Dinner

There seems to be a lot of interest lately for something that is as old as time and families on the earth--Dinner.

It is true that we all need to eat.

Sometimes our choice of food and the amounts add up to too much (large portions has turned into a large me)--that is my focus lately--how to get back to the portion of food that is appropriate for the portion of me I should be.

But there is a more important reason for family dinner.....We have been reminded that as a family eats together you build family bonds that will last throughout their lives. I agree with that.

When my children were living at home we ate together most every night--most families do not do that any more. I have fond memories of my children gathered around the table and the fun conversations that came up as we discussed our day.

I also have fond childhood memories of sitting together with my siblings and parents, enjoying the meal and each others company. My mom and dad still make dinner at home most every day.

There is a group of ladies in my area who have decided to get together and exchange recipes and ideas. We are planning on meeting often to encourage each other to keep up the work of family dinners that do not add to a mother's middle section.

I am excited for this opportunity.

My mother has met with a group of ladies that she calls her 'club' since I was a little girl. I always wanted to be part of a group like that--friends who come together for a common interest that meet often to share ideas. The last time I was visiting my mom she invited me to go with her to her 'club' meeting. I was thrilled for the opportunity. It is the first time in my life I was invited to go and I had a great time.

Well, I am off to my first 'club' meeting. I have a lo-cal recipe in hand and a lifetime of ideas in my head. I am committed to try to loose at least a pound of extra me a week until summer arrives and I am hoping this incentive will do the trick.

Dinner at home together will be the reward. What are you cooking tonight??

Get It Done

I've been gone for two weeks and the two weeks before that we were doing a mini redo of our kitchen--and I am a slow worker--so as you can imagine there is a list a mile long of things that need to get done from:

• empty the suitcase
• pack up the extras that we cleaned out of the kitchen
• necessary correspondence
• is that a Christmas item hiding out?
• why did you put it in the sewing room-- just because I wasn't here to protect my space?
• baskets of laundry wanting attention

I wrote a list this morning--put it in priority and started. Got sidetracked by a magazine and then a blog I wanted to check out, went to visit my daughter's blog and smiled at my grandchildren, had a thought and here I am.

Gotta get back to basics and get it done. No more distractions. Tunnel vision is a good thing when you have a list. Need tunnel vision glasses for a day like today.

I have a list and I am off to get it done. Need to stick to the list.

Beauty Classes

When I was young, my mother told me I was beautiful. I felt gangling and uncertain like teenagers do, but Mama knew me well and helped me get set up in a program that encouraged and taught lessons on personal grooming, charm and manners.

There were quite a few girls in my beauty class, most of us were seniors at the local high school. We learned how to sit, walk and talk during our classes. We all lived in the town of Yucaipa, California and the year was 1972.

Now that it is 2011, it has been almost 40 years since those days. I still remember quite a few things I learned. One lesson that I still use daily is that a pumice stone keeps your feet and other easily calloused areas soft. Another lesson that I think about regularly is how to sit on a chair, when wearing a dress, so you don't flash the world. They taught us how to converse with people you have never met before and how to be kind and gracious, even in disappointment. I was quite tall so I remember practicing how to walk in heels so I could be graceful. I remember being taught that a smile makes everyone feel more comfortable and it is an expression that should be worn most often.

I took these classes for a few months, from February until April, when we had a pageant at the school gym to show what we had learned. I won the highest honors at that pageant and it helped give me confidence that I still rely on to this day. Three years later my sister also signed up for the program and did quite well, too.

I'll always be grateful for my mother who could see me for more than I could. When we were discussing the opportunity I remember mom telling me that by signing up for the classes I would learn things that would help me throughout my life and that when I was a young mother or mature woman I would look back on that time with appreciation and satisfaction--and she was right. It was an experience that changed my life for good.

Thanks Mom.

Reviews

After 3 days of service I had two contradicting reviews of my grandparent skills.

Review #1
"You're not that old--You are a good grandma--Grandma's are supposed to be fun--right?"

Review #2
"You don't do it like my mom"

Also heard from the back seat, " I am lucky--I chose good parents!"

I have to agree with that last statement, my grandchildren all chose good parents.

I also agree with review #2--I don't do it just like mom, but I have learned that your very own mom is the best mom for you. No one loves you as much as your own mother, no one understands you as well as your own mother. A grandma loves you and cares about you, she has your best interest at heart as well as experience and time on her side, but she is not as good as your very own mother. But, sometimes change is good for both mom and child --change is as good as a rest and helps you appreciate what you sometimes take for granted.

As a side note, I remember now how I was able to stay thin when the children were small--no time to eat and you run all day long. Guess more grandma time is needed to loose these extra 20 pounds. Okay everyone--get out the calendar and sign up for your week. We'll call it the grandma workout, you will be doing me a favor.

10 in the Bed

My daughter and her sweetheart are off and I have the privilege of caring for their children while they are gone. Eden and I have been having fun taking care of household matters while her brother is at school.

I have been a preschool teacher for almost as many years as I have been an adult. I have learned that almost everything a mom and child does at home can be a learning experience.

Yesterday, Eden and I practiced our backwards counting. It started innocently enough with the need to make the beds and soon we were bouncing and singing and counting.

When I went to climb into my bed last night there was hardly room for me--Eden had piled all of her stuffed animals and dolls into the bed and I felt like saying--"toys in the bed and the grandma said 'Roll over, roll over' So they all rolled over, and one fell off, leaving......."

After a short nights sleep--5:30m comes so early--Eden and I are off to enjoy our day. Hope you enjoy yours too!

January R&R

My sweetheart brought me along on his business trip this week. We have been in Colorado Springs. Every year he seems to have a week long trip in January and since the children have been on their own, he has invited me to join him. It has become my yearly R&R trip.

I take the time to catch up on 'me':

• reading a novel
• cleaning out my email
• long soaking baths
• crocheting
• home improvement shows
• sleeping in
• taking a walk
• looking out the window and dreaming
• working on preschool lesson plans
• crocheting
• reading some of my favorite magazines

I don't usually venture out of the hotel too far--I am not that adventuresome. I am especially happy if the room has a microwave and a fridge. If they provide free breakfast it is a bonus. Sometimes I look like a squirrel gathering food and utensils to provide for lunch in the room.

It snowed while we were here on Wednesday night. It was cold and blustery outside. My sweetheart and I looked at the weather, and then the stash in the fridge I had accumulated, and decided to stay in. We had quite the feast of Mexican left overs, comfort food left overs (steak, potatoes and veggies), some soup for an appetizer, orange slices to garnish the plates, and warm cookies for dessert--It was delicious.

We were to be in the hotel 5 nights. The second night we had to change rooms because the air quality in our non smoking room diminished, courtesy of one of our neighbors. During the third day this same sneaky neighbor encouraged us to change again. When my sweetheart came back from work early that day he got quite the surprise when he went to our room and it was being cleaned. The housekeeper told him that the people in the room had checked out!! Thank goodness for cell phones.

I did this to my sweetheart one other time, while we were in England, and our cell phones did not work--eventually we found each other again. I look quite comical as I repack our suitcases and try to haul two peoples gear from room to room. Then there was the night we changed rooms in California and my daughter could not remember the change and did not know where we were.

The people here have been so friendly and kind. It has been a pleasure to take my January R&R in Colorado Springs. Today we catch a flight home. I have Saturday to do some laundry and repack my bag before I head out on Sunday afternoon. Charlotte is my destination and a week of fun with the grandchildren while their mom and dad go on their own January business trip R&R. It should be a fun week.

refined

I have spent some time on my thought word from Monday:

re·fined (ri fīnd′) adjective

1. made free from other matter, or from impurities; purified
2. free from crudeness or coarseness; cultivated; elegant
3. characterized by great subtlety, precision, etc.

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.

re·fined (rĭ-fīndˈ) adjective

1. Free from coarseness or vulgarity; polite.
2. Free of impurities; purified.
3. Precise to a fine degree.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

I do not know if I can ever reach the perfection of "3. Precise to a fine degree."

But I am daily working on "2. free from crudeness or coarseness; cultivated; elegant"

Refinement in a person is an ongoing process.

I have heard it said that we are like a crude piece of coal and the pressures of everyday living help turn the coal into a beautiful shining diamond, if we will let them.

Life is full of daily disappointments and frustrations. It is how we let those experiences mingle in our lives that decides if we will be a curmudgeon in our old age. The bumps and bruises of life can help shine and sparkle the beautiful gem that we are, or make us scarred and deformed.

It is our choice to let life's experiences refine us to the perfection we were meant to be. We can't do anything about the rocks of life we stumble into, but we can choose how we will react as we fall.

Becoming a refined person is a lifelong pursuit. Daily choices with elegance and purity as a goal.