Gone With the Wind (GWTW) is my all time favorite movie. I used to sit for hours watching it from beginning to end on my VHS tape. I did step up, and purchase the DVD finally. I’ve often wondered how Hollywood chooses the actors and actresses for roles. At times, it seems impossible to have found a better actor or actress for their role they are in. They couldn’t have picked a better actress than Vivian Leigh to play the starring role of Scarlett O’Hara. She was a beautiful and talented actress.
Today, I’m remembering India Wilkes one of Scarlett O’Hara’s enemies. India Wilkes was played by Alicia Rhett, shown above. Alicia Rhett passed away yesterday at age 98. She actually auditioned for the role of Melanie Wilkes, but the role went to Olivia de Havillan. Alicia was offered and accepted the role as India Wilkes instead. In the movie Melanie Wilkes, played by Olivia de Havillan, comes from an inbreeding family. She marries her cousin and India’s brother, Ashley Wilkes, who Scarlett was in love with. From there, they were intertwined.
My fondest memory of India was when Scarlett called her an old maid during an argument. It seems that her role of being an unmarried woman continued after filming. Off screen, Alicia Rhett never married or had children. She returned to Charleston, SC after (GWTW) and continued to paint and do stage acting. Much of her art is on display in her home town of Savannah, GA.
There are 3 cast members who are still living, Olivia de Havilland, 97, who resides in Paris. Mary Anderson, 93, who played Maybelle Merriweather; and Mickey Kuhn, 81, who played Beau Wilkes, Ashley and Melanie’s son.
Gone With the Wind earned an Oscar and an Academy Award. The period dresses and scenes were amazing. It was a fascinating movie by all accounts. Alicia Rhett, rest in peace and thanks for helping to make Gone With the Wind one of the best movies in American History.
Remembering Gone With The Wind
How To Trace Your Ancestry
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Do you know who you are? I’ve spent the last few months tracing my ancestry on Ancestry.com, and I must say that it has been quite an endeavor. One that I’ve enjoyed so much I’ve decided to do a scrapbook. I’ve traced my mother’s and father’s ancestry back three generations. I know amazing, right. I think it’s important to know who we are. Once we know who we are, we will understand our greatness and our mission in life. I also think it’s important to share our heritage with our children so they too can understand how great they are.
I received a 30 day free trial with Ancestry.com. The site was easy to use. It asks for basic information like: first and last names, places where you relatives may have lived, mother and father’s name if know, birthday etc. You enter as much information that you have on the person and the systems returns information that you can browse and add to your family tree. What’s cool about the site, is they do some of the tracing for you when you’re off-line. For example, they return birth, marriage and death records that they think are connected to your family. When you log back in, it will give you an indicator on the person that they may have information on. I also liked that other members may be searching the same heritage line and may have pictures or other documentation that you can copy. You can make your information public for others to view or you can make it private.
I was able to trace my history back to slavery on my father’s side. I was able to find the cemetery where my great, great, great grandfather is buried. On my mother’s side of the family, my ancestors found the first African American community, Johnsontown, in West Virginia. I’m excited to be able to pass this information on to my children and grandchildren with the hope that they will pass it on to their children. So many times we loose our heritage, and as a result we miss so many opportunities to be proud of who we are and what our ancestors accomplished.
I was able to find an ancestry scrapbook, below, on Amazon for a good price. I snatched it up quickly, the company, KCompany, is no longer making the book. I really like the brown and turquoise colors and the slot on the album where I can add the family name. For some reason brown and turquoise seem appropriate for ancestry photos.
Some may see Ancestry.com as somewhat pricey, pricing may vary month to month, but it was worth the time and energy that it took to trace my roots. I would advise you to try the free 30 day offer, so if you’re diligent you may be able to accomplish tracing a great deal of your heritage during that period. If you’re interested in digging a little deeper into who you are, check out the site and make some memories for your family.
Happy New Year
If you’re interested in guest posting on Mother 2 Mother, please send an email to Rhonda@gigglesnsugarkisses.com and the subject that you would be interested in writing about. I’ll contact you to discuss a possible post and post date. We’re picky, so professional writing skills are a must. Post must be grammatically correct, spelling skills are essential and content must be unique.
I wish each of you everything that your heart desires in the new year. Blessings to each of you.
Easy Recipes: Crockpot Cube Steak
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Family pack of cub steak
- 2 cans (10.75 ounce size) cream of mushroom soup or 1 large family size
- 1 envelope onion soup mix
- 3/4 cup water (I did not use water)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Dreams Really Do Come True
Dreams really do come true. My daughter has been a Tar Heel fan as far back as I can remember. I purchased Tar Heel gear for her all through high school so she could show her love. She has passed her love on to Xavier. He has on his University of North Carolina colors, light blue and white shirt, and a smile bright enough to light up the sky as he stands in front of the NC Chapel Hill logo. A big moment for a little boy.
My daughter was given 4 tickets to see the Tar Heel basketball team play this pass week-end at the Dean Dome, which seats 21,750 fans. That’s a huge stadium. I don’t know who was happier, Xavier or Marisha. My SIL, who is not a UNC fan, swallowed his pride and made arrangements to take the family and one of Xavier’s friends to Chapel Hill, NC for the week-end. They had seats directly behind the team, 12 rows away. How great is that. To put the icing on the cake, the Tar Heels won 80-51. Go Bighorn Rams.
Wondering where the name Tar Heels comes from. Here’s the history: North Carolina settlements provided tar, pitch, and turpentine for the navy, in particular the British navy. It was used to paint the bottom of wooden British ships to seal them and to prevent damage to the hull from shipworms. During the Civil War, it was stated that troops stuck to their ranks like they had tar on their heels. The nickname “Tar Heels” was born.
ABCya
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ABCya! ABCya is an educational site that we found for Xavier and he loves it. He’s outgrown Nick Jr. so this site is the replacement. The site has educational games and activities for Kindergartner’s through fifth grade, and has become the leader in on-line education for kids. One of the great things about the site is that you don’t have to create a username or password to access it. The site was created by teachers and it’s goal is simply to assist parents and children with education.
The site has math and language arts as well as basic computer skills. Many of the kindergarten and first grade activities are equipped with sound to enhance understanding. You can found holiday activities in the grade sections as well.
Xavier has become astute in navigating the site. We use it primarily for spelling, math and occasionally game play. The site makes learning fun. There’s Bingo to help with spelling and math. There’s an app for sight word recognition, learning the coins and how to tell time.
ABCya.com has been featured by Apple, The New York Times, Disney Family Fun Magazine and Fox News and has received many awards. I understand why. I suggest that you introduce your child to this site. They will love learning in a creative and fun way.
Would You Have A One Night Stand?
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I had drinks with my girls over the week-end. We always engage in interesting conversations during our gatherings and this week-end was no exception. The single ladies debated whether they would have a one night stand or hook up. Several said they would and several said they would not. Wondering what my position was? I said no regardless of whether a condom was used or not. As much as I enjoy sex, I was not that trusting of another person at this stage of my life. Now don’t get me wrong, I believe that 2 consenting adults should do whatever turns them on. I’m just not willing to put my life in the hands of someone for an organism. I understand that dating as a single parent can be difficult and hooking up is an option, but personally I don’t believe that a one night stand would be satisfying.
Twenty years ago my position may have been different as a single woman, but I’m just to afraid to take this kind of chance now. Several of the single ladies believed that a condom would prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. I stated that condoms were not 100%. They do break at times, and it would be my luck that I would be the one that it would happen to.
I’ve found that as I’ve gotten older and a little wiser, my outlook on life has changed. My willingness to take chances has dwindled and I’m more cautious with who I socialize with. The fact that I have a security clearance also plays a role in that. My job requires a credit and background check, so it’s important that I come out squeaky clean and disease free.
I also believe that my years as a teenage mother plays a role in my perspective. I have learned to choose wisely or at least put some thought into my decision making. This includes my sexual encounters. Would you have a one night stand if you were single?
Great Finds – Disney Princesses
I found this adorable 2 piece Disney Princess outfit on Zulily for Zarriah for $18.99. It’s regularly $40.00. Hard to believe my little preemie is wearing a 2T. I think this outfit is adorable. I’m going to have her wear it with a pair of white tights and ankle boots. She loves the Disney Princesses, and this outfit is perfect for a birthday party or holiday gathering.
I also found this adorable Cinderella tee for $8.99 regularly $16.00. It will look great with a pair of skinny jeans. Yes, Zarriah has skinny jeans. She wears them with motorcycle boots. My little darling is a fashion icon at 2!
I finished the shopping excursion with this adorable mini backpack. It’s perfect for days out with mom or grandma. It’s large enough to hold her pull-ups, wipes and sippy cup, but small enough for her to wear on her back. She has a Mini Mouse backpack that we currently use for outings, so the Disney Princesses would make a nice addition. You can find it on the Zulily site for $7.99 regularly $13.00.
![[signatureformother2motherwithmugb.png]](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xifNRubz-iA/SSonOBhyV9I/AAAAAAAABJY/JIn3IlKPxW8/s1600/signatureformother2motherwithmugb.png)
I Love Lucy I Really Do
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I Love Lucy I really do. For all the I Love Lucy Fans, CBS will be showing back to back Christmas episodes of I Love Lucy December 20 at 8:00 pm. The kicker, they will be in color. I started watching I Love Lucy as a little girl with my mother. I remember those days vividly. She would pick that time to do her ironing. Back in those days, everything was ironed. Pillow cases, jeans, curtains everything. Not only did she iron everything, she used a ringer washer to
do laundry and hang everything on a clothes line to dry. I remember removing towels, sheets and jeans that were frozen and stiff as boards. They had to thaw out in the house, haha. Can you imagine women doing that these days.
I watch reruns of Lucy on Saturday mornings on the Hallmark Channel. I’m looking forward to watching the Christmas episodes, especially in color. I think I’m fond of programs from that era because they come from a much calmer period of time. There were shows like Mr. Ed, Green Acres and Petticoat Junction. The big soap opera back than was Dark Shadows with Barnabas Collins. Barnabas was a vampire. I knew that two thing would happen at 4:00, Dark Shadows would on and mom would be starting dinner.
Now that I’ve gotten older and I’m watching the reruns, I think Lucille Ball was a beautiful women, and I loved the clothing that she wore. I wish they would show all the reruns in color. The 60’s were a time when stay at home moms were glamorous. That’s not what was going on in my home, but it was fun watching it on TV. My mom worked hard, and she didn’t wear high heels or make-up when she was cleaning house and raising 7 children. I remember my mom laughing and laughing when Lucy was on. She would usually have me coloring, baking a cake in my Easy Bake Oven or playing with my paper dolls.
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I now understand the laughter from mom. It seemed that life was much calmer during that time period and you could see the beauty and humor in things more clearly. Lucille Ball was a talented woman. I can also see why she fell in love with Desi Arnaz, such a handsome man, and great actor too.
I have to give side kicks, Fred and Ethel Mertz, their props. They were a great addition to the show. Although they were portrayed as older, William Frawley was frugal and Vivian Vance frumpy, they were a big part of the show’s success. I’m looking to seeing these episodes in color, and for all the I Love Lucy fans out there, mark your calendar.
Virginia Beach Parade of Lights
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