Sunday Funday

Sunday, Dean & I got to spend the day with Logan. We picked him up bright & early Sunday morning. We stopped at LSU on the way to our house. We wanted to see if that lazy tiger might be awake. We were in luck! I was so excited to see him pacing along the fence.

The first thing Logan said was "Water!" He loves water & saw the waterfall in Mike's habitat before he saw Mike.

Once he spotted him he was in a trance!

I was very excited when he headed in for a swim. I've wanted to see him swim forever.

The sun was so bright it was causing a glare & it was really hard to see what I was taking pictures of. That would be why fence is in the way.

He came right up to the wall where all the kids were.

Logan stood there & watched & then immediately turned around with his arms up for Dean to pick him up. He didn't cry but I think Mike's size & the fact that he was nose to nose with him at one point freaked him out a bit.

He didn't swim long. I guess he just wanted to cool off.

Logan with his Nonk (Dean). Who, by the way, he refers to as Tante (me) yet when you say "Where's Nonk?" he points at Dean. Too funny!

I think if Dean would've let go he would've climbed the fence. After that Mike went to nap in the shade & we went home. We played outside for awhile & Logan had a snack. Apparently, the snack wasn't enough because he went back to the pantry & started pulling things out. We fed him lunch & played some more. Later, Logan & I went & met my friends Vicki & Allison to walk the lakes again. I knew Logan would enjoy it because he loves to be outside & we always see ducks. As usual he was very excited to see the water & a boat. We walked awhile & saw these little guys.

We finished the 3.5 mi. walk, which by the way is hard when  pushing a 30+ lb. kid in a stroller! We loaded up to go home & I wanted to take a picture. Well, when Logan saw me pull the camera out & I turned to him he said "NO" & covered his face with his hands. WHAT?? Isn't he too young for that? I managed to get this one which I thought was really funny!

We were both hot. The temp was 86 or 87 Sunday with a heat index of 91. You should've seen me. I was a hot mess if I ever saw one. YUCK! We drank plenty of water as we walked though. We were almost home & I looked back & saw this.

About 30 seconds later this happened.

He must have really been exhausted because I was able to take him out of the car seat & lay him down in the house without disturbing him. We had such a good time with him. I can't wait to do it again.

Toodles!

Another project

About 3 years ago we got our pool. Dean & I did all of the landscaping ourselves. There was one area in the yard where we couldn't get anything to grow. Including banana plants, which I thought were really easy to grow. Dean figured out it was because our water leveler drained into this area & the salt water was killing everything. A few weeks ago he did some drainage work so that the leveler drains into the canal/ditch in the very back of our lot. Here's a before picture of part of our yard.

The things in the pool are solar rings & they help warm up the pool water. The area along the fence is what we were working on. Here's a close up.

Grass didn't even  grow right.

Thursday, Dean had 6 yards of dirt delivered. The guy that we get dirt from works with Dean & he always throws in a little extra. This time he threw in a lot extra. The pile of dirt that's left looks as big as when we started.

Dean built a brick wall to keep the dirt from washing under the fence into our neighbors driveway. He got the bricks at Lowe's. We bought rock like the kind that's around the pool  to put on this end of  the bed.  I just realized I don't have a picture after we put the rock down. Dean spent his day off Friday building the wall & shoveling dirt.

After much research we decided that we wanted Bamboo in this area. Not the kind that goes crazy & runs all over the place. We got what they call a "clumping" bamboo. There are several different kinds. We bought "Golden Goddess". The trunks are a pretty golden color. Here they are planted.

Another angle. The bamboo is supposed to grow fairly fast so it'll fill in & cover the fence.

This is what it looks like mature.

We have a ways to go! We also bought 2 "Frost proof" Gardenias. These are planted in the bed in front of the bamboo.

That's how we spent out Saturday! I'm so happy to have this done. We just have to add pine straw.

I'm linking to Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday.

Toodles!

My Prom Night is over!

Dean is a better person than I am. He's quick to forgive & forget. Unlike me, who will eventually forgive but NEVER EVER forget. I know, it's a really bad quality & I'm working on it. Anyway, I mentioned how the guy was supposed to come re stain our front door last weekend & he didn't call or show up. Dean suggested we call him back. I wasn't really on board with that. I was convinced I could just do the door myself & save the money. Dean's fear was that I could not do it myself & he'd have to do it. So, I called the guy. He immediately said that he was sorry & was hoping I'd call because he lost his phone last week after I talked to him. Well, that's all fine & good but he knew where we lived & had already said he'd be here Sat. but whatever. I didn't say anything. He told me he'd come & clean the door Friday afternoon & be back today to sand & stain it. He showed up!!! YAY!!! Here's a before pic. This was after he cleaned it.

And the after.  

Much better huh? The after picture doesn't have the address numbers on the door yet. I'm going to sand & paint them oil rubbed bronze to match the handle before putting them back on the door.

Last night we went to eat at one of our favorites, Sammy's. The plan was to go early. Dean had been working outside all day & was hungry & we wanted to get back for the LSU baseball game. They're playing in Arkansas this weekend. Sammy's is one of those places that if you don't get there early you either wait for awhile or you go somewhere else. We got there at 4:55. Yeh, I know, we're 80 yr olds. The place was PACKED!  Apparently, everyone in town but us wanted boiled crawfish. They did smell really good. We were able to get a table without waiting but barely. By 5:15 there was a wait. I had fried fish & shrimp. Not on my diet but it's what I wanted. It was delish & I had leftovers that Dean ate for lunch today. 

Dean & I spent this morning shopping. We bought plants, rocks & a pot! I think I'm addicted to the Nursery. I LOVE looking at plants. Of course, much to Dean's chagrin, what I love more is BUYING plants.  Anyway, we have a landscape project going on which was why we needed plants & rocks. I'll have a post on the project later. After spending a good bit of the 87 degree afternoon working outside I'd had enough. The pool was 82 degrees. That's still a little cool for me but I was so hot it didn't matter. I jumped in & the water was fabulous!! 

We went to Mass this afternoon & afterwards went to dinner at Portobello's. This used to be one of our favorite places & then they moved. They used to be like 10 mins. from our house. It's not real far away now but you do have to navigate one of the busiest roads in Baton Rouge. Like I said before, we're 80 yr olds & stay in a little radius of our house! If they built a Sam's & Lowe's closer I swear to you I would never leave my area. Anyway, tonight is Prom Night for the big, all girls Catholic School in town. Probably other schools too. Portobello's was the site of dinner for a group of prom goers. Our table was by some windows so from the time they got out of their car to the time they walked in the restaurant I could see them. I love checking out their shoes & dresses. There appeared to be some high school drama, some late arrivals & at least one couple that was lost. Dean & I can't figure that one out. It's not like the restaurant is in some far off, out of the way locale. Sadly, we finished our meal & it was time to go before the lost people got there. Prom night was over for me. Now we're home watching the LSU game on TV. They lost last night & so far, LSU isn't impressive. Seems to be a recurring theme this season.

Toodles!

By far the STUPIDEST thing I've ever heard....

Two posts in one day doesn't happen often but I couldn't help myself. A friend on Facebook posted this a little while ago. I thought it was a joke. A stupid joke but joke nonetheless. Sadly, I was wrong. PETA appears to be completely serious. I've always thought PETA people were crazy. This just confirms it.

Comatose??

That would be me & this is what caused it....

Well, this & an overabundance of carbs. Yeh, I know I'm not making sense. Let me explain. One of my New Years Resolutions was to cut back on my Dr Pepper intake. I was going to limit myself to one a day. That's going really well & I'm down to about one a week. I can honestly say this is the longest I've ever done with a resolution. I also started trying to eat better. At the beginning of February I started Yogalates. I've lost 9 lbs. & some inches. I don't know how many inches because I kept forgetting to measure. I finally did but it was only 3 wks. ago. I know I've lost inches because I can tell in the way my clothes fit. I've been able to wear a pair of shorts & pants that were too small before I started all this. Sunday, when we went walking I wore a pair of Nike type shorts that used to be too tight. I was folding clothes the other night & I discovered those shorts are a size small. I was very excited. I've been going to Yogalates 3 times a week with the exception of last week. That was because I had to get my hair done. I will NOT be going less than 3 times a week anymore because I can so tell a difference when I go back. Weird but true. Needless to say I haven't been eating a lot of carbs & when I do it's whole wheat. That brings us to today.

Apparently, food trucks are a big deal in other areas of the country. I knew they were popular in New York but that was the extent I knew about. Lately, I've been hearing lots of talk around town about them. In Baton Rouge there are several different ones. Everyday they tweet where they'll be. One of my friends at work  loves the concept & would love to own his own truck. For him, the next best thing is to eat out of these trucks as much as possible. So, he has arranged for the taco truck to come to work for "Taco Tuesday", the burger truck on Wed. & a wrap & pannini truck for Thurs. I never, ever, ever thought I would eat a meal out of a truck. I mean really. Well, these truck advertise themselves as "Gourmet Food Trucks". They use all fresh, local ingredients & are made to order. I decided that a homemade burger with homemade pickles & fresh cut fries would be a great lunch. I had a cheeseburger & garlic parmesan fries. It was good. The fries were great. It was soooo convenient. BUT, I feel like if I closed my eyes in the middle of typing this, sitting straight up in my chair, I'd immediately fall asleep & not wake up for hours. Seriously. I feel sluggish & blah & sleepy. I've always read about how carbs make you feel like this but I guess I never realized I felt like this until I stopped eating all this stuff regularly & wasn't feeling like it anymore. Did that make sense??

So, the moral of the story? The food truck was good but it was too much food for me, too many carbs for me & I need to remember this feeling so that if I'm tempted again I'll be able to refrain. I'm not sure how I'm going to get through an hour of Yogalates feeling like this. Speaking of Yogalates. Monday it was time to pay again. I paid for 3 months. It's one of those things that the longer you pay for the cheaper it is. I've been paying month to month so this is a huge step for me! Want to hear about an even bigger step? Dean mentioned that we could go out to dinner tomorrow night if I wanted but I've decided to forgo dinner out for Yogalates. I don't care for the Friday teacher & I like having my weekend free from hard core exercise so in order to get my 3 classes in this week I have to go today & tomorrow. I know some of you may be worried about me because I do love to eat out but it's ok, we'll go out Saturday night!

Toodles!

Another Short Weekend!

Friday night we spent our evening at LSU watching the baseball team win. It was close but hey, a win is a win. Saturday morning we had a guy coming to strip & re stain our front doors. This was a job that I was planning to do myself but I haven't gotten around to it & the guy did several of our neighbors. He did a good job &  gave us a good price so I hired him.  Well, they guy was supposed to show up between 9-9:30. Guess what? He was a no show. Not only a no show, a no call. When I called him he didn't answer. I left a message & he never called back. Sooooo aggravating.

I went to my parents. Me & mama went to Lancaster House. This is a place that is only open one weekend a month & it's about 5 mins. from my parents house.  I got a thingy to put outside but I forgot to take a picture of it. After that I went across the street to my brother & sis-in-laws to visit & play with Logan. He was showing off for me.

This little 4 wheeler has the gas on the handles so while he was in this pose he was riding around the yard.

This was one of the few times he was still.

He loves the big 4 Wheeler too. It goes faster.

I love that sweet little face!

Excuse the finger in this picture. I was trying to take the "no hands" picture. I see plenty of ER visits in their future with this kid. He's such a dare devil!

This 4-Wheeler has a gas pedal. Yes he was moving in this pic too.

Then he moved on to the slide. I swear it makes me tired watching him.

With his daddy.

I think the expression on his face in this one is hilarious! I can't believe he'll be 2 in May. I don't know where the time has gone.

When I got home Saturday Dean & I went & had pizza. There's a fairly new place called Red Zeppelins. I had a Groupon or Living Social gift certificate. It was really good! After pizza we went to the LSU game. What a debacle that was. 16-3 & LSU wasn't the one that scored 16 runs. Not good.

I decided to forgo the Sunday baseball game to go walking. Allison, Wendy & I are all dieting/watching what we eat & exercising. We "walked the lakes". The lakes are at LSU. We walked down Sorority Row & through the neighborhood surrounding the lakes & LSU. It's a really pretty walk. Most of the houses are gorgeous &  fairly huge. It's almost 3.5 miles around. As Allison says, "the great thing about walking the lakes is you have to walk all the way around". After our walk we had lunch at Mellow Mushroom. We all did so good just having low cal salads & we drank a ton of water. We ate on the patio. We had a lot of fun. Yep, fun while exercising. Imagine that! Basically, I spent the entire weekend outside. Kinda amazing for me.

Happy Monday!

Toodles!

Spa Day....sort of

Yesterday, I had an appointment to get my hair cut & highlighted & I decided to leave work a little earlier & get my nails done too. I say it was sort of a spa day because I go to a nail salon by my house & the hair salon I go to is a good 30-40 mins. away. I really wish she'd move to a salon closer but I know that's not going to happen. This is OPI Heart Throb. It's a really pretty pink.

I even went to Sonic & got a Dr. Pepper during Happy Hour. I've been doing soooo good limiting my Dr. Pepper intake. I've only been drinking one a week. When I say one, I mean a 12 oz. can. That's it. Yesterday, I went ahead & got a 32 oz. There's not a lot better than a DP from Sonic with their crushed ice goodness!

Moving on. So who still watches Grey's Anatomy?? Just when I thought it was back to being really good again last night happened. Dean liked it. I don't even know what to say about that. He thinks part of my problem with it is that I didn't know what to expect. I've been seeing advertisements for weeks,  "a musical event". Yeh, ok, whatever. I thought that meant it would be like the first couple of seasons when they played a lot of music (that's what introduced me to The Fray). Yeh, not so much. APPARENTLY, I wasn't hearing the commercials correctly. Instead of "a musical event" that I was hearing, they were saying "A MUSICAL event". I don't know if that translates correctly but anyway. On my way home from work I heard Ryan Seacrest say something about Grey's being a Musical & I was like "no, it's not a musical" because it never occurred to me they could/would do that. Sadly, they did. Dean knew about this because he'd read it somewhere. Not only was there singing, THERE WAS DANCING!!! Really? In the ER when one of their own is on the verge of death who just happens to be pregnant with one of the other Dr's babies & her lesbian "partner" is also a co-worker? WEIRD WEIRD WEIRD!!!!! I just thought the ghost business a few years ago was weird. I sure hope things get back on track next week.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Toodles!