Summer Vacation 2021

June 4, 2021

We left Jacksonville on

Sunday May 30th

and headed for Orlando.

I’m not a regular at the Disney theme parks, but I do like to visit Disney Springs. There are so many shops and restaurants at Disney Springs.

LB and I stayed in a nearby hotel within walking distance. After we checked in that afternoon, and waited for the rain to pass, we walked to Disney Springs. Our reservations at the Mexican restaurant were 9:30. Nothing earlier available.So we shopped!

LB and I visited Anthropology, Zara, Francesca’s. and there were several other shops whose names I can’t remember.

I have this little oil diffuser. It was a Mother’s Day gift from my girls. The shoes… I might have eventually. The dress may be just a distant memory.

We left Orlando on

Monday

morning.

I wanted eggs Benedict… it is my favorite out of town breakfast treat. My low blood sugar had reached its lowest point as we pulled into a gas station and saw a restaurant across the way

“First Watch”.

Never had I heard of this place, but it was meant to be.

This is scary Kim when blood sugar is low…

The first of a 3 day eggs Benedict-paloosa.

Afterward, we had a four hour drive to our tropical destination

Captiva Island

We stayed at the Captiva Island Inn, which is actually a 3 story house. Each floor has its own living room, kitchen, bedrooms and balconies. We were on the 3rd floor, which they call the Penthouse.

Right after we took our luggage inside, we walked to the beachtook a selfie and walked along the shore for awhile, just enjoying the tropical paradise.

Afterward we stopped for dinner at The Mucky Duck.The seafood was excellent.

The next day was my birthday…

June 1st

I was awakened to the usual “Happy Happy Birthday Baby”.

We opened birthday presents and then got dressed for breakfast at the Keylime Bistro. Eggs Benedict again. That’s a BIG breakfast.

Then we enjoyed a whole day at the beach.It is a beautiful place. I didn’t pick any of the flowers, but I had to touch them.

Later that evening we enjoyed dinner at Cantina Captiva where there are dollar bills attached to every square inch of ceiling and walls. This is the only Mexican restaurant that we have tried the carnitas fajitas instead of our usual fajitas trio. I highly recommend!

It was a great birthday/vacation week!

Before I knew it, the time to head home had arrived.

As we drove away, I was thinking, “this is the type of place I should live”. I was thinking about how I could make that happen when I looked to my right and saw what appeared to be an iguana crossing the road.

(might need to rethink that one)

The week was fun but it went fast. It reminded me of a quote by the great Ferris Bueller…

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

March 5, 2021

Happy Friday!

This is the first week of March 2021. I can’t believe how time flies. It has been one year since the start of the plandemic. I’m hoping this month will bring good news and 2021 will begin looking better than 2020.

Hope Hope Hope

This week my favorites begin with sweet memories…

Favorite # ONE

Happy Birthday Daddy

He would have been 75 years old on March 1st.He was and is precious.

I didn’t publish a new blog post this year, but I’ve written several posts celebrating Daddy. Last year I published this post.

If you haven’t read it yet, I think it is worth a read.

My nephew Clay was remembering some of the record albums and songs that Daddy enjoyed. He started a chat with the family on Monday March 1st to share some memories.

Favorite # TWO

Family Chat

There were several more and I remember all of them. Except Nancy and Lee.

As I was listening to some of my Daddy’s records and favorite songs, I thought I would share another version of one that I discovered. After I was listening to Gentle On My Mind I noticed another version by The Band Perry

Favorite # THREE

~

It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t say something about food in my post today. I mentioned my sushi bowl last week in this post. This week I did one better…

Favorite # FOUR

Fajita Bowl

Peppers, onions, pintos and rice… low cal and yummy!

~

Favorite # FIVE

Dr. Seuss

This belonged to either Stephanie or Amanda. It looks like Amanda started to write her name at the bottom, Richard espcially loved one of the books in this collection: Green Eggs and Ham. He eventually learned to recite it as I read it to him. I’m glad I held onto these books. You never know when the other Dr. Seuss books may offend someone to the point that they eliminate them all.

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

What’s Up Wednesday

February 24, 2021

What’s Up Wednesday is a monthly compilation of

What’s Up

posted on a

Here goes…

What we’re eating

I mentioned in this post that I could live on orange soda and rotisserie chicken. Once upon a time, that was my diet. But at the beginning of this year, I took part in the Daniel Fast for 21 days. On the menu… Plants and Water. Think BEANS, GREENS, POTATOES, RICE, and LENTILS.

This is mixed salad greens doused with my homemade chickpea dressing and a sprinkle of Tajin chili-lime seasoning.

Interestingly enough, I enjoyed the Daniel Fast and I am proud of my success. Also, I like the way that I feel. I am still following a whole food plant based diet. LB is half following.

Now that the 21 days has ended, I’m drinking coffee in the morning again, but with almond/coconut creamer only. This one is pretty good. Hummus has replaced rotisserie chicken as my new favorite. But I am once again enjoying my orange soda on the weekend!

~

What I’m Reminiscing About

The GOOD OLE DAYS.

I must be getting old.

~

What We’ve Been Up To

Last week I made a birthday cake. A four-tiered birthday cake. It took four days.

This was a learning experience that included cake boards and dowels. I baked the ten inch layers on Wednesday, the eight, six, and four inch layers on Thursday, applied the crumb coat on Friday, and put it all together on Saturday. Although the finished product was pretty ugly, the princess who ordered it seemed pleased.

~

What I’m Loving

Yes it was worth it!

~

What I’m Dreading

Four years of the Biden/Harris administration.

~

What I’m Working On

Trying to come up with content for my blog. Now that I rarely go anywhere, it isn’t as interesting to post about what has been going on.

If I report my thoughts about politics any more than I already have, I may be cancelled 😆

~

What I’m Excited About

Daylight Saving Time

which begins on the 2nd Sunday in March.

Yes it is true that we are going to lose an hour, but I prepared for this and took the following Monday off.

~

What I’m Watching/Reading

With my 21 day Daniel Fast book came a devotional.

Since that 21 day experience ended, I have been reading my Bible every morning. It only takes 21 days to form a habit.

~

What I’m Listening To

since I’m increasingly and overwhelmingly disgusted with MSM, I’ve been listing to alternate news, for example AndWeKnow on Rumble.

~

What I’m Wearing

I haven’t bought into the lounge-wear trend. So I am currently wearing jeans.

Every.

Day.

~

What I’m Doing This Weekend

I absolutely will NOT be baking LOL!

At the moment I anticipating sleeping in on Saturday morning. Nothing has been planned at this point. Going out isn’t as much fun as it used to be, mostly because I can’t breathe under a mask.

This is why I reminisce about the good ole days.

~

What I’m Looking Forward to Next Month

Spring!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

February 5, 2021

It’s Friday!

YAY

Someone suggested to me today, that Friday should be called YayDay.

Seems fitting to me.

Let me start my Friday Favorites with last Saturday. We threw a BIG party for Mama’s 75th birthday.

Favorite # ONE

She seemed to have a really good time.

We had a band, a sing-a-long, a Mary video, lots of family, food, balloons… it was quite an event!

Happy Birthday Mama!

And on the subject of birthdays…

~

Favorite # TWO

Happy Birthday LB!

LB had a birthday Tuesday before last, and would have been in last week’s Friday Favorites if I had created a post to share.

Hoping to get me to spend more time on the back patio, he chose an outdoor heater as his birthday present.

We celebrated the big day by going to LaNopalera for dinnerand taking the next day off.

LB wanted to go to the beach for a cookout.

So we did.LB will always be my favorite!

~

Favorite # THREE

Carrot Cake

February 3rd was National Carrot Cake Day.

I asked LB to choose a birthday cake from my Southern Living Cake book. Guess which one he picked.That’s right, he wanted a giant carrot cake for his birthday.

And on the subject of cakes, this week I recieved a request to make a birthday cake for our favorite soon-to-be 3 year old Rory.

~

Favorite # FOUR

A Cake like no Other

This is an example of the cake that Emily believes Rory will love, since she loves the story of Sleeping Beauty.

Reminiscent of the birthday cake the three fairies made for Aurora. It looks like a mess, so I’m sure I won’t have any trouble replicating.

~

Although it isn’t always PRETTY, it is important to pass along information to people you care about. Especially since it won’t be covered on News4Jax or any MSM.

Favorite # FIVE

Being Informed

Clearly you will see that this video was created prior to our 2020 Presidential election, however it contains information that everyone has a right to know.

https://rumble.com/vdkn0l-covid-911-learn-the-truth.html

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

November 13, 2020

According to superstition, Friday the 13th is an unlucky day.

In my opinion, every Friday is a great day. In fact, it is my favorite.

~

Favorite # ONE

Richard

One of my most favorite blog posts is Once upon a time there was this Little Boy and it is all about how precious he is.

On Monday, November 9th my baby reached a milestone.Although he isn’t close by, he is always close to my heart.

I love this picture.

Happy Birthday Richard!

~

Richard and I have commiserated about the results of the 2020 presidential election. He also keeps me updated with breaking news. And sometimes he just drops something funny to lighten the mood…

Favorite # TWO

~

Favorite # THREE

Thursday was

National Pizza Day

It is typically on Friday that we have pizza. This week we had pizza on Thursday, too!

Lucky LB!

~

Favorite # FOUR

Today is

World Kindness Day

according to National Day Calendar.

We are encouraged to spread kindness like an infectious cold. That is ironic because we are also encouraged to stay home because of an infectious virus. So spread kindness within your own household. I’ll be spreading kindness in my kitchen tonight as I make pizza for LB!

~

Favorite # FIVE

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

There’s No One Like A Sister

August 17, 2020

There IS NO ONE like a Sister

and that is why when my baby sister reached the age of 50, I traveled nearly 3 hours to be with her on her birthday.

I believe it was Clay’s idea. He texted me one evening to tell me about the plan to surprise her while she was away on her Disney birthday adventure and asked if LB and I would be able to get away to join in the fun.

My response was “We can make it happen”.

My first thought was that we would leave work early on Monday, August 17th, then make our way to Orlando’s Disney Springs where we would meet up with family, and surprise Gina. That was a pretty good plan, but LB had other plans. He decided we should head to Orlando on Sunday, spend the night, and enjoy Monday away from work/home.

So we did.

We went to Universal CityWalk on Sunday and spent the day sight-seeing, but making sure to follow all the rules. Then later had dinner at Antojitos.Before making our way to the Residence Inn, we made a stop at Target… just because I like to

SHOP~

On Monday LB and I took our time getting ready, but eventually we were out door and headed to Disney Springs. For the next 5 hours we would…

SHOP SHOPSHOP

You cannot tell by my expression, but I was having a good time.

To wrap up the Orlando event, we followed my sister and her crew to Sprinkles.

We walked up behind her and SURPRISE!

And she was surprised! It brought tears to her eyes.We each ordered cupcakes at Sprinkles and found a place to sit and have a little visit. It was a nice time together with family.We ate cupcakes and Gina opened her birthday gifts…I’m very lucky to have Gina in my life.There is no one else like her!

~

There’s no one like a sister…

’cause she’s known you all along.She gets your jokes, shares your folks, and likes the same old songs.There’s no one like a sister…

’cause she’s there no matter what –To talk, check in, see how you’ve been, and sometimes save your butt.There’s no one like a sister…

she’s a friend your whole life through.And none could be as good to me or loved as much as you!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

July 24, 2020

It has been 3 weeks since I published a blog post! I have drafts that I’ve started and not found the motivation to finish. Even my Friday Favorites, which is a fairly easy post, has been missing.

I wonder if it is because every day feels like the same day?