Monthly Archives: October 2012

Oct8

Busy, busy, busy………..

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Sorry I have been a little slack on the blogging.  I have had quite a few busy weeks and weekends.

I guess I will start with Nashville.  There were 5 of us girls that went and we had an absolute blast.  I’ve decided that Nashville is now one of my new favorite cities.  The live bands at all the bars on Broadway are totally awesome…..totally (Yes I’m from the 80’s era….lol).  We had such beautiful weather, it was warm but not hot, it was sunny, no rain.  The weather could have not been more perfect.  I will have to say that I drank way toooooo much but remember most of it.

Let me tell you about this place we stayed and if you ever go to Nashville, I highly recommend it.  We stayed at Homewood Suites by Hilton in downtown Nashville.  Great place to stay, we had suites which had a separate bedroom, separate bath, living room area, and an efficiency kitchen.  It was very clean and well maintained with 2 flat screen TV’s, a full size refrigerator, and couch and chair. Oh and the couch was a sofa bed for extra sleeping comforts.  But the best thing is that Monday through Thursday they serve a free light supper with free beer and free wine.  Yes I said free all you can eat and drink.  We were thinking ok light supper that it would be like appetizer type things.  Well let me tell you, we got there on Thursday so that night we had barbeque beef brisket, kidney beans, cornbread muffins and potato salad.  It was awesome and the free beer and wine, it was just very nice.  Then each morning you got a free hot breakfast and some of the things we had was scrambled eggs, omelets, hash browns, chicken fried steak, sausage, bacon, waffles, bagels, pastries, hard boiled eggs, cereals, fruits and of course coffee, tea, juices, and milk.  And the staff was so friendly and helpful and was constantly checking to make sure we were satisfied.  Needless to say we didn’t eat out much because we would eat at the hotel.  We did eat at Margaritaville one day and we ordered pizza one evening.  The only complaint that I have is that we had to walk up and down this big hill to get from the hotel to the main street where most everything was located.  For some reason I always thought Nashville as being flat.  I don’t know why, just did.

Last weekend was my birthday weekend and we had fall break at work so I was off work last Monday and this past Friday.  2- 3day weekends in a row. Last Saturday, my birthday, was our annual family reunion and I had a special surprise from out of town friends.  We spent the weekend partying and hanging out and that’s all I’m going to say about that.  Just trust me on this, it was a long, busy, stressful, and very emotional weekend and I wouldn’t change any of it.

This past weekend was another long, busy, stressful and very emotional weekend.  My uncle past away this past February in Florida.  He was cremated and my cousins planned on bringing him in this fall for burial in the family cemetery by my dad (his brother), their parents, and my uncle’s wife.  This past weekend was that weekend.  I had family come in from Florida and Virginia and we all congregated at my cousin’s cabin in the woods. 

This past Friday me and my daughter and her stepdaughter made our annual trip to the Milton WV Pumpkin Festival and got my favorite pumpkin ice cream.  I swear every year that I just go for the ice cream but it is such a neat festival with a little bit of everything for everybody. Friday night was cocktails and yummy food.  My cousin’s husband is a wonderful cook and he makes the best gumbo in the world.  Well at least I think so.  So he made gumbo, smoked prime rib, and crab bread. If you haven’t had crab bread, your life is not complete.  It is pure ecstasy in your mouth.  I don’t know all the ingredients but it is French bread with a mixture of fresh crab meat, mayo, and spices, topped with mozzarella cheese and baked until golden and bubbly.  And I swear it literally melts in your mouth.  He also makes pretty awesome margaritas, Thanks Ron.

Then Saturday was a big family and friend’s memorial cookout. I have never been to a wake but it is our version of what I think a wake would be like.  And the food, Ron out did himself again.  We had smoked chickens, smoked pork, smoked pork bbq, pasta salad, baked beans, green beans, salads, corn pudding, and slaw and for desserts, homemade from scratch red velvet cake, chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin pies and this thing called Triple Chip Blondies (also melt in your mouth goodness).  Unbelievable is all I can say.  Sunday was the memorial and burial, very emotional but it was so good to spend time with family that I don’t get to see very often.

Today, Monday, it is back to work, I don’t know how I am going to make it through a 5 day work week….lol!  Although I must say I needed to return to work to rest up.