I'm thinking it would be good

to share a bit of the REAL photos with you -

If, for no other reason, than to show that 

I can, in fact, take photos that aren't blurry - ha - 

So here's a quick down and dirty re-cap of our trip to Nevada back in May...

 

We got into town early and had ... 

It really was good!

 Then we headed to Mt. Charleston -- so pretty! 

Our first time out that way - 

and we loved the cooler temps as we drove higher and higher!

We enjoyed the Ethel M. Mars cacti garden - 

IN BLOOM!!

 And always love to how neighborhoods might be different from ours -  

LOVE the older motel signs!

And driving out to see Hoover Dam - 

And finally having the time to walk up to the new bridge - 

Such amazing views!

We ate with  both Bobby and Giada -  

Bobby wins! 

But Giada's photo booth was fun!

We did yoga 'with' dolphins -- also pretty neat!

Except: It was HOT yoga --- wheeeeeee

  and then spend the afternoon on Freemont Street - 

another somethin' somethin' we'd never taken the time for...

While Craig wa in meetings I hung out by the pool and read a bit...

And the night befopre we left it cooled down to a comfortable 80*. Ha, 

[Seriously.]

So we enjoyed walking the strip and looking at the sights. 

And, always in Vegas, there were lots of sights to see.

Ten on Tuesday -

AKA: The Daily Dime -

We enjoyed spending The Fourth with Craig's mother this year - 

 Just a good day to visit together without rushing around doing a lot of things - 

As a result, there wasn't much picture taking -

1 - Craig cooked burgers on the grill 

2 - We still love the Fresh Market Meal Deals!

3 - I cooked corn on the cob in the microwave - really my first time to do it -

4 - Wrap corn cob in a wet paper towel and microwave for 2 minutes - delish] 

 

5 - Talked about family stories [always good!] 

6 - Enjoyed delicious key lime and the cherry / blueberry flag pies for dessert - 

7 - Got home before the celebrations started in our little town

8 - At the last minute decided to watch some fireworks from a distance

 

9 - Sat on top of the parking deck @ the mall

10 - Neighborhood fireworks [as illegal as they might be] stopped abruptly at 10:30

Good thing since we were both almost asleep by then. Ha.

So thankful to live in this country of ours - 

Even with all the craziness, I believe it's still a good place to be - 

WE crazy -

we know it --

And we enjoyed a fun little father's day together on Sunday - 

including a 'ride' in dad's new ride...

[Craig is a hat collector and had some out for us to play with -]

 skipping through the yard -

Getting up close and personal with mom -

Silly times are the best times...

All in all, a good day to celebrate our fearless leader...

crazy as he might be...    

What would we do without him?

Recap of the weekend -

Oh,  goodness - 

It's probably been 8 - 10 years since we've been to Panama City Beach -

We went down for a quick trip to be with the oldest and dau-law as 

she competed in the Iron Man - 

[she's awesome, I tell ya!]

She had told us we'd have plenty of time to enjoy the beach while she was competing,

so I loved seeing these shirts that another family wore - 

And. That's pretty much what we did - lol

We enjoyed the beautiful view from our room at the Edgewater Resort

The beach [and water!] are beautiful!

 And the water was calm enough to get in for a bit. 

We had good food all weekend [of course] and the meal at 

Captain Anderson's was as good as Craig and his mom remembered.

It was wonderful to have time late in the afternoon [Golden Hour!] on the beach - 

and sunset was the perfect ending to a great day!

PCB really is beautiful once you're on the beach!

Problem, is there's just no easy way to get there - lol

So, we both had

some work things to do down in South Alabama last week - 

 And y'all know if I'm that close to The Gulf

I can't resist sticking my toes in the sand, if only for a couple of hours...

We took the time to go to Dauphin Island late one afternoon - 

Since we lived out that way, this is probably the first beach 

we really shared together as young marrieds...

 

Love the walk out to the beach...

[We always think about our little dog getting tons of sand burs  on this walk...]

And of course we love that there's never a crowd on this part of the island - 

Our car is parked on the other side of those buildings, there...

Can you see them? 

LOL

 

And y'all know I love the seagull welcome we get each time we're at The Gulf - 

But alas, we didn't bring them a thing to eat this time 'round -  

[We're pretty sure they found someone's bag of potato chips though - ]

And of course - we love the seafood we enjoy when we're down in that part of the state - 

Our new favorite place is Neighbors in Tillman's Corner -  

Some of the best sefood EVAH - 

And we make a point to stop by whenever we're in that neck of the woods...

 

One afternoon as I was driving back across the bay I thought - 

Mobile, I love you - 

But I'm glad I didn't raise my kids there -  

[no offense, really - 

I'm just glad they were closer to family up this way - ] 

It's ALWAYS good to visit though!!

It will eventually get warm

warm again in our part of the world 

[and then I'll be complaining about the heat, just wait and see! Ha.]

Here's Pawley supervising us as we plant some azaleas yesterday afternoon. 

[Yes - one of the 50 + year old ones finally bit the dust -]

Bless his heart - his fur is a crazy mess of 
growing - shedding - growing

with this weather we're having.

We're all ready for spring

[or even summer, at this point -]

Loving my new bi-focals for the computer!

My doc suggested I get a pair with the top part being 

half of the strength I use for reading glasses 

[- the bottom is my regular reading glass script.]

So I ordered some from zenni.com and 

they seriously do make a difference in how tired my eyes feel at the end of the day.

[I got a pair to keep at the office because, hello- zenni is SO AFFORDABLE.]

Soon after I saw my doc and placed my order I read this same handy tip in my Real Simple magazine, so I feel like I'm keeping up with the trends, y'all. ha.

Well - here's the deal...

I try to post here on the blog several times weekly 

- but lately I just haven't got to it -- 

[sweet glider a friend picked up for us a few weeks back -]

And I try to keep to a schedule of sorts

 [ - scrap book - faith journaling  - 'round the house - on my bookshelf - recipes -

-  art journal -  here & now - project eighteen -  ETC. ETC.

Plus the posts that share our life a bit more - ]

And,  I usually try to 'catch-up' when I've missed some posts -

But I'm not feeling it y'all - ha.

'Tis the truth - 

 [Azaleas near our training site in Montgomery a couple of weeks ago - ]

Maybe it's the  pollen in the air, maybe it's the renovation I've partially started, 

maybe it's that I've been eating like crap and feel awful, 

maybe it's that winter will
 just. not. go. a. way.

 So I'm not going back to 'catch-up' on posts, there I said it.

But 
I will share a few things from right here, right now - lol - 

Like our Easter goodies that I ate way too much of -  

LOVE those little paint cans with the bunnies that I used as cup cake holders! 

And LOVE the dogwoods in our yard!

They are SO GORGEOUS all over our part of town!

 Oh, and let me introduce you to Buttercup

- Craig's newest little project.

She's a 1967 Shasta Compact that Craig found for A DEAL.

[Of course he did.]

Look at the wings!

That's what gives her the most value, hmmm... character!

She's mostly gutted already, and while this is definitely his project 
[the one I mentioned above is totally different and MUCH BIGGER - I'll share soon enough,] I'm on board to help out where I can 
[the one mentioned above will be a joint effort as well!]

We're already on the hunt for the perfect yellow color because that goldie yellow has got to go - and I've already got some ideas for the interior colors as well -

Right now I'm thinking yellow and grey,

with a little vintage green [NOT avocado] added in...

we'll see...

I love this mid-century laminate I found - and am thinking it would be cool for the bit of counter space she has and the removable table...

It kind of reminds me of the table we had growing up...

But sister will have to tell me if I'm remembering that correctly - ha.

So that's it y'all. I'll see if I can get back on track for the rest of the month --

Happy Spring!

[It will be here soon!

I believe!]

I love to be up and awake

to see the sunrise...

The promise of a new day...

God is faithful - 

[Photo taken at Honeycomb Campground.]

I've probably over-saturated

you guys with our photos from the beach -

But I wanted to re-cap our little get-a-way here today - 

I'm involved with the Alabama Conference of Social Work

and so enjoy being able to attend the conference each year

at The Perdido Beach Resort  in Orange Beach.

[The Gulf to us - ]

We lived close to The Gulf when we were first married so we always try to get back to it at least once a year - sometimes more...

So during the conference we try to go down a day or two earlier - or stay a day or two afterwards - depending on what the weather might be - And we usually stay in the same room, on the same floor, so we can have this same view 

[-- and afternoon sun which we love.]

It was so nice to have sunny skies!

[and a beautiful sunrise  or two as well!]

But the clouds did come in a few days later 

and it was just as cool to wake up to a very foggy beach a few mornings - 

I love traveling with my sweetheart!

[Love that he can work while I'm in my meetings - ]

We tried a few new places to eat [BuzzCats, Brick and Spoon,] but also stayed true to our favorites: The Shrimp Basket and Doc's [so good!]. 

We took time to look at our plans / schedules/ calendars for the months ahead, as well time to just relax, walk on the beach, hike a little trail, read, or just do nothing. Ha.

The conference is always excellent - with wonderful sessions to increase knowledge, network, and of course, get those CEUs.

Check out ACSW at the link above or on facebook, here -

 We had WONDERFUL WARM WEATHER [in the 80*!!] much of the week, so it was no surprise to come home to all the early spring flowers bursting out in glorious colors!

Y'all know how much I love the spring in the south! 

After some sustained rainy cold days I am so ready for it!

And I know, I know... we still have blackberry winter, etc. etc. - 

but I'm enjoying the warm while it's here!

[And least you worry - we DO have people 

who check the house / pets/ etc. while we're gone -]