Lots of updates

Richie & I are hard at work on our landscaping. I've planted two tomato plants which are already producing tomatoes! I also started a little herb greenhouse that I keep inside. My goal is to grow things that we buy on a regular basis. This will be good for our wallet and the environment. Next up, I'm going to plant zucchini and an apple tree. Each week, I buy tons of tomatoes, apples, herbs, zucchini and onions. Now I'll just have one thing to buy! I'm loving it!

Richie also set up the lattice that we will use to grow jasmine. I can't wait to get our patio all squared away. The gardenia bushes are blooming and smelling fabulous, and our table is all set up. Now we just need the set up the umbrella and add some cushions. We are almost there! Next spring, it should be a wonderful place to sit and visit.

My tomato plants! The one on the left grows cherry tomatoes.

The one on the right grows roma tomatoes.

Our front porch plants. I've already killed one set of flowers.

I'm working hard to keep these alive.

My little herb greenhouse. They are growing super fast.

The lattice & future jasmine grower.

What a wonderful surprise last week when Andrea & the little boys came through town on a visit. I was sooo happy to see them!! I didn't realize how much I've missed them until I saw them. It was so nice to snuggle with Max and dance with Bo. And talk with Andrea. We sat outside on the porch, with the fan blowing, as the boys napped, and caught up. I'm so glad we had a few minutes to ourselves. Oh, I miss them so much!

Richie & the boys snuggling.

I love my boys!

Max & I snuggled for our afternoon nap. I couldn't

resist snapping this pic. I love Max!

PS- Sorry the pics are blurry. Sometimes I can't get the camera working right.

Another reason I told Richie I should get the Canon Rebel :-)

Last but not least, I'm heading to the surgery center tomorrow for a little procedure. It is my usual bladder & kidney thing, but I'm still as nervous as ever. I hate going under anesthesia. Really, really do not like it. I know I've done this many times before, but it doesn't get easier. It gets harder if that's possible. Oh, well. My amazing dad will be going with me. I don't know what I would do without him. Through all of my medical stuff (and if you've been around awhile, you know how much stuff that is), he is always there. He does more for me than I deserve. I know I'm in good hands with my dad by my side!

You don't have to tell me, I know it isn't normal...

...to be crying during a tv show. But cry I did. And because of one of the most ridiculous shows to boot! What have I become?

Honestly, though, I think I cried because I was sad for what our world has become. For how selfish people are. How someone can toss aside a commitment because...they no longer get along I guess. Or money got in the way and they lost sight of what's truly important. Or they wanted a different lifestyle. Who knows why.

And, quite honestly, it is none of our business why! Yes, even though I watched that horribly saddening episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8 last night, I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have added to the ratings that keep them going. Because I can see what they can't. That this show, this lifestyle, these choices, have ruined their marriage (even if they say it hasn't), exploited their children, cut bridges with loved ones. And I'm just as guilty of playing a part because I watched the show.

So maybe that's why I'm so sad. Because as a people, we've let Jon & Kate slide down this slippery slope, eyes glued to the tv every step up the way, even though we all knew, deep down, that this was going to happen. We just couldn't turn the channel. And now it is too late.

Finally!

I have drapes! Curtains! Something to brighten up my family room!

I've been slightly obsessed, at least in my head, with getting drapes.

I wanted something to make our family room cozy, warm, inviting.

My mom & I disagreed on what they should be. I wanted dark, chocolate brown drapes from floor to ceiling. She wanted something lighter. A pattern. Shiny.

We were at a material store, debating over fabrics, when my mom found "the ones." I am in love! I'm so happy to finally have drapes in my family room.

They are everything I wanted. And I'm enjoying sitting in my updated cozy and inviting family room.

Thanks Mom for picking them out. And thanks to my wonderful Dad for putting them up. I don't know what I'd do without you both :)

Oh the Insanity

If you've read below, you know I want (ahem, not need) a digital SLR camera. Even though there is no way on this side of reality that I can buy one, I've still spent endless time researching the one I want. You know, if I win the lottery or something (if I actually bought lottery tickets, this would be a remote possibility).

I currently take pictures with the fantastic camcorder that Richie's parents gave us for Christmas. It is an awesome camcorder and I use it all the time to document just about everything going on. I love having a video record, and I'm sure it will be fun to watch them all in many, many years.

Here are two of my favorite pictures taken with the camcorder:

Now just imagine how great these pictures (and all future pictures) would be with this fantabulous camera, the Canon Rebel. I'm in love! And insane. You can be both, right?

I have a lot floating around in my head right now. Here are a few things that are stirring.

First, a story.

The other night, we had one of the worst storms I've experienced since moving to Oxford. Maybe one of the worst storms ever. It was totally out of the blue, so I was caught off guard. (And if you know me, you know I'm always on top of the weather. Probably because of my half OCDness and half anxiety over it.)

We were driving home as the storm was approaching, and I kept checking the color of the sky through the mirrors. I thought we were in the clear as we turned into our neighborhood. Wrong!

As we turned up our street, wood & screens & other building debris got picked up by the wind and thrown across the road, right in front of our car. Richie had to swerve to miss it. Just then, lightning struck a tree at the front of our neighborhood. It exploded in a blue clap of light & sound. Lightning then struck again just across from our house, which in turn caused our power to go out.

At this point, we were in the driveway, sitting in the car, lightning striking all around and wind picking up everything in sight, heaving it in every direction. Because the power was out, we couldn't open the garage door. To get inside, we'd have to jump out of the car and run through the torrential rain & wind, opening our front door manually.

We ran as fast as we could, my heart pounding, and huddled under the cover by our front door. Richie was fiddling with the keys to lock the car and I, rather freaked out, grabbed the keys and yelled, "Forget about locking the car!" It took me about 20 seconds to get the door unlocked (mental note: must get that fixed, because it is very difficult to get open, which we've known forever but had no reason to get going. Time to fix it!).

Finally, we were safe inside the house, soaking wet, me shaking from the experience. I ran around the house, gathering up flashlights and candles, since it was dusk. We watched the storm for a bit from the windows. When it was over, we loaded up the car to go stay at my parents' house (the lightning hit the powerlines so we figured power would be out all night) and drove around the neighborhood surveying damage. Definitely a bad storm!

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Just as I'm sitting here typing this, Richie, mom & I are having a conversation about our upcoming anniversary. I asked Richie what he wants. He doesn't know. Then I tell him what I want: a new digital SLR camera and/or a new laptop.

Actually, the conversation went like this.

Me: What are you getting me for our anniversary?
Richie: I don't know.
Me: I need a new digital SLR camera and a new laptop.

silence

Me: What do you want?
Richie: nothing
Mom: That's not very romantic.
Me: Well, I need those things.

Then I corrected myself and said that I don't really need those things, I want them. I am trying to work on being more specific with my language, so as to help our budget. And to help me be a better person.

Sometimes having no money is difficult. Like when I want a digital SLR camera and laptop. Or when medical bills can't be paid. But I stop and remember how thankful I am to have a roof over my head, food on the table, love in my marriage, a healthy family, jobs...I could go on and on with all of our blessings. Believe it or not, I even feel blessed to be struggling with money right now. It helps keep me focused on what is truly important. I hope what I learn during these difficult times are lessons that I will not soon forget.

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I'm very excited because I have a business idea that is almost ready for implementation. Richie & I have been talking about it for a while now, and it is something I'm really excited about.

The overhead is very small so, even if it is a flop, the financial loss won't be too great. Over the past few months, I've been working on researching the market, the idea, writing a business plan, all of those good things.

I'm stoked about this opportunity because I think it could really work in our small town.

Stay tuned for details as I launch my business :)

Flowers!

I wish I could be one of those people who always has fresh flowers around the house. I love fresh flowers. They are so pretty, smell delicious, and make the house feel so much more warm and loving.

But, alas, I'm too cheap to spend money on them. I also have a black thumb, so I don't have any flowers in the garden for me to pick. (Though I'm hoping our hydrangeas don't die, and I actually do have flowers to pick later this summer!)

Rewind a few days and I was out shopping for our coach's dinner we were hosting last night. It was a rather small get together, just six of us. Richie's boss brought up the idea, and we agreed to host. I decided to let everyone vote on a cookout or Italian dinner, and the Italian feast one. Easy peazy. I have almost everything at home, so I only needed to run out for a few fresh ingredients.

As I was walking by the florist on the way to the deli, I saw a sign for flowers on sale. My first thought was, how dead are they? I picked up a bouquet and looked for the dead flowers. None. Hmm...so I thought for a minute what else could be wrong with flowers. The bouquet was huge and originally $30. It was on sale for $5.

Then I snapped to. Um, they are flowers! For $5! Who cares "what's wrong with them." Not like we are going to eat them or rub them on ourselves. Nothing to potentially hurt anyone. So I bought them.

When I got home, I picked apart the bouquet and had enough flowers for four different arrangements! I also picked a few fresh gardenias from our yard that had just bloomed that morning and put them in water just to add an extra heavenly smell to the house.

I'm so excited! I get to have fresh flowers around my house, and I didn't break the bank! Oh, and the dinner was a success too :)

Small arrangement #1,

with two little gardenia blooms in water.

Arrangement #2 for the kitchen table (in my

new McCarty vase :-) )
Arrangement #3 for the family room

Arrangement #4 for the coffee table.

The flowers were beautiful (and are still alive!)

A big bowl of water for a few gardenia blooms.

Gardenias are my favorite flower- the smell is amazing.

Baseball

Well...Ole Miss lost yesterday. Omaha is not in our future this year.

Richie handled it well. We had a long talk Saturday night about things happening for a reason. Richie was really at peace with whatever the outcome would be. That doesn't mean he wasn't disappointed; of course he was! He just didn't get worked up like he used to. I'm so proud of him!! I'm proud because he handled the loss in such a positive way and because he worked so hard with this team all year. He gave his best and should be incredibly proud of this successful season. I know how proud I am of my husband!

We spent yesterday evening at Uncle Mike & Aunt Donna's house. Uncle Steve is in town and Richie got to visit with him a little. The Chunkling is also here for a whole 10 days! I even got to babysit today while Aunt Donna went to work. Four hours with the Chunkling all to myself. It was just wonderful!

Here are pics from the weekend.

Kadyn holding his bottle, pinkie finger in the air.

Chunkling taking a nap on my shoulder. Pure bliss!

Kadyn walks on his toes. His tippy toes.

Record crowd- 10,200 people!

Long line to get in the outfield.

My poor sunburned shoulder.

Sunday Supper

Recently, or really, not so recently, Richie & I have been talking about dinner- Sunday suppers with family.


I have such wonderful memories of going to Aunt Catherine's house for "dinner" on Sundays. Dinner was served in the afternoon and consisted of a billion courses of food. It was not only about eating a good meal but about spending time with family. I love the memories!


Telling Richie about this, we thought it would be great to start this tradition with our family.

We've had a few Sunday suppers here and there but this past Sunday was the first official one.

We went to my parents' new house and I grilled chicken and roasted potatoes. I also made beans and hot dogs. In typical fashion, lots of yummy food. We sat around the table, just myself, Richie & Dad, talking about life. People and pets we missed was a big part of that. Aunt Catherine, Lilah. It was wonderful. I'm eagerly looking forward to this coming Sunday.

Pictures from Sunday Supper:

Ok, the chunkling is not related to this post.

Well, he is family. I just couldn't resist. Look at those eyes!!

First, mark your calendars. This is the first night in...maybe my whole life that I'm up past 9:00!

Ok, now that you've recovered from shock, I must share a success story from dinner tonight.

I was craving garlic bread but forgot to set the oven for the traditional frozen and bake kind. Dinner was only minutes away from ready, so I looked around the kitchen. I saw the Ciabatta rolls I bought yesterday sitting on my counter and remembered how my mom made garlic bread one night. I used what I could remember, things I had handy at home, and oh.my.goodness. Best garlic bread ever!!

It was not only super easy, super fast and super delicious, but also a fraction of the cost of the pre-made kind.

All you need are Ciabatta rolls (hint: these can be pricey but if you catch a sale, stock up. You can store them in the freezer and take out what you need. Kroger had 2 packs for $4.00 this week and each pack has 4 rolls. Lots of garlic bread. Or sandwiches for Richie's lunch! I know these are rather expensive, more than I almost always spend, but Richie likes them and they are a nice treat to keep in the freezer.), butter, fresh garlic and garlic powder.

I opened the roll and buttered each side. I sprinkled it with garlic powder and then put fresh, thinly sliced garlic on top, popped them in the toaster oven and, just a few short minutes later, the most amazing garlic bread you've ever tasted!

We have a cookout coming up, and I'll have to road test these with the coaches. We'll see what Q likes better- corn souffle or new most awesomest garlic bread.

You're welcome in advance :)

Super Regionals Here We Come!

Thanks to all the good thoughts, we won last night! Final score of 4-1.

It was an anxiety inducing game to say the least. Richie held up well and looked so relieved when the outfielder caught the ball to end the game.

The Rebs also had a few plays of fast running and stealing bases-- plays that happened because Richie trained the team. Those workouts and conditioning pay off in these situations. Good job, hubby!

The atmosphere was so emotional. I know the whole town is happy we made it!

The Super Regional will be here in Oxford this weekend. Virginia, one of the hottest teams right now, will be coming to play. Wish us luck!

Send Good Thoughts Today!!

We blew our lead at the end of yesterday's game. I can't believe we lost!

Richie is, well...if you know him, you know how he is taking this loss.

We play again tonight at 7pm(CST). It is do or die.

We win, we advance. We lose, our season is over.

Send any good thoughts you can spare to Swayze Field, Oxford, MS.