Cereal, anyone???

After trying to find a suitable topic to blog about, I opened my pantry and actually took a good look at the enormous amount of cereal the Johnston's have stashed in there.  The kids like certain kinds, the hubby likes certain kinds, and I (most importantly) have my favorite kind.  

I drug out all of our cereal and lined them up for a picture.  

11 boxes of cereal.  Oh my.

Logan is going through a kick of wanting to try new cereals.  Who am I to hold my child back?  The Pops are his newest cereal to try, which he does not really like.  As were the Lucky Charms his choice - I did manage to finish these since he didn't like them either.  The Cocoa Puffs were also his choice but he and Leah like them decent enough.

What I love about cereal is that it is just a good ole' universal food.  You can have it for breakfast, you can have it for a snack, you can have it for lunch or dinner.  Cereal is a tasty treat that is good anytime of the day.  Some cereal has sugar in it...some cereals, as you can tell in the picture, are a good source of Fiber.  Fiber is important.  

I have been trying to do better with my eating, which I feel like I am failing at miserably because my willpower is at a ZERO right now.  Anyways, here are my current cereal choices:

Tasty and crunchy makes me happy!

One of my favorite things about cereal, in addition to just being wonderful, is that lots of boxes have the Box Tops for Education on them!  I have an obsession with box tops and soup labels.

Box tops are the one sole reason that I will choose name brand over generic.  The money savings doesn't give me as much of a thrill as clipping off that precious box top!

So tonight - I salute you, CEREAL, for your variety of flavors, your crunchy goodness, and the way that you flavor my milk when you are all gone.  

My Granny...five years later

Tomorrow is going to be 5 years since I lost my Granny.  Even though I know that the anniversary is coming, it always seems to take me by surprise when it actually gets here.  Every year, I feel a little different.  The first year, I was still struggling with the fact that she was gone, and it was terribly hard.  The next year, I find myself being happy by thinking of her and all the wonderful times we had together.  Another year, I might have a really hard time with it again.  Grief is a work-in-progress I have learned and seems to constantly be changing.  All I have thought about today is what thoughts were on her mind before she died...

Granny - 5 years ago today is the last full day of your life...I wonder if you knew that it was your last full day?  I wonder if you knew that you were going to your Heavenly home so soon?  When you couldn't speak anymore, I wonder what was on your mind...When we talked to you, I hope that you could hear us.  When I played the CD of hymns and bluegrass/gospel music, I hope you heard it.  When I wasn't able to be there with you and hold your hand at the end, I hope you knew that my heart was with you.  When you took your last breath and left this world, I know that Heaven rejoiced when you got HOME.   

So many things that I wonder about...my heart still aches for the wonderful woman that she was...I miss the letters and cards that she used to send...I miss the Godly wisdom and advice that she was able to give.  I miss the way she'd bob along to her favorite Elvis songs and sing...I miss her lead foot in the car and how she would tell us, "You don't have to worry about Granny, Granny knows what she's doing."  I miss the sound of her laugh...I miss the feel of her arthritis-ridden hand in mind at church...I miss her singing...I miss her fussing at Grandad and keeping him in line (or at least trying to).  I miss her referring to my brother as "Little Jason."    I miss her talking about Flossie Naylor's "little dog."  I miss the dedication that she had to her family, her faith, her friends.  I miss hearing her say, "Adam was such a good baby."  

My dear Granny, you are gone, but you are most certainly NOT forgotten.  Love you forever...

Granny on her last birthday...so thankful to have had her in my life!

The Power of the PJ Pants

My PJ pants.  I sure do love them.  The one thing I love about winter, probably the ONLY thing I love about winter is the fact that I get to wear my fleece PJ pants.  I love them all, but my zebra print PJ pants are my absolute favorites.  

I have no shame in wearing my PJ pants.  I wear them to take Leah to school in the mornings.  I wear them when I walk the dogs in the late afternoons.   They are my source of warmth on the cold days.  They keep my legs warm and toasty.  To me, fleece PJ pants are the greatest invention in all the land.

The hubby isn't too fond of the zebra print PJ pants, but I don't let that stop me from sporting them around the house.  And just between me and you, sometimes the zebra print PJ pants work better than saying, "I have a headache!"  

Today - I salute you, zebra print fleece PJ pants - for all the pleasure and warmth you add to my life.  You are truly an amazing creation.  

7 years

I can't believe that seven years have passed since one of the most emotionally challenging events in my life happened...when I lost my baby at 11 weeks along.  While the pain has faded, I still think about my lost baby often and wonder what he/she would have been like.  I find comfort in knowing that my two lost babies are together and most certainly being spoiled rotten by my Granny.  Seven years is a long time, it is amazing how truly blessed I have been, even through great loss.  My Leah has grown to be such a beautiful and smart girl.  If it weren't for my losses, I also wouldn't have my Logan.  My little wild man.  I can't imagine my life without my kids in it!  So while I still wonder and miss my lost babies, I do rejoice in the ones that I have here with me.

Cold is NOT my friend!

It is cold.  I don't like the cold.  Granted, I don't like the intense heat either.  I am searching for a happy, warm medium.  It seems that we don't have 4 seasons anymore.  We are either in summer mode or winter mode.  I miss Spring and Fall.  I have some very valid reasons for disliking the cold.  Read on as I point them out...

1)  It's cold.  Reason enough.

2)  Leg hairs.  I am sort of mixed on this one.  I like the fact that I don't have to shave as often in the winter because my naked legs are never shown.  I don't like it when I finally break down and shave and 5 minutes later my leg hairs start growing back due to cold chills.  Of course, with my fatness these years, I don't frequent the shorts - so even in the summer I can sometimes get away without doing a really in-depth leg shaving.

3)  Electric Bill.  Ugh.  Our last electric bill was  $358'ish.  NOT FUN.  I don't enjoy paying bills, but especially when they are that amount.  Don't get me wrong, I am thankful that we can pay our bills, I'm thankful for my home, and most certainly for my heat.  I just wish the heat didn't cost so much!  Think of all the clearance items I could spend $358 on!

4)  Sinus problems.  The woes of my sinus issues.  Will they ever end?!  The cold flares them up.  The wind flares them up.  Moisture outside flares them up.  Granted, the heat seems to flare them up as well.  Maybe I just have non-stop sinus problems.  But for now, I am going to blame it all on the winter and cold season.  In the Spring, I might write another blog and blame my sinuses on it.

5)  Snow.  I think snow is pretty.  I don't enjoy, however, going out in the snow.  I don't like to drive in it.  I don't like to walk in it.  I don't like to play in it.  I don't like to take the dogs out in it.

6)  #5 brings me to another point.  Dogs.  The dogs don't stop having bodily functions in the winter.  They still have to go out and be walked and do their business.  I dislike walking the dogs in the cold.  I am usually so bundled up when I take them out that it is a wonder the cops haven't arrested me for looking like a terrorist!

7)  Cabin fever.  The cold prevents us from going outside often.  The kids get insane when we are cooped up in the house.  The endless energy they have usually results in a very messy house and lots of bickering between them and with me.  At least in the warmer months, we can go outside and run off some energy.  Sigh.  I miss going for strolls through the neighborhood, all warm and carefree.

The one good thing about the winter, for me, is the lack of frizzy hair!  Of course, I have bad hair, we all know that...don't even pretend you haven't noticed my pitiful locks of corn husks.  However, the winter provides me with a chance of wearing my hair down and not in a ponytail 24 hours a day due to frizzy issues.

That, my friends, is my thoughts and feelings upon the season we call WINTER...now, if you'll excuse me, the electric heater is calling for me!

The Broken Road

Growing up, falling in love (or thinking you are in love), getting your heart broken...things are hard sometimes.  I sometimes wish that we had the ability - back then - to see the future and what it had in store for us.  Broken hearts hurt, sometimes they leave scars, but sometimes they can be mended too!  I love the song, "Bless the Broken Road."  It is a perfect reminder that although sometimes we don't understand why things are happening in our lives, God will bless the broken road!  I am truly thankful for my hubby - I don't tell him that enough - but more and more, I realize how blessed I am to have him.  We might not be perfect, we could each improve things, but sometimes, when you really think about it, those "little things" that annoy each other or the things that you wish you could change, aren't really that important.  What's important is learning how to adapt to each others quirks and leaning on the love that got us together in the first place.  (Well, that and his cute little bowl haircut  and mustache that he had in college!)  For those who are searching for love, or those who have troubles, lean on your faith, lean on God, and know that he's on the broken road with you...and in the end, it will all work out just the way he wants!  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai8904MzY9o

God Bless the Broken Road...that led me straight to you

Grandad George: AKA Gorgeous George

My Grandad!  While those two words mean a lot to me, to some, it might not.  For those that know my Grandad, I don't think that there are adequate words to describe him.  He is truly one of a kind.  An amazing and funny man.

A Veteran of World War II, he has a loyalty to his country and a love for it that runs deep.  Even now, many, many years after World War II has ended, he still has that pride of having fought for his country.  And I have the pride of saying that my Grandad is a Veteran, and a Bronze Star recipient.  During a battle, Grandad's friend Earl Ponder was shot.  Grandad is credited with saving his life by carrying him to safety.  They remained friends from then on, but sadly, Earl passed away not too long ago.

Growing up with my Grandad was an adventure - he was always the funny man that I still know today.   My teen years were loads of fun to him.  You can imagine, as an awkward teen, how embarrassed you can get.  He thought it was so funny to attempt to embarrass me!  He would walk with one foot up on the curb, one foot on the road and hobble along like he had no clue he was bobbing up and down and looking insanely ridiculous!  Back when I was a teen, there were tons of pay phones everywhere.  One of his favorite things to do was to check the return coin slot to see if there was money left in it.  If he happened to find a quarter, you'd of thought he'd won the lottery.  On one occasion, I remember going to eat at Hardees with him (one of our favorite places to eat back then) and him telling the cashier that we couldn't get too much because he didn't find any money in the pay phone.  Walking pigeon toed with his eyes crossed when we were out in public was another of his favorite things to do.  And let us not forget his old rusty blue car.  He would pick me up from school in that thing and if my friends and I happened to see someone we knew, in particular - boys, he would blow the horn to draw attention to us, sending us into the floor to hide!  Finally, I found a little thing to hang in the window that said "My favorite color is rust," and that made riding in that car a little less embarrassing - LOL!

These days, Grandad has kept up the humor and craziness.  Although he is legally blind and can't hobble with one foot on the curb and one foot on the road like he used to, he makes up for it!  He loves to joke and cut up with anybody that is available at the time.  Waitresses usually take the brunt of his "humor."  I remember eating out with him once, when my Granny was still living, and a waitress was filling up his coffee cup and apologized for having to reach over him like she was.  His reply was something along the lines of it was fine with him and she could do it again if she wanted to.  I also believe that he's used the line of  "I lost my number, can I have yours?"  Love his heart!!!

Almost 5 years ago (the 20th will mark 5 years), my Grandad lost his best friend, his life long companion and love of his life...my Granny.  Watching him hurt over this and grieve for her and continue to miss her so terribly has been tough.  While we all miss her, she was THE MOST amazing woman, I can't even begin to imagine how terrible it must have been/is for him to have spent over 50 years of his life married to her, and then have her gone.  The loneliness that must be in that house can not be explained, I'm sure.  They had a good life together, he was deeply devoted to her, as she was to him.  With her arthritis, she needed a lot of help.  Two artificial hips and two artificial knees.  He was always ready to help her up out of her chair and assist her to where ever she needed to go.  While I'm sure it was trying on him at times, he did a wonderful job of taking care of her and I was so comforted to know that when she passed away, he was there, holding her hand...Mom said that he had leaned down, after she was gone, and said, "Til death do us part."  Even now, I am crying when I think of the moment that he lost her.

As devoted to Granny as he was, Grandad is also deeply devoted to his family.  He has a love for all of us that is overwhelming and I have no doubt that he'd give his last dollar or his last breath for one of us if we needed it.  Here lately, I have seen a feisty side of him and I must admit, I am finding it very funny!  He never ceases to amaze me or make me laugh.  

I'm sure, by now, that the majority of Lincoln County has heart his Renfro Valley tape.  If not, ask him, he'll play it for you in a heart beat!  For those of you who don't know, he was asked to come to Renfro Valley and tell a few stories/jokes on stage during one of their shows.  This was, by far, I think, one of the highlights of his latter years.  He had so much fun doing that!!!  He is a huge joke teller and frequents the "open mic" night there in town whenever he can.  He is always up for a new joke and seems to remember all of them.  

If you ever need Grandad and can't find him, well, join the club!  That man has more of a social life than most people!  The XYZ club, Legion meetings, Honor Guard, jam session, open mic night, McDonalds in the mornings - he seems to constantly be on the go.  There are so many people that look out for him, from my friends that drive by and let me know if he's sitting on the porch, to family that drives by and keeps an eye on his house.  He has wonderful friends that take him to town if he needs to and call and check on him during the snowy season.  My Grandad is truly blessed, but really, we are the ones that are blessed for having him in our lives.  If you see Grandad out and about, make sure you say HI to him, he loves to socialize.  Just remember that he's legally blind and can't recognize faces so tell him who you are!  He'll be glad you did, but more importantly - YOU'LL be glad that you did!