Ms. Lilli.....Meet your Aunt and Uncle!

My oldest son and his wife weren't here for the birth of their niece. So, needless to say, it was so heartwarming to watch the introductions!

The pride on babydaddy's face was unmistakeable! The awe in oldest boy's face was priceless! And well, let's just say that time with this daughter-in-law and ms. thang are going to be the ride of a lifetime!! (I'm not sure who thought the other was the funniest!!)

And then, of course, I did get a leetle bit of ms. Lilli's Love too!!

The Cap'n has had a Very Busy Week!

.....playing in the sea!!
--First, he snorkeled with Pilot Whales and said it was as awesome as something from national geographic.
--Then he was a guest of a new friend that he met in the marina that just so happens to have a 155 ft. yacht parked in the marina. He and the cap'n struck up a conversation and before you know it, the cap'n was having lunch aboard. Do you know how large a 155 ft boat is? And how gorgeous they are? I love, love, love being able to go aboard these floating pieces of heaven...talk about 5 star resorts!! But I've never had a personal 2 hr. tour of one......that cap'n is a dirty dog!

Its name is Mr. Terrible. A dining table inside that seats 12. A copper bathtub in the master suite. So much awesomeness that the cap'n couldn't even remember it all. Said he'd have to send info to me in bits and pieces as it comes to him. I then told him to REMAIN FRIENDS so that I may have the opportunity to schmooze my way onboard!!

The yacht is headed to the Caymans in a few weeks where the helicopter will drop off its guests!..on the helipad at front of boat..... Alrighty then.....! The cap'n ended his week with a shark dive. I got a text message at the end of the day that said.....Shark dive over.......no missing parts! And soon after, I received these pictures............

Technical difficulties!

For some reason, the pics on post about the cap'n HAVING WAY TOO MUCH FUN didn't show up. So, I'm going to retry and see if it will work again...........be back in a bit!

Soup Day!!

Another cold, rainy February day. YUK.

While I was reading thru some of my fave blogs this morning, I saw where my very good buddy, ms. plucky, was over at her place talking about Vegetable Soup. Go check out her blog....it's a fun read! Well, it just so happens that I made a huge pot of soup a day ago, when all the kids were coming in. So, I told plucky that I was gonna write about my soup too! We love to share ideas and recipes together! Looks like the only difference in mine and hers is that I used fresh asparagas, whole baby carrots and angel hair pasta. My mom ALWAYS added just a touch of pasta in the last 20 min of cooking. I don't feel like it's finished until I do that too........!

And this is my mom's soup pan.....will use it till the day I can't make soup no mo!!

~Family~................ahhhhhhhhh.

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. ~Jane Howard

The Protector!

While I'm sitting here, impatiently thumping my fingers!, waiting for my children to drive in the driveway after their very long drive across the country, I've been editing some pictures. I just had to share this one....cuz really.......how cute is Bromley??? (and Lilli too but that's a given...duh.)

Two Announcements!!

1) My oldest son, his wife and their puppy, EmmyLou are driving across country, from California, right now as I type this!!!!!!!!!!! Translation: THEY ARE MOVING HOME!!!!!! It's been 6 long yrs of them living many, many states away from family, friends and home cookin'!!!!

Can ya tell I'm just a wee bit excited??? It's time. Time for all the brothers and mamas and daddys and their chirren to be back together again. They've had wonderful adventures and made many memories to be able to share in the days to come....but for now? I just wanna hug 'em!!! (and they get to meet ms. Lillian Leigh for the first time!!)

2) Speaking of.....................Lilli's Birth Announcement!

Whew..................!

That junkin' and playin' and laughin' and drivin' and eatin' is hard work!!!
Not to mention the unloadin' part of the car...heheheheh!!
Puter has been sick, I'm going now to pick it up from the doctor. Soon as I get back I'll be a picture postin' fool!!

NOW...................on to the fun stuff!!

Our first stop of the day on Friday was a few miles outside of Tyler. Um, we had the names of a few places that we knew we wanted to stop at but mostly we just stop when someone hollers....STOP!!!!! and this was one of those:and just look at all the stuff ..... even on top of the roof!! Our kind of place....or so we thought.....

Seems there was a very 'scary' owner who thought it very fun to follow us around while we shopped. Now, let me paint this picture. Remember Freddy from the movies? Well, this was his brother. And once inside, I looked up at my friend and said...stay out. I had a funny feeling on this one since we were the only ones there and I'm seeing being stuffed into some closet with a roll of duct tape all over me! She looked at me and I looked at her and we hauled a** outa there!! My boyfriend would be very proud that I chose safety over all this good stuff!!

Only later, at lunch, did my peep mention all the scenarios that could have been....chloroform, car trunks......and on and on. And um..........me no think anyone would be looking for us in NOONDAY, TX!!! Seriously...that's where we were! Next stop? The Purple Pig!

Only at the Purple Pig, can you get barbeque, crawfish, seasoning in a Beringer wine bottle AND eat your meal INSIDE a teepee!!!And what better image of pure fried, greasy goodness?? The all american, purple pig Patty Melt!!!

Oh and dontcha know? There are ALWAYS lil shopping yards outside of places like this. Of course, this is where we found our first finds of the trip!! Some yard art!! and what better art than flying pigs?????!

This is a shot of our car after only one stop!


Finally, we reach our planned stop. Our Little Corner. It's an antique shop, actually 3 shops, in Noonday, Tx. Nope, didn't know that town even existed but it was oh, so very quaint. Cute. And given that we stayed in these three lil shops for over 3 hrs..........well........yeah, good stuff in there!I really do try to respect the vendors that we visit and not take pictures in their shops...they really frown on it. And I understand that. But I did get permission to snap this one because it came home with me!!OH.MY.GOD. I'm just sayin...........Can you just see our little Lilli having tea parties WITH ME at this table? And it's perfect in my sunroom!! Will have much better pics of this sweet find later!
We head back to Tyler, where we find the coolest hotel -actually, it was a lil apt. two bdr,loft,kitchen,two bathrooms.........very nice! And we had dinner at the most quaint lil restaurant that is also a mega shopping place! Vino....fillet steak dinner....dessert....AND shopping afterwards????? Come on now...doesn't get any better! The Potpourri House. Check it out! A nice sleep-in and a hot breakfast in the lobby and we're off..............>>>>>to LaurieAnnas! OH. MY. OH ME, OH MY! Unbelievable. Those chicks have such an eye for decorating and every vignet is beautiful. It was shoulder to shoulder shopping and everyone jumping to get the best things into their baskets! I met new blogging friends and and laughed with Tina, from Cherry Hill Cottage, and LaurieAnna, while she ring, ding, dinged on that cash register!! Once again, I didn't take any pics inside but as soon as I get all my goodies unpacked, I'll show ya the cool bean stuff she had in her shoppe!! After 2 1/2 hrs in her place, we rocked on to downtown Canton, to all of our fave shops. Again..............BINGO!! And again, I'll show pics when I unpack it all! So~~~~~~~once again, it was a fab trip. So fun. So much laughing. So many memories. ~~~~~Good Times!!

The Junkin' Road is a callin' my name!

..........off to LaurieAnnas!! For her Spring Serendipity Market!! It's at Canton.....a well known flea-market junkin' type of place. My bud, L, is going with me and we're going to hit Tyler TX first. Cuz, ya see? I know all kinds of shopping places there too.........and well, it IS on the way!
And I have cleaned out the back of my car..........just in case.........!! Be back Saturday to let ya know if (heheheheheh) we found anything!!!

The beach calls for pico de gallo!

I got this pic on Valentines Day from a certain cap'n in Roatan, Honduras~and right after I said "Cool" to myself I thought "glad I made some pico de gallo for dinner tonight!" Cuz doesn't the beach just scream out guacamole and pico??? And since I got the recipe from the Pioneer Woman's website, I thought I'd participate in the games over at the cool site, Foodie Fans of the Pioneer Woman! Ya'll go take a look. Everyone does their own take on recipes from Ree Drummond's site and her cookbook and it's fun to see different interpretations of the same recipes. My chirren all gave this one a thumbs up so that says alot!!!! Oh....and....just got this pic today. This is where Blew Bayou is resting these days. Hmmmm....looks like the cap'n and his first mate may be enjoying their cold, February days in style!!!

A Lovely Night with my Children....

Everyone....all the locals, at least.......came over for dinner last night for babyboy's birthday celebration. It was so warm....in my heart....to have all my loves gathered around my dining room table. If my boyfriend's love and my oldest son and wife's love had been with us...it would have been perfect! They came early in the afternoon....the boys did some honeydo's for me around the house....they had some target practice on the range.....we had an awesome dinner....all the while Ms. Lilli Love slept!! Babymama and dad even got to eat the entire meal before she woke up...which we all know is like a miracle. Every baby always decides to wake up and fuss when it's time for mom and dad to eat. Not MY grandbebe!!!! What can I say? Uh-huh.....perfection! As I was rocking her and we were watching a movie, I got a bit verclempt looking at my 24 yr. old in all HIS perfection and thinking that on this night that many yrs ago, I was holding him just like I was holding lil Lilli. Where did all THAT time go? ~sigh~~~

So, here are a few pics from last night

The birthday boy and his niece!

Dinner with the gang!

Lilli's mom packed her "going to grandma's" suitcase that we gave her......so cute...sniff,sniff!

All wrapped up in her monogrammed blanket that Tiger Lily, my adopted internet daughter that I've never met face to face, sent her!!

Her first piece of jewelry that cap'n and her yaya gave her for Valentines

Day!

And then there's just plain ol' beautiful baby!! Just look at those rosebud lips. Gorgeous, I tell ya. Just gorgeous!

And just a reminder to one of my best gal pals: BIRTHDAYS ARE MEANT TO BE ENJOYED..SO HAVE A GOOD ONE TODAY, MS. TAM!!! NEVAH LET A DAY GO BY!!!

My world is a better place because of YOU!!

BE MINE?? VALENTINE??

Sure hope my boyfriend will be able to connect to the internet sometime today so he can answer my question.......
and ...... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BABYBOY!! he was such a sweet, sweet Valentine some 24 years ago today. In fact, according to my clock this morning, he would be about 1 hr old by 8:10 am!!!! And really? Guess who's getting the valentine gift today?? That would be ME!! MOI!! (that french is for my WA friend and for Pepe LePew!)
Because I'm having a birthday/valentine dinner at my house for the birthday boy, his sweet girl, the babymama and daddy and cough, cough, ahem........lilli!!!!!!! Needless to say, I did all the prep work and tablesetting yesterday so when they get here.........I get to play!!!!
So, I'll no doubt be back later with pics of our day.....the birthday boy, his dinner and a sweet gal with some very sweetcheeks!!

Glover's Reef - Belize!

http://www.gloversreef.com/
Cap'n has no internet capacity today and he called from the sattelite phone, which for those of us who know about it, ain't a fun way to communicate. But he did tell me that this is where they're headed this morning. Pretty rough night last night with a front that rolled in, giving them strong winds........which means a rockin' and rollin' Blew Bayou! But they were anchored in a mangrove field, which is good protection. I'm wondering how 'sceered' our buddy is that is with him right now.........hahahahahahaha...I'm lovin' that!!!!!
Now really? Does this look like it would be a bad place to be on this February day??
More details to come as I get them...

UM....

...me thinks that southerners do not know how to make snowmen!! Heh!
First one's cute....but then you decide if we know how to make 'em!!

Um....I'm just sayin.... And these guys sure think they're in the wrong place!

But we do know beauty when we see it!!

UNBELIEVABLE..............

I know. I know. I just keep on saying that. Cannot. Help. It. Never in my lifetime, and that's been a long, long time, have I EVER seen this much snow in Loosiana. EVER. I woke up this morning to a winter wonderland and it's still coming down. Here at my house, there is 6 inches of snow. I know that because I got down on my hands and knees with a ruler and measured it. I just had to know. I literally have been walking around in complete and utter awe. The trees are beautiful. The sidewalks are beautiful. The landscape is just breathtaking. Still trying to figure out how to expose pictures for this type of light....so weird. Never really shot anything in real, live snow!! And hey!......how do you keep this stuff from falling on you when you're least expecting it? I was just trying to re-load the bird feeder in my robe....cuz ya know.....it just doesn't dawn on me to put on a real live coat....too excited. Well, all the 6 inches that is on top of the feeder fell right on top of my head and straight down my robe!!!!!! I laughed and laughed and thought how my buddies would be laughing their heads off at me for being so enchanted with the white stuff. Going to put random pics up so my chirren out in sunny CA can see what we're talking about!!

And then, in comparison, you have this sitting out there in th wild blue yonder!!!!