Before I knew it was a reality, I really didn’t have a preference. But now I’m just not sure!

Choosing a grandparent name takes careful consideration. This is the name that you will be referred to for the rest of your life! And YOU get to chose it!

My husband decided on ‘Grand-dad’ pretty quickly. I like that too and it suits him perfectly.

I don’t want to be called ‘Granny’ or ‘Grandma’. So I took a tour of Grandparents.com and found The Ultimate Guide to Grandparent Names.

Some of these names are way out there. Some don’t even sound like a ‘grandma’ name.
Can you imagine your grandchild calling you ‘Puddy’ or ‘Lovey’? Not me! A few that I saw that were not so obscure were

Gram – I called my maternal grandma this but it still sounds too old.

Nana Michelle? Nana McIntosh? Nana Mac? They all sound surreal.

This is the best thing I have ever done. He didn’t know the journal existed but I had read it from time to time over the past 21 years. I read it for the last time this week. The journal was created so that I could pass it along when my child was going to have a baby but I didn’t realize how hard it would be giving it up.

We met the kids at a restaurant. Before diner I gave my son the journal and a card. I also gave our beautiful daughter-in-law a new blank journal so she could do the same with their baby. We also got her a Pandora charm that is a baby carriage.

It was so strange to see him get married but nothing can prepare you for your child becoming a parent. He was the best baby and I know he will be the best daddy.

10 minutes later I was on my way back to work when my son called. He wanted to know if we could have lunch tomorrow with him and his wife the next day. Uh oh! I started thinking that maybe the grandma question wasn’t so hypothetical after all.

The next day we met at McAlisters for lunch. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I couldn’t get a good read on their faces or actions. In a small way, I think I was disappointed. I had convinced myself that the reason for lunch was to tell us they were going to have a baby.

I told them that I had to be back at work in 10 minutes and I needed to get going. Then out of thin air my son produced a gift box and handed it to me. My birthday had been a few days before so he told me it was a late birthday present. Ah! I have a Pandora charm bracelet and a Brighton charm bracelet. The box was from my favorite Brighton store.

I opened it and there was a Brighton bead. I have one that is the same design from my Mom that says ‘Daughter’ so I was expecting this one to say ‘Mom’. The writing was small and there were too many letters to be ‘Mom’. I looked closely and saw ‘Mother’ but there were still too many letters. Tears were blurring my vision but I swore it read ‘Grandmother’! I had to wipe my eyes and read it again. Girl, I was bawling like a baby! They all had a good laugh at my reaction. I am the crier in the family so I am always the last to know so everyone can laugh at me! I cried the rest of that Friday. They were happy tears.

I was amazed at the scope of emotions that come over you when you learn this news. Even upon anticipating the news, I was stunned, then in disbelief, then motherly concern, then pure happiness. And that was only the first 20 minutes.

Needless to say, I was late coming back from lunch that day. Her due date is 12/01/12 and yes, I am already buying diapers : )

We decided to go to Memphis. We have both always wanted to see Graceland. The distance/ drive time was just about perfect.

First task after the destination was decided? SHOPPING!
We are only going to be gone fro 3 days but that somehow justified buying a weeks worth of clothes, shoes and make up.

Second task? PLANNING!
I made a list of tourist websites to check out and printed a Memphis guide. I believe that you need to plan in advance so that you can see everything you want. There is nothing worse that being someplace and upon your return home, realizing that the worlds largest frying pan was only 2 miles from your hotel. My travel mantra is plan, plan, plan. My daughter, not so much. She has more of a free spirited personality which is great but it interferes with my planning! Yes there is a lot to be said for spontaneity but there is plenty of time to be spontaneous during our ‘free time’ on Saturday between 4-6pm. : )

Third thing on the list? GRACELAND TICKETS
The first two tour times we wanted were already booked. Luckily, our third choice for 9:30 am was available. Another fine example of why planning ahead is necessary. People come from all over the world to visit Graceland. If we didn’t by tickets in advance, maybe we wouldn’t get in at all! Learned this one the hard way with hubby. He always makes fun of me for being a planner and making lists for everything. A few years ago he took me to my favorite place, San Francisco for my birthday. BUT, I wasn’t allowed to plan anything. As a result, we missed the boat to Alcatraz. We could have caught the next one…3 days later.

Next task? HOTEL!
Having been through Memphis a few times, I knew where I did NOT want to stay. After extensive research I went to Priceline and named my own price for a hotel. I LOVE this site. It has saved us hundreds of dollars of the years. We got a 4 star hotel in the area I wanted for $70 a night. Awesome!

The only thing left to do is make a packing list : )

It has almost been 4 years since he passed away. Sometimes without thinking I tell myself, I’m going to drive over and see Daddy today. Yesterday was one of those days. I had heard an old ’70s song that brought back a flood of memories. My husband was working in the garage so I decided to put the top down on the Jeep and put Annabelle the Westie in her car seat and hit the road. Before I left I loaded songs on my iPhone that reminded me of ‘back in the day’. We took a 30 minute jeep ride to where my Daddy lived his entire life.

As I was coming upon the area, it seemed strange to me that this once busy neighborhood street was desolate. I didn’t pass a car or a person. If you have seen Fried Green Tomatoes, it was like when Idgie went home and there was nothing there but abandoned buildings and overgrown yards.

I drove by my Grandma’s old house where she lived up until she passed away 5 years ago. The house that Daddy grew up in was torn down and Grandma built a new one maybe 20 years ago. Even though there was a newer house there, the yard was the same. I pictured it the way it was 40 years ago. I remember my uncle’s had their hot rods out front, I can remember my Grandpa butchering a hog in the free standing garage. I could even smell the dusty old house and hear the doors creak.

Just around the block was my Daddy’s newer shop he built about 20 years ago and my Brother now owns. I drove slowly by and got a sad feeling. I remember Daddy being less mobile while he was at this new shop, it didn’t feel like home. I then drove around another block back towards Grandma’s to where Daddy first started his business in 1976. It is a small metal building where he worked so hard day, night and weekends. I parked in the drive way and just looked around remembering so many things. I kind of got a feeling that Daddy was still there.
I felt tears well up so I figured it was time to move along.

Daddy is buried not too far from his old neighborhood but I just couldn’t quite manage to go by. Not today. I was missing him too much and I wanted to get a sense of him, not where he is buried.

After driving by my childhood home, Daddy’s childhood home and his old stomping ground, I was still left empty. I enjoyed the flood of childhood memories and could almost hear Daddy talking to me when I was little, it just wasn’t enough.

Yesterday I fully understood the meaning of ‘You can never go home again’.

Put a little bit of toothpaste on each of the hangers.

I placed a level on top of the picture and pressed it against the wall. When I pulled it away, there were 2 perfectly level toothpaste marks on the wall.

I put a nail in the middle of each one, wiped off the toothpaste and there ya go! Perfectly level!

I bought a wreath, pink pearl pins, daisy trim and green Fun-Fur yarn.

This is so simple!
You wrap the yarn around the wreath.

Next, you fluff the yarn where it looks like grass.

Then you cut the daisy trim into single flowers. Insert a pink pearl pin in the center and push into the wreath. Use as many as you want, just whatever looks good to you.

********************

Easter Eggs
After the wreath, I made a few Easter eggs. This one is a little more time consuming. I bought 3 Styrofoam eggs, a few hundred pearl pins, a flower punch, and 2 sheets each of coordinating scrapbook paper.

After all the flowers were punched, punched the light flower in the middle and then added the dark flower. Then you just enter the pins until the egg is covered. This one took about 3 hours to punch the flowers and cover the eggs. It was fun, easy and so cute!

Put Kale in large bowl. Chop 1/2 of the apple and add to the kale. Add celery, 1/4 cup walnuts and the raisins.

Chop remaining half of apple, add to blender with the remaining ingredients.

Puree

Pour dressing over kale salad, toss and serve.

It doesn’t get any easier than that!

I recently heard a naturally curly hairdresser say that most curly girls give more care to a silk blouse than their hair. That statement hit home. I feel that my curly hair is my best feature and I was neglecting it.

Throwing in the towel
Curly hair 101 is do not rub your hair with a towel. The rough texture of the material, typically terry cloth, dulls your hair and increases the frizz (the f word to curly girls) by disrupting the natural flow of the curls.

I traded my towel for a turbin
I found an awesome turbin to wrap my hair up after a shower. It is very light and is a waffle pattern made of Polyester/nylon. It is gentle on my curls and absorbs just enough water that by the time I apply my make up and start the coffee pot, I am ready to style my hair. I hang it up to dry and it is ready the next morning. It is machine washable.

This hair turbin is the best $7.99 investment that this curly girl has ever made!

Whole foods says this…
This pasta dish will soon become a family favorite. In a hurry? Use a cup of thawed spinach instead of fresh; just be sure to squeeze it well to remove any excess water. Serve with garlic bread and a fresh salad for a complete meal.

Ingredients are simple:
16 jumbo pasta shells
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound baby spinach
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 pound part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 pound part-skim mozzarella cheese, grated
1 egg
1 Tablespoon chopped basil
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta shells and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes.

Drain well then toss with oil in a large bowl; set aside

Preheat oven to 375. Put spinach into a large skillet and drizzle with a tablespoon or two of water.

Cover and cook over medium low heat, tossing occasionally, until just wilted; drain well. When cool enough to handle, squeeze to remove any excess water. Chop spinach and transfer to a large bowl. Add garlic, ricotta, mozzarella, egg and basil to make the filing.

Spread a few spoonfuls of marinara sauce in the bottom of a shallow baking dish large enough to hold the shells in a single layer. Fill each shell with spinach mixture and arrange in the dish. Pour remaining sauce over and around the stuffed shells and top with Mozzarella cheese.

Cover with foil and bake until hot throughout, 20-30 minutes, then remove foil and back until golden brown, about 10 minutes more.

What I would have done differently.
I would have added less marinara sauce and baked a little longer with the foil. I think mushrooms would have been really good also.