Embrace & Be Thankful.

I'm linking up to my 2 favorite participatory sites again today.

It makes me feel like I am super efficient.

Which I am not.

So it's a little boost in the right direction. :)

Celebrating Mother's Day

at this moment in my life was bittersweet.

Sweet because I have the coolest daughter

that I could ever ask for.

And because the best gift that anyone

could have ever given me was the gift of being a mom.

Bitter because I long to have a solid marriage and a big family.

{See here for more on that topic.}

Leave it to the Lord to surprise me though.

Coming in as my numero uno thing

to be thankful for this week and my Embracing of the Camera is:

1.) Time at Tibby's

There's this place that I had been wanting to try lately.

I ventured up to Aloma Ave. with The Bug in tow.

From the outside, Tibby's looked like a strip mall restaurant.

But, the sign said "New Orleans kitchen."

And I love Cajun food.

It kinda was like putting your quarter

in one of those little gumball machine deals

and hoping for a really cool prize

when you are way more likely to get a piece of junk.

When we walked in, we were greeted

with a giant crowd of people, live Cajun music,

and an incredible atmosphere.

It felt like we had been transported straight to the French Quarter.

What proceeded was a lovely time with my daughter,

food that was extraordinary and a much-needed chance

to rest and have fun for Momma. Yay God for surprises:

Shrimp & Grits.

Can you say beignet?

One cannot stay clean when tearing in to a beignet.

My little turdbird will rarely smile for the camera these days,

unless there is some sort of bribing or trickery involved.

This was purely an accident.

She was watching the band and having a ball.

So I seized the moment.

This drink right here will make you grow hair on your chest, folks.

The "Hurri-up-and-get-drunk-cane"

It was free for all of the Mommy's.

But impossible to drink.

Unless I wanted to end up dancing on tables

and driving home intoxicated with my 2 year old.

And so, I diluted it with a shirley temple.

And drank about 1/10th of it.

And had a buzz.

But don't worry because after we danced

and sang for a while and cleaned our plates,

it had worn off. :)

Back to what I'm thankful for:

2.) In the circles that I run {and blogstalk} in,

this book is all the rage:

Which made me want to avoid it at first.

And then I got curious.

My friend Amy invited me to participate

in a low-key book club where we would meet a few times

with no agenda but to discuss the book

and have a little she time.

So far, the book basically lines up

with exactly where I am in my life.

With why I started this

be-completely-honest-about-where-I-am blog.

Ann calls it "a dare" to live "an emptier, fuller life."

I'll take that dare Ann and raise you 100.

There you have it.

My reasons for the twinkle in my eye this week.

Isn't she pretty? :)

You can embrace too:

And be thankful: