Update on Birthday Ice Cream

Since so many of you have asked if I had ice cream yesterday for breakfast, lunch and dinner - I did not:( I had fully planned to have it at least twice; but just did not have time - or room in my stomach! I was, however, treated to a yummy breakfast with friends, followed by a pedicure. This has become somewhat of a tradition with us and I think we all look forward to it each time one of our birthdays arrives. How fun it is to spend part of the day getting pampered with and by close friends I love and adore! Then, I got Ellie from school and spent the rest of the afternoon running around getting the fixin's for SUSHI! Brian had invited friends over for dinner and we decided to make sushi followed by red velvet cake and ice cream - so I had it once! It's so much fun and tastes so good:) Thanks again for all the calls and notes of birthday wishes. It was a wonderful day!

I Scream, You Scream...!

Julie is screaming for ICE CREAM!!! So, if I've had one craving this pregnancy, it's been for ice cream. And since Publix puts a different brand of ice cream on B1G1 free each week during the summer, I have had no problem paying for my newly found addiction! (this week, it's Publix's brand, which is perfectly yummy! AND...Blue Bell is 2/$7) Since I've loved ice cream so much - believe me, this is not my normal addiction - usually I'm jabbing at my husband for enjoying a bowl each night - I was quite delighted to learn that many ice cream joints have birthday clubs where you get free ice cream on your birthday (and they're not all for kids!). So, I've signed up for a few of them and I'll be visiting them starting tomorrow! Perhaps you should sign up too - everyone deserves to treat themselves to free ice cream on their birthday. (For those who are allergic or lactose-intolerant, I am so sorry you are not able to enjoy this treat!)

Since some of them are places like Cold Stone and Marble Slab, I am soliciting your favorite concoctions to try, so post a comment with your fav! I'm usually a chocoholic; but Ellie's blend of bubblegum ice cream with marshmallows and sprinkles on top is really good for the kid in me! Click through these links to sign up:

www.marbleslab.com - this one is actually just kids; but you can give it a try
www.coldstonecreamery.com
www.baskinrobbins.com

Happy Birthday to All!

The First Week of September

I look forward to this week each year. For 32 years, I've had one reason to look forward to Labor Day and the first week of September - my birthday! Now, I have another reason which I think I'm a little more excited about - Ellie starts school! She started this week and of course, since it's her second year, I haven't taken pictures yet. I'll do that tomorrow. I can't believe she's such a big girl - she's going five days a week now! It's amazing the difference between this year and last. I have looked forward to this day all summer long!!! Not because we didn't have a great summer. We had plenty of fun swimming and doing crafts. Ellie went to a few camps and visited her Abuela and Papi in Pensacola for a week. But it was really hard to work with her around all the time. Now that she's going every day, I can work while she's in school and not have to take any work home - hardly ever! For those who don't know, Ellie goes to school at our church, which is where I work, so this simplifies things greatly! Speaking of simplification, look for a post on that soon.

Is it Hurricane Season or something?!

Well, we were supposed to go to Pensacola for Labor Day weekend; but Gustav has us thinking twice. If it comes here, we'll need to prepare. If it goes to Pensacola or close to their west, my parents will have to prepare. So, we're staying put after all. Which is a bummer because this was supposed to be our annual Labor Day with my family. But even more than that, it's a bummer because somewhere, someone else is going to be affected by another tropical system. Living in Florida all my life, you get used to the threat of storms; but the devastation that some experience (thankfully never me) is something you never get used to. We got dumped on this past weekend by Tropical Storm Fay more than we've ever been by any other storm in the 14 years I've lived in Tallahassee. My in-laws house is flooded, my friends have a river for a street right now, and Lake Ella spilled into Monroe Street - crazy!



You can see more images of Lake Ella here. We got over 20" of rain! So, of course those affected most by the flooding can't stand to have more. Pensacola just finished the new I-10 bridge which replaced the old one that was ripped apart by Ivan 4 years ago. And we all know New Orleans is still reeling from Katrina. It was three years ago that we were waiting the arrival of Ellie and wondering if hurricanes were going to hit us. Now we're waiting the arrival of Aubrey and wondering the same thing. We know our God will take care of all of us; but it's still a little nerve-racking!