I went to the High School tonight for a parent meeting with the High School Counselors.  The principal stood up and said "Welcome to High School."  I literally stopped breathing.  It can NOT be time for my angel baby girl to go to High School!  High School has bigger halls, more people, open campus, teenage drivers, harder classes and worst of all, High School BOYS!  My head is reeling and my heart is aching.  This is the year I have to start letting her go.  This is the year she will start driving a car.  This is the year she starts leaving me! I'm not sure I can bear it.  This miracle baby that God blessed us with will be a Sophomore in High School. And she is not a little girl any longer.  She's perched on the cusp of her adulthood and she's so anxious to fly.  This is the year she will start experiencing true freedom.  Have I prepared her enough?  Have I told her everything she needs to know to be safe?  Will she make good choices?  Will she be happy? 

Yet, at the same time my heart is aching for that baby girl, I'm so excited to see the woman she'll be becoming!  I get the opportunity to relive MY High School days through hers! I look forward to her coming home from a date, letting her drag me out of bed  (yeah, like I'd actually be SLEEPING while she's out) and rehash every single moment of the night over and over and over.....just like I did with my mom.  Those memories of High School are some of my MOST favorite ones and the bond I had with my mother throughout those years is still just as strong today.  I pray, with all my heart, that I will get to share that kind of bond with my darling daughter.  She and I are both getting ready to start a new chapter in our lives.  It's going to be one HECK of a ride!  Bring on the Valium!

The Day I Stole a Rock

Originally posted April 11, 2007. Since it's coming up on the 3rd anniversary of the death of my Aunt Wanda, I wanted to repost what I was feeling then.



My favorite Aunt passed away last week and her funeral was Monday. She was a wonderfully funny, strong, bossy Christian woman. She is who I aspire to be. She was 87 years old and spent the last 18 years taking care of her invalid daughter at home, despite 2 heart bypasses. She taught piano her whole adult life and at the time of her death, she had 30 students. Her funeral was an amazing tribute of laughter through tears. My family has dealt with all the blows life can throw at them with laughter. It's how we deal. Case in point....my recent episode of rock stealing.

My cousin and her dad, me and my dad, my husband and my Uncle David, along with my young impressionable son, took a road trip on Easter Sunday to my dad's birth place in Braggs, OK. Picture this....3 old men, Jay, 2 forty-something women and a 7 year old piled into one van. The van is today's equivalent of the station wagon, so my cousin and I were in the very back with my son. You know, where the kids sit. ( Some things never change, apparently.) Our mission... to retrieve a rock from the old homestead. Not just any rock, but a rock my grandfather "engraved" with my dad's and uncles names back in 1941. There were 8 kids in my dad's family and they were all born in that house. There were bad jokes cracked during the drive about bail money and police chases. And we laughed. A lot.

The lot is abandoned and the house long burned down, but those 3 old men knew exactly where that rock was. Dad and the uncles took one look at it and decided it couldn't be dug up. My cousin and my husband grabbed the shovel.. So while I took my post as look- out in the street, they dug up the rock. Dad and his brothers were busy distracting a neighbor. In our family, fortunes have been made and lost, loved ones have passed on, marriages broken apart, illness has touched us; but at that moment, nothing, and I mean NOTHING meant more to all of us than that rock. A piece of our family history. Solid. Whole. Timeless. Just like our family. We loaded that 72 pound rock with my grandfathers handwriting on it into the back of the van, laughing the entire time. And I believe with all my heart that my Aunt Wanda was watching from Heaven. And she was laughing with us.

Sunny Sunday

Today was a rare sunny day, when we weren't stuck in our offices or classrooms.  My family and I skipped church this morning just to take it all in.  Jay I realized, as we lay in our bed talking, that this was the first conversation that we had had ALL week long!  It's been that crazy!  He and I have been running in different directions all week so it was nice to just spend the morning visiting and relaxing.  The four of us spent the rest of the day outside, working in the yard.  Jay and I made lists of what needs to be repaired and what we'd like to do to improve the house.  For supper, my Grillmaster Jay, grilled lemon pepper Tilapia.  It's my favorite type of fish, next to fried catfish.  It has a nice, firm texture and the lemon pepper sets it off nicely.  It's not hard to make...just sprinkle the lemon pepper seasoning all over the fish and put it on the grill until it's done.  We use a fish pan on the grill for fish.  It's solid, with holes in it for the heat to go through.  It makes grilling delicate things much easier. It's great for vegetables, too.   Just remember to spray cooking spray over the pan before you put the food on it.  I hope your Sunny Sunday was as peaceful as mine was today.
Carpe' diem!

While I was cooking fettuccini alfredo with mushrooms and artichoke hearts for dinner last night, I had a thought: who was the person that looked at an artichoke and said "Hmmm, that weird, green plant with thorns on the leaves sure looks good enough to eat." If you've never eaten an artichoke, you may be surprised to know that the only edible parts of it are the base of the leaf and the heart. I had a friend in California send me a box of fresh artichokes one year. I had never had one and had no idea how to cook or eat one. She lived Salinas, the artichoke capital of the world. (at least that's what she told me) She explained in an email how to cook and eat an artichoke. If you'd like detailed instruction, Google "how to cook an aritichoke" and you're questions will be answered! If you'd like to try my recipe for the fettuccini alreado, here it is:

1 box fettuccini--cooked according to instructions on the box. I added powdered garlic, salt and pepper to my water. Makes the pasta sing!

While the pasta is cooking, drizzle a little bit of olive oil into a skillet and saute' 2 cups freshly sliced mushrooms along with a jar of drained artichoke hearts. I also sliced these up, since they come whole in the can. When the pasta is done, drain and add to the cooked mushrooms. Pour a jar of alfredo sauce on top, stir and heat throughly. Serve sprinkled with blue cheese with a side of crusty bread.

Now you could go ahead and make your pasta and sauce from scratch, but I DID mention that I am a working mom, so not every single thing I cook is from scratch!


Carpe' diem!

So I've decided to blog......

I've decided to blog. Mostly because there is all this extra STUFF in my head and I need a place to put it. I don't know if this will turn into a daily, monthly, or yearly thing. I don't expect anyone to actually READ it. (except my mom) I don't expect to ever post anything profound. But if you happen to stumble upon my "head space" and something makes you smile, then it will have been worth it. Stayed tuned to see if I can even figure this blogging thing out!
Carpe' diem!