Childhood Stories & Blog Links

For Saturday's day in May theme, it was to describe a childhood memory through how you felt and what I remember.

The first one that came to mind was when I was about 10 or so. We were up in Star Valley, Wyoming for a family reunion on my mom's side. If you've never been to Star Valley, put it on your bucket list because it is pretty much incredible, with all the lush green trees and the small little towns.

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So two of my cousins and I were walking in the shallow part of a pond close to our campground. We had taken our shoes off and were walking slowly along the smooth rocks. One thing I can remember is my outfit (I'm a child of the 80's and early 90's so bear with me): white t-shirt that had neon yellow, orange and pink in big brushstrokes across it (it probably said something but I can't remember that well), a scrunchie held back my hair, and my jeans were the light stonewash color.

All three of use were slowly getting deeper, causing us to hold our shorts up a little higher. A couple of my guy cousins were swimming in the pond and trying to act cool. I saw my dad walk through the trees and ask us what we were doing.

"Just walking in the water," I said.
"Why don't you jump in and swim?" he asked. "Show them how you can swim."
"Really? Did Mom say it was okay?"
"Yeah, just jump in!"

So I fell forward with a big splash and came up gasping for air because the water was much colder than I had anticipated. I did a few strokes across the pond and after a few minutes had to get out because I was shivering.

My dad just laughed and walked me out of the grove of trees towards our tent. My mom and her sisters were sitting on camp chairs in a little circle and my mom looked at me with wide eyes and said, "What happened?"

"Dad said that you said I could jump in." My mom's eyes shot up to my dad and then she shook her head, knowing that he had just been teasing all along.

Share your childhood story!

Today's Challenge is to share 5 of our favorite blog links:

May is for All Women #3
Cowboy Roundup Baby Shower
Cupcake Hotpad Tutorial
Dates, Dates & More Awkward Dates
Magnet Photo Board

Monday Mingling

Welcome to the sixteenth week of Monday Mingling! Please take the time to introduce yourselves to our co-hosts! If you are new to this blog hop, please leave us a comment letting us know you are following and we would be happy to follow you back. We have co-host options available. If you are interested in co-hosting, sign up here and I will email you with a date. Thank you for joining us this week, and don't forget to link back to us by grabbing our button. Happy Mingling!

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Britney @ The Princess and Her Cowboys

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I started this blog a few months ago to give me motivation to get some procrastinated projects done and have really enjoyed getting to know other people through blogs. I like to show crafts, recipes and write about different things that are on my mind. Plus, I'm starting to get my husband on board with these projects which makes it even more fun :).
Amanda @ Rhyme and Ribbons

Blog | Bloglovin' | Twitter | Facebook I came to England from America to be an actress and found love instead. Here, you'll read about baking, cooking, DIY, life abroad, and traveling. (With the *occasional* shout out to Diet Coke, fashion, Oreos, colourful things, trash tv, pandas, polka dots, literature and all my other favourites!) I only own two pairs of socks and I can never eat just one cookie.

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Strawberry Chocolate Pudding Pie

So last Sunday, we were supposed to take a dessert to share to my in-laws. Since I am so awesome at waiting until the last minute, this is what I came up with. And what better combination of ingredients than strawberries and chocolate right?

I used this recipe to make the pie crust but any old graham cracker one would work.

I sliced some strawberries and used a chocolate pudding mix. I'm not usually worried about the sugar so I'm surprised that I bought sugar free....oh well! It still tasted delicious!

Pile in the strawberries....

With the pudding, I mixed it up and then added about 3/4 c of whipped cream. Cowboy loves the stuff that you have to whip up forever in the Kitchenaid (it does taste pretty awesome) but if you only have the stuff in the tub, use it!

Pour the pudding over the strawberries and then put it in the fridge for a bit. We left ours for a couple of hours while we visited my parents and then came back and got it. I'm thinking an hour should be perfect.

Top with the rest of the whipped cream, a few sliced strawberries and some chocolate sauce!

Strawberry Chocolate Pudding Pie

1 graham cracker crust, from the store or homemade
1 large package of chocolate pudding mix
1 tub of whipped cream, or 1 pint whipping cream made in the mixer
1 lb strawberries, sliced
Favorite chocolate syrup

1. Make graham cracker crust if doing so from scratch. Make sure to let it cool off before adding other ingredients.
2. Fill the bottoms with sliced strawberries.
3. Mix pudding according to package directions, adding about 3/4 c of whipped cream.
4. Pour into pie dish and then refrigerate for about an hour.
5. Top with remaining whipped topping, strawberries and drizzle with chocolate sauce.

Linking up here

Every Day In May-Favorite Picture

So today's post is supposed to be a favorite picture of myself...and even though I'm a little camera shy, I couldn't decide between these two:

This is a picture with one of my good friends from Boston. When her sister got married, she was the Maid of Honor and I was one of the bridesmaids. I loved the tops that we wore and who doesn't like having someone do their hair?

Pretty awesome tan lines if I do say so myself though. That actually doesn't look as bad as before because we went to the store and applied numerous gobs of the Jergens Glow stuff....it actually helped quite a bit if you can believe it.

Favorite Pic #2:

Yay for getting married and for guy's jackets! Brings back a lot of memories.

I'd love to see what your favorite picture is!

May is for All Women #3

I'm posting again to honor women this month. I hope you all had a great Mother's Day or were able to share it with the amazing women in your life. Here is post #2 from the series.

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So I found this quote and I had to sit here and think about it for a bit. For me, the first line says a lot about how I live my life anyway. It's the motivation of thinking, "Ok, here goes another day. I can make it through this day."

Sometimes the alarm goes off and it's all I can do to pull/roll myself out of bed before I drift off to sleep again. It becomes a routine and I crave the weekends like Moosetracks ice cream. And I can see that end in sight (especially since today is Thursday) which helps me know that I'm almost there.

How often do we think about how strong we have become along that journey through the week? There are a million little things that we have to react to, whether positively or negatively, and each of those decisions has brought us to the person we are today.

My journey up until this point has been SO much different than what I ever thought it would be. When I had "planned" out my life, my first child would have come about 6 years ago. But in looking back at my whirlwind of a life, I have realized that without all of the experiences and adventures I was able to have, have made me more confident, more flexible and more excited about life.

I can think of a few women in my life that are women of strength.

They do the best they can everyday, knowing that if they can't get it all done, they haven't failed.
They exude faith, knowing that even though they don't know what lies ahead, that they can handle it with the help of the Lord and those around them.
They know that even if they are in a trying situation, that there is light at the end of the tunnel, there is hope in a brighter tomorrow.
They serve, not for the benefit of themselves, but because they genuinely care for another's welfare.
They welcome challenges, knowing that it will shape and mold them into the gem they were meant to be.

So, are you a strong woman? Or a woman of strength?
Share your thoughts!

P.S. Remember we can make small changes today to get us where we want to be!

Family Tree

Just wanted to share the Mother's Day present I gave my mom on Sunday. I've had the drawing in my closet for a good 2 1/2 years and was finally motivated to get it done!

The drawing was done by Emily Zaugg but in trying to find a site to connect to her, I was unsuccessful. So if you know her, let me know so I can give her credit for her awesome talent!

I used some thin cardboard and scrapbook paper to make the matte board and then put it all into a frame I got from JoAnn's (probably a year ago knowing I had this) during one of their 50-60% frame sales.

For the names under the windows, I used some of the clear labels we had left over from wedding envelopes and printed them out on the computer. It helped to show the window box but still list the name.

The hardest part of the whole thing was tracking down the pictures! At the top are my parents and the chart goes down to their great-grandparents. The drawing came with some cute drapes to put in if you don't have pictures of some family members. I just applied them with tape so we can change them out down the road.

The best part of this was that I got to learn a ton about my ancestry! Then you start to understand where all your quirks come from :)

I would love to hear any stories you've learned about your ancestors recently. Send me a comment or email!

Every Day in May....Well, Sort of

How about we make up a few more days of the blogging challenge?

Day 10: Most Embarrassing Moment (s)

Oh, high school! For some reason this is always the memory that pops into my head when anyone asks about most embarrassing moments.

I had just gotten some taco salad from the cafeteria at school (it was actually pretty good) and was trying to wind through the ridiculously crowded area of tables and chairs. Well, I look up and who do I see? My crush of the semester! So I'm watching as he walks by, while at the same time I'm trying to make progress over to a table where my friends were seated.

Because I wasn't looking down at all, my foot caught hold of the top edge of the chair.....I went flying one direction and the taco salad went flying every which way. Of course, I don't fall gracefully and so everyone, including said crush, was looking at me. I'm sure my pinks were rosy but I stood up, took a bow and proceeded to clean myself and the area around me. We all survive, right?

Day 12: What Do You Miss?

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I miss....being to stay up late and not totally regret it in the morning.
I miss....the days of being a student and not having to think of what to cook every night.
I miss....running...(which is totally unusual for me because I HATE running)
I miss....scraped knees and red dirt.
I miss....the cherry tree that used to be in my parents' yard.
I miss....German meat, Italian cheese and French crepes
I miss....Walden Pond
I miss....the streets of Northern Virginia that never connect

I DON'T miss....being single
I DON'T miss....chicha morada (a beverage from Peru that is awful)
I DON'T miss....practicing day in and day out
I DON'T miss....finals

Day 13: Issue a Public Apology

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I am sorry to all those on the road that think going a consistent speed is a bad thing. By all means, speed up and make it so I get to stay in my lane and then slow down about 10 mph, zig zagging right next to my continuous 71 mph (yay! for cruise control). Maybe I shouldn't be so concerned about how much gas my car is using as I go to and from work.
I am sorry that I consistently use my signal, letting others know WELL in advance that I will be changing lanes. Because who likes having the safety of knowing what other people are about to do....I mean, maybe I should take a hint from the SUV that just passed four lanes, almost clipping my headlight to make his exit. It looked like it was quite the adventure.
I'm sorry that I try to stay at least a car length or two behind you, because who doesn't like to feel like someone is breathing down your neck as you drive?
I'm sorry that you had to see me singing at the top of my lungs to the radio. It was either that or we were going to have to talk to your insurance about how I was ready to fall asleep from looking at the tumbleweeds on the side of the road.

Hope to see some of your posts for this challenge!