Laurie Jackson's Blog, page 10

Naked With Black Socks

Are you comfortable in front of people, or does the idea of public speaking make you want to hide in the bathroom? Why?

No! I am not comfortable in front of people, especially public speaking. My siblings and I sing every so often for Mom in church. She is proud of us and wants to share our voices with everyone. Well, the last time I sang in church it was for Mom’s birthday. Or was it for Mother’s Day? I can’t remember. Somehow, when we all walked to the front of the church, I ended up in the center. While we were singing, I could not look up at the congregation. I felt like all eyes were on me. My voice was shaky and I started to quiver. I kept thinking is this song about over? I need to sit down.

I remember when I was about six years old, we had to sing for Grandpa and Grandma before we could have our Christmas presents. I remember having Christmas in the garage and having to stand on a bench.

I sang in the youth choir in church and went on to sing in the adult choir. I am not sure what happened but I eventually got really nervous singing in front of everyone. Years ago, the nearby churches got together to sing a cantata. We traveled to the different churches to sing. At the church in Holstein, MO, we were about to sing and I started quivering. I felt very faint. The person next to me asked me if I was okay. She said my face was very flushed. I whispered how I felt. She suggested that I go sit down. Next thing I knew she had helped me down the steps to the basement of the church. She gave me a glass of water and told me to relax. I was embarrassed to walk down the side aisle of the church. I felt like all eyes were on me. Perhaps that is another reason why I cannot be in front of people.

When I was in the eighth grade, I took a class in English. One of the requirements was to speak in front of the class. I absolutely hated that part of the class. The assignment was to write notes on index cards. We were allowed to use those. We had to speak for at least three minutes. My turn arrived and I thought I was going to puke. My speech lasted maybe a minute and a half. I kept looking at the clock and sifting my cards. Needless to say, those three minutes seem to last forever!!! Finally, Mr. Cheeks, the teacher, told me to sit down. I was hoping the floor would open up and swallow me. No such luck!

Even trying to visualize the crowd in their underwear did not work. Why? I could not look up to make eye contact.

Have a blessed day!

Laurie Jackson

Voice Work

Your blog is about to be recorded into an audiobook. If you could choose anyone — from your grandma to Samuel L. Jackson — to narrate your posts, who would it be?

Wow! I am not sure who I would choose. A couple of people instantly come to mind.

I would have to choose my uncle, for one. Just because he had a great sense of humor. He’d try to make it funny no matter what I was blogging about. He had the ability to find the silver lining during a thunderstorm.

Someone else I’d have to choose is my son, Jesse. Talk about a deep voice! Whenever he is around, I try to talk like him. He just looks at me strangely and says, “Mom, no, no.” Shaking his head with a smirk on his face. I call Jesse up just so I can hear his voice. He would make a great voice over for any child’s movie.

When my grandson was younger, there were books that you could record while reading it. I did that for James. After the recording, I listened to myself and was very disappointed. I do not like the sound of my voice. Although, my husband says I should do voice overs because I can disguise my voice. Maybe, perhaps, one day. Maybe I’ll just save that kind of thing for my grandchildren.

Enjoy!

Laurie Jackson

 

I Am So Excited!

My beautiful daughter is pregnant. The baby is due in three weeks. Her name is Ava Rose. I just love that name.

When Adele and Blake told Alex and I that they were expecting, I clapped and smiled and laughed and cried. All at once, if that’s possible. ;)

Alex and I were able to go to the doctor one time with Adele and Blake. We were so excited. We were able to hear the baby’s heartbeat. Wow! I almost cried when I heard it. (Yes, I have been pregnant, obviously. I have heard the heartbeat of them all.) There’s just something spectacular about hearing the heartbeat coming from inside your daughter, your child.

The name Ava symbolizes ‘strength’ and ‘desire’, however, the Latin understanding is that Ava means ‘bird’. The name become more popular at the end of the Medieval period and was futher popularised as a result of the actress Ava Gardener.

I already have one terrific grandson, James. He turns 7 in March! How did that happen? Where did the time go?

I love, love, love being a grandma. You know the saying, “If I knew having grandchildren would be this much fun, I’d of had them first.” ;)

I feel so blessed, and grateful, and thankful for having the honor of being called Grandma. It will be interesting to see what little Miss Ava Rose calls me.

Hope you have a blessed day!

Laurie Jackson

 

If I Could Turn Back Time

If you could return to the past to relive a part of your life, either to experience the wonderful bits again, or to do something over, which part of you life would you return to? Why?

If I had the ability to turn back time, I definitely would.

Just to be able to spend one more minute with Grandpa. To be able to sing with him just one more time. Singing “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush” while raking hay. That was our time together.  He had a deep voice. One thing is for sure, he did not care who heard him sing.  Grandpa Shorty had a wonderful voice. He may have been a big man but he was a teddy bear at heart. Grandma Helen had him wrapped around her little finger.

I loved being in the kitchen with Grandma Helen. She taught me so many things. One thing she taught me was how to sew a button on. The first time I tried, it was all wrong. I had gone out to check for eggs. When I came back in, she chuckled at me and told me to start over. Somehow, I had managed to sew the button on but was unable to button the shirt! One time, she and I had made a cake. I don’t remember which ingredient we had forgotten to add. After the cake came out of the oven, it didn’t look right. It still tasted goo, though. Grandma and I had a good laugh over that. Grandpa still ate it.

To be able to spend more time with Elvin. He was my uncle. He was born with a disability but he sure didn’t let anything stop him. He stood at least 6’4″ and thin as a rail. He was so strong. Baling hay may have been hard but Elvin always made it fun. He would always drive the tractor. Me and my sisters would always be on the wagon stacking the bales. He had a radio on the tractor. We used to sing to the music. He taught me to not to sweat the small stuff. He always wore a smile.

My sister, Mindy Jo. What a precious creature. She was taken from us way too soon. To have one of her hugs one more time.  To see her beautiful smile just one more time. I often wonder how life would be if she had been born healthy. Or even if she had won her battle with cancer.  She lived in her own little hell here on earth. She was another one that taught me so much about life.

If I could turn back time, I would love to make my children babies again. I was blessed with four sons and one daughter. They grew up way too fast. Just give me the chance to rock them and sing to them again. Being a mom is the best job ever. It is hard work but at the end of the day when your child gives you a hug and kiss, well, that’s just wonderful. I miss reading to them and tucking them in at night. Those four little words, “I love you, Mommy,” at bedtime always made me feel blessed and grateful.

Life is way too short to be negative. Enjoy each day to the fullest. Enjoy your friends and family. Don’t be afraid to hug and say I love you to those who mean the most to you.

May your day be filled with blessings!

Laurie Jackson

 

Why?

Why do children have to grow up? Why can’t they stay small? Don’t they know their Mamas need them? Where is it written that children have to grow up and move out on their own? Could someone please show me where it’s written?

My beautiful, wonderful, loving, adorable children have been on their own for many years already. That doesn’t mean I have to like it!! I know I do not like the empty nest syndrome. That stinks!!

I did not write the following post. It sure did hit home, though.

“It’s not a death. And it’s not a tragedy. But it’s not nothing, either…”

Life Before And After Blogs

Life before and after blogs. Seriously?

I grew up in a time where the internet had not even been invented yet. (Yes, I just dated myself, or is it aged? but whoop de do!) If the internet had been invented, I had not heard of it. I was raised on a farm and we did not have time for such a “luxury”. We did not have a television for many, many years. Saturday nights were piling and cramming into Dad’s truck going to my grandparents’ house to watch Lawrence Welk and Hee-Haw.

If the internet suddenly disappeared in this day and age, I would use a paper and pen. If I decided to write a blog without the internet, it would be some interesting reading for my kids after I pass. I used to keep a diary. Guess what? It was hand-written. OMG!

If I didn’t have my blog, my life will still carry on. With tongue in cheek I say this…You all would not be able to read my awesome blogs. ;)

Have a super wonderful day!

Laurie Jackson

 

 

 

Witness Protection

When you do something scary or stressful — bungee jumping, public speaking, etc. — do you prefer to be surrounded by friends or by strangers? Why?

I prefer to be surrounded by strangers. Why? Well, if I make a fool of myself, I know I will never see these people again.

An example:

Last June, Alexander and I went zip-lining. Yes, that’s correct, zip-lining.

When Alex first told me he had set a date for us to go zip-lining, I was excited. The closer we got to the date, the more nervous I got.

Alex and I were the last ones to cross the sway bridges, besides our guide. I believe there were twelve of us. There were seven bridges to cross to get to the first jump off tower. I kept telling myself not to look down. I ended up looking down a couple of times. At first I thought it wasn’t too bad. Wrong! My head started spinning. Yep! I am scared to death of heights!!

When my turn finally up, I told the guide that I would probably scream. He said a lot of people scream and worse. He hooked up and told me to go. As I took that step off, I screamed, “I love you, Alexander Maxwell Jackson!!!” When I reached the next tower, the people laughed at me. I didn’t care. One lady asked me why I was zip-lining if I was scared of heights. I told her that it was on my bucket list. She just smiled at me.

The next tower I didn’t scream. I enjoyed the ride and the view. By the time we got to the last tower, I was almost disappointed that it was over already. At the end of the day, it had not felt like we had gone zip-lining at all. That it was just a dream. I did enjoy it and am thinking about going zip-lining again sometime.

Anyway, being surrounded by strangers would be better for me. If they want to talk about me and how I reacted, well, so be it. With people that I know, they can talk about me behind my back, which is fine. They can also make comments to my face. No thanks!

Enjoy life and don’t let people get to you!

God bless!

Laurie Jackson

 

 

 

From Grandma’s Country Kitchen — Easy Cinnamon Twists

EASY CINNAMON TWISTS

This recipe makes about 2 dozen rolls.

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 package Rapidrise Yeast

2/3 cup hot water (125 to 130 degree)

1/4 cup margarine, softened

2 eggs, room temperature

3 tablespoons margarine, melted

TOPPING will be after the recipe.

Set aside 1 cup flour. Mix remaining flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Stir in hot water and softened margarine. Mix in eggs and enough reserved flour to make soft dough. Knead three minutes.

Divide dough in half. Roll into 2 (12 inch) squares; brush with melted margarine. Sprinkle with 3/4 topping mixture. Fold 1/3 dough over center; brush with melted butter, sprinkle with remaining topping. Fold over remaining 1/3 dough. Cut each into 12 (1 inch wide) strips. Twist strips, place on greased baking sheet. Cover. Place boiling water in large shallow pan on counter. Place sheet over pan. Let dough rise 15 to 20 minutes.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes. Remove to rack to cool. Drizzle with glaze if desired.

TOPPING:

Mix 2/3 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

Enjoy!

Laurie Jackson

From Grandma’s Country Kitchen — Oatmeal Pie

OATMEAL PIE  (Mock Pecan Pie)

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup dark corn syrup

3/4 cup quick cook oatmeal

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs, well beaten

Mix together and put in unbaked pie shell.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes in 350 degree oven.

Enjoy!

Laurie Jackson

From Grandma’s Country Kitchen —Chocolate Marshmallow Bars

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

3/4 cup shortening

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 package chocolate chips

1/2 cup nutmeats

20 large marshmallows

Prepared fudge frosting

Combine sugars and shortening. Add beaten eggs. Sift flour and baking soda together and add to mixture. Add vanilla. Add chocolate chips and nuts. Bake in a greased and floured 9 x 13″ pan at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Top with marshmallows, return to 300 degree oven for 15 minutes longer. Cool and frost with fudge frosting.

Enjoy!

Laurie Jackson