• Travel

    Bahia Honda State Park

    July 24, 2015 - By 

    One of the things on our to-do-list while in the keys was to go to Bahia Honda State Park. The afternoon after spending our morning at sea, we had a few hours to spare. We decided to go check out this highly regarded state park. After entering the park we turned and headed to the Eastern side of the park, which is where you’ll find a mile long beach called Sandspur Beach. It’s a very narrow beach covered with seaweed the day we were there. There’s restrooms and pavilions there. However, we decided to check out the Calusa Beach that’s…

  • Travel

    Burdines Waterfront Restaurant

    July 23, 2015 - By 

    Burdines Waterfront ChikiTiki Bar & Grill is located on Boot Key Harbor on Marathon Key. We actually passed by it earlier that day in the boat. This place was packed, but we managed to get a table inside. If you go there, I highly recommend eating outside. The inside is small and shares space with the kitchen. It was noisy, and hot. Rob and Drew got the Bacon Wrapped BBQ Shrimp, which looked amazing. I had the fish sandwich, which was also quite flavorful. Nothing was better than our dessert, which was the Deep Fried Key Lime Pie. O.M.G!!! I…

  • Drew_Eagle_Scout_Project_Day2SQ
    Life

    Drew’s Eagle Scout Project

    July 21, 2015 - By 

    Back in March, Drew wrote his plan for his Eagle Scout Project Proposal and it was approved with flying colors. He had to get through ACT prep class and the end of his junior year. Summer rolled around and he was finally able to get the plan written, materials purchased, and dates arranged. He had large contingent of guys from his troop come out to help. Day 1 pics: Here’s the Scoutmaster’s daughter along with Drew’s girlfriend. They were so sweet to give up half of their Saturday to sweat and help Drew with his project. Here’s the Scoutmaster working…

  • Spreading My Dad's Ashes
    Life

    Spreading My Dad’s Ashes

    July 16, 2015 - By 

    Never in a million years did I imagine that I would be spreading my Dad’s ashes before I even turned 40! You can read all about his journey with ALS, which was a quick one actually. On my last visit to see him, he expressed to Rob and me that he wanted to be “blowing in the wind.” Well on January 1st, 2015 that’s exactly what he was doing before his ashes finally met the salty ocean waters just off the coast of Marathon Key. You’ll see in the video, me just standing there after the ashes are poured out.…

  • Morning at Sea near Marathon Key
    Travel

    Morning at Sea off Marathon Key

    July 15, 2015 - By 

    On New Year’s Day, we woke up early and stopped in at McDonald’s for a quick breakfast before hopping on a charter boat for a half day on the open seas. Yes, that loose end of spreading Dad’s ashes had finally come and I’ll have to say I was a mess while eating breakfast. We arrived at the marina a little before 8 am and Captain Dave was busy rinsing off the deck of the boat. When he was done, we discussed plans for the morning. I made sure he was aware that the main purpose of the trip was…

  • Life

    Happy 40th!

    July 10, 2015 - By 

    My other half turns 40 today! I wanted to write a special post to wish Rob a very happy birthday. Dear Rob, I hope you have the best birthday today. After all, it is a milestone. 😉 The BIG 4-0! WOW! I know I can’t give you too hard of a time about it, because mine’s soon to follow. Anyway, I wanted you know that am so very glad to have you in my life. I can’t imagine sharing life with anyone other than you. I’m so proud of all the things you’ve accomplished in your 40 years and I…

  • Morning in Key West
    Travel

    Morning in Key West

    July 8, 2015 - By 

    Key West is such an interesting place with so much character, history, and uniqueness to experience. When we were in the Keys, we spent New Year’s Eve morning in Key West. This post is just to highlight the 4-5 hours we spent exploring this alluring city. I plan to come back and write a few more posts about some of the cool places we came across. We got up at the crack of dawn, before the sun had even begun to rise. We wanted to beat the crowds and didn’t want to have to wait in a long line at…

  • Life

    Memories of the Month {6.2015}

    July 7, 2015 - By 

    This month I was happy about: it being summer and just being able to have some downtime. This year I’m going to rate the books & movies. Here’s my rating system: ♥ ♥ = Love it! A must read/see! ♥ = Really good! Highly recommend. ✓ ✓ = Good, not great ✓ = Not much to talk about X = Awful. Total waste of time Movies I watched were: The Best of Me – ♥ ♥♥ ♥ TV Shows I watched were: Grace & Frankie (Netflix) – watched the first episode and the first few minutes of the 2nd episode,…

  • Life

    Being Real

    July 6, 2015 - By 

    Hey y’all. I gotta get real with ya for a second. You may or may not have noticed I haven’t blogged the much the last month. I am a bit burnt out with blogging. Since re-branding and slowly moving old blog posts over while trying to crank out a daily blog post, I’m just kind of over it. I love blogging, don’t get me wrong but for the longest time (even before moving over to this new blog home) I feel like I’ve been trying to go in too many directions with this thing. All the while being miserable while…

  • Memories in a Bottle {Cremation Necklaces}
    Life

    Memories in a Bottle {Cremation Necklaces}

    July 29, 2014 - By 

    After my Dad passed away and I started thinking and I thought about ways to be able to keep just a little bit of Dad’s ashes. He wants his ashes spread in the Florida Keys and I hope to be able to go down there soon. I wanted to be able to go down there before the end of this year, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to swing it. Oh, I digress…. Anyway, I found that you could order necklaces. I asked my brothers if they wanted one and if so to pick one out and let me…

  • Pork - Recipes

    Tangy Pork Tenderloin Marinade

    July 28, 2014 - By 

    I love this recipe. It’s great actually for all types of pork, not just tenderloin. I love that is good whether its cooked in the oven or on the grill. Servings: 4-6 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: depends on the type of meat Ingredients: 1/3 cup red wine vinegar 1/4 cup ketchup 2 tbs soy sauce 1 tbs canola oil 1 tbs Worcestershire 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp dry mustard Salt and pepper to taste

  • Life

    Snazzy Specs

    July 26, 2014 - By 

    I recently took Alex to get his eyes checked again. He got an “upgrade” on his glasses and chose these snazzy specs! How grown up does he look? Ahh! Just can’t get over this boy and the fact he’ll be starting 5th grade in a couple of weeks. WOW! He took this picture for me on our way home from picking them up. So cute! Here he is wearing his new Braves hat…again along with his new glasses and trying to look limbless. 🙂 Love this silly dude so much.

  • Recipes - Sides

    Sweet Potato Chips

    July 25, 2014 - By 

    Servings: 4 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 25 minutes Ingredients: 1 sweet potato 1 tbs garlic powder 1/3 cup olive oil 3 tbs honey 1 tsp cinnamon Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400°. 2. Slice potato to about 1/4 of an inch. 3. Heat olive oil and honey in sauce pan. Bring to a simmer and then remove. 4. Pour olive oil/honey mixture in bowl. Add cinnamon and garlic powder. Stir until both are not noticeable. 5. Put potatoes in bowl with liquid mixture and stir until all of potatoes are coated in mixture. 6. Spray baking pan with…

  • Travel

    Georgia Aquarium

    July 23, 2014 - By 

    encounWe recently took a trip to Atlanta over the 4th of July weekend for a little staycation. We got the City Pass, which kept us busy the 3 days we were there at a discount rate. Our first attraction was the Georgia Aquarium. We went to the Georgia Aquarium back in 2007, but that was before they expanded so it was exciting to see all that has been added. Places like the Aquarium of Western Australia offer school excursion and educational activities for your child.

  • Uncategorized

    World of Coke {Staycation 2014}

    July 20, 2014 - By 

    Over the 4th of July we took a trip to Atlanta for a little staycation. We got the City Pass, which was a great deal and gave us plenty do. We had a great time at the World of Coke back in 2007 and found it to be even better this time. Your tour starts by getting an introduction by a super enthusiastic guide, who shares lots of amazing facts about Coke, as well as pointing out many of the sings and memorabilia around the room. From there you go into a theater and watch the video called Moments of…

  • Life

    You know you’re a Scout mom when….

    July 19, 2014 - By 

    1. An every year fall family activity is selling popcorn door-to-door through your neighborhood. 2. You have camping stuff piled up in your living room (year round). 3. You don’t think twice when your entire families clothes smell like smoke when loading the washer.

  • Life

    You know you’re a Scout mom when….

    July 19, 2014 - By 

    1. An every year fall family activity is selling popcorn door-to-door through your neighborhood. 2. You have camping stuff piled up in your living room (year round). 3. You don’t think twice when your entire families clothes smell like smoke when loading the washer.

  • Chicken - Dinner - Recipes

    Garlic Parmesan Chicken

    July 18, 2014 - By 

    Servings: 4-6 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 30 minutes Ingredients: 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken 1 cup of powdered Parmesan cheese 2 tbs garlic powder 1/3 cup olive oil Directions: 1. Take each chicken breast and remove any fat. Butterfly each chicken breast and then cut down the middle. For instructions on how to do that watch this video. 2. Mix together the cheese and garlic powder. Then, pour this dry mixture on a plate. 3. Pour the olive oil in a bowl. 4. Dip each side of the piece of chicken in the oil. 5. Roll the chicken…