Miscellaneous Thoughts

I did it! I finally reached that point. The point where the husband incredulously says, "MORE plants?" It took me a while, but I got there! I feel as though I've accomplished something. I think it was the fact that I hit WalMart, Home Depot (times two), AND Lowes for the garden center clearances...all within two days. I could have spread it out over a longer period of time and made it less noticeable...but then I would have missed all the good clearance bargains. And I already had a good start on my "Alex garden." So this was a good way to get a start on my "Travis garden." My flower gardens are going to look awesome next year!

The ultimate plan is to do away with the majority of the grass in the front yard and make it all like an English cottage garden with stone paths and gorgeous flowers and plants everywhere. I have only just begun to shop! I am giddy with the planning of it all.

It's going to take some time, but I think it's going to be a fabulous project for me. Of course, much of it must wait until the builders are done trampling through my yard. I hope they're gone in time for me to do some fall planting. I love spring bulbs!
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I sat down and made a list of all the things I need to do.

Bracelets for the MOM Project (and a couple for gifts for friends).
A sweater for a friend's new baby.
Something for another friend's new baby.
A blanket for another friend's new baby (come on Milo!).
A Thomas the Tank Engine blanket for my Sam.
Two blankets for myself.
A wrap for my mom.
A blanket for a charity auction.
Something marvelous with that Alpaca yarn I bought and for which I haven't found "the perfect" project.

Where am I going to find the time?

When does American Idol start? That's usually when I get my best crafting done.
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I posted some new pictures on my flickr site. I've got the beginnings of ears of corn! Actual, honest to goodness corn! Yee haw!

And if anyone can identify the droopy flowering bush that I've got growing in my back yard, I would love to know what it is. I think it's a weed. But it's pretty, so I haven't cut it down yet. I'll see what it does and then decide if I'm going to chop it. It does fill in an area that I would otherwise have to mow, so I'm hoping it's pretty so I can just leave it. Lazy, I know.
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Steve and I were up at 8am on Saturday and we worked on the yard and gardens...a lot. We ran out of gas for the mower, though, so there are some weird patches that remain un-trimmed. Hopefully it will stop raining sometime in the next week so we can finish it all up and not look like such white trash. (Remind me to tell you about the broken window and the duct tape some day.)
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I've been reading a bunch of blog posts about the BlogHer conference. I'm fascinated by the idea that you can make money by blogging. I wonder, though, if it changes the tone of your blog. I like the idea of making money, but not the idea that I'd be writing for the set purpose of generating an audience to satisfy advertisers. I think my blog would lose some of its honesty if I did that. But it's an interesting concept.
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We didn't find a car this weekend. Funny story...
We went to look at a used Honda at a dealership. We got there a half hour too late...it had been sold. We're about two minutes down the road when Steve's phone rings and a perky little voice chirps at him, "Mr. C, we see that you were interested in the 1998 Honda Accord we have. I was wondering if there was a time when you'd like to come take it for a test drive since it is still here on our lot."

(weird pause)

Steve says, "uuhhhh, actually, I'm just leaving your lot. We came to look at it and were about a half hour too late. It's been sold."

In a day and age when all inventory is computerized, you'd think they would avoid such embarassments. But it gave us a good laugh. And the mascot puppy they had at the dealership was fun to play with. So the trip wasn't a total loss.

The next stop was a scary scary dealership where the guy tried to sell us a Kia Sephia that had only 58,000 miles on it...but was so obviously damaged by a front end collision that I had to walk away for fear of laughing in his face.
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I don't often get sentimental about the pups that I transport for rescue. But there were these two sisters this weekend that I'm just crying over today. Beautiful black lab/golden retriever mixes. They were black like labs but had the long wavy hair of the golden retriever. And they were so in love with one another. One sat down under a bush and the other laid down and snuggled right up next to her. A matching pair...They were like bookends. I immediately hoped they would go to a permanent home together. But I got an email this morning that one was adopted without the other. So one is going to a permanent home and one is going to a rescue. A happy ending in that they're not being euthanized. But still, my heart breaks a little that they couldn't stay together. Overly romantic and stupid, I know. But I guess I still have a little of that left in me somewhere...even if it is only for dogs.
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I made the mistake of showing Sam this television and saying that he could maybe have one in his new room. I thought it was implied that "in his new room" meant "once your new room is built and you're actually sleeping in it." But noooooo...I obviously slipped up here and forgot how the four-year-old mind works. The constant nagging is driving me CRAZY!
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I need some new clothes. Luckily, I have a shopping trip planned with the beautiful Julie...after she kicks ass on her nursing boards.
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