Monday, Monday

Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into. ~Henry Beecher, Life Thoughts, 1858

It was a beautiful weekend, weatherwise, here. Lots of sun and pretty warm (in the 60s during the day). Plants are popping up everywhere. The front of my house is happy (though this picture doesn't do it justice):



I broke down and bought some veggies. I got 24 tomato plants (I might get a few more) and I bought seeds for pickling cucumbers, foot long pole beans and butternut squash which I will plant tomorrow after the new moon (plant above ground plants when the moon is waxing, plant below ground/root crops when the moon is waning). If I soak them overnight, they should sprout in a week or less. I expect to be able to plant my entire garden in the next week or two -- no frost in the forecast!

And I bought a six pack of salad greens for fun:



I'm glad it was sunny and nice, because my attitude was not (which is why I didn't do a lot of visiting over the weekend with anyone on their blogs). It was one of those times when I was fed up with everything. Luckily, DH and DD were gone all Saturday and didn't have to put up with me :-)

Sadly, my biz partner, Judy, did. She's a good egg and I'm lucky to have her around.

Hopefully, this week will mark a better attitude for me. Things should be back to normal pretty much (routinewise), the weather is supposed to be *pretty* good and I have my fingers crossed that nothing out of the ordinary happens (unless I win the lottery ... that would be an okay, out of the ordinary thing. ::wink::).

My daughter donated a few pieces of jewelry to the Brenda Novak auction again this year (which started yesterday). They are here:

Set of 3 Earrings--Cats Eye & molded Glass on Silver Wires from Distinctively DD

Yellow Glass Bead and Silver Jump Ring Necklace from Distinctively DD

Red and Silver Glass Bead Bracelet and Earring Set from Distinctively DD

Even if you don't bid, there is a Facebook "like" link under each auction header that will share the auctions on your FB page -- I'd love if you shared it with your friends (and any other auction links that tickle your fancy). It's a great cause.

And now, I will leave you with a few other spring flower pictures from around my place, because no bad mood can stand up to the cheerful face of a daffodil (or a goofy dog):







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You See the Outside World as Fascinating

You are simply brilliant. You are bright, intelligent, and creative. You can't describe your feelings easily - even to yourself. Your emotions are a mystery. You are a truth seeker. You are willing to accept the real truth, no matter how difficult it is. You are not prone to compromise. You're set in your ways and proudly so.

How Do You View the Outside World?

That's pretty close to right ... which always unnerves me a bit.

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This, That and The Other

A bargain ain't a bargain unless it's something you need. ~ Sidney Carroll

For those of you on Google Reader -- this WAS posted yesterday, but I remembered Elaine was coming by, so I pulled it. Bonus: you get yesterday's post AND add-ons for today :-)

Moving on ...

I had my cranky-pants on Tuesday and had to make a concerted effort to be pleasant. It must have worked, because at one point DD said, "Did you wake up in a good mood?" -- understand, I'm not exactly an effervescent person, even on a good day, lol. So, I guess my acting skills are still working!

The dog was full of it too, so we swung by the dog park on the off chance someone was there with their dog. There were two guys there with a pointer and a German Shepherd mix -- both really active, good-natured dogs. And the three of them ran. And ran. And ran. And ran. Finally, Dakota flopped down on the ground and refused to move. I figured that was our cue to leave! LOL...

We went to the dog park again VERY briefly yesterday as well. We were a little early for a nearby appointment, so killed fifteen minutes there. This time there was a Wheaten Terrier and a little mutt terrier, both of which were utterly disinterested in playing. Dakota gave it her best try, but was ignored while they simply wandered around and sniffed. :-(

The weather has been so pleasant lately. Still warm, but less so and less humid as well. It's been nice to be able to get outside with feeling as though my innards were cooking. Today, they're calling for rain off and on all day. We already had one little cloudburst, which was very nice. We desperately need it, so bring it on!!

I'm still working on my writing. I haven't been saying much about it because it seems as though every time I mention a project by name, or in any detail, I hit a wall! Not that I'm superstitious or anything (nope, not me).

FlyLady is going okay, too, except I have to admit that I don't get up and get dressed first thing in the morning (which is one of her basic rules). I can't. I get up before the crack of dawn and DH sleeps for another few hours. Other that that, I've been keeping the sink clean, doing other cleaning in 15 minute bursts (I love my timer!!) and mostly staying on top of stuff.

The timer thing really works when I apply it.

DD has been writing reviews for the Aurora site. The first couple, I interviewed her about the books and wrote up the review based on what she said. This last one, I opened up her other reviews, reminded her of our basic "rules" (opening hook, positive closing, very little synopsis -- tell us what you did or didn't like, not what the book is about ... we post the blurb, so don't need that) and let her go. It took her three days of working a couple hours each day, but she presented me with a review yesterday that was really, really quite well done. Except for a couple grammar/punctuation issues, it's turnkey! I'm so proud.

I can't believe we'll be starting back to school in a month. I also can't believe she's in junior high. Where does the time go? We're going to hit Staples for some back-to-school office supply shopping (I have an office supply fetish, I really, really do. Just walking into the store makes me all tingly). One good thing about homeschooling -- I buy her clothes when she needs them, not at the whim of the calendar.

I remember when I was little, I used to have a budget of $100 for my back to school clothes shopping. That included undies, shoes and socks! I usually ended up with something like one pair of pants, a few shirts and a dress (plus "necessaries"). Can you imagine spending only $100 today? I went to Kohl's a couple days ago (after we purged DD's clothes, and I realized she had ONE pair of pants/capris that fit her!) to get DD some capris. Oy. Vey. She's in women's sizes now, and the prices kill me.

Ah well. Them's the breaks.

Do you like shopping for anything in particular? Anyone else have an office supply fetish? What do you remember about school shopping from when you were young?

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You Are SPF 15

You enjoy the sun as much as most people. You aren't outdoorsy, but you enjoy the outdoors from time to time. You tend to limit your sun exposure. A little goes a long way for you, and you don't like to overdo things. You are strongly prefer indoor activities, away from bugs and the elements. And if you're going to be outdoors for too long, you always seek out the shade.

What's Your SPF?

That's pretty much right.