Point Clear Alabama..

We are back from the first beach trip of the year, and I am happy to announce, no oil was seen, or smelled.. Benton and Bailey overheard conversations about the oil spill and were very concerned we were going to see it while at the beach. Bailey described it as "disgusting" and Benton was concerned about the animals that have died as a result, and that are going to die if it is not contained soon.

On a lighter note, we took them the battleship in Mobile, and they could have cared less. I was pretty sure they were not going to be interested, but Man loves history and wanted to take a tour and used them as a reason to go. Having been there many years ago, and realizing battleships DO NOT HAVE AIR CONDITIONING, I knew it would be a short lived tour. The kids didn't care about it, and Man doesn't like to sweat. We were back on the road shortly thereafter and headed to our destination which was about 20 minutes away.

As soon as we arrived at the hotel, me and the kids put on our suits and headed to the pool. The kids were excited about getting to go down the super slide until we realized the rules had changed since our last trip to The Grand and they no longer allowed small children to sit in on an adult's lap and go down the slide. If they weren't 4 feet tall, they could not go down. BUMMER!!! Both were disappointed, but were appeased by the fact that G will stand in the "deep" water and let them swim to her 99 times each, and to them, this was fun times. The only time I got to rest, was when the nice people at the pool offered tattoos of the kids' favorite cartoon characters, and when they realized they sold popsicles at the pool. Four dollar popsicles to be exact.. times 2! But it was money well spent, because it meant I got to undulge in an adult beverage, or two.

And let's not forget the time Bailey jumped in the "deep" water while I was helping Benton look for something in our beach bag which was sitting on the pool deck, and when I turned around, she was swimming back to the steps. Hopefully none of my goods were exposed as I ran back to the pool, jumped in and grabbed her out of the water. She came up smiling. I told her to NEVER jump in the pool again unless I was already in the water, and she said "OK G"... and she was good to go. Then there was the older lady who was standing in the middle of the pool who actually witnessed Bailey jumping in the deep water, and was doing her best to get to her, but it is hard to run in chest deep water. It just doesn't work very well. I thanked her for her efforts though and hoped she believed me when I told her I had warned Bailey to NOT go in the deep water when I am not in there.

We had lots of fun doing whatever the kids wanted to do. When they wanted to swim, I did, and when they wanted to walk around the resort and explore, I did. Outside one of the restaurants they have a putting green and the kids are welcome to play on it. I was able to sit outside, in the shade, while being waited on by Sophie, and watch the kids play to their heart's content. It was perfect to me. We also walked on the beach, looked for tar balls, didn't find any, and then we would go back to the room and talk about renting 14.00 movies. I only agreed to this one night.

When Benton discovered we could actually have breakfast brought to the room, he requested Fruit Loops. "Room service" Fruit Loops are expensive at resorts. $6.50 a bowl to be exact. But, since he had never had room service, I caved and ordered it one morning and $51.80 later, they had ingested one bowl of Fruit Loops each, Bailey ate a few berries off the fruit bowl I ordered, and both mostly ignored the two glasses of orange juice I had ordered. Lesson learned. No more room service. The next morning, we went to the dining room to eat and they both had Fruit Loops, FOR FREE!!!! You live and learn.

We had fun, and look forward to the next beach trip to Sandestin in August. I don't look forward to the laundry, but I do look forward to the trip!

"Coke" pants.

I remember having a pair of "Coke" pants when I was a teenager. I was rarely in style when I was a teenager, but I was definitely in style for a brief period of time... with my Coke pants.

Things I remember - part 2..

1. I remember riding the bus from Shreveport Louisiana to Bastrop Louisiana to see my grandparents.

2. I remember sleeping with my mama and brothers in a full size bed at my grandparents' house.

3. My grandparents lived in a wood frame house, and in the winter, we only used the heater in the room where we watched TV, or in the bathroom when we took a bath. We did not use heaters at night while sleeping. We slept under handmade quilts.. several of them. It was still F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G!! We depended on each other's body heat, a lot!

4. In the summertime, we had window fans and attic fans to keep us cool. My grandparents house looked like a duplex with two front doors. The door on the left walked into the living room and from the living room you went into the kitchen, and then you walked into what was at one time a porch, but my grandpa turned it into a bedroom. The front door on the right walked directly into a bedroom, and from that bedroom, you walked into another bedroom, and then a very small hall with a bathroom on the right and a door into the kitchen on the left. If you kept walking straight through the hall, there was another bedroom, and through that bedroom was another bedroom. The house was not big, but it had 5 bedrooms. Most were only big enough for a bed and only two of the bedrooms had closets. Very small closets. Not big enough to hold the collection of blue jeans I currently own. In the summertime, we closed off the left side of the house and turned on the attic fan so we would be comfortable while we slept. I remember sleeping very well during our summertime visits back then.

5. My grandparents grew almost everything they ate. They had Goldie the cow for milk, butter and cream, and chickens for eggs, and for frying. We didn't name the chickens. They were never around long enough. The only thing I ever remember them buying from the grocery store was stuff like flour, sugar, tea and lard. Not cooking oil, but lard. That white stuff in a can. And they used it over and over again. I am not sure how they determined it was time to throw it away. During the summer we spent a lot of time at my grandparents sitting on the front porch shelling peas, butter beans, snapping green beans, and canning and freezing all this stuff for use during the winter. My grandpa sold some of the stuff to make extra money. They were definitely poor, but they were never without something good to eat.

6. I remember Christmas time at my grandparents. They had twelve kids... Seven boys and five girls. And they raised one of their granddaughters as their own child. Can you imagine having thirteen kids to feed and clothe??? I think the age difference between the oldest child, who is still living, and the youngest, who died from cancer a few years ago, was about 27 years. My grandmother was having babies for 27 years, and if I remember correctly, she miscarried a couple of times. My grandparents had grandchildren that were older than their youngest child. But, Christmas at my grandparents was always fun. Everyone came to their house. Twelve kids, their spouses, if they were married, and their children's children. Christmas was not about presents back then. It was about spending time with family, eating, fireworks and hoping Santa would come. My grandmother made an effort to buy each family a gift every year. I don't know how she did it, but she did. I remember she gave my mom a non-stick pot one year and mama never liked that pot. She couldn't use her metal spoons in it because it would scratch the non-stick surface. Seriously... Now all she wants is non-stick pots.

More exciting stuff to come...

Things I remember..

One of my earliest childhood memories is of my family living in Shreveport, Louisiana in a 4 room duplex. There was a living room, one bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen. I believe I was between 3 and 4 years old. My youngest brother had not made his way into the world yet. My dad was in barber school and we lived there for whatever length of time he was in school. We did not have a car. We rode the bus or walked wherever we needed to go. I remember my mama telling my daddy she had a headache one night. Being the helpful person that I am, I volunteered to get her an aspirin. To my knowledge, aspirin was the only headache remedy that existed back then. I ran to the kitchen, climbed up in a chair, and then climbed on the counter, grabbed the bottle of aspirin, removed the top (no such thing as child proof tops back then) and then I dropped the bottle and aspirin went everywhere. In my effort to cover up this incident, I started eating the aspirin. And then mama walked in. She wanted to know what I was doing and I told her I was getting her an aspirin for her headache. I don't think it took her long to realize what I had done. I don't remember how I got to the hospital, to get my stomach pumped, but I do remember being there and waking up in a semi-private room with another girl who was older then me, and who had a giant stuffed bear sitting by her bed. I remember eating cornflakes for breakfast. I didn't like cornflakes either. I am pretty sure I only spent one night in the hospital since we didn't have health insurance. I have no idea what that incident cost my parents, or if it cost them anything at all. But, I did learn a lesson from this experience. Don't eat what you drop on the floor. It might make you sick.

Life goes on...

My mama is selling her house. I never thought I would see the day she would do this without being forced to do so. She has lived in this house for 28 years, and for 26 of those years, she has lived there alone. My dad died about 2 years after they moved there. The house is not big, but it sits on three acres, and it all has to be mowed and maintained weekly. She is almost 72 and mowing 3 acres every week has started to take a toll on her. And, she still works 3 days a week at a local grocery store, and she is ready to retire from doing that as well. There is a Pentecostal Church behind her house that has wanted her house and property for quite some time. The Pastor told her if she ever got ready to sell to let him know. She met with him yesterday and they will be getting an appraisal, hopefully agree on a price, and conclude the sale by the end of June. She is leaving the town she has lived in for over 46 years and moving 20 miles down the road to another town, which is where she spends a lot of time anyway. She has friends there, she shops there, she socializes there, and it only makes sense to live there. She found an apartment in an area that only allows senior citizens over 60 to reside. She has friends that already live in that community and they love it. Although she is excited about moving somewhere new, she is very sad to be leaving her home. I am sad for her, but at the same time, I am excited about a fresh start for her.

I will head over there tomorrow to help begin the process of getting rid of things she won't be taking with her. Although her house is small, the apartment is smaller and she won't be able to use everything she has accumulated over the years. She is not one to keep things she doesn't need, so it should not be a difficult move.

I believe the move will be good for her. The road in front of her house will soon be a four lane highway, which means the highway be a lot closer to her house, and the sound of the 18 wheelers coming through will be even louder. I believe it is time for her to move on to a smaller place, with no maintenance, and lots of friends close by. I believe she will be happier, feel safer, and hopefully enjoy being a retiree. I believe fresh starts are a good thing. I believe life goes on...

At some point in time...

I will have to take a break from the new home and stop working so hard every single minute I am there, and just simply enjoy being there. I think I might be obsessed with keeping it perfect ALL THE TIME, and it is wearing me out.. I am sure with time, this will pass, but for now, I am constantly mopping, dusting, straightening, etc. I did actually sit on the back porch for a little while yesterday morning and watch the birds eat all the bird seed I have been steadily plying them with since we moved in. But, even that was short lived because I needed to water all the plants I planted and go to the grocery store since my husband expects to eat a couple of times a day on weekends, and it is MY job to make sure he gets fed well.

I actually thought I was going to have a couple of guests late yesterday afternoon, but when it got close to dark-thirty, I assumed it was not happening. Shortly thereafter, I received a text confirming it wasn't going to happen.. All I can say is, things might not be so tidy next time!

I did order custom window treatments for my bedroom on Saturday. That was a first for me. We usually don't have "window treatments" in our house, and if we do, they are called "curtains" and they are purchased "ready made" from places like Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond, and do not costs as much as a week long trip to the beach, but we splurged this one time and I think it will be worth it. I plan to put "curtains" in several rooms, but I will either make them myself, or buy something I like that is ready made and make any adjustments to them that I think are necessary.. I did buy curtains from Pier One for the downstairs guestroom, and added a piece of contrasting fabric to the bottom and they look fantastic. It took about three hours to measure, cut, sew, iron, install rods and hang, but it was well worth it. They look fantastic!

I also finally got the remainder of my clothes moved from the guest room, where our old bedroom furniture is now located, to the chest in the master bedroom. I also mopped, dusted and vacuumed inside, and rearranged the back porch to make it more user friendly. We hung a TV on the back porch, so I had to rearrange some of the furniture around the TV. The grandkids will be delighted when they realize they can play outside and watch Spongebob!!!

Now I am back at work.. and resting.. at least for now...

Randomness of my life...

I saw these questions on another blog and decided who I am not to let you know this mundane stuff about me that is of zero importance to anyone, other than me of course.

1. What is the really fast, know-by-heart "go-to" meal to fix in a pinch?

Grilled chicken, grilled squash, and salad. My grilled chicken is awesome if I do say so myself.. Now let me pause a moment to give myself a pat on the back.. PAT! PAT! PAT!!

2. What is one item you won't leave home without (Purse and license do not count).

For some people it is phones.. not me.. I absolutely will not leave home without lipstick. If I do, I will stop at the nearest CVS, Walgreen's, Walmart, etc. to buy some.

3. Where is one place you never tire of visiting? The beach.. I NEVER, EVER get tired of going there..

4. Share one factoid of your family's history.... My great-grandfather was the sheriff of some town in Louisiana when Bonnie & Clyde came through and robbed a bank.. that's what my mama told me..

5. If you could win a one year's supply of anything, what would it be? Without any hesitation whatsoever.. Michelob Ultra.

6. Complete this sentence: "Once upon a time I....I was going to be a nun.. Seriously.. Stop laughing!!!!

7. One quirky thing you may not know about me is.... Hmmmm.. Do I have a quirk?

8. You have one dollar in your pocket. What will you buy? I would go to Sonic during happy hour and buy a large Dr. Pepper.

9. One thing that always makes me laugh is....my grandchildren.. and Rules of Engagement.. I love that show!

10. What is one thing you could do today to help yourself reach a personal goal? Actually put the DVD of Jillian Michael's Shred in the player and do what they are doing!

11. What is one thing you could do today to bless someone else? Smile and say hello.. Sometimes that is all someone needs to make them have a better day.

12. What is one thing you are looking forward to soon? Going to the beach with the grandest kids of all in less than three weeks!!! I don't know who is more excited.. me or them...

And there you have it..