Seeing red, go-to meals, + a headboard

Hello friends! Welcome to my weekly update of all the things happening over here. This week let’s talk about seeing red, go-to meals, and a headboard!

Another eventful week, with lots to do. It seems that keeping busy allows me to stay out of trouble, but it is never far behind. There is A LOT going on but this week, I have spent a bit of time working and thinking. If only my brain could turn off at night, I’m sure that I could get more sleep.

Thoughts for the week

This week marks the second anniversary of my mother’s passing, and I really can’t get around thinking about her. Indulge me to share one last time. Not that she is ever far from my mind.

But this week has had me diving deep into some memories, which I can tell you, have never been boring. My mother was a spicy one. She was a complex woman, who I tried to understand as the person she was, not just my mother, the older I got. My mom was both sides of the coin, who taught me to work hard but totally go shoe shopping when you need it.

She was one of those people that there were always stories about, and her declarations were very strong. My earliest recollection was her telling me, “one day when you have children of your own, you will understand how much I love you.”

And I remember her watching me, with my first born (my son), with that smug look on her face of victory. She said, “now you know”. And at first thought, I said to her, “there’s no way that you love me this much” but I knew better. She did, I felt it. And she was right, now I knew. Even though she was the one who tried to ruin my fun growing up, never letting me hitchhike, take the bus, or walk to the mall with friends.

She was paranoid, she was protective, and she was a mama bear. We grew up not far from where Charles Manson (the serial killer) had his ranch, and young girls had gone missing. There was no way she was letting us live that carefree life in the 60s-70s. Many times we called her crazy. But as time went on, hindsight being 20/20 and all, she was always right. We began to see that she was ahead of her time about many things.

She protected us fiercely (and annoyingly) but we were never shielded from consequences. I remember an angry father knocking on our door, coming to confront the parents of the boy (my brother) who had done something stupid. She immediately offered him up and made him face the music.

We lived across the street from our elementary school, and her kitchen window faced the playground where we, and many others, played. She would often fly out the front door, and head across the street to go and scold some children who were bullying others. She was a protector through and through.

Now I don’t mind when my daughter tells me I am a scary mama bear, because I know where I got it from. You mess with my cubs, then you’re going to be sad. I have to contain myself a bit though, as I do attempt to be not quite as embarrassing as my mom.

Last year, watching my granddaughter play in a basketball tournament, they played a team that seemed a bit over aggressive with their dirty defense. Now, she’s a 12-year old, oldest daughter with three younger brothers, so I know she can hold her own. But when I had to sit in the stands and watch some chick knock her to the ground, I had a hard time not jumping up and heading to the floor. Cause nobody better mess with my little peach!

There’s nothing more my siblings and I enjoy then sitting around telling ‘mom stories’. There were too many. My mom was incredibly funny, having given up a singing and acting career to be our mom. She loved to entertain, but she also never minded being argumentative. She was a fighter, much to our dismay many times. But she had us rolling with laughter every time she would encounter the piano player at Nordstrom who would play her a tune as she sang right there, in the middle of the mall, people stopping and clapping! We were adults when she did this, dying at the bravado she had.

She lived passionately, was an obsessive shoe collector, a poet and gifted writer, gave fabulous parties, was highly intelligent, and I never minded her vanity. She grew up beautiful, commanding attention wherever she went, and many women envied her for it. But she was unapologetic, walked confidently, loved the Lord and my dad, indulged her four children, and taught me many things. Even if there were times that my lessons were “what not to do”, she made me a better person.

As I ponder her legacy, I love the mark that she left on the world. Even if it were simply reduced to only her four children, ten grandchildren, and twenty-four (and counting) great grandchildren, her blood runs deep through our veins. She is the epitome of the lyrics from Nat King Cole’s song, “Unforgettable”…..unforgettable in every way, and forevermore, that’s how you’ll stay.

The other thing she always said was, “even when you’re 90, you’ll still be my baby.” And obviously, right again. I am strong-willed, an innovative thinker, over achiever who works hard but enjoys slacking off, all because I was her daughter. And although many times I wished for a mom who wouldn’t have political arguments with people advocating outside the grocery store, I am the person I am, all because I was Terry’s baby.

Seeing red

The extended heat that we have had this season, has me both sweating, and my tomatoes growing. Even though I have abandoned daily watering, they are still showing up.

Nothing beats a stroll through the garden with an ironstone bowl from my collection, to fill with the bounty of the season!

I have had so many jalapeno peppers on my plants, that I could not pick them fast enough. If you didn’t see it, check out the delicious recipe I shared for pimento cheese jalapeno poppers! You’ll need to make some for game day!

Some of my peppers have stayed on the plant long enough to turn red, which makes them a tad more potent. Hey, we’re all spicy around here!

Go-to meals

With all the ripe tomatoes I had, it was only natural that I should make a batch of my famous pico de gallo. If you like tomatoes and avocado, you will definitely want to check this out because it is the absolute best. Not biased at all.

But on busy weeks, when I still feel like cooking, the one thing I will always have in my fridge is stuff to make tacos. Crunchy tacos are my go-to meal. I am actually known for them. I still pan fry the shells, just like my mother did, to make the yummiest classic tacos.

So when I can pair pico and tacos, it’s the one meal I will always want, and one I can offer you if you ever drop by.

A headboard makeover

My baby has had this headboard for awhile. Actually, when she got married, we gave her a choice of taking some furniture in our house. Instead of choosing the upholstered headboard and footboard that was in her room, she wanted this one that was in a guest room.

Over the years, they had upgraded to a king size bed and the headboard felt a bit small. But luck would have it, that we had a footboard to it that had never been used. Of course, I had purchased this at an estate sale many moons ago.

Recently she asked me if I could use the footboard to make something to make the headboard look bigger. It needed to fit their king. So when baby girl asks, mama obliges! Last week I had my tools and the saw out handy, and this is how it turned out. She loves it, and mama bear is happy!

Looks better with the extended wings now right? Much more king size!

Check this out

This month, we have a new word, RENEW!

I am loving this word so far this month. Once again, there are so many ways it can be interpreted and inspire you to make some monthly goals. I’ve let it guide me first to something practical.

I made a list of all the “subscriptions” I have on auto-renew and when they might expire (if annual). This allowed me to not only see my budget, but also analyze if these items were still needed in my life.

I also took RENEW as a way to take a look at my activities. Do I need to resume some that I have let fall by the wayside? Should you get back to a stretching or exercise routine? Do you want to start journaling again? What needs to be renewed in your life?

Have you been inspired by any of our monthly words this year? Tell me about it in the comments.

Until next week

Well, thanks for spending some time with me this week. October is one of my favorite months. I am looking forward to so many new things coming on the horizon! I hope you enjoyed the full moon last night like I did! Isn’t it weird, how we can all be in different places, but we see the (mostly) same moon and sun?

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