The Birthday Club

My Mom was part of an amazing group that gathered for over fifty years.  Ten women gathered once a month to celebrate each of their birthdays.

These women met when they were in their 20's and they were all having babies, playing golf and cards.  These women chose to start celebrating each other.  They were ahead of their time.  Each month they gathered, had  cocktails, dressed up, cooked dinner and showered the birthday girl with very special, personal gifts.

I am one of the lucky second generation of The Birthday Club.  Many of my counterparts still live in Iowa and often have the second generation get together. It is a little frightening to realize that we now have three generations that are following in their footsteps.

My Mom is gone now but of course I miss her everyday.  Great Ya-Ya is always in attendance at our family gatherings.  We tell the G kids lots of stories from the past.

The Birthday Club was the ultimate friendship.  These women took turns hosting the monthly gathering and planned for their special party all year.  I remember Mom getting dressed up and heading to the Birthday Club each and every month.

My oldest friend, not in age, but in "our Mom's were pregnant together" is still and will always hold a special place in my heart.  We watched our Mom's set an example for us of living life to the fullest.  Being the same age we held a special bond.  Some of the second generation kids were older than we were and some were younger but we celebrated being right in the middle of the pack.

The Birthday Club members are mostly gone now, but we celebrate their spirit and I hope to pass along their joy of fun, friendship, loyalty and respect. 

Please raise a glass today to "The Birthday Club" and over 50 years of friendship.  I hope to see the second generation sometime soon.  I think we should hold our next reunion here in Arizona.

You've Got a Friend by Carole King..............

"When you're down and troubled,
And you need some love and care,
And nothing, nothing is going right
Close your eyes and think of me,
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest night.

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there
You've got a friend"

If your Mom is still around,  give her a hug on behalf of the entire Birthday Club and raise a glass to your family.

Coming Soon:

• Fall from the Past
• Ya-Ya returns to class
• Wicked....Phantom
• Garage Before and After
• Prepping for the Big Sale

Love, Ya-Ya

Twas the Night Before Christmas, really it is August

My  cousin was just visiting me.  She has two Grandkids and we are constantly comparing notes.  She asked me if I was doing the "book" project again this year.  I thought about it for about ten seconds and then I told here,  of course.  I will have two five year olds and two seven year olds by December of this year.  They are not too old for a little book fun in December from Ya-Ya.

This will be my fourth year of the book project and trust me it gets harder each year.  The "book" project is a book a day from December 1 through Christmas Eve.  I wrap one book for each family for each day in December until Christmas Day.  I put all of the books into a basket or a huge tin with the date to open clearly marked on the package.  Every night the kids get to open the book with that days date.  When the basket/tin is empty it is Christmas Eve.

When we went to the Polar Express, I had the Polar Express book for that day.  When we went to The Nutcracker I had a Nutcracker picture book for that day.  I try to get some books that are more for the younger set and some for the older kids.  When they were smaller there were a few board books. Now I include a few activity books just to keep them busy in December.

The first year I scoured Marshall's, Barnes and Noble and anywhere I could find to come up with 24 books.  I made  a huge mistake.  I did NOT keep track of the books in my book project.

Year two,  I went to my best friend, Amazon, and bought books.  I made a few mistakes by purchasing books that I had given the kids the year before.

Fast forward to year three.  Now I think I am so smart, I will only buy books with a release date of 2015.  That does not totally work because they sometimes put on a new cover or release it in paperback when it used to be a hardcover so no promises on this either.

So when my cousin was visiting I decided to start buying the books.  I searched for new releases Children's Christmas books in Google.  I have started to buy.  I am taking note of the books as I purchase them.  I have purchased 21 books so far.  So I am almost to the half way point.  I need a few more than 28 because on Activity book days I get a book for each child.  Many of the books I ordered are not released until Oct or Nov but I know that they are in my queue so I do not have to think about it.

Find a big bucket or tin for your books and decorate.  This is a good time to start looking.

You are probably thinking I am crazy at this point, but it takes a while to wrap 48 books (plus) and I tie them all with pretty bows and then I make big tags with the date the book is to be opened.

I am recycling my Longaberger baskets into projects like this one.  But it does require a big basket.

I have searched for pics of my book project and I am coming up with nothing.  As they start to accumulate I will post and give you some encouragement if you decide to do the "Book project".

Advice for a successful book project:

• Start to accumulate your books early.  Now is a good time to start.  It is easy to buy a few per week.  Buying 24 is daunting.
• Start to wrap early.  It takes time to wrap 24 books.
• Find a cool basket or a big tin to hold all of the books.  When the basket is empty it is Christmas Eve.  One year I sprayed the tins with a glittery paint, one family in red and one in Green.  Then I tied jingle bells onto the handles.  The past two years I have used big Longaberger baskets because I am trying to diminish my stash.  I am down to about 200.
• Record all of the books that you have purchased in case you make this a tradition.  Next year you will not repeat books because you can't remember all 24.
• You might want to read the books before you wrap them.  I have purchased a couple of doozies over the years.  At that time my G kids couldn't read so my kids just had a good reason to make a little fun of me.  "Mom, Did you read the books?"  No- why-I guess that some of the stories were a little inappropriate for a three or four year old.......I tried.

It is a very fun way to share the love of reading with your kids and Gkids....It is also fun to add a way to help them understand how long it is until Christmas.  It seems so quick to us as adults and soooo long when you a re five years old.

Hug those kids today and start a few projects.  

"I have my books and my poetry to protect me".....I am a Rock by Simon and Garfunkel.  I just could not do a Christmas song....you would confirm my craziness.  

Coming soon:

• The Ferry Crossing
• View from a Bike
• The Birthday Club
• The Bucket List
• Cheap Online Shopping

Love, Ya-Ya

My Catalogue Obsession

My catalog obsession

I love catalogs.  I don't buy many things, I used to but I am trying to reform.  But I do look at many of the catalogs that pass my doorstep.

I am a little scared that catalogs will soon be a thing of the past along with newspapers, magazines and books.

Looking on my I pad is just not the same as admiring a catalog.

My favorites are:

• Frontgate- great out door furniture, table settings 
  
• Grandinroad- love their Halloween stuff 
  
• Ballard- great household 
  
• Chasing Fireflies- Kids costumes
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Pottery Barn- home and holidays - I also like the Pottery Barn kids and Teens
  
• Crate and Barrel- housewares 
• Williams Sonoma- cooking, table settings 
  
• Sur la table- cookware
• Chico's- clothing
  
• Soma- dresses and winter leggings and tunics comfortable clothes
• Soft Surroundings -great clothes and home goods

You get the message.  I mark the pages I love and sometimes even pull a page out for further reference.  I will admit I need to be more organized on the pages I pull for easier access.

Some of my things are very organized and some are awful.  The pages I pull would be in the awful group.

This song is not exactly about shopping for housewares but I still enjoy the memory.  Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, You'd Better Shop Around......
"My Mama told me you'd better shop around"

Coming Soon:
The Birthday Group- A Tribute to our Mom's
Reno A Condo and up your earnings- not really too hard???
Surfer Party
Zoo Mania

Love, Ya-Ya