Wondering, relaxing, Alchemy, STCing and cooking

Last week was a good one filled with a lot of relaxing and a lot of nothing but what we wanted to do but we had a little wondering thrown in too.

A for real fire at 201 last week but apparently it wasn't too bad because the firemen were there for a very short amount of time and we were back to work within an hour.

K had to go to Nashville for work one night so J and I took that chance to chill in the big bed and catch up on some reading.

K and I headed over to Alchemy Friday night and it was just as great as the first time we went but with even better people watching this time. There were some real freaks in that place and we had a prime table right behind the bar where we could watch everything.

We stuck with some of our favorite dishes from last time like the chorizzo and rock shrimp mac&cheese and the pepper jelly glazed wings but tried a few new things including the dusted oysters, fish tacos and lobster raviolo. We were happily satisfied with our experience again! We got home and had a few drinks before calling it a night, we had big plans of being incredibly lazy for the rest of the weekend so we needed to rest up!

We started our lazy day off with a huge breakfast of scrambled eggs, boudin, hashbrowns and toast. We were so full after eating all of that, the only thing we could do was watch a movie.

I was pleasantly surprised by Secretariat. I did not think a "horse" movie could be so good but it was a great story with a wonderful cast. The rest of the day was spent playing old and new games on the iPad, including this kinda silly game of Planet Fish that I came upon accidentally.

Total geek!

That evening, K and I stayed busy hanging out by our firepit, listening to music, drinking some wine and whiskey and cooking and smoking some meats.

I hardly ever make fried okra at home, even though I love it, because it is so messy to clean up but K came up with a wonderful idea for us to be able to enjoy it without worrying about the mess! My husband is so incredibly smart :)

We finished the night with "O Brother Where Art Thou" and a bad ass dinner of smoked shoulder, smoked chicken, homemade baked mac and cheese and fried okra.

We finished Sunday off with more of what we did Saturday, lounging on the couch, watching movies, playing with the pups and playing games on the iPad. What a great weekend we had recharging!

40 ain't so bad!

My 40th struck last weekend and I was expecting it to be horrible and to have a break down but I got by with a little help from my friends.....and family!!

I arrived at work Friday morning to find my office was decorated and I have a lovely fruit and chocolate tray.

Friday night, K took me to Restaurant Iris. We stuck with some great standbys like the knuckle sandwich and Surf and Turf but ventured out and tried bone marrow for the first time. K loved it but I'm not quite sold. All I could think about while eating it was bone marrow transplants and cancer :( Everything else was magical, of course. When we got home, I had a package from Louisiana waiting for me.

I think Dale and Betty are trying to get me ready for next month!

Saturday morning, I woke up to some beautiful tulips (my faves), birthday cards and a Best Buy gift card from my guys.

This little baby quickly turned into an iPad that I had a hard time getting away from J.

J and I had lunch at Panera before he went to a skating party and I headed off to do a little birthday shopping.

He LOVES my blog pics. After a full afternoon, we grabbed some pizza and wings and settled into a lazy night watching movies and basketball.

Soul surfer was such a great movie!!!
Everyone got up Sunday morning and went to church, then we met Mom, Roy, Sis and Tay and went down to Tunica to do a little gambling and have brunch at the Horseshoe buffet.

It wasn't as good as we remembered it being but they had red velvet cake!! Later that night, we met friends for hibachi and Happy Birstday at Benihana.

It was a great weekend!!!!!!!

My first 40 years

40 trips around the sun and what an adventure it has been!
I have loved and been loved.
I have seen the beauty of all that God has made and been brought to tears by all that he has done for me.
I have experienced the unspeakable love that is only known by another mother and I have experienced the unspeakable sorrow that is only known by someone else that has lost a sibling.
I have laughed more than I have cried.
I have found my soul mate even though I always thought that was a “dreamer’s” fantasy.
I have traveled to some pretty amazing places and met some incredibly interesting people.
I have traveled to some kinda skeezy places that at least gave me a good story to tell later.
I have had incredible health even though I started my life with a horrible birth defect.
I have never needed for anything, even though I have wanted more than I should.
I have been horribly mistreated by some that I trusted but have not let it make me cynical.
I have been treated better than I could ask for by more people than I could have ever hoped for.
I have met many people that have inspired me and made me want to be a better person.
I have made some bad decisions but I always learned a lesson from them.
I have not wanted for excitement; I survived Mardi Gras, kayaked the Gulf of Mexico, crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, surfed the waters of Hawaii, did God’s work in a foreign country, went scuba diving in the waters of The Cayman Islands, swam with stingrays in Belize, walked the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, experienced Saturday Night in Death Valley, cruised the Caribbean, made my way to Canada for some unknown reason, listened to live music on 7th Street in Austin, snuck my dad’s car out and drove the streets of South Padre Island before I had a license, traveled to every corner of the country for my job and made many arrests while there, shopped on Rodeo Drive, had my stomach come out through my throat on the Superman ride, parasailed off the shores of Mexico and made friends with the geckos in The Virgin Islands.
I have known the fear of being kidnapped at gunpoint, looking a snake in the eyes, having to pull the cord on the skycoaster, almost losing my mother, and shit going really bad while working as a cop on the streets of Memphis; for all of these things I am thankful because they have made me stronger and proven to me that I am a survivor.
If asked how my first 40 years have been, I would say “fantastic”. I do not think that because I have lived an easy and privileged life. I have had some very low points in these years too. I have been depressed, lonely, desperate and felt unloved; but I have learned that my happiness is in my hands and when the bad times strike, I choose to see the bright side, I choose to look at all the blessings I have, I choose to keep it in the front of my mind that there are many people that would do anything to have the freedoms and opportunities that I have, I choose happiness.
For my next 40 years, I hope my joy continues to outweigh my sorrow, that my good times trump my bad and that I am able to help someone else enjoy life as much as I do!

Nashville Weekend

Weekend trip to Nashville was what K and I did and we had a blast. Leslie's baby shower was Saturday so we made a trip of it.

We got a room downtown at the Sheraton and got in around 6:30 Friday evening and hit the ground running. We weren't all that hungry yet so we walked over to Broadway Brewhouse to have a couple of  drinks and an appy.

We stayed quite a while because there was such great people watching going on and finally decided to call it quits and grab a burger. We wound up at the Paradise Park Trailer Resort for burgers and tots.

And after getting full bellies, we were through. We grabbed a cab and headed back to the hotel.

We lounged around Saturday morning until it was time for me to get ready for Leslie's shower.

She had a great turnout and got some really cute things for Baby Violet. After the shower, K and I hung out and watched the Saints/49ers game and watched a beautiful sunset.

Then met Les, Josh and Peggy at Virago.

Leslie turned it into an early birthday celebration for me with gifts!!!!

We had a wonderful dinner, of course and a good time. I wish I got to see Les more than I do!

After dinner, we headed back to Broadway Brewhouse to meet Corey and Mary for drinks.

And then we headed down to Rippie's to listen to some music. I don't know what band was playing but they were awesome. The singer had a great voice and they had a fiddle player that was so good! We wound op having way too much fun and didn't feel too great for the ride home. I had to get some hangover food in my system about halfway through.

And nothing was better than getting home and having nothing to do but be lazy with the pups!

Let The Studying Begin.....

Last week, I received the list of study materials for the Lieutenant's test which came at a good time since last weekend was the last one of Tennessee's hunting season. The boys headed to the camp and I got cozy with a bunch of reading material.

This was my view for pretty much the whole weekend except when I ventured to the kitchen to do a little cooking:

I was feeling in the Cajun spirit so I donned my fleur de lis apron and listened to a lot of brass music while I cooked away. On the menu was some homemade chicken noodle soup, deer balls and cream cheese baked spaghetti. Once the cooking was over, it was back to the same view but I had some added comfort food at least!

Not too many other things are going on. J and I had dinner with Mom and Roy Tuesday night and last night K went to the Tigers/Southern Miss game with Leegan so K and I rolled up to Houston's for a few cocktails, some dinner and the game since we don't have the channel it was on. Prime rib and red fish is what was for dinner.

And we have made a pretty definite decision about this year's fall break vacation......

Savannah, Georgia we think it is! Looks beautiful, I am very excited about going someplace new :)

Baby J's 12th Birthday

My baby boy's 12th birthday was last Tuesday and I cannot believe how old he is getting.
Here he was on January 3, 2000:

And here he was on January 3, 2012:

A lot older but still just as sweet.....most of the time!
To celebrate the day, I took pizza and Muddy's cupcakes to J and his class for lunch.

And then that night, K and I took J and Leegan to the Grizzlies game to celebrate, it was a good time and they smoked Sacramento.