Booked!

Right now I am counting down the days until I will be here....

Ahhhh... the beach.

I love everything about the beach. The sound of the waves, the smell of the ocean, the wet sand on my toes and most of all - the tan I will get. Normally I would say having a cocktail on the beach, but this summer I will have to skip that little luxury.

I know the blog world is full of people that have vacationed in this part of FL/live here/of have houses here. Therefore, pony up some information!

Where do you like to eat? Where should we shop for groceries? Any fun things we have to do? What are toddler friendly activities around the area? We will be there mid-August.

Happy Birthday to ME

Happy birthday to ME!

I have always loved having a summer birthday. When I was younger, I never had to go to school on my birthday and I could always spend the day doing whatever. I always had pool parties and spent the day outside in the sun.

Well, on my last twentysomething birthday, I will be doing the exact same thing.

Started the day off with a huge fountain Diet Coke...spent all morning playing with Miss A in the pool...Chick Fil A for lunch and now I am headed back into the pool. Tonight we are having a birthday dinner and hopefully my annual birthday cake.

Not such a bad way to start off the last year of my twenties.

And on the subject of turning 30... at least I have 1 more year until I have to face that reality.

Hey Good Lookin', What Ya' Got Cookin

Last night I made a Mexican pizza for dinner. We had had grilled chicken salads the night before, so it was a great way to use the rest of the ingredients.

I had in mind a corn crust, but could not find the Pillsbury tube of corn twists.... so, I just substituted crescent rolls. I rolled them out and made a rectangular crust, and then baked it for a couple of minutes. While that was baking, I mixed together some black beans and a can of Rotel, to use as the pizza sauce.

After baking the crust for a couple of minutes, I spread the beans all over the crescent rolls and then topped it with the cilantro lime chicken, bell pepper, purple onion and cheese.

I served it with sliced avocado and a side of Spanish rice. I made it up as I went along, just using ingredients we had on hand and it was a keeper of a recipe!

Wild Weather

Mother Nature is on a roll. Last night we had some fierce weather and spent the lots of time in our closet under the stairs and trying to get weather updates TV.

Miss A thought we were having lots of fun playtime in the closet... she was a trooper throughout the entire evening.

Call me crazy, but if we are having to seek shelter from the weather, then I want the pets there with us. I was running around the house like a crazy lady searching for Steve, all the while the storm sirens are sounding. We finally found him (hiding under A's crib) and then we headed to the closet. He immediately darted to the back corner and was fine. Jake (the pup) was a nervous wreck. He did not want to come into the closet and he was not a fan of the confined quarters. So, here we all are. I was on the phone with my dad because the satellite had gone out and Mr. was trying to look up weather stuff on his phone.

At some point we were in the closet and heard the TV come back on. The satellite was working again, so we immediately tried to turn on our local ABC channel to see what the current conditions were like. Yet, we could not find out if we were about to be swept away because they were still airing Dancing With the Stars.

Yes, WFAA Ch 8, was running a season finale of a dancing competition show versus important weather information. Explain that one to me.

The chief meteorologist tweeted later on in the night, making it seem as if this was a higher up network decision.

Either way, it seems foolish and irresponsible.

Goodbye Oprah

I have always loved Oprah.

She came on at 4 and everyday after school I would watch her while I was working on my homework or having an after school snack. Granted, not all of her episodes were right up my alley, but I still watched them. I now tivo each and every episode and usually watch them at night as I am falling asleep.

Her show has been on the air for 25 years. Granted, I have probably not been watching her all of those 25 years, but she has been on the air most of my life. And she will be missed.

The Mr. thinks I am silly for saying that I am going to miss her, since she now has her OWN network..... But, it will not be the same. Yes, I am an emotional pregnant sap that loves Oprah.

Round and round

Designers hate them.
Homeowners love them.

Ceiling fans.

I don't know about you, but we have them in almost every room in our house. They run year round and they help me sleep each and every night. The hushed whisper of the blades is wonderful, as is the cool It it pushes down into you.

You know what really stinks? When the fan in your bedroom is not working correctly. URGH! It is driving me crazy. "High" is not very high and it is making a crazy ticking sound.

So, this is now things have been playing our for me... I fall asleep with the TV on (because the noise of the TV cancels out the annoying ticking coming from the fan) and then I sleep for a couple of hours. Until, the crazy dog wakes me up to let him outside. I take him outside and then come back to bed and try to fall back to sleep. Most of the time I am able to pass back out. BUT there are those times that I am in bed - just listening to that annoying ticking. Counting the ticking. Imagining that the ticking talking to me. It is making me crazy. (Because anything normal can make you crazy in the middle of the night)

I then head up to the guest room - turn the fan on HIGH - and quickly fall back to sleep.

This damn fan is making me lose my mind and we have to get it fixed. Soon!

What is on my phone

I was reading the latest InStyle and thought this was interesting.... Baking Soda as a facial scrub... will definitely be giving this a try.

We went to the park last week and we were surrounded by these beautiful wildflowers. Love them!

Last week I got my hair cut and I asked the stylist to give me big, beachy waves. And, the above picture is how my hair ended up. Ugh.

This is what I had in mind. Big, beachy waves.

Someone loves to read.

I have been taking prenatal vitamins for years, for my hair, but my hair lady suggested these pills. Not sure if they really work, but might be worth a try.

Steve has become a fan of playing in the crib. Crazy cat.

The Mr. made berry shortcake (from scratch!) for Mother's Day and it was delish! He should make this more often.

I think I need to get this ponytail holder thing.

16 weeks.

I snapped this picture on a walk the other day. I am in LOVE with this orange front door. And they grey trim - perfection.

Hey Good Lookin', Whatcha Got Cookin'

Yesterday was the Mr's birthday! I asked him what he wanted me to make for his birthday dinner and he said steak. Eek. I am not that great with cooking steak, but it was his birthday so I could not argue with him. I knew that I could not necessarily guarantee a great steak, but I could give him a wonderful cake, so I made his favorite - Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake.

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

1 small box vanilla instant pudding

3/4 cup oil

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup Hershey's chocolate syrup

Mix the first 6 ingredients. Put 1/3 of the batter into a separate bowl. Add the chocolate chips and chocolate to the larger portion. Put the chocolate layer into a greased bundt pan and then add vanilla portion. Swirl together.

Bake at 350 for 50 min - 1 hour.

And as you can see, the cake was well received.

Here the the rest of the birthday meal: steak (not pictured), twice baked potatoes, green beans, red wine sauteed mushrooms and cheese biscuits.