did you do anything fun or just relax?

A Few Of My Favorite Things Edition #7

I love sweet tea and I come by it honest. My little mamaw made the best tea I've ever had and it is definitely a favorite family drink. Whenever me and my cousins go out to dinner, every one of us get tea.

However, I hate to admit that I've never had anything but just down home, Southern iced sweet tea. I've never drank it hot, I've never tried herbal tea....basically, I've never strayed from Lipton. :) I've been wanting to try different varieties of tea lately. I mean, how can I say I'm a tea lover if I've only ever tried one kind? I had a professor in undergrad who was from Ireland. He told me I hadn't had tea until I tried real Irish tea. His mother would often send him some, but I never had a chance to try any of it.

Tonight my nerves were frazzled and I was just in a weird mood. I found it strange because I actually had a good day. I was cleaning and I just thought "I want some hot tea." Of course, I only have Lipton, but hey, it worked! I didn't want to make a big pitcher, so I settled for a single cup. A few months ago my mom gave me a little tea pot, with a strainer and what I'm assuming is supposed to be the cup to drink it from? I used it tonight and I love it! Its now one of my favorite things. :)

I think I used too much water because the tea is kinda weak. Hey, practice makes perfect! I did like it hot though. Its very relaxing!

Freshly Cut Grass

Today, while on my lunch break, I drove by the city workers who were mowing the grass. I knew what they were doing before I even got near them because I could smell the freshly cut grass. Its totally cliche to say I love that smell, but I do.

Once again, I instantly thought of my mamaw and the summer days my sister, my cousin Aaron and I would spend at her house while our parents worked. Her house is on a small slope and the yard is at the bottom of that slope. So, we call the yard "the bottom". Pretty clever, huh? We'd play in "the bottom" for hours. We'd roll around until we were covered in dirt and grass stains, but it was always so much fun! And I loved the smell of the grass as my Uncle Jackie mowed while we were out there.

Her house is back in the woods, so there are a ton of trees everywhere! Behind the house is a hill that has three huge apple trees. We didn't spend much time under them because of snakes, but we loved laying underneath those trees! I can remember riding on the riding lawn mower with my older cousin Kevin under those trees. Mamaw was so upset he took us on that thing! Then there was peach tree beside her house and two chestnut trees that stood between her house and the bottom. I hated when those stupid chestnuts fell onto the ground. I can't think of how many times I was running barefoot and stepped on them. Those thorny things hurt! If you aren't sure what I'm talking about google it, you'll see why! haha! She also had a snowball tree that was absolutely gorgeous. I loved playing with the petals when they fell to the ground. They were so soft!

When I was nine, my parents cleared off some land next to mamaw's. I loved living next to her! And what makes it even more special, is now my (future) children and Emma will get to play in the same yard I have so many memories in while playing at their mamaw and papaw's.

My Mamaw

I talk a lot about my mamaw. I think about her everyday. She truly was one of the most amazing, if not the most amazing person I have ever known. She was a petite little thing. When I was in third grade, I could wear her size 6 shoes and was just as tall as she was. I passed her up pretty quickly and, thanks to her cooking, never stayed as skinny as she was! I can still remember how soft her skin was and how pretty her hands were. Her knuckles were big, but I still wanted my hands to always look like hers! Of course, I have chubby hands and fingers. She always took care of her nails and always wore her rings. Her fingers were so little that her rings never stayed where they should. The diamonds were always sliding to the side of her fingers. She always wore keds, capri pants and little knit shirts. Every Friday she went to get her hair done at a beauty shop in town. I only heard her curse once or twice the entire fifteen years I had her. And as I got older, I realized how much of an impact the death of my papaw had on her. And I never ever realized how she truly held our family together.

I once asked her if she was going to have a sweetheart for Valentine's Day and she said that her sweetheart had left her and she'd never have another one. In the year or so before she passed away, her mental health began to decline. She was forgetful and sometimes she'd say things in a really hateful manner and then turn right around and be fine. She told my mom that everyone thought she was crazy, but she really just missed papaw. The Tuesday before she passed away, the doctor diagnosed her with alzheimer's. He told my dad and my aunt that they needed to take her truck keys away because he thought if she got out, she wouldn't make it back. So, they did and it killed her. They told her that she had lost them. And, love her heart, she had everyone of them in the front yard looking for her keys. Wednesday was the last time I saw her. Every five seconds, she was hugging my sister and me, telling us how proud of us she was and how much she loved us. All that week, she said little remarks to people..kinda like she knew? She told my uncle Jackie that everyone was going to be there that weekend, but she told my mom she didn't need anything from the grocery store. She told the florist that he was gonna be making the flowers for her casket soon and they better be pretty. And they were. She passed away on Saturday that week, the day before Mother's Day. We had just gotten back from shopping for her present and noticed her blinds were still open. She never had them open after dark. My dad told me to keep calling until she answered, but Dad was the one who answered. I've never felt so bad for my dad and even my mom. I couldn't imagine how they felt when they found her. My dad told me the hardest thing you'll ever have to do is bury your mother.

After she passed away, our little family fell apart. I was only fifteen, so I don't know what happened. For years, I didn't get to speak to any of my cousins. I didn't know what any of them were doing or how they were. And the same for my aunts and uncles. I'd pass a few of them in town and they'd speak to me, but it was never for as long as I wanted. Finally, me and my cousins have gotten to the point where we've decided whatever happened, happened between our parents, not us. And its been so fun catching up with them! We're all really busy with our own lives, but we've had one mini-reunion and we're planning on having a Christmas dinner next Saturday! I'm really excited! It may be too late for my dad and his siblings to make amends, but it isn't us. Like my cousin Felicia says, once they're gone, we're gonna be all we all have.

Sorry for rambling, I've just this on my mind a lot lately! Some other events have happened in the past month, but I can't post about that yet. There are still some things to be discussed. But, believe me, once I can, you'll be hearing all about it!

Snowflakes. :)

Today I'm entering my first blog contest! How exciting!

Its actually really simple! Momma Ruth is having a weekly treasure hunt on Etsy. Each Friday she'll give us a "theme" to search for on Etsy, we find something that we like or is meaningful to us and then post about it. After we post about it, we go back to Momma Ruth's blog and enter it into the McLinky box. Can someone explain to me what that is?

This week's theme is snowflakes. :) I was really excited when I saw this! I immediately headed over to Etsy and started my search. Wow! Soooo many pages came up with so many cute items dealing with snowflakes. I honestly didn't know what I was going to choose.

That is, until, I saw this:

Fine Threads

When I saw this, I couldn't help but smile! This instantly reminded me of my mamaw! As a side note, when I mention my mamaw, it is my dad's mom. I don't have a relationship with my mom's mom. It also reminds me of my mom. When I was younger, we'd spend several evenings going out and buying all kinds of Christmas decorations. My mom and mamaw would get all kinds of candles. They'd be shaped like nutcrackers, snowflakes, Christmas trees, etc. They'd set them up all over their houses. Everywhere you turned, there was a candle. But, my mamaw also made her own Christmas decorations. She'd crochet ornaments that looked somewhat like the one pictured above and would also make ornaments out of the plastic sewing canvas. She made some for my mom's tree and she still has them!