Looking Back...

I love looking at everyone's "Throwback Thursday" pics on Facebook and Instagram, so when I was at my parents on the 4th of July, I grabbed some old photo albums and started taking pics of the pics. 

I posted my first one last week.  It was horrid, but I must have been in the 2nd grade (I think) and had huge glasses.  Who knows.  I had lots of funny comments and then others told me I should take that off, asking why would I ever put that on the internet.  Why not? 

I don't think that any one person will judge me today based on what I looked like in 1987.  And if they do, they have bigger problems. 

It was fun for me to look back at some of the pictures I forgot about (or maybe purposely pushed them out of my mind.)  There are some dance pictures where I literally cringe when I look at them.  But I love looking at my early years dance pics. 

Wasn't I just precious!!

Look at those bangs!!!

This is my absolute favorite dance pic :)

 

I was also looking at my mom's pics growing up and all I could see where my nephews!!  Both of them!!  This is my oldest nephew Braxton, but that picture is about 5 years old, but he looks just like my mom!!

This is my younger nephew Thatcher and again, this picture is a few years old, but I think he looks just like my mom also!  And Thatcher does his hands the same way a lot!  

Here is a pic of my mom's parents.  How romantic do they look!  Old Hollywood! 

This is a pic of my dad's mom and stepfather.  I love the old glasses!!  

 My mom's sisters and parents in Arkansas.  I'm guessing 1976 because Jennie is pregnant. 

I loved looking at my grandparents and parents from many years ago. 

 This is my dad's dad.  He died in 1947. 

 This is my mom's dad.  He served in the Army and was in WWII.

 My grandpa in Alaska in the Army.

 Grandpa (far left) in Alaska in the Army.

 My mom's mom. 

I also love the pictures of my grandparents in their years before kids.  My grandparents would go to Washington State to pick apples and eventually got married there.  They have pictures of them on the beach and in front of old cars.  I love them!

My mom and I love to do genealogy, of course she does it a lot more than I do, but I want to know the stories of the lives of my ancestors.  These pics just help me imagine what life was like back when they were growing up.  

My New Erin Condren Planner!

So early sometime in January, I wrote a post about my fabulous Vera Bradley planner and how I loved it and knew I would never find anything better.  Well, I did. 

I first read about the planner on a blog and looked them up, but said no way am I going to pay that much for a planner.  But then I saw they had wedding planners and almost ordered one, but it has so much more than I needed since I was having a small wedding. 

Then about a month ago, my friend said she had ordered an Erin Condren planner.  So of course I wanted to do the same thing, but again couldn't justify paying that much for a planner when I had a perfectly good Vera one and only paid maybe 12 bucks for it. 

But that very next week I went to General Assembly to hang out with my family for the day and went to the silent auction and there it was.  TWO gift cards for Erin Condren.  You best believe I bid on both.  The silent auction ended on Wednesday and I was only there on Tuesday, but my fantastic family kept an eye on one of the bids and made sure I got it!!  WOOHOO!!!  My mom got home a few days later and I called to get the code.  I already had my cover and everything picked out, just needed to input the gift card code to buy!! 

I knew it would take a while to get here since they are personalized, so I wasn't dying to get it, but I was anticipating its arrival very much!! 

TODAY IT CAME IN THE MAIL!!!!!! 

 Even the box is pretty!!!  It was the only thing in the mail today and when Lou asked me what it was, I told him it was something that would keep me occupied for the rest of the night!! 

It's just so fun and colorful!!  I have already written stuff in and taken washi tape and stickers and made it all pretty!  I still have a lot to do, but I am SOOOOOO excited!!  

I know it's just a planner, but it's something that I enjoy working on.  

https://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite/elizabethmills0123

 Copy and paste this into your browser to see some fantastic stuff!!!

Instant Gratification

Yes, it's 6 am on a Wednesday morning and I am writing a post, but when I woke up (even though I don't have to be at work until 12:30), and I checked my email like I always do on my phone, I had one that I needed to get figured out, so I am up. 

But now I am thinking, that person is probably not like me and does not expect an email back, especially at 5:45 in the morning.  So why do I feel the need to respond so quickly?

Instant gratification. 

I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday and we were talking about how I was waiting for my Erin Condren Life Planner to arrive (dad if you are reading, it's what the gift card I won at the silent auction bought me) and that it was supposed to ship on July 2, but the label wasn't created until July 4, and probably really didn't ship until the 5th or even Monday, and that people had left nasty messages on Erin Condren's Instagram about 'how could she go on vacation when she has orders to fill' or 'I have left messages with customer service and my order is wrong and it needs to get fixed immediately.'

Honestly, I know a few people that would have that reaction, but we have become a society of 'give it to me now', and 'answer me immediately', and 'I want it shipped today'...why aren't willing to wait anymore?  We don't have patience.  We need instant gratification.  

I know I sure don't have patience, and I sure do love the rush of having something new.  I order something from Etsy or Old Navy, and I am constantly tracking the package to see where it is.  Anticipation can be good or bad.  Am I going to survive one day without my pink pair of linen pants and white shirt?  Of course.  Is it like Christmas when they are sitting in your mailbox?  Heck yeah!!  But then I get to wear the new clothes the next day, and I'm feeling all good...and then I can't wear them to work again for a few days/weeks cause people will know you just wore them - haha!  So where does the good feeling go?

My friend reminded me of the old JC Penney catalogs, (of course my favorite was the huge Sears catalog that was always at my grandma's house in AR), and how you would pick out the things you wanted, tear out the order form in the back, and fill it out, figure up how much you owed, and wrote a check and put it in the mail.  As in the post office mail.  As in, they won't get it for a few days, maybe a week.  Then it has to be processed, and then it has to ship.  As in it may take a few weeks to even get your order.  GASP!! 

It made me start to think this morning about how we are like that with God.  We pray and we want an answer immediately.  We don't want to wait for what He has in store for us.  We don't have patience when it comes to His timing.  I know I sure don't.

When did we/I become so needy that we have to have things instantly or we are not happy or satisfied? 

I keep thinking to the Instagram comment that basically said "How dare you go on vacation with your family on a holiday weekend when you have orders to fix and fill and phone calls to return and blah blah blah."  I wanted to comment and say Bless Your Pretty Little Heart that you can't wait a few extra days to get your planner, and if you are anything like me, you will go back and write everything in from the first of the month, even though it has passed because we are OCD like that.  And who are we to tell someone they can't go on vacation with their family on a holiday? 

We have got to stop being a society that has to have everything right now.  We will go on living just the same, unless it is life saving medicine, and that's a whole different ball-game.  But it's a planner people.  I can't wait to get mine, even though my friend has already received hers and told me about it, it just makes the waiting more fun.  Am I tracking it's every move on FedEx Tracking?  You bet.  But I am not going to sit there and bash someone from spending precious, invaluable time with their family on a holiday just to get my planner.  I have more important things to do.  Now when I get my planner, do I plan on sitting down and writing everything in with my fabulous new pens that I got just for my planner? ABSOLUTELY!!  But that's just me, and I know people would think I am crazy for doing that, but we all have our thing.

So back to being patient and waiting for God's timing.  We always hear that His timing is perfect and it will be worth the wait.  I have to agree with that because I waited a long time to find my husband, and it was/is perfect.  Now it's not all rainbows and unicorns everyday, but God had someone perfectly picked for me.  And I had to learn to be patient and go through some cray cray days to get to where I would truly appreciate what I have.  And I do. 

As with anything in life, we have to be patient and wait.  Even though we are praying for it right now and can get angry that we don't get what we want, when we want, and exactly how we want it.  I've learned and still learning that it really doesn't work that way.  Never has, never will.  I know God laughs at me every single day because I still try to plan out my life and my next steps, but I am learning to enjoy each and every day.  I don't want to look back on my life and be disappointed in how I was so needing to have something immediately and then was upset, that I didn't enjoy the time I had right then.  I learned early on that I did not need to be wishing my life away, and remind myself of that constantly.  We can't wait for summer, or for vacation, or for Christmas, or for our birthdays, or for this and that and this again and that again.  And then we get to that point and it's everything we hoped for and more, and then it's over and we have to wait again...but we/I need to start living as if everyday is special.  Because it is.  Every single day we have is special.  We don't need to know what will happen tomorrow.  We don't need the instant gratification to make us happy.  We just need to be patient and live. 

It's just a planner.  I can wait, and while I am waiting, I am going to live my life, (and check FedEx tracking ever so often.) 

Patience never comes easy, but when we have been patient and obedient, we have always had good things come our way.  I know I have. 

4th of July Recap

I must say that this 4th of July had to be one of the best.  I had the day off, and even though Lou had to work, it was a good recharge day for me.  I did some laundry, ran to the grocery store, and had the hair brained idea that I was going to bake my grandma's strawberry cake.  

This cake is amazing.  I can remember almost every time we would go to Mississippi that there would be a strawberry cake sitting on the hutch in the glass cake stand.  I had her tell me her recipe so I could make it at home.  I made it a few times and it turned out great!  The last time I attempted to make it was on Thanksgiving in 2005.  I did everything perfect and it collapsed in the middle.  But with all of the icing mixed with cake, my sister and I enjoyed it while riding in the car to see my grandma.  

I searched for my recipe and called mom and finally messaged my aunt Peggy, who informed me it was her recipe first and grandma started making it after that.  Well I had know idea my aunt could bake, (being honest Aunt Peggy), and I have to say that it is sooooo good.  But it will still be grandma's strawberry cake to me. 

Lou had called and asked me to go and grab a few extra things for the night at the store, so I decided I wanted to bake the cake to take to my parents.  It would have been my grandfather's 100th birthday and I thought that would be a great way to celebrate.  I had to get out of the checkout line once because I forgot something and then while I was putting my stuff on the belt, I realized I forgot hotdog buns and the lady behind me ran to grab me some!  I will repay the favor!

So I get home and I am all ready to bake the cake!!

 

So I put it in to bake, test it after 30 minutes, put it in for a few more....

Take it out of the oven and let them cool....

and...

 Yep, this happened.

But when I put the picture on facebook, I got lots of ways to make it work!!

I had already made a huge bowl of homemade icing and did not want to waste it, so I crumbled up the pieces into a bowl and drizzled icing over it and did that in layers.

It was delicious!

Lou came home and started up the grill with hamburgers and hotdogs...

 We then loaded up the car with the food and fireworks and headed to my parents house.  We can't shoot fireworks in my neighborhood, but of course people like to break the rules, but we don't and just go somewhere else.  Plus my parents neighborhood is not very big and there is hardly any traffic so it's perfect for fireworks.

Mom had pasta salad, corn on the cob, baked beans, and chips, and we brought the rest!  It was a great meal!!  

Here is our traditional holiday "we can't take a serious picture" picture.  

 Jake with a sparkler...

Lou and Jake

My sparkler.

Lou always buys awesome fireworks and this year did not disappoint.  Plus my parents neighbors were shooting theirs and so it was a back and forth type thing.  

Just one of the many awesome displays.  Who needs Nashville when you've got Eagleville fireworks!!  

Just thankful for a great day and a great family to spend it with.

Happy Birthday America!

  

Scrub a dub dub...I finally cleaned my tub...

Okay, so please do not judge me when you see the first pic of my tub.

I LOVE to take baths.  I would rather take a bath than a shower.  

It's so much easier to shave my legs in the tub.

But over time, the soap starts to collect on the sides of the tub.

And I have been too lazy to take a putty knife a scrape it off.

Kidding about the putty knife, but it has crossed my mind.

So...along comes a pin on Pinterest about a great shower cleaner, and you didn't have to scrub.  

Sign me up!!  

So for some reason tonight I chose to try it out...

I used 1 cup of white vinegar and heated in the microwave for 1 minute...the directions said 2 minutes, but that's too hot for me to handle...

Next was 1 cup of blue dawn.

I took an old spray bottle and cleaned it out and then poured the vinegar in and then the dawn.  

Went upstairs and started spraying.  

It said to leave it on for 15 minutes, but I knew mine would need more.  If you look closely you can see where I scraped some off to show the buildup.  

Why do I share my nastiness with you, you ask?  To show how this stuff really works!

 

See????!!!!!

Now I do have to go over one spot where my soap sits and runs down, but I have already sprayed again and just waiting.  

I read that you can also spray a little water and then spread baking soda before you spray the solution, and I did that, so that may have helped some also.

The only downside is that when you get ready to wipe and rinse it takes forever because of the dawn.

But I will let it take forever if my tub will be that clean.  

So there you have it.  The rest of my house is pretty clean most of the time, but I dread the tub.  I would rather scrub my toilet than the tub.  

So hope you find this helpful!! 

Summer Time

And the living is easy....

I Love Summer!! 

Except for the heat, but honestly it hasn't been too bad yet.  It's just the end of June. 

This summer is flying by, but we are making good memories! 

Lots more happening this summer and I am excited!! 

Hope everyone is having a great time!!

To my dad...

In January I did a post about my dad for his birthday...but since today is Father's day, I want to continue to tell you why I think he is so great!

My dad and I are so much alike that we don't always get along.  We argue because we both know we are right and don't want to give in.  But of course he was always right.  

My dad has taught me so much growing up...of course I would never let him know that.

I learned that sometimes you have to do it all yourself.  I learned that you go and sit with people in the waiting room at the hospital, because it's the right thing to do.  I learned that I always had enough, even though I never thought I did. 

I could sit here and write for days the things I love about my dad, the things I learned from my dad, and how much alike we are, even looks, but that wouldn't do him justice.  

I saw true love when my mom was in the hospital.  I learned how a husband should be to his wife.  (I even married a guy just like my dad.)  I watched him hold my nephew for the first time.  I see him still love my nephews and spoil them rotten.  

I love to watch my dad laugh so hard that he can't speak.  I have even seen him drive down the road reading.  I have watched him cry in the elevator when we were leaving the hospital where his mother was, thinking it may be the last time he would see her.  

He is a fantastic dad, grandpa, mentor, husband to my mom, he was an amazing son to my grandparents, and son-in-law to my mom's parents.  

There are so many memories floating in my head that I can't make a coherent post.  

But what I do know is that I have the greatest dad ever.