Creeps Me Out

It really does. It makes my skin crawl. It just makes me think of millions of pathogens. Call me silly but anything that has gone into the bathroom stays in the bathroom.

I love Pinterest and there are tons of ideas to recycle them. Whole body shudder.

That is all.

100th Post and I Bet Leaves are Fast Talkers

I slept at the house last night. On an air mattress because I was too tired to drive to my grandfather's. It is one of those thick comfy mattress but it was still uncomfortable. My bed has spoiled me.
What about this weather? Cold, warm, rain, sun, a little bit of everything. The leaves are really starting to fall from the trees but sadly there is no fantastic color display. In Northern VA I would be speechless for a week when the leaves were at full color. Bright orange, red and apricot trees were everywhere. I always thought they looked like the warm glow of lamps in a cozy window. When the leaves began to fall there was this amazing smell everywhere and they would whip around you as you walked down the street like small tornadoes. Even the most mature person is tempted try to catch a handful. I imagined the leaves saying "Oh hello! Happy Fall, always go out in style, I like your scarf, gotta go, in a rush, OK bye!" I bet Fall leaves are fast talkers. I just realized that this is my 100th post. Shoot, I was going to do something fancy. Oh well....

Blah Blah Blah

Here is a little bit of what is going on. Today I have sanded and painted two very large planter boxes that we will use for the plants at the Chickasaw Festival Meeting. It is a pretty big deal and we get to do all of the stage plants and silk arrangements. This place has been filled to the brim with large plants and it has been lovely. I am now working on a few more mums. I really enjoy my job. I think I have said that before.

I am working on the house and yesterday I even unpacked a few boxes in the kitchen. It was like shopping but I loved everything and it was within my budget. The day started out very cool and then in the late afternoon it became very warm and muggy so the house felt stuffy. After the sun went down I went out and sat on the porch. A cool night breeze and the faint smell of a fire in the distance made the porch a much better place to be. After about thirty minutes I realized that the only sound I heard were animals and an occasional passing car. No sirens, no planes, no helicopters. There was not the constant hum of the cars on 395. It was so peaceful.

Chicken Sauce and Vegetables

The town I live in is the Capitol of the Chickasaw Nation. The annual Chickasaw Festival is being held this week. It reminds me of a sweet moment when my son was three. My husband was Navy and was deployed to the Mediterranean for six months so we stayed with my parents during that time. I had told my son about the festival and we talked about the Native American culture and I explained that we would be going to the parade and to see all the exhibits the next day. I often videotaped my son and sent his father the tapes with him telling his father about the things we were doing. I was videotaping him and said "Tell daddy where we are going in the morning." my son replied in a cheerful voice "We are going to the chicken sauce and vegetables!!" He is now sixteen and I can remember that little phrase like it was yesterday.

Fall Decorations

I cannot find any of my fall decorations and it is making me so annoyed. I can picture the box that I packed them in. I have seen them since I got here, so where are they?
I looked back at the fall decor post from last year and it makes me so sad. I want to put the fall berry wreath up on my half finished house front door. I want to put out the "poison" candy jar. If you have seen my fall decorations could you buy them a bus ticket home? I will happily send you the money.
What a crazy five months it has been. I am ready for a little bit of boring. I appreciate my old apartment more now than ever. Knowing the location of nearly all my things was something I took for granted. I will enjoy finding a place for everything. I will put the seasonal items in neatly labeled boxes and smile every time I look at them. I will do all of this in what I call "future perfect world". I have a lot lined up in my "future perfect world". A lush tiny English type garden hidden in the back of my property, Fall dinners under my big Pecan tree on crisps nights and we will eat butternut squash soup out of pumpkins, an imperfect white picket fence surrounding the front yard with heirloom yellow (drought resistant) roses growing all over it. It all may not happen, but isn't it lovely to think it might?
Yesterday, I took off the ugly aluminum screen door and painted the front door before I remembered to take a picture. I keep doing that. How will you know how fantastic the house looks unless you see the before picture?

It Just Happens

I am blogging along daily and everything is grand, blog ideas come at me like crazy and then I have some big change in my life and my brain just shuts down and goes into survival mode. This time has been of all things a puppy. Yes a little dachshund has entered my life. He found me, I swear.

I was driving back from a lovely afternoon of walking around Lowes (that would be a grand time to me these days, Starbucks and Lowes...Woot!) I am driving through a little town and this thing runs straight at my car and I can tell it has no sense at all. People let their dogs wander around here all the time and I never stop, but this time it was different. I stop in the middle of the highway and put on my flashers hoping I am not killed by a semi while trying to save this little beast. He runs under my car and I call him, "Puppy!, Puppy!" I scoop him up and set him in my passenger seat and drive to the side of the road. I see him and think, he is a darling dog someone has to be missing him. I go to the local convenience store and give them my name and number and they take his picture and then I leave...

I get to my town and begin to really look at him. He is a very sad creature. Skin and bones, covered in ticks and fleas, ear mites, uncut nails, and I bet he has worms (he had worms). I decide that he found me and that he needed a good home. My home, I guess. I am a dachshund person which makes everything even more weird. Is there a list for Dachshund puppies that name all of the people that might want them? Do they have some type of Ontstar that notified him that I would be driving in that exact location at that precise time? I wonder, but then I realize that he did not learn to fetch or sit when I met him so I think he might have lucked out or he had friends helping him out. I really have no idea. Anyway it goes, he is here to stay. I named him Weenie Beenie after a hot dog place near my old work. I call him Weenie B. pictures are soon to follow.

Remember The Rain Boots

It has not rained once since I got them. I think they are some crazy anti-rain thingy. I am really wanting to sport those babies around a little. Alas they have only sat here in the office mocking me. The other day the sky turned gray and I knew it would storm but it just passed over and the sun was out in a few hours.

Worth the Wait

I am so excited guys! This might not seem like much but I got new rainboots. I have been waiting and waiting because I just do that and I finally got THE boots I know I will love for a long time. They were seriously on sale, I am talking crazy cheap. I love the Lilly Pulizter vibe too. I took my friend's daughter to look for school clothes today and saw these and just about started to jump up and down screaming. I was THAT excitied.

I will use them for so many things like...

Helping my friends feed all of their beasts...

The cows

Dan (I love this picture of him)

The baby

He was very curious about my camera.

They also have two other horses.

There is Gary the Donkey.

Sometimes they have hogs and lambs.

My boots will be so handy for that and there is also

Gardening

Yes I will use them then too.

What other times can I use them?

Oh yes....

When it rains

Fuego, Fuego, Fuego!!!

I went to a local Mexican place to have lunch on Monday.

I ate lunch and then ordered a yummy Margarita on the rocks.
All of a sudden a guy runs out of the kitchen yelling "Fuego, Fuego, Fuego!"
The Kitchen was on fire!

Everything was put out before it got to the seating area and they were back open a few hours later. If you ever are in Waco, TX try La Fiesta, it is very tasty. I think you will have a "Fuego, Fuego, Fuego" free experience.

Honey, Where is My Lucky lighter Fluid?

I was walking through the HEB grocery store with my mother on Sunday and I saw this...I can understand the plastic silverware, it makes sense.

Paper towels are fine.

Moist Towelettes, Great if you are having ribs.

Going a little too far... stick with the tested brands.

Over the edge

Crazy

I am sorry, I have been so busy.

I will be back to daily blogs on Friday. I have so much to share!!

I'm Not Going To Cry... I'm Not Going To Cry....

My coworkers are so sweet to me. We are practically family. I will miss all of them so so much. I will be back in December to work on a specific project, but it will not be the same. I won't see them everyday like I have for the last six years.

They brought me a strawberry cream cake, yum!

Took me to dinner at a lovely restaurant.

We talked and laughed and really had a fantastic time.

They gave me presents

Thank you for everything both C family's, the H family, the three little ones that I will miss so very much, KL and everyone else that I have become close to. See you in December!! Just so you know...

“If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together.. there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. but the most important thing is, even if we're apart.. i'll always be with you.”

Who is kidding.. I cried.

My Morning View

Yesterday's post at Rue's PB & J Life made me realize that I needed to show you something that I will miss very much. The view from my bedroom window.

When I am ready to go to sleep each night I turn off the light and then open the curtains so that this is my first view each morning. I really love it. I wish I would have taken a picture when it was snowing, talk about nice.
I am excited to see what my next view will be! Luckily, I can make my view anything I want at the next place and I am thinking Morning Glories. Lots and lots of Morning Glories. They are my favorite flower.

An Ideal House

This house. I drove by it and immediately wanted it. I never took myself for someone that would go for a Colonial. OK, yes my first home was almost exactly like this house except it did not have the two middle windows, it had a covered stoop and it was light blue. Otherwise it was just the same. So yes, I like the Colonial style.

Perhaps I am stuck on the little houses I would draw as a child. All this house needs is a curl of smoke from the chimney, a lollipop tree and an awkward family of stick figures and I would be set .

This home seems happy, like it is smiling. I think that yellow is the perfect color for this place. If I owned it the first thing I would do is paint the door and trim. I think a midnight blue would be very pretty. I would also plant bunch of orange flowers and lavender.

I knocked on the door to request permission to take a photo but there was no answer. So if this is your home, I did try to ask...

If you had an ideal house what would it look like?

Nothing Interesting

I know that my posts have been sparse at best but it is so hard to post about packing and cleaning to move. It is so totally boring. I sound like a teenager don't I. But it is true this waiting is getting me down. I do plan on doing a post about my favorite flower shop in this area, they have the most beautiful place and I want to remember it once I go.

The Cherry Blossoms have come and are on there way out. It was a lovely year for them too, I feel so happy to have seen them so many years. Next year I will not be sad to miss the cherry blossoms because they always bloom the same time the Bluebonnets are in bloom back home. I have not seen a Bluebonnet season since 2003!

So I realized that my new town will not have NPR!! I was really freaking out until I realized I can get it on Sirius. I love to listen to so many programs on the weekends. My two favorite are "The Splendid Table" and "A Prairie Home Companion". I have decided to go without cable in the house, I waste too much time sitting on the couch.

Anyway that is all for today.

Wellness Wednesday

I worked in a health food store for about three years so I know that I should be taking flax seed oil, it is so good for you. I could just never stomach the stuff the taste and texture grossed me out. I could make a salad dressing like the one at Whole Foods and it is pretty good but not something you want everyday. Well there is a little local heath food store near my house and they introduced me to Barleans Total Omega Swirl . Can you say yum? I add it to plain yogurt or I can actually eat a tablespoon of it all alone. I am totally impressed. I know you can get it at Whole Foods.

I chose the vegan berry swirl because well, it is berry and I love all things berry and is it also vegan. Honestly fish oil makes me burp and it is sort of fishy smelling. Dolphins or cats might not mind fishy burps but everyone else would be offended. I know it is gross but I can be honesty with you, we are close like that.

In the Gloaming

Everyday I tend to get a little nervous about the gloaming time. The day is done but I am not ready for the evening. If I am in the house and I have not turned on the lamps I find myself sitting the dark just thinking, "I am not ready for this". I will sit at the window and watch the sky turn orange to dark blue, then finally to black. Once the darkness takes hold I get up, turn on the lights in the house and things are better. I can settle down to enjoy the evening. That is how I feel right now. The sun has set on the life I built here and but my new life has not taken over. I have done a majority of the packing, started the cleaning and begun to say my goodbyes to those I will miss so much. I do find myself in the same mood as I have during the gloaming hours, I sit and again think, "I am not ready for this. It is too early". I know when I finally get the van packed, drive across country, get the house ready and move in I will not feel this way. I guess it will be exactly the same thing as getting up and turning on the lamps. It just has to be done.
I want to her from you. tell me about a time you felt this way too.

SAME CAFE

I am sure you all have seen something about the SAME CAFE on television but I want to talk about it.

A cafe that allows it's customers to pay in donations or by volunteering. What a nice concept. Not a handout but a handup. The news report actually made me tear up.

After working at the Salvation Army for a few years I found that giving someone food was fine but the people that volunteered even a little bit were happier about receiving food. I think it is a matter of respect and letting some say "I am giving back,I am trying".

You know the whole saying give a man a fish...teach a man to fish concept. I love it. If you want you can donate a little something something to them through paypal on their website. Even if it is what you would pay for a couple lunches, I bet it would help. I hope they don't mind me swiping the logo, you know how I hate posting without a picture.

A New Look and My Lost Camera

Hello Everyone! I am back and since I hate putting up posts without pictures I will use photos I already have. I took this the Spring of 2007. I love how Bleeding Hearts look like little lockets, alien lockets perhaps.

I hope you enjoy the new look! Laura at DoLollies was so patient and wonderful with me. Thank you so much Laura!!

Also.... I am sorry to have been gone so long, I had some things to sort out and then my camera disappeared. I have not been doing many projects since Christmas but that will soon change and I will be posting like crazy, I am so excited! There are going to be some big changes coming in my life soon and I am thankful that I will be able to share my journey with you. I will give you more info as soon as all the details are worked out.

I will not give anything away yet, but I can say this... I know that everything I have experienced in my life, good or bad, has led me down the path I will be heading down soon. I have a clear vision of my goals and it is going to be a good life from here on out.

The lost camera thing.... I am not certain where my camera went. The last place I remember seeing it was in a bag that I checked at the airport. I forgot to grab it and put it in the carry on and I have not seen it since. Either it was taken out of my bag or I have lost my mind and it was never in the bag to start. No matter what I am cameraless. I feel like my dog ran away.

Happy Birthday Puppy

It is the dogs 1st birthday! She is having squirrel shaped dog treats. Let me tell you they were a big hit, she jumped up and took it out of my hand, guess they are tasty or something.

Peanut Butter Puppy Treats
2 cups whole-wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 350'F.

In a bowl, combine flour and baking powder and cheese. In another bowl, mix peanut butter and milk, then add to dry ingredients and mix well. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Bake until golden brown 15-20 min. Cool on a rack, then store in an airtight container.

I got the basic recipe from Bullwrinkle.com but I totally changed it.