Memories Archives - Page 2 of 6 - Trinkets of Thought

How’d That Happen?

May 20, 2011 by Maren 7 Comments

10 years,
2 kids,
1 ancient dog,
3 sister-in-laws,
2 brother-in-laws,
2 1/2 nephews,
2 nieces,
a nice ‘niece’ dog,
3 apartments,
1 parsonage,
1 1/2 houses,
13 jobs,
3 cars,
3653 days,
87,672 hours,
5,260,320 minutes,
315,619,200 seconds that passed in an instant,
& a bazillion cherished memories later…
You’re still the one for me.
I love you.

It was the best of Jokes…It was the worst of Jokes

May 7, 2010 by Maren 4 Comments

For the past couple of weeks, I have worn my wedding ring with a slit in the shank. My ring has recently had a one-on-one with the jeweler and as a result, I’m now ‘in-the-know’ about all things ring related.

Less than one month after we were married, my husband and I took our church’s youth group on a missions trip. While there, the love-struck teenage girls fancied that one of the youth sponsors had struck up a relationship with a man she had just met. I brilliantly(?) concocted a plan for a little practical joke. I lent the lady my engagement ring with hopes of announcing to the the googly-eyed teens, in grandiose fashion, that the man had proposed! And she had accepted! It was a great joke. The girls bought the story hook, line, and sinker–and screamed as only as high school girls have the capability of screaming.

Well, then the joke was on us. It got stuck on her finger. Nothing would get that thing off…we tried soap, oil, string tourniquet, water, ice, elevation, a night’s sleep, YOU NAME IT. That ring was not budging and the lady wanted the ring off of her finger! A trip to the emergency room and a little snip snip, and my ring looked like something like you’d buy out of a $.25 machine–A ring with a slit right down the backside.

And, LOVE HIS SOUL… Wanna know my patient husband’s response to the whole fiasco:? “I understand Maren. It’s just you.” Probably one of the first few clues as to the extent of the mess (me) he’d gotten himself into. And one of my first clues to the extent of my dear husband’s patience.

Thankfully, the jeweler appreciated my joke and soldered my ring for free. And for nine years, I’ve enjoyed a good story and life’s merriment. Until last week. I suppose 9 years of abuse caused it to split again, and so I hiked my split shank and little ‘ole me back to a jeweler. In 30 minutes, the ring was fixed, polished, and once again pretty! Special thanks to Fast-fix in Louisville, KY for helping me (and my ring) feel whole again! WHOOTWOOT!

*Object in the picture is smaller than it appears. 🙂
** Before you ask, I have large knuckles and those balls are ‘ring sizing balls,’ sit in the fat of my finger and keep it in place.

And then, I became One

April 8, 2009 by Maren 3 Comments

I don’t really remember being scarred at the dinner table growing up. I remember having to TRY all foods, but not being forced to clean my plate and choke down every morsel of food on the plate. Maybe I’ve just glazed over the dinner table memory portion of my life, I don’t know. Regardless, the only thing I remember being forced to do was to TRY each food. As I have grown up, I’ve found that the trying has developed into liking new and different foods, and I’m thankful that I didn’t have the option while younger of turning up my nose to foods permanently.

But one thing that I have recently thought about, stewed upon, and smiled about was how my tastes have changed over the years. You see, growing up, there were things that my parents ate (and liked). I remember thinking that normal people just don’t touch these foods, yet my parents ate them with pleasure. Two of those were Triscuits (with pimento cheese spread) and shredded mini-wheats.

I remember going to my Nana’s and Papa’s and being served Shredded Wheat for breakfast (at that time, who knows if the mini wheat had been invented yet…). One ‘little’ shredded wheat pellet was more the size of an entire loaf of bread and to make matters worse, it was served with lukewarm milk. Anyone that has ever had to eat cereal with lukewarm milk knows the agony that this causes with every bite consumed. At that very moment, it was a deal clincher in my mind that FROSTED (MINI) WHEATS were most definitely for stopped-up old people.

Another memory I would have would be meals on the Meyers’s family vacations. Inevitably around lunch time, Dad would run into a grocery store somewhere in Podunkville to grab some lunch as we tooled down the road in our Suburban, 4 kids and 2 adults in tow; destination: Timbucktoland. I suppose that going into a grocery store with 4 kids would send any sane parent into cardiac arrest–and it was probably because of this that dad would go into the grocery solo while the kids sweat to death in the car, waiting for our lunch. He’d come back lugging an arsenal of miscellaneous foods, and it was inevitably predictable that part of that arsenal were TRISCUITS and PIMENTO cheese spread… Without hesitation, I would pass on that snack e.v.e.r.y. time. Pimento cheese spread was for the birds, and Triscuits were worm food. DISGUSTING. I remember trying to decide how anyone could favor the combination and actually LIKE pimento cheese spread…to make it worse, to eat it with something as offensive as Triscuits about made the bile rise in my throat.

Recently, I found myself with a hankering. I took a lunch break from work, perused the grocery store and decided upon something that 14 years ago would have caused me to question my normalcy. For the first time in my life, I bought pimento cheese spread. I was forced to laugh about the turn of events and called my dad to tell him the news: I had actually bought what I once despised.

Another revelation recently has been how I’ve actually bought mini-wheats and enjoyed them, though for trademark purposes, the ones I get are called Mini-spooners, if you care to know. Regardless, I actually enjoy the taste of them. What once was considered a despicable & disgusting food has now become a favored one.

Given my new track record, perhaps Triscuits may be all I eat one day. Eek. I hope not.

So my question to you is: What is one food that you a) HATED as a kid, b) would have NEVER guessed you could ever even tolerate it, but c) now you actually favor it as an adult?

Silly Songs with Maren

November 21, 2008 by Maren 8 Comments

I appreciate random kids songs. Many times I’ll have a random tune in my head that remains for days. I figured it would be fun to share some of them and hear back from anyone reading this who may have a childhood silly song to share.

A college friend once shared this with me from her childhood days. I found it humorous.

The Billboard Song:
As I was walking down the road
One bright and sunny day
I came upon a billboard
And much to my dismay,
The sign was torn and tattered
From the storm the night before;
The wind and rain had done it’s work,
And this is what it bore:

Smoke Coca-Cola cigarettes,
chew Wrigley Spearmint beer
Can-a-ration dog food makes your wife’s complexion clear
Simonize your baby with a Hershey’s candy bar
And Texaco’s the beauty cream that’s used by all the stars

Soooo…
Take your next vacation in your brand-new fridgidaire
Learn to play piano in your winter underwear
Doctors say that babies should smoke till they are three
And people over 65 should bathe in lipton tea
With flow-through tea baaaaaaags

From Boy Scouts via Ross:
Pink Pajamas
I wear my pink pajamas in the summer when it’s hot.
I wear my flannel nighties in the winter when it’s not.
And sometime in the springtime and sometimes in the fall.
I jump right in between the sheets with nothing on at all.
Glory, glory, hallelujah;
Glory, glory, what’s it to ya.
Balmy breezes blowing through ya.
With nothing on at all.

From Girl Scouts:
Hunk of Tin:
I’m a little hunk of tin,
Nobody knows what shape I’m in,
I’ve got four wheels and a running board,
I’m not Chevy, and I’m no Ford,

Honk honk, rattle rattle, crash, beep beep
Honk honk, rattle rattle, crash, beep beep
Honk honk.

Now it’s time to share your crazy songs–just because I like them!

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