Mindless Monday, Austin/Josh Update (2/3 of an Empty Nest), Quotable Quotes

Good Monday morning!

Guess what?

I've been awake since 4:15 a.m.

Guess what else?

I've actually been UP since 5:15 a.m.

And now it is 10:00 a.m., and I am pooped!

RANDOMNESS #1 - Roxie's friend, Hunter, has a birthday today.

And because it is his birthday, Roxie woke me up at 5:15 a.m. and we drove to his house in the dark with 18 gifts tied to 18 orange balloons in the back of her little car.

And she had 18 gifts and 18 orange balloons because he is 18 years-old today.

I went along for moral support... and because I'm a huge calming influence during times like these.

Roxie's idea was to surround his car neatly with 18 inflated balloons attached to 18 various and sundry gifts.

Good idea.

Roxie's reality was the balloons got all tangled up in the backseat of her little car, and although we tried to untangle them in a dark driveway at 5:22 a.m., we were unable to do so.

Knowing The Chick as I do, I didn't say a word. I just worked diligently on my balloon. Calmly.

Finally, she did a little problem-solving, and said, "Forget it! Let's just bunch everything together and leave it beside the car in a cluster of balloons."

And she did.

And it looked great.

And it looked festive.

I sat in the passenger seat of the car (calmly) while she counted and re-counted the balloons and gifts.

I sat in the passenger seat of the car (calmly) while she ran to her side of the car and jumped in saying, "I cannot find Balloon No. 17! I'm missing a gift! I'm missing a balloon!"

We drove back to our house. I searched the driveway and she ran inside to make sure we hadn't left the balloon floating in the kitchen, dining room or den.

No orange balloon.

She jumped back into the driver's seat. "What are we going to do?"

"If the balloon isn't here, it is there. We need to go back and re-count," I said.

"And if it isn't there, I'll just leave a note saying the wind blew it away."

I quietly nodded and at 5:42 a.m., we drove into the black, black night to Hunter's house where she jumped out of the car, tiptoed to the cluster of balloons and gifts... and promptly found Balloon No. 17.

"I can't believe I didn't see that," she said as we started home... again.

And then, "Thanks for going with me and being so calm."

"It's what I do," I replied.

And she smiled and I smiled because we both know it is not something I have ever done before.

But as a 52 year-old Mom of a 17 year-old Chick, I'm learning when something doesn't go as planned, one of us needs to be the "calm one."

And according to Mikie, that would be me.

RANDOMNESS #2 - After the Balloon Delivery, Roxie and I got ready and went to an orthodontist appointment. She is more than able to go by herself, but we decided to make it an official Breakfast Date.

We stopped by Original Pancake House for Strawberry Pancakes and Strawberry Crepes...



You'll notice there isn't a picture of me this morning.

That would be because I look like I woke up at 4:15 a.m. and actually got out of bed at 5:15 a.m. to run around town for a little while before the sun came up.

It ain't pretty, Folks.

RANDOMNESS #3 - Basketball, basketball, basketball.


Roxie does not get her eye-hand coordination from her Mama.


She doesn't get her "quickness" from me either.


But skipping... I totally taught her how to do that!


A little Kesley...


A little Mallory...


And a little Kelci to finish off our basketball pics this Monday.

RANDOMNESS #4 - Pick a word!

Remember I told you last week I was going to pick my word for 2014?

Remember I told you I was writing an article about it for my Sunday School Newsletter, and I would share my word with you mid-February?

Remember?

Guess what the message was about yesterday morning?

It was about picking a word for 2014.

All I can imagine is that our Pastor has read my blog.

While I have eliminated over 22 words in the past few days, thankfully, he gave us some examples, and now I'm back in the "Pick a Word" ballgame.

It is now down to three really, really good words.

And I got rid of 22 really, really not-so-good words.

As I said before, I'll let you know my choice mid-February!

RANDOMNESS #5 - Austin/Josh Update (2/3 of an Empty Nest) - You would think since I announced I was going to have 2/3 of an Empty Nest in November, I would have an opinion about it by now.

However, I do not.

It seems when two out of three of your kids move out in November/December/January, it doesn't really count... until today.

You see, with the holidays, family gatherings, work gatherings, church gatherings, more family gatherings, etc., etc., no one really leaves.

They may spend the night away here and there, but for the most part, everyone is meeting "at the house" before heading to the next festivity.

Part of me said, "This isn't so bad. This is easy. Why, I'm seeing the guys as much now as I did when they lived at the house."

The other part of me (the part that understood the holidays would one day end) said, "Don't even think about it. If we don't speak of it, it will not come."

The other part of me was WRONG!

As of last Wednesday, the guys have been back at school and/or work.

They breezed through the house a bit Saturday and Sunday, but they are now gone for a six-day stretch... and I'm missing them.

I'm not moaning, crying and/or looking at their baby albums any longer, but I know where they are and I'm not afraid to get them!

It's going to be okay.

It's going to be different... but I'll survive.

And, of course, Roxie is lapping up the extra attention!

I mean, what Chick wouldn't want 100 percent of Enchanting Belinda time?


This is a picture of Roxie calling The Brothers begging them to come home!

Sorry. Not gonna happen.

Quotable Quote

"Our society strives to avoid any possibility of offending anyone - except God." Billy Graham

Have a lovely Monday, if such a thing actually exists. I'll be back Friday with two new-to-me recipes (Old-Fashioned Apple Sauce Cake and Red Devil's Food Cookies). I've already made them, but I do not have time to post everything I've done over the weekend!

Take care, and I'll talk to you next week.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda

P.S. Someone asked me why I didn't just use the word "enchanting" for 2014. While I love the word "enchanting," I have to say it has been my word for almost four years now.

I think it may be time to shake things up a little bit!

Weekend Happenings, Pinterest Stuff (Christmas Photo Game), Austin/Josh Update (2/3 of an Empty Nest), Cream Cheese Icing

Good Friday morning!

RANDOMNESS #1 - Mikie has been in Washington, D.C. this week. He usually travels two or three times a year, but the first week in December is new to us.

I don't care for it.

I don't care for it at all.

However, he has eaten well... rested well... seen the White House decorated for Christmas.

I'm very happy for him.

However, I'll be happier still when his plane lands in Birmingham at 5:30 this afternoon.

Happy, happy, happy.

RANDOMNESS #2 - Basketball season is in high gear around here.

We played in Cullman Tuesday night, and while we lost, I got some sweet pictures of the Chicks.


Roxie after making a three-pointer.


Kelci's game face.


Roxie.


Cam. I'm going to take a "smiling" Cam pic tonight. She has the most beautiful smile. It lights up her face.


Alyssa.


Roxie and Meagan.

Sometimes I just like to take action shots the entire game.

Sometimes I just take "falling on the floor" shots.

Tuesday night, I wanted to take face shots.

Unless something changes, I'm kind of in a "face shot" mood again today.

We'll see.

RANDOMNESS #3 - Sparkle came home Tuesday. She was in Intensive Care for two of the five days she was at the vet's office. She is still improving (we think), but we'll know for certain after she comes off some of her meds next week.

She cannot go up and down stairs, so she is living quite comfortably in the basement.

I go downstairs every three hours and let her out and she slowly wanders for about half an hour... and then she is worn out and comes in for a long nap.

Copper discovered she had returned home on the second day.

He went nuts.

She cannot go inside the fence to play because when Copper is excited he jumps up and down, up and down on the person or dog nearest him at that particular moment.

He's not a heavy dog, but in her delicate condition, Sparkle couldn't take a pounding from Copper at this particular time in her life.

So, every three hours when I let Sparkle out to wander, Copper comes to the fence and barks/yells at me for not letting her play.

I've tried to explain it to him, but the beagle will not listen.

It has made for a very long week, and we're all hoping for a good report when we visit the vet next week.

And we're hoping for a sedative or two for Copper.

Yes.

That is on top of our "hope" list!





RANDOMNESS #4 - Austin/Josh Update (2/3 of an Empty Nest) - This past week was our first glimpse of daily life without Austin AND Josh.

And I didn't care for it.

At all.

It probably didn't help that Mikie was out of town and Roxie, Sparkle and I had the house to ourselves.

Don't get me wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with Roxie...

And the lack of laundry this past week has been AMAZING...

But I'm beginning to think the Empty Nest thing might not be for me.

In the mature, practical part of my brain (which is a very, very small part), I know as a Christian Mother, my main job objective is to send Godly men and women into the world to let others see Christ through their lives.

I am supposed to teach them to seek God's will in all they do and say.

I am to support them with prayer and guidance (if they ask), and strive to be a living, breathing example of what Christ can do in a person's life if we step back and let Him work.

However, if truth be told...

In the immature, I-want-my-way, I'm-their-Mother-for-goodness-sakes part of my brain (which apparently is a very, very BIG part), I want them to be ten, seven and three years of age, making messes, being loud and sitting around my dinner table every night asking, "Can we have pizza tomorrow night?"

I want to be doing Polar Express crafts with a classroom of kids dressed in their pajamas anxiously awaiting 1:00 p.m. because that's when they'll have hot chocolate and sit side-by-side together in a dark room to watch that wonderful movie.

I want to sit in the den before bedtime and read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever... out loud... one more time. I want to laugh at all the funny parts in the book, and barely hold it together at the end when Gladys really, really gets the true meaning of Christmas.

Heavy, heavy sigh.

Other than insisting at least one of them come home, I think I'm going to listen to that wee, small mature and practical part of my brain.

And I'm going to make the 2/3 of an Empty Nest "season of life" one of the very best seasons I've ever had.

Be honest.

Did that sound the least bit sincere?

I didn't think so!

Pinterest Stuff

I pinned this game from Pinterest (www.bargainomics.com), and while I may not use the game this year, I'm planning on putting it to good use next year at one of our big family gatherings.

Christmas Photo Game

1. Ask each person you invite to a party to submit a COPY of a Christmas photo of himself or herself as a child... the younger the better.

2. Post all of the pictures on one wall or table and number each photo.

3. Give each person a pencil and a sheet of paper, plus a name tag to wear.

4. Set a time limit (depending on the size of the group), and have everyone write down each photo number and the name of the person he thinks it is.

5. Give a small prize to the person who gets the most correct answers.

It sounds fun, and even the oldest guest at your party can participate!

Cream Cheese Icing

I made pumpkin cookies this week by adding a stick of butter and an egg to a pre-made mix.

And then, although the cookies were very good, I made homemade icing to go on top... and now I feel much better about myself in the Christmas Baking Department.

You will need the following:

4 ounces butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer.

2. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy.

3. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Good, good icing.

Weekend Happenings

1. Roxie, Mike and I will be attending her Pinson game this evening.

Josh and Austin will still be in Hanceville and Jacksonville, respectively.

2. Mike has two SEC Championship tickets, and since The Boy/The Man wasn't able to take advantage of the Iron Bowl tickets last week, he and Mike are headed to Atlanta Saturday to watch another historic football game.

3. Josh is coming home to watch the game with me, and Roxie is going out with friends.

4. Sunday, Mike, Roxie, Josh and I are going to cut down our den Christmas tree. There hasn't been a time for all five of us to do it together, so we're going to work with what we have... and be incredibly thankful for it!

5. Mike is going to Christmas-in-the-Pines at his office.

6. I am going on a Christmas Home Tour with Melia and her Mom, Lisa.

7. Austin will be going to church in Jacksonville and producing a basketball game that evening.

8. Josh hasn't been informed yet, but after we get the tree Sunday, I want him to put the lights on it and then flock it with a bunch of white stuff. He did this when he worked at the Christmas Tree Farm in the past, and I want an easy, breezy (but cute) Snowman Tree in the den this year.

Hopefully, I'll be able to share a picture or two with you Monday.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Have yourself a very merry weekend. I'll be back Monday with basketball, a Christmas Happenings update, SEC Championship news (good, I hope) and maybe, just maybe, a beautiful white Snowman Tree.

Take care, and I'll talk to you next week.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda (a/k/a Nipper Sugar-Socks)

Weekend Happenings, Blog Linkage, Pinterest Stuff

Good Friday morning!

RANDOMNESS #1 - I don't know if I've told you this already, but I am now a member of a gym.

I know.

It felt awkward just typing it.

My Body Flow/Body Pump teacher moved from the Civic Center to a local gym to teach the classes I've been sporadically attending the last couple of years, so I followed her.

And while I love my Body Flow/Body Pump teacher (one of the most amazing, interesting women you would ever want to meet), you can visibly tell I am out of my comfort zone when I walk through the door.

I don't belong.

I am in the minority.

I am a "normal" 52 year-old woman in a sea of "not-so-normal" hard bodies.

But because I am 52 years-old, I decided a few years back not to be intimidated by stuff that doesn't particularly pertain to me and mine any longer.

Which means, when these "not-so-normal" hard bodies have three giant nine-plus pound babies and live to tell about it 22 years later, then we'll compare Body Mass Index numbers and Body Measurements, etc.

Not today.

Not tomorrow.

Not ever, really.

Because by the time the hard bodies reach 52 years of age, I am pretty sure I will have retired from the gym.

That's my introduction to Randomness #1 today. You will find the actual Randomness below!

During Body Flow Class Tuesday, we were instructed to lie on our stomachs on the floor.

Put our arms behind us.

Lift our heads and shoulders.

Reach and hold our right ankle with our right hand, and our left ankle with our left hand.

When this position was achieved, we were told to pull our upper body up even more while holding onto our ankles.

Our stomachs were still on the ground.

I describe this to you because I want you to picture it in your head.

This is not a natural human position.

Ever.

In any circumstance... whatsoever... as long as we all shall live.

The closest I can come to ever having seen it before is when someone sky dives and they "assume the sky-diving position."

And even then, those people are not holding their ankles.

Sorry. I digress.

My body rejected the position within 15 seconds, and I felt my left ankle slipping out of my left hand.

As my ankle freed itself from my hand, for some unknown reason, my brain told my hand to grab it!

"No matter what happens, GRAB THAT ANKLE," my brain said.

So I twisted and contorted my body trying to re-grab my ankle.

But my ankle was having none of it. It was free. It wasn't about to be captured and pulled over the top of my head again.

No, sir.

As you can imagine, I was now in a great deal of pain.

Pain from my foot which hit the floor like a brick when released.

Pain from my shoulder and neck from trying to re-grab my wayward ankle.

Pain from the right side of my body because my left side had rebelled... and kind of run away.

Pain from my face when I released my right ankle and just let everything HIT THE FLOOR.

I've had to accept some hard facts the last few weeks.

My body no longer flows.

It lurches, creaks, pops and sometimes makes noises I can no longer identify.

I informed Mike, "I think I pulled the left of me."

"What does that mean? 'I pulled the left of me.' What part of the left of you?"

"All of the left of me. And get this. I think the right of me is having sympathy pains."

He told me to take two Advil and call him in the morning.

RANDOMNESS #2 - Roxie played in her third basketball game last night, and while we are still only one or two baskets away from victory (we haven't won a game as of today's date), our team is coming together very well.

With a tournament Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, I think we may have some wins under our belt when I post next week!


Pictures like this make me think someone on the floor shouted, "Assume the position!"


I show a lot of pics of the girls with the intimidating "game face," but I never want people to forget how pretty they are when they aren't trying to snatch a ball from an opponent's tight grip or running 90 miles per hour down the court trying to demonstrate the perfect lay-up.

These Chicks are the whole package.

Pretty Kesley.


Perfect Profile Roxie.


Relaxed and Smiling Mallory.


Kelci and Meagan are doing the "concentrating on the sidelines" thing.


As is Cam.


And because it is the Season of Basketball, I have Action Shot No. 1.


Action Shot No. 2.


And Action Shot No. 3.

You're welcome.

RANDOMNESS #3 - Austin/Josh Update (2/3 of an Empty Nest) - The Boy/The Man moved to Jacksonville yesterday. (He'll be back Sunday.)

Josh has been (and will continue to be) living in Hanceville Monday through Friday until next August.

So it is happening.

The nest is kinda, sorta two-thirds empty.

This, as you can imagine, makes Roxie's heart sing.

When she left this morning, I kissed her and told her, "Daddy and I are going to devote 110% of our time and energy Monday through Friday to you... and only you. We want to just soak you up the next two years before college."

And this is the look I received.


She is beyond thrilled!

I love it when I can make one of my kids' dreams come true!

Blog Linkage - Go to www.kathleenssugarandspice.com and check out yesterday's post entitled "Browned Butter and Sage Mashed Potatoes." This isn't a super easy recipe, but it certainly looks super good.

Pinterest Stuff

Spouse Christmas Traditions

1. Cider Sippin’. Okay, I actually prefer hot cocoa, but “cider sippin’” sounds cooler. For this one, you get a babysitter and go out Christmas shopping for the kids. But you go somewhere special (just the two of you) and get some hot cocoa together. While you sip on your cocoa and enjoy the time alone, you can go over your children’s lists and make a plan of attack for the shopping.

2. T’was the Night Before Christmas. The next day will be majorly focused on the kids, so make a tradition the night before for just the two of you. It could be as little as five minutes, but come up with a tradition that works well for your relationship. Maybe you have a special “toast” and share your favorite memory from the last year, or maybe you exchange a special gift or letter.

3. Stocking Stuffers. Get together with another couple that you both enjoy spending time with. Enjoy an activity, dinner or treat together and then split up. Guys and Gals. Collaborate together as you search for some fun stocking stuffers for your spouse. Sometimes getting ideas from someone else can be helpful!

Weekend Happenings - The following is a short and sweet numbered list of my weekend. I didn't divide it into "People" or "Days." Everything runs into everything else this weekend.

1. Basketball tournament.
2. Thanksgiving No. 1 at Grandmother's.
3. Cooking for Thanksgiving No. 1 at Grandmother's.
4. Josh coming home.
5. Austin coming home.
6. Dreamland Barbecue with friends Sunday night for dinner.

Hold on! The holidays are here!

Have a fascinating Weekend-Before-Thanksgiving weekend. I'll be back Monday with more basketball pics, Pinterest Stuff, Thanksgiving No. 1 pics and more, more, more.

Take care, and I'll talk to you next week.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting and Non-Flowing Belinda

P.S. I didn't mention it before, but when Mikie and I went to Pepper Place Farmer's Market last week, I bought three new succulent plants.

I'm usually undecided about the succulent.

I look at the arrangements.

I love the colors.

I like the name.

I go back and forth about if they look artificial or not.

And then I usually walk away not knowing how I really feel about the succulent.

I am ambivalent.

Or, I WAS ambivalent until I spotted these "rust-colored" succulents at a funky little nursery located beside Pepper Place.

I was drawn to the "rust-colored" succulent.

For some reason the almost-dead coloring of this hanging succulent speaks to me, and I am no longer sitting-on-the-fence when it comes to deciding whether or not I want to invest money and time into caring for a few of these plants.


One week old today... and still alive.