NOVEMBER IN PARADISE

A hug and a kiss!
Kat

TESTING PHOTO SIZE

Hugs and kisses,
Kat

READY...SET...LET'S GO

Thanks friends for understanding.

Follow me HOME to Just A Beachkat. It's where I feel at home. I hope you will too.

Hugs and kisses,
Kat

(It's gonna take some time, but I plan to move the posts I've written on this blog so everything will be all together. Ahhh...I'll feel so much better.)

HELP ME DECIDE, PRETTY PLEASE

I guess I really should say "Changes MIGHT be coming". I need your advice. Pretty please. With sugar on it.

Since I left my old Just A Beachkat blog, things just haven't felt right. Know what I mean? I've tried my best to begin again. Heck, I even named my new blog Starting Over. It was okay for awhile, but that only lasted for a short while. Then I changed it to Kat's Starting Over. It still didn't feel right.



So today I decided I needed something that felt better....more me. So I changed it yet again...this time to Beachkat. What do you think?


BUT...

When I really ponder it though, I don't think it's the name. I think what bothers me is that all those posts I wrote for years (and all your comments too) are somewhere else. I think I want it all together. All neat and in one place. Just A Beachkat was started way back on August 16th, 2005 and there's 1,496 posts and all your sweet comments just sitting over "there". See what I mean?

Here's the BIG question though...will I drive you crazy if I ask you to change your links once again to follow me back where we all started at Just A Beachkat? Tell me the truth. Am I being silly?

I haven't decided yet, but I'm really considering it. If I do it, I'll leave both blogs open for awhile until everyone knows how to find me.

Hugs and kisses,
Kat

END OF A LAZY DAY

I ended my lazy day with a good long nap as it stormed outside....ah, the best! When I woke up George told me our friends/neighbors Dick and Linda invited us to dinner with their friend Freddie who was visiting from Memphis. We all had a wonderful time at dinner and then went back to their house to play cards.
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Since we live in a resort area, I can tell you that regardless of what "they" say about the economy, the tourist are here BIG TIME!!!! Unless you have reservations, the restaurants are packed. The roads are CRAZY!!!! Wally World is a "zoo". Our grocery stores are unbelievably busy. All I want to do is stay home.

Happy 4th y'all!



Hugs and kisses,
Kat

LAZY DAY

I'm a lazy girl today and I don't even feel guilty. I'm just laying around and reading all live long day. I didn't even make my bed this morning, which is very unusual for me, just so I could curl up with my book off and on today. I'm enjoying VERY VALENTINE by Adriana Trigiani. It's making me want to hop on a plane and go back to Italy. Oh what I wouldn't give to be able to spend a month there!!

And then later when I finish my book (and I will today), I think I'll snuggle up on the couch and watch UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN...again :-) Between the book and the movie, I know my dreams tonight will be about my favorite place in the world...Italy!


And my snack today...these oh so yummy bing cherries that Publix has on sale. There's nothing as good or as pretty as a bowl of freshly washed cherries!

I wish for you a lazy day too.

Hugs and kisses,
Kat

ADULT TIME

Well, the grandkids are back home with Mommy and Daddy. I drove them half way today to meet Angela and got lots of hugs and kisses before having to turn and walk away. Not easy. Have I told you how great my grandkids are? I did? Well, I can't say it enough. LOL But, if I'm honest, as I got close to my car I had a little pep to my step. I'm ready for some adult time. Know what I mean?

So, I'm off now for a long bubble bath and leisure time to shave my legs and read a few chapters in my book. And then I plan to make drinks for the two of us as we get dressed for tonight. We have plans for a nice dinner with our friends Dick and Linda at one of our favorite places in Grayton Beach.

Ahhhh, adult conversation. And then.....

(wink, wink)


Hugs and kisses,
Kat

LAST FULL DAY :-(

Another exhausting full day with the grandchildren. Lots of time in the pool, Mexican for dinner and then, of course, ice cream and a golf cart ride tonight.

Tonight at Kilwins:

Sydney aka "Messy Face" loves the eyeballs they put on the kid's ice cream.

Kaley Grace is the reason we started the tradition of going every night they are here. This girl LOVES ice cream! She's tiny, but can eat lots of ice cream!

Landon discovered a new favorite...cake batter ice cream.

While George finished his root beer float, the kids decided to hop on the golf cart for some "pretend Landon is driving" fun.

Big sigh...Tomorrow I'm driving them half way home and Angela is meeting us to pick them up.

Time truly does fly when you're having fun.

Hugs and kisses,
Kat

MONDAY FUN!

We took the kids to see the 3D Disney/Pixar movie UP this afternoon. What fun! Click here to watch a trailer. We had a great time.

The girls love to take "funny face" photos.

Every night we take a golf cart ride with Miss Daisy. The kids usually want to sing out loud as we ride but were exhausted tonight. We played in the pool all morning and then went for ice cream (of course) at Cold Stone Creamery before the movie. Sydney fell asleep on the golf cart ride and I had to carry her in and put her right into bed. Granddad and I are pretty tired too. LOL

Hugs and kisses,
Kat

ALOT OF FUN FOR $1.00

It's amazing, but true. A buck can still buy you some fun!

I picked up these silly stretchy balls at a $ store a few days ago along with some "noodle" floats.

I never dreamed how much fun $6.00 could give. We've had a ball (literally) playing in the pool with these...and a few other pool toys and floats.

Today's ice cream - Dippin' Dots!

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After my post yesterday, several of you asked for the recipe for Sherry's Marinated Cheese appetizer that our family loves, so here goes:

Sherry's Marinated Cheese

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1 (2 oz.) jar diced pimento, drained

3 tbsps. chopped fresh parsley

3 tbsps. minced green onions

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. sugar

3/4 tsp. dried whole basil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

Combine these 10 ingredients in a jar; cover tightly and shake vigorously. Set marinade mixture aside.

1 (8oz.) block sharp Ceddar cheese, chilled

1 (8oz.) package cream cheese, chilled

Cut the block of Cheddar cheese in half lengthwise. Cut crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices; set aside. Repeat procedure with cream cheese. Arrange cheese slices alternately in a shallow baking dish, standing slices on edge (see above photo). Pour marinade over cheese slices. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours.

Transfer cheese slices to a serving platter in the same alternating fashion and spoon the marinade over the cheese. Garnish with fresh parsley sprigs, if desired. Serve with assorted crackers.

(the marinade actually makes a yummy salad dressing and can be used to marinate chicken, etc. too)

Enjoy!

Hugs and kisses,
Kat

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

We're having fun!

I picked up 3 of our grandchildren this morning and we were home in time for lunch. We spent the afternoon in the pool, had spagetti for dinner and then took them for a golf cart ride to get ice cream tonight. It's a tradition for us...when the grandchildren are here, we go for ice cream every night.

Sydney always wants eyeballs and sprinkles on her chocolate ice cream

Kaley Grace wants her chocolate plain...just like her MeMe!

Landon is getting so tall!! His favorite...cookie dough.

We spent the afternoon in the pool.

After I watered plants this afternoon, they all wanted to play with the hose. The water was freezing compared to the pool water.

Granddad had a ball!

~~~~~~

Last night at Mom's was fun!

Sherry, Kim, Karen, Theresa, Me, Mom and Angela

Sherry made one of our family's favorite appetizers...marinated cheese! It's always a hit!

We played Mexican Train before dinner and planned to play more afterwards, but we had too much fun just talking, laughing and being together.

Hugs and kisses,
Kat

SO EXCITED

I'm not sure who is more excited...us or the kids!

Today I'm driving to my hometown to pick up three of our grandchildren. I can't wait! But first, I'm spending the night at my Mom's. My sisters, my aunt, my "Other Mother" (Mom's best friend) and one of my daughter-in-loves are all coming over for dinner, drinks and games. I'll pick the kids up on Saturday morning and come back home.

These photos were taken last summer. We'll be spending lots of time in our pool and on the beach again.

I'm so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hugs and kisses,
Kat

MY PLANS FAILED, BUT....

IT'S OKAY...SHE'S WORTH IT!
I had BIG plans today...bike riding, tennis, some time in the pool and a lot of blog reading. Yep, I was gonna push everything else aside for one day and just play. See, I'm picking up three of my grandkids on Saturday so I thought I would play hard today, work hard all day tomorrow and then leave on Friday. Sounds good, right? I thought so. It just wasn't meant to be though.

I did ride my bike up to the courts and play tennis, but before I could even take off my shoes and get into the house my cell phone rang and it was my friend Beth calling. She was in so much back pain and needed to get to the hospital. So....I spent the day in the emergency room with her. I'm not complaining though because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she would do anything for me. They ended up giving her pain meds in her chest port and then sent her home. I'm hoping when she sees the doctor tomorrow they will decide on surgery soon so she can get some relief. Please say some prayers for Beth. It breaks my heart to see what she's having to go through.

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I love giveaways, don't you?! I recently won a $tarbuck$ gift card from Andi at Fingerprints On The Glass . I stopped the other day and picked up a skinny vanilla frappuccino. Yum oh! Thanks Andi!

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My sweet friend Leigh at Tales from Bloggeritaville passed along this Friend Award a few days ago.

"This award is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers."

Thanks Leigh!

Hugs and kisses,
Kat

STRANGE, BUT IN A GOOD WAY

Here we are with Marilyn (a blog "lurker" from Indiana) and her husband, Tim

Okay, I had a weird/strange (but in a good way) experience last night. George and I and our friends, Kay and Larry, went out to dinner at one of our favorite spots, Fat Clemenza's. We had reservations for 7:15 and when we arrived the restaurant was PACKED. On a Monday night. Yep, summer is here! Anyway, it was no big deal for us and the owners, who happen to also be friends, brought us a glass of wine to enjoy while we waited for our table. No problem.

A customer gets up from her table and walks up to us and asked "are you Kat and George?". It turns out that she is one of my blog "lurkers" and is in town for a wedding. She and her husband and their friends actually came to the restaurant because she read about it on my blog. What a surprise! She looked up and there we were "in the flesh". LOL It was wonderful getting to meet her, although I must admit it felt a bit weird to meet someone who knew soooo much about me and yet I didn't even know she read my blog! I made her promise to leave me a comment sometime so I'll know she's been by.

I still find it hard to believe that anyone reads my blog although I learned recently when I decided to quit blogging, that a lot more people read it than I ever imagined. Thank goodness quite of few of them e-mailed me so I was able to contact them when I made the decision to begin blogging again.

So.....this experience has got me thinking. If you're a "lurker", please be sure and leave me a comment. Introduce your self and tell me a little bit about YOU. Pretty please! Don't be shy...we're all "lurkers" when we visit a blog until we leave a comment and introduce ourselves.

And...if you're coming this way, let me know 'cause I'd love to meet you too.

Hugs and kisses,
Kat

FEEL MY HEAD....

'cause I must have a fever!

It must be the heat or something, but lately I'm eating more fruit than chocolate!!!

I know...I'm shocked too. LOL

I haven't been too hungry lately (thank you Lord), but I'm craving fruit all the time. Peaches, blueberries, strawberries, watermelon, apples......

I was just sitting here at my computer doing some blog reading and munching on my blueberries, when I had to laugh since usually that cute little custard cup is filled with M&Ms!


Hugs and kisses,
Kat

(yep, my desk IS always that messy)

I MISS YOU DADDY

That's me standing between Mama and Daddy
( Mama is holding my sister Karen ...our sister Kim wasn't born yet)

This has been the hardest Father's Day for me since my Daddy died in 1978. I can't explain why? I just don't know. All I know is that I miss him so very much. I've had a lump in my throat all day and I've cried at the drop of a hat.

If you still have your Dad, make sure you let him know how much you love him.

Hugs and kisses,
Kat