Mothers and Daughters Gone Wild: The Sequel

This is one of those recaps that has been a looooong time coming. Some background:

My Granny had three daughters, and they each had a daughter, and the 7 of us get along remarkably well for family. :) We genuinely enjoy being around each other and planning reasons to get together, along with the rest of the family.

So way back in 2007(ish) we got the brilliant idea to go on a Mother/Daughter trip, complete with custom shirts. To Amish country. And we had a ball, as probably only our family could in Amish country.

We had talked about doing another trip off and on over the years and when Brian and I went to Snug Hollow for an awesome weekend away I realized it was the perfect place for our next Mother/Daughter trip. It is quaint and country and out in the middle of nowhere and we all tend to like those sorts of things.

So our weekend started out meeting at Granny's house. She was in a perfectly coordinating outfit, as always.

THEN someone produced this picture of the seven of us circa 1991. AMAZING. I really need a copy of this framed in my house.

Did we ever determine where we were/what this was for? At Mentor Baptist? For a Mother's Day Luncheon?

 Then the sisters took this pic:

Which always reminds me of this pic: 

Then once we really got going and picked who was riding in which cars on the way there, we stopped at the cemetery to put flowers on my grandpa's grave. 

I happen to really like cemeteries so I thought it would be a nice time to tell the family, and Papa too, I was pregnant. Only about 8 weeks at the time but I wanted everyone to know on the trip that I was going to be joining their mom club (I was the only one on the Mom/Daughter trip who wasn't yet a mom!).

Granny and I at Papa's grave.

As I was going through the huge album of photos from the trip, I went through a whole section of all the games we played. You are welcome, family, for not posting any of those pics. And especially not any of the getups we were wearing!!

I'll skip to the cabin we stayed in, which was a little further away from the main house, but was really perfect for all of us. It's beautiful and had plenty of space to sleep 7, sit around and talk and play games, cook, etc.

Looking from the back towards the front door.

One of the beds.

The kitchen!

The view out the back of the cabin.

The porch swing and other side of the cabin.

We always eat in for one dinner and cook a meal together on our trips. We love to cook! This time it was a crockpot roast with carrots, onion and celery, and mashed potatoes and gravy etc. It was delicious!!

We had slow cookers going all day while we were in Berea. 

The table set for dinner!

They gave me this cute little menu flower holder (that I still use!!) as a thank-you for planning the trip.

YUM.

The first night we ate Barbara's dinner at the main house. If you've gone back to read either of my other posts about Snug Hollow you know the food is amazing. I didn't get pictures of dinner the first night but you can bet it was delicious. Here was breakfast!

I'm suddenly starving.

After breakfast on our main day of exploring we took all our same combinations of mothers and daughters and grandma and granddaughters and sisters and cousins pictures that we did on the last trip. In our matching shirts of course!!

Mom and daughters

Grandma and Granddaughters

Sisters

Cousins! 

What a good lookin' family!!

This was a very relaxing weekend with some very wonderful women! Now, we just need to get the timing right for the next one so all the women who have married into our crazy family, and all the other women cousins, can FINALLY join us too.

And, I have an idea for a small excursion/activity we could do this spring/early summer. Not a trip, but just a fun afternoon or evening together. I'll keep you all posted. :)

P.S. Just thought I'd throw out there again that you are welcome to shower me with gifts for only picking flattering photos of all of us to post. :) 

How we Spent our Second Anniversary

Photo by Steph Carson.

This year, our anniversary was spent in a way that is unlike any other: on tour. Brian left to join the corps mid-June, and I flew down to Texas on the 17th of June to meet them and primarily so we could spend our anniversary in the same state on June 19th. We knew we really wouldn't get to spend our anniversary "together"--he had to teach all day and I had to cook. But we did have one "special" moment when we rolled into our housing site sometime between probably 2-3 am the morning of the 19th. 


To set the scene: 

We get to the housing site at a very questionably "nice" school and find out we'll be sleeping in the auditorium. Which is fine. They're really dark when you turn the lights off. Usually plenty of outlets and a flat stage to sleep on. But then we walk into the auditorium and find out that it has obviously been locked up since school ended. With no air conditioning. 

So we're thinking we'll hear the AC kick on any minute and set up our air mattress in the back of the auditorium. For some reason everyone else went to sleep and turned out the lights in like 2 seconds. So I'm fumbling around in the dark trying to find my contacts stuff and glasses in my suitcase. We try to settle in and it's obvious we're not getting any AC. And it's not like we can just prop some doors open. It's Texas, and unless you want to wake up with a snake or some insane spider for a bed buddy I'd keep the doors shut tight.

The plot thickens:

So we're down to wearing as little as can still be called decent, keeping in mind we're sleeping in a room with 20 other people. We're lying on our backs trying not to move or touch besides a couple fingers because it's SO HOT in that room. And that's when the noise starts. I questioned whether it was human at first because I've never heard a noise like that in my life. And then it became apparent that a staff member, who shall remain nameless on this blog, was snoring. I seriously thought he might be slowly dying. And it was relentless. It was probably going to continue all night. 

In the midst of this, all the staff got a text from the corps director about the next day's schedule. So one by one around the room we watched all these little spots of light flare up and alarms go off as everyone's phones registered the incoming message. It was quite a funny little choir of beeps and songs. And then on top of that I realized that if you used your imagination the snoring kind of sounded like a chorus of tree frogs. And if you REALLY used your imagination maybe we weren't really in an unairconditioned  auditorium at 3 am listening to the most insane snoring I've ever heard. Maybe we were on a blanket under the stars, listening to the sounds of night. 

And then we lost it: 

Once I shared my tree frog thought with Brian the giggling and laughing began. We couldn't stop. I could barely breathe because there's nothing worse than laughing really hard and having to be as quiet as possible. And the fact that we were exhausted. Tears were literally pouring from my eyes. And every time there was another snore we lost it all over again. At one point we calmed down and Brian looked over and said "Happy Anniversary!" and I realized that it didn't matter if we went out to a fancy dinner or spent every minute of our day together. We had what will probably be one of the most memorable anniversaries ever, sharing his passion for drum corps with me and laughing hysterically. And I couldn't think of any way that would have been better to spend the first few hours of our second anniversary. 

My Roomie Claire is getting married today and I couldn't be more excited for her and her fiance Brad. They are wonderful people and are going to have an amazing life together. I am so lucky that we get to be a small part of their wedding day. I hope they get to have some amazing, unexpected anniversaries together for many, many years to come. 

If You've Ever Shopped at Whole Foods: WATCH THIS.

I found this after catching up on some old blog posts from A Cup of Jo and it made me CRACK UP. It's so true. I love that I really did know about 99% of everything they were talking about/making fun of. And honestly, their song is pretty catchy and that guy is pretty talented. Enjoy!!

Reason #48294578 Why Crossroads Rules

So I get quite a large package in the mail yesterday from our church. Very strange. You can't order anything from the church. And we've never gotten anything before. Brian didn't say he was expecting anything. I never get anything from the nursery team except the occasional awesome and uplifting card. I open the package, and this is what's inside: 

The Search for God and Guinness: A Biography of the Beer that Changed the World.

A $25 hardback book about beer and God. And this card: 

Definitely click to make it bigger--this is a must read.

Are you for real!?!? Never in a million years would I expect to see this in my mailbox with that card attached. If you've never experienced a place that loves God and does things like this because they feel like it, let us borrow your Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning and introduce you to Crossroads (we'll buy whatever appropriate meal should follow the service :). This place is incredible and honestly, what's the worst it could do to you? Change the course of your life forever? 

Superhero Granny

Someone posted this on Facebook today and it pretty much made my afternoon. 

Amazing. I recommend enlarging this.

My Modern Met blog explains the back story on this photo shoot: 

A few years ago, French photographer Sacha Goldberger found his 91-year-old Hungarian grandmother Frederika feeling lonely and depressed. To cheer her up, he suggested that they shoot a series of outrageous photographs in unusual costumes, poses, and locations. Grandma reluctantly agreed, but once they got rolling, she couldn't stop smiling.

So basically this photo shoot and the realization that her life story (which you can read more of on the blog) was inspiring to others and had a purpose knocked her out of her mental funk. Here's another:

This one made me literally laugh out loud.

And then I got to this one and realized--THIS IS MY GRANDMA!!! 

Not LITERALLY my grandma.

LITERALLY my grandma. 

I hope she doesn't kill me for putting this on the internet. This was taken a few years ago on our "Mothers and Daughters Gone Wild" trip to Amish Country in PA. (Read more of the backstory and about the ladies in the family here.) And this is why I think my grandma would totally do a photo shoot like a superhero. :) 

Love this one too.

I love these pictures because of how happy Granny is. And trust me, we were all laughing this hard. And it really did turn into Granny's little photo shoot because after we realized what she was doing everyone grabbed the cameras. (And for the record, my instructions to Granny to get a photo of just her were "Pose, Granny!" She did this all on her own!)

My grandma cracks me up. She says pretty much whatever she wants whenever she feels like it. And every once in awhile she'll throw out a zinger that makes us howl with laughter till we're crying. And, to hopefully make up for posting these, here's my favorite photo with Granny to date, from our wedding.

P.S. My Modern Metropolis did a follow up post on another photo shoot the photographer did with his grandma after the popularity of the Superhero one! It's definitely more melancholy and reflective in tone. But still beautiful photos and a beautiful grandma.

Come on Spring!

I think I've slept all weekend (hence no posts, no new cards up on Etsy, no pasta made, etc.). I'm ready for more sunshine for more hours in the day so my Circadian rhythm and body in general don't put me to sleep every afternoon of the weekend. Bread is in the oven so at least we can have sandwiches for lunch this week! And the Stewarts (my wonderful chem professor and his wife) just bought some of my most favorite cards. :) 


I'm starting to really embrace my full weekends of NOT working on Saturdays and I must say it's pretty awesome. Only very small moments of panic remain. :) 


Well, I've read two books in about 2 1/2 weeks (which is amazing and wonderful and definitely partly due to having a Saturday/weekend again) and I've just started Water for Elephants, which I've heard is amazing. And so far it is--beautifully written, funny, interesting. So it's off to read in bed for a bit. 


Here's a funny picture I don't think I've shared from around Christmas time. I was walking from the kitchen to the office and I look over into the living room and see this: 

That used to be on the tree.

Vivienne, just chilling with the garland all around her. No biggie. At least that's what her entire attitude says--that and, "I do what I want!" The vet says Tortishells are "independent," but Brian uses other words. They're certainly into everything like toddlers! Hope you all have had relaxing weekends and I'm going to try and be more of an online presence this week!

Goodbye Restaurant Industry!!

Saturday was my last serving shift (ever?? Too early in life to tell if that's the case, but man I hope so!). I foodran last night (I know I went out with a bang!) and now I'm done! It's an awfully bittersweet thing. I'd venture to say that serving is one of the hardest professions to quit--the good money, the cash, the flexible scheduling, the camaraderie you have with your coworkers in the industry. That's why I've been doing it for 8 years! But I also know if I don't just make a break and get out now, I'll be doing this forever. This rest of this post is rather sappy about leaving the business and all-- the sting and melancholy about the whole thing is still pretty fresh. So I've interspersed some of my most favorite videos that break down the many, many reasons that I am happy to be out of the serving world.

(I've literally had these conversations. Many times.)

It seriously makes me feel panicked, even though I've not NEEDED to pick up a shift the entire time I've been juggling Cheesecake and my full time job (and my freelancing and my Etsy shop...). In the back of my head I always said, "I need to keep on at Cheesecake just in case we need extra money for some reason." And you know what? I've never once had to pick up a shift because I actually needed to. I've also come to realize and understand and believe that since I've been there for so long and am leaving on good terms--I can always come back! People do it all the time--seasonally or moving back in town after living somewhere else for awhile. 


But even Saturday (after being called in as a standby to work on New Year's Day!) I found myself wavering about whether or not I should quit. I said goodbye to Roy, a regular who sits at the bar, and he teared up and was so sad to see me go! He said he so looks forward to our chats on Saturday mornings and it about broke my heart. I didn't foresee anyone being that sad I was leaving. So I gave him a big hug and a business card so he can read my blog (Hi, Roy, if you ever read this!) and that was that. 

(Classic)

Another thing about serving that made me waver today was the realization that in no other profession can you meet such an array of people in such a short amount of time. I met two of someone else's regulars today and it might turn into a freelance editing job at some point in the future. They were such wonderful, nice people and it was great to meet them. We decided that they were meant to be in my section today instead of their usual server's so that we could exchange information about her book for the future. It's the networking and coincidences and contacts and friendships that you make that has me finding it so hard to leave. (I attribute my current full-time job to a couple in the company I served when they came in to celebrate a family birthday. Let me know if you're interested in that story.)

(This is brilliant for so many reasons: secret shoppers, lemonade, etc.)

One thing I'm super excited for? Knowing that I can plan anything for the future. I don't have to worry if I requested a day off in time. Or if I'll be scheduled on a holiday because we can't request off. It feels so freeing to know that my time is really now my own. And the nights and weekends are just open with no guilt strings attached. When I get rid of shifts I feel an enormous sense of guilt because I just think about the money I could have been making. I don't have to worry about that anymore! :) 


Cheesecake Factory has really been the best place I've ever served. There have definitely been challenges, but it was leaps and bounds above everywhere else I've served as far as atmosphere, professionalism, management, co-workers, etc. The good thing is that, as we all know, I currently eat at Cheesecake Factory more than I serve there anyways! :) So I'm sure I'll be able to strike a nice balance in the future. 

Family Parade Float: Finale

So here we are. It's the final post of our family parade float saga. We've been on quite a journey haven't we? In my first post about the parade, I tried to explain why this particular parade happening in this particular town is so funny. Here's exhibit B, the sign greeting you to Mentor: 

It says "Last one out of town, please turn off light." Again, I can't make this stuff up. And I intentionally left the church entrance sign in the background because its fine, church-going population is one of the really wonderful things about Mentor. When I looked back at this I said to Brian "Of course there's a church sign in the background...". 

So, it's parade day and it's cold and windy and it's set to rain at 4pm, the exact time of the start of the parade (it started raining at 3:59 on the dot). We show up to Granny's at noon to put the finishing touches on the float. 

Aunt Cherry's copy of the Welcome Sign!

The lovely sign on the back of the float!

          

Our sleigh and Route 8 sign (Granny lives on Route 8, which runs through Mentor). 

And then we stuffed another 1000 napkins or so to finish it off. We had to get all the reindeer and our elves ready to go and I painted their noses and faces. Granny got some white face paint and "hoof prints" on her face--she did get run over by a reindeer after all. So, here is the finished float with the elves and deer in place!

This is from when we were going down Rt. 8 to the staging area. I'd like to point out that Kylie is holding on to Ken's elf hat for support. It was too funny. 

And here is the float with it's show-stopping actress--Granny! I thought the biggest challenge for her would be the weather and the rain. But no. She told me the most difficult thing was not laughing since she was trying so hard to look dead. Way to participate Granny!

Ta-da!

Aunt Kate said Uncle John was mourning Granny in this photo. I think he's actually celebrating?

The rest of us were dressed in black and sat on the sides of the truck bed singing "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" at the top of our lungs over, and over, and over again. Usually to nobody in particular, but sometimes to a parade watcher!

I know it looks like mom has duct tape in her hair, but I assure you we all had custom-made mourning veils bobby pinned to our heads. :)

I would automatically think, from looking at this photo, that Brian is mourning the loss of Granny. Mom said he is checking the marriage contract to see if there's a way out of our crazy family. Hmph!

So at last the parade began, and we left our staging area to turn onto Main Street (the only side street in Mentor). 

I would like to take this opportunity to point out that, if you look to the left in the photo (and click to make it larger if need be), you will see that Main Street dead ends IN THE OHIO RIVER. 

This is the view going up Main Street (and our boom box playing the song balanced on the roof of the truck)

The main objective in this parade is to get to the church, Mentor Baptist, which is the white building in the top right of the photo above. (They have now moved on to a bigger and better building, but this one will always be Mentor Baptist to me!) 

Almost there! Look at the crowd!!

There are about 150 people who live in Mentor. Maybe 30 of them were involved in the parade. Which left a handful to watch from the church steps and cheer us on. 

On the way back through Granny sat up to wave to her fans. 

So now is the moment you've all been waiting for? Which float won the parade!?!? Well, obviously it wasn't us or I would have been gloating in the title! We came in a respectable second. And what did we win for our efforts? $10!!! Yes!!! Here's a crummy picture of the winners. If I had realized we wouldn't have swept the competition I would have taken better photos of them!

Sunnyside Daycare from Toy Story 3. 

If you're like us and haven't seen Toy Story 3, you would have spent the staging part of the parade whispering about how you'd never send your kids to that daycare because they were just walking around the float while it was moving and not safe at all! Yep. We sure did. And then we found out what it really was and talked about how we hadn't even heard there was a daycare in Mentor! *sigh* oh family...

The "wedding chapel" addition to the back of the church.

So after the parade everyone gathered at the church and there was a big beautiful Christmas Tree, Santa gave out candy to the kids and took photos, a big pot of bean soup and cookies was there for everyone to eat and a fire pit blazed out in the yard. We mingled for a bit, and then everyone got quiet. And then it was time for what was one of the most memorable parts of the day for me: a lovely prayer was said before the winners of the parade and Christmas lights contest were announced. 


I may joke all day about small towns, but you cannot beat the people that come from them. It just makes me feel warm knowing that every single person there was okay with that prayer--expected it even. I think wonderful, unique families come from small towns. And they generally make it out with great values and morals and a respect and generosity towards the rest of humanity. 


So, we didn't win. But what more do you need to fuel your hunger for a win next year than being the runner up? And as some of us have discussed previously, even if we didn't win, we've had so much fun on this project we'd do it again in a heartbeat. It gave us a chance to get together for planning and building half a dozen times, in different combinations of family members, and it wasn't a holiday! My family genuinely enjoys being together, and I cannot wait to see what we put Granny through next year on our FIRST PLACE float. 


Thanks for reading everyone! I hope you've enjoyed the story. :)