Pure Joy

Can I just go ahead and get it out?

I don't enjoy all the mushy Mother's Day 

sentiments that well meaning people saturate 

every social network out there with.

It's so cheesy.

Oh! & I have the worse time in the Hallmark aisle 

reading all those silly cards.

Can't we just use the same card every year?

If the card was good last year

can't we use it again?

Now that I got that out of my system...

Happy Mother's Day!

Aren't they just lovely!?

My Mother's Day began early.

I received different Shutterfly gifts all week.

D&D sent family pictures and gifts each day.

Oh the thrill when that UPS man tooted his horn every day!

My very own mother mailed me a huge package 

filled with amazing presents.

An old rolling pin I adore.

Did I tell you that I collect rolling pins?

A huge box of Starbucks Keurig coffee.

A mirrored jewelry box to adorn my new bedroom scheme.

Makeup & jewelry.

She just knows me.

We shall talk about her some more in a minute.

The BIG surprise came Saturday morning.

Mark had to run and "errand" 

and did he return home with my daughter?!

Yes!

She flew all the way from Florida!!

She surprised me and is spending a few days with me.

Nothing could thrill me more.

My heart is full.

Oh how I love my girl.

To my beautiful Danielle,

I am so proud of you and the wonderful mother that you are.

You surprise me every day with the wisdom you bestow in raising those precious kids.

I couldn't choose a better DIL.

Happy Mothers Day to my Mother-in-law.

I am blessed beyond measure and treasure 

your friendship and our relationship.

To my sweet mother,

I am so thankful for you. 

I wanted to make you a video blog 

to let you know

what an amazing mom you are 

and how much I truly love you.

(Click once on the arrow Mom)

To all you moms,

Happy Mother's Day!

(could that be any cheesier?)

It's Whats For Dinner

What the crud?!

We are going through one of those stages in life 

where everything seems to be breaking.

My Whirlpool refrigerator that I purchased barely 7 months ago just decided to quit cooling.

Our internet wasn't working but the nice looking Surewest man came out and fixed it. 

Did I say nice looking? I mean the nice young man.

The air conditioner isn't cooling. 

Luckily, we rent so it's the landlords responsibility.

That doesn't make sleeping 

in the 78 degree bedroom any easier.

The garage door won't go up. Once again... landlord.

I might add that he seems to be a very busy person 

and hard to get a hold of.

Then, our duplex in Florida that we have rented out has an air conditioner which is 30 years old and needs to be replaced. 

We are very blessed that it has lasted this long.

I feel much better now that I have vented to you.

I know, there there now.

On to more important matters at hand.

I saw a recipe on Pinterest 

which looked killer.

It involves onion rings which are baked.

I didn't think it was possible 

but I tried them and they are really good. 

Mark even liked them.

Of course, he likes anything I make.

I think he is just happy that I cook.

I do love the man.

I could go a step-by-step & show you how I did it but wouldn't it just make much better sense to supply you with the link.

I tend to be a "just the facts" kinda girl & would probably leave out some important detail.

I think the key is to soak the sliced onions 

in buttermilk overnight. 

They were so tender and sweet.

I only did one very large onion 

and it was more than enough for us.

They turned out crunchy.

I (Josh) also grilled out some mahi tuna steaks.

I made cheese grits which 

out of the whole dinner was my favorite. 

You never know about the recipes that you find on Pinterest so I thought you'd like to know that if you are in the mood for onion rings, this is a good option to deep frying.

Sally's pictures are much better because I think she is a professional food blogger 

and I'm just a person who needs to talk.

Gotta run.

The Whirlpool man just drove up.

Oy-vey! He's dorky.

Little League

Elijah, Kacey & Dani Mae 

are on the Mud Cats.

The score isn't kept but if you ask

Elijah following the game,

I'm sure he can let you know.

Dani is getting ready to hit one out of the park.

Go Dani!

I asked her after the game if she was digging a hole in the outfield and she showed me how if you keep kicking in the dirt

a hole will appear.

That's my girl!

Elijah has mad skills.

Technically, they don't have "outs" but 

he knows when he tags that bag that kid is out whether or not

they let him stay on the base.

He earned the "game ball."

Kacey is hitting great.

She runs fast.

Mark it down,

She is a future All-Star!

The best part of the whole game 

is whatever the team mom 

has planned following the game. 

The real entertainment 

comes from this life of the party.

Oh Abi...

I do love you!

Seems like yesterday

I was hanging out with my kids at the ball park.

Where did the time go?

Sigh

Cinco De Mayo

Happy Cinco De Mayo to you!

I was raised in Miami and grew up 

thinking Cinco De Mayo 

was all about Cuban food and partying.

Moving to New Mexico last year 

educated me that it is actually a Mexican holiday.

I'm ready to celebrate any holiday. 

If a party is involved, 

count me in.

Yes, I am Irish in March.

In honor 

of the occasion...

I slow cooked 

a pork roast that was bathed in

Mojo Criollo.

If you haven't tried it,

I highly recommend it.

All I do is spice my meat with salt, pepper & garlic and then dump half the bottle of Mojo on top.

Crock it all day long.

Then just before you are ready,

pull apart your pork.

We like to eat ours on a hoagie style roll.

You will want to slap your momma

it's so good.

(Maybe not this week)

I also made some Mexican rice and refried beans.

My photo looked like Ken-L ration 

so I decided to spare you. 

It was good.

For dessert,

I made a pound cake.

You know what goes good with pound cake,

don't you?!

And! If that weren't enough sugar and deliciousness,

I mixed up some Piña Colada's & frozen daiquiris.

I guess that 9 mile bike ride I did this morning

counts for nothing after all this.

Oh well,

I love you all my Cuban-Mexican-Hispanic friends!

Bedroom Makeover

Mom flew home with me from my "Spring Break" in Florida.

I begged and pleaded and she finally caved.

There are no words for how much fun we have.

You see,

the truth is...

we are both lunatics!

We laughed for 5 days straight. 

When we weren't laughing,

we were shopping.

There were yard sales everywhere.

I'm not exaggerating either.

There were so many community yard sales that we couldn't go to all of them but oh the fun we had!

We found a gorgeous antique dresser that I had to have and that is where it all began.

It was going to be for the guest room 

but the more we thought about it, 

the more it became obvious 

that it belonged in my room.

This dresser began the adventure.
(Please excuse the iPhone pictures.)

We painted it white.

By "we," 

I mean Mark & my dad.

 Then we found this sign at Hobby Lobby.
I love Hobby Lobby.
I knew the second I saw it that it was mine.

Mom made a flower arrangement that I adore.

I found Susan at Home Goods.
She makes me happy.

I've been putting off my room forever.

I couldn't figure out what I liked.

After the dresser,

it all came together.

I am looking for a bed.
I think a 4 poster bed is what I need.
We shall see.

I have some more to do
like frame a picture I bought and frame a mirror that I found at a yard sale for 50 cents.

I will share the rest with you as soon as I get it done.

I keep going upstairs just to look at my room.
It just makes me happy.

Never in a million would I have guessed that I'd go with white.
Go figure!

Hope you are having a wonderful day and that the sun is shining brightly in your world.

Our Easter

Where do I begin?

I have had the most fun in the last few weeks.

I have so much to share but it will have to be in increments because I have had some jam-packed days.

I hope you had a wonderful Easter.

This year seemed a little more special for me.

I don't know why,

maybe I had more time to spend seeking Him.

I'm so thankful for Jesus

& His perfect plan. 

I love Him dearly!

Kristen & I spent Easter Eve with my bff, Theresa.

Theresa has the gift of making everything special and fun.

We have been friends since the early 90's.

I can't imagine life without her.

I need to blog about her Plantation style home one day.

It is in south Georgia and gorgeous!

We spent the night, went to church with her on Easter & had the most delicious dinner with her family.

Thanks TK! Let's make it an annual tradition.

The afternoon was spent watching my 4 favorite grandkids hunt for eggs. Actually, there were so many eggs that hunting wasn't necessary.

When I was a child, 

I believe mom hid a dozen hard-boiled eggs.

Seems like my older brother always found them.

Did we eat them things?

I don't remember.

Thank you China for cheap plastic eggs

so we can now carpet the front yard 

with colorful happiness.

Abi was thrilled with each egg she found.

 Eli found the "golden egg".

He's a genius.

I snapped a gazillion pics of Kacey because it was my first time seeing her haircut and I can't get over how adorable she is.

We spent the remainder of the day

by the pool & watching the kids.

I can't think of anything better!

I'm so blessed.

Washington

Mark has been working in DC all week so I took the opportunity to join him.

I'm always up for a trip.

This was the view out our hotel window.

We were a block away from the White House. 

It truly is beautiful.

I found this little seafood treasure on this trip.

It is where the locals go and man oh man,

it was so good.

This is the view while we ate.

We walked around the Potomac 

and viewed the remaining cheery tree blossoms.

We were about a week late from the peak 

but it was still beautiful. 

I don't know what kind of tree this is.

Tulips are randomly planted everywhere.

I spent the week walking through several 

museums and landmarks.

I walked for hours each day.

We spent our last evening at a Nationals baseball game.

If Mark can fit a ballgame in,

he is a happy man.

The Nationals played St. Louis.

I can't believe the week has already come and gone.

From DC, 

I'm headed to Florida to spend Easter with family.

Hope you have a wonderful Easter.