Did I Say Happy Birthday?

Jimmy Buffett's birthday was on Thursday. To honor this occasion I decided to make something special.

I thought to myself, what on earth do you make for Jimmy's birthday? Then, like a song, it hit me--
OF COURSE! I'll play for gumbo!

Well, you played it, so I made it!
Introducing
Aimee's
Fall in Love at First Bite
GUMBO


I have never made gumbo like this before and it is SO deliciously addicting!
You will need: (roughly, measurements should vary depending on how you like it)
1-2 lbs Chicken & seasoned cooked and chopped
1lb Chicken sausage, spicy would be good
1 lb Large shrimp cooked chopped
1 Large Spanish onion chopped
1 Large bunch of celery chopped
1 Large red bell pepper chopped
1-2 Large green bell peppers chopped
4-7 Cloves of garlic
8-10 Cups chicken broth
1 28oz Can stewed tomatoes
2 Limes
16oz Bag of frozen okra thawed and chopped
1 Cup uncooked long grain rice
Red pepper flakes ( Be careful they are spicy)
and Louisiana Cajun Seasoning ( I went Crazy with this stuff it is so good, spicy, but good!)

Step one: Cook the chicken, sausage, and shrimp all separately. I used tons of the Louisiana Seasoning and garlic with each. Use the juice from the limes to cook the shrimp.

Step two: Saute onions, bell peppers and celery and remaining garlic until soft.
Then add tomatoes, chicken, sausage, okra and broth and simmer for and hour. Then add rice and simmer for 45 minutes or until rice is cooked.

Step three: Add cooked and chopped shrimp continue cooking, 20 minutes or longer if you want on low.

Step four: Eat and enjoy!

You have to top off Gumbo with something sweet
especially when there is a birthday involved.
Inspired by one of my son's favorite songs, I made,

What else?
A Gingerbread Jolly Mon!
I completed him with his own Hawaiian shirt, cut offs and of course flip flops! But something was still missing.....


Then I thought what goes better with a Gingerbread Jolly Mon then a
Gingerbread Hula Girl at Heart Girlfriend!
Complete with grass skirt, bare feet, puka shell necklace, and of course a flower in her hair.


It was perfect, except.....


They needed an island with palm trees, the clear blue sea, and the stars above in the sky!
and they lived happily ever after!


Also just in case you are not into molasses I got you a
black and white cookie!
And a Birthday Wish!

I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Buffett!
Enjoy your Birthday Wish!

Happy Birthday Mr. Buffett!

Today is
Jimmy Buffett's Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday Jimmy Buffet we Love to hear you-
Sing!
Happy Birthday!

A Christmas Story

Christmas Eve we ordered sushi from Mikado in Middletown.



It was great, I love their sushi. ;)


This year for the first time my son realized the importance of leaving milk and cookies out for Santa.



Santa must have liked the cookies because when Sawyer woke up at 5:00am he found this waiting for him.


Yep the bat mobile, which went perfect with the Batman costume his mom got him! Santa must have been watchin!
FELIZ NAVIDAD!! and MERRY CHRISTMAS to you!

Hello, and Happy Hanukkah!

to honor of the Festival of Lights my son made a menorah!


HAPPY HANUKKAH!

A Sign for all Seasons

I am into signs,
I find them useful and I am always on the lookout for good signs.

The day after Thanksgiving I spotted this sign,

What a nice sign! Even if your having a great day, you never know when you'll need a sign like this, so I thought I should share it!
Now you can see it whenever you need to!

A little later I came across this one, slightly messy, but when is love not?



The other day my tea tag was full of good advice.


I can't tell you how many times I have needed to see this sign!


And this morning I found the secret to happiness.


Have a great day!

Happy Thursday!

I got the flu last week, I didn't even get the flu shot, go figure.

Anyway, I bought some flowers to make myself feel better, and it worked. Not only did I feel better, they made me happy!


Of course, I picked the orange flowers. They were so pretty I thought why not share?
So here are some flowers for you!
Sorry you can't smell them, but a picture lasts longer!


Happy Thursday To You!

My Son The Super Hero!

I thought I would share my family's Halloween experience.
This year I asked my son what he wanted to be for Halloween and not surprisingly he answered “Spiderman.” I thought to myself – Why did I even ask? I should know that. Suddenly it hit me, we have passed the point, where as a parent I can pick out his Halloween costume.

This realization made me kind of sad. In the past I have really enjoyed picking out his costumes.

His first year
he was a lobster


followed by a monkey


and last year, true to my Parrothead roots, I chose the Shark Costume.


The shark was my favorite.


However this was another milestone in the world of Sawyer Bean,
Picking out his own costume.
Spiderman.


He made a terrific Spiderman, it's almost as if he was born to be Spiderman.


It could just be me, but I swear he got faster with that costume on. It was like, as soon as he put it on he didn't stop running.




I also learned something new this year, just in case someone else might find it useful I'll share.
When you get your child's costume, if you are planning on having them wear "warm clothes" underneath, BE SURE to have them try it on with clothes underneath it the first time! Unless they are planning to wear a coat over their costume, in that case, good luck with that.

I did not do this,
instead we let him try on his costume and run around the house for hours. When it was time to put the costume on for Halloween it took me an hour to convince him that he needed to wear clothes underneath it. He insisted that Spiderman doesn't do it that way, and I insisted that Spiderman's mom said that he does! Eventually after MUCH convincing he put the costume over his clothes and had a very Happy Halloween. Overall we had a really great Halloween, I hope you did too!

The Perfect Pumpkin

A few weeks ago we went to Rosa's Berry Farm to pick out a pumpkin for Halloween. I know Halloween is over, but it was such a memorable experience I thought, why not share.

At first I thought a pumpkin,


is a pumpkin



is a pumpkin. Right?



WRONG!
Rosa's Berry Farm had just about every pumpkin that exists.

Green ones,


white ones,



and of course, orange ones.


Orange ones.


and MORE orange ones.


Orange is the color of happiness! So of course we were leaning towards the orange.

Just when we thought we had seen them all, we went to the pumpkin patch,


and found MORE! Imagine picking one.



I knew we would find it eventually, the perfect pumpkin.



The pumpkin that would brightly shine among all the rest.


We explored our options carefully.


Leaving no pumpkin unturned!



Then we found it! The Perfect Pumpkin!
The choice was clear, this was THE pumpkin.

It was more red-orange than orange orange, and kind of shaped like a heart.
Just looking at it made us happy!
We knew at once this was the PERFECT pumpkin for us, so we picked it!;)

Hope you found the perfect pumpkin too!

OOOwwww SCARY!!!!

Back in Boston, we had the pleasure of walking through some of the oldest graveyards Beantown had to offer. While in one graveyard I noticed this tree looking at me.

Do you see the face in the tree?

BOO!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Politics Got You Down?

Does this Election have you,
Freaking Out?


Pulling out your hair?



Ready for it to be over?


Don't worry it's ALMOST over!

until then,

it's only politics :)

The Bean turns 3

Today my bean turned three.


It is so hard to believe I have only known him three years. It seems like just yesterday when he was "My Little Being."



In the three short years we have been together
this child has taught me SO much.

For instance:
Sleep is HIGHLY underrated!



PATIENCE IS A SKILL, not a virtue, a skill.



Becoming his mother has taught me, when faced with a big challenge,


I should never underestimate my power to overcome it.


If I am feeling overwhelmed it's OK to ask for help.



That true happiness can be found in the simple things


like the right pair of boots!


He reminds me that change brings good things,


it can be exciting! And it helps us grow.


Then he proves to me that new experiences are not scary chances to fail,


But amazing opportunities to experience life.


He notices


and respects everything on his path.


It usually takes us five times longer to get anywhere,


than it did before he came along.


But when he looks out at the world,


he takes his time and truly sees it.


Unless of course, he's running.



He sees everyone and everything with clear eyes


an open mind



and an open heart, and he truly lives every moment.


He has challenged me to grow further and love deeper then I ever imagined was possible and as I watch him grow and experience life, it is so clear to me that



And it only took him three years to teach me all of that!


What can I say he is AMAZING!

Happy Birthday Bean!