Mom

Momma and Baby Elephant in Watercolor

/ Jodi / 71 Comments
Elephant Mom and Baby Watercolor 10x12 Fabriano Artistico 300lb

Mom and Baby Elephant Watercolor 10×12 Fabriano Artistico 300lb

I think I must have an African Safari on the brain…

Oh how I would LOVE to do that!  Maybe some day.

But for now, I’m just painting my Safari.

I had so much fun doing Genevieve the Giraffe in watercolor last week, that it gave me a desire to try elephants.

I wanted to try a different technique, so I followed some techniques that Lian Quan Zhen masterfully executes and I feebly attempted here.

For this painting, I drew my elephants from a reference photo, used a bit of frisket to save some white, and I then actually poured and splashed some watercolor paint on, blowing it and pushing and smooshing it around with my finger to form a colorful abstract background.  After that dried, I detailed in the elephants.

I used only three colors in the entire painting:  Prussian Blue, Pyrrol Scarlet, and Hansa Yellow Light.  Purples and greens and shades of black and gray and brown and pink and orange are all achieved by the blending of these three colors.

It was fun, and I’ll have to enjoy the elephants this way until I get to go on the safari in real life some day.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

A Little Birdie to say Happy Mother’s Day

/ Jodi / 61 Comments
goldfinch watercolor drawabirdday

Goldfinch Watercolor Doodlewash for Draw A Bird Day

Some of you may remember the darling little goldfinch I captured in a photo recently as his family has become a regular in our backyard and at the feeders.

I decided to do a quick little watercolor and doodlewash him for today’s monthly #drawabirdday.

I am out of town today, but he is flying by to wish all the Moms out there the happiest of Mother’s Days!

Being a mom has unequivocally been the greatest privilege of my life and has provided me with such joy and love.

Thank you Jake and Nick for all you have given me.  My life would not be nearly as extraordinary if it weren’t for what each of you has given me since the days you were born.

Now that you are grown men with lives of your own, I thank you even more for still allowing me the honor of being a part of your lives and being your Mom.  And thank you for the beautiful ladies in Colleen and Liz that you have allowed me to “mother” too.

I am the luckiest Mom of all!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Bleeding Heart

/ Jodi / 86 Comments

bleeding heart

Once upon a time
a little girl was born
to the best Grandma
in the entire universe.

As time passed,
the little girl grew,
but her admiration
for the best Grandma
in the entire universe
never waned.

The grandma knew
she wouldn’t be able
to stay forever
and share her love
with the little girl
who became a woman, a wife, and a mother
who she still so greatly adored.

So she gave the woman
a plant to remember
her everywhere she would go
wherever she went
for as long as she lived.

And every May
the little girl
who is now
soon be a Grandma herself
remembers the love
from her special Grandma.

The gift of life
The gift of love
the gift from the heart
A bleeding heart.

A heart that knows
A heart that understands
A heart that consoles
a little girl,  a grand-daughter,
a mother, a soon-to-be grandmother.

With admiration
beyond compare,
with love and a bleeding heart
from one little girl, mother, grand-daughter, grandmother
to another.

I love you, Grandma
now and forever.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

(My Grandma gave me this Bleeding Heart plant before she passed away many years ago. I have moved it twice.  Every Spring, I shed a tear of joy, of sorrow, of love, of loss when it blooms and reminds me of one of the greatest ladies , role models, “mothers,” I have ever known.  I believe it to be the most beautiful flower on the entire planet.)

A Special Cookbook from Mom

/ Jodi / 49 Comments

Nicks Cookbook from mom

I have one more special little homemade Christmas gift to share this week.  This is one I was excited to give to my son, Nick.

Nick had requested I put a cookbook together of his favorite recipes I make, and especially those that are EASY, so that he will have and be able to make wherever life takes him.

For the cover of this little book, I used a photo of our kitchen in the frenzy of pots boiling, cookies cooling, and flour and sugar and other ingredients out on the counter.  I am hoping as he takes this little book with him throughout his life, he will remember the smell and feel and love of our family kitchen.

For the intro page, I wrote Nick a short note:

Nicks cookbook from mom introduction page

Nick is a chicken lover, so I tried to remember all of his favorite chicken dishes.

nick cookbook chickfila chicken sandwiches

But remembering the “easy” part, I tried to include those simple things he always enjoyed.

Nicks Cookbook page

So – it’s not a masterpiece or an Amazon bestseller, but it is simple gesture of a Momma’s love that I hope Nick will treasure.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

My Happy Place

/ Jodi / 72 Comments
Nick Winston CJ Zach

Nick, Winston, CJ, Zach

Look at these handsome guys!

Could I be any happier than to have the opportunity to have them over and cook for them?

Does that make me a little strange?… unusual?…. old-fashioned….?

I was really looking forward to – and totally enjoyed – the opportunity to cook and bake for my youngest son, Nick (far left in the photo above) and a group of his old college buddies (Winston, Zach, and CJ – two of whom are married already!), who decided to get together for a Saturday afternoon of basketball and an evening of pool and poker, with a short break in between to be nourished by Momma ME!

In talking with my friend, Tracy, on our Sunday morning walk yesterday, I remarked upon reflection that it is good to be 52 and not so worried about what is the right or wrong way to be a woman today.

For a while, I tried to be a “modern” business woman – one who enjoys working as much as the rest of “the guys” and has no time for such silliness as cooking and baking….

But I can’t help it….

It is my happy place.

It is in my DNA.

When I was a young girl, if asked what I wanted to be when I grow up, I most often would say, “A Mom.”

Being a mom is a job that should be as equally admired as those that serve as doctors and lawyers and teachers and executives.

It really is a tough job.  Little training is provided.  Little recognition is provided.  The monetary rewards are quite minimal.  The days are long.  Then nights are short.  The worries are many.

But the rewards…..

especially when looking back and knowing you raised your kids to become amazing adults….

well – there really is nothing greater.

So the chance to cherish moments with my “kids” (who aren’t really kids anymore)…

is pretty darn great.

I am most happy when I am cooking or baking or having guests in my home.

I TRULY love my work too.  Don’t get me wrong.

I am extremely fortunate to have a work-life balance that allows me to work as passionately at my job in corporate communications for home health and hospice and enjoy it as much as I do my “life in between” activities.

I also truly and equally admire women who don’t choose to be mothers, but dedicate their lives to noble careers because that is their passion.

But put me behind the kitchen counter with pots steaming and cookies cooling and bread kneading…..

kitchen

with Charlie by my side napping as the Autumn sunshine streams in the window…

charlie sleeping in the sun

and life is perfect.

I baked some classic chocolate chips cookies,

chocolate chip cookie

and made Zach’s favorite – good old-fashioned peasant food – Haluski.

halushki cabbage

I made some yummy rosemary roasted butternut squash that they all surprisingly LOVED, some freshly baked rustic crusty bread, and some dry rubbed pork tenderloin (recipe in tomorrow’s blog!), as well as some mini pumpkin pies….

mini pumpkin pies

served up with a side of dreamy, creamy whipped cream.

single mini pumpkin pie bite

In the midst of it all, with dishes piled high in the sink…

flour all over the counter….

dough in my hair…

Nick asked,

“Do you REALLY ENJOY doing this?”

“Oh YES!,” I didn’t even hesitate when I replied…

“This is my happy place.”

Thanks, guys, for the wine!
Thanks, girls, for the surprise visit!
Thanks, Merv, for being the grill master and my “partner in crime” through it all.
Thanks for allowing me to nourish your bellies as much as you nourish my heart! ❤

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

A Perfect Mother

/ Jodi / 32 Comments

good mom

Those of us with grown children can look back and know this is true.  But if there is anything I can say to young moms out there struggling to be a “perfect mother,”  I would say:

Cherish the moments.

Many of the days are long, but the years are short.

Even on your worst days, I’ll bet your children still think you are THE Best!

Your children will become what you are, so be what you want them to be.

Be their sunshine when their clouds are gray.

Embrace the gift you are given in your children…

and just LOVE them!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

The Important Places – A Mother’s Day Message to my Sons

/ Jodi / 24 Comments

home mothers day

Growing up,
when people would ask me:
“What do you want to be
when you grow up?”
I would say,
“a Mom, of course.”

So imagine my joy
when my dream came true,
and I was blessed
with the two of you.

There is no greater joy
I could ever compare
to the love and the happiness
you brought to my life.

Now that you are grown,
your lives are your own.
You have things to do
and places to go.

But please remember,
of all the important places
life will take you,
the road to important places
can also lead you home.

My hubby (Marty) recently shared a beautiful video with me (and our boys) that totally struck a chord with me this weekend with Mother’s Day approaching.  If you have 10 minutes and are ready for a few tears of joy and gratitude and contemplation, watch the video here:   https://vimeo.com/126544483.

It inspired me to share this message of gratitude for the honor and joy I have as the mom of my two amazing sons.

Love you guys,
Mom

Our Children

/ Jodi / 25 Comments

winter front yard bush 020115

My copy of “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran arrived a few days ago.

And what a treasure it is.

It is a book to be savored in small bits and pieces,

with words to be read over and over.

Several people told me about the section on Children, so it was the first place I went…

On Children by Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

I love this.
I hope to think I have raised my boys this way…
respecting that they have their own thoughts…
not forcing mine on them.

It was the greatest privilege of my life to house their bodies,
but I will never own their souls.

I’m so proud of the men they have become.
Sometimes we have different opinions, sometimes we disagree, but I have, do, and will always respect them immensely…
and love them all the same.

This was not necessarily the way I was raised, but that only makes me feel all the more convicted about it.
I am honored to bend my bow with gladness, and shoot two blazing, sharp, strong arrows into the world.

May all of our children be as unique and individual as they desire, like each snowflake that falls and blows in the wind and catches on thistly bushes.  And may we love them all and cherish their beauty.

With much love and pride to my Jake and Nick,
Your Mom

Happy Graduation and Best Wishes Jules!

/ Jodi / 3 Comments
Graduation Card Julie

SU @SoSocial, Owl Punch, En Francais

So Jules – This one is for you!

Just a few important things I want to tell you:

Happy Graduation!  (this card is on it’s way to you – note the Case Western Color theme… 🙂 )

Congrats on the new job!  (don’t eat too much SPAM!)

Best wishes on your move! (can’t wait to see how you Julieize your new pad!)

Wishing you much success and happiness. (because you deserve it, and I know you will spread joy and fun wherever you go!)

And always remember how much I love ya! (that goes without saying – but I never want to stop telling those I love! ❤ )

Ya know – I have known you from the day you were born, and I have loved you that long too!  You are like a daughter to me, and I just want you to know how proud I am of the amazing young lady you’ve become.

From fond memories of the past…

jules1with all the craziness you put up with from your Mom and me and this whole gang of houligans…

jules2

and to wine glasses bigger than you….

jules3and paint chip walls and college visits…

Jules4

It’s been great.
It’s been fun.

It’s #kindofabigdeal !

Love ya Julie Henderson!

Cheers and Hugs,

Momma 2 – Jodi