Garden 2015

The porch, which has the wisteria growing up the pergola. 

Wide shot of the porch. Same wisteria on the right, Floyyd the Ficus in the center, and moon flower in the pot on the left growing up the other side of the pergola. 

The strawberries are sending out a second crop. 

The giant mutant zucchini!!

Only one tomato plant this year. I had a bout of blossom-end-rot that I had to fight off. So far I've only harvested 2 ripe tomatoes this season. 

The hot pepper plant that I can't remember it's name. But it made my lip go numb, so it's a good one. 

There are also 2 varieties of bell pepper and cucumber plays as well, but they're impressingly unproductive. 

We also have sweet potatoes growing in a few places.  The herbs are still thriving in their pots on the porch, so hopefully the rest of the produce will catch on and catch up soon. 

BootCamp Day 1

Here we go again. 

Yup. I've joined a new gym. But it's not a gym-gym. It's a Fit Body Boot Camp. If you've never heard of such a thing, here's a link.Gainesville FitBodyBootCamp. It's a 30 minute routine that is NONSTOP. From the time the trainer/coach hits the volume up button on the music, we jump, step, move, pull, lift, and sweat like there's no tomorrow.

I went for an initial trial last week and fell head over heels in love with the activities, facility, and owners. 

I'm currently in a 21-day challenge. If I win the challenge I get 2 months free membership. I earn points by weight lost, inches lost, body fat percentage lost, number of times I check-in on social media, and the number of times I'm at the gym. I'm totally going to win, by the way.  

So, it's exciting, and I'm having a blast. I have always loved working out, hated running, and have always had the hardest time just getting up and getting there. But I'm feeling pretty good about this. The kids are cooperating, they understand that this is my time to do something for me. They have their sports, Daddy has the shooting range and coaching and playing various sports throughout the year for charity, and this is my "thing". They're old enough to get it now and to not be total pills when it's time to go. That makes it infinitely easier for me, to be honest. Y'all know I'm the queen of excuses, so having the kids on board is very important to me.

Wish me luck, cross your fingers, and perhaps even say a little prayer for me.

I'll keep you posted... 

Looking For Advice.

Our daughter is 5. She's very smart and perfectly capable of picking up her own toys and cleaning her own messes. 

However, she pitches a MASSIVE fit when asked to do so, and what should be a very simple 2-minute tidying project becomes a 2-day battle. 

What am I doing wrong? How do I find the way to get through to her that if she has made the mess she can clean up the mess? 

We have taken away privileges and certain toys as punishments, but she just goes and finds other things to play with and gets into even more trouble. 

We've tried rewards. "After you've picked up all of your dollies, you can watch one Bubble Guppies."

I've tried ignoring her, yelling at her, whispering to her, singing to her, talking to her, and nothing helps. 

She collapses on the floor in a tantrum state when asked to do the simplest of projects. 

Put your books back on the shelf. "But that will take FOREVER!!", she wails. Well, not if you just go do it. 

We even help by giving her very small and specific tasks. Put your clothes in your hamper. Put your dress-up clothes in your chest. Put your barbies in their bin. Put your stuffed animals in the basket. She just seems to flat-out refuse. 

So... I'm asking for help. What do we do? How do I get her to help clean up her messes? I'm at a loss. 

Pedicure Lovin'

I'm sitting in the salon getting my nails done and figured I'm do a little blogging while my hands are free. 

It's very hard for me to ask for "extra's". I want fancy toes today and I picked a picture from Pinterest that I love. I asked about it and they said yes, but it's going to cost extra. That's fine I get it. But because my pinky toenail is so itty bitty, the manager told me it didn't make sense for me to get the polka-dots on all of my toes because you wouldn't be able to see the color after the dots were applied. 

We went back and forth, I was suddenly embarrassed that I had asked for something special, and decided I'd just do a single color and polka dots on my big toe only. 

But then after thinking about it, I decided I really want my rainbow toes and dots. So, I'll do the rainbow toes with dots on my big toe only, then solid fingernails with a pretty design on my them. We'll see. The nail on my right middle finger is shorter than all the rest, so they might have another idea for me once they get to my hands. 

Stay tuned. 

Genna Lake's Flowders

Genna turned 5 this year and she really wanted her very own flower garden.

So ... Mr Saucy, aka The Daddy Person, aka My Honey, aka Patrick made her her very own flower bed, and we asked family and friends who came by for her party to bring flowers rather than toys to fill her garden.

She LOVES it. 

First Bed. Also has blueberries. 

Second Bed. Also has grapes. 

Both Beds with clematis growing between. 

GG watering her flowders. 

Inspecting the hose and faucet. 

Watering from the bucket. 

Happy Girl!!

Keepin' It Real, Yo!

This mornings two-hour delay meant fun in the kitchen involving pancakes, red food coloring, and an assortment of eatable creations that in no way resemble hearts. 

See. 

This one I call "The Creepy Ultrasound". 

See the little dude inside smiling and waving?

This one has a slight "splat" from flipping before it was fully set. We shall call it the "Don King" Face Plant".  

This one Conner told me kinda looked like I heart who's butt exploded. We'll leave it at that. 

And finally we end with "The Double Mammogram". 

Enjoy your Pinterest Breakfast Fails my friends. 

For no matter how strange and disturbing our REAL LIFE creations turn out looking, they're just as delicious as the fancy ones. 

See. 

Ps... I was referring to the pancakes being eaten by my favorite girl-creation. Whom I don't think is disturbing at all, but  is a little strange.