wow....

there is soooooo much going on

that this post will most def be bullet points!! haha....

• we are knee deep or rather starfish deep in wedding stuff. I usually wake up at some point during the night and when I do, all I can think about is wedding details. That means I am getting very little sleep and this is not good!

• When I work from home I sit at the kitchen table facing the double doors out back. this is my view and if gas prices hit $5 per gallon, I'll be seeing this view a lot

• I have been so busy I have hardly done any pictures since November and this, it makes me very sad!

• another thing I've been missing a lot...my little guy Maddox. Johnny and I like to get him on a Friday night and take him shopping and then out to dinner. We've been so busy with the wedding planning and then Johnny in the hospital that we haven't gotten him lately. But we'll get him soon...after June 11th

• I did get out shopping once and look at this precious dish I found at Home Goods. I love it!

• our son has started his own t-shirt design business. he has been working on this for so long and now his dream is coming true. here he is working on some new designs...

check him out at http://www.jdeladesigns.blogspot.com/ and on Facebook under JDela Designs

later.....

new line of clothing......

go check out this new blog

my son

he's starting his own clothing line

so check him out

then head over to his facebook page and "like"

thanks!!

http://www.jdeladesigns.blogspot.com/

later.....

Our weekend....

Johnny and I headed down to the Outer Banks of NC last Thursday

my sister Vickie came

along with our daughter Jacquelyn and her guy Bucky

and Bucky's mom Lynne.

And on Friday we were busy, busy with wedding things

we met with the florist, the cake lady, the wedding coordinator at the Hilton

and then finished up with the photographer.

the next day we went by the rental company

this is the place we are renting the chairs from that will be on the beach

for the ceremony

few details done there then our weekend was free

so what did we do........we went SHOPPING!!

I love going to the outlet mall at the beach....great stuff and great deals

here's Johnny and I taking a break

while out shopping the weather started taking a turn

the wind whipped up and you could feel the cool air arriving with the cold front

there was talk of high winds and tornados

So we ran our errands and ordered some take out

after dinner we started playing poker but kept the weather channel on

around 9:30 we started getting the warnings for our area

we were staying in Kill Devil Hills and the town next to us

is Kitty Hawk

so the warning comes across that if you're in Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills,

take cover now as tornados have been spotted!!

we were staying on the 2nd flr of the building so we headed to the ground floor

and went to the laundry room, which has no windows

and waited, with cell phones and pocketbooks!

nothing

so we went back upstairs

then...beep beep.....more warnings so we head back downstairs

grabbing our pocketbooks as we went

then nothing

back upstairs

nothing hit around the area we were in but other areas didn't fare so well

when we left the beach today, we passed by a path of destruction

from a tornado 15 miles north of where we were

then another 2 hours up the road, another path of destruction

A lot of small communities in NC and VA suffered terrible damage

and deaths from the storms

we were lucky

and here's what the beach looked like the next day

beautiful....

later....

Buddy Ball.....

Our grandson Maddox started his first organized sports this past Saturday

he is playing Buddy Ball

this is baseball for special needs children

they have a buddy who helps them out on the field

Not sure what he thinks about it...since he doesn't talk

he did hit the ball once

went to 1st base

then wanted to leave

haha

so Nicole is going to try him one more time and see how he does

I think mostly he just likes the social part of baseball

not so much on the actual playing..... :)

later.....



Happy Happy Birthday....

to our beautiful daughter Jacquelyn!

24 years ago I gave birth to this precious girl

she is.......

smart

funny

compassionate

beautiful

committed

competitive

and in love......getting married June 11th

getting ready to embark on a new chapter in her life!

WE LOVE YOU

later...



Invitations.....

The big things in planning a wedding seem to go pretty smooth

the little things, they seem to mess up

like stamps

we picked up the invitations and so I went to the post office to get wedding stamps

but they were sold out

so we went to another post office...again, sold out

apparently as soon as the post office gets them in, they sell out

who knew.....

so we tried to order them but only the 64 cent ones were available

the 44 cent ones were not available until the 21st

we could not wait that long so we went with the loves stamps

I think they are beautiful

and all of them are addressed, stamped and delivered

later...

DIY day....

I can't really post pictures from the DIY day because then

you would see stuff for the wedding

and that has to stay a secret!

but I can show you the food

of course, since I had been up since 4:00 am, I forgot to

take pictures of the food until it was half eaten

but I did get some pics to post

I made lunch for everyone since they were

helping us out with all of the projects

the bridal party came over along with my sisters and nieces

we had fun despite everyone being a bit worried about Johnny



later......

Projects...

Lots and lots of projects going on getting ready for the wedding

we had a DIY day at our house on Sunday

yes...the same day Johnny had his 2nd stroke

yes...I am crazy!

here's how it went.......

on Saturday before we watched the VCU Rams who lost to Butler

in the NCAA tourney

after the game, I decided to go ahead and prepare all of the food

for our DIY day on Sunday

Then at 4:00 in the morning, Johnny woke me

the left side of his face went numb

he couldn't swallow

he had a hard time breathing

we knew....knew it was another stroke

no hesitation this time, I called 911 right away

and there we were, back in the ER

after a very short time, they decided to admit him to the hospital

he insisted we go ahead with the DIY day

so I stayed with him until 10:00 then rushed home to get all of the stuff out

and everyone came over at 12:30

and yes, like I said, I must be crazy

we had fun, got things done

and then I went back to the hospital to be with Johnny

this one was a TIA, a mini stroke



later....

Spring time....

One of my very dear friends told me one time that

spring is just not my time of the year.

and she's right

because anything bad in my life has happened

in the spring time

I lost my sister-in-law who was my best friend in the spring

my daughter had her car accident in the spring

my son broke his arm in the spring

my other daughter had her first of many ankle surgeries in the spring

we lost my father-in-law in the spring

oh good grief....I could go on and on

and now I add to the list my husband had his stroke in the spring
the first stroke was on March 17th

and this past Sunday, he had another stroke...this one small
but this one scared us more as we knew right away what was happening
he's good, improving, getting stronger and will
still make a full recovery
spring time....a time for rebirth, renewal, refresh
and beautiful green grass...

later.....

Soup recipe.......

I tried this new soup over the weekend on the recommendation from

one of my friends at work

and let me just tell ya.......probably our new favorite soup!!

ITALIAN BEAN SOUP

1 med onion, thinly sliced

1 small potato, peeled and finely chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

3 garlic closed, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cans ( 14 1/2 oz each) reduced sodium chicken broth

1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (14 1/2 oz) Italian stewed tomatoes, undrained

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1 tablespoon prepared basil pesto

1/4 cup uncooked orzo pasta

1 cup fresh baby spinach

1/4 cup grated Romano cheese

In a dutch oven, saute the onion, potato, celery and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the broth, beans, tomatoes, parsley and pesto. Bring to a boil. Stir in pasta. Reduce heat: cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until pasta is tender. 

add spinach and cook just until wilted. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.

serves 6

now for my adjustments...........in addition to the one can of stewed tomatoes, I also added 1 pint of my home canned tomatoes.

I also bought one of those roasted chickens at the grocery store and picked the meat off...and added to the soup. Because mostly I knew Johnny wouldn't go for a meatless soup! I did make a vegetarian version for Jacquelyn, no chicken, extra can of beans and I used vegetable broth rather than chicken broth.

this soup is awesome......so much so that I'll probably make it again in another week! 

Let me know if you make it and how you liked it

later...... 

Crazy....

I must be crazy

last weekend the bridal shower was at my house

tomorrow the "DIY Day" for the wedding is here at my house

all the while having a husband recovering from a stroke!

haha...maybe this is what helps keep me young

not young looking, just young at heart!!

Getting ready to run some errands

then home to cook a pot of soup

new recipe....Italian bean soup

if good, I'll post the recipe

then it's time to cheer on our very own

VCU RAMS!!!

I'm ready........



later....

Surprise.....

I came home from the hospital one night 2 wks ago and found this

yep..you guessed it......Miss Bella Boo on the loose!

later..