Thursday, April 21, 2011

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.....

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

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!!


later.....

Sunday, April 17, 2011

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....

Thursday, April 14, 2011

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.....


Wednesday, April 13, 2011

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...


Tuesday, April 12, 2011

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...

Monday, April 11, 2011

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......

Sunday, April 10, 2011

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....

Saturday, April 9, 2011

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.....

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

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...... 

Saturday, April 2, 2011

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....

Friday, April 1, 2011

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..