Gardening

My Mother's Day gift from my boys this year was some planters to hang off of our deck.  I wanted some herbs and flowers.  Now, I have tried a lot of different tasks, craft techniques, etc.  I have a lot of areas of interest in my life, but there are two things I despise:  gardening and exercise.  The reason?  Delayed gratification.  You do not see the fruits of your labors until much further down the road.  Instant, satisfying results do not take place in either of these areas...at least for me.  

This year is all about expansion of my own personal hang ups.  I am running, entering races, and trying to take better care of myself down the long road.  Losing a few pounds would not be a bad thing either.  I don't like it and I have to wait for results....annoying.  I feel the same way about gardening.  I have to remember to do the little things every day in order to enjoy the food and/or flowers later on.  So far, I have remembered to water and dead head my flowers every day.  My basil and oregano are large enough to start snipping stems for cooking.  We will be eating a lot of Italian food this summer.

Here's to trying new things....and delayed gratification.

Semi-Homemade Cupcakes

Helped make some cupcakes for a friend who was hosting a shower recently.  She bakes the cupcakes and then bought the most yummy buttercream frosting from a local cupcake shop.  I just brought over my decorating tips and we added some sprinkles to finish it off.  Such an easy way to save some money and time.  I will be doing this in the future for my own hosting responsibilities.

Exercise Update: 5K

I completed my first 5K last weekend!  Here is my pre-race game face.

It was hard.  It was hot.  It was a really hilly course.  I didn't stop running once, although my pace was really slow thanks to the hills.  I don't care, I did it!

I'm going to hopefully do a couple of more this year, maybe after my allergies are under control (I'm pretty miserable right now) and the summer heat has subsided.  I'm still going to keep running in my neighborhood in the meantime.

Weight update:  Still haven't lost a single pound.  It's not ok, but I'm not giving up yet.

Bathroom Facelift: Before and After

Bathroom Before, the day we moved in

Bathroom After

Don't have the budget to change the countertop, floor, and shower, but we did what we could and it looks great considering the amount we spent.

We washed, stripped, primed and painted the cabinets.  Love them.  So far, they've held up to my three boys well and wipe off easily.  We used Behr Premium Swiss Coffee, high gloss.  New hinges as well.  For now, we aren't going to put knobs on...we'll see.

New mirror from Target.  Half the price compared to Home Depot or Lowes for similar size and shape.

Hooks from Anthropologie.  Thinking we might spray paint them a fun, bright color.

We still have some touch up to do on the walls, brainstorming some small art work, and I'm debating the shower curtain.  My boys love it so much though.  It's the World Map shower curtain from Target.  Bought it years ago, I don't know if they still sell it.  We have had several impromptu geography lessons during potty training sessions, which has made it somewhat endearing to us.

Strike Two: iPad Case

iPad case #2 for my mom.  She loved the fabric and the idea, her only request was a "c" next to her first initial.  I can do that, easy.

NOT easy.  I will be writing down my instructions or taking pictures IF I ever make one of these again.  You think it would be straight forward.  It's not a wedding dress for goodness sake.  Maybe I was really tired, maybe I have some spatial reasoning issues, maybe I'm just not that good of a seamstress.  Probably all of the the above.  This thing was picked apart three times and finally as I am sewing on the velcro, my needle snaps in three pieces, one of which flies at my face and hits my eyeglasses (good thing I was wearing them and not my contacts).  I believe I stood up at that point and said out loud to myself, "That's it!  I'm done!"

The kicker...it still doesn't fit.  I am not making another until I have her iPad in front of me.  The dimensions I am getting off the internet must not be accurate...or I just don't know how to measure.  I'm banking on the latter.

Book Review: Yearning for the Living God by F. Enzio Busche

Yearning for the Living God: Reflections from the Life of F. by F. Enzio Busche

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I loved this book.  The memoirs of F. Enzio Busche, his amazing life growing up in WWII Germany and his conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Many wonderful (and some amazing) stories of his leadership in the church during the rebuilding years of post-war Germany.  As he recalls many experiences and stories from his life, the overall theme of the book comes through: there is a real, living, loving, caring God who desires a personal relationship with you.  I copied out several quotes into my journal.

Although the writing isn't the best I've ever read, the style lends itself to the memoir genre and gives some of the almost unbelievable stories some credibility in a strange way.  Like if I friend were just causally relating a story to you in your living room instead of a career author or public speaker telling you a tall tale.

Loved it.  Read it if you get the chance.  I might pick up a copy for myself to reread someday.



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Watercolor Card with Quote

Watercolor card with quote

I made a big mistake a couple of weeks ago.  One of my YW was in a theatrical production of Pride and Prejudice, playing Kitty Bennett.  I was so excited to not only go see her, but I'm a big Jane Austen fan and wanted to see the play.  Well, I thought I knew where the play was (a local community college)...I don't need to look for directions...it will be fine.  Turns out, I had the right college, just the wrong location (they have a couple in the area).  I misapplied my good sense big time.  The other college location was miles away...we would never make it in time.  We missed the play and I am still kicking myself for it.  I made a little "I'm sorry I'm an idiot" card for the little starlet and her family...along with the money for the tickets that we never got to use.  Awesome.

The silver lining to all of this is I got to make a cute card.  My mind is spinning with the possibilities of quotes with a little watercolor in the background.  I would really like to develop my calligraphy/handwriting more too.  The wheels are turning...

Oh, and I will ALWAYS be double checking directions and addresses from now on.  Lesson learned.

Book Review: Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie Flag

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie Flagg

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A story of Dena Nordstrom, a successful TV anchorwoman in the 70's, living in New York City.  Dena seems to have it all together, but her life is filled with mystery and unanswered questions from her childhood.  With the help of friends and some funny, quirky family members, Dena is able to uncover the past and find the answers she is looking for. 

I really liked the book while I was reading it.  I was intrigued by the story and wanted to know the answers to the mystery of Dena's mom.  When all was revealed, however, I was a little disappointed and wanted to say, "Yeah, right...that's it?"  I don't know, it just seemed a little unbelievable to me.  The characters were extremely well developed though and it carried the story forward.  I liked the characters so much that I was willing to look past the slow parts and the unsatisfying resolution.  This very well may be something do with me and others may not feel the same about the ending...read it for yourself and don't necessarily take my word for it.



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Garage Organization

Garage right before we moved in

Filling it up

Our garage needed some storage and organization solutions in a bad way.  Piles of stuff everywhere, really hard to find what you needed, especially tools.

My handy husband got to work and built shelves everywhere.

The pantry section.  We are still working out where we are going to put everything and I'm trying to decide how to organize my cans, boxes of kleenex, etc.  It's so nice to have places for things now!  The tools are getting huge pegboard for storage and a workbench with drawers for the bigger things.  Spare minutes here and there are spent in the garage finding places for things...and we love it.  Great job, babe.