And the countdown begins...

I know I've been a blog slacker lately and for that I apologize! As I was perusing through all your blogs today and catching up on emails, I came across this really cool song that blends Taylor Swifts Love Story with Cold Play's Viva la Vida. I LOVE IT! It's a little long but you should listen to it while you read the rest of my post!



As you'll notice on my little baby tracker on my side bar, little Cameron will be here in about a month! I can't believe it! The time has really flown by! Almost too quickly! John and I have gotten a little behind with preparing the nursery (as most people have their nurseries COMPLETE by this point!) We haven't even started! So we decided we needed to kick it in high gear this weekend. We picked out our crib on Friday night and bought it (Thanks goes out to the two grandmas- Marlene and Tammy who funded this purchase!) I have to say, I'm a little shocked at how expensive cribs and all baby items are these days but that's a topic for another blog post! So we got the crib, we spent yesterday clearing out all the furniture in our guest room that we're going to turn into the nursery, then we assembled the crib with the help of our good friend Dean! Neither John nor I are very good assemblers of anything! I took a few pictures of our "nursery to be" As you can see, it is NO WHERE near finished but the little anchor next to the crib gives you an idea of the theme we are going with. It's going to be a nautical/ sailor theme. You can consider this our nursery before picture. I'll post some "after" shots in a week or two when we get done! This is such a fun time! I can't wait to meet this little man!



More blog posts are coming soon. I may even throw in a 9 month belly shot! Oh what the heck, here's one i just took...


35 weeks

I can't believe I am just starting my 9th month! This baby boy is certainly taking up a lot of room these days! As Patrick Swayze so appropriately said it in his movie Dirty Dancing "Nobody puts baby in the corner!" Likewise, this baby is taking up every inch of space in my short waist that he possibly can! He's a mover and a shaker these days and comes alive at night as soon as I lay down on my pillow! Like the rest of my pregnancy though, I really don't have too much to complain about other than my daily heart burn. Nothing a little tums can't get rid of though! Everyone tells me Cameron is going to have a head full of hair because I've had SO MUCH heart burn but I can't help but wonder if it's all the Mexican cuisine I've been enjoying all these months! I've definitely craved Mexican food with this little guy. My friend Daisy says little Cameron is going to turn into a quesadilla if I don't take it easy! I guess we'll have to see!

Granny: A Tribute (1919-2009)

My sweet little granny passed away last Saturday morning after a short battle with pneumonia. She would have celebrated her 90th birthday this November. Many of you had the opportunity to meet granny (or at least have heard about her from time to time on my blog) but not very many of you knew about her life. I want to pay tribute to her today for the special lady that she was. She was amazingly strong and overcame so much in her lifetime. I have learned SO MUCH from her example and will miss her greatly!

About her life
My grandmother's name was Mamie Esther Bennett. She never liked her first name and always preferred being called Esther. She was born November 17, 1919 in Winston Salem, North Carolina. She was from a large family and loved her brothers and sisters very much. One of the things that eventually brought her to Florida was the cold weather in North Carolina. She hated being snowed in and not being able to go to school. In her early teens she moved to Jacksonville with her father. With sand in her shoes she remained here for over 70 years and embraced the warm weather.

She grew up during the Great Depression instilling in her a deep sense of gratitude that she carried with her throughout her life. One of her famous phrases was “We don’t waste food around here!”

She met her first husband, Laurie Durden, while working at a Cigar factory in Jacksonville, FL. They married in 1939 in Baker County, FL when she was in her early 20’s. They resided in Green Cove Springs. They had 2 children, Linda and George. She lost her first husband to typhoid fever when her son George was less than 8 months old. She was heartbroken 24 years old with 2 small children to take care of, but this did not break her spirit.

She then moved back to Jacksonville where she met her second husband Wallie Garland Bennett in 1944. Together they had six girls: Lawanna, Brenda, Sheila, Sandra, Janice, and Tammy. They were married for 22 years when in 1966 she became a widow for the second time when he passed of Lung Cancer. Her youngest daughter Tammy was six years old. At that time she entered into a career as a nurses assistant at St. Lukes hospital and retired after 20 years of service at age 62. She enjoyed working with the patients and was a hard worker.

She taught her daughters to be independent and self-sufficient and to learn to provide for themselves should the need arise as it did for her. She was a woman of strength, love and compassion. She ran a strict and orderly household and always kept things clean, neat and tidy. Dirty dishes and dirty laundry didn’t exist in her home. She was an excellent cook and made 3 hot meals a day. She also was a consistent disciplinarian. Whining was never allowed or tolerated, but you always knew that she loved you. All that knew her had great respect for the way she conducted her life and household.

One of her closest friends was her sister Ruth. They both shared a love for cats and small dogs especially Pomeranians. Ruth gave her three of her closest little companions Quagie, Sammy, and Smoky. She also always had cats that roamed around her little southern cottage and her most recent cats were Baily and Buddy. She greeted them each morning before daylight to feed and water them for the day.

She was comically fanatical about the way she looked. Even upon her sickness in the hospital she wanted to grace the nurses, doctors visitors with her eyebrows fixed and her lips polished. She also always had her hair combed and shining! She always wanted her daughters to look their best too and when they weren’t she told them very matter of factly!

One of my grandmother’s favorite hobbies was gardening. She could plant anything and it would grow. She knew the name of each plant, flower, and cactus and tended them with care and love. She adored anything that bloomed. Some her favorite flowers were roses, hydrangeas, angel trumpets, camellias, geraniums, and Amarillo lilies. The American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson said one of the ways to measure success was “ to appreciate beauty by finding the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch. To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded.” She truly succeeded and blessed each of us with her talent and love of gardening.

Her greatest love was spending time with her family and being the boss! She was feisty and continued to tell her girls exactly what to do and when to do it. She passed when she was 89 after a short illness of pneumonia, which weakened her heart causing a heart attack. Her death came quickly without pain and suffering.

Although 89 is old for some she still possessed a keen mind and knew exactly what was happening all around her with her family, the 6:00 news, and her flowers! Up until her last days she lived independently. She ran her own household as meticulously as ever. She left us with a legacy of love and to always embrace beauty in whatever ways you found it either in a cactus, a garden patch, or a little Christmas tree! We love you granny and will always remember everything you taught us.



One of the hardest things about losing my granny has been that she passed away less than two months before my first baby will be born. It meant so much to me to have her here to welcome him with love. She was such an amazing mother and grandmother. She's been collecting little blankets, quilts and booties for our son since she found out we were expecting him. Our little Cameron will be very warm and comfortable thanks to his granny! I will cherish these my whole life and I look forward to the day when we will see granny again. For now, I know she is having a glorious reunion with her mother, father, husband and children who have passed before her. I also can't help but wonder if she is up there in heaven right now meeting our sweet little Cameron preparing him for his amazing journey ahead. I hope so!

Real Estate Investment Project #9: Before and After

Most of you know, John is fast becoming a little real estate tycoon! We did several flips last year and the year before but when real estate sales took a NOSE DIVE, we decided to focus on more long term investments- rental properties. We bought this great house a few months ago for a great deal (it was a foreclosure). It's almost 4,000 sq. ft. It has 6 bedrooms, 3 baths, a pool in the back yard, and it's in a cute neighborhood in Arlington. It just needed a lot of work. John was up for the challenge! We took some before and after pics and they are pretty dramatic! Take a look...

The house.


We plan to paint and do more landscaping as time goes on.

Living Room Before


Living Room After


Kitchen Before


Kitchen After




Game Room Before


Game Room After


Master Bath Before


Master Bath After



Hallway Before


Hallway After


Hall Bath Before


Hall Bath After


We already have 3 of the 6 rooms rented out. We literally just finished it this past weekend and we already had 3 renters before it was even done. The rental market is really strong right now. But don't go trying to sell anything! It's dead in the water!

Sunday bar-b-que a la casa Tomas

It's been such nice weather lately so we decided to have a few friends over yesterday and my personal chef- Chef Juan Tomas whipped up a culinary masterpiece on the grill...



While I marinated more burgers for him...


Amyee made an AWESOME dessert. I need to get this recipe from you Amyee!


Amyee, Daisy and Romy


Cute family picture! Eric, Amyee and little Dayton. Check out that ADORABLE smile!


Another cute family picture of Daisy, Sam and Romy


John wasn't up for taking pictures so I did what any 8 month pregnant woman would do- I sat on him so he couldn't move until we got our picture taken!


Romy says "Great burgers Chef Juan!"


Little Dayton prefered the hot dogs though with lots of ketchup!

Girls Night In

My friend Alison just hosted the CUTEST "Girls Night in" party. We had such a great time eating waffles and other delicious breakfast treats. We all came in our pajamas and just hung out and talked "girl talk". It was so great! Here are a few pics I took of our girls night in...

Alison


Alison made those ADORABLE pillows and let us each take one home. Aren't they the cutest! Martha has NOTHING on this girl!


Daisy and Amyee


Jessica and Alison


The prego at 31 weeks


The girly girls