My birthday...

Well, I've had yet another awesome birthday! Every year I think, this year is probably going to be a no-fuss-kind-of birthday. After all, at my age, you'd think the enthusiasm would have worn off by now - but not with my family and friends! Each of them still make me feel so loved and make my birthday very special!
Along with being showered with cards, calls, and emails, I got some cash, which I put to good use. After much debate and indecision, I finally decided on the Olympus camera. It's considered a bridge camera, which should help me learn more about photography, yet will be easy to use. Someday, I'll move on to a big girl camera, but for now, I went with this one. I'm anxious to learn more about it and hopefully take some good pictures for my blog. It arrived today, and I've literally driven my family crazy trying it out! :O)

I didn't have a birthday cake, but got something even better. I'm not sure if I've shared this before, but not only is my Mom an awesome cook, but so is my Dad! He actually likes baking instead of cooking {I so didn't take after him for that}. He made me a pineapple cream pie....from scratch.....and it was sooooooo good! Take a look at that meringue....:O)

We all enjoyed a slice {some of us seconds...LOL}! Yummmmm.....
Nobody wanted their picture taken, but I couldn't resist snapping one of Mom. A year ago, she rarely ever got on the computer, but it seems someone else has caught the Pinterest/blog reading fever!!! Love it!!!

Week #14: This week's word is PARTY!!!!

Hoo Are You???? 3/20 Spring Edition

1. What do you look forward the most about springtime?

The warm weather and seeing everything in bloom!

2. Do you have anyone in your immediate family that you
celebrate their birthday in the spring?

It is my birthday today-March 20th!!!!! :O) And my sister's b-day was on the 14th!

3. What is the weather like where you live in the springtime?

It has been beautiful here in VA....sunny days, high temps...I just love Spring!

4. Do you do spring cleaning?

I do, but this year I'm cleaning a bit differently, focusing more on organizing.

5. What activities do you do in the spring?

My favorite activity is working in the yard. We also had some fun enjoying the warm Spring weather last weekend...check out this post from a few days ago.

Pin It Tuesday....3/20

Here's what I'm pinning this week:

perfect mantel accessories

love this cloche idea

I'm just not into FB....but Pinterest, that's another story :O)

house numbers....love this idea

this DIY riffled shirt...and pretty cardi would be perfect for Easter

warm weather, grilling, the beach...oh my!

Spring has officially sprung! The weather this month has been amazing, feeling more like summer at times than spring. Today has been a much better day for me, and even though my thoughts keep going back to the fire and the family, I actually had a good day today. We had a wonderful day in church, starting with Sunday School, then morning worship service, followed by a covered dish lunch afterwards. I am thankful that Peter has started coming to church, and Dad has been coming with Mom for over a year now, what a blessing to have my whole family in church together. Afterwards, I asked Peter to go to the beach for a walk. I was excited that he said yes as he usually isn't interested. It was such a beautiful day and it really felt good to get out of the house for some sun and fresh air.
I took a few pictures from our day:

such a beautiful sight

if you look closely you can see a boat way out in the distance-crab potting has started

Peter is always 10 steps ahead of me...I say I like to stop & smell the roses...so I lag behind

gorgeous view

lots of wonderful memories here

yes, I brought my reading glasses to the beach with me...habit...LOL

home

we should do this again sometime....soon!

Once we got back home, Peter fired up the grill and we cooked one of our favorites - Tomato, Basil, & Garlic Marinated Pork Chops. They are so yummy! Here's how easy they are make:

Whisk together 1 pkg. Grill Mates Tomato, Basil, & Garlic Marinade mix

with water, balsamic vinegar, and oil.

Put chops in gallon ziploc bag, add marinade, and chill for several hours.

throw on the grill...and there you have it...the best pork chops ever!

Looking forward to using the grill again this summer. I've started pinning some new grill recipes that I hope to try. Also looking forward to spending more time at the beach....sounds like the makings of a good summer to me!

putting things into perspective

Yesterday was such a horrible day in our little town. Around 2:00 p.m., a fire started in a neighbor's home, just a few doors from ours. Our local volunteer fire department and many residents fought the fire tirelessly, but tragically, the family lost not only their home, but their dear mother/grandmother who was unable to get out in time. Our small town is extremely saddened by this, and we are all still in disbelief and feel like it should be a dream we hope to wake up from, hoping that yesterday's events didn't happen. My prayers and thoughts go out to this family as they deal with the grief of their loss. The community and others immediately jumped in and began offering help of every kind. I am so thankful to be part of such a close, caring, loving community. When someone is hurting, we hurt with them, and we don't just shrug it off, we step up and let those in trouble know that they are not alone. This dear, precious lady is now in heaven, but still I know the family is hurting. Things like this are so hard to understand. I pray that they will feel the peace that only God can give to us and that somehow they can move on as time passes. When tragedies like this happen, it quickly puts things back into perspective for me. I am so guilty of fretting over silly things, that really don't warrant so much of my energy. I pray that starting today, I will use that energy to love more, care more, listen more, help more, and pray more.

Shrimp Dip

Nathan is 16, so you can imagine the ginormous appetite he has. His favorite time to eat is at night - he {loves} a late night snack. He tends to go through food phases, he can really get on a kick - like eating turkey melts almost every day for a month, then last fall it was clam chowder, yeah,  I know, of all the different foods in the world and he wants clam chowder, and canned New England clam chowder none the less! Since Christmas, it has been shrimp dip, I can't count how many batches of this I've whipped up over the past few months. I just made a batch for tonight's midnight snack, so I snapped a picture and thought I'd share the recipe. I normally make this for something quick to take to a party or get together, but for Nathan {until something else strikes his fancy} it's a staple. P.S. He will only eat it with Scoops Corn Chips...that's important! :O)

Shrimp Dip


1- 8 oz. cream cheese - softened
1- 8 oz. sour cream
1- 4 oz. can tiny shrimp
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
Old Bay seasoning to taste


In mixer bowl, mix together cream cheese, sour cream, w. sauce, Old Bay. Add 1/2 can shrimp and mix together. Add the rest of the shrimp and fold in with spatula. Put in bowl, sprinkle with Old Bay and chill....it's that easy....but so yummy! This recipe makes about 2 cups, but can easily be doubled.

5Q Friday...3/16

1. Will you run to the store or to pick up a kid looking a mess? Yep....

2. Do you finish a book if it's boring or you don't like it? I can easily quit reading a book if I can't get into it. I pretty much know after the first few chapters if I'm going to stick with it or not.

3. Beach or mountain vacations? I'll pick the beach, although we really haven't given a mountain vacation a chance. All of our vacations tend to revolve around sand & sun!

Beach Club Resort @ WDW....

one of our favorite places to vacation!

4. What thing/event says "winter will end and spring is right around the corner" to you? I'll let the pictures I took outside yesterday speak for itself:

lilac bush beginning to bud.....

day lillies....I swear they grow a few inches taller every day.

5. Would you prefer couples or family vacation? Hmmmm...this is hard! We love both...I don't think I can choose, although Logan doesn't live at home and takes his own vacations and Nathan will graduate next year, so I know our family vacations will soon be fewer. Peter and I love traveling, so I'm sure once our nest is empty, we'll enjoy our "just us" trips, but I'm hoping the boys will humor me and take a trip with us occasionally. I'm also looking forward to traveling with our grandchildren someday! :O) {whenever we have grandchildren}.