CHRISTMAS 2013

Well, Christmas has come and gone.  I had a wonderful Christmas.  Our family celebrates Christmas on Christmas day.  We gather together around 11:00, open presents, and have an unusual dinner.  We are all tired of turkey and ham by this time so we eat very untraditional things.  This year, we had fajitas, guacamole, queso and chips, rice, and refried beans.  Um-um Good!

Daughter-in-law (DIL) told Daughter to buy Girl-child and Squeaky a magazine subscription for Christmas.  So, Daughter did.  I was sitting next to Squeaky when she opened that gift.  She showed me the informational fly that Daughter had included in the box and said, "I just got a piece of paper." I proceeded to explain to her that she would be getting a magazine, addressed to her, each month in the mail and this magazine would have some fun activities as well as some stories that she and DIL could read together.  She dropped her head in her hands, started shaking her head and saying, "I don't like this.  It's just a piece of paper." The whole time this is going on, Girl-child is punching her in the leg and whispering to her to stop it and be gracious about her gift.  DIL realizes what is happening and she begins to explain that she was going to get a magazine that came in the mail, addressed to her with her name on it, and she WAS going to like it.  Fortunately, Daughter found this amusing and laughed about it.  I did think that out of all of this, Girl-child was sweet and showing such maturity to try to make her younger sister be gracious about her gift and not hurt Daughter's feelings. 

We spent the rest of the day just hanging out.  The grandkids have reached an age where they play really well together and there isn't a lot of fussing over toys anymore.  Boy-child and Girl-child will be 9 years old in April.  I'm not sure how much longer they will believe in the magic of Santa Claus which makes me sad.  I wish they could all stay little forever.  I know their parents don't wish that but I do.

It was nice to have such a relaxing Christmas.  When Son and DIL lived out of the country and was home for 2 weeks at Christmas, it was very hectic.  They had to try to schedule a lot of appointments, see our family, DIL's family, friends, and be a lot of places in a short period of time.  This year, we no longer had to do that and it was nice.

I'm looking forward to the New Year and to what 2014 will bring.  So, here's to a Happy New Year to each and everyone!

 

Curly, Squeaky, Girl-child, Boy-child, Popcorn



FAREWELL TO LIZZY LU'S

I think I've mentioned in an earlier post that I started a ladies' accessories business about 3 years ago.  The name of my business, Lizzy Lu's.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am the queen of accessories and after shopping at festivals, markets, arts/craft shows, I was pretty sure that I would enjoy selling accessories and would be pretty good at it.  So, my adventure as a small business owner began.

I have learned a TON of things about owning and running a business over the past 3 years.  I have met some great people along the way.  I developed a following of customers and have met some great vendors.  I really didn't expect to make as many friends among the vendors as I have.  So, that was a wonderful added bonus along the way.  You figure out what shows to do and soon discover that a lot of the same people do the same shows as you so you develop these friendships. You learn a lot from each other.

One of the best shows I did was Angleton Market Days in Angleton, TX.  This show started as a small  show put on by the city of Angleton at the Brazoria County Fairgrounds.  They had 3 buildings and a lot of area outside for vendors.  The very first show I did, 2 of the buildings were full and the third building only had about 10 vendors.  This past November, all 3 buildings were full, a covered pavilion had been added and it was full, and all the outside area offered was full.  The show in March 2014 is already full including an additional small building that will hold additional inside vendors.  WOW, has this thing grown.  The people there are G-R-E-A-T, customers, vendors, and the people who put on the show.  If you ever have the opportunity to go to one of Angleton Market Days (March or November), please do.  You will find some great things and have a great time.

The circuit of shows happens 2 times a year.  March/May and October/December.  The shows are usually 2 days, Saturday and Sunday, with a set-up day, Friday.  It is a lot of work but I found it to be a lot of fun. 

I have girlfriends who would help me on show days.  We got to have some fun girl times with a lot of laughing and some crazy experiences with customers!  Let me just say, what happens at Lizzy Lu's, stays at Lizzy Lu's! 

Anyway, the weekend of December 14 & 15 was my last show.  Forever.  For several reasons, which I won't go into, I decided to close my business.  It has made me sad.  But I am thankful for this experience.  Like I said, I have learned A LOT.  Just to show you how great the people are in Angleton, the ladies who put on that show offered to arrange a trunk show to help me get rid of my leftover inventory.  They provided a place, publicized it, furnished refreshments, etc.  Thanks to them, I am down to very, very little inventory.  Thank you so much Martha, Kaci, and Patti.

I'm not sure what I will do now.  But, I want to do something.  It may not be a business, but it will be something. I just haven't figured it out yet.

So, here's a farewell to Lizzy Lu's.  She was a good friend who I will miss terribly.

KINDERGARTEN FIELD TRIP

Yesterday, I got to go on a field trip!  YAY!  Since I always was working, I never got to go on  a field trip unless I took a day off, which didn't happen very often.  So, yesterday, Curly invited me to go with her kindergarten class on a field trip to a Christmas Tree Farm.  Mr. W, Daughter and Popcorn went too. :).

We went to Holiday Acres Christmas Tree Farm in Manvel, TX.  It was a great place for kids.

When we arrived, Curly's class was the first to go on a hayride.  They loaded all the kids and parents and grandparents on 2 trailers pulled by a tractor and off we went.  The man who owned the farm stopped and talked about the types of trees they grew and about how you can tell how old a tree is.  Mr. W decided that none of these kids were going to be horticulturist.  They were pretty much interested in what the man had to say for about 2 minutes.

 

The next leg of our field trip was playing on hay bales.  How fun is a playing on hay bales?  LOTS!

 

After you play on hay bales, you need a snack. Right? So, you roast marshmallows and make smores.  Yummy.

 I didn't want to bring up the fact that Curly is always surrounded by boys. I didn't want to make Son-in-Law nervous yet. :)

 

They then split the class in half and did a scavenger hunt.  Curly ran over to one side and most of the kids ran over yelling, "I want to be on Curly's team."  Daughter was standing back with a big smile on her face.  Did I mention that my kids, Son and Daughter, grew up being quite competitive? Well, Daughter was trying real hard to not be a "proud" momma, but it wasn't working....

After the scavenger hunt, we had a picnic lunch and some free play time.  They had some plastic disks that you would sit on and slide down the hill as well as some green tires that you could climb. 

After the picnic lunch and a little hill sliding and tire climbing, it was time to leave.  There were some tired kids and a tired Mimi leaving Holiday Acres Christmas Tree Farm.  But, boy, am I glad that I had so much fun with some special people.