And we're OFF!

We left yesterday morning shortly after 7, heading for Ocean City.  We LOVE, love this place, with both of us raised knowing that just 'was' the summer vacation spot.

We were trying to beat traffic.  But oh my....it was heavy -

Luckily once we got to the toll plaza our lane was open =)

And there's just something about crossing over to the Eastern Shore.

Traffic remained really heavy so we decided to stop at our fav pizza place in Salisbury -

Perfect!  Thin crust, yummy sauce and cheese with pepperoni and sweet peppers.

One of the 'four on the shore' wineries is only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday so we wanted to stop by and see Kathryn - she is so fun to chat with.

Then off to our final destination -

We made it to the check-in location just a little early, hehe so had some time to kill.  Well, we might as well hit the other winery -  let's get these two annual stops out of the way.

And this pretty bottle with the 4 arrow heads has a story....a few years ago Ronnie and the owner Adrian sat at one of the tables in the winery enjoying a bottle and talked for a few hours about the name for a blend.  Adrian told the story of these arrow heads and a man that lived/worked on the farm (which used to be grapes for Welch's).  Ronnie thought about it for a little bit and then threw out "Four Winds".  Well lookie here.....it worked!  And now we have our own special bottle.

Then it was time to check-in.

Ah!  Finally -

This place is beautiful -

With quaint little touches and a perfect view!

All checked-in, settled, but the cupboards are bare.  Time for the dreaded chore....Walmart.  U.G.H.

Two hours later we make it back to the condo and a get our 'buggy' to fill up.

This is the view from the front side of our condo.  Beautiful sunset right over Seacrets.

We chilled out on the balcony for a while, trying to figure out where we wanted to eat.  And on the way out, we caught the moon.  Beautiful.

Dinner here -

No complaints about the scallops, or stuffed shrimp along with the extras -

At 5:44 this morning the sky was 'orange' -

Sunrise @ 6:03

So I would say our first day was pretty darn good.  Sunrise at home, sunset on the bay, moon on the ocean and sunrise this morning.  We are very blessed.

I never knew -

there was such a day, ha!  But yesterday was National Father-in-law's day.  So here's a shot out to mine!

Oh and by the way......did I remind you that I am officially on vacation?!  Yay.  so stinkin'excited!

Easey. Peasey. Cherry Pie Bars -

That's exactly what this dessert is.  Here's an idea if you like Cherry pie but aren't that great at making pies....that IS me! Flour.  Butter. Sugar. Eggs.  Vanilla.  Almond Extract.    Beat it all together -

spread in the pan

pour cherry pie filling over top (I would use two cans next time)

spoon the remaining over the filling.

Bake and let cool then mix powdered sugar, vanilla, almond and milk.  Drizzle over pan.

YUMMY!

It's MONDAY!

Already?!  Yes, it truly is and I was lucky enough to wake up so it's gonna be a good one =)

It is quiet in the house this morning.  I am the only one.  So I have my coffee.

TV is off.  Java, Skipper and Bella all around me.

I click on my e:mails which is a morning ritual.  As I catch up on my favorite blogs, my eyes stop HERE

As I scrolled through I was happy to find that I already do more than half of these things.  Maybe that's why I really don't mind mornings even though it's tough to get out of bed sometimes.

So if you're not a morning person, try some of these ideas.  And make today a HAPPY Monday!

Weekend Wrap-up

I am blessed to be able to say it was another great weekend.  Fun.  Friends.  Sunshine.  Music.  No complaining here.

We started the weekend on Friday, just like any other Friday -

We haven't been here in a while but love the changes they have made.  Lots of seating.  A Huge, Beautiful building.  Greeted as soon as we got there.  Such a pretty place -

Great Music - not to mention perfect dry, whites =)

Even a drone -

And I was able to replace one of my favorite wine carriers/coolers -

Yep - definitely worthy.

You basically get a concert and a bottle of wine for $24 and that's the non-member price.  Seriously.....people judge because we go to wineries but it's fun, cheap and we have  met tons of great people.  Who cares what people think?!  =)

On Saturday, we slept in a little then enjoyed our morning coffee.  Ronnie worked while I worked at home, not so fun, lol.

And then we were honored to share in the ultimate surprise 40th birthday party for this girl -

Lots of friends, lot of excellent, awesome food, great music and fun chatting with friends we don't get to see very often.  It was great.

Sunday - a somewhat lazy day.  Ronnie had a job to estimate/look at so we went there then wanted to find some good tomatoes for BLT's tonight.  SCORE -

but not easily.  Butler's was a closed so we had to find some place else and we did....some back road and a sign that says "Mostly Tomatoes".  "Not responsible for accidents".  hmmmm  well I really wanted these bad so we took a chance.  $1 per pound and these were 3 for $1.  Our total?  $3.  Wow.

I made a double batch of macaroni salad.  One for the party and one for us.  Yep, this is what's for dinner tonight.

We did pay our respects to a lady of the community.  A school teacher for 30 years.  Her memorial card was a little different - not the typical 23rd Psalm or a poem for the family but one that fits everyone.  I truly believe everything happens for a reason and say that often.  This poem is very fitting -

For every burden that we bear,
For every sorrow, every care,
There's a reason
For every grief that bows the head
For every tear-drop that is shed
There's a reason
For every hurt, for every plight,
For every lonely painracked night,
There's a reason
But if we trust God as we should
All must work out for our good
He knows the reason

Love this.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the family as they work through this difficult time.  Somehow the things that seemed huge are somehow less stressful.

So a good weekend it was.  I am very thankful and blessed to be able to say that.  AND the best part is......we are on the count down to vacation!  YAY.  CANNOT wait to be by the sea.  Everything is better by the sea, right?!