A give away

The ever fabulous edward and lilly is having a give away. For all you crafty types out there, go check it out but do not, I repeat, DO NOT leave a comment...if you do, my chances of winning go down and, well, I'd like to win. I guess if you must, you must but just know that I won't be happy about it.

I LOVE those fabrics!

flickr favs friday

I used to do this, rembember? I had pretty much forgotten about it until this mom-to-be's post reminded me all about it. So, since I have been struggling to keep my few meager vegetable plants alive, have been fairly obsessing about it, actually, I decided this would be the perfect subject to start this meme up again. So here is a mosaic of some veggie gardens my 1' x 3' plot of dirt aspires to be...

1. spring vegetable garden, 2. Vegetable Garden, 3. Vegetable Garden Overview, 4. THE vegetable garden, 5. 2006 Garden Vegetable Beds, 6. Vegetable Garden Full Grown and producing, 7. Vegetable Garden, 8. winter vegetable garden, 9. Vegetable Garden

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Petra Haden

Have you seen this amazing commercial?



I love it so much that I just had to find out the artist who is singing this version of Let the Love Flow. Her name is Petra Haden. All the "instrumentals" you hear are actually aren't instruments but man made sounds (or woman made actually). She's pretty awesome.

A thumb not so black

Thanks everybody who sent me well wishes and commiserated with my migraine woes. It's nice to know we're not alone on our off days, isn't it?

Anyway, remember my little garden that I told you about? And my apprehension about killing the poor hapless plants? Well, good news...my tomato plant, this tomato plant...

is now this humongous tomato plant...

It's up to my hip, which ain't no small thing being 5'9 and my hip being pretty far off the ground. So my thumb is not quite so black, maybe just a dark shade of gray-green. The other plants are... well, it's about a 50% mortality rate around here and that's ok with me

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I luv ya, tomorrow...

Have you ever had a day when you just wish you could take a break from being you? That's me today. I woke up with a slight headache that is turning into a migraine and I think I broke my chi. Is that possible? I dunno, but it feels broken. Things are off kilter today and I'm just wishing it would hurry up and be tomorrow.

What is going on?

I am a bad blogger! Yep, you heard it, bad blogger, bad! First, I've only done 6 (6!!) blog posts in the last month. Then, I have gotten sooooo lazy that I've relied strictly on my Google reader which means I've only read 5 blogs or so for the last few months and the ones I have read I've left only a handful of comments. Terrible! And the last offense, the worst offense in my opinion, I've abandoned my camera! I haven't taken a single picture in at least 2 weeks. And today, I'm really regretting it. Today is Mother's Day and I have no pictures of our outing with our lovely mother. Not only am I a bad blogger, I'm a bad daughter! Sheesh!





And it was such a nice outing. Lunch at a local Mediterranean restaurant then a quick trip to Dogwoods a Mediterranean deli and grocery store. I guess there was a bit of a theme. My poor mom doesn't get to eat any type of "different" foods when it's just her and my dad, he's stricly a meat and potatoes kind of guy. So we had a Mediterranean day of it.


Since I didn't get any photos today, I leave you with my favorite of my mom which I've posted before but it's such cute picture I can't resist posting it again...

Happy Mother's Day!

I do not recommend this!

I just finished watching 3 hours of Grey's Anatomy...straight through. Big mistake! I should have known that I'd be ablubbering fool by the end of the first episode, forget about all the way through to the last. I mean really, I cry at everything...why did I think I could watch 3 whole episodes of Grey's?! I'm not gonna give anything away as far as story lines if someone out there hasn't watched the last 3 weeks worth yet but jeez! They really put us through the ringer emotionally. So if you're a cryer like me, do not, I repeat, do not watch more than one episode at a time!

Cinco de Mayo!

Card Tops

Here's another round of time card tops. I posted some a while back with the This is... meme and just felt like posting some more.

What I draw depends on a lot of things...the season, things that are happening in my personal life, my level of inspiration at the time, etc. For instance, the top two were done when nothing was going on. The one that looks hot pink but is supposed to be red was done the week of Valentine's Day. The one next to that and the two below it were inspired by the onset of Spring. The one with the dandelions is depicting my front lawn at the moment. The last one, well, that was drawn for no reason, I just felt like it.

I feel that this little bitty bit of creativity is therapeutic in my bland and beige work world.

Has it only been a week since my last post?! It feels longer than that, a lot longer. I found out on Thursday evening that my general manager passed away that afternoon. He was not only my boss but also a friend. He was like that grumpy, cranky uncle that is actually a teddy bear deep down inside. Yeah, that was Tony.

He walked around the office (coffee cup in hand) with a perpetual frown on his face but his laugh came easily. And as much as we all complained about his triftyness (he was in charge of the company's financials) and grumpitude we are all going to miss him a lot.

I learned that he died sitting by his pool with his dog next to him with a smile on his face. That sounds about right. I think the only place he'd be happier would be on the golf course.

It's been very draining and difficult coming back to work this morning. We are all grieving and trying to work at the same time. Needless to say, I don't feel much like working.

A new adventure

Last week I took the week off from work...a staycation, if you will. My sister was on her spring break so we decided to get stuff done around the house. Now, if you know me, that's pretty much saying devote about 1/2 an hour a day to doing stuff around the house just so I can say that, yes, I did get some stuff done. Mostly, what I worked on was planting a teeny tiny veggie garden.

I originally had these grand plans for a raised flower bed and rows of little veggie plants but being a lazy wench, I ended up buying a few plants and getting some seedlings from a friend. So, now, I have 1 tomato plant, 1 green bell pepper plant, 1 jalapeno plant (that doesn't look like it's going to make it), 1 Santa Fe Grande pepper plant, 1 sweet basil, 3 cucumber, 1 purple bean, 2 broccoli, 2 spinach (the last 4 are still just itty bitty seedlings that are struggling to survive).


I've been inundated with signs telling me I should do this. The first was an article in Better Homes and Gardens about raised beds and planting veggies specifically for certain things (like salsa or Italian foods), then the seedlings being offered to me, then two different friends who don't know each other telling me that they're both doing raised beds and planting and then some blog posts that mention it (and here's one I actually found when doing a little research). I figure I really don't need to be beat over the head that much to catch on...so I planted.


There are 2 obstacles that I'm going to have to hurdle...1) I don't really like very many veggies. My sister is a veggie fan so I planted some that are her favorites (broccoli & cucumber - gross!) and 2) I've never kept a plant alive that wasn't in the cactus family. I'm relying heavily on my mother to get me through this one. I'm usually the kind of person that needs all the information before I start something like this. Normally, I'd read piles of books and magazine articles in order to garner the best way to do things but since time really won't allow that (this much I know about planting, it has to be done at certain times... I think) and since my mother has never killed a plant or met a plant that didn't flourish under her bright green thumb, I figure she's all the reference I need. And so far so good (I know it's only been a week but I've killed plants in a lot less time).

Really what I'm looking forward to are the peppers. Neither my sister nor I like tomatoes in their fresh raw state, so why, you might ask, do I have a tomato plant? Well, I'm a big fan of salsa and we both love things like marinara sauce, etc. But the peppers, they're really what this is all about for me. I can't wait! I think my next step will be to plant a couple of herb pots. They seem a little more delicate and easy to kill. Of course, I don't really know this, but that's what it seems like. I guess I gotta make a call to my mom again.

Just as a side note, over the weekend, my sister decided to put her bed together (it's an Ikea bed). The bed we bought her 3 years ago for her birthday. Procrastination runs in the family.

Happy Easter, a day late

Yesterday after we got back from church we planted petunias, see...

Then, we decided to decorate a few eggs, we're kids at heart, really. I was unsuccessful at creating any photo worthy eggs, plus we pretty much ate them as soon as we were done.

And, since we only boiled six eggs, 3 a piece, I got bored (in typical me fashion) and decided to tie dye my washcloth that I was using to wipe up any spills.

That was my Easter. It was a beautiful day outside and I regret that I didn't have the forethought to take any pictures, but take my word for it, it was gorgeous.



Today, was not so gorgeous, a bit overcast and humid and I had to take Sasha in for some shots...boy was she pissed! She spent 8 hours after I brought her home hiding under my bed. Now the poor girl is super sore and keeps rubbing her shoulders on our not quite finished floors. She's super miserable, poor baby.

I love surprises!

This weekend was, after a rocky start, a really lovely weekend. For the most part, it was spent doing things like laundry and a little bit of yard work/gardening. Saturday, after my brief bit of discomfort, I went out and decided to pull up this stuff from the flowerbed in the front of the house (it's the stuff right up against the house)...

I don't know what it's called but it was all over the place and hiding a couple of very pleasant surprises...

I had noticed the big leaves a few days back but, not being a plant person, I didn't know what kind of plant it was. Then I noticed this little gem peeking out of the jungle...

and decided right then this stuff had to go. If for no other reason but to see the full beauty of the lily.

I must say that it was so nice to see that lone flower struggling to get through all that mess. It brought to mind some wayward metaphor for life that I won't bore you with but it really made me smile. Now, if I can just keep from killing the poor thing like I do most other plants, I'll be very happy.

Ahhhh Spring!

It's a beautiful Spring day outside and for the most part, I've been stuck inside. I was supposed to go to the Sustainability Seminar and it is a perfect day for it. Unfortunately, I woke up this morning with a rumble in the jungle, if you know what I mean. I did start feeling better around 1 so I decided to take the boys on a walk around the neighborhood just to get out of the house because this is the chaos that is our house right now...

I love the signs of springtime! Here are a few of the little beauties in the neighborhood...

and my personal favorite...

I love ranunculus, they're like roses on steroids.

And now the boys are tired, they're plum tuckered out...

Sustainablility Seminar

A friend from high school that I recently reconnected with via facebook put my onto this organization called the Regen Co-op. Among a long list of other things, once a year they hold a sustainability seminar (happening this Saturday). It happens to come at just the right time, at least for me. I have been mulling over (and over and over) the thought of my own little Victory Garden and being more self sufficient as far as growing our own veggies and such.

The co-op's seminar this year has quite a few sessions that I'm interested in.

Natural Building, Good Soil, Good Irrigation, and Greywater Recycling have really piqued my interest. I'm also really interested in seeing the urban garden. I've driven by it everyday since we moved in and everytime I saw it I wondered whose it was, who tends it, etc. Now I know.

It's amazing how this is all going on in my immediate neighborhood and I never would have known about it if my friend hadn't mentioned it. I mean the co-op is literally down the street from me.

Anyway, if anybody reading this is in the SoCal area and is interested, as the flyer says, it's free and open to the public.

Also, if you're interested in starting your own veggie garden and would like a sure fire way (at least I've been told it's sure fire, don't know yet, but I'll let you know soon) to have a thriving veggie garden, check out this site. I'm giving it a try and will update you on how it goes.

Love...Tuesdays?

Don't you love life's serendipitous moments? Having been ill all weekend, I didn't have time to go do any shopping (just normal stuff like shampoo, toothbrush, etc). So I decided to do it after work today. I normally would go to store A but decided instead to go to store B, slightly out of the way but I just like going there more. So on the way home, I'm driving along this road and lo' & behold...a yard sale on a Tuesday, weird, I know. And it is HUGE!!! So hearing the siren call of other people's cast offs, I stop and dive right in. Seeing as how I had just come from shopping, I didn't have much cash on me so I went straight for the books, you can never go wrong with the books. And I found me some lovely treasures

The first were these...

There's actually four books there, 2 sets of 2. They were a bit pricey at $3 a pair but considering they're still wrapped I figured it was all right. And I'm sure Little Chestnut is going to love them.

Then I got two for me...

I love Dr. Seuss and the Edna Ferber, well, I couldn't resist it. So, that's why I'm loving this Tuesday. If I hadn't been sick I would never have come across this awesome yard sale. Serendipitous, no?

P.s. I just might have to go back (they said they'd be there till Saturday), it was so big I only got to go through about a 1/4 of the stuff.

I need this!

I hate being sick on my day off! I spent the day in bed hacking and coughing while watching a bunch of dvd's. Today's watch list:

• Mamma Mia


• Wanted


• Da Vinci Code


• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

That last one reminded me that I want to track down a piece of their costuming, this piece...

I want to get my hands on it and turn it into a pillow, it looks like it's half way there, just needs to be sewn shut, right? Or maybe a tea cozy, I mean it needs to have a function other than being an atrocity, cuz as a hat it sure isn't making it.

It's so hideous that I feel I need to have it. I will not, however, be looking for any collector cat plates.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!!

I gotta tell you, I don't have many items of clothing that are green. It basically boils down to two different pairs of khaki green cargo pants, both in the laundry. So finding something to wear today was a challenge. Hmmm, green ribbon in my hair, nah, they never stay in. Hunter green parka, nope too hot. Ahhhh, yes, green gauzy scarf, perfect. So that was my green today, see...

Oh, and these...

just to add some class. Actually, I only wore them long enough to snap a picture. My boss wore them all day...hee hee!!

I need some help...

Does anyone out there know who this fabric is made by and /or where/if I can buy some more? Anyone, Anyone?

This piece came in a bag of scraps I bought and I LOVE it. I want bolts of it but I have yet to find any out there. For all I know it could be decades old. If anybody out there knows, please tell me. PLEASE!?

My Band(s)

I've seen this meme or as I like to call it, exercise in time wasting, on a couple of blogs and all over Facebook. I starte doing it and couldn't stop. So, first, here are the rules of the game then all the "bands" I came up with...

Here are the rules.
1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random”or click this. The FIRST random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to "Random quotations"or click this. The last FOUR or FIVE words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”or click this. THIRD picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

This one came out a little hard to read but the title is "Unless We Fail To Try" by Pargny-sous Mureau.

I told you I couldn't stop. There's something wrong with me.