Memory Lane

Today i took the kids on a tour of part of my childhood.

We went to breakfast at this little cafe that my great great aunt used to eat at every day! When i was young my "auntie" baby sat me so i frequently ate there with her and her friends.

Everything from the drive, parking in our usual spot, and entering those doors flooded back fond memories.

Romeo was delightfuly surprised that i was not only taking him OUT to eat but also that i told him he can get anything he wanted. He picked french toast and i went with my regular a waffle and 1 egg over easy. The food was super yummy and the staff was friendly and our food came out quickly.

Romeo Loved his food

seriously people i was so excited to eat this i forgot to take a photo before i got started!

It was exactly as i remembered it pink flamingos and all. The decor has not changed and the owner Mike is still there, smiling and making small talk with each guest.

its a real down home type place where "everybody knows your name"

Mike still remembered me and my family he was greatful to see that i had brought my children to carry on the tradition of breakfast there.

Zaydy enjoyed playing with the butter packages... this is something i distinctly remember doing with my cousins .. we would play "hockey" with them across the table.

if you and your family would like to visit this cafe you can go to http://www.thecafehaltomcity.com/ and find everything from menu items, hours, and directions. lunch items are avaiable but the breakfast is the best.

I am going to try and make this a bi-weekly type breakfast with my kiddos. we all enjoied the time together and the place so much.

holy moly!

Today i gave myself my first piano lesson.. I didn’t bother with scales or finger exercises or anything like that i just jumped right into playing a song. I worked on the right hand notes first and then the left which plays the chords...BAD IDEA!!! I ended up getting so frustrated with the chords because my fingers felt awkward and it was hard. So when I practice tomorrow I will definitely start with the left hand and then do the right.

Since we are still on this topic of piano I wanted to share some photos from my childhood. These photos captured some of my most fond memories with my “mamaw” if we weren’t at the electric organ or the piano we were cooking something oh so fattening but superbly scrumptious in her kitchen.

I remember sitting with her at her organ and listening to her play hymns and Christmas songs for hours and hours.
Though I don’t really remember her ever teaching me to play a song I’m sure she at least attempted.

Even after she would quit playing and move on to something else i would sit at her organ for hours and hours and just play around. I think her allowing me to do this gave me a great ear for music later on in life and a passion that i would not have had if i didnt have the chance to explore on my own. Without tha passion I likely would not have persued other musical instruments in school and I know for a fact i wouldnt have the desire to play the piano now.

I was so enamored that i some how convinced my parents that i wanted to play piano and WE GOT ONE!! My very own piano :) i was probably around 6 when we got it and i couldnt bare to not be able to play SOMETHING so i asked for lessons. Shortly after i got lessons i decided it was to hard and ended up quiting. Looking back i wish i would have stayed with it or my parents had made me keep going. Because from what i hear its alot harder to learn as an adult.

For that reason my children will play piano... no matter how much they wine and complain about having to practice or go to lessons i will not compromise on that. If only for the dicipline and the coordination they will learn weather they like it or not.

And i just hope that one day they will have the fond memories that I do that are brought up by the sound of a piano playing. I hope that they can melt when they hear someone playing, or that others will get chills and have tears come to their eyes listening to them the way i listen to my frineds when they sit on that majestic piano bench.

The Tchaikovsky Compulsion

I have always had an obsession with classical piano. Some how it just gets me in a place that when nothing else can reach me it can pull me out of my shell and evoke emotion even i didnt know i could express. Theres something magical about hearing the chords dance through the air. I have always wanted to learn to play but as many of you know it is near impossible to learn without a piano or keyboard to practice on daily.

This weekend i was excited to find out that we were offerend a piano FOR FREE!!!!

But before we could get the thing we had to borrow my father in-laws trailor. We went after church to pick up the trailor from his house and it had a flat tire. The waiting begins here... we had to wait about 4 hours before we could get it to a shop that could fix it on a sunday afternoon. I got ansy because i was so stinkin excited that i was about to have something i had dreamed about snice i was like 6.
We finally got everything all fixed up and we were on our way :) it only took about 15minutes to drive to the pick up location but it felt like forever since i was packed like a sardine in a car with 4 grown men. Luckily they were all family so it wasn't weired.

When we arrived it was even more glorious than i had dreamt! It was beautiful and i couldnt wait to hurry up and get it home!

fast forward to home

when we arrived at home my brother in-law and father in-law and one of his friends were waiting to help us unload it. It was
quickly wisked inside my house into a not so permanant home in my dining room (we will later move it to the study) BUT ITS HERE!! For all to enjoy for children to bang on and for me to attempt to teach myself to play until i can afford some traditional lessons.


My two year old has already taken an intrest as expected. Well see how he feels about it when hes 7 and i am making him practice for an hour each day and take lessons hehe :)

arent those little fingers ADORABLE and the adorable is multiplied by about 100,000 billion because they are tickling those gorgeous ivorys!

A big shout out to all my friends and family that helped! AAAAAAND if you know how to play the piano please feel free to drop by and play me and my kiddos a tune or 12 :) it would be greatly appreciated.

Amazing Husband Yummy Eggs

As many other people now-a-days I am on the hunt for the most healthy and fresh food for our family. So you can imagine my excitement when my husband came home one day from work and asked me if I would be interested in buying eggs from one of his friends who has chickens. YES!!!!! To my dismay we had just gotten eggs from the store the day before so I was on a mission to eat/use them asap!! And for the first time in a long while we went through a dozen eggs in about 3 days. So that next day my husband put in our order for 12 farm fresh eggs :) yayyyyy.

After an agonizing two day wait he finally brought them home.

arent they beautiful!!!

I grew up with farm fresh eggs. My great grandparents had chickens when i was growing up and we lived next door to them so I got the benefit of helping my “mamaw” go out and get the eggs from the hens enclosure on many occasions. Not only did they have chickens our other friends in the neighborhood had chickens (among other farm animals) and my friends and I would go and play with them and collect the eggs.
So not only are fresh eggs yummy and great for me and my family there is this amazing nostalgia I get from seeing the brown and greenish white eggs in a carton each morning when I go to make breakfast.

So all that being said today was the first day I have had a chance to cook one and eat it. And it was just as AMAZING as I remember. If you have never had a fresh egg (and by fresh I mean not from the super market) you have got to try it. The yolk is so much more rich and yummy and the whites aren’t as slimy and snot looking they are actually appetizing. Ha!

Breakfast today made me long for the day that i have the space and a back yard functional enough for chickens. I can't wait to have memories with my kids teaching them about where food comes from and showing them fresh eggs being laid.

for all of the reasons above i would like to say how greatful i am for my husband knowing how much i would love getting fresh eggs and being willing to pay more for them and bring them home from work whenever we need them and also for being willing to ask his friend if i could bring the kids sometime to get the eggs themselves so that they can have that experience since we wont be able to have our own little chicken coop for quite some time.
kudos good sir! well done! you rock! and I LOVE YOU!

First poem I have ever willingly let people read

*all works are lm original. PLEASE DO NOT STEAL MY WORDS!!

Little dingy things in the cememetry Reign.
Vying for my pain.
Make me go insane.

My whole life folding
Moving, bleeding.
Burning breaking.
Whole being shaking.

Clank and clatter
Thoughts are scattered.

All alone in this place.
Endless winding chase.

Flames engulf the last of me
So hear my screeching
Dying plea

There is no relief so just try and grieve
It won't get better never never
The anguish evolves but never dissolves.

Note: I will be sending this out for publication this week to a couple of different places. :)
Please let me know your thoughts
Thanks
Lm

Please excuse any misspellings/typos ect ect...

♫ And then I don't feel sooo bad ♫

About a year ago our ladies group at church did a "things you like" survey. I was looking at the things I put and noticed that almost everything from shoe size to favorite dessert has changed for me. SO! i thought it might be a good idea to update my friends and family. Due to my impending 22nd natal anniversary it might come in handy for some of you.

Colors: i dont like this question a better question would be....what colors do i not like and the answer would be orange.

Flowers: juliet garden rose, peonies, daisies.

Scent/ Fragrance: i love bed bath and beyonds aroma therapy orange ginger. i have the body wash body scrub and lotion :) i also like victoria secrets pink body wash and lotion. im not a big perfume wearer but when i do i wear Dior:Addict (the pink one not the blue one)

Magazines or books: im a poetry fan.. always have been. i like edgar allan poe (i even concidered naming my kid after him), i like bronte (emily and charlotte), shakespeare, hawthorne... classic old english type stuff. i like food network magazine and martha stewart.

Foods: Mexican, indian, sushi....I LOOOOVE FOOD and i like to try new things

Drinks: boba slushies. starbucks java chip frap. or if its cold out (or im just in the mood for something warm) carmal macchiato. or during the holidays peppermint hot cocoa. and hot tea in the winter

Desserts or types of cake: vanilla cake with vanilla icing. i also enjoy warm brownies (without nuts) and ice cream. sopapillas. cobbler but NOT PEACH or cherry.

Places to eat out: Taste of india, taste of asia, almost any mexican place.

Music types or Singers or bands: i listen to 40s big band music around the house. but in the car i listen to christian radio (or childrens songs.)

Places to shop: im not a big shopper but i like to shop online alot...i guess if i had to go to a store id go to ross or kohls.

Accessories: SHOES (something that i dont think will ever change)

Shoe size: 6.5

Hobbies/Interests/Likes/other: i collect buttons i dont know why but i have always just loved them. im a sucker for abstract art. my favorite movie is Nightmare Before Christmas i have other favorites too but that one is my ALL TIME FAVORITE id watch it any day any time! i write poetry but i think most of it is to depressing to share... i have two wonderful babies and one extra special guardian angel. My favorite season is fall and my favorite holiday is halloween though thanks giving is a close second. i dont like surprises. i dont drink alcohol very often but when i do i like sangria swirl margaritas, sex on the beach, and anything fruity.

my birthday is May 30th
though i dont tend to go shouting that around most of the time this year im excited about it ...maybe its because this year i wont celebrate it pregnant and going to bed at 9pm.
so heres to hoping something interesting happens this year.
:)

Daydream Believer

Alot of people say that just because a girl has kids young she never has a chance to fulfill her own dreams... i REFUSE to become that girl. Just because i made some decisions differently than most doesnt mean that i dont deserve to have a happy life with all my dream realized too. I fee like i heave it even better because i get to take my kids on that journey WITH me. HOW COOL IS THAT??!!?!? Ill admit its taking alot longer to do some of the things i have always wanted to do but im working (almost) every day to get there. That being said i wanted to share with everyone my dream list. most of these things are things i have always wanted to do and some have been added since i have had the kids. in no particular order.

see my kids face the first time they meet mickey mouse in person (and understand who he is)

visit europe

graduate college

complete a half marathon (running or walking)

play at least one classical piano piece

have something ANYTHING i have writen published. there are of course more but these are just the ones i had time to add right now. I hope you will all ask me how these things are coming... sometimes it helps to have a little push from friends. and as always please excuse any typos..bad grammar ect. ect.