We survived...sort of

The Diva party and Scavenger hunt was a success! I, at least, hope so. The festivities ended with a nice visit from the sky scavengers (sea gulls). Luckily we had a loaf of bread on hand for the little buggers.

I would put pictures up from the fashion show and all the other activities, but I did not take time to ask for parental consent so this is what you get.

We had 9 screeching banshees from 3:30 until almost 2:00 the next day to entertain and WE DID IT! My husband is a real treasure. He had them hunting high and low for clues and prizes, we had so many activities we never even touched the cake...no joke! It's still in the fridge...untouched.

This is when being a parent is fun.

After the cup cakes...cake #2 - Party at Nana's!

The real star of the show tonight was this little "poot". She was walking to her uncle with glee all night...even though we came for the cake and the chili bake for the Mad Monsters Birthday, Cake #2 of the week was brought to us by the mother of this precious little thing...we are all on sugar overload and we still have the actual party to get through...ACK. But I digress, how can one not give in to this little face?

Haha, note the Japanese, remember my last blog, our first clue for the scavenger hunt and Diva party are in Japanese...oh if only I were a sponge.

The Awesome cake (this pic does nothing for the chocolate yumminess inside) that my sister-in-law made.

A sign of things to come...

I will have to devote a whole blog entry to the cards my mother-in-law makes. They are so amazing. I don't even know how to describe them. Unfortunately, tonight's card is still in the car and it's flooding outside...so I will have to share it another day. It is so beautiful.

For now, I must go to bed, I have a slumber party to rest up for. And we have a whole lot of things on the agenda!

The B-Day planning...

Wow, my hubby and I took on a lot when we decided to do a Scavenger hunt and Diva mix for the Monsters party. My husband and I both are a little over the top in the planning stuff, we get so into what we are planning we forget this is for a pack of nine year olds that just want to hang out. We'll see.

Here my masterful husband is copying kanji (Thanks to my sister-in-law) for a password that only one of our party goers can solve to move on to the next clue. Darn rain will kill some of our brilliant plans but we shall...adapt, overcome and improvise! As only we parents can.

Adapt, overcome and improvise! Alabama style.

Why down here, we make sure to improvise when you forget the candles. You c'aint have no birthday cake with no candles. So we fixed it.
Honestly, what mother forgets the candles?? I guess the would be me. I could have sworn I had some in my "left over" stash. I don't feel sorry though...we had a few laughs and she has two more cakes coming this week...and I WILL REMEMBER THE CANDLES!

Why I haven't posted...

Some of you out there know me, and know how worked up I get about deadlines and schedules. I get frantic when my schedule is thrown off by more than half an hour. I am often more confident in my last minute brilliance than I should be. In all honesty, it is those around me that keep my wayward soul in check and keep me focused on the goal. (Thanks, Darlin' ALWAYS.) If those people are not kicking me in the tush from time to time, I get waylaid by...who knows what!?

Tonight and all weekend it has been designing my daughters b-day invite. Now in my defense, we had no clue what to do. And we still don't really. And now that we think we have a plan of action, the good Lord has decided to let our weather gurus inform us of rain on Saturday...how many kids do you know these days have "slickers" and can play in the rain on the bay? (Much less will sleep in a tent in a downpour?) I can only pray that, somewhere I did something right and we'll get a nice break, say between 4:20pm and 6:00am...Yes, Lord, that is a totally selfish request, forgive me.

My insane schedule...

Believe it or not, I will find time to get it all in. Somehow, I'm blessed with the last minute Guru power of pulling it all off. I'm planning the next three weeks, around the soccer schedule and somehow, I think it will all fall into place. Saying that, the natives may not get their gourmet meals...the ones that they are accustomed to (haha), but we'll eat. Actually, I'm hoping to bring home some Kettle Corn from the Arts & Crafts Festival and we can all eat ourselves silly.

Please note the Flyer on the left...I hope to attack Becca with the ole' camera and sucker her into playing the guitar for the Mad Monster. She is one of the 4 talented daughters of a co-worker of mine (not to exclude her son, but I think he's just back from South America and I have no new news).

Let's go to the FESTIVAL! BUY LOCAL! Support the community and all that.

Fairhope Soccer League...ROCKS!

This spring season includes practices with the pro coaches from the Blast Soccer Club. Wow, what a workout the girls (and boys) from U10 got tonight. I'm so proud of these girls, they were all working hard and paying attention to everything the coaches were saying. Thank you to the Fairhope Soccer League and the Blast Soccer Club for revving these gals up and getting them excited about being away from the TV and video games!

This is going to be an interesting season. I plan on loosing my voice...again and again. No pics but I'll bring them to you next week.

Down on the farm...

We, my husband and I, have almost certainly lost our minds. I didn't like the idea of adding to the family of critters we have soiling the house and making sure that the carpet looks more "chocolate chip" than "sugar cookie", but the Mad Monster batted those southern belle lashes at her daddy and he gave in.


And where is this little eyelash batting beauty, you may ask? Out playing in the puddles and duct taping her Razor. Do you see where this is going? I know where it's going. I think we will be having this for dinner very soon (ok, this is really just for a chuckle from my husband and a threat to my daughter)...


Ingredients:
1 rabbit, about 3 pounds, cut up
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped celery
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
1 bay leaf
4 cups water
4 cups dry red wine
2 cups diced carrots
4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
4 ounces sliced mushrooms, sauteed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup water
Preparation:Directions for rabbit stew. Dredge rabbit pieces with 1/2 cup flour. Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat; brown rabbit pieces on all sides. Add celery, onion, salt, pepper, bay leaf, 4 cups water, and wine; bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and simmer rabbit stew for 2 hours. Add carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms; cook for about 25 to 30 minutes longer, or until vegetables are tender. Combine 1/4 cup flour and 1/3 cup water; stir until well blended and smooth. Stir flour mixture into the broth; cook and stir until thickened.Rabbit stew recipe serves 4.

Charles Phillips Antiques

I spent this rainy Saturday under an umbrella taking pictures for the Charles Phillips website (see link in my links list). What an amazing place! I wondered (er...wandered, that is) from building to building in awe of all the cool stuff and if I hadn't been taking so many pictures I would have been begging for this item or that item from my husband. Even the Mad monster was having a blast looking at the cool things. You should really take a trip out there if you are in the market for really unique architectural antiques and so many other treasures!

Per my husbands request, I have added some shots of the headboard he wants. :)

What's for dinner tonight...

Mmmm, Red Snapper fresh from the Gulf this AM! My husband gets Fridays off and this is how he spent this morning. He is a responsible fisherman, only two so that the Red Snapper population would not further be depleted by irrisponsible fishing practices.

Now, how shall we fix it? Fried up, pan seared, blackened, grilled, sushified...the possibilities are making my mouth water. More later when we decide...

Another reminder of how quickly time passes.

Going to get your driver's license renewed is up there with your children's milestones in reminding you how quickly the time passes. (Along with this and that wrinkle or that patch of gray that didn't used to be there.)

For me it was another reminder of just how many things slip my mind. It expired almost 2 months ago and I didn't even notice. I used to be so good at keeping up with things...where does the time go?

The Red Roots

Fairhope Avenue Baptist Church got the treat of a lifetime last night, March 8th, when The Red Roots pulled into town and showed off their many gifts. These gals are still in High School but had us all tapping our feet and watching in awe as they switched up instruments mid song seamlessly. If you haven't had the good fortune to hear them, go check out their schedule, they are certainly worth it!

Gulf Coast Events

There are a lot of things that happen in a community that we often over look. I miss a lot because my laundry and dinner need to be attended to, and that is a shame. I plan on getting out there more this year and here are some things I'm going to do. I'm not listing them all, because, in case ya'll didn't notice, this area is so full of art and festivals that you just can't make it to them all! I haven't even gotten into the Polo on the Point, Friday Art Walks, and Fireworks on the Bay...and all over! I'll post 'em as I know dates and web links. Come on down if you aren't already here!

Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival March 20-22

Mobile Opera - Susannah March 26 & 28 (A shameless plug for a friend! You know who you are.)

Loxley's Strawberry Festival April 11 & 12

Gulf Coast Zydeco Music and Crawfish Festival May 15 - 17

Gulf Coast Hot Air Balloon Festival June 19 - 21

Taste of the Eastern Shore August 15th edit: this is for 2008 - I'll update when a new date for 2009 is up.

Picture fun for the day...

Passing and Soccer...

Passing -

I wish more folks in Fairhope read my blog...because I would give all you young "whipper snappers" an earfull that pass when you don't have space to pass on a TWO LANE road. When you run the passee and the oncoming car into ditches, IT IS NOT SAFE TO PASS! Where do they issue these licenses anyway?

Soccer -

Now on to the subject that is a household love around here. I have to give kudos to the Fairhope Soccer league. I had a question and not just one response came, but two...and all within hours. If you are thinking of getting your kids involved in a sport, the Fairhope Soccer League is AWESOME!

Some days you just have to wonder...or wander

I've hit a road block. I'm certain others would call it writers block or a creative void. I can't decide what to write about today and it really bothers me. I don't feel like cooking, nothing really exciting happened today or yesterday and, most importantly, I haven't taken any pictures since dinner the other night.

I could share the joys of cleaning up after a vendetta filled Shih Tzu, or the excitement of cleaning up the plethora of hairballs the cats discreetly hide in the middle of the floor of my laundry room. I could share the bliss of just having nothing of import to share.

I find my mind wandering on a clueless path of questions. Where did I put that God awful poetry I used to write? Why does my laundry pile seem to tower higher after I just did a few loads? How could I burn the ground beef for tacos last night? Why does my flash suck in cold temps...or is it the batteries? Why am I having a salad for dinner when I have a freezer full of steaks, chicken, pork loin, etc.? What happened to all my artsy fartsy photographs....?

I never did mind the little things.

The answer lies in listening to my daughter teach herself Fur Elise...she is my answer. Just keep searching, just keep trying and it will come to you or it won't. But keep at it until everyone around you has bleeding ears...

Left Over Queen!

This is the final product of leftovers and a few additional new yummies. Steak N Cheese with roasted taters.

That's me, the left over QUEEN! I can make all kinds of yummies from things that aren't eaten the first go 'round. Tonight we had something old and something new (ok, a little new).

Taken from left over Rib Eyes grilled a few days ago, I sliced them up and I added some sauteed onions and mushrooms (sauteed in butter and a little garlic salt)The left over steamed bag of red taters, I quartered and seasoned (again with garlic salt) and drizzled with olive oil. Baked them for a bit then I layered the steak, onion/mushroom mixture on sesame hoagie rolls and then covered in sliced provolone. I slipped them in by the taters just to melt the cheese and heat up the steak. MMM, turned out pretty good, try it.