Happy Birthday to Me

No, it's not my real birthday. I'm linking up with Flashback Friday today and the theme is birthdays. Believe me, when my real birthday rolls around you're gonna be hearing about it. It's a BIG one. HUGE. Rest assured I'll be mentioning it a time or 50 on my blog.

Now on to my flashback...I don't remember having a birthday party every year but I do remember having at least a few. I found a couple of pictures in a scrapbook my mom made for me of my first 20 years of life and apparently my mom always made sure there was a fabulous cake.

Here I am on my 2nd birthday. Just look at this cake! My birthday is not in December but I love the peppermint sticks around the edge. I'm the one with the present. Pebbles is my younger sister. I'm glad the cake is out of reach because she looks like she is contemplating some mischief and I'm pretty sure that's exactly what she was doing because that was her modus operandi back in the day.

And check out this fabulous coconut cake on my third birthday. You may not have noticed the cake because you were distracted by my cousin's awesome glasses. That's my brother beside me. He looks like he's pretty impressed by the cake too.

Thinking back to my elementary school days I remember pinatas and goody bags and my favorite kind of party...the sleep over. Here I am getting ready to leave for a friend's sleepover birthday.

From the looks of this photo it was the dead of winter and we were sleeping outdoors. Check out the size of that sleeping bag! I love my little case though. I do remember that ovenite bag. I cannot imagine what in the world the present might be...a desk blotter? Hmmm...

My parents always made our birthdays special but they didn't do extravagant parties. They had four kids and the world was different than today. No ponies in the backyard, no performing circus animals, no blow up bouncy castles...but still, happy days. Fun days spent with friends feeling special, like the day was all mine.

I did have a sleepover on my 12th birthday. I remember playing Truth or Dare, pulling pranks on whoever went to sleep first, my dad coming downstairs telling us ENOUGH! GO TO SLEEP!, and then of course the girl sleeping beside me throwing up in the middle of the night no doubt from all the junk food we'd eaten. Good times.

I'll leave you with this fantastic photo from my 10th birthday.

I got a hot pink bicycle and it was precisely exactly totally and completely what I wanted that year. In fact I was so excited to hop on and go for a ride that when my mom told me to first put on some socks and shoes I was in such a flutter that I did not take my usual care to match my too cool knee socks to the rest of my outfit. When I look at this picture of course I see the socks because, hello...they CLASH...but I also remember being 10 years old and oh so happy to have that bike, to ride it all over the neighborhood, to ride with no hands, to jump on and go to a friends and not come home for hours...to feel the freedom of being a kid.

Why would you want to leave?

Yesterday we received the printed graduation announcements we ordered for daughter1. That's crazy. I'm pretty sure we were just in Target shopping for her first teeny tiny dorm room.

Guess not.

Daughter1 is very very excited to be finishing up with university.

Classes I mean...the rest of it, not so much.

The campus where my girls attend school is absolutely stunning. Seriously, hubs and I say we'd like to live there. In fact Southern Living built a house on the campus last year and we think we should be able to move right in...I'm pretty sure we've paid enough tuition to make a good case.

The house was built as 'a model of environmentally responsible design, building techniques and materials and energy-saving systems. It is a hands-on environmental learning laboratory' but whatever. We toured the house last year and feel like we could deal with a few students coming and going. And tending the gardens.

There is a beautiful lake on campus. The campus is very community friendly and you see people walking their dogs, jogging and biking. While my girls were in class one morning I walked the lake path and wondered if it was too late to go back to college.

There is also a little something called The Rose Garden.

The roses weren't in bloom just yet but my daughters tell me that if you walk through when the gardener is there he will cut a rose for you.

Do you love a Japanese Garden?

They have that too... complete with a tea house straight from Japan.

There are beautiful flower beds all over the campus...their school colors are purple and white so lots of purple and white in the gardens.

Then there are the fountains...

many, many fountains.

They are gorgeous.

I can see why it would be hard to leave.

And I haven't even mentioned this...

or this...

or especially this...

"No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth." ~Robert Southey

No foolin'...April's first Random

Before I get started can someone tell me what is going on with the ladybugs this spring? Crazy!

It's Wednesday which means time for another Random Dozen. Interesting questions this week...why not play along and link your answers over at 2nd cup of coffee?

1. Define a great relationship.

Wow. We’re not messing around this week are we? The first thing that popped into my head was my hubs. Marriage. I’m not sure there is one thing that defines a great relationship but I think a few key components are-

Similar values

The ability to listen and to talk. But mostly to listen.

Honesty. But not mean brutal honesty.

Forgiveness…both the giving and the accepting

Laughter.

2. Why is it called a "drive-through" if you have to stop? (Real question: What was the last food/drink you purchased at a drive-through?)

I have to really think hard here because truthfully I don’t do fast food very often. I had a light latte from Dunkin Donuts last Friday morning. That’s about as drive thru as I get.

3. As I type this, the Butler Bulldogs are getting ready to play in the NCAA championship game. Every Hoosier is hysterical about this except me. So in honor of the Bulldogs ... what is your favorite breed of dog? (I tried.)

Gordon Setter...sweetest dog on the planet.

4. If you had to move to a state besides the one you currently live in, where would you move?

South Carolina. I could be happy in North Carolina or Tennessee too. Well truthfully I can be happy anywhere but we’d be super happy living south.

5. If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?

I had a pretty happy childhood. I’m sure it wasn’t perfect but nothing comes to mind when I think about changing the way I was raised.

6. Who's the funniest person you know?

Husband. Without a doubt.

7. Did you get enough sleep last night?

Yes. I guess so...how much is enough?

8. What's the first thing you thought about this morning?

Must mail one portion of our income tax return today...the accountant was unable to file one state return electronically due to some glitch in the system. My thoughts then generally head in the direction of- why do we pay income taxes to a state in which we do not live and in which we do not own property? Plus pay the state in which we do live and do own property. Plus the federal government. Plus the UK. I need coffee.

9. Grilled or Fried? –HONESTLY

Grilled. Unless we’re talking catfish which of course must be fried. I didn’t need to say that did I? In the past ten years we have eaten fewer and fewer fried foods and I find them almost too heavy these days. I can honestly say I now prefer grilled.

10. Are you afraid of the dark?

Not as in going to bed and sleeping with the lights off afraid of the dark. But I am not a fan of pushing the rubbish bin down our very long driveway to the curb in the dark. Thar’s bears out thar ya know. And I still have a secret fear of the basement in my mom’s house. We hated going in the basement when we were kids and I still don’t particularly like it.

11.When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A mother. A nurse. A teacher.

12. If you had one word to describe yourself , what would you choose?

I think we’ve established that I’m not a one word kind of girl. I asked my family and here is what they said…both of my children separately said patient. How sweet.

Hubs? He said stubborn. Seriously? That's the first word that came into your head? He said it with a smile but I'd like to change my answer to #6 please.

I guess if I have to pick a word myself then I'm going with optimistic.

Smoky Mountain Memories

An awful lot happens in the blogosphere when you are away for a week. When you've been more or less incommunicado for a week do you try to read back posts or do you just forge ahead? I'm thinking forge ahead. Except of course I'm going to go back to last week and catch you up on what I did because I'm pretty positive you wouldn't want to skip over that.

Now, if only I can figure out how not to overwhelm you with all the words in my head and the pictures on my camera.

I've had the best week with my girlies and with some extended family as well.

Last Tuesday morning I flew to South Carolina so I could have a little extra time with my kiddos before Easter. I left NJ in a monsoon and arrived in sunny South Carolina to blinding sunshine and warm weather.

I love the South.

Why are we living in NJ again?

I stayed with my sister and took my girls shopping and out to eat as their

class and work schedule permitted.

Oh, and we gabbed.

A lot.

The campus where they attend school is known as one of the prettiest in the country. I took lots of pictures but I think I'm going to chat about that in a separate post because I need to talk about Easter here. Daughter2 and I did do some talking in this spot though...

This is a seating area just outside the on-campus Starbucks.

Beside the lake.

Yes, they have a rough life.

Hubs flew down Thursday night and Friday morning we drove to Tennessee for the weekend. The hubs brother and sister in law own a cabin in the Smoky Mountains and we rented one near theirs for the Easter weekend. Hubs sister and brother in law and their two boys joined us and his parents drove back and forth from their house in a nearby town each day so lots and lots of family fun.

We had a beautiful view from the deck of our cabin and spent most of our time out there or on the deck at my sister in law's place.

The view is okay I think.

Saturday afternoon we piled in the cars and drove just a few minutes up the road to see some pretty falls.

The cousins had a ball clambering over the slippery rocks.

So did the hubs.

Like I said-mountain goat.

The Smoky Mountains are one of my favorite spots. To get there from SC we had to drive through the tourist trap town of Pigeon Forge which we secretly like. Daughter1 was on the phone trying to explain Pigeon Forge to the boyfriend as we came through town and she said it pretty well...

"Where else could you see The Worlds Best Beef Jerky Outlet, a hammer store, a replica of the Titanic, and a German hotel with a Christmas theme all in the space of less than one mile?"

It is such a lot of fun. And such a lot of traffic on Easter weekend especially. But once you get past Pigeon Forge and into the mountains there is glorious quiet.

And beauty all around.

After our outing we went back to the house and dyed Easter Eggs.

Here is daughter1 working on hers...did I mention she is an art student?

You probably figured that out from the look of serious concentration she has going on here.

Somehow making one ugly egg has become a tradition at our house.

I do believe Daughter2 has perfected the technique.

We don't have all the cousins on this side of the family together very often and they really enjoyed being together.

There was lots of laughing and lots of front porch sitting.

Back porch too.

Easter morning we gave the girls their baskets and made let them hunt for Easter eggs before heading down the mountain to go to church with my in-laws. We were married in this church so its always special to go back and visit.

It was just a gorgeous day and the service was lovely. There is a gentleman who sings in their choir who should seriously record an album plus they sang the Hallelujah chorus at the end and who doesn't love that? After church we all went back to the cabin for Easter lunch. We originally thought we'd eat out but after I described in my blog a few posts back what we normally would be having for lunch the girls said they were going to miss the traditional home made meal so mother in law and I cooked a ham and all the trimmings. Which may or may not have included a yummy coconut cake (Thanks Carol!)

Monday morning we packed up and made the drive back to South Carolina for our flight back home. I was definitely not ready to leave but knowing I'll be going back in a month helps. Daughter1 is graduating from college.

Is that right?

That doesn't sound right?

I could write a whole post about that and hey, guess what?

I will.

I don't wanna be a chicken I don't wanna be a duck...

Did anyone else read Linda's intro to the Random Dozen questions this week and start singing the words to The Chicken Dance in their head? No?

Well you probably are now. And you're welcome.


I'm sorta kinda taking a bloggy break while I enjoy Easter week with my girls. I did still manage to get in on the Random Dozen and everyone is invited to play along. Answer the questions on your own blog (or in the comments here) and then link up those answers with Lid over at Second Cup of Coffee.

1. How do you feel about the marshmallow Easter Peeps?

There is something aesthetically pleasing about the look of peeps. I want to like them but I really don't.

2. Chickens are notoriously nervous creatures. When you are nervous, what is the best way to calm down?

Pray. I say all the Bible verses I have memorized that relate to worry, fear, and anxiety. I sing hymns in my head, most especially What a Friend We Have in Jesus.

You are welcome to steal my method : )

3. People say, "April showers bring May flowers." Do you enjoy Spring rains?

Well, they have gotten to the point of ridiculous in my neck of the woods. NJ has had severe flooding and more rain is on tap this week. I know come summer we'll be glad the ground was good and saturated but it's getting a teensy bit old at this point.

4. When I was randomly flipping through TV channels this week, I saw a show in which tattoo parlor employees received tattoos of a co-worker's face on their bodies. I can't imagine having a portrait of a colleague tattooed on me. But if someone forced you to receive a portrait tattoo (face only) of anyone, who would it be? Why?

I don't get this at all. If I were getting a tattoo it would not be someones face. That's why Kodak was invented. If you make me choose I guess I'd say my daughters. I can just picture their reaction as I remove my beach cover up and they see their smiling faces looking back at them from my lower back.

5. Would you rather have a tattoo (any kind) or a nose ring?

Neither. A nose ring isn't permanent so that should be my answer but I honestly cannot see myself with a nose ring.

And permanently inking myself is not appealing either. fyi-your skin at 40 something is not the skin you had at 20 something. Just sayin'.

Hubs and I did have one fleeting moment where I suggested we get tiny little Union Jacks tattooed somewhere out of sight as we were leaving the UK but then I remembered I have children who have been strictly instructed NO TATTOOS so we refrained. Gotta lead by example I think.

Plus I'm kind of a chicken.

Ha- did you notice the way I cleverly worked Linda's theme into my answer?

6. Do you have any special plans for Easter?

yes : ) Tune in next week for a recap. I like a little mystery on the blog now and then.

7. Cadbury Eggs or Reese Eggs?

Reese's Eggs. You can never go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter.

8. What was the last thing/person you took a picture of?

I think it was my tapestry which I wrote about Monday. But I'm sure I will overwhelm you next week with Easter picture obnoxiousness.

9. What book are you reading now, or what was the last one?

'Stuff Christians Like' by Jon Acuff. I've been reading his blog since I discovered the blogosphere...he is absolutely hilarious and has just had a book published. Check it out.

And no, he did not pay me for the props.

10. What do you think is the most difficult task when it comes to Spring cleaning?

Normally I'd say washing windows but I've discovered the secret to that one. It's called pay someone. So I'll go with closets. How does so much accumulate in a season?

11. How many pairs of flip-flops do you own?

Maybe 5...I need new flip flops this year. I haven't felt too motivated to go buy any just yet though because did I mention it was 26 degrees last weekend?

12. Which color makes you happiest?

yellow...the color of sunshine and happiness

Wishing you all the blessings of this special holy week!

How many electricians does it take to hang a tapestry?

Okay, first let me just get this out of the way...the VOLS! Heartbreaking! What a game that was....I had to leave the room during the last two minutes because I got so nervous I couldn't sit still. I wonder if its more painful to lose by one point and know it was within your reach or to lose like Kentucky and be able to say the other team played better? Either way, it was an exciting weekend of college basketball in case you don't know what I'm talking about.

Next thing I need to say is this...I knew March was a big tease. We got up early on Saturday because we needed to drop the MG off somewhere for her Spring tuneup. (yes, she is a she) Hubs wanted to know the temperature before we headed out because I guess he was hoping he might be able to put the top down. 26 degrees. Uh, no. Not happening. That would be top up weather. And scarf, gloves and winter coat weather. Sigh. On the bright side there was no snow.

After we dropped off the car we went out to breakfast. Have I told you how much I love to go out to breakfast? We have a couple of really good little breakfast spots in our town so its becoming a regular part of our weekends. You can put this one in the pro column for empty nesting. And fyi, not seeing your children since the Christmas break would be on the con side of that same list. But- (insert happy dance) I will see them tomorrow.

Tomorrow tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow...you're only a day (and a plane ride) away.

Back to Saturday...after breakfast we headed to Loews because Saturday was the day we planned to hang our tapestry. In case you don't read here regularly my hubs bought a beautiful tapestry in Belgium a few weeks ago but we needed some additional bits before we could actually put it up on the wall. And I guess when we talked about all of this I wasn't really thinking about what the actual hanging of said tapestry would involve. I for sure was not thinking we'd need an electrician. And normally you don't but we managed to create some special circumstances.

We planned to hang the tapestry in our foyer and because I have a large chandelier there already I wanted the tapestry rod to coordinate so we had to order one. Plus the tapestry is quite heavy so you want to have a proper rod to hold the weight. We also ordered tassels to drape on the ends of the rod so we had to wait for these items to arrive. I debated mucho over the color of the tassels but ended up going with the gold and am happy because its perfect.

The plan was always to hang the tapestry on the stairwell which is high. Very high. I don't have a brain for this type of thing but from the very beginning hubs said hanging it was going to be a problem...that he didn't have the right kind of ladder to perch precariously on the steps and maybe I should just pay a handyman to hang the tapestry and do a couple of other small projects that also require funky ladders.

In the end we went to Loews and bought a special ladder. Even the saleslady was shocked at the price. She looked at it twice and then at us and said, "Really? For a ladder?" My thoughts exactly.

So we get the ladder set up and hubs puts some boards across the top to stand on and I'd love to show you a picture but I didn't take one. Somebody had to hold the ladder in place ya know! And sweat. And pray a lot. And agree with hubs every time he muttered the words I hope I don't fall. And I didn't take any pictures when he was finished because that's when we realized that for some strange reason the power was out in our master bath which is on the complete other end of the house and so we needed those few moments to panic and wonder why?

Hubs spent the next hour up in the attic checking all the wires and removing the switch plate from the bedroom behind the tapestry wall and in the end we called an electrician because I didn't want an electrical fire behind the wall. He comes this afternoon and even though everything looks fine, and the power came back on as soon as we flipped the fuse, and all lights and fans, etc have been working fine since Saturday morning, we're still going to have him take a look just to be on the safe side. And I'm really hoping there is no need to cut open the bedroom wall. Sigh. Oh, and the tapestry?

It looks beautiful!

In My Easter Bonnet

Okay, so I'm not actually going to be wearing a bonnet on Easter Sunday because I'm not Ma Ingalls but that song popped into my head and I needed to put it somewhere. How do you celebrate Easter in your house? I'm especially looking forward to Easter this year because I will be spending it with my girls and some extended family we haven't seen in a very long time. I haven't seen my girls since Christmas. My heart aches when I think about that fact. And this will be the first Easter we've all been together in a long long time. When my girls were in highschool they spent every Easter away from home on a service project with Young Life.

Those Easters were celebrated in Romania and Bulgaria far far from home but doing something wonderful for people they had never met.

When my oldest went off to college four years ago it didn't make sense to fly her to London for what amounted to a long weekend so she has spent the past few Easters with roommates in Memphis and with her grandparents in Tennessee and last year with my sister and her family in South Carolina.

When my girls were little I carried on with the traditions my mother established as we were growing up. First, there are the clothes...you have to have a new dress for Easter. And it has to be something that makes you think Spring even though most years we end up with very chilly weather, and occasionally even snow.

We used to get some sort of hair accessory or hat for the day too. My girls loved wearing a hat on Easter. Remember when women all wore hats to church on Easter Sunday? Okay, maybe you're too young too remember that but they did.

Then there are the baskets...gotta have an Easter basket. We always set the baskets at their places on the kitchen table so they would see them first thing in the morning. The baskets are filled with peanut butter eggs for daughter2 and coconut eggs for daughter1, and jelly beans and usually a big chocolate rabbit too. There would also be a few little bits and bobs...when my kids were young it was bubbles and hair bows and sunglasses. Now it is Itunes cards, and nail polish, and jewelry. Yeah, fyi...kids get more expensive as they get older.

The eggs....we love to dye Easter eggs. It was a problem in England because all the eggs are brown so this is a tradition we look forward to starting back up this year.

Daughter2 has already asked if we'll be dyeing eggs this year. Of course we'll dye eggs...you are never too old. Plus we'll be celebrating with some young cousins and they'll be excited about that I'm sure. We usually did the egg hunt after baskets were inspected but before church. And I think every year but one it has been inside. Pesky weather.

The food...I normally cook Easter lunch or I helped my mom cook. And its always a ham and of course deviled eggs. We choose the 'ugly' eggs to peel first for lunch. You know there are always a few bad color mixes which leave you with an ugly egg or two. We have asparagus and pineapple stuffing and something coconut for dessert...coconut cake is one of my absolute favorites. This year we will be with my in laws on the day and I think we may be going out to lunch which is also nice. I really don't care because did I tell you I'LL BE SEEING MY GIRLS WHO I HAVE NOT SEEN SINCE CHRISTMAS???? I know.

Church. I love church. I especially love it on Easter Sunday. Most people make a little effort to dress up and I have to say that is something I miss about church most weeks. I know church isn't about the clothes and I wouldn't want people staying away because they feel like they don't have the right thing to wear but sometimes I look around and think, wow, we've really gone to the other extreme. I love lilies on the altar...you know there will be lilies on Easter Sunday. And I love the hymns...I hope there are some hymns....Up from the Grave He Arose, At Calvary, and one of my very favorites,The Old Rugged Cross ...wonderful hymns with wonderful words.

And finally, the reason. Easter is perhaps my favorite day of the year. Easter is a day filled with hope. That word has been tossed around so much recently it makes my head spin. But real hope comes from the fact that Jesus paid the ultimate price for us, that he died on the cross and He rose from the dead. And that is worth celebrating every day.

I'm linking this post to Flashback Friday over at Mocha with Linda...come visit and share your Easter memories too.