Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 204

Since we last spoke I gained a son. So much fun! I'm recapping the whole thing (really, I like details), and I'm also fighting a nasty cold so it's slow going. You can read entries 1 and 2 by clicking here and here. 

In the meantime though, the Hodgepodge is back to her regularly scheduled programming. Here are this week's questions, and you know what to do. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here tomorrow to add your link to the party.  

1. What's your best piece of advice for a newly married couple? I'm asking for a friend.

2. Before we're too far into the new year I wanted to post a question Teresa submitted during the December giveaway. Teresa blogs over at Being Refined As Silver, so everyone go say hi.

Teresa asks, "What were you doing on December 31st, 1999?"and "Did you or your family make preparations for Y2K?"

3. According to Global Language Monitor, the most used word of 2014 isn't a word. It's the heart emoji. Huh? How can something that's not a word be the most used word, but I digress. What do you think was your most used word in 2014?

4. Speaking of words, it's that time again. Time for Lake Superior University to present a list of words they'd like to see banished (for over-use, mis-use, and general uselessness) in 2015. You can read more about the decision making process here, but this year's top vote getters are-

bae (before anyone else), polar vortex, hack, skill set, swag, foodie, curate/curated, friend-raising, enhanced interrogation, cra-cra (as in crazy), takeaway, and -nation (a suffering sports suffix).

Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word not on the list you'd like to add?

5.  January is National Hot Tea month? Are you a fan? Do you like flavored teas? How do you take your tea? Have a favorite cup or teapot? How many cups of tea do you consume in a given day? 

6. Whatever happened to________________________________?

7. What is one book on your must-read list this winter? 

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

Spread the Love-Wedding Post 2

Getting to the wedding locale was, like most things we do, not simple. There were four of us humans plus Daughter2's long legged greyhound, along with various and assorted boxes containing the ingredients for our welcome bags, gifts for the bridesmaids, sparklers for the sendoff, luggage, a bunch of other 'stuff', as well as all the printed material-aka place cards, menus, and crossword puzzles custom designed by the bride herself.

Yes, crossword puzzles. 

We hosted a breakfast the day after and you need a crossword puzzle to go with your Sunday morning coffee, don't you? Anyway, suffice it to say we were overloaded. We rented one car instead of driving two of our own so hubs and I could make the long trek home together. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that we also had the wedding dress, which had previously traveled from D.C. to NJ. and was now making its way to South Carolina with a four day pit stop in Tennessee. 

Don't try to make sense of it...just keep reading. 

Daughter2 and I rode in our car with her very agreeable pup. We talked non-stop the entire route from NJ to Tennessee. 699.85 miles give or take a few for meals, petrol, and dog walking. At one point hubs had Daughter1 call and ask if we were bickering because he could see our hands waving. Ha! No we weren't bickering...that's just how we talk. 

Hubs and the bride were in the rental car up front, the pace car so to speak, which only made him a little bit crazy. Every so often he would have Daughter1(in his car) phone Daughter2 (in my car) with a message for me-

'Why is your mother so far back? Tell her she needs to go faster.' 

'Why is she on my bumper?! Is she going to run into me?!!'

'Tell her to turn on her fog lights so I know which car is hers." 

'It's hard to drive when I have to worry about what's in front of me, 

and also worry about your mom behind me." 

Chalk it up to the steady drizzle and all day fog, or maybe to all those giving-away-his-daughter nerves, but whatever we made it to my sister-in-law's cabin in Tennessee late Sunday night. The girls and the greyhound departed for SC the following afternoon because most of the wedding party and assorted friends were arriving in town early to ring in the new year with the soon-to-be-marrieds. 

Before they ducked out we set up an assembly line with the favors. My mother-in-law makes cranberry jelly every December, and she
was enlisted offered to make enough for us to give our guests as favors. There was a whole lotta jelly goin' on. 

Grandma spent the weeks before the wedding waiting for just the right weather conditions (not too humid), and managed to have them all ready to go by the time we arrived to load up and deliver. The bride designed adorable stickers with her 'logo' and a 'spread the love' graphic to add to the lids and they were just too cute.

I must insert here that the bride did all the wedding graphics and design herself. Everything from the invitations to the menus to the labels for the water bottles tucked inside the welcome bags, and she did an absolutely beautiful job. No small detail was too small to escape her artistic eye. Seriously it was so impressive. She kept her color scheme and font uniform, and incorporated the pinecone and evergreen in just the right proportion. She and I share a love of paper, pretty fonts, and lovely graphic design so we were really pleased with the end result.

The final touch added to the jam jars was tying gold glitter twine around the rim to complete the package. Yes gold glitter twine is so a thing. Listen, there's a little something out there called the Internet and if you can imagine it you can order it. Etsy and Amazon Fire were our friends, and the UPS delivery man might join us for Thanksgiving dinner next year. 

Also, you should know that whole tying the twine around a jar thing is a lot harder than it looks.  

But totally worth it.  Here's a peek at the favor station in the reception venue. I borrowed this shot from a friend's Facebook page, which I hope is fine. Hi Deb! The wooden jam spoons in the basket beside the jars were also hand crafted, made with love by the groom's mom and her close friend. They were absolutely fabulous, and every couple left with a spoon and jar of jam. 

When I started writing this post I intended to talk about the day and evening before the wedding. Somehow I ended up here though, and it feels like a good place to stop. I asked my daughter last night if she minded me posting about some of her special, personalized-by-her details, and she said sure. She'll be posting more about the creative side of her event, but was still working out how she wanted to order her posts. I told her my strategy was something called 'free flowing', which essentially means I start writing and see where I land. Hey, it works for me.

And you should definitely hop over and read all her thoughts and feels about her wedding and newly married life. (Click here to visit the bride's blog)

In conclusion-

My daughter is awesome.
The small touches she designed were my favorite.
Love and your grandma's jam. The world needs more of both. 

The Wedding-Post Number 1

I have a million things to tell you, but I can't seem to string two words together.  I need to start somewhere so I'm just going to start and hope it all makes sense at the end.

Kinda like always here on this side of the pond.

There will be several wedding related posts in the next few weeks, as pictures roll in and I remember all the many bits I want to record here on my blog. I'm beginning in the middle because I can, but will definitely go back and add the rehearsal, the ceremony, the reception, the people, and the 411 on so many amazing little details the bride made come to life.

Right now I don't have a lot of pictures, other than the phone shots friends have sent (Keep 'em coming!), and it will be a while before we get the photographer's pictures back, so for now how 'bout some words?

The wedding was perfect. Seriously. My daughter said so, and she should know. It rained. A lot. Still perfect. Absolutely perfect. Here's a little lesson for anyone out there planning a daughter's wedding, or who will someday in the future plan a daughter's wedding-

Everything does not need to go perfectly in order for the day to be perfect. 

Did everything go perfectly on January 3rd? Almost. But here's the thing...it was the almost, the imperfect moment, that ended up being my most favorite moment of the entire weekend. It's the thing I have thought about the most, pondered over and over, and stored up in my heart as a treasure to pull out when I need to remember what real love looks like.

So let's get my little 'mishap' out of the way right off the bat. Y'all. My dress. I loved it so much. I might never love another dress as much as I loved this one. I don't have a great picture yet, but this one gives you some idea.  I did not wear my glasses all night, but put them on to help with the place cards, which is when this photo was snapped.

Yes, I needed to tell you that. 

The color, fabric, weight, the way it fell, the length, the cap sleeves, the v-back, the sparkle, the fit. Everything about this dress made me so happy. I wore heels because I always wear heels. I'm not a flats kind of girl, and I'm most comfortable in heels on any given day, so naturally I was in heels on wedding day.  And this is what I was wearing when the 'incident' occurred. Details matter.

The hair and makeup crew set up in our hotel suite bright and early, and all the super adorable bridesmaids came to our room to get ready.

Bless the maid who toted her steamer all the way from Georgia, because there was some serious dress steaming going on all morning long. We'd purchased yogurt and juice ahead of time, my mother-in-law had given us a loaf of her cranberry bread, and we relaxed and sipped mimosas.

It was sweet, semi-organized chaos while girls took their turns in the makeup chair or at the hair station.

FYI-false eyelashes are da bomb. Wish I had someone to do my hair and makeup every day.

Daughter1 had given all the girls a cute lightweight robe and fuzzy socks so they were all matchy matchy (me too!) and hours passed, and then we had a deli lunch delivered from McAllisters before getting the bride into her dress and veil.

Everything was going swimmingly. Daughter2 was looking gorgeous in her minty green maid of honor gown, and the bride was beaming. The bridesmaids were beautiful and all smiles, and I was in my dress and heels, with hair and makeup done, feeling all the feels.

In hindsight I guess the feels were bubbling up a little and they needed something to set them free, so I obliged.

The suite had two rooms, a living room and a bedroom. The bridesmaids were all in the living room, so they missed the excitement (although I'm pretty sure they heard it), but the bride, Daughter2, and myself-mother of the bride, the one who is supposed to be calm, cool, and collected so as not to upset the bride on her most important day, were all in the bedroom.

The photographer had just walked out of the room
thank goodnessafter capturing Daughter2 and I helping the bride into her gown.

Which was stunning.

She looked like a fairy princess and I mean that literally. Like a fairy princess. One of my friends said she needed a pose, because all the Disney princesses have their own pose. I will post more pics as I get them, with details because there can never be too many details when we're talking weddings.

Anyway, Daughter1's dress did not have a train, but her veil did and I was fussing with it to get it to lay just right as mothers since the dawn of time have done on their daughter's wedding day. I took a step back to get a better look without realizing (until too late) that there was a very large tote bag right behind me.

I fell over backward in a most spectacular manner. I mean all the way over.  Flat out on my back, one leg awkwardly splayed sideways. You know those chalk outlines on CSI? It looked like that.

I could not speak. I could not breathe. All I can say is I went into another dimension of time and space, totally and completely unnerving my girls. They were saying all the right things, patting me on the hand, telling me I was okay, which is exactly how every bride wants to spend those last five minutes they have with their mother before they climb into the limo for a ride to the church to get married, isn't it?

I knew I should pull myself together, but I felt incapable. I never feel incapable. I am a capable person, but in that moment I felt positively infantile.  I wanted a do-over. I couldn't believe what was happening, had happened. I wanted my own mother.

I was ridiculous.

I didn't feel injured, but I did feel like I'd ripped my dress. So daughter2, bless her heart, all dolled up with her perfect hair and ready to go in a freshly steamed unwrinkled long gown, got down on her hands and knees to check the seams. The two of them helped me stand up (eventually, because honestly I had to lay there for a second or two) and they worried just a little.

I was not injured. My dress was intact, not a single tear or ripped seam, but my heart would not stop racing and I just could not seem to shake it off. My daughters recognized that, and didn't miss a beat. Daughter1, the bride, the girl getting married in less than an hour, who had maybe imagined sharing a tender, heartfelt, even funny moment with her mother, instead had to take charge.

She said, 'We need to pray. Right this very minute.' We sat on the bed (okay, maybe they sat me on the bed), the bride on my left, and her sister on my right, and we all held hands, and the bride prayed the sweetest prayer I've ever had the privilege of hearing. Words I will remember all the days of my life.

I'm close to my girls and I know they love me, but in that moment, in that prayer, she articulated everything I felt she wanted to say to me, but that needed just the right moment to be said.

And my less than graceful fall over that bag created just the right moment.

So if I really could have a do-over of those minutes before we left the hotel, would I change anything?

No. Had I torn my dress or broken my ankle I'd probably answer differently, but since I and my dress were both unscathed,  I'll say no. I wouldn't take a do-over.

We've all heard of God-winks and God-smiles? Well I like to call this my God-trip. That fall reminded me His hand was upon these girls, my daughters, me. Upon this bride and her new groom, their ceremony and this day. That He made us a family and has bound our hearts together in such a way that all we can do is feel grateful.

And I am. Grateful for a God who takes even the imperfect moments of our lives and makes them perfect.

Days of Auld Lang Hodgepodge

Welcome to the last HP in 2014, but no worries...there will be plenty more random fun in the new year. 

Just not next week. 

Next week I will be in full on post wedding mode, so no Hodgepodge January6/7. The HP will be back to it's regular posting schedule the following week-January 13/14. Thanks for understanding y'all, and I promise I'm almost done talking about the wedding. 

The planning anyway. I haven't even gotten started talking about the actual day, but I figure I've got all of 2015 to do that. Now for this week's questions...Happy New Year everyone!

1. Share a favorite moment from your Christmas holiday celebration.

Tiptoeing upstairs Christmas morning and passing Daughter1's bedroom. Seeing the bed made and thinking 'wow- she's up early', only to discover she and her sister had both slept in Daughter2's bedroom on Christmas Eve.

 Just like they have every single Christmas since 1991. 

2. What would you say has been the biggest news event during your life so far?

My first thought was of course 9/11,  because it's still so fresh in our hearts and minds. But man walking on the moon, the end of the Vietnam War, and the fall of the Berlin Wall were also big important newsworthy events that have occured in my lifetime.  

I think I'll still say 9/11 because it feels like there was a real shift in America and the world as a result. 

3. The Pantone Color of the Year for 2015 is Marsala. What say you-like or no like? Would I find this color anywhere in your home or wardrobe? Will you add something in this shade to either?

I love the color. I think it's a nice warm tone and I have something close to this on my kitchen walls now.  It blends well with greens, golds, and taupes which you'll also find in my home. 

4. Would you rather meet your ancestors or your great grandchildren? Explain why.

My great grandchildren. My babies babies babies. I know it would be fascinating to meet my ancestors too, but the idea of my babies babies babies makes my heart happy. 

5. Share one life lesson learned in 2014?

There are many things in this world worth getting worked up over, and also many that are not. It's good to recognize the difference. It's okay to step away from the latter. 

6. What was your best or favorite purchase made in 2014?

Finally, something easy! A wedding dress for my daughter the bride.  

7. What is one thing you're looking forward to in the new year?

My very first visit to the Pacific Northwest. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

There's no better way to begin a new year than with a wedding. So excited to celebrate with family who have loved the bride and groom all their lives. Grateful there isnt a blizzard in the forecast. Thankful for friends from literally all the many places we've set down roots, who are traveling to be with us on the big day. Can't wait to ring in a brand new year.

Happy 2015 to you all!

Remembering Christmas

I have a few free minutes and thought I'd post a small Christmas recap before the new year (and the Hodgepodge) roll in. I think if I don't do it now it won't happen. That wouldn't be the end of the world for you, but would be disappointing to me. Also,  I'm on my iPad which isn't ideal, but it's what I've got so here goes.

We had a lovely Christmas, low key, lots of time hanging together at home, and only a mention or two of the upcoming wedding. We really made a point to celebrate Christmas for Christmas sake. 

In spite of the size (just the four of us) we stuck to our yearly holiday traditions of the candlelight service on Christmas Eve, and a (not really) tortured photo on the steps before we see what Santa brought...

There were stockings before a big breakfast on Christmas Day, followed by presents, punch, dinner, and lots of phone calls to family near and far.

I decorated just like I do every year.

Two trees holding treasured ornaments, along with newer souvenirs of our more recent travels-

... my beloved nativity-

...snow village-

...and shiny glass ornaments in a big crystal bowl. 

There were a few fun surprises too. Here's hubs with his barbecue lighter that looks like a rifle. 

And this sweet mug from the bride to her sister-

It has her state on one side with a heart over her city, and then a line connecting it to the bride's new state on the other side, with a heart over her city. 

Which is far away, but we won't think too hard about that on Christmas. 

My mother in law made me a really pretty lighted decoration this year, and it sits in my back hall where we come in and out. 

We hang our photo Christmas cards on this back staircase too, so we can see friends and family faces as we go about our day. I love it, and a part of me wants to leave it up all year. But  I won't. 

It was a happy day. A good Christmas. Our last as a family of four.

In 2015 our family expands. 

Christmas for me includes a lot of tradition. Making it look nearly the same from year to year. There's comfort in the familiar warmth of home and family, and we all look forward to the way our holiday unfolds in a similar pattern year after year.  

Next year it will likely look a bit different. 

We're ready though. 

Ready for more love, more joy, and the new 'gifts' this next year will bring. 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 203

Happy New Year Hodgepodgers! Welcome to the final edition of 2014. Next time we do this a new year will have rolled around, and speaking of...there will not be any Hodgepodge next week (Jan 6/7) because I will be in full on wedding mode.  The Hodgepodge will be back to it's regular weekly posting the week after-on January 13/14.  

Okay, here we go-

1. Share a favorite moment from your Christmas holiday celebration.

2. What would you say has been the biggest news event during your life so far?

3. The Pantone Color of the Year for 2015 is Marsala. What say you-like or no like? Would I find this color anywhere in your home or wardrobe? Will you add something in this shade to either?

4. Would you rather meet your ancestors or your great grandchildren? Explain why.

5. Share one life lesson learned in 2014?

6. What was your best or favorite purchase made in 2014?

7. What is one thing you're looking forward to in the new year?

8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

'Twas The Night Before Christmas

...and a week before the wedding, but let's not talk about that right now.  Let's talk Christmas instead.

I love this picture also taken on Christmas Eve once upon a time. It appears Santa was serious business around here in the 90's. Hubs own father always read Twas the Night Before Christmas to his family on Christmas Eve, and hubs has carried on that tradition with our children too. Our girls might be in their 20's now, but you're never too old to snuggle up on the couch beside your Dad on Christmas Eve.

Here's another throwback. The bride-to-be and the hubs all dressed up and ready to head into the city for the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall.  

The bride was two and a half, and we lived in the furthest reaches of New Jersey back then so hubs arranged for a limo to get them into Manhattan. I stayed home with the newborn maid of honor, but I still remember how excited Daughter1 was to call me on the phone. From THE CAR! 

Hey, it was 1990 and we weren't all walking around with phones as added appendages back then.

We were back in Radio City Music Hall yesterday, and the show is every bit as good in 2014. The Rockettes are pure dance perfection. Seriously they never miss a step, are never out of sync, and they make it all look completely effortless.

I have a lot of favorite acts in the program, but the Nativity finale and rousing rendition of Hark the Herald Angels Sing is definitely near the top of my list.

The weather was weirdly warmish (for December anyway), and it was misting only a little, not enough to keep us from a peek at the tree.

THE tree.

Which is not actually blurry in real life, but I didn't want to carry my big camera in the rain, so these were all taken with my phone. Plus, there's all those people, people. You have to be quick, and if there's one thing I'm not when it comes to photography, that would be it. The tree is always stunning, and when you come around the corner and catch that first glimpse it kind of takes your breath away.

We had dinner at one of our favorite places, Bobby Flay's Bar Americain. Wedding planning is a funny thing in that every now and then somebody here spontaneously sheds a tear. Mostly it's the hubs-ha! Kidding! Sort of, but last night it was Daughter2.

I understand completely. We're all so happy for the soon to be newlyweds, and we're super excited for the big day and all the fun and life ahead. Sometimes though, seemingly out of the blue, you are struck in the gut with the knowledge that you're not going to have your sister within easy arm's reach, and as happy as you are for her, you know there will be a new normal to figure out.

 
And that's okay, because we know how to do new here.
Even though you're young, life has taught you that new is good too.

God always makes us ready for next, because life is full of next...new...change. With change we've learned there will come gifts we didn't even know we wanted.

2015 will be a year filled with lots of changes round here. Years ago that would have scared me a little, but right now I feel a sense of happy anticipation to see how the days unfold. I know from first hand experience the challenges that come with geographic distance between me and the people I love. I also know family is knit into the very fabric of who I am, and that amid the whirling, turning, upside-down world in which we live, there they will remain.

I don't know what all the new year will bring, but I do know when I'm writing here this time next year I  can say as I do now- God is good and He is with us.

Circumstances change, and that's a given.
Thankfully He does not.

Merry Christmas Everyone!