Hello World, It’s Beth!

As long as I can remember, I’ve had a deep fondness for dressing. Your family may call it stuffing, but in my family it’s always been referred to as dressing.

It’s common knowledge that emotional connections are made to food. All of us probably have certain memories that are attached to a holiday dish. I have several of these emotional connections but at thanksgiving none are as strong as my connection with dressing.

My mom made good dressing but my favorite was made by my mom’s oldest sister, Odosca. She was known lovingly as Aunt Doka. My mom’s dressing was cornbread based because that was my dad’s preference. And mom always made what dad liked, as any good wife does.

From left to right: Aunt Doka and mom

Aunt Doka’s dressing was bread based and delicious. My sister Ginger and I always loved her dressing which tickled Aunt Doka. Truth be told, this also bothered mom just a teensy bit. She loved her sister but she was the Alpha mom if there is such a thing.

The proof I have that it may have been a source of contention is that mom started making a pan of each dressing. Dad got his cornbread dressing and Ginger and I got our bread dressing.

As I made a pan of dressing yesterday for our thanksgiving gathering, I became teary eyed remembering the year mom died suddenly after thanksgiving. We had no idea this would be our last holiday meal lovingly prepared by mom.

As Christmas approached that year, I was so sad that I had never been taught by mom how to prepare the dressing. I shared my regret with Dad who reassured me that he could teach me. He told me the ingredients we needed and we made plans for him to teach me. We made a pan of each dressing just as mom would have done for our Christmas meal. For Dad and I, this became our ritual for several years to follow.

So as I prepared a pan of dressing for our thanksgiving gathering this weekend, I was flooded with these sweet memories and wondered which dishes my kids may have a connection to. I want to make sure to teach them how to prepare it while I’m still here so they can pass it on to the next generation.

I hope you enjoy a happy thanksgiving with your loved ones and gather around a table full of your favorite dishes that bring back fond memories of holidays spent with loved ones. And remember to pass on your recipes.

In July 2017, we spent our family vacation in New York. We started our trip in Niagara Falls. You can find more details in my previous post. After our two days staying in Buffalo and visiting the falls, we headed to New York City.

We stayed in a cute apartment in Brooklyn that was a short walk to the subway station.

On our first day in New York City, we headed to Rockefeller center to experience “Top of the Rock”. I have a fear of heights but do my best to not let this keep me from creating memories with my family.

This was truly a memorable experience. I loved doing things our teenagers thought was cool. If you read my previous post, New York Family Fun Part One, I shared how David wasn’t very keen about visiting the big apple. This was very evident when we made our way out of Rockefeller center. With every other trip, he has everything planned to a tee and I can follow along on autopilot. Not this time! Now anyone that knows me knows that I’m directionally challenged. David looked at me and asked, “Where to now?” I was not expecting this! After a couple of minutes, he realized I needed him to steer us in the right direction as the master navigator and got a game plan. After a quick lunch, we made our way to the MOMA which is New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Lydia had requested we visit so she could see Van Gogh’s Starry Night.

Look at her beautiful smile! She was so excited!

We spent at least three hours here admiring a lot of the exhibits and scratching our head at others. At one point, we turned the corner to see a vat of bubbling goo. David did his best to stifle his laughter. It was then I felt like I was at the MOMA with Larry the Cable Guy.

A lot of the exhibits were modern, hence the name Museum of Modern Art, and we are more traditional so some of it may have been lost on us. If nothing else, we enjoyed ourselves and were exposed to some very interesting things. Be forewarned that the MOMA has several levels and a few of them have areas where you can see the space below. As I’ve mentioned, I’m not a fan of heights which my family loves to torture me about.

This photo looks like I’m really taking in the art but I’m actually freaking out because I crossed a little walkway that exposed the floors below and I’m telling myself I had to cross back over. David snapped a photo so he could enjoy this moment for years to come.

After we finished viewing the exhibits indoors, we exited the building and sat in a beautiful courtyard where we rested our feet and discussed where to go next. We eventually made our way to Broadway.

When we planned our trip months earlier, I told David we had to take in a Broadway show. He got us tickets for the Phantom of the Opera. We thoroughly enjoyed this performance. If you plan a trip, I highly recommend adding this to your itinerary. There are so many shows to choose from your bound to find one to your liking.

As we left the theater, we made our way through Times Square. It was so neat seeing it at night as everyone exited the various theaters.

The next day we rode the Staten Island Ferry past the Statue of Liberty. It was so neat to see this iconic piece of history. This is free so it’s very budget friendly.

When we made our way back on the returning ferry from Staten Island, we headed to the Financial district to see Wall Street.

We also visited the grounds of the 9/11 memorial. It was very moving to see the names of the victims. We sat for a few moments and reflected on where we were that tragic day several years ago.

The last evening of our trip was open so David requested we get tickets for a Yankees game. Our family enjoys baseball so we all thought this sounded fun. We purchased our tickets on my phone and made our way into the city to do some more sightseeing before heading to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Once we were on the subway I realized I left my phone back in the apartment. This was almost a disaster and could have ruined our last night but I was finally able to sign in to my email on Andrew’s phone and get our tickets. Disaster averted!!

We are huge fans of the Atlanta Braves but were excited to visit Yankee Stadium. The people sitting near us probably thought we were crazy because David cheered “Go Baseball” anytime one of the teams made a good play.

There are so many things to see and do in New York you are bound to have a fun trip. If we ever go back there are so many other places I would like to visit. Also if we go back I’m suggesting we stay in Manhattan. It was fun to stay in Brooklyn but staying in the city sounds exciting.

In July 2017, we headed to New York for our family vacation. When we planned our trip months before, my husband David wasn’t very excited. There are so many places he would have rather visited. But I had a goal of taking our kids to New York before they left the nest. And Andrew and Lydia were so excited when we told them where we would be going. As a compromise, David requested that we include Niagara Falls with a day trip to Canada. We all agreed that sounded cool.

We started our trip in Niagara. We love driving to our destinations if they are not too far. This may not be the best choice for you and your family. If you do drive make sure you are prepared for the several toll roads you’ll encounter. We love to plan ahead so we were prepared. We stayed in Buffalo which was only a 10-15 minute drive to the falls.

We enjoyed riding the Maid of the Mist. We visited at peak travel time so we waited in line about 30 minutes before we boarded for our cruise and it was worth every minute.

These two love being silly!

The falls are breathtaking! It’s an experience we will never forget. But the moment didn’t last forever. We stood in line close to an hour waiting to ride the elevator back up to exit to the parking lot. There may be a better time during the year that may see fewer crowds so do your research before you go. The next day we planned a day trip to the Canadian side of the falls. Some of our friends had suggested we visit Niagara-on-the-lake in Ontario. We made sure to have our passports in order to cross the border. It is the cutest little town. We visited several gift shops and enjoyed some ice cream.

On our way back, we stopped at a little roadside restaurant and enjoyed some authentic poutine. Poutine is a Canadian dish which is fries covered in gravy and cheese. It was yummy but very filling.

Before leaving Canada, we visited the duty free shop and got a few souvenirs. We all enjoyed our visit to Niagara. We even enjoyed some pizza and buffalo wings while staying in Buffalo, New York which is the birthplace of buffalo wings. (God bless Buffalo!)

We stayed two days in Niagara and then headed to Brooklyn, New York. We rented an apartment to stay in while visiting New York. We love finding places to stay on HomeAway. We always make sure to read plenty of reviews before making a reservation.

David found this cute apartment on HomeAway.com. It was located in a quiet neighborhood on a one way street. There were several families that we saw coming and going throughout the day. It was nice getting a glimpse at family life in a big city. On our last evening, we had the pleasure of meeting the family in the apartment below our rental. We were walking distance to the subway station as well as several shops and restaurants. A bakery was a short walk from the apartment. We visited more than once.

If you plan a trip to Niagara, I hope you have a fabulous time making memories with the ones you love.

In my next post, I will share our adventures in the big apple.

We have had beautiful weather here in western Kentucky for this Labor Day weekend. While David and I were sitting on the front porch Monday morning, he asked me if I’d like to go on a walk. We usually walk 2.8 miles on the country road we live on but he suggested we drive to the Kentucky lake area and walk one of the trails. What an awesome idea!!

https://www.landbetweenthelakes.us/seendo/trails/hike-bike-trails/

After a 45 minute drive, we were at the north entrance canal loop. It was a hot day for a walk but we brought water to keep hydrated.

To some this may not seem blog worthy but we have done a 180 with our diet and exercise. A year ago, David would never have suggested we go on a walk. But in January 2018, he decided it was time to start making healthier choices. He started out at first by only eating one plate at supper, instead of two. He also incorporated a healthy breakfast and lunch. I wanted to support his new lifestyle so I committed to eating healthy too.

Here’s a photo of me and David in 2016 before he committed to a healthier lifestyle.

Since January, David has lost over 100 pounds and I’ve lost close to 30 pounds. So many of our family and friends have asked what our secret is to losing weight. The secret is there is no secret. The biggest thing we have done is plan ahead. Having a game plan is huge.

I have heard it said that we are the sum of our choices and I believe that is true. David and I have struggled to maintain a healthy lifestyle during our 22 years of marriage. Hopefully we have finally realized that this will be something we have to manage the rest of our lives.

If you have struggled with your weight and feel hopeless please know you are not alone. The Bible teaches to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31 kjv). I feel it’s also true to say you can’t love your neighbor if you don’t love yourself. So be kind to yourself. Don’t beat yourself up. David and I have been weight-loss buddies by doing this together. Ask a family member, friend or coworker to Jin you on a quest to get healthy. Find out what works for you and then be committed. You are worth it! But if you don’t then just be happy being you. And love yourself.

In October 2015, we took our two teenage kids, Andrew and Lydia, to Washington D.C. During our vacation, we planned a day trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

I am a little bit of a history buff and have always been interested in the civil war. Gettysburg was only about a ninety minute drive from our hotel in Arlington so we thought it would be fun to include that in our trip.

We wanted to make sure we did all that Gettysburg had to offer, so we started our visit at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center.

https://www.nps.gov/gett/planyourvisit/visitorcenters.htm

If you are unfamiliar with the civil war and the battle of Gettysburg, I suggest you start your visit here. The Cyclorama painting is an experience that you won’t want to miss.

Before leaving the visitor center, we purchased a guidebook in the gift shop that came with a compact disc that we listened to as we drove through the battlefield. We initially thought this was a good idea but we quickly “lost” both kids in the backseat. At this point, David and I decided to cut the oral history lesson a bit short and may have breezed past a couple of places we should have stopped. The point is we visited Gettysburg and enjoyed it as much as our two teenagers could stand.

There are plenty of activities to do at Gettysburg that we didn’t have time to do in our short visit but I’m so glad we included this day trip with our visit to D.C.

On our way back to our hotel in Arlington, we planned a stop for dinner at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The kids thought it would be fun to eat at The Hard Rock Cafe.

We got to the Inner Harbor as the sun was setting. It looked like a fun area with lots to see and do but we ran out of time and energy and were ready to get to the hotel room and crash for the night.

Here’s the link to the hotel we stayed at: http://hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/virginia/hilton-garden-inn-arlington-shirlington-DCAASGI/index.html

When we were planning our D.C. trip, we had originally planned a day trip to Philadelphia but I’m happy we decided to visit Gettysburg. It was a very memorable day.

In October 2015, my husband David and I traveled to Washington D. C. with our two kids, Andrew and Lydia. Andrew was 17 and Lydia was 14. Traveling with teenagers can be so much fun.

We love piling in the family truckster (shout out to the Griswald’s and National Lampoon’s Vacation) and driving to our destination. Sure, we could have flown but driving allows you to see so much of our beautiful country. We had never been in this part of the nation. The drive through the rolling West Virginia hills was breathtaking. The fall foliage was gorgeous.

There are plenty of places to stay in and around D. C. We chose to stay at the Hilton Garden Inn Arlington Shirlington. Shirlington is a beautiful suburb in Arlington. There were so many shops and restaurants within walking distance.

We chose to drive to a local metro station and take the metro to our sightseeing destinations within D. C.

If you decide to take a family trip to our nation’s capital remember to pack very comfy shoes. You will be doing lots of walking.

This is a picture of us during our tour of the Capitol building. I suggest contacting your state’s senator in order to take this tour. This was one of our favorite things we did.

There are so many free things to do in D. C. We visited several of the Smithsonian museums. We also visited the Holocaust museum which was very moving. Plan on at least three hours if visit the Holocaust museum.

We spent a day at Mount Vernon which was the home of George and Martha Washington. It is located on the Potomac River and is beautiful.

Lydia was really impressed that this tree had been there since 1766. It was fun watching her enjoy all of the historic sites we visited.

Andrew and I enjoy history so it was a lot of fun seeing so many historic sites together. This trip will be one we will always remember. We enjoyed spending a day at the National Mall. Of all the monuments, I think my favorite was the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

There are so many places we wanted to visit but just ran out of time. We also visited Gettysburg but that will be shared on my next post.

If you visit Washington D. C. with your family, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Several years ago, our youth pastor preached a message about living life with no regrets. At the time he was sharing this, I had already lived enough that I had a few regrets. From time to time, I’m reminded of his words and do my best to rise to the challenge of no more regrets.

When I shared with someone that I wanted to start a blog, they replied, “You and everyone else.” I did a little research and found out that it’s estimated that over 2.73 million blogs are posted daily. I could have read that and been discouraged. I’ll admit I wasn’t thrilled.

But I decided that it needed to be 2.73 million plus one. I don’t know how long I’m going to share my quirky thoughts. I can’t say where I’m headed with this. I only know that I’ve had a desire to start a blog for a while now and that I had put it off long enough.

What have you dreamed of doing but keep putting off? Do you want to live a life with no regrets? While I was attending Bible college, I learned a valuable saying, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” So get a plan and take steps towards your dream. You’ll never know until you try.

When I was a little girl, I loved to play Barbie’s. It was so much fun having them say whatever you wanted and acting out different scenarios. It was even more fun having a friend come over to play with you.

Growing up, my best friend was my niece who was three years younger. We would play so good together until she grew tired of being told what her Barbie’s should say. She would take her Barbie’s and go home.

As grown ups, we can attempt to do this in our relationships. The people in our lives aren’t following the script we’ve wrote and we attempt to get them back on track.

When David and I were first married, I thought my job was to turn him into the person I thought he should be. He was too introverted so I tried to turn him into an extrovert like me. He didn’t talk enough so I fussed when he was quiet. Basically I thought he should be more like me. You can imagine how well this was received. I’m glad he didn’t take his toys and go home.

After 22 years of marriage, I’ve finally realized that it’s not my job to come up with the master script for our life. God’s script is a lot better. It’s my job to trust in Him daily and allow Him to lead me in this life He has blessed me with.

I have learned to love my introvert of a husband and he has adapted to this social butterfly. Embrace who God has created you to be. And allow those around you to become who God created them to be.

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1:27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

http://bible.com/114/gen.1.27.nkjv

Today I baked a pie. I feel like God has been telling me to bake a pie for someone I know. This is not the first time God has told me to bake a pie for someone. When I was in Bible college, I didn’t have a lot of money. But I usually had enough money to buy ingredients for a pie so I would bake a pie for someone that I felt like God wanted me to bless with a pie. Whether they felt blessed or not, I’m not sure. But I felt blessed by knowing I had listened to God. Listening to God can be as simple as baking a pie.

Some friends of ours have recently sold most of their possessions and said yes to God by moving to another country to become missionaries. My husband and I were so moved by there commitment to follow God. We’ve had other friends who have answered this call as well. Some people move across the world to follow God and some people bake pies.

What is God saying to you? Whatever it is, do it.

Quick Southern Pecan Pie

• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup dark corn syrup (or light corn syrup)
• 3/4 cup pecans
• Deep dish pie crust

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Best all ingredients together and then pour into an uncooked deep dish pie crust. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 30-35 minutes longer.

Hello! Welcome to my first blog. Actually I had a blog a few years ago. I wrote three posts but never shared them so I have decided that was my practice blog.

Allow me to introduce myself. (Did anyone else start singing the first part of the Humpty dance too? Or was that just me.)

My name is Beth. When I was born, my oldest sister wanted to name me Elizabeth. Our mom thought that would be too difficult for a kindergartner to spell. I always loved hearing this story and kidding with mom about the high hopes she had for me. (Please note the sarcasm.) I know she meant well but I always got the feeling she took one look at me and was like, “Nope. Not Elizabeth. Just Beth.” I’m sure I would have mastered it eventually. In fact, spelling has always been a strength of mine. Oh the irony.

This makes me think about the expectations I have for my own life. Is there anything I’ve dumbed down because I didn’t want to fail? Failure has such a stigma to it. We all want to avoid it like the plague. But in reality, failure can be a great teacher. There are actually companies that encourage their employees to fail to make sure they are trying new things and pushing their own creative boundaries.

As a parent, I’ve tried to encourage my kids to treat failure as a teacher. No one is perfect. If we adapt our thinking to look at failure as a teacher then we can start to learn from it.

We can use this concept in all aspects of our life. If you are failing in a relationship take a moment to think about repeated behaviors. Ask yourself, “Am I being too critical? Am I jumping to conclusions? Am I answering the question before I’ve ever heard what’s been asked?”

I do not have all of the answers but I do know that being hasty is usually a bad idea. I’ve made some hasty decisions in my life and then had to live with those decisions and wished I could have a do over. I’ve also talked myself out of taking a risk because I was afraid to fail.

I’ve wanted to write a blog to encourage others for a long time now. I have put it off for so long because I have been afraid. Life is short. So I’m glad I’m finally doing this.

Is there something you’ve wanted to do but the fear of failing is holding you back? I encourage you to take the first step. Push the limits and see where it takes you. If you decide to take a risk please let me know.