Why do I eat cheese?

I know it will clog me up and prevent me from sleeping, yet I still eat it!

Yesterday I went shopping with Anne, even though I didn't need much of anything.  Our first stop was Dollar Tree where I managed to find seven things I didn't know I needed!  It is a great place to pick up Charro beans, both Jim and I like those.  And I love buying hand and body lotions for only a buck.

Next stop was Kohl's where we strolled the sales racks and looked at just about every piece of women's clothing in the store....I found five tops that I considered buying.  One was red and gorgeous and fifty bucks!  I did not come home with that one...But I did find three t-shirts I did bring home.  At less than twenty five dollars.  Alas I did not spend enough to earn any Kohl bucks, should have bought that red blouse!

By this time I was starving and even Anne was ready to eat.  We still needed to stop at HEB.  So we decided on Chili's because they have 'fast service'.  Hah!  Apparently not on Sunday.  We got our drink order quickly, but then we waited for the waitress to come back to take our food order and we waited and waited.  Finally!  We ended up ordering nachos (cheese!) and even that simple order took some time.

Next time you're in Chili's look at everything on the menu.  If you're trying to stay away from meat and cheese there isn't a lot to choose from!  I should have ordered a salad but even those come with meat and cheese and I'm sure it would have taken longer to get a special order.

Don't get me wrong, the nachos were good, but meat, cheese and sour cream are not good for me!

Of course we know better than to go to HEB on Sunday but we both needed a few things....well more than a few it turned out.  So we filled our baskets and found a check out lane that wasn't to busy.  We arrived back home just before 1700.

Boo was happy to see me, it was past his dinner time!

Spent the evening watching a Star Trek movie on Fox.  Not a bad way to end the day

Celebrations

Jim had a birthday on the 15th and our friend Pat had hers on the 13th.  So we've been celebrating for at least a week!  Of course we really don't need a reason to party but when a birthday comes along we have a good time.

Last Monday we all gathered at Diana and John's for happy hour to celebrate these two birthdays.  I'm not sure how many folks showed up but there was enough food to feed the whole resort!  Various meats including ribs, wings and something wrapped in ham.  Also cheesy casseroles.  Two desserts of German Chocolate cake and an Ice Cream cake.   It's a good thing I wasn't hungry as there wasn't a lot there that this wanna be vegan could eat.  But we all had fun chatting until the sun went down and it started to cool off.

On Wednesday  Anne invited us over for dinner and she fixed meatloaf, mashed potatoes, Brussel sprouts and peas.  I brought a salad and a bottle of wine.  After dinner we all enjoyed some red velvet cake and sang Happy Birthday to Jim

Yesterday twenty of us headed to Pappadeaux Seafood Restaurant for the public celebration of these birthdays!  What fun that the restaurant was all decked out for Mardi Gras!  They handed out beads to everyone and the birthday couple had balloons tied to their chairs and got special beads, free dessert too!

I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful all that seafood smelled!  But I was good and had onion rings and a Greek salad with no cheese.  Until they passed the dessert tray!  I had a Creme Brule that was very, very good!

After the party broke up Jim and I headed to the outlet mall because he wanted to look for a new pair of New Balance shoes.   Well we had a leisurely stroll around the outdoor mall only to discover the store is no longer there.  So we headed home.  

Weather-wise it was a nasty afternoon.  We drove through fog and rain.

Our neighbors have feeders on the tree out back and it's fun watching all the birds that come to dine.  We mostly have red winged blackbirds and sparrows.  Occasionally we have green jays and kiskadees.

This red shouldered hawk keeps an eye on all of them and once in awhile has dinner!

we've made a decision

We've decided not to spend next winter in the Rio Grande Valley.  We love all the friends we've made here but each season is the same as the last.  We want to travel and meet new folks!  We'll probably come here for a short visit to see our friends and have medical check ups.

In this era of Facebook, emails and the internet it's easy to keep up with the day to day lives of our friends and family.

Not sure yet where we will go or when but it should be fun!