People in my life ...

My post today is about my nieces on
my side of the family, the Pendletons.....

I probably have 5 of the most beautiful nieces anyone could have

they are beautiful inside and out and though I don't get to

spend much time with them, I love them

and am very proud of each one

in order of age ... first one up is Aimee

she is the daughter of my oldest sister Vickie

when I think of Aimee, my first thought is fun!

no matter what Aimee is telling you, there is going to be a laugh involved

she makes every story funny

she loves to cook, has an awesome sense of fashion, ran her first marathon last year and has 2 beautiful kids, Alexander and Victoria (a post on them later)

... is married to Alex, a really great and thoughtful guy.

and she's just drop dead gorgeous!

Next is Mallory, daughter to my brother

when I think of Mallory, the first thing that comes to mind is giggles

she giggles and laughs a lot and is such a

happy and positive person

Very proud of her as she graduated from college last year

and is getting married in June! Mallory and I both share a love

of photography. And wow wee, she is such a beauty! Can't wait

to see how beautiful she is going to look in her wedding gown!

Mallory also blogs like I do....and I love keeping up with her.

Next is Gabrielle.....daughter to my youngest sister Kandi

My brother-in-law is Brazilian and Gabby is our Brazilian beauty!

When I think of Gabby, I think of style and fashion

This girl knows how to dress and how to accessorize!!

she's still in college ... can't wait to see where she goes in life

she's such a sweet, sweet girl.......

Now back to my brother, his next daughter is Abby

Oh Abby....first, when I think of her, I think smart!

she is one smart gal
and my second thought is what a natural beauty she is
 oh yeah, this gal needs no makeup at all.

I think that Abby just thinks everything in life is funny...and what

a wonderful way to live!! She's in college and shares her life with

all of us on Facebook. It's so awesome keeping up with all of her

college events and just life at college!

Then back to my little sister Kandi, her youngest daughter is Alison

And the first thing I think of for Alison is CRAZY.

she really is crazy......and you can't be around her without first, just

laughing all of the time and second, wondering what the heck she's

up to next!! She's a senior in high school and was crowned homecoming

queen....and I'm sure part of that was her Brazilian beauty but also for

her sweet personality. She's a true friend to all and so well liked.

below from the left is Abby, Alison and Mallory

So there you go, my 5 nieces........and what they bring to my life

is a whole lot of joy and pride. And of course lots of laughs!
They will continue our family and keep

our traditions alive. I love these girls.........

later.



People in my life ...

Daddy!

My daddy turns 80 years old this May

wow....

To me, my daddy was always the best there could be

I imagined that most kids were pretty jealous of us

for having such a fun dad.

He could do hand stands for so long, and walk along with

everything falling out of his pockets.......and we would laugh!!

We loved playing hide and go seek after dark

and daddy would sneak out of the house and hide and as

we ran by looking for a good hiding spot, he would growl

like a bear....and scare us .... we would just laugh and laugh

Daddy didn't cook much but he could whip up a breakfast

milk shake like no other....we loved them!

If you got a bad grade, it was best to show Dad as he would

just pat you on the back and say, "I know you'll do better next time"

He taught me to save money and to always leave for work 15 minutes

earlier than needed ... "in case you have a flat tire".

I always thought that was funny because it would take longer

than 15 min to change a flat tire but I still did it

It's probably why I'm so obsessed about being late now...

We always loved to watch whatever Daddy was working on. And we would

ask ... "whatcha doing Daddy" and he would ALWAYS say...

"building a barn for a sick water buffalo"

Now I don't even know what that means but he always said it and

it always made us laugh!

Daddy would take all of us kids fishing and we each had our own

bamboo fishing pole. One time out fishing, I caught an eel.

I thought it was a snake and I threw my rod

 into the water and took off running. Poor Daddy had to wade into
the water to get my pole.

Daddy also taught me how to play poker .... a game that I truly love to play.

he would let us shoot his guns whenever we went to

grandma and granddaddy's house ... out by the woods.

My daddy loves country music but I did not follow him on that!

I'm a rock and roll girl....but I did enjoy going with him to hear country music

The very first concert I ever attended was to hear Johnny Cash,

June Carter and Tex Ritter. (John Ritter's daddy)

He would also take us to see Roller Derby at the

Richmond arena......what fun!

A very fun memory I have is when I had my first child, Nicole.

I can't remember what I was doing but dad said something to me

about it and I said "Daddy, don't you think I know what I'm doing"

and his reply was just priceless........he said...

"If I didn't think you knew what you were doing, I would have

never allowed you to take that baby home from the hospital"

HHAHAHHAHAH

umm, I was married, a homeowner, 26 years old and my

daddy said that to me!

it didn't make me mad, it only warmed my heart

I love my daddy so much and right now he is having some

health issues so I worry.....

but man oh man, what a wonderful Daddy he is!

later.......



People in my life ...

I love Facebook for staying in touch with friends

but I also love it for reconnecting with friends

and it's through Facebook that I re-connected with Winnie.

A very long time ago our daughters cheered together

for little league football

so we spent many, many nights out on the football field

for cheering practice.

Lots of early Saturday mornings sipping on hot coffee

waiting for their game to start. And going to local restaurants

after big wins for lunch or dinner.

So here's something that Winnie doesn't even know.

When I first met her out on the football field, I thought she was the

classiest person I had ever met. I always admired how she was dressed,

always very stylish. And how she carried herself....such poise, such

class. I always felt so honored when we sat together

and chatted.

Our girls went their separate ways and Winnie and I lost touch.

Whenever I was looking through old pics of the girls cheering, I

would often wonder what Winnie was up to.

Then came Facebook and we re-connected.

and she's living the life.....in Chicago!!

It's so great to be back in each others lives in just that little way!

Winnie brings back great memories for me

and she is so inspirational on FB....always positive and always

has a kind word to say!! She brings so much inspiration to my life.

Winnie is all about her family ..... her precious daughter
and cute, cute husband!! Loves to travel and enjoy the good things in life

love you Winnie!!

later......

People in my life ....

yesterday I mentioned my dear friend Glenda....we've been friends

for 35 years.

Today I'll tell you about my next oldest friend (in years, not age)

Janace!

Janace and I have been friends for 34 years.
We became friends when she hired me at Va Tool and Equipment
I was just a few months from getting married when I went to
work there so I had to right away ask for time off for
wedding prep and honeymoon!

It was a very small office and everyone there was friends.
we would have drinks after work, have parties and some really
fun Halloween parties! We shopped together, hung out and one day
even played hooky from work and hung out at the beach!!

Janace, just like Glenda, was one of the people to give me
so much emotional support when I was struggling with
getting pregnant. And also like Glenda, as we raised and took care
of our families, we didn't always stay in touch. But it really never
mattered because we would just catch right up.

Janace loves her family, God and her church. She is one of the sweetest ladies I have ever had the pleasure of being friends with!!

At one point, Janace's son dated my oldest daughter. Oh wow...Janace
and I both crossed our fingers hoping that would work out. Then we would
really be family!! But it was not to be....
I just love Janace, she has always been such a great friend!
And when together, we laugh.....a lot!!

later....

People in my life ...

This is a new series I'm doing about people in my life

just a little bit about them and the role they play

in my happiness

I'm starting with Glenda because she is my oldest friend

and I don't mean in age, I mean in has been my friend the longest

I met Glenda when Johnny and I started dating

as she worked at Nabisco with him

We became instant friends!

we did a lot of things together....bowling, parties in

West Point, cookouts, vacations at the beach...lots of fun!

And just a couple of years after Johnny and I were married,

she was there for me as I struggled with my emotions when

I could not get pregnant. I watched her children grow up and she

watched mine.....

There were times that we lost touch as we each became involved in

our own lives but whenever we saw each other or chatted, it

was as if we never missed a beat.

Glenda loves her family and loves God. She is so full of life and has a laugh that is so contagious! She likes nothing better than to be with her family or friends having a good time!

You know how people will refer to others as "like family".....well, Glenda is one of the people in our life that is

like family! We have been friends for 35 years!

Glenda is retired now and moved out of state but we stay in daily

contact through Facebook.....one of the really great things about FB.

Glenda brings happiness into my life because she's known be

forever and still loves me!!

later....



Den makeover ... priming .....

I think I mentioned on here before that I needed to

re-do our family room

It is really stuck in the 90's.....with stained trim,

stained wainscoating and the red brick fireplace.

I've been searching Pinterest for ideas

wow...so thankful to have discovered Pinterest

so many ideas and you can just pin them to your boards

and go back and review

or force your husband to sit down and look at all of your

ideas....haha!

This makeover may take awhile but at least I have started

I've put 2 coats of primer on the woodwork

before.....

and now the fun begins.....

I had to end up putting on 2 coats but that should

make is easy to paint over

and it's going to stay this way for a little while

I don't want to put the paint on until Johnny gets the bookshelves

torn out.....so we wait

but here's a peak at the new curtains

I had to put them up along with the paint sample for above the chair rail

I'll need to look at it for awhile to make sure they are right

for the room

later.....



Beef Stew ...

I have posted before about how much I love

McCormicks beef stew pack for the crock pot

Friday I tried a new one

as always, I like to brown the meat before I add it to the crock pot

I cut the meat up into bite size pieces and then throw into
a Ziploc bag that is filled with Bisquick. 

you could use flour, I just prefer the bisquick
Just shake it up and coat the meat good...

just brown the meat in a little oil

cut up some potatoes, carrots and celery

and then add the mixture with water, the instructions are on the back.

 I like to serve over rice with some good

hot buttery bread.....mmm, perfect for a cold night.

later.......

Snow ...

People that know me know that I turn

into a 10 year old when the forecast calls for snow

I get very obsessed with following a few different

weather forecasters and I hang onto every word they say

I know, it's sad

But I just love snow so much

we haven't had any chance of snow since November

we haven't really even received the cold artic air needed to

produce a good snowfall

but one forecaster I follow had been hinting about a snow storm

happening sometime around the 18th....he's been saying this since

the first of January

and sure enough, we had snow

I wouldn't really call it a "snowstorm"

but we had big fluffy snowflakes, we even had thundersnow

and some lightning.....

they had said we would get 2 to 5 inches

but we had just finished up an entire week of rain, lots of rain

so at our house, we ended up with about one inch of

measureable snow on the ground

about 2 inches of snow on the deck (hard surfaces)

and this morning waking up to a winter wonderland

was just perfect!!
I took the ones below before I went to bed....

 

and below is what we woke up to!

 

All day Pippa Lou stared out the door....in and out all day long!

 

we had a week of rain so to finally see the sun was so refreshing...

 

I worked from the home so this was my view all day long....beautiful

 

Now I'm just waiting for the next one!

later.......

More from the baby shower ....

here's some more pictures from the baby shower on Saturday

here's Bucky and Jacquelyn.....the new parents

2 of their best friends....Melissa and Deana

We played a game where you were given a piece of ribbon

and had to cut it to the length you thought would wrap around

Jacquelyn's baby bump

below is my mom watching someone else cut their ribbon

looks like she is really concentrating....

and we re-purposed the ribbon.....these were from the tables

at Jacquelyn and Bucky's wedding!

here's Jacquelyn and I....

below....still trying to figure out ribbon lengths

the prizes were really cute coffee mugs with a little pack of coffee,

some Lindt chocolate, chocolate covered spoons and a Starbucks

gift card!

Another game I didn't get a picture of was the months of

February and March were printed out and everyone put down their

best guess for when the baby will arrive. That prize of course will have

to wait to be given out....

 One of the gifts that Johnny and I gave them was the

"clothesline present"

this is where you take lots and lots of baby stuff and clothespin them

to a rope and then you just lay them in a laundry basket....kind of just zig zag

back and forth to get them all laid in there. Top with a bunch of tissue paper.

Then the parents to be pull out the clothes line and start pulling it all of

the way out. We had been buying things for our little grandson since summer so we had tons of things to "clothes pin". The clothes line stretched all the

way around the room.....fun!

Below is Kayla....who designed the shower

she was also a bridesmaid in the wedding and a very dear

friend to our family.

see below....it's a pacifier with a mustache on it, so funny!

this shirt is funny because Bucky's dad is known as

Buck, and then of course we have Bucky

so now I guess we'll have a buckaroo! cute.....

here's me and my mom......isn't she looking fabulous!!



Chrissy thought with all of the presents being unwrapped that is

was Christmas again. So Bucky took some tissue paper and wrapped

it around some of Chrissy's toys......and she was thrilled!!

this is the bumper pads for the crib. They are doing his crib in The Taylor

collection from Pottery Barn for kids. They also received the crib skirt, sheets, quilt and mobile...so precious!!

and here's me with my 2 girls.....Nicole and Jacquelyn



Bucky and Jacquelyn are into bowling and bowl on several leagues

My mom gave Bucky a bowling pin bank and it had money in it

she told him if he guessed how much was in it, she would double the amount

and he guessed right! (after a few hints)



and below is a pic taken the next day with all of the gifts

the big box underneath is the crib and I can't wait until everything

is all together so we can show everyone the nursery.

they are storing everything in our living room right now as they

have new flooring going down this week at their house for the new baby.

(almost all of these pictures were taken by my niece Mallory
thanks Mallory!!!)
later.......

A baby shower .....

On Sunday, Jacquelyn's friend Kayla hosted a

baby shower for her and Bucky at my house

She chose a vintage circus theme since Jacquelyn and Bucky

are doing the baby's room in light gray, white and yellow

and little elephants in the crib and accessories

this was set up in the foyer as a circus tent

and guest could leave their gifts here

the table in the foyer had cards for folks to leave

words of wisdom for the new parents

M&M's are Bucky's favorite candy so she had a container

with gray, blue and white M&M's for folks to guess how many

(there were 658 in there)

the glass containers were filled with circus tickets

and the white and blue pompoms were those ones you see on

Pinterest that you make with Styrofoam balls and coffee filters

the blue ones she set in blue dyed water

there were chicken salad sandwiches, pasta salad, green bean salad,

caramel popcorn, veggie tray, animal crackers, peanuts and mints



 and yummy vanilla cupcakes with sparkling sugar icing

and blue lollipops stuck in them

I did not get pictures of all of the drinks except the wine below

but there was also a tub of bottled water and flavored water

then a hot chocolate bar with the sign below.

on the hot chocolate bar were marshmallows, peppermint chips,

chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, chocolate dipped spoons

and cool whip.......needless to say, I hung out there a lot!!

Kayla threw in the "supposed to be cold" because our temps have

not been normal winter temps. I think we hit around 64 the day

of the shower

there was also coffee

she used mason jars with blue and white paper straws in them

for the waters and the wine

I'll have more pics to come tomorrow

later......