{shades of pink}

Gardening

   I'm the very first to admit that I know nothing about successful gardening, but I'm giving it my best try this year for sure! Last fall I planted tulips in my whiskey barrels, and sadly, only 2 plants came up out of all three barrels! Very depressing. So yesterday, I dug up all of the  rotten bulbs and planted some annuals. I don't k now much about annuals, so I just picked a wide variety and planted them at random. I figure something will survive and if I'm lucky, I'll get an idea of what I'd like to do next year. I think all told I had close to 100 individual flowers that I divided between 3 whiskey barrels and 5 pots. I know that's probably way too many, but oh well, we'll see what happens!

I'm also doing a garden in pots that I have mostly completed. I couldn't decide on a spot for a vegetable garden this year, so I thought I'd see if I could grow anything in pots before committing the time to a big garden. My past record at growing plants hasn't been so good.

Sad week

It is a very sad week in our household. We found out yesterday that our cat, Cleopatra, has kidney disease. She will only be 12 years old this summer, so she's still very young to have kidney disease. We were afraid it was diabetes, so we're very luck that's not the case. We have to change her diet to a prescription food that will help, but the vet has no real idea what was the cause. I have read that cats with kidney disease can still live many happy years, which I hope is the case, but I'm still sad. She's our only pet, so she's very special.

My new benches

I just had to post a quick picture of one of my two new benches. I have windows on two walls of my dining room and they were begging for benches with plants. Cody was a gem and made two matching benches for me. I finally got a couple more plants for this bench but the other is still pretty bare. Cleo has her pot of cat grass on it and likes to sit in that window so she's kind of claimed that as her own space. Now I just need to sew some runners or individual blocks to put under the pots.

Blue Man Global Warming

This is a great little video produced by the Blue Man Group about Global Warming. Pretty cool!

A New Hobby

I bought a sewing machine early in the fall but I haven't had much time to use it until recently. For Christmas, I made Cody an apron, I'm I'm pretty proud of my accomplishment. I made one for myself also, but I really like his. Since he's a fisherman, I saw this material and just had to use it. Doesn't he make a great model?!?

And this second picture isn't very good, but our cat has taken to hanging out in the kitchen with us on a regular basis. I'm not sure if she thinks she's helping or not, but she certainly seems to try! So this is Cody and Cleo working in the kitchen together.

Pass it on

My mother-in-law passed this on through an email to me, and I'll admit, I rarely (read: never) pass things on, this was struck a note, so I'm passing it on to anyone who happens upon my blog.


HOW TO STAY YOUNG, at any age!

1. Try everything twice. On Madam's (of Whelan's and Madam) tombstone she wanted this epitaph: Tried everything twice...loved it both times!
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning: ?Learn more about computers, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain get idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with that person.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with you your entire life is you. Lost time can never be found. LIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, or a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them at every opportunity. I love you, my special friend.
11. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second time. 
12. Be kinder than necessary, for ever yone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

And if you don't send this to at least 4 people - who cares? But do share this with someone.

More Painting

Well, I am officially done painting for a while. I've only done 2 rooms, but this second one took about three times longer than I anticipated, so I am going to hold off on the last room that really needs to be done. I decided that I wanted to try to paint stripes, which, unless you have a real burning desire to do so, I wouldn't recommend. I love how it turned out, but I'm not certain it was quite worth all of the work involved. Now all I have to do is finish the window treatments! Thanks for looking!!

Reflections on a good life

I apologize...I still haven't done any stamping, although I should have a little time this weekend, so I should have something good to post soon. But today, I'd like to take a moment to reflect on how the past year has been such a dramatic change in our lives, all for the better.

We lived in Texas for six years and it was never home. We were fairly unhappy there, even though we were comfortable. Life just wasn't what we wanted it to be. We moved back to Wisconsin just over a year ago and it's just amazing the difference a year can make. We both have jobs we love, we just bought and moved into the house that we've been dreaming about (at least pretty close), we're close to family  and are more involved in activities than we've ever been.

Essentially, one could argue that live is mostly the same everywhere. You have a home, you have a job, you have some hobbies or activities to fill your free time and of course, you never have enough free time. And I would say yes that's basically true, but location is very important. We just weren't happy in Texas and we are very happy in Wisconsin, although Cody would have been more happy had the fish been biting at all this summer!

Anyway, that's where we're at...just very happy and life is good. Hopefully it will stay that way. The reason I am writing this post is because as I was mowing our big lawn last night, I realized some of the little things that makes my life happier now:

• Mowing the lawn in my bikini top, singing at the top of my lungs and no one cares
• Everyone who drives by our house waves
• I stopped by a local produce farm to buy some pumpkins for my front porch and it was on your honor...there was a cash box with not a small sum of money in it and in the ten minutes I was there picking out my pumpkins, no one came out...trust...I had forgotten that it still exists
• My 30 minute commute to work is because I live about 25 miles away, not because I'm stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic

And, just to share...I LOVE my new dual fuel stove!!! It is awesome. I'm still learning the delicacies of cooking with flame, but I couldn't be happier. And, it's the easiest stovetop I've ever cleaned...the grates on top just lift out (and can go in the dishwasher) so you can wipe underneath to keep it really clean.

I think my favorite part though is the cast iron grill/griddle that came with it. It covers the entire left side of the stove top, so you need to use both burners on the left side to heat it up. I grilled some large shrimp on it last night and they were so easy and quick. We love to grill outside, but this is a very nice feature for when it is windy or cold.

That's all I've got for today. I just really marvel at how appreciative I am for the life that Cody and I have together and how fortunate we are to have each other and all that we have. I hope everyone who reads this is as lucky.

Wisconsin State Fair

We went to the Wisconsin State Fair this past weekend, and this is a picture of me tasting heaven! It is a Wisconsin Cream Puff and it was stellar! Extremely messy and totally yummy!

This was just one of the many delectable delights we ate on Saturday...I think I gained about 5 pounds, but it was worth it.

This is another picture of me with the giant, sarcastic robot that was walking around. He was really cool, and very sassy! Just a great day.

Tag

I was tagged by my friend Michelle last week! Here are my one word answers.

Yourself: Quirky
Your Partner: Talented
Your Hair: Curly
Your Mother: Thoughtful
Your Father: Himself
Your Favorite Item: Ipod
Your Dream Last Night: Unmemorable
Your Favorite Drink: Water
Your Dream Car: Mercedes
Your Dream Home: Ownded
The Room You Are In: Office
Your Fear: Drowning
Where You Want To Be In Ten Years: Happy
Who You Hung Out With Last Night: Cody
You're Not: Bored
One of Your Wish List Items: House
The Last Thing You Did: Ate
You Are Wearing: Capris
Your Favorite Weather: Fall
Your Favorite Book: Illusions
Last Thing You Ate: Butterfinger
Your Life: Complete
Your Mood: Happy
Your Best Friend: Cody
What Are You Thinking About Right Now: Stamping
Your Car: Maxima
What Are You Doing At The Moment: Typing
Relationship Status: Married
What Is On Your TV: Movies
What Is The Weather Like: Rainy
When Is The Last Time You Laughed: Today

Since these are only one word answers, one of the questions made me really stop and think...Where you want to be in ten years...Now, my initial two answers are Happy and Healthy, but since I had to chose one, I guess I'd rather be happy. It's an interesting question though...would you rather be happy or healthy?? What do you think?