Not So Halloween

I've been feeling all nostalgic as I contemplated writing a post commemorating Wilde family Halloweens gone past. This holiday has become increasingly more important in my adult years than it ever was growing up. I blame it on the competitiveness of the entire Wilde clan who strive each year to come up with the greatest costume year after year to showcase at Grandma's annual Halloween party.

I came across this photo. I didn't remember it from last year. We were so devastated by Dad's recent health news a year ago, that we didn't even consider dressing up. Then good ol' Dad started getting into the Halloween spirit and latched onto the idea of being Cyclops. The rest of us cobbled together our costumes to round out the Greek Mythology theme.

I decided on just this one photo because even though Dad wasn't feeling well, here he is in all his Cyclops glory with a smile on his face. What makes this picture even better is Mom's smile in the background. (And the majesty of her Medusa hair!) I will be forever grateful to Dad for toughing it out and helping all of us have one last fun Halloween memory together and for teaching us that life still goes on.

I'll be saving my Halloween trip down memory lane for another time.

This is the first year in nearly 10 years that I haven't dressed up. Maybe I'll just paint my nails black and call it a day.

Bicycle Birthday

 

For Steele's birthday this year we decided to let his love of cycling inspire the theme of the party. Since we all love cycling too, it wasn't a bad choice!

 

All the major jersey colors represented---I cut out nearly 500!!! The rainbow ribbon isn't exactly accurate, but close enough.

 

The jerseys were strung together to make garlands. It's hard to tell by the photo how fantastic they turned out.

 

I made paper medallions.

 

And stuck them on the treat boxes containing dark chocolate peanut butter cups, black and white circus animal cookies, wafer cookies, and striped fudge cookies.

 

For my birthday Mom found some REALLY good cupcakes that even Steele ate. He usually isn't a sweet tooth. D.D. ordered these adorable cupcake toppers, but when Mom went to get the cupcakes they didn't have the same flavors. Don't worry, we had PLENTY of sugar!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUTTONS!

We love you!

And come next July we'll be all set to decorate for the Tour de France!

 

One Year

One year ago today my family received devastating news. A year ago Dad was given 9-12 months to live. In January we were told that the cancer had spread to his brain. Two weeks later he was gone. It happened much faster than we thought it would. We had less than 4 months.

I came across this draft of a post I never finished. It doesn't express the loss I have felt over the past 8 months, but it does demonstrate my love and faith.

 

 Saying goodbye.

"10/17/12

I've had a week to digest the news. It's slowly leaking out. It is just as hard telling someone as it was the first time. Well, maybe not the first time because the first time was my sister, but the second.

Dad's doctors have tried 4 different chemotherapy drugs over the course of the past little over a year. There is nothing left to try. Bladder cancer cells grow and spread extremely fast. The specter of death has been behind the scenes for a year and a half. Now it is the elephant in the room. The unwanted guest that won't leave.

As we prepare ourselves for this new eventuality, our family is growing even closer (is that possible?). We've cried together. We've cried alone. We've prayed together. We've prayed alone. I'm grateful for the comforting spirit of the Holy Ghost. I know we are an eternal family. I know that we will be together again. This is certainly the hardest thing I've ever had to go through.

Why am I sharing something so personal? I started this blog to post about things that inspire and motivate me. Projects, recipes, shop updates, other artists, trips, places I've seen. Sometimes I feel like I am the only person who reads my blog, and that's okay. I've never been very good at expressing myself through writing, so blogging is a good exercise for me.

My dad is an amazing example to me. I'm so lucky to be his daughter."

I love you Daddy.

Everyone Should Make Their Birthday a Full Weekend

It's no secret that I have the most amazing family. This year we have tried extra hard to make each birthday person feel how important they are and how much they are loved.

 

This is the scene I woke up to birthday morning! 

 

Hand lettered birthday banner!

Macaroons!!!

 

Woke up Saturday, home in San Diego to another FANTASTIC birthday display!

 

 

Two more days filled with family and yummy food! It was a little strange celebrating without Dad. The next few months will bring about a lot of painful firsts. I'm so blessed to have such a caring bunch of people around me! 

 

 

Pancakes

This won't be a post that changes your life. It isn't really all that earth shattering or revelatory, either.

I have become obsessed with blueberries. (For many reasons: one of which being my recent allergic reactions to strawberries.)They are such a tasty and versatile berry. The blueberry, that is. They are great in cereal or straight snacking. Here's where my obsession comes in---I LOVE LOVE LOVE when blueberries are part of a recipe that makes them hot and juicy and bursting with juicy yumminess.

 

I tried them in an old family muffin recipe. The blueberries were bursting, but the muffins left a lot to be desired. Undaunted, I pressed on. 

Growing up, Saturday morning meant dad made us waffles or pancakes. Usually from a baking mix. Aside from Grandmother Moody's Oatmeal Pancake recipe, our family doesn't have a made from scratch tried and true go to batter. My search began for a fluffy, preferably buttermilk based pancake recipe. 

 

I lucked out when the first recipe I tried turned out just how I hoped. Toss in a handful of blueberries after pouring the batter in the pan and these pancakes are pillows of heaven.

 

I tried them out on my family last time I was in San Diego. They were a hit! I served them for breakfast, but I love to have breakfast for dinner. It seems somehow more decadent to eat morning foods at night. 

Do you have an awesome pancake recipe I need to try? What foods are you currently obsessed with?

So I guess google reader is going away. I don't follow blogs with google reader. I just read the blogs I've chosen to follow thru blogger. Am I behind the times? Am I missing something? Is this blog worth continuing? I know I've been neglectful.

So I signed up with BlogLovin. Is this the way of the future? Just one more site, another username, another password to remember. If you use Bloglovin, I have installed a follow button for your convenience. 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Day of: The Mark Wilde Invitational Golf Tournament

 

April 22, 2013. We decided to celebrate Dad's birthday doing something he loved---golfing. None of us girls golf, yet. It was a great day.

 I should start off by saying that this event would never have been possible without Mark Walker. He is a lifelong friend and an expert at organizing tournaments. We had 48 golfers---a better turnout than we initially anticipated! So many friends and family attended. The money raised goes to support hospice. 

 

Mom and D.D. at the check-in table.

 

Uncle Monty also helped with the planning, and used his connections to get Steele Canyon to host the tournament.

 

Here's all the guys and carts waiting to get started. 

 

D.D. and I were one part of the photography team. We took HUNDREDS of pictures. Here, D.D. is using Dad's old camera. It's over 40 years old and still takes AMAZING pictures. We had so much fun racing around in our own golf cart!

 

The course is tucked into the hills of East County.

 

The weather was perfectly nice, but a titch windy.

 

Steele teeing off on the first hole.

 We had trophies for each member of the top two foursomes. These were REALLY cool plaques!

 

This ADORABLE munchkin is Mitch. His dad, Russ, is in the background. Mitch is 3. He has his own set of mini clubs. He's quite a good golfer, for a 3 year old. They drove over from Las Vegas for the day. Thank you!

 

Another pic of my cute brother!

 

Uncle Monty and Steele

 

We had an auction in the clubhouse after the tournament where we raised even more money for hospice. We also gave away The Mark Wilde Character Award. This year, being the first year, we had two recipients. Uncle Monty, Dad's brother, and Steele. These two men exemplify Dad's sportsmanship, goodness, kindness and sense of rightness. We plan on giving this award next year as well. Steele gave a brief tribute to Dad. This was the most emotional part of the day. It meant so much to have so many people who loved Dad be a part of this special day.

 

We want to say a giant THANK YOU to everyone who golfed with us or donated. It was an amazing way to honor and remember Dad. We're looking forward to next year!