Take a Break with Trisha Ray

Granny

2012-02-07T16:54:00.002-06:00

We are in the process of cleaning out our attic and other storage areas in our house. We are having a Community Giveaway at our church on Saturday and this is a great excuse to do some purging and reorganizing.

I found some great pictures of my Granny Eastwood today. I've posted more on our Rayality blog, so go on over and check them out.

Now that I am a Grandma, I can appreciate all the little things that she did for me to make me feel special. I hope I can always make Lyric feel as special!

It's been a year!

2012-02-04T17:26:00.003-06:00

Well the great thing about waiting a year to post, is that you can pretty much repeat last year's events!

It's almost time to wish Brittany and Justin a Happy "2nd" Anniversary! Where does the time go?

It's been a busy and eventful year for us and we are so blessed by our new little family addition, that I can hardly find time for anything else.

But.....time keeps marching on and before you know it, we will be celebrating Lyric's 1st birthday!

In the meantime, Brittany asked me to join her in a blogging venture. She wanted to include all of the "Ray" girls, so that we could document our interest and adventures. Our new blog is called "Rayality."

I will continue to have this blog and update it from time to time. But come on over and see what we are up too....a lot of tweeking to still do and we are hoping to have guest bloggers as well.

www.rayalityblog.blogspot.com

Peace ~

Trisha

Happy Anniversary - Justin and Brittany!

2011-02-25T16:31:00.002-06:00

Hard to believe that it has been one year since our trip to Savannah, for Brittany and Justin's destination wedding. I still haven't gotten prints from Ashley's wedding printed and framed. Brittany did make me photo books of both weddings for my Christmas present this year. Before the end of March, it is my goal to have pictures printed, framed and hung throughout the house.....they have to find their space on the wall before my baby comes in August....after that, I'm sure it will be all about her...or him.
Happy Anniversay!

2011-02-14T14:16:00.002-06:00

I love these old vintage Valentine's Day cards. My mom used to save my "mailboxes" that we made in school that was full of valentines. She had them in a drawer in her bedroom. For years, I remember sitting in the floor looking at them over and over and over. I guess she threw them out when they moved to Southern Illinois. I do have some old post cards from the early 1900's that belonged to my Great Grandmother. I keep them displayed in a book and there are some cute Valentine cards in there...I wish I would have scanned one for today.

I always send my little great nephews special cards on holidays. For Valentine's Day, I put in some stickers and two dollar bills....I know, big spender....but hey there are seven of those little guys!! In my haste, I forgot to put the dollar bills in Jaron's card. I don't know if one of the other guys got four dollars, or if I just miscalculated. Poor Jaron, I will have to do something extra special in his Easter Card!

I sent a card to Brittany and Justin and my Mom and Dad. I put a card out by Terry's coffee pot before I left today and Terry is going to put Ashley and Jose's card in their mailbox before he leaves for the day. Terry also picked up our grand baby a little card....it says to a "Sweet Little Lady"....so he is on "team girl" too! I bought the baby a Golden Book...Poky Little Puppy, a classic to help start her/his library.

So, who cares if this is just a made up holiday - a way for the greeting card company to make money....I say, hurray for a day that encourages us to share the love!!

Happy Valentine's day to all.

A day of paradox

2011-01-13T15:01:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was the 4th anniversary of my brother's untimely death. For the last three years I had a box in my bedroom that sat next to my computer....in that box was the notepad that I was scribbling information and numbers on as I received the news. I never used that notepad again, but over the last three years, I would get it out and read over my scribbles and remember my emotions.

Most of all, I was concerned for my parents. I had to make the call to them, then I had to get to Houston to take care of my brother's things...then I had to get back home and pack and get to Illinois as quick as I could, to be with my parents. Looking back now, I don't know how I did it, how it all worked out...but it did and time has past and life goes on.

Yesterday, I heard the heartbeat of my grand baby. Ashley had a doctor's appointment and went alone. How surprised I was when I got a text message and it was the audio of the heartbeat. Her doctor recorded it on Ashley's iPhone and she sent it to us.

Even though the day reminded me of a time of loss, how quickly my emotions changed when presented with the sign of life.

The bible is full of paradox, our lives are full of paradox.....I find it exciting to know that things change, for the good and for the bad, we never know what our day will hold. We do know this....God is unchanging and He holds our days.

To celebrate, I took Ashley out for dinner! I snapped this picture at the table, I can't help but see her as my "little" girl here.

New Year Wedding

2011-01-12T12:50:00.002-06:00

Ashley made a beautiful bridesmaid for Jose's sister's wedding this past Saturday.
The wedding took place at the same plantation that Ashley and Jose had their reception at. Since their wedding, the plantation owners have built an outdoor cathedral. It is just beautiful. The weather was perfect...just a little cool.

Ashley and Jose during the recessional.

The cute couple - Monica and Jonathan Guzeman. They are enjoying the warm weather in Florida this week for their honeymoon.

I enjoyed the wedding, so glad that I could just sit and enjoy.......I'm still a little on edge from having to plan two weddings in a row. My final "to do" is still not finished from both weddings! That is ordering pictures to be framed and hung. I have had all the 4x6 pics from Ashley's wedding printed, but not put in albums. Still need to decide which ones to have printed larger and framed.

I have not had any of Brittany's printed yet. So that is my first project for this year. Brittany did give me great hardbound books of each wedding and small softbound books for Christmas. They are beautiful. Thanks Brittany!!

Dogs love Christmas too!

2011-01-04T13:14:00.005-06:00

There is Cooper! He is such a sweet boy - he absolutely loved helping us host our family and our grand-doggers. He was so sad when everyone left.
Penelope loved all of her gifts, but she is rather territorial. At her house, she literally sat by her stocking, every waking moment, guarding it from the other dogs....and none of the other dogs wanted her stuff. Ashley had to finally take it down and put it away, to give her peace of mind. Here she is on Christmas morning at our house, as her gifts were opened, she would lay on them to guard them. The blanket was from me, the toy from Ashley and the outfit from Brittany and Justin.

Bella is not as territorial, but she did like her new blanket.

Cooper was checking out one of his gifts and Penelope was making sure her name wasn't on the tag! Benny loved gifts too and we have cute video footage of him opening his gifts. He was so cute, he would tear off all the paper.

No more gifts Cooper....you opened them all!

After opening gifts, we started making dinner. It was a casual dinner, as far as our place settings, but it was a really good dinner. I mean if you are going to be eating in your pajamas at 5:00 p.m., I wasn't too worried about making the table all fancy!

We had spiral ham, a boneless shrimp stuffed turkey, scalloped sweet potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes, corn souffle, baked beans, broccoli salad, stuffed artichoke, deviled eggs and rolls. It was really good and we had leftovers for a couple of days.....love leftovers!

These pictures were taken the day after Christmas, when we finally decided to get dressed. We were on our way to church.

Christmas Morning

2011-01-03T14:39:00.003-06:00

Christmas found me back in the kitchen. I made us a quick breakfast and we waited for the kids to come over. The great thing about grown children, you don't have to get up super early on Christmas morning. Brittany and Justin stayed with Ashley and Jose, next door. When they got up, they sat around Ashley's tree and opened their stockings to one another (the spouses). While I was next door at our house preparing a breakfast.

I made canned cinnamon rolls in the shape of a tree and tinted the frosting green....I think I would have rather kept it white and put green sprinkles on it.

I made a casserole. This one was different than the sausage/egg casserole I usually make. This was called Breakfast Bacon Pizza. It was a layer of Crescent rolls, some hash browns, bacon, eggs and cheese. Everyone liked it...but I like the old one better.

On Christmas, we keep our pajamas on the whole day. No one has ever complained about it and even Mom and Dad stay in their pajamas. After Breakfast and before we started opening gifts, we took pictures by the tree.

Brittany, Justin and Benny

Ashley, Jose, Bella and Penelope

Mom and Dad....so cute!

Me and Terry......where is Cooper??

I will post the picture tomorrow, along with other pictures of the dogs opening their presents. Those dogs sure did enjoy all their gifts! I wonder if they will get as much attention next year??

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T14:46:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year! Last night we celebrated very low key! First time we have been home in years. We stayed in with Mom and Dad....watched some T.V., played a little Wii and waited for midnight! Dad went to bed around 11:00 and told mom to wake him up at 11:45. She did and surprisingly, he got up. Terry poured some sparkling cider and small glasses and we listened as Dick Clark counted down the New Year on an hour delay. We toasted, kissed, stepped outside to watch the fireworks and went to bed. I also spent a little time talking with the girls on the phone and texting with a friend.

Poor little Cooper had a rough evening...so afraid of the fireworks, and they started shooting them off around seven. He was under my folks bed and then made his way in their bed, under the covers.....and when I woke this morning, he was under our covers. Today, he has finally calmed down. He is following mom all over the house as she is trying to pack and pull everything together for their early departure in the morning. He sure is going to miss their company.

I'm making some pork chops, white beans and rice a little later on. I tried to buy some black eyed peas for Dad, he likes them, but Wal-mart was all out yesterday. So, white beans will have to do! Oh, I will make cornbread too!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-29T15:46:00.003-06:00

Christmas Eve day found all of us.....waiting for Christmas. We had a big breakfast, Dad helped make the homemade gravy....we had biscuits, sausage, bacon and eggs. Ashley and Brittany were next door making hash brown casserole and pancakes. Penelope and Cooper were dressed for the festivities and excited about what may be in their stockings the next morning.

Brittany made special pancakes, using cookie cutters to add to the holiday cheer!

Justin, Benny and Cooper were waiting patiently for breakfast to be served.

Brittany didn't have time to decorate cookies at home, so I made her some cutout cookies and on Christmas Eve day she decorated them.

Grandma enjoyed a few games of wii bowling with her Grandson-in-laws....and she beat them both....she is good at bowling and was doing a little trash talk to get them motivated!

Ashley and Jose spend the evening at his family's house and the rest of us went out for a little last minute shopping. Most of the stores closed early, but Brittany was able to find a few things that I could buy for her. We took Grandma home to settle in for the evening and Grandpa went with us to see a movie. The first time back in a movie theater for him since the mid-nineties when we took him to see Father of the Bride 2. This time we went to see Little Fockers and none of us were very impressed. The first two were much funnier.

My Neighbor and a Visitor

2010-12-23T10:32:00.002-06:00

This is my neighbor Aaliyah. She wanted to do something special for Christmas this year, so her mother asked if I had any ideas or connections that she could get involved with. I told her about the need for blankets for the homeless on cold nights in New Orleans. Right away, she started collecting blankets. She passed out notices in the neighborhood, asked people in her church and where her mother works. Last night Ashley and I took Aaliyah and her bags and bags of blankets to the New Orleans Mission. We enjoyed a worship service and then passed some blankets out to those who were not able to secure a bed at the mission for the evening.

We have several freeze nights forecasted for the upcoming week, so the extra blankets will come in handy.

Some of the Mission clients helping Aaliyah unload the blankets.

See this window? I have to wipe it out often, as it seems to attract little bugs, spiders and their small webs. I guess they come in around the window. I started wiping it out the other day and noticed it was clean - no bugs! But when I lifted the white vase on the end.....a friend popped out!

He is the reason there are no bugs......he has been keeping it clean for me. I thanked him and then tried to catch him and put him outside, where he could enjoy more bugs and be reunited with his family. So, I was running around the kitchen with the dustpan, yelling at Cooper to get back and then the phone rang....it was my Dad. He said, awe, let him go...we will eat him for Christmas when I get there! And....we just might, he ran under my stove and I haven't seen him since!

Finished Project and More Baking!

2010-12-20T15:15:00.004-06:00

I finished my Dog Treat project. I purchased these jars at different thrift stores. I painted them with chalkboard paint, added the ribbon with a piece of chalk and finally added the homemade dog treats.

I love them! I think they are so cute. Cooper saw them and he loves it too! I have them out in the garage on a table with my other baked goods and every time I open the door, he runs to the table, hoping for a treat. Brittany...don't show Benny this pictures, I want him to be surprised on Christmas morning!

This is one type of cookie I baked on Saturday. These cute Reindeer. Ashley made a tray and I made a tray. They are just a fun, easy, yummy treat that makes the cookie trays a give away a little more festive.

I also made spritz, pecan brittle, Mexican wedding cookies, a fudge wreath, peanut butter kisses, and whippersnappers. I still have to find time to make banana bread, pumpkin bread, pretzel treats, and cut out cookies.

I'm very excited about having everyone at our house for Christmas. Mom and Dad will be here on Thursday afternoon and Brittany and Justin will get in late Thursday night.

The stockings are ready to be filled. Mom and Dad's stocking are hanging in their guest room...I need a bigger fireplace or smaller stockings!

Baking barking treats!

2010-12-16T13:58:00.006-06:00

I have bought all my ingredients for baking this season. I am making my usual Christmas treats that everyone will expect and I am trying a few new ones. Dog treats is one of my new ones! I have my dog and three grand-doggers, so I thought homemade treats would be fun to try.

I found these cute dog bone cutters at a kitchen store at Tanger Outlets. The recipe was easy, but I ran a little low on the whole wheat flour, so I had to stiffen the dough up a bit with regular flour, but not much.

They bake for 35 minutes, so I knew it would be a long night if I only baked one tray at a time. Cooper was excited and somehow knew that these where for him....well, maybe because I kept telling him and he sat and watched me the whole time.

Oh my goodness, he is so cute!

I made a double batch....I thought one would not be enough with 4 dogs. Boy, was I wrong! After three full trays of treats, I had more that half of the dough left. It was getting late, so I put the rest of the dough in the frig and will finish baking them tonight. I plan on putting them in treat jars that I am going to jazz up with chalkboard paint and ribbon. I will post the final presentation.

So, dog treats were the only thing that got baked last night.....about 11:15 I put Ruby to bed, tucked her all in with Christmas hot pads and a towel. I hope she rested well, I will be working her tonight!

Wanted to share this little treat that I put under the tree last night. I found these blocks at a thrift store that I go to about once a week. They are the really nice, bigger, heavier blocks. They were in great condition. I wiped them all down with a Clorox wipe and put them in the Christmas basket. Ashley saw them and asked if they would be going to her house.....I said, "no" these are toys that will stay at Grandma's house!

This was our announcement!

2010-12-14T12:13:00.002-06:00

When we came home from a cruise on November 20th, this was waiting for us on our kitchen counter. The Saints tickets were attached to the gift bag. The tickets were for the game the next day. Inside the gift bag was this onsie. I thought it was cute, and I thought it was for Cooper - our dog!! Jose said..."It's a onsie", I said "I know...for cooper", then Ashley said "no, for your grandbaby!" I screamed and Terry cried. It was all very exciting.

Ashley and Jose had found out a couple days before that she was pregnant. They wanted to wait until they found an OB/GYN that they were comfortable with and until they heard the baby's heartbeat before they announced to everyone. That happened yesterday and we are now shouting it from the rooftops.

What a great Christmas present this is for our whole family. We are thankful and praying for a healthy pregnancy for Ashley and a healthy baby on or about August 5, 2011.

I'm going to have a Grandbaby!!

2010-12-13T15:32:00.002-06:00

Our baby is due August 5, 2011. Ashley and Jose heard the heartbeat today. We are all so excited! This will be a memorable Christmas and I am already looking forward to Christmas 2011!!

O Christmas Tree!

2010-12-09T12:40:00.003-06:00

Our first Flocked Tree! I love it! Don't know if I will have one next year, but this one has been different. I didn't use any of my other ornaments, these are all new ( bought last year after Christmas - on sale.) I had this vision last year and followed through. We took our 9ft artificial tree to church and used it there. The great thing about a live, flocked tree, is that it comes on a stand, you don't have to water it and it doesn't shed. They guarantee that it will last through Mardi Gras - many people take down their Christmas decorations and then decorate the tree for Mardi Gras. I don't think I will be doing that!! I love decorations, but by the first week of January, I am ready to put them back in the attic and return to a less cluttered house.

Great Time!

2010-12-07T16:09:00.003-06:00

Jose & Sandra Ramirez, Jose & Ashley Ramirez, me and Terry

Jose enjoying a little shrimp cocktail at our Thanksgiving Dinner

Red Fish Grill - Thanksgiving Buffet

I suppose I will conclude our Cruise Tour by saying we had a great time! Looking forward to our next cruise with our kids or maybe some couples.

On the day we came back to New Orleans, I woke up with a little bit of a sore throat and didn't feel well. That feeling turned into a full blown, severe cold. It lasted about a week and just drove me crazy. I work on a schedule and a "to do" list....believe me, the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas are full. That cold put me way behind schedule and I just now feel like I am catching up.

We decided to go out to dinner for Thanksgiving, thankfully since New Orleans is full of great restaurants and a lot of tourist during the holidays, there are always many restaurants to choose. We made reservations for a Thanksgiving Buffet at Ralph Brennan's Red Fish Grill. It was very good....what I could taste and had the desire to eat. I was not feeling well, so I didn't get my monies worth, but Jose and Terry did! After dinner, we went home and enjoyed watching the Saints beat the Cowboys! Normally, I would have been working on my Christmas decorations and putting up my tree, but again, I wasn't feeling well.

Finally, later than usual, I have all my decorations out and my tree is up. Terry has not yet put out his outdoor lights yet, maybe this weekend when it warms up a little.

Last Friday, we attended our State Minister's Christmas Banquet. We enjoyed time with friends and family, as Jose and Ashley joined us. This weekend we will attend another Christmas Party in Baton Rouge and then on Saturday, a graduation party on the North Shore.

We are looking forward to my parents and Brittany and Justin coming to our house for Christmas.

Key West - The Conch Republic

2010-12-02T12:43:00.010-06:00

Key West, FL was by the far the most interesting place of all of our ports. It would have been nice to have another day to explore and tour. Key West has some great history attached to it and some beautiful homes. The gates above are called the Presidential Gates and are only opened for Presidents. Behind those gates is the vacation home of President Truman. He spent many days during his Presidency there, as much as 150 days at a time. These gates have only been opened for four Presidents. You can tour the home, but we did not have time. I heard it was lovely, from a couple we met that took the tour.

Key West is also the Southernmost point of the United States. There are all sorts of establishments with the name "Southernmost"...like the Southernmost House, the Southernmost Coffee Shop, etc. They also have a Sunset party everyday at Mallory Square. Ken West is known as the Conch Republic and this link gives you history on that. Back in 1982, the United States put up Border Patrol on Highway 1 because of drug running. This did not sit well with the Key West residence because it made them feel less than citizens of the U.S. They had to prove their residency to travel in and out of the Key. The Mayor, who is still currently the mayor announced that Key West was going to secede from the U.S. Of course everything was resolved quickly, but they do have their own flag, passport, and motto. "We Seceded Where Others Failed."

There are chickens and roosters everywhere, just roaming around. When I asked about it, I was told that Key West is a Bird Sanctuary - chickens are welcome!

When we arrived at the Key, we took a Trolley Ride/Tour. It lasted about 1 1/2 hours, but you could also get off and on at the 14 or so different stops. I had read about and someone had told me about a gravestone at an old cemetery, so I looked on the map and decided we were going to find it. It was hot, and we walked up hill and through a neighborhood until we found the cemetery. Once we got in the cemetery, I found out the gravestone I was looking for was at the far corner, opposite of where we were. I was ready to turn back, but Terry said, we came this far, we are going to find it......and we did!

This isn't it.....but I thought it was cute. "Just resting my eyes"

This is it! The story goes that Bertha was the town hypocondriac, she would walk through town telling everyone how sick she was and no one believed her. Obviously, she was right - only 50 years old!

The cemetery reminded me of the ones here in New Orleans, above ground. Not because they are below sea level like we are, but because the Key is built on a Coral Reef and it is too hard to dig into. Many of the family plots had these "Car Ports", as I called them built over their burial sites.

The only Highway in and out of the Key's is Highway 1. Highway 1 runs along the coast all the way to Maine. This is the end/or beginning of the Highway.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Of course who could go to Key West and not get Key Lime Pie?? I DO NOT like Lemon anything, but I do enjoy a slice of Key Lime Pie...and I really enjoyed this slice, it was dipped in CHOCOLATE!!! Oh my goodness.

There are several...."Famous" Key Lime places, factories, stores, etc....but supposedly Kermit's Key Lime Pie is the best. I don't know, since I only had one piece - but it was really, really good. This is Kermit - who stands outside his store and taunts those going by with his fresh pie.

Sloppy Joe's is a popular eatery....and yes, they serve Sloppy Joe's. We shared Fish and Chips!! Sloppy Joe's are okay, but I certainly didn't want to pay $10.00 for one! When I eat out, I want something that I can't or don't usually make at home.

This is the Audubon House, where John Audubon wrote the bird watching book. Ernest Hemmingway's house is also on the Key and I don't know how I missed a picture of it. You can tour his house as well. I heard it is overrun with Cats...some of the cats of decendants of Hemmingway's cats. I'm not a fan of the cat!

Before we got back on the Ship, we were just hanging around Mallory Square, near the docks and enjoying the weather. Then one of the boat captains that was getting ready to take a group parasailing, said hey - there is a manatee! I was so excited. For years I have looked for Manatee's when we have visited Florida. I was on the upper deck of the dock and shot some pictures and he wasn't going anywhere fast, so I went down to the dock and took several more shots.

It was amazing! He was very gentle, slow and ugly. He was all nicked up on his body and tail from boat propellers. One of the captains pulled out a water hose and the manatee put it in his mouth and enjoyed the fresh water. I was thrilled to have finally gotten to see a manatee in the wild.

I would love to go back to Key West someday. Maybe a trip to Miami and then drive down Highway 1 and hit all of the Keys.

Freeport, Bahamas

2010-12-01T13:48:00.004-06:00

On Wednesday of our Cruise, we stopped in Freeport, Bahamas. I said in the last post that Nassau was on the Grand Bahama Island. I was mistaken, Nassau is on the New Providence Island - Freeport is on the Grand Bahama Island. There was not a whole lot to do in Freeport and the port was in an industrial area, not very pretty. We had to take a cab (van) that was not very well air conditioned to the Lucaya beach area. It was a very hot day and very humid. There was a shopping area, but most of the stuff they were selling was the same stuff that we had seen the day before in Nassau and it was more expensive.

We only stayed in Lucaya for an hour or so and were ready to get back on the Ship. The ships must have some sort of deal with the government in which they agree to stop in these less than desirable ports to help with their revenue. The same thing happens on cruises to Mexico. I do feel sorry for the people that live on these small Islands, but at the same time, when you are on vacation, it would be nice to have some enjoyable attractions.

Some tourist helping a local musician.

This is the hotel/casino that we went in for a cold soda to get out of the heat.

The Beach at Lucaya.

Being on the Cruise Ship, you always have a great view of Sunsets and Sunrises. I never saw a sunrise, but did enjoy the sunsets.

Nassau, Bahamas

2010-11-30T13:42:00.005-06:00

Our first Port of Call was Nassau Bahamas. The waters were beautiful, crystal clear and aqua blue. Nassau is on the small island of Grand Bahama, but it is the largest city and the seat of Government.

We docked between the Island of Grand Bahama and Paradise Island. Paradise Island is a strip of land that has million dollar homes where many movie stars and famous people have vacation homes. At the end of Paradise Island is the grand resort, Atlantis.

We went on a two hour tour of the city, which included some shopping, a fort, the Queen's staircase and a ride over to Atlantis to walk around the property.

Queen's Staircase

After our tour, we asked around and took a city bus to Da' Fish Fry, which is a group of restaurants that specialize in fish and conch. We enjoyed some conch fritters. Then we got back on a bus and went to a resort at the other end of the Island so we could enjoy some time on the beautiful beaches. I can't believe I didn't get pictures. Terry was using the Flip video camera a lot and I must have been trying to stay alert to make sure we were making the right bus connections and getting back to the ship on time.

This is the restaurant we ate at: http://twinbrothersbahamas.com/dynamicdata/default.asp

During the final hour of our time in Nassau, we went to the Straw Market to shop. This market was full of booth after booth of people selling straw hats, purses, jewelry, and knock off purses and wallets. Each booth had the same stuff...as you walk by, they call out "Lady", "Lady", come buy this, spend your money, what do you want?.....over and over and over. I picked up a few things and bargained my way through and was happy to get out of the market.

I will try and post some of Terry's videos in the next few days.

Day two - "A Fun Day at Sea"

2010-11-24T12:41:00.005-06:00

That is what Carnival calls it when there are no ports of call for the day....."A Fun Day at Sea". They do there best to make it just that. There are always a lot of activities that everyone is invited to enjoy, or you can just relax, read and enjoy a tropical (non-alcoholic - in our case) drink.

Every evening when you come back to your cabin, there is a towel animal and a schedule for the next day, along with two chocolate mints. Every time you leave the room, the steward comes in and cleans everything again. Very enjoyable!

Here are a few more shots of the cabin....the bathroom was a lovely shade of pink, reminded me of 70's decor. This ship was a lot bigger than the one we sailed on before, but the smaller ship was more updated.

There is plenty of closet and drawer space to utilize, which is what you have to do. There is really no place to lay luggage out, so it is best to put everything away and stack the empty luggage in the corner or bottom of the closet.

The second evening, was one of the formal dining evenings. Some people go all out in gowns and tuxes...but, that is not a vacation to me. So we settle for dressy/casual, as many guests do. Once again, our kids surprised us with an Anniversary cake. Many of the staff came out and sang, very loudly and had us kiss.

The cake was very good and as rich as it looks. As far as the food on the ship, there is a lot of it....quantity, but not always great quality...at least at the buffets. The dinners in the dining room were always good and very tasty.

25th Anniversary Cruise

2010-11-23T14:37:00.009-06:00

These treats were waiting for us in our cabin. A sweet gift from Brittany, Ashley, Jose and Justin. Yum.
The Cabins are not huge, but sufficient room to get ready, rest and sleep. The bed was very comfortable.

A view of the ship's Lido deck. Our cabin was on the Panorama deck, which was through doors right behind the pool and hot tub, under the slide. It was a great deck and very convenient.
On the deck before we left the Port of New Orleans. I loved how the beautiful clouds were covering the skyline.

This was not the order that I wanted the pictures in and I wanted to post many more, but Blogger was not cooperating....(Judy if you have any suggestions, let me know).

The weather was perfect the day we boarded the ship. We decided not to leave until a couple hours after boarding began.....I remembered how crowded it is in the beginning. When we got to the port, the crowds had already boarded, as we walked in, a lady said come with me and we ended up getting VIP check in. It was a great way to start the cruise. Then, when we got to our cabin we were greeted with a sweet treat from our kids!

The first night we didn't go to the dining room for dinner. We had eaten a late lunch at the buffet and we were not that hungry. So later in the evening we had pizza. Besides all of the buffets that are open most of the day and evening, there is a 24 hour pizza bar and 24 hour ice cream.

Our Steward was Puttu and he too was very accommodating. The Ship is very clean and the staff are always ready and willing to help in any way. In the evening we went to the opening night show and we always enjoy the dancers and singers, they are top quality.

We were glad to be on board and ready for vacation! The next day (Sunday) would be a full day at Sea.

Dog Day Afternoon

2010-06-08T19:47:00.002-05:00

This past weekend, Justin and Brittany come down from Alabama and joined with Ashley and Jose and their team to lead Worship at our annual church conference in Baton Rouge.
Instead of staying in Baton Rouge, which is about 80 miles away, we chose to drive back and forth and also volunteered to care for all the dogs. Ashley and Jose have two, Brittany and Justin have one and of course we have our precious Cooper. (just look at the face above...)

This is Ashley's dog - Penelope. She was rescued from an abandoned house in our neighborhood. I tried keeping her, but she was too wild for me. Ashley took her and this poor rescue dog is now the Queen of the palace.

This is Benny - He is the youngest - not even a year old, but he actually looks the oldest. Kind of how Schnauzers look...handsome and regal.

And then the rug rats....My Cooper, who is just precious and Jose's Bella, the oldest out of the bunch.

On Brittany's last day in town, she wanted to go to the Garden District and the French Market. She has only been gone 3 months, but you would have thought it had been years...she wanted to see everything. We had Po-Boys for lunch and then after a little shopping we stopped in at Sucre on Magazine for some gelato.

Of course, she wanted to see Sandra Bullocks house so we drove by and around the block and by it one more time. It is a beautiful Victorian home just a couple of blocks off of St. Charles.

Here is a couple shots of my kids when we went out to eat at California Pizza Kitchen in Baton Rouge. Friends and Jose's family also joined us. It was late and we had a group of 20, so it took a long time to get our food, but it was good and we had a blast hanging with our peeps.

So we enjoyed our quick visit with Brittany, Justin and Benny. We laughed A LOT! Brittany cried when she left and said that what she misses most is how much fun we have together. Love that!

Happy Memorial Day!

2010-05-31T22:47:00.003-05:00

I feel a little guilty enjoying the day on "Memorial Day", so I try to keep in the forefront of my mind the reason we have this holiday. I've been reading articles on Memorial Day and yesterday at Church we honored those who have given their lives serving our Country.

Terry and I were alone today, so we tried to figure out what to do. I started the day by reading and would probably have been happy to continue, but we decided to get out of the house. I had been to a Belk in Montgomery a few weeks ago, but it was near closing time so I didn't get to look at the clothes that were on sale. We don't have a Belk in our area, so I mentioned to Terry that maybe we could drive over to Gulfport, MS and do a little shopping. So we drove over, about 90 miles from us and first went to the Coast and rode up and down the beach area. It was good to see some of the rebuilding that has taken place since the last time we were there. Although the beaches looked beautiful, there were not that many people on them. I think the oil spill is scaring people away. Even though there isn't any oil in Gulfport...yet!

Then we stopped at a few stores. I made it to Belk and purchased some items and then to Cracker Barrel for dinner. We don't have a Cracker Barrel in New Orleans either. After that, we went to the Outlet Mall. We found some more bargins that we needed and then headed home.

It was a nice day out and we enjoyed our holiday together. Terry did get to meet a young man who is stationed at Keesler Air Force Base and will be deployed to Afganistan in a few weeks. He was able to talk with him and promised to keep him in prayer. It was a meaningful meeting on Memorial Day.

Judy - this is for you!!

2010-05-28T16:59:00.004-05:00

My flower garden is just bursting with blooms. I so enjoy this time of year when everything in the garden is flourishing. The days are so hot now and not much cool down in the evening, so it won't be long before some of the plants start to wither.

My Mandevilla is just full of blooms

This year, my Queen of the Nile flowers are just so full and the buds keep coming. They have never been like this, I think the hard freeze this past winter somehow helped them to come back stronger.

My Hydrangeas are the same....this one is so full, they are on the ground. I cut more than half of them off today, in hopes of getting more blooms.

I love this pink hydrangea...it is different from my purple one, thicker leaves and stems. Holds up well in vases, they last forever as long as you keep water in the vase.

So Judy, give me some tips, how often should I trim them back, cut them off, etc??

I chose to end my temp assignment after 8 months, but I am at peace with my decision and I am enjoying my summer at home so far. Ashley has finished her school year, so we are planning a few quick trips this summer.

Brittany and Justin will be here next week for a couple days. They are coming down to help Jose and Ashley with their team, leading worship at our Annual State Church Conference in Baton Rouge. It will be good to see them - but as usual, too fast and too busy.

Congratulations Ashley!

2009-12-21T22:44:00.004-06:00

Ashley graduated on Sunday. We are so proud of her. She received her degree in English Education and has already secured a job at a local High School. She will be teaching English I and English III. She will begin her job after the Christmas Break.

My parents got into town on Saturday and it has been a whirlwind since they arrived. Looking forward to relaxing in the coming days and enjoying some time together. We always enjoy playing cards, dominoes, and board games.

Mom cut up fruit today and made us a big bowl of mixed fruit. We are all loving that. I just finished my menu for the next few days and tomorrow Brittany and mom will get groceries while I finish up my last day of work before the holidays.

On Sunday before the graduation, we had our Christmas service at church. We started by meeting early and having breakfast together and passing out Christmas cards. The service was filled with great music and Terry preached a Christmas message. We always have a great time together. After Ashley's graduation, we went to eat at a wonderful Asian restaurant. Jose's family joined us as well as a few friends. Then, we had to RUSH back home and set up for a reception at Ashley's house - when we got home, friends were already waiting - the rest of the
evening was filled with friends and laughter. Dad brought 6 huge bags of Dippin Dots from the Paducah, KY Dippin Dots plant (where he used to work.) They were a big hit - everyone loves Dippin Dots, especially when they are free!!

Christmas is coming....

2009-12-11T11:24:00.004-06:00

Christmas is coming and it is coming fast. Thankfully I feel like I am ahead of the game. Shopping is just about finished, all my gifts are wrapped and under the tree. My decorating is complete. I've already hosted a Christmas Tea at my house and last weekend we spent a day downtown, enjoying Christmas in the Quarter. So, from here on out, I think it will be smooth sailing...just enjoying the holidays!! I must say though, I could not have accomplished those tasks without the help of Brittany! She is so good to help me in preparation for whatever I am trying to accomplish. It is becoming more of a reality each day that soon she will be gone. Only 10 more weeks until her wedding.

Now that is where my stress is being funneled - not the holidays, but the wedding. So much to do. After Christmas, it will be a whirlwind of activity in preparation for her destination wedding. We have put off a lot of the planning, simply because we have been focused on other things. Brittany is taking her last final this morning for this semester, so she will be free after today to pick up the planning again. When she starts back to school in January, she will have all Internet classes, so that will give her the freedom she needs.

Ashley will graduate on December 20th. My parents will be coming down for the graduation and stay through Christmas. We are excited about them coming, they haven't been here since Ashley's wedding last year. We are so proud of Ashley - she completed her student teaching and did an absolutely amazing job! She has already had two high schools offer her positions and is now agonizing over which one to accept.

We are so blessed, and it has been a full and exciting year for us. On top of all of our blessings, the SAINTS are
12-0, and the city of New Orleans is just electric with excitement!!

Fulton Street - downtown.

Gingerbread Streetcar at the Harrah's Hotel lobby.

The lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel.

Our friends that we spent the day with in the Quarter (thank you Brittany for being our photographer and tour director!)

Patty, Johnette and me at the French Market.

Some of the ladies that attended my Christmas tea and Bible study.

Brittany and our little Cooper.

An Autumn Weekend!

2009-10-30T13:24:00.002-05:00

Ashley and Brittany as "Kisses" several years ago...I would say they were 6 and 8 in this picture. I didn't make these costumes, although I did make some for them over the years. These were borrowed from my friend Elizabeth, who made them for her and her son Ryan. She shipped them to us, and I shipped some of mine to her over the years.

This weekend is the epitome of Fall....Trick or Treating, College Football, A Cold Front and Time Change!

Tomorrow we will go to our first LSU football game - along with a cold front that will come in tonight. It is in the 80's today and humid. Tomorrow in the 50's....so, I will be digging out the scarves and gloves for the game. I don't have a purple jacket, so no one will see my purple shirt anyway. I am not going to buy a purple scarf and gloves, so I will be one of the few that is not decked out in school colors.

I hate losing an hour of daylight, but there is something comforting about long evenings - it ushers in the holidays. Plus, we get an extra hour of sleep and who couldn't use that?

Memories....will I have any?

2009-10-12T13:04:00.002-05:00

I was just thinking the other day....I wonder when that movie - My Sister's Keeper will come out on DVD, since I missed seeing it in the theaters. Then, today, while reading my friend's blog, I saw a link to my blog and clicked on it. I haven't updated it since July. As I read my last post, I read that I did indeed see that movie in the theaters! I am sitting here now trying to remember the ending to the movie - can't remember it.

Scares me sometimes, my lack of memory. Thank goodness for pictures and my mother, who remembers every detail, unless of course it is something that might shed un unfavorable light on her.

I guess I need to look into some sort of vitamins or minerals that can help - let me know if you have any suggestions.

Happy Birthday Ashley!

2009-07-15T10:59:00.002-05:00

This is Ashley's 1st birthday! That was 22 years ago. Ashley is 23 today....I can't believe it.Ashley's pre-school picture. She was 4 years old here..and so cute. This is Ashley at the Children's Museum in New Orleans. She was about 7 years old.

We've started celebrating early. On Sunday evening, we went to Sam and Candace's house for dinner and to play cards. Candace surprised Ashley with a birthday cake.

Last night, we had a girls night, just me, Ashley and Brittany. Brittany cooked dinner, then we went to Cherryberry for some frozen yogurt and to the movie. We saw "My Sister's Keeper."

This evening Ashley has a couple of friends coming over and we are all going to meet at Cheesecake Bistro for dinner. She is at the daycare with Brittany this morning and they are celebrating there, her boss is making a cake for her.

Happy Birthday Ashley! I love you, you have helped complete my life.

The Wedding planning has begun...

2009-06-09T14:39:00.004-05:00

We have a date, we have a venue, for both the wedding and reception, and we have......a dress! Can you believe it? We were in Monroe, LA all last week for our annual church convention. Brittany and Ashley were both there as well, so we took advantage of our free time and went shopping. We were just going to look....but she found the perfect dress. It is beautiful.

So - the planning is in full throttle and I am actually looking forward to it slowing down a bit now, since the big items are taken care of.

The date is February 27, 2010. It will be a destination wedding, located in Savannah, GA. They will be getting married in one of the historic squares and the reception will be at The Lady and Sons banquet room. I've already rented a large beach house for our family to vacation in the week leading up to the wedding day. It will of course be a small, intimate affair with family and a few friends who are willing to travel.

Here is a picture of the banquet room from Paula Deen's website. It should be a beautiful place to enjoy the reception.

The heat is on here in Louisiana....a have a few plants outside that look a little weary. My neighbor watered everything while I was gone, but I need to dead head some blooms and cut back some of my plants. This is a busy week, trying to catch up with everything since we were gone last week. We have a wedding this Saturday that will take place in City Park...looking forward to that.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer, so far!

My new dog and some blooms!

2009-05-29T13:35:00.003-05:00

Such a beautiful day out today - warm, but lower humidity. Cooper and I went out earlier and gave my plants some love and care. We also took a few pictures. These are one of my hydrangea plants...love the beautiful pink color - these are just some small blooms peaking out from under the leaves...I expect that will be very large.
This hydrangea is just covered in large and medium blooms. It is more of a purple color....see the difference in my two hydrangeas Judy?? One has very stiff leaves and tighter flowers.

This is my Crepe Myrtle tree....I love when it blooms. We planted this from a stick it seems...before Katrina, but it survived.

Some kind of Iris or Lily.....I'm not sure.

My Hibiscus....love hibiscus. I lost about 4 of them to a pink mealy bug that came from Home Depot....I actually had the Department of Agriculture come out to my house and they set some type of wasp loose in my yard to combat them...it was a real danger to Louisiana crops and they didn't want the mealy bugs to get to the Sugar Cane fields and destroy them. My Hibiscus was the furthest west that they could pinpoint with the bug. ..... Thanks Home Depot!! Now I get my plants at Lowes.

And, now to introduce you to my new baby....Cooper.

I already love him so much. He is adorable and smart...but a lot of work! He is such a baby, so much fun, afraid of everything and sticks to us like glue.

The Vet said he is about six months old and very healthy. He will be getting "fixed" this week.

I got him from a garage sale....can you believe it!! They had a sign that said free dog to good home...I was leery about taking him, but he seemed to fit my criteria. I wanted to rescue a dog, a small one, that didn't shed. This family had rescued him from his former home at about 12 weeks...but thy already had three other dogs and just couldn't keep him. I think he was meant for us. He was probably born about the time that Quincy passed.

Oh my goodness.

These pictures were his first day with us....before Jose groomed him for me. His name was Kippy - but I wasn't fond of that name and so I looked at "C" and "K" names with the same first letter sound, so he wouldn't be so confused. Cooper seems to work for him, he responds well.

Here we go again! Brittany's engaged!

2009-05-18T15:38:00.004-05:00

Brittany called from Alabama a little while ago. Justin asked her to marry him! We knew that he was going to do it today, but she was totally surprised. This is the only picture I have so far, it is from Brittany's phone. He took her to the park for a picnic and then asked her. She is so excited and wanted to know right away, if we knew about it. She told me that she was so happy that we already knew - it made her feel so good.

So - no details on the date, etc.

Congratulations - Brittany and Justin!

The busy week is over.

2009-05-15T13:19:00.009-05:00

I have several pictures to post, to tell the story of the last couple of days. On Wednesday, we had a crawfish boil together. It was to hard to get all six of us together to go out and eat because of timing, work, graduation, etc. So Brittany asked for a crawfish boil. Jose is the crawfish cook and I prepped the food, while Terry set up the yard. Justin came in from Alabama for a quick trip to be here for Brittany's graduation. They left this morning. There is a conference at Justin's church and he missed the first night, but has to be there for the remaining services. He is the worship leader at a church in Birmingham. As part of Brittany's graduation gift, we bought her a plane ticket to fly home next week. She rode back to Alabama with Justin and will spend a week with his family.

On Thursday, Terry and Justin went to breakfast, while Brittany packed and then Justin took Brittany to get her a manicure for Graduation. We went to Pancho's for an early dinner before Graduation...then on to the Lakefront Arena. I loved seeing Brittany achieve her honor, but it gets a little boring sitting and watching 600 other students that you do not know achieve theirs as well!

After the Ceremony we went to Cherryberry for a little celebration dessert.

It was a busy 48 hours. We are proud of Brittany, out of high school, she spent a year in Baltimore being trained and doing urban mission work, then she went to Kansas City to work for a while with a Music Ministry Team and all the while she was doing some sort of schooling, either through Lee University or taking Internet classes through Delgado. She came home, started working and taking full loads to complete her Associates Degree of Science in Business Administration. She plans on continuing her education.

I am looking forward to summer with the girls. Ashley is going to take the summer off before she starts her student teaching in August and Brittany will work full time, but she has a flexible schedule, so we can plan some fun things this summer.

Jose enjoying a little golf practice while waiting for the water to boil.

Crawfish races before the boil.....Ashley's crawfish (Ruby) won!Yum!Eating at Pancho's before the Graduation Ceremony.Brittany is the one waving in the middle!

2009-05-12T13:35:00.003-05:00

My girls were amazing on Mother's Day. They planned a menu and cooked a wonderful meal for us. They filled the area with flowers that Brittany arranged and Ashley decorated the homemade red velvet cake that Brittany baked. They both worked together on preparing the meal. It was such a nice relaxing afternoon. I brought all the flowers home and I am enjoying them in every room. That was a great Idea Brittay, to make several arrangements in all sizes. Thanks!

Here are some of my flowers in my tiny little garden. These are Lilies of the Nile...oh, the real name is Agapanthus(I looked that up for Judy!)

I just love them, they grow so tall and keep blooming through June, they start in mid April. I have them in deep purple, lavender and white. Also, the hummingbirds love to visit these plants.

This is one of my hydrangeas. I just planted it last year and it has gotten so big and so many blooms..I keep cutting them off and putting them around the house. When I planted it last year, the blooms were bright blue, but I think it has something to do with the acid in the soil, as to what color they will be....I don't know.

We are looking forward to a busy week ahead. Brittany will graduate with her Associates in Business this Wednesday.. We are having a crawfish boil for her tomorrow night. Justin will be coming for her graduation tomorrow as well.

Please pray for my friend Kathy Isaacs, who has recently been diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer. I hate cancer...I have had so many friends and family that have had to battle that terrible disease. She will begin aggressive treatment soon and my prayer is that she will not have the bad side effects. We are believing the God will heal her.

My parents had a terrible storm come through Southern Illinois last week and they have been without electricity for several days. My nieces home has also suffered damage and they lost all of the trees in their yard, except one. Their trees were huge, so the clean up effort is extensive. They are still without electricity as well.

I am reading Elizabeth Edward's new book, Resilience...it is very good.

I was named Mother of the Year!

2009-05-08T17:23:00.002-05:00

Check out this link. Terry nominated me for Mother of the Year! What a great guy!~

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-08T12:31:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago, we went through all of the book boxes we had in our attic. We kept some, sold some, gave a lot away and we also found some treasures.

I found a journal that I had written in early 1993. At that time my girls were 6 and 4. There are some very funny stories in that journal, some things I have no recollection of and many of the events I had totally forgotten until I read my writings. It makes me really sad that I have not kept more journals over the years.

I thought an excerpt from my entry on February 4, 1993 was appropriate for Mother's Day. Ashley would have been 6 years old and in 1st or 2nd grade. Brittany was probably at home with Terry and I was doing some substitute teaching at the time. On this day, I was subbing at a middle school. This is a portion of the entry:

"I love my kids so much. Sitting in this class and looking at all these kids, I realize that no one can love a child as much as their own parent. So as much as Ashley is liked by her teacher and friends, she must have a certain insecurity when she is not with me, and I realize that I have a certain insecurity when I am not with them."

I love that I wrote that. I love my girls and I still feel that same connection. Even now, 16 years later, they will text me while they are in class at their University...."About to take my final, pray for me"........"when I get home, I want to take a nap"......."let's watch a movie tonight"........"do you want to sit outside in the swing when I get home?" I love that we still need each other as much today as we did back then.

Happy Mother's Day!

Pictoral Update - Part 1

2009-04-25T22:02:00.004-05:00

Here are some more pictures...these are dating back a few weeks to the taping of Live with Regis and Kelly. This is the second time we have been in the audience when they come to New Orleans. Always fun to be a part of the production and watch how it all works. We were there for two shows. One live and the next one was taped for later in the week. This was the week after Megan had gotten voted off Idol...so she was there to perform and sang, I go walkin after midnight....I liked Megan, her voice is very unique. But she wasn't near as made up on Regis and Kelly as they had fixed her up on Idol....Still a beautiful girl.

Then...after the second taping....they said, stick around...Miley is going to come out and tape her appearance for the Thursday show. So she popped out and sang her song twice and then did an interview. What a surprise for the few little girls that were in the audience....they were so excited.

Harry Hamlin was there promoting his new television show....Harper's Island (I think that's the name)....I'm not a big fan of his.

Billy Ray Cyrus was also there on the live Monday show.....didn't think I was a fan, but he was a very gracious interview and actually a great singer....better than his daughter~Regis and kelly were kind and gracious to the audience during the breaks. Kelly LOVES New Orleans and is very fascinated with the area.

Emeril was on the show cooking. He is a local celebrity and pops up all over the place. Also, Chris Paul and Reggie Bush were on the show.

Okay...back to the playoff game.....sorry the pictures are out of order....This is Chris Paul being interviewed by ESPN after the game. He is our MVP....CP3.

As usual, we always see some celebrities at the games.....this is Lil' Wayne - I am so not a fan, but he is hot stuff on the music scene. Here he was getting emotional during the game. Also, Reggie Bush was there...sitting near Lil' Wayne. He is the star of the New Orleans Saints and also Kim Kardashian's boyfriend. And, we saw Emeril....like I said he pops up all over.

Love these girls though....Brittany and Sarah.

Here is one of the voodoo dolls they gave us....to use against the other team...I know, kind of satanic, but I prayed over mine and made it Holy.

Before the game...Brittany, Hugo the Hornet, and Sarah.

Pictoral Update

2009-04-25T21:38:00.003-05:00

I'm adding a bunch of pictures to show you what we've been up to lately. But blogger won't let me add anymore right now...so this may be two posts. I wanted to work backwards with my pictures...but you'll see them as I can post them.

Today we went to the Hornet's playoff game. They are in the playoffs with the Denver Nuggets. This was the third game and today we finally won. The house was full and had a lot of energy. We were given Hornet Voodoo dolls to use during the game when Denver had the ball. Also, there was a t-shirt given to every attendant. Looking forward to the game on Monday....and Brittany and I may try and get tickets. Jose went with us...Ashley couldn't come today, she was taking two tests, the Praxis, that are required for her teaching degree. Sarah T. came with us too..it was her first pro game.
Last weekend we went to the French Quarter Fest....one of our favorite festivals. The French Quarter is filled with people, food and music stages. We went to two different stages and enjoyed some great food and also had fun with our friends Sam and Candice.

Yum....crawfish at the Zydeco stage.

Terry and I also attend the PGA golf tournament yesterday at the Louisiana TPC. It was a great day, but a little hot. When we got home last night and watched some highlights on the Golf Network, we were on TV....sitting just off the green of the 8th hole. Fun!

Early this morning, I dropped Terry and Jose back off at the course and they watched the tournament until we picked them up to head to the New Orleans Arena for the basketball game.

Some of us will probably head back tomorrow for the finish of the tournament. It is being televised live on CBS if you have a chance to watch and look for us...LOL, or just enjoy the game and beautiful scenery...it makes for nice napping while you watch on a Sunday afternoon.

Happy Easter

2009-04-11T17:32:00.002-05:00

Happy Easter to everyone! It sure has been a busy week around here.....and the weekend is proving to be even busier. Monday we went downtown for the taping of Live with Regis and Kelly...we stayed for the second taping and got to see lots of guests. I will post pictures soon.

Tuesday I woke up sick......I took meds all day and rested. Wednesday, much better and I was off to the dentist for my check up and cleaning. Then I went and bought groceries for the week and for our Easter Dinner. Thursday, I worked out in the yard, finishing up planting all my annuals. The yard looks so nice and I am looking forward to watching everything grow and bloom. I will post garden pictures soon as well.

Thursday evening, Brittany and I went to a movie. Friday I woke up ready to clean the house and start preparing my dinner for Sunday. Sometime in the afternoon, I had a relapse....I am blaming it on the powder I put on the carpet before vacuuming....I could feel it in my lungs. I will never use it again! I have been coughing and have been sick since....but, no time to stop. I had to finish up everything in preparation for church on Sunday as well.

Today I've been preparing my casseroles for Sunday and Brittany and I made the Easter Basket Cake below. It is just a bundt cake, turned upside down with edible grass and Reese pieces eggs, I thought they were prettier than jelly beans.

Terry was out this morning and brought me back some Easter flowers. He is sweet! I boiled eggs yesterday and Brittany colored them for me. We will be making deviled eggs out of them tomorrows.

I would love to take a late afternoon nap, but Terry is preaching at Manantial DeVida tonight. This is Jose's dad's church. It is their anniversary weekend, so it is a special service. I am going to go with Terry....hopefully it won't be a late evening.

After church tomorrow, we are going to have some friends over for dinner....then hopefully we can relax and play games....It's also the Master's weekend, so we will be watching the final round, I am sure.

Wishing everyone a great Easter Sunday and a Happy Spring!

What's been going on?

2009-04-01T20:00:00.005-05:00

Here are a few pictures to catch everyone up on what's been going on in my world. The weather has been great and I've been enjoying the yard and my swing. I have some bedding plants that need to go in the ground tomorrow and my little anole lizards are enjoying Spring as well. Here is a little guy that likes to hang out on my swing, he was posing for the camera.Brittany's boyfriend, Justin was down for a few days last week. He left yesterday. We planned a few events while he was here. First, we went to Avery Island - the home of Tabasco. It is an amazing place. We've lived in Louisiana 17 years, and have never been there. If you live here, I suggest you go! First there is a tour of the Tabasco factory, which is very interesting. Then you can drive and/or walk through the gardens. The garden is basically just the island which is about 2 miles, by 3 miles and is actually a salt dome. Salt is mined out of the island as well. In the gardens, there is a bird sanctuary where egrets nest. Also, the wildlife is abundant. Alligators are out everywhere and there are "Beware of Alligator" signs. We saw 26 and I am sure there were many right before us that we missed.

Of course, most of you know my fascination with alligators, so getting out and walking near them was a must. It was cool, but the sun was out and the alligators love to sun themselves on the banks.
We also went to the NO Hornets game on Sunday evening. They were playing the San Antonio Spurs and it was sold out. We were joined by our friends Sam and Candace. We had a great time.

We love attending the home games....a lot of team spirit and they fill the time outs and half times with a lot of fun events. I like to take the binoculars and stake out the crowd....we always find some celebrities in the mix.

I know the picture below is dark...taken from far away....but it is Eva Longoria-Parker. Her husband Tony plays for the Spurs.
The girls and I will be attending our annual women's retreat in Alexandria this weekend. We are looking forward to it, we always have a good time. Thirteen ladies will be attending from our church.

I can't believe that Easter is just a little over a week away......it will be Summer before we know it!

Garden Pictures

2009-03-20T15:09:00.006-05:00

So, my friend Judy inspired me to take some pictures of my garden....nothing really interesting yet - kind of raggedly looking....but what I enjoy more than my plants are my little green lizards...anoles are their names. You can read about them here. This afternoon I went outside and this little guy was sitting on a palm frawn. I noticed he was eating something....looked like a wet paper town piece. Then I noticed he was pulling his skin off of his foot and eating it. He let me stand right next to him and watch. He was molting and kind of wet....so he was sunning himself and eating his skin...I know, gross...but it was interesting.
Here he has a piece of skin in his mouth. I went in an got my camera and the more pictures I took, the closer he came. Terry was mowing the lawn and he would lift his head and look around me and watch Terry mowing.

My garden is full of these little guys and when I plant, I usually find their eggs. Then we wait for the babies to come up and hang out in the plants...they are adorable.

These lizards have quite the personality. They are very aware of their surroundings and get used to people that are suppose to be around. When my little nephews visited last summer, those poor lizards were running for their lives.

I know....lots of pictures. But, I couldn't decide which ones to post....so I posted them all.

Now on to the plants....To start with, this is my little Sago Palm nursery. Each year when we cut the old prawns off our Sago Palm, I can't stand to throw out the little pods growing on the side....so I stick them in old pots with leftover dirt. No scientific way of doing it, I just pretty much throw them in and then set the pots on the side of the house, behind the fence. By the end of the summer, I have several small palms. I basically give them away, I don't have anywhere else to plant one. So, if you need a palm...let me know. Those of you up North, they are fun to grow....you can put them in a pot and bring them in, in the winter. My Mom loves watching them grow.

The rest of these plants are ones that have already come up on their own, or never left over the winter.

Geranium - I bought this at the end of last season, on clearance for .50 cents...I couldn't stand to see it sitting there on the rack dying. It is thriving with several buds.

This is a pencil plant, I bought a cutting at a garage sale and it is fun to watch grow....I need to stake it.

This is a bad picture of my Hens and Chickens....I brought them from Mom and Dad's house when they moved....she had several pots and was going to leave them at their old house. They love the Louisiana weather.

A nice little begonia that starting blooming early.

This is a giant Mum that I can't kill....not that I am trying...but I can't tell you how many times I cut it back because it gets so big. It blooms in the spring...I cut it back....it blooms in the summer...I cut it back....then in the Fall it is huge and full of blooms.

Impatience...I think

This is my Hydrangea...I planted two last summer. I didn't cut them back until January, because they were still full of leaves...I really don't know what I am doing, but they are sprouting again.

Okay, so it's not a beautiful garden journal - but it's something...enjoy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T15:59:00.004-05:00

So today is St. Patrick's day....I must admit, not a big deal for me. Never has been. I remember getting pinched in school for not wearing green. I'm not even sure of my heritage...really, I was just told that my family was from Southern Illinois!! Leprechauns have always freaked me out and I don't drink beer. So again, not a huge deal for me.

Of course here in New Orleans - any reason to celebrate. So it is fun to go to the St. Patrick's Day parades. They throw beads, stuffed animals, cups, etc, just like a Mardi Gras parade...but also, cabbages, carrots, and potatoes. So by the time you leave the parade you have a whole bag full of stuff to go home and make your Irish Stew.

I don't know this lady...just found the pictures to show the cabbages being thrown.

We are experiencing a beautiful Spring. We had rain for the past three days, but we needed it. Today it is beautiful and sunny. I've been playing around in my flower beds...just amazing watching the buds, blooms and greenery coming out of the ground....it happens so fast, you can almost watch them unfold. Looking forward to going and getting some bedding plants, but also waiting to see what comes up, so I know where to plant. I am just a buy it and plant it gardener....I forget what comes back and what doesn't. So - it's always fun in the Spring to watch and learn.

This weekend Terry and I are going to Jackson, MS. Brittany and Justin bought Terry tickets for a Gaither Concert for Christmas.....it seemed like a long way off back then, but here we are near the end of March. We have been to Jackson several times...mostly for Youth Camp and then of course driving through on the way up North. I'm not sure what else we may do while we are there for entertainment....but we will find something. I asked my friend Heather for some suggestions, since she used to live and work there. Personally, I am not a huge Gaither fan, but I've been to some concerts in the past with Terry and they are good...very talented musicians and singers. All in all, it will be good to get away for the weekend.

Haven't Posted in a While

2009-03-10T20:30:00.004-05:00

Well, it's been a while since I posted. Brittany signed me up for Facebook and I have been spending all my computer free time on there catching up with a lot of friends that I haven't communicated with for over 25 years. It's been interesting.

I do have some fun pictures of Mardi Gras to post. Ashley and I spent Lundi Gras down on St. Charles with our friend Sarah. We watched two parades that evening. They were both beautiful, but Harry Connick, Jr's Krewe was absolutely amazing. The floats were huge and all electrified with confetti and spot lights. OH...and I didn't see Harry, we kept waiting, but it was reported on the news that he had a family emergency and wasn't able to ride. But, John Belushi, Joan River, Brian Batt and others rode in the parade.

On Mardi Gras day, Terry and I went downtown in the early afternoon...we caught the end of the Rex parade and saw some of the truck parades later. We did have a nice afternoon downtown, the weather was absolutely beautiful. We had a nice lunch and then grabbed a caramel apple and some coffee and sat and just did some people watching...my favorite.

And....last, but not least, a little Public Service Announcement. While the girls and I were waiting on the parades to begin, Ashley noticed this nice guy in front of us, who had not trimmed his eyebrows in quite some time. We were amazed. He was married, his wife was right next to him. I kept wondering, why doesn't she insist on him trimming those brows....so wives....please help make sure that your husband is trimmed!

Happy Lundi Gras (Fat Monday)

2009-02-23T13:51:00.002-06:00

If you are not from New Orleans, the events of this week are hard to explain. It is like a national holiday here, but we are the only ones celebrating. When we moved to New Orleans over 17 years ago, no one told us about the Mardi Gras week. We didn't know that they close all the stores, that there is no mail, that the schools are out for a week, and major corporations and factories shutdown.

It is definitely the culture here.....you either think it is the weirdest thing ever, or you just join in the festivities.

Of course what is publicized for the rest of the world to see, is the worst of the worst and usually the tourist. But what most people enjoy is the culture, the history of it and the family fun. The parades are amazing. Nothing like it, no where else.

So today, Ashley, our friend Sarah and I are going to Harry Connick Jr.'s parade...the Krewe of Orpheus. I hope to get some good pictures of Harry to post. We are leaving in about an hour. We will pack some drinks, snacks, and stop and get a little meal, probably Subway or something like that. Then we will find a place to park, drag our lawn chairs and blanket and stake out a place along the parade route to enjoy the evening. There will actually be two parades tonight. While we wait for the parade, we will eat our meal, laugh and enjoy people watching....my favorite part.

Brittany won't be joining us tonight, she is spending her Mardi Gras vacation in Alabama visiting her boyfriend. I will post some cute pictures of them tomorrow as well.

I love My Church - video

2009-02-19T11:40:00.004-06:00

Here is the "I Love My Church" video clip that Brittany did for church last week. She found a few volunteers who didn't mind a little camera time and came up with this cute clip....she is very talented. Enjoy!

I Love My Church...New Day Christian Center from Brittany Ray on Vimeo.

Nothing Blogworthy

2009-02-18T12:39:00.003-06:00

I have just been catching up. Doing everyday stuff that has to get done....some stuff that I keep putting off, but now I am finally doing it.

So there just hasn't been anything blogworthy. We did have a great weekend.
I love my church Sunday was a lot of fun. I do plan on posting the little video that Brittany produced, if I can get her to do it from her Mac. We spent the afternoon with our new Administrative Bishop and his wife. We had a great time.

In other news...my Dad had cataract surgery this morning. I spoke with him a few minutes ago and he is doing fine. I've been trying to get them to come down for Mardi Gras, but no luck. All these years that we have been here and they have never been to a Mardi Gras Parade.

Bak to my "to do" list.

Happy Valentine's Day again!

2009-02-14T13:37:00.003-06:00

Although I already posted a Valentines Day blog, I couldn't help but to say it again!

Terry and I enjoyed an afternoon out yesterday. We went to the mall to pick up his gift, then to a late lunch and to a movie. We saw Slumdog Millionaire - it was alright, a good movie. I'm not sure I would call it Oscar winning, best movie of the year, but it looks like it may end up that way. I like Benjamin Button better. I've only seen two of the oscar contenders. Next week at our theater they are having a special. For $30.00 you can see all five nominated movies and unlimited popcorn. Sounds fun, if you are prepared for a WHOLE day of movies.

Today I have a lot to do to prepare for our service tomorrow. We are having a special day at church. It is I Love My Church day. We are going to have some special added parts to the service. Brittany recorded and made a special little video clip. I will try to post it - it is fun. We are having special guests, our new State Administration Bishop and his wife. After service, his wife, myself and the girls are going to lunch and then to the jewelry show at the convention center. The guys have a meeting with another pastor in the area. We will meet later in the evening to continue our visit together.

I have been captivated by the food network this morning - watching show after show, so I need to turn off the T.V. and finish my work!

Again - Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-13T12:19:00.003-06:00

I know it is not until tomorrow, but we have a busy weekend so we exchanged valentines today. Actually, I had a card on Terry's pillow last night and in it was the plan for today....to the mall to pick up his gift, to lunch, and then to an early movie...before the crowds tonight.

When I got up this morning the bedroom door was shut, so when I opened it, there was a gift bag on the other side. Terry bought me the new John Grisham book - some dark chocolates and a card. He had brought me a dozen roses a couple of days ago.

Ashley came by this morning with cards for each of us and a little gift - for me, the eyeliner I like and some nail polish. So sweet! Brittany is unemployed, so I suggested that she could do something special for me like housework!! I think she would rather go in debt! She did make me a breakfast sandwich this morning.

I have a few things to finish on my "to do" list and then off for our valentines afternoon.

Have a great weekend and celebrate your love for others!

Amazon

2009-02-11T15:09:00.002-06:00

Terry and I both had offices when we were in Shreveport. We both had a large library of books. When we moved back to New Orleans, we knew that we would be facing a different situation. No church building, no offices. So, we kept out our most important resources and put everything else in our attic. Well that has been over 5 years ago. If you haven't used it in 5 years, you probably don't need it!

So, Terry did all the hard work getting all the boxes out of the attic and Brittany and I have been checking their resale value on Amazon.

Brittany has been selling books and CD's on Amazon for a while. Just a little here and there. But with these books from the attic, she has been bringing in some cash....much needed since she isn't working right now. It is hard to find a job that will work around her school schedule. She did have an interview this morning.

My niece Melissa and (mostly) her husband, Scott sell on Amazon all the time. It has become a real hobby for Scott and almost a part time job. But, he does have to invest a lot of time and effort. Finding the books at sales, second hand shops, etc. Then there is the record keeping, storage and mailing of the items that sell.

But it has been interesting to see what sells and how much people will pay for a book - especially old books that are out of print. So, it has been fun going through those boxes and finding a little treasure before donating the rest of them.

In other news, it has been a busy week. Terry and I went to the elementary schools today and delivered valentines for all of the teachers and staff on behalf of our church. I have been bagging up candy for a couple of days.

The girls and I are going to sneak out for an afternoon movie - we are leaving in a few minutes. Going to see "He Is Just Not That In To You". I hope it is good. I really want to see the movie with Harry Connick, Jr. and Rene Z. Maybe Terry and I will see that on Friday evening.

The weather is beautiful here. Just a little rain this morning - but it has been in the 70's and sunny. I am excited about Spring coming.

Our Valentines and other pictures in my camera..

2009-02-06T17:06:00.005-06:00

Here's our version of the I-pod valentines that I wrote about in the previous post. They are really cute, I hope the kids like them.Below are some other pictures that were in my camera.Snow AngelWill's basketball game - he is the shortest kid on the team.The redhead....they are sponsored by the funeral home....Scott said their team slogan was: "We will take you to the grave"......."
Here is an action shot - obviously I didn't have my camera on the right setting.

Superbowl pictures. My friend brought us some 3-D glasses to wear for the special 3-D preview.

Jose was amazed at how his carrot slice came to life.

Brittany on the phone with Justin - as she usually is.

More amazing ice pictures

A close up of Bullet

Trying to catch up!

2009-02-06T13:52:00.003-06:00

I've been back from up North about a week and I am still trying to catch up! Everyday I have had something to do - appointments, errands, events, etc.

Today I am going to try and get my surroundings in order. My desk is a mess, piled with mail from when I was gone and I need to make my 2009 files and put away the 2008 files.

I've been picking up some valentine cards and treats for those that are special in my life. Today the girls and I sat down and made some cute valentine crafts for the kids at church. I got the idea from the Family Fun magazine that I took from Melissa's house. I asked if I could have the magazine and she said no....but I found it in a pile of mail by her desk and knew that she would never miss it.....so I took it!! Here is a pic of the cute
I -pod valentines.

Ours actually look better. We used a variety of colors and instead of white string, we used curly ribbon that matched that paper. The play list are songs about love. I'll take a picture and post the ones we did later. OH...it is a box of sweetheart conversation hearts - wrapped in colored paper - the ear buds are mini Reese peanut butter cups - covered in aluminum foil. The play list is a template I downloaded from the Family Fun website.

I'm Home!!

2009-01-31T19:31:00.002-06:00

This is the ice that I left behind yesterday when I left Illinois. For miles the ice covered the trees, ground, signs and power lines. Finally when I got to West Memphis, AK the area cleared up. I stopped to take a few pictures along the way. It was really the most beautiful sight. Too bad that it is causing such trouble for so many people in several states with power outages, no heat, no gasoline, etc.
My plans were to leave early last week and stop in Savannah, TN to visit Terry's Aunt and then on to Tupelo, MS to visit my friends Doug, Judy and their family. Well, due to my delay I wasn't able to make it to Savannah, TN. But I did stop by Tupelo. Doug and Judy were great hosts. Their home is absolutely beautiful, welcoming and comfortable. I visited with their two children, Heather and Ben at their homes and saw their adorable children. It was such a treat. I babysit for Heather and Ben when they were toddlers and I was a teenageer. Now, to see that they have children that same age, and they look like carbon copies of their parents when they were little. It was very sweet.

Even though Doug and Judy's kids are grown and gone, they still have a little one around the house....Bullet! He is very friendly and likes to get up close and personal!! He is a cutie! And, what a pose for the camera! I had a great time! And, I won't let 8 years go by before my next visit.

It is nice to be home. The house was clean, the living room is set up for our Superbowl party tomorrow (the party consists of me, Terry, the girls and Jose) and I am getting stuff ready for church tomorrow.

"There's no place like home!"

Snow Day

2009-01-28T09:40:00.003-06:00

Last night after dinner, we roasted marshmallows with the boys. They stayed in the PJ's all day and played. It was like a long Christmas day.This is what we woke up to this morning. Under the four inches of snow is about 4 inches of frozen sleet. It is beautiful, but not easy to drive in. We tried moving the cars this morning. No luck.We all got dressed to go out and play in the snow. Of course I don't have any winter wear, so I had to borrow socks and some boots from Melissa. The snow is not packing snow, so no snowballs or snowmen.But the snow is nice and fluffy for snow angels and sledding. The neighbors have a little hill on the side of their house that the boys use to sled down.

Little Jaron was freezing so he came in to enjoy the fire and some Hot Chocolate. The other two boys are still out there. They say that are not cold and their feet are fine. I am convinced it is because they have no feeling left in them.

Everyplace is closed around here, so even if we could get out there is no where to go. Scott is still trying to shovel out to get to work at the Post Office, but not sure he will make it. He called and all but one of the other desks clerks have called in and cannot make it to work.

My parents are just 5 miles away, but we have no way of communicating. Their cell phones are based out of Paducah, KY, so their towers are frozen and we can't get through to them.

I was suppose to leave today and go through Tennessee to visit Terry's Aunt and then to Mississippi to visit with my friends Judy and Doug. But at this point I don't think that is going to happen.

Judy, if you are reading this I assume you know that my plans are on hold. If I can get out of here tomorrow or maybe Friday I still may try and stop by, but I will call you first.

I'm stuck

2009-01-27T18:12:00.003-06:00

This picture is looking out Melissa's garage into her front yard. We have about 4-6 inches of sleet. It is so solid that you can walk on top of it. It is still coming down and we are only half way through the storm. Another 18 hours at least. The weather reporters say that it will start snowing on top of this sleet after midnight tonight.
Thankfully we have power. My relatives that are further South - in Paducah, KY are without power and trees are falling all around them.My poor new car. Covered with ice. I am hoping to be able to get on the road late tomorrow and head back to my parents and then leave to head South on Thursday.Of course the kids are happy to be out of school. So today we just stayed in the house around the fire place, we played Mexican Train Dominoes and ate! I made dinner and it is in the oven now. I am trying out a Tamale Pie. I spoke with my family at home and it was 75 degrees there today. I enjoy the beautiful white cover on the ground, but it is a bummer when you can't get out.

Winter Storm Warning

2009-01-26T19:16:00.003-06:00

So I may be trapped in Southern Illinois. My dilemma now is whose house do I hunker down at. I can stay with Mom and Dad and have some peace and quiet - electric heat only if the electricity goes out and not a whole lot of food. Or, I can stay at my niece's house and have to deal with the hectic lifestyle there with three little boys who will be out of school and they have a fireplace and a lot of food. My niece and her husband both work for the post office, so they will have to go to work, you know....."come rain, sleet or snow". So, I am trying to decide where to sleep tonight.

According to the radar, the sleet is just an inch away and a lot of snow and ice are predicted. When the weather channel has Jim Cantore stationed in Paducah, KY, you know they expect something big.

I suppose I should have left this morning to head back, but I had plans for today and hated to leave. Bottom line, I will eventually get back home.

Melissa and I went to see a movie this afternoon - Revolutionary Road. Good performances, but a sad movie.

I'm freezing....too cold up here!

2009-01-23T19:44:00.002-06:00

Well I am in Southern Illinois and attended my Aunt's funeral yesterday. It was good to see some family that I usually don't see, unless there is a funeral. But, it was still good to see them.

Yesterday the weather was not that bad and today was mild, but tonight a cold front is coming in and I am chilled to the bone. My niece just took me out for dinner at a place called....oh never mind, I can't remember what it is called, but it was good. My three little nephews went with us too and my goodness, I am so glad that my kids are grown.

I will be heading back over to my parents house to spend the night and tomorrow we are going to my nephew Will's basketball game. Then we will all have dinner tomorrow afternoon together.

I will be here a few more days and then on my way back to Louisiana I plan to make a couple stops to visit with some friends.

My Great Aunt Ludene's journey here is over.

2009-01-20T16:49:00.002-06:00

Today is Inauguration day and I have been trying to watch as much as I can. I actually sat and watched the swearing in live and recorded it for the girls. But I have been running errands since and answering the many phone calls. My Great Aunt Ludene passed away early this morning. She was my Mom's Aunt and the matriarch of my Mom's side of the family. She has always been spry and ready to go with anyone who will take her. Recently she fell and broke her hip and shoulder, she had surgery but continued to get weaker.

Anyone who knows my family, has probably met her before. She has always been a part of our life. After my Mom's parents both passed away in the early 70's, Aunt Ludene has been somewhat of a mother to my mom.
They were very close and keepers of each others secrets. Recently my mother lost her cousin Ruth to cancer and now this loss so close is extremely hard for her. As a matter of fact, my mother will now be somewhat of the matriarch of those left in her family. Today also has other significance to my mom, it is the anniversary of the day that we buried my brother and it is also her late sister's birthday.

I am going to try and drive up there tomorrow to be with her and attend the funeral. I will be going alone and it is a 10 hour drive. I don't mind the drive, I just get a little bored.

So, needless to say, today I have been running around trying to get it all together. I still have a couple of errands to complete and then I can start packing. I don't know how long I will stay, but since I am going, I might as well make a visit out of it. I just dread the COLD weather!

I will try and blog from there and maybe do some "rayality" videos. I haven't done those in such a long time.

2009 - so far...

2009-01-12T11:39:00.003-06:00

It has been a blessed year so far. Really I am so glad to be past the holidays and getting back to a regular schedule.

We spent New Year's eve and day in Baton Rouge with our friends Harry and Johnette. We stayed at a really nice hotel and enjoyed our time there. On New Year's eve we ate at P.F. Changs and then went about Baton Rouge trying to find something to do.....not a lot going on for non-drinkers and non-gamblers. We finally went back to our hotel and watched the countdown on the television there. The next day we went to Harry and Johnette's house and enjoyed the New Years meal she prepared...black eyed peas, cabbage and a pork roast. It's tradition to have that on New Years day....I've never ate it on New Years, so we will see if it makes this year any better than the past years. After that we shopped and saw a movie. It was a nice couple of days.

Since the new year has begun, my washing machine broke, so we had to get a new one. One of our vans has some serious troubles, so we have been shopping for a new car, I don't like car shopping at all - the whole dealer, salesman thing drives me crazy. We were suppose to go today to some more lots, but Terry has been sick with sinus/allergy junk and it is cool out today. I suggested he stay home and rest and we will go later this week.

Brittany has been working for a temp agency and they have kept her very busy. She starts back to school next week and will still be working for the temp agency as well. She keeps herself very busy.

Ashley started back to school today, she will have a busy semester and then will do her student teaching. She is more than ready to finish. She changed her name today - kind of sad. She called me from the DMV and told me it was official - then she went to the bank to change her name there and later this week we are going to transfer her car title from us to her...Ashley Ramirez.

Today is the 2nd anniversary of my brother's death. I went back and looked at my e-mails from that day........and re-lived that afternoon. I had been e-mailing my friend Elizabeth back and forth that afternoon, so I was e-mailing her while I was calling and trying to get a hold of my brother. Finally the police answered his phone and gave me the news. I then e-mailed her that information while I was talking to them before I called my parents. So those e-mails hold a lot of memories and details of that day. In some ways it seems like 5 years ago and in some ways it feels like yesterday. I talked with my mom this morning and she is trying to keep busy today.....of course for them, not a days goes by that they are not thinking of my brother.

Life goes on.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T11:30:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year friends! Today is the last day of 2008. I must say that 2008 was great for the Ray family. It was eventful and blessed. We are looking forward to 2009.

Terry and I are going to pack up and head to Baton Rouge for New Years Eve and Day. We are staying there for a couple of days - just to have some together time. We will be having dinner tonight with our friends Harry and Johnette. We have reservations at P.F. Changs. Tomorrow we will go to their home and enjoy lunch with their children. We will probably see a movie or two and do some shopping before we come home on Friday.

We have had a nice break between Christmas and New Years. It has been quieter than usual, but we have had some nice times together. The day after Christmas, the girls and I went to Houma for some shopping. Terry and Jose went golfing and then drove down to meet us for dinner and a movie. Our friends Josh and Wayne also drove down and met us and we enjoyed a nice long dinner together and then went to a late movie to see Benjamin Button....it was a great movie!

I bought the kids a new game for Christmas...Partini. Lots of fun, we have played it several times.

Terry has taken down the outside decorations and cleaned up the lawn, but I still have the inside decorations up. I sure wish I could just blink my eyes and they would all be put away....but that won't happen, so I will start putting them away when we get back on Friday.

Below are a few pictures from Christmas morning.

Stockings waiting for the kids to open.

It's a tradition now, every year after Jose empties his stocking, he wears it!

The Newlyweds with their Christmas spoils.
Penelope kept us busy - eating the paper and running around.

My Neighbor has a lizard in her laundry room!

2008-12-23T13:50:00.002-06:00

My phone has been ringing off the hook today...most of the calls are from my neighbor, Ashley!
She has a lizard in her laundry room.....well she said it was as big as an iguana.
We have gecko's here in New Orleans. They are very common and quiet sweet. If you work your flower beds, you get to know them and they get to know you and are very friendly.
When my nephews were here this summer, they loved catching the lizards and keeping them a day or two and then letting them go. They are chameleons and change colors too.

So, this morning when Ashley was doing her laundry and taking a load out of the dryer, the lizard leaped out unto the floor and into the water pan under the washing machine. She called, but I was still in my gown, as I plan to be the rest of the day while I am still baking....yes, I am still baking. So, I couldn't go over there and help. She has called several times since with updates....he is still there.

It is quite convenient to have Ashley next door. I needed to borrow a couple of her cookie cutters, but since I was not dressed, we met at the fence in the backyard and she passed them over to me.

I had planned on stopping my baking, but as I make up cookie boxes and baskets for our friends, I am running out of goods. So, I decided to make a few more things. I still have to make containers for our neighbors. Then we are going to someones house for dinner tonight, so I wanted to take some banana bread and pumpkin bread. But this is it.....well except for a coffee cake and red velvet cake I am making tomorrow for Christmas day.

Sunday we had our Christmas service. Ashley did a great job putting together the music for the service. She and Brittany sang Winter Wonderland and her and Jose sang Silent Night beautifully in English and Spanish. The Praise Team did some special songs and sang The Doxology acapella and it was amazing. Later that evening, Ashley and Jose were invited to another church to sing as well.

. This is it....tomorrow is Christmas Eve. We really don't have any plans, but we will find something to do. On Christmas morning, our family will open presents and have a light breakfast. Around 11:30, we are going to Ashley and Jose's and his family will come for Christmas Brunch. THEN, I am going to RELAX....and we will probably do a movie or two in the evening.

I need to go and decorate my cookies......I hope everyone is ready for the Holidays!

Still Baking

2008-12-20T13:33:00.004-06:00

My front yard covered in snow last week.

I'm still baking and preparing for Christmas. Today I am going to make some more Pumpkin bread, Pumpkin rolls and cookies. All of these will be divided between my neighbors and the rest we will keep at home to eat on Christmas Eve and Christmas.

It is Saturday and I don't plan to go anywhere. Terry and Brittany are going shopping. I'm not sure for what, but I think it will have something to do with my Christmas present from Terry. I thought we had agreed not to buy anything for each other, but I guess not. I had already broke the pact anyway and purchased a few gifts for Terry.

This morning I made breakfast biscuits and Brittany and I went out to sit on the swing to eat our breakfast and it started to rain....so we ran next door to Ashley and Jose's house to visit. While we were there, we heard the neighborhood Christmas Parade....which consists of about four firetrucks, people on golf carts and a sleigh being pulled by a pickup truck with Mr and Mrs Santa and our friend Randy Bean, who is the fire chief. We ran outside to watch and had some fun with Ashley and Jose's dogs. They threw beads and candy just like a Mardi Gras parade.

Last year we rode in the parade with Quincy dressed as Santa. It made me sad thinking of that this year and that is why I didn't volunteer to ride.

Quincy and Brittany last year in the Christmas Parade....and Quincy with Santa at the Fire Station afterwards....greeting the children. We miss him so much...he was such a great dog, I can't even image another one like him.
The rain has passed and it is warm and muggy - in the 70's. As a matter of fact, I found it funny that after the parade, a little while later, I heard some music and looked out and it was the Ice Cream Truck going through the neighborhood. I am getting used to Christmas in the South.....I don't miss the bitter cold and the messy snow. I do miss a nice white cover of snow around the Christmas Holidays....but other than that, warm weather is nice.

I finished all my Christmas Cards but a few I need to get addresses for. I was waiting for all the wedding pictures, so I could pick one to use. I haven't received many cards this year....I guess maybe the tough financial times have kept some from sending cards.

Ashley and Jose's dogs during the parade...wearing their beads. The above dog is Penelope, a dog we rescued a couple of weeks ago...it's a long story, but a sweet story....if you know someone who would give a rat terrier a good home....let me know. Below is Jose's dog Bella...she is a sweetie and not too happy about the new, hyper dog that has come into her space.

Favorite and Easy Cookies

2008-12-16T19:16:00.010-06:00

I promised my niece Sarah that I would post a couple of easy Christmas Cookie recipes. We make these every year. They are all only four or less ingredients.....but they look really great and you can impress your friends and family.

Peanut Butter Kisses:

These are a classic, but my recipe is really easy.

1 Jar (18 oz) Creamy Peanut Butter

1 1/4 c. granulated sugar

2 Large Eggs

Bag of Hershey Kisses

Mix with a wooden spoon. Dough will be sticky. With floured hands, shape into Tbls. size balls. Bake 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees. Cookies will look dry and cracked. As soon as you remove from oven, press Hershey kiss into the middle of cookie. Let set a few minutes then carefully remove cookie with spatula and let cool.

*If you want the sugar look on cookie, roll the dough ball in sugar before baking.

Whipper Snappers

These are YUMMY!

1 Cake Mix - any flavor, but we use Devil's Food

9 oz Cool Whip

1 Egg

Mix together - with powdered sugared hands, roll dough into Tbls. size balls, roll in powdered sugar then place on cookie sheet and bake 12 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Let set a couple of minutes and then remove from baking sheet with a metal spatula. Let cool on wax paper.

They are delicious - people love them....pretty if you use Red Velvet cake mix for Christmas.

My new 3 ingredient treat I got from my friend Judy's blog. They are Holiday Pretzel Treats....yum and fun to make. Adds lots of color to your cookie trays.

Holiday Pretzel Treats

Bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels

Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hugs

Red and Green M&M candy

Heat oven to 170. Put pretzels in a single layer on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then top each pretzel with an unwrapped Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug.Bake for 4 to 6 minutes (the white chocolate Hugs melt more quickly so 4 min. for them), until chocolates feel soft when touched with a wooden spoon. Remove from oven and quickly press an M&M into the center of each kiss.Allow the treats to cool for a few minutes, then place in refrigerator to set, about 10 minutes.

I only like them with the Hugs....plus they are prettier with Hugs.

Also, I had a TOUGH time finding the square waffle shaped pretzels...none of our grocery stores carried them. Finally we found them at Big Lots, a close out store.

Check out Judy's blog here

Sorry about the crazy spacing, I can't get my blog to cooperate, I have tried to edit it - sorry.

One Big Blog!

2008-12-11T16:23:00.005-06:00

So, once again I have slacked in my blogging and now I have too much to talk about. SO...I have uploaded several pictures and I am just going to go through and comment and let you know what is going on. So enjoy.......

We are still waiting for some of our wedding pictures, but here is a preview of some of them and some of my favorites. Love pictures of my girls together!

This is Quincy in his tux, kissing the bride. Poor little Quincy passed away while we were on our cruise. He was very sick with cancer and we knew he wasn't going to get better. He made it through the wedding and was a good sport about wearing a tux and posing for a few pictures, even though he was weak. When Terry walked in the door with Quincy, the first thing he did was lean in to kiss both girls.

This is a shot of all the girls the night before the wedding. They all stayed at Ashley's house and had a great time. That is when they came up with their choreographed dance to "Say a Little Prayer for You"....what a great bunch of girls.

Me and Brit before the wedding.

This is a sweet picture of Jose and Jaron. After the older guys were fighting over the garter...it fell on the floor and Jaron scooped it up.

Ashley and the girls before the Limo picked them up. It was a beautiful day, but WINDY...but their hair held up fine. Stephanie used a ton of hairspray. Better Windy than Humid she said.

Quincy giving Brittany a kiss too. He loved us all so much and we miss him.

Today was SNOW DAY! First snow for us since Christmas day 2004. But today was more and it stuck.....for a while. I was on my way out of town...to Houma, further South and away from the snow. So Ashley took the picture of me before I left, right when the snow started. The flakes were huge and beautiful. She took several other pictures that I will try and post later. But now, the snow is gone.
Just when the snow started falling in my backyard. Huge flakes. The ground was covered...before it warmed up and melted.

Terry and Jose went to the Saints game at the Dome on Sunday after church. The girls and I dropped them off, then we went to Sun Ray Grill for lunch. After we picked them up, we shopped a little on Magazine street and then went to Miracle on Fulton street for some beautiful sites and fake snow. Little did we know we would see the real snow so soon.

This is what the snow looked like across the lake, North of here. This is Kay and Kelly Peltier and the snowman they built this morning.

After the wedding and before our cruise, we did enjoy Thanksgiving. Brittany's boyfriend Justin came down from Alabama. We cooked the traditional meal and left them with plenty of leftovers when we left on our cruise two days later.

This is me and Terry in Cozumel. What a beautiful port. The water was such a beautiful blue.

We really enjoyed our cruise and would certainly go again. My parents enjoyed themselves too.

Mom and Dad on the beach in Cozumel. The weather was perfect.

The towel animals that our steward left in our room each night. The rooms were surprisingly comfortable. Plenty of room for two people and the bathrooms were also roomy. The ship was very clean and the service was great.

In the background you can see our ship in Port at Cozumel.

Mom, Dad, and Terry at the Mayan Ruins in Progreso...very interesting. We had just received the call from the girls that Quincy has passed away. I hated that they were home alone when it happened. Jose, Ash and Brittany did a great job taking care of his little body and burying him.

Me and Terry at the Marketplace in Progreso. Progreso was a very poor area, but I certainly appreciated their history. It was in Progreso that Terry and I got a couples massage on the beach....very relaxing!
Since I have been home....it's all about Christmas. Brittany made the first batch of cookies and she continues making them. We are going to work on some more tonight for a Bake Sale at the church on Sunday. Then we will start making more to enjoy and give through the season.

I've been wrapping presents and making gift baskets. Thankfully I finished my decorating even before Thanksgiving.

Trees and more

2008-11-26T17:58:00.008-06:00

Second week of recovery and I feel back to normal! I can't believe how fast time has flown since the wedding. My parents are still with us, we are waiting to leave on our cruise on Saturday.

Mom and Dad before the wedding

Our friends Doug and Judy from Tupelo, MS and Elizabeth from Zion, IL

At our brunch after the wedding

Terry's cousin Ron and Jane from Montgomery, IL and our friends Bob, Jan and Shirley from Springfield, IL

We have remained quite busy since the wedding, catching up on all the things that I had let go. Ashley and Jose are still in Gatlinburg and will return this Saturday. We will miss seeing them, as we will leave before they get home. I wanted to have my house decorated before I leave, so when I return on December 5th I will be ready to shop and bake for Christmas. Today I achieved that task with help from my Mom and Dad. Terry started getting the outside decorated and will probably finish tomorrow after the big meal.

Brittany's boyfriend Justin is here for Thanksgiving and we have been having fun playing guitar hero....looks like we will be getting one for a family Christmas present, if we can get our hands on one.

Today, I had dad go out and harvest my kumquats from my back yard. A couple of years ago, I bought Terry a kumquat tree for our anniversary....we love kumquats and each other, so I called it our "love" tree. It has produced very well.

I finished the tree last night with help from Brittany and Justin. I wish I could just put it away decorated each year. What a task.

Also, this year I wanted to decorate around my mirror above my mantle. I finished it this afternoon and was quite pleased with my results.

I probably won't blog until I return from our cruise. Hope everyone enjoys a great Thanksgiving tomorrow.

Now - we are going to eat pizza and play dominoes.

Wedding Pictures

2008-11-18T15:08:00.006-06:00

The Beautiful BrideBrittany - Maid of HonorGroom's Cake - A pot of crawfishCake PullsMy little great nephews after their duties had been fulfilled -at the receptionSecond Line - fun! My Dad certainly enjoyed himself - doing the twist!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, here are a few thousand! I am too tired to write a wedding summary yet, so let the pictures speak and in a couple of days I will add more and share our experience. Let me just say this.....it was amazing, beyond my imagination and all the planning was worth every second.

The last of our company left this morning. My parents are still here and will be through Thanksgiving and then we will leave on a cruise with my parents to celebrate Terry's 50th birthday this year and their 50th wedding anniversary.

Ashley and Jose are in Gatlinburg enjoying the beginning of a two week honeymoon for them, which they truly deserve. Ashley called this morning and it was snowing in the mountains.

Final Days...

2008-11-13T09:28:00.003-06:00

It's Thursday....just two more days until the wedding. We are so excited and we are savoring all of our "last" moments together as a family. Not that Ashley won't be part of the family....but it won't be the four of us together at our house. Of course when Brittany says things like "only two more days", it is not necessarily out of sadness...but relief that she won't have to share a bathroom, etc.

Everything is going as scheduled. My wedding "to do" list is all marked off and we are leaving in just a few minutes to take everything to the reception site, like the centerpieces, favors, etc. Kind of weird letting that stuff go after being surrounded by it for months. We have had two large tables set up in the garage with all of the wedding paraphernalia. Last night we loaded the van and now we are down to one table of stuff that will be taken to the church tomorrow afternoon.

My parents and my niece and her family are on the road now, they will be here about 4:00 p.m. So, when they get here I will feel like the wedding weekend will officially begin!

Say a little prayer for us.

23 years and the best is yet to come!

2008-11-08T12:20:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow is my 23rd Wedding Anniversary. To be honest, we have been so busy with the wedding planning that when I received a card in the mail yesterday from my mother, I had to stop and think and figure out when my anniversary was.

Terry went out last night and brought back two dozen roses....since we have made it 23 years and now entering our 24th. Obviously we will be busy this week, so just a simple dinner to celebrate tomorrow and then we we go on our Cruise in a couple of weeks, we will really celebrate then!Last night, a couple of Ashley's bridesmaids...Mindy and Kay, hosted a lingerie shower for her. They decorated really cute and had some fun games and some games that are unmentionable....but Ashley did receive some absolutely beautiful lingerie sets. She is ready for the honeymoon.

Earlier this week, I went out to my flower bed to pull up some of my summer plants that were looking a little weary and do a little weeding. I thought I would post a picture of my huge mum that has just taken over. It came up early in the spring and bloomed then and I cut it back for the summer and then it came back with a vengeance. It looks really nice with my fall decorations.

It's Over - We have a new President!

2008-11-05T01:22:00.003-06:00

Well, it is finally over....the months and months of campaigning and news coverage.

I am hoping and believing that now all the divisiveness that there has been over the past months will come to an end. That the ugly e-mails will stop and everyone can just accept our new President and respect him and the office that he holds.

I thought John McCain's speech was very gracious and honorable and I thought Barack Obama's speech was inspirational.

I believe that everyone can agree that we witnessed an historical event tonight.

Regardless of how you voted, whether or not your candidate won....we can celebrate the freedoms that we have in our great county and we can know that this is still the greatest country in the world.

And above all, God is sovereign and these election results are not a surprise to Him. Our future is history to Him. The bible tells us that God sets up Kings and Kingdoms and those who are in authority.

Tonight, I go to bed a proud American and proud of our new President, Barack Obama.

The Ray's Rocked the Vote!

2008-11-04T12:38:00.005-06:00

The girls and I went to the poll around 11:30 this morning. We caught it at the right time...only about a 20 minute wait. Brittany went earlier this morning and the line was long, so she came home and decided to skip classes and go with me and Ashley.

While we were there, we ran into Terry coming out....he hung around with us until we finished voting.

Tonight I plan on making flat bread pizzas for us to munch on while we watch the returns come in.

I am feeling much better, but still have a ways to go before full recovery.

Inside my voting booth.
The line....not bad and the weather is beautiful.

Look at the handsome, patriotic man we ran into.

Fall Festival Neighborhood Block Party

2008-11-03T18:36:00.002-06:00

Last Friday night we had a Block Party in our neighborhood. Every year on Halloween, we do something special and each year my neighbors have been catching on....this year, we planned a full fledged block party. We blocked off the street and put up a space walk. Each neighbor did something special. We grilled hot dogs, there was one neighbor doing nachos, another with a popcorn machine and cotton candy. My neighbors next door were really adventurous and made funnel cakes and root beer floats. Through donations, we were able to supply one neighbor with prizes and an LSU toss game. Brittany and her friend Sarah dressed as girls from the 80's and set up a table full of new books for children to pick from. We had a great time with many trick or treaters and parents coming through the neighborhood for some treats and fun.

The weather was perfect, but being out in the night air must not have helped me with my sickness...I took a turn for the worst on Saturday and was in bed for the next two days.
I went to the doctor today and am already feeling better after receiving a shot and a Z-pack.

Even though We are still on target with our wedding "to do" list....this week will be a busy one. All of the last minute details.

Tomorrow - big day...elections! I am so ready for it to be over...I am tired off all the news coverage. I'm hoping there won't be lines at our small precinct. I am going to try to go in the middle of day, when people are working.

Brittany and Sarah in the 80's outfits
Neighbors working together

Some of our little trick or treaters

I'm sick

2008-10-30T20:36:00.002-05:00

I so did not want to get sick...but I am sick. Wednesday, I stayed in bed all day - I've been taking NyQuil at bedtime and hoping that I will wake up and it will be all better. But so far, I am coughing and feeling really yucky. I've set a deadline in my head....If I am not better by Monday, I will go to the Doctor and beg for a shot, steroids, anything to help me kick this. I can't let it linger, I have to get better. Although, I stayed in bed Wednesday, I was up in the evening and helped the girls and our friend Dana put some of the flowers together for the wedding. They look beautiful. We worked on some of the flowers for the Sanctuary and the pew flowers.

We are working our way through the wedding "to do" list and making progress. So far, so good.
Please pray for me. Thanks!

What's going down....besides the temperature?

2008-10-28T01:24:00.007-05:00

The weather is COOL here in New Orleans. Quite a change for us. I do enjoy the crispness, but along with this weather change it has caused me to have a terrible sore throat. I woke with it in the middle of the night and just started praying....I so don't want to be sick right now.

Last night we all rallied together and started moving Ashley's stuff out of our house and over to Jose's. Brittany was scheduled to have a new bedroom suite delivered today and we wanted to move her stuff into our new "guest room"..(Ashley's room.) Poor Ashley, she is very sentimental and gets attached very easily. When she was little, she would cry when we had to leave our hotel room after vacation. So last night when she came back into her room and there was a new bed and her stuff was gone...she teared up a bit.

Packing up the last of her stuff.

Yesterday, Mindy and her new baby Jacob came over for the day to hang out with Ashley and help us finish the wedding favors. He is such a cute baby....one month old.

Jose stopped by to see Jacob too.On Saturday, Macy's returned to our area with two new stores. They had a line up of stars to help celebrate the Grand Opening. We worked really hard all week and got everything on our "to do" list finished so we could go shopping on Saturday. It was fun and Brittany and I made sure we got photos of everyone and some video.

Gavin DeGraw

Tyler Florence from the Food Network (love him)

Carter Oosterhouse from Trading Spaces...actually he was at Dillard's, not Macy's.

Tommy Hilfiger

Clinton Kelly from "What Not To Wear"...he was great and he moderated a fashion show as well.

Of course, Martha Stewart - signing her new $45.00 book. We just took pictures for free.

Just Married...not yet!

2008-10-21T11:32:00.002-05:00

On Sunday afternoon, Ashley and Jose were blessed with another wedding shower. This one was at Jose's church. The place was decorated so nice and there was great food and a beautiful cake that someone from the church made. Bride and Groom hats
The cake was delicious - very moist, kind of like a tres leche cake.

Fleur de lis and Christina Lee

2008-10-18T21:12:00.003-05:00

Today Ashley and I continued with Wedding Prep. We went to the French Market downtown to pick up some charms to make our own "cake pulls" and boy was it crowded down there. I guess it was the beautiful weather and maybe some conferences in town and the Blues Festival. There were lines down the block to get into Cafe Du Monde. We couldn't find street parking and had to pay just the like the tourist. But we were able to accomplish our task and be in and out of the Quarter in less than an hour.

We came home and after a glass of iced tea and a little time on the swing we got started on making the homemade candy favors. Very tedious work and now I know why they charge so much for them at the candy shops. We are half way through and will finish up another day.

Just when I thought I could sit and relax, my little neighbor Christina came over. If Christina can get to me through whoever answers the door and actually make her way in our house...she is in heaven. Everyday she comes knocking - even though her mother is constantly telling her, "don't bother Ms. Trish." Well today was her lucky day, I had her come in and play with Quincy and help me fold clothes. She always asks to play the piano and like I said it was her lucky day, so I let her and she loved it. She stayed a long time and then we finally went out and enjoyed another fire in our fire pit. Her mom bought everything for S'mores and half the neighborhood was in the yard enjoying the sticky treat.

Needless to say, I am exhausted this evening...LONG day! But in a few minutes I am going to curl up on the couch and flip the remote until I can't keep my eyes open.

Friday!

2008-10-17T23:46:00.003-05:00

Well this week has flown by - so much was accomplished, but still so much to do to finish the wedding prep.

Everyday now we anticipate the mail so we can go through the RSVP cards. How exciting. I am only allowed to open them if Ashley is not home, otherwise she wants to open them. We got five today and she was next door at Jose's house (it will be their house together soon), so I opened them and then walked them next door for her to see. Technically she wasn't home:)

We are planning a Fall Festival Block Party in our neighborhood for October 31st. So today I made the fliers to pass out and tied up loose ends. It will not be a huge event, but several of the neighbors are helping, so I don't have to plan a whole lot....since my time is consumed with another event! Our neighborhood is a popular Trick or Treat area, so we expect there will be a lot of children enjoying the fun.

The weather is cooling off...in the 70's and low 80's - so pleasant. I am loving it.

This afternoon we went to Gonzales, LA to the Tanger Outlet Mall for a little shopping with Ashley and Jose and then we went to eat at Outback. Brittany left today after work to go to Alabama to visit her boyfriend. Justin has a brother that is getting married 0n November 15th as well. So Brittany will join their family this weekend and attend two Wedding Showers for them.

Brittany and Justin

Electric Slide

2008-10-16T20:58:00.004-05:00

Okay, so last night I said that I was going to have a bowl of soup and watch the Presidential debate. Well, those were my intentions....but instead of the debate, our family practiced the "Electric Slide".

Terry is determined to have all the steps down before the reception so he can join in on that dance. I had actually been practicing back in the summer with my girls and then with some of the neighborhood kids. It is a great workout - really gets the heart rate going.

So, even though we missed out on the final debate, our time was well spent. Terry has mastered the steps and he is ready to dance at the reception. He is still expecting to practice his first dance with Ashley in the coming days.

(This is a picture off the internet....not us, nor anyone we know...but they are doing the "Electric Slide"!)

Ashley and I finished up some final shopping for the wedding today - buying the isle runner, guest book, bubbles, flowers, etc. Everyday we are checking more things off the "to do" list. I feel like my whole life is on hold at this point - we reference time by "before the wedding" or "after the wedding"....but regardless of the time, effort, and even frustrations of this event, I am determined to enjoy every moment of it.

Taco Soup

2008-10-15T20:44:00.002-05:00

Today I ran several errands and ended the day by meeting Brittany at David's Bridal to finish with her dress. When I got home, I made a pot of Taco Soup from a recipe that my niece Melissa has been raving about. It is really good. It is Paula Deen's version and can be found here at Recipezaar.

I changed it up a bit by using Rotel instead of a can of tomatoes and two cans of green chilies...that was Melissa's hint. Anyway it is really good and a great meal for the Fall. Even though it was 85 degrees today, I still like to proceed as though it were 50 degrees.

Tomorrow I go to Houma to get my hair highlighted and cut and Ashley and I will make our final trip to Hobby Lobby...hopefully. We don't have Hobby Lobby here, so our closest ones are an hour away in either direction.

Okay - I'm off to have a bowl of soup and watch the Presidential Debate.

Sneak Peek

2008-10-14T15:38:00.002-05:00

Here is a sneak peek of the reception venue for Ashley's wedding. It is the Tchoupitoulas Cedar Grove Plantation. The new owners have recently added an addition to the property, but it still has the charm of the old plantation.

Ashley and I met with the owner today to finalize everything and of course to pay the balance...yikes! We picked out the menu, discussed the drink options - which of course, is no alcohol and talked about the music.

Southern wedding receptions are different from the Northern/Midwest receptions that I was used to. Up North, we didn't have groom's cake. The meal was usually a sit down dinner - where as here in New Orleans, most receptions are buffet and hand passed foods. Cake pulls - I had never heard of until we moved to New Orleans and of course a Second Line is pure New Orleans.

And then there is the menu. We have a few people coming down from up North, so I had to make sure there was some chicken and beef. But for the most part Seafood reigns here on the Gulf. Shrimp, Crab and Crawfish...yum! Of course we will have Gumbo and Jambalaya as well.

Wedding Countdown

2008-10-13T11:54:00.005-05:00

We are a month away from Ashley's wedding. I am hoping to blog daily, so I will have a log of this event to look back on in the future.

Ashley and I are working on our Wedding "To Do" list and it seems to be getting longer instead of shorter. I am confident that we will get everything done, but the challenge is to enjoy getting it done!

The invitations have been sent and we are already getting reply cards in the mail. Ashley had her final fitting for her dress last week and we have our final meeting at the reception venue tomorrow.

Our weather has been beautiful here, lower humidity and the evenings are perfect. Brittany and I were in the Autumn mood yesterday afternoon, so we went to Lowe's and purchased an outdoor fire pit. Then to the store to pick up some marshmallows. Terry agreed to help me put it together and in no time we had a fire and a yard full of neighborhood kids enjoying toasted marshmallows. I didn't take pictures, but one of my neighbors did....she had never had a roasted marshmallow, she was so excited...it was also her son's first. So hopefully as the weather cooperates, we will enjoy many evenings by our fire pit.

Here is the model we purchased.

Here are the Petite Fours that were served at Ashley's Kitchen & Housewarming Shower...Ashley prefers Petite Fours over cake...although it's the same, just bite sized with poured icing.

Brittany and Sarah hosted the Kitchen shower - here leading the ladies in some fun and games.
The gift table at the church shower last Sunday.

Ashley and Jose by their dessert table. Jose doesn't like cake (can you imagine?) but he loves Banana Pudding...so no cake...but Dana did make some Petite Fours for Ashley and she did a great job!
Jose modeling his work aprons with tools for a game that Kitty was explaining.

08-08-08

2008-08-08T22:55:00.002-05:00

08-08-08

Today I have heard so many things about the date 08-08-08....it is the beginning of the Summer Olympics....many have gotten married today.......The Chinese say that 08 is a lucky number, therefore this day is special.

But above all....It is my Brittany's birthday! She was born on 08-08-88. She was born in the 8:00 hour. She weighed 8 lbs.

Today, she turned 20! Brittany brings such joy to our lives and I love her very much. Today is a special day because we celebrate Brittany.
Happy Birthday Brit!

I'm Back!

2008-06-09T11:39:00.006-05:00

My Girls!

Brittany's back

Crawfish Before and After

Dancing at Gina's & Aleron's Wedding Reception
Cake pulls for the single girls
Dancing at Tiffany and Luke's reception

Mom and Dad at Easter - Golfing on Good Friday.

They didn't golf, but enjoyed riding around the course on a golf cart.

Another alligator, I found on my "Alligator Hunt"

Terry Dancing with his Girls

It's been about 3 months since my last post. So, I was working on the computer this morning and decided, I need to blog.

Have I thought about blogging over the past three months? Sure. But there have been a few reasons why I haven't. First, I fell out of the habit....and why is it so hard to get back into the habit of something, once you stop? One of the other reasons, was rebellion. I am thankful for those who read my blog and love the comments, but I put unnecessary pressure on myself to keep in touch with family and friends from across the states and then sometimes I get a little frustrated when I feel like I am the only one extending the lines of communication. I know, what a baby - but, I am over it. I know everyone is busy and I was just feeling sorry for myself.

I'm posting several snapshots of our lives over the past few months. As always, we stay busy. My mom and dad came down for Easter and spent a few weeks with us. We enjoyed our time together and the weather was just lovely in the early spring. Mom went with me and Ashley to our "Sister Connection" retreat in Alexandria, LA. We loved having her with us.

After two months in Kansas City....Brittany decided to come home!! The move proved to be a good learning experience for Brittany and she did enjoy herself there, but she is back and we are glad! The New Orleans Mission was glad to have her back as well and she is now serving them as their new Volunteer Coordinator. Brittany is continuing to pursue her degree in Business .

Ashley finished her 4th year at UNO and has one more year before she receives her degree in English Education. We are enjoying planning the wedding. Ashley planned and is teaching at a day camp this summer and she is also taking summer classes. This will be the first year for both Ashley and Brittany that they will not be able to attend and work our summer camps in Jackson, MS.

We have attended 3 wedding showers and 2 weddings so far this Spring/Summer. We also have attended Hornet's games and had a great time watching them in the NBA playoffs. We had a church night at the New Orleans Zephyr's game. Brittany's boyfriend visited from Alabama the first week of May and we had a Crawfish Boil. Terry and I attended a Sadar meal for Passover. These are all items I have noted on my calendar as I look back over the last three months to find some highlights for this update. Oh - we just got back from a week in Baton Rouge, where Terry and I attended our Annual Camp Meeting for our denomination. It was great spending time with friends, worshiping, visiting and laughing together.

We are looking forward to a great Summer....no big plans for traveling or vacations this summer, we are putting all of our energy and money into the November wedding. After that - Terry and I are going on a Cruise and taking my parents with us for their 50th wedding anniversary.

But we will have a great summer - living in New Orleans - you can enjoy a "staycation"....there is so much to see and do. One of my favorite things - is Alligator hunting! I love alligators and you can see my new header picture is of an alligator that Terry and I spotted while enjoying an afternoon drive a few Sunday's ago.

Okay - the problem with not blogging for three months! I have so much to say and it is all so scattered and I am just rambling - so, I am going to just cut it off, add my photos and leave you with a few questions on subjects that are going through my mind.

1) What do you think about Aspartame? Do you drink a lot of diet sodas?

2) Does teeth whitening really work? Do you have a recommendation of the best whitener?

3) Have you changed your driving habits since the gas prices have skyrocketed?

Oh - last but not least....my little Quincy has been very sick. He may have cancer....we almost lost him. He is on medication now and doing better, but still sick. Please say a little prayer for him.

Love & Prayers

P.S. I lost a few of my pictures that I uploaded when I posted, sorry. I will add more next time.

Seniors??

2008-03-03T15:19:00.003-06:00

Terry and I went to the movie on Friday night. When we got to the ticket booth, we were only charged $6.50 each instead of $8.50. I quickly glanced over to the price board trying to figure out why - then Terry said to the attendant, did you give us the senior discount? She smiled and winked and shook her head yes. Then I said thanks....I think!

What made her give us the Senior discount? There is no way I look like a senior.....and even though Terry is much closer to being a senior, he really looks great for his age as well. So, I guess she was just trying to bless us.

My Dad LOVES his Senior Discounts....especially at McDonalds. He can get a Senior Coffee or soft drink for .25 cents. He will drive out of his way or he will pull in to any McDonalds just to take advantage of his Senior Discount. I think he goes to McDonalds more than I ever took my girls when they were little, put together. And he is not the only Senior that enjoys sitting at Mcdonalds and sipping their .25 cent coffee and something off the dollar menu. McDonalds must make most of their profits on children under 10 and Seniors over 60....which is fine with me, since I have stock in McDonalds...literally. When I worked at Frymaster in Shreveport, that was one of the perks, we were able to purchase stock at an employee price. So - keep going to McDonalds Dad!

So let's hear it for the Senior Discount - I refuse to be offended - we saved $4.00 and I took our own snacks in my oversized purse. Which, by the way do not have to be "sneaked" in(or is is "snuck"). In our AMC Theaters, there is no policy about bringing in food and drink from the outside. You can bring what you want. So some people stop at their favorite fast food place before the movie and come in with a bag of burgers and fries, or chicken from Popeyes. It's no louder that people scratching in the bucket of popcorn.

By the way, we saw Vantage Point - which was a decent movie, but I can hardly handle that "Groundhogs Day" type of movie where they show the same scene over and over....but that was the point of this movie, seeing a scene from several "Vantage Points".

Another quick movie review - Martian Child - I watched it last night on video with Ashley and Jose. It was a great little movie - a good movie to watch with family. It is based on a true story.

Fun Weekend

2008-02-19T23:25:00.002-06:00

We had a great weekend. Saturday evening Terry and I went to a Steven Curtis Chapman concert. It was great! I love SCC...he is so talented and a prolific songwriter - amazing. His two teenage boys now travel with him and play in his band and are very talented. Check out his website and new CD here. On Sunday after church, we went to the Ramirez's house (Jose's family) for a crawfish boil. First one of the season for us and they were really good. YUM!
Elijah (Jose's nephew) played with a live crawfish until Jose boiled and ate it and REALLY upset poor little Elijah.

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T20:42:00.005-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!

So you will have to forgive my video....half of it is just half of my face. I was trying to tape it myself and I must have moved into the camera while taping. Also, it is hard to do a Rayality alone...to try and just talk and talk with no one playing off your conversation. When I played it back, I almost didn't post it, but I didn't want to take the time to make another one. I think I am going to count how many times I said "Uhm" - but that serves me right for the times I have sat in a church service or at other public speaking events and counted how many times the speaker said certain words or made certain facial expressions, etc.

P.S. My whole video would not download, so it cut off with 2 minutes left - oh well.

Here are a few books I've been reading:

Don't Bet Against Me by Deanna Favre - fun to read during the week of the NFL playoffs when Green Bay was still in it.

Out of Sync by Lance Bass - Was curious to see what Lance wrote about his Christian upbringing and his Gay lifestyle and how his parents reacted and his church, but I was disappointed that there wasn't more information that would enlighten me on my quest to minister to those struggling with homosexuality.

Seek God For the City - Excellent daily devotional and prayer guide for the Lenten season.

Movies I've seen:
Fool's Gold: Kate and Matthew are cute together, but far fetched and a little long for a romantic comedy. I really want to see a GOOD movie!

Television viewing:

Not much since the writers strike...but watching American Idol with Ashley, it is better now that they are finished with auditions.

I'm watching Project Runway - Sweet P is gone and Chris will probably win.

LOVE Friday Night Lights

And...today's Oprah was good, but what is going on with her and the New Age stuff she is going to teach? Why can't she just stick to entertainment??

AND...I am not even going to talk politics - Good Lord, lots of opinions out there, I think this is the first time my Dad and I don't agree.

Love you all! Let me hear from you...

Trisha

Pictures from Indianapolis

2008-01-30T14:38:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures from Indianapolis. I took my mom there so we could visit my niece Sarah and her baby Ian, as well as my niece and nephew Christine and Mike Bentley. Christine has a beautiful new home that she shares with her husband Paul and their two children, Addie and Aiden. We had a nice visit

**Make sure to scroll down and see my latest "Rayality" - posted yesterday.

Sarah, me, Christine and Mike
Addie and Ian with Aunt Trisha
Grandma and Aiden

I don't want to talk about it!

2008-01-29T22:19:00.000-06:00

Here's my last "Rayality" with Brittany......for a while anyway. Watch for an explanation.

I will be posting some pictures from my recent trip to Illinois and Indiana. Check back soon.

Trisha

Rayality on the road

2008-01-17T12:17:00.000-06:00

Favorite Aunt

2008-01-16T19:30:00.000-06:00

I'm still in Southern Illinois enjoying time with my family. I split my time between my Parent's house and my Niece's house. I have three great nephews who keep me busy - playing games and taking turns sleeping in their rooms.

Friday my Mom and I are going to travel to Indianapolis to see my other niece, Sarah and her baby.

I miss my family and friends at home and Quincy....but I will be back soon!

It is COLD here, I had to go out and buy a winter coat today. I was hoping for some snow.

On The Road Again...I hate packing!

2008-01-07T20:30:00.000-06:00

As I type this, I should be packing. I am leaving in the morning to go spend some time with my parents in Southern Illinois. But instead of packing, I am watching the BCS Championship game and DVRing other shows....I mean during the Christmas holidays, there is nothing on TV and then all it once there is something on every channel. I am recording the Season Premier of Jon and Kate Plus 8 (one of my favs) then, my friend called to tell me that Larry King had a guest on that was discussing Vitiligo - a skin disease that most of you know that I have, then my Dad called to have me watch the news about some bad weather coming through in Illinois and Nancy Grace is back on and had her twins on tonight! And of all nights, I can't sit and watch all of these shows, I have to PACK!

AND...LSU is kicking some right now 17 to 10, second and goal! Exciting!

So - the New Year is here, all the decorations are put away, and I am proud to say that when I put them away this year, I totally reorganized, threw out old stuff and packed away a box of things too precious to throw out, but stuff that I don't use anymore. Then I boxed everything by room or section - next year I will be pleasantly surprised when I open those boxes.

Brittany is on a little trip before she goes back to school, she is in Louisville, KY - she went to Winterfest with some of her friends there and is now spending a couple of days with Jason and Andrea Isaacs.

Hopefully I can update and post some pix while I am gone - when I can find a wireless connection.....hey, where my folks live, I don't even have tower for my cell phone.

LSU - now leading 24 to 10.....gotta go finish the game and finish my packing!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T22:10:00.000-06:00

This is a test post of video from my new Flip Video Camera...love it! This is footage of New Year's Eve at Jackson Square. We took Brittany and her friends, Dayne, Kay, and David. The music was great and it was people watching at its best!

I have got a lot of other fun footage and I am going to practice editing my movies.

Fun -

Trisha

Post Christmas Post

2007-12-28T13:19:00.001-06:00

Our Christmas Morning Fire

Got a little bit of those after Christmas blues....but at the same time, it's exciting to know that a new year is right around the corner. Really looking forward for things to be GREAT in '08! The Ray's had a blessed year in 07, even though it started with tragedy at the shocking death of my brother this past January. Then the year just flew by - life proceeded and it took me a while to catch up, but before I knew it, Brittany was back home from Baltimore and enrolled in school here and landed a great job at the New Orleans Mission. The summer brought us the engagement of Ashley and Jose and we are looking forward to the planning of the wedding this year. My dad turned 70 last August and we were able to celebrate with him. Terry will be turning 50 this coming year and my parents will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. So as blessed as we were this past year, I am looking forward to some incredible milestones this coming year.

We had a great Christmas! Just our little family, relaxing in our jammies, opening gifts, enjoying dinner together and playing games....including the Wii we got from Jose.

Oh....Brittany and I got a Flip Video Camera - so fun and easy. I haven't uploaded anything on my computer yet, but it is suppose to be super easy. So hopefully, I will have many more video blogs this year...with or without Brittany. I also got a KitchenAid mixer - so exciting - maybe some "cooking video blogs" in the future...with my new mixer, flip camera and these great ceramic measuring cups that Kitty gave me.

Well - everyone is back to work and I am home alone with Quincy, so I'm off to do a little after Christmas house cleaning while I listen to the Steve Tyrell CD's that Ashley got me. They are great - check out his music.

Filling and Opening our stockings is our favorite part!

Jose takes his stocking literally......must be lost in translation.

Ashley was thrilled that Cadbury decided to do a Christmas Creme Egg.It was a "very techno" Christmas for Brittany.Terry and Quincy cleaning up the wrapping paper....what a waste!

The meal....The ham covered in crust was a Paula Deen thing...it turned out beautiful and was tasty. Kind of like a huge pig in a blanket!LOL!

Cookie Marathon

2007-12-22T21:49:00.001-06:00

I just finished my "Cookie Marathon"....I baked yesterday and today. Nine batches of cookies and three batches of chocolate dipped pretzels, peanut butter treats and almond bark.Does your cookie sheets look this rough? I was going to buy new ones this year...but I thought these had character and they continue to turn out good cookies...they are Air Bake pans.

Red Velvet and Chocolate Whipper Snappers
Peanut Butter Kisses

Cake Balls, Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies and Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies

Sugar Cookies
More Chocolate Chip Oatmeal and Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Dipped Pretzels, topped with pecans and sprinkles....and peanut butter filled bugles

Brittany's Peppermint Almond Bark

If you are local and I will be seeing you before Christmas, make sure you get a tray of cookies to take home......I love sharing!

Merry Christmas!

Rayality 2: Christmas Edition

2007-12-20T22:16:00.000-06:00

Christmas is coming...

2007-12-20T19:33:00.001-06:00

OMG....he is so precious!!

Well it has been a busy, but fun December for the Ray family. But we are coming to my favorite part...maybe it's a little bit selfish, but it is important. It's Family time!!

Every year after Thanksgiving, the rush begins...the parties, shopping, church events, community events, etc. But in my mind, there is always a cut off. I time that I plan...no more. No more shopping, no more leaving the house, no more events to attend or plan. Then I settle in and enjoy our decorations, I bake, I plan a special dinner for just our little family, I look forward to the games we will play and the movies we will go and see. And it is just about that time. Just one more big event and one more church service.

My shopping is done - all the gifts are wrapped, except for filling the stockings. I have started my baking and will have a marathon day tomorrow to finish up.

I am excited!!

I have more picture to take and Brittany has been promising to tape a "Rayality" for some weeks now. I want to share our decorations with you, so hopefully we can get that on camera for you soon.

Today, Terry and I took a group of men from the New Orleans Mission out for dinner and took them on a shopping spree that was sponsored by members from our church. The guys enjoyed their time out and we enjoyed being with them. On Saturday, the New Orleans Mission will sponsor a Christmas Dinner and give out gifts, play games, etc. Terry and I, along with Brittany will be working the event. Last Saturday, we participated in our community Christmas Parade and our church sponsored a toy give-a-way at our local fire department. Quincy rode along in the parade and greeted the children at the fire station.

I've enjoyed receiving Christmas Cards from friends across the country....don't you just love this time of year!

Let me hear from you and share your family plans.

Trisha

Brittany and Quincy riding in the Christmas Parade.

Miracle on Fulton Street...Downtown