My Funny Valentine

Unless you know me in real life, you wouldn't know that something big has happened in the Hicks household...

We got a dog.

I've never had an inside dog, but since we had dogsat our friends' maltipoo, Lily, multiple times and loved it, we finally decided to adopt a puppy of our own. Auggie is about 5 1/2 months old and he's in the process of getting housetrained. He has just learned how to sit and is now mastering "stay." He looooves his rawhide bones and ALL of his toys - and lives for playing fetch. It's his favorite thing. Besides napping. And being rightnext to us.

Auggie is adorably precious and such a good snuggler. He's actually curled up right next to me on the couch as I write this post. He's a great addition to our household and everybody loves him. (Even if I have used more potty words in the last two months than I ever have in my adult life. Is this like being the mother of a toddler??)

But this post isn't totally about him. It's about my other Valentine - my first Valentine, my husband. Who cracks me UP. (He's also a great addition to our household and everybody loves him.) He and I had the following conversation this morning (a continuation in the *previously* ongoing search for Auggie's middle name):

Jeremy: What about Emerson?

Kristen: Auggie Emerson Hicks. I kind of like it. Like Ralph Waldo?

Jeremy: (Pause) Ralph Waldo who?

Kristen: Ralph Waldo Emerson. He was a poet.

Jeremy: (Quickly) Well, I didn't know it...(Laughter from both of us.) You set that up perfectly.

Kristen: Yeah, yeah. Well, Emerson after who, then? I want it to mean something.

Jeremy: It's the brand of our microwave.

And that, my friends, is how Auggie (probably) ended up with his middle name. As Jeremy says, "The microwave has lasted for sixteen years, so maybe Auggie will live that long, too." Here's hoping!

Autumnal Cheer: Thanks Living

First of all, if you like hot tea and/or pumpkin spice flavored things, you need to check out this Bigelow Pumpkin Spice tea. Mmmm! My mom surprised me with it - and it is goo-ood. I think she bought it at Kroger...

Next of all, I have really enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving all month by expressing gratitude in a series of Facebook stati (or statuses - what is really the proper term??) Though I didn't post every day this month, I wanted to pull together my list here in celebration of the actual day. It's a long, happy list - and I fully intend to keep expressing gratitude even when November is over. Hence, the title...Thanks Living. See what I did there? ; )

November 2nd: Today I'm thankful that God gives us stunning autumn colors in the form of pumpkins and pretty mums and changing leaves. I highly recommended walking (or driving) through the falling 
leaves and thanking God, right then and there, for his beautiful autumn idea.

November 3rd: Today I'm thankful for our families, who love to cook and laugh and spend time together. All year long, but especially around the holidays!

November 4th: Today I'm thankful for both a husband and a daddy who can always fix *anything* around the house! Right now Jeremy Hicks is replacing the rails and spindles on our side porch and it's looking SO good.

November 5th: Today I'm thankful for a brilliant Creator who inspires us to design and create things ourselves, just on a much smaller scale. =)

November 6th: Today I'm thankful for a sunshiney Lord's Day. Time to finish getting ready for worship! =)

November 8th: Today I'm thankful for a sweet, sneaky husband who surprised me with flowers and a card that made me cry happy tears before he left for work this morning. Happy third anniversary, Jeremy Hicks! =)

November 9th: Today I'm thankful for tastebuds and favorite flavors, mixed in lots of variations: basil, cilantro, chocolate, browned butter, garlic, lemon, roasted red pepper, olive oil, sesame, rosemary, vanilla, pumpkin, cranberry, parmesan. So many lovely flavors that God created!

November 10th: Today I'm thankful for words...the way they can paint pictures, express ideas, capture imaginations, and inspire to action!

November 13th: Today I'm thankful for so many Christian friends and family - you all encourage me, challenge me, and make the journey to Heaven *so* much more fun!

November 15th: Today I'm thankful that K-Mart, of all places, has PINK tinsel. Wait, change that to "had." I bought every bit of it - and then said a silly little prayer of thanksgiving in the parking lot that I'm quite certain God didn't think was silly at all. Pretty sure we're supposed to be grateful for the little things, too! =)

November 17th: Today I'm extremely thankful for all of these precious babies who have been born safe and healthy this year - Elijah (Ashley & Ethan), Tyler (Andrea & Paul), Ethan (Alyssa & Michael), Ellery (Ashley & Jason), Shelbie (Allison & Adam), and the latest of them early this morning - Adelae  (Sasha & Jared)! I am blessed to know you and yours!

November 18th: Today I'm thankful for fun holiday traditions. I'm ready to go to the Holiday Merchandise Mart with my mom a little later this morning!

November 19th: Today I'm thankful for the inventors of the hot glue gun, Bare Escentuals makeup, my electric kettle, and white chocolate popcorn.

November 22nd: Today I'm thankful for Better Homes & Gardens' Fresh Frasier Fir (not Fur) candle, for list-making tendencies, and for colors...especially red.

November 23rd: Today I'm thankful for a long table filled with yummy pizzas, visiting friends, and much laughter at Besso's last night. Sorry, we were the loud ones. =)

November 24th: Today I'm thankful for hope and grace and God's promises. Amen!

There's one more thing, though. I'm thankful for you, dear blog readers. I love that you come here and read what I write. I love that you encourage me on Facebook or in person. I really appreciate you, whether I know you in "real life" or not. I hope you have a simply fantastic Thanksgiving!

What are you thankful for? =)

A Third (and Fourth) Anniversary

Photos by Starla Steward Photography

Happy third wedding anniversary to my husband, Jeremy. Today, I'm remembering the chilly weather...our excited friends and family gathering around us...the huge yellow gingko tree...the white pumpkins and yellow mums and red berries...the song the bridesmaids walked down to...the hot apple cider and that delicious almond wedding cake...the feeling of finally wearing my wedding dress...and finally seeing my handsome groom. As everyone always says, the day passed too quickly, but I was glad somebody had told me it would. Because I made sure I was fully in the moment during our ceremony. I remember what my grandaddy said and what my daddy said...and what you and I promised each other. I wasn't nervous. I was calm. 

During the three years since, I haven't always been so calm. Because THE WEDDING, decidedly, is not what a marriage all about, even if the magazines and the blogs make it seem that way. It's about real life, day to day. And reality is messy and confusing and difficult. But when you're there, holding my hand through it all, I know that calm once again. The feeling that comes over me and tells me that we're right together. That even though we don't have everything in the world in common, we do have the most important things in common. And today, we're celebrating that. =)

In fact, we're celebrating an extra year of such, because we met four years ago this very week. So, in addition to the wedding details, I'm remembering seeing "Beauty and the Beast" in Loyd Auditorium and eating taco soup with Megan and Mark...I'm remembering you repairing my broken necklace and us sitting knee to knee at the FHU Homecoming basketball game. I'm remembering a nervous first kiss before you headed back to Chattanooga. And I'm remembering that before you came back to visit in another two weeks, I already knew you were "The One." Exactly one year later, we got married. 

It's been beautiful - not just the wedding, but the process of our lives getting entwined. I love you, with much love, always! Thank you for asking me to be your wife.

July 1: You, Too, Miiight Be Able to Grow a Pineapple

Well, borrowing the idea from Kristi Montague, I decided I needed a swift kick in the pants to get back on a decent blogging schedule...which means that I have big plans to blog for the 31 days of July. (Be sure to check out Kristi's Indian-inspired photoshoot for July 1st.) I've got so, so, so much to tell you this month...I mean, seriously.

I need to ask you...do you live in Hawaii? Yeah, I don't either. When you live in Tennessee, you don't see many pineapple plantations scattered around, BUT...you can still grow a pineapple - because obviously we live in an almost tropical climate ourselves. (O.K., not really, but it certainly feels like it.) When I found this out (thanks to my Aunt Becky) I became Very Excited. We tried it - and it works. Well. I mean, we haven't *eaten* the pineapple yet, but it's coming along.

See? Is that not one of the cutest plants you've ever seen?? You cannot dissuade me from thinking so. Don't even try.

All you do is twist off the top of a pineapple (you *do* have to buy a pineapple to get a second FREE pineapple) and remove any fruit bits (or it could cause the plant to rot) and plant it in a pot with well-draining soil. You may also want to root it in water first if you prefer. In the colder months, keep it inside near a window with plenty of light and water it about once a week. When it gets warm, move it outside and water more frequently. It does need to be able to dry out between waterings or the leaves start to turn yellow. (Not that we have any experience with that.)

Here's the catch...it may take up to TWO YEARS to grow a pineapple. So, if you were ever wondering why pineapples are so expensive, well, there's your answer. We've been growing this one for a year - or maybe a year and a half...we really can't remember. Over a month ago, we noticed that teeny-tiny pineapple starting to form. It was an exciting day and I almost couldn't believe our good fortune.

I don't know exactly what's up with it right now, but it looks healthy, if very stemmy. According to some "very scientific" journals on the subject, we might call this a teenager pineapple.

Since I don't have much interest in eating the top part, though, I certainly hope the fruity part has a growth spurt soon. I'll keep you updated.

P.S. Ms. Ethel, a lady we go to church with, has planted two pineapple plants in the past and says the pineapples she got from them were SO sweet and so much better than the ones from the store. Crossing my fingers that I can soon say the same!

Hicksville Happenings

Lately, I've kind of been taking a blogging break. Not really intentionally, but it just kinda happened that lots of things were going on all-at-once and I just didn't know what to write about. Because there was too much to write about and not enough time. I like to write, but I can't usually just whip something out and press "Publish Post." But I'm going to make myself do that. At least today. We'll see how it goes.

I like to read other people's posts with random lists of their thoughts or what they're up to or just...whatever...that day. So...I will be a copycat.

1. I am OBSESSED with our plums trees in the yard. I've been composing a whole blog post about them. I promise, it won't be as boring as it sounds. There will be plum jelly and plum cobbler involved. And lots of crazy adjectives, like "glorious." And gratuitous plum tree photography. I might frame some of it. I love the colors!

2. Our kitchen sink (and dishwasher) had some major problems last Wednesday night. When we had friends visiting after church. (Hello, Bethany, Brittany, Ian, and new baby Owen!) And people staying the night with us on Thursday night. I was going to cook for them, but I could not. The plumbing situation didn't get resolved until Saturday, but the glue on the new pipe fitting wasn't cured until Sunday, and though I slowed down with the cooking, I didn't completely stop everything, and we didn't use paper plates, so we had a truckload of dirty dishes, and even though I usually hate washing dishes, this conundrum drove me CRAZY. But I'm just glad that Jeremy was the one who fixed it. He ran a new line and tied it into the separate washing machine line, and how did I get so lucky to marry a handyman?? Amen.

3. I've just figured out how to spend less time on a blog post. More commas and conjunctions. Less full sentences.

4. This weekend I made individual blueberry peach crisps, following this recipe from last year. I used to always prefer chocolate over fruit desserts, but times, they are a'changin'. That stuff is excellent, especially when the fruits are squarely in season.

5. Jeremy and I got new smart phones. We actually stepped out of the Flip-phone Stone Age (seriously, we both had our phones for four or five - or six? years) and now have Droids. It's taken a little while to get used to them, but I think it's safe to say that they're working out quite alright. I love taking pictures with mine (8 megapixels!) and Jeremy has discovered Angry Birds. And we've both started playing Words with Friends and I'm not really even a game person.

6. This HOT weather is so stinkin' uncomfortable. I have been longing to visit a milder climate. Until September maybe.

7. Our little gardens (you may remember the cedar garden and the cardi-garden from last year) weren't doing too great. Again. Enter the addition of nitrogen, which was recommended from various sources. Here's what Jeremy came home from the Co-op with.

Phone picture...sometimes they're great...

sometimes I can't figure out how to turn off the flash.

Dried blood. Isn't that sweet? But the plants loooooooove it and want to marry it. It smells kinda like a dead animal.

8. Our Rose of Sharon has started blooming. I love those trees (or bushes?) for several different reasons...my parents had one outside their bathroom window years ago in Picayune, MS. So when we moved to TN when I was a baby, they planted another one outside their new bathroom window. They have several around their yard now and we have one big one and a few smaller transplants to find places for in our yard. 

I love the idea of them because of their name, too. When I was taking these pictures last night, I kept singing, "Jesus, Rose of Sharon" as I played with the last light of the day. (I just learned a few things about that song that you might be interested in, too.)

Doesn't this little branch look like it created its own corsage? It's so crafty.

Well, I have deduced that I need to limit my random lists to about three items in the future. You live, you learn.

Happy Monday!

Kristen

Starstruck: Meeting The Pioneer Woman

You guys!! Last Friday evening was so exciting. My friends Sandy and Bridget and I drove to Memphis to a huge and very nice Davis-Kidd bookstore with one goal in mind. To see Ree Drummond, also known as The Pioneer Woman, IN PERSON. To be able to giddily say things like, "This is so surreal!" while we watched her sign other people's books, like, 20 feet away. To chat with other fans, the nice people that we all are, while we tried to catch a glimpse of what Marlboro Man really looks like without seeming too stalkerish. (He was there, y'all! And we didn't even know he was going to be. It was Very Exciting.)

I've been a faithful reader of The Pioneer Woman's blog since a little over a year ago. Since then, I've tried many recipes that she's told me to (strawberry shortcake cake and BBQ chicken pizza now being made OFTEN at our house), we built a container garden to her specifications last spring, I've gotten into photography (especially of food and flowers) and often use her "actions" in Photoshop Elements to jazz things up a bit, and really...she has definitely been a blogging inspiration. I love her way with words and it made me remember how much I enjoy writing, too.

So when I found out that she'd be in Memphis during her current book tour for Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, I jumped at the chance to see this lady live and in person. Our friend Becky was supposed to go with us, but due to a bout of the flu...on top of a sinus infection...on top of viral bronchitis...she was, sadly, unable to go. We missed you, Becky! =(

We got there to the bookstore around 5:30, not knowing what kind of madness would ensue. Actually, there wasn't any madness. No chaos. No long lines. (Yet still plenty of people - towards the end of the evening, an employee guesstimated that there were 500-600 people there for this particular booksigning.)  Davis-Kidd had this brilliant idea of assigning a letter (we were Group "O") to groups of 25. And so, we didn't have to stand in line for three hours.

As we were waiting for Ree to appear, we ran into my friend Whitney, who lives in Memphis. She was very excited that her husband had singlehandedly arranged for The Pioneer Woman to travel to our area just two days before Whitney's birthday. What a good man, huh? ;)

Whitney = cute pregnant lady

Ree came out at 6:00pm, said a few words, answered a few questions, and then while Group A quickly lined up to meet her, we hightailed it over to the cafe inside the bookstore...Bronte: A Novel Bistro. Because of the clever name, I loved it already. We leisurely ate dinner (the chicken avocado wrap was spicy and marvelous) and chatted and didn't even leave the cafe' for an hour and a half. At least. But that was really because Bridget's peach cobbler didn't arrive in a timely manner. Her peach cobbler that wasn't really worth the wait, she lamented. Oh, well. We were in no hurry. (Did I mention we were in Group O?)

All we had concrete plans to do were to track down Marlboro Man...and snap a few discreet pictures...and then do a little bookstore browsing while we waited patiently for our group to be called. It didn't take long to find the one lone white cowboy hat perched atop a somewhat familiar face. Somewhat familiar because, really, I'm not sure any of us had seen his whole face before. On Ree's blog, his hat is always pulled down, casting a shadow. So, I'm here to show you What the Marlboro Man Really Looks Like.

Oh, wait, now I know why there's no clear pictures of him on her blog. ;) Luckily, we were all both amused and delighted to find that MM had drummed (drummond?) up his own unofficial autograph/picture line. We jumped in and within just a little while, we were able to photograph him in all of his cowboy-hat-and-starched-shirt glory. We enjoyed hearing him tease the little blond-headed girl in front of us. "Do you paint fences? Do you like to ride horses?" He was offering to put her to work right away. =)

We got autographs and a few fun shots with him. I asked him if he'd ever seen his life turning out this way, say, ten years ago. He grinned and shook his head. "No," he said, congenially.

Signing Sandy's books

There's his face! Don't their boys look just like him??

MM with Bridget; I tried to get Bridget to ask about Cowboy Josh!

Me, getting him to sign on his silhouette...Sandy's idea

After our meeting with the Marlboro Man, whose real name is Ladd, incidentally, we looked around the store for a bit and then finally settled onto some empty benches near Ree's booksigning location. We were able to watch and listen and just hang out for awhile. It was everything a booksigning should be -and Davis-Kidd, I'm very impressed with you. =)

The time was drawing near for our group to be summoned and I think we were all feeling a bit nervous. I really wished we could just sit and talk with her for awhile, to not be rushed, because I say stupid things when I'm rushed and nervous and starstruck. Ugh. The funny thing is that I know that Ree Drummond is the same way - I've felt a kind of kinship with her about that. But Friday night she was all dressed up and fancy and beautiful and seemingly at ease. And I was nervous.

Ree told Sandy that she looked like Marsha Brady. 

And then she asked her if she knew who Marsha Brady was. 

Ha! Of course we do. We're not quite as young as we look. =)

So when it was my turn, I walked up and she asked, "How are you?" and I said something along the lines of, "Just...good...how are you?" A combination of "Just fine" and "Good." That's brilliant, Kristen. Brilliant. I think she glanced at my face to make sure I wasn't in the middle of a stroke or a meltdown or something. When she was satisfied that I wasn't, she started signing my book and I started telling her (with a little bit more ease) about the necklace I was wearing. It was made by a friend's brother and I thought it was something unusual that she'd be interested in. She was. She wondered, nicely, how he made it and how he came up with the idea. We talked for a minute about it and I left her with one of his business cards. We got a group picture made with Ree and then after we walked off, I could finally breathe again. Whew! That was fun!

Ree and me

I enjoy this picture quite a lot. =)

Yes, sure, I said my wedding vows in front of a few hundred people, feeling completely at ease; I can teach kindergarteners in Bible class without breaking a sweat; I emceed our Chamber of Commerce banquet when I was the executive director and I did fine...but put me in front of PW and my words tumble out in a jumbled mess. Ohhh. I just realized what I did wrong. I practice(d) for those other things. Why didn't I do a quick run through before the book signing?? Yeesh. Well, next time I'll know. =)

The thing is, it really was all fun. Despite my last-minute nervousness, the whole evening was nice and casual and low-key. Lots of downtime but still plenty of things to fill it with. And it was great to hang out with Sandy and Bridget, both of whom I got to know a little bit better.

All because of our common interest in what's going on at the ranch. And how it all started. =)

My Handy Valentine

Remember this?

The craft room. The old, disheveled "craft room" where crafts were never made because you could barely walk through it?

Well.

Now...instead...there's this!

Bless my husband for putting up wire shelves to house my abundant selection of "permanent" flowers. Luckily, this shelf also allows for hangings things from it, so now all my wreaths (some purchased, some made) have a nice home, too. My friend Jen helped me organize all of this (by color, season, holiday) even though she might have rolled her eyes a few times. ;) It also holds my selection of raffia (far left end) because I use it for everything! Wreaths, bows for presents, tying a tag on something. Get thee some raffia.

And we've found that keeping the Christmas tree up (and away) is the easiest way to start things when decorating time comes again the next year. So, there it will sit, all year...in the craft room. It makes me happy. Again, my friend Jen poked fun at me for making sure the ribbons were spaced evenly. Hey, it'd drive me crazy All Year Long if it looked wonky. (Are you starting to see why it takes me so long to do something?)

(Yes, I still have some Christmas presents I haven't given out. 

What of it?)

Next, there's this lovely window with lovely natural light pouring in. I might get a little worktable to set in front of it when I can establish that said lovely natural light will not pour straight into my eyes when I sit there. We'll see...

This is maybe the most unconventional and exciting part of the craft room remodel. Thanks to Jeremy's fantastic idea, my gift bag station resembles my favorite store...Hobby Lobby! ;)

I have a plastic tote underneath with all the bows and whistles. Handy, handy, is it not??

Here's the closet. SO MUCH BETTER. I love it. All the Christmas decorations, autumnal decorations, Easter decorations, etc. - they're all sorted and in their proper place.

And this side of the closet will hold my enormous assortment of after-Christmas-sales of shatterproof ornaments to make more of these wreaths for next year...(I laughed when I saw it, in spite of myself...what's that line from?)

And that side of the closet also holds plastic containers of stamping paraphenalia, card-making and scrapbooking stuff (though I don't technically scrapbook - but I have good intentions), painting supplies, and various crafting odds and ends. And the top shelf (not seen) holds lots of styrofoam for making flower arrangements. All pretty stinkin' easy to get to!

Several years back I bought this old red cabinet from my friend Amanda when they were moving. It holds floral design stuff - and fabric scissors (Jeremy doesn't understand the concept of fabric scissors, but I'm trying to teach him! ;) - and glue guns, plural. Because one is never enough. Or something. And now that the room is organized I can actually use the workspace on top to Make Things. Isn't that just crazy?? Sigh.

I'm very blessed that my husband knows how to build things and make things and organize things. And since we've recently discovered our love languages, I know that his "acts of service" in helping me with this big project means, in fact, that he looooves me! So when I look at my craft room and think about his help, I can always remember that. =)

Happy Valentine's Day to my sweet, handy, and extremely funny Valentine! I love you so, so much!!

Happy Heart Day to all of you, too! Thanks for coming here and reading and commenting. I enjoy our visits quite a lot. =)

P.S. There's one more thing (again, a great Jeremy idea) that will make this craft room complete. Care to venture any guesses?