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Friday Favorites

The first Friday in February is

National Wear Red Day

to raise awareness about heart disease in women and show support for saving women’s lives…

Red is one of my favorites!  And today is time for my

Friday Favorites!

Favorite # ONE

is that red sweater!

It came from Old Navy and I have it in 3 colors!

~

This week has been a long one, not only because I commute to work in another city. every. day.

But because of an experiment I am doing for my Behavior Modification class.  This experiment (and class) deserves a blog post of its own, but for now, let me say that I would not have been able to track the number of grams of sugar I have consumed each day without this smartphone app

Favorite # TWO

MyFitnessPal

It is amazing how many grams of sugar can be consumed in one day even when you aren’t indulging in sweets.

Even cauliflower has sugar!

This week my intake has been light.

Last week was an entirely different story because there is a huge amount of sugar in

Favorite # THREE

Birthday Cake

I LOVE CAKE!

LB’s January 26th birthday cakeBanana Split Cake

Wendy’s January 29th birthday cakeWhite sheet cake with BUTTERCREAM ICING (my favorite believe it or not)

And Mama’s January 31st birthday cake WHICH IS MY

Favorite # FOUR

from  Spicy Southern Kitchen

Amaretto Pound Cake

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan with baking spray.
  • Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  • Use an electric stand mixer to cream butter, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Add eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat well after each addition.
  • Mix in amaretto and almond extract.
  • Add flour mixture, alternating with milk. beginning and ending with flour mixture.
  • Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 80 to 90 minutes.
  • Cool for 30 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter.

I’m saving this recipe so I can make it again.

This time I’ll leave it in the oven for the required baking time 🤣

~

Favorite # FIVE

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

Friday Favorites

This birthday edition of my Friday Favorites celebrates a special event.

Happy Birthday LB!

LB wanted to enjoy a weekend out of town for his birthday.  He also wanted seafood for dinner.  On our way to St. Simon’s Island, LB and I stopped at

Favorite # ONE

Zachry’s Seafood & Steak

It is a popular restaurant, so we had a short wait where we took a moment to snap a selfie.

LB’s dinner included shrimp and oysters, “lightly breaded and fried to a golden brown”, served with salad, hushpuppies, a loaded potato,and LOTS of condiments!

In addition to dinner, there was live music.  We dined to the sounds of Cops-n-Robbers.

On day 2 of LB’s birthday weekend, we stopped to look at a car for sale.  And now I’m hooked.

Favorite # TWO

The

Mercedes CLA 250

This would definitely be a Kim car and it has been added to my wish list!

~

When we returned home, LB chose a birthday cake recipe from my

Favorite # THREE

 New Cookbook

It was a Christmas gift last year.

The Southern Cake Book by Southern Living.My banana split cake looks nothing like the picture in the book.

I march to the beat of my own drum.

Favorite # FOUR

Surprising LB with

Birthday Presents

Especially this one… which he really needed… and seems to be pretty excited about!

LB is joined by a number of special people whose birthdays are celebrated in January

Favorite # FIVE

January Babies

There are so many special people who were born in January.

Some of my favorites are…

My niece Sydney
My niece Sydney
My uncle John
My uncle John
My great niece Thea
My great niece Thea
My Mama's dear friend Gerry (my friend too)
My Mama’s dear friend Gerry (my friend too)
My Aunt Debbie (Mama's baby sister)
My Aunt Debbie (Mama’s baby sister)
LB
LB
My dear friend Wendy
My dear friend Wendy
My sweet Mama, born on January 31st
My sweet Mama, born on January 31st

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

Friday Favorites

One of my coworkers came into the office today and exclaimed

“Kim, It’s FRIDAY”!

That’s all I needed to hear.

~

My Friday favorites this week start with last Saturday and a little birthday girl

 

Favorite # ONE

Little Thea

is four years old!

She wanted to celebrate her birthday by having a tea party and dressing up as a princess.

One of Thea’s best friends is Lydia, who came all the way from South Carolina just to surprise Thea on her birthday!

They had a wonderful time visiting together!

Later that evening we gathered at Mama’s house to celebrate again.

While we celebrated, I was able to enjoy

Favorite # TWO

Glammy Time

How many times has this been one of my favorites?

~

Then before I knew it, Monday had arrived and it was time to go back to work.

And if that isn’t bad enough, this week I imposed a no sugar rule on myself.  I swore off the white stuff and everything that contains it

until

I was presented with this

Favorite # THREE

A Jar of Candy

for perfect attendance in 2019.  It truly is a big deal.  There were only ten others who managed to accomplish this task.

Yes, for being at work at the expected time, every day in 2019, my company gave me a jar of candy.

Don’t be jealous.

😉

The jar is empty now.Wendy helped.

~

Last week I named five Christmas gifts that I love.  One in particular that I did not mention is my

Favorite # FOUR

This Fan

It stays close by when I’m at home and I don’t go anywhere without it!

Thank you Stephanie!

~

I’m finally on board, having watched all 8 episodes of The Mandalorian Season 1.

Favorite # FIVE

I find myself saying “awwwww” every time I see this little character.

~

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

Once upon a time there was a little boy

…who called me Ma

His little hands stole my heart, and his little feet ran away with it.

My sweet baby boy.And although he is no longer a baby, he is still the baby of the family.

Richard

came into the world 30 years ago today.  At the time we had been blessed with little girls, so to have a baby boy join the circle was an exciting event.

Those little girls weren’t completely excited about that event Although they changed their tune when they discovered it was fun to dress him up like a princess with a purseThey soon learned that they love him dearlyToday they are inseparable.

~

Richard had no interest in playing the part of the princess, but instead preferred to play the part of Batman

And still likes to play the part of Batman.

~

He had a handful of special friends as a little boy

Who continued to be friends through the years, and remain good friends to this day.

After he became part of the High School Ministry at First Baptist Jacksonville, Rich had the opportunity to participate in a few mission trips, including a trip Nicaragua to help minister to a small community and church there.  As the years passed his focus continued to be spiritual.

 After graduating from high school he earned a degree from Liberty University.  He then began working on a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, while he served as a Collegiate Missionary at Campus Church UNF Today he is living in South Carolina, managing a Maple Street Biscuit Company or two.

~

He is married to a beautiful young lady; His own Mama, couldn’t have chosen a more perfect mate for him. And now he has babies of his own.

Happy Birthday to My Baby!

I’ll Love You Forever.

I’ll Like You For Always.

As Long As I’m Living…

My Baby You’ll Be.

~

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

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.

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