Yankee Candle Company...thank you!

The fall before Vangie went to Heaven, she found a “new favorite candle ‘flavor’ for us” and bought two so she could share with me. Called White Christmas, it's made by Yankee Candle.  I fell in love with it just as she did.  

That fall, while in Ohio, my sister and I went to the Yankee Candle outlet and stocked up on big and small ones because we were just that crazy over the scent!  

After Sissie died, I felt a little closer to her each time I’d burn them.  Pretty soon there was nothing left but a little wax in the jars.  I froze them so I could easily pop out what wax was left, then break them into pieces to use in a melting pot.  

And then all of it was gone.  Looking for it, a Yankee Candle associate told me the scent had been discontinued.  Still, I would check stores to see if one might be on a shelf somewhere.

On the way to our nephew's home in Indiana, I shopped at a Yankee Candle outlet on the off chance that maybe they had that scent I loved so much.  They didn't, but the store manager made a call finding three in stock at the factory!  I paid and they mailed them to me!  Made me so happy!!  Now those are all gone and all I had was a little circle of wax to break up into a melting pot once again.  

I told a sales clerk at my Yankee Candle store in Knoxville about that scent. She smiled and told me it was back and it’s only sold at Christmas time, of course…but she called a store in Sevierville and found some still in stock! 

That night after a no good, very bad day at the office, Joe took me out for dinner in Sevierville and we then went shopping for Vangie’s ‘favorite flavor’ candle!!  I bought several and right now, that scent is wafting through the room and I’m happy!

All that to tell you this...

As you can tell, certain things can invoke lots of memories and I'm so glad my sister gave me something lovely to remember her by among so many other things!  This month will mark eleven years since she went away.  

Still miss the girl. 💚

If you have a pulse, you have a purpose.  Make your life count!

 

  

Is it time for Life Alert already?!?

Picture a narrow space between our bed and the wall it sits close to.  I sleep on that side of the bed and when I get up in the dark I'm very aware that the wall has always been there and it isn't going to move.  I must tread carefully.  (By the way, I just stopped composing this long enough to measure the space between the bed frame and the wall.  22½ inches.  Seriously.)

Now picture me finishing a phone conversation while stretched out on my stomach across the middle of the bed.  I hang up and began to wonder where my glasses disappeared to last night.  I knew they'd been on the nightstand but I had knocked some things off about 3 a.m. and figured the glasses were under the bed where I found the other stuff.  Still laying on my stomach across the middle of the bed, I lean over to look for the glasses.  Couldn't see anything so I stretched a little farther.  And a little farther.  Farther still...

Now picture this grown woman who slid off the bed into the baseboard of the wall next to the bed that is 22½ inches away.  A big part of my body weight was pushing my head into the wooden baseboard and floor's 90-degree angle from the wall.  Yes.  That's a lot of weight.  And a lot of pressure on my neck which hasn't been in the best condition in years!   

I couldn't get out of that position!  I couldn't roll over on the bed.  I couldn't use my arms to push myself up from that awkward place.  I also couldn't use my arms to push myself back onto the bed.  That ship had already sailed!  I was stuck.  So I called out to my husband.  Several times.  He finally realized those muffled calls were coming from the bedroom and rushed in.  

First question.  "Hey, Beth!  Whatcha doin'?"  

It looked obvious what I was doing...or unable to do...but at least he was thoughtful enough to ask before laughing at me.

It took more than five minutes for me to get out of that position.  I couldn't let Joe help me because there wasn't enough room for both of us in those 22½ inches!  All this time, my head and neck are holding me hostage against that wall and the pain is getting worse!  But Joe explained that I needed to let the rest of my body relax and slide off the bed in the same direction my head was.  I still cannot figure how I got this figure folded up on the floor and on top of the throw rug so I could back myself out!  But I did!  Who knew a girl built like me could be a contortionist?!?!  

My neck hurts.  The headache lasted a long time.  But seeing my Osteopath in the morning should make everything feel better!  Sure glad I already had the appointment!

When I was texting with my daughter, Hannah, I told her a little bit about this morning's  adventure.  First thing she texted back was, "Oh my word!  Is it time for Life Alert already?"  

Could be, kiddo...because we both know your mom's just a few more moves away from becoming Lucy Ricardo!  

Remember: if you have a pulse you have a purpose.  Make your life count!

Best Ice Cream Ever

I believe it was introduced in 1985.  I was pregnant with our daughter at the time and needed my dairy intake for the day.  Not much for drinking milk, I relied on other ways to get my calcium.  The flavors of white and milk chocolate flavored mousse ice cream had me at "hello" when I walked into the ice cream shoppe.  The "hello" came from the person behind the counter, welcoming me to Baskin Robbins.  I tasted that particular flavor and have enjoyed it for 38 years now.  World Class Chocolate!!! 

Baskin Robbins...or BR 31.  What's significant about the number?  The number represents the number of flavors that are offered at most of those particular ice cream shoppes at any given time.  That day in 1985, an innocent young salesperson holding an ice cream scoop helped me embark on a lifetime commitment to find this flavor in every Baskin Robbins I entered.  No matter what state I was in, if there was a BR, I would check to see if my favorite flavor was there.  If it wasn't, I was more determined than ever to find it at the next one.  

There are no artificial dyes in this decadent treat.  There are calories.  Plenty of calories.  But with every bite I allow myself to enjoy of this heavenly taste, I tell myself I will do better next time.  I'll deny myself other sweets to make up for what I've done as I lick, pushing the last of the ice cream down to bite into the cone and finish it off!

And in the last few years...joy of joys!  Baskin Robbins ice cream is offered in my favorite Food City store!   And usually my World Class Chocolate is sitting in the freezer section just waiting for me to purchase and eat at home after it's had a few minutes to soften enough for me to enjoy.  

For two days in a row, I've enjoyed this creamy frozen treat.  Do you know how many promises I have to keep in my walking shoes just to work off the joy I've experienced?!?   Never mind.  I don't want to think about that.  I'll think about that tomorrow...(thank you, Scarlett O'Hara for that excuse)!

If you have a pulse, you have a purpose.  Make your life count!

Pretzel Legs

I found it in a meme and knew it needed to have some music to go with it. Here's the line I wrote into a song I use in my comedy show: 

"And when I sneeze or cough, my exhaust backfires..."

Way too many women understand this line better than any of us want to admit. I have contorted into more positions than a Barnum & Bailey acrobat when I feel a cough getting ready to erupt!  My nickname should be Pretzel Legs because I cough so much!  And the sneezes can be even more powerful, so I not only contort my body, my face looks like I'm giving birth to an elephant!

(Maybe I need to explain the reason for the pre-sneeze/cough contortion of the body to any of the males reading this.  Nah!  They understand, except they 'air' out their problems in a different direction. I don't think I need to explain that.)

As women mature, things change.  That's one reason it's called The Change. During puberty, people say, "you're becoming a woman!"  When you're going through the change no one tells you what you're becoming.  For a while, I thought I was becoming a man!  Okay, I'm kidding!  But those hairs on my chin?  Seriously?!?  

I'd like to leave you with this little tidbit of wisdom...    

Just know, when it comes to 'the change' and all that 'goes' with it - 'Always' have the 'Assurance' and 'Poise' to deal with those things.  And remember to relax and not worry about it.  Do you think I relax and don't worry?  Well, it all 'Depends' on the situation.  

If you have a pulse, you have a purpose.  Make your life count!

 

I had to do it. I had no choice.

There is no excuse. 

I had to do it.  I had no choice in the matter except to go ahead and order it.   Why?  Because I am that Grandma.  I have over a thousand photos on my phone and most of them are shots of my granddaughters.  I tell people about them...even when they don't ask.  It's my job as a grandma.  

Been there.  Done that.  Bought the teeshirt:

If you have a pulse, you have a purpose.  Make your life count!

Happy Mother's Day...every day!

My mother was so precious!  Everybody loved her!  I always knew I wanted to be a mother.  Just before my husband and I got married in 1974 we already had names picked out for a boy (Joshua) and a girl (Jennifer)!  

After a difficult time of getting pregnant and then staying pregnant, I had given up on motherhood.  But God had different plans and gave us an actual promise!  After 11 years of trying, our daughter was born.  She didn't get the name we picked in 1974 because a lot of time and experience caused her daddy to change the name to Hannah Elizabeth five years before she arrived!  (During labor, I even asked Joe if we could change the name if we had a boy.  Our son would have been named Joseph Sturm Green, after his wonderful daddy!)

Hannah is 37-years old, a wife and mother, and Sr. Creative Director, Global - Warner Bros. Discovery.  All the sketch pads, crayons, colored pencils and pens we bought when she was a kid turned out to be a pretty good investment!  She graduated from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville with a degree in Graphic Design, was the managing editor of CityView magazine (a Knoxville publication) and went on to work for the company that brings you networks like HGTV, Magnolia, TLC, Food Network, Cooking Channel, CNN, HLN, Motortrend (one of my favs), TBS, TCM, and so many more!  Hannah came on board years ago at Scripps, Inc. and that company has grown and changed and is now Warner Bros. Discovery

Joe and I are proud of all the accomplishments Hannah has made and she'll go on to do so much more!  She has her biggest cheerleader by her side...her husband Andrew...and that is the best part of all!  Both of them are awesome parents to two brilliant and beautiful daughters who will welcome their baby brother this fall!  We are so excited to meet him in November!  

Before Hannah was conceived, God made a promise that Joe and I would have the desires of our hearts...that we would have a child of our own.  And we did!  She has several siblings in Heaven but we are so thankful God fulfilled that promise He made through a total stranger, who had no way of knowing all that we had been through!  That stranger told Hannah's daddy that she would come!  And I promised God that I would share that miracle with anyone who would listen.  In concerts I performed, in speaking engagements, I shared the miracle.  That's a lot for a kid to grow up hearing over and over.  God made a verbal promise of HER LIFE through one of his followers!!!  A total stranger!  

How much pressure can that put on a girl who is discovering the gifts and graces that God bestowed upon her?!?  Did this promise that God fulfilled in her birth mean she had to be a minister, a missionary, a biblical professor, or the next Mother Teresa?  No!  She doesn't have to be any of those things because she is busy being exactly the woman God created her to be!  We pray that she will always keep in mind who she is and WHOSE she is.  We gave her back to the Lord the day she arrived!  

Happy Mother's Day to all you women reading this!  Happy Mother's Day to Cindy, the woman who gave birth to our wonderful son-in-law!  And I especially wish a Happy Mother's Day to Hannah...with so much love and admiration I could burst!  (I love watching you be a mom!)

Remember this: if you have a pulse, you have a purpose.  Make your life count!

My sister, Vangie...

It's now ten years since my sister went to Heaven.  She passed away unexpectedly a day or so after a medical procedure...on January 21, 2013.  I miss the girl.  I miss us...our daily phone conversations, the laughter, and even the occasional drama.  We weren't done.  Vangie's birthday is this week, on March 22nd.  She would have been 73.  I would have called her at a ridiculously early hour just so I could be the first to wish her a happy birthday.  We did that to one another.  (smile) 

The hardest thing 

is not talking to someone 

you used to talk to every day...

If you have a pulse, you have a purpose.  Make your life count.