Here is our garden so far this year

I will post the pictures starting from behind the garage to the back right corner of the yard. We only put acorn squash, watermelon, and cantaloupe in the vegetable garden. The rest of the veggies are either in pots or hidden in the flower garden.

Here is the clothes line we put in this year.

This is where the perennial garden starts and it goes the rest of the length of the yard. We added a space for strawberries and chnaged the stepping stones around. I really like it better this way. Next year the rose bushes are coming out, they are just too much work.
Our Strawberry Patch This is the new addition , really we just connected the two existing gardens and moved stones around. Here are some hidden veggies that are doing very well, I think they like it here. There are pickling cucumbers, bambino eggplants(which I will post a picture of) and japanese eggplants. We also have cucumbers, green beans and peas. Oh and let's not forget Maddie's carrots, which she plants every year and they do great every year.And the little bambino eggplant, there are wuite a few. Can't wait to try them))

Thankful Thursday

SOOOO thankful to have a digital camera again.....
Enjoy!!!

Just some pictures

Since my camera has been down I haven't been able to post any pictures, or take any for that matter. Over the weekend my mom gave me back my old digital camera and I'm back in business. So enjoy all of the cuteness.

Garden Pictures

Well here are a few pictures from our flower garden this year.

This is Bella and her Best Friend Sarah.

And here is Maddie and Bella taking a moment in the garden...love it!!

Dance is over ahhhh.....

After taking a 6 week summer dance class last year Maddie wanted to keep with it. So after finding out that her teacher from that class just became pregnant, I wondered how she would be able to teach the whole year. We ended up going to a studio that is new to Owosso, BIG mistake. I will not go into all of the horid details of this ladies business sense but I will leave you all a beautiful picture of my little "Dance Star".

By the way she did a wonderful job at the recital and for all of you wondering if I will let her continue dance, let's just say that if she wants to I will take her back to the place where she went that one summer. I saw some of the pictures from their recital and the costumes were not only 100% cuter(if that's even a word) but they were also $20 cheaper!!

Enjoy the pictures

Awesome Salsa

Here is a great salsa recipe. It can be used with tortillas chips or with grilled chicken pieces on top of grilled corn tortillas with sour cream and cheese. However you want to eat it, it will be great!!

1-3 mangos, ripe but firm. Chopped into small pieces
1-2 jalapeno peppers. seeded and then finely chopped
Fresh chopped cilantro. As much or as little as you like. I use quite a bit.
1-2 large tomatoes, use the type you like. chopped small
The juice of 1-2 limes
1 med onion finely chopped

Mix all of the chopped ingredients together and let sit in the refrigerator to chill for about 1/2 an hour or so. This is so lite and refreshing you will love it. You can add more or use less, depending on how much salsa you want to make. It really is an eyeball it and taste as you go kind of recipe.

Enjoy:))

Thankful Thursday

Wow it's Thursday already!!
There are so many things to be thankful for. Even as I am typing I'm trying to decide which one of the things I'm thankful for that I would like to share today.

Friends, old and new are something everyone should be thankful for. We all have friends and I'm sure that at some point we have all taken those friendships for granted. Only realizing this when a close, neighboring friend moves away, or an old friend calls and shares exciting news and wishing you could be there to give a hug and celebrate, or a dear new friend that says something so inspiring that you stop and think wow how thankful am I to have such great friends. Friends that love me for me and do not judge or expect anything more than just me. I love these friends exactly the same, no expectations and no judgements.

So here is a nice quote about friendship

Chaff and grain

" Oh, the comfort...of feeling safe with a person-having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together: certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away."
~Dinah Craik, England

Sunday Sentiment

I have really neglected these Sunday Sentiments so I will try to keep them going.

Here is a good one for me today, it really worked for me yesterday too...enjoy!!

" We have the right not to tolerate the intolerant. We should tolerate them whenever we can do so without running a great risk; but the risk may become so great that we cannot allow ourselves the luxury."
~Karl Popper(1902-1994), Austria/England~

Thankful Thursday

Kind of busy today so this won't be a long post. I was talking with a friend and she really got me thinking about something I had read in my book. That is an emotion that I carry with me daily that I wish I could let go of forever....Worry. I worry about everything and it is not healthy or fun. I am missing out on other great feelings because I hold on to this worrisome mind set. My dear friend pointed out that I am not living in the moment, the right now in life, I am always thinking "what if". Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is not here yet so why not just enjoy today and the right now of it all. I'm taking this to heart and really going to try and keep this in mind the next time I start to worry about the silliest things. So today I am thankful for my friend who point blank told me to stop worrying and live in the right now;) Love Ya Friend.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for the willpower that has come over both my husband and myself. Michael has now been smoke-free for 3 weeks!!! I am so proud of him, I know how hard it is for him he was probably born with a very addictive personality. I'm not just talking about the cigarettes either...Hunting, Fishing, and Golfing are very addictive for him too, can you hear the sarcasm in my words? Really though I am very proud of him. I am also proud of myself I guess because I have been smoke-free for 3 1/2 months. I am more proud of the fact that I have not gained any weight, actually I just noticed yesterday that I have lost 5 lbs!!! I guess all of those walks, the yoga, and using the dumbbells is finally paying off. Now back to poor Michael who has gained about 10 lbs! He is laughing it off, me too sort of. I keep telling him to watch it or those 10 lbs will turn into 20. Men are lucky like that, as soon as the weather is nice and he mows the grass once it will all just magically melt off, more sarcasm.

So thank you God for giving us both the willpower we both needed to stop that terrible nasty habit. We both feel great and are getting along much better too!!

Thinking Spring, Big Time!!!

This is our backyard now. The view here is looking towards the back of the house.

This is looking from the back deck out into the yard, same side of the yard though.

This is the big plan for this years yard work. Work it will be but isn't it pretty. I'm sure ours won't look like that for a few years but since we are not going anywhere for a while this will help ease the discomfort of the cramped space inside. If you click on the picture you will see that there is a shed back there, that will be where the playhouse is now.

Well what do you think, like it?

Thankful Thursday

I love a new box of crayons. Coloring gives me a sense of peace and relaxation. It brings me back to those more carefree days of being a kid again. Coloring to me, seems more appealing when there is a new box of crayons to use. Maybe it has to do with the sharpness of them, being able to color in all of the tiniest details, or maybe it is the sense of a fresh new start filled with all colors imaginable. How about the memory of getting new crayons as a child, the excitement and question of which page to color first,what picture deserves the vibrant colors and detail that only new crayons can give? Since becoming a mother I have had the pleasure of using new crayons more times than I can count. Each time brings a new experience with my children. As they grow they are able to appreciate those new crayons a little more and the special times that coloring together can bring. Our crayon collection is quite large but so are the memories of us all coloring together, even daddy finds the child within on occasion. I have even been known to color a picture or two for my dear(grown) friends if the picture is fitting. So this week I am thankful for new crayons and the memories they can produce and the ones that I hold dear to my heart. Thank you Crayola for such a wonderful and inexpensive treasure.

The secret of happiness

I am currently reading this book and really enjoying it. I am excited to start putting these exercises into practice. I want , not only for myself but for my girls and husband too, a sense of thankfulness for what we have. A sense of feeling like this is what our lives are meant to be right now and not expecting or wanting more. Sounds nice huh? This is going to be very challenging for us, I admit we have been roped into the material world. A material world that is so domineering that even the littlest ones are hypnotized by it. I find myself wanting all of the new beauty products, clothes, shoes, home furnishings, clothes/accessories for the girls, and on and on. Where does it stop?? I'm hoping to figure this out while reading this book. I'll leave you with a few good thoughts from this book, Enjoy:)

The richest among you is the one who is not entrapped by greed...The miser is the poorest of all.
~Mohammad~

Satisfaction isn't so much getting what you want as wanting what you have.
~David Myers, author of The Pursuit of Happiness~

Love that last one!!!

Thankful Thursday

I have been thinking lately about life in general, the everyday things that are sometimes taken for granted. I have really been trying to connect with myself, God, and my family. I am amazed at how easy it has been, at least to reconnect with myself. I have been walking almost every night after dinner, sometimes with friends and sometimes with God. Yes I walk with God, he is right there beside me while I thank him for all of the wonderful things in my life and in my surroundings as I walk. So today I am thankful for the life I have been given, my children, my husband, my home, and every thing and everyone else that is a part of my life.

Against Separatism

" When you call yourself an Indian or a Muslim or a Christian or a European, or anything else, you are being violent. Do you see why it is violent? Because you are separating yourself from the rest of mankind. When you separate yourself by belief, by nationality, by tradition, it breeds vilolence."
~Jiddu Krishnamurti~
I really love this. If more and more people would just give this a little thought, I believe, the world would be a better place. Anyone agree??

Another inspiring Yoga moment

I am seriously hooked on Yoga, love it!! Amazon is amazing too because I found this for $2.00. So moving on with some more Yoga wisdom. At the end of the sunset session it says to not think of how sweaty we became from doing this workout because after we shower the sweat is gone and it is the serenity we look for in our daily lives.....Wow!! Aren't we all looking for that serenity to just consume us in our daily lives? I know I am and this just seems to make it easily attainable for me. To know that no matter how many "things" we think we need, or how hard we search for the "perfect" solution, it will never be as tranquil as reaching inside for that great feeling of serenity.

Sunday Sentiment

Better late than never right?? It is 11:52pm Sunday night, so here goes....

"Cheerful patience is required both for naughty children and your own mind"
~The Buddha, India~

This just fits perfect for me right now and I will be referring to it often throughout my days.

Happy Valentine's Day

YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

"I claim there ain't another Saint as great as Valentine"

~Ogden Nash~

Oh how I love Valentine's Day.

Not quite sure how to get these photos in here the way I would like to

so I am just putting them in how they will fit;)

I like them, they are serene, romantic, happy, and old fashioned.

All of the things that I love. I hope you all have a wonderful Valentines day

filled with lots of love and affection.

"Love is the greatest refreshment"

~Pablo Picasso~

Just one more.....

"Love is an irresistible desrie to be irresistibly desired"

~Robert Frost~

Sunday Sentiment

Seriously.........

"Agenda for today: breathe out, breathe in, breathe out."
~The Buddha (c.563-c.483 BC), India~

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful that our little Bella is now out of diapers!! She woke up dry one day last week and went on the potty, wanted panties on , and is now on her way to being a big girl. Kind of sad in a way, I feel like all of my babies are not babies anymore. That longing for a baby comes back, then quickly I tuck it away again. Not possible right now at all. So Big cheers for Bella and big sis who cheers her on everytime:)