Karen's Favorite Holiday Memory

In this video, my first attempt at a "selfie," I describe one of my most favorite holiday memories.  During the Christmas holidays of 2006, my husband and I spent a week in New York City.  As I mention in the video, his brother and sister-in-law kindly offered the use of their Greenwich Village apartment to us while they were in St, Maarten.  We had such a wonderful time doing all the touristy things like the museums, Central Park, shows, Rockefeller Center, etc.  We even posed in front of Trump Tower and the kind doorman took our picture!  On Christmas Day we were in Rockefeller Center with several hundred other people!  Everyone was very nice in the spirit of the season.  We had a such a great time!  I wish you all good times with family and friends this Christmas!

Favorite Holiday Memories

Watch as Jacqui touchingly describes one of her favorite holiday memories.  We were both tearing up as she told me this story today.  This is just a preview of what's coming up in the Meetings and Milestones December eNewsletter.  As you can guess, I'm asking people to share a favorite holiday memory.  When I was thinking about this, one of my favorite memories that came to mind was when it snowed in Corpus Christi on Christmas Eve 2004.  My husband and I had just met each other two months before so we decided to spend Christmas with our own families.  He flew to California to be with his daughter, son-in-law and son and I drove to Portland, TX (just outside Corpus) to be with my brother, sister-in-law and their five kids.  When I arrived in Portland about dark, it was snowing lightly.  I sat there watching the snow fall as I waited for them to return from a Christmas Eve church service.  By the time they got home, there were about 3 - 4 inches of snow on the ground! Snow is a rarity in South Texas but 4 inches!  That was incredible!  We ended up staying outside until about 2 am making a snowman.  The next morning my brother, sister-in-law, the five kids and me (and even the dog!) were out playing in the snow.  When the Corpus Christ newspaper was delivered that morning, the snow story was featured on the front page with the headline "CHRISTMAS MIRACLE."  It truly was!

Last Present of Hanukkah

Last night Morris, my husband and all-around good sport, opened his last present of Hanukkah this year. Only this night we had a special guest who participated in the opening of the present.  Our cat Ernie made his Meetings and Milestones blog debut.  He was enjoying a relaxing evening on the couch watching TV when his mommy (me) started taking a video (again!).  I must say Ernie is a very natural and spontaneous actor and very good at improvisation. He made the video fun and knew his lines perfectly! Oh. by the way, Morris liked his present which was tickets to see "The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical" at Stages Theatre here in Houston.  I'll give them a plug; we saw "The Great American Trailer Park Musical" last year and it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen so we definitely wanted to see this new show.

Morris - 1st Night of Hanukkah

My husband Morris talks briefly about Hanukkah as he opens his first present.  (The movie he mentions is "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?")  I love buying presents for him because he likes pretty much everything I give him but I especially like to see his reaction when he REALLY like something (as you can see in the video!).  It doesn't have to cost a lot of money to make an impression on him.  During the year I'll make notes when he mentions something he would like to have or some show he'd like to see.  I guess it's in my nature of being a planner.  I like savoring the experience with him as he opens each present on the eight nights of Hanukkah.  Here's wishing our Jewish family and friends a very Happy Hanukkah!

Thanksgiving Thoughts

In this video Jessica describes one of her most memorable Thanksgivings. This is just a sample of what's in the Meetings and Milestones November eNewsletter. To see the entire newsletter, please go to my personal page on LinkedIn (Karen George) for a link.

Seems people mainly remember with whom they celebrated the holiday in the past and not so much the food. When I was in elementary school my family would drive to Grand Prairie, TX every year to spend the holiday with my great aunt and uncle. After staying with them a few days, we would drive into Dallas to visit my Grandma Jo who was a nurse there. After Grandma Jo moved to Corpus Christi in 1970 we started having Thanksgiving at my family's house on Brentwood Drive.

The Thanksgivings I remember most as an adult were those that were at my parents' house in Fredericksburg, TX and my sister-in-law's and brother's house in Portland, TX. One particular time my parents hosted the gathering, most of the grandkids were there (my sister has one child; my older brother has five; and my younger brother has three). My parents lived on nine acres just outside of Fredericksburg. Because there was so much grass to mow, my father bought a tractor which had a trailer attached to the back. One of the most enjoyed activities of the holiday was when my father or one of my brothers would drive the tractor around on the property with the grandkids sitting in the trailer. I have a picture from about twenty years ago of myself and several of my nieces and nephews having a great time riding around the yard. Very happy memories..........

One Handsome Turkey

Thanksgiving is two weeks from yesterday. Can you believe it?! I'm posting a picture of the turkey my husband made last year.  I'm one lucky lady; I married a man who likes to cook and is a good cook.  He makes the whole meal: turkey, gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, bread, etc., etc., and some kind of dessert like pecan pie and/or pumpkin pie.  He really enjoys producing all these masterpieces and more so likes other people to enjoy them.  Last year our friends Dan, Jody and her daughter were here from Oregon.  They brought goodies over plus we had the food that my husband Morris made.  Needless to say, we had leftovers for a while.  It kind of reminds me of when I lived at home and my grandmother would come over for Thanksgiving.  She'd be sitting at the table while we were cleaning up and start talking about what to make with the leftovers.  In those days I used to eat until I was uncomfortably full and it just seemed kind of funny to me that we were all stuffed and my grandmother was talking about food! Anyway, I hope you enjoy preparing for Thanksgiving as it will soon be here!

Dream Vacation

This past Tuesday my husband and I returned from our dream vacation: a Mediterranean cruise.  We had a fabulous time hanging out with friends (there were eight of us).  Ports of call included Venice, Dubrovnik, Corfu, Katakolon, Athens, Mykonos, Kusadasi, Santorini and Naples. I like history so it was fascinating to me to see places that existed more than two thousand years ago.  The ancient cities of Ephesus and Pompeii just amazed me.  I am also an Olympics fan so walking into the stadium used for the ancient Olympics was pretty incredible.  The tour guide informed us that only men could compete; women were not allowed to attend the events as the men were nude.  I'm just posting one picture on the blog but if you're interested in seeing more of my pictures of Italy, Croatia, Greece and Turkey, you can find them on my Meetings and Milestones Facebook page or my Meetings and Milestones Pinterest page.  I'm now back at home and ready for the fall/winter event season.  If you have an event coming up and would like my assistance to plan it for you, please contact me.  I look forward to hearing from you!

Young at Heart Expo

On Saturday, October 19th Meetings and Milestones participated in the
Senior Resource Guide's Young at Heart Expo at the HBU/Bradshaw Fitness Center in Houston.  We met lots of nice people and made some new connections.  My friend Cindy and I staffed the table and had a great time.  I really enjoy getting out in the community like I did when I was the outreach person for Mental Health America of Greater Houston. On our table I placed a picture of my mom and dad taken just after they married in 1950. I also had a picture of my hubby and me after our wedding in 2008. The idea was to show that one can have different milestones at any time in one's life. There are couples who have been married 50 or 60 years then there are those who have found each other later in life and have been married 5 or 10 years.  At Meetings and Milestones we want to help couples celebrate their special milestones; whatever they may be!

Something Special for Your Princess

This cake was served at my birthday party this year.  I have to give Costco a plug; it's half sheet cake for less than $20.  It was a chocolate cake with mousse filling and was absolutely delicious.  The decorations were supposed to be a joke but I have to say my husband treats me like a princess.  He has given me a wonderful life and we've had many great adventures together.  I hope we're both around for many years to come. I'd like to say to all the husbands and partners out there, do special things for the woman in your life.  Plan something wonderful for her birthday or your anniversary.

Traditions

This topper (middle of picture) was on our wedding cake when my husband Morris and I got married on April 26, 2008. Each year on our anniversary, wherever we are, we take a picture of the cake topper, kind of like "Where's Waldo." It's one of our traditions.  Last April we were in New York City to visit Morris's brother and his wife.  The picture was taken in the bed and breakfast where we stayed in the West Village.

We've created special  ways to mark occasions that are important to us. We actually celebrate the day we met, October 23, 2004, and the day we got married so every six months we celebrate being together. To tell the truth, that's why I wanted to get married in April.

Do you have any special traditions with your significant other or family?  I'd love to hear about them!

Queens in Your Life

Wednesday the hubby and I went to see the Fabergé collection at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  The tiara (at left) is part of this collection.  Looking at this beautiful piece made me think of the “queens” in my life: incredible women who have influenced me in some way.  I can recall several teachers who made a lasting impression on me: my second grade teacher, Ms. Burns; eighth and ninth grade history teacher, Ms. Sheridan; high school English teacher, Ms. Rhodes and high school drama teacher, Ms. Hughes.  Each of these ladies was brilliant and carried herself with a kind of regal self-confidence that was admirable. 

I have to say that my mother was also one of those women.  She had an incredible amount of talent.  She could design clothes, draw and paint, do every kind of needle work, and design and create jewelry.  In addition, she trained as a classical pianist as a child (then switched to jazz and musical theatre).  My mother directed numerous community productions and played many musical gigs both with groups and solo.

Take a moment to think about the important women in your life.  How did these women influence you? Are they still living?  If yes, take the time to let them know with words and deeds.

Meetings and Milestones Blog

Welcome to the Meetings and Milestones blog.  I'd like to post thoughts, ideas, etc. that are relevant to anyone planning an event whether that be a corporate/non-profit client or one planning a social event. 

Today I'm thinking about older adults, specifically about my mom and dad. When my parents celebrated their 50th anniversary, my sister-in-law coordinated a half-page ad which ran in the Fredericksburg, TX paper (where they lived).  At the bottom of the ad, their phone number was listed and it said, "Call Micki and Jim to wish them a Happy 50th Anniversary"!  Dad said they actually received calls from people they didn't know.  My dad loves to talk on the phone so he really got a BIG kick out of that.  The kids (my two brothers, sister and I) also gave them a party at a really nice venue in Fredericksburg which family and friends attended.  I so enjoyed being able to celebrate such a major milestone with my parents and family.

My thought for today is this: appreciate and celebrate the people in your life especially the older adults.  Remember their milestones so you can celebrate with them.  Some people may want a BIG party and some may just want a simple celebration.  The point is to let them know that you care.