Kissing & Loving

I love the one year anniversary of "forever family day" photo (Sept 2009) DH took of AA and I smooching. AA loves to hug and kiss so we occasionally get an impromptu picture of us giving kisses (or as the southerns here say "giving some sugar").
These were taken while sitting in some shade at Sea World - one hot day!

The Secret Paparazzi

We really enjoy the Club pool; every Friday evening, and again twice on Saturday, there is a wedding. It is a beautiful setting on the river.
When we are at the pool, we frequently can listen to the music and wedding party sounds. This was our first pool visit of the season. So we spied.
We enjoyed. I took a few pictures (anyone you know?). We felt like the paparazzi!

Everyone by the pools, watched, smiled and enjoyed too.
Who doesn't love a wedding?
And who will be watching the Royal Wedding today?

Pool fun - First Time at Club

We can't wait to begin our weekly ritual of swimming...
AA playing with the weighted swim rings......
Since we have so many pictures of AA in the pool, I am using slightly different angles, to find some different but great pictures of AA.
She's a swimmer!
Most important - taking time for snacking!

Black & White Wednesday - Windy

A windy, sunny, lovely day. The sun danced on the river waves, sparkled like diamonds....
I tinted the first B&W photo ; the last one is pure B&W. I thought the brightness would make these better contrasting B&W photos.
The T-shirt is from the preschool AA attends here in Florida.
See many beautiful Black and White photos at The Long Road to China.

Easter Egg Hunt - FCC

AA enjoyed gathering Easter eggs at our local FCC's play date.
23 eggs! Lots of fun!

Monday Mangia - Blackened Salmon & Citrus Salad

We love blackened fish so make it once every couple of weeks. This recipe along with the simple salad will continue to be a delicious summer meal too.
Dry Seasonings: 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 tsp chili powder, ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp garlic powder, 1 dash wasabi powder, 1 dash onion powder, 1 pinch sea salt, 1 pinch pepper (plus Tbls of lemon juice).
First, combine all the dry seasonings and pat on dried, boneless salmon pieces that has been sprinkled with lemon juice (we use 4 ounces of salmon per person, we are very much into portion control as we have been modifying our eating habits over the past few months). Set fish aside (or back in refrig, if it is going to be more than 30 minutes before you begin cooking).
Next, make the citrus salad dressing - only four ingredients plus your favorite bag of mixed greens! 1 medium orange, ½ tablespoon garlic oil, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tsp soy sauce.

Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
3. Combine seasoning spices in a small bowl.
4. Dry salmon filets and sprinkle with lemon juice.
5. Sprinkle with seasoning spices, using all the spice mixture on one side of the fish and press firmly into the flesh.
6. Heat non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray.
7. When the pan is hot, add the salmon seasoning side down.
8. Sear for two minutes, watching closely to make sure it doesn’t burn, just gets richly dark, dark brown. Almost black.
9. Flip and sear another 2 minutes and then remove to the oven.
10. Bake another 5 – 6 minutes until salmon is just cooked through. A knife inserted at the thickest part of the meat should just barely flake the meat apart.
11. Toss salad greens with dressing and serve with salmon.
Check out other great Monday posts here.

Enjoy!

Last Sunday - The Imaginary Boat Ride

We strolled out on the dock and enjoyed the rising sun.....

A wayward crab trap....

AA playing boat Captain and Chief food server during our pretend boat ride:

Auntie CR playing with AA....

AA telling me "No pictures on this boat!"!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to you!
The Easter story for children... at The Children's Chapel.

Print a coloring page here.

Delis of Riverside - Whiteway

We have been numbering the days until we tried some of the great Riverside Delis mentioned in the viCARIous blog; read this post for a run down on each one.
We went to Whiteway Delicatessen, on King Street, for lunch, it is open on Monday's and occasionally, all three of us go out to lunch.

We didn't take our camera inside the restaurant, too bad as the food was fresh, delicious and bright! We ordered three different sandwiches; one was heated, called Dr. Millan. It was delicious with chicken tenders, tabouli and other vegetables. I loved the hummus pita.


Here's one review by Let's GoLO:
Riverside’s Whiteway Deli has been a bastion of local color since 1927, when the Ramallah-born father of current owner Sam Salem opened a café in Whiteway Corner (the deli recently moved to a newer, bigger, brighter spot on King Street). The names of many sandwiches – most of which are made with pita pockets – are influenced by local politicians and other local icons. Try the Late Bloomer’s Special: turkey, bacon, tabbouleh, avocado spread, banana peppers, and provolone in a toasted pita. Spice it up with a few sprinkles of Louisiana hot sauce. Don’t miss the archive of candid customer photos near the cash register. If you look closely, you’ll see the “hidden” camera behind the counter. Owner Sam can operate the camera remotely, with the push of a button – you’ll never even know he captured your image for posterity. He’s essentially documented Whiteway’s customers for the past 30-some years, and the photos fill boxes and boxes (labeled by year) that you can browse through. 1237 King St, Jacksonville. (904) 389-0355.‎

And, yes, he took our picture too.

Golf Swing

AA has begun golfing lessons. She received a plastic golf set from her Nana a while ago, a Princess indoor putting set. She really took alot of interest in it about a month ago. So sweet Daddy took her to a driving range and lo and behold, the golf course pro was there too. It was meant to be. AA took to "Mister Doug" and has continued her interest in hitting the little white ball.
AA now has her own miniature golf bag with three clubs.
Latest teaching tool is the "Swing - eeZ". He designed, created and sells.
We will have to catch this on video sometime, as it is hilarious watching AA perfect her swing......

We will keep trying!

Black and White Wednesday - New Sandals

AA needed a pair of brown sandals in her new larger shoe size. We found white ones a few weeks ago. Each year, we find great, fun shoes at Target, so looked again. Yes, they had the same brown sandal style as her new white ones, the same we had been buying now for a few years. Then I saw these.
Would I buy something like this for me? No way.
But I am liking dressing AA in much bolder colors than I would wear. She loves color and they all look good on her.
So I convinced AA that "gold" could be worn with anything that brown sandals could (did you just hear that, I said I had to convince a 4.5 year old!). Gold bling, glitter and sparkle... all goes with AA.

See many more Black and White photos here. Hope your Black and White Wednesday sparkles!

Thank you for Making My Birthday Special!

I had a great birthday celebration that included a dinner out as grown Daughter #1 babysat AA. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Rhett Butler's in St. Augustine with C&W. The food was delicious as we sampled our way through two appetizers, four main courses and three desserts! All yummy!
Some random pictures of my gifts: fruit, clothes and cognac; plus a book from Daughter #1 and some gift cards from sweet hubby and AA. We didn't have a family party, just a quiet weekend, as I would prefer to ignore my age - the numbers are getting too high!
Along with cousin Carolyn, as it was her birthday the day after mine, we enjoyed our birthdays!!
I received many birthday cards in the mail and always receive one from cousin Joan in Cape Cod; she always draws a Cape Cod scene on the outside envelop... this time a lighthouse!
Here's CR doing her best "Vanna White" with a gift of suntan spray from AA!
Blowing out the candles!
Thank you to all for your good wishes, here and on Facebook!