Showing posts with label fall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fall. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Falling In Love With Fall

Do you know what I love?  I'm sure you're smart enough to read the title of this post, and if you were, then you know I'm talking about the sensational season of FALL.

There's something so romantic about fall.  The crisp air, the changing and falling leaves, pumpkins, mums, the promise of a bonfire and snuggling in a warm blanket with someone you love so dearly - I sincerely can't say enough about this season.

It makes me want to hike awesome trails, cheer on my favorite football team (GO REDSKINS AND RGIII), roast marshmallows and make s'mores.  It makes me want to decorate my home in the colors of autumn.  Fall has a magical way of making you want to dream again after a summer of wanting to do nothing but relax and have fun.

Want to know another thing I absolutely love?


For reals, y'all.

The best thing about Pinterest is that I can link multiple loves together.  For example, I love fall.  I love decorating.  I love decorating my home with fall things.  Pinterest gives me ideas and tutorials on how to do that.

Another example, you say???  Well get ready, because here it comes!  Let's say I wanted to decorate with pumpkins but in a new and exciting way.  Hit up Pinterest and......................GO!


Love this lady's creation, which I found on Pinterest,
and she created based on inspiration she found on Pinterest!
And who thought panty hose + pumpkin would = love?


How chic!

Maybe home decor isn't your jam, and that's okay. Pinterest has something for everyone.  Maybe you are the next Rachael Ray or Bobby Flay.  In your case, you might enjoy these scrumptious findings:


Buffalo chicken dip?  Makes me wanna cuddle up...with some Tostitos.
Sweet potato casserole = all kinds of good!

Okay, let's just say you're an uber-grouch and don't like decor or food.  Well, that leaves you with these guys.


Oh em gee.

If you don't like those adorable babies, I personally have a problem with you and your state of mind.  Get a therapist.  Get medicated.  Find the Lord.  Do what you gotta do to get right!  That.is.all.

Happy Fall, y'all!

Until next time,

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

My Thank You Note to God

Dear God,

Being as this time of year always makes me feel closest to You, I thought I would write You a Thank You note.  If there is anyone more deserving of this type of correspondence, I genuinely have no clue who it would be.  Here goes nothing.

Thank You for the GORGEOUS display of changing leaves this year!  I thoroughly enjoyed every drive I took this fall because of the incredible colors.  I especially appreciated the amazingly vibrant colored skies You threw in as an added bonus.  Thank You for my family, my friends, my jobs, my furbabies, and for the little rented space I call home.  Thank You for my health.

Thank You for leading me into a new church that has honestly felt personal to me each Sunday.  It's always refreshing when the sermon feels like it was written just for you, and I know I wasn't the only member of the congregation who felt that way.  I'd been on the hunt for a new church to revive my structured relationship with You, and I feel much happier now that I've tried new places.

Thank You for helping me overcome obstacles this year, even when I questioned whether my strength would be able to sustain me in some of those instances.  (I later came to the realization that it didn't matter if I had strength left because You would always sustain me).  Thank You for answering some of my prayers, and for purposely ignoring other requests that I know I prayed entirely too hard for.  Thank You for educating me that it's not my place to try to force something I want, but that it's so much sweeter when I simply relax and let the plans You have for me play out.

Thank You for welcoming my darling Papa into your Kingdom of Heaven.  I should also thank You for being there for all of us as we embarked upon the journeys that are Alzheimer's disease and cancer.  It was very taxing at times, and no matter how dark things became, You never failed us.  Thank You for letting him pass on so peacefully after enduring so very much while fighting to live.  This will be our first holiday season without Papa, Lord, so I will again ask You to be there for us and look over us as I know this will be tough.  Thank You for welcoming my wonderful Uncle Deano into Heaven, as well.  Our family lost some of its best men, but I know they will have the most wonderful Thanksgiving of all at Your table, Lord.

Thank You for teaching my family resilience, once again.  We need to be reminded how to face fear and death and hard times, and the only way to be reminded is to go through them once again.  Although I doubt anyone would ever volunteer to go through those things, I have come to learn in hindsight that these experiences are more blessings from You in that they cause us to learn.

Thank You for making me into the woman I am today.  I know that every decision I've ever made has not been without Your watchful eye, and I know that I would not have been ready to receive the blessings You've bestowed upon me without Your continual grooming.  Thank You for the tests You put me through, and the supposed "failures" I faced.  Thank You for encouraging me to push on when I had "decided" I'd had enough.  Thank You for laughing at me when I made plans, and for reminding me that there is only one plan I should be worried about - Yours.

Finally, thank You for the newest blessing in my life.  I call him Comanche around here.  Thank You for showing me that all my struggles were worth it.  Thank You for believing I was ready for something really grand.  Thank You for opening up the "Big Picture" for me and for letting me in on the secret.  Thank You for the genuinely happy feeling I get every time he takes hold of my hand, and for the smile that has consistently been on my face since the first day I met him.  Thank You for this incredible gift - I really don't know how to say thanks enough for that.

P.S. - Happy Thanksgiving, Lord!


Your Servant,

Monday, November 1, 2010

Gather Round For Story Time

First, I would like to apologize for the extreme blogging hiatus!  This little Chicken Wing has been uber busy and has not found very much time for herself lately!  I am sorry that you've not had new reading material by way of this blog, and I'm getting back into it slowly but surely!  Things are starting to calm down a tad, and that is good for me and for you!  So, please check back often for updated posts, and don't give up on me yet, Peeps!

This is a little story that I will be retelling later in life if I'm blessed enough to have daughters one day.  I hope you enjoy the madness that is my mind.  Let's get started!

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...in a land far, far away, there lived a man who loved to tell the most fantastical stories.  He especially loved to tell tales of the fairy variety that excited every little girl in the land!  Princesses, castles, and princes, OH MY!  Who was this magical man?

WALT DISNEY!
This man helped me to formulate what I now call the unicorn theory when I was just a wee Chicken Wing.  His colorful stories told me that I should wait for a unicorn (he called them Prince Charming in his tales) and never settle for less because, "dreams can come true" (as he had one of his communication directors, Cinderella, inform me).

So, Mr. Disney constantly showed me pictures of unicorns, and on screen, I witnessed average girls like myself meet these incredible unicorns and live happily ever after.  I knew it was possible, and it was something I wanted out of life!  Thank you, Walt, for helping me realize a dream!

Then, I grew up.

While I still wanted to believe that unicorns existed, real life experiences were clouding the waters for me.  Whether it was happening directly to me, or to friends or family members, most of the girls I knew were ending up with types like these:

The horse.
The horse.  While not necessarily a bad type, the horse can be fickle and/or ordinary.  He is inconsistent with his affections and while the relationship with a horse can be good, it's never really great.  You can sincerely love a horse, but you usually find that something is missing.  You then have to choose whether you want to tough it out or keep looking.

The donkey.
The donkey.  Usually very cute, usually also an ass.  (Har-dee-har-har!)  We'll toss the liars, cheaters, and all-around bad guys in this group (and I truthfully hate to do that to the cute picture of the donkey above).  But that's how they get you - you hate to hate them.  They treat you rotten, and you love them anways.  Luckily for me, I got out of my donkey-dating stage years ago and never looked back.

So, I was bombarded by real life examples that made me feel like maybe unicorns didn't exist after all.  As I grew ever older, I was even told that by cynical women who'd been done wrong.  "Get your head out of the clouds, girl," they said.  "If you want to be happy in life, adjust your expectations because unicorns don't exist.  Those Disney fairy tales really do a disservice to girls because it skews their expectations to something unattainable.  Go find yourself a good horse and learn to be satisfied with that."

That was discouraging. 

Then, you'd meet someone who had a fantastic relationship that had, say, sustained 20+ years.  They'd tell you stories about the sweet things their unicorn had done for them, and why they were so lucky to have one.  They'd tell you to hold out until you found a unicorn - you know, that special someone that treats you the way you truly deserve.  Mind you, they couldn't point out any unicorns for you, but they told you to keep a look out.

That was frustrating.

So, to recap:  You believe in unicorns even though you've never seen one.  Then, you realize you're only dating horses and donkeys.  Then, you're told to settle for a good horse.  Then, you see someone who has a unicorn (you get insanely jealous), and you're told to wait for the unicorn.  (And people wonder why dating is so difficult and confusing).

Then, a relationship with what you thought was a good horse ends, and you're moseying along throughout the fields they call life for awhile.  A few months go by, and you get set up on a blind date way out in the field.  You show up, see this date and BAM! 

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What the hell is that horse doing with a horn on its forehead?!?!?!

You can't quite believe it, so you inch over very cautiously to take a closer look.  You decide that it does, in fact, look like a unicorn.  But, you're skeptical because let's face it -  you've never seen an available unicorn in your life!  It couldn't be true.

So you try your best to listen to what this "horse-in-unicorn's-clothing" has to say.  You go on more dates with him.  You still don't let your guard down because of all the failed horse and donkey relationships before. This cycle continues, and while he could have cut and run because you were so hesitant that you seemed like a lost cause, he doesn't.  Instead, he continues to show you that he is a unicorn.  He continues to treat you like a piece of treasure that he wants to keep and protect.

At this point, you have two options.  The first is to either deliberately or subconsciously be destructructive to this new and wonderful situation you're in because you're too afraid of letting something good happen to you.  The second is to just accept that you've found a unicorn, throw a lasso around him, and put him in your yard so some other girl doesn't get him! 

Guess which option I chose.  (You'll have to stick around to find out for sure!)

I hope you've enjoyed Story Time with Chicken Wing.  I'm sure there will be more editions of this pre-school, carpet square discussion for your enjoyment in the future!  I hope you all had a great Halloween weekend and are enjoying your candy highs!

Until next time,

Friday, October 22, 2010

Doing Things I've Never Done

With all the changes I've been through this year, I've discovered that I actually had a very surprising reaction to change - I actually am learning how to roll with it.  Not only am I learning to roll with it, but I'm even more open to new ideas and new experiences than I've ever been before.

Couple that notion with people who are actually listening when you speak and putting your thoughts into action, and you've got yourself a new way of looking at the world.

You'd like an example of this?  Guess what I'm doing tonight.  No seriously.  Make my day, punk.

I'll give you a few hints.  Take a look at the following pictures and you might get a better idea of what's going down.

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You've probably been able to deduce by now that I am, in fact, camping tonight.  Outside.  In the dark.  When it's going to get down to the low 30's.  When there will be "patches of frost."  In a tent.  That is going to happen.

Ordinarily, folks would say, "Well, Chicken Wing, why would you be so shocked that you're going camping?"

Because Chicken Wing + camping =


Hot - Yes.  Camper - No.
So, wish me luck, Peeps.  I'll be sure to update you on how this goes.  Technically, this was my idea.  I was the one who said, "I think I'd like to go camping sometime."  Little did I know that I would be presented with a tent, sleeping bags, folding bag chairs, and the promise of a campfire and s'mores.

Moral of this story:  Be careful what you wish for.

Just for fun, and because it's Friday, I will leave you with a video that will most likely be occurring again tonight - my beloved Jessica Simpson and her then-husband, Nick Lachey....camping.  It's one of my favorites of the Newlyweds episodes (yes, I own all three seasons on DVD.  Don't hate.).  It's also a wee bit long, but definitely worth the time if you have it.


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Until next time,

Monday, September 20, 2010

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things...Fall Edition

Peeps, I have a confession to make -

I woke up fairly early several times this past week and it actually made me smile.

Trust me, I just heard the screeching of your minds and the falling of your jaws when you read that line.  It was almost just as hard for me to write, and there was a momentary thought of whether or not I had used any illegal substances that would cause me to say such a blasphemous thing.

(I am happy to report that I have never, nor will I ever, use illegal substances.)  Back to the reason for this post.  Let me set the scene.

I woke up at 4:00am on Saturday morning as I had a HUGE event to work and needed to be there by 5:30am.  This is normally IMPOSSIBLE for me, so it was a major accomplishment in its own right that I was even awake.  But, I was awake.  I threw on my adorable rain boots to protect my tootsies from the early morning dew and took the furry monsters outside.  While standing on the concrete slab patio, a crisp breeze - so light that it was almost immediately a memory - blew by and I got a shiver all the way down my back.  I smiled.  This was a tell-tale sign that fall is almost upon us!

So, that little breeze started my wheels turning about the things I always get excited about that only come with fall, and I decided that this was a post worthy of being written.  Could it be that this little post of mine could start a fall revolution, where everyone who reads it starts to anticipate this fantastic season?  That could be a touch dramatic, but what am I if not dramatic, so I knew I had to try!  Here goes...

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Fall Things -
A Chicken Wing Remix

Light, crisp fall breezes and puppies and kittens,
Tell-tale cool temperatures that make you want mittens,
Pumpkin-spice lattes that coffee shops bring,
These are a few of my favorite fall things!

Big, comfy sweatshirts and warm apple pies,
Watching the leaves change with anticipating eyes,
Feeling childlike joy only a pumpkin patch can bring,
These are a few of my favorite fall things!

When the summer's heat burns,
When the winter's cold stings,
When I'm feeling sad...
I simply remember my favorite fall things,
And then I don't feel so bad!

Watching my Redskins and those UNC Tar Heels,
Being reminded of how a bonfire with friends feels,
Cuddling up to someone on your front-porch swing,
These are a few of my favorite fall things.

Fall-scented Yankee Candles and fall home decor,
Preparing for fall sales at your favorite stores,
Making fall memories that don't cost a thing,
These are a few of my favorite fall things.

When the summer's heat burns,
When the winter's cold stings,
When I'm feeling sad...
I simply remember my favorite fall things,
And then I don't feel so bad!

I hope that each of you have given some thought to your favorite fall things, and I would love to hear what makes you look forward to this fabulous time of year!  Leave me a comment, pretty please!

Until next time,
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