Two weddings and a funeral

Actually - two funerals - but one is in Washington State. My Mom's sister-in-law died last week - Aunt Margaret. She was a wonderfully different for all my other aunts mostly because she was a "northerner". Her accent - her vocabulary - her life experiences were so different from ours. I didn't know her very well but found her to be warm, happy and loving. The other funeral was my Dad's sister - Aunt Bertha. She was one funny lady - always teasing and fun to be around. She was the female version of my Dad - and although I never knew my grandpa - I was told he was the same way too. She will be missed. My parents are now the only surviving siblings from their families.

We also had two weddings this month - both lots of fun. One was in Houma and one in Point Clear, Alabama. The Alabama one was very memorable to say the least. I went with two girlfriends and stayed at the Grand Marriot Resort - what a great place to stay. The grounds were beautiful - right on the bay - and there was lots of activities planned - croquette - bike riding - kayaking. One of my friends said it was like being in the Dirty Dancing Movie. The rehersal supper Friday night was held at Five Rivers Resort - lots of fun and delicious food. Saturday we took a short walk along the bay to a beautiful old home where we had shrimp and grits and mimosas under the oaks with of course the beautiful bay views. The dessert was apple cake with candied pecans and caramel sauce. WOW!!! The wedding was at the Grand Saturday night. Highlights were the appletini's (which were the exact lime green as the bridesmaids dresses), the food, the awesome band, dancing and - get ready for this - the fireworks!!! Yes - fireworks - over the bay - un be lie ve able!!! We were all astonished - then our friend confided in us about the cost of the wedding. I'm not going to put it in the post - but I would say it's easily 10 times the cost of any wedding I've ever been too. The mother of the groom is a very close friend - and we had so much fun dancing and enjoying a few cocktails. After the wedding we sat in until the wee hours of the morning on a swing overlooking the bay laughing about old times. Sunday morning we had breakfast in a great little cafe in Fairhope before heading home. What a great area - I will visit there more often!

It's been a while...

I just reread my blog and realized it's been a while - so here goes.

The crawfish etouffee festival was delicious. We met Janice and Lige there - Kristin, Scott & friends had a booth so we hung out there. We tasted lots of delicious varieties of etouffee and listened to cajun music. The day was spectacular - cool and sunny (although I did get sunburnt!). We had lots of fun and hope to make this an annual event.

One of my friends and I (Sharon) headed to Baton Rouge on a Saturday to eat at Sangria's and do a little shopping. We explored bead and pottery stores on the way there (I resisted the pottery although I was tempted) and hit the sales at Ann Taylor Loft. It was a great girls day - good being with you Sharon!

Nothing is better than being with family - and that's just how Easter was this year. Angelle, Mike, Leah and Erin arrived on Friday and we spent the day eating and relaxing. Gee had planned on getting a blow up pool for the kids but we decided to improvise instead and filled a boat we had with water and had a boat pool! The girls loved it! We took a family photo at a local photographer's (our Christmas present from the kids - great idea!) and had a delicious meal of steaks, potatoes, asparagus, and strawberry pie! My husband is the best cook!!! We then spent the afternoon visiting, playing with the kids, and just enjoying being together as a family. We are so seldom all together that those times are even more precious - each moment treasured. Easter Sunday was crazy with Gee's family here - lots of people and lots of fun - and MORE FOOD!!! I am so full!!! Monday we went took Daddy's boat to Lake Decade and Leah tried fishing while Erin explored the boat and everything in it. Tuesday we drove to Baton Rouge to eat at Sangria's. We took a side trip to see Mike the Tiger also.

MarchAprilMay

I love it when the third nine weeks ends and we are in the last stretch of school! We have three weeks of testing this nine weeks - so that only means 6 weeks of therapy. Just about all of my students are where I want them to be so progress has been good. We also have an Americal Idol contest going on - each week we predict who is being voted off and we keep track of who predicts correctly. Right now we all have 0 points!

Last week I went with my GRITS friends to paint a picture at a local framing store. We painted Fleur de lies! It was fun - although it was more like coloring with oil paints that true painting. Mine is decent although I wish I had some more paint to work on it. My Mom always used to say her painting wasn't finished - now I know what she means - although my ability is no where near hers! I wouldn't mind trying another one!

Gee and I spent last weekend cleaning the garage and planting flowers/veggies. It was a beautiful weekend and we really enjoyed being outside. Daddy and Gee ran the crawfish pond on Sunday - they caught a few and boiled them at Mom and Dad's. Gee also ran it this week but we think someone ran it before us so we didn't get very many. So Gee cooked steaks instead - yum!!!

Sangria's is the best ever!!!

Well I must say I that the food I ate at Sangria's Restaurant is the best food I've had in a long time! We were treated to a palatal feast - san pedrito, brisket burritos, sangria special salad,
camerones de diablo, lime pie - we had so many delicious samples. Mmmmmmmmmm. Another successful gourmet with good friends, good food, good drinks!!! If you haven't been there - go now!!! I wish I could!!! Check out website

http://sangriagrillandbar.com/index.html

Friday night was a good time also - Brittany, Jimmy, Zac, Jenna, Gee and I saw Cirque du Soleil - Saltimbanco - in Baton Rouge. This was my second Cirque performance and I was not disappointed - it was outstanding. We went to Sangria's before and after - love the white Sangria. We spent the night at Zac's and played with Brie - she is precious and a bundle of energy. It was nice to spend time with the kids.

Pumped!!!

Body pump classes are finally getting easier - and I increased my weights! I'm still a light weight compared to some of the others in the class but it does feel good to be past the beginning - constantly sore - wondering if I should be doing this - stage. My only problem are lunges. Do to old age (yes I am briefly admitting it) I have a wierd foot problem and can't do lunges (woohoo). But - all other exercises are good to go!!!

Last Sunday we went to John's viewing stands on the parade route on Veterans. I'm impressed! The stands are huge and a large part of it is covered. There was lots of room to stand, sit, or whatever. We stayed for two parades and in between I went with Britt and Jimmy to meet Jack and Sam - their new kittens. They were so cute - and of course loved their Mimi. We had lots of fun being with the family and enjoying the parade - even saw Dave and Lige on the float!!!

I am so ready for a few days off next week - and so are the kids. Mardi Gras has them hyped up and the atmosphere at school is a little crazy. We all need a break - two more days!

Time to watch the end of American Idol so I can see who they kept...

Weekend Fun

Gee and I had such a fun and relaxing weekend. Friday night was my dad's birthday and we had a party for him with family and friends. Gail's gumbo was awesome and I think he really enjoyed his presents. It was nice to see my family - we just don't do that often enough.

Saturday morning we left for Lafayette. It was Kayla's 21st birthday so Janice and Lige had a crawfish boil in her honor. It was a beautiful day with high's in the 70's (my favorite temperature!) and we had a great time visiting and meeting Kayla's friends. Most of us ended up at the Tap Room later that night - including Zac and several of his friends. It's really nice- has a very upscale feeling and tons of people were there. It's located in River Ranch - a beautiful community - sort of a town within a town.

Some of you may know that Gee and I have terrible luck in hotels - we ALWAYS end up by the noisy people and we never get much sleep. Well Gee and I are telling Zac about some of our experiences as we are walking to our room and what do we hear but a room full of people laughing and talking really loud. And the closer we get to our room the louder it gets. They were right next door - unbelieveable! - not again! So we decided that if they didn't settle down that night we were going to complain. Well it ended up being fine and we were able to sleep - but really - of all the luck!

Sunday we went to Bass Pro Shop in Denhim Springs. I've been to several of these stores but never one like this one. It's huge - way bigger that any I've ever seen and absolutely beautiful inside. It was like being outdoors! I didn't look at much of the merchandise - I couldn't get over the building! We didn't buy anything but we did have fun. We also went through a few antique shops - I bought a pretty blue glass bowl for $6.50 and we bought a bay leaf tree at a nursery - Gee has been wanting one - now all we need is the crawfish!

So our weekend was the greatest - my husband is the greatest - and now - time to read my book! Bye!

I Love Ribs!!!!

Angelle was right - ribs in the crock pot are awesome! Here's what Gee did:

For two racks of ribs - serves 4:

Mix together 1 small bottle paprika, 2 TBS white sugar, 1 tsp onion powder, salt and pepper. Rub on raw ribs and place in a ziploc bag to marinate 4-6 hours or overnight. This is a receipe from the Neely's I believe - and actually we only marinated ours for about and hour and an half. Gee also added a little BBQ sauce to the bag - just use your favorite.

Place in a crock pot on high for 5 hours. Slice, resauce, and put back in crock pot for another hour to hour and a half or until tender. YUM!!! Enjoy!