A Spring Saturday morn!!

Ahhhhh......ain't nuthin' like it!  Sitting on the deck at our lakehouse on a crisp spring morning is so satisfying and well.....just makes you so happy to be living in this life! Even tho I have a full plate today...spring cleaning the deck and bar, cleaning out the bunkhouse and weeding flower beds, it's a "good" feeling.  You know the one,.....where you know you'll be so tired and your bones will hurt and ache at the end of the day....but you love every second of it?!!!  My sign off with my girl friends is always.....LYMTD...love you more than dirt!  Cuz they all know that if I love 'em like I love my garden dirt....well, that's alot!!  Nothing more therapeutic than digging in the dirt to make way for beautiful blooms!!
This is what I saw this morning as I was having my coffee.....my boyfriend always says that for every second you spend looking down this river, that's one more second added to your life!!

Such a lovely sound when the boats begin their early morning ritual of heading out to their fishing spots!

So, as I head in to get my work clothes on and see this....

I realize that I better get busy..for this week my brand new grandson will be here for the first time to meet all of the family together and if it's warm, he just may need to swim with Lilli!!  Lots of work to do....I can't wait!

~"It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!" ~Mark Twain

I'm sensing a pattern here!!

this was bromley protecting ms. lilli back in February of 2010...

and here he is standing watch over austin in February of 2012...

Our Lil Protector...all 5.7 pounds of him!!

Still Sailing the Seas!

Our cap'n is still out in the wildblueyonder, soon to be bringing that ol' gal, Blew Bayou, back into shore!  One of the things we love to do is take pics of her from afar....here are a few of those pics that he's sent in the last few days!

That's her right in the center of this picture anchored at Little French Cay at Roatan, Honduras!

and here she is anchored at Punta Gorda....no doubt close to Sacrifice Cafe!

And while sailing the seas, most everyday ends with a picture of this.....sometimes on paper but ALWAYS

as a beautiful memory in your mind! 

Thoughts from Austin!

that I can't wait till da Easter bunny comes!!

also been thinking that when my mom looks at me like this....

YaYa's girl???

HEH..HEH!!  All of my friends and most of my family think I go a leetle overboard with "tackiness"!!  As in my crazy colorful jewelry, clothes and most of my decorating design.  Oh well.........my mom is still lurking somewhere deep inside me!! So, when I got this pic this morning of my granddaughter, I laughed and laughed.....she indeed has a bit of my blood.  They are at the deer camp having a crawfish boil and this is what she's wearing......her camo, of course, with the lacy tutu and her bright pink rainboots!  What a hoot!!

First Annual Catholic Girl Reunion!

and you notice I said "first annual"......cuz we had SO much fun that we're going to make it a yearly party. Or bi-annual!!!

Such a fun friendship trip.....everyone should treat themselves to such a getaway!!!!  Soothes the soul and feeds the mind!!  Not to mention your stomach...OMG...we had the best food evah!!

Stacked ahi tuna and avocado, royal reds shrimp, the lower left was mine one night...fried oyster on top, then filet with remoulade sauce on top of a cheese grit stuffed crab cake on top of eggplant.   To Die For....I'm just sayin'! For breakfast? fresh fruit every morning with baked lemon pound cake or sausage and egg stuffed bread rolls!!!  I'm just sayin.....AGAIN!!

Uncles are SO smart!

Austin's uncle josh taught him all about ceiling fans.....which is one of austin's new best friends!!  So, first josh showed him the awsesomeness of the blades going round and round and then we're not real sure WHAT he was telling him.  But whatever it was..............Austin believed him and thought it was verah cool!!

Sunrise...Sunset...

Actually, here in this condo............sunrise comes around 11am!!

....and sunset comes when the first chick leaves her chair and strolls toward the setting sun!!

Just Keepin' It Real!

What happens when catholic girls unite!!!

Where Thursday will find ME!!

Why.......at the Catholic Girls Reunion, of course!!!  hahahahahahaha......

So, let me explain!  Don'tcha know how we will find any excuse for a good road trip? Sure you do! My college roomate, who I see not nearly enough, has a good friend, who is also a good buddy of mine. Good buddy and I live in same town and college roomate and her friend live in same town. One time when we all hooked up for lunch, our conversation turned to the fact that we all grew up as catholics and went to catholic schools.  We all found that quite hilarious!!  So we decided next time we got together, we'd call it our CGR (catholic girl reunion), slap on our confirmation saint names and have some fun.  So we are!

Tomorrow we all leave from our towns for a drive down to Florida for a long weekend on the beach, getting as much sand in our cracks as we possibly can, with as many bloody salads and margaritas as womanly possible ... with just a few tricks up our sleeves!

Even tho we're not quite like this any more......

we may look like this!

  WoooooooHooooooo for the Sistahs!!!

A Life Complete

....sigh....home after a wonderful weekend with my oldest kids and their new bebe....my grandson.  Along with the youngest son and his bride...we had a day and night of bliss!  We argued over who would snuggle Austin, we drank wine, we cooked and laughed over a great meal, we talked about how we missed the other brother and wife and Lilli and, of course, our cap'n......which would have made our circle full.~ My middle boy and family were busy walking in the Komen Race for the Cure in memory of his wife's sweet sweet mom~.  So, after living my whole adult  life with three of the most wonderful sons in the world, watching them marry "too cool for school" women who I know love them as much as I do..........and being rewarded with beautiful grandchildren....

austin at 7 days old

austin at 51/2 weeks!

Lilli at the Race for the Cure 'shakin' her booty' for the camera

I'm almost a lil melancholy tonight realizing that no matter what the future holds, my life to date has been, and is being, so awesome and SO COMPLETE!!  I'm one lucky gal!!

Waterlogged??

Hmmmmm.....what does one do when, at 11pm, one realizes that the sunroom is flooding??  Why, one stays up till after 2am, sopping and mopping up the tile floor and crying over the fact that my beautiful rug is soaked.  The rain didn't start until 5pm but it came with such a vengeance so fast and so hard that it actually was pelting the windows enough to shake them.  So, what does an ol' gal do when this happens? Why, retreats to the other room covered up with a blanket with sophiejane, of course!  It wasn't until after 11pm, when checking on locked doors, that I found the um.........puddles.  (not exactly what I was calling them last night!!)  Got it taken care of but  the problem is that it is supposed to rain all weekend....and I kinda ... um.....have plans to be out of town!  Uh-Oh.  And no way am I staying around here when I can be snugglin' with this.... 

So.......got all the towels packed up against the windows, finishing up with this

and getting the hell outa dodge!!  I've got some huggin' and kissin' to do!! 

My youngest and his sweet bride are going to be there too so, of course, I've got a carload of food to take for the weekend.  Gonna be so fun to hang with Austin...and his mom and dad!..and the uncle and aunt....cooking, laughing and enjoying a glass of vino together!

I thought Austin really needed these too!  WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY BROWNIES!!

They came out so good and really easy to throw together.  Will post recipe if anyone wants it.

HAPPY WEEKEND TO EVERYONE!!

Birthday Wishes...

to our sweet daughter-in-law today!!  The wife of my son, the mother of my granddaughter, one of the daughters I never had.......and a very good friend to me!  We celebrated her special day with a wonderful dinner at a great restaurant surrounded by family........doesn't get much better than that!!

         HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Can't wait!!!!!!

...till my dad gets home!!!  Warming up his spot in his chair with the remote control all ready!

Now, THIS is what I've been waiting for!!!

and sweet sweet Emmy......the lil white chick at his legs?? she has been so good and "obliging" to Austin. We're all so proud of her for we feared she would not like "sharing the spotlight" very much. But she's done really well!!   whew.......!!

Anything in Common??

What could this girl and her hot glue gun ...

and these crafty materials and um.......vino, of course.......

and five of the cutest lil shrine-like boxes...

Possibly have in common with......?? (minus the mexican flag!)

I'll let ya know next week!!!!

Father/Son Bonding??

No matter what you call it....when a dad and two of his sons spend 10 days on a boat together in Mexico.........it happens!  They talk. They laugh. They eat.  And they prolly have a "few" cocktails together!!  And I think that is super cool.  Only thing that wasn't right about it was that the oldest boy couldn't  be with them....:(  But it's ok cuz he's so busy being a new babydaddy and loving every minute of it!!  So.........not only did they explore and have a fun time, they also actually DID what they went down there to do!!  Looky!   (double click for larger image)

Read Any Good Books lately??

Well.............this one should SO be on the bestseller list!!!Heheh! At least for MY family! This is the 3rd yr I've made my blob into a book and had copies made for each of my children. It has become like a running diary of our days, weeks and months together during the year. At any time, they can look thru and remember exactly what we did at a certain time of yr. My blob has no ads, no awards.......nothing.........except memories for my kids! JUST the way we like it!!!

I'm always pleased with the quality of pages that are printed out...

The words are on the introduction page and this "family clampett" pic is on the back cover!!