Cross-Generational Shopping -- My Mom Would Have Been Proud

As family folklore tells it, my Mom had only two dresses growing up.  They both got washed on Saturdays which necessitated a time of "standing behind the wood stove" while they dried.  I wish I could ask her to describe everything to me again, but I can't, so we'll just go with that assumption.

Needless to say, when my Mom was older and married to my Dad who made a nice salary and even more when she was also working, my Mom LOVED to shop.  She didn't just walk into a store, pick out the first decent blouse or dress that she saw, pay for it, and go home.  No.  She made shopping into some kind of art form.  No dress in her size was left unviewed or unconsidered.  And, she certainly saw no reason to try only one store when a whole mall was beckoning.  A person (such as her oldest daughter) needed to be properly-nourished and well-hydrated to survive a day-long trek to Montgomery when Mom was on a quest.  We lived in Troy, you understand, but my piano teacher was in Montgomery -- how convenient! -- so we certainly couldn't waste all that gas by not killing several birds with one trip, now could we?

I could manage to stay enthusiastic and engaged for about an hour, then I was prone to becoming somewhat whiny and moody.  (Yep, I was one of THOSE teenagers).  She just endured me and went right on.

Maybe that's the reason I never became a big-time shopper.  Don't get me wrong.  I like spending money on pretty things, but generally I think about it in advance, decide on one or two stores where the item(s) might be, go into those particular stores looking for that particular item, find what I want, decide if I still want it, pay for it, and walk out.  There's very little veering off of the path.  Shopping is something I get in my car to do when it won't really work to just order it on-line using free shipping.  Steve is much, much worse, but that's a story for another day.

When our kids were growing up, I would say that the clothes budget was one of the biggest factors in determining how often we shopped, where we shopped, and how much we bought.  During one period of their lives, Laura and Julie really wanted designer jeans (for Matt it was Air Jordan basketball shoes).  Well, the budget allowed for regular, normal, everyday jeans (or basketball shoes).  We decided to let them earn the money to pay the difference if that label mattered so much to them.  But I'm entering another subject.  Stick to the story, Connie.

I'll let THEM tell you about a particular school-clothes shopping trip we made to Boaz one year.  I'm sure they'd have you cheering for their side.  :)

I do remember some particularly fun trips with the girls when we were shopping for prom dresses and then wedding dresses -- the dream of every mother who has a daughter.  Laura and Julie generally had very different color and style preferences, reflecting their unique personalities, but would you believe they both liked the very same wedding dress?!  Again, I digress.

Last week, oldest granddaughter Allie was in need of a shopping trip.  She is going to be in an Acteens Coronation at Whitesburg Baptist in a few weeks.  Her Mom is 8 1/2 months pregnant and has a pulmonary embolism, so GRANDMOMMA TO THE RESCUE!!  :)  Whitesburg had established some very conservative guidelines, so I figured we'd go in, find THE dress that met all the criteria and be done in just a little while.

Oh no.  My Mom would have been so proud.  Allie took this opportunity to look at every dress in her section of the store, whether it was her size or not.  We tried on several, but I could tell she wasn't finished looking.  We stopped for some Chinese food -- that girl loves honey chicken -- then we walked the entire length of the mall, window shopping, shoe shopping, home decor shopping, you name it.  At the next big department store, Allie once again, looked at every remote dress possibility.  But, wouldn't you know it?  The better choices were at the first place we had looked.  :)  So, back through the mall we went.

Allie thought this blue dress would look graceful and billowy.  It did, but she wasn't bowled over.  She tried to imagine it with her hair pulled up.

The runner-up dress was this pink floral with white, lacy shrug.  It turned out to be too small, and I think she didn't look quite "old enough" in it.  After all, she'd heard that some of the girls come to this coronation looking like they're going to the prom.

Bear in mind that we were sending pictures to her Mom for approval as we went along.
Finally, the winning dress!  I think Allie felt like a princess as soon as she put it on.  You can see her in this picture trying a royal curtsy.  :)

Now, here's where Allie's personality really asserted itself.  She loved the white dress, but she wanted to add a "pop of color."  Thus, the coral shoes.  Definitely HER choice, very Allie-esque.

She's going to look beautiful for her big event, and I'm planning to have a front-row seat to watch it all unfold in person.  We were both completely worn out by the end of our excursion but thoroughly satisfied with the results.  We had Allie's Mom's approval, and I'd like to think my own Mom (Allie's great-grandmother) would have approved, too -- both of the dress and the whole shopping experience.  Now, which granddaughter wants to be next?

Anniversary Cooking Class

A few days ago on March 20, Steve and I celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary.  Thank you, God.  As I described in a post on our 40th anniversary, we have had some very unique anniversaries in past years.  Whale-watching on Maui for our 25th, snowmobiling in the Cascades for our 30th, a weekend in a rain forest resort in Ecuador for our 35th to name a few.  We are looking forward to a trip to the California coast in a few weeks to celebrate Steve's recent retirement, this anniversary, my birthday, Mother's Day and whatever else we can think of to throw in, so when our actual anniversary date showed up on the calendar this year, we were both willing to go a little low-key.

We love sharing new experiences and learning new things together, so when I saw a Couples Cooking Class advertised at Williams-Sonoma for last Tuesday night, it seemed like the perfect thing to do.  Steve agreed.  Along with being known as the Queen of Questions, my subtitle could be Queen of Casseroles, but I'm generally willing to experiment in the kitchen, and Steve is full of curiosity about cooking.  So, off we went to join several other couples watch, ask questions, and enjoy a delicious meal together.

Our chef/teacher for the evening was Brian who has studied at a culinary school in Atlanta.  His multi-tasking abilities were amazing.  Many pots were simmering, and nothing burned.  Here he is preparing the steaks.

Our menu consisted of French Onion Soup, Rib-Eye Steak with Pan Jus, Mushroom Rice Pilaf, and Chocolate Pots de Creme.

Mirrors above the cooktop helped with the instruction.  Oh, the smells in that store after just a few minutes.

French onion soup is one of my favorites, so I was delighted to watch how to make it and to sample Brian's version.

You may not like your meat this rare, but it really was delicious, and so was the rice pilaf, plated here.

I couldn't resist buying some little ramekins (wasn't that the point of having the classes in the store?) to make the chocolate dessert in the near future.  It was EXTRA good.  From what I understand, strawberries or raspberries and a dollop of whipped cream really dress this up, but they are not required for success.  :)

Here are a few things that we learned that I hope to incorporate into a menu for guests before long.  Even after cooking for 42+ years, I had never used these ingredients or techniques.
1)  Gruyere cheese is delicious.  That's what was on top of the French onion soup.
2)  Leeks should be washed much more thoroughly than onions.  Both were used in the soup.
3)  Fresh rosemary is wonderful when it is pushed into the meat and seared before baking.  Ahhhh, the aroma.  It motivated me to grow some fresh herbs.
4) White pepper is more flavorful than black pepper.
5)  Star Market carries wonderful meat.
6)  Fresh lavender and thyme are worth buying.
7)  Mushrooms look and taste better when they have been peeled, and it is not hard to do.
8)  Chocolate pots of creme are worth the effort.  A little portion can be very satisfying.  This is MUCH better than chocolate pudding.  It is a special dessert.
9) I really WILL need Steve's help in the kitchen if I'm going to start cooking like this.  :)

Williams-Sonoma has a new schedule of cooking classes every month.  I would recommend that you attend one.

Back Door Theology

Steve and I had at least one teenager living in our house from November of 1986 until October of 1998.  There were a few years when Laura, Matt and Julie were all teenagers at the same time, and to add to the merriment we threw in a fourth one (an exchange student from Germany named Sebastian) for the 1992-93 school year.  Everywhere we turned we had hormonal angst in the form of acne, drivers' tests, first kisses, homecoming dances, proms, break-ups, fender-benders, youth camps, final exams, ACT tests, golf tournaments, show choir performances, softball games, soccer games, track meets, trips abroad, and even a FAMILY Spring Break trip to Panama City in an embarrassing (to them) minivan with a turtle on top for "cruising the strip" in style.

For the most part, I look back on those years and would actually like to be living them again (provided I could know how everything and everyone was going to turn out).  The days were crazy busy but full of amazing memories-in-the-making.

Now, some of you may have been blessed with perfect kids.  While mine had spurts of being mighty close to perfection, they also had bouts of just plain orneriness, hard-headedness, rebelliousness and even sneakiness (that sounds better than deceitfulness, doesn't it?).  We had an almost-written-in-stone habit of sitting down for dinner together, and out of those mealtimes came some wonderful family stories and jokes.  We laughed A LOT.  But, there were other days when I couldn't say "Good Morning" without a scowl or a slammed door or even worse, I couldn't say "How was your day?" without rolled eyes and a loud huff.  When it seemed warranted, I would respond with a warning.  Other times I just shrugged, choosing to fight another battle on another day, and decided to view their actions as "the nature of the beast."  I hadn't exactly been a saint during my teenage years either, but I didn't think they needed to know that just yet.

We did do a lot of talking.  When our teenagers were in the mood to communicate, they were very witty, entertaining, insightful and honest.  We were fortunate to be in good churches during the years when our children needed to be surrounded by other Christian teenagers and parents, and they had very godly youth ministers.  Steve and I certainly did our share of "preaching" around the house, but we knew that often our words were completely tuned out.

I started pondering how I could leave them with a word of blessing or warning or encouragement or truth, even on days when they just wanted to head out the door, off to school or work, or on their dates without hearing anything from me.  As God would have it, I was spending a lot of time in Proverbs during those years, and I found a lot of wisdom in that book and in Ecclesiastes, verses that often said a lot in just a few words. I also realized that there was one particular wall by the back door that they almost HAD to see before leaving each time.  So, there was the perfect place for a "parting word," and I didn't have to come up with something out of thin air.  God had already provided it.

Here are some of the ones I found and used.  There are dozens more that would also be effective and useful.  Feel free to borrow this idea of putting God's word in front of your teenagers or tweak it in the way that would work best in your home.  I just didn't have the time to cross-stitch everything I wanted them to remember.  :)

WHEN WE WEREN'T SEEING EYE TO EYE --
"The Lord corrects everyone he loves, just as parents correct their favorite child."  Proverbs 3:12
(Laura and Julie automatically thought this referred to Matt since they called him The Golden Boy, but I hope they know by now that they were ALL THREE our favorites.)

"To accept correction is wise, to reject it is stupid."  Proverbs 12:1

"Children with good sense accept correction from their parents, but stubborn children ignore it completely."  Proverbs 13:1

"Children with good sense make their parents happy, but foolish children make them sad."  Proverbs 10:1

"Correct your children before it's too late; if you don't punish them, you are destroying them."  Proverbs 19:18

"My children, obey the teachings of your parents, and wear their teachings as you would a lovely hat or a pretty necklace."  Proverbs 1:8-9
(Can't you just see the rolled eyes over that one?)

WHEN THEY WERE HEADED OUT TO THEIR JOBS --
"Having a lazy person on the job is like a mouth full of vinegar or smoke in your eyes."  Proverbs 10:26
(After all, we wanted them to be good employees, didn't we?)

WHEN WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE POSSIBLE BAD INFLUENCE OF CERTAIN FRIENDS -- 
"A few dead flies in perfume make all of it stink, and a little foolishness outweighs a lot of wisdom."  Ecclesiastes 10:1

"The Lord sees everything, whether good or bad."  Proverbs 15:3

AND ONE I POSTED ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS --

"Don't make fun of your father or disobey your mother -- crows will peck out your eyes, and buzzards will eat the rest of you." Proverbs 30:17

Verses taken from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible.