Diet derailed by a cookie?

Because planning is one of my strong suits and I love doing it I have been competely obsessed with the new "Dessert Tables". These mini works of art are all the rage these days and  a must have at a great party. I found Sweet Designs blog by Amy Atlas and went completely crazy, bonkers, out of my mind with excitement. I ran out and bought her book of the same name.  It has become my party bible. I have been trying different table set up's for our upcoming anniversary party. One of the side effects of this new found passion is the props for the table settings.  Yes those beautiful little cookies, cake pops, and candy. I am sure you can see where this is going. Visiting all the cookie & cake blogs, trying the recipes is the natural order of life. The bloggers share their recipes, tips, excitement, and encouragement so newbies like me can make all these wonderful cookies. It seems a shame to bake a batch of cookies and give them away without eating a few right? Well that is what happened to the diet, it went by the way of the cute little yummy cookies I have been baking all week.  I am working on my grandson Logan's graduation party like any good grandma his cookies must be the best I have ever made so I guess the diet will have to wait for a while because being a good grandma is worth several pounds.  ha ha

Miracle Diet Loose Weight Easy

When I was young the word diet was never in my vocabulary.  On my thirtieth birthday my weight was about 97 pounds. I use to wonder if I would ever make it to one hundred pounds. Back then it seemed to me any self respecting woman that had three kids to chase after should weight at least one hundred pounds. What was I thinking I guess I was just plain crazy or living in some big delusion. I could eat anything and not gain weight. My doctor use to put me on diets to gain weight ( man if he could see me now) lol.  My sister on the othere hand was always on a diet she would say if she looked at a donut she gained five pounds. I woud laugh because I had no idea what she was talking about. In my forty’s when I quit smoking it happened at first it was nice like a dream come true.  YES YES YES I made it to one hundred pounds. What’s that old saying be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. Now I got it in spades can’t get rid of the weight so now I am looking for and dreaming of a mircle diet to loose weight fast and easy.  If anyone out there knows of a way to do this PLEASE send me information.  Sure would love to be able to get rid of forty pounds, would try for thirty, but will settle for  twenty.  

Daughters are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice.

Patty took Joe and me to three sweet shops we enjoyed tasting cake and other goodies.  She is treating our anniversary party the same as a wedding.  It has elevated the expectation and made it mucha fun.  We visited Ginger Elizabeth’s and experienced the most heavenly hot chocolate I have ever tasted.  It was like being in chocolate heaven.  When you walk in the door the smell of chocolate attacts you in the best possible way.  It permeates every cell of your being.  They also make French macaroons  I am sure they are good however my taste buds were overwhelmed with the chocolate. 

Our next stop was the cup cake shop next door. I will not tell you the name as I have nothing good to say about it.  I did not care for anything we tried there.

Last but certainly not least Etories on Fair Oaks Blvd.  I had bought a cake from there a few years ago and it was not good it soured me on the place. I did not want to go there, but Patty insisted. We tried the Fruit Basket cake, and the Carmel Cheesecake.  Both cakes were outstanding I especialy liked the Fruit Basket Cake. 

We will be having them at the party so I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Was I Emotionally Constipated ?

Crazy Joe 

As I was working on a prayer for our anniversary last night I could feel myself tearing up about it.  When I read it to Joe my voice cracked several time and I had tears in my eyes.  The words were so true that we did not make it to fifty years on our own, but because of God’s intersection more that once.  What was unusual was me being so emotional about it.  Time changes everything.  Fifty years ago if we read that prayer Joe would have teared up, and I would have looked at him now it is the other way around. I believed I was strong because I never allowed others to see my emotions.  It was like I keep them in a box and seldom took them out. Looking back I don’t know how he put up with me.  God sent Joe to teach me life is about feelings and having the courage to express them.  He was very sentimental, never afraid to have fun, many times down right crazy if you don’t believe me see picture. ha ha

Does Your Mind Ever Go ?

Sometimes my mind goes blank and I wonder what happened, did my brain go on vacation or is it just one of the things we put up with as we get older.  Then of course there is always the worry "could it be the dreaded alzheimer".  I hate to admit it but I am vigilant at watching the younger members of the family to see how often they forget things.  I am ashamed to say I feel better when I see they forget almost as much as I do.

If you have a good story about forgetting something feel free to post it.
  

                                                                                                                           

Valentine's Day

After 50 years it gets hard to fine new ideas for a gift.  Joe got very creative this year with a 4 ft card that said we have shared 50 valentine days together.  The card was almost as big as me as I am only 5ft 2in.  He outdid himself with the gift a new Asian Pear Tree.  He will be busy this weekend digging a hole for it.  What a great gift we can look forward to harvesting our pears in about four years.

I see my niece Chrisie got a beautiful i-pad from Billy great gift for a busy modern woman, but the best part was the inscription on it.

Hope everyone had a wonderful day.

Party Progress

I havent blogged for a while as I have been working on our party.  We have decided on a date, and started planning for the rest of it.  We have picked the colors they will be black, gold, and cream.  JOe is as excited about the party as I am.  We are talking about renewing our vowels, and I am very happy about that.

Would you change the list?

Did you ever wonder where the list comes from and who decides what gift goes with what year. What does paper (traditional) have to do with being married for one year? In 1922 when Emily Post introduced the first list of traditional anniversary gifts it did not have a gift for every year, that came later.  If you could change the first year gift from paper to anything what would you change it to and why?

Ideas needed

We are thinking about our party and decided to start collecting ideas now, it will give us plenty of time to decide what kind of party we want.  So any of you who have an idea for a party (food,decorations, music, presentations) let me know.

Smoking was so popular in 1963

                         Smoking was so popular in 1963

This picture was taken around our second year of marriage at G.C. Murphy’s five & dime.  Yes, you were allowed to smoke inside the stores back then. We were inside one of those old photo booths.  I think they cost about 25 cents. lol  Although this is not on our anniversary, it was a fun day of just hanging out, laughing with each other, and building memories to binds us together for a lifetime. 

                              TIP: Take time for each other, it will keep your relationship strong. 

TIP: Flowers last a few days, memories of sacrifice a lifetime.

Back in the last century (1960s) when we were long on love and short on money, Joe being “a romantic at heart” could never resist the urge to buy me flowers for our anniversary.  He always got me two dozen gorgeous red roses. He would show up, flowers in hand, smiling ear to ear. Now I ask you, how can you get mad at a guy who showers you with roses (it could happen).

 We were so cash challenged, and the flowers would take a bite out of our budget. Joe would rob Peter to pay Paul as the old saying goes to make sure I got the roses. He would take peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for lunch instead of eating at a restaurant. He gave up hot lunches on cold days to pay for the roses. Unselfish acts like this is what binds a marriage together for a lifetime. 

My tip for you is flowers last a few days, memories of sacrifice a lifetime. 

Will You Make it?

Guess how many couples make it to their 50th anniversary?

Sad to say the US Census Bureau said only about 5 % of marriages will last that long. Look around    only five couples out of one hundred will accomplish this.

 Love is patient, love is kind

 If you have any ideas or suggestions for a great anniversary please post a comment. We will be working all year on making our's the best celebration of our lives.