Boston and NYC

I was supposed to go to Washington DC, Boston and them NYC the week of May 17. I ended up getting a severe stomach bug which sidelined me for a few days. I met up with my co-workers in Boston and then on to NYC for a board meeting. Nothing too exciting this trip.



I did get a purse for mom. I didn't find anything that I loved so no new one for me.



Getting to the airport was an adventure. It took two hours -- the cabbie GOT LOST!! How does a NYC cabbie get lost going to the airport? And he hit another car on the way. They both rolled down their windows and said "you ok" "yea" and took off. Unbelievable.


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Tx Motor Speedway

I had to go to the Texas Motor Speedway to tape a PSA with a driver for my work. We got to watch them tape Speed TV's NASCAR Race Day and I always get a kick out of stuff like that.

The weather was bad so the race was cancelled but we got our taping in so everything worked out. We ended up driving home because the weather was so bad. And I don't do well flying in bad weather.



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Blackhawks in Dallas

Before heading to Atlanta I went to the Blackhawks v. Stars hockey game. We had seats close to the ice and a great parking pass. There were a couple of guys in front of us and one of them kept teasing me because I was vocal in my regard for Patrick Sharp. He kept it all fun so it was all good -- not like the hoedoggie I had to sit next to the last time I went to the game. And my boys won!!!

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Atlanta

I had to go to Atlanta for a social media conference. You know me -- I worked in some play time too. First fun thing to do was go to an Atlanta Braves v. Chicago Cubs game. They have a nice stadium. And Chick-Fil-A in the place!! I had a great seat behind home plate and sat next to Braves fans who relentlessly teased me for liking Chicago.

The next three days were spent at the conference. Very long days but productive. I signed up for pretty much every contest they had for a free ipad. Caleb has been asking for one for a while so I was on the hunt. I did win tickets to a Braves game but I was so exhausted I gave them away - especially since I had already been to a game. But, when I got home I got word that I won an ipad!!!

I kept up with the hashtag for the conference and one guy kept talking about eating chicken and waffles. It peaked my interest so my co-worker and I went to Gladys Knight's Chicken and Waffles restaurant. Oh. My. Goodness! Pure heaven. I would never have thought chicken and waffles together would be good but it was divine. I also had black eyed peas and yams with it. Yummy!!

The last night of the conference I went to the Atlanta Thrashers v. Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game. Those fans are brutal but I always enjoy a hockey game.

After the conference it was off to Savannah for a few days. It was about a four hour drive - and an hour wait to pick up the rental car. Caleb had been texting me and calling me asking me to come home so I felt very guilty about taking a couple of days for myself but then said I deserve it so I went. I appeased Caleb by going to the Atlanta Aquarium and getting him a stuffed animal shark. It was one of the nicest aquariums I have been to as well and a nice way to start my mini vacation.

My main reason for going to Savannah was to eat at Paula Deen's The Lady and Son's. I took the guided Paula Deen tour so I would be assured a spot to eat at her restaurant. It was worth the money for the tour. We had a great tour guide and went to eat lunch at Paula's brother's restaurant, Bubba's Oyster House (or something like that). I had a low country boil for the first time ever and it was delicious.

After the tour I headed to Tybee Island and laid out at the beach for a couple of hours. Nothing fancy but I always enjoy spending time at the beach. Before heading back to Savannah I ate at a local place and had -- wait for it -- low country boil again. This place had alligators in the entrance. The kids would have loved it.

So the next day my only item on the agenda was to eat at Paula's place. It was so good. I had the buffet and had a bit of everything. It was all good and I was pleased. They start out your meal with hoe cakes and garlic and butter biscuits. Oh yummy.

I liked Savannah and would definitely visit again. The historic district was especially nice and quaint.


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Mother's Day

We had a nice Mother's Day weekend. Saturday we had lunch with some Aunts and Cousins and had a blast just laughing and chatting. We are going to try and do it once a month.




Those who were there were me, mom, Diane, Colleen, Yo-yo, Janie, Courtney, Yolanda, Amy, Rosalyn, Jovita, Eleanor, Jessi, Paula, Tina, Lindsey, Ashley, Rita, Valerie, Mandy and Avery.

My work had their annual Honoring Women luncheon and I filled a table with my family. I'm so glad they were able to come and enjoy a nice afternoon and a good program.










And on Mother's Day we had a nice relaxing day and showered Granny Gran with flowers. Diane had to work so that was a bummer but she got to spend time with the kids in the morning. Sydni made her own flowers from pulling from GG's and her mom's.



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My Blackhawks in New York

I had to go to NYC for work and since the Blackhawks were playing the NY Islanders, I had to go see my boys. The tickets to sit close to the team were cheap. This is the closest I've been to the Blackhawks so it is a shame that most of my photos came out blurry.  Even though the Hawks lost, I am still glad I went to see them.  Oh yeah, there was a hat trick -- too bad it was for the other team though.

The train ride to Long Island has to have been on the oldest train ever.  And my jersey brought a bit of attention to us.  A cop with a thick NY accent was like what is a broad from Texas doing wearing a Blackhawks jersey! Thank goodness Sheryl was with me because Long Island is a bit shady.

One other thing I took away from this trip was a great food find. There was a street food vendor who sells chicken and rice that was very good. There is always a line for his food.



I tried some BBQ that was on FoodTV but I was not impressed. Texas BBQ is better.







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Martina in Columbus

So I went to Columbus for work. We honored one of our donors at a press conference backstage at the Martina McBride concert. We then got to see the concert with Martina, Trace Adkins and Sarah Buxton. They were all amazing. Martina can really belt out some tunes. Simply amazing!!!

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Memphis...

I had to take a business trip to Memphis and of course I tried to cram in some personal things too while I was there. No trip to Memphis would be complete without a visit to Graceland.  I got there too late on Monday to take a tour and they were closed on Tuesday --my only free day -- so I just went and walked around the area and took pictures. 

The other thing I made sure to do was eat at a bunch of the great places that have been mentioned on the Food Network.  My first stop was Neely's BBQ.  This is the restaurant of Pat and Gina Neely from the show "Down Home with the Neely's".  The food was great but the actual restaurant was not what I expected. It was dark and they had no souvenirs for sale.  There was a tiny display case that said there were souvenirs for sale but they didn't have anything.  Not even BBQ sauce????? I think they are missing a huge opportunity here.  I was prepared to buy a book, sauce and even a pig or two. 

The next two places I tried were both on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives -- Alcenia's and Leonard's BBQ.  Both were great.  At Alcenia's I got baked tilapia, yams and green beans.  Oh my goodness but it was delicious.  It was the best of all three I have ever had.  Definitely a must for anyone visiting. 

Then I tried Leonard's BBQ and they had a HUGE buffet. So, of course, I had to try everything they were offering.  The BBQ in Memphis is different from Texas.  They have mostly pork in Memphis and the sauce is more vinegary.  The best thing at Leonard's was the fried catfish.  The best ever. 

And of course I had to get my souvenirs.  This keychain is my absolute favorite.  It not only is fuzzy but it also has a small diamond ring on it.  Precious!

I  free things

I absolutley love winning things from contests and am also on the hunt for more contests to enter. This time I got a box of goodies from Campbell's thanks to www.loserforlife.com.




The box of goodies consisted of:

2 boxes of veggie soup
veggie pen and journal
pedometer
reuseable bag

Thanks!

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