Surgery

On Thursday Jayce had oral surgery to expose two of his teeth that had not erupted. The surgery went well and he has spent the weekend recovering.

Jayce was a real trooper through the whole thing. This was his second surgery (the first was a tumor removal from his arm) so the experience was not too frightening for him. We arrived at the hospital early in the morning and checked in to his room. The staff was incredibly friendly and eager to please.

After they took his vitals and had him change clothes we walked down to the OR (Operating Room). Jayce went into surgery about 8:30am and they finished about 10:45am. We were able to go and see him in the recovery room about 11:00am. Everyone was very tickled with Jayce because he kept speaking to everyone in Spanish as the anesthesia was wearing off. He also said a few other comical things, overall he was a very good patient. We left the hospital and arrived home about 2pm. Jayce has his follow up with his orthodontist this week and he should be cleared to play baseball next week. Big thanks to all for the phone calls and wishes for a quick recovery.

Jayce getting his vital signs taken before surgery.

BJ and Jayce.

more vitals.


Jayce just after he changed into the hospital gown.

Jayce awaiting to go to the OR.

Jayce as we were leaving for the OR.

The Corpsman removing his braces before surgery.

Jayce resting back in his room after surgery.

New Happenings With My Blog

Just wanted to share that new things will be happening with my blog!! I know there have been many changes such as Monday Memories and Fashion Fridays. Well, now I decided I wanted to join in on "My best shot Mondays" and TGIF (Trust, Gratitude, Inspiration, Friday). Plus, dedicate Tuesdays to Travel Tuesday! It will be impossible for me to do all these things every week so I will just interchange them to whatever fits well with my mood at that moment! LOL! I hope you check out my blog often and enjoy all the happenings with us!

Fashion Friday

“The difference between style and fashion is quality”
Giorgio Armani

My grandmother was a very unique lady. She had a heart as pure as gold. I miss my grandmother. My family is very close and it was due to my grandmother. Her home was the central gathering spot. She was always cooking great southern food and there were always family members there to hang out with.

I remember driving up the street to her house and about halfway up the block you would begin to see the cars lined up along the street. It did not matter the time or day you stopped by, there were always family and friends coming and going. I miss my family.

My grandmother loved to take all of us shopping!! She loved to pamper family! When preparing my dorm room for college my grandmother insisted that I get quality bed linens and the cotton and thread count had to have certain values. While shopping she would have me feel the different linens for cool crispness or softness, and she would talk about the durability, comfort in all seasons, color fading and so on.

When my husband and I first married we could not afford the type of bed linens that my grandmother had first bought me. So, I would just pick up whatever I could find on sale or sometimes I would get the bed in a bag type deal.

During one of our military moves we downgraded from our king size bed to a queen. At that point, I decided that I was going to follow my grandmother’s advice (she was full of wisdom- I knew I would not be making a mistake) and buy the bedding my grandmother spoke of so many years prior.

I shopped everywhere. I searched the internet. I would buy something and bring it home and then I would return it because it did not fit the mood I was looking for. I have such a beautiful four post bed; I needed the most perfect bed linens. One day, I went inside Yves Delorme Paris and it was there that I found the perfect bed linens including a duvet cover, down comforter, and two large down pillows along with accent pillows. I was thrilled to say the least! I purchased the 400 thread count Egyptian cotton and I was so happy to have found all that I needed. I don’t think I will ever buy bed linens elsewhere. Yves Delorme Paris truly encompasses all the qualities my grandmother told me to look for when buying bed linens. My grandmother would be very pleased with me! I wish my grandmother was still living so that I could thank her for all the advice she had given me and most importantly, I would tell her how much I loved her.

I refused to buy bed linens until I found what I wanted, so for while this is what our bed looked like. I just used some old quilts and such which we still use occasionally to wrap up in on the couch on cool nights.

This photo was taken as I was making the bed. Don't the linens look beautiful?

This photo was taken as I was making the bed. Next, I added the accent pillows and placed the duvet cover over the down comforter.

Such a comfortable and luxurious bed we sleep in now! It's like sleeping in the clouds!

BJ took this funny picture of us sleeping a few years ago. Hey, look at Jayce’s arm, GO SOONERS!

So sweet, my two babies in a peaceful nap last year after they returned from Paris.

BJ himself sleeping like the king he is in royalty. As you can see he is enjoying his rest. Over the years these bed linens have lasted. It has been such a worthy investment for quality, value, and more importantly, always a peaceful night sleep. Jayce would always say he wanted to sleep in our bed, so I ended up buying him some quality bed linens. I hope you experience a peaceful rest as well.

Update

As most of you know Jayce had surgery this morning, and I just wanted to let everyone know that he is home and doing well! Thank you Lord for all our blessings!

Monday Memories

Erin and I during our vacation at Disney, summer 2005.

Penne Arrabiata

After you have made the Homemade Tomato Sauce, cut the chili pepper as directed on the recipe posted on Taste Of Italy.

Then add it to the sauce as your waiting for the pasta to boil. The Italians like their pasta a little more stiff (hard) than Americans do, so if you want your pasta more tender, boil it according to your likes instead of the recipe.

Here is a photo after I added the pasta and cheese to the sauce. If you don't have any pecorino cheese just add your favorite cheese and it will still taste amazingly good!

This last photo was taken as I was setting the table. I would have taken a more formal picture after the set up was complete, but I kept hearing, "Come on', we're hungry!" I hope you enjoy this little Taste of Italy in your hometown, USA!

Parmesan Crisps

I used about 2 tablespoonsful for each.

Cheese beginning to bubble in the oven... Almost ready!

Parmesan Crips cooling on rack.

mmmmm..mmmmm..mmmm..

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Follow the recipe on the Taste Of Italy post for this simple, homemade, never-fail tomato sauce.

Garlic slices and olive oil sizzling.

After I added the whole peeled tomatoes and sauce and basil.

After 45 minutes of simmering.. Oh, the aroma is incredible!

Tomato And Basil Bruschetta

First off, dice the tomatoes and snip the basil. Next, add the other ingredients. See recipes in Taste Of Italy post.

My kitchen helper Jayce, pressed the garlic and grated the cheese.

Here Jayce is grating the cheese for the Parmesan Crisp.

This is Jayce grating the cheese for the Bruschetta.

The recipe calls for French bread, but I prefer to use Organic Rosemary Olive Oil Artisan Bread. I cut the slices in half. After you bake the bread, add the tomato topping and cheese.

So delicious!

Taste Of Italy

This afternoon I cooked a favorite Sicilian meal of ours. I thought I would share in detail so that if you were interested in having an authentic Italian meal you could try these recipes at home. I am breaking it up into three or four post so that it does not get inundated with photos. I’ll begin first by posting the recipes as follows:

Tomato and Basil Bruschetta:
1 loaf of French bread
3 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
¼ cup of snipped fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar
½-1 tablespoon of olive oil
¼ teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees then arrange bread slices on flat baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown
In small bowl combine tomatoes, basic, pressed garlic, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper. Mix and spread over bread slices. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Parmesan Crisps:
1 cup of coarsely grated parmesan cheese ( use the biggest holes on a box grater)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Evenly space tablespoonfuls of parmesan on a large, nonstick or parchment-lined cookie sheet. using a small spoon or your gingers, spread the parmesan so that each small pile becomes a thin circle roughly 3” in diameter. Bake for exactly 5 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and bubbling and light golden brown. Be sure not to brown too much or they will taste bitter. Let crisps cool a minute, then slip a thin spatula or dinner knife underneath each one and remove to a rack to cool completely before serving.

Homemade Tomato Sauce:
In a large saucepan, slowly cook six cloves of thinly slice garlic in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil for five minutes over low heat. Add two, large fresh basil leaves and stir for one minute. Add two 28 oz. cans of whole, peeled tomatoes along with their juice and two more whole basil leaves. Bring the sauce to a boil, turn down the heat, season with salt and pepper and let it bubble away on low heat for 45 minutes. Cool and refrigerate.

Penne Arrabiata:
1 pound of penne
2 cups of homemade tomato sauce
1 long red chili cut into quarters
2 tablespoons of olive oil
½ cup of firmly packed, finely grated pecorino cheese (or your favorite cheese)
Boil penne for two minutes less than the package tell you to. Meanwhile, heat the tomato sauce and with the pieces of chili in a large frying pan over low heat to infuse the chili into the sauce. Reserving about a teacup of boiling water from your pasta pot, drain the pasta and add it to the frying pan with tomato sauce. Stir the pasta and sauce with olive oil and let it cook on low heat for about 2 minutes. Adding a bit of reserved boiled pasta water if necessary. Turn off the heat, remove the pieces of chili, stir in the pecorino and serve.

So Sweet

Fashion Friday

Fashion and shopping go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. I really enjoy shopping!! What girl does not?! Well, maybe a select few, but most women have fun shopping. It’s a thrill to find the cutest dress that you’ve been looking for or a bargain on a beautiful pair of Christian Louboutin shoes!! The list goes on and on… depending on your needs and wants.

You may or may not mirror this same perspective on shopping. But, I thought I would share some insight on my thoughts. Recently I was on the phone with my cousin and I was telling her about a cute outfit I ordered from Neiman Marcus. She stopped me and said, “Oh, you mean Needless Markup?!” We laughed, because that is so funny and partially true and then we talked some more. After I hung up the phone I did not think twice about the conversation.

On the other hand, some girls would have talked smack and it could have gone something like this once the conversation had ended and they went their separate ways. “Oh my gosh…Like she thinks she can afford to shop there?!” or “Whatever, she has no class because she called Neiman Marcus, Needless Markup!” (Thank goodness my cousin and I are more mature than that!)

Why do people (women in particular) do this? Is it because of their own hang ups with money? Or is it because they are just too opinionated and judgmental? Whatever the reason, I don’t play that game. In my opinion, it does not matter where a person goes shopping or the brand of clothing they choose to wear, it’s about being true to oneself and making choices that reflect your style and wellbeing. There are a gazillion places to shop and millions of options, the possibilities are endless!!

My point being, make clear conscious choices based on needs and wants, not to impress others or entertain the notion of social class status.

Happy shopping…. wherever it may be…

Scribble Fun

After snack time just before I got Lana dressed I sat her at the table so she could have some scribble fun!! Below are a few of my favorite pictures of her enjoying herself.

I love how you can see her reflection in the table.

Reach... you almost got it!

Just a little peak, must be interesting?!

Just look at her tiny fingers.

Snack Time

Last Friday I picked up quite a few oriental pears and they were delicious, so good in fact they are already gone. LOL!

I could only get a picture of this one lonely pear before it was eaten up… ;)

Lana chomping away as usual!

Take Time To Smell The Roses

Simple and Beautiful.

Monday Memories

This is one of my favorite photos of Regina (BJ’s Mom) and Jayce. This was taken when BJ and Jayce went on a short trip back to Oklahoma while we were living in the DC area. Jayce was about 2 years old. They look so cute cheek to cheek!! LOVE it!

Just For Laughs

I thought this was just too cute of Lana.. The other day I was trying to take her picture while in a cute pose. But, just as I would snap to take it she would lift up her shirt and then look up at me and giggle!! I have a million belly shots now!! She is such a silly girl!

Fashion Friday

Yippee... It’s Friday! So that means my first Fashion Friday post. How cool is that?! Since we are in Sicily, I thought I would begin with my two favorite Italian designers (Dolce&Gabbana and Prada) and my love of handbags, which I expressed in this post about my trip to Milan. There is no better way to represent Italy than those designers.


I love summertime here on the island!! The Sicilian sun is ever shinning and it is a must to have a great pair or two of shades. I’m not speaking of a cheap pair that you buy for an occasional trip to the pool. No, here on the island it is imperative to invest in a high quality pair of sunglasses. The minute you walk outdoors you need them because the sun is so bright!! For my birthday, one of the things I received was a new pair of sunglasses.

I absolutely love these and so thankful that BJ recognizes fashion and quality because he picked them out for me.

This is me being goofy after I took the sunglasses out of the box!

Okay, so this morning I am at Jayce’s dental appointment seated in the waiting area, and I picked up a magazine. While skimming through the pages I came across the headline, “Borrow The Handbags You Love!” Since I have an obsession for handbags of all sorts, it caught my attention. Now, you may have already heard of something like this, but I guess because we are here, I’m totally out of the loop on this one. This really took me by surprise, a website, BagBorrowOrSteal where you can rent designer handbags.

Seriously?!

This evening after we got home I had to see this for myself. That may or may not be for you, but definitely check it out because it’s funny to me all the ideas that people come up with! I don’t think I will be renting any handbags, but maybe I should rent mine out to others?! There’s a thought!

NEVER — they’re all mine!! LOL

This is my most favorite Prada handbag. BJ bought it for me a few years ago...Now, that is the ultimate hook-up for the fashion obsessed!!

Until next Friday…