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Balloter

Posted in Musings, tagged on November 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Word of the Week: Balloter

bal·lot·er

[bal-uhter]

noun

one who votes or has the legal right to vote

Joe was known as a faithful balloter, never missing an opportunity to cast his vote.

I’ve been reading a book about a woman who fought diligently to give women the right to vote. Funny, isn’t it?  So many of us forget the battle that was fought just so we may have the freedom to make our political choices known through the process of voting and elections.

The 19th amendment, also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, guaranteed women the right to vote and was signed into law on August 26, 1920. Some states gave women the right to vote prior to the 19th amendment, but it wasn’t until then that all women were given the same right.

So male or female, young or old, I encourage you to exercise your hard-earned rights and get out there and vote for tomorrow’s Election Day.

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Haints and Halloween

Posted in Musings, tagged on October 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Word of the Week: Haint

haint (hānt)

A ghost or other supernatural being.

She was convinced the house was inhibited by a haint.

I can remember my grandma talking about haints. She grew up deep in the Ozarks and had all kinds of wonderful folklore and superstitions that really fascinated an impressionable little girl (and, at times, terrorized her).

Although my mother was not a believer in the superstitions, she has been known to talk about Grandma and her haints from time to time.

Having spent four months living in a haunted apartment when I was fresh out of college, I can now sympathize with Grandma and her stories.

But for you, I wish you a haint-free Happy Halloween full of treats and no tricks!

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The Gallivanting Goddesses

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Family, tagged on October 21, 2010| 4 Comments »

Almost five years ago, my cousin Brad called and discussed doing something special and fun for his Mom. I was all ears.

Brad is one of those super nice, incredibly sweet all-around great guys that you are thrilled just to know. Add in the fact that his Mom, my wonderful Aunt Robbie, has been like a second Mom to me for my entire life, and I couldn’t refuse whatever it was he was going to ask.

My most wonderful auntie has always been extra special to me. I was born the day after Aunt Robbie’s birthday, we share the same middle name, we both love the color pink and have yet to find a mall we didn’t like.

Aunt Robbie was blessed with two boys, but no girls. So Brad proposed a few of us girl cousins do something fun with Aunt Robbie. We plotted and planned and ended up with four of us girls taking Aunt Robbie for an overnight stay in a cute little town with fun shops, great food and a nice hotel. It was bliss!

My three cousins are daughters of my Dad’s two other sisters, both of whom have passed away. Aunt Robbie became Mom to us all on that trip. With each of us she loves, laughs, cries, teases and counsels – and that just makes us love her all the more.

We had such a great time on that first trip, we decided to make it an annual event. We all look forward to the time we can spend with each other, reconnecting, sharing memories, shopping, eating and enjoying the company. Our little group includes my cousins Julie, Nancy and Twylia – all fun, fantastic women in their own unique way.

So this year when we started planning our “shopping conference” we decided we needed to have a name for our group. Considering that we drive all over the countryside to meet and considering our love to shop, talk, eat and repeat the process until we are all exhausted, we came up with the name of the “Gallivanting Goddesses.”

We met just last week and it was fantastic as always. Aunt Robbie is still running circles around us, still able to hand-out great advice and fashion tips and still the sweet Aunt that we adore.

And these girls just know how to have a great time.

I encourage all you girls to have a group that you go gallivanting with at least once a year. Maybe it is family, maybe it is friends, maybe a combination of both – but you need that girl time.  It does your heart and spirit so much good!

So here’s to future gallivanting!

Just One of the Goddesses,

Shanna

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Gallivant

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Family, Musings, tagged on October 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Word of the Week: Gallivant

gallivant

(ˈɡælɪˌvænt)

to go about in search of pleasure; gad about

She spent the weekend gallivanting around the countryside.

I spent time during the past weekend with a fantastic group of women that I love to pieces – my aunt and cousins. We shopped, ate, laughed, shared and had a most wonderful time. I’ll post more about it later this week, but they have helped give gallivant a whole new meaning for me.

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