I Have A Fun Hangover

Oh it's been busy busy busy around here.

I apologize that I'm behind on my blogging, blog reading, and blog maintenance.

I promise to start getting caught up this week.

The last couple weeks have been super busy working with Annie on getting things ready for this last weekend and The Hot Blogust Night event. I also have had summer family visits and general everyday stuff that has just gotten me behind on everything.

It all started on Friday when Lisa and Isabel made the 4 hour trip from Portland to my house for their weekend stay.

The plan.........

Junkin', eatin', meetin' other bloggers, readers and more eatin'.

Friday night I threw a party

Junk Swap

This was an idea that my friend Dani gave me and it was so fabulous that I had to do it right away.

I couldn't think of a better time or group of women to try it out on.

Lisa and Isabel. Jana in the backgroundThe table of food.

One can't have a party without A LOT of food.

Have ya ever been to a party with no food?

Yeah I know!

Let's not even go there.

Jana and Annie laughing at me.

I might need to get new people

I'm currently taking applications for new peeps!

They were laughing at me because my camera fell on the ground and broke in to a million pieces. I picked it up, put it back together and tried to snap this picture. The camera seemed like it was going to work but it didn't. So I was putting the camera down and it just started snapping pictures like it had a mind of it's own.

This picture of Annie and Jana laughing was one of the random pictures it started taking on it's own.

The camera is now on the dining room table with flowers around it. One of it's crappy pictures beside it.

You may stop by and view it and give me your condolences between the hours of 8 am and 4 pm.

Please bring a Diet Coke with you.

What?

I'm in mourning!

I have had that crappy camera for many years. We have taken a lot of crappy pictures together.

Ok, back to the party............

Amber and Trish

Being all cute and funny like always.

The ladies chatting, drinking, and picking numbers.

Here is how the Junk Swap worked

Everyone brought 2 junk items.

This could be some fabulous find that didn't work out for you, something you made, or something brand new. All the items were clean, working and ready to go to a new home.

Price range, size, and style didn't matter.

We spread them all out on a table for display.

We drew numbers to determine the order in which we would choose.

One by one we looked over all the fabulous stuff and carefully choose one item.

Then after everyone had chose something we drew numbers again to change up the order for round 2.

This is the first time I have done this but it was so much fun we are thinking of doing it at least once a month.

Maybe change up the theme a little

That concludes my pictures of my party so this will also conclude my sharing portion of the weekend. Go to these blogs for more pictures and stories of the evening. They all had cameras.

Isabel

Lisa

Annie

Trish

Amber

Jennifer

Jana

Saturday morning Lisa, Isabel and I got up and did a little local junkin before the blog party.

I think they did pretty well

A truck load

and I mean a load
Lisa unloading some of her loot.

Lots of fun finds.

I'm going camera shopping so I can take pictures of all my great finds to show you.

No pictures of the blog party for me

No camera

This was a really fun evening. It was nice to finally meet some fellow bloggers and readers.


I found out that I live within walking distance (if one liked to walk) of Melanie and apparently Kim lives only a short drive away.


Who would have guessed that I lived so close to such talented women.

Don't think I'm not going to be showing up on their door steps hoping that some of their creativeness will rub off on me.

You know the whole "product of your environment" theory.
I'm fixin' to try this theory out on all of these ladies.

Each store had cocktails and appetizers out for tasting;
They had special in store discounts;
Annie had door prize drawings,
and we voted on the best blog badge

The winner was...........

Lisa from a Thing For Roses

A big Thank You to Rene for traveling so far to come to our little blog party.
It was so fun to finally meet you and I know we are all looking forward to your next visit.

Another big Thanks to Lisa and Isabel for coming up from Portland to spend the entire weekend with us.
The Hubs and I really enjoyed having both of you.

It was suggested that I open a "Junkers Bed and Breakfast"

I'm thinkin'.............HELL YEAH!
Anytime!

Here is a list of some of those with blogs that were in attendance on Saturday for our Hot Blogust Night.

Lisa

Isabel

Jana

Annie

Shell

Kim

Linda

Amber

Trish

Kim

Melanie

Laura

Debi

Barb

Rene

Charlene

Go check them out and look at their pictures, read their stories and stop in and say hello.

With all the fun we had I feel like I'm suffering from a hangover. The laughing, eating, drinking, more belly laughing, and just general fun has left me tired, not wanting to do anything and swearing I'll never do it again.

Thank you everyone for coming out! A special thank you to Annie and Mary. Especially Annie for getting all the stores in Snohomish that participated on board for this event. It was super fun and we are going to have to talk Annie in to having another one.

Seeeeeee Just like a hangover, you swear you never will do it again and in the same breath your saying "That was so much fun we should do it again!"

This week...........


I'm buyin' a new camera and catchin' up on my blogging duties.

Dust off Those Blog Badges!

Remember that brilliant idea Camp Whimsy and Company had when we were getting ready to attend the Farm Chicks show this year?

The idea was to create a blog badge that represents your blog and to wear it to Farm Chicks.

The idea being that you could identify fellow bloggers while wandering around and shopping amongst all of the wonderful vendors.

Yeah, THAT brilliant idea!

This idea was so much fun at Farm Chicks that I’m stealing the idea for an upcoming blog party.

That you ALL are invited to!

My blog badge from Farm Chicks

Here’s how it works

Create a blog badge for yourself if you don't already have one.

Not a blogger??? No problem…..create a badge that says

"I’m a Reader (with your name)"

Not a blogger? Not a reader?? Create a badge that says...

(This would be for your friends that do neither and just want to attend )

"I’m just here for the fun"

Take a picture of the blog badge you created and then simply send it to me agirlnamedtimi@hotmail.com along with your name and blog name.

I’ll post it on my blog so you can check back to see who is planning on attending and who you need to be watching for.

THEN...............Post your blog badge picture on your blog and tell your blog buddies about it.

Pin those badges on your favorite outfit and head to Snohomish on August 8th!

Rumor has it that prizes are going to be given out for the 3 favorite blog badges and…………that blog badges might get you special discounts in the participating stores.

Don't want to make a badge................No problem

Just come join the fun!

There will also be door prizes and appetizers

Bring Friends, Mothers, Daughters, Sons, Aunts, Uncles, or Your Hubs.

Your Hubs can come meet other poor neglected Hubs.

Hubs that suffer from........."My wife's a Blogger" syndrome.

Like my Hubs.

Come out and enjoy our fabulous little town of Snohomish, meet new friends, visit with old friends and just have a good time. I can’t think of a better way to spend a hot August night.

Everyone is invited!

Poster by B Halstead Design

Stores that are participating

Annie's

Joyworks

Faded Elegance

Curly Williow **New Store***

Weeds

In-Side Out

Bed of Roses **New Store**

Cin-A-Mon Stick

Java Inn

Beat Street

Hope to see you there!

Please e-mail me with any questions

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Jesus Loves Casserole Update............

I have been so busy lately that I haven't had time to get Jesus Loves Casserole recipes posted.

Thank you everyone for sending me recipes.

I will get back on track next week. Keep those great recipes coming. I'm really enjoying hearing from all of you.

Jesus Loves Casseroles is now on Facebook.

My 2 Seconds Of Fame

I'm a huge fan of Paula Deen. I have been since I first saw her on Door Knocker Dinners way back when the Food Network first started on cable.

I have all the cookbooks

I have seen all the episodes of everything she has done on Food Network since she had her first show.

I'm not a big fan of Paula's Party but I tune in once in a while.

I have been to Savannah Georgia to Lady and Son's and Uncle Bubba's

I even got to meet her briefly Yep!

That's right.

I got up on a Saturday morning in December with snow on the ground and drove an hour to stand in line for 2 hours at Costco waiting to get an autograph from her on the Holiday cookbook she had just released.

That's me right there in the leopard print coat getting my cookbook signed.

More fine photography

She and Micheal were very nice and chatted with each person who came.

I know a lot of people think she's fake, has sold out, and uses too much butter.

I DON'T CARE!

Both of them were very gracious, down to earth and I was an even bigger fan after meeting her and Micheal.

A couple months ago I got an e-mail newsletter from Paula Deen Magazine on line that had a little blurb at the bottom that was asking for stories about your family summer traditions.

I thought "what the hell?"

I'm going to write a story about my family reunion that we attend every year. It's even more exciting this year because it's the 70th reunion. I thought that was worth writing about.

It would be fun if it got published or even better yet if the Paula Deen showed up to our family reunion in Canyonville Oregon.

So I got to writing

I contacted my cousin Carrie who also is a huge Paula Deen fan and told her what I was up to. She and I e-mailed back and forth, wrote, rewrote, and talked on the phone about what I should write and day dreamed about how fun it would be if Paula Deen showed up and surprised everyone.

Well finally my story was done

and I sent it in.

Last week.........

My story was published on the Paula Deen on line Magazine!

Can you believe it?

I was so excited I about wet my pants when they notified me that it would be used.

I guess Paula Deen isn't coming to my family reunion but that's OK.

She doesn't know what she is missing

Here's the link to the story

and

Here's the story I submitted

The Gregory Family Reunion

Every summer it seems like my family is running in a million different directions yet there is one event that stops us all in our tracks….our annual family reunion. It’s a family tradition that we look forward to every year and we NEVER miss it! Over the years the family has spread out across the miles yet the first weekend in August we all come home to Oregon for the Gregory Family Reunion (this year marks the 70th year of our family reunion).

The Gregory family, originally from Oklahoma, came to Oregon during the depression to work in the lumber mills. Stories are told about how they left “home” setting off to a better place, a place with less dust and more jobs. They picked cotton along the way, often stopping and camping for weeks at a time along the side of the highway to earn money before being able to move on.

Hard times and each other is all they had when they arrived. Summers in the Oregon coastal communities where they eventually settled were humid and hot, and meager in both amenities and food. But with those original Gregory’s, came stamina, and a zest for life and each other. And it was these characteristics that began our annual gatherings and which still bring us together seventy years later. Six children of the original Oregon Gregory settlers are still with us today and still attend each annual reunion.

In the beginning years they met on a Sunday, at someone’s home. There were yard games, men chatting about the economy (I think we have come full circle since those days), fishing, ladies chatting and sharing recipes, and lots of good old’ Okie food. Later they moved the annual event to a local park, one with water so the kids could splash and play, and cool off. After several years they moved the reunion to a park inland about 50 miles where they gathered the first Sunday in August for the next 30-some years. Eventually it grew into a weekend of camping and it remains so today. The meeting place has changed a few times in the last twenty years but the reason hasn’t: Family and Food!

Each year members of our extended family begin arriving as early as Wednesday or Thursday prior to official reunion weekend. They come from Arizona, California, Washington, Idaho and from all over Oregon. They show up in motor homes, travel trailers and tents, with kids, dogs, and friends in tow. Some of our non-campers stay at the local hotels which are all within walking distance of the park. We rent the entire lower half of the park down by the river. Many of us have not seen or talked to each other for a full year so we have designated Friday night the official opening of the weekend and we do so with Wine and Hors d'oeuvres, better known amongst us Gregory’s as “Cocktail Hour”. Everyone brings their favorite new wine and some munchies to accompany their wine choice. Ice cold beer is usually on standby as well.

Saturday is the day of the actual picnic where a Potluck Extravaganza takes place. Early in the day there is a caravan to the local farm on the other side of the river to see what is available. Corn on the cob, green beans, peaches, or onions is always the first choice with the Gregory family. Whatever is fresh and available will be one of the highlights at the potluck.

Dinner is served at 2pm sharp (my grandmother pretty much keeps everyone on schedule) and people start lining up with plates and forks in hand at 1:30pm. My Dad and Uncle Ron have been known to just keep a fork in their shirt pocket in case someone walks by with something on their plate that needs to be sampled. Quality Control they call it. Over the years we’ve integrated table-top bar-b-ques and the gents serve up bbq’d hamburgers and hotdogs while the ladies fill in the rest.

I can honestly, and proudly, say that the Gregory Family Reunion is totally centered on food! Yes, we are all good down- home-cookin’ foodies! There are recipes that have been brought every year time and time again. Rosemary Gregory always brings fresh tomatoes and watermelon from California. My Aunt Jewel makes the best desserts, and Cousin Carrie always brings something from her Grandmother’s recipe collection in honor of her Grandma who is my Grandma’s sister. Two years ago I was honored with my grandmother giving me her recipe box and she now calls me weeks before the picnic and tells me what to fix. She’s already planning on what I should bring and this year it’s her carrot cake. Last year it was Sauerkraut Salad which was a hit and has been requested again this year. Cousin Angie is putting together a cookbook of all the recipes we can gather from the Gregory families, past and present. It should be fun!

During the weekend some of us will fish at the nearby river, the little ones will ride their bikes around camp, some of us will nap, others will move their folding chairs around following the sun in search of a little tan and almost always the adults will engage in a water gun fight with the youth. Because the park we gather at is just minutes from an Indian casino, each evening after dark a group of us will head up there for some partaking of the casino festivities… if you know what I mean!

For two-and-a-half days we sit around listening to the elders tell the stories of reunions past, stories of the hard times, and who is related to who and how. We catch up on what each family has been doing for the past year and there is always a family group photo to mark the end of another year.

On Sunday morning everyone begins packing up to head home, but not before there is a recipe exchange over coffee and left over desserts. We promise to send everyone the pictures we have each taken with our cameras and vow to be back again next year. And then, as quickly as it came, it is over, with hugs and long embraces, and a wave goodbye.

I am enclosing a link to photos of past reunions for your viewing. It’s not fancy but we have a good time and I can’t imagine not attending. It’s something my husband and I plan on, and around, all year long. The three generations of girls in my family (myself and my cousins) are enormous fans of Paula Deen. We have been following her since she first appeared on “Door Knocker Dinners”. We have visited Lady and Son’s, bought all the cookbooks, cried through her wedding and the birth of her grandson Jack. We would be honored if she or people from her staff would like to attend our reunion. There will certainly be enough food and drink for all of you!

Timi

If you would like to look at pictures from our past family reunions please check The Gregory Family on Facebook.

The Hubs let me think I was the bomb around here for a couple days then he informed me that if by some freak accident I got famous I would still be responsible for cleaning out the cat box and getting laundry done.

Nothing like family to keep you grounded.

***************

I'm working on something that I'm going to start featuring on my blog each week.

I need everyone's help.

Gather up your favorite recipes that you like to make and share.

Casseroles, Crockpot, salad and desserts

I need you to start sending them to me.

If you have pictures of the dish, you making the dish, or the empty dish after you make it...........send them to me too along with the recipe.

Agirlnamedtimi@hotmail.com

Also.....................

Mark your calendars it's coming up

Blog Party

Downtown Snohomish

August 8th

Snohomish Antique

and

Arts Faire

What will get Princess Lazy Ass (me) up early, dressed, hair combed, teeth brushed, in the car and down the road before The Hubs can even get his eyes open in the morning to say "What the hell are you doing?"

Yeah that's right!

A sale!

Here is the best part of this sale

You all know I'm a big fan of Annie's on First.

Well.......I was in her store last week and we were chatting and she suggested a blog entry for me.

Me: For real?

Annie: Yeah, sure!

Me: For anyone who comes in and says "I read about this sale on A Girl Named Timi"?

Annie: Yep! They have to tell me they read about me on your blog.

Me: OK! I'll do it!

Here it is folks...........

for readers of A Girl Named Timi only

20% off anything

at Annie's On First

All you have to do is simply go in to Annie's on First, find something you can't live without, go to the counter to pay for it and say "I read about the Antique sale on Timi's blog"

Feel free to pass this information on to your blog readers.

This is going to be a fun event. Along with some of the fabulous stores in Snohomish, there will be street vendors too.

It's like Annie's Porch and Parking lot sale she use to have in her old building........only BIGGER

So come on out to Snohomish!

It's suppose to be nice this weekend. What a great way to spend the day!

Here is a little something else I'm very very excited about.

I approached Annie about hosting a Blog Party at her store.

SHE AGREED!

Saturday August 8th

Hot Blogust Nights

Save the date!

Whether your a blogger, reader, or lurker your invited. Come out and meet your fellow blog buddies.

Annie has gotten some of the other stores that have blogs to stay open late also.

Faded Elegance

Joy Works

Haley and Company

We are working on the details and will have more information for you soon.

See you in Snohomish!