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Friday Favorites

The first full week of November began with a challenge from my November 1st  Birthday Girl

Stephanie

She sent me a pin on Pinterest which was a link to the current birthday cake of her dreams.

This qualifies as one of my Friday Favorites!

 🎂

Favorite # ONE

The Birthday Cake Challenge

I’m always up for a baking challenge and I’d likely be more successful if I’d follow the recipe.

The Frosted Animal Cookie Cake with four layers of cake, three layers of filling, and white chocolate buttercream frosting topped with pink ganache (pause to catch breath) took me three evenings to complete.

For the most part, I followed this recipe from lifeloveandsugar.com, however in order to finish quickly, I used a box white cake mix:I think she likes it!

Bonus information: 1,088 calories in 1 slice of a 14 serving cake

😱

Favorite # TWO

A

Birthday Dinner

with three of my favorite ladies

The family was scattered on Stephanie’s birthday and we weren’t able to gather together to celebrate.  In an attempt to make her day special, I had Mama, Stephanie, and Amanda come to my house for dinner.

We had something I never imagined I would include in my blog

🍟

Favorite # THREE

Poutine

It sounds weird and it is weird, but it was Stephanie’s request.

The meaning of the word poutine is from a Québécois slang word meaning “mess”.

It is fries with gravy and cheese curds and MUST be eaten with a fork.

THIS RECIPE is a good one!

~

Favorite # FOUR

Face-Time

While we were together, Emily and the baby girls face timed Stephanie to wish her a happy birthday.

We all enjoyed a teeny little visit together.

It is essential to stay in touch with family!

Moments after I left for work today, LB received the news that his Dad passed away early this morning.

For the past few years LB has made regular visits with his Dad, typically on Friday afternoons.  Although this is a heartbreaking time for him, LB is happy for making time to visit and maintain a close relationship with his Dad.

We have attended church with him on Father’s Day a few times and it was on one of those occasions that I snapped this photo

Favorite # FIVE

A picture is worth a  thousand words but the memories are priceless!

~

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

Friday Favorites

It has been a BUSY week

and I’ve enjoyed most of it!

Here are the HIGHLIGHTS courtesy of my

Friday Favorites!

Favorite # ONE

The Right Stuff

Thirty years later, this “boy band” has still got it!

New Kids On The Block may not be New (formed in 1984), but they are undoubtedly better than ever!

After their split in 1994, NKOTB reconnected in 2007 and have been going strong since!

On Friday night LB and I had the opportunity to see them in concert.

You can read all about that adventure HERE.

~

Favorite # TWO

Saturday Afternoon

Spending the day with the birthday girl!

Before we launched Barbie and a new boat,

I learned all sorts of things from Lydia.

She explained that there are others meant to be a part of this particular boating adventure.  With Lydia looking on, I checked into this on my iPhone and found

this review.

Both Lydia and I were equally mesmerized.

Lydia was convinced that I could buy them all right from my phone.

Immediately.

Instead we decided to explore further.

We moved our investigation upstairs to watch on the big screen and found more!

Although it had escaped my attention, I learned that Barbie and her family are featured in a variety of programs to view on internet/television.

There is

Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures

and

Barbie Dreamtopia

and the pièce de résistance

Barbie meets Isla:

and so…

Favorite # THREE

is

Isla

The Transforming Mermaid

which I ordered on Amazon Prime Day. This surprise will be presented to Miss Lydia on a day when a surprise is deemed necessary.

~

Favorite # FOUR

Bread

The low carb kind.

This week, for the second time, I made a low carb, gluten free bread:

this recipe from Castle in the Mountains is very good!

Although it will never replace Sunbeam or Wonder Bread, it will satisfy a carb craving for the carb starved Paleo, Keto, and gluten free folks.

~

Favorite # FIVE

A Mid-Week Date Night Surprise to see a

Movie

The Lion King

remake of Disney’s 1994 animation has been a much anticipated film.

LB and I got to see it before opening night!

The Lion King

was awesome!

From the very first scene, I was captivated, much the same way I was when I saw the original.  The animals were amazing.  The hyenas were SCARY! Timon and Pumbaa were hilarious!  If I didn’t find myself tearing up, I had a smile on my face.

I highly recommend!

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

A Sunday to Remember

It was a Sunday afternoon when I first learned that my son and his wife we were expecting their first baby.  That evening  I jotted down the following:

On November 23, 2014

LB and I were joined by my kids and Mama for our annual Sunday before Thanksgiving dinner.
Except for a few mishaps [a wasp in the cider and paper in the pie] , dinner was excellent.  Shortly after dinner Richard stood up and requested that all conversation CEASE so he could make an announcement. I thought nothing of it because Richard is Never Serious.
Not this time.
In his own special way, Richard announced that he and Emily were expecting their first child.
I didn’t think he was serious since he has teased about the subject in the past, so I didn’t over-dramatize.
But it became clear that he wasn’t joking.
I processed the information.
I wasn’t sure what to think.
Richard asked me if I was mad at him.
“No, Rich, I’m not mad at you.”
Mama broke into a hysterical laughter as she exclaimed “Kim is going to be a GRANDMOTHER!”
And, although [unlike my Mama], I did not show excitement in a dramatic fashion, there is one thing certain:

I’m far from being mad.

On November 24, 2014

at 3:18 PM I received a [group] text message from Emily which included an iPhone pic of what she described as a “little peanut”.
It was a first sonogram photo of the newest member of our family who is 6 weeks and 3 days old.
(I am smiling)
And again… {No, Richard] I’m not at all mad.

On December 12, 2014

I saw Richard and Emily at Grandpa’s 90th birthday party.
They had news: they told me that my grand baby is the size of an olive.
I replied, “I like olives.”

At some point it was decided that I would be known as “Glammy”.

In the weeks that passed, when I was asked about “my Glam-baby” I would happily answer with the information that I knew.  Still I couldn’t appreciate the fascination with grand-parenthood as it was explained to me by those with experience.

This was soon to change.

Fast forward to

July 12, 2015

A large group of family (nucleus, extended, in-laws, out-laws, etc.) and friends (Romans, countrymen, etc.) gathered at the hospital for the arrival of a baby girl.

She finally arrived

…and guess who were the first of the group invited to meet her?

The Grandparents.

While I type this memory, I have tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat (the kind that comes with strong emotion such as gratitude).

I had the same reaction when she was placed in my arms for the first time.

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

Friday Favorites

Because today is a very special Friday

happy birthday GIF by Amy Ciavolino

I’m sharing a special edition of Friday Favorites dedicated to a very special little girl.

On July 12th, four years ago, Lydia was born!

Favorite # ONE

My Favorite 4-year-old

Lydia!

 Beautiful Smart Creative Talented Lydia!

She is a perfect blend of Richard and Emily!

She loves all things Disney and enjoyed seeing Toy Story 4 recently, which brings me to my

Favorite # TWO

This Picture

I borrowed it from Stephanie’s FB post because it is adorable!

Favorite # THREE

Inspiration

for a BLOG.
A one-year-old Lydia was featured as the subject of my very first blog post.

You can read my first blog post HERE.

Thank you for inspiring me Little Lydia!

 

Favorite # FOUR

Birthday Parties

To date, we’ve had three of them for Lydia.

Her Glammy missed her first birthday party because she HAD TO WORK !  But Glammy left early that morning and stopped by Lydia’s house to wish her a happy day and deliver presents.

Lydia’s second birthday party was supposed to be at Mema Mary’s house, however there was an incident that caused the party to be moved next door to Glammy’s house.  It all worked out great and everyone was happy!  You can read about Lydia’s second birthday party HERE.

 Last year Emily decided that the theme of Lydia’s 3rd birthday party would be Mermaids.  It was the cutest idea for a birthday party!  There were all kinds of activities and mermaid inspired food. I participated by creating Mermaid Tail Cupcakes for the party.  The blog post I began writing wasn’t finished in a timely manner, so I haven’t published it.

Yet.

Birthday party #4 happens tomorrow!

Favorite # FIVE

Being Glammy

I love it!

Thank you Lydia for making me a GLAMMY!

 

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

Friday Favorites

I didn’t have to work today!  Talk about a HAPPY FRIDAY!

It’s the first week of July and a significant time in America as we celebrate our nation’s independence!

happy flag day GIF

Although it is JULY, June was a great month and in my family there were several Birthdays.  We gathered last Saturday evening at Mama’s house to CELEBRATE

Favorite # ONE

JUNE Birthdays

Stuart became part of our family in 1988 when he married my sister.  Chynna joined the family when she married my nephew Clay.  Emily became my daughter-in-law when she married Richard in 2013.  And the newest member of our family is Adrian who was born in 2018.

There was a time when I was the only person in my family to celebrate a birthday in June.

Now there are FIVE of us!

~

Favorite # TWO

A Short Work Week

This week I went to work on Monday and Tuesday then took off on Wednesday for a Beach Day in St. Augustine with LB!

and later that evening…

Favorite # THREE

Hanging out at the Pier

Each Wednesday night throughout the summer there is the Music by the Sea event at the St. Johns County Pier.  This week the Ain’t Too Proud band entertained and motivated LB and I to sing along.

With Thursday being a holiday, we were able to stay for the entire event.

We had a GREAT time!

~

Favorite # FOUR

Independence

presented by individual style!

vacation love GIF by Molang

To celebrate Independence Day the family came by for food and festivities!

LB grilled hamburgers and hotdogs.

Some of us enjoyed the pool.

Emily brought sparklers, which we had a good time with later that evening.

~

Favorite # FIVE

Outdoor Décor

to show our patriotism.

We finally got around to displaying the American Flag.

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

I am blessed and grateful to be an American!

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

 

Friday Favorites

It may have been a short workweek, but since returning to work after vacation I have been longing for Friday…

Not only because I want to

NOT GO TO WORK

but because I enjoy sharing my

Friday Favorites

Animation Dancing GIF by LooseKeys

Favorite # ONE

It may seem that I have an obsession with donuts because I have mentioned them frequently on my blog in such posts as found here, here, here, here, here, and here.

And as a matter of fact, I’ve picked up donuts for work many times.

However I won’t be bringing in donuts on National Donut Day because donuts are a high carb food and Wendy and Kim are currently practicing a low carb lifestyle.  That said, instead of donuts, we will be enjoying these

Cocoa Roasted Almonds

for a special treat today.

9 net carbs per ¼ cup serving and 100% sweet tooth satiating

These are awesome!

~

Favorite # TWO

Little Visitors

The baby girls came by for a visit on Tuesday evening.

Oftentimes Lydia will ask to take a bath while she is at Glammy’s.  I agree that it is a good idea since she and Rory will likely fall asleep on the ride home, then their Mommy can put them right to bed.  Many times they don’t have a change of clothes, or pajamas with them.

On this occasion, Glammy offered the use of her tee shirts.

Rory was particularly amusing when she presented her ensemble.  Then she noticed that LB was holding a bag of Tostitos.Because she wanted to wear the garden gloves she had discovered, it was especially cute when she tried to feed herself a Tostito.

What a doll!

~

Favorite # THREE

Birthday Gifts

LB has such good taste!

My birthday post shared the adventures LB and I experienced on June 1st, however I didn’t reveal the birthday gifts LB gave me.

Here they are:

KATE SPADE White Rock Road Denim Sam in Dark Wave

KATE SPADE Emelyn Quilted Black

(similar)

STERLING SILVER TIKI FLOWER DROP EARRINGS

STERLING SILVER FLOWER TIKI BRACELET

~

My family celebrates other birthdays in June.  This week we were blessed with two others

Favorite # FOUR

Adrienne Dawn

is my sister’s youngest G-baby.

This week marks one year for the “rainbow baby”

Happy Birthday Adrienne!

~

Favorite # FIVE

Emily

is my daughter-in-law.

She is a lovely young lady and Mommy to the sweetest little Glam-babies in the world.

Happy Birthday Emily!

~

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

I Love It When We’re Cruisin’ Together

Included in the Travel list on my Bucket List Blog Post is

Go on a Caribbean cruise

Last week LB and I did just that!

We headed for Tampa on Thursday and sailed out of Port Tampa Bay later that afternoon.

Bon Voyage!

After an assessment of our room, and a moment to enjoy our private balcony, LB and I began to plan which events we most wanted to attend.

Carnival makes it easy to keep up with cruise activities by using the Carnival HUB app.  Some of our favorites were trivia,  live music, and productions such as the “Welcome Aboard Show” performed by the ship’s exceptional dancers who had some degree of vocal talent.

We decided not to dress up but keep it casual and enjoy dinner at the Italian buffet on the Lido deck. Prime Rib, Eggplant Parmesan, and baked fish

Low Carb

👍🏻

~

Friday was a day of indulging as I began my first full cruise day with a cup of very good coffee and an excellent eggs Benedict breakfast.  It was also very relaxing as we basked in the sun on the top deck And later enjoyed music trivia and the sing-a-longs that ensued. 

Having spent my teens in the eighties makes me quite a contender for 80’s music trivia

but it doesn’t make me a good singer.Yes, that pencil is my microphone.

On Friday night LB and I dressed up and took advantage of the photo opportunities in the atrium and on the promenade deck.It is fun to doll up and be fancy.

Dinner was excellent every night

but dessert was the best.  If you’ve never tasted a Chocolate Melting Cake you should take a Carnival Cruise just to try one.

~

Saturday was excursion day.

Our ship docked at the port in Cozumel and we set out to explore.

LB and I spent time at Dolphin Discovery.We enjoyed time on Chankanaab Beach

and visiting with the locals

LB planned a day of fun and adventure with opportunities to cross items off of my bucket list.  Posing with a mariachi band was not one of those items, but it was fun nonetheless.

Saturday was also my birthday.  More about the Birthday Adventure here.

After dinner Saturday evening, LB and I went to a showing of the movie Bohemian Rhapsody which premiered in 2018 and apparently won Academy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.  The story was sad, but the music was good.

It was a relaxing way to end an exciting day!

~

Because I left home without packing sunscreen, by Sunday I was pink.  LB was too.  Henceforth, we remained in the shade to avoid further exposure to the sun

While indoors, LB thought it would be a good idea to experience one of the hamburgers from Guy Fieri’s grill aka Guy’s Burger Joint

Cruises are notorious for causing weight gain.  Believe it or not, LB managed to evade added poundage

but Kim did not.  [She didn’t do well against the Dealer either]

 

 

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

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