I like big cats and I cannot lie...
Cat-FISH, that is.
So I had an awesome Easter weekend. The library was closed for Good Friday, so, hello three day weekend! I slept in Friday morning, cooked a nice omelet for breakfast, took my time drinking a nice big hot cup of coffee and snuggled that fluffy devilish pup of mine. It was so nice. Sis1 rolled into town around 10 and she, Mama and I spent the day together window shopping and hanging out. We ate bbq at Sis1's favorite place and got frappacino's at Starbucks and went into every little boutique on Main Street. We went antiquing and I spent my birthday money on a set of vintage glass bowls and fell in love with a coffee table that had an antique trunk lid for the top. I walked away from it though, because, hello...$50, but it hurt to leave it at the store. Like, physically hurt. But, you know, responsibilities and all that.
Off topic: I'm currently in the midst of putting up every penny I can in hopes of saving enough money for a new roof next year. Actually, that's not true. I'm putting up every $5 bill I come across. ;-) It's a savings system I read about that helps save money in an "easy" way...Every $5 bill that I receive in change when I purchase something gets put aside as though I'd spent it, too. I haven't counted it recently (the article said not to count it at all, but I've never been good at following directions) but it's gathering up rather nicely. The only hard part is that it seems that now that I'm putting up all the $5 bills, everytime I break a $20, all my change comes back in $5 bills! I'm like, do they not MAKE $10's anymore? lol So I often end up with much less money in my pocket than I sometimes need. Because, you know, I pay for all my groceries with cash, and I budget a certain amount of money for eating out each month and I use cash for that.
Anyway, I've also put aside my tax refund and I take a certain amount out of every paycheck to put in savings. I'm considering disconnecting DirecTV and going completely over air antenna for TV...after the Pretty Little Liars series finale in June. haha Plus, I'm praying over my roof every day to stay intact until I can get the money together and praying that God brings all the money together.
Back to topic: So yeah, I had a great time Friday with Mama and Sis1. I was actually in a sociable, happy mood and so were they and it was really nice. I don't get to spend that much time with Sis1 anymore because she can't afford to come home as often as she used to. Plus, she's taken on a part-time job in her church's daycare that keeps her in T-town more often. In fact, she gotten written up for taking off Sunday for Easter which, to me, is completely crazy. But either way, it was fun to just hang out and waste time looking at expensive stuff we can only wish we could afford.
Friday night BIL and Emmy finally showed up. Emmy had her first softball practice Friday afternoon so she and her dad came later. And bless him, BIL bought steaks for supper and Daddy grilled them and they. were. delicious. I haven't had a good steak in a looooooooong time so it was completely savored and appreciated.
I was so exhausted by the time I got home that night that Libs and I just fell into bed and zonked out. We had to be up early Saturday morning, though, because Sis2's family joined us and we went fishing bright and early. Now, if you've been reading for a while, you may or may not recall the last couple of times I caught a fish. It's been a long while, though. Like, I don't think I've caught one since Efan's been alive. I'll have to check my archives, but, I think I'm right on this. Or heck, I may not have even been blogging yet, it's been so long. I know Emmy was a young'un and she ain't been a young'un for a long while now. (17 going on 30)
I honestly can't even remember when was the last time I actually caught a fish. Anyway, guess who caught the biggest fishes of the day, and say fishES because I caught TWO big catfish! >insert happy dance<
The really funny part of the whole "catching the biggest catfish" thing was that I wasn't even really trying all that hard to catch anything. You know, after YEARS of not catching a fish, my spirit for fishing had just kind of gone all "meh" on me. I was mostly there just to hang out and chat with my sisters and watch the kids fish. Daddy had bated my hook and cast it out for me and I just plopped down in the chair, set the rod on the armrest of my chair and ignored it while I was chatting with Sis2. I don't even remember what we were talking about but all of a sudden my rod started sliding off my chair. I just thought it was just slipping because I wasn't holding it. It took me a second or five to realize that it was slipping because something was on the other end of the line pulling it.
Not having reeled in a fish in so long, I was a little rusty at it so it took me bit to get a good handle on it. Plus, catfish are badasses who fight. But I did finally get it in and we all marveled my good luck and had a good laugh about it.
But then...
So, after we got that one stowed away in the basket to keep, Daddy re-baited my hook, cast it out for me again (I can actually cast my own line but Daddy says I do it wrong so he does it before I get a chance to) and I plopped back down in my chair and was watching the video Mama had made of me reeling in my fish. Again, I wasn't holding on to my rod or paying my cork any attention. I was in the middle of groaning at the fact that the video had a good shot of my shorts stuck in my crack when I stood to battle with my fish when, once again, my rod started slipping. This time I looked strait out to where I'd last seen my cork and it was gone. I thrust Mama's phone back at her and it took her a second to realize what was happening cause had to yell, "Take your phone, I got another one!"
This second one was significantly larger and put up a bit more of a fight than the first one and was so darned heavy, I could only get it to the edge of the water. Emmy and Daddy had to go finish pulling it out of the water and up the bank. In reality it probably only weighed about eight pounds but while it was fighting, it felt like twenty!
Again, we all had a good laugh about it. In fact, we laughed about it all weekend. During any lull in conversation someone would inevitably start talking about my successful method of non-fishing to catch catfish and how hilarious it was to watch me wrestle those things in.
After the second catch, though, I was done. Worn slap out. Honestly, I wanted to try for a third but decided to just call two a win because I didn't want to be disappointed if I didn't catch a third. Plus, I don't know for sure if mine or Daddy's hearts could withstand any more of the excitement. Because y'all...I don't think he could have been any more excited if he'd caught them himself! Plus, he was the one helping me unhook them and stuff. Because I don't unhook fish...especially catfish. Did you know that catfish, much like actual cats, often bite?
Once we packed up the fishing gear, we headed back to the folks' house for lunch and general lazy chatting and playing. We played with the dogs and the kids dyed eggs and we just hung out. After Sis2's family went home around 3 and BIL left for his mom's house three hours away, Daddy lit up the fire pit and we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for supper and sat outside swatting bugs and recounting how much fun we'd had that day.
Libby and I were both exhausted by the time we got home. She's so funny in the sense that she is just as much an introvert as I am. We love spending time with our family and hanging out but it absolutely wears us both out mentally and emotionally because I'm not going to lie...before we passed out, we were both really cranky with each other. She wanted to sleep with me and I wanted to sleep alone and she snarled and snapped at me when I tried to get her off my bed and I yelled at her for snapping at me and it was just not pretty. We had to take a breather from each other for a bit and then snuggled on the couch for a minute before she was finally okay going off to her own bed by herself so that I could go to my bed by myself. Anyone else ever gotten into an argument like that with your pet? Or are Libby and I weird? Never mind. Don't answer that.
I was really thankful Sunday morning that Sis1 had decided to stay at the folks' house Saturday night because I was able to leisurely get up, cook breakfast and then make the pie and deviled eggs I was taking for Easter lunch at Granny's that day. I love Sis1 to death but it's so hard to cook at the pace I like when she's hanging out in the kitchen with me asking questions and telling me how she does things. Left on my own I was able to get it all done without stressing with time left to snuggle with Libs before I had to get ready for church.
Don't you just love how Emmy is a couple of inches taller than me now? Ack! Where did my baby go? And Lyssa isn't far behind her. I need to put bricks on their heads to slow 'em down. I need them to be babies a little while longer!
Speaking of height, though, I don't consider myself all that tall. I'm around 5ft 5in or so but next to my shorty short sisters, I always feel like such a giant. Hence, the head touching. haha I really am so thankful to have my sisters, though. I mean, yes, they drive me crazy sometimes and I know I drive them crazy at times, too, but I wouldn't trade 'em for anything.
Emmy hid the eggs for the kids a couple of times before giving out so the two of them took turns hiding eggs for each other. I must admit, they are actually much better at hiding than the adults and teenager. I watched them as they hid and though it took them a minute to get their bearings they picked some really great "hide in plain sight" hiding places.
After all that fun over the weekend, I was thoroughly exhausted. Instead of going back to the folks' house with the rest of them, I went straight home after I left Granny's. I put my pj's on, cracked open a Seagram's Bahama Mama and me and Libs stretched out on the couch and alternated napping with watching Once Upon a Time. Perfect ending to a really almost perfect holiday weekend.
I hope all y'all had a great weekend, too!
So I had an awesome Easter weekend. The library was closed for Good Friday, so, hello three day weekend! I slept in Friday morning, cooked a nice omelet for breakfast, took my time drinking a nice big hot cup of coffee and snuggled that fluffy devilish pup of mine. It was so nice. Sis1 rolled into town around 10 and she, Mama and I spent the day together window shopping and hanging out. We ate bbq at Sis1's favorite place and got frappacino's at Starbucks and went into every little boutique on Main Street. We went antiquing and I spent my birthday money on a set of vintage glass bowls and fell in love with a coffee table that had an antique trunk lid for the top. I walked away from it though, because, hello...$50, but it hurt to leave it at the store. Like, physically hurt. But, you know, responsibilities and all that.
Off topic: I'm currently in the midst of putting up every penny I can in hopes of saving enough money for a new roof next year. Actually, that's not true. I'm putting up every $5 bill I come across. ;-) It's a savings system I read about that helps save money in an "easy" way...Every $5 bill that I receive in change when I purchase something gets put aside as though I'd spent it, too. I haven't counted it recently (the article said not to count it at all, but I've never been good at following directions) but it's gathering up rather nicely. The only hard part is that it seems that now that I'm putting up all the $5 bills, everytime I break a $20, all my change comes back in $5 bills! I'm like, do they not MAKE $10's anymore? lol So I often end up with much less money in my pocket than I sometimes need. Because, you know, I pay for all my groceries with cash, and I budget a certain amount of money for eating out each month and I use cash for that.
Anyway, I've also put aside my tax refund and I take a certain amount out of every paycheck to put in savings. I'm considering disconnecting DirecTV and going completely over air antenna for TV...after the Pretty Little Liars series finale in June. haha Plus, I'm praying over my roof every day to stay intact until I can get the money together and praying that God brings all the money together.
Back to topic: So yeah, I had a great time Friday with Mama and Sis1. I was actually in a sociable, happy mood and so were they and it was really nice. I don't get to spend that much time with Sis1 anymore because she can't afford to come home as often as she used to. Plus, she's taken on a part-time job in her church's daycare that keeps her in T-town more often. In fact, she gotten written up for taking off Sunday for Easter which, to me, is completely crazy. But either way, it was fun to just hang out and waste time looking at expensive stuff we can only wish we could afford.
Friday night BIL and Emmy finally showed up. Emmy had her first softball practice Friday afternoon so she and her dad came later. And bless him, BIL bought steaks for supper and Daddy grilled them and they. were. delicious. I haven't had a good steak in a looooooooong time so it was completely savored and appreciated.
I was so exhausted by the time I got home that night that Libs and I just fell into bed and zonked out. We had to be up early Saturday morning, though, because Sis2's family joined us and we went fishing bright and early. Now, if you've been reading for a while, you may or may not recall the last couple of times I caught a fish. It's been a long while, though. Like, I don't think I've caught one since Efan's been alive. I'll have to check my archives, but, I think I'm right on this. Or heck, I may not have even been blogging yet, it's been so long. I know Emmy was a young'un and she ain't been a young'un for a long while now. (17 going on 30)
I honestly can't even remember when was the last time I actually caught a fish. Anyway, guess who caught the biggest fishes of the day, and say fishES because I caught TWO big catfish! >insert happy dance<
 |
| The first one. Nice size and put up a fight, but not huge. |
The really funny part of the whole "catching the biggest catfish" thing was that I wasn't even really trying all that hard to catch anything. You know, after YEARS of not catching a fish, my spirit for fishing had just kind of gone all "meh" on me. I was mostly there just to hang out and chat with my sisters and watch the kids fish. Daddy had bated my hook and cast it out for me and I just plopped down in the chair, set the rod on the armrest of my chair and ignored it while I was chatting with Sis2. I don't even remember what we were talking about but all of a sudden my rod started sliding off my chair. I just thought it was just slipping because I wasn't holding it. It took me a second or five to realize that it was slipping because something was on the other end of the line pulling it.
Not having reeled in a fish in so long, I was a little rusty at it so it took me bit to get a good handle on it. Plus, catfish are badasses who fight. But I did finally get it in and we all marveled my good luck and had a good laugh about it.
But then...
So, after we got that one stowed away in the basket to keep, Daddy re-baited my hook, cast it out for me again (I can actually cast my own line but Daddy says I do it wrong so he does it before I get a chance to) and I plopped back down in my chair and was watching the video Mama had made of me reeling in my fish. Again, I wasn't holding on to my rod or paying my cork any attention. I was in the middle of groaning at the fact that the video had a good shot of my shorts stuck in my crack when I stood to battle with my fish when, once again, my rod started slipping. This time I looked strait out to where I'd last seen my cork and it was gone. I thrust Mama's phone back at her and it took her a second to realize what was happening cause had to yell, "Take your phone, I got another one!"
 |
| Second fish, nearly killed me and was a golly-whopper. |
Again, we all had a good laugh about it. In fact, we laughed about it all weekend. During any lull in conversation someone would inevitably start talking about my successful method of non-fishing to catch catfish and how hilarious it was to watch me wrestle those things in.
 |
| The second catfish. That thing was so dang heavy...and he fought like a pro wrestler! And also, I'm a wimp. With blindingly bright legs. haha |
Efan was quick to remind me, though, that he caught the MOST fish. I think he ended up catching around five. Most of them bream, I think. Although he did catch this little baby bass. haha Never fear, though. He tossed it back to it's mama.
Alyssa caught a couple of crappie and maybe a bream. She also caught some brush at the bottom of the pond and had to cut her line. Emmy ONLY caught brush at the bottom of the pond...twice...and twice had to cut her line. She was majorly disappointed. Poor thing. But it was still a lot of fun. Just one of those perfect mornings that you wish you could bottle up and go back to visit whenever you need a hit of happy.
Once we packed up the fishing gear, we headed back to the folks' house for lunch and general lazy chatting and playing. We played with the dogs and the kids dyed eggs and we just hung out. After Sis2's family went home around 3 and BIL left for his mom's house three hours away, Daddy lit up the fire pit and we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for supper and sat outside swatting bugs and recounting how much fun we'd had that day.
Libby and I were both exhausted by the time we got home. She's so funny in the sense that she is just as much an introvert as I am. We love spending time with our family and hanging out but it absolutely wears us both out mentally and emotionally because I'm not going to lie...before we passed out, we were both really cranky with each other. She wanted to sleep with me and I wanted to sleep alone and she snarled and snapped at me when I tried to get her off my bed and I yelled at her for snapping at me and it was just not pretty. We had to take a breather from each other for a bit and then snuggled on the couch for a minute before she was finally okay going off to her own bed by herself so that I could go to my bed by myself. Anyone else ever gotten into an argument like that with your pet? Or are Libby and I weird? Never mind. Don't answer that.
Don't you just love how Emmy is a couple of inches taller than me now? Ack! Where did my baby go? And Lyssa isn't far behind her. I need to put bricks on their heads to slow 'em down. I need them to be babies a little while longer!
Emmy hid the eggs for the kids a couple of times before giving out so the two of them took turns hiding eggs for each other. I must admit, they are actually much better at hiding than the adults and teenager. I watched them as they hid and though it took them a minute to get their bearings they picked some really great "hide in plain sight" hiding places.
After all that fun over the weekend, I was thoroughly exhausted. Instead of going back to the folks' house with the rest of them, I went straight home after I left Granny's. I put my pj's on, cracked open a Seagram's Bahama Mama and me and Libs stretched out on the couch and alternated napping with watching Once Upon a Time. Perfect ending to a really almost perfect holiday weekend.
I hope all y'all had a great weekend, too!
Comments