more on Landscaping

We've had a couple more companies come out and so far none of them has shown the amount of enthusiasm and ideas for our future yard as the 2nd guy. The picture you see was done using digital enhancement. My husband took the 2nd contractors idea and made it come to life for me (it's no wonder why I love my husband as much as I do). I'm pretty sure that we're going to go with the 2nd contractor, his ideas have been terrific and he really knows his stuff!

Cardboard

Believe it or not I'm still working on unpacking and putting away things. Am I losing my motivation on this? Yes, LOL! Yesterday a friend asked me if I was done unpacking...I had to say no. I have to say that I'm amazed with those that can set up their entire house in a week after a move. I want to make sure that the pictures are going up where I want them to be...and not have to worry about having a 1001 nail holes because I changed my mind a dozen times or more on their placement. You see, it's only me doing this unpacking. I'm going through everything putting it in it's place and so forth. It's quite the challenge, to say the least it's become something I dread, LOL! To be perfectly honest, I've run out of storage space. I need to get another chrome shelf unit from Lowe's to go in the downstairs closet. Once I get that set up then I will have a place for my scrapbooking magazines and idea books and of course the 2 huge boxes of board games (our daughter loves board games). Well with this in mind I better measure what size chrome shelf I have in my scrapbook nook and buy the same size for the closet. As you can tell, my day is planned out for me.

Landscaping

We're in this new home a month, now it's time to start thinking about the landscaping issues that lay ahead of us. We have quite the large lot, not as large as our friends down the street who also have a corner lot (theirs is an acre) but big enough to cause concern about giving the proper house curb appeal. The neighbors across the street from us have a gorgeous green lawn that looks like emerald green carpet BUT there's no landscaping- no pretty plants or trees, just green weed free grass everywhere. It looks nice but but to be perfectly honest there is something missing and you notice that while admiring the beautiful lawn.

We've had 2 landscaping companies come by and give us their thoughts on our yard. I'm waiting on the 2nd company to give us their bid proposal. I think that we're having either 3 or 4 companies come out. I'm not looking to go with the least expensive company, I'm looking for the the one who can meet our needs and has the best ideas for our yard. The man who came by yesterday had oodles of great ideas ad even drew them out in the dirt with a spray can (it was so nice to see this mans ideas and I mean "see"). I looked out at the yard this morning and I can see where he used the spray paint and drew out the ideas for where the fence would go, where the river rock border would go, the concrete curbing and so forth. I really liked this guys ideas, and he's got some good ones. The first company was nice enough but no true enthusiasm for the job. The first company was basically rocks would go here, fence would go there, concrete curbing would go over there. There wasn't any creativity in the way they went about measuring out anything. So we shall see what the other companies bring to the table as far as ideas are concerned.

So this 2nd company has plans for my flower garden in the backyard and my pergola :-) I want to have a Wisteria again and have it climb and wind around a pergola and I will have a concrete bench in my flower garden with a bird bath and a statuary of the Virgin Mary would be nice too. Ü I can see myself surrounded by flowers in my garden that smell like heaven on earth. Have you see the movie "Just like Heaven"? Picture something like the garden that Reese Witherspoon is sitting in at the beginning of the movie. Maybe not quite elaborate but similar in many ways.

Have you seen my shoes?

I have to laugh at myself, I seem to have misplaced 2 pairs of shoes since moving into this new house and we've been in here a month now (it was official yesterday). It's been about 3 weeks since misplacing my shoes and I've not even seen a glimpse of them since that fated day. It sure would be nice if I could find those shoes since I'd like to wear pants today (it's a rather blustery sort of day) and those shoes are my dress shoes that I wear with pants. The other shoes are my beloved purple Veggies. I've been wearing my hot pink Veggies these past few weeks. Now the last time I saw the purple ones my daughter had them on her feet. I have grilled her several times since that day and I have yet to see them. Personally speaking I think that they've been shoe napped and are they're being held captive in a trade off for chocolate, I wouldn't put it past Hannah, LOL! She loves her chocolate dearly!

Happy News!

I went outside to water my container garden and I noticed that there's a sale pending sign on the house next door to ours. I knew that our realtor Angie had shown the house recently and I wondered if she sold it. So I called her and YES she was the one who sold the house. I'm so happy for her! I really like our realtor, she is one who really works for her clients. So these soon to be new neighbors are neighbors in military housing to our soon to be neighbors on the corner across from our house. WooHoo! This is a happy day indeed!

Organizing your Scrapbook Nook...and keeping it that way

As much as I like to proclaim myself as being a purging queen when it comes to getting rid of "stuff" that no longer has a place in our home, I still am finding a virtual ton of things to get rid of since moving into this new house. Of course there's the bedding from our bedroom (the queen size Americana Quilt with matching quilted pillow shams) and Andrews' Nature themed quilt (another queen size) with matching pillow shams- yup that fills a big box. But there's also other things like shower curtains (there's a couple of those) and those plastic rings that go with them. But I'm talking about my scrapbooking space today. Oh my gosh how many of us have gotten things for FREE from scrapbooking events that we look at and never have used? I know that I have. There are those scrapbook albums in odd sizes that I knew that I would never use but they looked rather cool in their pretty packaging displayed in my nook. They are in the garage sale box! I'm also pushing myself to make the purge of tools that I just do not use, trust me I have tools that I have not touched in ages! Part of my problem is that I'm filling my space up with stuff that looks good but it isn't being used. I tried pulling stuff out and seeing if I would use it before the move and did I use it? No of course not, LOL! I don't know what I was thinking with that one.

Bags- Oh do I have oodles of little crop type bags. Do I use more than one or two at a time? Heck no. So those are being purged as well. I think that there will be some scrapbookers out there that will be VERY HAPPY to see them for sale at our garage sale.

Lettering Templates - I thought that I had gotten rid of them ages ago. The look on my face was one of surprise when I opened a box and saw that they're still around as are a ton of alphabet stickers that I never used. Yup more garage sale merchandise. You know what they say..."One mans junk is another mans treasure".

Paper Trimmers- I love using rotary paper trimmers. So all of those sliding paper trimmers by Fiskars are going into the garage sale...along with all of the spare blades that I have. I have 2 large rotary paper cutters and having them for crops comes in very handy! The other ones, they're outta here! Then ones I tuck away for crops on the go are my Cutterpedes and I will keep them around. They're great to tuck into my crop bag on wheels.

Embellishments- more things to go through and purge items that I am no longer interested in using (because my scrapbooking style has evolved past using those items). But hey... some is going to find a virtual treasure trove of scrapbooking goodies when they come to our garage sale :-)

So when it comes to organizing, really look at your tools, what ARE you actually using? What are you keeping that you haven't used and it taking up valuable storage space. Are you using those decorative scissors? Then put them where they can be easily accessed, same goes for the Xyron that you bought but hardly use. I use mine quite a bit so I put it in an area where I can get to it without difficulty. Do you use the Xyron 250 more than your 550? If so, then sell of that 550! Organizing your space is about keeping things that you actually use versus things that look good and impress others. So get on the band wagon and clear out that old stuff!

Lunch with Friends

I hope that my girlfriends had as good of a time as I did yesterday. We had out once a month OSC scrapbook group get together yesterday with one new member in attendance. We laughed and laughed, had lunch and some of us got some scrapbooking done while chatting the afternoon away. I adore all of the wonderful ladies! There is something special about each and every single one of them and I'm so glad that we've been put in a place (Ellsworth AFB) where we were able to meet and become friends :-)

It was delightful right up until I noticed that the wind was picking up and the sky was turning a rather ominous dark gray. Yikes, a thunderstorm approaching fast! Everyone took off because they had open windows at home (just like I did). Let me tell you the rain came down hard! The wind was really blowing and I had to anchor down the new grill because the wind was blowing it all over the deck (and it's a heavy grill too).

After anchoring down the grill I went into my new scrapbook nook and just breathed this huge sigh...this is one cool little place to hang out! I started tooling around in there and just having fun! Today I'm going to pull the rest of the boxes containing my scrapbooking supplies into the house and put them away. Okay so while I'm organizing I'll also be weeding out stuff I no longer want or use (off to the garage sale pile it goes).

I better get to the garage now while I'm feeling motivated to do so. I have a lot of boxes to rearrange in that garage too!

The Honey Do list...

For the most part we all have a "Honey Do list" of one kind or another, be it taking out the trash, mowing the lawn or sweeping out the garage. Mine (since moving into the new house) tend to be of some detail. Here's the list I currently have;

1-4) install curtain rods in Master Bedroom, Family room, both children's bedrooms

5&6) install Easy Track Closet Systems- my closet and husbands closet

7) hang dresser mirror on wall in master bedroom

8-10) install floor cabinets, counter top and clothes rod in laundry room.

11)install plantation blinds in guest room/home office

12) replace shelves in master bathroom with wider ones

13) replace side light windows by front door with leaded glass ones

14) install ironing board/iron wall storage rack

15) rearrange boxes in garage

Yup, that's my list (for now). I'll keep it updated as we get things done around here. I bought my husband a new Jig Saw this morning since his old one died while cutting the counter top for my scrapbook nook the other night. He ended up finishing the cutting by hand!

Before you say it, yes I do know that I have a pretty terrific husband. He's a hard worker and always finishes the projects he starts. He puts his all into every project and it shows.

My Scrapbook Nook

Oh am I ever happy with how My Scrapbook Nook is coming along! This has been a combined effort on both of our parts in getting this room together. Last night we also needed our son's help in getting the counter top into the room.

There are a couple more thing that we need to get done...the knobs and drawer pulls need to go on and I need to get the rest of my scrapbooking and stamping supplies into the room. The wall cabinets look terrific! And the floor cabinets are HUGE! There's tons of storage in them that's for sure! I have a feeling that I'll be able to locate my camera dock in one of the 8 or so large boxes of scrapbooking supplies that are still out in the garage. I've found my QuicKutz hand tools but not the dies...and I packed the stuff so I have no one but myself to blame for that one, LOL!

My rubber and acrylic stamps are neatly tucked away into plastic shoe boxes and are on a shelf in the closet under the stairs. They might just stay there for a while until I can get another chrome shelf. I really like the way they are stored, easy access is one key to being organized. If you see it, you will use it, so have you stamping and scrapbooking tools and supplies organized well so you can see what you have and use it! The place is a little messy right now but by the weekend I hope to have it put together in a way it will feel comfortable. It'll probably be reorganized a few times until I get it feeling just right but that's a natural thing (it is for me anyway :-).

Oh look at the time...I've got to finish my BBQ pulled Pork, tidy up the formal dining room and get the boxes out of the family room from last nights cabinet installation project because friends are coming over to scrapbook in a couple of hours. :-)

What a way to start your day!

Yesterday it was a flock of wild Turkey's and today it was a herb of wild Deer running around down by the creek that's behind our house. I love how we can watch them from our house. I saw the Deer this morning and I went downstairs and told the kids. They both watched the Deer nibble on grass and drink water from the creek. It's amazing to see wildlife this close up, and once I pull out my binoculars I can see them even closer, LOL! But seriously, watching them makes you feel relaxed, similar to the effect of watching fish swim around in a large fish tank.

Still no luck in finding the baby bunny that's in our garage. I'm hoping that it was able to get out. I've had the garage doors opened a foot of so just in case it made it's way to the front of the garage. I don't want to find a dead bunny, that would make me sad. We've got fresh water and some bird seed out for the bunny and if you're wondering...yes, bunnies do like to eat bird seed- we have first hand knowledge of this. I haven't let our cat into the garage for a couple of days because I'm afraid that f the bunny is in there that out cat would find it before we did...and that just wouldn't be a good thing if you know what I mean.

Horse Trivia

With my GIrl Scout troop working on earning all of their horse badges (they're almost done) through of the help of my friend Kim and her horse Freckles, well I thought that some horse trivia would be very appropriate...enjoy!

 

The horse that starred as Mr. Ed in the TV series, was

a registered American Saddlebred.

***

Draught Horses are the world's strongest animals apart

from elephants.

***

It is estimated that there are about 750 million horses

in the world.

***

                                  Old Bill

Many horses live, (and work), until they are over 30

years old! The oldest recorded horse was a barge horse

in England known as "old Bill". He lived till the grand

old age of 62!

***

Different gaits of the horse:

Gait - any forward movement of the horse

Walk - the horse raises its feet one after the other and

puts them down in the same order (4 miles per hour)

Trot or Jog - the horse lifts the front leg on one side

of its body and the hind leg on the other side at the

same time. The other two legs hit the ground together.

The trot is faster than the walk. (9 miles an hour)

Canter - the horse gathers its hind legs under its body

and extends its forelegs. It is a controlled gallop. At

one point, all four feet are off the ground.

(12 - 40 miles an hour)

***

We use Mud Masques Too

Mud helps to moisturize and seal the hoof. Without

moisture, the hoof will dry out and crack causing con-

siderable pain for the horse and possibly making him

go lame. Water alone is not always enough to prevent

hoof dryness. Another way to moisturize a horse's hoof

is to use one of the commercial hoof moisturizer products.

 

  

it was a go go go kind of day

Have you ever been so busy that you didn't have time to sit down? That would describe my day yesterday. It was go go go from the word go in the morning.

The cabinets arrived yesterday and wouldn't you know it, the last one that is unloaded off of the truck is seriously damaged. I saw it and said "Whoa Nelly, this one goes back". Actually it was two cabinets and on one the entire back was broken out- seriously I do not see how anyone could have missed that...from being on the sales floor, to putting it on the loading dock to loading it onto the truck and especially the crew bringing it into my house- Grrr! I was nice about it and let them know that the 2 cabinets will be going back on the truck. These guys know about my last unhappy episode of damaged goods being delivered by Lowe's (apparently they heard it from management). Get this...they took the damaged cabinets back to the store and in an hour (give or take a few minutes) they were back with my replacement ones- now that's the customer service I'm looking for!

The counter tops look terrific! I can hardly wait to have everything installed! Last night my husband and I installed the wall cabinets in the scrapbook nook. Let me tell you that the instruction sheet makes it look a lot easier than it is. I was so afraid that I was going to mess up and not have them level.

So here it is, Wednesday- eek! I'm having the scrapbook group over tomorrow and I'm hoping to have my scrapbook nook finished with the rest of the cabinets and the counter top in place. My new work area is going to be so seriously cool! There's tons of hidden storage and none of those Rubber-Maid wire racks in this scrapbook nook! I am very excited about this, more than anyone will ever know. And now that fold up card table can come out, I forgot how difficult those are to work on. Wobbly and that soft top, well it's not a very good work surface. I'd much rather work on one of those hard plastic top tables. I think that I might buy one just to have when we have a dinner party with extra guests...and large crop parties :-)

I've been so darn busy since moving here that I've not had a chance to visit my favorite websites and see what's going on in the scrapbooking world. I can't wait to take pictures of my new scrapbook nook and post them. I still have not found any fabric for valances...then again I haven't really looked. I've glanced here and there but nothing has struck me ( you know...like an apple falling out of a tree). I'll get something going on in there as I can't stand a naked window, LOL! Which reminds me, I do need to get the valances up in our bedroom, then again it helps to install the curtain rod, LOL!

We have the natural gas grill up and running and I'll be cooking on it today :-) Meanwhile I'm putting together 2 other meals for later on in the week. Cooking is such a stress reliever for me. With that in mind, today I'll be preparing meals that take time, one is of course my marinated pork roast with pancetta and fresh herbs and the other is BBQ pulled pork. The pork has to be slow roasted and then I let it cool and take out all of that fat and gristle by hand and then smother it in yummy BBQ sauce. There's something about cooking foods that take time that makes me feel good about what I do in the kitchen. I have beef tips marinating since yesterday, I'll be making cheesy potatoes (a family favorite) this little treasure of a recipe is one that I got from my dear friend René. She would make this dish and it was always a hit! Lets just say it makes your mouth smile with the first bite! It's a true comfort food :-) Another recipe from René is her cornbread...the trick to it is that you HAVE to use a well seasoned cast iron skillet for it to come out the way hers do. My skillet was one of those casualties of our move from TX to VA (mysteriously missing with a few other items from the kitchen). So when I go home to see my folks this summer I'll be bringing home my Mom's cast iron skillet (won't that look funny in the x-ray machine viewer at the airport while it's inside of my suitcase).

It's time for more coffee and to get things in those cabinets in the scrapbook nook!

My Favorite Stores...

Hands down Someones in the Kitchen has got to be the best! I love going in there and finding all sorts of gadgets that I can use. And their coffee bar is the BEST!!! I'm drinking my Mocha and let me tell you it's seriously YUMMY!!!! Even though it is a kitchen store, they also sell other interesting items. I went in there today to order a large framed quote by Abraham Lincoln but saw a smaller one and bought it instead because I bought a large framed Family quote (quote by Marcel Proust). It's perfect for our new home!

What's better than a Wal-Mart? It's Target! I can always find a great deal at Target! I found a great framed quote at Target and I picked up a couple of picture frames in the shade of deep brown that I like (it's so dark it's almost black). Have you been to their bathroom section lately? WOW are there ever some great looking shower curtains, bath rugs and more! I found the cutest froggy bath mat and tissue holder for the kids bathroom. Hannah adores frogs and spent her own money on her frog themed bathroom. So when I saw that I could add some darling froggy items to her collection at a great price, well I didn't hesitate to do it! The froggy items were a fraction of the price that Kohl's has their frog themed bathrooms items...Target's froggy trash can $19.99, froggy tissue holder $14,99 Kohl's froggy trash can $56.99 tissue holder $44.99 - you tell me where the savings are, that's right it's at Target!

For home improvement stores is Lowe's, I can always find something at Lowe's! There are several other home improvement stores here in town, there's Knechts where we ordered our East Track closet system and Menard's where we ordered the drawer kit. But Lowe's is the place for me to really shop and check things out. Menard's tends to lean more towards home builders versus home improvement weekend warriors same for Knechts.

Home Improvement

Ah Sunday, a day of rest and relaxation...well for most people it is but not for us! My husband gets back form being gone all week and he's off like gang busters on getting more home improvement plans drawn up and ordered.

My Scrapbook Nook - Well it's about to get a lot of new stuff! I can not believe this man and how he really thinks about my needs in my scrapbook nook. My work area materials have been bought and will be delivered on Tuesday afternoon. I'm going to have wall cabinets, base cabinets and a nice counter top. Tons of hidden storage space! This new nook area is going to be such a delight to work in!

Laundry Room - My hubby ordered cabinets for in here too! There will be base cabinets with a counter top, and wall cabinets and a hanging bar for those clothes that you want to hang up right after they dry :-) We also bought the drawer hardware (knobs and drawer pulls). We are going to be BUSY this week!

On the Deck - I had my husband pick out a new grill (it's a belated b-day gift). Our old grill has been through the wringer. It fell over in a wind storm back when we lived in Virginia and the handle broke, still works great but the handle is broken in the middle. We were wanting a grill that can be converted to working with natural gas and yes we found one! I even bought the latest cookbook publication from Southern Living on Backyard Grilling! Oh it looks good! And it's chock a block full of terrific recipes! I'll be putting a chain on this baby and locking it to our deck! It's better safe than sorry I always say.

In the Kitchen - I bought some things that will help me out here, there are these great baking pan holders ( they kind of look like a bike rack) to go inside of my lower cabinet. I used those plastic cinch ties to hold them together (they would move every time I pulled out a pan). So now I've made a more efficient use of that space! I'll have to take pictures of that space and post them. Then there was the over the sink colander...oh have I ever needed one of these! This really would have come in handy when we lived in base housing! I'll take pictures of these things and post them later. I almost forgot...my husband also bought cabinet doors, he's going to make the back side of this cabinet open up and make that space more accessible. I'll have to post pictures on this too. There's a slender door on the inside part of the kitchen but the space is HUGE! You can't get mush through door to really make any use of the space. So there's my husband to the rescue!

In the Bathroom - Here my husband is making a drawer where there was only a fake drawer front. He ordered the kit for the making of the drawer and it's being mailed to us from the manufacturer.

Adding to the Curb Appeal- No I didn't buy more terracotta pots or plants, LOL! We ordered a house number plaque. We've been in this house what? 3 weeks now (it really doesn't feel that long) and without house numbers. I want the pizza delivery person to be able to get to the right house, LOL! It too will be shipped directly to us.

By the time we were done at Lowe's we were both starving! I suggested Mongolian Grill for lunch. Who doesn't love a bowl of steaming hot vegetables, meat and noodles? I have to tell you all... the food is top notch! You pick out what you want in your bowl and they cook it up, what's not to like? :-) By the end of the day I was wiped out! Did I sleep well? Yes! So well in fact that I totally slept though the alarm clock and my husband had to wake me up at 6:15 am.

I've got lots on my plate for today so I better get on with it all!

TICKS!

After writing about container gardens on Saturday and how much enjoyment they give me blah blah blah...my son comes upstairs and says "Mom, what is this on my neck? I think it's a tick". Sure enough it's a tick. That insect has got a firm grip on his neck too! I was thoroughly grossed out and freaking out...where oh where did this tick come from? How long has it been sucking my boy's blood? Does this thing have any diseases or parasites? I have no clue how to get this thing off so I call my friend Cindy thinking..."hey Cindy has 3 boys and a couple of dogs she's probably been though this dozens of times". Knock on wood, but Cindy and her hubby have not had that experience (yet) with their children and pets. She called another friend to see if she knew (her husband had worked for the forest service once upon a time) and there was a big no there as well. Meanwhile I'm trying all kinds of things to get this blood sucker off of my child's neck. I went to the internet and looked up "how to remove ticks" and came across this little gem of a site http://www.anapsid.org/lyme/removingticks.html
let me tell you it helped me a great deal! I was able to safely remove the tick and he's in a zip lock bag properly labeled and in the freezer. I took a picture of this but alas...I still have not been able to locate my camera dock. I suppose that I could just use the cable and load pictures from my camera onto the computer but where's the fun in that?

Container Gardens

One of my passions...besides scrapbooking and gourmet cooking is container gardening. One of my fondest memories of my Mom (yes, she's still alive) is of how she had these container gardens on the patio in the backyard and the front porch. They were fantastic! All sorts of exotic plants and some a little more domestic. The plants grew and grew and were so beautiful. I felt that it was like our own little peace of heaven on earth.

So through the years I have created various kinds of gardens at the various home we have lived in our the years. My favorite has been the floral gardens that I created in the front yard of the house we owned in Virginia. The scent of those flowers just hung in the air...to me it was heaven on earth. Peonies, Hydrangea, Gardenias, Azaleas, Lilacs, Wisteria, Fuschias in hanging baskets, and the Roses....dozens and dozens of them! I had a Rose Garden, lots of huge fragrant rose bushes and miniature rose bushes everywhere! They were in every color and some had a heavy fragrance and others a lighter scent but all of them together in the hot summer evenings in Virginia made our entire cul-de-sac smell heavenly! The scent is what I think that got the rest of my neighbors to add flower gardens to their front yards :-)

So where am I going with this today right? LOL! Well...my front porch needed something, it needed curb appeal! So my daughter and I looked at it and we planned something out (okay I did the majority of the planning and I let her pick out the flowers). The flowers hung in the garage for a couple of days and I said enough is enough and I got it started yesterday without her. I'm pulling out terracotta pots and arranging them on the front porch. Then I heaved out the heavy bags of soil for containers (be aware that there are many different kinds of soil in a bag and make sure to get the kind that is right for the job...it might not always be the cheapest one either- oh how I know that one). So any way...I get started on my container garden and a couple of hours later-WOW! Just some terracotta post and a few containers of flowers from your local nursery or home improvement store can add tremendously to the curb appeal of your home. For those of you that are getting ready to sell your home keep this in mind...it's not that expensive to add some charm to the front or backyard of your home with some strategically placed pots with great looking plants. Add a nice looking door mat and there you have it, a warm and inviting front entry to your home.

I'm also staring my container herb garden. I love using fresh herbs and have wanted an herb garden for years (it's just that I never started one). Now that we're going to be here a while longer...I decided that I am going to have my herb garden, I'm going to be putting the herbs into some larger pots (one I find the box that they are in out in the garage). I'm going to have them on our deck, it needs something green :-) I'm going to take pictures of my plants on the porch once they start opening and blooming. I would love to have a small bench to put on my porch where I could sit and admire our little garden. I know that it will be a while until we get to the landscaping of our yard. So this for me is the next best thing.

Do something fun today, make a little container garden be it herbs or flowers. Put them in an area where not only you can enjoy them, but others can enjoy them as well. I have a girlfriend who loves to create topiaries out of small evergreen bushes and trees. She has these pom-pom like trees (reminds me greatly of Dr. Seuss) flanking both sides of her garage and front door. It adds a classy look and when you put them in fancy pots it's a real eye catcher! I've found myself toying with the idea of flanking my garage with those topiary trees.

The neighbors across the street from us must have thought that I was nuts, seeing all of those flats and pots of flowers and then watching me heave these 4 big bags of potting soil. Then I happily sat in the sun digging in the dirt planting flowers. Anyone who knows me knows that I am all about flowers...I love to see them everywhere, outside and inside of my home. The scent of flowers is throughout my home, I either have floral scented candles burning or I have those Glade plug-ins going on.

Imagine my surprise when I went to Target yesterday and I came across their dollar section and there were garden tools for $1! There were many colors to choose from...green, yellow, purple and pink! I even bought some tools for Mother's Day gifts for a couple of friends and a set of tools for each one of my Girl Scouts. From kneeling pads, to watering cans, garden stakes (to mark what kind of plants you have) and more...go to your local Target Store and check them out, but you better get there quick before they sell out!

Thunder Storms and Rain

I was rudely awakened at 3 am by pounding rain and very loud thunder. The lightening show was most impressive but unfortunately I was unable to get back to sleep. Just when there seemed to be a break in the storm and I was just on the verge of falling back to sleep I'd see (through my eyelids) my entire bedroom light up from the lightening strike then I'd hear the BANG of thunder and my windows would shake. It freaked out the cat and she was pretty shaken- meowing her head off every time the thunder would boom. So by 4:20 am I just gave up even staying in bed, I got up and got dressed. I started moving boxes and putting more stuff away.

Boxes, I've made quite the dent in that collection of boxes that is out in our garage. I want to put a bigger dent in them but the only way that is going to happen today is if I run them over with my car, LOL! I've got those flowering bulbs to put into pots and I need to work on those OSC scrapbooks some more.

Just say cheese...cheesecake that is! I made a Creme de Menthe cheesecake yesterday for OSC and did the house ever smell wonderfully fresh and minty! Today I've got a Turtle cheesecake in the oven, this one is for my boy to take to his JROTC Ball tomorrow night. Baking (for me) is such a wonderful stress reliever. Yesterday I also made a Ragout (pronounced ragu), it's a very veggie full tomato based pasta sauce. My daughter cracks me up, she is just crazy about this sauce! She'll eat it just as is...no pasta needed, LOL! I love to chop veggies and create delicious meals and snacks. Being able to think of something else besides where I'm going to put another vase platter, or box of books, LOL!

I'm off to spend some time in my Scrapbook Nook...with a cuppa of course!

Volunteering in your community

I can't begin to say it enough...be a volunteer in your community! Not only does it give you a sense of accomplishment it also helps out the local community in so many ways!

Today I attended a luncheon given in honor of the military members and military dependents that volunteer their time to the local community. There we a lot of people there and a lot more who were unable to attend at this luncheon. What a wonderful way to recognize those that do so much for the community be it organizing sports games, scouts, volunteer their time though the local schools, library, humane society, through their squadrons and more. Colonel Alexander of the Mission Support Group was our key speaker and let me be the first to say WOW! I find Colonel Alexander to be an inspiring role model for women of all age groups. Hands down, Mission Support Group is the Heart of this base! I'm proud to be a part of the military community here at Ellsworth AFB and a part of the Mission Support Group. We (the volunteers) received a certificate of appreciation with our names on it and beautiful picture frame from Hallmark, I love it and now am looking for a 5x7 photo to put in it :-)

My Webshots...

I feel badly about how I have neglected my webshots albums for so long. I will be striving to post to that album on a more regular basis than I have been doing these past few months. I want to share with you all what I've been working on and so forth.

Spring is in the Air

It's true, I think that Spring is trying very hard to be here now. The weather has been pleasant, not too excesivly windy, lets call it "breezy". I got the call yesterday from Lowe's Home Improvement Store that our window order was in and ready for pick up :-) I waited for the kids to get home from school and then Hannah and I went out and got the windows. We also picked up some wonderful spring plants for our flower pots. So today after school Hannah and I will be busy digging in the dirt! We also bought some Rosemary herb plants...I adore Rosemary! I want to go back and get some Lavender plants...I love the way Lavender smells, it's so lovely and fragrant!

I'm working on the OSC albums today while the kids are in school. Trying to get them together as best I can and then present them on Thursday (and ask for them back in the same evening). Ugh! And here I have to get 2 more months of functions (April and May) in them before those ladies leave in June. Expecting me to have them all up to date during a move is an unreal request and it kind of gets my panties in a bunch ...but I'll get over it. The scrapbooks were packed away, the layouts were packed away...and now I have to drop everything and work on them, grrrr! I have so many other things on my plate and then this was flopped on my lap, breath Sandie breath, LOL! My Scrapbook Nook is slowly coming along. I still have at least a dozen boxes of items that need to be put away in that room. I located the box with the adhesives and have most of my cardstock and paper out of their heavy duty boxes and back into their paper holders. There is still a great deal of work to be done in that room. My darling husband wants to to look at cabinets this week and pick out a style that I like. We're going to put in something that is more pleasing to the eye versus using those wire shelves we had in the utility closet we transformed into my scrapbook nook in the last house.

Now for another mug of my chocolate coffee and off to the garage to go through more boxes...ah moving is such fun, LOL!