Jennifer's Kitchen

Jennifer has been working on decorating her house since she moved in last summer. She is like her mother in that she gets an idea in her head and she won't quit until she finds what she is looking for. She had envisioned a black floral fabric for her kitchen and finally found it a couple of months ago. She got her valance today and it looks great.

American Idol

If any of you out there watch American Idol, I am wondering if you feel about this season like I do. I am not very happy. I loved it last season, couldn't wait to be home from the restaurant in time to watch every minute. This season is just plain boring and I think a scam. It is no longer a singing contest. If these are the absolute top 10 singers in America, then I think we are in trouble.

If I have to look at Sanjaya one more week, I am going to get sick. I used to feel sorry for him, but he has now gotten really cocky and I can't stand it. If he makes it to the top 2, I won't be watching anymore and I hope the show will just go away.

I used to feel sorry for Haley because she is way out of her league. But apparently from her appearance the last couple of weeks, she has decided that if she can't win people over by her voice, she will just flaunt her great body and see how many votes she can get from that. It appears to be working. I was afraid that she was going to let it all hang out with her halter top last week.

Phil just might sing a little better if he would get rid of those hats. He is working so hard to keep them on sideways to cover one ear that he can focus on singing. That hats need to stay in the closet. Blake and Chris are really nice and I want them to do well, but they have been a little boring lately.

I like Gina. I love Melinda and Lakisha. I love Jordin too, but she seems to be getting a little to over confident. Her age is showing through just a tad, and what was that outfit she was wearing???? I did like the grey boots.

Can't wait til next week. Hopefully everyone will step it up a notch and act like they want to be the next American Idol.

Dallas Arboretum

Since last week was Spring Break, I got a vacation too. Pops took off on Friday and we decided to go to the Dallas Arboretum. I can't believe that I have lived in the Metroplex for 48 years and have never been there before. I have heard about it for years. It was absolutely beautiful. The pictures don't do it justice.

We first stopped off at Eatzi's and got some lunch and took it with us. I always get the sandwich on bonebread. It is really thin, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. You really have to work to eat it, and it is really messy, but worth it.

We walked around for a couple of hours and it was great. It was a little windy, but was around 65 degrees. That doesn't happen very often in Texas. A lot of vines and trees were not in bloom yet, and there were still a lot of pansies. We are going to go back in about 3 or 4 weeks when all of the spring flowers are out. I am sure it will probably be about 90 then too.

The Zoo

Last Friday, Pops and I took Karsyn and Landrie to the zoo. We all had fun. It was nice and cool so it didn't smell. I know I have been to the zoo a few times with school groups in the last 20 years, but the last time I remember going on my own was when I was 9+ months pregnant with Jordan. I naively thought that walking around would put me in labor. I was wrong and I had her 2 weeks late weighting in at 10 lbs. 9 1/2 ozs.

Landrie and Karsyn had fun. The only thing that Landrie did not like was the baby alligator that was in a glass tank. She said, "Lolly, I don't like this, get me out of here." She kept looking at my map to let me know what animals we hadn't seen.

The white tiger was very close. The only thing separating them is the glass. She really enjoyed that. Karsyn didn't like the gorillas, they were a little to close for her, but she loved the train ride with Pops.

Italian Villa with The Wades

Saturday night, we went to Italian Villa with the Wades. We had a great time and didn't get home until 12:30. That is really late for old people like us. The food was good. I ate way too much garlic bread. Thank goodness we split a meal. Pops and I got the sea bass and Badger and Amy got the Fillet Oscar. When our food arrived, Amy and I switched. After we finished, we went to their house for Cookies N Cream cheesecake from Patty's Pantry.

The Wade's are probably our most "long term" friends that we have. Pops and Badger lived next door to each other starting in Jr. High and he and Amy started dating not too long after we did. They got married two days before we did and have 3 adorable children (yes, Keely, I know you will be reading this so I have to say nice things about you). We have had many great times with them. For several years they lived about 1 1/2 away from us, but we frequently went to Hubbard to see them. They moved back here a couple of years ago to start their new business. It is not a business that you really want to frequent, but if you need it, they are the absolute best. This is the ministry that God has gifted them to do and they do it well.

In our busy lives, we are always saying, "let's get together", but never get around to it. When we went out in March after no doing so for a while, we decided to put it on the calendar. We now have the Wades on our calendar for the second Saturday of the month. That is something to look forward to. We have already decided where we are going next month.

I ran into a long time friend yesterday (at Celebrity Bakery of course) that I have not seen other than at the grocery store or out and about for about 10 years. Every time we see each other, we always say the same thing, "let's get together." Before we left the restaurant, we put it on our calendars. In today's world of busy lives, that is the only for sure way that we will definitely get connected. I am looking forward to it. I am going to try to be intentional about doing this when I see old friends that I don't see often and not just let it be empty words.

Spring Break

I am on vacation this week. Since Jennifer is a teacher, when she is off I don't keep the girls. As much as I love them, it is nice to have a break from the cheerios and the toys. I still see them almost every day, but they are not my responsibility. When we go out to eat and Karsyn has a dirty diaper, I don't have to take her to the car and change it. When Landrie has a dirty face and hands after eating lunch at Celebrity, I don't have to clean her sticky mouth and hands. That is what I am enjoying about my vacation.

Landrie and Karsyn are going to see their GiGi and Grandpa this week, by themselves. Landrie is so excited. She has been talking about it for about 3 weeks. She will start giggling and say, "I get to see my GiGi and Grandpa and I am so excited. I can't wait." I know GiGi and Grandpa are just as excited as Landrie is. Karsyn is the sweetest baby and always happy, but she likes to be mobile. She is happiest when she is on the ground. GiGi will be busy!