Since I last posted...

I have celebrated my 41st birthday and my 5th wedding anniversary.

I actually received my birthday gift from my DH and girls while we were at the beach so it could be most appreciated during that time. You see, I received the grandfather of all frozen concoction makers, The FIJI by Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Makers....
No, it is not your typical blender. You fill that top compartment with ice. (If you fill to the max line, you can make 5 pitchers of most frozen concoctions) And you add your ingredients to the pitcher. You select what type of beverage you are making using that first knob on the left, be it a 'rita, daiquiri, slide, or something else. You turn the knob on the far right to either 1,2, or 3 drinks for that pitcher (of course your ingredients should match how many drinks you plan to make) and then you flip that left switch. The little dots in the middle light up as the process goes along and it stops when mixed to perfection. We had delicious margaritas, we had virgin pina coladas (for the girls but we enjoyed them just as much) and we had MILKSHAKES!!!!! Let me tell you, this contraption is LARGE and doesn't even fit on my kitchen counter....it is bigger than my KitchenAid mixer. Thank goodness for the gift from my parents:

The FIJI carrying case!! The FIJI fits in very snugly and it has a storage pocket for your salt and limes and a few other items if needed. Both of the above can be found at Bed, Bath & Beyond; QVC, and others...but my favorite place is Margaritaville Cargo.

For my actual birthday, hubby and I went out to eat by ourselves to Carino's and then next night our girls and hubby's closest brother, SIL and their daughter met us for dinner at Cheesecake Factory. It was delicious!!

September 4th was my 5 yr anniversary (yes, this is my second marriage) and I guess the second milestone anniversary???? We celebrated by going to dinner at Fleming's. This was one of our best dining out experiences ever. The staff was amazing and we were addressed by our formal names by everyone. They do monthly events so if you get the chance to enjoy a Fleming's in your area during September, I highly suggest the Memorable Meal: Trio of Filets. It was Divine!! We were originally supposed to go the beach for the weekend, just the 2 of us, but that changed to going white water rafting in the mountains with hubby's brother Ronnie & his wife and 2 college kids, sister Joan & her boyfriend, daughter, son, and their cousin, hubby and me. Our girls were supposed to go so this would be the 3 youngest of his family and their kids so the cousins could all get together because of their ages, don't get to spend a lot of time together. However, stepdaughter's mom would not let her go and my baby girl has come down with mono. It was 68 degrees, cloudy, occasional rain, and water temps of 44-56 degrees. However we had lots of fun and rafted about 8 1/2 miles and through 2 Cat 3 rapids. Hopefully we can do it again with our girls along as well.

As I just mentioned above, my baby girl developed mono on Friday. It was very rapid which is not usually the case and has hit her hard. She did spend the day we were gone with my parents so she was well looked after. We go back to the doctor tomorrow and get an update on what she can do. Please say a special prayer for her. This is not the way to start out senior year and she is just to active to lie around so still and she is already so tired of being sick.

Until next time...