Reunion

Wow...it's been so long since I've been on here, that Blogger has completely changed the format!!  Oh, well, haven't had much to say for quite some time, but that may soon change...we'll see how it goes:)

Casa de Envy is quiet now, but later this week the joint will be jumpin'!  For the first time in several years, my dad's family will be gathering at the homeplace for a reunion.  Snow White will be home, and family members will be arriving from hither and yon.  On the menu:  BBQ with slaw, chicken, baked beans, and a plethora of homemade side dishes.  You know we country folks like to cook;)  OMG!  I just gained five pounds thinking about it! 

I'm hoping that someone shows up to the reunion with a camera so I can share some of the joy.  A picture truly says a thousand words... 

Bonne Bell Lip Smackers

The advertisement above could be found in any Teen Beat or Tiger Beat magazine...two pages over from the ads for Tickle deodorant;)


Oh, the 70's! A time for bell bottoms, disco and Bonne Belle Lip Smackers! Does anyone remember those? I'm not talking about the ones available today - those are the size of a tube of Chapstick. These were the biggest mamma-jamma lip glosses you have ever seen! They were about the size of a toilet paper roll. And we loved them!!!! Personally, I preferred three flavors - 7-Up, Dr. Pepper & Orange Crush. See a pattern there?? Soft drink flavors! They certainly tasted better than TAB. GAH! It was also fun to mix the flavors; although, the tubes were too heavy to carry more than one in your purse at a time. Just kidding. Not really.

If you hadn't already noticed, I'm feeling a bit nostalgic today. Maybe it's time to get the old gang together and see if there are any skating rinks still in operation.
Hope I can find by pom-poms;)

Have a GREAT weekend!

Tomatoes

This photo was taken last summer during a relaxing trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina!

When I find myself bemoaning the normal weather for this time of year, my dad is quick to remind me that even if it takes a turn for the worse, it can't last much longer! Those encouraging words, coupled with frequent daydreams about sun, sand, and surf, tend to get me through the bleak winter months. Not that this winter has been especially bleak. In fact, the above-average temperatures have propelled this cold and flu season forward at a record clip! I can't imagine what my propane bill would have been if it had actually gotten COLD for more than five days... Suits me just fine.

I stepped outside during my lunch hour today and was greeted with bright sunshine and a mild breeze. As I soaked up a few rays, I thought back to my trip to the beach last summer. It's time to start planning this year's trip...up to and including ensuring that I have plenty of those luscious fresh tomatoes to place in the sunny kitchen window of the cottage!!

What is your secret to surviving the winter months? Do you prepare certain comfort foods? Do you need a special heat lamp to ward off Seasonal Affective Disorder? Do you wrap up in your Snuggie and hibernate until spring??!! Please share your tips, and commiserate...it's not for much longer:)

Epiphany

I had an epiphany this evening. I've become "THAT" person...you know, the one you pray your whole life that you never become:/

What happened to me? I used to be the career woman/mom who worked hard all day and rushed home to prepare a nutritious meal for her family to share. There was conversation, there was laughter, there was Snow White's phone alerting her to a new text message every thirty seconds. Most nights, I went to bed with a sense of having accomplished something in my professional AND personal lives.

Now? I work four ten hour days. (Hey! I'm STILL a career woman!) I come home, light candles, turn on the radio and stalk people on Facebook try to decide what I want to eat for supper. (This week, my dinners du jour have been Cheez-Its, and/or Crunch & Munch. Each paired well with a nice Cabernet. Or, a cheap Merlot.) I then fall into bed, exhausted and wondering if I need a pet to keep me company. I'm six cats and a muumuu away from becoming the Crazy Cat Lady!!!

How, you may or may not ask, do I fill the hours on my day off? Well, let's see, I go to the dump, do laundry, burn trash, clean, and, on a good week, I go to Wally World to stock up on wine. And Crunch & Munch. It really IS all about the simple things in life. Or, perhaps, I've just become SIMPLE!!

My GOSH it's great to be blogging again! I've missed you all terribly, and I'm sending out an S.O.S. for you to come to BFE to visit BHE. VERY soon...

Side Note to My Uncle R: It really is safe for you to come and visit next month. I promise! Do you like Crunch & Munch?

Tuesday Tid-Bits

1. Today is a Tuesday-that-feels-like-Monday-stick-out-your-tongue sort of day. Neither good nor bad, just BLAH!

2. I ate Cheez-Its for supper last night. My high school Home-Ec teacher would be horrified. Although, they made a colorful plate...um, napkin.

3. Snow White and I spent a wonderful holiday season together:) She is now back at school, has pledged a sorority, and has fallen into her old ways of forgetting to text her Mama on a regular basis:/ Oh, well, I'll hear from her soon...she'll need money!

4. Why is it so much fun to burn trash in a barrel?

5. How did I ever survive without my Tervis Tumblers? "The world's first smart cup," INDEED! I. LOVE. THEM.

6. I have not had a television, by choice, for almost a year. My sister gave me her DVD player, but it had been sitting unused in the living room for almost a month. Yesterday I made the mistake of popping in a movie. I figured I'd enjoy a show while polishing off a pot of coffee on my day off. Well, three movies and a four hour nap later, I realized WHY I had chosen NOT to have that sort of entertainment around...I WON'T GET ANYTHING DONE!!! I turn into a lazy slug

7. This pesky cold has been hanging on for over a week now. I believe I will use this as my excuse for taking a four hour nap yesterday.

8. Did I mention that I took a FOUR HOUR NAP yesterday?

9. My great-grandmother was right, Vick's Vapor Rub and Nyquil CAN cure most anything that ails you.

10. What's happening in your world today??

State Fair

The State Fair rolled into town a couple of weeks ago, and I was fortunate enough to have been able to go and enjoy all of it's fried food-smelly animal-barking carnie goodness!! The little guy you see above was my prize for winning the squirt gun game, which I ROCKED;) Sadly, the Whack-a-Mole game was nowhere to be found...

Named "Green Monkey", because I'm original like that, he has given me more than a few smiles since I brought him home. As you can see, I've already trained him to bring me flowers. Of course, they came off of the rosebush in my yard and I had to clip them, but it's the thought that counts. Right? Don't judge.

I didn't go to the Fair last year because I was in a huge pity pile after Snow White left for college, and it wouldn't be the same without her, and it was too depressing, and wahh, wahh, wahh. Well, this year I decided to send her photos while I was there. Pig races, tractors, farm animals, OH, MY! To my delight, she and I carried on quite a conversation via text as I visited many of our fair faves:) Still wasn't the same as having her home, but that chapter is closed, and we are beginning to create new traditions. With the holidays tapping at the door, it's time to embrace our new reality, and look for ways to just make things work!!

The sun is shining here this morning, and the temps are predicted to reach into the eighties. I have a busy day ahead, and plan to enjoy every moment of it! Happy Monday, my friends! ((hugs))

Crossroads

The urge to get back here and post has been overwhelming, so here I am. Life has taken me to a place I never thought I'd be, and I am doing my best to navigate these waters. There are good days, and there are not-so-good days. All things considered, I feel stronger and more determined than ever to live life to the fullest. I have an amazing family and fabulous friends who have held me up when I was falling, and who have told me what I needed to hear when I needed to hear it. For that, I am MOST thankful.

I'm living in my grandmother's house and attempting to put it back in order. My goal is to have it ready to receive family and friends for the holidays. It's important that it be as warm and welcoming as it was when Grandma was at the helm...a daunting task, at best! I talk to Grandma every day, and I know she's here to guide me along. I just wish she could tell me where to find her recipes for homemade chocolate ice cream (hers was the best in the county), and for deer barbecue! It's the little things...

I lived in this house many years ago, and at that time the roads were identified by Route Numbers. When the county set up the 911 system, each road was assigned a name. I now live on New Hope Road, very close to where it intersects with New Beginnings Road. New Hope and New Beginnings...it's nice to be home.