Crafty Christmas...

This has been a busy holiday season for me...by choice. As we began to approach Thanksgiving and Christmas I began to consider all that had to be done to decorate for the holidays. As you already know, I broke all my own rules and put my Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving. First things first, the tubs of Christmas decorations had to be brought up from the barn.

At this point I must confess that I have been using the same Christmas decorations for YEARS. I think they were looking tired...or maybe I was just tired of looking at them. Who knows? Anyway, I went through each tub (all six of them) and methodically made the decision to either use them, donate them or throw them away. Over 90% went in either the throw away or donate pile. That left me with minimal decorations at best.

So, my daughter introduced me to www.pinterest.com. This is a crafter's website...best friend...worst nightmare...whatever. Depends on how you look at it. I fell in love with it. I found tons of things that I could easily make to dress up our Christmas decorations this year. Pictured below is a sampling of things I made after getting my inspiration (and directions) from pinterest.

Christmas Shirt

Countdown to Christmas

Window Treatment

Table Centerpiece

Jingle Bell Box

Christmas Candles


In addition to pinterest, I have painted a few Christmas paintings and projects.






I did keep, and am using, some of the decorations that I have used in the past, but I wanted a newer, fresher look this Christmas. And guess what? I'm not through yet!!

Holiday Frenzy...

I will be the first to admit...I am a a hypocrite! I own it. I define it. I am OKAY with it.

Of what do I speak?? I have ALWAYS maintained that each holiday deserves its own 15 minutes of fame. You don't bring out the Thanksgiving decorations until Halloween is over...no Christmas decorations until Thanksgiving is over...etc. This year my Halloween decorations went up on Sept. 11. My Thanksgiving decorations replaced those on Oct. 29th (yes, before Halloween because I was tired of them) and my Christmas decorations started going up on November 16th. Why? Great question. No answer.

One possible reason...I did have to buy a new Christmas tree this year and Macy's was having an awesome one day sale on Nov. 16th. So, I bought a $200 tree for $70. Well, I just HAD to check it out...see if I got ripped off or got a good buy (I got a good buy). Once out of the box...why put it back for a week or so just to have to take it out again. So, I put it up in the living room. It's prelit so I just left it standing for a couple of days enjoying the lights. Then, once the tree was up, I might as well get the decorations from the barn because I want to weed through them and get rid of some of the tired old decorations and add some new ones to the mix. Once they were brought up from the barn and I had them open to go through them...might as well put them out now instead of waiting a week or two...

Beau wouldn't let me sleep in this morning so I decided to go ahead and put the ornaments on the tree. If I was going to do that I might as well go on and put the other decorations out as well...the Christmas towels in the bathrooms, hang the Christmas paintings I made...lights and garland on the lamp post out front and lights on the fence line in the back...

For a while I had lost my passion for the holidays. The kids were grown...decorating was a chore...Now, I have my passion back. I enjoy the transformation into Christmas. I'm already listening to Christmas music on the radio...my house is cozy and Christmasy (is that a word?) and I have begun my shopping. This week of Thanksgiving break I am going to get my outside decorations finished as well as the "crafty" things I will be making thanks to pinterest.com. Yep, me thinks it's going to be a fun week getting ready for the holiday frenzy!

I wanted to add some Christmas art to the mix rather than more "stuff" to set around collecting dust, so I used my birthday as an excuse to go painting last night with friends and family. What a turnout!! Joining me to paint Christmas Poinsettias was my daughter, Kristin, my sister-in-law Carlene, my cousin Barbara, her daughter Dana, Dana's friend Misty, and my friends Delores, Carolyn and Brandy. We had an awesome time and came away with a beautiful painting. In addition to that painting, I had seen a painting of a Santa face that I like so I decided to replicate it at home on my own. I'm happy with the results. There are a couple more Christmas paintings that I will paint after I purchase some canvases. For some reason I'm not quite so critical of my own creations the way I used to be. Lowered my standards??Lol!




In the week ahead which I have off, I plan to make a trip to Durant for some casino time, take some portraits of a couple for their college graduation and engagement, keep the boys one day, get a thumbs up from my orthopedic surgeon, spend some quality time with my kids and their families on Thanksgiving and finish all my Christmas crafts and decorations along with some shopping (NOT on Black Friday!). Pretty ambitious? Consider also that I plan to work in at least one nap per day! NOW we're talking vacation!!

A Week of Ups and Downs

The past week has been a week of unusual days for me. Normally, I work most days...7:30 a - 3:30 p. Monday was Carter's birthday, so I took off work and Nana and Popaw joined Mommy and Carter for a full day of riding the McKinney Avenue Trolley and visiting an indoor safari park. Carter's current passion is trains, thus the trolley ride. This trolley is fascinating. An original trolley car restored to peak condition so that it can shuttle tourists, and birthday boys, back and forth around downtown Dallas. We availed ourselves of that trip NUMEROUS times...both directions...while we munched on our sandwiches, chips,and Carter's birthday cupcake covered in a lovely blue icing. Other riders were entertained by Carter's cuteness and fascination. Of course, we could have already told them how precious he is, but some things have to be discovered for themselves. At any rate, we proceeded from the trolley to an indoor safari park where Carter was able to ride both an elephant and a dinosaur. Lest you get scared by our casual attitude, let me assure you that they were not "real." Well, they are real mechanical animals, but they don't eat and breathe and...you know. Carter also played on the train tables, climbed in the jungle gym area, played in the ball pits, slides, etc. He had a full day of romping and stomping and fun! So, in fact, did we.

Tuesday I was available for subbing, but only in the morning. I had an appointment with a friend that afternoon. I ended up not subbing, but instead, a friend called for a wine tasting so I had an opportunity to sit and visit with a friend that I haven't really talked to in years. Actually, the "friend" is Trenton's other grandmother. We had crossed paths at a recent soccer game and I had shared my winery story. I invited her out for a tasting but didn't think she would take me up on it. After all, our children were married to each other and then divorced. Both have gone on to other, and better lives. Why do we assume that because our children can't be married that we can't be friends? As it turns out, Laurie and I had a long visit about what our relationship can be. We both have a grandson in common that is the number one priority. There is absolutely no reason we can't nurture a relationship that will foster confidence in him. Great visit and she took home her Thanksgiving wine selection.

Wednesday, I worked. Big mistake. I had begun coughing a bit on Monday. A bit more on Tuesday. Wednesday morning it was quite a bit and got worse throughout the day. By the time I got off work at 2pm on Wednesday I was coughing so badly that I was throwing up. I went home and straight to bed. Missed Trenton's last soccer game of the season. Slept, except for coughing fits, until 5:30 a.m. when I took my temperature and checked in at 102.9. I slept fitfully until 7:30 when I could call and make a doctor's appointment. Dr. Jeff diagnosed me with chronic bronchitis. Four prescriptions later I left his office and headed to the pharmacy. After that...home, pills, sleep. Missed a retirement party that I was scheduled to go to. Spent the evening sleeping, reading a bit, sleeping, checking Facebook, sleeping,...I think you get the idea.

Friday morning I got up, got dressed and headed to Plano. I had promised Kristin that I would help her with the preparations for Carter's party the following day. Even though I was coughing and barking like a seal, we had a great day together. The party theme was Dr. Seuss and I'm sure all the foods had really cool Dr. Seuss names, but I only knew them by what we were doing. We made Rice Krispie Treats, green eggs and ham, cake ball ice cream cones, crackle, and more. I left at 4:00 to meet friends for dinner in the Harbor at 5pm. I haven't mentioned that my taste buds are in rebellion and I'm not really feeling hunger right now...surprising since two of my prescriptions are steroids. I ordered queso and had a couple of beers. I took most of my queso home. Once home, I immediately fell asleep in my recliner. I just don't have very much energy. Guess I'm coughing it all away. Whatever.

Saturday morning we got up and got dressed and got in the RV. We took it out to Plano to the party site. Our son-in-law's boss had turned over the parking lot of the business for Carter's party. Kristin had a choo-choo train (a real trackless train) that would be giving train rides to any and all who wanted them...as many rides as they wanted. I'm sure that Carter and Popaw were in the double digits in their number of rides. I only rode twice. After helping set up I spent most of the party in the RV...the designated restroom and one of the only places to get in out of the gale force winds blowing through. With my bronchitis, I had been advised by Dr. Jeff to stay in over the weekend because of the winds, the pollen, etc. Two hours of party time and clean up commenced. I helped get that taken care of so that Scott's boss wouldn't regret letting us use the parking lot, and then we sat in the RV and talked for a bit. The Durbs left, we came home and guess what??? I fell asleep in the chair.

Cat in the Hat Rainbow Cake in a Jar

Rainbow Jello along with Cat in the Hat Crackle

One Fish, Two Fish...Red Fish, Blue Fish

Chalk Art Station

Bubble Station

Riding Before the Guests Arrive

Train Station

Bounce House

Trenton & Carter waiting for a ride

Designated Restroom

Birthday Cake

Thing Two Fruit Salad

Green Eggs and Ham

The caboose

One last ride and choo-choo says, "bye-bye"


My coughing increased during the night and today has been pretty rough. My coughing is out of control...but I'm attributing that to the wind and pollens of Saturday. What matters most is that Carter's birthday party was a huge success, Kristin and I had a good time getting everything accomplished (though she did, by far, most of the work ahead of time and I helped with the things that couldn't be done ahead of time), the kids had a blast at the party and there's a six month reprieve before it has to be done again for Trenton's birthday!!

So, while there were some sucky things about the week, there were also some moments for the "highlight reel." This week, hopefully, will be even better. After all...it's my birthday week.

Third Grader Gumbo

I am just a kid at heart. I love a holiday. ANY holiday. Well, almost any holiday. I don't celebrate the random Chinese New Year type holidays.

Yesterday being a holiday (yes, Halloween counts as a holiday!) I was all into the spirit of things. I decorated for Halloween on Sept. 11th (though I think that was more to avoid watching any more 9/11 anniversary coverage and emptying my eyes of any tears that might still be hiding in there). I was prepared for Halloween. Back when I was doing my principal thing I would read Piggie Pie to each class as they rotated through the library. They all seemed to enjoy that. Not coincidentally, while reminiscing about those days the light bulb above my head flickered a bit and then came on and shined brightly. I decided to offer "Gritch the Witch" and Piggie Pie to my oldest grandson's teacher. She readily took me up on my offer and so Oct. 31st arrived and I was ready.

I know that I have talked about not being able to sleep before. It's just something I sometimes do. Or don't do, as is the case here. Anyway...I awoke around 4:00 a.m. and could not go back to sleep. Finally, around 4:30 I got up, put a roast in the crock pot, blogged, piddled, etc. until 6:00 a.m. At 6:00 a.m. the transformation began. I began the makeup process for becoming Gritch the Witch. The actual process doesn't take as much time as I had, so I decided that I would leave "in time" to go to Brookshires and purchase some dry ice. I said "in time" because I actually left waaaayyyyy tooooooo early! After going from "plain old me" to green skin, to blackened eyes, to warts on nose and chin, I added orange and black tights, my witches shoes (actually black ankle boots...which hurt my feet like crazy!), shorts and a t-shirt, a long black robe and my pointy hat...complete with gray stringy hair. I was quite fetching if you ask me. My yorkie, Beau, didn't agree. I scared him and he barked at me.

Not to be discouraged by Beau's reaction, I grabbed my cauldron and headed out the door.

Walking in Brookshires, I encountered an older gentleman who felt it necessary to pretend that he was scared and then proceed to tell me that his wife is named Glenda (like the good witch in Wizard of Oz) and she always says, "Well, at least I'm a good...witch. Here he paused and placed emphasis on the "w" in witch. Moving on I found a young clerk who was really impressed with my costume and who got my dry ice collected and checked me out. While at the register, the bread man came by to talk and the older gentleman wandered back by. I said, "Sir, tell Glenda that Gritch said Happy Halloween" and then I did my witch cackle. You know, like the wicked witch in Oz. The bread man jumped back and said, "Oh...that was good." They were still talking about how good the cackle was as I left the store.

Moving on, I drove to Plano because that's where Trenton attends school. I had left home early to stop at the store and because I was expecting traffic. No real traffic existed so I arrived in Plano a full hour before I was expected at the school. On a whim, I decided to see if my son-in-law was at work. He was. I parked and quietly entered the building. I could hear Scott's voice and knew he was on the phone with a client so I waited quietly in the lobby. There was no one else around. Once I heard Scott say, "bye," I stepped to his office doorway. He looked up and then just looked at me. Didn't say anything...until I said, "Are you busy?" Then he acknowledged me. It seems he didn't recognize his mother-in-law! He said, "I knew that I knew you...but I thought you might be somebody from here at work." We talked for a few minutes, took a pic for posterity and then I wished him Happy Halloween and headed out the door.

My next stop...Forman Elementary. I checked in at the office and headed down the hallway...gathering stares and smiles along the way. When I got to the classroom a wonderfully helpful and friendly staff member made the teacher aware that I had arrived and got me comfortable situated in the teachers' lounge until my appointed hour. Once my time arrived, I entered the room in character (complete with witch voice) and told the story (and showed the pictures because that's what you do in elementary school!) of Gritch the Witch and her desperate, yet futile search for eight plump piggies for Piggie Pie. I remained in character and voice throughout the entire story. The kids were great! The listened and pretended to be scared. They pointed out the trickery of the pigs as they fooled me into thinking they were chickens, ducks, cows and even Old McDonald himself. They were trying to help me find those piggies. At the end of the story I segued into a bit where I told the kids that all this talk about Piggie Pie had made me desperately hungry. Knowing that I would be unable to find piggies, I needed something else...like Third Grader Gumbo. I removed "the eye of a very large fly, three belly hairs of a possum and two shakes of a rattlesnake's rattle from my cauldron (where my dry ice was hiding) and added the blood of an angry vampire bat (red water). My cauldron began to fog as I turned on the kids and said, "Now...I need a delicious third grader and my gumbo will be complete." Hands shot into the air...the boys, of course. Thankfully Trenton's hand was up so I called on him. ::insert side note here...Trenton had waved at me when I entered the room so I wasn't sure if he knew who I was or not...:: I chose Trenton and he came up and stood beside me. He wouldn't even look at me and his face was blood red. I said (still in Gritch's voice), "Little boy, would you like to join me for lunch?" Still not looking at me he just shook his head yes...but it was a vigorous shake. I then said, "Little boy, would you like to BE my lunch?" Again the vigorous positive head shake. Then I said...still in character...,"Little boy, would you like to introduce your Nana to your class?" Still looking at the floor he said, "I can't. She's not here." AHA!!! I had him!!! Gritch said, "She's not?" Trenton said, "No." Then in my voice I said, "Are you sure she's not here?" Imagine my surprise when he said, "No, she lives in Rockwall." Laughing I said, "Trenton...look at me." He finally made eye contact, but I don't think that he made the connection until I took off the pointy hat with the built in stringy gray hair. Then, of course, he was embarrassed. To smooth the way, I said, "Boys and girls, I am Trenton's Nana and I don't usually have green skin." They giggled.

It was time to go so that they could continue their learning so I left some Halloween erasers for them and packed up my cauldron. Trenton's teacher took a picture of the two of us together and Trenton carried my cauldron to the hallway for me. On the way I said, "Trenton? When did you figure out that it was me?" He ducked his head and said, "At the end." I snickered, hugged him goodbye, wished him a good day and left.


Chalk up another victory for Gritch the Witch. Now, if you happen across eight plump piggies that I could use for some delicious Piggie Pie ... AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Happy Halloween!

Where to begin...let's see...hmmmmm...how about here?

Yeah, that probably needs an explanation...

Back when I was in the investigative stages for my winery I was introduced to a small winery in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, called Girls Gone Wine. My friend, Brandy, and I decided to drive up there one Saturday and see what the fuss was all about. What we discovered when we got there was a cute little winery with delicious offerings and some of the nicest owners in the world. We dealt with Michelle...actually spent a couple of hours with Michelle. We picked her brain...asked questions...drank wine...shopped in their on-site wine boutique...toured their facility and just generally wallowed in the experience. Michelle was gracious, kind and friendly. She didn't begrudge us one minute of her time and even referred us to another winery in Oklahoma City where we were able to intern for a weekend. During the course of our visit a friendship developed which led to the discovery of a GGW Halloween party that, though maybe not intended, has become a tradition. In 2010 there were four of us that made the trip for the party. This year there were 7 of us scheduled to go, but only three of us made the trip. One canceled due to gallbladder surgery, one had a stomach virus, one had a funeral to attend and one just plain backed out. But the three who went had a blast. Now, to the beginning...

While cleaning out my house...closets, drawers, cabinets, etc....I came upon my wedding gown. When I got married in 1979 my gown was BEAUTIFUL! It still is today, thanks to my mom's foresight of having it cleaned and preserved in one of those sealed boxes. It is still as white as the day it was purchased. But I digress... It has been 32 years since I wore that gown and, sadly, there is no way in Hades that this body will ever fit in that dress again. And really, why should it? Sure, it would be nice to be a size 3 again, but I will never again have a REAL need for a wedding gown. Anyhoo, I found my gown and while it has held up beautifully...the box has not. Fell completely apart. Now, what to do with the gown, the slip, the ring bearer pillow, the veil and the garter??? I used the garter as a decoration around a glass candle jar. As for the rest...??? During this "cleanfest" October was approaching and plans were being made for the second annual Ghouls Gone Wine Halloween party. Thus, the idea was born for my Halloween costume. I was destined to be a Red Neck Bride. See...there's a logical explanation for everything. Well, almost everything.

So, there you have it. Plans were made...hotel reservations made...costumes assembled...luggage packed...and roadtrip scheduled to begin Saturday morning, October 29, 2011, at 10:00 a.m.

Sure enough, Saturday morning rolled around and around 10:00 a.m. my traveling companions, Kim and Nikki pulled in the driveway and threw their "stuff" in my trunk. Nikki is my sister-in-law's sister-in-law (other side of the family). Nikki is a few years younger than me, but she built her costume around being the red neck mother of the red neck bride. She was hilarious!

My other traveling companion was my sister-in-law's son's girlfriend. I know...how redneck is that description. But, nonetheless, Kim built her costume around being the "knocked up" redneck daughter of the bride. She, too, was hilarious.

Costumes in our luggage which was successfully secured in the trunk of my car, we headed out. Our first destination was Los Pinos Winery in beautiful Pittsburg, TX. This quaint little winery sits in the boonies of East Texas. You really have to know that it is there to find it. We know...we found. Both of my companions LOVED this winery...with it's delicious food options...it's vineyards all around...it's unique decor...
Nikki's Artichokes...

Carol's Cheese Toes

Kim's Ribs




Leaving Los Pinos, it is tradition for us to stop on the railroad tracks and take pictures. I'm sure the wine in our systems has nothing at all to do with that decision!




Then it was on to Broken Bow, Oklahoma where we checked in at our hotel and began party preparations.




On our way out the door to the party Kim made some statement about being hungry. Nikki and I joked aloud that she was eating for two. Just as we passed a random, nice looking young man in the hallway Kim said, "I am NOT pregnant" to which the aforementioned random, nice looking young man asked, "Do you want to be?" Then, embarrased, he hastily added, "Just kidding." We were rolling on the floor laughing. We giggled all the way to the car and headed up the road where we attended the Ghouls Gone Wine party and "people" watched (or is it "creature watching") while enjoying sandwiches, chips, cupcakes and, of course, wine. Here are just a few of the attendees...




After the party we returned to the hotel, cleaned off the eyeshadow, changed clothes and drove across the street, literally, to the Choctaw Casino at Broken Bow. Nikki and Kim gambled for about an hour and they were done. Nikki lost what she had brought to gamble with and Kim, while gaining $50+ didn't want to risk losing it. I, on the other hand, wasn't ready to leave so I gave them the keys to my car and said, "See you later. I'll walk across when I'm done." Three and a half hours later...and up $90, I considered the night a success and cashed out. I walked across to the hotel and let myself in about 12:30 a.m. The girls were still up so we talked a bit, drank some more wine and watched a bit of TV. There was some decorating show on with the designer being in Dallas. After that we drifted off to sleep about 2:00 a.m.

I was startled from sleep at 5:30 a.m. by something that I finally recognized as a ringing telephone. I awakened Kim to answer the phone since I would have had to either reach across her or get up and walk around her. Being in a stupor I figured it was better to have her answer it. It was the front desk. Apparently our other roommate had gotten up and gone out for a smoke and then come back into the lobby and passed out in the floor. Kim and I rushed down to the lobby to find Nikki barely able to talk and white as a ghost. We scramble to get her some orange juice when she literally fell out of the chair backwards onto the floor. The hotel manager called an ambulance in a panic and we managed to get some orange juice down Nikki. Apparently she was experiencing a low blood sugar incident. The ambulance company called back and their only ambulance was on its way to Oklahoma City and it would be quite some time before they could get an ambulance to us. By that time Nikki was returning to her old self so we canceled the ambulance and got her back to the room where she drifted off to sleep for a few hours and awoke later feeling better. Lesson to be learned...if you are going to take a pain pill...best not be drinking and make sure that you eat something.

To wrap this story up...we got up around 9:00 a.m....again...got dressed and headed home. Ready to do it all again next year? You bet!! Well, all except that passing out in the lobby part. I think we'll leave that out next year!!