Passing Down Memories

Since, Chad and I married, I have been trying to re-create the family vacations my mama and daddy provided us growing up by taking Chad and Darby to northern Arkansas. This year we were able to all go together: Daddy, Mama, James II, Dana, James III, William, Chad, Darby, and myself. Our chosen family Skylar, Mike, and Jeremy even joined us (Sarah and Craig, we'll expect you next year!). In our hearts we all brought our Gayla.

Last week, surrounded by family and soaking my toes in the ice-cold White River, I felt normal. The large weight that always feels like it is sitting on my lungs preventing me from breathing or moving was lifted. I know it was because every member of my family was helping hold it up off of me...and they didn't even know it.




You'd be amazed at how a little two-year-old hand grasping your fingers as he walks down the trail can bring relief to heartbreak. A surly teenager turned hugger causes your heart to soar. A newborn curled into your shoulder brings you comfort. Singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" in rounds down the river by canoe with your siblings and children makes you feel young. Out-fishing your husband even makes you feel sheepishly proud, especially when your Daddy and Brother brag on you.


Gayla used to really hate coming back from vacations...now I see why. It's the only time we really live with our loved ones and the "real world" is held at bay for just a little while.

NOTE: I really need pictures of Dana, who was always behind the camera, and Mike and Jeremy!

My Dearest Husband and Best Friend...

My Dearest All Knowing Chad,

Today is the day that God made you. From the stories I have heard you were a terror from birth to your second birthday, and then "poof" you were an angel. HaHaHa! We both know the truth on that one!

Nevertheless, I send up my prayers of thanks today for you, my miracle. Our path has not always run straight, but it seems to have always converged just when we both needed it. You, my hero, have saved me over and over again. You are everything I have ever prayed for in a husband. Thank you for being you and for being my blessing. Happy birthday, my love!

I love you,
J.

"I'm a logger - just up from Coos Bay, Oregon..."

We're a road trip family! And Ray Stevens' genius was always invited to join us. In fact, I am thinking I'll download a few of our favorites to my playlist before we hit the road tomorrow. We're no longer a family of five in an Astro Van with our first tape deck and individual captains chairs. We're a troop of four varying vehicles, 8 adults (sorta), 2 teens, and 2 big boys (babies). The music is more of the IPhone/IPod nature and the artists are more eclectic, and we all have the house sitters and dog sitters lined up. Only one thing could make this trip perfect, but I am not going there today. I hope to post some fun stuff while we're out there, but we won't know till we get there if we're able. Nevertheless, an adventure awaits, and I am singing in my head, "I want to sing and dance, I want to sing and dance, I want to be a pirate in the Pirates of Penzance, Wear me silver-buckled slippers and me tight shiny pants,I want to sing and dance."

My Favorite Women

I can't think of anything inspiring to write about today so I thought I would share pics of my favorite women! Don't get your feelings hurt if you're not here...just means I don't have a pic!

Greeting Cards

While sorting a file drawer in sister's kitchen this weekend, My Mama came across a ton of greeting cards. There were the ones we had sent Gayla and there were ones that she had bought to send us. I was my mama's rock while she sorted them into piles until she found one for me.

On the front was a little critter wearing a sombrero saying, "Sis, for your birthday, let's have a margarita." On the inside it read, "Isn't it cute how I insinuated we'd only have one." Ever seen rock melt into a puddle...you should have been there. Now I am carrying the dang thing around in my purse, reading it at least twice a day!

The thing that gets me is that this card had been bought for a while and my birthday isn't until November. Did she stumble across it while picking another card for someone else and purchase because it is just too befitting? Did she have it last November and just forget where it was thus opting to buy the one she gave me? Did she buy two in the fall and this one lost?

Today's a downer...crying at work. Was hoping writing would stick a cork in it. Not so much! On another note, I did send my paper flower creation's pictures to the Ree at www.thepioneerwoman.com. I'll be thrilled to see if she makes a comment!

Paper Flowers

My new addiction is absorbing everything I can from Ree at www.thepioneerwoman.com. Yesterday, I created a boquet basket of paper flowers from her web site. Check it out at http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeandgarden/. I highly recommend you get the full instructions from her web site. The only modifcations I made were to add leaves that I cut out using my wacky scissors and glueing everything into a shallow basket I made from scrapbook paper. Do something creative today. This little project made me smile, and the praise I received filled my heart. Is it crazy I want to post my creation to her FaceBook and tell her thank you?

Customer Service After the Sale

Nothing much to share today. However, check out the letter I am sending to Robbins Brothers corporate about my trip to the store to have my marital rings cleaned...tsk tsk! Also, check out the recipe I am going to try tonight!

NOTE: the sales manager at RB called me within an hour of me sending my letter! She reflected more of the customer service we have come to expect!

Dear Robbins Brothers,

When my husband and I chose to buy our wedding and engagement rings at your Dallas store more than four years ago, we were blown away by the helpful and eager employees whom completely sold us their "love is eternal" face. When I went into the same store on our one year anniversary to have my rings cleaned and sized, I was met with warm and friendly sales professionals who were more than happy to help me with the services. It was amazing to me that they greeted everyone with such warmth and genuinely kind and helpful regard.

However, on Friday, June 3, 2011, I was treated quite differently. When I approached the front entry of the showroom, the receptionist was preoccupied and had her back to me. I greeted her with a "Good afternoon." Upon turning around, the young woman literally looked me up and down and wrinkled her nose as if I was odorous. It startled me, but I pressed on. I said that I was there to have my wedding rings cleaned and handed her the two rings. She responded with no smile or enthusiasm, "Did you purchase a maintenance plan?" To add to her distain of my person, she also held the rings as if they were odorous. I was very close to losing my temper when another female associate approached and asked the receptionist, "What does she want?" The sales associate didn't greet me or smile but took the rings to the back to be cleaned.

At that time, the receptionist told me to fill out an information card so she could look up our purchase. I am guessing she was able to verify from the information I provided that I was a legitimate client. The only indication of this was that she directed me to have a seat in the waiting area and help myself to some water or coffee. The receptionist walked away to the back at which time I witnessed a male sales associate enthusiastically greet a couple entering the showroom in the manner to which I had come accustomed when visiting the store. When the female sales associate returned with my rings, she did at least smile and I thanked her for helping me. I verified that I was able to have my rings cleaned and she told me "as often as you like" and that I could have it inspected once a year.

My husband and I have recommended your store to so many couples in the past four years. However, I cannot say that I feel comfortable doing this anymore. Isn't it sad what one bad experience can do to a customer service reputation!

Sincerely,
Jaimee Hunter

FUN NOTE: YES! ThePioneerWoman.com, I shall make Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce! Check the recipe out at http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/pasta-with-pesto-cream-sauce/

How Are You Doing?

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Chalk it up to over analyzing every cotton-picking thing from thought to deed, but I am not exactly sure how to answer this question. Do people really want to know how I am doing? Do they want to know my physical well-being or mental? Are the two interchangeable?

For instance, today I have a sharp, radiating pain in my upper back that comes and goes. Also, I have a titch of a headache that is in tow with the back pain. What am I doing about it? I'm searching webMD and such to make sure it couldn't be something more than a pinched nerve from sleeping wonky. I catch the site that says it could be a heart attack masked as a different pain. So do I go to the hospital or call the doctor who I know won't have an appointment on a Friday? Then my over analyzing kicks in..."You're just going through a hard time," I tell myself. "You don't want to be 'that person,' the one who feigns illness and it turns out to be anxiety." But do I want to be "that person" who ignores something fixable only to end up falling down with a heart attack?

So if you ask me today, "How are you?" Make sure you want to know cuz I might just tell you to see if you think I should go to the hospital. Ha!

Finding a Connection

When Darling Daughter Darby was nine years old, she was my little buddy always down for whatever crazy activity I was throwing out. Now that she's 14, hmmm...not so much. Of recent, making the connection has been like trying to fasten a size 8 belt around a size 16 waist. It ain't gonna happen.

However, either she was throwing her old Jaimee a bone last night, or I did something right! With Hubby Dearest in Vermont on a business trip, I offered up our favorite daddy-is-out-of-town meal...meatball subs. Darby helped me prepare our meal as we discussed next year's reading list, which I had received via e-mail yesterday. I had made some notes on the list about how Papa James and Memaw love Lonesome Dove and how Taming of the Shrew has been remade into all kinds of movies.

I suggested to Darling girl if she picked a few books, we could load them on our Kindles and read together this summer. Of course she picks Pride and Prejudice and Zombies! Not sweating it, not at all. In fact because the original is one of my favs and I have the movie, I suggested we watch the movie while we eat and then possibly read afterwards.

The night was a success! Score one for the un-cool Jaimee!! Having watched the movie first and jumped right into reading, Darby seemed to really get into the book. We took turns reading a chapter a piece and made it to chapter six. To add whipped cream to fudge sundae, when it was nearing bedtime, there was no struggle to persuade girly to head upstairs, put away laundry and get a shower. NO WIGGLY DANCE OF FRUSTRATION!!!! YAY!!!! I wonder how tonight will go...

SPECIAL NOTE: Wiggly Dance of Frustration is a slumping of a teens shoulders as he/she slightly bends at the knees and waist like an accordian as if the request of him/her is so weighty and horrible that it threatens to knock him/her down. The accompaning air pushed out by said action makes a whiny "huh" sound. The dance's finale is a stomping off stage to complete the requested task half-assedly.

RANDOM PITTY PARTY: Coping is so much more difficult when Hubby Dearest is traveling for work. After Darling Darby went to bed last night, I just laid there and cried till well after midnight.

Summer...

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Summer begins at the sounding of that final clanking bell followed by a crescendo of children's laughter. The melody fades to a chorus of crickets chirping each night and a slight buzzing during the day.

The scorching heat of the season is at first thawing when emerging from a fully air conditioned home or car. It makes you feel lazy and lethargic. In east Texas you can almost feel the air as it sits wrapped around your body.

Watermelon, purple hull peas, cantaloupe, and tomatoes are just a sampling of the tastes of summer. Keep it light and save the home-made Butterfinger ice cream for after the sun goes down.

Summer reminds me of getting dolled up to go out. In the beginning you're crisp, clean and fully clothed. Like summer, you look like an explosion of color ready to burst forth and you smell like a bouquet. However, as the night (and the season) wear on, you shed articles of your garb, your make-up runs out the edges, the humidity starts to frumple you, and WHOO! that bouquet wilts.

The season is upon us. Like I used to tell my students before each break, "Go out there and have fun. Just don't do anything you wouldn't want me to have to read about in the newspaper."



Inspiration to Create Special Note: I found the cutest blog today and want to share. If you’re searching for a creative inspiration, check out Violette’s Creative Juice at http://www.violette.ca/.