10 Things to Smile About August

Saturday evening I was sitting at my grandma’s table playing Aggravation with my grandma, dad, husband, and Tbug, Abug was switching laps she sat on. I received a text from my mom saying that a girl that I grew up showing horses with had been killed in a head-on collision Friday night. It hit me hard. Yes, we’ve drifted off through the years but still, I grew up with her competitively showing horses against her, yet we’re still a close family!

I hated to say anything on Facebook as well as on here simply because I asked for prayers for her family. I was not trying to make this about me in any way, shape, or form. I ask for prayers for her family. They’re the ones suffering. Yes, I was heartbroken to hear the news, but it isn’t about me, it’s about healing for her family. I wanted to make that clear.

I get accused sometimes of living in my own world. Usually, it is when someone is trying to get under my skin… especially if I’m ticked off already… fight fair, what’s that? But there is a lot of heartache in the world. That’s why it is always fun to participate in Emmy Mom‘s 10 Things to Smile About Memoir. Life is difficult, so any reason to smile is a good thing. And if you can laugh, that’s even better. Plus as an added bonus you burn 5 calories every time you laugh.

So now… 10 Reasons why I smiled in the month of August.
1. I’m really thinking that this post could be summed up by Vacation!

2. Parasailing!!! (more…)

How to: Make a Photo Wall

There has been a lot of uncertainty in our life in the last couple of years. Truthfully more than I even want to admit to… I know that God has great plans for everything and everything will work out in the end. I know that all the trials and tribulations help us grow into the people he wants us to develop in to. But I also know sometimes I just want to scream, pack up the bare minimum, move to a place no one knows me (far far away) and start a new life. Whew… uncertainty is very scary to say the least :). But that last part is an extreme.

So with that out of the way… If you know me at all, I take pictures of EVERYTHING. Think I’m kidding, just check my camera/phone/computer/external hard drive. No joke! For a long while I’ve wanted a photo wall, and I had one for a bit, then we took it down, and now we’re putting it back up. It goes with some of that uncertainty….

The initial photo wall was hung up with the Command Strips so that it wouldn’t put holes in the walls or do damage to the wall paper, etc… yeah that didn’t work. Sad but true. I don’t know if my sticky part of the command strips was too old or the wall paper was the wrong texture or what, but after I put them up, they came back down, some quickly (like a few days). It was extremely frustrating! So this time around there are holes in the wall. It was just easier that way…

Now here’s how to do it:

What you’ll need:
Photo frames/Photos (sizes up to you!!)
Paper
Pen
Scissors (just for cutting… ha. see below.)
Tape
Command Strips or Screws
if screws, then you need a drill
A Wall for photos

1. You’ll want to trace your photo frames on to paper. The first time around I used newspaper, this time around I used regular notebook paper, except for my 8×10 frames. Then I went into Tbug’s room and stole some used poster sized paper. Trace the size of your photo frames out onto the paper.

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Sand the rest of the story, ha!

Yes, that wasn’t puny… although it was….

Okay so I blogged 12 days in a row and then fell off the face of blog land for 2 days. I can’t explain it other than I think school might just kick my butt this semester. Not only do I have classes but I have comps. Remember my mention about the book list…. ugh! But I’ll have you know I just finished Wurthering Heights by Emily Brontë.

Anyway I mentioned in our post coming home from Pensacola Beach that there was a story about us and sand and that I would share it at a future date. Today is the future date.

I’ve mentioned before that my husband and I went to high school together… we were just friends, never dated.

Our sophomore year of high school our band went to Disney World. One of the days that we were in Florida the band headed over to Cocoa Beach. That was only my second time ever going to the beach because hello… I live in a land locked state. (My first was to South Carolina 3 years previous to this trip.)

While at the beach I might have snagged a handful of sand. At the time I did it I didn’t realize I’d still have it almost 20 years later and that it would have some meaning. Meaning you ask? Well… my husband and I were at this beach at the same time as really good friends. And yes, I still have the sand… Sadly it almost got dumped one day just because I knocked over the ring box. Yes, you’d think I’d put it in a better box, but for now, that’s what it’s in and has been for years.

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Pensacola Beach Eats: Peg Leg Pete’s

I definitely wouldn’t have nearly as many posts about Pensacola Beach if I didn’t break each restaurant down into its own post… that’s for sure. I think I might think about food way too much too…. look how much I’ve been talking about food. And it’s not like everyone enjoys looking at what we ate… but that’s okay, it’s memories. Some day when we’re all eating pills for our nutrition… the future will be able to see how we pigged out on real food :). You’re welcome future!

btw, I’m eating animal crackers right now. 🙂

When we got back from Deep Sea Fishing we were hungry. The night before we’d tried to get into Peg Leg Pete’s but the wait was so horrendous we wound up at Hemingway’s Island Grill instead. We decided at 3 pm on a Monday, surely we could get in for lunch, right? You betcha we did so we finally got to try the… Peg Leg Pete’s.

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Pensacola Beach Eats: Hemingway’s Island Grill

Sunday night after we went parasailing, we ran back to the hotel, quickly changed clothes and went to dinner. Everyone was waiting at the hotel for us because we didn’t even go out to parasail until 5:15, but they didn’t mind, or that’s what I keep telling myself. :).

We decided we’d take the suggestion of Peg Leg Pete’s that everyone said, YOU NEED TO TRY, but they were packed. With our party of 9 it would have been at least an hour and a half wait. We didn’t want to do that, especially not with a one year old so we threw out the suggestion of Hemingway’s Island Grill.

Initially my mom didn’t want to go there because she figured it was like the one in Springfield, but when I looked up the menu it was obvious that it was nothing like the restaurant in Springfield. So we were sold. Especially since we got there and they were able to immediately seat our party of 9.

We decided to start with Mary’s Onion Spirals. Fresh thin-sliced onions, hand-breaded and deep-fried, served with our key lime mustard sauce.

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Pensacola Beach: The Trip Home, Starbucks, Funny Stories & Cantina Laredo

I’m sorry, these Pensacola Beach Posts have drug on way toooooooo long! If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading them all but want to:

And then, it was all done. It was time to pack up and head for home. Dad had left for home Monday night… technically he went to Atlanta for work. Mom left at the crack of dawn Tuesday morning and we were scheduled to leave out around noonish on Tuesday.

Now I probably should just do a post all by itself on this picture… I probably will, but know that we took a piece of the beach home with us :).

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Pensacola Beach: Deep Sea Fishing

I baited my own hook.
Wait, what?
Okay… if you know me at all, you know I don’t like fish. Something about them… I don’t eat them (although I went to the dark side), I don’t touch them, I don’t like them. Although I did poke one with my finger when we went scuba diving at Mermet Springs… then I screamed… Underwater… Loudly.

The only plans that were made when we went to Pensacola Beach was to go Deep Sea Fishing. Dad mentioned it, hubby thought it sounded like fun, so he did some research and then they decided to mention it to grandma. Grandma was all game.

Back in the early 90’s when I went to South Carolina with my grandparents I had the opportunity to go but got talked out of it by my ex-uncle. I just don’t think he wanted me to go…. So when hubby and dad were talking about it I said, I WANT TO GO!

I’ve never really been fishing… I have but I haven’t… it’s hard to explain and too long of a story right now. (As Ross says on Friends…. “I believe the word you’re looking for is… Anyway…”)

We decided to go with a private charter. They were set up for 6 people and there were 5 of us, so it was perfect. Dad, hubby, Grandma, Tbug and me.

We had to get up around 6 to get ready and head out. We were supposed to check in around 6:40-6:45. Oy, these crazy fishermen :). (more…)

Pensacola Beach Eats: Crabs on the Beach

Saturday for lunch we met with Lee, Kiran and their clan, then after that hubby and I had appointments to get massages. When we left for the massage it started to sprinkle, while we were getting our massage it was pouring. Pouring rain so hard that we could hear it inside the building. I said the thunder and rain added to the ambiance.

When we got back to the hotel we all just hung out for a little bit before the question was posed, What’s for Dinner?

One of the recommendations we’d had was Crabs on the Beach. We decided that sounded like a good deal. So hubby went out, got the suburban, came up to the door, and chauffeured us all around.

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Pensacola Beach Eats: Red Fish Blue Fish

How many people can say they travel 10 hours or so from home and eat lunch with friends from your area? *raises hand*

So one of our friends is from Florida, not exactly sure where. His girls went to Florida for the summer to spend time with their mother and families down there. He just so happened to be headed down to pick them up around the same time we were headed down for vacation, so it was time for a friends meet up 10 hours away.

We decided to meet up at Red Fish Blue Fish which was right there on Pensacola Beach. I thought it was cool that it looks like the building is made of old shipping containers.Then I went onto the website and found out that the entrance was made of old wooden planks that were from an old Coca Cola warehouse north of Pensacola. Then they verified that the building was in fact re-purposed shipping containers. So there ya have it.

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Pensacola Beach: The Beach

I really think in my former life I lived on a coast, in a house right on the beach. Knowing me it would either be the Gulf or the Atlantic or maybe Hawaii. I can sure tell you though, when I came in to this life, I got rid of any ability to tan. Yeah okay anyway if you believe any of that, I’d believe the tanning part. I even have Greek in me and I don’t have that pretty olive complexion they get although what little tan I do achieve does give me a pretty, very light, olive complexion. Now I’m just babbling. I think it’s because I start school this week and I’m freaking out!!! Moving on!

The reason I was babbling above is I’m still talking about our trip to Pensacola Beach. Today though, we’re actually talking about the beach! Yey! The whole reason I wanted to go on this trip, to plant my butt in the sand and put my feet in the ocean. If you think I’m kidding, I’m not!

Pretty much the minute we checked in to the hotel, I jumped into my swimsuit and was headed to the ocean. I truthfully couldn’t wait. I guess that’s what happens when you live in a landlocked state that is 10+ hours from any ocean.

 

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