Crawfish Boil

We went to our Sunday School Party yesterday afternoon/evening. It was a crawfish boil. We all had a wonderful time and the food was just WONDERFUL!

Here are just a small portion of those poor helpless crawfish that are soon to be gobbled up by all. Boy, don't they just look delicious?

Here are the vegetables and sausages that were also boiled.

And out they come. At least round #1 of them. I think that they cooked 2 to 3 more rounds of them.

They are ready to be enjoyed.

Like any party all the men were out in the yard either helping with the cooking or just talking up a storm while the women were back under the carport sitting down gabbing away.

Here is the plate that Andy and I shared before we dived in. Boy, just looking at this is making my mouth water. I think we filled up that plate quite a few times before we called it quits.

One finished plate and two very happy people with full bellies.

Remember the picture from "Sunday Skies"? Well here is a look at the building looking inside of it. This is the old kitchen that was on the plantation. It was amazing to look in there but we couldn't go inside as it wasn't safe.

Here is a view of the front of the house. We were at one of our members house from Sunday School and it is an old plantation house. Some of what she was telling us as we got to tour her house was that it used to be used back in the Civil War as an old hospital (if I remember correctly). Yes, there are slaves buried in the back and yes, it is haunted. Last year the day after Halloween she told us that they woke up to all the cabinets opened in her kitchen!

It was a wonderful time and I hadn't realized how much I was enjoying myself until it was time to go home. Our wonderful friends down the street from us kept Sam and we needed to go and relieve them and get him home and ready for bed. I really didn't want to leave. There will be more though and I can't wait.

Sunday Skies

These two pictures were taken out on an old plantation. The building you are seeing is the old kitchen. I'll write more tomorrow about why we were out there but for now enjoy the pictures and I'm going to go sit with hubby before it's bedtime.

8 Things

8 Things Meme

I've been tagged! Camera Obscura tagged me with this Meme last Thursday and I am finally getting around to participating in it.

Here are the rules:

-Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

-People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
-At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
-Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

So here it goes:

1. I am 4' 11" tall but I can sit taller than my sister that is taller than me. Her legs are longer and my torso is longer. Go figure.


2. I love to do anything crafty. As if you didn't already know that. Doing things with my hands and creating is what I love to do and there is still much more out there that I still want to learn how to do.

3. I was born on my grandfather's birthday and my niece was born on my birthday the year that he passed away.

4. I come from a very close-knit family. In fact I consider myself very blessed in the fact that my parents are still together.

5. I have lived in 17 different places. Now some of these are repeat cities just different locations within those cities. So...moving is almost second nature to me but I still consider it a pain in the you know what to do.

6. My sons feet are almost as big as mine and he just turned 7! YIKES!

7. I really don't like to do the laundry as it seem to never end. Every time I think I am finally ahead it peeks its head around the corner from its hiding place and says "Boo".

8. I hate spiders. Love what they do outside but still can't stand them.

Now who to tag....I probably don't have 8 people to tag so if you would like to participate then go right ahead. Here is who I am encouraging to participate:

1. Tales of Grace

2. MO Treatman Family

3. Mind Your P's and Q's

Gas Costs What???

Okay...this first picture is a bit blurry...sorry about that. Taking these pictures on Friday all started because when I went in to Albertson's to do some grocery shopping the gas had just gone up to $2.97. When I came out maybe 15 minutes later it had gone up to $2.99!

I go driving down the street heading towards Wal-Mart and I see this on! I was in total shock! It says $3.09!!!
Get to Wal-Mart and see that they are still at $2.99. Okay...a bit better considering that you can go into Wal-Mart, get a gift card, put money on it, and then take it to the gas station where you can get three cents off per gallon. This would take it down to $2.96. Now today, Saturday, when I went there to purchase some birthday presents for the upcoming 4 birthday parties that Sam has been invited to I was that their gas was already up to $3.05! Oh my gosh!
This one was also taken on Friday as I was headed home. And to think that we are not the highest. Oh, and also today I saw one at $3.11.

Friday's Feast is Served!

Appetizer: List 3 emotions you experienced this week.

#1. Frustrated. Mainly because I haven't been able to get the sleep I need this week.
#2. Excited. Watching my son play soccer last night. Almost lost my voice as I was cheering them on.
#3. Proud. When my son brought home his test papers from last week and they were all A's.

Soup: Name a car you’d love to have.
I would like to have my Minivan back first of all. Then I'll take my cherry red 1967 Mustang convertible or a cherry red Porche convertible.

Salad: Describe your typical morning routine.
Pretty boring, but here it is: I get up around 6:30, get dressed, go to the kitchen, start either coffee or make myself something else to drink, get my sons uniform ready for him to put on, turn on the TV and watch some of the morning news, wake my son up and bring him to the kitchen so that he can get dressed and I can take his "breakfast order", fix breakfast, serve breakfast, go over spelling and vocabulary words while he eats his breakfast, make sure that his backpack is packed and ready to go, take son outside the front door to wait for the bus together, give him a hug and a kiss and send him across the street to get on the bus. This all takes us up to about 7:40. Then I feed the cats and put the dogs outside along with getting myself some breakfast. I will usually go and turn on the computer and check my emails then start on whatever I had planned for that day.

Main Course: Have you ever emailed someone famous? If so, who, and what did you say to them? Did they reply?
Never emailed someone famous.

Dessert: Do you listen to podcasts? If so, which ones?
Nope but sometimes I would like to.

No Sleep For Me Lately...

Don't know why but for the past few days or should I say nights I haven't been sleeping well. In fact I have had to go back to bed the past couple of mornings after I have gotten Sam off to school just to catch up on the sleep that I am missing. This morning was the worse morning so far. My muscles ached more than they have in a long time. I know it's because I'm not getting the required sleep that I need for them to heal properly at night but I just can't seem to get into that deep sleep. I can go to sleep but it's not that deep REM sleep that is needed. This morning and yesterday morning when I went back to bed I ended up sleeping until 11:00! That is not like me at all.

I did go for a bike ride with Andy and Sam after Sam got home from school (Andy's idea) and it seemed to help quite a bit. Hopefully tonight will be much better.

Blogiversary!

It's my blogs birthday today. Thought I was going to get this post up earlier today but it just didn't happen. I went back through and looked at all my posts. I've posted 136 times but I really didn't start actively posting until Dec 31, 2006. I have 174 comments on these posts. During this past year I've also walked (and now have biked) a total of 161.5 miles. Andy and I purchased new bikes for us a few weeks back. More on that later. We moved to Louisiana this past year which was a big move for all of us. We've been through a tornado, my parents and other loved ones have been through a terrible ice storm. We have had several visits back up to MO and my parents have made it down here to visit.

I have really enjoyed doing my blog as it has given me a time to reflect on what is going on in our lives. It is also fun to look back at what has happened. I enjoy sharing it all with you. I looked at a picture that I took last year at Sam's soccer game and wow has he ever changed! Here take a look:

And this is him now:

Yesterday was Mother's Day and I got the most wonderful present today. To some it may not seem like much but to me it was just perfect. My two guys washed my car for me. It has probably been over a year since it has been washed. So they got out there and scrubbed away. Take a look:

They went from washing the car to Sam riding his bike while Andy finished up and then sprayed him as he rode by.

All in all it's been a pretty good year. I'm looking to many more years posting on my blog. I also encourage all of you to start one. See what happens!

Sunday Skies

When we arrived at church this afternoon for the rehearsal of the children's musical I took these picture of the clouds over and around our church. They were just beautiful.

Center Pull Ball & Other Stuff

Okay...I may be behind in learning how to do this but I finally did. Yesterday I learned how to make a center pull ball with the yarn I was going to use. It was quite easy. In fact I think I'll do it from now on because it makes the yarn so much easier to use. Here is a picture of it.

Last Tuesday before the rains came and cancelled Sam's soccer game he made a make shift fort out of an umbrella. He was so proud of it and wanted me to come and look. Of course, I had to get my camera first. Since it was getting dark he also had a flashlight with him.

Today Sam had his sixth soccer game. They won 2-1. So that makes their record 4-2. They have their make-up of their make-up game this coming Thursday but Sam won't be able to attend as he is attending his last Pack meeting with his Tiger Cubs. He's a bit disappointed but he'll live. His last soccer game will be next Saturday.

After his soccer game today we took him over to Lowe's to their children's workshop. He got to build a Herb Planter. He did really well and we already have Basil and Oregano planted in it and it's sitting in our kitchen window. He did so well that while they were waiting for the potting soil he and his best friend helped the lady that was running it build hers. And of course I took pictures.

Friday's Feast is Served!

Appetizer: Tell about a time when you had to be brave.

I really can't think of a time where I had to be brave. Now we will have a time coming up where Sam will have to have a small surgery and I know that I'll have to show him and act brave for him.

Soup: Which upcoming movie are you excited about seeing?

Well that is a no brainer question for me. It would have to be Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Count down is posted to the left.

And of course there is also Shrek the Third.

Salad: Name an item you try to always have on hand.

At this time of year and living where it is hot and moist it would have to be two things. #1 would be sunscreen. #2 would be bug spray.

And of course I try to have my camera with me at all times as you never know when you will want to take that picture and don't want to say, "Gee, I really wish I had remembered to bring my camera along with me."

Main Course: Imagine the most relaxing room you can think of. Now describe it!

Quiet. Soft colors. Big squishy pillows on either a couch or a bed. Large french doors over looking the ocean. Flowing curtains hang to the side of the open doors. Me there with loved ones having a good time or just me relaxing.

Dessert: On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being highest), how spiritual or religious are you?

To me one is always working to get closer to God. I would have to say that I'm still a child. I'll put myself on this scale at about a 7.

Updates On This And That

Sam's soccer game last night was cancelled due to the downpour of rain that we received here. They rescheduled it for tomorrow evening but then again I don't know if that will happen or not. We have a 50% chance of storms tomorrow evening. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Of course the rain that we got was nothing compared to what everyone in MO and KS received. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone that is going through the flooding. If you haven't been watching this on the news click here.

Well my first sock had to be started over because I didn't like the length that I had chosen for it. Luckily I hadn't gotten that far along on it. I'm hoping to finish my first one soon so that I can start the second sock and then I can say that I have finished my first pair!

Guess I better get off of here and go tuck Sam into bed for the night. He's had a pretty busy week and it's only halfway over.

Lambs are Miniature Poodles!?!?

Click the picture above to read an article written by Virginia Wheeler of The Sun Newspaper of the UK. I saw this on the blog Knit This Too and had to share it with everyone.

*Update...Thanks to Marigold for letting me know that this was actually a hoax pulled on the newspaper.

Sam's First Night Game

Here are two pictures that I took at Sam's first night game. They won 2-1. So now their record is 3-2. They have another night game tomorrow night then just two more Saturday games. The first picture I took of Sam throwing the ball back in and the second one was of the sunset after the game. As usual you can click on the pictures to make them bigger.

Sunday Skies

Beautiful day today. Right now it is almost 5pm and it is 87 degrees F and there is a feels like of 93 degrees F. The highest I saw it as far as the feels like was 96 degrees F but there is a nice SE breeze blowing today around 10mph.

Soccer

Here are the pictures that I took while the professional photographer was taking the pictures that I am going to purchase. I'm hoping that the ones that she took of him individually were of him smiling (with teeth showing) and not like these. If so...oh well...they still look good. I king of like the one of him leaning forward. Here are also a couple I got of the whole team. He is on a great team this year and has a wonderful coach. So far after only 4 games they are 2-2. The last two games they won with the score being 5-1 and this past Saturday 5-2. They are very proud of these last two wins mainly because they have finally started working as a team and have been listening to their coach. Sam plays goalie for the first and third quarter and then is a reliever in the second and fourth quarters. Sam has a his first ever night game this Monday and Tuesday. Then two more Saturday games after that. Then the season will be over and it will be on to baseball. Which Andy will be one of the assistant coaches along with his current soccer coach being the head coach. Sam, of course, is pretty excited about this. So in the evenings not only have we been practicing blocking the soccer balls as I kick them to him but we have also been practicing hitting the baseball. He's getting pretty darn good at that too. In fact the other evening when Andy and I were both outside with Sam and working on his hitting I took a turn at hitting and I hit a ball right back at Andy and hit him on his glasses whacking them out of alignment. Oops!

Friday's Feast is Served!

Appetizer: Name something you would not want to own.

I do not want a pet spider!!!!!! Can't stand them and I hope that Sam doesn't ever want one.

Soup: Describe your hair (texture, color, length, etc.).

My hair is brown with high and low lights in it. Past my shoulders and cut in long layers.

Salad: Finish this sentence: I’ll never forget ___________.

I'll never forget the day that we saw Sam for the first time. We went over to his foster parents house not knowing what to expect and there he was. The child that we were going to adopt. He was such a beautiful baby. I got to hold him, play with him and feed him that day. Then we had to leave and wait almost a full month before I could hold him again. That was probably one of the longer months of my life.

Main Course: Which famous person would you like to be for one day? Why?

I honestly can't think of one person that I would want to be for a day right now....but can I have the money that they would make in one day and not have to return it??? Now that would be nice.

Dessert: Write one sentence about yourself that includes one thing that is true and another thing that is not.

I am a very happy person most of the time and I am 6 feet tall.

First Sock Update

As promised here are the more up to date pictures of my very first sock. So far so good! I'm really enjoying working on this as it seems to be going pretty quickly.

Travelling Scarf

Here is an update on the Travelling Scarf project I'm participating in. What is turning out to be a really nice outcome of this project is that I'm trying to learn a new stitch with each one I work on. So it is not only fun to see each scarf that comes through but I'm also learning at the same time. I really can't wait to see mine once it comes back home.

Here are some pictures of the last two scarves I've worked on. I took two pictures of each. One showing the whole scarf as it is now and then one closer up on the area I knitted. As usual...just click on one to see a close up image.


These two pictures are of the second scarf I worked on. I learned how to do a basket weave type stitch and it was fun and easy to do.


This was actually the first scarf that arrived here and it was the one that took me the longest to work on. I started it at my parents house while I was up there with Sam on his spring break. It was a more difficult stitch for me to learn but it was fun and I'm glad that I took the time to learn it.

Catching Up

I have finally started my first sock. I started it last week and Sam's soccer practice and I've been mainly working on it at his practices. Maybe I'll call them my soccer socks. Of course true to me being me I am already changing the pattern even though I've never done this before. I want to make it an ankle sock. I'm further along than this picture. I'll try to remember to take another picture of it later today. I'm already making the heal flap.

These two aren't the greatest pictures but I wanted to show you how close the B52's practice to Sam's soccer practice. It's fun to watch them flying around here every day.

This last picture was taken last week after the above soccer practice. I was the "leader" for the meeting and I had scheduled a tour of the local fire department. I was told it would last roughly 30 minutes which meant that I had to come up with something to do with them for another 30 minutes. Well to my surprise the tour actually lasted the full hour and it was just great! In fact the boys got to see the fire truck to out on a call to rescue a dog that had gotten up into an attic and had fallen down between the walls. Then not much later the ambulance was called out. Luckily they were able to go into the ambulance and get a tour of it before it was called out. This fire department is located across the street from Sam's school and is also a training center so we get to see them practicing putting out fire's quite often. Which of course Sam loves to watch. It was a wonderful , very exciting and informative meeting.



In just a little bit I'll be off to my last bible study. I'm kind of sad to see it end. It has been a good one. I'll try to summarize it later. We are talking about keeping this group going and picking out another study to do.



As usual...remember that you can click on the pictures to see them bigger.