She's Electric

 She's electric 
She's in a family full of eccentrics
She done things I never expected
And I need more time

And I want you to know
I've got my mind made up now
But I need more time
And I want you to say
Do you know what I'm saying?
But I need more ....
Cause I'll be you and you'll be me
There's lots and lots for us to see
There's lots and lots for us to do
She is electric, can I be electric too? 

--Oasis

We Like To (Dinner) Party

September 27th and 28th are busy days in my family.
Five people mark their birthdays on those days.
So we like to party.

My grandmother, my uncle, and my brother shared their birthdays 

at a dinner party at our new house.

Unfortunately, because we were hosting a soiree we couldn't make it to our nephew or cousin's birthday festivities. 

Usually we're hitting several parties in one day!

My uncle and aunt made ribs (that were insanely good) and Mark made The Pioneer Woman's Brown Sugar Bourbon Pork Skewers & Dirty Rice (yum!) 

The food was finger-lickin' good!

I made chocolate chocolate chip cake with homemade whipped cream frosting - at my brother's request.

Rio was not thrilled with anything on the menu except for the whipped cream, which my brother handed her by the spoonful. Nice.

Then we played Sedarahc otherwise known as reverse charades. The whole team has to act out a difficult word while one person tries to guess. The teammates cannot communicate with one another.

I believe they were trying to act out "Diaper Change" in this picture.

It was a riot.

I think everyone worked off all the food we consumed.

It was a lot of fun and lasted until midnight.

We like to party to celebrate.

But for all these people to be born at the same time

it is apparent that a lot of people in my family like to party 

around Christmas...

if you catch my drift. {wink, wink}

I Will Walk 500 Miles

Let's go out!

The Rhythm Of The Saints

Every sunday people gather at the beach to watch the setting sun.

It's one of the best things about living on the west coast of Florida -

amazing sunsets.

Drummers (and other musicians) enter into the most incredible jam session

and they continue non-stop for hours.

The center of the circle is filled with dancers.

The rhythm of the drums seems to take over their bodies.

There are plenty of kids

women who can dance while hula-hooping

men of varying ages 

and the belly dancers...

serious belly dancers.

Someone gave Rio a feather.

She had a feather in one hand and her princess wand in the other.

She danced until the sand became much more interesting

to throw around.

That's about the time we left. {wink}

The Obvious Child

I met my cousin's girlfriend last night.

She was a wonderful conversationalist.

I love talkative people.

She loved Rio.

She was fascinated by her adoption story.

And her take on everything was eerily similar to mine.

But we always come back to the one thing that remains the most remarkable:

She was the obvious child.

She is the obvious child.

And will forever be.

She was meant to be folded into my arms.

I'm so thankful

to be her mother.

Car Fiction

We have to go.

Go where?

Somewhere cool, air-conditioned to be sure.

Some place fun and exciting.

That doesn't involve water.

Is there such a place?

I don't think so.

Oh yeah, I forgot.

The toy store fits the bill.

Right, Baby Doll?

Money For Nothing

There is an auction house in town that holds mid century modern auctions every couple of months.
My mom babysits and we make a day of it with our friends, Mike and Joey.
We've gotten some awesome deals and we usually make out like bandits.
Plus it's super fun (and a little nerve-wracking) to throw your hand up in the air with your number card to bid!
We have fun guessing what things will sell for
and checking out who's buying what.
You can tell a lot about a person from the things they purchase.
Especially things they work hard to outbid someone else on.
Take this item for example:

I feel weird even posting this picture - 

and that's after I added the Conch Shell!

Now, I'm no art expert but....

(Mike is a graduate of The Ringling College of Art and Design and his mouth was agape in shock and horror from the moment he saw this piece. Who better to judge art than an artist, right?)

what is up with this painting?? 

Maybe it's the wide-eyed look of the guy, maybe it's the awkward placement of the arms, maybe it's the bizarre head on the bird - is that a bird?

And to top it off there were 3 of these things - different subjects 

but all nudes.

And would you believe that each one sold for over $200!!!

To three different buyers!!!

I'm still laughing about it.

But anyway, to each his own. 

Now on to my thrilling purchase:

I got this mod pendant lamp. I love it!

It was in a lot of two identical lamps but I only needed one.

Fortunately, Joey and I have similar taste and he wanted the other one.

We bid for the lot and split the cost - win/win!

Good friends, cool crap to buy, and watching people make interesting purchases - what a day!