snap shots: my garden in october

i realized earlier this week that i had hardly any photos of my yard this season. even with some neglect on my part.... my yard continued to thrive and needed to be remembered. each season comes with new challenges, more knowledge and grand plans. this year i petered out mid summer..... i still have a handful of plants waiting to be placed into their new spots. weeds have over taken some areas and have made sure their presence will be there next season. the grasshoppers were overly abundant this year. {i'm still trying to convince mitchel that the solution for them is to have back yard chickens}. the slugs and snails... well if we had a french restaurant near by i'm confident that i could supply them with endless escargot. i have been fighting an internal war with myself about using chemical sprays or continuing on the natural route. perhaps learning little by little and implementing new practices is the way to go. at the end of this season.... i'm just grateful for a wonderful harvest, beauty and learning something new.

It's never too late to play in the garden

I wrote this for my work's website/blog today and wanted 

too keep track of it in my own archives.

Good golly I sure love gardening. 

I keep falling more and more in love with it.

With the beautiful weather we’ve been enjoying lately, I’m constantly feeling guilty about not working in my yard more. Especially since I have had such gorgeous garlic waiting to be planted. Ideally I should have planted it a month or two earlier…. better late than never, right?!

I made it a goal to come home and finally make good with my garlic. During the fall we carried these locally grown garlic for our customers to plant. If I remember correctly we had 5 different varieties. The flavor of these garlic is by far more robust and pungent than you would find at the local grocery store. Naturally that is exactly what you want from these! My mouth is watering just thinking about how delicious they are. 

Once I made it home, I let my two boys out {I have two dogs that are my children} to do their business and I gathered up my bag of cloves. This past summer I added two grow boxes on the west side of my yard. Unfortunately the tomatoes and peppers didn't exactly thrive in that area. But since it was cleaned out and was easy access for my project at hand I thought what better place to plant my beauties. 

I cleared a few spoiled tomatoes from the spot and fluffed up the soil.

Lets just say it was the perfect way to spend a few minutes in the garden. Granted it is December and it’s a wee bit chilly today…. but with the sun shining and a warm scarf it was exactly what I needed. 

Once I dumped my cloves out and placed them were they would be tucked in for the winter, I used my trowel to dig down a couple of inches. Garlic prefers to have the top of the clove 2 inches below the soil surface. Once I finished tucking them all in, I gathered some fallen leaves {that I have yet to rake up} and use it as a top dressing to help insulate them.

Now I can enjoy the coming snow storm and cross my fingers that I will have a successful harvest of garlic next summer.

friday night

three days in a row of fresh veggie juice.... major energy boost

getting out in the yard tonight.... felt good working on the front yard

mowing, weeding, sweeping and cutting out some shrubs 

i even planted a few things to add fall color

plus i saved mitch from an insanely huge spider

happy friday

treasure hunt

this afternoon once i got home from work i decided to spend a little time in the back yard....
i ended up going on my first treasure hunt for home grown garden potatoes.
it was my first time planting potatoes
there is something exciting and fun about digging for buried potatoes.
my other treasure included raspberries, strawberries, golden beets and jalapenos.

early mornings and a deal or two

cezar woke me up by staring at me about 6:17 this morning. somehow it always works. normally i'm able to manage getting up with them fairly well..... today i really struggled with keeping my eyeballs open. but when my alarm sounded at 7:00am i figured i'd roll out of bed so it would be easier to get to work on time. i walked a beautiful large bowl of tomatoes out to the trash can. it was half tomatoes nasty soup. {gross} got dressed, ate breakfast and took care of the boys. it felt good being on top of the clock.

i made a deal with mitch on my way home from work today.... i'll do his ironing if he'll get the front lawn mowed before we leave for idaho on saturday. i think the ironing took more time tonight than it would have to mow the lawn. luckily my task involved the air conditioned indoors ;)

last night we joined mitch's parents for a fabulous night out. we started with dinner at our favorite bakery - kneaders. it's was divine as always. then we headed to thanksgiving point to enjoy their gardens. it was $2 tuesdays in august. {sure glad we got a chance to enjoy it!} we rented a golf cart along with a entrance fee. it was seriously the best way for us to enjoy it. mitchel had a massive blister on his foot due to basketball the night before and the gardens are definitely more my thing. it was such an enjoyable evening. we'll have fond memories of it for many years to come.

i came home to a gorgeous new garage door today. our old one finally gave up the ghost {we've been milking it for 2 years} we were very fortunate to get an incredible deal. monday it died and i called on it and they installed it this morning {wednesday}. the minor down side.... mitch had to rip out the built in shelf next to the door. good thing we weren't in love it with. i'm super excited, happy and grateful to have a new garage door. yay.

happy wednesday

props to my hubby and a day in bed

there is something absolutely charming about drinking from a pint jar. i'm treating myself to a little pepsi this afternoon. it's been awhile.... but since it's the end of july and this week is going to be fabulous {hello 3 days of work!} today called for a treat.

i'm beyond proud of my hubby. friday night he got the crazy inclination that he needed to build us a big gate for our back yard. {granted that it will come in handy} so our lovely friday evening turned into errands.... saturday i headed to work and left mitch to his own devices for the day. he's never really built anything by himself {if i'm correct} so i wondered how it would turn out. i had confidence in him though. mitch has really showed me how handy he can be since becoming a home owner. a trip with him to the hardware store on my lunch break, a little lunch and back to work we both went. i have to give mitch serious props for this project. he did a fabulous job and from scratch no less. no plans or anything. i have a feeling there is more behind the sudden gate building then he leads onto.... {four wheeler anyone?}

yesterday was a bad day for me health wise. i managed to sleep in some, love on the boys, eat some breakfast and keep a headache at bay. mitch was in charge of teaching our primary class but i helped out with a story and activity. i'm very grateful for the opportunity i have to serve in a calling with my spouse. it's by far the best way to serve i've decided. church was wonderful and our class went well. unfortunately i felt like my blood sugar was incredibly low since i felt super shaky. after church we came home and i snacked a bit and mitch was a sweetheart and encouraged my nap - for as long as i wanted. i felt slightly better when woke up after 5..... i made us a super delicious cookie bar for a treat and then crashed on the couch. and that is where i spent the rest of the evening. i barely managed the energy to cook dinner but glad i did. it's funny how bad health days sneak up behind you and bite ya hard.

running through my head

girl's night with my sweet lady Jaclyn// constantly craving to be in my comfy bed. I've been more fatigued lately// packing healthy lunches// cooking dinners often. all the fresh produce helps// enjoying more evenings in the back yard// my coneflowers are breath-taking this year!// meet Mavrick our new store kitty. he was a stray that I bribed with food to come near. 4 days later he's such a sweet friendly little guy.he's already earned his keep.// my blueberries keep disappearing.... I finally managed to pick a few for myself.// evening harvest of a heirloom tomato and my first artichoke from the garden. it was delicious. 

-----------

I talked myself into Pilates Monday night. It had been too long. I never regret a workout and I'm so glad I went. This week seems to be on a better path because of it. Plus I was able to make it to Yoga Wednesday morning {before the dentist}it was exactly what I needed {as always}. I'm looking forward to yoga tomorrow morning too. Summer has managed to keep me away from the gym so far. I've enjoyed living life but am glad I'm getting back into the swing of working out. 

Mitch and I had planned on going up to Bear Lake next weekend. Financing don't agree with that idea. We've decided to spend that vacation time at home and are very much looking forward to it. Perhaps I'm turning into an oldie.... I prefer spending time at home. 

We have been living it up the last few weekends. After Abby's wedding we had her darling friend Vanessa stay the night with us and we all went out to a late night movie. Boy did my body revolt against me. I did have a wonderful time with Vanessa, Peter and Mitch though. Mitch and Joe talked me into another late night movie last Saturday. I was smart enough to drink some caffeine before going. We saw the new Batman. Amazing show. Surprised I handled the lateness so well {thank you Caffeine} and perhaps that's the reason I've continued being more exhausted. Mitch and I felt 'young' again {pre-wedding} since we were out so late. 

On a morbid note... I'm grateful to know that if Mitch were to ever pass and my Nanna wasn't married that she would totally move in with me. Mitch and I talked a little about it since I saw the updated life insurance on the table today. He said he'd want me to sell the house and move home. In my mind I'm thinking no way jose. I'd stay in our cute little home with my charming yard and with my two fur babies. I would be happy. Moving home {I love you family but....} not my happy thought. Good thing Mitch isn't going anywhere soon!!! PHEW.

My goal tonight was to come home and weed out two large buckets of weeds. Mitch went shooting with Joe and Chase. So it was perfect for me to spend time in the yard. I'm not someone to easily jump back into things when I'm spooked {my unwelcome snake visitor}. Even though the last two weeks I've mowed I haven't had any surprises.... I was nervous weeding out my flower bed. I harnessed Jake and Cezar up and had them hang out with me. What a fabulous solution to my anxiety problem. The boys loved being out front and I was able to dig around in the my flowers. I was quickly reminded how therapeutic gardening is for me {even if it's simply pulling out weeds}. I also trimmed off the runners on my strawberries and gave my ginormous tomatoes a haircut. in hopes of getting better light and air circulation into the center of the plant. Crossing my fingers... I can't wait to eat more heavenly goodness from my own little garden. 

an unwelcome visitor

I went to bed last night hoping I'd be up for yoga. But once morning came around I knew wouldn't be making it. My body was absolutely run down and exhausted. I'm still really sore in my quads from our Subway adventure and have a lingering cold. After a quick trip outside for the boys, I crawled back into bed and fell asleep. Mitch started to stir with the boys around 8:40 and all three of them tried to get me up too. I wasn't having it. Eventually I managed to head downstairs for my morning routine of caffeine and my handful pills. Once the caffeine kicked in, we decided to attempt a little shopping for Abby's wedding on Saturday. We didn't have any luck this go around either. However smoothies for breakfast and a stop for nail polish things seemed to be good.

Back home we curled up for awhile before Mitch headed into work. The morning was overcast but the sun finally decided to come out around noon. I desperately wanted and needed a nap but figured I'd fill a trash bag or two with weeds before the trash got picked up. It was startling how muggy and hot it was outside. I bagged up my withered peas from the heat, weeded out half of the garden and mustered up a little more energy for another bag full of weeds from the front yard. Not even a half hour outside I was dripping like I never have before. My original goal was to avoid the main heat of the day considering it was supposed to be 104. After filling up the rest of the garbage can I called it quits and headed inside for a nap. Laying down with the boys I couldn't quite put my mind to rest.... our overgrown lawn was calling for a mow.

another shot of caffeine and I figured I'd hurry up and check the mowing off my list, shower and make lunch for Mitch by 3:30 and then I'd be able to enjoy a nap. {Mitch has a habit of interrupting my naps if he is working} Putting the mower on the tallest setting I made good progress with our forest.... until I make a second pass next to my perennial bed on the south side of the lawn.... Why in the hell is there a snake in my yard?!! My heart immediately pounds through my chest and I try to keep cool. As I keep eyes on it I weigh out my options. Mitch doesn't come home for another couple hours, I'm not really in the mood to sit here and watch it. I can't leave it and lose sight of it... that would be even worse. Maybe I can leash Jake and he'll get it and mangle it enough I can dispose of it. Perhaps mom is in town and can come to my rescue. Maybe someone in my neighborhood was home and could possibly help.... I would take ANY neighbor at this point.  I mow the rest of the area {like I would vacuum. back and forth} keeping my eyes on this horrible visitor. My first go at it was with Jake. But the little bugger disappeared while I went to leash Jake and bring him out front. Terrified my feet would find it, I kept my distance and called my mom. I asked her if she was in town and she reminded me she was working today. {I already forgot it was Wednesday in my panic} As I'm standing there shaking and trying to maintain some strength, Jake is sniffing the flowers and marking the front yard, Mom says she's the only one at work at the time being. {damn} Gratefully our old Bishop pulled into his driveway at that moment and I quickly called out to him. I asked him if he could come and help me with a snake. I was so grateful at the moment when he walked over. I hung up with mom, reigned Jake in close and explained what happened. He started to look while I took Jake to the back yard and came back with a shovel. Brother Clarine commented that it was going to be a good thing to have. I let him know it was a medium size garden snake but I'm absolutely terrified of them and just needed to have it leave my property. He starts poking around and lifting bricks and nothing.... We chatted up a bit while this was happening. Shovel in hand he even looked through the salvia, lavender and hollyhocks. Unfortunately nothing. He lifted the sprinkler valve box and peaked in.... nothing. he even offered to finish mowing that corner so I wouldn't have to be near it. I thanked him but told him I had managed to do so already. I asked him to double check the valve box. Sure enough the little stinker had curled up in the corner under the valve so he could hardly notice him let along grab him. I ran to the garage to grab my trowel, pruners... anything to help get rid of the thing. After pinning him down and attempting to kill it, he finally managed to catch him and pull him out. I asked him if he'd let me chop his head off in hopes of regaining a peace and courage from it. Brother Clarine was so kind and pinned it down for me and let me do the honors. Afterwards I went to scoop it up with the shovel and take it to the trash {sure glad the garbage truck had yet to come} but he was such a sweetheart and carried it over to his place and dropped it in his trash can. Brother Clarine was my angel today.

Breathing deep and trying to regain myself I called mom to let her know what happened. She was proud of me. I had texted Mitch earlier during it to let him know I found a freaking snake in OUR yard.... It was definitely a big moment for me. I did go back out and finish mowing the front yard, planted my peach tree {almost a month later after bringing it home} and then started on the back yard. As I was thinking about the whole situation I surprisingly got angry. I felt a little bit empowered but I was so pissed that the snake had found its way into my yard and took away the safety and peace of my garden. I don't think I've kissed my fear good bye but I took a GIANT leap in tackling my fear of snakes. Surprisingly enough it happened to be on my own turf. I pray that no more unwelcome visitors slither their way into my yard but I do know that I'll be taking them out with my trusty shovel now. So dear snakes beware!! You are NOT welcome here.

moments from today

1: getting up and making it to yoga. incredible, invigorating, refreshing, relaxing.... so so good
2: i'm in love with my garden on a whole new level this year. more fresh beets.
3: health in a jar. I juiced 4 pints of beet, carrot and apple juice. it was good and I loved the color
4: after mowing the front lawn I finally got hungry and ate chips with salsa and guacamole
5: i love my hen and chicks
6: my anemone bloomed :) so gorgeous
7: watering my garden
8: jakey sitting with me
9: harvested my first tomatoes of the year!!! HOOORAY! Then I made greek salad for lunch tomorrow. yum

the fresh juice was like an energy boost this morning.... I felt good and kept going. it was 3 before I knew it and I had to finally head inside for a break. I laid down for a nap not realizing how exhausted I was and crashed. luckily I had already put dinner in the crock so it'd be ready for Mitch on his lunch break {it's his late night at work}. we had delicious pulled pork BBQ sandwiches. with spending so much time getting caught up on yard work today.... I didn't notice how much sun I was getting.... hello sunburn. #2 this week. I've been laying low this evening. still feel over exhausted and perhaps a little dehydrated. little cezar isn't a fan of laying after our first nap. hopefully he'll sleep sound tonight. between Mitch and cezar they toss and turn and keep each other awake more often then not.

good news and bad news

so last week I had my Dr visit. it was an hour and a half. we talked about how I was feeling, going over possibilities and then ordered some labs. 6 to be exact. sitting down in the chair to get my blood drawn the nurse asked for my info and then started to prep. I looked away as the needle went in, but then turned and watched as she drew 5 vials of blood. apparently it wasn't as much blood as it looked like. and I don't have ideal veins for giving blood.... she noticed how tiny my veins are even with pumping them. a week went by and I finally got my results back. good news - I don't have Hashimoto's disease {it's a autoimmune disease where the body attacks the thyroid function}. bad news - I still have an active case of mono. I guess I'll slow down and little bit and not try to push myself as much as I was lately. I'm surprised with all the hours I managed to put in during May, I haven't been more run down than I am.

last Saturday we had an insane windstorm and it happened to split our fence. luckily it was still standing enough that it kept the dogs apart. our sweet neighbor took the lead on the fence repair on Wednesday. Friday night Mitch and our neighbor worked on it some more. unfortunately we had another wind storm blow through and we realized there are more weak spots on our fence. they got a lot done and we'll wait til Monday to work on it some more. that way the new post has time to cure in the cement.

while they were working on the fence, I puttered around in the garden watering and weeding. I found my first ripe raspberry. YUMMY. I'm so excited for more to ripen. the boys sat with me and we watched them work on the fence for a little bit. they are full of energy because we have to keep an eye on them in the back yard since the fence isn't done. it'll be nice when they can have free range of the yard again and I don't have to worry about them breaking into the neighbors backyard.

We had Kennady's {our niece}birthday party Saturday afternoon. It was at the Zoo. Even though it was crazy busy and parking was a nightmare, we had a lot of fun. I'll have to post some pictures from our adventure.

12 of 12 June

1: driving to work
2: spent time dead heading our planters
3: i was freezing this morning. I couldn't get warm til the afternoon
4: our Corsican mint is in bloom. it's amazing how tiny the purple blooms are
5: turkey and cheese for lunch
6: my mini collection of plants I gather through the day at work
7: waiting at the bank
8: smoothies for dinner
9: we picked up 15 bags of pond rock for my garden corner
10: i'm going to need more bags.... I love how it's looking though
11: after dumping all the rock out, i mowed the lawn and spent more time in the yard
12: planting and taking pictures

a day off

yesterday I crawled into bed about 6 and rested for awhile. I was waiting for Mitch to put the new intake in on his car. Unfortunately it took a lot longer than he expected so dinner was pushed aside for 2 hours. Once he was done we grabbed Cafe Rio and curled up on the couch. It was a perfect way to spend the evening. 

Having a day off mid week is unbelievably fabulous. I loved having today off being able to take things as they happened. From our insane 100 degree weather on Monday to a chilly 65 on Tuesday, we slept very well last night. With such a sound rest it was hard for me to crawl out of bed and head to yoga this morning. As always I'm glad I did. My poor body is stiff and achy and yoga is the magic medicine for me. I brought home breakfast  for Mitch and I. He works the late shift on Wednesdays which allowed us to spend the morning together. We even took the boys for a short walk down at the lake before he had to work. {we really need to be better about walking them.... their energy was off the walls before we went}

I decided that I would listen to what ever my body wanted to do today. So after our walk, I sat down to rest for a few before I felt the urge to sort out the growing mess of laundry on my side of the closet. Hooray for washing those ginormous piles... I have clothes to wear hanging up now :). 

I was still tired and was lacking the energy I needed to get the planting done I had planned to do. But since I decided to let my body call the shots today, I crawled back into bed with the boys for a nap. Generally I would feel guilty for napping if I had a long list I wanted to get done {which I did} but no guilt today. Every now and then I think we all need to cut ourselves a little slack. 2 hours later I woke up feeling a tiny bit better but let myself absorb the moment. 

A bowl of cereal, a little blog reading, switching of the laundry and a bit of caffeine later; I was ready to finally start in the yard. I planted the rest of my vegetable garden. 7 artichokes. 4 jalapenos, 2 large basil, and my yard long Asian red beans. Weeding, and harvesting rhubarb and baby beets. It was a good start. Watering and deadheading my hanging basket was the next to get checked off. Jake was eager to head back inside. He isn't in love with the outdoors like Cezar is. Cezar is a much better buddy when I'm out in the yard puttering. I made juice with my harvest of baby beets. It's the first time I've ever given the veggie a chance. Mitch said he likes them juiced and so I decided to grow them and give them a try. I juiced tomatoes, carrots, apples and my beets. It was a gorgeous color and rather tasty {thank you apples}. Mitch came home for his lunch break and was grateful for the juice. Spent a little time with him before heading back out to the yard. I was pleased by how much I was able to plant and take care of in the yard today. I feel accomplished and rested at the same time. If only I was able to manage this everyday.... wouldn't that be nice. 

Tomorrow I'm heading back to the doctors. I haven't been feeling as well lately. About two weeks ago as I was falling asleep I was thinking about how I was doing so well and making big improvements in my health and then all of a sudden I felt like I was falling backwards. I decided that it was time to see my NP again and see if there is anything more we can do. It's frustrating to feel unwell all the time and I was so lucky to have 2-3 really good months there for a bit. Sure glad my fear of needles is subsiding.

Hello Monday

I can't figure out why Monday seems to come so fast. I'm pretty sure time is speeding up the older I get, because the days past in a blink of an eye. Even though I had to drag myself out of bed this morning, I felt good by the time I made it to work. Gratefully it was a good Monday. I was feeling rather refreshed after my weekend off. The sunflowers on the front porch at work caught my attention and cheered my soul.

There is something so cheery about sunflowers. A fairly tough plant.... they grow in dry dirt along side walks and roads and in fields. Always gorgeous and continually sharing their beauty. There is a lesson to be learned from sunflowers - you can always share your beauty even when life around you doesn't seem so bright.

Before I knew it I was headed home. I'm remembering how much I love working 8-4 in the summer. Coming home I feel like I still have an evening. Before Mitch made it home, I drug out the hose from the back yard to give the front yard a deep drink. While soaking my beds I got some deadheading done. Puttering in the yard is therapeutic. I even managed to get a couple more things planted from my ever growing collection of plants on my patio. Mitch mowed the front yard and then we headed out to grab smoothies for dinner. Summer decided to arrive early this year.... welcome 100 degree weather {not really}, I'm more of an 80 degree kind of gal. We've decided that since I work at a garden center I'm more acclimatized to the heat than Mitch. Lucky for Mitch he works in a nice air conditioned building.

Now for a lovely evening of relaxing.

starting Monday off on the good side of the bed

my memorial day started with a fabulous night's rest. I really didn't want to crawl out of bed because I was in the absolutely perfect position, the blankets were perfect and my mind was sleepy. unfortunately I was in charge of opening at 8. The sun pouring into the greenhouses was peaceful and warm. I took a moment to absorb it. For lunch I had a little mini date with my Mitchel. He took me to grab the best hot doggy in town. mmmm. my mouth waters thinking about it. It was the best lunch break I've had in a long time. work was steady throughout the day. not too busy and not too slow. Sanna and I even got some planting in the front bed done. Luck seemed to be on my side today because I was able to take off 30 mins early. I was able to mow the forest I had growing in the back yard. {every time cezar would crouch to potty, he looked like he had disappeared.}I doubled mowed. Hopefully that puts me back on top of the game. I even managed to get a couple of things planted, everything watered and pulled a few weeds.i picked two of my peonies from my garden. they are incredibly fragrant and are making my kitchen smell heavenly. after I cleaned up, Mitch and I headed out in search of some good hiking sandals for our trip to Zion's in July {we will be checking the Subway off our to do list} We scored a fabulous deal on some and picked up pizza for dinner. Curling up on the couch we watched some Supernatural and now I'm ready to crawl into bed and crossing my fingers for another restful sleep.

a little bit of therapy

last night I woke up just after 2 am to go to the bathroom and with in moments my head exploded with the most horrible headache. I laid back in bed and thought I might be able to fall asleep.... unfortunately my head just kept pounding. I decided to head downstairs to take some vitamin I, and then I realized I wanted to do Pilates. Weird eh. It's been almost a month since I've made it to class. My body craved the routine of Pilates. I headed back to bed but my craving for exercise didn't subside. I woke up realizing that I have successfully incorporated exercise into my daily life.

I woke up this morning with the same horrible pounding in my head. My sweet Mitch woke up with endless amounts of energy and I couldn't come close to match his energy. All I wanted to do is lay in bed and rest and wish my headache away. Finally I managed {with the prodding of Mitch} to roll out of bed, let the boys back out and eat some breakfast. As we discussed our day, I began to feel a little better and wanted to get a few things accomplished in the yard before I made my way into work.

working in my yard has become a wonderful form of therapy for me. I've been gathering a beautiful collection of plants on my back patio for the last few weeks. my goal was to get them all planted sooner than later and luckily with the cloudy weather I was able to finally get some in the ground. spending the morning getting my hands dirty in my yard seemed to be exactly what I needed. planting, weeding, digging and watering.

my mood is yo yo-ing lately. waking up on the wrong side of the bed, finding a happy balance for a few hours, dragging through the afternoon and then making it home with who knows what mood.... grateful to spend another evening at home and spend Sunday resting up.

taking it one day and one moment at a time lately

Today is one of those days I'm taking one moment at a time.

The boys were antsy to get up and outside.
Potty break around 6:40, crawling back into bed minutes later.
As Mitch gets up and ready for the day I remember I need to wash my work pants.
Hurried downstairs to throw them in the wash
crawled back into bed again.
and spent the next 50 mins staying cozy and flipping through my favorite blog reads, email and other apps
7:58 I hurry to throw on my yoga clothes, feed the boys and make it to the gym on time for yoga.
I'm grateful for the chance to make it to yoga in the mornings {even though I really dislike the closing shift at work}
I'm still so tight and stiff from the past few weeks of work...
it feels good to move, stretch and lengthen my body.
{I highly recommend Yoga to anyone. It has been an incredible addition to my life lately!!}
A quick trip to the grocery store for more of my favorite cereal and cans of caffeine,
unloading and loading the dishes,
putting dinner in the crock pot,
and putting food on my tummy.....
Now I'm sitting in bed enjoying the quiet until I have to head into work.

I'm in need of another spilling....

I'm exhausted

A good night's rest is not enough to get me through my days

I'm excited for Mitch's birthday next Friday because I have two days off!!

My moods are quick to change lately

my to do list is always growing 

but my body isn't quite up the the challenge lately.

Yesterday I accomplished a lot  at work.

Finally got the green house looking more presentable and tidy,

but by the time I made it home and we had come back from picking up dinner....

I was beyond my breaking point.

Dear body, please let me survive another week of work

sometimes

sometimes I dream of being in my yard all day
sometimes being a manager is exhausting due to our busy season and long hours
sometimes my heart is over full with all the love and appreciation I have for my husband
sometimes I just want to sit quietly on my patio
sometimes I drink way too much caffeine
sometimes caffeine is the only way I survive my day
sometimes I push my body too much
sometimes I listen to my exhausted body and crawl into bed and rest
sometimes my boys drive me crazy
sometimes I can't get enough of them {I love them so much}
sometimes I find bruises that I haven't a clue how I got them. probably walked into something at work.
sometimes I prefer to be alone
sometimes its hard to say no
sometimes my health is challenging
sometimes I'm lazy
sometimes I wish I could do more for others
sometimes I eat cereal for breakfast and dinner
sometimes I wake up super happy

battle wound from gardening

my days are filled from sun up to sun down.
I spend most of everyday at work.
the joys of May.... overtime

Saturday Mitch sent me a picture of Cezar napping with him.
I wished I could have joined them...
but I spent plenty of Sunday afternoon napping with both boys.
Mitch has been rocking our world with homemade hamburgers lately.
they are insanely delicious!!
It was the perfect dinner Sunday night.

I try to spend time in the yard every night after work.
all day long at work I see beautiful flowers and shrubs....
I can't help but think of all the projects I want to be at home working on.
Monday night I able to finish pulling out all the grass and weeds on the south side of the house.
it felt wonderful checking that off....
now I've got a lot of room to work with :)

I ordered another raised garden box. it's a 4x8.
I was super eager to put it together tonight.
Wednesday nights Mitch has the late shift - til 9.
So I started putting it together by myself....
unfortunately I sliced my thumb pretty good.
I toughed it out after I cleaned it up and managed to finish putting it together.
Mitch is even excited for the new garden space and what we can plant
salsa is on the agenda for this summer

I love all the progress...

wish me luck with the Mother's day rush at the garden center.
I'm crossing my fingers that I survive and keep a good attitude through it :)

good old fashion sweat and busy spring days

I can't believe it's May already. I was excited when March arrived and before I realized it.... May showed up. I'm so grateful for the beautiful weather we are enjoying this spring. My yard is looking good and the weeds are thriving.

I started work just after 8 this morning. Planting baskets trying to get color ready for Mothers day. It was a busy day. The sun is out and so are all our customers. I'm so eager to get my yard into shape. Plus get my garden going. I left work after 6, along with more goodies for my yard.

Errands on the way home - getting gas and picking up my thyroid medication. Once home I let the boys out and worked on planting 8 strawberry plants, a austin dewberry, youngberry and a boysenberry. I'm going to try them out this year and hopefully have a recommendation for customers next year. Planted up a pot with red white and blue, as well as one of my planters that attaches to the fence. I even mowed the front yard. I was feeling good so I kept going and attacked the grass that was encroaching on my perennial bed. It felt amazing cleaning out all the weeds and grass. I feel like I have even more places to plant now :) I called it quits once it got too dark to see well and after I planted my gorgeous new red poppy and white poppy. Today was trash day... I filled half the trash can all ready.

Happy May everyone. I hope you are enjoying the first part of May just as much as I am :)

an evening for gardening

I spent the evening in the yard putting in my grow box for blueberries.
and planting them.
Cezar ended up being my buddy
I also planted another flower pot,
fertilized my strawberries and kiwi vine
and spent lots of time walking  through my yard snapping pictures.

Mitch and I also made it to the gym after work.
it felt good getting some good cardio in.
plus we topped off our workout with a green smoothie :)

It was a good evening.