Remembering Papa...

My best friends Papa, Dick Wilson died on Saturday, February 21st. Since I have known Amy for around 20+ years her grandparents are like family to me as well. My memories of Papa will always be of his constant smile and easy going nature. He and Granny always opened their house to screaming and laughing girls for Amy's slumber parties and never complained. He made sure the pool was ready for the parties and kept us entertained.

The memory that Papa always talked about had to do with their old house on River Street that was right before the train tracks. One day me and Amy were on the front porch with a radio dancing for the cars that were parked waiting for the train to pass. Papa just watched from the house and since then always called us his "Dancing Girls".

I'll miss seeing Papa at the Treadwell family gatherings and I'll cherish the memories that I have of him and knowing that a few times I made him smile his sweet smile.

Out of Ideas...

Is it possible that i'm already out of ideas for this blog?? I think that with the holidays and all the activities that come with that time of year I was blog material rich. Now i'm running out of things to blog about. I guess we are not really that entertaining after all. I guess you won't get a entry every day from me anymore unless we win the lottery and get to go do fun stuff every day. However, then i'd be busy doing fun stuff and not able to blog. We will cross that bridge when we get there.

Kady posing...

I told Kady to smile and she started posing. These were the two poses she kept doing over and over. She keeps me entertained.

Valentine Day..Part 2

Jamie's schedule changed so he ended up being off on Valentine's Day. Since we had went out the week before we still didn't plan to do much. We all slept in that day so we woke up around 9am and decided to go to breakfast. We went to City Cafe which is our favorite breakfast spot and they were so busy! At that time we didn't have much other choice because it was almost 10am at this point.

We waited around 10 minutes to get our table and then another 5 minutes before our waitress even came to our table! It was chaos in there, they could not keep up with the amount of people coming in to eat. Mom and Benny showed up for breakfast around 10:45 and we were still waiting to get our food. They ended up sitting with us and placing their order. Every time a waitress walked by our table Kady would say, "I want my pancake!" About 10 minutes after they showed up we got our food. When we finished and paid Mom and Benny were still waiting. I hate to have a bad experience at a place that you normally have no complaints with.

Kady kept telling Mom that she wanted to go to her house and watch a movie. I told Kady we would figure something out later. Mom called me when they were headed home to see if they could take Kady with them for a few hours. She was excited so I got her ready and they picked her up. She was so happy pulling out of the driveway with them.

Me and Jamie were looking at each other like what do we do without her? Normally if we have a babysitter it's because we have planned to go and do something but we were lost. I looked for a movie at the theater but there was nothing out that we wanted to see. I think we both napped in our chair for a little while and then caught up on our DVR'd shows. After 3 hours I called Mom to make sure she remember where we lived. She laughed and told us that she would bring her home in a little while. Once we got her home it was back to normal and we felt whole again.

We cooked beans, rice & cornbread for dinner and watched movies. It was really a simple but great day.

Valentine's Day...

Since Jamie is working on Valentines Day we went out to celebrate last weekend. We ended up going to Mikado's in St. Augustine. We had only been there one other time because we tend to always go to Yamato's. Even with all the renovations and updated look we have determined that we still like Yamato's better. The funniest part about our night out was that our cook was a Mexican guy who kept trying to convince us he was Japanese. Good Times. Kady is not a big eater but she loves Japanese Steakhouses. She loves the dumplings, soup and rice. It's always so funny to see her eat that much especially with kid chopsticks.

Afterwards we went to Target and ended up buying her all sorts of things and called them her Valentine's Day presents. (We spoil her!) She got Madagascar 2 and when we got home we popped popcorn, sat on the couch and watched it. She stayed up way past her bedtime last night but we had a fun night. I love my little family. Yesterday Jamie surprised me and brought me flowers to work.

Amber Alert...

I'm so heartsick about Hayleigh Cummings who is a little girl from the Satsuma area who has been missing since early Tuesday morning. I hate to think about where she is or who has done this to her. I can't imagine what her parents are going through right now wondering where their child is and who has her. I don't know what I would do if I didn't know where Kady was. It has to be a lost feeling.

At this time it is still unknown what the circumstances are surrounding her disappearance but it is suspected abduction. For the past two nights Jamie has been on graveyard so at bedtime I put Kady in my bed and lock our bedroom door as well. We have went straight in when I get home and I have not even let her play outside! I even made her memorize our address and phone number. This has also motivated me to call and get busy on installing a security system in the house.

The story of Caylee Anthony down in South Florida has been so disturbing lately and now with this it's just so scary to think what people will do to children.

I am praying for the safe return of this little girl and that wherever she is that she is OK.

Click here to see the amber alert: http://www.ncmec.org/missingkids/servlet/AmberExternalFCServlet?act=retAmberCase&amberId=6848

25 Random Things...

There is a survey going around Facebook & MySpace right now where you are asked to come up with a list of 25 random things about yourself. I finally broke down and came up with my list so I thought i'd share it here as well. If you have not done it yet try coming up with 25 things it's harder than you think.

1. I love reality TV. I pretty much watch all of it.
2. I often think that if reality TV were popular back when I was younger and MORE adventurous I would have ended up on one.
3. I have come to the conclusion that I still don’t like to play with girl toys. I don’t like having tea or playing with the dollhouse. I do it when Kady makes me but I’d much rather take her outside and let her run.
4. I watched The Young & the Restless growing up with my Mom and Nana. I kept up with it thru the years but when I was in the hospital when I had Kady I started watching again. Now I also have my husband hooked on the show.
5. I love taking baths.
6.I love reading
7.I love reading while taking a bath
8. I am a planner and am constantly updating my calendar. I keep several running at once. I have to have something to look forward to.
9. I have an extensive collection of music. Everything from Dr. Dre to Reba.
10. I know all the words to several movies including: Wayne’s World, Dumb & Dumber, Crybaby, Shag & Empire Records.
11. I also have the uncanny knack of memorizing a song the first time I hear it.
12. My best friend Amy Treadwell and I have a choreographed dance to Ice Ice Baby.
13. We also have music videos to Under the Bridge, Jeremy, Last Train to Clarksville, Happy Christmas, Crash & Spoonman.
14. Halloween is my favorite holiday. I have always dressed up and I plan really early for my costume each year.
15. Amy and I have been to so many concerts I could not even begin to count them. At one point we were going to several a weekend.
16. Amy and I are also really good at getting backstage at events. We have always been able to talk our way thru the door.
17. I love live music. Even I don’t like the band watching people play live is extremely entertaining.
18. I love video games. Especially old Nintendo games. I’m currently into Rock Band, Guitar Hero, of course Madden and Tiger Woods Golf for playstation.
19. I hate spiders a lot. I can’t even look at them long enough to kill them. I just run, cry and scream until someone hears me and comes and does the dirty work. Then I have to see proof that the spider has been killed and all legs must be detached from body.
20. I love my family and could never live far away from them.
21. I don’t like fruit. Bananas, strawberries, watermelon --- I hate it all.
22. I love ice cream. Especially when it’s cold.
23. I miss my best friend who lives 3000 miles away now.
24. I love taking pictures. I have scrapbooks starting in high school to current.
25. I am happy with life and would not change one thing.

80's Night...

On Friday I went to an 80's night party in town with my friend Ellie and one of her best friends Brandy. It was sort of last minute so we really didn't have much time to plan the outfits. It was so fun raiding my closet and coming up with something to wear. The only thing I had to buy was the shirt and everything else was put together with stuff I already had. I even raided Kady's jewerly box for neon bracelets.


They played 80's music all night and had posters up of 80's bands up on the walls. With everyone dressed up it reminded me of Halloween which you all know if my favorite holiday. I will always look for an excuse to dress up!

Eli's 5th Birthday...

Last Saturday my nephew Eli turned 5 years old. I can't believe that he is already five. He had a Super Mario Brothers party and it turned out really cute. His cake was cupcakes that looked likeMario's mushrooms. Amy made boxes with chocolate coins in them much like the question mark boxes from the video game. Since Mario stuff was hard to come by, Amy did a good job creating party favors and decorations.

Kady had a good time playing with all the kids. She participated in the super star pinata and pin the moustache on Mario. (I told you Amy got creative with the games.)

Something else unique at this years party was the "Hot Dog Man". They hired a man out of Jacksonville that has a cart and he provides hot dogs, sausages, chips, drinks and all the fixing's for the dogs. It was really a nice variation for a kids party and a lot less work for the people giving the party.

Ollie Koala's...

We went to a place in Mandarin called Ollie Koala's. It's the same concept as Chuck E. Cheese just different characters. It had a much better layout and was arranged perfectly. It's much less crowded and more updated and clean than the other CEC's in the area. Not only do they have fun games but there is also a huge indoor jungle gym much like what you find at Tunnelz 'n' Tumblez. Kady spent most of the three hours that we were there in the playground.

The $40 game card we purchased was spent by Jamie challenging pre-teen boys to racing games and winning. I was in charging of playing games to win tickets so Kady could leave with a prize. We met Amy, John, Eli & Luke there because it was Eli's 5th birthday. Kady loved running around with all the kids and had a great time. She was completely wore out by the time we left and fell asleep on the way home. If you have kids and frequent CEC you should check out Ollie Koala's, you won't be disappointed.

Yard Sale...

On Friday and Saturday I will be participating in a 3 family yard sale to get rid of some good stuff. The yard sale will be held at 107 White Oaks Trail in Satsuma. There will be baby boy and girl clothes (sizes 12m - 2T), lots of baby accessories, toys, bicycle, a working washing machine, housewares, lots of various things and even a boat. We will start at 8AM and probably end around Noon or until we get tired and pack up. If you need directions message me.

Ballerina...

Kady got a tutu for Christmas from the Cowart family. Since Jenny Cowart teaches dance class i'm assuming this her way of hinting that Kady is at an age to start dance lessons. We have thought about it but no decisions have been made.

Anyway, Kady loves the tutu! She always puts it on puts over whatever she is wearing and twirls around the house. I took this picture when I was cooking and she twirled through. She puts her hands up and says im a balla-brina.

Groundhog's Day...

Yesterday was Groundhog's Day and that made me think of one of my favorite movies. Bill Murray is one of my favorite actors and I think that his movie Groundhog Day is hilarious. Last year I practically stalked Mr. Murray at the World Golf Village while he was there for his annual celebrity golf tournament. In the end I didn't get to see him because it was raining and everything was getting delayed. I had already been there so long I didn't want to stay longer and seem suspicious.
Anyway back to the point of this story, if you have never seen this movie you must watch it because it is classic Bill Murray. My favorite part of the movie is when he is trying to get everything right for the Andie McDowell character and keeps getting close to perfect but still messing up. If you watch it I hope you enjoy it.

Superbowl 2009!

Last night was the Superbowl and it was a great game. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 27-23. Even if you don't watch football everyone usually watches the big game to see all the fanfare, halftime show and watch the commercials. This year was a bit of a disappointment in all those categories.

Normally throughout the game the camera will zoom in on the celebrities in attendance. This year the only two people they showed was Kurt Warners wife and Cuba Gooding Jr. Is that really the only famous faces in the crowd? There were more celebrities at Steamboats Friday night to see a show. Those famous faces being Michelle McCool and Mark Calaway AKA "The Undertaker". I'm sure more people would be excited to see a WWE wrestler than a person that was in Jerry Maguire 13 years ago.

The commercials were not that great. My favorite was one of the first ones shown for Pepsi titled Forever Young. I thought it was a creative way to contrast events of years gone by with current iconic images. Other than that nothing really jumped out at me as overly funny or cutting edge. The only remotely funny one was the MacGruber/Pepsi spot and people not familiar with Saturday Night Live were probably highly confused with that character.

On another sour note I thought the half-time show was bad. Is Bruce Springsteen even relevant anymore? Do the Superbowl planners still think that any entertainer under 30 will be tempted to reveal their nether regions to the public? Of course letting Lil' Wayne loose on the field and air waves for 10 minutes may be scary for the censors but wouldn't it be fun to watch!