family from the country...

Last week my Aunt Reba and Uncle Fred from North Carolina came to visit us up here in Ohio. We haven't seen them for 3 years, and while we stay in touch through phone and email... spending late nights on the porch drinking sweet tea cant be substituted.

Thats Fred, Reba, Mother, Father and nina

My sisters, dad and I all knew they were coming, but my mom (Reba's sister) did not. So she came home from work Tuesday and there they were just sittin' in the foyer to greet her. She was super surprised and we were all just so excited to spend time with them. Reba and Fred just have a way of being so kind and funny and country... we (especially my sisters and I) just soak it up. Our accents that are dormant from living "up north" start to seep out, and soon we are drinking sweet tea and sittin' on the porch like its our job! (Being raised by a mom with an accent, it cant help but rub into our language). For some reason, we don't do that kind of stuff so much "up north" I think people stay inside more and always go go go, so the idea of porch sittin' doesn't surface very often. So to say the least, we had an amazing couple days with them, and they left all too soon! However, they made sure to tell me before they left that I have an open invitation to go down and live with them whenever I'd like....

Maybe there could be a lot more porch sittin' in my future...

Promises

Its a pleasant evening here in Kent, OH... (at least while a fan is blowing on you...). I promised pictures of our bingo game at my family reunion, so here they are!

Bingo has been a tradition at these reunions for as long as I can remember... everyone brings a couple prizes, and when you win a round, you get to pick your prize. We laugh with each other, get annoyed with each other, and laugh some more. Its a great family time :)

I have a confession to make: I use tea bags more than once. When at work, I use the same tea bag about 3 times... I get the same taste with all three cups, and I don't waste extra tea. I have heard that some frown upon this saying it is either not as tasty, or just plain gross. I however, don't care what the haters say. Its good, it saves money, what more do you need to know?

I found this website yesterday and it is the most amazing thing I have ever stumbles upon in my LIFE. There is so much there to read and learn and be entertained by, I felt like I had ADD when I was on it because there was so much good at once, my mind couldn't concentrate on just one thing! Here is the story of how the author of the site met her husband "Marlboro Man" and how she became "Pioneer Woman". I think that her life may be most like the life I want. City living would be nice for a time, but ultimately living on a ranch in the middle of nowhere with kids and animals and hay and tractors and a big kitchen... that's the dream :)

Part of this blog was to talk about weddings and ideas for them and my life as a Wedding Planner, so I think maybe I should do something with that too! I want to share with you all a particular NE Ohio Photographer who's skills are superior and who's blog is a delight to read. Genevieve Nisly Photography is just delightful and definitely saved under my "favorites" for photography available here in Ohio. (check out their blog and the pictures taken in Mexico!).

Thats all for today. Have a delightful weekend everyone!

I am back to blogging today, mostly from the prodding of Ryan. I just forget to do things like this, and he is a pretty helpful reminder :)

another funny picture:

Photo by Antonis Giannelis / Greece

This week was.... ? I don't really have a word for it. We did have our 23rd Annual Eddy Family Reunion with I planned. I'll post some pictures of our bingo game later... (no, I am not joking) :)

Last week my dad brought over my sewing machine and table... and I am super excited about what I can do with that... I will post pictures as I create...

Thats all for now. Pictures later.

Update on the gardening... check out Ryan's Blog for pictures of our plants.... I am super excited about the spinach! I can practically taste the yummy salads we will eat later this summer!

Found some more crazy wedding photos today on this website here is a sampling: (some are funny... and some are not)...

She looks MAD!


I can only imagine the sad story behind this face!!!

My youngest sister (Bekah) called me 18 times yesterday asking me to bring her some books to read.... she is 16 and on summer vacation, and our mother has never let us just sleep all the time or watch a lot of tv on vacations (I don't think she understands the word "vacation"), but anyways, Bekah decided to use her time to read and look busy instead of being bored and roped into doing chores and yard work (smart girl!). One book she asked for was "The Nanny Diaries"... its a pretty good book, and the movie isn't bad also... here are some of the books I gave her:

I've slowly been able to get her interested in things like Anne of Green Gables, and books of that time period... one day when I was sick I made her watch the movies with me... I grew up watching them and always cry when Matthew dies, laugh at Anne's silly stubbornness, worry when Gilbert gets sick, and cry in the end while Anne and Gil are on the bridge.... after Bekah watched them with me, I think she feels the same way! A lady at my church whom I babysit for recently gave me the WHOLE Anne series (books), and I cant wait to read them all! Bekah also asked for those to read! I bet none of those other girls at Hudson are doing that this summer... but maybe Bekah can influence them a bit! :)

The rest of today:
Finish work.
Austin moves in.
Watch 3rd Season of LOST (my new favorite show!!!).
Dinner at the Brysons.
More LOST!!!.

Kairos Garden

Ryan and I planted a garden a couple weeks back... sometimes we forget to water it (oops!) but its been raining lately, so we've been covered. We planted pumpkins, cucumbers, peppers, radishes, 5 different herbs, watermelon and spinach! We are so excited to eat fresh salads later this summer! Our cucumbers have already started to come out! I was listening to the radio today and they had people calling in giving gardening tips... and I realized there are some pretty neat ways that plants work with each other and the earth to help everything to grow, so I googled some books on this stuff and came up with:

Those two look like good starters for those who want a green thumb!

And one more thing (maybe to protect that thumb - and the other 4):

They have different sizes and colors! Check them out!

I think having something fun to wear will motivate us "gardeners" who are not always eager to go play in the dirt...

Barn Wedding reprise...

Since my post on barn weddings (see below), I have had so many people tell me they want a barn wedding! That was super encouraging... one, because that meant people were reading my blog, and two, because I may be on to something with this theme wedding idea...

There could be many variations to a barn wedding:

Totally Country: Checkered tablecloths, horse rides, square dancing at the reception...

Victorian Country: Deep colors, sweeping sheer fabric, brass table decor, ivy...

Simple Country: Barn, hay, chairs, more hay...

Life stuff:
House fire this week: 1
Police car run-ins: 4
Trips to Little Italy in Cleveland: 1
Dunkin Coffees: 2

Regarding the house fire, no one was hurt, and no structural damage (thanks to an observant hero/neighbor)... caused by a cigarette... not by a person at our house though. Through it we got to meet a couple neighbors that we hadn't known yet, so that was a good thing!

Little Italy was great, though when they say "little" they really mean it!!! It was so teeny! But fun none the less... We went out to celebrate Eric's 23rd Birthday. It was the "fab five" (Eric, Shanna, Jamie, Ryan and me) and while getting ready for the evening, it was brought to our attention that there were NO pictures with the five of us together (we have been friends for like 3 years) and we were appalled, so we made it a point to take one... however, we took it with Shanna and Eric's camera, so we may never see it again, because those two take lots of pictures, but never do anything with them!!! I'll post it if I ever get a copy :)

This is Shanna and Eric (I planned their wedding! One year ago July 14)