Posts by:

Queen Darlene

Breaking the Turkey Wishbones | Thanksgiving Tradition

Queen Darlene - November 13, 2014 - $20 or Less, Experiences

If I close my eyes, I can still remember Grandma’s house and the delicious aroma of Thanksgiving dinner filtering from her tiny kitchen. Like so many other families, every year there was discussion of who would be the lucky two people to break the turkey wishbone.

thanksgiving-wishbone-thoughtful-gift-idea

Queen Darlene & Jody making a wish!

It was a big event at the end of the meal to watch who would win the biggest part of the bone and declare a wish!

I had no idea of why we did this ritual of breaking the wishbone, so for this post I researched it. Did you know that the Thanksgiving tradition of breaking a wishbone dates back over 2,400 years?

The Etruscan people believed that fowl could predict the future and the chicken’s collarbone was thought to be sacred. Seriously?!?! Wishes were made by rubbing on the bones in hopes of bringing good luck. (Maybe I should try this on my next lotto ticket purchase). Thus, the “wishbone tradition” began. Continue Reading

Coach Barry Switzer | A True Story

Queen Darlene - November 12, 2014 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Experiences

My step-father Paul’s birthday falls in November, and he will turn 90 years old. He loved two things his entire life, my mother and University of Oklahoma football.

Barry-Switzer-surprise-birthday-visit-thoughtful-gift-idea

Step-father Paul, Coach Switzer & Queen Darlene

Since Mother passed away, there’s just not a lot of moments he gets real excited about except OU touchdowns and a WIN, of course. I wanted to do something really over the top for his birthday and Coach Barry Switzer would fit the bill.

I wrote Barry a letter and here are some excerpts. For a thoughtful twist, I wrote the letter in a thank you card.

I’m thanking you in advance for a favor. Our step-father Paul will be 90 on November 10. He was born in Norman and feels lucky because that is the home of OU. Every positive adjective I could come up with is not enough to describe his love of OU football. He never misses a game on TV. Continue Reading

American Flag Flown Over the Nation’s Capitol

Queen Darlene - November 11, 2014 - Birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, Gifts for Him, Military/Veterans, Retirement

httpvh://youtu.be/d_8HG0i7PDM

As my husband cleaned the garage, he came across a box of items that belonged to his parents. He found the American flag that had been flown over the nation’s capitol in Washington, D.C. in honor of his father who enlisted in the Army and fought in WWII.

American-flag-flown-over-the-capitol-gift-idea-sunburst-gifts

A thoughtful gift for Veterans Day

My husband’s father was a proud red-blooded American through and through. He loved his country! I never heard him complain about paying taxes and he made sure to vote in elections. He felt it was extremely important because so many died for us to have that privilege.

For a thoughtful gift one year, we requested to have a flag flown on his birthday, December 2. The flag was mailed to us in time for Christmas. The flag came with a personalized certificate of recognition and authenticity to reflect the occasion. Continue Reading

Off to Boot Camp | Going Away Present

Queen Darlene - November 6, 2014 - Birthday, Going Away, Graduation, Military/Veterans

Have you ever had a lump in your throat and eyes get watery with hot tears? That’s exactly what happened to me when I read an invitation to attend a surprise party for Jonathan before he goes off to boot camp.

Jonathan’s Birthday Celebration

Many years ago when our children were little, the Ridge family moved in next door. Cindy was pregnant and within days of being our new neighbors, Jonathan was born.

He was always the baby of our neighborhood block and his siblings, Jayson, Jenifer, and Justin became my children’s best friends.

“Jon,” as we call him, turned 22 years old in September, and all he has ever wanted was to be in the military. As a kid, his birthday cakes were decorated with army men, tanks and trucks. Now the time has come.

Our families have stayed close even though we have not been neighbors for years. When I read the party invitation, it was like my own child had grown up and became a man overnight. How does that happen?! Continue Reading

Glow-in-the-Dark Stick Man Halloween Costume

Queen Darlene - October 30, 2014 - $20 or Less, Catch All

httpvh://youtu.be/Z2pLPtO_Gms

Ever wait to the last minute to figure out what costume you’re going to wear to your friend’s Halloween party? How about dressing up for work on Halloween but need to wear something office appropriate? Well, I’m here to save the day!

I give you the Stick Man! An easy-to-create-in-15-minutes Halloween costume!

Being comfortable in a Halloween costume is always #1 in my book and this certainly will be. Here are the items you will need. Continue Reading

Halloween Monster & Zombie Spray

Queen Darlene - October 23, 2014 - $20 or Less, Kids, Party Favors

Older kids love dressing up in scary Halloween costumes like monsters or the latest craze – zombies! But the little ones often hate scary costumes and anything to do with monsters.

I have a fun gift idea that will help younger children get rid of any scary monsters and zombies. Monster & Zombie Spray! It’s like bug spray that gets rid of bugs but this special formula gets rid of monsters and zombies instead! It also smells good and doesn’t harm the skin.

I know, Halloween is not a typical gift giving holiday. I mean purchasing the kids’ costumes and candy is a gift in itself, right?! But… this gift is just too fun not to give!

HOW TO MAKE MONSTER & ZOMBIE SPRAY

Easy & Clever Halloween Costumes

Queen Darlene - October 16, 2014 - Catch All

We have an annual Halloween costume contest at my office and some very clever and creative employees who participate. My favorite type of costumes are the ones that use a play on words.

One year, Mary wrapped herself with fake green ivy. She even crafted a headpiece out of the ivy.

When she approached another person, she would extend her hand and say in a sexy voice, “Hi… I’m Ivy… Poison Ivy.” while the person was shaking her hand.

Every time, they would jerk their hand back. Some even screamed, “Eeeekkk!” I did!

Another year, Kelly wore a blue sweatshirt and cut out white felt material into several cloud shapes and attached them onto her shirt. She also made a headband that looked like the sun and carried a spray bottle full of water.

When someone asked her what she was dressed as, she would reply, “I’m partly cloudy with a chance of rain” and sprayed them with water. No one expected that response!

One year I wore a prison striped costume with red necklaces, red earrings, Valentine heart pins and a black wig. I called myself “Prisoner of Your Love.”

Hands of Love | Photo Gift Idea

Queen Darlene - October 9, 2014 - $20 or Less, Anniversary, Birthday, Christmas, Gifts for Him

httpvh://youtu.be/wukqoBeDhag

Hands are a beautiful thing because of all of the different ways they express love.

The hands of your parents and grandparents are the ones that held you for hours as a baby, wiped your tears when you cried, placed the Band-Aid on your skinned knees, threw the ball to teach you “catch,” held your bike up as you learned to ride it, showed you how to measure ingredients when baking cookies, and reached in their wallets to give you a few extra dollars to go out with your friends.

Their hands also taught you how to write your name, work math problems and start a lawn-mower. I’m sure you can think of a zillion more things their loving hands have helped you with throughout your life.

My son and I thought it would be a meaningful gift to capture pictures of both of his grandparents’ hands and give them to family member for Christmas. Dustin came up with the idea to take pictures of the things they enjoy doing now.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Queen Darlene - October 2, 2014 - Birthday, Business, Experiences, Gifts for Me

httpvh://youtu.be/fyInDD3uT7c

I love my birthdays. Always have. I really never worried about turning a year older. Well… maybe once. When I turned from 16 to 17 years old. I would never again be 16 and never been kissed!

My mother made sure my brothers and I had a birthday cake, a gift, and that we always celebrated birthdays together as a family. We had very few birthday parties where we invited our friends. I’m not sure why other than it was kind of the norm back then.

As I got older, I would celebrate with friends and co-workers by going out to dinner, a movie or even dancing.

Now I celebrate birthdays for an entire week!

It happened quite by accident. During a week of my birthday, my best friend from grade school who lives in Texas mailed a birthday package to my office. She was not the only one. A friend from Albuquerque also sent a package. One of my dear friends who I work with presented me with a gift. You see a pattern here? My mother showed up with a gift on another day and on the last day of the week, my actual birthday, my husband took me to lunch.

Thus, the Birthday Week was born!

The following year I declared Birthday Week and for that thoughtful twist, instead of receiving gifts I give gifts to my co-workers. No gifts for me! Period! Because my co-workers thought it was weird not to give birthday gifts, I relented by saying, “OK… you can get me a birthday card.” Continue Reading

Passing on Important Life Lessons & Values

Queen Darlene - September 23, 2014 - $20 or Less, Catch All, Family, Kids

httpvh://youtu.be/wdhvo8Qhc-w

Return with Honor – The Purpose of Life – To Make a Difference!

A powerful quote to live by and an important life lesson to teach children and grandchildren.

The Lillard boys – Joe, Sam and Luke are amazing kids! They are five, seven and 11 years old. Their grandfather, Dick, is the Chairman of where I work. Not only is he my boss, he and his family have become my precious friends.

This year was the first time all three boys traveled on a business trip together with grandparents and parents to Washington, D.C. to meet with Oklahoma’s congressional delegation.

We scheduled all day meetings and the boys were troopers going from building to building, meeting to meeting and sometimes waiting long periods of time. They were respectful when they met with congressional staff and the congressmen were extremely impressed! They looked so handsome in their suits!