THIS AND THAT

Guess what? I spent ALL DAY in my gown, no makeup, no contacts and my hair a mess. And no lipstick either...now that's a first! LOL

It was fabulous!

No place I had to go, but lots to do, so I brushed my teeth and dug in. Of course, I spent quite a bit of time on the computer in between all the other "important" stuff. I got so much accomplished too, including walking on the treadmill. Yea me!

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We had an awful storm last night, but nothing like a lot of places did. So sad when I watched the news this morning and heard about all the destruction and deaths from the tornadoes!

I slept right through our bad storm, but George said it was major. But...yesterday afternoon was glorious. We took Miss Daisy up to the marina for lunch.


Smart girl found a cool spot under the table.




She perked up when the birds started squawking and talking though.

This one performed for us by hanging from one toe nail! He (or she) kept saying "hello"...maybe 15 times until we said "goodbye".

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What a nice surprise! Melissa at Melissa's Cuisine awarded me with The Versatile Blogger award. Thank you so much Melissa for thinking of me. I'm truly touched. I was awarded this award once before back in September and passed it on then.

Isn't it fun to be recognized by our fellow blog friends?! Absolutely!
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I'm leaving in the morning for a long weekend GIRLS GETAWAY. Can't wait. I'll stop in Columbus to pick up my Mom and sister Kim and the three of us are going to Sherry's (my aunt) in Atlanta. Tomorrow night will be a fun night of dinner, wine and playing games (of course). On Saturday we are going to The Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show. Giada De Laurentiis, Paula Deen and The Neely's will be there. My Mom, aunt and sister went last year and had a ball, so I'll looking forward to it. On Sunday, we will go to IKEA for breakfast (yes they have a cafeteria) and lots of shopping and then will go to a large Korean market they enjoy. I'll drive Mom and Kim back to Columbus and will spend the night at my Mom's.

On Monday morning my DIL Angela is bringing the grandchildren to me so they can ride home with me to spend next week with us. Soooo excited about THAT too.

Life is so sweet. Enjoy it!




Hugs from the beach,
Kat


"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

GIRLS NIGHT OUT

L-R - Jackie, Barb, Carol, Jeanette, me (Karen and Lee came a little later)

You might remember when we lost our good friend Carl to cancer in January. It's still so hard to believe he's gone. sigh

Jackie invited 6 of us girls out for a "girls nights out". In her email invitation she said "This is Carl's and my treat, as we had a gift certificate for Fleming's that we never used, and I know he would love for us to raise a glass in his honor."

And we did!

We miss you Carl...BIG TIME!




Hugs from the beach,
Kat


"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

CELEBRATING WITH FRIENDS

Tonight we celebrated George's birthday at Christianos with friends Dick & Linda and Larry & Kay.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEORGE!

I sure do love YOU!



Hugs from the beach,
Kat


"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

I FEEL LIKE I'M CHEATING

Remember (here) back in February when I called myself a SMOOTH OPERATOR?

Well, I'm still making myself a healthy smoothy every morning for my breakfast and LOVING IT!

I feel like I'm cheating.

Seriously.

It's like having a milkshake, and who doesn't like a milkshake?!


First I add a little almond milk to my personal size smoothy blender...about 2/3 cup. Then I add a little water...about 1/3 cup. Next I add 1 scoop of my chocolate flavored 100% whey protein powder...now who wouldn't want some chocolate for breakfast?! Then I add about 2 tablespoons of plain Greek yogurt. Next I add about 4 ice cubes and a few pieces of frozen fruit. And to top it all off I add a small handful of baby spinach.

Sometimes instead of the fruit, I add a teaspoon or two of peanut butter.

Here's the smoothy maker I use (got mine at GNC) and the whey protein I like best (got mine at Winn Dixie). The smoothy maker is quick and easy. You just screw the blade attachment to the top of the container, turn it upside down and attach it, press the blue button and ....
voila! Just look at that yummy milkshake healthy smoothy!!!!!!

Thick and soooo delish! I promise you don't even taste the spinach, but your body will love it. Just think of all that good nutrition and healthy calcium, protein, veggie and fruit.
It's how I start my day and it makes me HAPPY! I'm satisfied until lunchtime and I think it's a great way to start my day.

How do YOU start your day?




Hugs from the beach,
Kat


"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

EASTER

Our Easter was quiet this year. Just the two of us. Kinda nice, but also sad. I miss my family, especially on holidays. Know what I mean? I hate that we are all so spread out :-(

We went to church and spent the rest of the day relaxing by the pool.

And guess what? I didn't eat one single chocolate bunny this year and not one marshmallow peep! No Cadbury eggs or jelly beans either. Weird.

I hope YOUR Easter was filled with family, egg hunts, good food, and lots of memory making moments.




Hugs from the beach,
Kat


"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

TOGETHER AGAIN....

George and I spent all.morning.long cleaning our lanai from top to bottom... even the furniture. It's definitely necessary once all the pollen has stopped, but what a messy job!

We carried all the furniture outside and I cleaned it and George did the floors, railings, etc.

Working right beside my knockout roses was nice though...love the smell!
Seeing a man mop is sexy, don't 'cha think?! I do. lol
Awwww...back together and all clean! Love the feeling of having everything clean.

Ping pong anyone? Pool table underneath if you'd rather play that. Or grab a seat and I'll make us a drink and we'll just watch.
If you look closely you'll see George taking a little nap rest out by the pool afterwards. He worked hard!

Hope you're having a good weekend too.





Hugs from the beach,
Kat


"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

HOW TO MAKE A GIRL HAPPY...

Tell her she's looking SKINNY!


Those are oh so sweet words, right?


It might make her reach for (another) Oreo though. I'm just saying.....




Hugs from the beach,
Kat


"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

FOOD....my downfall ;-)

Oh Lord, I hope I can sleep tonight. I'm totally and seriously "stuffed". I just got home from (another!) girls night out. This time eight of us girls got together to watch American Idol at my friend Erika's house. Erika is one of the girls I play tennis with. She grew up in Argentina and is an unbelievable cook, artist and tennis player. She loves to entertain and does it with flair! Tonight she made us one of our very favorites...beef empanadas.

Have you ever had them before? Erika stuffs hers with beef and veggies and adds raisins...and she puts a little bit of sugar on the top. Oh.My.Word!


An empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried in many countries of Latin America and the south of Europe. The name comes from the verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread. Empanada is made by folding a dough or bread patty around the stuffing. The stuffing can consist of a variety of meats, vegetables, or even fruits.

Erika made the empanadas, Jeanette made the salad and I brought some fresh fruit. Simple, yet so delish together. Tania brought a beautiful flan and coconut macaroons. Patty, Dale, Monika and Carol provided red and white wine.

See why I walk an hour on the treadmill every.single.day?!


Amazing!
We ate outside and the weather was PERFECT! I was too busy enjoying myself to take more photos, but I did snap one quick photo from my chair of just one tiny part of her gorgeous flowers next to the lake.

Note to self: next time take photos of my friends and not just the food. LOL





Hugs from the beach,
Kat


"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

TAKING A COOKING CLASS IS FUN!

(somehow my camera settings must have gotten off because the lighting isn't good on these photos...oh well)

What a fun night! My friend, Kandi (in the pink on the right), won a cooking class and invited 5 of us for a very fun and informative night.

Chef Scot was fun and so COOL!







Yum!

The wine gave us hot flashes so we checked out the walk-in freezer with Chef Scot and got the giggles!
I might or might not have had a bit too much wine!
Kandi and I compared our toe polish color. Hers was purple and mine was blue with sparkles ;-)



Great food, great wine and really great friends = a wonderful evening!



Hugs from the beach,
Kat



"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."