Random questions...

1. What is your favorite fair/carnival food? Chicken on a Stick from Penn's.. Delish!

2. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of? I don't think so..

3. What is your favorite gift to receive? I just love gifts.. Doesn't matter what it is... It is the element of surprise!

4. When was the last time you tried something new? On my birthday. I had seared tuna, which really means it is NOT cooked.. But, it was good. I wouldn't eat it everyday, but it was definitely something I will eat again.

5. What is your favorite and least favorite book genre? Favorite: Books that make laugh, or at least smile. Least Favorite: History! Ugh!

6.Silver or Gold? Either.. Seriously..

7. What makes you sigh? People who refuse to listen!

8. If you didn't know how old you are, how old would you claim you are? 40..

9. Would you break a law to save a loved one? To protect a loved one? No.

10. If you had to teach something, what would it be? Cooking.

11. You're having lunch with 3 people whom you respect and admire. They begin to criticize a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend. What do you do? Let them know they are talking about a friend in hopes they stop.

12. Which of the 5 Love Languages is your prominent means of experiencing love? Acts of Service.

And there you have it...

Final beach trip of the year...

We spent last week at the beach with the grands, their mother and my niece. Much fun was had by most of us since most of us didn't imbibe too much and end up spending ALL day Thursday in the bed, and missing out on lots of great pool time with the kiddos. The three people who know me and read this blog will know exactly who I am talking about.. Thank back to the "shrimp" incident of approximately 1994 or so.. And, that is enough said about that...

We usually go to the beach, without ever actually going ON the beach. The mother of the grands was determined to spend the day ON the beach this year, and that is what we did. Benton was not too keen about this idea since he has seen shark week on several ocassions and was convinced sharks live EVERYWHERE in the ocean, and they are always looking for people to eat. Bailey has no issues with the water and went right in, even wading through 20 feet of seaweed to get to the clear blue water. Benton agreed to let me carry him out in the water and he was continuously asking about sharks. I told him there were people who watched for sharks and if there were sharks in the water, it was unlikely they would be in knee deep water, and the shark watchers would notify us immediately if one was spotted. We talked about all the fish we could see swimming around and in his excitement about the fish, and me possibly catching one with my bare hands, he agreed to stand in the water and hold my hand, just in case... you know.. a shark came after us. He eventually got comfortable in the water and ended up having a great time. Bailey enjoyed it immensely and even put on her goggles so she could go under and open her eyes. She didn't care too much for the taste of saltwater, but everything else about the experience was fun. When we finally returned to the room, Bailey opted to stay with Man and the rest of us headed back to the pool to rinse the salt water out of our crevices.

Bailey and Man had much fun. He gave her a bath at her request, dresssed her in a dress of her choosing, brushed her hair and then they headed out on their own. She did the bungy jump, had a pushup AND a bubblegum milkshake and eventually met up with us for dinner, where Bailey continued to eat. That girl will consume a Ceasar salad in a heartbeat! And, I guess that balances out all the junk Man let her eat on their outing...

The next day started bright and early at the pool and it was a fun day for most of us. We stayed in the pool most of the day and when we FINALLY went in, the grands crashed. Man and I went out to dinner alone and then met back with everyone to watch the Bee Movie outside. I had never watched it from beginning to end in one sitting, but got to this time and I loved it! After that was over, we pretty much called it a night.

The next day we headed home. With the exception of stopping every 20 to 30 minutes for the almost 4 year old to potty, it was an uneventful ride home, with the exception of Man's driving technique, which leaves a LOT to be desired.

I am always glad to get home after I have been gone for several days. And, I need to rest up for our next trip, minus Man and my niece, to create new memories with some great friends! JUGS!

Some good news!

1. BP has finally been able to cap the oil spill, and this is GREAT news! This is only a temporary fix until they are able to cap it below the sea bed, but at least the flow of oil has stopped. Thank you God for answered prayers!

2. I cleaned my entire house last night. Hopefully it can stay that way until our guests arrive Saturday afternoon. I know there are a few areas I will have to re-visit, but for the most part it is clean and it should stay that way.

3. One of our mystery guests is a celebrity. Not a celebrity everyone would know about, but I would say a lot of women would know and recognize her.

4. She is bringing me a signed copy of her book. We are taking our guests to dinner Saturday night and then, for some local flavor, to a local restaurant/bar to listen to a well known local band.

5. I am actually going to cook brunch for a celebrity Sunday morning! Yes, I am brave like that! It will be simple so I don't risk screwing it up. And, we will have Mimosas, just in case I screw it up.. it will make everyone less aware. :)

More later...

Friends...

I had lunch with a friend I used to work with the other day. She is very nice, but she never stops talking. AND I MEAN NEVER... When we worked together, she used to prop herself up on the door facing to my office, and I would literally have to leave my office to make her stop talking and go back to her own office. We have not worked together for almost two years now, but stay in touch through emails and ocassional lunches. We had not had lunch in a few months, but it worked out where we could have lunch this past week. She walked in the door talking about some procedure her father-in-law was having that day, and she never took a breath. She jumped from that to going camping, to her stepdaughter looking for a job, to someone in her office only working 3 days a week. Not one single time did she ever ask about me or my family, or anything going on in my life. NOT.ONE.SINGLE.QUESTION. I finished my food and drank two beers and she was still working on the other half of the one taco she ordered for lunch. She couldn't eat for talking. As I was paying for lunch, she finally said she wanted to come see my new house, and asked for directions. Then she proceeded to change the subject and start telling me about people she knew in my neighborhood, which ultimately led back to some story about her own house and possible warranty issues. I finally told her I was going in the store next to the restaurant so I would not have to walk to the parking lot with her and continue to listen to her ramblings. Am I the only one who thinks is it odd to never talk about anything other than what is going on in your own life for one solid hour??

Our pet frog who lives under the mini-fridge out back

This morning when I let the dogs out, our pet frog had come out from under the fridge to look for a snack. Needless to say, four dogs discovered him almost immediately and in his effort to escape the four dogs who were about to sniff him to death, he hopped, hopped, hopped right into the dogs water bowl. And, he couldn't get out. Being the animal lover I am, (and yes, I know frogs are not technically "animals") I scooped him out, to save him from drowning, or to at least keep him from sitting in a shallow bowl of warm water all day. He hopped over behind the skeeter killing smoking machine and stayed there until I took the four dogs back in. I am sure he was thinking he was lucky to be alive. Just thought you would like to know that..

How to drive through a Roundabout...

Do you know what a roundabout is? No? Well, do you know how to read? Yes? OK. Do you know how to follow "picture" directions? Yes? OK. Well then.. why did you go through the roundabout, that clearly says with words, pictures and an arrow in your lane, that you CANNOT MAKE A LEFT TURN FROM THE RIGHT LANE?????? And NO, turning on your blinker to indicate you are going to make a left turn from the right lane, REGARDLESS, does NOT make it OK either! I thought Louisiana girls were smarter than that!!! The only reason you didn't run into my vehicle is because I am aware no one knows how to drive through the roundabout, EXCEPT FOR ME,... and, I WAS PAYING ATTENTION!!!

My daily routine may be causing me problems...

My daily routine is just that.. routine.. I am a robot in the mornings. I get up, put Dooley and Dreamy outside. Go back in and get Tux and Coco, and let them out. I stand in the middle of the yard hoping they will do their business out there instead of on the porch. Sometimes it works. We go in, and go in the bathroom so I can get ready for work. They eat, and sometimes play while I shower. Sometimes they watch me. Not because they think I still look good naked, but because they know as soon as the water is shut off, and I get dried off, they get a treat. Not sure how this became the ritual every morning, but nonetheless, it is. So, I give them a treat, I put on my moisturizer from head to toes, and begin the beautification process. Makeup, blowdry hair, put on deodorant, put on clothes, put on shoes, attempt to style hair, put on perfume, jewelry, make bed, take vitamins, make sure house is straight, kiss hubby good-bye and head to work.

This morning I had to run to WalMart for dog food and bird seed. VITAL STUFF! While walking through WalMart, I had a feeling I missed doing something this morning. Something that would come back to haunt me later in the day.. like when it starts really warming up around lunch time, or when I have a hot flash... I CAN'T REMEMBER IF I PUT ON DEODORANT THIS MORNING!! Everything happens in such order, I can't always remember if I actually did it or not. My routine just might be causing me problems and its time to shake it up a bit.

Happy Friday to me!