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Friday Favorites

We experienced a cold front in Florida this week which was perfect timing as I’ve begun to experience personal hot flash heat waves on a fairly regular basis.

Not kidding.

Keeping a positive attitude is a challenge to say the least, but I’m going to give it the old college try.

Favorite # ONE

This stuff

I read some of the reviews first, and the positive reviews were more impressive than the negative reviews.  According to the reviews it either works VERY WELL or not at all.

so what do I have to lose?

Fortunately it seems to be helping.  If anyone has a better suggestion I’ll be grateful to hear about it!

I was hesitant to add this to my favorites, but who am I kidding, it IS a favorite today.

And apparently nothing is off limits on this blog.

~

To celebrate the arrival of colder-than-usual weather, I pulled out some of my fall/winter favorites including these

Favorite # TWO

Corduroy Pants

Top // Pants // Shoes

and

Favorite # THREE

Velvet Pants

Top // Pants // Shoes

~

The weather is somewhat of an inspiration to begin thinking about the upcoming holidays, but with our recent painting endeavor, I’m behind schedule with the fall décor!

Favorite # FOUR

Fall Décor

Let’s see if I can do something with this stuff!

~

There are several weeks left before we say goodbye to this year, but I recently came across a post on social media that makes 2020 a year to look forward to

Favorite # FIVE

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Thank You for Your Service

Veterans Day

is observed annually on November 11.

It is a day set aside to honor our military veterans who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Unlike Memorial Day, which honors those who died while in service, Veterans Day honors all military veterans, including those still with us.  Veterans Day encourages us to value our veterans for their service and sacrifice.  It is a reminder to all of us to stop and reflect on the value of peace in our country and in our lives.

I can’t help but think about my Grandpa today.  As I’ve mentioned quite a few times in earlier posts, my Grandpa was in the Army and served in WWII.

Grandpa didn’t lose his life while in service, but he returned home and enjoyed a long life that allowed him to raise children and later develop relationships with grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

It hasn’t been a month since he left us to be with Jesus.  At his funeral service there was an American flag draped over his casket, as is customary for a deceased veteran who has served honorably in the military.

It was at his service that I first experienced the

Folding of the American flag

I can’t explain why, but it touched my heart

Typically, the American flag is given to the next-of-kin, as a keepsake after its use during a funeral service.  And in this case, it was presented to Grandpa’s only surviving child, my Aunt Debbie.

~

After attending the service and later seeing the photos LB took, I was compelled to do a little research on the flag folding.

“Traditional flag etiquette recommends that before an American flag is stored or presented, its handlers should twice fold it in half lengthwise; then (from the end opposite the blue field) make a triangular fold, continuing to fold it in triangles until the other end is reached. This makes a triangular “pillow” of the flag with only the blue starred field showing on the outside, and it takes thirteen folds to produce: two lengthwise folds and eleven triangular ones.” (source)

Fold-us-flag-animated.gif

I thought there may be meaning behind the way the flag is folded.  While there is no official flag-folding ceremony script (offering the meaning to each of the folds), there are scripts which could be used.

As an example, one ceremony script includes this:

“The third fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veteran departing our ranks who gave a portion of [his] life for the defense of our country to attain a peace throughout the world.” (source)

Very appropriate for today as an homage to all Veterans who have given “a portion of life for the defense of our country to attain a peace throughout the world”.

Thank you.

~

And thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Once upon a time there was a little boy

…who called me Ma

His little hands stole my heart, and his little feet ran away with it.

My sweet baby boy.And although he is no longer a baby, he is still the baby of the family.

Richard

came into the world 30 years ago today.  At the time we had been blessed with little girls, so to have a baby boy join the circle was an exciting event.

Those little girls weren’t completely excited about that event Although they changed their tune when they discovered it was fun to dress him up like a princess with a purseThey soon learned that they love him dearlyToday they are inseparable.

~

Richard had no interest in playing the part of the princess, but instead preferred to play the part of Batman

And still likes to play the part of Batman.

~

He had a handful of special friends as a little boy

Who continued to be friends through the years, and remain good friends to this day.

After he became part of the High School Ministry at First Baptist Jacksonville, Rich had the opportunity to participate in a few mission trips, including a trip Nicaragua to help minister to a small community and church there.  As the years passed his focus continued to be spiritual.

 After graduating from high school he earned a degree from Liberty University.  He then began working on a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, while he served as a Collegiate Missionary at Campus Church UNF Today he is living in South Carolina, managing a Maple Street Biscuit Company or two.

~

He is married to a beautiful young lady; His own Mama, couldn’t have chosen a more perfect mate for him. And now he has babies of his own.

Happy Birthday to My Baby!

I’ll Love You Forever.

I’ll Like You For Always.

As Long As I’m Living…

My Baby You’ll Be.

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

The first full week of November began with a challenge from my November 1st  Birthday Girl

Stephanie

She sent me a pin on Pinterest which was a link to the current birthday cake of her dreams.

This qualifies as one of my Friday Favorites!

 🎂

Favorite # ONE

The Birthday Cake Challenge

I’m always up for a baking challenge and I’d likely be more successful if I’d follow the recipe.

The Frosted Animal Cookie Cake with four layers of cake, three layers of filling, and white chocolate buttercream frosting topped with pink ganache (pause to catch breath) took me three evenings to complete.

For the most part, I followed this recipe from lifeloveandsugar.com, however in order to finish quickly, I used a box white cake mix:I think she likes it!

Bonus information: 1,088 calories in 1 slice of a 14 serving cake

😱

Favorite # TWO

A

Birthday Dinner

with three of my favorite ladies

The family was scattered on Stephanie’s birthday and we weren’t able to gather together to celebrate.  In an attempt to make her day special, I had Mama, Stephanie, and Amanda come to my house for dinner.

We had something I never imagined I would include in my blog

🍟

Favorite # THREE

Poutine

It sounds weird and it is weird, but it was Stephanie’s request.

The meaning of the word poutine is from a Québécois slang word meaning “mess”.

It is fries with gravy and cheese curds and MUST be eaten with a fork.

THIS RECIPE is a good one!

~

Favorite # FOUR

Face-Time

While we were together, Emily and the baby girls face timed Stephanie to wish her a happy birthday.

We all enjoyed a teeny little visit together.

It is essential to stay in touch with family!

Moments after I left for work today, LB received the news that his Dad passed away early this morning.

For the past few years LB has made regular visits with his Dad, typically on Friday afternoons.  Although this is a heartbreaking time for him, LB is happy for making time to visit and maintain a close relationship with his Dad.

We have attended church with him on Father’s Day a few times and it was on one of those occasions that I snapped this photo

Favorite # FIVE

A picture is worth a  thousand words but the memories are priceless!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

November GIF

November is an exciting month because there are so many events to look forward to!

However there is one event to look back on that took place on October 31st.

LB and I went to the annual Ballasso Halloween Party last night where we encountered every kind of character you could imagine.

Dressing up is one of my favorite things; almost everyone enjoys getting into costume for Halloween.

Favorite # ONE

Dressing Up

Here are some members of my family who showed their Halloween spirit this year:

Sydney as Sally

~

Dillon as the Joker

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Levi as Owen of Jurassic World

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Thea as Princess Anna from Arendelle

~

Chynnaand her lil’ pumpkin

~

Gina and Sydney a Classic Halloween Witch and her Black Cat

~

Lydiaas Glinda the Good Witch

~

Rory as Dorothy Gale with her bothersome ruby slippers

~

and even McCartney (Amanda’s dog)there’s a dinosaur mask around here somewhere.

~

They are all fabulous!

One costume that I thought turned out particularly well is my

Favorite # TWO

LB as Woody

This may be the best costume LB has ever donned!

~

Favorite # THREE

Costume Concepts

The inspiration for this year’s Halloween costume came from a recently watched movie

Toy Story 4I had my heart set on being Bo Peep, but there were no Bo Peep costumes to be found.

Since LB already had his heart set on being WOODY, I chose to dress up as

Jessie the cowgirl.~

Richard, Emily, Lydia, and Rory were inspired by the Wizard of OZ

~

Favorite # FOUR

Trick or Treat

One of my favorite TREATS  this year is this ORANGE KIT KAT.Since it is TRICK-y to remove and replace my plastic mouthpieces, I’ve only had one…

but it was tasty!

~

 I would be remiss if I submitted a post on November 1st without mentioning  my firstborn.

Last but certainly not least

Favorite # FIVE

StephanieHappy Birthday Dear Stephanie!

 

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Whats Up Wednesday

Although it has been many months since the last, this is my monthly compilation of what’s up:

What’s Up Wednesday?

starting with

What we’re eating

“WE” are eating very light these days because Kim is on the Invisalign diet.  Having a mouthful of bothersome plastic which is so much trouble to remove and replace EVERY TIME I EAT, I have opted for less snacking.

Just for perspective, if you’re familiar with the intermittent fasting plan, this allows you to do all your eating within 8 hours of a 24 hours day.  The invisalign diet requires that all your eating be done in 2 hours.

~

What I’m loving

New curtains! Eclipse Bryson Room-Darkening Window Curtain (Latte)

~

What we’ve been up to

We returned home from Fall Vacation on Saturday.

Although he was standing under the kitchen table yelling at me when I came inside, Elvis was delighted! I’m sure Mama was delighted too since she has been “kitty sitting”.

~

What I’ve been working on

LB and I are redecorating [although things are currently on hold].

Next on our list is…

What I’m excited about

The Dining Room Redo.  Hopefully this is happening on Saturday!

~

What I’m dreading

With the exception of driving to my office every morning, nothing comes to mind 😕

~

What I’m watching/reading

The most recent movie LB and I watched was Toy Story 4.

It was this movie that inspired our Halloween costumes this year.  Unfortunately, I waited until the last minute and I could not find a Bo Peep costume ANYWHERE.

So I’ve embraced my 2nd choice….

What I’m wearing

The reveal is TOMORROW!

Stay tuned!

~

What I’m doing this weekend

Stephanie’s birthday is Friday and we will be having Frosted Animal Cookie Cake and Steak Fries.  Then the FL/GA game is Saturday.

These November events actually fall under the category of

What I’m looking forward to next month

And in addition to these two events, I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving happenings which will include seeing

MY BABY GIRLS!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Saturday Special

This was my Saturday Special:

From the Maple Street Biscuit Company

it is called

The Squawking Goat 

It is a Maple Street biscuit with fried chicken, goat cheese and pepper jelly which was delivered to my table by my own yungin’.He also brought Rory her chocolate chip waffles with strawberries (which she enjoyed quite a lot).

~

Today is the last day of my annual FALL VACATION.

The Fall Vacation trip is the one that LB and I take annually to  do the same things in the same places.  Not because we can’t think of anything else to do, but because we love it.  However, on this Fall Vacation Trip, LB and I did something a little bit different: we detoured to Charleston.

Richard, Emily, Lydia, and Rory officially moved to South Carolina this past week.

  Because I know it is going to be difficult to live without seeing them regularly, LB rerouted us to Charleston and on Saturday afternoon….We met at the place where “Daddy is the BOSS”.

And Glammy got to see her girls!

Talk about a Saturday Special!

After enjoying our lunch, we followed Emily and the baby girls to see their new home.

The playground was especially fun to see!But there was more to do.

We opened housewarming presents (and put them together)Then we headed out to spend the afternoon having fun at a

Charleston Fall Festival

There were so many fun things to do!

There was

A Maze

and a prize if you were successful!

A Fun House

I was amazed that this little four year old marched herself into the fun house alone

and proceeded to run right through like a little pro.

There was

A Pumpkin Patch

which included an opportunity to pick a pumpkin to carve or paint.

Rory picked this one.Lydia did the paintingAnd she did an excellent job!

There were

Photo OpportunitiesBalloon Babies A HAUNTED HOUSE

I ain’t gonna lie… I didn’t want to go into the haunted house.  It was FINE WITH ME when Emily volunteered.  But as it turned out, it was a Haunted House especially designed for little ones, and Lydia asked me if I would go with her a second time.

The stop in Charleston was not planned well in advance, so LB and I would have to leave for Florida shortly after our visit had just begun.

 It was a HOT day, but a fun day with the baby girls!And we WILL be going back!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

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