The great escape of 2008

Don't let the sweet expression throw you off. He has already escaped from the yard, not once, not twice, but FIVE times.

FIVE times!!

This week I. . .

Did not have such a good week. Why is it that when I get in the car to go on a trip, I think I can eat all the cookies I want? Instead of thinking of all the cookies I ate.... I will instead concentrate on the few things I did right- and hopefully have a longer list next week.

Went to Applebees twice and both times ordered off the Weight Watcher's menu, once while watching my husband eat a burger and fries. I had the chicken salad with lime dressing for 5 points (delicious and a lot of food) and also had the chicken and veggies wrapped in a flour tortilla for 10 points (very filling) when I really wanted the chicken fingers and fries.

Had a "slim-wich" Roast Beef sandwich at Jason's Deli with a side of fruit.

Attended my Weight Watcher meeting on Saturday morning before going out of town for the long weekend. It would have been so easy to skip! I did not lose, but did not gain, which is a successful week in my book.

Went to bed early a couple of times.

Walked the dog even though several afternoons, I did not want to.

Got up from my desk in the middle of the afternoon to walk around the parking lot for 10 minutes.

Visit others here

Its time for my dirt manicure

My husband's Aunt Dot has the best looking front yard in Jasper County. Strangers stop by and ask to buy tomatoes. People at church tell her that they almost wreck when passing by for looking at all her flowers instead of the road. We always end each visit by walking around the yard with her telling me what each plant is and usually where she got it from. I always leave with some plants and advice for my own yard.

This visit, I got three Angel Trumpets- one yellow and two pink. and a red rose bush which she called "Callie's Rose" because she got it from her Aunt Callie, but I will re-name it "Dot's Rose"

Then, one of my best friends has decided to re-do her back yard. Lucky for me, the mature jasmine vines that she has in her backyard are not a part of her new design plan. But, they are a part of mine and are happily resting on the new fence in my backyard.

If I could locate my camera, this is where I would post some pictures of my new plants. I am hopeful that the camera is misplaced some where around the house, and not lost somewhere between here and Mississippi.

Black spray paint is the answer to all my problems

Gold Lamp before:



And after I got out the black spray paint and found it a new lampshade- on clearance (at a very fancy store) for $5!

Everyone is happy about the new fence................ well, not everyone

Can't you just hear him thinking, "what do you mean live outside? Me? Live outside? Are you serious?"

The road to Someday leads to the town of Nowhere. Procrastination is the silent killer. --Anthony Robbins

Living Well Wednesday

Ways that I chose to live well this week:

I resisted the hot from the bakery donuts in the office.

Twice, I only had fruits/veggies for lunch (Olive Garden soup/salad and Albertsons salad/fruit bar)

I walked my dog for two miles instead of his normal one mile

I painted my toe nails red and bought new sandals

I changed my Weight Watcher meetings from Wednesday at lunch, when I have to drive across town, always in a hurry, and almost always skip out of the meeting early, to Saturday mornings, where I am more relaxed and stay for the entire meeting. I lost .8 last week!

I helped my husband build a fence. And by "helped build a fence" I mean, I carried the fence board from one spot to the other spot across the yard about 115 times.

See who else is choosing to live well right here

We are doing our part to stimulate the economy

My back yard before this weekend;

My backyard after this weekend:


We are so tired, so sore, so broke, but so happy to have a fence! Everyone is happy but the dog- who is now going back in the yard and not living in the house 24/7.

On a different note: Notice the two crepe myrtle trees in my yard, this is two of the four that a previous Gardner left for me to find. I am on pins and needles to see what color they will bloom! You can also see the very large gardenia bush- it has not bloomed yet, either- but can you imagine how great my back yard is going to smell when the giant gardenia is in full bloom?

Salisbury Steak (freezes well)

SALISBURY STEAK

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 egg
salt and pepper
Mix together and form 3-4 patties
Brown on both sides in Skillet
Reduce heat to med/low
mix together
1 can cream of mushroom soup- do not dilute
1 ½ cans of beef broth

add to skillet
cover and simmer for 45 minutes, turning occasionally.
I try to cook at least three servings of this at a time and freeze the other two for later.

A little painting tip from me to you

When you want to paint a room, may I give you a little helpful advice?

First buy a very small container of the paint, paint one wall and live with it for a few days. That sounds simple and practical. I only wish I would have thought of it before I spent $400 on paint and rented scaffolding to paint the living room (it has 19 foot ceilings), because it was only after all this that I discovered "sugar cookie" wasn't what I had in mind. I was thinking more along the lines of "Coffee with cream".

But, it's too late for my living room. I hope to salvage the left over "sugar cookie" by adding some "dark cocoa" and investigating how it looks in the upstairs bathroom-but only on one wall.

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in. Forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." Ralph Waldo Emerson

This was my Thursday

Up late at 6:00a to hail, lighting and general bad weather. News reports are dismal. Roof blown off of Churches and jail in area, house fires caused by lightening and trees on houses. After the experience I had in the weather last night (see post below), I am not anxious to get back in the car. Instead, I call work to say I will be in later, then I have my cereal and coffee in bed, do bible study, e-mailing, women's ministry business, a little house keeping, and all while keeping an eye on the weather outside and thanking God for such a good job where I have a little freedom in my work hours.

When the weather looks clearer, I venture out, stopping at the gas station on the way for gas, diet coke and a paper. I have recently been trying to keep my car full of gas, because it does not take as much money to fill up at the tank that is already half full and it makes me feel better having a full tank for any little unknown that I might run into (like yesterday- see post below).

BUT... gas station was OUT OF GAS. This is getting me a little nervous... this morning gas is $3.60 and the gas station is out of gas?!

Work, work, work.... eat lunch at my desk while watching the news and reading the paper..... work, work, work....

It was a beautiful afternoon for my drive home, the sun was shining and traffic was very light. A lot of people must have taken the day off. I think the schools are closed. It really makes a difference in the traffic.

After picking up my husband at home, we enjoyed a nice dinner out, and discuss the fact that his secretary just bought a very expensive purse, then he saw someone selling a knockoff version of the exact same purse out of the trunk of their car. He couldn't tell the difference

I again tell him how I much I really want a nice purse and how I wished to have an expensive purse, but he is overjoyed that I just can not bring myself to spend that kind of money on a purse. I want one, but just cant bring myself to buy one.

We got home in time to see the season finale of his favorite TV show, My name is Earl,

Oh! I forgot to mail the State Taxes off and today is the last day! Nothing like waiting until the VERY LAST MINUTE..... I run back out the door to the Post Office then finally make it by the gas station. Gas has gone down during the day to $3.58. It takes $43 to fill my tank- and I already had 1/4 of the tank left. It was also $5 for a gallon of milk. A few minutes at the gas station and I am broke. This is another reason I don't buy an expensive purse. All my money goes to gas and milk.

Walking back in the door, I find that my husband has made peanut butter crunch- basically its rice krispy treats substituting the peanut butter for the marsh mellow.

I eat the whole pan.

No, I'm kidding. I only have one large portion. They are so good when still warm with a cold glass of $5 gas station milk.

Today's mail brought some sample cookbooks. I go through the package, looking at examples and choices for different bindings, colors, fonts and covers. My cousins and I are putting together a family cookbook and auditioning companies to make one. I really like the ones I received, and they seem to be so affordable!

I begin my before bed routine, clothes laid out for tomorrow, dishes in dishwasher, vitamins, another piece of peanut butter crunch, hot bath and can it be time for bed already?

See other day in the life posts here

What a way to end a day!

What should have been an uneventful twenty minute ride home today took me one hour and 45 minutes. Why? We had three inches of rain in two hours. On the drive home, it kept getting darker, and darker, and then the sheets of rain came, then I encountered hail, a lot of street flooding, and the McDonald sign broken in half laying across the street. I was re-directed at three different locations due to trees blocking the road. More than once, I thought the car would stall out going through high water.

I made it home at last! I cant remember another day where I have been this happy to get home and in a hot bath, or more grateful to myself for having cooked Salisbury steaks yesterday for our dinner tonight. When I was finished in the bath, the veggies and rice were finished on the stove.

Now we can relax and look at the water in the backyard: (I know you cant tell due to my limited photography skills, but the dark shadows at the tree line is standing water - a lot of water)

Note to self

On Sunday night, at 9:00 p.m., when you are too tired to stand and do all that chopping, think twice before you use the food processor to chop the green bell peppers for the chicken salad as it will turn it into liquid and no one likes liquid green peppers in their chicken salad sandwiches.

My time has a mind of its own

My uncle owned a plantation that used mules for power even though tractors were available. We think of mules as animals that stubbornly stand still when we want them to move. But that's not all they do. They also move when they are suppose to stand still, and usually in the wrong direction. And woe to anyone who gets in an open field with them when they are loose. I am convinced that all their laziness is just an act to put people off guard so they can trample them to death. I still carry in my mind the picture of rough men wrestling with unruly mules. After the men convinced the mules that the people were in control, the mules would settle down and get to work. But each day, the men had to go through the same steps. The point is that the people who worked with mules had to keep them under tight control or they would go their own way and no work would get done. That's the same way time is. It has a mind of its own. If we don't control it, it will take off, dragging us behind it. And we'll be flailing our arms and screaming that we dont have enough time to to do what needs to be done. Time takes on a life and will of its own if we do not harness it to our plans and get it to accomplish our goals.
Sandra Felton, from her book Organizing for Life

I need your advice.......

One of my biggest problems is trying to find a daily quiet time- and make it daily- not two or three times a week.

Currently, I get up about 5:30-ish each morning. My plan is to make breakfast and crawl back into bed to eat breakfast, drink coffee and have a daily quiet time of praying, reading the bible, and reading a devotional book or magazine for about 30 minutes. However, this does not always work out as I plan it....

Sometimes, I over sleep and the quiet time is cut to 5 minutes.

Sometimes I get busy cleaning the kitchen, or sweeping, or organizing the Tupperware, or doing any number of other things that need to be done in the house and then my quiet time disappears.

Sometimes, I cant tear myself away from the morning news or the computer, and my quiet time greatly suffers.

Sometimes, I just lay in bed, looking out the window and ignore my bible.

Sometimes, I have to go to work early... you get the picture.

I just cant seem to get a consistent quiet time.

How do you do it?

Really, how do you do it?

Sunday at my house

I love Sundays at my house.

I woke up early, read the paper and cooked breakfast, dropped off kitty litter for my cousin who adopted my cat is just cat sitting my cat. After Sunday School and Church, I picked up a shrimp po-boy from our favorite little seafood restaurant. I cleaned the kitchen, swept and mopped the wood floors in the foyer and dining room and planted three houseplants that were housewarming gifts. Now, under the dining room window, along with the Lantana, is an Easter Lily, Cali Lily and Tulips.

I visited with my neighbor while we tried to convince our dogs that they should be friends. I then cooked dinner for a sick friend (Mexican casserole), drove it over to her while having a long conversation with my best friend, and got momentarily lost. I cooked my own home some dinner (Spaghetti), cleaned the kitchen, and took the dog for a mile and 1/2 walk. After a hot bath, I searched the house for some cookies, didn't find any.

I also discovered black spray paint:

Before:

After:

Saturday in my yard

It is so easy for me to get discouraged. It is taking A LOT longer to get the house and yard into shape than I had anticipated. And I am anxious. I am anxious to have everything in place. But, I must admit, looking around the yard today makes me appreciate how much work we have already done!

Jasmine is climbing the trellis and blooming. It smells so good!

A Joe Pye Weed plant has come up. It was left for me to find. It has not bloomed yet- but someone told me it will bloom large purple flowers. We are waiting and watching.

This flowering bush is another nice surprise that some unknown previous Gardner left for me to find. I don't know what it is. Do you have any idea?

I have a Hydrangea waiting to be planted by front walk.

We planted a "privacy fence" of Leland Cyprus trees. They don't look like much now, but are suppose to be 6' wide x 6' tall in just a couple of years, then grow to 30'.

Lantana, planted below my dining room window, is blooming for the first time. This plant was originally planted below my dining room window at my last house, then dug up and moved with me to this new house. Finally! Its blooming! I will sit back and wait for the butterflies to visit.

Banana tree plant is growing. We have planted atleast ten of these.

Azalea bush STILL has blooms! Every other bush has already quit blooming. Mine is a late bloomer- literally.

What does the doggie do all day while you are not at home?

Here he is..... dead asleep with a blanket, pillow, newspaper and TV remote. All he needs is a snack and a drink and he is set for the day.