Just Stuff

It's been a while since I've blogged so here is a bit of what has been going on in my life:

1.  We took a few days off and went to Palm Desert, CA.  Yes, we are a bit crazy to do this near July, but the rates were too good to pass up.  Check out the view from our hotel room.  Left just before it got to 117 degrees.  Good timing :)

2.  We've harvested some lettuce.

 Doesn't it look like we purchased these beautiful greens?  Yup, we grew them in our backyard.  I have to admit, I took a great deal of time of washing each and every leaf.  I am a city girl and proud of it.  Seeing a bug or two on my food does NOT appeal to me.  A few slugs were washed away (and garbage disposaled, for good measure).

3.  I am nearing the age of 50.  That just does not seem possible.  I don't think I look or feel 50, but I may be biased.  I'm not there yet, but very close.

4.  Saw my best friend today.  I am lucky to see her once a year.  She lives out of state but she has family near by.  We are only 5 days apart in age.  My youngest child will be a senior in high school; her youngest will be a second grader.

5.  Speaking of my best friend.  Her son is very creative.  It's been hot so check out his way of cooling off.
 

In case you can't tell - he put a liner in the back of a pick up truck and filled it with water.  He's lounging in an inner tube.  He also didn't like the school lunches so one day he cooked hot dogs on a Hibachi in the back of said truck.  I love that guy!

6.  One more best friend moment - we picked cherries.  They are sweet and yummy.  I plan to pit them and freeze most to put in smoothies.

7.  My "baby" heads off to college in just over a month.  I can't believe he's old enough to leave, yet I am so excited for him and all that growing up has to offer.

8.  Painting the house takes a really, really long time.  My dear hubby is meticulously working on the first level.  Slow as it may be, it looks so great.  After 20+ color swatches we painted on the back of the house we settled on one of the first ones we liked and we are very happy with the results so far.

9.  My toenail is broken too close to the bottom.  I stubbed it and now hope it can grow out before it comes off.  I keep polishing it hoping that will keep it on a bit longer.  Sorry, probably too much info, but hey, you never know what you'll get here.

10.  I am in a rut in regards to dinners.  Does anyone have any recipe ideas?

There you have it.  Anything interesting, or not, happening in your life?

Graduation

I can't believe my baby boy is now a high school graduate.  I can't express how proud we are of him - he's become such a fine young man, an honorable man, a smart man, and just an all around great guy!  We are very impressed with his dedication to school.  He graduated with honors - something my hubby and I didn't do.  He will be heading off to college in a few months and I can honestly say, as of now, I am very excited to see him go.  Not because I want him out of the house, but because this is what the last 18 years were supposed to be about: preparing him to become a self-sufficient man. 

Going away to college, while still a bit under mom and dad but in a remote way, is a great way to begin to figure out how to make it on your own.  Of course I will miss him, and his laugh.  But I am excited to see him grow into his own. 

For now, I will cherish the few months of him being home. 

Congratulations my son!

Look What We Did

We've been busy cleaning up the front and back yard.  After snowy winters I love the warmer weather and planting flowers.  This year we  cleaned up the vegetable garden and put in a few vegetable starts.  I hope they take.  I'm pretty sure we waited long enough so as not to have them freeze.  We missed out planting last year so we are excited to see how it goes this year.  We even found a guy on Craigslist who was selling his cow poop, I mean organic compost, so we got a truck load and mixed that into the dirt.   Here's hoping to a bumper crop.

During the winter my hubby and I decided to make some changes to the front yard.  We cleared out a section off the front walkway and laid pavers and put in a small patio.  We found a perfect bistro set at the home improvement store for a great price and we have instant conversation site.

            Here is what the area looked like before:

                And the transformation:

    

The final product:

We are loving this spot!  On the weekend we come out in the morning and enjoy our coffee while reading the paper.  In the evening we wind down from the day and just enjoy being together and the quiet of the late afternoon.  Notice, only two chairs.  Just for me and my hubby.

We also cleaned out an area in our backyard that had roses, but they were not good bloomers and always infested with bugs.  So instead, we put in planters and flowers.  I am very happy with the results here.

You can see my hubby's summer project - painting the house. He's done so much prep work with sanding and priming and today he is starting the actual painting.  It took us going through 20 color swatches (on the back wall) to finally decide on the color (which happened to be one of the original finalist -but we I had to work through all the options so as not to have any second guessing on color).  I'm sure our neighbors behind us thought we were trying to figure out how to make a checkerboard on our house. 

Anyone else have big summer plans?

It's not about the numbers

Before the school year winds down I always like to get in a coffee at my house.  Actually, I've been able to have two since the beginning of the year.  Summer is off limits to official coffees, though I have no objections to meeting up with friends at a local coffee house.  I'll have one in the fall again, after kids are back in school. 

Each coffee starts the same: pick a date and send out the invite then decide on some snacks.  The date arrives and I wait, usually not knowing who will attend.  It's a fun guessing game as to who may show.  I've had close to 10 show and once no one showed.  And I love it no matter what.

Last week one gal was able to come.  I felt so special having her all to myself.  I love hearing her stories and she has this wonderful way of challenging me with thought provoking questions.  She is a deep thinker, something I am not. 

My previous coffee was such a blessing to me.  Three wonderful friends showed up (clarification: all those on my invite list are wonderful!).  I was able to catch up with a couple of the gals and find out some very significant changes happening in their lives and discover what their kids were up to.  We sit at the table, nibble on treats, sip coffee or tea and enjoy each.  The time files by.

This coffee was especially touching for me because my friend, who has been in France for a few years, was back in the states and made sure her schedule cleared to come to my coffee.  This was the first time the family was back in the states since they left so they were filled with appointments and time with friends and family - and my house was one of her stops.  I am pretty sure she was tired from her non-stop schedule; rejuvenated, but tired.  Little does she realize how much she encouraged me to see her and hear, first-hand, how life in France is and how their call to love the French as Christ loved her has been going.  If you'd like to follow her adventures of loving Christ and being a French church planter, you can at her blog, Four For France.

These coffees allow me to slow down and take in life with friends.  Something I need to do much more often.

BIRTHDAY WISHES

A big shout out for super happy birthday wishes to my older sister.  I hope you are having a wonderful day!
I'm thinking of you and love you.
Peggy

1. Make a List 2. Review List 3. Complete List

The school year is winding down and it's a hectic time but somehow I always think, "this year will be different."  You would think after 12 years I'd have the end of the year figured out.  Oh, no.  I've been looking over the calendar and see all that needs to be done and accounted for. 

Side note:  I better enjoy this hectic time because I'm thinking in two years I'm going to be wishing for all this hectic too-much-to-do time.  It just dawned on me that once the kids are gone the end of the school year won't mean as much.  Tear drop.

Back to this year.  There is a lot going on.  Thankfully I'm a list maker.

Many people make lists.  I make lists.  Actually, I've been making lists for years!   I know some people like to make lists because they enjoy the cross-off.  You know, when they've finished that one task the line is drawn through the item.  I'm sure there is much joy to see the tasks being accomplished.  But that is not why I make lists.

My list making is out of pure need.  I need organization and this is my one way of keeping track of all I need to do.  I have a white board on the fridge and list out all activities for the week.  If I have a busy day, a list is made.  My list includes what needs to be done and then some.  Sometimes I have a rough draft list for the really busy days.  Then the final version includes all the tasks along with times I should be doing it.  Yes, I put in the time I want to begin the next item.  Here is what my list would look like:

1:00-1:40 Wal-Mart
        - Shampoo, milk, socks, light bulbs
1:45  Bank - deposit check, get $25 cash
2:00  Post Office
        - Mail bills, buy book of stamps
2:25  Home
        - Calls: Doctor, Newspaper subscription, order gift
        - Clean:  Dust my room; dust Living Room; Sweep kitchen; Dishes
4:00  Start dinner
 
Yes, I'm a bit of a nut.  But this is what works for me and I am so glad God made me this way to try to keep me a bit organized. 

Are you a list maker?  What does your list look like? 

Some random things I've been enjoying lately:

1.  Dave Ramsey.  He is on the radio when I leave work and I enjoy listening to his wise financial advise.  What impresses me most is his kind and merciful heart toward the callers. 

2.  Sunshine.  We have had some incredible days these last few days.  We hit 70 today and yesterday was one of the nicest Easter Sunday's we've had in years.

3.  Seattle Mariners.  Opening day for baseball today!  OK, yesterday a game was played, but today is the real opening day for the other 28 teams. 

4.  My Ninja blender.  That baby blends my smoothies like there is no tomorrow.  I love it.  Throw in some ice, yogurt, protein, fruit, spinach and juice and away I go for breakfast.

5.  The Bible series on the History channel.  If you missed this program I highly recommend renting the five-part, ten hour series.  There were some artistic liberties taken, obviously, but I don't think the integrity of the message was altered. 

6.  My small group.  We just finished studying why we believe.... the Bible, Jesus, Resurrection and other topics.  It was very interesting and affirming.

7.  The Amazing Race.  My daughter and I enjoy watching this show together.  I could never go on that show.  I'd lose any cool I had (which really is none) and show my ugly competitive side.  Plus, I over-think things all the time, which is not good if you want to do well on that show.

8.  My Starbucks app.  I recently discovered this app.  It keeps track of my gift card, my purchases and free items.  When I purchase I just show the home screen and the barista scans my phone and the charges are automatically deducted.  It was fun to go through the drive through and flash my phone and off I go. 

9.  The last few months of my son home.  I am enjoying the time with my kids while they are still home.  Soon enough they will be going off to college and moving on with their adult lives. 

10.  Bar-B-Q's.  With the nice weather we've been having, we had our first bar-b-q tonight.  Cheese burgers-yum.  I add all kinds of toppings: Gorgonzola cheese, peppercini peppers, red peppers and mix the hamburger with garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper.  Love them!

What has been catching your eye lately?