Saturday Statements

Another busy week comes to an end, and I say TGIS! I enjoyed my week really. It's great to see something you are a part of exceed expectations from naysayers. GSTC is full to the brim, overflowing into the high schools with programs, and rockin'!

Last night's football game, while a loss, showed us some good things, and things to work on. But I have to ask. Why do idiot children from the other team, have to walk our side of the field with their school mascot? I'm talking thuggy looking kids, not a good representation of their school. One of our school board members was sitting in front of me, and these kids sat on the row in between me and him. Our QB's dad was sitting to the right of the the SBM. These fine students from the opposing school further showed their intelligence by harassing the father of our QB about his school shirt he was wearing. Why do they insist on showing their stupidity? They turned around to me and was about to start in on me, when I gave them the "Don't even start" look. It must have been a good look as they got up and left. This always happens at this school, and it's not even one of the "bad" high schools. So sad. Okay, off the soapbox.

Enjoying this Saturday. I was up at the crack of dawn, which is fine, I can sleep in tomorrow. I did nap a bit on the sofa this morning, but now that I have a bit of caffiene in my system, I'm awake! Both my guys took off this morning early. Patrick's off tubing with some friends. Rick had Defense Coaches meeting this morning. That left me all to myself this morning.

I made myself some scrambled eggs and settled in to watch the Smurfs. Love the Smurfs! I had a friend in HS whose little brother collected every single one of the Smurf figures. I wonder if he still has them? I napped through the home improvement shows, but not before I learned how to take tile off a wall. Look out Rick, you may just come home to a det-tiled bathroom one day!

Hubby walked in about 11:30 just as I finished cleaning the kitchen. We shared a pot of coffee and talked about the week. I've been so exhausted at night that by the time he gets home from practice, it goes in one ear and out the other. I sorted laundry and started that, cleaned the scraproom and sat down to scrap. So midway through the day, I'm having a great one!

Plans are to go out to dinner, and I have stuff I want to create. I think it's going to be a good Saturday, don't you?

Well, Wednesday's Over!

Will it be downhill from here? As in an easy slide that is. Registration has been fast and furious, our students all in their places with bright shiny faces. After a summer of quiet shops, it's good to see and hear them buzzing with activity.

Most of our classes are full, the other's are filling fast. I think only a fifth of our classes are not full. Our enrollment is the highest it's been for a starting week since I've been there. Certainly our best start since Ivan.

I've still surprised myself in keeping the records straight and filed. Of course it's taking 12 hour days to do it, but it's working.

The guys cooked me dinner tonite. Okay, it was only hotdogs and cheeseburgers but it was still good! We had a nice movie night all that was missing was a group hug. I tried, Patrick just wouldn't have it. So I smothered him with love and kisses. Which I think he hated too.

Thursday Rick heads out to scout some teams with the coaches. I'm heading to a friends to show her how to upload pictures. Then it's FRIDAY! Ah! A weekend! I can hardly wait!

I Feel as Washed Out as She Probably Is

After I took care of my family duties on Sunday, I escaped to the beach for a few hours of total relaxation before the chaos that is the first day of school. It's become a tradition with my friend, Linda and I, to spend that last real day before students come back, at the beach. Even tho she's moved on to a higher educational facility, we still stay in touch and continue our wonderful traditions.

By the time we got the cooler packed, chairs loaded and sunscreen on, it was almost 2:00 p.m.. A great time to arrive at the beach if you ask me. Most of the tourists have long been burnt to a crisp, the families have headed home for naptime, and only us older folks are just staking out our spots.

A family that had been there earlier had created the mermaid. It's funny how out of the whole beach, we sat down right next to her before we realized she was there. A father and son drew our attention to her, the young son asking questions about why she was there. And there she was.

It was a wonderful afternoon to be at the beach. The waves were calm, visibility was so clear. We watched a lost beach ball float out to sea for a good half hour. We could see the oil rigs off shore of Alabama, a good 15 miles out. The dolphins and pompano were jumping all afternoon, probably enjoying the cooler air brought on by a cold front that passed through during the night. We watched a tourist get caught on the finger by a crab. His peril for catching the critter in the first place.

We wiled away the hours, people watching, talking, eating pringles and enjoying our beverages. We solved the problems of the world, at least ours anyway, with the ease that comes from being at the beach. I fought off biting flies by throwing sand on my legs as they landed there. Finally they took off for sweeter meat sitting 10 yards away.

And tho I feel as washed out as she probably is now, I'm glad for our afternoon with the mermaid. It was a great prerequisite for a first day of chaos at school.

Enjoying the Last Weekend of Freedom

I remember this as a child. We wanted to cram all the fun we could into this last weekend of summer. Our school supplies were bought, new shoes waiting to take us to school, backpacks loaded and a fresh new lunch box that we were sure was the coolest one on the rack.

We wanted to run, and ride and go til long after sundown. Our parents wanted to get us into the "school routine" of going to bed early. It was so hard to go to sleep those last few days. I wanted every minute of my summer, but the excitement of going back to school and seeing friends kept me awake also.

Now, I just want every minute of peace and quiet, relaxation and rest I can get before Monday morning. All my friends are back, the teachers started this week. We've lunched out every day, enjoying that privilege that won't happen once students return.
I don't have any new clothes, yet. No new shoes, not even a hair cut to show off. Working 12 months at school takes some of the excitement of the first day of school away.

I'll get excited when I go to the first "real" football game next Friday night. I'll get excited when drop/add period closes and students are in their classes for nine weeks. I'll get excited when I can finally breathe because registrations over, books are bought and financial aid is all taken care of. Give me a few weeks, then I'll be excited!!!

For now, I'm just trying to be peaceful, relaxed and rested, in the midst of chaos. It's not the excitement of friends, new supplies or eaking out that last minute of summer that's keeping me awake. It's the OMG thoughts at 2 a.m...are schedules right? did I remember to schedule every class? is that student full time or part time? Did I give everyone their attendance sheets??? Oh the joys of the first day.

It never ends.

Will Scrap For Food

Last week I sent the Wedding/Travel/Journal to Texas so that it could go to St. Lucia to the wedding and to meet it's new owners/newlyweds, Jesse & Lori. They are probably still honeymooning somewhere in the Caribbean. Let's hope the tropical storms leave them alone.
When Lori's mom,Bee, received the W/T/J, she called me in tears. She loved it that much. She kept saying that every time she looked at it, she saw something she missed the time before. That's cool, because that's what I was trying to achieve.
We never discussed payment really. I have a hard time putting a price on something I love to do. Especially when it makes someone happy. That's my payment. But she insisted, so I said reimburse me for supplies and shipping, and we'll call it even. Which she did. Plus she tucked in a little something extra from Coldwater Creek, so this momma will have some stylin' new clothes for school! I thought that was pretty darned cool, and really more than enough!
Then today, I came home from work to find this on my doorstep

This box contains the most important ingredient to the best meat pie I've ever tasted.


That's right, Oliverio Peppers! A whole case of them! With Bee's meat pie recipe, we'll eat "High on the Hog" all winter long. Oliverio peppers are not available just anywhere. They are a small mom & pop company in West Virginia. But they are soooo good! I may not wait for cooler weather to make meat pie.
And Bee? I think we are more than even!

Another School Year Begins

Tomorrow, our teachers return. It's been just a few short months since they left, this summer went so fast! I think this has been the fastest summer I've ever had and it sure was a busy one. A roller coaster of a summer for sure.

My summer began with the big office switcheroo at work. I'm in a quieter office now, out of the way of traffic coming in the front door. It's a bit smaller, but the biggest office in our hall. I don't rate this office because I'm a SOMEbody, I just have to have lots of stuff to do my job. Stuff like file Cabinets, a huge paper shredder, printer and the like. Not to mention my big desk, to spread all those wonderful state reports around on. It's been different, but I love where I am now. I get the morning sunshine and not the blistering afternoon sun on my south and west wall, like I had before.

I had several weekend retreats of one kind or another. My first was the birthday crop in Valrico. Susie and I had a fun trip down to see the Hilltop girls and crop with them. Teri brought her daughter, Sara with her to spend the day with us. We had so much fun with Sara, she's a hoot! Then Teri came back and spent the night too! I just love Teri, she's so serious sometimes and a blast to be around all the time! Linda's crops are the BEST. I love those women and cherish the many great memories we've made at Hilltop Crops.

Next was the Girl's weekend at Jill's in North Carolina. From the pink limo, to the trip to Archiver's (twice) to just hanging on her back porch playing LCR. It was a weekend I'll never forget. Definitely on my fab 5 things I've done with the girls. Jill & Scott were such wonderful hosts, they have a beautiful home that makes you feel comfortable the minute you walk through the door. Thanks JILL! I'll never, ever forget your kindness.

I got to fly home for my nephew's wedding a short time after that trip. It's hard to believe he's grown with a wife and home. It seems like just yesterday he was a little twerp who was always looking for batteries to run his games. The wedding was one of the most beautiful I've ever been to. His new wife and her family are wonderful people and we feel blessed to have them join with ours. Again another wonderful weekend with wonderful people in a wonderful place.

The very next weekend was Teresa Collin's class at Ruban Rouge. WOW! What can I say. Such a talented scrapper, such a down to earth woman, I'm such a fan now. Her daughter was with her and what a lovely young woman she was. Just a joy to be there. Thanks to Kip and her lovely hospitality. I am so thankful she opens her home to me and it's just such a laid back, relaxing, homey time. No fuss, no muss, what you see is what you get, that's what I love about her! And her boys, Max & Mudgey, love those boys! They always greet me with licks and love (well after Mudge comes out from under the chair & Max is done trying to take a chunk our of me) But I just love them. We had such a great time that weekend with all the girls, pizza afterward, laughing and carrying on. Just what a girl needs.

So now school begins again and I must get my nose to the grindstone. It's been such a great time, filled with many memories. So many of my friends return to work tomorrow, cept Kip! because in case you haven't heard, SHE'S R E T I R E D! Have a great retirement friend!

So It's Saturday!

I'm cleaning and doing laundry and actually enjoying it. It's theraputic and I must be a sick individual. Most of my friends are at a great crop, Fried Green Tomatoes in Sebring Florida. So maybe I'm just convincing myself I'm enjoying cleaning.
I picked up a treasure the other day, This!

I know it doesn't look like much, but it's more of a sentimental value than anything. My mom had this exact cook book. It was probably one of her original cookbooks as it's dated 1947 around the time she married. I wanted it, it has alot of the recipes she used cooking for us when we were growing up. Many of the old Penn. Dutch and German recipes, that I'm sure were handed down through the family came out of this book. So it's invaluable for that, where else would she have learned to cook Pork Ribs and Sauerkraut? Yep, it's in this book.
It also has great recipes from all over the U.S.. Great Gumbo from the Creole section. Fried Chicken from many parts of the country, and coastal recipes from the Atlantic.
So since I didn't win that battle when we split up the household stuff, I've always had my eye open for this book. A few weeks ago when I was home, I copied down the title, author and publisher and began my search. I paid $20 for it on alibris.com and had it in two days!
I sent a picture to my brother saying look what I have now! I know his heart stopped a minute thinking I'd "borrowed" his copy. But he said my copy is actually in better shape. Mine came with the original paper cover also. Looking for an odd, old recipe your mom or granny used to make? It's probably in here!
I'm back to cleaning house, doing laundry, and I'm craving the ribs and sauerkraut too. Maybe that's what I'll make for dinner???

Jesse & Lori's Album

This is an album I made for a friend whose daughter is getting married this weekend. She wanted something simple to document their world travels the past few years, and also serve as a sign in for their wedding this weekend in St. Lucia. I also added a few pages for them to add pictures of their first dance, the Father/Daughter dance, and a few bridal photos.
Not shown is some added mini pages, envelopes, and little sign in pages that were added later. I didn't like the way the book was bound the first time so I redid the bindings and added some pages. I'm hoping Denise will take pictures after they add pictures from the wedding!
I had such fun doing it, even tho I've never met them! It was different for me to scrap with pictures and for someone I didn't know. Denise (the friend, mom of Lori) called me when she got it in tears. She said I captured them perfectly and she's sure they will love it. I hope they do!

Well It's Wednesday!

Can I just say I was exhausted by the time I got home on Tuesday? I think I was walking on autopilot from 5 p.m. on. It was all I could do to eat dinner and do two loads of laundry before I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. we registered over 300 new students. About 10 a.m. they pulled me off the computer and put me in the room with the guidance counselors to be a guidance counselor. Wow! It was steady all day and we didn't get to eat til 4 p.m.. Our two guidance counselors kept teasing me about making sure the paperwork was right (I'm always on them about that). They loved finding my mistakes! But we pulled through and got everyone done.

I enjoyed the one on one with each student. Most were so excited to start this new venture in their lives. Some were nervous, but I think I made them feel better. It's scary for them, especially older people coming in after being out of school so long. We did register a 79 year old lady for Culinary class. Can you imagine.

It feels good to be here today. I just got to Tallahassee and am in the hotel with my feet up. Tomorrow starts our F U N meetings. I'm just trusting the process........

Monday Monday

I'm trying to keep up this ole blog in between all my comings and goings. It's not easy! When I'm home I'm trying to spend time with the hubby and take care of some things here in the house. Cook a meal or two, dust, sweep, you know the routine.

I had a wonderful time at Ruban Rouge with Teresa Collins' Class! She is an awesome scrapper! A very down to earth girl, not pretentious at all. I love her! It was good to see great friends again. I never get enough of that!

As always, Kip was the best hostess. We had a great time with the girls after class, eating pizza, chatting, sharing ideas. I wish I lived closer to these wonderful women!

I haven't downloaded the camera. I came home inspired and scrapped most of the evening. Plus the hubby time, the kid time, and a few odds and ends here.

Today is first day of registration at school. I'm staying to get all the data in, at the latest 8 p.m.. But since I'm out of town this week W-F, I want to get as much done before I leave as I can!

I hope your day is a great one!

Coming and Going, My Head is Spinning

Seriously, all this coming and going has my head spinning. I got up the other night to go to the bathroom about midnite and almost fell on the floor, dizzy! It seems to be okay, coming and going. That's the story of my life lately! Of course when you have this greeting as you get off the airplane.......

Kyle & Ande's wedding was fabulous! Such a cute couple and you can tell they have what I call "old love". That love that you see in happy couples that have been together forever. They are so comforting together, taking care of each other and knowing what the other needs.

I hadn't met Ande, even tho her & Kyle have dated over 3 years. She was always away at school when I was home. But she's a keeper! So much fun to be around, yet gets down to business when it needs getting down to. I'm glad she's in our family!
Her family is very nice too. Mom & Dad are both retired State Troopers. Her mom is funny and her dad is so nice! I'm sure he wasn't when he was a trooper tho. He has that voice and that presence. I love her brother, Jeremy, who is a handsome young man and a professional drummer.
It was also good to see the nieces and nephews, friends and family on all sides. I just love weddings for that. I got to meet several of my brother, Jason's friends who are girls. HOW FUN they are! All the guys I know already, but it was good to see them again too. I was the designated driver for my brother, so he had a great time. I did have a few beers. Tried a new beer, well new for me, Blue Moon. They serve it with an orange slice and it was pretty good.
The wedding wasn't the only fun we had. Susie and I took a day trip to Galena. Galena is an old mining town that was once busier and bigger than Chicago. Now it's full of lots of old buildings and shops.

We went to check out a cute little shop, Sue's Ink & Stamp, and a bead store that Susie heard was there. We were not disappointed. Lots of interesting stuff there, all stored in antique store fixtures and furniture. I so want to have something like that!
We had lunch at a lovely Italian Restaurant that sat on the hill, Vinny Vinnachi's

They had a gorgeous patio that overlooked the streets. I could have sat there all day! We just had soup and salad, with some of the most delicious garlic bread I've ever had. Soon it was time to go, the clouds were looming, rain threatening.
We'd promised Jason we'd be back home about 3 to go to the rehearsal dinner at 5:30. We pulled back into town right at three after a scenic drive home along the bluffs and river.

I didn't make it to the park, or some of the other places I wanted to visit. I did make to the world famous biker bar, Poopy's. But that's a tale for another day.....

Mommy & Me Time

Okay, I know he's 22 years old. But lately, we've been having a great time together, and I'm loving it. We don't always get along this well, so I'm milking it for all I can.
Usually I don't get his "dark side". The movies, music and ideas that I think are demented. His humor is sometimes hurtful and mean to others. But the past couple of weeks it's been very, very nice having him around.
Friday night, since his dad was off at camp, he and I did a "date night". I told him to pick where we ate, and he could pick the movie. We debated what to eat, even drove around the mall looking at places. Just when it looked like it would be another night at Chili's, we settled on Famous Dave's BBQ.
Famous Dave's was the best choice! It was sooo yummy. We both ate way too much and brought home a doggie box. We decided to order different sides since we'd never been there before and we could try more stuff that way. I ordered the spicy (not) green beans and cole slaw, he had garlic mashed taters and baked beans. All of them were really good, but the green beans were not spicy as advertised. The ribs we both had were scrumptious! Plus we got a yummy corn muffin, corn on the cob and a small serving of fries to split between us. They came with the meal.
I will say he did draw the line at me taking pictures of the food, or of us. So if you are wondering why I didn't post a picture of the yumminess and us, that's why! One step at a time, maybe next time! LOL!
After dinner, we decided on a movie, Public Enemy. Great Flick with lots of the old timey shoot em up scenes. You know, the kind where you didn't see the guy really get shot, but he did, it wasn't gory, but you knew he was dead. Okay a few gory scenes when they got their guts blown out, but that was when they were lying on the ground dying. Anyway, I enjoyed it. I have always had a fascination with Dillinger anyway. That bad boy appeal I guess.
Afterwards, on the way home he remarked how he'd enjoyed it and we needed to do that more. So I will make a point to do that.
The last couple nights we've been cooking together, Chicken Spaghetti and Burrito pie. It's been a great time for me and has really lifted me out of the dumps I was in last week. Will it continue? I have no idea. But I'm enjoying it while I can!

I LOVE 3 Day Weekends!

Have I mentioned before that I'm working four 10 hour days this summer? Do you know that gives me 3 day weekends? I love 3 day weekends. It's like having a mini vacation every week.
Since I mostly put in at least 9 hours a day at work anyway, 10 hour days are a breeze. I'm at work anyway, once I'm there, what's another few hours? My family commitments are now minimal. No children to rush here and there, so I've grown to love 10 hour days at work.
But what I love more, more than my quiet, new office. More than summer reruns and mosquito filled nights? My three day weekends. Heaven on earth! I get more done on Friday while all my friends and family are still at work. Then I have Saturday & Sunday to play. Or I can travel without having to take a day off. If I want to take an extended weekend, like next weekend, I take Thursday and Monday off! It's a vacation!
Of course there are downsides to this 3 day weekend thing. ummm, my butt gets sore from sitting. LOL! No seriously, I can't think of a downside. I'm hoping there's a way we can continue 4 day work weeks into the school year. We're looking into that, seriously. I could really become accustomed to 3 day weekends the rest of my working life.

Yeah, It's Me Again

It's been an up and down week. I had the most fabulous time with the girls in NC. Every girl should get to do that at least once in her lifetime with her friends. Yet my heart is torn over the recent murders in our community. We knew the couple and our middle son is a close friend of their daughter. All who knew them are grieving the loss.
I am glad to see they have caught most of the people involved. Tomorrow my son comes home to help his friend bury her parents. My heart breaks for her, as I know how close she was to her parents, especially her mom. You rarely saw one without the other.
It is a senseless tragedy.

I Bet You've Been Wondering..........

if I was ever going to blog again. The one thing I miss about having leisurely mornings and not having to be to work til 8 or 9 is blogging. I liked blogging in the morning. My brain was fresh and rested, the world is a new, and everything seems more positive in the mornings!
Nighttime blogging seems weighed down with all the "stuff" of the day. The people from work who weren't exactly agreeable, still there. The guy who cut you off in traffic? Still there. That $300 electric bill that was waiting when you got home? Yep, still there! So mornings seem so possible, accomplishable, so refreshing! At least to me they are!
So, catching up, it was a quiet 4th. Well as quiet as it can be when you live in the city and every neighbor around you is lighting fireworks. We had burgers & tater salad, corn on the cob, cantalope. Just kinda vegged out. When you live in a tourist trap, you tend to avoid the fun things, that's where the tourists are.
I did get in some pool time on Sunday. It was relaxing on the float with my book, the sun and the breeze. Evened out my tan a little while I was at it. I'd love a good long day at the beach.......
I haven't done any domino pendants, but I did get a new drill bit. So now I can finish some I've started. Soon, very soon. Signed up for a card class at the local scrap store. Looking forward to that.
Anddddddd, looking forward to the weekend. Meeting up with the girls at Jill's in North Carolina. Not sure how much scrappin' we'll get in, but you know we'll have fun! Have the bail money ready, we may have to call!
Work has been work. You'd think with it being summer, no students or teachers that it would be easy and quiet. Not so! It's my busy time, setting the master schedule, getting ready for registration in less than a month!
Last but not least, keep my friend Andrew in your prayers as he battles tonsil cancer. He's 4 weeks into treatment and it's starting to get rough. The good news is it's shrinking. But the treatments are rough on his throat, making it hard to eat and drink. So send him good thoughts.

Let's See, What Day is It??

It must be Friday because I worked yesterday. I had planned to sleep in this morning, but Rick couldn't. So by the time the alarm went off enough times for him to wake up, I was awake too. So I was up at 6:30.
I lazed around all morning really, surfing the net, drinking coffee. I had a burst of energy around noon and unpacked my scrap stuff. I organized the things I need for the wedding/travel journal album I'm making for a friend. I'll get started on that later tonite.
I took two naps today, and have vegged out watching Comedy Central all afternoon. Watched a guy named Gabriel Igelsias, who was hilarious. We had pizza for supper and continued vegging out. I feel like such a slug.
I need to feed the flowers, they are water starved in this heat. Laundry to finish, and get motivated on something before bed. After all, it is 7:00 p.m.!

What a Weekend!

Hilltop crops are always well worth any distance you have to travel to get to one. Great friends, great food, much laughter and a few shenanigans are always to be had. I thoroughly enjoy myself at each an every one I've ever attended.
This weekend was no exception. Linda was there with her smiling face to greet us as we arrived. It took a good 20 minutes to hug everyone's neck before we could even think about where we were sitting, who we were near or what to unload first. I was excited to see all the girls! Thrilled to be sitting near Mar, as she's usually clear across the room from us. As always I love watching Kip create, and she didn't infringe on my table space, not once. I don't know why she has a reputation for doing that. LOL! The Ft. Meyers girls were there, and a treat to sit across from Sonia/Sophia, as I never get to sit by her either. I love those girls, Barb, GA and Sonia. Kelly worked her magic on our backs, gosh I'd love to bring her home with me! Her chair massages are phenomenal!
I brought a kit to get the creative juices flowing, and made 5 baby cards and 5 get well cards. One of the cards was a pop up card, which I loved doing! So I made two more of my own, a 4th of July card and

 

a wake up sleepyhead card. The sleepy head card was good for those mornings after we stayed up til 2 a.m.!

 

Friday, Teri took a break from studying and her and her daughter, Sara, joined us for a trip to Violettes with lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. First of all, I loved Sweet Tomatoes, but there's something wrong with a salad bar place that serves chocolate/chocolate chip muffins for dessert! YUMMY!
Sara was a doll! If I had a daughter, I'd hope she was like Sara! You can tell she loves life and is out to live it to the max. I just loved spending the day with her!
Violettes was the bomb as usual, with lots of neat things I just had to have. I wish I would have picked up the Flower Soft they had for sale. After we got to the Crop, Kathy & Teresa had some they were playing with and it was as fun as it looked. Well, another reason to go back.
A fantastic weekend, well worth the long drive that seems to get longer each time I make it. I wish I could go to the next one, but I don't see that happening with it being the week school starts. I'll get to see the girls soon at Jill's in North Carolina. Can't wait to go up there!!!! It's going to be a bash! Then a weekend home, then a weekend in IL for the nephew's wedding (while all the girls are at Tim Holtz's class :(). Then it's back to Tampa for Teresa Collin's class! I can't wait!!!
It's going to be one of the funnest summers in a long time.

I Know! I Need to Blog!

I need to blog! It's not that I've been sitting around totally depressed. I do still think about Kota dog, and miss him. But I've been busy. You know I stay busy!
We've moved offices at work. The HS data person and I flipflopped offices. I love where I'm at, it's out of the line of traffic, peaceful & quiet. But it is right next door to the Big P's office now. Not sure what I think about that! Now our people are all together, instead of mixed up all over the place.
My friend, Julie, came to visit. We grew up together, and hadn't seen each other since High School, 30 years ago. She's married now with two boys and one grandson, living in Virginia. We had a great time! I rented a convertible for her first visit to Florida. What better way to see Florida? I can't believe she's never been here!
Here we are! See we haven't aged a bit in 30 years!

 

Her only request was to eat seafood, breakfast lunch and dinner. So we headed to Crab's for dinner as soon as she got off the plane. We listened to the band, and drank bushwackers,while eating crab claws and crab dip!

 

The next day we headed out to do some scrapshopping and touristy things. But not before breakfast at the Reef, where we ate a delicious breakfast of a seafood Eggs Benedict and crab claws. We hit the beach for an hour and decided the waves were too flat and it was too hot to stay. Off to Gigi's in Foley for scrapshopping. We each dropped a pretty penny there.

Lunch was at Lulu's, where we watched the gulls, the boats and a few fish jump on the ICW. We had LA Caviar as pictured here and fish tacos. Were we ever lucky! Usually there is a good long wait for a table but we got right in, but when we came out to leave, there were hundreds of people waiting to get in.

 

I guess we started to show our age, because after that we were too pooped to party and went back to the house. We played in the scraproom. (who would have guessed she'd be a scrapper too!) It was early to bed and early to rise. Sunday was just too hot to do anything but hang in the scraproom. But it was great fun!
Now I'm off on another adventure, the Hilltop Memories Birthday Crop in Tampa. More on that later, as always,keep the bail money ready

So I Don't Ever Forget

I remember the first time I saw him. I wasn't looking for a dog. I'd gone over to a friend's house for a meeting, when I saw him. He was the last of the litter, the runt no one wanted. I picked him up and he snuggled on my chest and it was all she wrote. From the very beginning he as the best damn dog, quick to learn, easy to train and spoiled rotten.
I would put him on my lap while I sat on the sofa and my husband would say. "you know he's gonna weigh 75 pounds one day and he'll want to do that." and he did. His favorite place was in the recliner with Rick or Patrick.
He would never beg at the table, but lay patiently at the edge of the dining room while we ate. Let that first chair scrape back and he'd be on his feet, ready for his share. The boys loved to trick him by scraping their chairs on the floor.
He loved potato peelings. Whenever I boiled potatoes, he'd be by my side while I peeled them. Waiting for his treat.
I could open any package in the kitchen. But he knew what the grated cheese package looked like without me even opening it. He knew I'd put a pinch of cheese in his food everytime I made my salad for lunch, his treat for being a good dog all day while I worked.
Speaking of treats, every night, at 8 p.m., he go to Rick and sit patiently at his knees, eyeing the treat jar that sat on his end table. He'd look at Rick, then the jar, then Rick and then the jar. Once Rick opened the jar, Kota would wait patiently while Rick would lay a treat on one knee and then one on the other. He'd patiently do a trick and then get his treat. While he ate one, I'd sometimes reach over and grab the other. He'd always look up like "where'd it go, I know it was there, Where is it?" and then come sniffing to find it. or he'd do still another trick and earn his treat.
Patrick taught him to shake hands, and switch by saying, "no the other one". Patrick also taught him to "high five" which was actually paw to hand high five.
In the morning before I went to work I'd let him out the back door and tell him to be a good dog. He'd run to the front and bark at me while I walked to the car, telling me to have a good day too. At night, he'd usually be waiting in that same spot. When he'd see me pull up, he'd run the length of the fence and back. Almost to make sure the coast was clear for me to come home.
He was such a protector. He'd put himself between me and the world. I never realized this til Rick pointed it out to me. He'd stay between me and the door in the house, between me and the fence when I was out in the yard. He always let people walking by that this was his place, don't come near. Even tho I don't think he'd hurt anyone, unless of course he thought they were actually threatening me. Just ask Patrick, he could never raise his voice to me when Kota was around. Kota would bark and bark, telling him that Momma was boss.
On Saturdays, he knew the alarm hadn't gone off and that meant he could jump on the bed and snuggle with us. He knew on weekdays we didn't have time for that, but he knew once dad was up he could get up on the bed with me. Unless of course we were going to bed, if I got in bed first he knew he'd be in trouble if Daddy came out of the bathroom and he was on the bed, he was in trouble. I'd try to coax him up there, but he'd never come up, just on Saturday mornings.
We evacuated from hurricanes together, him and I. In 2005 when we evacuated alot, he knew what momma packing the car meant. For the longest time he thought every time I packed the suitcase, he should go too. But that was not always the case. I traveled alot and left him at home to protect the guys.
Our list of memories goes on and on, and I want to keep writing them to never forget. I won't forget. He was such a damn good dog.

He Was The Best Dog

We lost Dakota tonite. He waited til we were all home, gathered together, to say good bye. To say our hearts are broken is an understatement. He was the best damn dog.