Flaunt It Friday: In Memory of Oma

The Mommy Kelly at Taken With a Grain of Salt has posed her Flaunt It Friday Challenge: In Memoriam.

This challenge comes at a good time. The holidays are a time to remember those who are no longer with us. The important people in our lives never leave us, even when they have passed away, They live in our memories. It’s important to Flaunt those memories, so that these loved ones are not forgotten.

Mid-December last year, my Sister-in-law called to tell me that my Oma’s health was failing. This was news I was not expecting. My Oma still lived at home with my Opa and had only suffered from minor health issues. Two weeks later, On December 26^th she passed away in her home surrounded by her family.

My Oma is a very important person in my life. The second post I ever wrote is about her, and her life. Rather than recount that story, I will link to it here.

I admire my Oma for her strength. I love her for her acceptance and kindheartedness. I remember going to her house as a child. We only lived a couple of miles from them. I have very fond memories of playing with my brothers and cousins on my Oma and Opa's ranch. There was so much to do. They had birds, fish, walnut trees and a creek. She would always have lime Kool-aid. To this day lime Kool-aid reminds me of those childhood adventures and of her.

What I love most about my Oma is the family she is responsible for. I love my aunts, uncles, and cousins beyond words. I treasure all the Christmas Eve's and Thanksgivings we spent together. I recognize that at the root of all my good childhood memories is a woman who after marrying my Opa, left her family and home in Holland so they could make a new life for themselves in the United States. Without her strength, determination, and love; I would not be here.

My Opa is not the same without her. They were married for 60 years. I cannot even fathom the pain he must be experiencing this last year without her. My Oma and Opa mean the world to me, and they meant the world to each other. I only want to say, "Hold on Opa. I know you are sad, but I am not ready for a world without you. I miss her too."

My Oma left behind a loving and close knit family. Many of us honor her in the naming of our children. Every generation of my Oma's family had a Nicolaas. My Uncle John's middle name is Nicolaas, my Dad's first name is Nicolaas, both of my brothers and several of my cousins have the middle name Nicolaas. My firstborn is named after my father. My second born is named after one of my Oma's sisters.

My Oma loved cross stitch and needlework. The pictures in this post are pieces she made. I have two more, not pictured here, that are hung in my children's rooms. I treasure these pieces. I look upon them daily and know that they were made by hands that I loved and that loved me.

Thank you Oma, I will not forget.

Flaunt It Friday: Guilty Pleasure

The Mommy Kelly at Taken with a Grain of Salt has presented her Flaunt it Friday Challenge. This week...Guilty Pleasure.

My Guilty Pleasure?

Speed.
Driving Fast.Passing Everyone.

Having more horsepower.And knowing how to use it.

I have become more responsible since having children. I haven't driven over 100 mph in awhile. I use to drive 100 to 120 mph everyday.

Yes, I was that girl.

Now I have kids, and I've slowed down. But every so often I put the pedal to the metal and pass everyone.

Just Because I Can.

Pictures are courtesy of Google Images. I have driven each of these cars at some point in time, and one of them I currently zip around in.

Want to participate in Flaunt it Friday? Post your link here and leave me a comment so I can see yours. Has Friday come and gone? No worries, it's never too late to Flaunt It!

Flaunt It Friday: How I Met Your Father

The Mommy Kelly's Flaunt it Friday challenge this week is to give insight into perhaps the most significant relationship in my life: a peek at me and my significant other. This challenge is to be less about the pictures, and more about the story.

It was January 1994. I was in my sophomore year at college and had a job selling Cutco Knives via in home presentations since the summer. I was doing a pretty good job selling knives, in fact I had just won a scholarship from the company for being in the top 25 in the nation for sales while attending school full time. This had earned me some prestige and a position as assistant manager in my office.

One night I had just finished a sales demo, and decided to stop the office on my way home. When I got there my manager, Steven was just finishing up an interview. We called them interviews, but really it was a huge group of people who just sat through an hour presentation about being a Cutco sales rep and anyone who wanted the job would be hired.

Steven was happy to see me. His “interview” had been pretty large and he wanted me to keep the group occupied while he pulled each of them out of the room to offer them a position. My job was to keep anyone from leaving before Steven got a chance to talk to them. Steven pointed out one boy in particular, he told me to make sure the boy didn’t leave.

The boy was Jeff. I can call him a boy, because he was 18 years old at the time. I focused all my attention on Jeff for at least 90 minutes while Steven sorted through the other job candidates. It was a strategy of Steven’s to “leave the best for last.” So, Jeff was left for last and of course got hired. Now he was scheduled for a 3 day group training seminar for that weekend. Steven asked me to stop in on the training whenever I wasn’t on sales demos.

Usually when I am telling this story, Jeff is around to interject. He isn’t here now, so I get to tell this next part my way.

Jeff followed me around like a puppy dog. If the training group went out to lunch, he would make sure he was in my car. The group went bowling one night and Jeff insisted it was easiest for him to come to my apartment first. When the next semester of classes started, Jeff managed to add himself into two classes that I was already enrolled in.

I didn’t mind Jeff ALWAYS being around, but I wasn't particularly interested either. Truth be told, I had a crush on someone else.

One night my parents called to tell me that they bought a new TV, and I could have their old one. I was ecstatic. I was a poor college student who had been living without a TV for months. I needed help picking up this TV and moving it into my upstairs apartment so I contacted Jeff and the other boy I had a crush on. Jeff said yes, the other boy said no. Jeff and I spent an hour in the car together driving to and from my parent’s house. It was then that I started to realize how much fun I had with Jeff, and what a jerk this other boy was.

The rest they say is history. We dated for 2 1/2 years before we got engaged. In March of 1997 we were married. And we lived happily ever after. The End.

Flaunt it.....Sunday?

"Taken with a grain of salt" posted her Flaunt it Friday challenge on...... Friday. I was off taking advantage of all the wonderful sales on Friday, so I missed it. I have given myself a holiday extension so I can take part in this fun challenge.

The objective is to post two photo's of yourself. A "I've never looked so good, I am Hot Hot Hot" photo and then the photo that you thought you had burned, but somehow it is still lingering around.
It is my pleasure to show you my Hot Hot Hot photo.

This picture was taken on March 2, 2002. Jeff and I were in Maui celebrating our 5 year anniversary. We took a very similar (same beach, in front of a rented Jeep) picture 5 years earlier for our Honeymoon.
Just last week I cataloged these old photos with Adobe Photoshop Album Starter. I told Jeff to look at how the Album Starter put all our pictures in date order. (It's really cool) On our date night he said to me, "You looked great when we went to Maui. I saw a picture where you had a 6-pack." He meant ab's not beer.

I said "Are you sure? I don't remember that."

This got him all upset because he thought I didn't believe him. Really I wanted him to repeat his statement and possibly extend the conversation at a louder volume so other people in the bar could hear that yes, I use to have a 6 pack. Now I have 2 children and a appendectomy scar that makes my belly button look strange.

Unfortunately I have to move on to the "other" picture.


This photo was taken my Freshman year of college. The fact that I am posing in front of a McDonald's sign should be a pretty good indication of my physical fitness at this time. Three years later I weighed 185 pounds and wore a size 16. I wish I could find a picture from that year. I am pretty sure that I destroyed all of them. When I look at this picture I am not surprised that I was called "Thunder Thighs" in High School.

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Flaunt it Friday: Office

My home office:



My husband and I didn't want to waste our Formal Living Room space with fancy furniture that we would never sit on. Instead we created a sitting room/den setting. We fold down the laptop when we are being formal.

I love this desk. We bought it right before we left Sacramento. The store we got it at is called Encore Model Home Furnishing. If you live in or around Sacramento you HAVE to check this store out. Beautiful items that used to be in model homes. Great prices.

Here is the view from my seat:



Notice the empty plate. I just finished a slice of delicious Chocolate Merainge Pie. My husband is practicing his baking for Thanksgiving. I love him and hate him for it!

Happy Flaunt it Friday, I can't wait to see yours!

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