Put Your Hands In the Air

 

 

No big plans for the three day weekend,

just lots of relaxing.

I am all for that.

 

Todd is going to attempt to make some outdoor furniture,

so I'll be sure to keep you updated on that.

Me - I'm going to sleep, shop, sleep, eat, workout.

We're thinking about doing bbq,

and who knows, if Todd finishes a

piece of the furniture, maybe I'll have

some cool new chair to sit in.

 

Have a great extended weekend.

 

~Cheers~

Working Out

I've started trying to work out again

since my foot doesn't feel like it's going to fall off now.

I found this shirt and felt like it would be

a great uniform for meto wear.

 

You know...to motivate me!

(hehehe)

 

Via

 

So what do you think?

Pond, Garden & Zucchini Bread

Todd's dad invited us over to his house to come

and raid his vegetable garden.

We jumped on the invitation!

I love it at Dennis' house.

It's so peaceful.

 

His house sits on a hill right in the middle of 20 acres.

Heaven!

 

Dennis had purchased a few things for his pond,

so of course we had to go check it out.

 

Dennis purchased the swing on sale for half price, score!

It overlooks one of his beautiful ponds.

The ponds have several large and beautiful koi.

After we toured some of his latest projects,

it was time to get some vegetables

(some for us and some for our birds).

 

We ended up with a 5 gallon bucket filled

with vegetables for our birds,

and a bucket full for us.

 

On top of the vegetables, Dennis purchased dinner for us.

Such a generous person.

 

I also have to give a shout out to Anne who

baked zucchini bread with zucchini from

Dennis' garden.

 

We're so spoiled!

 

 

 

Peanut Butter Cookie Happiness

I had been craving peanut butter cookies for about two weeks,

so I broke down this weekend and made some.

It's been a long time since I made them

 because they are like crack to me.

I can't say no!

So I put it off as long as I could,

but my will shattered and I had to bake them.

They turned out pretty well,

but if you like thicker cookies then you probably

 want to search for a different recipe.

Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

Via

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup crunchy peanut putter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda.

Cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars.  Beat in eggs.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, 

and salt.  Stir into batter.  Put batter in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Roll into 1 inch balls and put on baking sheets.  Flatten each ball with a fork, 

making a criss-cross pattern.  Bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 

about 10 minutes or until cookies begin to brown

(I only had to bake mine for 8 minutes, so adjust for your oven).

And because there wasn't enough sugar in them already

cough, cough

I added a little more on top of them.

So do you have a peanut butter cookie recipe that 

you would like to share?

OR

Do these look just fine?

Another Weekend

We made it to another weekend.

Hooray for that!

I will be working on my big in service,

that I do every year,

 at a coworkers house this weekend.

Nothing makes me happier than

 having to work on the weekend.

Akkkk!

Spoiled - maybe.

At least I really like my coworker and we do 

great projects together.

That makes life a little more bearable.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Talk to you next week.

~Cheers~

Pretty Plant

I had to share my plant that Todd bought for me from Eisleys

(our local nursery).

We actually got two of them, but one is doing much better than the other.

We got it the same time we got our veggies for the garden,

so they are about three months old.

I forgot their names, but I'm sure somebody 

out there knows what they are.

Aren't the colors lovely!

I love all the different colors...so pretty.

They have also bloomed.

A close up.

Here are both of the plants the one that is doing well,

and the one that is doing so so behind it.

I just love pretty things, and this is no exception.

Blurred Lines

Okay, I know this song is overplayed.

But man, I gotta tell you.

I dig this song.

BEWARE:

If you are going to watch this,

it's not the edited version,

so it's totally inappropriate.

Don't care though...

I still dig it.

Doesn't it make you want to get up and dance?

No, well then I guess you don't have any taste.

Mmmmmm Peaches

When I was driving home from work last week

I happened to look to the right while I was 

heading up our driveway.

I caught a glimpse of something, and I couldn't 

believe my eyes.

I actually slammed on my breaks!

What stirred such a reaction?

Peaches.

My mom and dad ate some peaches that they

thought tasted spectacular, so they saved the pits,

put them in some soil and nurtured them into little trees.

Because my parents aren't always home, 

we inherited these trees that they grew from scratch.

Todd planted about four peach trees 

probably 5 years ago.

Four of them our in our center turn around area,

and one of them is off to the right of our driveway.

The trees in our center area, well let's just say

they're a little pitiful.

So pitiful in fact that they have been given up on.

Yes that is oak tree branch leaning on the mini peach tree/bush/shrub.

Not very impressive foliage.

That is why when I saw peaches growing,

I was in complete and utter shock.

Big peach tree with no peaches.

We picked them all.

It's pretty tall.

I would say 8-10'

I think we're cursed.

Things we want to grow die, and things 

we don't care about or give up on thrive.

Hmmmm, weird.

Maybe we just love them to death?

Anywho, what did I do with the peaches?

I told Todd about them.

He picked them.

 I cut them up,

 added a little tiny bit of sugar,

and of course put them on top of my ice cream.

Duh - who doesn't do that?

Quadruple F

It's going to be a semi busy weekend.

I have to get chores caught up that I didn't

do last week because I felt like death.

 

Then, off to house sit and take the car in for a diagnostic.

Nothing but fun and games for this girl!

 

Have an outstanding weekend.

Talk at you Monday.

Bite Me - I Dare You

There are very few things I find more annoying than mosquitoes.

That's why I've made it a goal to research ways to repel

them naturally.  What I found surprised me.

I actually had several plants that experts suggest planting

to help ward off the little pests.

Originally I was on the hunt for lemongrass.

I searched for a good 3 month and wasn't able to get my hands on any.

So that's when I headed to the Internet to get some other options.

Here are 5 plants that repel mosquitoes:

1.  Marigolds -
You can find these little beauties in flower beds or planters during the summer months.  Some gardeners use them to deter other insects, besides mosquitoes, because they have a smell that unbearable to some insects.  All you need to do is plant the flowers in planters, just like you would any other time and then place them where you would like to prevent insect pests.

Via

2.  Catnip -
We all know that cats love this plant, but Catnip is also known to be a medicinal herb.  A lesser known trait this plant has is the ability to repel mosquitoes.  The oil in the leaves has been proven to be stronger than DEET.  All you need to do is plant Catnip around your patio and you will help repel the mosquitoes, but possibly gain some furry little cat friends.

Via

3.  Basil -
There are several different varieties of Basil, but the ones recommended to repel mosquitoes is either lemon or cinnamon Basil.  All you need to do is take a couple leaves and rub them on the exposed areas to keep the little buggers from bothering you.

Via

4.  Lavender -
Apparently many bugs don't like the smell of lavender.  I don't get it because it smells heavenly to me, but moving on - all you need to do is plant lavender near where you will be sitting.  Also, you can make natural insect repellent with it.

Via

 5.  Lemongrass - 
Although I couldn't find it, Lemongrass is the number one recommendation for repelling mosquitoes. 
Before activities, you brush the grass with your hand, and it releases more fragrance further repelling the pesky bugs.

Via

Some other helpful tips that I picked up from Gardening and More :

• Fix all drippy faucets, mosquitoes like to lay eggs in stagnant water.
• Drain birdbaths at least once a week.
• Drain your plant saucers at least once a week.
• Fire up the barbeque - mosquitoes don't like smoke.

Info I gathered is from eartheasy.com and canadiangardening.com .

Free Ride

 

Okay, first things first, you have to play this song

while reading my blog.

They just go together.

It was the first song that popped in my head when

I decided to write this blog.

 

 

While Aust and Lexx were back this weekend,

Aust ended up picking up a new car.

It's actually a used car, but new to him.

The car he had been driving around finally blew up,

and he has been carless for about 2-3 weeks.

 

His best friends parents just happened to be

getting rid of one of their Subaru's and asked

Austin if he wanted it. 

Austin's reply, YA!

 

The price was right...FREE!

It's a 1994 and has a few miles on it, but overall,

it's in really good shape.

There is only one problem -

it's a stick shift. 

Austin only knows how to drive an automatic.

 

Much of Saturday was spent trying to learn how

to drive his new ride.

We got some comical video.

Mostly it's Alexxa chastising Austin.

In the end, Austin got the hang of it and

ended up driving it home

(I have video, I just can't figure out how to upload it).

Austin's new car.

The inside, pretty stinking clean for a 1994.

Wheels again...a happy boy!

It's Friday

I thought the weekend would never come.

Aust and Lexx were away at college.

Todd was in Santa Barbara for a conference.

I was home sick!

 

But look who showed up.

 

 

They made it a week and wanted to come home for a visit.

Actually, they needed to pick up some stuff that they

couldn't fit on the first trip.

Either way, I'll take it!

 

Just seeing their cute little faces makes

me feel better already!

 

Hope you have a great weekend and spend

lots of time with your family.

I know I'm going to spend mine

kissing on those sweet kids!

It Was a Stinky Night

I feel like POO!

A big pile of POO as a matter of fact.

 

I finally caught the flu that has been floating around my

family for about the past month.

Work sent me home early, so all I did was sleep for like 24 hours.

Sleep that is until I heard fire engines roaring down the road.

I happened to have our whole house fan on,

so it was pulling in the nice smoke smell.

Apparently there was a house fire a couple miles down

the road from my house.

 

Because I felt so bad I said to myself
"Self, go back to sleep.  If the fires coming your way

Firemen will evacuate you.  To which I replied to myself,

Okay, no problem."

And back to sleep I went.

 

Shortly after that I awoke to the wretched smell

of a skunk.  I don't know if the fire scared it this way

and the dogs bugged it, but it sprayed right outside my

bedroom window and boy did it smell terrible.

 

Via

This is what I felt was happening outside my window.

 

I'll tell you what, I will take working any day over:

1.  Feeling stinky

2.  Smoke stink

3.  Skunk stink

 

Have you been in any stinky situations lately?

Leaf Art

I thought this was pretty amazing and had to share.

They take leaves and create art from them.

I wish I had a fraction of the patience it took to create these.

 

Via

Via

 

 

Pretty amazing, right!

Be sure to visit their webpages to see more.

 

http://naturayarte.jimdo.com/english/

And They're Off

Well, the kids are gone.

They moved into their apartment on Saturday.

They have a one year lease, so they will be there for at least that long.

It's been a long few weeks.

As you saw from my picture on Friday's post,

my house was a total wipe out!

 

Sadly, this is only Alexxa's stuff.

Do you wanna see what Austin brought.

Ya, well look below.

 

Not much.

He actually brought a little more than this,

but not much. 

 

It was quite the adventure loading everything.

Of course we aren't like normal families,

we have to load everything in trailers and

pile them high on a car.

 

Look how proud Todd is that he managed

to load everything.

Ghetto, white trash or other?

Actually, I think we looked more

like the Beverly Hillbillies...

minus the rocking chair.

 

We didn't head out of town until 2 PM.

I had a hair appointment,

so everybody met in Auburn.

Lexx and I had to get a Starbucks,

of course! 

 

We rolled in to town about 4 PM.

We unloaded everything and put as

much stuff away as we could.

 

The kids are still needing to buy things,

like food, an entertainment center, basics.

Can you see what is holding the tv?

Bar stools.

Do you see what is next to it?

A mini fridge with alcohol on top of it.

Kids!

 

We unpacked, went shopping, went to dinner,

came back to the apartment and unpacked some more,

watched a movie and fell asleep around 11 PM.

 

Todd and I woke up early because we both had

to go to work the next day and we had a drive

ahead of us (not to mention all the chores waiting for us at home).

 

It was an exciting little adventure,

and I can't wait to see how the kids like

it living on their own.

I think they will come to some quick realizations,

like they are spoiled beyond belief.

 

So was your weekend as hectic as mine?

The proud occupants of an old college apartment.

(Can you tell we woke them up to say goodbye?

Can you say bedhead?)

A Quick Hello and Goodbye

Life is a little hectic.

Here's a preview of what my house looks like right now.

 

Super awesome, right!

 

I'm going to be busy all weekend,

but I will be back on Monday to blog.

 

I hope you have a peaceful and relaxing weekend...

'cause I know I won't!

 

Until then friends.