I need a jury

I'm not sure who to blame for the below photos. Let me explain.......................

While watering my flowers this morning (and letting Gus go pee), a little ruckus broke out. Congo peeked his head out of my bedroom window, the dogs saw him, and it was "ON".

I could blame Congo because he didn't back down. He knew the window wasn't open far enough for my big-headed dogs to fit through. He also was meowing and carrying on. Almost taunting them............ daring them to get him.

I could blame Gus because he is a big bully. He is constantly torturing Congo!!!!! He'll show his teeth, bark, and chase the poor kitty till he goes somewhere Gus can't reach. Which is pretty much anything above couch level. Gus knows that Congo has only one fear in life and that is GUS!!!! Gus uses this to his advantage every chance he can.

I could blame T-bone but I don't think I will. You see, T is really only good at two things......

1. slobbering

2. sleeping

Anything else requires way too much energy. The only trouble T ever gets into ALWAYS involves Gus.

T-bone is Wally Cleaver

and Gus is Eddie Haskel.

Or I could blame myself for saying. "Get em' Gus!", "Who is at my window Gus?", "Protect me Gus!"

I sorta like watching him getting worked up. It makes me belly laugh!!!! His hair stands up on his back. He growls like Chewbacka. Then he looks at me and I imagine he is saying to me, "Look at me mom, I'm tough...... right?"

Then Congo wised up and left. I feel like I owe him an apology......... nah!

I'm slamming the gavel on the desk and voting.................... me............ the instigator.

My Monarch Butterfly

Ohhh friends..........

I'm having trouble getting my MOJO this morning. My brain just doesn't want to work yet. I think that a double dose of "natural" vitamin D (aka- SUN) might do the trick. There is something about sunshine that puts an extra spring in my step.

I am chomping at the bit to get my new garden planted. I've bought seeds and plants galore. I'm thinking of canned tomatoes, salsa, beans and potatoes. Oh have mercy on me. My taste buds are throbbing right now. The ground is still a bit wet though. I have been tilling it three times a day to get it dried out. I get excited every time I turn the dirt and I see BLACK!!! Usually the dirt at our house is RED!!!!!

Sooooo, until I have fresh garden produce to show you, you get to see flowers. Here is the latest eye candy blooming in the flower beds.

These clematis' are HUGE. Notice my hand in the background. That will give you an idea of their size. By the way, I DID NOT notice the spider while taking this photo! Oh my! Spiders are NOT my friends!!!!

Now onto the real reason for this post.

Gracie had a Spring play on Tuesday night. It was bug themed and she was a monarch butterfly. There were bugs of all types. Fireflies, bumblebees, ladybugs, ants, TICKS, and there was even a maggot. (ewwww) I thought that it was the best school play that I have ever seen. They all did so well.

I wanted to capture a few pictures of Gracie in good light.

Isn't she a beautiful butterfly?

She had a speaking part. I think that she did a spectacular job!!!!!

The next morning she woke up and looked like this....................

Yup, pink eye. Looks like her and I are going to have some one-on-one time this week.

She wasn't too excited about helping me cook in the church kitchen yesterday morning.

However, she didn't complain about the oreos or..............

the fruit kabobs.

And lastly......

I thought you might enjoy this simple cupcake idea. I made these yesterday at church and they are easy peasy. You cut mini marshmallows at a diagonal to make petals. I takes five petals to make a flower. Then you cut a marshmallow in half for the center. Aren't they Spring-ee? If you wanted to get extra fancy, you could brush the tip of the petals in egg wash and sprinkle colored sugar on them. We didn't have the time for that yesterday, but the Type A in me wanted to.

Ft. Lauderdale, FL (part II)

Our trip started at XO nails. Pedi's to start the vacation. O YEAH!!!!! We COULDN'T have gone to FL with ugly nails. NO WAY!!!!!!

I sorta "check-out" when I'm getting a pedi. I turn on the massaging chair and I enter Space-Cadet world.

Then we went to Chase Hotel for our first night of slumber. As you can see, we got plenty of rest................. NOT!!!!

I brought these silly masks for each of the girls. We were trying to set the timer on the camera, then I would hop into bed. Well the silly thing kept snapping the picture before I could get under the covers.

Below is a few of the out-takes.................

What in the world am I doing to Jane?

A little wink from Dana

Wednesday morning we were FINALLY on our plane. After months and months of waiting, we are airborne!!!!! (This was Pam's first flight, she was praying for us all. BREATHING AND PRAYING!!!!!) After the inital shock, all went very well.

Here are more photos of the natural beach. Beautiful...... beautiful...... beautiful. (the ladies, I mean)

We had a little trouble controlling Dana. Every time we turned around she was grabbing another Corona. This would explain some of her dance moves at the "Blue Martini". All I can say is......... YOU GO GIRL!!!!!

(the part about the Corona may or may not have been slightly exaggerated..........)

Fort Lauderdale, FL (Part I)

We are back from a relaxing, CALMING, and beautiful trip. I already miss the waves and roar of them hitting the beach.

I'm going to show the pictures a little at a time. Mostly because it takes so long to upload, but also because I want to spread it out some. Maybe the pictures will make me feel like I'm still there?

My days are somewhat mixed up, but I believe that we drove past Miami to the Keys on Friday. There was a lighthouse there that I thought was stunning. It was a "natural beach". Lots of sea-weed. Normally I avoid sea-weed but Dana and I were grabbing it like they was jewelry. I even plopped some on my head once as a wig. It isn't slimy at all. It almost feels like nylon rope.

The current was very swift on this day. Dana and I were trying to swim to a certain buoy, but we ended up going sideways instead.

We went to the Blue Martini Friday night. We ended up dancing till our toes were sore. It was such a fun night.

Saturday we rented a deck boat and trolled around the bay. We saw unbelievable homes. No.....really...... unbelievable!!!!!!! Huge and beautiful.

We also passed this large fella while going under a bridge.

Feather was the Captain. I would probably still be trying to find my way out if I had been driving.

It was Italian food night. Pam had the best eggplant Parmesan that I have ever tasted.

Dana and I are both lefties, so we are dinner buddies.

The ocean is so peaceful. I just have trouble wrapping my brain around it.

What I wouldn't give to stick my toes back in that water. Ahhhhhh!

While we were souvenir shopping, a monkey jumped on Jane. He really, really, really wanted to come home with her. But she said no!!!!

Part II of Fort Lauderdale, FL pictures coming tomorrow.