Remembering

This month on Studio Calico we are using childhood pictures for our avatars, this is the one I used and I sat here thinking about what I remember from when this was taken...
I don't remember that much from this time in my life, I remember moving around this age, I remember that I didn't like it, not surprising that I still don't like change.
I do recall that I loved to feed the birds in my socks, seriously I refused to do it in shoes or bare feet and I still love to wander about in my "stocking feet", as Gram called them, to this day.
I remember how much I loved hearing my Mom, Grandma, or Grandpa read me a story, I can still remember the distinct cadence of each voice.
I remember having a hoodie that I loved and going to McDonald's outdoor playground with my friend Betsy, we always wore our shiny pink satin jackets. My Mom and I used to split a big breakfast at McDonalds on Saturday mornings. We still got McDonalds on the way to school sometimes when I was in jr. high, I always loved those times with her.
I remember that I loved to sleep with my stuffed animals surrounding me under the covers.
I can still remember waiting for the phone to ring every Sunday morning, it was my Gram and Grampa, we carried on this tradtion until the day my Gram passed away... one of my favorite memories is the Sunday after I had Coleman, he was born on a Friday evening, we were in the NICU and I was holding him and Gram called my room at the hospital, the nurses were such angels and they forwarded the call to me and I was able to sit and talk with her while I held her only great-grandchild, this was so special because I am her only grandchild and we were so connected. I am truly blessed to have had them in my life, I miss my Gram and Gramp so very much that it physically hurts my heart. Now I am crying, not sad tears, just bittersweet tears. That's not all I remember but for now it's all I want to remember.

Sping In A Salad Bowl

Here is a quick recipe for a super yummy spring salad!

Salad:
1 bag of bag spinach, washed and dried
1 pint (or more) of fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/2 a block of Feta cheese crumbled
1 cup toasted pecan pieces

Dressing:
1/3 cup strawberry preserves
2 tbsp Olive Oil (light in flavor)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp crushed black pepper
1 tbsp (or more) of warm water to make it the consistancy you desire

Put all the salad ingredients into your salad bowl.
Combine all the dressing ingredients in a jar with a tight sealing lid and shake vigorously, this is the fun part! Pour over salad right before serving!

Hope you all had a fantastic holiday!

Glimpses

I signed up for the Glimpses class in December, I forgot about it with the holiday rush. Next thing I know it's the end of March and Stacy Julian was coming to our store for a Glimpses Reception. I was so excited to get an invitation to the event... and then I realized, whoops, I signed up for the class and I hadn't even started it yet!!!!
For those of you know me it will come as no surprise that my people-pleasing-overachiever-self had to get this thing done, I couldn't meet Stacy empty handed!* I buckled down and got to work on my album, had a false start, listened to the audio and started again. What began as a push for a finished product took on a life of it's own as I snapped picture, gathered meaningful words and put it all together. It began to have deeper meaning for me, I realized this album is a gathering place for the little bits that make up me, a place to save pieces of myself to share with future generations. It's not finished and I don't know if it ever will be, it's one of those projects that grows organically through time. For once, I am really okay with that!
Side note: I could have met her empty handed, she wouldn't have cared. Stacy is truly a fun, sweet, smart, and caring individual who seems to have that rare ability to take people where they are at. I really enjoyed meeting her and it was awesome to hang out with the other amazing women that are taking this class.

Without further ado, a few pages from my Glimpses album:

















If you have made it all the way to this point, Thank You So Much!!!!