My Birthday Weekend

Saturday I turned the ripe old age of 38. I'm not really sure where the time has gone from the time I was about 23 to now. I left work a little early Thursday & went & had a massage. This was the first massage I've ever had. I've always been funny about strangers touching me. It was actually a delightful experience & one that I'd definitely do again.

I took the day off Friday as well but I still got up at 5 & went for a run. I had my nails done, did some shopping & had lunch with my parents at Brewbachers. It was a lovely day. Not real productive as far as shopping though. I did get a few things.

I got my purse at TJ Maxx. I NEVER find anything there & I only went in because I was going to Bed, Bath & Beyond next door.  Only $25 & it's the softest leather. 

I got a Bullet. With all the eating right I'm trying to do I decided that I needed this. I want to make smoothies because I don't eat enough fruit. I like a fruit shake/smoothie much better than actually eating fruit. I haven't made anything yet but everything's unpacked & ready to go!

Once Dean got home we went to dinner at La Carreta & then head over to our Church Fair. Lots of our friends were there so we visited & listened to the band. This particular band is made up of several of our parishioner's. One being a Cardiologist & another a Pediatrician. It's pretty funny to watch them bounce around & dance. At one point they sang Soul Man & our Priest joined them on stage & sang. It was hilarious!

Saturday I went for a 4 mile walk. We had a cold front come through Thursday so the weather's been great. A little cool early in the morning & after the sun goes down but really pretty during the day. After the walk I went shopping again. Ann Taylor Loft was having a 40% off everything sale. I scored there.

The tank was only like $2.50. It was on clearance. I also got a pair of skinny jeans to wear with my boots & flats. I picked up a green tea from Starbuck's (Thanks Vicki & Lane) & then headed home. We watched football & went to Mass. After Mass we walked around & visited at the fair again & then went to dinner at Marcello's. It was sooooo good. I had eggplant parmigiana & a salad. We even decided to have dessert & I'm so glad we did. We had strawberry cake with white chocolate icing. OMG DIVINE!!!

Yesterday was a pretty lazy day. I actually slept until 8:00 which rarely happens. I went through my closet & got rid of a bunch of stuff that doesn't fit anymore & straightened things up. Then it was to the sofa to read & nap. HA! I did go to Yoglates yesterday evening so I wasn't a complete bum. All in all it was a great birthday weekend.

Toodles!

My winnings!

Last weekend Dean & I each won a quarter on our football boards at work for the LSU game. $50 each!! Wooo hooo!! Dean's won before but I never have. Very exciting stuff. Being that I've lost this weight all of my winter clothes are too big. I went to the outlet mall Sunday. I didn't find a ton of stuff but I got a few things.

With all the recent working out I have a fondness for workout clothes. They have some really cute stuff out there. This is a dry fit jacket type thing. I'm sure it will come in handy for runs on cool days. It was marked down plus another 40% off. I bought it at the Reebok store, which I've come to love in the last few months, much to the chagrin of the 12 yr old that was telling his mom "I don't like Reebok, I like Nike".  Spoiled brat. HA!

More cold weather gear. I got this one at the Gap. It's LSU gold (bright yellow for non LSU fans). Not dry fit but too cute not to get. Also on sale. While at the Gap I also got 2 pair of dress pants. They were 50% off so they were only $22/each. They only had my size in black & grey. I would've loved a couple more pair at that price.

 Another Reebok purchase. The pictures of all this stuff isn't great. This shirt is LSU purple. It was on sale for like $7. Can't pass that up. It's dry fit too.

 Then it was off to Ann Taylor. Everything in the store was 40% off. This sweater vest thingy is a burgundy/wine color. I thought it would look cute with a long sleeve shirt underneath with leggings or jeans. I got it for like $15.

This cardigan also came from Ann Taylor. It's bright pink. I can always use a cardigan. It's always cold in my office.

Then I got these beauties!! LOOOVVVVEEE them!! This was a Shoe Station purchase using a $25% coupon. I don't shop at Shoe Station without a coupon. When Dean saw the shoe box he rolled his eyes but these were a need based purchase. I PROMISE! The casual brown shoes that I have are old & wearing out. I thought these were the perfect replacement.  On a related note, I bought a new wallet at Shoe Station too. I was transferring everything into it only to discover that it's too small so I'm bringing it back. BUT, while I was moving things around I found something I'd lost. A $100 Walmart gift card. I shouldn't say I found it because technically it wasn't lost. I KNEW I put it in my wallet but then I couldn't find it. It had slipped all the way down in the credit card slot. Needless to say I was very excited to find it.

Today we had our benefits fair at work. There are all sorts of door prizes & I managed to win (2) $25 Visa gift cards!! Apparently, it's my lucky week. I need to buy a lottery ticket.

Today is our Friday. LSU is playing tonight at Mississippi State so we decided to take off tomorrow. We knew we'd be up late to watch the game. LSU is winning at the moment 16-6. Tomorrow's plan includes a run that I didn't do today due to this stupid dizziness, a trip to Sam's & who knows what else. I did go to Yogalates today. I don't know if all that hanging my head upside down got the fluid in my ears moving around or my steroids just happened to start working between 4:30-5:30 but I felt good all through class & much less dizzy afterwards.

Random enough post??

Toodles!

Shopping

Friday at lunch I went to the mall. I needed new boots. I know what you're thinking but you'd be wrong. This time I actually NEEDED new boots. I discovered while wearing them how bad these were.

Told ya. I NEEDED boots. The damage looks much worse in person. I looked at a couple of places last weekend but didn't find any I liked. I went to Nine West & found these.

Cute huh? They were $120. If you're a regular reader you know I didn't pay that. They were HALF PRICE! They seem to be somewhat comfortable too. I wore them to my office Christmas party Friday night. We had so much fun!

Saturday we hung out at home. I finally was able to take a nap. That made me so happy!! We went to Mass & afterwards went to eat Mexican at Casa Maria. When we got home Dean wrapped Christmas gifts. I wrapped a few last weekend & apparently I shouldn't have because my hand is hurting again.

Today I went to Market. I got some cute stuff. Of course it wouldn't be market if I didn't buy some ridiculously awkward sized something.

I've been wanting something to hang outside & this is made out of tin or iron or something so it will be perfect. I was by myself shopping so I had to deal with this all alone. Thanks goodness they have an area to check your purchases.

I bought this because it was cute & it's insulated. When I'm at work I always have either a Dr. Pepper or water at my desk. There have been a couple of "close calls" so when I saw this had a lid I thought it would be perfect!

On another note, tomorrow morning my father-in-law is having surgery & we would very much appreciate some extra prayers. You know you can never have too many!

Toodles!

What I did for $1.00 Ornaments!!!

So here's the thing, I HATE Walmart. Like really hate. Hate so much that I haven't been to one in several years. I don't count Walmart Neighborhood Market as Walmart. We do our grocery shopping there. I know it's technically Walmart but it's not the same as walking in a huge Walmart Super Center. I was perusing blogs Friday & was drooling over Sarah's Christmas decor. Imagine my surprise when I saw that she bought those adorable ornaments at Walmart. For a DOLLAR!!!! UGGGHH, what a quandry. I NEEDED that Church. I have about a zillion different ornaments but I don't have any churches. So what's a non Walmart shopping girl to do???? Yep, I called my mom. HA! She went to her Walmart & found the ornaments but sadly there were no churches left. She picked up some of the others for me. Yesterday, when we went shopping my mom convinced me that we should try another Walmart. She said we could go in through the garden center, which is where all the Christmas stuff is, and we wouldn't have to go into the actual store.  I sucked it up & off we went. I found this. 

YAY the Church!!! The only problem is they only had it in lime green & blue. The blue was BEAUTIFUL but I don't have another blue thing in my house. I mean, like, NOTHING. I don't have any lime green either but the tree in my kitchen is a mixture of ornaments & it has some regular green. I wasn't leaving without one so I figured the green would be the better choice. I was right. It blends in fine.  

After Mass yesterday I met my friend Vicki & her little boy Lane at Chimes to eat. Lane is our Godchild. We had a good time. We hadn't been out together in awhile.

Lane & I took a picture in front the tree at the Chimes. I came home afterwards & got some gifts wrapped.

This morning when I went out to get the paper I saw this.

Yes, that would be toilet paper. Then I noticed that my neighbors house was rolled. Ours was not but the wind was blowing about 250 mph.

This is the neighbors tree. Needless to say I was outside in the freezing 47 degree weather picking toilet paper up because it had blown pretty much everything from their trees into my yard. I thought it would be a good idea to get it all up before it blew into the pool & we really had a mess. This is the kinda stuff that happens when Dean goes out of town. Annoying.

I'm trying to decide what to do now. Wrap more gift or take a nap????

Toodles!

It's Almost Over

I'm so happy that tomorrow is Friday. I'm only working until 12:30 so that's a great thing. I have a few errands to run but other than that I don't have plans. I may do a little shopping. It should be lovely.

Our niece & nephew are in town from Houston. They came swimming Tuesday. I managed to get an action shot of Camille & Dean!

I was surprised at how much they've grown & changed since I saw them last.

Drew looks so old!

Camille's birthday was May 28th. I tried to get a good picture of her but this is the best we could do!! I didn't take a picture of her gift but I got her a cute swimsuit & beach towel with her name monogrammed on it. Dean's Godchild & cousin, Lexie came too.

Isn't she so pretty?? She's growing up. I can remember when she was a little girl & it doesn't seem that long ago.

On the McDreamy front, I found out he was having dinner at Sullivan's again last night. He's also been spotted at Ninfa's. I've heard a rumor as to where he's living while he's here but that hasn't been confirmed yet.

I'm very excited about the Housewives of NY reunion show tonight. These shows are always wild. At some point everyone ends up yelling at everyone else. The NY ladies yell at each other so much during the season I can't imagine what this is going to be like. What's even better? It's coming on at 8:00 so I can watch it live without it interfering with my bedtime. That means I'll be able to discuss with Allison & Wendy tomorrow. YAY!!!

Toodles!

Preparing for St. Patrick's Day

Saturday is Baton Rouge's St. Patrick's Day Parade & I'm going with friends. I decided that I needed a cute shirt. I found exactly what I wanted online but really didn't think it made sense to pay $40+ for a St. Patrick's Day shirt just because it had Swarovski crystals on it. Oh, but it was cute! Yesterday at lunch I ran over to Charming Charlie's. I LOVE that store! They had some cute stuff but no St. Paddy's
Day. I did find this.


It was marked down to $15.00 which was 50% off. I got these too.


I don't have anything like them. I thought they were cute & they were marked down to $1.00. I couldn't pass that up!

A few people told me that Target had some cute St. Paddy's Day shirts so today at lunch I went to see. There were a couple of cute ones but this one was my favorite.


I wish the shirt was white but it was $5.00 so I'll deal with it! I couldn't believe it was so cheap. The shirt is kinda thick too. Not a typical $5 t-shirt. If anyone knows anywhere else that's selling cute shirts let me know. I'm not opposed to buying another one since this one was so cheap!!!

Toodles!

Costa Maya

Before I get to Costa Maya I forgot that Monday night we went to see Jo-El Sonnier. In case you don't know he's a cajun singer. We didn't know that he would be on the cruise. Everyone really enjoyed it. Come to find out his keyboard player is Charlie Rich Jr. NOT to be confused with Charlie Pride. (Somebody & I'm not saying who had the two confused). Charlie Jr. sang The Most Beautiful Girl & Behind Closed Doors. He was really good.

On to Costa Maya. I took this picture as the boat was docking. I thought all the bright colored buildings were pretty. If you look to the right of the pink building you can see a swimming pool. This was in the middle of a shopping area. It's like having a pool in the middle of Towne Center or Perkins Rowe! There was a restaurant/bar there too.


As we were docking I spotted this.


I don't know who or what they were doing but they looked like shady characters to me.

As we got off of the ship we were greeted by these people.

The dog looks like my neighbors' dog so I felt a little better. I mean who uses a yellow lab as a guard/military dog??

Once we got off the boat we were to get on a bus to bring us to where we'd tour the Mayan Ruins. We bought some refreshments for the ride.


This was $7.00. Actually, it was $6.50 & Dean gave the guy $7.00 & he didn't give him any change. Being that it was just .50 & we were in a foreign country we moved on. I was just happy to have some carbonation!

We boarded our bus for the Ruins. At one point our tour guide informed us that we were approaching a security checkpoint & it wasn't a big deal. I looked out the window & saw this. He was texting but I didn't get that in the picture. A guy actually got on the bus & walked around. The tour guide said that never happens. Hmmm.


We arrived at Chacchoben & toured the Ruins. Although, we had a good tour guide & it was interesting, I can now say been there, done that & I don't need to do it again! It really is amazing how big these things are.


Yes, I know I'm so white I'm fluorescent but that will be remedied shortly! Here are a couple more Ruins.



They basically all look the same. The Mayan people must have been a good bit taller than 5'4" because that's how tall I am & climbing those steps were difficult! I needed longer legs.

It's a shame they give the whole little spiel before you get off the boat about not bringing back food, plants or animals because I would've loved to bring some of these home to my backyard! It was palm trees as far as you could see!


After getting back to the port from our tour we did some shopping & walked around. This is the pool at the port. Next time I think we'll just hang out here. Isn't it pretty?


This is Dean & I before we got back on the boat. This was a pool that was right on the beach.


I was amazed at how pretty & blue the water was.



One thing I forgot to mention is that the crew doesn't want anyone to be sick. There are little hand sanitizer machines all over the ship. Not to mention before you walk in any restaurant there's a crew member with a spray bottle of sanitizer. They greet you with "Happy Happy Washy Washy" & spray you! It always made me laugh!

Back on the boat we rested & then got ready for dinner & the evening show. Norwegian's motto is "Freestyle Cruising". There are no set times to eat which is great. Some nights we went to the early show & then had dinner & some nights it was dinner & the late show. It was just whatever you wanted to do!

Up next....Guatemala!

Frustrated Much??

Only a half day left of work & then a 4 day weekend! I'm so excited. I don't know what I'm going to do once I have to work a 5 day week again. In less than a month we'll be boarding a boat for our very first cruise. I'm very excited. It's 7 days & we have a balcony in our room! Then it will be back to working 5 days a week for awhile with nothing to look forward to. We don't have anymore trips planned. I guess I need to work on correcting that!!

Yesterday at lunch I went to Bethdale's. There was an ad in the paper advertising that they had all of their Christmas stuff 50% off. I got several things. I could've bought more but I refrained. I really like the stuff they have but it's not somewhere I'd shop if the stuff wasn't on sale.

This is the Christmas Cross I found. I thought it was so pretty with all the little scenes in it.



I really like this little Holy Family.



We had stockings but not any holders. I was really excited to find these that go with everything so well.



After the last couple of days, I'm really hoping for some peace!!!



I LOVE these little "guest towels"! They don't take up much space!



I also bought a couple of big gold ornaments that I added to the garland around my front door. I would've liked more but they only had 2 gold ones left. I think I've run out of room inside for anymore decorations!

Yesterday afternoon I found out that me & my sis-in-law have gotten my mom the same thing for Christmas. That's just lovely. So now I'm keeping the gift for myself & I have to find her something else. I'll be shopping at lunch today & if I can't find anything I'll be shopping after work. I've never shopped for gifts on Christmas Eve Eve & hopefully, I'll still be able to say that! This should be interesting. I had figured out another gift & I checked with my sis-in-law just to be sure & I'm glad I did because she got my mom that too! UUUUGGGGHHHH! I think I've come up with something else. We'll see. This would be why I need some peace!!!!
Later!