Santa Baby!

I had no idea this was Santa...until he came and brought this to me! Loving the camera...and Santa! B-)

Christmas Wonderland 2010

It was perfect! :)

The Simmons Grinch!

Xbox made me something in shop class for Halloween. I have just found it sitting in the garage because it was a tad unfinished. The moment I saw it ... I was in love!

Big Daddy even admired his work. Xbox had painted it Red (which worked out well since long past October). After a few minutes of pondering....we decided to put a Santa hat on it...and display it in our home along with all of our other beloved Christmas decorations. I had to display it...it was a belated gift from Xbox...and his first real work of art! It still needs a small hole drilled in the back to put in a strand of Christmas lights to make it complete....but I love him...just the way he is.

So I stuffed a Santa hat and sat it on top of my new obsession....but I thought it looked a tad mean for a Santa...so Big Daddy said .....It MUST be 'The official Simmons' Grinch'. He will be a permanent fixture in our house from Oct - Jan!

What do you think?

Teeter's World since Thursday

Thursday was Polar Express Day. One of my dearest friends (we are trying to get her to blog) and I have taken off one day a year to go shopping at the North Pole. We have done this run since our oldest littles were babies....and now our littlest littles are big but we still go. We took along another close friend. We set out for K-vegas. Many stores later...and lupper (lunch and supper) at Don Juan's...we finished our run... 11 hours later. Great times with great friends. I'll post a wordless Wednesday when I get these picture..promise. Realized after I was trying to download pictures of the day that my camera usb port as hosed...so I cant post picture unless I run my sim card to CVS (troubles).

Wormie came home late to begin wedding festivities for one of her closest friends. We really didn't really see her much that day. A job of a bridesmaid is very hard... but oh so worth it.

Friday was a full day at the Salt Mines. 2Shaye came home to visit an Open House held at the PA Program at Wake Forest University School of Medicine...aka as the Salt Mines. I picked her up at 5:15 and journeyed back to Shoals to get geared up for the Xbox Junkie's basketball game at 7pm They won a barn burner of a game...and he played awesome! Go Cards! Wormie was at the rehearsal and spending the night with the future Mrs. D. Sorry no pictures yet of the Xbox...but will get on that at the next few games.


Saturday started out with a quick trip to Winston with 2Shaye to hit a salvage store or two for our Twice New Christmas theme this year. Xbox was supposed to have another game at 3 so our time was short. By the time we were finished (and had a name checked off the Christmas list) with the salvage store....it was snowing...and not just wind snowing...it was snowing.



We stopped for coffee at Krankie (very good by the way).


Got a call from the Xbox Junkie saying all games were cancelled. Asked him to meet us to shop...but he and Big Daddy went to the WFU basketball game instead. That gave us the afternoon free to shop. Hit the antique mall and checked off 4 more names off the Christmas list.


Still snowing. Hit Mega thrift and found a Friends game for 2Shaye. AC Moore stop to get a few things to adorn another twice new project 2Shaye was doing for her Bible Study friend. Still snowing.

It turned out GREAT...hope she blogs it. Hit up the grocery store and Sam's Club for some banging ribbon (21" wide). Got home...grilled out steaks....and hung out w/ 2Shaye, the Xbox kid and several of his friends. Still snowing. Big Daddy stakes claim to the gift we had gotten my niece's boyfriend...so make that 3 names off the list instead of 4. And very unusal for Big Daddy but this was something he that had always caught his attention. It was a very old baseball glove...maybe from the 1920s. He can't quit messing with it. Still snowing. Wedding festivities begin for Wormie's friend. She and her friends get home late and we all sit up talking about the details of Casie's special day. Hectic things, precious things....wedding rings locked up in a safe and had to find ones to replace....the groom surprised the bride by singing to her but he does have the voice of an angel no doubt about it!




Sunday is here and for first time in more than 6 weeks....I have ONE day...where I REALLY have no place that I really HAVE to be...it's a great feeling and I now fully appreciates these days. We looked at the snow in the daylight 3 or 4 inches!



Fixed cinnamon rolls and coffee for 2Shaye before Sam came to get her for church. Then I fixed a huge breakfast for the Xbox and his troops and Wormie and her friends. Xbox's friends started leaving about 8:30 and filtered out all morning. By noon they were all gone and Xbox was in a vegetative state. Wormie and her friends were gone by 1:30ish....and 2Shaye left for Raleigh around 4ish. The house is all quiet again....Big daddy is doing laundry and I am thinking NAP ....Xbox playing Xbox. Why does the weekend come and go so fast...
and why...as soon as I start to blog again...do I break my camera! UGH!

A Fruitcake

For Aunt Thelma

While going through all of Thelma's things....I ran across several bags ( at least 10... maybe more) that had little containers of candid fruit. Still in the grocery bags they came home from the store in. They had been placed in a room right off of the kitchen. Maybe she was buying ahead so she could make her annual fruitcakes without having to buy so many containers at once. I really have no way of knowing. I do know...that it caught my attention and I know she MUST have had big plans for that fruit.

About a week or so ago my mom and I went to visit with Thelma. On our way, my mom stopped by the store to get her some snacks, drinks and special little things she likes to keep stashed in her room. Among the things my mom bought that day was a little fruitcake....and I immediately thought back to all of those little grocery bags that contained the candied fruit that we had to pitch out.

During our visit I asked Thelma about fruitcake. If she liked it, who all she made it for, how she made it. Just typical fruitcake chat. :) She said she had made it many for people in her community...and for many years. She said she just found a recipe a long time ago but couldn't recall how to make it. So a mission was born... I asked around for a tried and true recipe. Someone I work with had a recipe that her husband's grandmother was famous for...so I chose to make that one.

Mix, stir, coat the fruit w/ flour, squeeze juice from oranges and a lemon, several flavorings, pecans, white raisens, flour, etc.......I ended up w/ a tube pan...filled to the rim....and weighing nearly 20lbs (or so it seemed). Curiosity got the best of me and i tried the candied mix fruit as I was putting it in the bowl to coat with flour... GAG... it was bitter. Maybe something magical happens when it cooks FOR 3 HOURS...low and slow. I took the cake to my moms at Thanksgiving. Unbeknown to me...my oldest brother (Big M) loves fruitcake. Since I had sliced it and put it in Ziploc bags for Thelma....Big M snatched a few pieces. He called me that night saying he was finished with buying fruitcake...this would be a holiday tradition for him as well. Like Thelma...I went straight out to get my fruit so I would have it available to fix and take to my parents house on Christmas Eve. Although Big Daddy assures me that the stores would never sell out..but I wanted to be prepared...just like Thelma.

I did not take ONE PICTURE...and I am truly mad at myself for that....but the next one...I shall post just a picture of the fruitcake.

I hope Thelma liked it....I realize how hard it is to try to imitate something that she probably perfected. But surely it was at least equal to Claxton's! :)

Yes folks....some people really DO like fruitcake and I must admit that I enjoyed the experience.

New Years Eve

New Year's Eve wasn't the most exciting time we've had but after an incredibly busy fall and holiday season, ringing in the New Year quietly was VERY welcomed. Typically we get together with friends or have our children close by to toast the beginning of the New Year. This year we found ourselves alone enjoying the quietness that will begin to prepare us for the empty nest. Please do not think this is depressing or sad.....because it was not. Big Daddy and I enjoy couch and TV time together. It isn't often we have the opportunity to discuss life's ever changing paths of our kids or work or what we would like to do IF we ever get to enjoy retirement ... so these quiet times are special. We tried to tune into the UNC basketball game but we found ourselves dozing in and out of conscientiousness as did the team Carolina was pelting on the court. However, we did gather ourselves together about 11:50...turned it to Dick Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve Party and watched the ball drop in Times Square (an awesome place to visit...just not in the crowds on New Year's Eve...we're too old now to find that anything BUT appealing) ...got the traditional midnight kiss and I sent the kid's a txt msg to wishing them a Happy New Year altough I don't think Wormie had service to receive hers .....then waited for them to start filtering back in.


This year the Xbox Junkie went down the road to a big New Year's Eve party at a chickfriend's house. After the ball dropped in Times Square, the Xbox Junkie and his passel of guy friends were headed back here to do what most guys do.... Xbox, basketball with the outside speakers blaring with rap music, maybe some 8-ball, and Texas-style ping pong. So in a few hours, our quiet solitude would turn into very loud and rambunctious....and yes it IS comforting to hear all of these sounds as I know when they are here and loud....they're not out finding themselves in mischief....and that's a good thing!


2Shaye had a date planned so she was bustling around getting ready for a night out with Sam and the Graham Crakas (Sam's sister and brother-in-law......and her hosts when she travels to Raleigh to spend time with Sam). 2Shaye loves hanging with the Graham Crakas so she was excited to be bringing in the New Year with them. They were going to dinner and a movie. Not sure where they ended up eating but I think they went to see Marley and Me. After that, they linked up with Sam's parents at a friends house to ring in the New Year. They headed home shortly after midnight and offered to pick up the Xbox Junkie and his entourage from their party so they could begin 2009 with welts and bruises from Texas style ping pong. It is my understanding from hearing the Xbox Junkie reflect back on ping pong that evening.... that Sam was pretty nasty in ping pong and not many wanted to play him but the ones that were brave enough to take him on....sported souvenirs (aka as bruises) for several days. Guess that's a guy thing.....just not sure.

Wormie had been home several days with us and was finding the need to escape from her psycho-parents at any cost. One of her friend's was having a small get together so she went there to hang out, graze on snacks and maybe do Wii fit and other Wii games. Her boyfriend, (we'll call him 'Money-clip' to put him into the witness protection plan that was made famous by the FBI), stopped by to pick her up and off they went to begin their evening festivities. I do not know exactly what all they got into as she never offered any fun chit-chat about her evening. The Xbox Junkie's friends said that she rolled in about 3-4am-ish. The Xbox Junkie wouldn't offer any clues as to her landing time as he said he didn't see her or Money-Clip when she got home. He is a protective brother....just ask 2Shaye as he's always offering fashion advise. Since she is hanging on the edge of 21, we didn't monitor her comings and goings too closely on that particular evening....but being psycho-parents, we do keep a watch on her MOST of the time. It's part of the torture we expect her to inflict upon her children. She denies she will.....but we know it's just part of becoming a psycho-parent...and she will definitely fall into that category....it's just in the genes.

Even though this was one of the quietest New Year's celebrations in a while .... Big Daddy is still the one that I want to bring in the New Year with....and yes I am selfish sometimes w/ his time so getting him home alone for a few hours always makes me crazy-happy...especially knowing the kids were happy being where and with whom they wanted to be with.

Happy 2009!

"Going to get the biggest Christmas tree in the forest"

Going to get a Christmas tree has always proven to be an experience of conflict in tastes and ideas of what makes the perfect Christmas Tree. To me...there is no such thing as an ugly Christmas tree. Some have more 'Character' than others but after the lights go on...something magical happens. When Wormie was little she would always to say... "Daddy I want the biggest tree in the forest!!"....and he has always been a good sport and tried to satisfy all of our wishes as far as the tree goes and still get what his Wormie would consider 'the biggest tree in the forest'. Of course if he had his way we'd have a cedar tree cut from a field nearby and to him... it would be just as grand as the one Wormie has always insisted on bringing home. One day after the kids are gone...I am sure Big Daddy will get his cedar tree and I am sure that once lights adorn it- it will be beautiful...well maybe. :) I will say that Wormie and I have similar likes in trees.....very tall and slender. 2Shaye on the other hand... has somewhat of a different idea of the perfect tree. She likes tall but rather ROUND and FAT trees at the bottom. One that would take up the whole living room. The Xbox Junkie prefers the first tree in the patch regardless of the size or shape. The Xbos Junkie always gets the honors of cutting down the chosen tree.... but usually gives up the saw before it had fallen...mainly due to lack of interest. This year Wormie climbed under the tree and finished his sloppy attempt at lumberjacking. We went to a place in Virginia called Big Reed Island Christmas Tree Farm. We love it there. They have trees of every size and shape. This year it sleeted on us most of the time we were searching but that just got us in the spirit of cold weather and ready for the Wake Forest football game we would be going to later that day ( my next blog attempt). 2Shaye took Sam with us this year.....his first excursion on the hunt for the perfect tree. This trip might have warped Sam to a degree but if he was thinking harsh thoughts he kept them to himself. Our tree is almost finished...only lacks 2Shaye's angel adorning the top.

These are a few pictures..... I will post one of later of the decorated tree.

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving time is all about family, over-eating and trying to make everyones schedule happen. Not always easy. We started out the day by taking pictures of Wormie, 2Shaye and the Xbox junkie....for 2 reasons. "The Wall of Smiles" (which I will go into more details later) and for family Christmas presents. I insisted the kids go outside for some candid shots. The 1st conflict of the day begins.... Wormie needs to be taking the pictures instead of me since she has a good eye behind the lens..... but she can't since she has to be in the pictures and the Xbox Junkie is not happy at all about the whole picture situation. We are about done with the photo shoot when 2Shaye's boyfriend (we lovingly call him Sam) arrives. We continue to take a few more pictures before we split off to go in different directions. 2Shaye and Sam go to his family's gathering for early lunch while me and the rest of my gang head to my parents to help prepare the feast for a later lunch.


Upon arriving at Mammaw and Papa Ronnie's house we find that they have been busy and have nearly everything prepared. We decided to hang out in the kitchen and catch up on some long lost conversation and wait for my brothers and their families arrive.

Finally we are all together.....Mammaw and Papa, Teeter's gang plus Sam; Big Mark and his gang, Big Phil and his gang. After gorging ourselves on the Big Bird and all the trimmings (Its funny... no matter what is fixed or who fixes it....nothing ever compares to my mom's Thanksgiving lunch) we decided to take ALL the grandkids to Papa Ronnie's bottoms for MORE PHOTOS...again....Christmas presents are in the making and it's an important task. Everyone was in good spirits for pictures at the river and on the big rock...except the Xbox Junkie. He was ready to get back to his 'Call of Duty'....however after a few rounds of strong arming and bribery he obliged.


Later that evening....still feeling queezy from the massive bird intake at lunch we head to Big Daddy's side of the family. We are all in tow but have to stop by my our house to run in and grab the deviled eggs that I was asked to bring. Since Sam is a huge fan of deviled eggs (trying to be polite and hold back the gagging reflex was hard but he managed. His good manners was being displayed in the highest form) we let him carry the eggs in the car and into Mema and Papa Ted's house. We all gather with Mema and Papa Ted, Big Daddy's gang plus Sam, and Big Simm's (Big Daddy's brother) gang. Its funny how when having to gorge on 2 huge meals (3 for 2Shaye and Sam) you learn the hard way to only eat the most favorite food choices at either place to keep yourself from OD-ing on Thanksgiving Day.

Finally several hundred thousand calories later and being purely miserable ... it was time to go home and crawl onto the couch. It is times like these you only WISH could purge and restore your body to the pre-gorging early morning feeling. Black Friday shopping is on the horizon.