The McLean Queen

Friendsgiving

Happy Tuesday Friends!

Last Friday evening a group of my friends gathered for Thanksgiving. We were missing several but we still had a very large group. Most of us were a ladies group at a church, we were the Teacup Ladies from Eastridge Park CM Church in Mesquite. A few have joined our group that weren't part of the original group. We see each other several times a year but as I recall this is just our second Friendsgiving.

What is a Teacup Lady you might be asking. When Lisa held our first meeting she collected matching pairs of teacups and saucers. Lisa had them wrapped and used them as centerpieces on the tables. At some point during the event we all unwrapped a teacup and saucer and whoever had a teacup and saucer that matched ours became our prayer partner. I remember that we moved and sat by whoever had our matching set. We were to keep our teacup set somewhere where we would be mindful to pray for the group.

Carol Lee, Mandy, Yolanda
Kim, Linda, Lisa, Sonie, Kellie, Cristy
Doris, Ms. Kathy, Laura, Ashley, Ms. Doris, Jackie, Melanie, Charlotte

We met at On The Border in Mesquite and I wish that I had asked our server for his name because he did a great job. I had the grilled shrimp tacos and they were pretty good. I did take a picture but not until I had taken several bites. Doris that was sitting beside me laughed as I tried to make my plate look untouched.

We planned our Christmas gathering, a Favorite Things Party at Mandy's house. She's in pink and is sitting beside me in our group picture. I have known Mandy since she was probably eight years old. It's been so fun to stay so connected with her all these years.

Kellie filled us in on our retreat details. Our retreat will be in March and all the details are being worked out now. Kellie is a "master planner" and we basically just have to show up.

Carol Lee, Kellie, and Ashley

Cristy got a few pictures of her end of the table.

Cristy and Charlotte

Cristy, Charlotte, Ms. Doris, Jackie, and Kellie

I sat across from these ladies. These are some of the strongest ladies that I know. They have such perseverance and I have learned a lot by knowing them. Funny side note about Carol is that most all of us call her by her first and last name any time that we speak to her or refer to her but no one else is called by their first and last name.

Linda, Ms. Kathy, and Carol Lee

We talked and we laughed. Women were switching seats to have chats with different women. There were lots of hugs and it was great to be together.

Have you attended a Friendsgiving? Do you have a group of friends that you are thankful for? I believe that we all crave connection and we just have to push ourselves to make friendships a priority. I'm sure glad that we were able to get together for Friendsgiving and I am excited for our Christmas get-together.

Weekend Recap

Hello Friends! How was your weekend?

My weekend was pretty lame but Kambree had a great weekend.

Our weekend started early on Friday morning with the Turkey Trot at Kambree's school. Carolyn, David's Mom, and I rode together and watched from about the center point of the route. David met Kambree at the start and ran with her.

The kids had early release right after the trot so Carolyn took her on a trail ride with friends.

Kambree, Ady, Ashley and Mady

I worked and had Friendsgiving later Friday evening. I felt fine but after I got home from Friendsgiving I started feeling sick. I woke up Saturday morning feeling awful. I had a headache, cough, body aches, and all I wanted to do was sleep. This was my view all day.

Carolyn and Kambree hit up Old Navy for their $1 Christmas sock sale on Friday and they brought me a pair but right now I only need one. My entire day was spent on the couch sleeping.

I woke up feeling some better Sunday morning and made it to church. Kambree was still at Grandma's so I picked her up and we had a good day at home. One of our smoke alarms was beeping and we needed batteries so we ran to Dollar General. While we were there I was behind this little old lady

Ladies, do not be afraid to mix patterns because look at this little fashionista.

We went to Dollar General for one thing and left with about ten things because I took us down the Christmas aisle. One neat thing that we purchased was this scratch and reveal ornament set. These held her attention for a long while and can be done while watching TV. The end result is cute and I may go back and pick up a couple more.

I am going into the office tomorrow because I have a meeting but I'm concerned about the length of the drive. My doctor did tell me that if I feel like I can safely drive to go ahead for quick trips but I have a 1.5 hour commute typically. I do hope that traffic will be light since it's a holiday week. I have a driving shoe but it doesn't offer as much support as my boot and my foot really aches after even short trips (like to run to Dollar General). Anyway all that to say that David may drive me - he's cheaper than calling an Uber! I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Have a great week!!

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!

Well it's been quite a week. I have been working from home recovering from foot surgery and trying to "enjoy poor health". I believe that I have reached the end of NetFlix - I know that's not true but I believe that I have watched all the Christmas movies that are available.

Let's get into what has been a favorite this week.

1. This Yankee Christmas Cookie candle is so fragrant. I was burning a fall scent Yankee candle and the fragrance wasn't as intense as this candle. I will definitely repurchase this scent.

2. The Thanksgiving Feast at school was a favorite too. Last year KIndergarten sat on the floor in the hall, but thankfully 1st grade was in the cafeteria. It's always lots of fun to see all the kids and the other parents too. The kids see me and say, Hey Kambree's Mom and I'm all like - that's my name wear it out. David's pies turned out really well too.

3.  Jamie Golden is a podcaster at The Popcast with Knox and Jamie and she does great instastories. Check out her highlights for great skincare and makeup tips. I'm going to try this Palmers Cocoa Butter Cleansing Oil that she recommended.

4. A sure favorite this week has been this blog. There has been some fun interaction on Facebook and it's been fun hearing from some of you. I had time to write last weekend since I was recovering without Kambree home, so it will be interesting to see how I prioritize writing. I do hope to write each evening after we have her down for the night.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope that you have something fun planned for the weekend. I have a Friendsgiving this evening with a group of girls that I have been friends with for at least ten years. I also hope that David gets our Christmas stuff out of the attic. He began packing away our fall decor yesterday, so he's not in denial that I like to have our tree up by Thanksgiving.

Have a great weekend!

That's A Hard No

Hello Friends!

Today is Kambree's Thanksgiving Feast at school. We were asked to bring pie and goldfish crackers. I mentioned bringing cherry pie because I know that Kambree likes it and I remember there being an abundance of uneaten pumpkin pie last year. David said he was going to make the pies and I thought he was joking but he was serious. Usually we have to take store bought items but items made at home are allowed at the feast. He made cherry and blueberry pies. Making pies isn't a hard no for me but it definitely isn't an easy yes.

Do you have anything that qualifies as a hard no? Something that you won't even consider? Right off I can think of two hard no's for me.

1. Toilet paper roll crafts = hard no

Please do not ask me to save toilet paper rolls for a school or Sunday School project because I will "forget". Please do not have my child craft anything from toilet paper rolls. I will personally purchase the card stock for the entire class to use in lieu of toilet paper rolls. Yes, the wreath might be cute but I CANNOT EVEN with a toilet paper roll craft.

No I won't

Not thankful for this toilet paper roll turkey

2. Can you smell if this milk is bad? = hard no

I do not care if the milk was purchased three hours ago, I am not smelling it for any reason. I would rather drive to the store for more milk. Let's say that someone hands me a gallon of milk and asks me to smell it, there is a real possibility that I will walk to the sink and pour it out. Also, people please, do not put a suspicious gallon of milk back into the refrigerator for someone else to deal with. Just go ahead and discard of it responsibly.

Is this milk bad? Yes, it is

Do you have anything that is a hard no? Do you appreciate toilet paper roll crafts? Are you a milk smeller?

Have a great Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow for Friday Favorites.

Our Trip to the Pioneer Woman Mercantile

Hello Friends!

I thought that this would be a good time to write about our trip to The Pioneer Woman Mercantile . My friends put this trip together to celebrate my big 50th birthday. We left on a Friday morning and came home Sunday afternoon.

We stayed at The Redbud Cottage (an Airbnb rental). The Redbud Cottage was a really beautiful home with plenty of room and very comfortable. There aren't many lodging options in Pawhuska so I would definitely recommend checking into Airbnb if you're planning a trip.

Now what you need to know about Pawhuska is that the Mercantile is practically the only thing worth visiting. What we learned is that an establishment only needs to be in Pawhuska to be on the must see list. There was a convenience store on the must see list and no offense to the store but it was old and run-down. Apparently the reason the store made the list is because you can buy "sonic ice" there. We visited the Mercantile several times to browse, have coffee, and eat. The Mercantile food was fantastic!

The first night we ordered a couple of appetizers and a couple of entrees to share. The Cowboy Fries and the Chicken Fried Steak were amazing. The portions were very generous and we even had leftovers. We were so surprised that the tea was only .25 - twenty five cents - and it was served in adorable mason jars.

The first night the server brought me a cupcake to celebrate my birthday. I saved the cupcake and brought it home to Kambree.

The Mercantile store is really cute.

The downstairs is a restaurant and store and upstairs there is a coffee shop, bakery, and a lounging area. I tried the Spicy Cowgirl and I enjoyed it so much that I had the same drink a few more times during our stay.

On Saturday we ate breakfast at the Mercantile. I had Egg-in-a-Hole and it was really good.

After breakfast we walked around the town. There are a few other boutique or resale type shops but really there's not much to see. We hit up some locals to take a few group pictures. The weather on this day was gorgeous.

We also went to The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve . We drove through the preserve and saw a lot of bisons.

That Bison Are Dangerous sign didn't keep Cristy and Jackie in the car when there was an opportunity for a good picture. The preserve is a ten mile loop and there is a gift shop and information center. There were three people working the visitor center and they were very knowledgeable. It was a very slow day there and they looked so excited when we pulled in.

It's hard to tell what's going on in this next picture, so let me explain. Cristy is practically an action adventure photographer! She wedged her body out of my sunroof and then had a hard time getting out. Her chest wouldn't allow her to go up or down - it was hilarious.

After the preserve we went to The Pawhuska Swinging Bridge . The bridge was built in 1926 and is suspended 30 feet above water. All but one of us walked across the bridge. It definitely swings on its own but even more so when Cristy would really make it swing.

Later that evening we went to P-Town Pizza and I wish that I could say it was great but it was just OK. It was very small inside and the servers seemed to be distracted. There were some traditional and some unusual varieties of pizza available. Our food was brought out at different times and one of the pizzas was burned. At least two of us received our meal for free because of the difficulties.

We spent a good bit of time just relaxing at The Redbud Cottage or upstairs at the Mercantile. The Mercantile is closed on Sunday so keep that in mind if you plan a trip. In my opinion the town of Pawhuska has a lot of catching up to do. All the shops feel very dated and most of the store fronts were empty. Even with the town not offering much I would go back for some of that delicious Mercantile food and one more Spicy Cowgirl.

One of the times that we were browsing The Mercantile we spotted a woman much shorter than I am. I saw an opportunity to get photographic proof so I went and stood by the woman and attempted to get Cristy's attention so she could snap a photo. The woman had no idea at all what we were trying to do. The woman kept trying to walk past me and I kept stepping forward and backward so I could block her until Cristy could snap the pic.

We had a great trip and I'd go to podunk town USA with these girls anytime.

Talk About It Tuesday

Hey Friends! Happy Tuesday!!

There is something on my mind and I'd like to talk about it. It's women and friendship - two very complicated things.

I am blessed to have a lot of really close friends. Why do I hesitate to reach out to them? I feel like I'm going to be an inconvenience to them. Occasionally I'll have a child-free Friday or Saturday evening and I think that maybe I'll get together with a friend and catch a movie or grab some coffee but then I begin to fear rejection or that I'll make them feel obligated to get out.

Now there is another possibility - I wonder if I am sabotaging myself and subconsciously I just really wanna stay home in my lounge wear and watch Netflix. The thing is that I really do enjoy staying home but I also enjoy some friend time. Most of the time I don't have notice that we'll be child-free so I would be asking a friend to do something with no notice. That's the part that makes me feel like I might make my friend feel obligated to drop whatever they might be doing.

Does anyone else feel this way? Maybe I'll make 2019 the year that I quit making friendship excuses. There are lots of activities that us girls can get together to do that won't break the bank and will still get us home in time to enjoy the Netflix binge.

Let me know your thoughts. Are you down for last minute outings? Do you feel obligated to say yes, even if it's not the best time for you?

Thanks for stopping by today.

Put Your Best Foot Forward

Happy Monday!

How was weekend? Mine was spent convalescing and I am doing well. I watched the The Bodyguard on Netflix This is definitely not my normal type of show but Knox McCoy named this show as his awesome of the week when he was a guest on The Sorta Awesome podcast. David walked in and asked why I voluntarily was watching a show that he'd choose. There is definitely some violence and language and other adult content but I did enjoy it. There are only six episodes in this first season and I powered through all six Friday evening.

I thought that I would share a little about my foot woes and the surgical procedure that I had on Friday. I was feeling what I thought was a bunion or something of that nature. It finally reached a point that my daily life was being affected so I went to a podiatrist. They did an x-ray and it looked something like this.

See that hook on top of the big toe joint? It's a bone spur or Hallux Rigidus. Fancy, huh? It is surprising how much difficulty that hook can cause. The entire toe joint seems to be affected and the ball of my foot was often throbbing from the limited range of movement of my big toe. One of the most difficult things has been finding shoes that don't press on the bone spur. I've been reduced to two pairs of shoes that are tolerable and nobody has time for just two pairs of shoes. The procedure involves an incision and sawing the bone spur off. Apparently one of the biggest possible setbacks after surgery is that my incision comes open and the possibility of infection. The recovery is not too long; I will be in a boot for 4-6 weeks and I can't drive for TWO weeks (more on this later).

While we were in Florida this past summer I began having heel pain too. I followed up with my podiatrist and he diagnosed plantar fasciitis. He gave me a heel shot that was very painful and recommended some stretches and icing. I did see some improvement but I required another shot. My doctor wanted to delay my toe surgery until we were sure we would have improvements in my heel. I received my third heel shot during my surgical procedure today. Those shots into my aggravated heel are so painful so I am glad that he was able to give me the shot while I was knocked out. When he gave me first shot I did not contain my discomfort very well. When the doctor opened the door to walk out of the room after administering my shot there were a few of his staff peeking in to see if I was alright. I just started acting like I was all good and nothing to see here folks. Embarrassing but hilarious!

Now more on the NO driving for TWO weeks thing. I was like awww heck no - there ain't no way. I left the doctor office and drove a lot that day. I work far from home and have a LONG commute. I began really paying attention to how often I use my big toe. Big toe, you are the boss of me! My foot constantly on the gas and pressing on the brakes put a lot of pressure on my toe. I was so surprised and realized that my doctor wasn't being unreasonable at all. I am very blessed to be able to work from home two days a week so it really isn't too huge of a deal to work from home for a couple of weeks, especially with Thanksgiving being next week.

So I just shared a lot of words about my foot. Don't worry Kellie, there will be no feet pictures in this post.

Have a great week!!