It started with some issues in our extended family that were very trying. We're still working through them, but learning so much! We are learning more about one another, how each of us deal with hardships and trials, and how when the going gets tough, the love we have for one another makes us a pretty tightly knit group. I'm happy we're in this together!
Because we had so much going on back in Louisiana, (we were still in Houston for Damion's work for the first few weeks of March), we traveled home a couple different times. On our first trip, we celebrated the start of crawfish season by taking my guy to get some! They were still a little expensive since it was the first part of the season, but definitely worth seeing his great smile. The restaurant we went to has become a favorite of mine for seafood. They have the MOST AMAZING stuffed shrimp. It's on a list of "Must Do's" whenever we get to have some family and friends come visit us.. which I hope will happen sometime! HINT HINT! :o) I already have it planned out in my head. We'll go to Steamboat Bill's for yummy food before the sun sets, then head over across the highway to the park by the lake and sit by the water to watch the sun go down. Ahhh! Don't you want to come visit us?!
The next couple of weeks had us back and forth to Louisiana, but when we were at the apartment in Texas, we were packing! The job site was finishing up, so we were going to be headed back home. Yay! We enjoyed the Houston apartment, for sure! But there's just something about getting back into your own home. Especially since this job has had us traveling for so many months! Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Baltimore, New York City... and now we're back home. :o)
My friend Kate and I hosted an online class for some friends interested in learning the "101 Basics" of essential oils. That was fun for me! I really liked the format of teaching like that. We spent a lot more time in the class than we meant to, though! The conversations were flowing and questions were being asked, so we just kept rolling along. It was fun to have a couple of give-aways, too!
The weekend we were set to move out was the same weekend my Aunt was scheduled to come down to Louisiana. My cousin lives down here with her husband, so I left super early that Friday morning and headed east! I spent a couple of days with them at my cousin's apartment. I enjoyed our time so much! So nice to sit and chat with people you've known your whole life, you know? And super fun to spend time with my cousin who is pregnant with her first baby! I loved seeing her sweet tummy! They have some pretty fun little dogs, too!
Beautiful Girl!
Cutie Pup!
One thing my Aunt had in tow was the top of our wedding cake! She was the baker for our wedding last April, and she so graciously kept the top part safe and frozen at her house this whole last year! Funny enough, I said something to Damion about having our wedding cake on our first anniversary (before we were even engaged!), and the look on his face was priceless. He had never heard of it! First, I think he honestly thought it would just be a part of cake that we held onto in our kitchen somehow for a whole year, then stomached a bite together. Hilarious. Especially since he's not really a "cake guy." When I explained that you keep it frozen and thaw it in time for your anniversary, he still wasn't very enthused. I, however, AM a "cake girl," so I needed this to be a thing! My Aunt iced up a tub and kept things really nice for us for her drive down from North Carolina. However, the day I was there with them, we didn't do much to keep the cake frozen, so by the time I made it back to our house to be back with Damion, the cake was thawed and ready. I was afraid that if I tried to re-freeze it for our anniversary (now just two weeks away at this point), that it wouldn't be as tasty. Plus, I mean.. the cake was ready, you know? It needed to be eaten. And, I'm a giver, you see. A Cake Girl Giver. :o)
I took some photos and we sliced in. He was a trooper and even obliged my need to have us feed a bite to each other. It was delicious, of course. I was even amazed at how fresh it still tasted. And Mr. Non-Cake Guy decided that he would like a whole piece after all. Training him right, I say! We (read: me for the most part) munched on it periodically the whole next week, but I got to share some with my Mother-in-law and Brother-in-law since they didn't have any at our actual wedding. They both liked it, too! I knew these were my people.
Delicious!
We ended the month with a little day trip out of the house. Damion has been wanting to take me down to the Gulf ever since we got here last year. We just never made time for it, and now I'm sad about that. I think I would have loved going there all the time last year! But, it's okay... now we can this year! It's literally the straightest road ever right down to the Gulf. So flat and pretty! And you're at the coast in about 30 minutes or so. It's much smaller than any beach town you can imagine. Almost NOT a beach town. We rode along looking for alligators off the sides of the road (and found two!), and then drove along the beach. The actual sand! That was nice. And it was such a pretty day! Windows down, rolling along the beach for a ride... super great day! On our way home, we rode a ferry across the channel, and drove up through Lake Charles, making a big loop to get back home. We stopped at Darrell's so I could have my first taste of a Darrell's Special. Pretty delicious! (Next time, I'll have them hold the jalapeños. ;o)) And yes, I'll take you there when you visit us!
Gator 1 - he got shy just as I was taking the pic
Gator 2 - this one was about 6 feet long
