Tag- I'm it!

(I took this picture last night out our front windows, it was a spectacular double rainbow out in the wheat fields- we could see the whole arch.)

Mary Beth of Salt and Chocolate tagged me for the "Six Unspectacular Quirks" meme. The rules are

* Link the person who tagged you
* Mention the rules in your blog
* Tell about six unspectacular quirks of yours
* Tag a new set of six following bloggers by linking them

Okay, here are mine:

1.  I have NEVER, not one time, EVER mowed the lawn.  (my brother always did it, and now Carl.)  I wouldn't even know how to turn the thing on.

2.  I can only eat from one group of food on my plate at one time.  For example I wouldn't take a bite of salad and then a bite of rice, and then a bite of meat.  I would instead eat all my salad and then move onto the rice and then onto the meat.  OCD I know.

3.  Yesterday I ate a candy bar.  A Reses Fast Break to be exact.  This is something that I also NEVER do (like once every 3 years).  I am too embarrassed to buy them, like they are contraband or something. Carl happened to bring one home and so I indulged.  It had 450 calories and 22 grams of fat.  I enjoyed all of it.

4.  I hate standing in dirty water.  I would never make it barefoot in a public shower, or standing in line at the water slides.  It totally creeps me out.

5.  I am growing bored with my beige walls and wish my kitchen looked like this. (the second picture w/ the red chairs)  Isn't that cheery?

6.  I have a re-occurring nightmare where all my teeth fall out. One by one I keep loosing them throughout the dream until they are all gone. I am not sure how to analyze that one, but I am sure it must mean something. 

Well don't you feel better knowing those 6 useless things about me?  Let's hear yours.  Consider yourself tagged.

ps. Wow! you ladies like to talk laundry.  I loved hearing from all of you.  For those of you who asked, regular white vinegar works best!

Bits and Pieces

There is no way that I would ever be clever enough to find a way to tie the following things together...so I will just slap them together and you'll just have to be okay with that.  Alright?

First off, let me just say that the warmer weather is so great.  It does, however, require that I shave my legs more than once every two weeks and paint my toes so that the bruise on my big toenail doesn't show. (I dropped a 15lb hand weight on it- at home thankfully and not at the gym. I don't swear very often....but that moment definitely warranted some serious profanity!)

Laurel Baby and I were matching in our navy sandals. You can't see her toes very well, but our polish was the same color. Try and ignore the dirty floor. And how come squishy soft legs are so much cuter on her?

Yes indeed, it is so nice to be wearing lighter weighted clothes.  I have been waiting to wear this dress since I bought it at and end-of-season sale at Jcrew late last summer.  It was like torture passing by it in the closet each frosty April morning.  I must say that it is easier to dress the kids too- especially girls.  Dresses and sandals all the way. No more looking for matching shirts, pants, socks or anything else!

 

The garden is coming together.  Actually it has been nice having a few extra weeks to prepare the ground.  I wasn't as ready as I thought I was.  Obviously it needs a bit more mulch around the borders, and I still need to dig up some space for corn and squash (the squash will grow on the ground beneath the corn stalks)  Oh yeah, and just out of the frame to the left is a slope up to the back fencing.  That is where the watermelon will go.  Any gardeners out there?  Do I have things laid out right?  Do any of the neighboring plants hate each other? 

The zucchini is really ready to make it's journey outside- flowering already! I get so nervous putting my starts out.  You nurture these little plants inside for months,  watering, feeding, coaxing growth...it would be so sad if they didn't make it!  I think I'll wait one more week.

And this is new (the car, not the husband :)  Laurel is begging to be let back in her new favorite play place.  Carl has been such a long suffering man when it has come to vehicles in this marriage.  He has always taken my "automobile hand-me-downs" (meaning that when I am through trashing it- he takes the old car and I get a new one.

With temperatures over 90 degrees most of the summer and deep snow in the winter, we felt it was appropriate that he have air conditioning and all wheel drive (two things he has never had- I told you he was long suffering).  When I first met Carl he was driving a beat up old Chrysler New Yorker. For our first date I prayed that he wouldn't come pick me up in that thing.  Thankfully he borrowed his mom's.  You've come a long way baby.

where the rubber meets the road

It's 8:15am, girls dropped off at school (except for Laurel Baby), I have 2.5 hours of free time- what do I do next?

A.  Make a beeline to my favorite downtown coffee shop? (very tempting!)

B.  Go back home and do laundry? (not so tempting)

C.  Get real about getting in shape and exercise? (ugghhh)

D.  Kidnap my husband and fly a private jet to some lovely tropical island where we sip fruity drinks all day and sink our toes into the sand. (probably not a realistic option)

Answer: C

It wasn't all that bad.  I had a fun little friend with me.

We chatted (er- maybe it was more like I eeked out a few words between gasps of air) about the trees,

 

and made a pre-season visit to the "secret beach".

All the fruit trees are beginning to bloom and it is so, so pretty around here.

It is amazing what intricate theological discussions one can have with a two year old about The Maker of All Things when surrounded by such beauty. 

Me:  Laurel, who made that pretty tree?

Her: um, God.

Me: Laurel, who made those noisy geese?

Her: um, God.

Me: Laurel, who made the bright sunshine?

Her: um, God.

Me: Laurel, who made you?

Her:...thinks about it... "God did!" (with great enthusiasm)

Me: Why did God make you?

Her: love (spoken in a soft voice with her head tilted to one side)

Isn't that simple?  Just a one word answer summed it all up.  I was blessed.