Stuffed!

Oh my goodness, I am so stuffed!  We went to dinner with my aunt, uncle and cousins tonight and had a great time!  We went to Rio Grande, a place I've never been to before, and we all got stuffed.  Even Lauryn ate a little bit better than I thought she would!  Everything from the bread and salad to the steak and garlic mashed potatoes was delicious!  That's definitely a restaurant I'd like to go back to!

Last Father's day, Lauryn and I got Lloyd a heavy duty wagon to pull around the yard.  It was meant for leaves and sticks and stuff like that but I think he ended up using it to pull Lauryn around more :)  He was just telling me that his cousin is going to take off the handle and use some welding cable to add a hitch to it so he cause use it on the tractor....or to have a different way to haul Lauryn around! :)  I might actually get some use out of it this year too.  Since we moved into this house at the end of October, I'm not sure what kinds of flowers are planted around the yard and I'll probably clean up the garden beds and add some new flowers.  I can't wait for Spring :)

Lots To Do

We're getting ready to go camping again this weekend and there is a lot to do today.  I have to go shopping to get some food, pack our clothes and a few odds and ends, I want to give the inside of the camper a good once over and I still have my usual Thursday cleaning to do in the house! 

If I get some time, I need to get out to the garden and do some weeding!  My flowers needs some TLC too!  I think we need to get Lauryn her own set of kids gardening tools because she's always trying to take mine when I need them.  She's a very good helper out there.  As I'm pulling weeds, she's sweeping them up and putting them in a bucket.  Gotta love it!

A Good Monday

After having a pretty relaxed morning, Lauryn and I got ready and went dollar store shopping to pick up a few things for the camper.  It was about lunch time when we finished so we went to Big Boy and both had the salad bar.  Lauryn had a good time there.  We had a really sweet waitress who kept talking to her and she loved it!  Afterward, we came home and Lauryn colored for a little bit while I read my book.  Then it was nap time.  It took her a little while to wind down but when she finally did, I thought I might get a little nap too.  At first I couldn't fall asleep so I called my mom and talked for a bit, read more of my book, then dozed on the couch for a little while.  When we got up, it was close to dinner time.  Since Lloyd was going to be home late, I made myself a french bread pizza and Lauryn had a sandwich, string cheese and a juice box.  After dinner we went out in the backyard and I weeded the garden and my flower bed, took care of my three flower baskets, replanted some cucumbers and melons and then Lauryn helped me water everything.  She REALLY loves watering everything :)  I LOVE getting work done in the garden and being able to look at it after and see how nice it looks!  When we came in, we were both a little dirty so we took a quick shower.  Lloyd came home a little bit later and now we're relaxing before bed time.

Whew!

Lauryn and I ran a few errands this morning and ended up going to a nursery nearby to get some flowers and things for the garden.  It's pretty nice and warm today but being in those greenhouses was fricken hot!!!  We both left a little sweaty and red-faced but we got some very pretty flowers and some peppers, cucumbers, melons and herbs for the garden.  I let Lauryn pick out some flowers to plant and she was thrilled!  I told her she could pick anything she wanted and she went for some pink ones, which made me very happy because they will compliment the flowers that have already been planted.  She's very much her mama's girl, picking out the pink :)

Mom will be coming over for our usual Friday visit.  I'm going to be making chicken breasts on the grill, rice and watermelon.  I picked one up yesterday and it was delicious!  Perfectly sweet!

I'm almost done with my Pay It Forward crafts.  I've made four different things, that I've never done before, and the five recipients will receive one of each.  Once I know that the gifts have been received, I'll be posting pictures of each projects.  They were all little things but since they were new things I'd never made before, it was fun and I can't wait to show them off!

April Fool's Day Success!

I usually don't get into the April Fool's Day pranks but this year, I couldn't help myself.  Since Lloyd was working all day and Lauryn doesn't understand pranks yet, my mom was my "victim."  I'm all for the pranks and jokes that are harmless and funny, not the ones that get people upset and make them think something is wrong.  Luckily, mom is a very good sport and has a great sense of humor so she thought the pranks were as funny as I did :) 

I am so ready for this weather to warm up!  I want to get out and go for long walks, take Lauryn to different parks, get my vegetable garden going and plant some more flowers around the house.  With all the plans I have this year, I'll probably have to get a couple of cash advance payday loans to make it all happen :)  Come on spring!  We're waiting!!!

Lovin' The Garden

Last night I went out to water the flowers and the garden and Lloyd pointed out that I have a ton of cucumbers growing and that a few of them are ready to be picked :)  I picked two last Friday and have already used them.  I love eating stuff that I have grown....it's pretty cool :)  The melon plants I put in are really taking off too!  I think it'll still be a while before any melons show up but it's still pretty neat seeing them grow.

I'm getting back on track with getting healthier. I got on the elliptical yesterday and did my workout video. I'm not sure what I'll do today but as long as I'm getting back on track, that's what matters. It would be a lot easier to use some quick weight loss diet but I like getting out and doing things. It makes me feel better every day!

What To Do?

It's Thursday, I have nothing planned....what should I do?  It's supposed to be nicer today than it has been, not as humid, so maybe I'll take a walk to the park with Lauryn.  I know she'd like that :)

My garden seems to be doing well.  The melon and cucumber plants are thriving and I've already been using the cilantro, dill and oregano.  The strawberries are another story though.  Something has eaten all of the berries!  There have been bunnies hanging around so I'm pretty sure they are the culprits.  Oh well. My petunias, balloon flowers and English daisy's are all doing really well but my geranium hanging basket has hardly any flowers on it.  I'm not sure what happened there.  My neighbor has hydroponic systems set up for his plants every year and his flowers are always the most beautiful on the block.  Maybe I should get some advice from him on how to bring back the geraniums!

Crabby Pants!

I don't know what is up with Lauryn today but she has been a little crabby pants all day!  I'm thankful that it's the end of the night and she is in bed :)  Mama was about to pull her own hair out!

Got a few things done around the house today.  All of the laundry is caught up, I swept, dusted and vacuumed, put a million toys away and made braided pizza and salad for dinner.  Afterward, I did the dishes and went outside to water the garden and the flowers.  It's so nice to see everything still doing well and growing!

Lloyd and I were talking about insurance again the other day.  He decided to add disability insurance to our policy, just in case.  It's one of those things that you wonder "why am I paying for this?" but should anything happen, you'll be glad you had it!

Tomorrow I plan on doing a little birthday shopping.  My mom's birthday is Saturday and she'll be coming over for dinner Friday night.  I hope to find the things on my list :)

Not Ready

After such a long weekend, I was not ready to fall back into our regular routines today.  I woke up feeling tired and coffee was not helping one bit.  Still managed to go to the store for some groceries, sweep, vacuum and do the dishes.  After dinner we went outside and watered the garden, the strawberry patch and the flowers.  I was very happy to see that some strawberries are starting to grow, my herbs are all doing very well, one of the Miss Tilly blue balloon flowers had started to bloom and so had the English daisy's.  Who knew I'd get so into this?

I think I need to add some vitamins into my diet.  People always tell me that I should take them but recently, even when I'm feeling great, I still don't feel like I have as much energy as I should.  I'm reading a few supplement reviews to figure out what will be best for me.  I figure it'll help me feel more energized and will be good for me in other ways, so I might as well do it :)

Catching Up From The Weekend

We had nice, productive weekend.  While it was great to get outside and work on getting the garden ready, I didn't get much done inside the house and am playing catch up now.  It was worth it though!  We went to a nursery on Sunday and got dill, oregano, cilantro, cucumber, cantaloupe and honeydew for the garden and some geraniums, petunias and balloon flowers to plant around the house.  I also got some hanging baskets, two for the front and one for the back yard.  We still want to get parsnip seeds and we're going to try growing potatoes this year too!  It should definitely keep me busy!  After we got home from the nursery, we transplanted some lily's from the back of the house to the side.  I wanted to plant my new flowers in the back but we didn't want to destroy the lily's so we moved them to the side which was pretty bare.  Lauryn sure loved getting out and playing in the yard too!

Two Nights In A Row

I think all the fresh air that Lauryn got yesterday while I was weeding the garden helped her sleep really well again.  It's so nice to wake up feeling refreshed!  I'm not surprised that I slept well either.  It took me three and a half hours to weed that garden and it's not even all that big.  The crab grass was crazy!  My back was a little bit sore when I got up but it feels much better now.

I made some zucchini cookies today.  It was the first time I've made them and they turned out really good!  I'll post the recipe for them later.  My brother and sister in-law gave us a ton of zucchini, which was actually just a section of an enormous one that they had and I ended up shredding and freezing what was left to make zucchini breads some other time.  The piece they gave me was so huge!  It was longer than a football and almost as round!

Lauryn is still getting the hang of waving.  Mostly she waves to herself, which is so cute but she's starting to wave back when we wave at her.  I had her sitting in front of the mirror earlier and she was waving at the baby :)  Then she kissed the mirror!  I so love that she gives kisses now.  Even though they are always open mouthed and pretty wet, they are the best kisses!

A Good Nights Sleep

For the first time in quite a while, I actually went to bed at a decent hour last night, slept the whole night through and when Lauryn woke up at 5:30 this morning, I didn't feel like a zombie when I went to get her.  Nice :)

Yesterday was really nice.  We went to Lloyd's aunts house to celebrate his grandma's 84th birthday.  The food was good, the company was great and we got a couple of really cute pics with Lauryn and her great grandma.  We went to his parents for a little visit before we came home.  His dad is putting up a new shed (it's huge!) and Lloyd wanted to see it.  We didn't do too much after we got home.  Just got Lauryn bathed and to bed and watched a little t.v.

Today I plan on weeding my garden...it is so in need of it!  At least everything is growing really well.  On Saturday I picked two big green peppers and a few tomatoes out of it.  Once the rest of the tomatoes are ready, we're going to have a ton!  I'll have to do some canning.  We also figured out that the mystery plant is butternut squash.  Not something I'm crazy about but my mom loves it so she'll be very happy when it's ripe.  Other than weeding the garden, I do have a load of laundry to do and I need to clean out the fridge.

I'm making spaghetti and meatballs tonight for dinner.  I've perfected my meatballs and have been craving them :)  We'll probably have that "not quite" ciabatta bread rubbed with garlic to go with it.

Another Wonderful Weekend

I have been loving these last few weekends!  This one was perfect!  Spending so much time with Lloyd and Lauryn has been great!  It had been so long since we had a weekend to ourselves and I hope we get more of them!  When we lived in Grand Rapids we had tons of time to ourselves and we loved it.  When we moved here we hardly got any time because he was working so late and would come home, eat and go to bed.  Weekends were spent working on the other house but now that that's all taken care of we can just enjoy each others company.

I made homemade pizza tonight.  It turned out great.  I getting pretty good with the crust.  I even threw it in the air a few times :)

The garden is looking pretty good.  Lloyd weeded it the other night and I went out and saw that I have six tomatoes on one plant, a few more starting on the other one, the green peppers are starting to bud, the onions seem to be doing just fine and even the mystery plants are taking off.  We think they might be squash.

We might be getting  new doors put in tomorrow.  That will be so nice.  The doors we have now look so old and dated.  We're getting ones with windows that go all the way down, which Cloz'r will love so she can watch the neighborhood like she used to at the old house.

Well, I'm off to go eat some of that yummy golden delicious apple bundt cake and to watch a movie with Lloyd.  Good night all!

Such A Nice Day

It's so nice out today!  I love it when it's sunny but not too hot!

Lloyd and I weeded the garden last night.  It looks so much better!  I love to see the tomatoes starting to grow!  Next year I want to expand it and try some fruit too!

Mom isn't coming over tonight.  She has to be at work tomorrow at 4 am so I took her to run errands and then dropped her off back home.  Lloyd just sent me a text saying he was on his way home which makes me very happy because we thought he was going to have late appointments tonight.  We're having burgers and potatoes on the grill and salads for dinner.  I think we don't have any big plans this weekend so it will be nice to spend some time together!

What A Beautiful Day

Today turned out to be so nice!  Lloyd and I smoked his parents in two games of hillbilly golf (I love that game), we had steaks and baked potatoes on the grill and strawberry shortcake for dessert.  And Lauryn went to bed at 9:30 pm without any fussing or anything!  Hooray for fresh air!!! :)

I have so much laundry to catch up on tomorrow.  I wasn't able to do it for a couple of days because of all of the issues in the basement and only had time to do a small load this morning before we left.  I guess if it's going to be as warm in the next few days as they say it is, maybe going to the basement to catch up on it won't be so bad.  It's super cold down there.

I need to get out and weed my garden tomorrow.  I want to do it before it gets out of hand.  Since every thing is in rows, I shouldn't have a problem making sure what I'm picking is actually weeds and not my plants.  Don't laugh, it's happened before and I was totally confused why NONE of my flowers were coming up!

Long Night

Lauryn and I had a VERY long night last night. She's teething right now and she's been waking up quite a few times during the night lately. My poor girl! We are both a little wiped out today. I'm glad the sun finally decided to pop up because that always help perk me up a little....that and a few cups of coffee :)

I'm going to try a new cinnamon raisin bread recipe I found. It sounded good and I have everything for it so I thought I'd give it a whirl. If it turns out, I'll post the recipe for it later.

We did get the garden in yesterday and although I so hate getting my hands dirty, I had fun getting it started. Besides the other things I mentioned in the last post, we also planted some marigolds and dahlia's. If it all goes well, I'd like to try expanding it next year and getting more veggies and some herbs in there. I'm hoping that the bunnies that have been hanging around stay out of it.

*UPDATE*



The bread turned out great! Here's the recipe:

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1 1/4 c. warm (105 - 115 degrees

2 tbsp. honey

2 tbsp. butter

1 tsp. salt

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 c. raisins

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Stir in honey. Add butter, salt and only 2 cups of flour. Beat on low speed with mixer, until blended. Increase speed to high and beat 1 minute. Scrape bowl and beat 1 minute longer. Add remaining flour with a wooden spoon. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. "Punch" batter down by stirring 30 strokes with a wooden spoon. Stir in the cinnamon and raisins. Spoon into loaf pan.

Let rise, covered, in a warm place for 30-40 minutes or until batter rises to the edge of the pan (not over). Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Glaze:

Mix 1/2 c. confectioners sugar, 1 tbsp. milk and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract until smooth. Spread on cooled bread.

Busy Weekend

This weekend has felt pretty busy. My mom, my brother, Kathye, Debbie and Lloyd's parents have all been here. We started tilling up the yard to put in our garden. I know most people put it in earlier but I've never gardened before and I wanted to wait until Lloyd had the time to help me and show me how to do it. I used the tiller for the first time and didn't mind it at all but as soon as I was done my left hand started swelling up so much I had to take my rings off! Either I was bitten or stung by something, although I can't see any marks, or I become allergic to manual labor :) We're planting a couple of tomato plants, a couple of cucumber plants, a green pepper, onions and some marigolds. We were told the marigolds would keep the bunnies away. Tonight I'm grilling some Italian marinated chicken breasts and we're having linguine oil and garlic with it. Should be yummy! Lauryn is starting on sweet potatoes tonight. She'll be happy with her mama! She ate peas all last week, so this will be a nice change for her!

Happy 30th Birthday to my dear friend, Terry!