*

Eleven ...

2012-02-09T21:52:00.000-05:00

I was tagged on my nieces blog so I'm going to play along......here's The Rules:

1. Post the rules

2. Post 11 fun facts about yourself

3. Answer the questions the tagger gave you in their post & then create 11 new questions for the people you tag

4. Tag 11 people and link them in your post

5. Let them know you've "tagged" them

my eleven facts....

1. I am at that stage where I hate my hair one day and love it the next. Trying to decide if I should change it.

2. I LOVE snow so this has not been a very happy winter for me

3. For the first time in my life I had a sinus infection. Now I know why people always complained about them.

4. I am soooo in love with my new kitchen

5. I love my family so much and wish we could all get together more often than we do!

6. I am OCD on certain numbers. The dryer time has to always end in 2. The volume on the TV has to always be on an even number ... and that's probably enough to share!

7. I can almost go into a panic attack over having to get a shot.

8. I love Fridays because of the anticipation of the weekend

9. My favorite colors are yellow and red

10. My most favorite place on earth is the Outer Banks of North Carolina!

11. Currently Revenge and Parenthood are my favorite TV shows

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

and now below are the questions from my niece for me to answer....

1. What is your favorite office supply? (I'm obsessed with sticky notes!) Felt tip pens....in all of the colors!

2. What is your guilty pleasure? (a certain food? a tv show? pinterest??) Right now it IS Pinterest. So dang addicted but on the good side, I've gotten some great recipes and some really great ideas for re-doing the den.

3. If you could live in a different era, what time period would you choose? I'd go back to the 50's and 60's because they were just a great time to live!! very carefree...but then again, maybe that was because I was a kid then.

4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? Anyone who knows me knows the answer is Kill Devil Hills, NC

5. What do you like to do on a rainy day? Stay home, cook something comforting and just hang out and watch TV or read
6. If you could be really good at one sport, what would you choose? snowboarding

7. What is your favorite season, and why? The fall of the year.....the best time to go to the beach and then the weather changes and the anticipation of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

8. If you could trade places with any famous person, who would it be?Shaun White.....he has it made!!!

9. Do you prefer the Summer or Winter Olympics? Winter Olympics...I love the snowboarders and the skiers ... do you see a theme here

10. Do you have a favorite dish you like to cook? I love to cook so there are way too many to list!!

11. What would you do for a Klondike bar? kiss that sweet polar bear!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am not going to tag anyone but I'm going to leave 11 questions for anyone who might read my blog. And if you decide to answer, leave me a comment so I can visit your blog and read the answers. go ahead, it could be fun.
here are my questions to YOU........

1. What is your most favorite vacation?
2. What is your favorite breed of dog and their best trait?
3. What is the longest tenure you have had in a job?
4. What kind of car do you drive?
5. Who is your favorite actor and actress?
6. What is your favorite beach?
7. Do you think the toilet paper should go over or under?
8. Do you coordinate your bath towels in your closet in color order? Because I do.....is that weird
9. What is your favorite ice cream?
10. Nikon or Canon? or....
11. What is something you hate to do?

later.....

Saturday ... birthday party!

2012-02-07T19:50:00.000-05:00

Saturday night my family gathered together for

my mom's birthday!

And what was really wonderful was Jake, my son, did all of the

cooking. We had a taco bar with beef and spicey chicken,

lime/cilantra rice ..... and then all of the fixings!

We had fun....and just love being together

and we are LOUD!!

I did not take any pictures but my daughter Nicole did.

She doesn't really know my camera too well so the focus is

all out of whack but it's ok....still good pictures!

I can seat so many more people around the table now since

the kitchen rennovation!

love my family!

later...

Curtains ...

2012-01-28T21:59:00.000-05:00

As I've said, we have a few finishing touches for the kitchen

one being the curtains

As much as I loved the bare windows letting in all of the natural light

the sun was blinding us

We get the morning sun in the back window

and the afternoon sun in the front windows so we def needed something

to help with that

I had been thinking all along that I wanted something floral with a lot

of red and then some yellow and black

So off shopping I go

Went to the first fabric store and found nothing

On to the next one......didn't see anything

Which meant that I then needed to go to the 3rd store...the expensive one!

haha.....

but as I was leaving the 2nd store I looked over at this rack that

said "50% off" and you know that caught my eye

and there it was....the fabric that just screamed my new kitchen

with no red! haha.....but it works

All I wanted was a topper to shield the sun

see my sewing machine above, I have had that machine for 31 years!

I may end up shortening the length on this one but I wanted to leave it up for awhile first and then decide.

I had enough fabric to make a table runner.

Jake said I was overdoing it on the "coordination" and being

all matchey matchey but I like it

and notice how I still have my Christmas chargers out

well I have found that I love using those instead of

place mats. People just sit their plates down on that

I need to find some spring or summer colors or black

later.....

Bread ...

2012-01-27T18:35:00.001-05:00

have you tried this bread mix?

if not, you should

it's easy, easy and oh so good

And once Johnny and Jake came home from work, it was all gone!!

I also bought the Italian herb flavor but have not tried it yet

later......

Where's the snow ...

2012-01-25T18:12:00.002-05:00

We have had a very mild winter so far

if we do get some artic air, it only last 2 or 3 days

then we get right back into the upper 50's, low 60's

that's all good for our heating bills and all that stuff

BUT......

I WANT SOME SNOW

please......just one good snow

this past weekend was so cold

2 days didn't even make it out of the upper 30's

and all we got was some sleet and a little freezing rain

So c'mon old man winter...bring the Old Dominion some snow

please

later.....

Clock tower ...

2012-01-24T17:04:00.002-05:00

the clock tower at Richmond's old Main Street station

is one of my most favorite buildings in Richmond

We went to a party downtown and the parking lot we were turning

into was across the street from the clock tower

the lot was filled with photographers......probably 20 or so

all with their equipment all set up like they were waiting

for something

I asked them what was going on and they said they were

just photographing Richmond at night.....

cool huh?

and here's a pic of some cool metal art hanging from

the train tracks that go over the parking lot we were in

later....

Catch up ...

2012-01-23T11:59:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I've gone this long without blogging

so I guess we'll go with some bullet points...

My son Jake got a new job. Very excited for him as this could be the opportunity of a real career for him. He starts on Jan 30th

I've been sick! I don't normally get sick much but this time, it's a real dozey! I think it could be the flu so you know what that means...all of my family and friends that always tell me to get a flu shot, they'll now say "I told you so". haha..guess I will start next year. I am going to the drs today so we'll see if it's the flu...

The kitchen is still coming along, painting done, I have made the curtains. Johnny still needs to put up the chair rail and we still haven't picked out a back splash

hoping to snag tickets to see Elton John....fingers crossed

we have had one of the mildest winters that I can remember. which would be ok if it was mild enough to be outside but it's not, it's still a little chilly and we're just getting a lot of rain. And I just want snow. Give me spring or give me snow!

I know I'm always putting a lot of pics out there of my doggies but goodness gracious...I just love those pups so much and they give me so much joy!

Johnny and I have already scheduled out 29 vacation days for this year and I still have 6 days left to schedule....woo hoo!

My camera is doing an awful job.....and no, it's not user error. I seriously need to have it cleaned but I'm not willing to give it up for 6 weeks. It has dust on the sensor and it's showing up pretty bad now

and that's it...no pics today

I'm working on my before and after pics of the kitchen to put up soon

later....

Christmas goodies ....

2012-01-11T18:00:00.000-05:00

Every year I bake goodies to give as gifts to our

friends and families

and for us to have around the house during the holidays

And the kids always help me...which adds to the fun

but this year we couldn't because of the re-model

so the week after Christmas I baked some of my goodies to take

back to my friends at work
I did haystacks, buckeyes, Russian tea cookies and oreo truffles

Next year though......we're going to start early and add

some new items to what we make

later ...

More kitchen re-model stuff ...

2012-01-10T20:16:00.000-05:00

We finally got the kitchen painted

I had thought of painting it silver or a very pale gray but after holding

up paint swatches and looking at them on the wall, I decided

that it made the kitchen look a little too industrial

I needed to add some warmth to the room

So I went with a very pale yellow

and it looks beautiful

Now I need the "pop" of color

Heading out this weekend to look for fabric for the 5 windows

I really want something with red, yellow and black

I've had stripes in the kitchen for quite awhile so I would

love to find a floral pattern.

here's some pics of the paint job

the chair rail is still missing......

we're getting there and we're loving it!

later.....

Christmas prank ... aka Operation Krank!

2012-01-06T22:49:00.000-05:00

My family and I pulled off a pretty good Christmas prank this year.

My youngest sister, her husband and their 2 daughters decided

to skip Christmas this year and go to the Dominican Republic

and all of our family was very, very happy for them

BUT....

we decided it was also the perfect opportunity to prank them

just as in the movie about the Krank family attempting

to skip Christmas...they were actually going to do it

They did not put up a Christmas tree but they did put up

a few decorations. So we decided they needed more!

They left for fun in the sun on Thursday before Christmas

so on Friday night, a bunch of us went over there and

raided their attic. We pulled out as many decorations as we could

and put stuff everywhere!! We tried to make it as tacky as possible.

My sister did end up telling us it looked like a 5 yr old had

decorated!!

We had a lot of fun....laughing and coming up with all kinds of crazy

ideas. We also took pictures of everything. Then we all posed in crazy

ways as we were planning all along to make a photo book

of our decorating.

They came home from their vacation on Monday after

Christmas very late......almost midnight.

We sure hoped they wouldn't be mad .... and they weren't!

They loved it and just laughed and laughed.

They even ended up leaving all of it up for their

New Years eve party!!

In the beginning, they were guessing it was a neighbor.

then they thought our brother

then they accused our niece

but the did not have confirmation for sure until this past Thursday

when they received a package containing the photo book.

So we all received phone calls from our little sister

it sure was fun and very glad that they saw the humor and

didn't get mad at us!

so below are a bunch of pics of our crazy decorating....

here's my niece Mallory carting some of the decorations

out of the attic

below is my niece Aimee acting all "evil" about what we were doing..haha!

Mallory and I were getting our cameras all ready

here's my sister Vickie spreading some kind of Christmas cloth on the back
of the sofa

and here's another niece, Abby, getting more decorations out

this photo is really funny .... they had these cut outs in the ceiling of their den as the pipes from the bathroom upstairs had leaked. So the cutouts had to be done to repair the leaks. And I guess with vacation that had not had the time to have these repaired yet. So my brother Tracy put some nails in and we hung some decorations from there....funny!

We did not put their Christmas tree up...instead my brother went out in the woods behind their house and found this old branch. We stuck it in the Christmas tree stand and put a few ornaments and some ribbon around it. And the 2 black things at the bottom......I guess in their hurry leaving for the airport someone had left behind 2 dirty socks, so my brother added those to the tree!

and everyone needs a pot of ornaments on the stove...right?

Abby, Mallory and my great niece Victoria Ray went up to their cousins

bedroom and had a pillow fight!

and here's Mallory getting the camera ready for our group shots

we all gathered together for these and acted surprised, like we had been caught. We also did the "home alone" arghhhhhhhh!

the group pictures were the ones that we put at the end of the book

It was just so much fun and we were really happy that they

did not get mad at us and seemed to enjoy it!

I think the only thing we need to worry about now is will

there be any revenge!!

later......

Meyer Lemons ....

2012-01-04T21:14:00.000-05:00

Have you heard of Meyers Lemons

because I had not

and then I saw a recipe on the world wide web (www) haha...

just had to throw that in!

Johnny and I went to Costco tonight and of course, they had them.
they are a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange

here's the recipe that I saw on the internet and
I'm going to try it. I love seasoning food with lemons so
I'll let ya know how it turns out

Wash 6 lemons
Boil whole for 5 minutes
Cut into 8 wedges, remove seeds
Toss in 2/3 cup of coarse salt
Put into a jar.
Place them on your counter for five days and once a day
give them a toss
on the 5th day, add 1/4 cup of olive oil to the top and place
in the fridge
this will keep for a year
you can chop them up fine and use in dips, pasta, roasted on
chicken or fish.......anything that you would add lemon zest to.

later.....

Christmas day ...

2012-01-03T18:00:00.001-05:00

I never take very many pictures on Christmas day

I like to enjoy everything going on and feel like I miss out

when I'm constantly trying to catch moments

but I do have a few

here is Jake playing with his remote control car

we gave all of the grown boys toys!

Bucky was still trying to get his ready....

Tom and Lynne spent the night with us and I think they

really enjoyed spending Christmas morning in all of the chaos

or at least I hope they did......we really enjoyed them

being with us

when Nicole, Tyler and the boys show up, it really gets crazy!

and now look.......Jake has the camera

later in the day.....time for naps!

and our doggies were all so worn out

later......

The standoff ....

2012-01-02T17:00:00.001-05:00

Jacquelyn and Bucky always spend the night

with us on Christmas eve.....and we love that!

and they bring my granddogs with them

Marley and Ziggy

it's always interesting to watch all 5 dogs interact

and pretty much, they all get along

Nicole captured this picture of Pippa Lou and Ziggy that

I think is pretty funny

later.....

My year in review ... 2011

2012-01-01T21:24:00.000-05:00

here's my annual re-cap of the year

here in the Delaney household

JANUARY

In January I shot my first and only wedding! Wow...talk about being nervous.

I did it for a very dear friend of our family but don't care to shoot

anymore. Too much pressure!

January also brought the big time wedding planning for

our daughter Jacquelyn. We made the 6 month calendar for all

of the things to do and just doing that, overwhelmed us a lot!

FEBRUARY

In February I did my one and only photo shoot for the entire year!!

I knew I would be busy with the wedding planning but I

had no idea that our life would take a big turn in March

I was very honored to shoot a local pet photographer in our area, Jenna

MARCH

March knocked us for a loop.....Johnny suffered a stroke

on March 17th and for 4 days they could not tell me that my husband

would recover. I felt like I just drifted those 4 days....I could not focus

on too much, tried to be the rock for my kids but throughout all of this,

I was falling apart. On the 4th day when the doctors told me

that Johnny would be ok and would recover, it was like I was

born again. Like my life was starting back up, like I could finally exhale,

like I could talk about the "next" day....because there was

going to be a next day!

He spent a week in the hospital and a week in rehab

came home and on the 2nd night home had another stroke!

I think we were more terrified by this second one as this time we

knew what was going on!

And then to just add excitement to our life, we had a bridal

shower at the house for Jacquelyn! Well you know, the wedding was still

in the works and so Johnny insisted we go ahead with the shower.

APRIL

Our son Jake launched his new clothing line ... JDela Designs!

Jacquelyn turned 24 years old

We had a wedding DIY day at the house and we took

a trip to the beach for wedding planning!

MAY

Jake turned 23 years old

We had another DIY day

We traveled back down to the beach for more wedding planning

and Johnny and I celebrated 32 years of marriage

JUNE

June brought a month of so much fun and happiness for our family

Our daughter was getting MARRIED!

Family came from Texas and Georgia

and all of our friends and family traveled to the Outer Banks of NC

for the wedding

It was def one of the most joyus times of our lives! And the

fact that Johnny was with us and able to walk our daughter down

the aisle made it the BEST of times!!

JULY

July 4th we spent an extra long weekend down on the

Chesapeake Bay with family and friends. What a wonderful relaxing

time! We also traveled back down to the beach but no wedding

appts this time.....just fun relaxing on the beach!

AUGUST

In August we added a new baby to the family .... a baby dog, Pippa Lou!

Johnny and I went back down the Chesapeake Bay for another fun filled

weekend!

Our oldest daughter Nicole turned 29!

We had a 5.9 earthquake.....here, in Virginia...wow!!

and then ended the month with a Hurricane....hello Irene!!

SEPTEMBER

Johnny and I headed back down to the beach for our 5th trip this year

and we stayed for 12 days!!!

and loved every minute of it

our grandsons celebrated birthdays....Maddox 6 and Gabe 4

OCTOBER, NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER

we decided to re-model our kitchen and that is what consumed

the remainder of our year!

It was fun and frustrating all at once

I cried, I pouted and I acted like a brat at times

but in the end, we have a beautiful new kitchen. And it was

finished in time for Christmas!

Let me just say, you haven't lived until you live through a kitchen re-model

hahaha

It was another wonderful year at the Delaney house

we feel so grateful, every single day for our blessings

and I thank the good Lord for letting me have another year

together with Johnny.

I hope all of our friends, family and my bloggy friends have a

most wonderful new year .... 2012!

Let's all hope for good things for this year

later......

Happy New Year ...

2012-01-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope this is one of the best years ever!!!

later....

Christmas eve ...

2011-12-31T10:30:00.000-05:00

We had the best Christmas eve

Early in the day Johnny, Jake and I stayed busy putting

the final touches on the new kitchen.

Then it was shower and dress to go over to our brother-in-laws for

an open house. We stayed there from 4 to 5:00

then home to get ready for our family dinner

Besides our kids coming over, we also had Jacquelyn's in laws, Lynne and Tom

and good friends Joe and Melissa

The menu was.....

London Broil

salad

rolls

roasted potatoes

fresh lima beans

and a dessert we call "Daddys Dessert"

we call it that because Johnny makes it.....haha!

and here's a few pics from our evening......

Lynne and Melissa helping get dinner ready

Gabe and Maddox showing off their new Christmas eve PJ's

Jacquelyn and Melissa waiting to open presents!

and here's Joe and Lynne watching the very

pathetic Dallas game!!

haha....I'm just now noticing how serious we all

look as we load up our dinner plates!

this is "Daddy Dessert"

it has vanilla nabisco cookies, vanilla pudding, butter pecan ice cream,

cool whip, heath candy bars

and it is sooooo wonderful

I think now I need a bigger den!!

here's Jake trying out his new air popcorn popper!

after dinner and presents, we played cards until about midnight!

we sure had a good time.....

later.....

Big Table ...

2011-12-30T08:10:00.000-05:00

One of my goals when re-modeling the kitchen

was to be able to seat a lot of people at the table

there are 10 of us

and here's my table getting ready to be

set for breakfast Christmas morning

later.....

Early Christmas ...

2011-12-29T08:01:00.000-05:00

We always have Christmas with my family early so that

Christmas day isn't so hectic for everyone

this year everyone had crazy schedules so we had to get together

early on the 17th....for breakfast!

we quit buying gifts for each other a long time ago and started

doing the crazy gift exchange!

My sister has a really big house with a full basement and since

there are 27 of us plus a few friends that come, it's the perfect place

for us to get together!

it's fun and lots of laughs

you know how people always stick their tonques out for pictures...

haha......well check out my mom...she's always in style

here's her and Johnny eating breakfast

here's Nicole and Maddox enjoying their breakfast

Maddox opening a present.....

Looks like Jake likes his gift......but will he get to keep it?? haha...

here's Mallory and Matt explaining to Memaw the correct

way to pronounce faux....it was funny but guess you had to
be there!

We really laugh a lot when we're all together

such fun!

It might have been early but it was still lots of fun!

later.....

Chocolate cake ....

2011-12-28T19:22:00.000-05:00

One of my many memories of Christmas as a child was

the chocolate cake with fudge icing that my mom always made

I don't remember leaving cookies for Santa....we left

him chocolate cake!

and if we were really lucky, mom let us have a slice while it

was still warm from the oven with the sugary fudge icing.

So this year I decided to make one for our family

But I forgot to buy shortening and instead used butter ....

which is not a good substitute in some recipes!

because this cake just fell apart

really.......fell totally apart!

In all of my years of baking I have never had this happen....or at

least I don't remember this happening! haha....

later.....

Kitchen re-model ... part 22

2011-12-26T19:34:00.000-05:00

they finished enough so that we could use our kitchen

during the Christmas holiday

we still have some trim work to do

and still need to paint

but I have asked the contractor to please wait until

I go back to work on Jan 3rd.

We also did not pick out a backsplash for 2 reasons...

one...there's too many to choose from!

and two....I just really needed to see it all together before I

could make a decision

so here's some pics.....and I guess it will be

a few weeks before I can show the final pictures

here's the hutch....keep in mind, we still have to

paint the walls and trim

that looks really bad because when they tore the

old chair rail out, it took sheet rock with it!

we will be putting up new chair rail

later......

Kitchen re-model ... part 21

2011-12-20T21:09:00.000-05:00

I thought we were going to be done today but no go

I guess tomorrow

It is 9:00 pm and the electrician is still here working

I think they may be afraid I'll have a breakdown if they don't hurry up!!

the plumber needs to do a couple of things tomorrow

the cleaning person is coming in the morning

then I'll start moving things back in to the kitchen

we still have to get the crown molding on the hutch installed

still need to paint

and some trim along the floor......

but we're just about there and it's so beautiful it just

makes me want to cry!!!

awww .... my big beautiful sink!

we will not be painting until after Christmas

the window trim will be painted white

later....

Kitchen re-model ... part 20

2011-12-14T19:05:00.000-05:00

I have been getting pretty stressed out over the kitchen

I just want it finished for Christmas

And I don't like the pace the contractor is taking

today he finally admitted that he is disappointed in the electrician/plumber

he is using because he is not very dependable.

that's an understatement!

don't get me wrong......he is doing excellent work but at

a snails pace!

so today he told Johnny that he promises the electrical and plumbing

will be all finished by end of day Friday

and to make up for my stress, he is hiring a housekeeper to

clean my house! yay on that one!

the granite came today and I am soooo in love!!!

this is the little sink on the island or as I refer to it the "Jacquelyn sink"

we have not put the new frig in there yet

this is looking in from the dining room.......you can see the crown

molding going up and the new arch that has now been sanded down

and this is looking straight in from the dining room

the window trim you see will be painted white

but it will be after Christmas before we can paint

and this shows the open cabinet shelf for the microwave

so there ya go.....it's coming along

let's keep fingers crossed we have Christmas eve

dinner in the new kitchen!!

later.......

Kitchen re-model ... part 19

2011-12-10T17:58:00.000-05:00

we're getting close

the floor is down now

on Monday and Tuesday they will finish up the

electrical and plumbing

the granite goes in on Wed

they sand, stain and poly the floors starting Thursday

here's a few pics......I think

the arch turned out beautiful....though they still

need to sand it some

all day today I just kept saying...one more week, one more week!

later......

Kitchen re-model ... part 18

2011-12-05T17:00:00.000-05:00

here's the lineup for the rest of the work

Electrical work started on Friday and will resume on Monday
Sheetrock work should start on Tuesday
Wood floor installed on Wed. We'll wait on having it stained and finished as the granite is due to arrive on either the 9th or the 12th.
then they will finish the floors and we'll have a good week for them to dry

I just hope we can stay on schedule and not stray too much

I am on vacation the last 2 weeks of December and would like

to use that week before to get the house back in order

looks like we might have to wait until after Christmas to

have the kitchen/dining room painted

later......

Kitchen re-model ... part 16

2011-12-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

The support beam for the load bearing wall that we removed

was installed on Tuesday

then they could finally take out the studs that were left

the pic below is looking from the kitchen into the dining room

it shows the support beam......and no more wall

and this is looking from the dining room into the kitchen

more progress....so that's good

later.....

Kitchen re-model ... part 17

2011-12-03T16:30:00.000-05:00

This is how you live when your kitchen is

under construction....

I know, it's not pretty

later.....

Kitchen re-model ... part 14

2011-12-02T22:32:00.000-05:00

We're making progress

the cabinets arrived and filled the kitchen.......all 28 boxes!

the cabinet guy worked all of Thanksgiving weekend

installing the cabinets

and wow, they started looking so good

he finished up on Sunday with the crown molding and the hardware

and wow...that's like the tiara for the cabinets!!

we were missing the crown molding for the hutch so

need to get that ordered

later......

Kitchen re-model ... part 13

2011-11-28T20:08:00.000-05:00

here's the remaining schedule....

let's hope that it goes smooth

Support beam to be installed Wed
Plumbing and electrical scheduled for Thursday and Friday

Then the following week....

Sheetrock work and arch installed on Monday and Tuesday
Wood floors installed starting Wed
Granite should be installed on either Friday or the following Monday

Then trim work in dining room and painting

So if all goes well, we'll be done by Christmas

worst case, painting would wait until after Christmas...but let's

not go there!!

later......

Kitchen re-model ... part 12

2011-11-26T17:34:00.000-05:00

Here is the update ....

cabinets are installed, trim and hardware being put on today
old floor ripped out
all new applicances have been delivered
refrigerator and dishwasher sitting in my foyer
I am tired of washing dishes in bathroom sink....
and still have a couple of weeks to go
granite guy coming to make the template on Monday
did I mention I'm tired of washing dishes in the bathroom
also tired of eating out
sheetrock guy coming this week

that's it for now

later.....

Kitchen re-model ... part 11

2011-11-15T19:45:00.000-05:00

Finally, finally.......they started the kitchen re-model

everything else has been building up to it

and now, we have work being done!!

Below is the wall before

and now here is the work that was done today

note they only removed the first section of the wall

the part that is left is the load bearing wall so it will need to

be supported while the beam is installed

also, we had a little surprise ... there was the gas line!

we did not know it was run through that wall

and yes, I'm losing my chalkboard wall

also received the good news today that the cabinets

will arrive on Nov 23rd......Happy Thanksgiving!! haha

later.....

Kitchen re-model ... part 10

2011-11-15T17:28:00.002-05:00

Currently my kitchen sink sits in a corner on the counter top

right at the breakfast bar

we are doing away with the breakfast bar and moving

the sink to right under the middle window

I have 3 encasement windows and I've always had

mini blinds and curtains on there

So I had taken everything down as we get ready to prime the trim

and noticed how beautiful the windows look with nothing

on them. It made me think they would look great like that

once the kitchen is finished .... then we got up Sunday morning and
was BLINDED by the sunlight. Seriously, you needed sun

glasses on to get your cup of coffee!! haha...

We have stained trim in the kitchen and now that the cabinets are

going to be white, we decided to paint the trim white!

So I started today priming the trim. You have to use an oil based

primer in order to cover the stain and the smell is so strong!

But I did get right much done on Sunday
I injured my back Saturday so stopped priming early

Before .....

During ....

and then see that chair rail above .... I started priming it and realized

that the hutch going on that wall is built in so the chair rail

has to come down! haha....

later....

Kitchen re-model ... part 9

2011-11-14T17:19:00.001-05:00

my Johnny certainly spoiled me on this

a new french door refrigerator for our new kitchen!

excited!

later.....

Kitchen re-model ... part 8

2011-11-13T16:17:00.000-05:00

I will admit I have been getting a bit frustrated as I

want to hurry up with the kitchen! But then I feel bad

and most certainly do not want to sound ungrateful

because believe me.......I feel so lucky and blessed to be

getting the kitchen of my dreams!

And now it seems we are finally moving forward. Def starting on Tuesday

So Johnny and I have been very busy over the weekend.

First the microwave over the stove came down ....

and moved to the dining room ... aka: our temp kitchen

then the first cabinet came down .....

and then some more came down.....

what a mess!

before we started this mess we had to pack up everything

and now it all resides in the living room.......along

with the new sinks and lights and stuff.

more to come!

later.......

Kitchen re-model ... part 7

2011-11-09T17:30:00.002-05:00

Demo has still not started but we are getting closer

the engineer came out today and if he gets his calculations to

the contractor tomorrow, they will start demo on Friday

otherwise, it will be Monday!

We did get the new faucets......so yeah on that

this is for the 1/2 bath

and this is for the sink on the island

and this sweet baby is for the big ole sink!!

the sinks came in today so I think Johnny will pick those up

this evening.

we're getting closer

later......

Kitchen re-model ... part 6

2011-11-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

See that light right up there....that is the lights that

I am putting up over the island

I had such a time trying to "copy" a picture so sorry it's not

showing up a little bigger

they are brushed nickel....

I think the kitchen is going to have a pretty warm vibe to it

but I wanted to throw in a little "industrial" look to it too

it's actually listed under "nautical" but I think it has more of

a warehouse feel to it.

the only other lighting we are doing is can flush recessed lights all over

4 in what was the former breakfast area

and 6 in the kitchen area

I still have to find a new light to go over the table in the dining room

that's it for now

later.....

Pumpkins and costumes ....

2011-11-05T08:30:00.009-04:00

Jake and his girlfriend Jenny bought pumpkins really early

probably too early

because they carved them up, made some really cool designs

and then we had a warm spell

and they rotted on the front porch

but still, they had fun and the pumpkins did look good for

a couple of weeks!

here's a pic of the boys on Halloween

Gabe was Ming Ming....a character I have never heard of

and Maddox was a power ranger

his costume was the one I made for Jake about 18 years ago!

and I'm not sure what Tyler is.....kind of creepy though!
the boys had a lot of fun trick or treating, despite the rain!

later

Kitchen re-model ... part 5

2011-11-04T17:30:00.003-04:00

this is just an update as we haven't done much of anything lately

we were waiting for the contractor to line up the plumber, engineer, etc.

still need to pick out a dishwasher

still need to find the lights....I know what I want, just need to find them

I had thought it would start this week but now

it's looking like next week

the new gas cooktop comes Friday

we have a ship date for the cabinets ... Nov 21st

which means we are really going to be pushing into December...

which means it might jeopardize my Christmas goodies cooking!

my waist line will appreciate that though!

so no new news now.....

hopefully, soon!!

later......

Apples, apples ...

2011-11-03T17:30:00.000-04:00

I didn't really pick many apples

as I said in previous post....most of the trees were bare except for

ones too high up

so I just bought the ones already picked by the staff

the next day I made the most wonderful apple cake

and a most delicious apple pie

And I think the best product I have ever bought from

the Pampered Chef is my apple peeler / core gadget!!

later.....

Tshirts ...

2011-11-02T17:30:00.003-04:00

Our son Jake has been piddling around with designing tshirts

Now he's getting serious

he has taken over my sewing room!!

yep, I think he's pretty serious now....

later.....

Apple picking ...

2011-11-01T20:17:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we all went up to Carters Mtn for

our annual apple picking trip.

We decided this time instead of having lunch at Henry's Restaurant where
we usually eat, we

would pack a picnic lunch and eat at one of the local parks

in Charlottesville.

So we get up on the mountain pretty early and the place

is packed!! wow.....

it's just crazy......only apples high up on the trees, crowds everywhere,
standing in line for the bathroom, standing in line for doughnuts,
standing in line to pay for apples!
ughhh, enough is enough!

it's just not as much fun anymore!
anyway, we left and went down the mountain a little ways to the
park but with us having 3 vehicles, there were no parking spots left
AT THE PARK!!!

then we head BACK up the mountain to Monticello thinking they probably
have some picnic areas...but no, couldn't find any.
Now we head DOWN the mountain and turn onto the highway
figuring we're up in the country / mountains, we're bound to
find a pull over or somewhere for a picnic
but no, we had no luck

so we went to the area high school, pulled around back
and spread our blankets out, unpacked coolers and laid around
filling our bellies and taking little naps
in the end......we had a great time!!

and now let's have some picture overload....

yeah, I told you picture overload ... haha!
next year we are thinking about skipping apples and trying the
maple festival.

later......

Kitchen re-model ... part 4

2011-10-30T10:00:00.000-04:00

I thought for this post we would show one more time what the kitchen

currently looks like...with my notes.

We went on Saturday to the Home Depot and finalized everything, again!

Ordered the gas cooktop, electric oven.

Still need to order the dishwasher, garbage disposal,

faucets and lights

So here's what the kitchen currently looks like.....

So we're getting close now.

Today we will start packing the kitchen up

I know it's not going to be easy living without a kitchen for a few weeks

but it will be soooo worth it!

later......

Kitchen re-model ... part 3

2011-10-28T22:31:00.000-04:00

This post is about a big lesson learned

As I have posted, Johnny and I were working with a kitchen
designer at the Home Depot. This has been a very good experience and we
have made all of our final choices for the kitchen.

But we still had to finalize plans with the contractor on taking the wall
out, electrical, wood floor and plumbing. A friend recommended a contractor
to us that her son worked for. So we met with him and really liked the guy.
And then we got the estimates from him and really, really liked the guy!

He came over this past Sunday and we finalized just about everything and he
said he could probably start the demo work on Thursday.

On Sunday night Johnny mentioned that it might be a good idea to
check the guy out with the BBB. uhhh, yeah, guess so!
ha.......we liked the guy so much we didn't even think about that

So on Monday, I checked with the BBB and he wasn't registered...
not a good sign

Next I checked with the Board of Contractors, he wasn't listed...
not a good sign

Then I checked with the State of Virginia for his contractors license...
it had been revoked in 2008!!!
def not a good sign

You know that ole saying that if it sounds too good to be true
then it probably is! Well, this was def a case of that

So I emailed the guy and told him we weren't quite ready to start
that I needed references and needed to verify that he was
a licensed contractor and insured in the state of Virginia

So later that day he emailed me with a list of references and
said he would email his license and insurance info later

and today I recev'd an email from him asking me if I had received
an email from his insurance agent with his info

I haven't answered yet....I didn't want to have to call him out
I was hoping he would just come clean but he hasn't
we'll see......

in the mean time, we have another contractor
he has an A+ rating with the BBB
is licensed and insured in the state of VA
has never had a complaint filed against him
and re-modeled our son's girlfriends parents kitchen
So I feel we are safe with him.

Hoping now to start this week coming up!

my tip ... don't make the "almost" mistake that we were about to make
check out your contractors from the get go......before you even
meet with them.
and if I email or hear back from the other guy, I'll let ya'll know the outcome!

later......

Kitchen re-model ... part 2

2011-10-22T15:29:00.000-04:00

Just as with planning a wedding, planning a large re-model

could go a little easier if you had some good advice

We have not received any advice on the remodel so we're learning

as we go!

But I'm going to share with you what we are learning.

So our initial idea was to go to Home Depot and do the kitchen design

and order the cabinets and new appliances

Then the company that re-finished our wood floors in the front rooms

would come in and rip out the laminate flooring and install

the new wood floors

we would find a contractor to tear out the wall

we knew of someone who knew a plumber

we knew of an electrician

and then we were faced with the thought of how do we

coordinate all of this......and how do we know what order to have

all of this done!

for instances, some plumbing needed to be done during

demolition and then more plumbing done later

and then when do we paint!!

wow........it was really starting to feel overwhelming and we

haven't even started!!

Lucky for us that having a conversation with the contractor about

coordinating everything, he tells us it is easier on the homeowner

if you just let one contractor bring in all of the other components

of the re-model, they can do all of the coordination

BOO YAH!!! win win for us!

Which means I do not have to coordinate anything!!

we hire him, he does everything

we are still in talks about what all he will be doing

we are still getting the design, cabinets and appliances from

The Home Depot as we are very, very happy with how all of that

is going. And we will probably get all of our lighting from there

We're getting close now.......I do worry that Thanksgiving could be in

jeorpordy but as long as it's finished before the Christmas holiday

then I'll be happy!

so our first tip .... Start with a good contractor who can take the

lead on the project. Include all you can with this person and then

if you want, go outside for other things like appliances, etc.

and just a couple of random pics from around the house because

whats a blog post without pictures!!

later....

Kitchen re-model ... part 1

2011-10-19T20:49:00.000-04:00

No more wedding post or doggie post.......time to move on!

I'm going to post all of our steps in remodeling our kitchen

Our first step was done many years ago

Johnny and I have always known what we wanted to do

we have a wall of pantries in our current kitchen

yes, I know.....3 pantries sounds wonderful but seriously, look at it

it's just boring.....

and then we have this really nice dining room, lots of light with

2 windows and we only use it on Thanksgiving and Christmas ... and

sometimes during parties.

So our plan is to take out the wall of pantries and open the kitchen

up to the dining room. Because this is a load bearing wall, it is

not as simple as taking a sledge hammer to it. So we are currently

waiting on 2 different contractors to quote us on this job.

We have to also still get quotes on new wood flooring, lighting,

plumbing and painting.

We are working with a wonderful kitchen designer at The Home Depot and she is currently in the process of designing the kitchen.
We've met with her 4 times now, showing pictures and giving
her our ideas. We're taking out the breakfast bar so that we
can open up the kitchen even more. Below is a drawing showing the
breakfast bar gone and the cabinets now extended
all the way down to the door. My kitchen sink used to sit at an
angle......half looking out the window and half at the breakfast area.
Now it is moving over some and will be centered under
the 3 windows.

below is the kitchen hutch we have designed to hold all

of my seasonal dishes and china. I'll be giving up my china cabinet

so I'll need the extra storage. 5 drawers and 2 doors on the bottom and then

the glass cabinets on top to hold our crystal and china.

To the left of the picture is

the double doors to the deck and to the right is the doorway

to the bathroom, back staircase and garage.

between the new cabinets and the dining room will be

an island that is 78 inches long and 33 inches wide. It will also

hold a small sink.

We are going with white linen maple cabinets, the island and the hutch

will be black and done in oak.
So that's where we are right now.....waiting on quotes.
And we're really hoping we can start soon but we're probably
still looking at 2 weeks out!

later.....

Kitchen re-model ...

2011-10-19T17:30:00.001-04:00

the time has finally come that Johnny and I are going to

re-model the kitchen!

It's something we have dreamed of for a long time but something

always got in the way

But now is the time

so since I'm always running short on blog post ideas, I'm going to

do a whole series on the re-model.

Now won't that be fun....hehe!

I had already posted some inspirational pictures in an earlier post

So now the planning has begun

We are waiting on 2 contractors to give us a price on tearing

out the wall between the kitchen and the dining room.

Since this is a load bearing wall, it's not something we can just take

the sledge hammer too ... though that sure would have been fun!!

And we are having a 4th meeting tonight with the kitchen

designer to finalize the cabinets and the island

I'm also working on the details of figuring out the sink, faucets

and lighting.

We are really hoping to have everything figured out and lined up

to begin by the end of the month. It would be nice to have this complete

by Thanksgiving but I'm having my doubts.

later.....

Yard sale ...

2011-10-16T21:01:00.000-04:00

I have said this before.........I hate yard sales!

they are just so much work for so little dollars

but yet again, I agreed to have one

We have been doing some major cleaning out.....every drawer and closet

in our house

we even cleaned out some of the attic!

and we priced it all, boxed it up, hauled it downstairs

got up at the butt crack of dawn

unpacked the boxes and set everything out

and then just sat outside and waited.......

waited and waited for people to come by and buy our junk

and some did, some just looked and some bought

but in the end, it still wasn't worth all of the work

I'm not doing any more yard sales

that's it......no more

But on the up side, I have de-cluttered my house beyond belief

and it feels so good!!

Bella Boo and Pippa Lou just had fun playing in

the back yard

later .....

Gardenia ...

2011-10-13T17:30:00.001-04:00

I have gardenia bushes on each side of my front porch

some years they bloom

and some years they do not!

this past spring / summer there were no blooms

but the other day I was coming up the steps

and I spotted one bloom.....just one!

just had to clip it and put in a vase

and believe me...it smells heavenly!

later.......

Rehearsal ....

2011-10-12T17:30:00.000-04:00

I know, you're probably tired of hearing about the wedding

but........

it was a huge event in our life! So I must make sure I document every bit

of it. So if you're tired of hearing it, you may want to check back in

later.....haha!!

We arrived at the Hilton at the beach on Thursday before the wedding

and as soon as we walked in we were greeted with

our kids names up on the board!

we had a low key day on Thursday.......took care of some wedding errands

then on Friday, the girls all went to the spa for nails and pedicures

then rehearsal was around 4:00......ha, I already can't remember!

then it was time to get ready for the dinner! We ate at a fabulous place and had a wonderful dinner hosted by the grooms parents.

and normally, I do a pretty good job of taking pictures but

at the rehearsal dinner, all of my pictures were bad! I think just a case of nerves, excitement and a lot of emotions, I just couldn't take a decent picture! oh well, at least we have some!

we gave the ring bearers and the flower girl tshirts to wear

to rehearsal and the dinner.

I thought they were really cute. Jacquelyn and Bucky gave each

of them a tote bag with their names monagrammed on them

and filled them with books, beach toys and flip flops!

seriously folks, I can't even believe I took pictures this bad.......ackkkk!!!

and here's my baby girl the next morning sleeping away

on her wedding day! She slept on a rollaway bed in our room.

Our last night with our girl.......

later....

Old news ....

2011-10-11T20:59:00.000-04:00

I have been going through and editing tons of

pictures from the summer.

A lot that I never blogged and I def need to include this in summer of 2011

because this blog is my family journal

so our summer fun is part of our life that I don't want to forget

or for my kids to forget!

so here goes.......

As most know, we had family come in from Texas and Georgia for our

daughters wedding. And we just had so much fun spending time together and most of our time was spent just hanging out on the deck
as we were having such great weather.

these pics were taken about 5 days before the wedding.

Unfortunatly, the bride and groom still had so much to do

that they weren't around for some of the fun!

Below is my beautiful sister in law from Texas, Shay!

man oh man I sure do miss our family!!

and here's Gabe, making funny faces for us!

and the kids had fun playing in the water ....

my beautiful Chrissy girl ...

flowers that we were taking down to the wedding.....

we cooked on the grill most nights........just too many people to try and get

in to a restaurant. And we lounged around a lot....we just really

enjoyed being together.

Shay ran a lot of wedding errands with me so it was nice to have someone along. Plus it meant I got Shay all to myself! haha....
Shay and her husband Bobby, our niece Terri and her husband Jeremy, their 2 girls Trinity and Allie and her father in law Tim all stayed at our house. So there was always someone around to have coffee with, or drink a glass of wine on the deck! I just love having a house full of family!

My other sister in law Dee and her partner Jane stayed with our dear family

friend Libby as we didn't have any more bedrooms.
But they came over every morning and stayed until late in the evening.

One day after running errands, Shay, Dee, Jane, Libby and I

went to the movies to see Bridesmaids....how appropriate!

Tonya, one of the bridesmaids and sister of the groom and her boyfriend

Nick came by on Wed before the wedding with their pick up truck.

Lucky for us that they offered to haul down all of the wedding

stuff to the beach. Because we had 14 large crates to get down to the beach.

So fortunate and blessed to have our family and so lucky

that so many of them made the trip for the wedding.

I just miss them so much

later.....

Beef Stew ...

2011-10-06T17:30:00.002-04:00

we had our first cool weekend which meant it

was time for stew!!

I love using McCormicks stew spices

Coat the stew beef in bisquick and brown the meat

cut large chunks of potatoes, celery and carrots

throw everything in the crock pot along with the spices and water

cook on low all day and serve over rice!!

yum yum

later....

New roof ...

2011-10-05T21:04:00.000-04:00

Last Friday I had planned on working from home as

the guy was coming over to measure and take pictures of the

kitchen to give to the designer

to come up with our plan....plan A and plan B

Then on Thursday Johnny tells me that the roofers are coming to

start the new roof and put in new sky lights in our bathrooms

oh the noise....between all of the hammering and the dogs barking.....yikes, it was a lot of noise!

the dogs barked so dang much but around noon, it wore them out

and they went to sleep!

and it was quiet...no hammering on the roof

so I look out the window and look a there

lunch time!!

and they brought their own microwave!!!!

they had put all of our patio and deck furniture out on the lawn

so they set up their microwave and ran it to the

generator!

They were unable to finish on Friday so they were coming back

on Saturday.

I had plans to go shopping with my friend Cheryl but we weren't

going too early so I was in no hurry to get up.

I just laid in bed watching some DVR'd shows

then I remembered the roofers.......crap!

I needed to take a shower and the skylights are over the showers

so I get up and make sure the roofers haven't shown up yet

Jump in the shower......and kept looking up at the skylight to make

sure I didn't have anyone peeking in on me!! haha

They finished up on Saturday, cleaned up all of their mess and done!

the new roof looks great!!

later....

Kitchen remodel ...

2011-10-01T09:30:00.000-04:00

We have tossed around the idea of re-modeling our kitchen

for quite some time

and I think it was the dollar amount involved that has kept us from doing it.

well, it WAS the dollar amount.......haha

But now we are re-visiting the kitchen remodel plan

not sure yet if we can pull this off or not......but we are looking into it

we have a plan A and a plan B

money will determine which plan if any that we go with

So this could end up a whole new series for my blog!

here are some of the ones that I am drawing inspiration
from.....

Plan A or Plan B??

or can we even pull this off??

stay tuned

later.......

Dogfood ...

2011-09-30T17:30:00.007-04:00

I have been thinking about making my dogs food for quite awhile

and when Chrissy girl stopped eating much and started getting

pretty boney feeling......I decided I needed to do something different.
Chrissy has always been a light eater but now with her almost 12 years
old, it worried us

So I researched some homemade dog foods but some were just gross

Like..I'm not going to handle "organ" meat!

and then I found some that were basically what we eat

so I took my list to the vet to get her approval

and now...I make their food

no more commercial dog food for my babies

I mix together chicken breast, brown rice, carrots and green beans

no seasonings at all

You can see that the puppy still gets puppy food with hers. She cannot go on this diet until she is one year old.
They get about 3/4 cup of whole grain cheerios for breakfast

a full cup of the chicken mix for dinner

they snack on carrots and milk bones

and they get one multi vitamin a day

we also give them eggs, cheese and granola but not every day

those are just treats

Eggs for dinner once a week

and now Chrissy girl is eating good and acts like she is feeling better

I know it's a little extra work but not that much

I make a big batch and it last for 5 days

And I just feel better about what they are eating

later.....

Facebook ...

2011-09-29T17:30:00.000-04:00

I jumped on the Facebook bandwagon more than a year ago

and I love it

I realize there is good and bad but I guess it's all in how you use it

I like to stay connected with friends and family

for example....I have nieces that are in college and high school

normally, I only talk with them at family gatherings

but with Facebook, I am connected to them every single day!! I get to

enjoy their college experience as they post lots of goings on and

pictures from school.

I love staying in touch with friends!

Friends that have moved away (Glenda) and re-connecting

with old friends (Winnie), seeing old high school friends (Bonnie)

it's just fun

I am not a telephone talker so FB lets me check in with folks, share photos and post silly stuff! Also, now more of my friends and family

read my blog...which is my family journal.

I know, probably boring at times but it's ok, it's my life and I love it.

what I don't like about FB......when people read your status update and

take it the wrong way. That's happened quite a few times with me

but it's ok..nothing is perfect right?

I don't play the games.....just don't have time for that.

and the "warnings" everyone sends around are a bit annoying

but overall, I think FB is fantastic!!

later....

Time to decorate ...

2011-09-28T17:30:00.002-04:00

oh yes...time to pull out the seasonal decorations!!

I love it

and this is sitting on the kitchen counter ... I need to fill up that glass pumpkin with candy corn

and in the foyer.....

I need to find my front door wreath

and buy a couple of pumpkins for the front porch but

that's about it. I don't usually do too much for Halloween

But Christmas, that's another story....that gets a little out of hand!

later......

A Dinosauer cast ...

2011-09-27T17:30:00.003-04:00

On Tuesday evening, Maddox was playing and fell and broke his foot

except that Nicole didn't know he broke it ... there were no signs

no swelling or anything

But the next morning Maddox couldn't walk on it

so off they went to the ER

and after some xrays found a break

small and clean but still a break

Nicole then took him to the orthopedic dr and they put a cast on it

and he did not like it

they stopped by the house afterward and he was signing to

Nicole to take it off

sad.....

A lot of the times when the boys come by, they don't want to leave

when it's time to go .... of course, who would blame them,

it's GRANDMA AND GRANDPA'S!! haha

so to distract them, I tell them we have to fix up a bag of goodies

for them to take home and they love that!

here's Gabe holding tight to his bag of goodies

Maddox only had a hard time that first day with the cast

now, he handles it like a pro

and is walking around with no problem

he only has to wear it 3 weeks so just 2 1/2 wks to go!

later....

Life with 3 dogs ...

2011-09-26T17:30:00.004-04:00

is HECTIC!

Chrissy girl is 11 years old, Bella Boo is 1 year old and

Pippa Lou is 4 1/2 months old

Chrissy is pretty happy about the new puppy because now

Bella Boo leaves her alone....which is what she likes

And Bella Boo loves the new puppy and won't leave her alone!

the only time we can play with the pup is when Bella is outside!

her name should be Bella Jealous Boo.

But she loves Pippa Lou and they have fast become best buddies

the only problem we have is when they are playing, Bella Boo starts

getting a little rough and Pippa runs and hides under chairs or tables

to get away from her

She has also learned to get in the toy basket and Bella

can't mess with her too much

they are a lot of work and they get me up way too early each morning

but they are so much fun .... I just love them!

later......

One last summer trip ...

2011-09-25T13:48:00.000-04:00

After getting back from the beach we went to the

Chesapeake Bay with Tommy, Joanne, Lois and Gene.

Weather wise, it was a miserable weekend......rain, rain and more rain

cold and very windy

But people wise, it was FUN!!

we just really have such a great time with all of them

we pretty much played cards and ate! haha

we arrived Friday evening and Tommy had cooked a wonderful

spaghetti dinner for all of us

Then they taught us how to play this card game called 99

it was soooo much fun

The next morning despite the chilly weather, I did get up and walk

I think it was just shy of 2 miles

We had a big breakfast along with some great Bloody Mary's

and then broke out the cards!

we ended up playing from 11:00 that morning until 11:00 that night

with only breaking to eat!

Tommy cooked some chicken wings for munching on during the day

and for dinner grilled BBQ ribs....yum!

below is some random pics from the weekend....mostly just

playing cards!!

Here's Joanne's dog Sadie taking it easy!

this last picture I took as we were crossing the bridge heading home

it was a fun weekend with great people

and our last trip for the summer!

later......

12 Days at the beach ... Day 12

2011-09-23T17:30:00.003-04:00

Day 12 at the beach was our last.

and since we were going to be returning to work the next day, we decided to head home as early as we could.

so up early, no walking and no going out to breakfast.

we put clean sheets on the beds, vaccumed, dusted, cleaned the kitchen, put away the front and back deck furniture. Cleaned the bathrooms, cleaned out the refrigerator, shook the rugs, windexed all of the glass, cleaned the beach chairs, put away the fishing rods, turned the hot water heater off and turned the heat on to 55 degrees.......now the condo is all ready for the winter!
We do the best job we can cleaning the condo as we are just so appreciative of our brother-in-law for being so generous to us with the condo.

we're not sure if we'll return this winter or not......might be spring before we go back down. We are talking about maybe doing an October or November trip but we'll see how that goes.

I know to some people, our time down there may sound boring but to us, it is the best time of our summer! We relax...we don't do touristy stuff, we don't like crowded beaches, we just love the whole attitude down in the Outer Banks. It's just so laid back and the locals are just so nice!

My last view as I leave the beach.......and yes, there are those 2 specks of dust that are sitting in my camera! haha...

later......

so long summer......hello fall

later......

12 Days at the beach ... Day 11

2011-09-22T17:30:00.000-04:00

Day 11 ... our last full day at the beach!!

I got up early and walked 2 miles

and since this was going to be our last full day at the beach, we

decided we would grill again so we could stay on the beach longer.

But it was also football Sunday so we were constantly coming

back up to the condo to check the scores!

Johnny and Timmy fished again, and we made fun of them again

played some corn hole and just really enjoyed the day

We grilled steaks and settled in to watch the Cowboys game

and then after the game, I cried!! haha.....seriously, what are we

going to do about these Cowboys!! dang it.....

later....

12 Days at the beach ... day 10

2011-09-21T17:30:00.004-04:00

Day 10 and Lynne left this morning

I didn't walk.....Lynne leaving was my excuse!

Timmy, Susan, Johnny and I went out to breakfast at Millers.

Then we went down to Jeanettes Pier ... we wanted to check one more time

if Jamie's corian fish was installed on the pier

but it wasn't

the building on the new pier has a 2nd story venue for events

we couldn't go inside as it was being decorated for a wedding

reception but I did snap these pictures.

this would be a beautiful place for a reception

it is surrounded by an outside balcony porch that overlooks the pier

and the ocean!

look closely at the picture below ... double click it and you'll be able to see it better.

they had made a heart of wine bottles and they strung ribbon along

all of them. I'm guessing the ceremony was going to be inside

the ring of bottles. kind of weird but to each his own!

after we left the pier, we stopped by Tortugas for a couple

of cold beers.

then headed over to T&W tackle for a new fishing rod for Johnny

and dang.....I meant to get a t-shirt from there and forgot

Then we headed out to the beach

fishing, hanging out and playing corn hole

Some more friends stopped by, Steve and Chrissy

And they wanted us to go out to dinner with them so later in the evening after getting showers, we all headed over to the Sugar Shack!

Little did we know that in front of all of us, Steve was going to propose

to Christy.

So yes, we all witnessed the proposal...how sweet!

and the pictures are very bad.....but in my defense, I had been drinking

beer all day long! Wasn't good at setting my camera or focusing! ha!

later......

12 Days at the beach ... Day 9

2011-09-20T17:30:00.002-04:00

Day 9 ... sunny and beautiful

I didn't make note of the temps

Lynne and I walked 2 1/2 miles

While Johnny, Timmy and Susan went to get bait for fishing, Lynne

and I went shopping at the Cotton Gin. I wanted to get some local

wine for my neighbor who was taking care of our dogs. A local had told

us this was a good place to go...and yep, it was!

I've always wanted to buy a tshirt from every place we go to

while down there but just never have. So this trip I decided I would

unless I already had a shirt from there.

so here are my shirts.......6 of them from Millers, Tortugas, Jeanettes Pier, Red Drum, Hurricane Moe's and Black Pelican!

We all hung out on the beach all day

Johnny and Timmy fishing

and us making fun of them for catching no fish

We were all sitting there on the beach and none of us even noticed the ocean

taking Johnny's fishing rod away. Earlier the ocean had taken Timmy's

sun glasses! after awhile, we saw something black as the waves crashed

on the shore and Johnny thought that it might be Timmy's glasses......this

is when we discovered Johnny's rod was gone...haha!! I think we had started

drinking beer pretty early that day!

We all played some corn hole

We decided not to cook and not to go out!! Ordered

take out from Mama Kwan's! Again, drinking beer too early will def keep you

from going out!

Our bedroom window in the condo faces the beach so when the sun comes up, it gets very bright. But one morning, I woke really early and noticed the window light looked very orange. So even though it was not an hour I would normally get up, I did.....peeked out the window and was amazed at the colors of the sky as the sun was trying to come up. So I had to grab my camera and this is what I captured.....

and then I went back to bed. But just minutes later, the color lighting up the window was even brighter so back up and grabbed my camera. And wow, sure was worth it!

the colors were some of the most amazing I have ever seen down there.

later.......

12 Days at the beach ... Day 8

2011-09-19T17:30:00.002-04:00

Day 8 and this was the only day we woke to overcast skies

and maybe a little drizzle......well, certainly enough to keep us

from walking!

But the clouds moved out and bam.....another beautiful day in paradise.

One of our favorite places in the Outer Banks is just a little island

on the sound side called Collington. It's just a small fishing village.

they have a grocery store, gas station, 2 seafood places, a pizza joint and a really nice restaurant........and that's about it.

But we just love it.

We had heard that it got hit pretty hard during Hurricane Irene

so we decided to ride over and check it out.

There was just so much flooding and the smells of mildew and mold,

the smells of flooding.....it was awful.

I just didn't even have it in me to take pictures, the damage was just

so awful.

We headed back to the condo and hung out at the beach.

and look......Johnny took some pics of me...very rare indeed!!

Later in the day our friends Tim and Susan arrived

We all went out to dinner at the Red Drum...yum!

I had crab legs, shrimp and clams...def needed to walk the next day!

later.....

12 Days at the beach ... Day 7

2011-09-18T17:30:00.000-04:00

Day 7 ... sunny but I can't remember what the temp was

Lynne and I walked 2 miles

and for folks who know me........you know my biggest fear...SNAKES!!

I have been going to the OBX for 33 years now and I have

never, ever seen a snake there. I like to believe they don't exist in

the happiest place on earth!

But while Lynne and I were walking we saw one....just laying there on the side of the road! ewwwww

I screamed and ran!

after that awful experience (haha) Lynne and I decided to go shopping.

I bought a new bathing suit!

and Johnny went to run errands, grocery store, beer, ice, you know, the necessities!

All day long we just hung out on the beach and then later

in the day at the pool

Grilled some hamburgers for dinner and watched a little TV

look at my man grilling those burgers......

And there's Lynne making sure he's doing it right.......

While watching TV, the DQ bug was too strong for Johnny so we had to

head out to the Dairy Queen for a Blizzard!!

oh yeah folks......we're crazy like that! haha...

more tomorrow!

later......

12 Days at the beach ... Day 6

2011-09-17T17:30:00.001-04:00

Day 6 ... 84 degrees and sunny!

Lynne and I walked 2 1/4 miles

and then off to breakfast!

We went to Jolly Roger this time ... Johnny's favorite breakfast place.

We had decided we would cook dinner at the condo this evening instead

of going out so we went to Austin's Seafood market

picked up some shrimp and scallops

Then to the Food Lion for skewers and some veggies

We fixed kabobs with shrimp, bacon wrapped scallops, mushrooms

and red peppers. Then basted with melted butter with garlic and lemon juice.

we also had little boiled potatoes and a salad...a yummy dinner.

another day that we didn't bother to go down to the ocean.....

we just hung out at the pool all day...ha!
don't ever doubt that we know how to truly RELAX!

later....

12 Days at the beach ... Day 5

2011-09-16T17:30:00.001-04:00

Day 5 ... Labor Day!

Lynne and I walked 2 1/2 miles and then....then....

you guessed it, headed to Millers for breakfast!

can you tell we love that place..haha

Bucky was sick so they did not meet us for breakfast

Once back, we all headed to the beach except for Bucky. He was running

a slight fever and just feeling bad!

They were leaving to go home on this day and Jacquelyn had not gone

to Tourtugas yet so we went with her for lunch.

Our second day in a row there but we didn't care....love that place!

Next door to the condo's is a group of cottages (6 cottages) that they call

the Edenton Colony. These cottages were built in 1946 and have

been in some of the same families since then. Some have not but they all participate......

They all have a Labor Day tradition of dressing up

in crazy costumes, marching down the long driveway while

banging on pots and pans, blowing horns.

they then parade down Beach Road a little ways, go up the next

driveway then march down the beach back to the beginning.

Once they come back, they all gather and sing

"God Bless America"

it's awesome.....it's crazy looking but what a great tradition!

everyone from young to old dresses up!

it was fun to watch!

later....

12 Days at the beach ... Day 4

2011-09-15T17:33:00.000-04:00

If you didn't already think we were boring, you will after reading

this post!

On Day 4, Lynne and I walked 2 1/4 miles

Johnny doesn't walk with us.....he hangs out and drinks his coffee!

And I don't really remember the reason why, but we didn't go out on the

beach on this day. And it was sunny and 82 degrees

I guess we all just wanted a lazy day.

Jacquelyn and Bucky came down and they just lounged around watching

TV. I hung out on the balcony reading "The Help"

wow....what a great book. I could not put it down!!

Lynne, Johnny and I decided to go to Tourtugas Lie for a late lunch

they have great hamburgers, nachos, fish bites and cold beer!!

Back to the condo for a nap...haha, I never take naps but at

the beach, it just feels right.

We spent the rest of the day just hanging out at the condo

and had an early bedtime!

wow....we are either very boring or getting very old.

but what a way to spend a vacation......RELAXING!!

later.......

12 Days at the beach ... Day 3

2011-09-14T17:30:00.001-04:00

I decided because I eat such rich food while at the beach, it would

be best if I did some exercise while down there!

So on day 3, Lynne and I walked 2 miles!

And then we met Jacquelyn & Bucky at Millers Restaurant for breakfast!

We then headed back to the condo and drug all of our stuff out to the beach!

and what a gorgeous day .... 80 degrees and sunny with a slight breeze

you just can't ask for a better beach day!

we stayed at the condo for lunch.....big salad!

and then just stayed out on the beach the rest of the day

We went to the Black Pelican for dinner .... another OBX favorite!

It seems that fried green tomatoes are an appetizer fav this summer

and wow, they had some great ones! I also got crab cakes for dinner

oh yes, will need to def walk tomorrow!!

that night we played poker ... dealers choice!

what fun!!

later.....

12 Days at the beach ... Day 2

2011-09-13T17:45:00.001-04:00

Friday, Sept 2nd.

Second day at the beach we slept in a little and then

headed out to breakfast at Miller's Restuarant, an all time

OBX favorite!

Next stop, the grocery store to load up on snacks, water and beer

Once we got back to the condo we decided to go ahead and get the

"hurricane" clean up done and out of the way

We stay at my brother-in-laws condo and since he is so generous with

letting us stay there when we want, we love taking care of the place

for him. Hurricane Irene did not do much damage but still there was

clean up to do. Power had been out so the frig really needed

a good cleaning out.

And there was sand everywhere!

here's Johnny cleaning all of the sand off of the balcony

after cleaning, we walked down to the beach and was surprised

at the amount of debris still on the beach from the hurricane

it had been 6 days earlier so I thought the ocean would have carried

more out by now.....

the house below really took a beating from the hurricane

most of his roof was blown off and hit one of the balconies in the

condo upstairs from my BIL ... ripped out the railings on the balcony

we have always called this house "The Love Shack"....

it looks like it needs a lot of love now!

after that, we rode down to South Nags Head.

they suffered a lot of flooding during Irene!

So furniture, mattresses, and junk was just piled up everywhere down there

Sad for folks to lose so much during the storms

Next stop, Jenettes Pier!

Hurricane Isabel took out Jenettes a few years back and they have been

re-building for awhile now

You can purchase a corian fish plaque to go in to one of the planks

on the pier.....in memory or your own name

Johnny and I along with other family members purchased one

for Johnny's sister Jamie, who loved the OBX

we had ordered it back in July and it takes 6 to 8 wks

but they are running behind and now taking up to 12 wks so it

wasn't there yet. We thought we'd just check again at the end of our trip

here's what the fish plaques look like

Next ..... Hurricane Moe's for Happy Hour!

25 cent wings, 10 cent shrimp and dollar tacos

Then later that evening, Lynne (my son-in-laws mother) Bucky and Jacquelyn arrived.

Lynne was staying with us but the newlyweds were staying somewhere else.

It was a beautiful sunny day, 79 degrees and we never made it out

to the beach....just too busy! But it was a fun day

later....

12 Days at the beach.......Day 1

2011-09-12T20:41:00.000-04:00

Johnny and I decided to go back down to the beach for an extra long time!!

So I thought I would blog each day and that way have a journal

of our time in the Outer Banks!

long time readers know how much I love the OBX!!

So day 1 was Sept 1st and we actually did not leave until that evening so

technically, not a full day at the beach but whatever.......I was there so

it was day 1 for me!

we arrived around 9:00 pm .... STARVING!!

here's a shot I took crossing the Merrimack tunnel on our way

and traffic is so much better when you leave in the evening.

so before we even went to the condo to unpack, we stopped at

Daredevil Pizza and got an extra large white pizza with artichokes,

tomatoes, spinach and feta cheese...yum

and 2 side salads!

Unloaded the car and crashed!

more tomorrow

later.......

My husband ....

2011-08-27T08:00:00.001-04:00

It's hard to believe that he had a stroke just 5 months ago

almost 100% recovered

still battling fatigue but they told us that could take up

to a year to recover from

he's looking great

and I love him so much!

later.......

Oh Irene......

2011-08-26T19:08:00.000-04:00

first the earthquake, now the hurricane!

Hurricane Irene is getting ready to hit the Outer Banks of NC

as most folks who read my blog know.....I LOVE the Outer Banks!

that is where our daughter just got married

and that is where Johnny and I go as much as we can

So tonight I pray that Irene shows some mercy on the OBX

here in Richmond, local forecast are saying 20 to 40 mph winds tomorrow

2 to 4 inches of rain

then Sat night gust up to 60 mph

according to the NWS, Richmond is under a tropical storm warning

so Johnny and I have secured the deck and patio furniture

have put the large deck plants in the garage

guess we'll spend tomorrow "hunkered" down......

and maybe tomorrow I'll have some interesting pictures

later....

Painting ....

2011-08-26T18:00:00.002-04:00

I helped Jacquelyn paint last weekend

she had one wall in her living room / dining room that is real wood

and it had a heavy coat of varnish on it

so a few weeks ago we sanded it all down

and this past weekend we painted it white

and even though we used paint that had primer in it

that real wood really drank up the paint..........it took 3 coats!

and in the background you can also see that the accent

wall in her living room is also being painted....navy blue

her new colors for her LR & DR are navy blue, white and lime green

here's a sneak peak of the wall

before

and after.....and that's Melissa smiling....she loves to paint!

I will post pictures later after she finishes all of her decorating

later......