The Great American Road Trip

Miss A & I are heading out today for parts unknown. We are going "home" for a visit. :) We will be seeing friends and family along the way and enjoying some mama - daughter time. We have mapped out Food Network's Diner's, Drive-ins and Dive's spots along our route and I am encompassing some summer "school" lol with Geography, Home Ec and History. We will both be journaling our travels along the way.

I'll post pics later of our Beverly Hillbillies loaded down car. HA! Stay tuned!!!

New pic & adventures coming soon!!!!

Stay tuned for a new profile pic and details of our Adventure home!!!

What a day!

I will start by saying I don't think I am ever going to get ahead, lol. Thursday, Aubrey and I went to watch Open Season for the free movie with Rudy and Jen and their kids. Aubrey is the second youngest, but has been thrilled that the "older" girls want her to sit with them. We let them sit down on the front row (I know, it's bad for her eyes, lol) and we sat mid way up. It was actually a really cute movie. We all pitched in to get the large popcorn...they offer free refills, so we fed 3 adults and 7 kiddos on an unending bag of popcorn, lol. Came home and did house stuff.

I pounded out some chicken breasts, marinated them in a great sweet italian dressing from a restaurant called "Zia's on the Hill" in St. Louis, Mo. Then I breaded it and sauteed them in a little bit of grapeseed oil. I pulled them out 1/2 way cooked and shipped them off to the oven. I took the remaining oil, some garlic I roasted earlier, some portobello mushrooms and artichoke hearts and browned those up. Right at the end, I added a touch of lemon and some white wine. I served it with a salad and cheese tortellini. I have really begun to enjoy cooking and love trying new things. My latest thing is taking two recipes and using bits and peices from each one, lol.

Friday was spent at the house....cleaning, making travel plans, packing up some stuff and just me and Aub hanging out. I got all the foundation paperwork organized, and got all bank accounts reconciled and prepared all the financial statements for the audit. We are going to go visit my mom and dad in a few weeks and then head to TN to pick Mike up to bring him back here for a week for Aubrey's 5th birthday. It was nice to just kinda hang out. We didn't brave the crowds to go watch the fireworks, but the neighborhood had plenty to watch from the comfort of our family room, air conditioning and all, lol.....and mosquitoless :)

We had a SUPER busy day on Saturday, but had lots of fun. We headed to run a few errands early and then we were off to Anthony's 5th birthday party. Anthony is Aub's best bud. They have "know" each other since they were about 3 months old and they are 3 weeks apart. Every year he has a basketball party. It was great to see Kerry & Jeff and all our friends that we don't get to see that often, since all of our lives seem to be so busy. We were supposed to go to a second birthday party at the water park, but it got rained out.

Aub and I headed to the grocery to get stocked up on soda's for Mike as well as get some meat that we will serve at her 5th Birthday party. We have decided just to do it at the house this year, since our schedule is so crazy. I am looking forward to low key since all 4 of her prior birthdays have been such a "to do", but I am not looking forward to cleaning the house before and after the guests arrive, lol. I don't really have a theme for this party (I know, I am slacking lol) but I did make up her invites at www.smilebox.com It is FANTASTIC! I heard about this site from a homeschool support group I am on. I'll be able to get those sent out this week and I was able to get her party outline done as well as a list of "still needed" items.

After heading to the grocery, we hustled home to get all the stuff put away and got changed just in time to head back into town, and go to church. Pastor has started a new teaching series on Wisdom. He has challenged us to read a proverb a day. He also welcomed home and recognized a member of CF that has been deployed in Iraq, away from his family for 16 months. What a blessing it was to see how humbled Miguel was. It was a very emotional time and he received 2 standing ovations. After church Miguel and his family, Aubrey and I and two or three other families went to the mall food court for our weekly fellowship time. We had such a nice time talking with everyone. We didn't get home until almost 10, by the time the cleaning crew kicked us out to the outside entry to the mall, where we stood another 20 minutes and chatted some more.

Aubrey was one tired little girl and slept until almost 10 this morning. :) I went out to get something from the garage fridge, only to find out that the compressor was going out....I had 15 pounds of chicken and 10 pounds of ground beef in the fridge to portion out and fridge, 2 watermelons, 2 cantalouped, 2 pineapples, cheese sticks and lettuce in the fridge and lots of stuff in the freezer. I spent 5 hours portioning out and freezing the meat, cutting the fruit and re-arranging my kitchen fridge to make room for the fruit. So NOT what I needed/wanted to do today, lol. But it's done, and I will defrost the deep freeze tomorrow.

Aubrey requested salmon for dinner tonight. I broiled it with a honey ginger glaze and I made quinoa (keen-wa) for the first time with some chicken stock. The quinoa would have been good if I had cooked it long enough, lol. Oh well, I'll try it again later this week. I am so thrilled she is not a picky eater and she LOVES fish. Oh, and she ate twice what I ate at lunch. I made a curried chicken salad with greek yogurt, grapes, dried cranberries and slivered almonds. She asked for crackers with hers. I had mine over a bed of greens with a little balsamic vinagrette dressing. She also had blueberries and watermelon...ALL for lunch. I think she's hitting another growth spurt.

We have a big day of errands tomorrow including getting the oil changed...that will be a nice hour or so of sitting in the waiting room *sigh*, then off to run other misc. errands and then back home to defrost the freezer, pay bills *ick* lol and cook dinner. Easy night in the kitchen :)....leftovers.

Preparing for the 4th

Once again, we had an excellent service at church on Saturday night. As usual I was in tears, lol....Drew wrote and sang a new song that speaks of the true sacrifice the armed services and their families make for the USA and others around the world. Growing up in a military town in New Mexico, I was always aware of the dad's and mom's that had to go on TDY or training or even the Gulf War back in 1990, and I have always had a deep appreciation for them. I have an even deeper appreciation now that Mike has been gone 6 months. I realize how much work it is to run a household. I usually run the inside and Mike runs the outside and takes care of the finances, but I have been doing the finances and overseeing the lawn services. Zack is coming over every week or so to take care of it for me.

After church, several of us went up to the Gardens Mall for dinner and fellowship. We always have a good time when we get together, although for Mike and I it hasn't been as often as we would like. One thing when we get moved that we want to do is cultivate and grow new friendships with couples and families that God puts in our paths, like we have had at Christ Fellowship. I have to say that is the one thing that I am still so sad about at times is leaving all the friends we have made in the past 13 years at our church.

Check out the link to Pastor's messages from this past week and other messages: http://gochristfellowship.com/online/sermon-archives/

I am getting a little more savvy with the online stuff. I have always been internet savvy and computer savvy, but I am learning about blogging, rss feeds, podcasts and I even joined facebook. I am sure some of you will be shocked by that, lol. I have requested friends on facebook and was excited to reconnect with several people from back home. :)

We don't have major plans for the 4th Holiday on Friday. We will actually spend the day working on packing some more stuff and getting some project/desk work done. We went to the Woodbine pool today for a couple of hours and had lunch with Rudy and her kids. Aubrey is becoming less afraid of the water and hopefully a few more weeks of casually hanging out, she'll get the hang of the swimming thing, lol...just in time for us to move away from the water. Tomorrow is free movie day at the theatre and we'll head over to Target to get Antman a 5th birthday present. We have two birthday parties and church on Saturday. Saturday is also my grandpa's birthday. He would have been 78, I think.

I better get going, I need to get dinner started and I'd like to try to run a mile or so on the treadmill. Yep, I said run, lol....I am slowly getting back into shape :D

Hutchinson Island

Tuesday Aubrey & I drove up to Stuart to have breakfast with Doranda and her two girls, Rylee and Gracyn. Then we carpooled over to the Hutchinson Island Oceanographic Center. It's a small Martin County "park". We fed the stingrays, experienced the touch tank, walked the nature trail until the mosquitos got to be too much and took a stroll on the boardwalk to look at the lagoon. It was miserably hot and humid, so we cut the outdoor fun short and headed inside. They have aquariums inside set up with different kinds of fishlife. They also have an indoor touch tank and a little gift shop. The girls talked us into buying them books. Hey, at least it wasn't a request for stuffed animals or candy, lol.

We went to eat lunch at the yummy Big Apple Pizza. They have the BEST Italian Wedding Soup and House Dressing. We had antipasto salad with the dressing, roasted red pepper pizza and the soup. It was delish. The girls did so well: 4, 2 and 1, but had experienced enough, so we headed back to Doranda's. The girls played for a bit longer and Doranda and I got to chat. We explored our business partnership a little more with our craft endeavor and decided we COULD do it living in separate states and want to look into it further. It's a secret, but once we have our ducks in a row, we'll make a grand announcement :) Wednesday and Thursday will be spent cleaning house and organizing/packing. I'd like to finally get all the homeschool stuff separated by subject and boxed up and into the garage.

Fun-filled Weekend with Daddy

I have to say a great big THANK YOU to my mom and dad for using some of their airline miles to get Mike down here for a long weekend to be with us. We didn't tell Aubrey that Mike was coming. In fact, I told Aubrey we were picking up a friend of ours from the airport, so the entire time she was looking for Kerry. :) Once she saw Mike, she was actually in shock, I think. She turned around and looked at me, shrugged her shoulders and said "huh, there's my daddy". We got her good. We didn't get home and get into bed until after midnight, closer to one actually. Mike, who on a work day is up at 4:30 AM and who NEVER sleeps past 7 on the weekends, slept until 8:30, YAY! He got some much needed and deserved rest. The grass was out of control from all the rain we have been getting and he spent what we thought would be the morning doing the yard work....until the riding mower died. We have a backup mower, but it doesn't have as wide of a cutting base and is slower, so the yard actually took most of the day. Then we moved the patio furniture and power washed the patio. I scrubbed down all the back windows and french doors. We got done just in time for the afternoon severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings, lol. We stayed home and I grilled tuna. We played games with Aubrey and hung out watching some TV together.

On Saturday, we went down to Cityplace and watched Kung Fu Panda. It was cute in some places, but slow the first hour. It had a good point...if you believe in yourself you can be anything, but to truly enjoy it, I think you would have to be a fan of actual kung fu movies. We stopped and got Mike's haircut and then came home to get ready to grill out with the family. Zack and his girlfriend Macy along with Mike's mom came down for the evening. We had Porterhouse steaks, new potatoes with a chive butter sauce, honey bourbon carrots, bread sticks with fresh roasted garlic, deviled eggs and spice cake for dessert. We watched Aubrey with her antics for a while and took some family pictures. Mike also got to go out during a tornado warning and get gas for our grill...wouldn't you know that it ran out before I even got the grill heated up. :)

Sunday was an extremely LAZY day. We did not get up until after 7, and we napped (several times), played games with Aubrey, snacked and watched the Nascar Race. I made pan seared salmon with a citrus, ginger marinade that was delish with fresh garlic roasted mashed potatoes, tossed salad and biscuits. Did I mention it was a lazy day? We were in bed and asleep by 9:30, lol.

Monday, Mike had to go back to TN. We went to take Aubrey for her dental cleaning, ran a few errands and then spent an hour or so at the South Florida Science Museum. We left from there and went to eat lunch at one of Mike's more favorite spots "The Gun Club Cafe". We had a few hours before he had to be at the airport, so we went back to the house for a bit. After completely breaking down at the airport (both Aubrey & I), Aubrey and I went to run a few errands. I treated her to a little ring pop (her request to help her take her mind off daddy leaving). Mike called to let us know that not only was his flight from West Palm to Tampa delayed, but his flight from Tampa to Nashville was also delayed. Instead of getting home at 9:30 PM from Nashville, Mike got home at 3:45 AM. When I spoke to him earlier, he was exhausted and was heading to bed early.

Not a very sucessful blogger, lol

I am trying, I really am. I have not posted since January. 5 months have gone by. Let's see...my Gramma Wolske moved permanently to heaven on January 23rd and Aubrey & I drove to TN to pick up Mike and then we headed over to Indiana for a few days. Thanks to Gramma Irene that Aubrey & I were able to see Mike. :) We spent a week in TN with Mike and I have to say it was a little chilly, lol.

Aubrey enjoyed her year at The Children's Academy with Ms. Sylvia and Ms. Stephanie. They did tons of fun stuff. Aubrey enjoyed herself and made lots of little friends, but mommy is enjoying NOT driving 25 miles each day to take and pick up Aubrey. :) We carpooled with Mitchell Grenier two days a week and that helped me tremendously with Mike being gone.

Mike has been gone for 5 months and this has been harder than I ever expected. I have been reminded that he IS my best friend, my provider and my protector. Aubrey misses her daddy tremendously and I pray every day that our home sells quickly. Mike has moved his office from Sevierville to Knoxville, which will be closer to the area that we like and want to move to. Hopefully, he will only be a 15-20 minute ride to and from work, woo hoo! And he said he might be able to work some from home which means we might actually get to eat breakfast together :D We have found a home that we like, but aren't sure it is "the one". We are also looking into trying to get some land, so that we can have a mini-farm. Mike would like to have some animals: Cows, goats, pigs, chickens and I would like to have: Horses, chickens and a garden. With the cost of food and wanting to eat healthy, a mini-farm would work well for us, I think.

I am excited about homeschooling Aubrey in the fall. I have almost everything picked out, I just need to sit down and put all my ideas into lesson plans. Aubrey is excited too and we plan on getting Mike in on the action as well, lol. Aubrey has begun doing a little homeschooling now, but mainly just worksheet type stuff and reading. I want to get her in the habit of reading daily. I used to and have gotten out of the habit. I am going to continue to work with some of the clients I have in Florida with Faythe and will also work on IRS/Tax projects as needed. I plan on getting my scrapbooking stuff organized and getting started with card making, scrapbooking and sewing once we get settled, once again which I pray is SOOOOOOONNNNNNNN! LOL

I have adjusted to the idea of moving and living in a totally different home, city and state. I have to say with some sadness that I will definately miss South Florida. Everytime I go into town, I see someone I know at Target, at the intersection sitting at a light, at the bank....it's that familiarity I will miss. I lived here for more than 10 years before I began "running" into people, lol. I am also going to miss Publix, lol. They just announced that they are buying several South Florida Albertson's....wish they would buy some Food Lion's in the Knoxville area. I have yet to find another grocery that is clean and has as good of customer service at Publix. I am looking forward to good BBQ and have found several good places up there, but still none that hold a candle to Park Avenue. I can't wait to have a Sonic close, lol We are getting one here, and it opens on Monday....woo hoo!!!! Wonder if I can be the first customer, j/k :D I would like to have a home that allows us plenty of room, but I know that God will provide what we "need." I have mixed feelings about finding and joining a new church. As you all know, we LOVE our church! We love the people, we love the opportunities in growth they offer. I know God has a plan for us, and I know he will reveal it in due time.

I celebrated my 34th birthday this April in TN with Mike & Aubrey. We had a great day. Breakfast out at Cracker Barrell, just me and Aub. Off to the salon to get pedicures, lunch with Mike & Aub at Bennett's and then dinner at The Park Grille in Gatlinburg for a delicious steak! It was a teriffic day. Mike and Aubrey each got cards for me and Mike picked up a cake....that was Aubrey's favorite. I got a new digital camera that I love for my birthday. It is fantastic. It is the Panasonic Lumix and I highly recommend it. Now, I need to add digital video camera to my list of wants, lol.

Aubrey is growing so tall and is so smart. I don't say that because she is my baby, but because she truly is. I am amazed every day at her sayings and comments. Her latest thing when something exciting happens is "geez o pete" lol. I thought "where on earth did she get that from?" Then I heard myself when I looked out the window and saw the ferocious lightning this afternoon *snort* She is such a sponge and has a servant's heart. She loves to watch the cooking shows on Food Network and always asks if she can help me in the kitchen. I hope that sticks, lol.

I am getting tired and have a super full day tomorrow, so I will sign off for tonight.