What's Up Wednesday!

 What I'm Reminiscing about 

Arnold and I meeting! We met exactly 15 years ago, in Sept of 2005. We were on yahoo personals, and online dating was still so taboo back then. My dad was so mad at me, saying It was dangerous to go out with a guy I met online. But things turned out for the best, and as you all know, Arnold is far from dangerous, lol! He is so sweet! And YES he really had hair that long back then. He was going for a rockstar musician look I guess, lol! He cut it 2 months after we met, after he kept getting called "maam" when we went into stores! It really was pretty hair, though ;)

What I've been working on

I bought some little shelves on amazon and Arnold hung them up for me. Just another way to add even MORE holiday decor to the house, right?! 

We planned everything out for a gallery wall in the living room, now we just have to get all the things hung. A mix of framed photos, prints I ordered, and decorative items. 

We decorated for Fall, of course! I love all the little touches throughout the house. I had no idea I had so much stuff until I really started looking at it. I got a few new things this year, like this monogram pumpkin that lights up! It looks so pretty at night! 

What I'm Cooking

Most of you know I am not a great cook, and I hate it. But I have started cooking a lot more lately, which I'm sure Arnold loves!!! I can read and follow a recipe really well, so as long as I have the instructions right there and follow them closely, I can cook a decent meal. Some of the things I've tried lately are maple bourbon porkchops, parmesan pepper potatoes, and baked ziti. I plan to try creamy chicken enchiladas next! I have actually gotten compliments from the kids-- and everyone knows kids are brutally honest.. so I guess im doing ok! :) 

What I'm Wearing 

Ive bought several sets of the Colorstreet nail packs from Jess.. and even though my darn fingernails are so short and messed up, I applied some of them to my toes with some of my new fall colors! I love the dark purple with the sparkly gold accent nails! 

Its actually been dropping into the 60s here lately, so I pulled out the long sleeves and boots! I got a cute new pair of olive green booties this year! And some Sperry duck boots. 

What I'm Reading

I read this book about The Office, which is one of the greatest shows ever made!! If you are a fan, its a great read. It goes way more into detail about how they chose the cast members for the show, little quirks about them, more details about the big episodes, and how they wrote the stories. 

I've already mentioned it several times, but I also read this book, The Powerful Purpose of Introverts, by Holly Gerth. It is so amazing! It talks about what makes some people introverts, how our "weaknesses" can actually be strengths, and how to overcome challenges. I wrote to the author on Instagram and thanked her for writing such a great book, and she wrote back! I have already ordered another book she has written, because I love her writing style. 

What I'm Watching

Arnold and I started watching the show Filthy Rich on hulu on a whim. But it is full of drama, and very addictive. There are only 3 episodes available so far, so Im anxiously awaiting the next one to drop! The only thing I dont like are that I feel like sometimes they portray Christians in a bad light. We are not all crazy! Geez. Also, yes the main guy is the Dr on This is Us. And yes, he plays a not nice guy :( 

I am NOT good at organizing at all, but when I saw The Home Edit show on Netflix, I just had to watch. They organize celebreties and normal familes homes. I was mesmerized. I wish it came that naturally to  me! I especially love when they organize by colors. I tried that with my books and it made me so happy! The girls on the show are kindof crazy and loud, but its worth a watch. They even organized Kane Brown's pantry! :) 

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Arnold and I watched The documentary on Netflix about the dangers of social media. I already knew a lot of this stuff, but it is scary hearing about just how much they know about us, and how they try to manipulate people to do things. Its especially scary watching the parts and stats about teens using social media. It made me stop and remember that I should not look to social media for validation, or spend all my time on it when there are more important things in life to focus on. 

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month

All the things Fall and Halloween related! We are planning on going to the pumpkin patch this weekend, and maybe the balloon festival. I want to try and paint the pumpkins with the kids this year, there are some CUTE ideas on pinterest! We have plans to go on a day trip to Lake Lure with some family. I am looking forward to the leaves changing colors in the mountains and seeing that. And later in the month we will celebrate Mom's birthday! 

Life Lately: September!

 

We've been trying to get a lot of use out of the grill I got Arnold, while the weather is still nice. We have made lots of things, and even smores one night. The kids favorite thing was probably when we grilled shrimp on skewers.

We took ALL 4 of our pets to the vet for their checkups. That was pretty much a mistake. Thank goodness Arnold was there to help me. It cost so. much. money! But we needed to get it done. And all the animals are doing well, we just need to get Sheldon back for a teeth cleaning soon. Oreo was so excited to be there he peed in the waiting room... that was embarassing.

Rachel had her 11 year old well checkup. She is doing great, and right on track. She is still under 5 feet and always asks me if she will grow, haha. Brooke was a lot taller than her at this age but I reminded her that everyone grows at different rates and itll be fine. She said shes worried she wont be able to see over the steering wheel when she drives.. haha! I told her we still have quite a while to go before that time. I just can't believe she is already 11.. my baby is 11! Where did the time go???

We had a labor day cookout at Mom and Dad's. Dad made steaks for everyone and chicken for me (haha). I WILL eat steak, but its not my favorite. We had fun sitting on the deck and eating and talking until dark. I can't believe summer is over and we will be doing stuff like this less and less until next year. 

My dad celebrated his 69th birthday! I took him and mom out to lunch at Olive Garden to celebrate and to thank them for watching Sheldon while we were in Charleston. 

The kids started school FOR REAL mid month. They had been doing online school for a month. It was hard to watch Rachel walk into the middle school for the very first time, and Brooke walk into the highschool. I mean... wasn't I just cuddling them in my arms and reading them stories yesterday?! Poor Rachel was so worried about getting lost in a new, big school. She did get lost once, but the people in the office helped her. Brooke was ready to go back to school, she is my social one. She started marching band, and they have been learning how to march outside. Football season has been postponed until Feb, but at least we'll get to see her out there eventually! Rachel decided to play trumpet like her big sister. Sometimes at home they will play together. Well Brooke will play, and Rachel will make noise, haha! Its so cute watching Brooke try to help her learn. 

I went painting at the Freckled Frog (yes AGAIN!) with a few friends from church. I am happy we got together to go, and I am proud of myself.. because I am pretty shy and its hard for me to put myself out there. But I had a great time and felt very comfortable with these ladies! They are all musical and see Arnold often at church, but I don't really see them much, so it was fun getting to talk and hang out. And I made a halloween hanger for our door this time. I still want to go back and paint a turkey! That place is so addicting!!

Speaking of artsy stuff, I have discovered something called diamond painting. I posted about it awhile back. I was doing some real small pieces, but decided to order my first big piece online the other day when they had a "deal of the day." Diamond painting is basically using a little "pen" that picks up diamond jewels and you attach them to the picture according to the color chart. It can be a pain because of all the tiny pieces, but it is fun. And at the end you have a pretty picture that you can frame or whatever. I am working on these flowers in jars, and its taking awhile, but its been fun.

We took the kids to the Murrays Mill Festival. Arnold said he had never gone before. It was such beautiful weather, and not too hot at all, so the perfect day. We went around and looked at all the crafts and booths. Then we walked over to see the antique cars and tractors. We stopped by to see some people playing bluegrass music. We were going to buy some local, homemade honey, but it was SO expensive! On the way out we stopped in the general store and all got drinks in glass bottles and candy. I am a sucker for rock candy, so I got some too ;) The kids are getting older and they are whining about doing family things more and more often, but it makes me happy to be with my whole family on the weekends... we hope to go to a pumpkin patch next weekend.

Mom and dad went out of town for a week, and finally got to meet their little grandson!!! I am happy for them. I think they had a great trip. While they were gone, I stopped by their house every so often to get their mail and packages. One day dad had a huge, heavy package delivered, and it was quite funny watching me drag it down their front steps and load it into my car. I have discovered my parents get a LOT of mail! I think mostly because they don't do any online bills and banking like we do, and mom still gets lot of magazines and catalogs. But anyway... when they got home we took the mail over to their house and they took us out to lunch at the club house :)

I have been on pinterest a little too much lately, and have been finding all these home projects I want to do (poor Arnold!!) I want to do a gallery wall in the living room. I have a few pictures and items to go on the wall, and I also bought some matching frames and printed a few pictures from our beach trip. Arnold, Brooke and I arranged everything on the floor and worked with it until it looked right. Now we know how we want it to look on the wall. Arnold is going to help me hang it all, to get it straight and looking good. He is amazing with little details. Will post pics later when its done! ;)

"My Grandmother taught me everything, except how to Live without Her"

Grandma and I walking along Lake Lure 

This isn't like one of my normal blogs, but I had been thinking about her lately, and wanted to write something. This fall marks 20 years since my sweet Grandma passed away. Margaret Louise (went by Louise) Sears was my dad's mother, and lived from 1928 to 2000. She was probably always my favorite family member, and although I was only 15 when she died, she made a huge impact on my life while she was here. 

Grandma was an amazing person who was full of life. She was married to my Grandpa Pete for 47 years. She worked at a local store called Bumgarner's, and would always bring me new copies of the Bearesnstein Bear series, which they sold there. She was an avid reader, always with a book in her hand. Maybe that's where I got it from?? ;) She attended Dudley Shoals Baptist Church every Sunday and worked in the church library. She was often seen in a pretty plaid top, perfectly ironed pants, and large, colorful earrings.

I have a lot of great memories of her....

 

I remember Sunday afternoons after church having lunch at her house. Then the adults would watch sports on tv and I would slip away to the bedroom to take a nap. (I loved naps since an early age ;)

I remember her making homemade cakes and other baked goods for every occasion. She was the greatest cook in the world, and I'm not kidding about that. She would send me holiday cookies she had made, even on small holidays like Valentine's Day.

I remember spending the night at her house with my little brother. Whenever we were over there, I would drive her crazy playing pretend. She would often find my dolls in her dryer "taking a nap" or her kitchen rearranged when I was playing "store." I had the best time while I was there. She would often make us waffles in the mornings and Alex and I would fill up every little square with syrup. 

I remember holidays being a big deal to her. She loved to decorate, and she loved Martha Stewart. She had a formal living room that was filled with fancy furniture and décor, and lots of breakable things. She didn't like us to be in there without her. She would decorate every inch of the place for Christmas, and we would open gifts in that living room. She hung up two very large stocking for me and Alex, and filled them up for us. 

I remember her being a very sentimental person. She kept a box full of greeting cards people would send her. And she had a big collection of photos also. I liked to sit at her house and browse through the boxes. To this day, I keep boxes full of things like that at my house. My mom and husband probably think I'm a hoarder, but it brings me a lot of joy and reminds me of her. She also handmade me a quilt and stitched our names into it. She made it in 1999, just a year before she passed. I kept it on my bed for the longest time, but then had to retire it because it was literally falling apart. 

I remember her starting me collections of really nice dolls and figurines. We would always look through the American Girl doll catalogs together. She bought me several of the dolls. She also bought me the fancy, porcelain collectible dolls and porcelain music boxes that my mom tried to keep away from me so I wouldn't break them. Now that she has passed, my mom has passed on a lot of her household items to me that I keep in my own house, like cookie jars, music boxes, and decorative plates. 

Unfortunately, later on in life, she developed Lou Gehrigs disease, also knows as ALS. I know there was a lot of information and money raised in the past few years for ALS. It is a horrible neurological disease that attacks your muscles and joints, and makes you weak and makes it hard to walk and do daily activities. I remember my parents talking about it, and saying things like she was getting too weak to do her grocery shopping. I didn't think much of it at the time, because I was a self-centered teenager, but I now know how horrible it was, and I hate she had to suffer like she did.

Ill never forget the day my mom told me she had passed away. I was devastated. I remember watching my Grandpa call people to tell them about her passing, and watching him start to break down. I never ever saw that with him. I remember looking over on the bookshelf and seeing her thick silver-framed glasses just sitting there. I remember the exact dress I was wearing on the day to the funeral, it was my long flowered one with the matching blue cardigan. I remember the song I was listening to in my bedroom while I was getting ready, and to this day, everytime I hear it I think of her. I remember having to say goodbye. It was so very hard.

So now it has been 20 years since she has been gone, and I still miss her greatly. Unfortunately Arnold and the kids never got to meet her. They would have thought she was an amazing woman, and I know she would have loved them, too. Maybe by now you've realized that Rachel's middle name is Louise, and yes that was after Grandma. I always wanted our kids middle names to be something special. Brooke already had my middle name.. so when I was pregnant with another daughter, I couldn't think of any better middle name for her. The night I told my parents we were having a girl.. I told them her name would be "Rachel Louise." I think that really made my dad happy :) I like telling Rachel about her, and I know she will live up to her name :) 

This is her wedding invitation, I have one framed and sitting in my china cabinet with lots of other decorative items. 

Chartleston Family Vacation 2020!

This past week we took a family trip to Charleston. My brother, sister in law and new nephew live down there, so seeing the baby was the main reason for the trip. But it was nice to have a getaway with the family since we haven't gone anywhere together in quite some time.

We ended up getting down there around 5pm, checked into our hotel, and drove over to my brother's place (I couldn't wait!!) and I got to hold my new nephew, Roman, for the first time! He was almost a month old, but still teeny tiny since he was born early. I held him, and he looked up at me, and I didn't want to let him go!! After we visited for a little while, we went to a local BBQ place we heard was good. The food was good, but a little pricey for what you got. They had these GIANT onion rings dipped in what reminded me of funnel cake. It was pretty good at first, but then it made me feel sick. After dinner we took the kids nighttime swimming at our hotel's pool. It was outside and still open for the year, but it was already dark, and so we had to pool all to ourselves. 

The next morning we got up pretty early.. I didn't sleep well anyway.. I never sleep well away from home. Didn't help that the hotel bed was so firm and the air conditioning was so loud! But Arnold slept like a baby! Go figure! We got ready and then drove over to Folly Beach. Since it was after labor day, and we've been dealing with COVID this year, the place wasn't as packed as I'd expected. We walked out on this long pier and the views were GORGEOUS! It was windy and our hair wouldn't stop flying all around. We took lots of pictures of course.. then walked down to the beach. We put our feet in the water and took more pics.. we didn't wear bathing suits because it was just a quick trip. It was insanely hot and humid down there, and everytime I went outside my hair would frizz up immediately. When we were done, we went into a nearby store to get souveniers. Arnold and Brooke got shirts, Rachel got a turtle necklace, and I got turtle earrings! 

That afternoon after lunch and some shopping, we went back to the hotel room to rest and take showers. That evening we met up with my brother and family at a local place called Red's Ice House. It was a big, rowdy place with lots of families and noise, but it was fun. Sweet little Roman slept through it all.. I don't know how! Anyway, I had told Arnold that I wanted some GOOD crab legs on this trip, and boy did they deliver. I had a whole plate all to myself, and I don't think I heard anything going on around me.. I was in the zone. I accidentally kept squirting juice and crab on my brother and making a big mess, haha. I even got Brooke to try one. After dinner we went to a local place called Waterfront Park, which is famous for its huge pineapple fountain and beautiful views over the ocean. I took a bunch of pics with the girls just as the sun was setting. I could have stayed out there forever!

That night after we got back to the hotel and got changed, we went to the pool again. I did something I haven't done in 10 years (yes really!) Put on a bathing suit and got in the pool with the kids! I am not big on swimming... I just don't find it very fun, plus I feel icky in public pools.. all the germs. Plus I am super self-conscious. I have gained a lot of weight on a daily medicine I take, and I just didn't want to put on a bathing suit. But I decided I wanted to be the fun mom for the trip, and surprise the kids. Boy were they surprised!! Brooke took pics and texted them to my parents and everything. Everyone was happy I decided to go. I really did have fun... the whole pool just for our family. Riding on Arnold's back and floating on my back. I also swam some laps. I'm surprisingly a very good swimmer.. too bad I waste it ;) Anyway, I'm glad I did it, and it's one of the best memories from this trip. The only bad thing was I woke up early the next morning with extremely sore upper arms.. I guess I'm not used to using those muscles in that way ;)

Saturday we got up, ate and got ready, and met my brother's family again over at the South Carolina Aquarium. It was HUGE and very nice. Once again, my little nephew slept through it all! ;) We got to see lots of sea life, huge turtles, and lots of neat things. And at the front of the aquarium going in, they took family pictures of everyone, with the cheesy backgrounds. And yes, we totally bought the over-priced corny pictures at the end because we loved them so much. And-- MEMORIES! We actually bought the digital copies, so we got all of them and we can print them and frame them later if we want.

After we were done there, we took the kids over to the local Tanger Outlets to do some school shopping. Some new clothing items, and new shoes for both Rachel and Caleb (Brooke already had gotten some.) Rachel picked rainbow checkered Vans.. I think she is going for a skater girl look this year. Haha. After shopping, we took the kids to a place Arnold had found online called the Charleston Fun Park. They had go karts, and after having so much fun back at Caleb's birthday, Arnold wanted to go again. He rode, and so did Brooke and Caleb. Rachel didn't want to go again, she said last time scared her! Afterwards we played in the arcade inside for a little while and ate Dippin Dots before dinner (hey it's vacation, so its ok!!)

That evening we went to a local pizza place for dinner. The pizza was really good, but they were HUGE! We totally underestimated the sizes of the pizzas and ended up with a lot extra we took with us. After eating, we went back to the hotel. Arnold decided to take the kids to the pool one last time, and I tried to take a nap since I hadn't been sleeping well on this trip (once again, it did not work!!) When they got back, Arnold was exhausted and went right to sleep. Brooke and I watched some old episodes of Big Bang Theory. It was strange being in such close quarters this trip with the kids, since they usually run off to their own rooms at home. But I LOVED it, because we got to see them a lot, and they opened up and talked to us, and we all had a great time.

Sunday morning we got up and packed things up since it was our last day there. We then got dressed up since Alex had invited us to their church before we went home. They go to a VERY large church, called Seacoast Church. They have very talented, somewhat famous musicians play there on stage, and the rows of chairs go up really high.. it reminded me of being at a concert! It was the biggest church I've ever been in. It made me pretty nervous, but I actually had a great time. Little Roman decided to be fussy during service... the first time during the weekend he hadn't wanted to sleep!!! haha. 

After the service we went to a local place that my brother wanted us to try. They customize donuts just for you. You get to pick the glaze, the toppings, and everything. They were delicious. I got to hold little Roman, snuggle him, and give him a bottle before we left. It was really hard to say goodbye to them! We had the best time... and now that they live in such an amazing area that's not TOO far from us, we can visit them more often! ;) 

We had a great trip.. and the only bad thing I can think of during that time was that I lost my mask. I have NO clue what happened to it. It was a mask a friend made me, and I wore it everywhere. So while Arnold and Caleb were at the store down there, they picked me up a new one. Turns out its gold, sparkly... and everywhere I go since getting home, people compliment me on it. So I guess it turned out ok ;) Also-- the hotel breakfast SUCKED there... due to COVID they didn't have hot breakfast, so they had cold grab-and-go stuff. Arnold got me and Caleb a bagel.... it turned out it was gluten free, and hard as a rock. Yeah.. needless to say, we got breakfast somewhere else after that experience!!