Road Trip!

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit the flea market Mecca of the south – the First Monday Trade Days in Canton, Texas.  Canton is one of those places I’ve always heard about but never actually visited myself.

When people found out that I was going to Canton they would ask, “Have you ever been?”

“Never,” I’d say.

“Well, you won’t believe how much stuff there is!”

My mind struggled to concoct images of what this place could possibly look like.  Inside or outside? Booths or tents? Junk or fine antiques?  Tacky or high class?  Lol.  My head was swirling with ideas.

Turns out, all of my ideas were right.  Acres and acres of every kind of ware you could imagine.  Outside and inside. Old stuff and new stuff.  Tacky and high class!  There’s definitely something for everyone at Canton.  Even the men – vendors were shoving samples of hot soup and homemade jelly at you at every turn.  What man wouldn’t love that?

I think it’s only fair to go ahead and tell you what kind of trip this was:  a girl trip – me, Lucy, my sis-in-law Angel, and her two daughters.  We loaded up in my Yukon and headed west!  Now that doesn’t sound too crazy until I tell you that we pulled a trailer behind us!  And that may not sound too crazy to you unless you knew that I’ve never really pulled a trailer before in my life!  Can you believe our husbands sent us off to Canton with cash, credit cards, and an empty trailer?? Now, that’s what I call trust!

I took my big camera along to document all the crazy fun I knew we’d have, but I never even got the sucker out of the bag.  So what few pictures I do have, I took with my phone, and I apologize for the substandard quality. 

On our first day of shopping, to say that we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off wouldn’t be far from the truth.  To us, there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to how the place was laid out.  We got turned around so many times we lost count, but that just added to the fun.

Angel had the fabulous idea to bring along a wagon to tow the little girls in.  Unfortunately, after we’d been out shopping for only 15 minutes, Lucy got a fever, climbed over into her own stroller and went to sleep for the next 5 hours!

When the poor thing woke up, she was starving and asked for a corn dog.  Boy, did she ever get a corn dog!  It was at least a foot long. And she ate every last inch of it.

You might have gathered from the pictures that it was a little cool outside.  Even though we spent most of the day “indoors” it was not climate controlled, but we bundled the girls in coats and blankets, and I stuck a couple of hand warmers in my pockets.  A little thing like cold weather wasn’t going to stop the shopping.  By the afternoon things warmed up to 65 degrees, so it turned out quite nice.

Who knew I’d meet The Most Interesting Man in the World!  I don’t always go to Canton, but when I do, I spend all the Tool Man’s money.  Lol.

Ahhh, Faith.  Shopping is not her forte, but she was a good sport while the big girls browsed around.  She perked up considerably after chowing down on a humungous funnel cake.  Yummy.  And how do y’all like her snazzy sunglasses?  Faith quickly learned that making puppy dog eyes can land you a steal of a deal.  One vendor even gave her something totally free.

The girls were super excited when they found out there was an indoor, heated pool at our hotel.  Of course, we hadn’t packed any swim suits, but that’s nothing a quick trip to Wal-Mart couldn’t fix.

I’ll leave you with a few pics of some items we saw while shopping.

Well, that was fun!  Angel found several great furniture pieces to fill some voids in her new home.  I picked up a couple of little things, but my pocket book couldn’t afford any big purchases this time.  It didn’t take Angel and I long to decide that we want to make this a semi-annual tradition.  It’s just too much fun not to go back a couple of times a year!

Lindsey

Cruise Wrap-Up

I just have a few final pictures to share with y’all from our cruise.  I wish I could say that some of these were taken during our visit to Atlantis on Paradise Island in Nassau, but we made the decision to leave our camera on board the ship while we went on that excursion.  We had an excellent time at the water park in Atlantis, even though the weather was a tad too cool in my opinion.  Nevertheless, Ty and the Tool Man had a wonderful time trying out all the intense water slides.  Lucy and I mainly hung out at the kiddie pools.  Have any of you ever been to Atlantis?  That place is HUGE!  I believe the brochure said it was 140 acres.  I had no idea.  There were about 3 or 4 high rise hotels with swimming pools and water slides all in between.  Not to mention the snack stands and restaurants scattered all around.  And, oh year, a casino, spa, beach, and aquariums too!  It was quite an impressive place!

Anyway, back on the ship, we continued to do what we love best about cruising…

Chilling!

As small as our room was, the Monkeys found plenty of nooks and crannies to goof around in.  The pull out bed, the window sill, the bathroom, the closets…

And speaking of monkeys…

This is what we found in our room after dinner one night.

Our last stop before heading home was Freeport.  We didn’t book an excursion here, and thus there was absolutely nothing for us to do.  All we did was take a quick stroll through the souvenir shops at the port.  Then it was back to the ship for one final day of swimming and sunning. 

Lucy found this straw purse that she just couldn’t live without.

Ty was eyeing these coconut carvings, but he’d already spent all his money.

Our last night on the ship. Time to get the suitcases out and start packing.

But the fun’s not over yet!  We still had one more dinner to attend.

I always say that I want to try new foods on the ship, because if you don’t like something, you’re not out any moolah.  So, what did I try?

Sushi!  Well, kinda.  It didn’t really look like any sushi that’d I’d seen before.

I did discover something that I absolutely loved, though.  Seared tuna.

Blackened on the outside, and perfectly rare in the middle.  Yummy.  The Tool Man was a little nervous about trying it, but I convinced him to take a bite, and he loved it too.  I also tried some cured salmon and really liked it as well.  Who knew that I’d like raw fish?  Maybe those Japanese are on to something.

The Tool Man loves the French Onion Soup.

All the desserts that were available on this ship and Ty orders sherbet every night.

As a treat the last night on the ship, we ordered a couple of “umbrella drinks.”  Now don’t y’all freak out on me and call the preacher.  Lol.  They were non-alcoholic!  The kids got strawberry and I got pina colada.  But as you can see, Lucy decided she liked mine better.

Saying, “goodbye,” to Lilly.

We weren’t seated with anyone at dinner on this cruise, (I guess that’s what happens when you have kids) but this was the crew that sat adjacent to us.

I thought I'd throw this picture in just to show y’all how much our ship rocked.  No trick photography here, people. Thankfully, the Tool Man and I don’t get seasick.  This boat rocked so much!  Front to back.  Side to side.  Sometimes all four directions at once!  I think it was due to the fact that it was smaller than the ships we are used to sailing on. I actually kind of liked all the rocking, though.  Especially at night.  It was like being rocked to sleep. 

 

Well, that’s it.  I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our Caribbean cruise.  We had a wonderful time!  The only negative was that it didn’t last nearly long enough.  Ha ha.  Hopefully Santa will be as good this coming Christmas as he was the last!

Lindsey

Caribbean Cruising

I’m baaa-aaack!

Our family spent the last week soaking up some sun on a Caribbean cruise.  Cruising has to be my all time favorite pastime.  The Tool Man and I went on our first cruise for our honeymoon, and we were hooked.  Eat, sleep, swim.  Eat, sleep, swim.  What’s not to love?

We have always cruised with Carnival.  This time we were aboard the Carnival Ecstasy.  It’s one of the smaller ships that we have sailed on, but still, it was a big boat.  I never fail to be amazed at the sight of those enormous floating vessels.

Our itinerary took us to the Bahamas.  We sailed from Port Canaveral, Florida and made three stops:  Half Moon Cay, Nassau, and Freeport.  We usually cruise during the month of May, so this was our first winter cruise.  It wasn’t cold by any means, but 75 degrees and breezy doesn’t exactly make for perfect swimming weather in my book.  Ty, on the other hand, had no qualms about going for a dip.

Aside from our first cruise, the Tool Man and I always opt for a room with a balcony.  We just love having our own private area to sip coffee (or enjoy a bowl of that never-ending ice cream), relax, and listen to the roar of the waves.  But this year, Santa thought it best for us to skip the balcony and have just a picture window instead.  His reasoning was two-fold I think.  One, Santa had a lot of wishes to fulfill, so he was probably pinching his pennies.  Two, he probably knows what a climbing dare-devil Lucy can be, and a balcony would just be asking for trouble.  I did miss having my balcony, but the kids thoroughly enjoyed our picture window.  It had an extremely deep ledge that they could sit and play in.  Lucy also found it rather amusing to jump from the window ledge onto the bed.  She can make anything dangerous.

Not only did Lucy have fun playing in the window, but for some strange reason, she liked playing in the bathroom too.  And stranger than that even, was that she called it her “church.”  She’d pack up her baby and blanket, head in the bathroom, and say, “I going to church.”

If you’ve ever been on a cruise you know that the staterooms are tiny.  There’s not a lot of room for extra beds.  Ty slept on a bed that pulled down from the wall about 5 feet off the floor.  Yikes!  Talk about temptation for two little monkeys!  It was like having your own private, in-room jungle gym.

Dad liked the bed too!

One of our favorite parts of each day was coming back to our room after dinner to discover what towel animal awaited us.  Ty tried to keep the animals from every night, but Lucy usually found a way to destroy them.

I told you earlier that I wasn’t into swimming on this cruise, but there was just no keeping Ty out of the water or away from this water slide.

Dad was the lucky one who got to escort Ty on his first trip up and down the slide.

My guys were freezing, but that didn’t stop Ty from going back for more.  Eventually, though, he did give up the slide for a dip in the hot tub.

Now, if you ask me and the Tool Man, the best part about cruising is dinner.  We have always enjoyed the food and service you get in the main dining rooms.  I especially like formal nights on the ship.  It’s the only opportunity this mom has to get all dressed up! And what girl doesn’t like to put on a fancy dress every now and then?

One small accomplishment we had on the cruise was to teach Lucy how to smile for the camera.  Trust me, this is a huge deal!  The trick was asking her to show us her front teeth, like when she’s getting them brushed.  Works like a charm!

How did I end up with the two cutest monkeys ever?

This week we also discovered what Lucy’s favorite food is.

BUTTER!

Let’s just call her, “Little Paula.”  We finally learned to hide the butter each evening as soon as we were seated and ration it out to her throughout the meal.  Otherwise we’d catch her dipping it up and licking it off the butter knife.  Ew!

Here’s the pièce de résistance.  This dessert ranks among the top 5 of the best tastes I’ve ever put in my face!  Really.  I like it that much. 

Bitter y Blanc Pudding.  In other words, dark and white chocolate bread pudding.  Yumm-O!  They didn’t offer this on our last cruise, and I was some kind of disappointed.  Imagine my delight when I found it on my menu last week.

Monkey kisses…

Sweeter than any old dessert!

I guess that’s why we southern gals call it, “sugar.”

After dinner, we stopped by our room to check out our towel animal.  Then we headed to the show.  Ty was none too impressed with all the singing and dancing.  In fact he was a little disturbed by some of the dancers’ costumes!  Lucy, on the other hand, loved the show.  She sat still as a mouse, as interested as could be.  That little girl definitely likes music dancing.  I can’t wait for her to take some dance lessons.

OK.  In order to get this posted today, I’m gonna stop it here.  Hopefully I’ll be able to share the rest of our vacation with you in a day or two.  It seems I have a lot of impatient followers out there.

Lindsey

Christmas 2011–Part II

Well, as promised, here are some more pics from our Christmas.  Today is all about Christmas morning.  Usually it’s the kids who are the ones waking the parents up on Christmas morning, but not in our house!  The Tool Man and I got tired of waiting on them, and we finally woke the kids up about 8:00.

Ty was anxious to jump right in and starting ripping open packages, but it took a few minutes for Lucy Lee to wake up.

First out of the box… this grrrrr-eat LSU shirt for Ty.  This is gonna be perfect for him to wear after we win the championship Monday.  Geaux Tigers!!!

It didn’t take long for Lucy to get into the groove of opening gifts.  This was really the first year that Lucy has understood the concept of presents.  I’m afraid we may have created a monster.  Since Christmas morning, she hasn’t seen a present that she hasn’t assumed was for her.

One of Ty’s favorite gifts from Santa was this dragon Happy Napper.  He’s kept the dragon by his side since he pulled it out of the box Christmas morning.  My boy loves his stuffed animals.  I don’t ever remember playing with stuffed animals when I was a child, but they are just about the only toys Ty plays with.  That’s my boy.  He’s either playing with cuddly teddy bears, or he’s shooting birds and lizards with his BB gun.  He’s such a well-rounded child.

OK.  How many children of the 90’s remember these?  Slap bracelets.  Lucy and Ty love them!

Lucy got lots of necklaces, clothes, and accessories.  As soon as she would open something, she would have to try it on.  At one point on Christmas morning, Lucy had on three necklaces, Hello Kitty socks, sunglasses, mittens, an apron, and a chef’s hat.  Quite an outfit!

Wow!  Ty even looked happy about the flashcards Santa brought him.

Lucy’s been wanting some camouflage of her own.  Whenever she sees it she say, “I go deer huntin’.”

That sneaky Santa!  When I was a kid he used to hide the really “good” presents behind our couch.  Looks like he’s up to his same old tricks again…

This is all that Lucy asked for from Santa – a bicycle!

This bike came complete with a horn, tassels, a basket, and a seat to hold a baby doll.

Behind the couch there was also a big bag for Ty.

And in that bag was another bag…

And in that bag, another bag…

And in that bag, an envelope…

And in that envelope, a letter…

(The suspense is killing you, isn’t it?)

And in that letter…

Well whatever it was had to be good.  Just take a look at the expression on Ty’s face.

A CRUISE!!!!

Wahoooo!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep.  Ty asked Santa for a free gift card to go on a cruise.  Thankfully, Santa delivered 4 of them.  He must have known mom, dad, and Lucy needed a vacation too.  We set sail in 2 weeks.  Merry Christmas!

Next year I think I’ll give my list to Ty and let him give it to Santa for me.

Lindsey