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Summer Vacation 2022

My vacation began on Friday May 28th as soon as I logged out of my company pc.  If I am off work, I feel like I am in vacation mode.  However, this one would be special because I wouldn’t be returning to work for 10 days.

LB and I had an appointment on Saturday afternoon, and a graduation event to attend on Sunday afternoon.  On Monday, May 30th, the kids came over to enjoy hamburgers and pool time.  It was a beautiful, sunny day!Summer has begun!

Then on Tuesday afternoon, LB and I kissed Elvis goodbye and headed to St. Petersburg

Treasure Island

by the time we arrived it was raining and we were starving.

It is typical for us to look for a Mexican restaurant when we are out of town.  We found Grand Hacienda Mexican Cuisine not far from our hotel.  After fasting all day, it was a much needed treat!

On

Wednesday, June 1st

I was awakened to the sound of Ronnie Milsap singing “Happy Happy Birthday Baby” on LB’s iPhone.  LB had put together a ‘Kimberly’s Birthday Playlist’ to serenade me while he presented birthday gifts.

The favorite had to be

The Green Purse

I’m spoiled.

We spent the entire day at the beach.

There were occasional grey clouds, but overall the weather was perfect.  The water was a beautiful jade green which is why I like the ocean on the west coast of Florida.  It is much prettier than the brown ocean on the east coast.  We stayed under the umbrella for the most part, and used sunscreen, but still managed to get a slight sunburn.

After a day at the beach, LB wanted to go out for a nice dinner.  We went to the Middle Grounds Grill.

I can’t recommend this place enough.  If you are in St. Petersburg, go to the Middle Grounds Grill!

Dinner was unbelievable!

We packed up to head home on Thursday, but stopped in Live Oak to check out some property for sale.  As it turned out, the land was great, but the surroundings not so much.  Lesson: never buy ANYTHING sight unseen!

On Thursday night, LB had made plans for us to attend the Happy Together Tour at the Florida Theater.

We had a great time!And there’s still 3 more days of vacation to go!

~

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

 

 

A February To Remember

February 2022 is developing into a February to remember!

The weekend before Valentine’s Day was especially memorable.

On Saturday we celebrated Rory’s 4th birthday.  She is the sweetest little thing you ever did see.

I was privileged to meet her on the day she was born. 

And I’ve been privileged to make each of her 4 birthday cakes.

For her 1st birthday, Emily aka Rory’s Mama, requested a Valentine [conversation candy/heart-shaped] cake.

When she turned 2, Rory was very much into “Toy Stoy” and Emily requested the Forky cupcakes, which were a hit.  For her 3rd birthday I attempted to make a Sleeping Beauty/Briar Rose cake, but I wasn’t sure how to make it look like it was being held up by a broomstick.  It wasn’t an exact replica, but Rory liked it anyway.

This year Rory is loving Paw Patrol.

Her Mama called it “the cake of Rory’s dreams”. 

And it was pretty cute!

While I’d love to take credit for the “artwork” I cannot.  I ordered the “frosting sheet” from CAKES FOR CURES and simply placed it on top of my beautifully constructed pink and white cake.

~

While the family sat together in the living room chatting, Mama took the opportunity to read us a story.  She had written the story herself and did a very good job.  It was well-written, entertaining, and mind-blowing.  I won’t be able to share it myself, but will leave that to her.  Maybe she will let me include it in my “Mary’s Musings” section of this blog

… some day.

~

Sunday was Super Bowl 56.  While I am not a follower of football, LB and I will get together with 2 other couples and watch while we parttake of the best tailgate food you can imagine.  This year there was just 4 of us, but the goodies were still plenteous

Not pictured are the ribs, wings, and pizza rolls. Mmmm Mmmm

We were hoping to see a victory for the Bengals, but it wasn’t meant to be.

~

Since it is typically a late night, LB and I usually take the day off after Super Bowl.  This year that day happened to be Valentine’s Day.

We spent our Valentine’s Day together running errands, but later that evening went out to celebrate!

~

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

What’s Up Wednesday

What’s Up Wednesday is a monthly compilation of

What’s Up

 posted on a

What’s Up Wednesday?  Here’s whats up…

starting with

What we’re eating

We have not been out to eat in almost a month but on Wednesday we are going to Salsas to celebrate and afterward we will cut LB a big piece of birthday cake!

~

What I’m loving

LB

If you search this website for “LB” you will have 50 pages of results.  Yep, he is mentioned almost every time I post.  One of my favorites is “The LB Calendar” which you can see here.

Today is HIS DAY!Happy Birthday to My Lover Boy and BFF!

~

What we’ve been up to

As of Wednesday afternoon, LB and I haven’t been out to have dinner since December 31, 2021.  January is [typically] a month for detox and we have been trying our best to be healthy.  It is a lot easier said than done.

~

What I’ve been working on

Getting through January

~

What I’m excited about

February

~

What I’m dreading

Another year of the Biden Administration.  President Houseplant is trying his best to destroy the country.

~

What I’m watching/reading

The most recent movie LB and I watched was Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

It was entertaining, but a little weird.

~

What I’m wearing

The Wednesday outfit includes:

this CUTE blouse that I found at Disney Springs’ ZARA

and my Sofia Vergara Marisol Bootcut jeans

Along with black boots and black leather jacket.

~

What I’m doing this weekend

This weekend we will be getting together to celebrate Mama’s birthday.

There will probably be a pound cake.

What I’m looking forward to next month

Super Bowl Sunday [the only football game I actually watch]

Little Rory’s Birthday [she will be 4]

Valentine’s Day

and

going to the hair salon! [we’re gonna wash that gray right outta my hair!]

~

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

Friday Favorites

The weekend is here!

It has been awhile since I’ve posted a Friday Favorites, so I have favorites to share from a few weeks back.

Lydia’s birthday was on the 12th, but she didn’t make it to Florida until the following weekend.  We were able to celebrate her 6th year at Mama’s (the gathering place).

Favorite # ONE

As you can see, we had a unicorn themed party.

My favorite 6 year old and her family have moved back to Florida!

Favorite # TWO

Everyone is so happy to have Richard, Emily, Lydia and Rory back in Florida.  Even though they came to town often, family gatherings while they were away just weren’t the same.  This week they walked over to visit.  Little Rory was so excited she started running.The photo is fuzzy, but you get the idea!

My family isn’t the only company we’ve had recently.  We finally got our new roof!  You can’t tell from this picture, but there were men all over the roof that day.  Needless to say, they made a lot of noise which was particularly upsetting to Elvis.

Favorite # THREE

He stayed closed by me for most of that day.

Favorite # FOUR

.  The new roof looks great and the leaking has stopped.

~

Next week Mike Lyndell is hosting a cyber symposium next week to submit evidence of the election fraud and the act of war initiated by the CCP on November 3rd when they hacked our 2020 Presidential Election.  Mike is one of the patriots that I admire most.  In an effort to help support him, LB and I ordered 2 of his pillows.

Favorite # FIVE

Good product!

I’m looking forward to watching this…

https://www.mypillow.com/frankspeech

 

~

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

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!

Here are this weeks Favorites:

First up… a new recipe

Favorite # ONE

Keto Cheese Crackers

which I originally found on Pinterest posted by Family on KETO dot com.  The Family calls them Keto Crackers without Eggs, which I thought was a weird name.  And it is true, there are no eggs in these crackers.  Eggs or not, these crackers are good.

Here’s the recipe:

Keto Cheese Crackers

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, gouda, mozzarella, parmesan, or a mix)
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 1/4 cup coconut flour
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1 Tbsp sesame seeds + some to sprinkle
  • a pinch of dried oregano
  • pinch of powdered garlic
  • a pinch of any other spices optional (chili flakes, paprika, dried basil)

Directions

  • In a microwave safe bowl, mix everything together: grated cheese with butter, almond flour, coconut flour, sesame seeds, pinch of salt, pinch of garlic, herbs and sesame seeds.
  • Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from microwave, stir well and knead the dough with your hands. If it’s still not possible to knead, microwave for 30 seconds more and then knead the dough.
  • Roll the dough on a parchment paper and sprinkle with 1 TBS of sesame seeds if you like.
  • Cut the crackers in a shape you prefer.  I used a cookie cutter.
  • If you just want to have crackers without leftovers cut in cubes or triangles.
  • Bake at 375° F for 8 – 15 minutes until golden brown.
  • Enjoy!

~

In addition to baking, I’ve done some shopping recently

Favorite # TWO

A new OUTFIT

Striped Tiered Cami to wear with

The High Waist Straight Crop Jean in Natural White

I also received the delivery of my long awaited

Favorite # THREE

New Chairs

They look very nice in my bedroom.

They came from Wayfair and LB worked hard to put them together

Elvis got a new chair too, but his was free

He likes it a lot!

~

I found a new patriot this week

Favorite # FOUR

The Professors Record

is one of my new favorites on Rumble

~

And last but not at all least…

This week began with a celebration of my favorite SIX YEAR OLD

Favorite # FIVE

She came into the world SIX years ago this past Monday!

Lydia will be in Jacksonville this weekend so we can have an official party for her!

She is growing up so fast!

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

Summer Vacation 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

Happy Friday!

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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.

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