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Summer Plans

What are my plans for the summer?

They have already been put into motion.

Fortunately, I don’t have to engage in summer planning.

LB is a Master Planner.  He enjoys

GOING

and likes to keep the road hot.

He is always planning events to keep us entertained and this summer will be no exception.

Going to the Beach

is a summer weekend activity that LB enjoys.  Having seen more than one horrific shark movie, I intend to avoid venturing into the ocean.  Nevertheless I delight in having a tan on my legs, collecting shells and being by his side, so I am happy to accompany him.

Going to Concerts

especially outdoors, is a favorite summer activity.

Although we have yet to attend a concert at the new Jacksonville amphitheater, LB and I enjoy attending concerts at the St. Augustine Amphitheater.

Plans have been made to attend an upcoming concert in July.  I’m looking forward to seeing Donny and Marie!

In addition to concert performances by celebrity musicians, the concert fascination extends to other musical events.  Each Wednesday night throughout the summer there is the Music by the Sea event at the St. Johns County Pier.  The Little Light Music Concerts are on Sunday evenings on the oceanfront lawn beneath the St. Simons Lighthouse.  These are great opportunities to get outside and have a good time.  If we happen to be in Daytona Beach for the weekend, we will go to the Bandshell to see what tribute band is featured.  The Summer Concert Series happens every Friday night and occasionally on Saturday.

Speaking of Daytona Beach

Going to a Pool Party

is another summertime event to attend when visiting Daytona Beach for the weekend.  For the past several years there has been a weekend pool party every Saturday [beginning on Memorial Day through Labor Day] at the Daytona Beach Shores Hampton Inn, complete with a cookout and karaoke.  It has always been a fun weekend getaway during the summer.

Going on Vacation

is a given every June.

Although summer hasn’t officially arrived, we have already taken a summer trip.  The plan was to begin with the aforementioned pool party, take in a few concerts, relax, shop, then head to Orlando.

As usual we stayed at the Daytona Beach Shores Hampton Inn.   This year we found out the hard way, that management decided to forego the regular weekend pool party and feature the event only occasionally.  It was a little bit of a disappointment and planning trips to Daytona Beach will now require extra research in the future.

Not to be undone, LB arranged an afternoon on the beach.Under a blue and yellow umbrella!

He always recovers nicely.

Both LB and I agree that there should be a summer trip do over.  We also agree that a cruise would be nice.

I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

 

 

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

Fifty Two Facts

About ME!

No I didn’t just pull the number fifty-two out of the air.

I remember when I turned 30, my mother-in-law joyfully told me “in 20 years you’ll be fifty!”  Apparently I didn’t think it was possible.  It must have been that I was still in the invincibility stage that most people experience during youth.

Today I am going to engage in an exercise of self-awareness and share…

52 Very Random Facts About Kim

Here goes…

  1. I’ve lived on the Westside of Jacksonville all of my life.
  2. I was born on the same day as Marilyn Monroe, different year, of course.
  3. I used to have a problem with sleepwalking.
  4. My tonsils are long gone.
  5. Mexican cuisine is my favorite…
  6. However I could live on rotisserie chicken and diet orange soda.
  7. I fainted when I got my ears pierced.
  8. My Aunt Linda pierced my ears with two giant needles.
  9. Autumn is my favorite season.

  10. Peanut M&Ms is my favorite candy.

  11. I graduated from Edward H. White high school in 1984.
  12. As a senior in high school, I joined the girls Cross country team.
  13. I have successfully completed a half marathon.
  14. With just a few credits short of my bachelor’s degree, I stopped taking classes.
  15. I have an Associates degree in Interior Design Technology.
  16. When my son broke his arm, I fainted in the ER.
  17. I auditioned for and joined the Chancel Choir at First Baptist Church Jacksonville.
  18. At one time I was a bank teller.
  19. My first job was a proof operator at the bank where my Daddy was the Executive Vice President.

  20. The first time I took my drivers test, I failed.

  21. Red-orange is my favorite color.
  22. I’m terrified of reptiles, and sticks that look like reptiles.
  23. I’ve read the Bible from cover to cover, excluding the index.
  24. Although I took lessons for many years, I cannot play the piano.  Much.
  25. As a little girl, I signed my Mama up for piano lessons.
  26. I was the first one in my family to beat BOWSER [Super Mario World]!  When it happened, everyone screamed.
  27. I’d love to manage my own bakery.
  28. One of my favorite activities is baking.
  29. Every morning I drink a cup of warm lemon water with cayenne pepper.

  30. I have a giraffe collection.

  31. My house was built on property that has been in my family since 1912.
  32. I DO NOT LIKE water chestnuts.
  33. At one time, rollerblading was a favorite past-time.
  34. I home-schooled my children.
  35. When I was young I wanted to be Marcia Brady.
  36. I played softball positions pitcher, catcher, and second base for my church softball team.
  37. I’m a shopaholic.  It is bad.
  38. I eat vegetables for breakfast.
  39. As a victim of the Backmasking era in the eighties, I burned all of my records.

  40. I’m obsessed with my cat.

  41. I’ve maintained an exercise regimen since 1983.
  42.  I believe I can do anything that I put my mind to.
  43. I polish my nails just before I board the treadmill.
  44. While engaging in regular treadmill time, I watch the TODAY show with Hoda and Kathie Lee.
  45. I have worked as technical support resolving DSL connectivity troubles.
  46. The first movie I attended was a showing of “Bambi”.  I was six months old.
  47. Eighties music is my favorite.
  48. My worst habit is grinding and tapping my teeth.
  49. I’ve owned three white Nissan Altimas (2004, 2007, 2014).
  50. My eyes are green.  My Daddy used to call me Green Eyes.
  51. I do not have any tattoos.  You wouldn’t put a bumper sticker on a Bentley.

  52. Today is my birthday.  I was born on a Wednesday in 1966 at 7:52 AM.

One day I’ll look back at this post, and will hopefully still be able to remember most of these things.

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

What’s Up Wednesday

Happy Wednesday

wednesday GIF

to say the least.

And with that, I bring you another edition of

What’s Up Wednesday

Which is not an account of this peculiar young member of the Addams Family, but all about what is happening in my world on this wonderful midweek day.

Here goes…

 

What We’re Eating This Week

As I’ve mentioned before, LB can eat anything he wants and Kim has to watch what she eats or she will pay the price.  HOWEVER once in a while I throw caution to the wind and go on a baking spree.  In addition to the Mother’s Day pound cake I baked on Sunday, I baked the best oatmeal cookies ever!  The cake went home with Mama, but the cookies are still here.

And they keep screaming at me.In an effort to save myself, I have banished most of them to the freezer.

 

What I’m Reminiscing About

Having dinner with the little ones on Mother’s Day.

 

What I’m Loving

This tiny little Glammy’s girl is already 3 months old.

  I am loving her tiny profile, tiny hairdo, and tiny pink gingham Mother’s Day dress!

 

 

What We’ve Been Up To

Work Work Work all week long and fun on the weekend!

 

What I’m Dreading

My 6 month dental visit is coming up.  While I’m sure it is just as pleasant as any dental event could possibly be, I don’t love it and always leave feeling slightly damp from the experience.

 

What I’m Working On

Being positive.

This requires a lot of self talk.

 

What I’m Excited About

Memorial Day Weekend which gives me an extra day to be OFF WORK!

I found this fun collection of celebratory paper products at Costco which would be great to use for a Memorial Day cookout

It doesn’t take much to get me excited!

 

What I’m Watching/Reading

There is neither a show that I feel I have to see, nor am I reading anything at the moment.  I’ve thought about using Audible to listen to books while I commute, but that plan has yet to be put into action.

 

What I’m Listening To

Me: “Alexa, play Hall and Oates Greatest Hits”

Alexa: “Shuffling songs by Hall and Oates”

 

 

What I’m Wearing

At the moment I’m wearing workout clothes.

Some of the pictures in this post feature a favorite Old Navy blouse that I wore Sunday.

For work today I wore a pretty blouse from LOFT.with light blue jeans

and these shoes.

 

What I’m Doing This Weekend

At the moment I anticipating sleeping in on Saturday morning.  My Saturday evening plans are not yet secured so I’ll save those for another post!

 

 

What I’m Looking Forward to Next Month

My Birthday happens next month.

While I’m not looking forward to my new number (age is just a number, right?), I am totally looking forward to another day off from work.

 

 

 

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

 

Round Round Get Around, I Get Around

Yeah!

Just like the song that was made famous by the Beach Boys.

And it is true… I do get around…

 Thanks to LB!

Since this past weekend was no exception, I’m going to take a minute to post a weekend recap.  Saturday was a workday and we were too exhausted to go out that night; Sunday morning was rainy and I was becoming concerned that the weekend was going to be a bust;  But all turned out well, and the fun began on Sunday afternoon.

Things were looking dismal, and we thought it was going to be a wash out, but the rain passed through late Sunday and we were able to make it to a concert to see

The Beach Boys

Pictured below is the reason I’m familiar with songs by the Beach Boys:

This record is older than me [believe it or not] and is one of the many that I grew up hearing.  On Sunday night I was privileged to hear that sound live.

 

It was fun and a great sing-along time.

  And it was a surprise to me that the favorite song seemed to be Help Me Rhonda.  I have to admit, it was great fun to sing along.

 

Older. Than. Me.

 

 

The St. Augustine Amphitheater is my favorite venue for concerts.  As you can see from this picture, there can be a bit of a traffic problem when leaving, which is typical of this type of event.  LB and I have learned that it is best to walk.  In doing so the traffic is avoided and there is less guilt from the high calorie nachos that are consumed.  [My fitbit counted 19,746 steps that day!]

I’m looking forward to our next event there.

 

 

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

 

 

One Sentence is Enough

It has been said that keeping a journal can help make one become grateful as it will call to mind daily blessings.

And it is possible that daily happenings can bring more joy to our lives than we would expect.  While pizza on Friday night with LB or a day off from work may not seem memorable to some, looking back on these daily occurrences may actually bring great pleasure.

Because journaling can take a great deal of time, a possible solution would be to keep a journal and write down just a sentence (or two) to record your prominent memories of the day.  The idea came from a blog I read called Foxy’s Domestic Side.  She writes a monthly recap using just a sentence (or two) for each day of said month.

In an article I recently read, writer Jessica Stillman poses the question:

Can writing Just a Sentence a Day Make You Happier?

Citing Author Gretchen Rubin, she writes, “You might think such short entries aren’t enough to make any difference in your life, but Rubin insists that this idea is both manageable and impactful. “One sentence is enough. When I look back on it years later, that one sentence really does keep memories vivid–it really does bring back the past–which is one of the things you really want a journal to do,” she says.” (source).

If I were to recap April using a sentence per day, my journal may look something like this:

 

1 Easter Sunday means remembering Jesus and spending time with Family.

2  Monday  It was a great weekend filled with activities!

3 Tuesday I love springtime. 

4 Tuesday “Giant Steps are What You Take Walking on the Moon” ~ The Police

Watched a crreepy movie with LB… TITAN (fictional story about preparing for life on one of Saturn’s Moons).

5 Wednesday My Quarterly Mary Kay Order arrived today.

6 Friday The Usual Friday Dinner and A Movie Date Night.

#LittlePizzasandLookWho’sTalking

7 Saturday Cleaning my closet is good for my soul.

#3HeftyBagsFull

8 Sunday I love to have dinner with Friends at La Nopolera!

9 Monday Peace and quiet all alone at the office today.

#EveryonesOffButMe

10 Tuesday Apparently I like yellow.

11 Wednesday There is a lake in my yard.

12 Thursday Give me a sign.

13 “It’s Friday the 13th. Just a warning before you make any weekend arrangements for wood cabins by lake.” ~unknown.

Little pizzas and movie with LB.  Not a Jason flick.

14 Saturday It’s going to be a long weekend! 

#iHaveMondayOff!

15 Sunday Help me Rhonda!

16 Monday Brunch in St. Augustine is the best.

17 Tuesday Back to work I go.

18 Wednesday I’m thankful for my job.

19 Thursday I Love baking.

20 Friday I usually have a doppelganger.

21 Saturday I’ve ordered my Kentucky Derby hat!

22 Sunday It’s a perfect day for a Bird Rescue and a Ballet Recital.

Today LB and I enjoyed both.

23 Monday Hi Ho Hi Ho its off to work I go.

24 Tuesday Gardening is good for you.

And that is just what I did after work today.  Thank you for the amaryllis Wendy!

25 Wednesday She said, soo… do you have any new ducks at your house?

While walking around outside looking at flowers, Lydia inquired about the possibility of Glammy having any new toy (rubber) ducks.

So I ordered some ducks.

26 Thursday The lady behind me is an owl.

At The Voice of Romance Tour 2018 Johnny Mathis, a fan was heard to say “WOO” several times per song.

27 Friday I’m feeling like a Loser but that’s okay.

28 Saturday Dinner @ Olé with a side of karaoke.

I didn’t post my review of the Atlantic Boulevard Restaurant, but I won’t likely visit again.

29 Sunday Mulch Makes it Better.

30 Monday I’d rather be at the beach.

 

Although one sentence may be enough, occasionally I feel I need to elaborate with hashtags, links, and a picture here and there.  I agree that it is a good idea to remember and appreciate the little things in life.

 

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

Cupcakes & Colored Eggs

Easter weekend

would not be complete without coloring eggs on Saturday.

Last year, on the Saturday before Easter were made cookies & colored eggs

You can read about that event in this post.

This year, we made cupcakes & colored eggs on the Saturday before Easter.

First we colored/dyed 24 hard boiled eggs… and made a wonderful mess!

After the eggs had been colored,

and the egg-shaped cookies beautifully decorated,(The brown one is mine.  Yep.)

We moved on to the sunflower cupcakes….And it was no easy task.

Lydia participated long enough to finish one cupcakeObviously her skills are unmatched and could have completed the whole job herself.

However she was far more interested in something on TV.

Due to her work schedule, Stephanie wasn’t able to join us, so Amanda and Emily turned all 52 mini cupcakes into lovely sunflowers.The cupcakes were presented the following day as dessert after Easter Sunday dinner.

Afterward the Easter egg hunt began!It was High energy(notice the binoculars for easier egg spotting)Serious business!but plenty for everyone!

It was a good day to spend with family, enjoying time together, and making memories!

 

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

Celebrating Spring

It is the first weekend of a new season…

SPRING!

The first day of spring occurs when the robins arrive.

Bird, Nature, Forest, Robin

 

Just Kidding!

The first day of spring occurs on the day the center of the sun crosses directly over the equator.

This celestial crossing results in the equinox—a day with light and dark of practically equal length, with the sun rising precisely in the east and setting precisely in the west.  This year the vernal equinox befell on Tuesday, March 20 at 12:15 PM.

See how smart I am!

On this first weekend of spring I celebrated by

Spring cleaning the YARD

It was a perfectly beautiful Saturday.  While LB was busy pressure washing the patio, I was busy pulling weeds and trimming the shrubs that I thought may have died during the winter.  My main concern was getting the dogwood tree planted.  There were so many rules for this little tree:  Only 3-6 hours of sun, well drained soil, and highly visible to me as I come and go.

LB was my hero when he picked a spot!

On Sunday there was

Shopping

I needed a spring wreath for the front door and I found mine at Pier One

although it has no Easter eggs or BUNNIES…

it will be appropriate for display all season long!

Oh! Look behind me… its Joanna Gaines!

 

I was also on a hunt for a deviled egg plate/platter.

There were so many to choose from!

 Can you guess which one I chose?

While fall is my favorite season, spring takes a close second, although it does bring with it a potential issue…

Spring Fever

There are some indicators that reveal you may be suffering with spring fever.

You may know the symptoms… restlessness, daydreaming, a delightful inclination towards romance and a strong desire to ditch the drudgery in exchange for a frolic in the flower fields. The emotional exuberance that winter has come to an end may be more than many are able to manage.  If this describes you, it’s time to get out of town.

One thing is certain… LB has it!

 

 

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

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