The Friday Five plus 2: Time Off

Happy New Year!!

Yeah, yeah I know I am late but it’s still early in the New Year so it counts!

Plus I have not written an actual post since last year! LOL

After being on break for so long my blogging mojo has been off. I have a full list of drafts that need editing and pictures attached.

But...#lazy

Dr. LBeezy (my momma) was here for a week and I loved being able to spoil her and she loved spoiling B. 

 E loved that she was here to be on his side!  Mom always takes their side. She's like “it takes a special man to be with my daughters. I pray for my son-in-laws daily!”  See how shadeful she is! LOLOL

Here are a couple of the dishes I made for her while she was here.  I loved cooking for her so much:

Chili Rubbed Fresh Snapper with Bacon Wrapped Shrimp and Grilled Vegetables atop (I love that word! Lol) Cilantro Lime Basmati Rice. I had a similar dish at a local restaurant and I could not wait to make it at home.

Pan Seared Mahi Mahi in a Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce, Thyme Poached Lobster and Fresh Sautéed Spinach. This was another restaurant inspired dish. I will post a version of this one and the snapper at a later date

Oh and this spaghetti with meat sauce. 

LBeezy mentioned how she hadn’t had any good spaghetti in a long while.  When she went to do some last minute Christmas shopping I surprised her with lunch. I also made her, my now family famous, Horseradish Cheddar Biscuits with Garlic Parsley Butter (recipe coming soon).

Every time she visits, mom buys me flowers.  That’s her thing. She visits me or my sister: flowers!  How thoughtful right!? She has an awesome green thumb and a good plant eye. These lasted three weeks after she left!  These beauties also prompted me to make a resolution: More fresh flowers in 2014.

My mom also won't sit still, so she cleaned my kitchen after every meal, grocery shopped and bought me these shelves I have been coveting for a year!  They were my birthday present! I was for real near tears! 

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I will share my progress on outfitting those shelves (I have two) over on Instagram (@SoGirlCitySwirl).  This is my inspiration decor though. I think this is so funky and eclectic. I haven't decided if I am going to spray paint them. My sister @TheNinahBee is trying to convince me that it is a good idea! We'll see!

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B and I will visit LBeezy this summer.  Our plan is to road trip to Maryland and DC and one other place I can’t recall right now.  We can’t wait!

I hope you all had a great time off! I promise I will be back with recipes next week!

Happy Monday!

Flat Ironed and Trimmed

I try to get my hair professionally flat-ironed and trimmed once a year, typically during my birthday weekend.  This almost made me miss a relaxer until I had to curl it myself the next evening for shenanigans with friends.  I kept it straight for almost a week! 

Happy New Year!

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday!

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Happy Monday!

Happy Monday!

"Are you eating?"

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I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I had a really great time!  I got to hug family I haven't seen in years, I gambled (have y'all heard of LCR? That game is sooooo much fun and you don't have to gamble to play it!), and I ate until I was fat full!
While I am thankful daily I had reason to be extra thankful this season.
E was in the hospital for four days.  He has a REALLY bad heart and it decided to act up right before Thanksgiving.  Imagine my panic when I get a call from him saying that he is on his way to the hospital to be admitted during the middle of my work day.  When I got the call I was immediately frightened.
Wait. Let me back up.
About four years ago, I received the first heart call from E.  He had gone to visit a cardiologist for the very first time because he had been experiencing heart palpitations that were not caused by me!  He gets to the doctor's office, gets hooked up to several machines to check his heart function and then is immediately ambulanced to the hospital.  He called me from the ambulance.  
"Meanie I am on my way to the hospital because my heart function is at less than 30% and the cardiologist is very concerned. I don't want you to panic but I think I might need you here. Make sure you stop to get you some snacks before you make it to me."
Two days later, after a second opinion from a doctor who had to be granted rights to the hospital, and MANY tests later, E had to have a defibrillator and a pacemaker installed.  We call it his "hardware." E having that surgery never scared me, I never felt anxious about it or anything like that. I just kind of knew he would be OK. This last heart call was very different.  I immediately felt the wind knocked out of me. 
E was going about his normal routine at work and suddenly felt light-headed, something he had never experienced before.  He called his cardiologist and was told to come in immediately.  See, any time E calls his cardiologist he finds a way to get him; the doctors are used to seeing his condition in much older men who've lived a life of excess not someone in their early forties who used to lift weights.  So he gets in and sure enough they send him immediately to the hospital for admission.  His irregular heart beat is going into overdrive while in the doctor's offices and the pacemaker, which is supposed to regulate that, isn't 'activating'.  E calls me before he leaves the cardiologist's offices.
"Meanie, I'm on my way to the hospital for admissions. They think my pacemaker has stopped working and there is evidence of a minor heart attack. I might need you here but I need you to grab you some snacks on your way in."
E is always concerned about my eating habits when I am super stressed.  He always asks "have you eaten." He is hooked up to machines that are helping his heart along, that are helping him breathe easier and he is concerned about me eating and resting.  He takes care of us.  According to him that's his most important job.
E is looking at another major surgery but his heart is not strong enough for it. Not having this surgery could be fatal and having it could also be fatal.  In his current state, stress, over exertion or over excitement could for real kill him. The doctors are managing the current situation with medication until he is able to take the test that will determine if he needs to have the surgery this month or if it can be pushed to January.  Either way he is on bed rest until the determination can be made.  
My spirit doesn't have peace and I have been praying for it.  E, who always sees a solution, who always looks to the brighter side of things said to me "this situation is beyond my judgment." That broke my heart.  The man with the plan does not have a plan, a solution.
So we wait...

Happy Monday!