Today was another busy day in the yard. The grass is cut and everything is in order. Now as I sit in the late evening hours, I hear a soothing thunderstorm brewing. To me, thunderstorms capture my utmost attention. The smell of rain, the wind in the trees, the giant thunderheads in the sky, the distant rumbling, the flash of lightning, I soak it all in.

Today was a marathon of events and the party is still not over. Bobby called to see if I would be up for Razzoo’s per Kristy’s request. So, off to Razzoo’s we went around 7 PM. We enjoyed a fabulous Cajun meal served up with fried pickles and rat toes as our appetizers. I love pickles, but fried pickles are out of this world!

A family gathering at Razzoo’s for dinner

Fried rat toes and pickles. The rat toes are stuffed Jalapeños dipped in batter and fried.

Fun atmosphere

Sisters

Lauren and Kristy whipped up some cookies when we got home and believe it or not I didn’t indulge at all. Guess I had too many fried pickles! A few of Kristy’s friends came over and are still gathered around the kitchen table. We hear sounds of laughter, girls talking over one another and catching up on old times. It a happening party down there and they ended up eating all the cookies that were made.

Oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies in the works

Bobby chops the pecans

Let the party begin

Kristy and Lauren are off to 6 Flags tomorrow (weather permitting) and I’ve promised to make cookies for grandma (my mother-in-law) since they polished off all the cookies. We’ll see if I can bake without getting my fingers caught in the cookie jar.

Not sure what day it is as we are going a mile a min around here. Perhaps you’ve noticed the decline of my presence in the blogosphere of late. The seams of hibernation have burst and, well… Life has picked up an unusual element of craziness. Late nights, early mornings, gardening, landscaping, spring cleaning, reorganizing, redecorating, hands full with girls who bring laughter to our home. Last evening Bobby commented that it was so good to hear the laughter and chuckles from the girls. And on and on and on…

Lauren’s appointment for her pictures went well and they scheduled to have her pictures taken while Kristy’s here (this Friday) so they can have a few together. These will be Lauren’s senior pictures as she was “too busy” her senior year (last year) to get them taken. Bobby’s given the girls a fist full of dollars to spend on clothes (for their pictures this Friday) and they will be off to the Galleria in Dallas shortly, or whenever they roll out of bed.

The girls will be making cookies for their grandma this evening. They told us last night that they need to make extra as they want some too. I’m running into a little teensy weensy bump in the road while Kristy’s here. I’m doing really well maintaining but I’m not seeing anymore really good progress lately.

Kristy wants to hit a few favorite restaurants while she’s here and we understand. She has a craving for brisket, she also wants to go to Razzoo’s where they have fried pickles and fried rat toes (the rat toes are stuffed jalapeño peppers dipped into batter and fried, they really look like rats as the stem is left on to look like a tail), and she wants to go to Babe’s too! We’re going to accommodate her this week as we understand what it’s like to come home and crave your favorite places.

Our last two end tables arrive today and it will be so good to finally have the full set. I’ll be waiting here for the delivery guys and I’ll be sure to answer the door when the bell rings this time.

Lauren is fervent about poetry, music and “the coffee shop”. And not just any ole coffee shop will do. She loves an atmosphere where art abounds and musicians bloom. It’s all about ambiance and “beautiful people” (defined as having a beautiful heart) as she likes to say. She seems to be diving right into life here and has already found one of her favorite coffee shops in our little area. Now I’m eager to see just what it is that tickles her fancy.

Last night was open mike night at the coffee shop and she was ready to plunge right in. She’s quite the outgoing one and has never met a stranger. She left the house with her guitar, poetry book and the biggest smile on her face. Most of the songs she shares are straight from her heart and written by her. After her performance the owner invited her to fill an hour spot for Saturday evening and she accepted. We’re definitely going to pay a visit one evening when she’s performing.

Its Bobby’s Friday off and they are off on their weekly date. Bobby’s taking Lauren on a few errands and then to an appointment to get Lauren’s pictures taken. I think it’s so important that they have their time together as they need that bonding time, just the two of them.

For me, Lauren is kinda like having a friend/sister around. Lauren always wants to sit and have lunch together with me at the table. We find great stuff to talk about and I find she’s such a warm young lady with such a great big heart. We’ve also started walking together and the exercise is just what I need. We’re having such a great time with her and I think she plans to stay with us for several weeks if not longer.

Lauren and I spent a good portion of our time working in the yard yesterday. We cut the grass, trimmed trees and spruced it up putting lots of love and passion into our work.

Last evening we were hit by a huge storm with tornado warnings and there were tornado sightings in the area. I could hear the tornado siren in the distance and I took cover in the pantry until the tornado threat was over. I was home alone, Lauren was at the gym in Fort Worth and Bobby was just about 10 min away from home caught in that mess!

I had the news on and they reported winds in our area up to 90 mph so I called Lauren immediately and left a message on her phone to stay put until the storm passed (she was stuck at the gym for an additional hour & ½). I called Bobby and thank goodness he was almost home and he made it safely.

The news reported several thousand strikes of lightning in just 30 minutes time. After the tornado threat was over, I was able to enjoy such a storm. I’ve never seen the wind carry rain sideways in huge sheets that looked like a massive wall traveling sideways.

We awoke to beautiful sunshine and 67 degrees. It’s a beautiful day for more yard work as debris covers the entire yard.

Bobby and I put on a little bit of weight after Lauren arrived and it’s going to stop now. We allow ourselves to go off program when special events arise but the party’s over. The good news, when Bobby and I went to NY, I tried very hard to eat sensibly and to make good choices at meal time. There’s always balance too as Jennifer invited us to meet her family at Cold Stone Creamery. Bobby and I have never been there and it sounded like a wonderful treat. All I can say is the ice cream was so good that Bobby and I went back the very next night just to make sure they knew what they were doing over there. We weren’t disappointed at all!

When we got home early Sunday afternoon feeling a little on the hungry side, there was freshly baked, soft & chewy, oatmeal/chocolate chip cookies on the counter, complements of Lauren. The only way for Bobby and I to deal with temptation was to succumb to it. I must have had 5 cookies and oh were they ever so good. But after that big mistake I didn’t allow another morsel of food in my tummy the rest of the day. The really scary news was that I had to get up and face the music Monday morning by stepping on the scale.

Monday came quite early coupled with reluctance to step on the scale for the bitter truth. Truth be told, I was down ½ a pound from our trip. Bobby told me I was golden but I think it had everything to do with balance.

I’m doing really well and back in the grove to polish off the rest of this unwanted weight. It’s so good to be on my ‘weigh’ down once again.