Canton, Texas... with my mama!

I know, I know.... it seems like I am on the perpetual vacation lately. I promise, I do work. In fact, this is the last trip I have scheduled for a long while. Probably til TEAMJAKE goes to Memphis in December! Anyway, it is a fun one! She brought us both a buggy to stuff with our finds. And unlike usually, we got there a little late and had to park WAAAAY away! Unlike!

But that's okay! We had a plan. And it involved a whole bunch of stuff we didn't need!

Jinnie went right into diva mode. She bought this furry little jackeet. As well as a ruffly sweater and a cheetah spotted coat. Go, girl!

Let me show you around Canton, shall I?

They have these HUGE buildings, some called Arbors, some are Pavillions, and Trade Centers. Then there are also many, many, many outside booths. It is like this place never ends. Mom and I will be here for two days and will likely see about 60% of it.

This is ONE direction.

We've never been here on a Thursday. We totally DUG it. (Past tense of dig!) The crowd was so slight!! Just wait til I show you tomorrow's crowd and compare!!

However, it was 100 degrees here today. I am NOT even kidding. It felt like I was in a sunbed for about 7 hours!
There are all kinds of great food, drink booths. I had the most awesome lemonade, fresh squeezed with SUGAR added. Omg.... it was sooooo good. I want some more now!

People are riding and pulling all kinds of contraptions. They rent out carts to pull, electric scooters, and some get extra creative.

You can find a little of EVERYTHING here!! Look over there.... if you are a cowboy and want to keep your toothpicks organized on the visor of your truck, then this place is for you!

Ahhhhh. The food court!

Interesting that on these acres and acres and acres of booths, we finally found my cousins at the food court! Hmmmm... coincidence!?

Oh yeah baby! Ice cream abounds.

And there is literally something for everyone.

JinJin for example after being so aggrevated that the place we chose didn't have wheat bread and that would totally wreck her diet, she marched herself right over to a popular booth and bought herself a fried pie! (Sorry, Aunt Bonnie, if you are reading. I know you LOVE those! We miss you!)

I, on the other hand, ate a dollup of chicken salad and some Saltines. Ol Mo's gut is getting to where it just can't tolerate much! I have GERD or Acid reflux so bad that I can't eat the things I've always loved.

ANother common sight here is to see groups of women wearing the same tee shirt. I particularly liked this one!

Just made me laugh! As did this one!! Read it closely.

And then, like a moth to a flame, JinJin spotted the bling booth! This woman LOVES her some costume jewelry!!

She chose these three rings. Because she wants to look like a billionaire!

Just kidding. They really are pretty. And then I get a message on FB, as I am checking it out on my phone, to come by Booth 312 in Arbor 3 and visit Rori. After all, she said she'd been reading my blog for years. Then, dang!! I need to go meet her!! And so Jin and I set off on a mission. We found her. At Fringe.

And this is Rori. And this is me. And this is a photo that Jin Jin should have cropped much higher up. Let's try again!

Umm... better. But it would've been even better had she stood on the checkout desk and let me look up to eliminate the multiple chins I got going on!

I gave Rori the chore of figuring out the date of the next retreat!! Any ideas from any of you who are interested in coming to one?

In our little town in Texas, where we stay, we have the GREAT privelege of having a Posado's. MY FAVORITE Mexican joint!! It is part of our annual trip to Canton!!

We hook up with friends and family. This is Jenn and her mom. Remember Jenn used to be a friend. She married my cousin, Drew, so now she has crossed over to the family category!

And this is Sissy and Cherry, my cousins on my mama's side. We meet them here EVERY year. ANd always on this weekend!

It's something I look forward to all year long. But kind of unbelievable, is that this trip is in October. And is just before we all get together for Thanksgiving. And then again for Christmas... which means, we are almost to the end of this year. It seems like just yesterday, I was deciding on my word, "RELISH", for 2011! WOW!!

I'll let you know how tomorrow goes.

And to whoever it was who was interested in the canvases I painted during the retreats, please get back with me. mojoy@att.net. The 16x24 are $60. The smaller ones are $40. I need to get rid of them, because I will be starting paintings this week and have a mini retreat next sunday. I need some room!! And I'll be looking to sell those samples too! They make great decorations for the fall!! And if a pumpkin, you have another TWO months to display them!! Let me know.

Happy Friday, peeps!!

Mo

Cindy Lou's birthday.

Better late than never. I wish I could go back and see how many times I've opened a blog with that line!
But, today, I am highlighting a dear friend, Cindy's, birthday.
It was back at the end of August, and just took me a while to post it. Nevertheless, here are Linda Lou, Cindy's mom, Miss Ruth, and her sister, Shelley.

And here with Patti and Melanie, is the birthday girl herself, Cindy Lou Who.

No, that's not really her name, but I have called her that for as long as I can remember. We had all kinds of "new" friends there. Many of these ladies I now serve with on the Twin City Ballet Board of Directors.

Yeah, I know... my baby is three, and I am already suckerin' on in there. But, duty calls!! Anyway, Cindy is also on that BOD, so these were the lucky ladies invited to the big luncheon.

Cindy and I have been friends for ohhhhh... I guesss....20 years. I was there the night she lost her 2 year old son, and she came directly over the night we thought we felt a lump in Jake's stomach. She orchestrated fundraisers to help remodel Jake's home to make it germ free (to the tune of $17,000), she pretty much talked me into opening my PT clinics, and I in turn convinced her to GO FOR IT by being a children's book author.

I'm gonna tell ya.... Cindy and I make a good team!! Two energizer bunnies setting out to conquer the world. For whatever reason, when I cannot seem to figure out how to put out my seasonal decorations, it's Cindy I call! And when she MUST have the perfect wall mural in her kids' rooms, she's knocking on my door!

Shall we pause a moment and admire the earrings I made for my good buddy!?

And not only has Cindy bent over backwards for me and my family, but she comes running to anyone in need. All of her friends consider her a treasure.

Because of that, it was nothing at all to present her with gift card after gift card of cashola for her to go and buy herself some much needed new furniture to match her brand new home.

(we love her,but we didn't BUY her a new home!)

Being the modest person she is, she was overwhelmed by the generosity and could not continue opening in front of everyone.

You know "that" friend? The one who would move the world to help you? Well, that's Cindy! So it was a nice thing that we could surprise her like this!!

She is also the friend who really "gets" that being surrounded by a big ol' group of friends is really the best gift of the day!!

You're old, Cindy!

Mo

The Beau Rivage.

Alrighty then, this is our first day at the Beau. My loving husband (to whom I am married 15 years TODAY!!), brought me up a gourmet coffee and some sort of moussey breakfast. I LOVE that kind of sweet gesture. No wonder I am still married to him! And I have discovered that I like caramel vanilla latte iced coffee. Can you say, "SWEET TOOTH"!??

And I am one of those who truly love having pretty little boxes of extras in a hotel bathroom. In fact, I never pack shampoo, conditioner, or any kind of soap. Typically, and accidentally, I usually end up having to BUY a toothbrush as well!! In this case, the supplied it all. ANd what I didn't end up using, I brought home to Brian Russell, my new PT, and set it all up on his desk because,well, it totally cracked me up that these were his initials.

And to those of you at my retreat, you will not be surprised, that I also brought home the packaging of the boxes I DID use! I mean, that yellow and white stripe is awesome!!

When we got there, they didn't have our reservations. So, they were forced to put us in a suite!! Todd said, "you want the good news or the bad news?".

When he said the good news is that we got to spend the night in a suite, I immediately knew that meant the bad news would be we would have to move the next night. Sure enough!! ANd look waaaaaay down there. .. it's a Waffle House!!

There wasn't that much all that exciting in the suite other than this neat headboard/ curtain backdrop.

And the attached den, the multiple tvs, and separate bathrooms for both of us. Other than that, who really cares?!

This was day one, and I KNEW I had to catch an artsy place or two. I LOVE Ocean Springs, and had to see one or two things before I holed up.

I'll have you know that my visiting this artist co-op occured only after I had my rocking breakfast, soaked in a hot bath, had a massage, and theeeennnn...

I was watching the storm brew as I pondered whether or not I should head down the road to another spot or two. But then I walk right past this awesome mural made from tiles in an alley that most people will never even see! That decided it for me. YES, I would press on!

That's our hotel.

And that's the hotel next door!

Looking out over the Gulf of Mexico, one would think the weather was just balmy!

But as I adventured on over the bridge to Ocean Springs, wellll...

It was downright ominous!

But I think I've shared this before, my Poppa always said, "Make a decision, then make it right." And my decision was to go to Ocean Springs, so I pressed on!

I kind of got to where I thought the sky was really pretty! And yes, I was snapping while I was driving. Sorry. I wasn't looking in the eyehole or anything, just holding my camera up and snapping.

Oh, here's the proof!! BAGS from BAM!!

And here's the proof that Todd actually played golf... at Fallen Oaks on a couple of occasions.

This is my man as he is readying to go kick some golfer bootay.

15 years. WOW!

I mean, we were like, YOUNG, when we started dating. ANd now we are gray and fat and have two kids and have built a house together, and have seen lots of places around the country together. and we still kinda even like each other.

View from the window in the room.

And as promised, I made it to Ocean Springs.. ANd this is one of the cute little boutiques I found.

and a very retro 50's fountain shoppe. C.U. T. E.

I had to get a chocolate shake. I mean, I HAD to!

And I found art galleries.

and antiques....

Can you just even imagine my JOY as I strolled down these little streets?!

I already look forward to going back!!

And if you are on the gulf coast, definitely go to Ocean Springs.

Give me a day or two and I will try to figure out how to scan an old photo of me and Todd the Bod 15 years ago, on our wedding day!!

It's been a wild ride, TG. And I would never have it any other way. Fun, exciting, adventurous,.... HAPPY!! I couldn't ask for a better husband.

Mo