Showing posts with label Family Fun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family Fun. Show all posts

Friday, February 21, 2025

Fly On The Wall In Love

Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, there are three of us bloggers inviting you into our homes to see what a fly might see (or overhear). 


The fly has been very happy during this month of love at our home. We had a sweet, romantic Valentine's Day dinner out, and as fun as it was, that wasn't the BEST part of the celebration.....because I have news..... I'M A GRANDMOTHER AGAIN!!! Grandbaby number #5 was born 2 weeks ago to my oldest son and daughter-in-law. Sweet Rory is the cutest little girl, rounding out the family now with 2 grandsons and 3 granddaughters between my oldest daughter's family and my oldest son's family. We are in love!

Another reason for the feelings of deep gratitude and love is due to a little health scare I faced (but I'm fine now, I promise!) and then a nasty tumor that showed up 2 months ago on my precious pug. You may recall that I lost 2 other pugs to cancer (which was emotionally devastating) but this time I educated myself on the best protocol (first surgery, then oncology appointments, and then a 100% switch to holistic treatments as well as my organic, home-cooked meals and supplements) and our fur baby is now cancer free... and THRIVING! Hopefully he will be wth us for many more years. I have made it my mission to help other pet parents now who are dealing with MCTs, so if you need treatment advice and resources, hit me up!

 

As usual, we like to fill our weekends with lots of family time and hanging with our friends---it's nice to have something to look forward to on a regular basis. Of course, the RV season has begun for us again so each month we will be parking Lucy at a new site. In fact, by the time you read this, we will be donning our traditional  "camp muumuus" and enjoying a game of cards by the firepit at Koreshan State Park on Florida's west coast. I live for these mini vacations!!


The only downside to this month was the Chiefs losing their 3-peat chance at the Super Bowl when they were slaughtered by the Eagles. OUCH. But many of my friends are Eagles fans, so I can't be too mad....right?


So while the fly is still buzzing around my box of Valentine's chocolates (shoo fly, SHOO!), I'll end my post with some of this month's photos. 


Hope y'all had a great "lover's holiday" and I'll see you next month with my nosy, winged companion (and no, I'm not talking about Mac). As always, be humble, be grateful!


WANT MORE MENO MAMA?? If you're looking for an easy weeknight dinner recipe, check out my latest food feature for AARP/The Girlfriend HERE  If you want some yummy crockpot dinner ideas to warm you up during this chilly season, I have another featured foodie piece at AARP/The Ethel HERE

Now check out Karen and Diane's houses to see what that pesky fly has been up to!

Baking In A Tornado                                https://www.BakingInATornado.com

                               

On the Border                                         https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/




Friday, June 21, 2024

Fly On The Wall In A Summer Monsoon

Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today there are four of us inviting you into our homes to see what a nosy fly might see if he was buzzing around. 

The flies in Florida were frantic last week when we were hit with a deluge of rain---a monsoon that I was certain would make our entire state break free from the U.S. and sink into the ocean. In fact, there was so much rain that we had to reschedule one of our camping trips when the RV park turned into a mud pit. I'm actually camping right now (storms are finally gone) at the beautiful Fisheating Creek Outpost and life is good (especially since I can still get internet out in the boonies!). We're getting the hang of this whole RV thing, starting with our first adventure with Lucy last month (and the lions!)---which I wrote about in May's Fly On The Wall post. We also went to Blue Spring State Park a few weeks ago and have more RV trips lined up throughout the rest of the year (cheers to senior discounts and cheap vacations!!). And YES, we are still carrying on the funny mumu tradition that started on that first trip. 




It has been a busy month with family and friends, and the fly has seen it all---preschool graduations, birthday celebrations, our local "Downtown Untapped" festivities (always cool to see neighbors, relatives, and FB friends come out to the monthly event), and a great, heart-warming Father's Day that I think made the big guy feel special. **In honor of Father's Day, I'm sharing lots of photos of my better half  (and the funny inspiration behind most of my FOW blog posts)!
 

The nosy fly has also been privy to some weird conversations during our camping trips, and as always, our discussions center on food and being overweight. Yeah, I'm seeing a connection there.....




"I swear, food always tastes better when you grill it at a campsite. The salmon was delicious!"
"It was too good--I ate so much it feels like the salmon are spawning in my belly."


"Did you forget to empty the RV trash can?"
"No, I just chose to ignore it."
"Then take yourself out with the trash."
"I can't fit into the trash can. I'm too fat"
"Well, that makes you the perfect size for their 'Bulk Trash' pickup."



"You were moaning in your sleep again last night and thrashing around so much that the RV was shaking. Were you having a bad dream?"
"No, but I was dreaming that I was climbing up a long set of stairs. That moaning you heard was me being out of shape and wheezing."


"I'm so full from lunch!"
"Yes, it takes a while to digest heavy, cream soups."
"Awhile? More like three weeks!"



"How's your diet going, Mac?"
"Not good. Pretty soon I'll be added to the McDonald's menu as the new BIG MAC."
"Awww....come on, you don't need to diet..."
"You're just trying to fatten me up so you can outrun me in the woods if we come across a bear." 


"We have to be careful not to add too much extra weight to the RV while we're driving---it's a harder strain on the truck to pull it."
"Then maybe you should jump out and walk."


"Old people drive me crazy!"
"WE are the old people."
"Okay, maybe it's just YOU who drives me crazy."


Hubs does drive me crazy, but he's my ride-or-die on our camping adventures, so I think I'll keep him around for a while.... and also because he's the one carrying the bear spray.... 



*****WANT MORE MENO MAMA? Catch my latest for AARP/The Ethel on delicious foods to pack in your summer picnic basket HERE . For this month's column for Yahoo Life I wrote about late-in-life marriages. If you watched "The Golden Bachelor," you'll get a kick out of my latest article . Lastly, for AARP/The Girlfriend, I wrote about the top state parks to visit this summer with family, and you can read it HERE  .

Now buzz around these other homes and see what the fly discovered this month!


 Baking In A Tornado                                https://www.BakingInATornado.com


On the Border                                         https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/

 

What TF Sarah                                      https://crazymamallama.blogspot.com  




Friday, May 19, 2023

Fly On The Wall During A Mother's Day Celebration


Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall, hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, the two of us are inviting you into our homes to give you a fly's eye view of what goes on behind closed doors. 


Let me start by saying that the nosy fly was privy to some very exciting news.....my oldest daughter is having another baby! This will be her third (but it's my 4th grandbaby) and we are ecstatic that she's having a boy this time. The baby is due in November, so we might be postponing our annual cruise that was scheduled around that time...because there is NO WAY I'm missing out on the birth of this beautiful baby boy!!



My daughter's news made Mother's Day even sweeter and I feel so incredibly grateful to have all of my family living within miles of me, and being able to see my grandbabies every week is the icing on the cake. 


It has been a wonderful month---Two weekends were spent brunching with my daughters--no boys allowed! We laughed so much that my stomach muscles hurt for days. I was also fortunate enough to sit in on a jam session to watch both my sons playing guitar together. My youngest boy has gotten really active in our local church (where my friend is the minister) and is now playing every Sunday with their Christian rock band during the service. I'm so proud of him!! (See photo below---he's the young man in the white ball cap who is playing the guitar)

 

As for Hubs and I, we've been hitting up some new restaurants in the area, hanging out with our neighbors at a few community events, and chilling in the backyard garden with cocktails while watching the brilliant sunsets. Hubs is nearly retired now, and my dream job of writing full-time for 2 websites has finally come full circle. Most days I have to pinch myself to see if it's real because I have waited so long for this to happen. Whoever said that getting old sucks was WRONG. These are by far the best years!! 


Since I can't really put it all into words, here are some of my fave photos that capture the last 4 weeks of Doyle fun:














I know I say this every year but I swear, this was THE BEST Mother's Day---and a pretty phenomenal month all around. Sometimes I wish time could stand still so these special moments would last forever, but there's always something new and exciting around the bend! Speaking of which, next month's "Fly On The Wall" ought to be very interesting......we are taking our first RV trip on June 9th to explore one of Florida's oldest state parks for a few days. I hear the mosquitoes can be brutal there, but I'm well prepared and super stoked for the upcoming experience....plus I'm sure the nosy fly on the wall will have a LOT to say about it! 


Want more Meno Mama?? Catch me on AARP with my collection of yummy Memorial Day picnic foods HERE

Now be sure and hop over to Karen's house next to see what the fly has been up to over there this month: https://www.bakinginatornado.com

Friday, September 3, 2021

19 Back-to-School Crafts To Prepare Kids For School In An Exciting, Fun Way

Many of you have already sent your children off for their first week of school, but some have not yet started. What better way to prepare them than to start crafts at home and have plenty of material for the upcoming year? And GRANDPARENTS, if you're looking for fun activities to do with the grandkids at home, you should try these craft ideas as well! Check out these fun activities, brought to you by letscolorimaginations.com



                              http://www.letscolorimaginations.com

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