As some of you know, my Marty is a “Traffic Guy.” He has also been the light of my life for 32+ years. After putting up with me hosting Girlfriend Camp #GFC2014 this past weekend, I thought he deserved a little “appreciation.” After all, he did “get out of Dodge” all day Saturday, but was our hero Sunday morning preparing us a breakfast fit for… well…. the princesses we are! 🙂
I freakin’ love him – for so many reasons. So when I was in a crafty mood and found a card stamping challenge at Muse (Muse Challenge #77), I strangely thought this matched the challenge criteria. I used a fun stamp set from #NeatandTangled called Stop and Go, #Stampinup Yippee Skippee and Chalk Lines stamp sets, DSP, card stock and ink, and a vintage Stampinup sentiment stamp from 2002. My interpretation of the challenge card was in the design of a single object with a single sentiment and a simply framed layout.
What I really love about this card, and the pictures just don’t do justice is the “Wink of Stella” Brush I used to glitz up the traffic lights. Saw #JenniferMcGuire demonstrate it and am not sure if I like it more because it has the name “Stella” in it (my Grandma’s name) or the fun way it adds shimmer with NO glitter mess!
Anway – mailed this to Marty at work to let him know how much he rocks my world.
Yep – this is a good one! One of my favorite recipes!
Not sure if it is because of the sweet young-child writing from my now married, 26 year old son on the gingerbread and heart-shaped candy cane recipe card,
or the wonderful meaning of the words in the simple message,
0r the fact that I love my home and family so much….
No matter the reason, hope you will also enjoy this FAVORITE recipe!
So it’s the Day After #GFC2014 Weekend, and I’m still feeling so thankful and so blessed! Relaxing with Marty on this Sunday evening, and a teensy glass of red wine :).
For some reason, I was reminded of one of the best (birthday) gifts I’ve ever received. And it made me realize what a great Wedding Gift this could be during wedding season, so I wanted to share.
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My BFF, Jill, gave me this gift on my birthday a year ago, which just so happens to fall on New Year’s Eve, so coincides beautifully with New Year’s resolutions and new habits to create for the new year.
You see, “best gifts ever” don’t have to be expensive or elaborate. The best gifts ever are from the heart and those that create memories for a lifetime.
My gift was a jar filled with blank colored index card sized pieces of paper. In explaining the gift, Jill encouraged me to write down blessings throughout the year and things I am thankful for. She said we could then reopen it the following year, and revel in the wonderful experiences of the past year.
I still have the jar, and I review the notes occasionally. Sometimes when I’m feeling blessed and happy, and sometimes when I need a lift.
In my happiness and afterglow of the blessings of this past weekend, I decided to revisit the jar and read some of the blessings from 2013. It doesn’t need to be New Year’s or Christmas or a Birthday or Thanksgiving to be thankful.
Let me share just a small sampling of some of the little notes I scribbled throughout the year. Some of them are BIG – like my oldest son, Jake’s wedding, my youngest son, Nick, getting a new job…. Some are very small – like planting tomatoes or a phone call from a friend. But ALL of them bring a smile to my face and heart, bring me joy, and make me realize how fortunate, thankful, and blessed I am.
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January 1, 2013: “Celebrated the first moments of 2013 with some of the people I am closest to – Marty, Jill, and Todd. This was our FIRST year when all the kids did their own thing – be we savored the moments, the friendship, the blessings, AND we texted with the kids!”
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January 7, 2013: “Received a beautiful card from Joyce and Rob thanking and celebrating our recent reunion. A reminder to consider perception becomes reality until clarified, and can result in boundless blessings.”
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May 4, 2013: “Jake ran and finished the Pittsburgh Marathon! 26.2 miles in 4 hours, 53 minutes. Such a amazing accomplishment! So proud! Jill and Todd were there with us to cheer him on!”
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May 8, 2013: “Pam called today. Had such a nice talk. Good friends are such a blessing.”
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May 13, 2013: “Nick got a new job. Starts 6/10/13. So proud and so happy for him. I know he will be a great SUCCESS!”
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May 25, 2013: Planted tomatoes. Can’t wait to watch them grow and enjoy the bounty!”
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May 28, 2013: Girl’s Day Out with Janet – manicures and pedicures and bridal shower shopping!
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June 1, 2013: Today was Colleen’s Bridal Shower! It was a great day to celebrate a very special young lady we love!”
********** June 1, 2013: Jake brought flowers to the shower for Colleen, Teri, and me. So proud of him and love him dearly!”
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June 13, 2013: “Marty got a ride in the autonomous car!”
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July 12, 2013: “So thankful for best friends ever helping with Jake and Colleen’s Wedding Rehearsal Dinner – Janet, Jill, Dawn, Tracy, even Todd and ” Baby” Jake – LOVE them all!”
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July 13, 2013: “WEDDING DAY for Jake and Colleen! AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL DAY!”
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August 15, 2013: “Matt and Judy came to visit and stay for the weekend. GREAT time catching up and reminiscing. Love them!”
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September 1, 2013: “First invitation to dinner at Jake and Colleen’s. So good to be with them in their new home.”
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September 17, 2013: “Card-making class with Colleen.”
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October 12, 2013: Wonderful GFC Weekend with Pam, Jill, Janet and Joan!”
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November 16, 2013: “Marty’s 55th Birthday! Fun time with family and Hendy’s – lots of love!”
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November 22, 2013: “Jackie and Matt ENGAGED! YAY!!!”
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November 28, 2013: “WONDERFUL Thanksgiving – Johnny came to visit – SURPRISE! with Nancy – and it was GREAT to hug him! Then a lovely dinner with Dad and Carole.”
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November 29, 2013: “So Thankful for my Marty. His heart and mind are my ROCK!”
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December 22, 2013: “Christmas with the Hendy’s at Jake and Colleen’s House!”
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December 31, 2013: “My birthday lunch with my Dad.”
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You see – there are so many things to be thankful for! BIG and small!
Wouldn’t a Blessings Jar or a Thankful Jar be a great wedding or birthday gift to give a friend or loved one? Hardly any money, but it will create a lifetime of memories.
Oh what a glorious TWENTY FIVE hours I got to spend from 11 am Saturday to 12pm Sunday with some of the best of besties at our Annual Girlfriend Camp 2014!
What started like this…
Toasting the beginning of Camp with Prosecco, Limoncello and Fresh Raspberry Cocktails
What happens @ #GFC2014 stays at #GFC2014
…ended like this…
but I skipped a few things in between….
So first – Meet the campers: Camp Host – Yours truly… “Tipsy”
Our Amazing Activities Director “Chitfaced”
the Baby – or should I say “Babe” of the group – “Bombed”
Social Media Director “Buzzed”
The tart “Pickled”
The Lovely “Loaded”
And the Terrific “Toasted”
Every camp has to have craft time – right?
And goody bags and gifts from friends….
Silly glasses and blowing bubbles…
And Camp Activities…
Minute to Win It Buzzed Whippin’ it good
Minute to Win it Top Technique!
Minute to Win It Loaded with …. errr…. Vaseline on her nose
Minute it to Win It Cotton Ball Challenge
Minute to Win It TEAMS!
And #Selfies…
And Smart A$$es…
And “Take our Picture!” s…
to refreshments….
and group photos….
and when in Mars, PA – you must visit the infamous spaceship in town square ….. go there in camp jammies….. in the rain….. and find random (somewhat sober) people to take your picture…
And the best Chef Merv made us an amazing Morning After Breakfast – and this is the only photo we will share of the morning after…
Because some things that happen at Girlfriend Camp, need to just stay at Girlfriend Camp!
Thanks for a great time “girls!” Love ya!!! Couldn’t have had more fun – Until GFC2015….
HELLLLOOOO Friday! Always happy to see you! And especially this Friday, because tomorrow is Girlfriend Camp (GFC) with a few of my favorite “girls” coming to the house. I guess thinking of GFC got me in a crafty mood (though I probably should have been cleaning or cooking for the girls this week!) I thought a sunny hello with a yellow and orange SU Blended Blossom and a denim bow was fun, and liked how this card turned out.
Since I was feeling “crafty” – I have a “Three-fer” this week on my usual Friday card posting.
This card was a fun new technique to try for my stamping and crafting friends. I first sponged some pink and blue and brown on whisper white card stock. Then I chose a fun chevron embossing folder, which I spritzed with water (on the side that does not have the print of the name on it), pressed my sponged paper in – ink against water – briefly – then dried to give this fun effect. I then layered it on with complimentary colored card stock, added my favorite “Hello” stamp from my StampinUp “Hi There” set by inking with Versamark and then embossing in gold. Finished it off with a bow of soft twine and a couple sparkly sequins.
This third one was totally just winged out of trying some new stamps. I got the Stampinup What’s Your Line and Just Sayin sets, so just started goofing around here. I stamped some of the random shapes in Crisp Cantaloupe, Pear Pizazz and Crumb Cake inks (are you hungry now?) on SU Watercolor paper (I have to say – I was trying to just use some cheaper stuff I had and can’t believe the difference in quality!). I then spritzed it all with water and put some coarse sea salt on top while it dried. I then embossed the Hey There in Gold on translucent parchment and again embellished with some soft twine – the thinner this time and gold sequins with a dab of crystal effects. Layered it up and even put a strip of the water color paper on the inside. I kind like it. It is a softer style.
Just for fun – which one do you like best? No right answer – just curious…
Today is a very special Anniversary… A day that brings back floods of memories… floods of emotions…. reflections on time missed… but celebration of time and love shared… from here on…
You see – Today is a Father-Daughter Anniversary. Today is the 4 year anniversary of my reunion with my Dad (my “birth father”).
And I thought it deserved a special anniversary card to send to Dad to help us cherish the day.
So you might think that sounds a bit odd…. Father and Daughter Anniversary???
Well – I’m going to share a kinda big chunk and pretty personal part of my heart today. So – if you’re not into that or not interested, you may just want to skip this blog.
So here goes…
On July 17, 2010, I was reunited with my Dad (my “birth father” Dad so as not to be confused with another great man in my life that I also call Dad – I know – a bit confusing – and on top of that both of their names are John!).
It was a day neither of us will ever forget.
The reason(s) for our separation for 39 years is really not the point or purpose of this story, nor do I feel appropriate to share, but the joy in our reunion is the focus here…. And oh what JOY we have shared.
For our second Christmas together again in 2012, I presented Dad with a book I wrote for him.
I called it, “The Journey Back to Daddy’s Girl.” The book is a celebration of our initial exchange of emails leading up to our reunion that covers the course of only a few short weeks, but close to 70 pages of exchanges. It chronicles how we discovered each other again – an adult daughter close to 50 years old – and an even more adult father – close to 70 years old who last saw each other when the little girl was 9 years old and the Daddy was just barely past 30.
We (well mostly I) asked each other questions (sometimes difficult ones) and our exchanges evolved from closings with “John (BF)” to “Love you, Dad”s.
Let me share the “Introduction” with you here.
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“Once upon a time, there was a little girl. Jodi had a Mom and a Dad and a little brother.
Life was good, until one day when Daddy left. Then Jodi just got to visit with Daddy on the weekends, until a day came when Mom introduced Jodi and her brother to a new Dad, and told her she would not be seeing her other Daddy any more.
Jodi lived a good life. Her new Dad and Mom took good care of her and her brother and her new baby sister, but Jodi always felt something was missing.
She thought of her first Dad throughout her life.
She dreamed of bumping into him on the street… their eyes would lock, and they would immediately recognize each other. Dad would tell her he loved her and missed her and was so proud of the woman she had become…..
Sometimes dreams do come true…”
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Marty (for those new here – the hubster), was instrumental in helping me find my Dad.
It is so much more incredibly easier than imaginable with the internet and people search software these days.
Marty has known for years – probably before I even realized – that there was a part of me missing – that there were unanswered questions – that there was a dad out there that I needed – and who needed me. He has asked me over the years about it – ever since we started dating when I was a mere 16 year old high school girl and he was a “mature” 20-year old “man.” (That story is a whole blog post for another day). When Marty realized my yearning had grown so strong, and my need was so great, he was the one that took the step to reach out for me, and the resulting reply is etched in my mind and on my heart forever:
“Hi Jodi – Yes. I am your “Birth Father.” It was an answer to prayer hearing from you. I hope that you and John are both fine. To this day, I regret the worst decision I have ever made. I was talked into doing something, but I had my own mind. At the time, I thought I was doing the best thing for your two. Can you ever forgive me?”
And so began my Journey back to Daddy’s Girl.
And now we celebrate four wonderful years of being a reunited father and daughter, which began on July 17, 2010 when my Dad showed up to my house with a huge bouquet of flowers, a face that looked exactly like mine (and resembles Tom Jones I think only to me 🙂 ), immediately telling me he loved me, and he missed me, that I was beautiful (only to him I’m sure 🙂 ),and he was so proud of me. You see – he wanted to fulfill my dream… He wanted our reunion to be the wonderful event I had dreamed about over the years…
We both cried – happy and sad tears. And we have talked almost every day since then. We’ve spent birthdays and holidays and Father’s days together. He was with me at our son Jake’s wedding. He loves my family as his own. His family has embraced me as their own. They have always known about me, and they welcomed me with open arms.
I will never forget the first time I met my Dad’s wife, Carole (aka Mom 2). The first thing she said to me was, “Your Dad always promised me a daughter, and now I have one. We’ve been praying for you for a long time.”
The epilogue of my book closes with:
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And so it began …….
With a simple email …
A journey back to Daddy’s girl.
And now, two and a half years later …
… we write each other almost every day
… and talk every weekday morning at 7:05
We’ve spent Father’s days together and holidays and birthdays and are part of each other’s lives again.
Our families love each other and we love each other.
‘What a Difference You’ve Made in My Life’
Dreams do come true!
this is notTHE END.”
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Father & Daughter Reunion Day – July 17, 2010
I hope this message will encourage those adult children who were separated from birth parents – at whatever age (birth, childhood, teenager, young adult) – for whatever reason – to reach out and try if it is something that has yanked on and ached in your heart for years.
Maybe your ending will not turn out as good as mine did (and of course there is much more to our story than I’ve shared here so far) , but can anything hurt more than the emptiness and not-knowing that you feel every day? Could the potential rejection be any worse than what you have imagined or decided or dealt with for years in your heart?
Love is worth the risk. It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. Closure or resolution or answers to decades of unanswered questions can let you sleep at night… can bring you peace… can make you right with yourself! I’m certainly not an educated or trained professional in this area, but I can only speak of my own personal experience.
I wish you joy. I wish you peace. I wish you resolution. I wish you wholeness of heart – no matter the ending. YOU are worth it. YOU are here for a reason. YOU are loved.
Happy 4 year “Anniversary” Dad! I love you, and I cherish you! (And I’ve been listening to “our song” again this week. I’m betting you will too.) ❤ “What a Difference You’ve Made in My Life!”
We all like our pizza a little different, so why not make personal mini pizzas? I had some Mama Mary’s 3-packs of mini crusts that were just perfect for throwing on the grill on a warm summer day.
The topping choices can be as endless as your imagination and taste. buds. Chicken would be wonderful (but I think we had it 4 or 5 times already this week 🙂 ). Ham and pineapple, steak and mushrooms….
For us this past Sunday afternoon, I just chopped up some sweet red and orange and yellow peppers, Vidalia and green onions, added a sprinkle of salt, and sautéed it all with some garlic in olive oil…
I sliced some pepperoni and thick chunks of fresh mozzarella and goat cheese. Fried up some thick-sliced salty bacon…
Put out a jar of marinated artichoke hearts and sliced banana peppers…
and we put together our own faves, threw them on the grill for about 8 minutes – keeping OFF the direct flame for best results!
And guess what – we all LOVED our own pizza!
(I’ll bet they would even be fun to make with cinnamon and sugar and apple or peach slices or tart cherries and cream cheese!)
Enjoy whatever way you like best for a quick and easy and satisfying meal.
Cranberry Township Community Days is a big deal in our local community, and it was a fun opportunity for me to romp around a take a few pictures this past weekend. Marty, on the other hand, is a wee-bit tired as he is tasked with assuring everything goes right with electricity for the hundreds of food and vendor booths and the variety of bands playing at the outdoor stage, as well as assuring that traffic operations cooperate with the influx of activity in the area. It was the first year he was able to remotely coordinate the traffic lights to go into “flash mode” after the fireworks show when over 10,000 people are trying to get out of the park at the same time. It was a great day, and here are some pics to give you a flavor of our local culture.
loving all the locally knitted artwork on trees and this quaint bridge that crosses a small creek flowing through a part of the park
adorable face painting and plenty of fun with bubble-blowing and catching
Art in the Park comes in many forms
funnel cake wantin’
a spot for everyone
We had the BEST Pork BBQ Sandwiches, Homemade Chips, and Coleslaw from the Cranberry Rotary Club’s booth. I so should have taken a picture, but was too busy enjoying it and forgot!
bubbles and tattoos and popcorn and delightful precious young faces everywhere
I’m not sure this darling little guy likes the look of that hot dog on a stick
Momma joy and love
this little sweetheart had the best seat in the house for the #BonJourney concert
just wanted to pinch those sweet cheeks on this little guy enjoying his soft pretzel in the grass
this young guy is just chillaxin’ amongst the activity all around him enjoying the concert in the park
riding a mini ferris wheel at dusk
Oh these sweet little ones enjoying the thrill of a three foot dip in the snake roller coaster. I love how big brother in the last seat is watching over little brother who looks completely thrilled (and a teensy bit nervous), the bravery of the one with her hands in the air, the “I’m not so sure about this” look on her seat mate, and the perfectly poised young lady with her stylish glasses smiling at her family in the front. The joys of childhood captured in a split second.
Carpet Slide Racing
I ADORED this knit covered bridge
My first go at trying to capture fireworks. We were RIGHT UNDER THEM. It was a great show!
laying on a blanket on the ground as the fireworks lit up the entire sky above us
the creative life in between 