Rainy days and weekends

It equates to awesome weekends with no particular thing to do . . . wonderful lazy days!


The sound of rain hitting the window awnings is one of the most wonderful, hypnotic and relaxing sounds to catch up on sleep.  There is sleep that is much like no sleep and then there is restful sleep . . . awww I feel awesome today after a weekend of napping, total relaxation and much needed restful sleep.


Regular readers of my blogs know that I love all types of creating . . . crafts, DIY, sewing, etc.  While my blog LaBelladiva mainly features these type of posts, I have started another Daily Newspaper . . . Crafting News by Gina.  I'm loving these dailies . . . they pack a lot of articles found through Bloggerville into a nicely summarized newspaper.  Click on the graphic to get the latest edition of the paper.

How was your weekend?

Did you do anything special?  

Hope it was an awesome weekend for you all!

NEW BLOG POSTS . . .


Gina's Italian Kitchen


Angel Hair Pasta with Spicy Shrimp






Peace, Love, Happiness


Great Expectations






Gina's Music Memories


No Doubt - Sunday Morning






Babyboomer Flashback


Gidget ~ The Taco Bell Dog






Subtropical Gardening


Fall Gardening

What's going on!

After all these years, I've been called for jury duty.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.  For one thing, I have been disappointed with our judicial system for a very long time, and feel like it will be an enormous waste of time and way too much effort.  We'll see what happens with my new adventure . . . I would love to participate in it.  All that said . . . I'm not real happy about it since I have not been feeling well and don't know if I am even up to it.  The Wall Street protests have spread to Tampa and I will be right in the middle of it . . . ugh!


RIP Steve Jobs . . . another life taken way too soon.  His amazing contributions to technology and society in general left their mark on the world.  Who knows what could have been if he would have lived a long and healthy life . . . he will be missed.


The Wall Street protesters have started something that is growing like a rampant disease, spreading from one city to the next.  It may have started off peacefully, but this is not going to end well . . . especially now that the unions are participating.  Scary times we are living in!


What a relief that the media has finally resigned to the fact that Sarah Palin and Chris Christie will not be presidential candidates.  The media have been like a very nosy woman trying to find out a secret, rather than focusing on what is really going on.  Looking forward to Chris Christie as a presidential candidate in the future . . . love his style!


I'm almost ready to jump on the CainTrain :)  


Check out my blog, My Florida Paradise, for a series of posts featuring our adventures in Tampa.  The Captain is discovering his new home and all that it has to offer through my memories and getting out there experiencing my diverse hometown.  We have been all over the place and have only just begun!  


My series on Vintage Disney is still in the works and coming soon, but it is taking lots of time going through decades of photos.


Hope you are all smiling about something . . . peace, love and happiness to all :)

NEW BLOG POSTS . . .


Gina's Italian Kitchen


Gina's Cuban Fried Rice


Southern Style Creamy Chicken Casserole


Chicken Empanadas


Spicy Penne Tossed with Chicken


Linguine with Roasted Red Peppers


Country Corn Casserole


Shrimp Gumbo


Mexican Skillet Rice




Peace Love Happiness


Dreams and Moral Support


Dreams and the Big Picture


Nasty Habits and Motivation


The Day The World Changed


Anything is Possible


Embrace Self-World and Self-Worth


Great Love, Wishes and Miracles


Foundation of a Great Relationship


Follow Your Bliss


Finding The Key




LaBelladiva


Crocheted Denim Rag Bag


Dish Towels That Stay Put


Be Colorful


Recycled Sweater Hats


Jar Lantern


Organize Your Spices


Vintage Inspired Dinner Roll Holder


Hanging Jewelry Holder


Recycled Butterfly Windchime


Lots of Headband Tutorials




Fabulous Frugalista


Keep Fresh Cut Flowers Fresher Longer


Organize Your Hair Accessories




Gina's Music Memories


Michael Jackson ~ This Is It


The Beatles/Paul McCartney ~ Til There Was You


Falco ~ Rock Me Amadeus


Madonna ~ Sticky and Sweet Tour


Diana Ross ~ Do You Know Where You Are Going To




My Florida Paradise


Our Fishing Adventure at Ballast Point Park ~ Tampa


Ballast Point Park ~ Tampa, Florida


Discover Tampa Through Our Eyes


Ft. DeSoto Park ~ St. Petersburg, Florida




Subtropical Gardening


Nasty Grasshoppers in the Garden


Summer Reflections

Back to normal?

Finally . . . yesterday was the first day in a long time that I feel great . . . health wise, that is.  Otherwise . . . married life is treating me good and I am so happy!


What is "normal" anyway?  I've pondered this question through the years and the definition keeps changing!


Today, the definition of "normal" is not feeling sick which really makes me happy.


It has been a while since I've updated a listing of my recent blog posts . . . I'll include that with my next post.  


Since getting married last month, The Captain and I have been all over town getting new IDs, changing records, blah blah blah.  However, to make the ponderous tasks fun, we decided to take the camera and visit cool places in Tampa and turn them into blog posts for "My Florida Paradise."  I've already done a few if you want to check them out . . .


There is so much more to do as far as the name change, but sitting in offices for hours at a time while feeling sick has made me tend to put so many of those tasks off.  So . . . now that I'm feeling better, we will be finishing that up . . . and taking more photos of the Tampa area.


Being the foodie that I am (and so is The Captain), I love kitchen gadgets in general.  While we were visiting MacDill Air Force Base's Veteran Appreciation Day, we stopped off at the BX to do some shopping.  Much to our delight, a representative from the infamous infomercial kitchen knives company was giving a presentation of a new line of goodies that are being featured on QVC.  We got some free kitchen gadgets, but the best was getting the most awesome deal on a bunch of knife goodies including one of those garnishing tools for a very small fraction of the price.  Gotta love a great deal!


Hope everyone is having a terrific Tuesday!

Silly me . . .

I'm celebrating my first week as The Captain's wife :-) . . . yes, it is ok to call me a romantic fool because I am!


We have spent most of the week sitting in governmental agency offices . . . officially changing my name.  WOW I had forgotten about all the bureaucratic red tape involved with getting married.  And we still aren't done.


By far the biggest nightmare was updating my driver's license.  OMG . . . it took HOURS of sitting and waiting and then the process itself was very ponderous.  Good thing I'm organized and was ready with more than enough paperwork . . . each piece of paper was scrutinized and then verified by yet another person.  By the time they took my photo for the new license, I felt like a criminal taking a mug shot.


Trying to get a fishing license proved to be yet another ponderous procedure although it was the same office, same computer system . . . however, being that only SOME of my paperwork is in my new name and their database had not yet updated . . . NO FISHING LICENSE after sitting and waiting for another period of time and then trying to get it processed.


We spent all afternoon in that one office . . . and I'm not the most patient person, especially without a cigarette all that time!


I would do it all again . . . I love being The Captain's wife :)  


Have an awesome Labor Day weekend everybody!

Our new beginning!

The Captain and I were married yesterday . . . now I can finally relax.  It was a beautiful and spiritual wedding ceremony at my mom's house in the presence of immediate family and long time friends who are considered family.  We wrote our own vows and my Aunt Sandra read the blessings.  My brother came well stocked with champagne and the toasts went on for a while . . . very special and touching!


The theme was tropical . . . everyone was dressed in mainly hawaiian shirts . . . the wedding cake was so cute, complete with palm trees and colorful flip flops that are refrigerator magnets.  


Although I quit drinking liquor a year or so ago, when I arrived at my mom's house, I had to have a drink to calm down a bit.  My legs were shaking so badly . . . being the center of attention makes me very nervous.  Having to speak in front of a group is a form of torture.  But I made sure that the vows I wrote were short and sweet.


All in all, it was a very special day, one of the most beautiful days of my life.  It was really awesome to see those friends and family I hadn't seen in a while . . . and the most awesome is being The Captain's wife!

Sensational news and hurricanes

Bless their hearts, they can't help it . . . the news people at The Weather Channel have been salivating over  Hurricane Irene . . . they can't hide that gleam in their eyes.  It is what they are all about . . . they live for bad weather!  The Captain and I found their elation amusing the other day as I left it on the channel to monitor the storm since I was so worried it would cancel our wedding plans.


Really, this is a serious storm!  I've been through many hurricanes and tropical storms and have had to endure DAYS without power . . . if you are in the path of this storm, please be prepared.  Don't stay home if you are advised to evacuate!


Back to the Weather Channel . . . this morning Al Roker and his sidekick are reporting from the beach IN THE DARK.  I didn't catch exactly where they are reporting from, but I'm assuming somewhere on the coast of North Carolina.  Why not the Bahamas where the storm is relentless at the moment?  Perhaps it was already too dangerous to travel to that area.  


On a serious note, I'm really concerned for the Bahamas and hope the residents had somewhere else to go.  My prayers have been with them . . .


All this brings back memories of Dan Rather (many many years ago) clinging to a pole as a hurricane literally swept him off his feet . . . anything for a sensational story.  I'm wondering if he ever did that again . . . can't remember!


The countdown is on for our wedding and the jitters have gotten the best of me!  In a few days I'll be a wife again :)  I'm so happy!!


Peace, love and happiness to all . . . if you are in the path of the storm, please take care!

NEW BLOG POSTS . . .


Gina's Italian Kitchen


Buttery Pastry Dough


Black Bean Hummus


Garlic and Sun Dried Tomato Hummus


Falafel Sandwich


Ham and Cheese Spirals


Spaghetti with Roasted Tomatoes


Apple Walnut Sticky Buns


Crispy Cornmeal Shrimp




Peace Love Happiness


Intentions Without Energy


Indescribable Joy


The Journey Within




LaBelladiva


Recycled Newspaper Coasters


Man Shirt Messenger Bag


Beachy Shell Frame




Fabulous Frugalista


Free Mr. Food EBook


Free Quilt Patterns




Gina's Music Memories


Michael Jackson ~ Behind The Mask


Love Songs From The 80's Movies


One ~ The Bee Gees




Subtropical Gardening


Nature's Miracle ~ Composting

A wedding and a hurricane lurking

Isn't that special?  Although it is still a tropical storm at the moment, the impending Hurricane Irene is lurking around the corner, waiting around for just the right time to ruin our wedding.


Prayer warriors are badly needed . . . the storm just has to go somewhere else like way off into the Atlantic Ocean or the Caribbean mountains have to tear it up to nothing!


One thing I really hate is being the center of attention . . . it makes me so nervous.  The wedding jitters have gotten to me very badly and I've been sick for the past week or so.  It gets better and then comes back.


Maybe this is a sign that we should just run off and make it legal . . . we already have the marriage license.