Just what I needed

No, I'm not dead. Just mentally. The last few weeks have been bananas and I'll slowly update you post by post. But for now, a short list will have to do for ya.

Visited my new state of Iowa - check
Found a house - check
Went to the beach - check
Packed and cleaned every inch of Birmingham - check
Said goodbye to my husband for 6 plus weeks - check
Took a nap in Chattanooga - check
There, you now know that the past few weeks were in fact...bananas.

But in the midst of all the bananas, I had a few moments of rejuvenation, one being a going away girls get together which proved to be just what I need to keep me going and remind me that you never really say goodbye to true friends.

Heaven is a crepe made by Chelsea...my PIC...partner in culinary.

1st take a moment to appreciate the sheer talent.Second...attack!3rd Savor.Yes, they were that good.

And after you've filled your belly's with french goodness, take a few hours to laugh 'til you cry with the finest ladies Alabama has to offer. Sweet Home Alabama!

Rosemary's Babies

Catching up on vitamin D down at Rosemary Beach on 30A.

Today I really was going to get into the ocean until I caught this fellow just off shore.

Kill joy.

That is a 10 pound jellyfish, I swear. It took me three trips hauling it out of the ocean.

I wish Adam was willing to keep these on because I would have bought them instantly.

More from the gulf later.

An entertaining form of curing diaper rash

It's just more fun this way...

Multi tasking is the name of the game.

Time outdoors - check

Running off excess energy - check

Air on bum - check

Making mom laugh AND be grateful for a privacy fence- check

It's a win win situation.

Adventures in Gastrointestinal Contamination

Aka Food Poisoning

No, this is not a post about Mexico. Mexico was very kind to me in the culinary department.

Last night I woke up to darkness and the sounds of Shannon vomiting on the freshly steamed clean carpet. Always gotta run to mom and pass the toilet on the way.

1st thought - Ewww

2nd thought - I guess we aren't going to church in a few hours.

3rd thought - Wahoo. Do you know how much I can accomplish with Adam in nursery? Thank you notes, angry letters to Delta, moping, oh and scripture study.

I forgot that Heavenly Father can read thoughts.

During my 3rd clean up a mere 2 hours later, my knees went weak, head dizzy, stomach churning. Dropped the clean sheets, ran to Steve, gave him a 3 second synopsis of current events and ran to the bathroom for one of many trips to cleanse my body of food poisoning from one of my favorite restaurants who had given me a free birthday entree.

No, no Mexican gas station quesadilla stand with a senorita flattening dough with her bare hands,nor the tamale street cart, nor this guy smearing sun warmed mayo and cheese on corn plucked from that dirty bucket, nor the fruit vendor lady slicing figs with her pocket knifenor Mexico's finer eating establishements, like Thai Gardens with valet parking and a tasters menu to die for

Look at how grown up I look. I was attempting to look like the 30 year old I would soon be but really this pic was taken in between laughing so hard my side hurt and realizing that we were the loudest people in the fancy shmancy restaurant. I was just too excited about the food to care.

...nothing in Mexico gave me food poisoning, just your standard American FDA regulated restaurant.

My life makes NO sense.

ok maybe this was a little about Mexico

How to Survive your 30th Birthday, part 1

I didn't want to do it 10 years ago, and I sure as heck didn't want to do it now. I had been pulled kicking and scream into my 20's and now I was positive that a mid life crisis was just around the corner as I neared turning 30.

So I did what any self respecting mother of 2 would do. I snuck out early one Sunday morning and boarded a plane bound for another country; all in search of the girl I once was before all this turning 20 or 30 biz.

At first I would get envious glares when I mentioned I was stressed about getting my life if order before heading to Mexico. I'm sure leisurely walks on the beach sipping a pureed fruity beverage were part of their vision. But, when I added that I was visiting Mexico City, the looks morphed into looks of "Why on earth would you go there?"

I'll tell you why...this lady.

Noelle

My bud since I was 13 and the day my mother told me to be nice to the new Philippine family who had moved into our tiny branch and I immediately envisioned a little girl who didn't speak English and would follow me around like a lost puppy. But when she said, "What's up chick," I knew everything would be OK. In fact, it was better than OK. I had just met a girl with a heart as big as the world she travels and what would a 30 birthday be without her and my other girls who helped me survive high school.

Mexico City 2010

This is my "this is insane and I'm LOVING it" face!After surviving customs and re-centering with pot roast, Monday became my official first day in Mexico.

The morning began with offending the maid by starting to unload the dishwasher and making the kids breakfast, followed by the family (and the rest of Mexico - it was a national holiday = no school or work) venturing out to Xochimilco, or Mexico's version of a lazy day on the river/canals.

Remember, everything about Mexico is insane, then kicked up a notch. How we paddled around the canals = our boat's "horse power".

The Mexican version of a gondola.

I'm a huge fan of the reality show "No Reservation" which just happened to feature the Mexico City episode on the plane ride down. Coincidence? One place highlighted were these very canals, but more specifically...the island of the dolls. Legend has it that a young girl drowned and a local, who was haunted by her, hung dolls in the trees to calm her down. The result = scary tourist spot.

The actual island was 5 hours by boat, and since there were NO bathrooms available, we settled for this little tribute on trees along the way. It was enough to both scare and satisfy any desire I had.

Forgot food, toys, flowers, or music...no problem.They'll pull up, or jump, onto your boat and get crackin', even if you didn't ask them to...or even if you specifically requested them not to. Noelle had told me the corn, slathered in sun-warmed mayo, dripped with lime, then sprinkled with cheese and chili's was a must.
I excitedly devoured it while saying a prayer that this would not be the beginning of the end of my trip. We've all heard the horror stories of eating at a 5 star restaurant in Mexico then spending the rest of the trip in the bathroom. But Noelle had survived, right?I spent the next 8 hours asking, "Would I be sick by now?" 8 hours later I was still A OK, so we jaunted over to the quesadilla vendor for the HANDS DOWN BEST CHICKEN QUESADILLAS EVER.

Aside from them being yummy to the max, they were $1. Let's just say I frequented this little joint several evenings over the course of my stay. What a day!

Pewter Pewter everywhere

The roads of heaven are lined with pewter. A must to travel when you know a local. No sign. Had to ring the doorbell to gain entrance to the best kept secret in town. Noelle said it was because the store didn't want the neighborhood to know what was hidden behind the ornate wooden doors, least there be some theft. Room after room, wall after wall, shelf after shelf. I think Noelle took a nap while I browsed and punched the calculator dozens and dozens of times converting pesos to dollars so I could have an idea of what my bill was racking up to be. My usual shopping philosophy is buy now, ponder the purchases, return later. It's really a survival tactic with kids. However, when you have 1 hour in the most amazing store Mexico City you have to exercise restraint least you buy everything in the store. I purchased all my goal items...platter, salad bowl, decorative modern bowl for coffee table, etc. But now I have buyers remorse...remorse that I didn't buy more! Oh well, such is life.

The afternoon brought a trip to the traveling open market...only in this location on tuesdays. It was depressing to see the passion fruit that Steve so deeply desires and not be able to pack a suitcase full (a little place I like to call CUSTOMS doesn't think that's a good idea and I would like to return to the homeland, so no passion fruit). It was food heaven...fresh figs, baby zuiccini, mexican pastries, fresh cheeses, and hands down the worlds BEST mangos every. They let us sample anything and I would have chomped through the skin of that mango if I had too. I bet it's like eating an apple. We came away with 8 mangos, figs, cheese for enchiladas that Elisa the maid needed for dinner that night, and a few illegal items that I won't mention but that were only 20 pesos each...I bought 5.
A night in Mexico City is not complete without a visit to the taco stand around the corner. I was particuallry windy and the tempature was dropping, so we opted to drive to what has to be the worlds most amazing chicken quesadilla's. A little old lady pounds fresh dough, slaps in on the grill, stuffs it with chicken and cheese...now this is when you turn away and don't watch...slides it into the oil to fry, then finishes it off with salsa verde, a think sour cream, queso fresco, cilarto and onions = all for 13 pesos or 1 dollar.

5 AM Chocolate Cake

Steve had left at 4 am to drive to Nashville for law continuing educations. Sleep was evading me as I worried about him driving on so little sleep (the Olympic women's figure skating finals were on and who can go to bed early when that show down is going on?). Around 5 am I gave up on going back to sleep and decided to attack my ever growing list of things to do. First on the list...laundry. Entering the kitchen I noticed all my shopping bags from a late night trip WITHOUT the kids (so much faster when you're not hauling them from store to store) were no longer on the table. Instead was this.

Inside the card was a CD. I was already crying after reading the card, BUT after the CD started playing, I was bawling. I felt so loved, but now my hubby was no longer in the state. Tossing my previous ambitions aside, (ok, I did start 1 load of laundry) I grabbed a fork, fired up my redbox dvd of Julie and Julia in the computer, plugged in my headphones and watch a chick flick while eating chocolate cake at 5 am and feeling very loved even though my husband was no where nearby.

Perfect way to start the day. I highly recommend it.