last weekend in pictures...

i planted these

and mowed this

and this too

which got me this

because i didn't use this

the end.



maybe next weekend i'll get around to planting this (no i cannot see any dead plants in close proximity, consider having your eyes checked soon)

in here



also... i saw this a few months ago as i backed out of my garage, and have been meaning to post it here for your viewing enjoyment. the picture doesn't quite do it justice, but i assure you it was breathtaking.



p.s. i went to the ymca monday, tuesday (despite this

flooding in the area, photo taken from the nice high seat in my truck), AND today!

so THAT makes it official, right?

an update on "thrifty failed me"...

if you haven't read the post i refer to above, scroll down a couple of posts and do it! i thought yall might this little update...

so one of my mothers-in-law, jeni (hubby's stepmom), shared the following information with me after laughing maniacally at the "thrifty failed me" post...

jeni: 1) never put wood in the dishwasher!

me: oops.

jeni: 2) most wooden bowls back in the day were used specifically for caesar salad. the dressing was made in the bowl first, and the lettuce was tossed in later. originally, most caesar dressings were made with anchovies... they were smashed up (minced is probably the word she used but i like smashed up) in the bowl in the dressing prep.

me: oooh. ew.

two things...

1) i forgot to tell yall that i passed the exam i took a few weeks ago! the course was "Financial Planning for Business Owners and Professionals" ...the 5th of 8 courses required to achieve a CLU (Chartered Life Underwriter) designation. just 3 more courses/exams and i'll be Sondra German, CLU. yes, envy me.

2) i did it! i finally DID it! i left my house around 5:15 this morning and headed for the YMCA. i have officially started my morning workout routine! okay, maybe i have to do it more than once to call it "official" but it's my blog so go with it... this is the first day of the rest of my life! <\dramatic tone>

lessons learned...

some people have to learn from their own experiences. i am one of those. for the rest of you, the ones that will take advice from others who've "been there", i give you today's lesson:

do not begin taking your new fiber supplement until friday evening...

if you know, you're laughing. if you don't, you will.

thrifty failed me...

so i try to be thrifty. when my sister-in-law (soulmate) comes to town we hit as many garage sales as we can the very next morning. last weekend we stumbled on this little consignment shop right in the middle of a neighborhood (zoning is a little quirky in the area) that had only opened a week ago! the prices are mostly NOT firm, so i managed to negotiate my total from $50 down to $35 (with minimal effort on my part). then we hit the goodwill store... i didn't find anything but sarah found some fab jeans and brand new shoes. and the salvation army store... don't remember what sarah found, but i found a pair of lightly-worn jeans (that actually fit!) for $4, and a set of those old school wooden bowls (with which i fell in love) for $1. which is where my story turns sour... see, i was slightly worried about purchasing wooden bowls, but i figured if they passed the "sniff test" they were worth the $1 i was gambling. ::sniff, sniff:: great, they smelled like wood. i figured we could be friends. i went home, showed hubby, who wasn't all that thrilled because apparently he has some "issue" with buying used dishes. whatev. i threw them in the sink knowing they'd make their way to the dishwasher by morning. except that they got wet while they were in the sink. and they started to kind of smell... bad. so i threw them in the dishwasher knowing that scalding water would kill anything (our hot water heater is turned up a little hotter than normal). hubby came home from work the next day and started the dishwasher while i was on my way home. i entered the house via the door in the kitchen and nearly threw up in my mouth. i said "UGH! honey what is that SMELL?" apparently that hot water wasn't killing... it was mutating! the entire kitchen smelled like dead fish! we don't even COOK fish in the house because i hate that effing smell! he said "probably those bowls you bought!" so we ended this little melodrama by stopping the dishwasher mid-wash and tossing the dead fi - i mean bowls in a trash bag all their own. so i probably should've know better than to buy wooden bowls that were used... you never know how the previous person cared for them. but they passed the "sniff test"!

marley & me: a movie review...

only the 2nd movie i've added to the list of flicks that made me sob out loud. i hate crying over movies... seems so pointless to me. there are millions of other things i could be crying over, like the news, for example. but there are always a few that make me tear up a little... usually because i wasn't expecting it. but i knew what was gonna happen, and i still cried nearly uncontrollably while holding my dog. and i did it front of my husband. balls.

just so you know, my husband never laughs at me for crying over a movie. isn't that super sweet? probably saves it for his coworkers. smart man.

and, in case you're wondering about the other movie on the list... it's "fried green tomatoes". best.movie.ever. "secret's in the sauce!"

i want a roomba!

click HERE for a video and more info... of course, i HAVE to have one!

LINDSEY...

that's right, girlfriend... you get your very own post on my blog today!

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY!

xo -s