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Once Upon a Time We Met – 39 Years Later

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Me and Eddie – attending a wedding our first year of dating.

…the story continues…

Four years ago, I blogged about the night my husband Eddie and I met.  It was Veterans Day eve 1982 and we met at a work happy hour and ever since then we’ve celebrated this momentous meeting.  It’s always a fun reminder of where we started and a look at where we are today. 

Dancing at a family wedding last year

This year we went through an exciting change as a couple.  Eddie retired on August 1.  He had planned to retire earlier in the year but stayed on at work a little longer due to the pandemic.  About the time he retired, I was preparing to go back to work for 13 weeks with the United Way of Central Alabama’s annual fundraising campaign.  Eddie got to experience a little of what I experienced when I retired three years ago, ahead of our original schedule.  It’s hard to believe that we had both planned to retire together in June 2021.  But here we are now…both retired and ready for phase three of our lives together.

Enjoying the Apollo Ball this year at Boutwell Auditorium

When we go out to dinner tonight, I know we will talk about where and how it all started between us.  We will reminisce about the early days together, getting married and our early years together, having our family, building our home in Hoover, watching the kids grow up, countless soccer and softball games, band concerts, choir concerts, show choir concerts, girl scouts, boy scouts and everything else our kids were involved in over the years.  We will talk a little about our careers and how quickly work life went by…even though at the time it seemed like retirement would never arrive!  Most importantly, we will talk about what is next, where we will travel, home projects we have been wanting to complete, new hobbies we are excited to try and most importantly, how often we can be with our first baby grand. We always have a lot to talk about and thankfully, Eddie has a memory like an elephant so I count on him to keep me straight on events and dates.  He may have all of these details in his head but I take photos of everything so together we make quite the pair! 

Last year we headed to Firebirds for an early dinner and sat outside by the fire.  We had the entire patio to ourselves too.  Maybe it was because we went so early?  I remember telling Eddie we must have looked like we were there for the senior specials!  We shared some wine and an assortment of appetizers and then went home to enjoy a bottle of champagne.  It was a perfect evening.

Last year (2019) celebrating our “anniversary” at Firebirds
Cheers to 38 years (in 2019)
Can’t go wrong with appetizers at Firebirds!
We love a good glass of Meiomi sparking!
Cheers to the 38th anniversary of when we first met!
A kiss for him…
and a kiss for her…

I’m not sure where we will celebrate this evening.  I may let Eddie pick the place this year since he’s had a bit of a rough week and I’ll be driving us wherever we go anyway!  You see, Eddie had a bit of a chainsaw accident last week that required stiches and a foot boot.  You can bet we will be talking about that unfortunate incident at dinner too…and I may be blogging about it later! But I’ll let him make it up to me on January 4th for our 35th wedding anniversary…

Meanwhile, happy “first” anniversary sweetheart!

#30 Days of Fiesta – Part 2

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This is the second of a two-part post about #30 Days of Fiesta 2020 and how the Fiesta Board was able to create memorable virtual events for our community.

 As July approached, the Fiesta Board was off and running with our 2020 plans.  The main task was to create content for 30 full days from September 15 through October 15.  In addition to to that, we also had to decide which social mediums to use and how to introduce and promote each segment, create Facebook invitations to attract viewers, and make sure we were posting at the appropriate times based on our Facebook interactions.  Whew!

One of our many zoom meetings to prepare for #30daysofFiesta

In order to give our 30 days a good flow, we created a theme for each day of the week.  This made it easier to create content and helped us include our sponsors and get them actively involved.  Our themes were reflective of our Fiesta villages during a normal festival in Linn Park and made it feel more like we were actually having the event.

Our 30 Days of Fiesta daily themes and sponsors.

Our week began with Wellness Mondays presented by Jefferson County Department of Health, Children’s of Alabama, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama.  Information about services and resources available to help keep you healthy and safe were provided.  For instance, videos and live information about car seat safety, Covid-19 information, proper way to wash your hands and other great facts were shared.

Taco Tuesdays, Tito’s and More, presented by Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Mi Pueblo Supermarket, we showcased Latin cooking and cocktails with recipes, culinary demonstrations and mixology classes all through Facebook live.  Fiesta friend, Comedienne Joy was joined by Fiesta board member, Phil Sandoval during the cocktail demonstrations and they were a hoot to watch!  The restaurants selected for the cooking demonstrations were incredible.  The foods presented seriously made me want to lick my computer screen because the food looked so good!  (just kidding about the computer screen…)

Love our sponsor – Titos!
Comedienne Joy and Fiesta board member Phil Sandoval did a weekly cocktail making class during #30daysoffiesta

Cultural Wednesdays, presented by Regions Bank showcased the people, history, culture and traditions of the Latin American countries.  It was the perfect way to show beautifully colorful videos about Latino countries and what they have to offer.  This was our way to share the cultural village with viewers.  For fun, there was also a trivia contest each Wednesday.

Throwback Thursdays, presented by Rubio Law Firm was my baby.  I say that because we used many of the photos I’ve taken of Fiesta since the first event 18 years ago.  I was able to go through so many of the photos and relive those years by creating a slideshow and share a little history behind them.  I loved doing this for Fiesta and I’m constantly amazed at the people I discover in my photos who I photographed and didn’t know then but who are now friends of mine!  We like to say that Fiesta has made a huge impact in our community and I think if you look through these videos you can see that.

Financial Fridays, presented by Wells Fargo provided “fiscal fitness” in the areas of establishing and building credit, home buying, savings, budgeting and more great tidbits.  The Financial Village was a wonderful addition to Fiesta last year thanks to board member, Phil Sandoval.  We held a separate event that brought together financial experts for the Hispanic community.  This year, Wells Fargo produced videos for each week and we also joined forces with HICA, the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, and Bancorp South for two virtual seminars.  Very informative!

Celebration Saturdays, presented by Alabama Power Company helped us celebrate the best of Hispanic art, music, film, food, dance and more!  This is “the line” we use when we speak about Fiesta in a normal year.  And seeing the content we pulled together made it feel like a normal year being in Linn Park.  We had Zumba classes, dance classes by DJ Ivan Correa who is a mainstay at Fiesta each year, craft videos like how to make tissue paper flowers and so much more.

And finally, on Fiesta Family Sundays, presented by City of Birmingham and Bham Now, we observed the importance of family and community.  With the help of LaJefa radio station, we had a weekly talk show spot covering various topics.  We also reserved this time for our area non-profits that are always a part of Fiesta to have a voice.  The last two Sundays we promoted two films in Spanish at the Grand River Drive-in.  More on that in a minute…

Fiesta in a Box cover
Fiesta in a Box
Fiesta in a Box
Cristina Almanza designed our Fiesta in a Box to benefit Fiesta Scholarship fund!
An example of what was in the Fiesta in a Box
Find the golden maraca or golden piñata and win a prize!
Golden Maraca
Golden piñata

See what I mean about content?!  Besides all of this, we also created something called “Fiesta in a Box.”  This box let our supporters have their own Fiesta in the safety of their homes.  We filled it full of fun items from our sponsors, information about our the Hispanic community, candy, craft instructions, fun little toys…and goodness!  The list of items was endless!  Several boxes contained a golden maraca or golden piñata which gave the box holder a special prize too!  The actual box was created by our board member, Cristina Almanza, who is a graphic artist.  She took such time and care to create something very unique to Hispanic culture. This keepsake box sold for $18 and we used it as a fundraiser for our Fiesta Scholarship Fund.

Set up at Pepper Place to promote Fiesta in a Box!
Going Facebook Live for Fiesta in a Box!
Ready to promote Fiesta in a Box during our Facebook Live!
Event Manager, Denise Koch records the Facebook Live with board member, Rebecca Garner and her kids at Pepper Place.
Rebecca and her kids open the Fiesta in a Box to showcase our fundraiser!
Fiesta board member, Silvia Espinosa Laxson poses with the Fiesta in a Box
Posing with the Fiesta in a Box

Our grand finale happened our last two Sundays when we partnered with Sidewalk Film Festival and Grand River Drive-in to show two movies in Spanish – Instructions Not Included and Disney’s Coco en español.  Several board members dressed in Day of the Dead costumes for Coco which made that last night of Fiesta all the more fun.  Of course, what’s a drive-in movie without popcorn or food?  We worked with Scott Cohen and Mi Pueblo Supermarket to create a wonderful taco menu for each movie night.  And popcorn with Valentina sauce was available for purchase.  If you haven’t tried Valentina sauce on your popcorn, you are missing out!  It gives it just the right amount of kick!

Our feature movies during October at the drive in
Scott Cohen and Juan cooked up the delish food for each movie night!
Popcorn with Valentina sauce – a Mexican favorite!
Setting up the entrance table for the drive in
So thankful for our Title Sponsor, Coca Cola Bottling United for their support of this years event!
Following safety protocol for every event!
Board members, Dulce Rivera and Phil Sandoval are interviewed by La Jefa Radio Station about the movies in español
La Jefa radio station is always a great partner for Fiesta
Taco fillings on the grill
Tortillas on the grill
With my friend and fellow board member, Lui Fernandez for the viewing of Coco.
Love that Vanessa Vargas and Lui Fernandez went all out to dress up for our Coco movie finale
Group photo right before the movie started…
Show time! Phil enjoying his view of the screen.

The best part of all this?  We were able to award $10,000 in Fiesta Scholarships this year to 8 deserving Hispanic students on our last day of #30 days of Fiesta!  After all, this is why Fiesta was created all those years ago.  My friend and fellow board member, Lui Fernandez, and I made the announcement during a Facebook live on October 15th.  It was an exhilarating feeling being able to do that and also reading the comments later…some from parents of the students who received awards.  It made my heart swell.  The check presentation to these students will be this November 2020 and I will share more about it later this month.

On October 15, Lui Fernandez and I announced the scholarship winners on Facebook Live. We awarded $10,000 in scholarships this year!
Lui makes some of the scholarship announcements!
Our scholarship advertisement

I’m so glad we did #30 days of Fiesta.  We learned a lot through the process and I think there are some elements that we added that we want to keep for the future.  This pandemic forced us to change how Fiesta functioned this year and helped us give the event a critical look.  It helped us see what we need to change in the future and what needs to remain the way it is.  I have loved this event since we began creating it over 18 years ago.  I never thought I would be a part of something this big for this long and I do cherish the moments, memories, craziness and friendships I’ve made along the way.  Here’s to 18 more wonderful years of celebrating Hispanic culture and heritage in the heart of Birmingham, Alabama!  Que Viva Fiesta!

Here are a few more photos from our very unusual year…

Setting up for the Facebook Live to kick off #30daysoffiesta
Silvia and Denise work behind the facebook live scenes
Cristina and I explained what to expect for #30daysoffiesta
Talk of Alabama interview with Nicole Alshouse
We featured our Fiesta in a Box on Talk of Alabama!
Our annual WBRC JehJeh Pruitt interview! Always so much fun with Jeh Jeh!
Selfie with Rebecca!
Dulce brought the food for the segment
Yearly photo with Jeh Jeh!
Jeh Jeh about to try popcorn with Valentina sauce!
Putting the Fiesta in a Box together with our board members and other volunteers
Adding the magic to the boxes!
Golden Maraca

 

Making Tissue Paper Flowers

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Tissue Paper Flowers! So simple to make and so beautiful!

Have you ever made tissue paper flowers?  The first time I ever made this simple and easy craft was when I was a Girl Scout in Puerto Rico.  We learned how to make them during a troop meeting and I quickly became obsessed!  In fact, I went home and grabbed some pipe cleaners and a box of Kleenex and started making more.  I made so many that I used the entire box of Kleenex and my mother yelled at me before I could grab a second Kleenex box!

Honestly though…I can’t think of an easier and more colorful and budget friendly way to decorate for a party or event.  I remember several years ago when the HICA (Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama) team made a ton of these flowers as centerpieces for an event because the event budget was so tight.  I still have the ones that were on my table and they are decorating a Talavera vase in my powder room.

All set up for our video tutorial of tissue paper flowers

For Fiesta this year, my friend and fellow board member, Vanessa Vargas and I made a video on how to make these quick and easy decorations.  I’m linking the video to the bottom of this post so you can see how it’s done but I’m also going to give you a photo by photo tutorial here.

Items you will need to make tissue paper flowers

You will only need three items to make these lovely tissue paper flowers:

  • Various colors of tissue paper (I used 20 x 26 inch paper bought in a package at a craft store)
  • Pipe cleaners (the sparkly kind are fun!)
  • Scissors

Let’s get started!

Step 1 – To begin, select about 6 sheets of tissue paper.  The more you use the fuller the flowers will be.  I like to use 6 because this amount is manageable.  After you pick your colors, place them one on top of the next.

Step 1

Step 2 – Make sure the ends of the paper are in line.  Then you can begin folding the paper back and forth about 1-inch in an accordion fold.  Keep folding until you get to the end of the sheets.

Ste 2
Step 2
Step 2

Step 3 – Because I like to use the large sized tissue paper, I then will cut the accordion folded sheets in half in order to make two flowers.

Step 3
Step 3

Step 4 – Take the pipe cleaner and place it 1/3 of the way under the folded tissue paper.  Then fold it over to secure the tissue paper.  You should have enough pipe cleaner to twist slightly.

Step 4
Step 4

Step 5 – Once folded you are ready to start the fun part!  Begin very carefully pulling each sheet of tissue paper up, all the way around, one after the other.  You will want to fluff each sheet as you finish to give the flower body.

Step 5
Step 5
Step 5
Step 5
Step 5
Step 5

Step 6 – Once the last tissue paper is pulled up, you will want to fluff a bit to reveal a beautiful blossom.

Step 7 – Admire your beautiful flower!

NOTE:  There is one variation to these steps and that is during step 4.  You can take your scissors and cut the ends of the folded tissue paper in various ways to give the flowers a different look once it is fluffed out.  I do like this look but my personal preference is the smooth look without cutting the ends.

These flowers were cut after the accordion fold was completed. You can either cut the sides of the tissue paper or cut a “v” out to make different shapes like the ones here.

My Fiesta team used these flowers this fall to decorate several Facebook live events we had and they added the perfect dimension to our Fiesta theme!  They are so simple yet they add just the right amount of Latino flair!

Here is the link to the Fiesta video I did showing how to make these flowers.  If you make any, let me know.  I’d love to see them!

Tissue Paper Flower video:   https://www.facebook.com/FiestaBham/videos/334786707623746

The Simple Beauty of Mexican Dresses

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1970s Mexican Puebla Dress

I’ve been wanting a Mexican dress for a long time.  When I said this to a friend recently, she was shocked that I didn’t already have several!  I told her that I’ve never had a chance to buy one.  I mean, there are vendors at Fiesta in Birmingham every year that sell them but I’m so busy working the event that I don’t have time to do any shopping.  I was even in Mexico earlier this year for a wedding and thought I would have a chance to find one but there was never time with all festivities.  So, when I got an invitation to a vintage clothing sale a few months ago, I was excited to see that there would be a wide selection of these dresses available!

My cousin, Lisa Ramirez, at the Frida and Diego Exhibit at the Denver Art Museum in October 2020. She got to see Frida’s clothing exhibit!

When you think of Mexican dresses, most likely the artist Frida Kahlo comes to mind.  Her clothing was – still is – iconic and her style is constantly replicated.  I find I can never get enough of her wardrobe and hope to someday see her clothing exhibit in person.  I love that these Mexican dresses are colorful and elegant while being functional and comfortable.  The embroidery that goes into making one of these dresses is just stunning too.  Frida popularized a short blouse type garment called the “huipil” – pronounced “whip-peal” which looks like a square fabric with the neck cut out.  This doesn’t sound very flattering when you think of its shape, but Frida really made it work for herself!

I started doing a little research into Mexican dresses and wondered, what are they really called?  There is so much information online about the different types of dresses and how they differ from region to region all the way through Central America.  It can be a little confusing!  Some dresses are for everyday and others are more elaborate and for special occasions.  One thing is for sure, each is a one-of-a-kind handwoven garment with intricate embroidery.  They can take several weeks to make too.  The dresses that I find myself drawn to are the Mexican Puebla dresses.  These are made by artisans in Puebla, Mexico, and are a tunic type of dress.  I think people get confused about all the various dresses that they just opt out and call them Mexican dresses.  And listen, I am by no means an expert on Mexican dresses.  I’m still learning myself, so if you have info to share with me about these beautiful creations, please hit me up!  I’m anxious to learn more!

Racks and racks of vintage clothing at this sale!
Me and Denise – she got a dress and I got two!

The day of the vintage clothing sale, my friend Denise and I went straight for the rack of Mexican dresses.  I had seen a red one in one of the photos posted about the sale.  I had my fingers crossed that it was still available and luckily…it was!  I tried it on and I loved the way it looked!  The red color is striking and the yellow accents against the red…WOW!  Then I saw a white dress with purple lining and bright orange, red and blue embroidered flowers. The fabric was a little heavier than the red dress and Denise insisted that I try it on.  I was worried because I knew I would love it too.  Sure enough, I went home with both dresses!

1970s Mexican Puebla Dress – Red
1970s Mexican Puebla dress – white

It’s crazy to think that I’m living in Birmingham, Alabama, and this is where I ended up buying not one, but two Mexican dresses!  Unfortunately, I haven’t had an opportunity to wear them yet.  I had planned to wear them this fall but COVID-19 pretty much took care of that.  But I’m happy to finally have two beautiful dresses to wear when the opportunity presents itself.  Meanwhile…I did a little photo shoot a few weeks ago just so I could wear the dresses.  Here are a few of those photos!

Red Puebla dress
Showing the embroidery details of the dress
White Puebla dress
Showing the embroidery details of the white dress

Fiesta 2019 – A Look Back

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My absolute favorite photo from Fiesta 2019! The entire Fiesta board on stage for a selfie at the end of Fiesta! We are all exhausted but still beaming from the success of the event that day.

Fiesta 2020 just wrapped up and while I plan to share what the Fiesta Board did in the Covid environment to make it happen, I realized that I had not shared anything about Fiesta 2019!

It’s funny how much our board reminisced about 2019 while getting Fiesta 2020 pulled together.  We had a beautiful day to celebrate Hispanic culture and heritage in Linn Park with the theme – Celebrating Alabama Together / Celebrando a Alabama Juntos!  As a board, we always work hard to make sure everything we do has an Alabama connection and the State of Alabama’s bicentennial celebration was the perfect pairing.

The Coca Cola Main Stage Fiesta 2019

One fun element we added this year were roaming photographers through a company called Ring Light Photos.  You took your photo looking through a light ring and the result was a photo bordered with the Fiesta logo and theme for the year that you could text to yourself and keep!  I seriously don’t know who loved it more…the Fiesta board members (see the photos for proof) or the people who attended Fiesta!  We all agreed we need to do this for our next Fiesta.  

A big Fiesta feature that most people may not have noticed was our army of volunteers!  Thanks to the efforts of teachers Charity Johnson, former Spanish teacher at A.H. Parker High School and Lisa Garrison, with Vestavia Hills High School, who served as Volunteer Co-Chairs, Fiesta was fully staffed with high school students eager to help!  From the time I met them several years ago, both Charity and Lisa have looked at participation in Fiesta as an opportunity for their students to immerse themselves in the Hispanic culture and countries and find out more about the Latinx community.  This was their third year to be involved and because they took the time to explore Fiesta personally, they were able to offer suggestions for activities that kids would enjoy for our Family Village and actively created activities to bring along!  Their story of why they think Fiesta is important for their students and the community was covered by The Birmingham Times and widely shared. 

Parker Teacher Charity Jackson with many of her student volunteers at Fiesta 2018
Vestavia High School teacher Lisa Garrison with many of her student volunteers at Fiesta 2018
Posing with Charity at the Family Village during Fiesta 2019. Charity and her students pretty much managed the village in 2019!
Late in the day, student volunteers take a quick break together!

For me, seeing the sea of volunteer Fiesta t-shirts across Linn Park was enough to make me get a little emotional.  I loved meeting each of these students and seeing them get excited about helping little ones with craft projects in the Family Village or helping our board members in several other villages and onstage throughout the day.  Their eagerness to help was profound and I know that the reason these students turned out in such large numbers is a tribute to these two amazing teachers.  I really hope we can have them back in 2021 because they made such a lasting impression on the Fiesta board and event planners.

Students decorating the Family Village – FIesta 2019
Student volunteers helping at the Information Booth – Fiesta 2019
Student volunteers helping children with crafts at the Family Village – Fiesta 2019
Tissue paper flowers were a fun activity in the Family Village – Fiesta 2019
Fiesta’s Family Village was a fun place in 2019!

The Coca Cola Main Stage is always the centerpiece of activity throughout the day.  We feature as many local artists as we can early in the day.  Last year we even had The Birmingham Boys Choir take part.  It’s always great to add local flavor to the festival and hope to do more of that in the future.    

Birmingham Boys Choir performs at Fiesta 2019
Birmingham Boys Choir – Fiesta 2019

The main artists later in the day really brought the energy.  One of these artists was Genessa and The Selena Experience.  This young lady does covers of music by Selena.  And if you know about Selena Quintanilla, the Queen of Tejano music, you know she is a revered Latina artist who was tragically murdered at the peak of her stardom at 23 years of age.  All I can say is that Genessa drew a crowd and she was incredible!  Everyone wanted a photo with her!  Our headliner was La Energia Norteña and when we have a Mexican band at the end of our event, the crowd just goes crazy! 

La Energia Norteña – Fiesta 2019
Genessa and The Selena Experience – Fiesta 2019

At the end of our headliner’s performance, the entire Fiesta board walked onstage to thank the crowd.  I think it’s one of the first times in a long time that the entire board has been near the main stage to do this!  I was excited and of course, we had to capture it with a selfie!  Board member, Dulce Rivera was quick to grab her phone and we all posed on stage…our faces beaming despite the exhaustion from the events of the day.  That photo is probably one of my all-time favorite photos of Fiesta and our board. 

Fiesta board onstage at the end of Fiesta – photo taken by a friend in the audience!
My absolute favorite photo from Fiesta 2019! The entire Fiesta board on stage for a selfie at the end of Fiesta! We are all exhausted but still beaming from the success of the event that day.

I always say…the best way to tell the Fiesta story every year is from my photos.  So besides those I’ve already shown you throughout this post, here are a few more of my Fiesta 2019 favorites.

Blogging Like Crazy Didn’t Make Me Crazy!

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img_3991Today ends 30 days of blogging every day.  Yep!  You read that right!  I blogged EVERY. SINGLE DAY this month!  And…I lived to write about it!

The incredible Javacia Harris Bowser, founder of the See Jane Write networking group challenged the women of the group to #bloglikecrazy for the month of November.  I did this last year and it was a fantastic experience.  I wondered then if I could find enough topics to write about for 30 solids days and I did!  And like anything you do, with practice you get better and ideas come a little easier.

This year the only snag I hit was a pesky sinus infection the week before Thanksgiving which is still hanging on today.  So even though I had some bigger ideas for topics to write about, I didn’t feel good physically and I think it clouded my ability to write on some days.  I chose easier topics to write about and figured I would reserve others for a time when I was thinking more clearly and not as exhausted from fighting the congestion.

I ran into my friend Audrey Atkins yesterday who blogs at Folkwaysnowadays.com and we talked about the bloglikecrazy challenge.  She did the challenge too and we were both excited that we were one day away from finishing!  Check that goal off our list!  Oh, and you really need to check out her blog and her series for this challenge on favorite idioms.  It’s terrific and hysterical!  I learned a LOT about idioms this past month thanks to Audrey!

Back to our meet-up – we discussed how important it is to really plan things out and write ahead of time so you aren’t scrambling at 8 p.m. at night to get a post completed.  I admit, that was me on several nights during this challenge!  But through this process, I’ve thought about other topics I want to explore and write about.  I’ve also been surprised by what people are actually reading vs. what I sometimes “think” will spark interest.  It pays to look at your analytics and see what is catching your readers’ eye!  I’ll be doing more of that as I move forward.

Javacia started See Jane Write to empower women to write and live a life worth writing about.  Thanks so much, Javacia!  It’s a wonderful goal to aspire to and I think by accepting this challenge…I’m on my way!

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Iron Bowl Saturday at the Odom House

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Easy peasy taco soup ready for the Iron Bowl today!

Easy peasy taco soup ready for the Iron Bowl today!

Today was Iron Bowl Saturday and this is the first time in a long time that we’ve had a watch party!  All the kids were home today and I honestly can’t remember this happening.  Typically a few are AT the game or not in town.  I know my husband was really excited about watching the Alabama/Auburn game with his children.

This called for Taco Soup and of course, he was up bright and early to put a crock pop of this delicious soup on to slow cook.  Kickoff was at 2:30 so the soup would be nice and hot by then!  Along with that, he made cheese dip with rotel – one with ground beef and the other plain (for me)!  My daughter, Anna Marie made her now famous swiss and bacon dip and also a cookie dough dip.  Oh the dips!!!  So much for the diet!!!

At any rate, our family room was full of family – human and the furry kind – and the game was watched to the conclusion we all had hoped for – Alabama won!  YAY ALABAMA!

Game day jerseys on!

Game day jerseys on!

Here are a few photos of our Iron Bowl Saturday – Roll Tide!

If you want to see the recipe for this delish Taco Soup, check my post from last November!

Game day jerseys on!
Easy peasy taco soup ready for the Iron Bowl today!

The Thankful Tree

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Our Thankful Tree the first year...

Our Thankful Tree the first year…

When my kids were little, I was always looking for ways to bring the importance of thankfulness into their lives, especially at Thanksgiving.  We did the usual taking turns around the Thanksgiving table saying what we were thankful for and brought out little items they made at school as part of our dinner each year.  Pinterest wasn’t a “thing” at the time so going out and finding a multitude of ideas wasn’t readily available.  Hard to believe with the access we have on the internet these days.

One year I remember reading about creating a Thankful Tree using limbs from your yard and hanging leaves (cut out leaves or fake leaves) on a string to the limbs with why you were thankful.  I really liked that idea and it took on greater meaning to me in 2007.  That was the year that both my mother and her sister were diagnosed with cancer.  To me, for this to happen to two sisters in one year was an incredibly sad situation.  Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer that March and my Auntie Gail was diagnosed with ovarian cancer that September.  Getting them both through their chemo, radiation, hospital stays and doctor visits was tough that year.  But I’ll always remember how brave they both were and how difficult it was for them.  It was a privilege to be able to support them both that year and watch their courage as they fought this disease.

At Thanksgiving that year, I asked the kids to go out into our yard and find some limbs so we could make our first ever Thankful Tree.  We put them in a vase and cut pieces of brown yarn and added them to leaves.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t write on the leaves so we used sticky notes and stapled them to the leaves and hung them on the tree.  I remember watching my sweet Aunt write why she was thankful that year on a sticky note and then help two of her grandchildren with their own sticky notes.  I was so thankful that year that we were all able to celebrate Thanksgiving together because I know how difficult it was for both my aunt and Mother to get through their treatments.

My Aunt Gail with my daughter Emily – the first year we had a Thankful tree made from reall tree branches.
My Aunt’s first “leaf” and her grandchildren’s leaves…Cole and Emma.
Auntie Gail helps her granddaughter Emma with her leaf.
A few more leafs from the first year…

A few years later, I found some paper leaves we could write on and we used those for the tree.  We had a few transitions over the next few years, celebrating Thanksgiving with the family in Jasper so we didn’t make the tree for a while.  But then my sweet Sister-in-Law, Rhonda, passed away suddenly in July 2014 and finding a way to be “thankful” was something I felt we needed as a family that Thanksgiving in Jasper.  I wanted to create something more permanent that year so I had this idea about using a bulletin board and using felt to create a tree on the board.  I enlisted my daughters to create this tree and they did a fantastic job drawing it out, cutting it out and then gluing it to the bulletin board.  They also cut out different fall color leaves from construction paper so we could write on them.

Our bulletin board Thankful tree in 2014
Anna Marie cuts out the tree from felt
Anna Marie works on the tree
Emily cuts out leaves from construction paper
Stenciling the leaves…
Emily helps Anna Marie glue to felt tree to the bulletin board.
The final project!

When I introduced it at the family gathering that year, it was just what we all needed. Don’t get me wrong, in no way did it replace those that we have lost over the years but it did give us time to reflect, all gathered as family, about what we still have and what we need to maintain our family ties.  I think it helped us reflect on our love for one another through whatever comes our way.  It was a blessing to watch the “kids” – almost all adults now – take to this “new” tradition and write something special to themselves on a leaf.

Our Thankful Tree the first year…

We have now used the bulletin board Thankful Tree for 3 years and I love reading what everyone writes.  Whether it’s something funny in the laughter of the gathering or if there is something special on someone’s heart, it captures that person at that moment in time.  I really do hope we continue to do this for years to come.

Thankful tree 2016

I have a larger project in mind after a few years of collecting these “thankful leaves’ and hope that by next year I can get it underway.  Meanwhile, each year I take the leaves that are put on the tree, write the year they were written on the backs of the leaves, and store them with my Thanksgiving decorations.  I am so very thankful that I found this idea so many years ago and I’m thankful for the creativity of my daughters in creating this on a bulletin board so we can keep it going.

Leaves from 2010
Leaves from 2010
A few more leafs from the first year…

Thankful…

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The annual Odom Family Thanksgiving Cookie! Always a hit!

The annual Odom Family Thanksgiving Cookie! Always a hit!

Today the Odom family gathered at our house to celebrate our annual Thanksgiving dinner.  I could go into detail about the preparations, the decorations, the food, and the conversations but I won’t.  I could also make a list of all the things I’m thankful for this year but I think the best way to show this would be to just share the photos I took today.  I’ll also share the messages several of us wrote for our Thankful Tree, a tradition be started a few years ago and that I hope will continue for many years to come.

Today was a great day…and I’m thankful for these wonderful people in my life…

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Edwina Taylor – Helping People One Smile at a Time

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img_3055I got my Cahaba Valley Health Care newsletter in the mail today.  I always like reading about the people who are helped by this wonderful non-profit and also the volunteers involved.  And in this edition of the newsletter – I spotted a photo I took at the See More Smiles Breakfast in 2010!

Let me start with a little background on Cahaba Valley Health Care or CVHC.  This non-profit was founded in 2000 by Edwina Taylor, a hematology and oncology nurse who had worked for decades at UAB Medical Center and then in palliative care at Cooper Green.  This is where Edwina began seeing how difficult it was for the uninsured to access health care.  In 1979 she and her husband adopted a daughter, Emilie, from Guatemala.  Because of her daughter’s background, she began paying more attention to the needs of the Hispanic community.  This reached a peak in the 1990s with the influx of Hispanics to the Birmingham region.  Edwina has told the story many times but I never tire of hearing it because of her enthusiasm and giving heart.  She said if it was hard for people who were born here and spoke the language to access health care, what must it be like for someone who wasn’t born here and doesn’t speak the language.  On top of that, there is the cultural and trust barrier that compounds all of this.

Edwina decided she needed to act on her desire to help the uninsured and with the help of friends and her church – Cahaba Valley – she set out to start a non-profit that offered health screening for the uninsured population with a focus on Hispanics in Jefferson and Shelby Counties.  The latest newsletter already has the dates for the 2017 screenings listed and almost all are at area churches with a Hispanic congregation.  Always happy to see my own church, Prince of Peace Catholic – on the list!  These screenings include vision, dental and blood pressure.  I’ve attended a few of these screenings and I’m amazed at the number of people who come out.  Many people who come to these screenings are in dire need too.  Edwina talks about how if you have a tooth ache, you have a bad day…but what if you have several?  Many of her clients require much care and have no way to access if it weren’t for CVHC,  I even heard one story of someone pulling their own tooth with pliers because of the pain.  I can’t even imagine…

CVHC screening at Prince of Peace Catholic Church a few years ago
Edwina briefs the volunteers before the CVHC screening at Prince of Peace

I first met Edwina when I visited their first offices at Cahaba Valley Church along with a friend from an area foundation who was going to present a check to her.  I went along to learn more about her and her organization because of my involvement in the community.  I had actually met her at the United Way Latino Issues Committee but had not had a lot of time to talk to her.  Something about Edwina that I found out early on is that her demeanor is always the same – smiling and positive – ALWAYS!  She is not someone you say “no” to either and she can pull volunteers and collaborators together like no other person I’ve ever known.  Another thing I learned about her is that she is always looking for ways to help more and more people.  She is not satisfied with the status quo and her energy is inspiring to me.  She is the type of person who makes you want to do more.

A packed house at Dawson Baptist during the 2010 See More Smiles breakfast.
Breakfast and program at the 2010 See More Smiles Breakfast at Dawson Baptust
Early morning photo of the tables at the 2010 breakfast.

Earlier I mentioned my photo being in the newsletter advertising the See More Smile Breakfast.  This fundraising event has grown so much since my first breakfast about 8 years ago.  Edwina gets everything – and I mean EVERYTHING – donated and there is no cost to attend.  You are simply asked to make a donation at the end of the breakfast and after Edwina talks, you WANT to donate!  I never attend a See More Smiles breakfast without my camera anymore.  That’s one of the things I’ve learned over the years of working with non-profits …there is always a need for more marketing and PR assistance and a good photo can go a long way!

Each table always has a Did You Know tent on it to provide a little education to attendees about CVHC.
Table at the 2016 breakfast at The Club in Birmingham. They always have a “signature” cookie favor for guests too!
Did you Know information tent on the table.

Speaking of being able to generate volunteers…Edwina many years ago took on the task of creating the Fiesta Health & Wellness Village for us (the Fiesta board).  We had a vision for having all the health care agencies and non-profits in one area at the festival and she took it and ran with it!  At one point, she would just ask us for the registration forms and would report back close to the event who was coming so we could prepare.  We never questioned because we knew that in her hands, the village would be phenomenal…and it always has been.

Edwina speaks to visitors to the Fiesta Health and Wellness Village that she coordinated through 2015.

Edwina speaks to visitors to the Fiesta Health and Wellness Village that she coordinated through 2015.

In April this year, CVHC moved to Cooper Green Hospital.  The ability to serve even more clients in their dental clinic is exciting.  It seems almost like it has come full circle for Edwina though…as a nurse at Cooper Green so many years ago.  She is back where she originally saw the need to serve and is doing just that.

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