When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?
I know they mean grown up as an adult but also remember the day I felt grown up as a kid.
I’ve already mentioned the day in detail on a previous blog post. But it was the day I stood between my dad and siblings. That day flared up my protective instincts. But felt like I grew up that day.
The day I felt like a grown up….not a very deep emotion day. But the day we bought our first couch. I don’t know why but that seemed to make me believe I had grown up.
But it’s strange. It wasn’t when we got married. It wasn’t when we bought our first house. Or moved away to a different state. Or had my daughter. But the couch came before our son. But I didn’t really feel like anything changed until the couch.
Normally when your young you buy fun things. I spoiled my husband….a lot. But I never had the desire to buy the grown up things.
But when the couch arrived I felt, “wow I’m old.” Haha! Blinds. Blinds are also something I feel like you have grown up if you want to change your blinds.
But I wonder when I’ll feel I’ve grown up to older adult life…
If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to?
My mom.
She deserves it!!
I always have this dream. That if I win the lottery, what would I do.
First, I would buy my mom’s house; she could live there forever. I’d pay off debt. I would buy her a car just like mine. I would pay for all remodeling she wants to do to the house. And I would set aside money for her to get allowance for the rest of her life. She deserves this and more. So much more. ❤️
But also most importantly, my husband could choose to work or not. His choice. I know he has many dreams and ideas that he cannot do because he provides for the family. And he would invest some of it; into various things. He would want the money to continue to earn.
Next, I would pay of our debts. And also add square footage to our house and shop. We would still do the work ourselves. Just because we would be made out of money doesn’t mean we would be wasteful.
I might splurge and get myself one of those awesome craft stations….I’ve always eyeballed one.
🤤
But maybe the husband could build one for cheaper….
But other than that I don’t really have anything that screams out to me like I need.
But I would want to keep living the same. No one would know that we won the lottery. I would want to still be me. And our kids would still grow up the same.
I know. I’m pretty boring when it comes to what you want when you win.
But for me, if my husband is happy, I’m good. If my mom has no more worries I’m good. And if my family can live comfortably, I’m good.
All of our holidays have something in common. Can you guess it?!
#1
New Year’s Day:
Growing up we would stay up until midnight the. Rush outside with our pots and pans, clanging them! Celebrating the new year.
However now, I can’t seem to stay up that late. Especially my kiddos. Maybe when they get older we will have a late night game night. Or watch a traditional movie. But for right now, I sleep early. Haha 😂
Valentine’s Day:
Before marriage I would buy my mom and siblings flowers. Every year. Even my brothers. Also make my extended family valentines.
Now that I’m married and I live so far away, I prepare my husband’s favorite food. Chicken Parmesan, rolls, salad, and then a wonderfully delicious chocolate lava cake. But I also try to send valentines to my family. My daughter loves to help with those.
Easter:
(If a child is reading this, you may want them to skip this passage. Due to childhood believing.)
Younger years: I believed in the Easter bunny for a long time. I don’t know if I believed there was one or if I liked the fantasy of it all. But church was always first, then a huge egg hunt!
Now as a mama, I try to dye the eggs the Saturday before. Those ones are only for food purposes. Since where we live we have wild animals I don’t want to miss an egg and have a bear or snake visit us. We use plastic eggs outside. We go to church then come home to an egg hunt. That’s the same. The only difference is if snow is still on the ground by Easter; then obviously we have an indoor Easter. But the Easter feasts are the main purpose! I try to replicate my childhood meals to my grownup years.
Birthdays:
We don’t just celebrate our own birthdays. We also celebrate my siblings and mom’s birthdays. So most of the year is filled with cake. January, March, May, June, July, August, October, November, December. Lots of cake!!
Fourth of July:
Childhood years were pretty consistent. City parade. Delicious foods for lunch, which the leftovers would also be dinner. Fireworks in the park; until they were illegal. Staying up and having lots of family fun!
Now as a mama, parade in a city park. It is a huge parade that lasts almost 1hr. Or more. Go home and eat delicious bbq ribs that the husband makes!! I can’t eat ribs anywhere else. My mom can attest to the deliciousness of them. Hanging at the house for most of the afternoon. Then heading back to the park for an 1hr firework show. We also set off fireworks on our property the night before.
October 31st:
My childhood was for the most part church functions. Every church I went to would have a event on October 31st but it was never scary or disturbing. If church is part of your life, I think it’s best to have your kids participate in church activities on October 31st. Because once your kiddos grow up they tend to go trick or treating with friends. And I personally think it help me discern what was not okay. But anyways back to childhood memories. As a family we would all dress up and have a fun evening eating candy.
Grown up now…I still like church functions. Ours is called the harvest festival. I do the face painting. My kiddos go off with their dad and get candy. No fish! But it’s always lots of fun. We only do that; we don’t go additional trick or treating. We just have lots of wonderful family time.
Thanksgiving:
My childhood years we always had delicious foods. My mom was amazing at having a spread of cheeses and fruit before the dinner meal. All is kids would be playing or watching a movie while my mom and older sisters slaved away. But the meats and gravy. And mashed potatoes. Stuffing….my mouth is drooling 🤤
But now as the mama I too keep up the tradition and I cook all the foods. Everything is from scratch. Minus the pumpkin pies. I don’t make them from pumpkins…haha 😂 But I try and have everything timed to be done at the same time. I make enough food for maybe 15 people and it’s just us four. We eat thanksgiving foods for several weeks after thanksgiving.
Christmas:
(If a child is reading this, you may want them to skip this passage. Due to childhood believing.)
Childhood memories. I also believed in Santa for a long time. I think I was 12 or so when I finally decided that I was old enough to stop believing. But I wanted to keep the gifts magical. Also helped when my nephews were born. But we would wake up and open gifts. We wouldn’t rush through them. We would each take turns and watch as each other got their gifts. We would devour candy all throughout the morning into lunchtime. And we would wait for the delicious dinner that was being prepared. Slowly dinner was changed to delicious Chinese food in downtown. Less dishes.
Now as the mama I love to watch my kiddos open their presents. I like getting presents from people but I love giving presents more. The sparkle in my daughter’s eye as she sees all the gifts from Santa makes me so happy. I want that imagination to keep stirring. We don’t eat lots of candy. My daughter turns crazy with any amount of sugar. But I do devour a bag of Hershey kisses all by myself. I eat about 7 to a mouthful. 😊 Then we eat a small lunch. Then dinner. I have kept the tradition of Chinese food alive. But I make it all from scratch. Christmas dinner is the hardest for me. My husband knows to leave me alone while making the meal. I run around like a chicken with no head. But it is always delicious.
Well there you go. Can you guess what is the common ground? Food! Delicious food! Probably why I can’t seem to lose weight. I’m always eating food through the year.
Well I hope this answers the prompt. Have a delicious Wednesday. We are getting firewood again. It’s going to be another long tough day.
We left the house around noon today in search of standing dead trees…for yes, firewood.
I will suggest, if you are on a hunt for firewood leave first thing. Because if you have an almost 1 1/2 year old, the little guys don’t last long. But the husband had to finish fixing the brakes on the trailer. (The reason for leaving so late.)
But here I sit in the truck, after 6 hours of getting some firewood. Not a lot, but at least we got some.
The husband and I have it down! He cuts down the tree, then he carries the log a short distance away, then I pick them up and take them the rest of the way to the truck. The logs are roughly 6ft long and maybe 6” in diameter. So a decent log; and I can move them. 😎 I feel so awesome when I help the husband.
But yes, our evening was attempting to fill a trailer with wood. Our 21ft trailer looks giant now with the maybe 6 trees worth of firewood. But it’s something.
We are having Subway for the drive home. Our go to…”oh, we won’t be home until after 7pm!!” dinner decision.
But maybe once in bed the husband and I will watch a movie together. If I’m still awake.
Not a normal evening for the normal person. But luckily, I’m not normal. 😊
Have a wonderful Wednesday evening.
Photography By: emily2jane “The Tree” 9-13-23
The picture is of a tree we really wanted to get, but it was too big. And the brush around it was about 7ft deep. But oh…it was a glorious looking tree. A tree that many people have probably driven by saying, “I want that tree!!”
To me when I say ideal I actually mean imaginary. Let us dream together…
I would wake up every morning early and do some exercises before the kiddos wake up. (Never seems to happen. Haha 😂)
I do actually make a decent breakfast everyday. Lunches are whatever I have in the fridge though. But ideally I would like to feed my kids at the same time everyday. (But the husbands schedule doesn’t allow that.)
I would want to have a schedule planned out for my daughter’s school week everyday. But she is only 4 years old so I can’t plan too much for her. (Instead I tend to choose things randomly. But we will start reading here soon.)
Most moms seem to have a schedule of activities through the day, but I can’t seem to do the same repetitive thing. I like to switch it up. I like to have a project outside to be worked on through the week. Something that we can accomplish even while daddy is at work. (This one I actually do. But I ran out of materials yesterday. 😑)
I would like to stand firm on the no movies until the weekend. But it being fall, we have been getting fluke rain storms or blazing hot, that once we are back inside I need a rest period, and the tv always turns on…(once she can read her world will open up.)
I want to be inspired to make dinner every night. Some nights I am inspired, or the husband has chosen. But some nights I just make a normal easy thing. But there is always food on the table. (Never at the same time. Haha 😂 )
Well…ideally and realistically are different, but I still seem to get some things done. My daughter has chores now, and one of them is cleaning up the living room and her room everyday. So the house is at least never messy. She now has 7 chores everyday. Some easy some hard, teaching her young.
Also not listed: put shoes away on shelf. When we come inside it’s her chore to put the shoes away.
I love the hug one ❤️
And I do have another list on the fridge for what I hope to start doing again.
Obviously things will change as seasons change.
I’m trying to get more scheduled. But everything takes time. And she won’t truly be in kindergarten until she is 5. So I have some time to figure things out.
And with my husband’s schedule we don’t ever stick to things. On his days off I treat it like the weekends. (Even though they are not) and his days working we do school. And it changes every month.
So I ideally would like, to feed my family, get some school done, and do some projects.
What daily habit do you do that improves your quality of life?
That’s right!! Tea!!
Around 3pm I start to get drowsy and grumpy. So then I have my peppy tea. I don’t know why it affects me so much, but if I forget to have the tea; all my motivation goes out the window.
I’ve even mentioned this to many people and they all are surprised that it makes me peppy to have a daily dose of Vitamin C.
My days have been so crazy these last 2 days and I’ve not had the peppy tea….and I have a sore throat and runny nose. I always seem to get sick when I miss a couple days.
So if you seem to lose steam towards the end of the day, try out some peppy tea. Wow that sounded like a commercial. Haha 😂 But seriously try it. It might change your life for the better.
Originally it was my great grandma’s recipe. Then I added some from a pioneer recipe. Then I added a Pinterest recipe. Betty Crocker recipe. And just some personal thoughts. And now I have an awesome pie that anyone likes.
But it has a lot of sugar. So the anti sugar people out there, maybe you can alter the recipe and make it with honey and maple syrup. I don’t know.
I’m not a big fan of apple pie. But I can eat Costco’s apple pie and mine. That’s it.
I know this recipe by heart. I made it enough. My husband loves the pie. It’s the food that has made him fat and happy. His words.
To start: 2days. This makes 2 pies. 6-8 green apples, peeled and sliced. In a large bowl. Add apples, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 4 shakes of cinnamon. I don’t measure the cinnamon….maybe 2-3 tsp. Depends on if you like cinnamon. Mix and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 24hrs. This was my grandma’s secret. It helps the apples soften.
Next day. Make 2×9” Betty Crocker pie crust recipe. Plus 2 batches Betty Crocker biscuit dough made into cinnamon rolls. Let pie crust chill 30min in fridge.
Slice cinnamon rolls and place in pie pan. Push down and around to form a bottom crust. This is the Pinterest idea. (I think is was for mini pies with cinnamon roll cup. I just enlarged it.) It should fill the pie pan.
Scoop out apples and place in pie pans. Do not put the liquid in apples in pie pans; save juices. This next part is from a pioneer cookbook I got in Boston. Pour sugar juices into small sauce pot. Mix 1 TBsp flour with 2TBsp water. Whisk into sugar juice mixture. Turn heat to medium high. I personally add the butter now instead of putting butter with the apples. Let simmer until thickened. About 5min. I sometimes forget about it and then it’s always magically done. It should still run off the spoon. You don’t want it clumpy, but also not runny.
Pour new thickened juice mixture into apples. I usually use maybe 3/4 of it.
Next the pie crusts. Roll out dough. I usually do lattice crusts. it’s pretty. I add leaves or something pretty to top made from dough. That’s just personal touches.
1/4 cup of milk. Brush tops of pies. Also sprinkle white sugar on top of milk. This helps the crust have a nice crunch and color.
Cook @375 for 38min. This step depends on where you live. You will have to learn what amount of time works for you. But if you make the apples 1 day ahead you don’t have to cook the pie forever. I usually cook until I can really smell the apple pie then I check. I like the lattice to be golden. And to see the juices bubbling.
And you are done. Enjoy!! It is delicious. I love vanilla ice cream on it, but it’s delicious enough to just have it plain. My daughter who is picky likes it. My son already eats anything.
Well I hope you like this recipe. And I did just write it from heart. I didn’t get up from the couch. Haha 😂 It is a great pie for holidays. The cinnamon roll crust helps it be something new. And I’ve never had someone says they don’t like it. And if you are someone who can’t have dairy use non dairy milk and butter or just leave those steps out.
But this recipe I know I can’t take all the credit. I have morphed recipes together to create this one. But it is awesome!!
This is a great question. And my answer is actually quite funny.
Turns out my first name was just because my mom loved the name. All my other siblings were given family names. But I was named my name because of pure love. Which makes me happy, and I am okay with that reason.
Especially since I have a name for hopefully another little girl, and the first name is not a family name. It’s just a name that I love.
My middle name is a family name. And this is the funny part.
My entire childhood I thought my middle name came from my grandma on dad’s side. She was an awful human being. I only met her once; once was enough.
Through my entire childhood I thought about what to legally change my name to when I was old enough. That was how much I was disturbed.
Obviously I kept the name. Only to find out, from my mom, that I’m actually named after a grandma on my mom’s side who was a lovely person. Haha 😂 Mind you I found this out when I was maybe 17-19. I can’t remember exactly. But for a long time I wonder how my mom could name me with love and hatred.
Safe to say I was mistaken, and now I love my name. And maybe when I become a grandma, maybe my name will be the start of a family name. 🥰
These are some great questions. Not too hard, and easy enough to answer in the morning.
They won’t be in order of favorite. That’s way too hard. But only picking 10…
#1 How to Train Your Dragon 1-3
I know they are kid movies, but I love them. I actually asked my husband to buy them for me on my 26th birthday. 😎
#2 Star Wars 4-6
It’s not that I’m against 1-3 or 7-9; I just love the original ones. Definitely going to have my kiddos watch the original ones first. That is the way it must be done.
#3 Prince of Persia
I can’t really tell you why I like this movie. It’s funny to me, but also I like the storyline. Also probably because when I watched this movie for the first time with my older brother, he called it the ‘baby face’ movie. Mr. Jake has a baby face in this film. Haha
#4 Avatar: The Last Airbender
I love this tv show. But not only me; it has become a tradition with my husband and daughter. We sadly watch this show about two times a year. Haha My daughter loves it. Definitely recommend this show if you want to laugh and smile the 99% of the time. That 1% is the deep stuff.
#5 Calamity Jane
I wouldn’t say this was a favorite movie when I was younger; but I’ve grown to love it. It is more enjoyable for an older crowd. I didn’t get a lot of the jokes or lines when I was younger.
#6 A Walk to Remember
This was one of the first movies I watched with my sisters and mom. We had a girls day one afternoon, and we all sat together and watched this movie. They all had their boxes of tissues from the get go, and gave me one too. I had no idea what I was getting into. But boy, did I need them. Definitely a cry your eyes out movie. Crying of sadness, crying of happiness, crying just because. If you need to cry, perfect movie.
#7 Pride & Prejudice!!!
The original BBC one! I think this actually would be in the top 3. I love this movie! (Technically a show) I remember a Saturday that I sat down to watch the movie; then my mom came home and asked to watch it again with me. So of course I did. Then my younger brother showed up, so we three watched it again. So about 16hrs later I had, had my fill of pride & prejudice. But I still continue to watch it!
#8 2014 Godzilla 1 & 2019 Godzilla 2
I don’t know why I like these movies. But when I want to watch this kind of movie I watch these ones. They are great. And it’s a movie that my husband will watch with me.
#9 Harry Potter 1-7
I know many people will say these movies but I really do like them. My older sister was a huge and still is a huge Harry Potter fan. It was a fun thing to have in common with her. I also own all the books. I think the 7th book and 7th movie is my favorite. Maybe 3….No maybe 1…. Let’s just stick to all. I like all of them. Even though the 4th one was a bit scary.
#10 Any Disaster movie. San Andreas, Day After Tomorrow, Geostrom, Deep Impact, Armageddon, Independence Day, Twister, Greenland, etc.
I again don’t know why I like to watch these types of movies, but I do. My mom does too! They keep me on the edge of my seat! Greenland was maybe on the edge of a little too intense… Original Independence Day, epic!! Twister, frightening. I’ve probably watched Day After Tomorrow 30-40 times. At least once a year.
#11 Sports Movies: 42, Remember the Titian, Greatest Game Ever Played, Facing the Giants, Blind Side, Forever Strong, Ford vs Ferrari, Miracle, Glory Road, Mighty Ducks, etc.
I know it’s supposed to be 10, but I can’t believe I forgot one of my most watched categories. The ones I listed are just a few. I’ve watched so many more. All the ones I listed are great! I recommend all of them. I know why I love sport movies. I’m was an athlete. I love watching movies where they complete their goals and beat their endeavors. They are inspiring. The husband is not a big fan so I tend to watch them by myself. Which is all good; means I get to watch them over and over again.
.-.-.-.-.
I’m sure there are movies I forgot. I love dance movies. I love foreign movies. I love action movies. Right!! Probably #12 would be Die Hard. But that’s a Christmas movie. So I feel like there should be second list: Top Ten Christmas Movies. That list would be easier I think.
But I love…no wait! Shooter. I can’t believe I forgot about that movie. I love that movie. Maybe I would replace Shooter with Calamity Jane. If you like Action/ Thriller movies I definitely recommend this one.
Also Hot Fuzz. Man! I’m now remembering all the movies. This one is a movie my husband and I quote all the time. “Narp.” But it is a bit gory. Not for little eyes. I still close my eyes at some scenes.
Okay I’ve got to stop. I could probably continue to list movies. Let’s just say I like various types of movies. Just No horror or harming little kids.
Life is too short, just watch what you like. There is only so much time in a day. And let’s be honest, you maybe only have 2-3hrs at night to watch something. And you will watch something you like.
Excited to read other peoples answers. Also to see if I’m the only one who couldn’t stay within 10 movies.
The simplistic part of writing. That I can have a thought and just jot it down. That it could be for me personally. It could be for my blog. For my journals. An art idea. A poem. A story from a dream.
But that it doesn’t have to be some eloquent masterpiece. For some reason I have random dreams. And occasionally I will have a vibrant dream that I must wake up and jot it down for possible future stories.
Like my story I’m writing on my blog: Life of Two Best Friends, started off as a dream. and it’s just morphed into a story that I enjoy to write.
And I have maybe 5 other stories that I have saved in my computer, all different types. Christian Romance, Fantasy, Sci-fi, etc. I just wake up inspired and I get it down.
My brain likes to store things. And if I get them down on paper that’s one less thing so my brain to store.
But writing is a great way to express one of my creative sides. I’m not good at expressing myself through speaking, but through writing people can hear my points of view easily.
emily2jane 