June Babies

This month has almost completely flown by (like all summer months do) but Nic and I have gotten in LOTS of family time. The month of June happens to be his dads birthday (6th), my dads birthday (17th), my cousin Caroline's birthday (19th) and my grandmothers birthday (21st) as well as my 3 friends Alicia (21st), Becca (27th) and Lindsey (27th). I'm usually pretty good with remembering birth dates basically because they are kind of a BIG DEAL.....so as a shout out to all of you-HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!

Nic and I love to entertain so we figured having all these family members over for dinner would be a special way to celebrate their birthdays--not all at one time though, of course. First we did his family to celebrate his dads birthday (#55, I think?). We had his parents, grandparents, sister, bro-n-law and nephew all over a couple of for a wonderful steak dinner...prepared by Chef Nic! The difference in family gatherings with his family and mine...they bring sweet tea and my family brings the booze...seriously! But I managed to sneak in some mango margaritas....I knew the heat would tempt his dad to try one...which he did and he LOVED IT!

Ingredients

Sugar, for rim of glasses
1/2 lime, cut into quarters
1/2 cup tequila
2/3 cup mango nectar
3 tablespoons bottled lime juice
1 cup ice cubes
Directions
Spread a thin layer of sugar on a saucer. Run 1 lime wedge around rim of 2 margarita or martini glasses. Press rims into sugar on saucer to create narrow sugared edge on each glass.

In a cocktail shaker or small pitcher, combine tequila, mango nectar, lime juice and ice cubes. Shake or stir vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain equal amounts into each glass. Squeeze juice from 1 lime piece into each drink and drop lime piece in. Serve immediately

The dinner was wonderful and the memories are priceless but Mr. Billy wasn't "aloud" to drive home so his wife did=) I think he enjoyed my mango margaritas a little too much=SUCCESS!!


Now on to the 2nd birthday celebration...THE HADENS.

My parents, Haden grandparents, sister and her boyfriend, Rob all came to celebrate. This dinner was held on Sunday, Fathers Day. We had a great time, everyone left with fully bellies and wonderful bday/fathers day gifts.

  I love any excuse to pull out the fine china!

  

My sister, mom and I with the birthday boy on Fathers Day!

My awesome grandaddy JB on Fathers Day. He got several new shirts and as you can see, he was excited! He and my grandmother didn't want a thing in the world but we think birthdays and holidays are extra special and they are very deserving!

The birthday boy and birthday girl, celebrating #53 and #82!

And there is that cute,Chef Nic! He prepared appetizers-- whipped garlic goat cheese and sherried tomatoes on cheese crisps, a salad--spring mix lettuce with dried cranberries, blue cheese, roasted pecans and creamy balsamic vinaigrette, soup--summer corn soup, main course--beef tenderloin, roasted garlic mashed potatoes and horeradish cream and per request....a homemade pecan pie w/ ice cream.

Checkers

Are you jealous, Ann???

Last weekend, Nic and I were running errands and I came across a piece of furniture that I just COULDN'T live without.....a game table. ..the "impulsive buyer" in me had to BUY and I couldn't be happier that I did!

There are 4 coasters that pull out on the sides of this table which will be wonderful bc Nic often forgets about coasters and leaves wet rings all over my furniture . The checker board can be removed and flipped on the other side and there are game pieces that go with it too. LOVE IT.

Doin' Bruin

For those of you that have been to Lake Bruin, you've heard the little saying "Doin' Bruin" before or have most likely seen it printed on huggies (also known as koozies in Louisiana), lighters, tshirts, WIFE BEATERS and caps!

Anyways... this past weekend, Nic and I were "doin' bruin"

We took the twins (my cousins) to the lake with us and fished, played water baseball, went inner tubing, ate LOTS of junk food and got much needed sun rays! My parents joined us as well as my sister and some of her friends. To some up the weekend.... my cousins told Nic of my "nic name".... cussin' kelly...not cousin kelly. I'm classy. Heidi came back with 2nd degree burns. OUCH! and... My family came to the conclusion that the lakehouse, boats, etc are a waste of money and should be sold (dumb after 15 years, especially with our economy in a recession...yea, really the time to SELL, not!) Hope you all had a good memorial day!

Hard to believe my sister got FRIED when the entire pier is covered. Someone must have fallen asleep on a raft tied to the pier! Lesson learned the hard way!

Look close for the rainbow!

View from our pier...Beautiful!

The 4th time the fishing line got caught (WAILES!!!!) so Carter decided to paddle out and remove it from the stump instead of cutting it, AGAIN.

This would be "water baseball"

Nic is the pitcher, my mom plays first, Dad is second and Heidi 3rd.... just gotta hit the ball and swim like hell!

This would be right before I threw Wailes off the tube (he should have never told my nic name)

My cool dad that makes this all possible=)

Sweet Caroline

This past weekend, Sweet Caroline graduated from St. Al (with 14 scholarships!!!). She will be attending Millsaps in August----which is CLOSE TO ME!!! Good choice!

Graduation was short and sweet followed by a partay' at the Kemps---always a fun time! Friends and family from all over MS came along...even 2 from Florida!

Caroline with our cute/stylish gma!

The graduate and "Jelly" (my name given to me by the kemps years ago)

The spread

Catering by StoryCook

Flowers by Belvedere & Co.

 

Bartender, Jerry Noel

Jane & Ken

KEMPS! Twins and Dee

Ashley, Caroline, Maggie and Suanne

Daughters

Do any of you like John Mayer? (lots of people lost quite a bit of respect for him because of the way he handles his "personal life" but I still like his music!)

"Daughters"
Fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be good to your daughters too

LOVE this song!! Anyways...

This past week, one of my very good friends (Julie Carr) gave birth to her first baby, Presley Rea Carr. She was born on Thursday, May 27th at 11:20 am. She weighed 7 lbs, 13 oz.....10 fingers, 10 toes....completely healthy and BEAUTIFUL!! Julie is my first friend to give birth so I COULDN'T WAIT to be apart of this experience! She looked AMAZING after giving birth and the nurses said it was one of the quickest, easiest births they had ever seen!

Celebrate good times, come on

my old college roommate and post-college roommate, Lauren Ann Greenlee (better known as LA Green-a VERY talented jewelry designer) got engaged 2 weeks ago. I was one of the very first people she called, yes I feel special!!! Nic and I were at dinner with my parents and my phone started blowing up. Of course, trying not to be "tacky" (as my mom would say if I would have answered), I screened the phone call with plans of just calling her back after dinner-then... Nic's phone starts ringing. No more screening, I had to answer. As soon as I picked up, she screams, "WE'RE ENGAGED!" This completely made my night, seriously. Lauren Ann is an amazing person, truley "one-of-a-kind!" She has been such an awesome friend to me and I have been looking forward to the day that they got engaged!! I wish ALL the best for her and Michael.
Now, about Michael.... he is a country boy (and I dont mean redneck....just good ole country boy) from Ackerman, MS. He loves to hunt, fish, etc etc....he is close to his family, works VERY hard, helps Lauren Ann with her jewelry line and so many other wonderful things. They started dating several years ago when LA lived in Starkville. He chased her around for awhile but was too shy to ask her out (well, thats my take on it, ha) None the less, they are getting married next April and I am one of their biggest fans!!!!!!!

Aren't they a pretty couple? This is a picture of Michael and Lauren Ann that I found....this picture shows their personalities so well!

This picture doesn't do that ring justice! It is BEAUTIFUL!!!

I had a few girls over for dinner to celebrate Lauren Ann's engagement and Mallory's birthday! I tried a few new recipes and we sipped on wine followed by TWO fun-fetti cakes!

Mallory was my little sis in Phi Mu and she's my best friend's (real) little sister. She and her sister (Sarah May, whom i've been best friends with since pre-school days) moved to Georgia about 12-13 years ago. I was devistated when they moved but our parents allowed us fly back and forth for birthdays, graduations, etc so our friendship never faded. A VERY long story short... Mallory moved to Jackson after college and now works for Blue Cross Blue Shield AND lives approximately 1 mile down the road from me! Sarah just recently moved to Jackson from Chattagnooga, TN and lives approximately 2 miles from me. Funny how things worked out. I used to pray and pray that one day they would move back to MS because I hated being so far away and damn if those prayers didn't work out for all of us! Yay!

Below is a picture of the bride-to-be and birthday girl-Lauren Ann and Mallory (Anna Bailey, Mallorys roommate is the pretty girl in red and Sarah May in black)

Way back Texas

Pat Green

*Chorus*

Way Back Texas,

you were layin' in my arms,

that class ring necklace,

we're gonna buy that little farm,

way down by the river,

yeah raise a family,

down in way back Texas,

uhuh population you and me.

No significance to this song except that my next blog is about Texas and I LOVE this song!

Nic and I went to Houston this past weekend for my cousin, Paul Murphy's wedding. We were really excited about getting out of town for this particular weekend because it marked our 6 month wedding anniversary! We drove into Houston on Thursday (only 6 1/2 hours, not a bad drive AT ALL). We stayed with my good friend, Amanda Watson, for a couple of nights and got a hotel near the Galleria for the wedding events.

We spent most of Friday sleeping in and of course, SHOPPING! Nic was such a trooper -- we spent HOURS in just 2 of my favorite stores and he didn't complain one bit. Nic treated me to several dresses, a new clutch and a pair of sunglasses as anniversary gifts. What did I get him? Nothing. Still working on that.

Rehearsal dinner was at The Houston Country Club on Friday......one of the nicest/biggest country clubs EVER!

back row

Katherine Murphy (daughter of the groom), Paul and Katherine Murphy (the newly weds)

Sally

Stacy and Patrick Murphy

Nic and I spent Saturday at the Galleria.We stayed at the Sheraton Suites (near Galleria)--I highly recommend. Very nice, close to everything and cheap!

Mother of the groom and mother of the bride!

Nic and I at the reception

Work work work all day long

Thats a Craig Morgan song called "A little bit of life" for those of you that dont know!

Bloggers, its been awhile .....I've been on the road quite a bit this past month and have failed you in the updates.... so here we go...

I spent Cinco de Mayo  in Tupelo at an Outback Steakhouse (solo) with about 5 grungy (sp?) men. I had a long day (12 hour day to be exact) on the road and was determined to celebrate (Cinco de Mayo) with a cocktail. Like most of you I'm sure, I do not like eating at restaurants by myself, I just feel so out of place. The only reason I chose Outback was because it was across the street from my hotel and my plan was to have several "toddys" and walk back. THIS DID NOT PAN OUT.

When I arrived at Outback, the line was out the door, which didn't make since to me..its Cinco de Mayo, shouldn't everyone be at the Mexican restaurants? Whatever.... I knew my wait wouldn't be too long since I was dining solo. The lady told me 15-20 mins so I quickly opted for the bar. MISTAKE.

My wedding rings (which is another story) sat at Juniker Jewelers and my husband in Jackson, so....to all the local grungy after work drinkers....I'm a single business woman eating/drinking at the bar in hopes of picking one of them up...not quite!

I stayed on the phone with my mom majority of the meal and talked "shopping" with the gay bartender while two creepers came and sat next to me. Check please! Only one beer down, meal 1/2 eaten, I was ready to jet. These guys were totally harmless but it was weird being in the bar area with 6 men while I ate and drank alone (looking single). ha. Not to mention, they held weird conversations and it made me uncomfortable!

The next morning, I had 4 property inspections at low income apartment complexes.....usually I would meet with a property manager or something but for some reason, none get to work before 10 so for my first few visits, I didn't have an escort. I thought, this is completely fine with me, i'll be done quicker. Again, this didn't "pan out". While I was walking around taking pictures, Ethel (an 88 yr old grandma of 7) walks out to see what i'm doing and preceeds to tell me where shes from, why she moved to New Albany, where her grown children lived, how she wishes the town had sidewalks everywhere, etc.

Out of her 3 grown (60 something) children and 7 grandchildren...NONE of them keep in touch with her. It was so sad hearing her tell stories about all of them. Ethel moved to New Albany to be closer to her children after her husband passed. Since she has lived here (going on 5 years) she has seen her children/grandchildren less than a hand-full of times. What could their excuse be? This baffles me. Seriously.

Ethel and I chatted for about 45 mins. Before I left, i had all intentions of getting her address so that we could stay in touch (send letters, etc) but while I walked off to take more photos, she got in her car (which she said she was soo happy to still be driving, at 88) and took off.

Poor Ethel, I do pray for her and I sure hope her family does a better job of staying in touch with her and checking on her because like she said "most of us are lucky to ever even see 80!"    and here she is still driving at 88!

All of you, be thankful for your parents, grandparents and great-grands if you still have them around. Take every opportunity you can to visit with them and show your love---there are so many out there that dont have families that give a damn...so sad=(

That particular week, I spent 3 days in LOTS of small towns around West Point, Tupelo and Corinth MS. I visited 2 retirement centers, a public library, 5 low income apartment complexes,  a shower/tub manufacturer (very very cool process), a furniture manufacturer and some other neat places.

Tomorrow morning I leave for the coast for a few days. On this trip I'm visiting 6 mini-marts (aka gas stations), a golf course, 2 restaurants, an internation welding company, wholesale furniture warehouse, shrimp plant (I dread this visit, it stinks REALLY bad) and a commercial real estate firm. Wish me safe travels!

Want some cheese to go with that WINE

This Saturday, like last... we did a little shopping because there was literally nothing else to do.... and conveniently ended up at The Fresh Market (heaven to Nic-overwhelming to me). There were so many mouth-watering choices of meats so I walked to the jellybean selection while Nic narrowed it down...... Bone-in rib eye...works for me!

Nic and I booked it to the 5:30 service at Church so we could TRY and sleep in a little on Sunday. Service was good. Three little old men sat down in front of us. They all must have planned to meet each other there (which I think is awesome) because they welcomed each other with hand shakes and smiles then scooted over to let the other sit. As the mass went on, the man on the far left (the oldest of the 3) started shaking his left arm and hand, then squeezing his left fist (he did this over and over for awhile)...so i'm assuming he lost feeling in that entire left limb.

I FREAK OUT ...oh lord, please dont let this be the beginning of a heart attack---I've always heard you have pain, numbness, tingling, etc starting in your left arm..AHHHHHHHHH I'm scared at this point and I'm definitely not paying attention to the readings. I turn to Nic and point out what the poor little old man is going through...of course he "shh's" me and turns back. (that made me want to say something REAL ugly but I had to keep in mind we are in the MIDDLE of the pew in the MIDDLE of the church and everyone can probably hear EVERYTHING  I say) I watched this little "episode" go on for about 15 minutes...I kept trying to look around the man and see what his facial expressions were... like was he worried and looking scared, content with no emotion, smiling because he's just happy to be at church (with his buddies)-----I was making more of a scene leaning over, trying to see his face than he was shaking his entire arm and retracting his fist. I just started praying REALLY hard for this little poor old man and the more I prayed, the more at rest I became until a second thought hit me....does he have any family? What if something happens to him when he leaves church--will someone be around to take him to the emergency room? Ok...back to praying..I can't analyize everyone's situation in the church or I will walk out of here more worked up than the people in the situations.

About that time, Nic turns to me for the check to put in the offering basket...I dont have the check because I GAVE IT TO HIM WHEN WE WALKED IN. He argues with me (yes people probably heard it all) that I NEVER gave him the check. I knew for a fact that I did (plus, i'm always right, ha) because I didn't bring my purse in and he was to hold my keyes and the check in his pockets. Needless to say we looked all around our pew, looked in the hymnals, the weekly handout, dumped out both of Nic's pockets and about the time we gave up, I stood up and THERE IT WAS! The check was under me, which it shouldn't have been but I had no desire to continue that argument. I was just glad I found it AND glad the worry of it took my mind off the poor little old man in ftont of me.

Finally we get home, I decide after that mass I needed some wine--yay for being Catholic, nothing wrong with that!! Nic prepares our dinner. We had bone-in rib eye with caramelized onion jam, roasted asparagus, garlic, cheddar and chive mashed potatoes followed by my wonderful homemade banana split cake

And as our lives change, from whatever

"Graduation" by vitamin C--------VERY old song!

And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives

Where we're gonna be when we turn 25
I keep thinking times will never change
Keep on thinking things will always be the same
But when we leave this year we won't be coming back
No more hanging out cause we're on a different track.......... etc etc

Chorus:
As we go on, we remember
All the times we had together
And as our lives change, from whatever
We will still be, friends forever
 
My newphew graduated kindergarten today from East Rankin Academy....there were 62 kids graduating but LUCKILY they held TWO programs.