Fashion Forward....NOT!

The royal wedding is all the talk on TV today.  What a fashion extravangaza!  Good thing I wasn't invited (not that that was ever up for discussion).

I remember my own wedding almost 32 years ago.  My dad gave me $1000 for the entire event.  To him this was a huge amount of money as I was just graduating from college, my brother was still in college and my sister was heading into her senior year in high school (more college $$).  I ended up making my own dress and veil ($85), and my sister's maid of honor dress ($20).

In fact, that was quite the story of the wedding.  My roommate was an art major, so I couldn't sew with yards of fabric in our dorm room.  I ended up going home for spring break and making BOTH dresses in one weekend.  I sewed about 18 hours a day for the whole 3 days I was home.  In one of the close-ups, you can see a spot of blood on my headpiece where I pricked my finger attaching the ribbon.

By the way, the wedding took place in the Memorial Chapel at Va. Tech on the day we graduated from college. My great-uncle was the architect for the chapel.

And as a point of reference, I do NOT recommend combining the wedding and graduation.  Don had to start his job the next day; so it was a blessing but, graduation ceremony, moving out of the dorm (times 2) and prepping for the wedding is a lot for one day.

Which brings us to the fashion forward part of the this post.  I do not worry about fashion.  I love classic styles because I don't have to shop frequently.  I will keep the same clothes for years.  And on my wedding day that was a good thing.  I had...are you ready....wait for it...almost 20 minutes to get ready for my wedding.   I was actually at the hotel room for 45 minutes, but I was sharing the bathroom with 5 people.!  I remember my dad saying to me "Do you think you're someone special because it's your wedding day?"  Ummm...DUH!

So it was good to be low maintenance.  But I look at the fascinators (good name, I was either fascinated or horrified by them) and say...I guess you spent more than 20 minutes getting ready

I'm guessing that most of the guests didn't have to say to their bosses "could I not make sandwiches the week before the wedding?  I don't want to have mustard stains under my nails".  Ah, well, 30 years later, I think I have better stories!

And I still have the same guy, 32 years later!  And when we kiss it lasts way longer...

Feeling blessed, how about you?

Only Friends We Haven't Met Yet...

This weekend, hubby and I went to visit my parents to celebrate my mother's 80th birthday.  We also celebrated Don's "fifty-something-th" birthday.  I have to be good to him on his birthday, because exactly 2 weeks after his day I turn the same age.

Anyway, back to my mom.  Mother's request was that all of her kids and as many of the grand kids as possible get together to celebrate her birthday...Easter weekend.  This sounds fairly simple, but of course it isn't.  DJ is in California, and literally could not afford to travel. Since all of his work is on an "on-call" basis, being away from home can be costly.  My nephew Jared did not have spring break that week.  Someone had to stay at our house to tend to the dog, so Cindy volunteered to do this round.  First Don was able to get away from work, then he couldn't...but with a major last minute PUSH, he got away.

So, off we went to visit the "old people".  We got everything in our allotted carry-ons.  We got to the airport on time AND the flight took off on time.  The subway ride to mother's house was uneventful.

The day after we arrived, we got to go to Mount Vernon.  I hadn't been since I was a little girl (which was probably about the same time George lived there).  Don wanted to walk through a park or garden and I love to see historical sites, so this was the perfect combo.  We even had lunch at the Mount Vernon Inn (peanut soup--YUM)!

Don celebrated his birthday while we were there.  I make most of Don's desserts from scratch, because of food allergies.  We had decided that Don's birthday cake would be a no-bake cheesecake.  I usually make my graham cracker crust from scratch too.  I asked my mother for a rolling pin.  She doesn't have one (she doesn't cook from scratch).  So I improvised...

Since we were there during Holy Week, we had to adapt the family dining schedule.  My sister is an elementary school band teacher, who is also in demand as a flutist.  She had been hired by her church to play at all the Holy Week services.  She is also camera shy...

 

My sister warned us that Dad's "mental belts" were slipping a bit more than last year.  It's really hard to watch your parents age.  Dad has had a heart condition for the last 20 years that should not have been survivable.  The doctors would not even talk to Mother about a long term prognosis.  Fortunately, God wasn't done with my dad yet.  One of the things they did was to slow my dad's heart rate waaayyy down.  The theory at the time was along the lines of "the heart only has so many beats in it...let's not waste 'em".  Of course, for every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction.  Slowing the heart rate slows the blood flow to the brain, which plays havoc with your short term memory.    Fortunately, this is NOT a dementia and Dad is aware of his challenges.  But it is still hard to see the changes in my parents.  

Mother is in need of having both shoulders and both hips replaced (for one hip this would be the 3rd replacement).  Unfortunately, because of other health issues she is not a good candidate to have any of them replaced.  She also has several joints that are fusing. 

Having said all of that, my parents are still a lot of fun....once you get used to the way things are.  Aging is definitely NOT for wimps.

So, back to where I started.  On Saturday, we all went to Houlihan's at the Springfield Hilton.  Mother wanted to choose a place with a private dining room that was close to the Beltway, so it didn't take my brother too far out of his way.  His family was driving straight through from North Carolina to New York.

By the time lunch was over, our waiter Sami, had been voted into the family.  We even left him a big piece of birthday cake, as he was fasting until Easter.

My sister had seen a spot in the lobby that was "perfect for a family picture".  Never mind that we had already taken about 100 shots!  But of course, for it to be a family picture you have to find someone outside of the family to take the picture!  So my sister went up to a group in the lobby and asked them if one of them would be so kind.

A lovely gentlemen, who was wearing a WW2 baseball cap, agreed to help us out.  He told Mother that she was a "young one" at 80, since he was 87,  He also said that he was here with some friends for their Negro Baseball League reunion.  One of the players was a friend of his.  At that point, I was talking to him about his WW2 history, while my brother, nephew and sister were talking to one of the baseball players.  I believe my nephew was even given a baseball card by one of the players.  In fact, knowing my family, I probably now have some "cousins" who were in the Negro Baseball League.  My parents tend to make more friends everywhere they go...

Feeling blessed, how about you?

Mother turns 80!

Normally my mother's age would be a "state secret".  Only those privy to her birth certificate or who were present at her birth would know her true age.  My grandmother didn't tell her age, so my mother kept hers under wraps too.  I never understood that concept.  My dad's mother would walk up to you on the street and tell perfect strangers how old she was.  She was proud of her years!

But this is a big birthday and my mother wanted to PARTY!  Therefore I will be traveling to visit the "old people" this week.  While the timing isn't idea for me because it's also Easter week; my brother can get down to see her this week too.

So, as I plan to pack for the trip, I think a lot about my mom.  In a previous blog post, I mentioned that my mother is a "super packer".  She has everything she needs for every occasion. In very, VERY large and heavy suitcases.  I don't have that option.  Not only because I'm too cheap to pay to check a bag.  Mostly because I leave the airport to board the subway. Inevitably the subway is crowded and my big old suitcase really blocks the aisle.  It's also hard to wrestle on and off the escalators.  So the challenge is to pack for 5 days in a carry-on.  And my parents have planned at least one event at a nice restaurant, so I need something other than jeans. Preferably something that doesn't need ironing, since my mother doesn't use an iron.

The big thing on the list is always the meds. What possible situations could crop up that I might need meds for?  I still remember being in a hotel room for a business trip and having an allergic reaction to something.  I spent the whole night sitting up coughing.  I was in really great shape for the business meetings the next day.  There was also one of DJ's mission trips, where everyone laughed at the "med kit" I packed for him.  He was mortified until two days later, when the leaders needed something I had packed. After all, I am my mother's daughter!

Sort of...if I were as orgainized as my mother, I would pull out last years list and pack from it. If I knew where it was.  Sigh...

Feeling blessed, how about you?

Transcript Trauma

I have always thought of myself as a reasonable intelligent person.  I remember where I park my car,  I've never forgotten to feed the family or the dog,  I even managed to homeschool 2 children.

So why can't I remember how to enter things into our transcript program?   Every spring, without fail, I enter the year's classes and grades.  And every year, without fail, I can't remember how to do it.  So I have to search through the "help file".  Now can anyone explain to me WHY they call it that, when it's not at all helpful?  It took me almost 3 hours to find the EXACT combination of words that caused the answer to spew forth.

There's always good news, of course!  In the process I was able to find and fix a problem that I wasn't able to resolve last year.  And I'm done for one more year...at which point the process will begin again...for the very last time.  And I find that idea a little sad...

Feeling blessed...how about you?

Voila! It's Prom!

Since September of 2010, I've been working on our prom.  It's a really big deal to seniors, even though they can come back as alumni, not too many do.  The class of 2011 may be the exception to that rule!

I've never actually attended a prom since my own, which was a few years back!  Our son did not feel that he needed his mommy to go with him. Actually, neither does our daughter.  But this year, we needed someone to do prom, and last I checked, I am someone!  And our daughter wanted a prom!

So here's the final result!  Many thanks to Tradewinds Island Grand, Moorman Photographics and Expert DJ & Video!

I had 3 whole days to choose the theme so I went with the simply elegant "Black & White Ball".  I picked up table decorations at Christmas. I found a wonderful prom supply company for the rest.  The hotel was wonderful.  I dropped off the decorations the day before and everything was set up when I got there.  The DJ and photographer had set up their areas. Of course, there was still plenty to do!

We had a wonderful buffet dinner.  I know it was wonderful because I couldn't pronounce the names of any of the main dishes AND it tasted good!

And then they danced

and danced

and danced!

Our photographer caught a picture of the whole group

The general consensus is that we need to do it again next year!  This time the prom committee picks the theme and plans the event...whew!

Feeling blessed, how about you?

Under the Big Top!

You know how from a distance things look smaller?  Things like...proms...perhaps?  Last fall, it seemed sooo simple.  Set up the ballroom-check, set up the DJ-check (took a lot of research, but still-check), find someone to create the playlist (thank you Brandon! :D ), spend 2 months creating the prom booklet (still had 2 misspellings...grr), and follow up with all the registrations/payments.

In the rear view mirror that all seems simple now.  We have now reached the week of the EVENT! (cue orchestra)  It's crunch time.  My family has banned the word "prom" from the house.  Pieces of furniture are disappearing under the volumes of merchandise.  Stuff is spilling onto the floor and is in danger of becoming lost.  Or maybe it's running away from home, I'm not sure.

Perhaps, sometime down the road, this will look like preparation for a wedding reception or something other big event.  Note to self: In the future, do NOT be seduced by the coolness of a place card that has "some assembly required". No matter how gorgeous it is, don't do it!  Just write the names on tented index cards...everyone will understand!