Each year, Ali and I make goodies to take to the neighbors. The rum balls I make, which are a recipe I received from a fellow BookLocker author, are always a huge hit. I'm burned out on peppermint bark and tiny pretzels swimming in caramel and chocolate. …
While the business is still in pre-Christmas-hysteria mode, things on the home front are calming down. …
We are still trying to get caught up from our trip so, as promised, I'm posting wedding pictures today.…
We have been on the road for two weeks and, for the past several days, we were in Georgia preparing for our daughter's wedding.…
This issue will be slightly abbreviated. We’ll be back on schedule next week. This weekend is…
This issue will be slightly abbreviated. We finally arrived in Tennessee and, while we’re still working,…
closest urgent care center when a minor accident occurs. However, you can't count on them to stop having those accidents when they become adults...…
It's been a pretty stressful year and we're looking forward to the post-wedding lull. Boredom is GOOD!…
I woke up yesterday morning feeling like I'd been inhaling sand. My head hurt, I was coughing, and running a fever, and I couldn't shake the chills. Not pleasant. I didn't want to get up but I had so much work to do. I got dressed, brushed my teeth, threw my hair into a ponytail, and crawled back into bed with my laptop ...…
Last Friday, Ali, Mary and I hit the road. Our destination? Savannah, Georgia for Ali's bachelorette party...…
I am leaving early Friday with our daughter, Ali (the bride-to-be), and our future daughter-in-law, Mary. We are meeting several other friends and family members in Savannah, Georgia for a fun-filled bachelorette weekend party! Now, it's not what you think ...…
We had a fantastic time in Georgia over the weekend! We attended a couple's shower for our daughter and future son-in-law, Justin, on Saturday, and a bridal shower on Sunday. Well, my mom and I attended the bridal shower. No boys allowed! …
About eight years ago, the boys convinced me to buy them a bearded dragon. Over the years, they have enjoyed his company...and particularly enjoyed scaring the grandmothers with him!…
Our daughter is a professional pastry chef! Who wants her homemade dinner roll recipe before Thanksgiving?!?! They are PERFECT for leftover turkey sandwiches!! …
Last weekend was our future son-in-law's bachelor party in Key West. Of course, Tropical Storm Erika wanted to attend...and not in a fun way.…
For the past week, we've been staying at our daughter's house. The AC guys installed a brand new unit, but the house wouldn't get below 80 during the day and it was very humid inside. I suspected something was wrong with the unit or installation. I texted the technician that night and he called me right away, which was nice. He said they'd had a problem with the intake attachment. Sure enough, the next morning they found it had ...…
We've known for the past few months that our air conditioner was on its last leg. The previous owners of our home built parts of it without permits, lied about many things (like the age of the roof and past termite problems, to name just a few), and didn't mention defects they obviously knew about. Somebody even removed the tag from the air conditioner that had the serial number, which would indicate date of manufacture. They told us it was pretty new but we later learned it was 11 to 15 years old ...…
Our daughter is getting married later this year. We bought her wedding dress about a year ago. Last weekend, we went shopping for another wedding dress - one that is dance-friendly ...…
This time of year in Florida, rain is nice because you get a brief reprieve from the heat. But, as of Monday, we'd had 14 straight days of storms. That morning, we woke up at 6:30 a.m. to what sounded like Armageddon outside.…
Since moving here, I've missed having parties. We were talking one night, and realized we'd lived in this house for more than two years and we only had two close family friends in this area.…
Remember when you were a kid and summer camp meant canoeing, campfires with marshmallows, and raiding other cabins after dark? Well, no more! This summer, Max attended underwater robotics camp. Mason has attended dinosaur camp, fishing camp (they didn't catch anything but he made some beautiful fish crafts, and learned about tides and such), and, his absolute favorite, CSI camp!…
Who wants to go outside and get all hot and sweaty when you can join us for the fun and exciting WritersWeekly Summer, 2015 24-Hour Short Story Contest?! I'll be sitting right here in the air conditioning all weekend, answering questions, offering encouragement, and waiting breathlessly for the first stories to come in so I can read them!…
We had a great Fourth of July! Since there are no public bathrooms at our favorite beach, I always stop drinking water (and everything else) at least two hours before we leave to see the fireworks. Mason wanted to drink some juice before we left. I told him that was okay but, if he really needed to potty at the beach, he could simply get in the water, sit down, and potty. Nobody would notice, right? Mason said that sounded okay with him. It wasn't quite dark yet when we arrived. Of course, Mason immediately said, "I have to potty." So, I pointed to the water...…
Four years ago, we left the relatively quiet and frozen tundra of Maine for the sunny shores of Florida. We haven't regretted our decision. We do miss the fall foliage but we use that as an excuse to escape to the Tennessee mountains for a couple of weeks each October. …
It's hard to believe but Mason just turned 9 years old. Some of you may remember his birth story, which I posted back in 2006. Or, you might remember when he was hospitalized 12 days later. Mason wants to be a surgeon someday so he asked us to make him a cake that "is an abdomen cut open with all the internal organs spilling out." …
I attended a social event last week, and shook hands with somebody who set my creep-meter into high gear. I later told Richard, "There is something seriously wrong with that guy." I just felt it. Something was terribly off. I found out the next day he's a convicted murderer... …
We hosted Ali and Justin's couple's wedding shower last weekend and it was awesome. We had quite a crowd! It was supposed to end at 8:00 p.m. but the last group left just before midnight... …
This weekend, we are hosting a couple's shower for Ali and Justin. Since Ali's bridal shower will be in Georgia in the fall, most of their co-workers won't be able to attend. Instead of games and pink ribbons, we'll be having BBQ, swimming and fishing... …
People near the Florida coast joke about how their friends and relatives want to visit them for vacation because we all live in paradise. I think all our friends and loved ones should just MOVE here... …
On Friday, Richard's dad is driving in from Texas for the Rush concert this weekend in Tampa. The tickets were a birthday present we got him. On Saturday, our librarian friend, Scott, and his wife, Kelly, are arriving as well. Scott will be attending the concert with the guys (along with our neighbor, Tim). Kelly and I will NOT...because I'm not a big fan of tinnitus... …
Last week, I wrote about Richard needing "more than a few dollars" for a surprise for me. Well, he and the kids bought me 9 hours of kite surfing lessons for Mother's Day! I am so excited!! It's in Clearwater so we're going to take a short vacation up there in the next few weeks. Richard and the boys can have fun on the beach while I'm taking my lessons (3 lessons at 3 hours each). We took a trip to a beach resort last summer with the kids and had a blast so I'm looking forward to doing that again. THIS WEEK'S MASONISM "If something is not positive, it should not exist." Hugs to all! Angela P.S. I want to "follow" you! ANGELA ON TWITTER https://twitter.com/AngelaHoy ANGELA ON FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/angela.hoy.750 RELATED: Archived News From the Home Office is HERE. …
Richard told me he needed some money for a surprise. It's more than a few dollars so I'm pretty curious about what it is. And, since Mother's Day is next weekend, I'm thinking I'm going to be seeing the surprise sooner rather than later! I'm excited!! …
It's pouring right now and it's been pouring for hours. The pool is quickly filling up. By this time tomorrow, it'll be overflowing... …
I usually try to take Sundays off but this weekend we'll be hosting the WritersWeekly Spring, 2015 24-Hour Short Story Contest. IT STARTS SATURDAY! If you want to sign up, don't delay! Only 500 entrants permitted per contest. You must sign up BEFORE start-time to participate. TO ENTER, go here. In other "home office" news... …
We managed to convince Zach and Mary to babysit the boys for a long weekend and Richard and I escaped alone to Ybor City. We had a FANTASTIC time! Best date EVER!! …
The violent Easter egg hunt went pretty smoothly this year. Furniture was overturned, sofa cushions were thrown about, and (adult) kids were shoved aside (by each other)... …
Each year, there's a colorful egg hunt for everyone (adults and kids), and a very violent golden egg hunt for the adult kids... …
For Christmas, Richard bought me a green fishing light for the backyard. Now, after dark, we can see a variety of beautiful fish and other marine critters under the water. Every night, there's something different or new. A couple of weeks ago, a snook came by... …
I'm not a huge fan of housework but I do enjoy a good materialistic purge. Last weekend, I started on one corner of the house, intending to keep moving until I had finished the entire house. My intentions were good... …
Richard and I took our first trip to Naples, Florida last weekend... …
Last week, it got down in the 40's. Yesterday, it was in the 80's and the boys went swimming after they finished their school work. Their friend Hailey, who has a cold, wet a line, and caught a nice pin fish. The flowers are blooming, the sea birds are singing with glee, the pollen is flying, and my allergies are...HACHOO!!! …
I love all things related to water. I've always felt a "need" to live near the water, but only moving water. I can't live on a lake or a pond... …
For those of you who missed it, Santa helped us find a puppy for Mason a few days before Christmas. I forgot how expensive a puppy can be! And, this puppy is VERY MUCH SO... …
Last Thursday, Mason woke up with a sore throat, a fever, and a sick tummy. A day later, Max got it, and then Frank and Chelce, and then Richard. The entire house is sniffling, and sneezing, and coughing EXCEPT... …
Well, it took a couple of years of living at this house in Florida, but we have finally met enough neighbors, and done enough socializing, to truly feel at home, and also feel like our neighbors are family. Of course, once you REALLY get to know someone, they might let you look in their closet...and see some scandalous skeletons... …
