One of my absolute favorites, sweet cherry blossoms.

Some pretty purple and white crocus flowers.  These are perennials and religiously bloom in early spring under our Bradford Pear tree.

Some trusty daffodils that come up year after year with no maintenance – now that’s my kind of flower!

And a flower bloom I don’t know the name of that grows on a shrub along our fence.  It opens into a beautiful flower, but quickly falls apart onto the ground.  Any idea what it is?

Today is Memorial Day – a time for us to honor all of the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom.  When I was younger, my sisters and I would ride along with our dad and go to his “band job” every Memorial Day.  My dad, with a few of my uncles, and grandfather (and about 100 other men) were all in a German band.  They mostly performed in local summer parades and festivals, but a handful of them always played at 3 cemeteries the morning of Memorial Day – going from one to the next, playing a few songs as the locals came to pay their respects.  I remember, running around the cemeteries with the other kids while the band members warmed up and prepared to play their songs.  I’d often pay special attention to the graves with the eternal flames and the graves with beautiful flowers.

As kids, we would tag along, knowing that after they performed at the last cemetery we would head to a local hall for hot dogs and standard BBQ cuisine.  At the time, long before 9/11 or closely knowing anyone who actively served in the military, I knew we were there to honor those who lost their lives in one of the wars, but I didn’t really connect it.  All of the graves we were standing near were so, so old – those people had died generations ago and I didn’t know any of them personally.  Much has changed since then, Memorial Day has a more significant meaning now.  Many people I know have been affected by the loss of soldiers fighting in the war.  Coach and I have a friend who’s working in Afghanistan, not in a military capacity anymore, but he’s just as much at risk.  Today, more than ever, I am thankful for the military and their families, for the sacrifices they’ve made and they continue to make.

Are you doing anything special today to pay tribute to those we’ve lost?

Easy Microwave Shrimp

Here’s all you need:

Ingredients:

Enough deveined shrimp (with the hard shell from the tail removed) to fit on a microwavable plate in a single layer
1 oz. Lemon Juice
2 oz. White Wine
1/4 tsp. Old Bay Spice Mix, or the store brand equivalent

Directions:

Arrange the shrimp on a microwaveable plate.

Sprinkle them with Old Bay Spice Mix, or the store brand equivalent.

Sprinkle the white wine and lemon juice over them.

Cover them with Saran Wrap and cook in the microwave for about three minutes.

Chill or eat warm with cocktail sauce.

Enjoy!

Mom

When planning our wedding, I was surprised at how controversial wedding favors could be.  A few people asked if we planned to give “presents” back to the guests and they expressed how favors seemed to be a new trend which they thought was silly. Yet others said it’s rude not to give your guests something in return for coming to our wedding.  Then, as I was looking around online I noticed that many of the wedding forums all sung the same tune, “if you’re not giving edible favors, don’t bother giving anything at all.”  I’m not sure if it’s a fortunate thing or not, but I sing to my own tune – both figuratively and literally – so we decided to not only give favors, but to give some that weren’t edible.

Our thought was, since we would have appetizers available before dinner, a full dinner buffet, a fairly robust candy buffet and a few cake options, the guests really wouldn’t want more to eat.  So as much as we love food, we decided to go with a favor that would last a bit longer than melted chocolate in your mouth.

Our wedding was just after the first day of spring, so we chose to give our guests tiny vials with flower seeds in them.  I was originally leaning towards giving perennials, but then I came across some annual flower seeds online called White Wedding Zinnias and couldn’t pass them up.

We added a little soil and glitter to the vials, threw in a few zinnia seeds, then attached them with ribbon to some card stock with planting instructions and a cute header like “Love Grows Best in the Care of Family and Friends” and we were all set.

Here’s how they turned out:

I threw them all into a pink basket and weaved a sign through it, like this:

If you’re looking for a fun party favor for the baby shower, bridal shower, birthday party or wedding, you could easily and cost-effectively put these together.

What was your favorite favor you ever received at a wedding?

Congratulations to Melissa M. over at Married….with Kitties! You are the winner of the Mother’s Day Giveaway — for your choice of a handmade glass fused necklace or a gray floral lace necklace. I’ll email you soon to find out which necklace you’d like!

Thanks to all who participated!

Wishing all of you mothers out there a very Happy Mother’s Day!

“God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.” ~ Jewish Proverb

Mothers come in all shapes, sizes, and colors and human nature designs it so no one can escape having a mother. Generally, the mother is the first teacher and wants the very best for each of her children. It’s a blessing if we can remember sitting on our mother’s laps while she read to us. These enduring memories, no doubt, fall into the cherished category. I know, for me and most likely many others, some of the first books read to us were listing the alphabet and pictures to correspond with the letters – like A for Apple, B for Banana, C for Carrot, D for Doughnuts, E for Eggs, F for Fish. This example comes from the “Barney’s Alphabet Soup” book, but there are many, many books that teach the same 26 letters but with different pictures. In honor of Mother’s Day, I decided to come up with my own “alphabet list” describing what a Mother is.

A MOTHER is:

A – Attentive (of all activities within eyesight)                                   

B – Busy (with housework and child care)                                                                                                            

C – Caring (and concerned about family and others)                                                                                                       

D – Diligent (applying great effort and persistence to all she does)                                                           

E – Encouraging (with teaching new information and new skills)                                                                                

F – Forgiving (of the mistakes and bad choices)                                                                                                 

G – Generous (with all that she has)                                                                                                      

H – Honest (and direct with her comments and responses)                                                                                                        

I – Industrious (and conscientious with all of her tasks)                                                                                                 

J – Jovial (good-humored and fun-loving)                                                                                                            

K – Kind (gentle and thoughtful to all)                                                                                                   

L – Loving (of family, friends, and strangers)                                       

M – Meticulous (and thorough with each detail)                                                                                                              

N – Nurturing (with protective arms)

O – Open-minded (when it comes to new ideas or suggestions)

P – Patient (with teaching, training, and waiting)

Q – Quick (in thoughts, actions, help and responses)

R – Reassuring (with a comforting tone)

S – Supportive (in any circumstance)

T – Tolerant (of other people and their views)

U – Unselfish (by putting others first)

V – Versatile (and able to change directions quickly)

W – Witty (with original thoughts and creative ideas)

X – eXcited (for the accomplishments of family and friends)

Y – Yielding (graciously when a better answer or solution comes along)

Z – Zealous (passionate and enthusiastic in what she believes)

Happy Mother’s Day!

Mom

Looking back through the photos, I noticed something. Coach had reason to tell me he was “waterfalled out” by nearly the end of our trip. I can’t count the number of waterfalls we saw. Some small, some huge, some difficult to access, some right along the road, some crowded, some so secluded we were the only ones there. As I review the photos, I must admit, I never got sick of seeing them.

Here’s a sampling of a few we saw. And as they always say – the photos don’t do them justice.

Are you a fan of waterfalls?  Shout out your favorite location to see beautiful falls.

“A stitch in time would have confused Einstein.“  ~  Unknown     

(This quote makes me chuckle for some reason.)

Does it seem like just last month we welcomed in 2012? Heck, to me, it seems like just a few years ago we were wondering what changes would occur and if we would technologically survive the New Millennium. And, thankfully there was survival. Time has a way of marching on, not really caring one way or another about person, place or thing. We are all on that same conveyor belt that just keeps moving along and the only way off is through death (though, not my first choice for sure). The pasts slowly morph into the presents which in turn morph into the futures. One thing I have noticed as I’ve journeyed down this path is how the whole perception of time has changed for me (and I’d bet there are others who can understand what I mean). I think back to my youth and I remember clearly having to wait for a holiday, my birthday, or the starting of a new school year and that time increment seemed like a decade to me. When will school start? How many MORE days till my birthday? Or even, are we there yet? – I understand age factors in to some degree with this particular inquiry.

I also feel times were much slower then, more idyllic, a much safer time where children could be seen playing in the park, riding their bicycles, chasing lightning bugs, flying kites, jumping ropes, walking on stilts, playing hopscotch, and interacting much more with each other. Another element of time which has undoubtedly happened to us all, or unfortunately will, is when such a catastrophic event occurs it sears it into our brain and seems to stop time for a brief period. The case in point here is the classic example of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. If you were at all able to grasp the concept of what occurred you knew the details of where you were at that time. During that particular week my parents were glued to the television. But, an additional segment I remember then is when the whole world witnessed Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald.  At that time, as a small child, my neighbor and I were on the front sidewalk talking into cans. Yes, we had made a primitive telephone line with a string attached to two cans. My mother came to the door and called for us, motioning us to come in. She said, “History is being made” and we had to see this. She was right. There was an irreparable blemish on the Camelot era and now pages to be put in the history books. And boy, have we come a long, long way from the ‘telephone’ we were anxious to make work to where a large percentage of our nation’s children actually carry cell phones.

Looking back, I feel our own children got a little taste of times past when it was the custom of their grade school to have an end-of-the-year picnic. This began with a walking parade for all the children through the small town, followed by each grade participating in an obstacle course. A long rectangular white pavilion lifted its wooden windows to sell brats, pop, ice cream, candy and even little toys. A large white gazebo (which added to the whole scene of going back in time) was the station for a band that played throughout the afternoon. Time seemed to be moving in slow motion for that little increment of our lives.    

Yes, time is elusive. Time capsules are made by many groups trying to preserve what seemed important to the people of that period. Museums are set up for the same reasons. But, unlike a butterfly or lightning bug, time cannot be caught. We just have to make sure we use our time wisely and cherish each moment because it’s gone and becomes part of our past very quickly.

This topic was brought to mind due to the birthday this week of the owner of Remaking Memories – one of my favorite daughters. Where did that time go?  Happy Birthday to you!  Love you, love you, love you.

Mom

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:  A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace “ ~ Ecclesiastes 3 KJV

“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.” ~ Mother Teresa

Mondays with Mom – my daughter suggested this would be the perfect title for a blog post I write on her website and you guessed it – on Mondays. Being the detail-oriented daughter she is, she even mentioned how she was born on a Monday and thus a “Mondays Child” and, in addition to that, she said I have a connection to this website because I market her creations for her whenever and wherever I can. So, to her it was a given, a natural.

“Mondays with Mom” does have kind of a nice ring to it. I visualize the two of us spending time together sitting at the kitchen table with cups of tea and cookies remembering family and events from the past, discussing religion or world politics (an area that can now make your spine stiffen like the sound of fingernails down a chalkboard), or shopping together. Think about it – there are a whole lot of things that you can do when spending time with someone you love. And the reality of the 21st century is that, thanks to technology, we can do a lot of this from our own homes and not even be in the same state.

Now, that brings me to the topic of writing on Mondays for this post and the proverbial “writer’s block” which I am sure will become almost as familiar as another child during this adventure. Anyway, back to the subject at hand; what to talk about on my very first Monday. (See how “writer’s block” creeps right in?)

(I find myself pacing the floor, thinking and thinking.) Eureka! I think I have this one covered though. I just looked at the calendar and I see our anniversary is this week. So the topic is LOVE and that is a very broad topic. When I think of love, the very first thing that pops into my head is God. “God is Love,” a scripture verse we learned as children is the foundation of it all. Love has a magical way of multiplying the more you give it away. Next, we have the love for family and others. This only ensures more swelling of the heart. (And for all you grandparents out there and you know who you are and what I’m talking about when I say you cannot describe the bond between a grandparent and a grandchild.) This love of family and friends is what triggers a love for country and wanting to keep those you love safe. We have love and respect for those who fight for our freedom. Our state is currently experiencing this first-hand. Our hometown hero, Travis Mills, who lost both his arms and legs when he stepped on an IED on April 10, 2012, became the nation’s fourth quadruple amputee who lived. We salute you and pray for a speedy recovery, Travis. And to all the other brave service men and women fighting for our rights and freedom we say a huge heart-felt thank you and may God bless you and keep you safe. So, in keeping this post to a reasonable length, if I’ve even stimulated a moment’s thought on your part regarding “LOVE,” then mission accomplished.

Keep each other safe and remember to live, love, laugh, listen, and learn.

Oh, and Happy Anniversary Honey!

Mom

“A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” ~ John 13:34 (KJV)

I’ve been harassing her to be a guest blogger for several reasons.

1. She markets my handmade products better than I do. She attends numerous craft shows a year selling my creations and other products and is my biggest supporter!
2. She’s a wise lady and has an abundance of knowledge to share with you lovely readers.
3. She’s a great writer.
4. I haven’t been very good at keeping up with my blog, so I’m calling in some relief.
5. I’m her favorite daughter, so why wouldn’t she want to blog on her favorite daughter’s site – more on this later!

So from this point forward, Mondays will be dedicated to my mom. Why Mondays? Well, because I was born on a Monday and it makes sense to me.

Since we’re celebrating “Mom” and Mother’s Day is just around the corner, let’s have a Mother’s Day Giveaway. The lucky winner can choose between this dainty fused glass pendant or this floral gray lace pendant, with the chain or ribbon of your choice.

The rules are simple. To enter, just comment here with an answer to the following question:

What do/did you appreciate most about your mother? Is she simply kind, is she completely, and sometimes brutally, honest, does she possess the same wacky sense of humor as you?

If you’d like additional entries into the giveaway, here are more options. If you do any of the following things, be sure to come back here and comment for each one so you receive your additional entry(ies).
1) Like my Facebook page (1+ entry)
2) Follow Remaking Memories on Twitter (1+ entry)
3) Tweet about this giveaway – be sure to link to @remakinmemories (1+ entry per day)

Contest ends on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 5:00pm Eastern Time so there’s enough time to send the chosen necklace to the winner so it can be given to a special Mother or kept for yourself!

Winner will be selected using www.random.org.

Theodor Seuss Geisel was your given name,
but we prefer the great Dr. Seuss just the same.

Your ancestors were from Germany just like mine,
if only I could rhyme like you, I’d be just fine.

You opened our eyes to green eggs, red fish, blue fish, thing 1 and thing 2,
but more than that, you entertained us and lifted us up when we were feeling blue.

You had no children which makes me sad,
so many to call you Doctor but no one to call you dad.

Your legacy lives on and on it will stay,
for March 2nd will always be your special day!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

What’s your favorite Dr. Seuss book?