Just The Two of Us

Peach Bud

The painting is all finished! Whoo hoo! It did turn out very nice, however, it is very warm! hehe! I love the color, it is called Peach Bud. Unfortunately, my camera evidentually doesn't really care of a cloudy day cause our roof is definitely not blue and the color is more peach than pink but at least you get the idea. lol Love the house up close but when just the two of us returned from running some errands, eating breakfast out at Cracker Barrel, and stopping by to visit with my MIL where we enjoyed visiting and looking at some family photos, I was a bit taken back by how dramatically different our home looked, quite different from the suttle blush.

At least five of the neighbors have made a point of stopping by and complimenting us on the color, so that is what really counts and it made me feel better, cause if the neighbors aren't happy...ain't nobody happy! So many of you asked to see the color so this morning, I'll have you know, I went out in the drizzly rain and took a couple of pictures! After all, what you all think really matters too, wish they were better pics, the sun just wouldn't come out for long today! ;o)

A big shout out to Pea, of Pea's Corner! The other day she posted several cookie recipes. I am just elated to be able to say that I made one of her recipes called Peanut Butter Surprise cookies.They turned out great and everyone that I gave the cookies to was thrilled! So if you want some really delicious cookie recipes click on the link up above. Thanks so much Pea, what an inspiration!

Last night, we cleaned and swept out our garage. Took down all the Christmas decorations, and brought them in the house. Yea, I do think we have gone crazy...lol and earned a break...hehe! We both are very sore, but we are tickled to be looking forward to nothing but fun for today and tomorrow.

Today, just the two of us are watching our little Grand Baby little Ben, and taking him all the way up to see my Mom at the Lake house. She lives about 45 minutes away so we will enjoy a nice ride and a day filled with catching up, visiting and playing with Ben! We hope you take advantage of the breaks you have earned and do something fun!

posted by Pamela @ 3:16 AM 19 comments

A Warm Welcome

Just the two of us are enjoying spending precious time together and taking advantage of Dennis' last week of vacation by painting our home. The house was a blush color and I really wanted something a little more daring that provides our guest with a feeling of a "warm welcome". The color I chose was called Peach Bud. It is like a peach with a tinge of brown thrown in with it. We both immediately loved the color! Very Floridian!

We started at 8:00 am; after painting the entire front courtyard, as well as, the front of the house and the ceiling to our courtyard, we decided we had earned a break. About 4:00 pm we took our first 5 minute break when Dennis said "Oh no, who's that"? It was the folks.

Mom and Dad showed up and gave us reinvigorated strength, Dad took a hold of our handy dandy magic wand and went to town! The wand is this paint roller that we bought last week. It works much the same way a syringe does. It has a huge tube attached to the roller and you simply draw up the paint and press the trigger when you need more paint. We loved it and it really sped up the job, however, cleaning it was a real bear. Mom started pulling a few weeds here and there. Dennis started doing the trim and I started sweeping and raking, as I had trimmed all the plants in the front yard so we could paint. It was wonderful!

Today, it is a bit drizzly so we may or may not be able to finish but that might even be a welcome break as I have never been this sore! hehe! If not , we are going to clean and sweep out the garage so we can take down the Christmas decorations.


So it's just the two of us, reaping the rewards of our efforts and hoping you are striving to make little improvements that make your hearts happy!

posted by Pamela @ 12:54 PM 19 comments

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Favorite Ingredients Friday

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Listen For When The Cannons Go Off

Sometimes things work out when we let God do the driving! While we were all geared up to do a little painting this weekend. God had other things in mind. My hubby's boss denied his vacation. He will still get it, just not until after Thanksgiving. No problem, I always feel like God has a reason. In my minds eye, I feel sure he is saving us from something, whether it is just a minor traffic jam or making sure we take a different direction and smell the roses, so to speak or in our case, listen for when the Cannons to go off! lol

This has happened to us more than you would ever imagine. Once when we were packed and ready to go on a cruise. Once, when we had plans to go out of town to a wedding. I have always joked and said I am the wife/widow of a Retail Manager. lol Pictured right, just the two of us at Raymond James Stadium, Ray Jay for short! It was a bright sunshiny day, little windy, as we were way up high, and about 73 degrees. Awe, this is why we live in Florida! lol

If patience is a virtue, I am still a project in the making. I have come up with many ways to muddle through countless times when my sweet hubby couldn't come home in time for whatever function we had plans for in that particular evening. If we needed to be at the party at 7 pm, I would tell him 6 pm. Instead. So that being said, we are glad Dennis will start his vacation the day after Thanksgiving! Pictured left, Tampa Bay skyline.

It became clear right away, what we would have missed out on had Dennis' vacation started when it was suppose to. We wouldn't have gotten to go to the Live, up close, and personal...well incredible BUC'S FOOTBALL GAME!!! The stadium was awesome! I loved every minute of it! We played the Washington Red Skins, and we WON!!! 20 to 17! Every time the Bucs scored a touchdown, the Bucs pirate ship fired off the cannons! I probably won't have a voice tomorrow, but I also will never forget what fun we had. I love the free visors they gave us just for coming to the game, anything free is always good! Pictured right, Pamela , beaming from ear to ear! lol

Thanks Scott, so glad Dennis was still at work when you came in to give him the tickets, they were awesome!!! Whoo hoo!


Pictured left, our view from way up high in the nose bleed section, sitting amongst the angels! The air was so pure and fresh, and the view was surprisingly good! lol

Our colors are Red, Black, and Pewter. The stadium holds 67,000 fans and is always sold out so what a hoot we got to go!


Pictured right is a fairly good picture of the Buccaneers Pirate Ship that fires off the loudest cannons whenever the Buc score a touchdown! If you will look behind the Ship you will see oodles of little shops! Gotta cater to the women too!

After the game was over. We were still clinging to the ceiling with excitement at being able to see the game in person. There is such a different atmosphere when you are right there...the people that sat by us were delightful and we had so much fun interacting with them. hehe!


So, it's just the two of us, holding hands, and saying a little prayer of thanks for all that he has blessed us with in our lives. Enjoying Shrimp and Salad at one of our favorite little places that a friend of my hubby's wife manages called Cody's. Reminding you that if you are getting a frozen turkey and doing all the cooking for your loved ones, best get it while the get ting's good! :)

posted by Pamela @ 1:56 AM 27 comments

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt ~ Plush

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What a Surprise Party!

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Rainy Days Make Me Smile

We are enjoying a bit of a rainy day. It is just lovely and looks so refreshing, and just makes me happy.

Yesterday, I pressure washed our whole entire house and the pool cage along with all the concrete out there. whew! It took over 5 hours! I was so thrilled with the outcome, there is nothing like giving your house a bath. lol

My Mom was great, she raked several bags of leaves and pushed the pressure washer behind me when I was ready to move to the next area. I couldn't have done it without her help.

Wouldn't you know Dennis came home right after we had put all the pool furniture back in the pool cage. hehe! He was amazed, and made us feel really good, but when he said he wanted to take us out for dinner, I couldn't do it. We ended up phoning in an order to Cracker Barrel and my sweet hubby went and picked it up.

The consequences of pressure washing and holding the trigger for that long was intense shaking of my hands for about 2 hours and then later I couldn't even open or close them. lol No blogging for me! lol

I feel so much better today and the satisfaction of having the job done is well worth it! I am just beaming from ear to ear at the lovely results. No more mossy green! We'll have to wait to see if the weather is going to cooperate so we can start painting tomorrow! So, never the less, I thought this year it might be fun to have our Thanksgiving Day feast outside by the pool. After we eat, the guys usually like to watch football and our big TV is still not working so hubby said we should make it a bring your own TV. Ha Ha! Right! I hope everyone will be up for some fun games. I love games! :)

So it's just the two of us feeling it and hoping you have a sky be it rain or sunshine, that brings a smile to your face.

posted by Pamela @ 1:28 PM 18 comments

Color My World

Just came in from walking Shivan, our 10 year old Shih Tzu, and it is breathtakingly beautiful outside! I would love to work out in the yard but am still a bit stiff from wallpapering Sunday afternoon, and really am gearing up for some big projects I want to accomplish this week. Tomorrow, my Mom is coming down and is going to keep me company while I pressure wash our house. Now that some of the leaves have fallen off our enormous Sycamore tree out front you wouldn't believe it but our lovely blush colored home is now mossy green. lol It looks awful! An affliction of the humidity here in Florida. Friday, my hubby is going to take the last week of his vacation time off this year. Whoo hoo! I am so excited to be able to spend time with him. We are going to paint the outside of our home. Right now, the house is a pretty blush color. It looks nice for Florida and is ever so soft that you barely notice the hue, so this time I would like to either match it or add a touch just a touch of peach. A bit more daring, but not enough that the neighbors will wince. he he! I love peach or blush! We are looking forward to having dinner with my hubby's and my folks. Seems they have some out of town relatives visiting. So it will be great fun to get together and catch up with everybody! Here's a turkey tip I caught on Martha Stewart this morning. Take a piece of cheese cloth and soak it in 1 C of white wine and a stick of butter melted. Drape the cloth over the turkey. Roast and baste the turkey through the cheese cloth, only removing it just prior to the final half hour. It adds flavor and the Turkey is tender, dark and delicious. So it's just the two of us gearing up to doing a little painting and hoping you are all getting some of those nagging little chores out of the way so you can experience all the joy that comes along with getting together for the holidays. Below, is one of those fun little personality test, this was my results. Give it a try and see how you do! Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have high extroversion. You are outgoing and engaging, with both strangers and friends. You truly enjoy being with people and bring energy into any situation. Enthusiastic and fun, you're the first to say "let's go!" Conscientiousness: You have high conscientiousness. Intelligent and reliable, you tend to succeed in life. Most things in your life are organized and planned well. But you borderline on being a total perfectionist. Agreeableness: You have high agreeableness. You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly. Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone. You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is medium. You are generally broad minded when it come to new things. But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it. You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.

posted by Pamela @ 3:33 PM 17 comments

Our Son~Our Proud Marine...Kevin

Our oldest son Kevin, served our great country in two wars, the first in Afghanistan, and the second in Iraq...He was 22 when he came home to us...A Hero.


Marine boot camp was rough for Kevin. When Kevin was a senior in high school, he and his brother were co-captains of the wrestling team. Kevin made it to Regionals in the State tournament. Kevin was injured in a match, he consequently, dislocated his shoulder, instead of forfeiting, Kevin asked to remain in the match and finish it, this was a major reoccurring struggle, when it came to doing the required chin ups at Marine boot camp. In total, we received three letters from the medical infirmary, that Kevin was ill. Once for pneummonia, once for having to have his wisdom teeth pulled, and once for re-dislocating his shoulder.

Because Kevin was so sick or injured it actually took him twice as long to graduate. Our hearts bled for him that he would have to go through such a rigorous and physically demanding boot camp for so long. He did it though! When Kevin left for Boot camp he was an 18 year old boy, 2 weeks out of High School...the day his father and I went to Boot Camp Graduation and Family Day, he was a gentlemen and a Marine! Our hearts bursted with pride.

One of the requirements that all of the recruits had to pass in order to graduate was called "THE CRUCIBLE" it was an endurance task that was extremely physically demanding. It lasted 72 hours and was the most grueling three days a Marine is expected to complete. It involves several obstacle courses, hiking with 50 Lbs of weight on their backs with little or no food and they have to go 55 miles with 6 hours of sleep maximum over the entire time.

His drill Sargent's wife ran into Kevin and I, during family day and she said her husband the drill Sargent, couldn't say enough of this fine young Marine, our son.
and that was saying a lot coming from he husband.

Kevin was so excited to be stationed in San Diego, CA as a Marine. He had been half way around the world on his ship. Getting to see many countries along the way, On September 11th, he was on a three day leave in Sidney, Australia, suddenly the entire crew were called back to Port. 9/11 had just occurred...

Kevin was with MSSG 15, Communications. His ship's name was the USS Pelieu. Kevin had several close calls while in the front lines of the war. His bullet proof vest saved him from three bullets that hit him in the vest. One of his most frightening experiences was when he had gutted out the back of their hummer vehicle so that he could rig up a computer system, never the less, almost got crushed to death.

Kevin said that his experience with the people over there was of gratitude. They even played soccer with the kids in the streets. He had other close calls, being shot at with snipers on the roofs etc.

Just the two of us clung to the television while Kevin was in the war. It was such heart-wrenching and emotional time for us that every single Marine looked like our son. We were blessed in that Kevin, being in Communications was able to call us once a week. One of the first calls we received from Kevin he told us they were using chickens to detect whether gas was in the area, as there was a huge fear of chemical warfare. Probably one of the most heart-wrenching conversations was when Kevin said his socks were so wet and the sand had froze to them making them feel like sandpaper. He asked if we could please send socks in his care package. When he got food poisening from eating some bad chicken, he woke up in his trench he had dug to sleep in and he was drenched in sweat. He said that between his uniform and the hazmat suit it felt like five layers of pure sweat. Just the two of us prayed that our wonderful Lord would keep our precious baby out of harms way, cause you see, no matter how old they are, they are still your baby! I also prayed that God would help us get through this too.

They had MRE's (meals ready to eat) that were incredible for the most part in that they would heat up with just a bit of water, right in the bag. He told us while in Afghanistan they had a severe water shortage which made things difficult.

Three days after the war began, March 23, my Dad, Kevin's Granddad, had a sudden heart attack and went to be with our Lord Jesus Christ. We were devastated, and learning that they didn't allow the Marines to come home for the death of a Grandparent (at that time), (since then they changed the rule to allow them to come home). We had to make the difficult decision not to tell Kevin until he was out of harms way. Kevin took it very hard, but luckily his Uncle Floyd and Aunt Lisa, their kids Christine and those cute little twin girls, McKenzie and Alizabeth whom he was visiting in San Diego and who were more than generous in being there for Kevin, while he was stationed there in Camp Pendleton, helped him get through it. What a blessing and comfort they were to all of us!

While in Iraq, Kevin was able to take pictures with a few celebrities, Wayne Newton, Drew Carey, and General Frank. Two days before Christmas Terrence and Chrystal had several of their friends over when Chrystal came running in to tell me that Drew Carey was on the phone. I was amazed at how sweet, and thoughtful he was in calling me. He had gone over and entertained the troops when my son and several other young Marines gave him phone numbers and ask him to call and wish their Mom's and Dad's "Merry Christmas from your son, Kevin". I cried but only because it was so kind of him to see their wishes through.

When Kevin was almost ready to be Honorably Discharged they issued a stop order and we had to wait an addition 6 months for him to come home. When he flew home for that last time. we made posters and called friends and had balloons and were dressed up in patriotic colors with hats on that sparkled with glitter. The television crews were lined up to cover his homecoming, when what does he do, he misses his plane. We welcome him home a bit later that day...but no TV crew, it was too late! lol

Dennis and I flew out to California to help our Kevin move home, we enjoyed seeing Camp Pendleton, and all his hot spots where he liked to hang out. We went to the Ocean where Kevin and I battled those huge freezing cold waves. We got to take my BIL, Floyd, his wife Lisa and their Kids out for Scrumptious Chineese food, it was a great time for all. Then we treated Kevin to four days in Vegas to unwind. We had the time of our lives, and it served to help Kevin unwind, and just enjoy a little time with us.

So it's just the two of us, humbled and ever so grateful to God that Our Son~Our Proud Marine, Kevin is home safe, married, with a great career as supervisor of a local Cable Co., and attending College full time. He is such a good Daddy to our first and only little Grand Baby, Ben, with his sweet wife Renee, who is expecting our second Grand Baby, and it's going to be a little girl due in February! Realizing that we are eternally grateful for God's loving mercy!

Post Note: Kevin's commanding officer, wrote a letter to just the two of us expressing immense appreciation and gratitude for going above and beyond in the service of our country. For the gallant and outstanding service that our son had demonstrated. He said Kevin was indeed a hero in every sense of the word, and that he wanted us to know this and that he wished he could elaborate but we should just take his word. Wow! What more could any parent ask for in life. ...and how trivial some things seem to me now; I am so appreciative to God for all of the blessings in my life...as life is just so precious!

posted by Pamela @ 3:19 AM 27 comments

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt~Growth

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