Summer Goals

So, summer will officially begin tomorrow with the arrival of the solstice. I have been doing a lot of soul searching lately and I've decided on what my summer goals will be this year. Every year, a lot of us try to decide on what to do to maximize the summer weather. Some of us want tans, others want to shed a few pounds. Others hope to spend more time with their families and maybe have a nap, once in a while.

I think that all of the above options are great. I love the beginning of a new season, because with each new beginning is a sense of hope. Well, at the end of summer, when we look back on how we spent our time, we often think about all the stuff we wished to get done, but didn't. Then, we look forward to what the fall will bring.

I've learned that it doesn't really matter if we don't get everything accomplished. Most of us get eager and make our lists too long. As long as we have achieved, at least, some of our goals how can we be down on ourselves? As long as we take time to appreciate the summer, even just once, it won't be wasted.

So, this brings me to my summer goals. Today, while out with my dog walking, I enjoyed smelling the buttercup's scent wafting in the air and I took in the view of the green trees, the flowers, and the lake; observing how lucky I am. I have seen the same view for decades; and every summer when I see the green trees, or in the fall when I enjoy the crimson and bright orange leaves, it's as though I'm seeing it for the first time and I'm grateful every time.

I was grateful, today, to enjoy the summer experience with a new doggy family member, to be blessed with a new friend to love and to start anew.

Then I began to think about gratitude and blessings and what I wanted my summer goals to be. So, aside from wanting to read great books, having as much fun as I can, and being successful in the garden.. my biggest goal this summer is to do kind things for those whom I love. Random acts of kindness, in a way. I am one of those who believe that if God blessed you with a gift it's best to share it. So, I am going to use my crafty gifts and I'm going to make gifts throughout the summer for friends and family whom I feel very lucky to be blessed to know. Sometimes, I think I don't deserve such awesome friends or family and to thank them for their friendship, I'm going to do something random for them that will make them smile. It will be fun to surprise people too. I'll keep you updated on the process, and when I get new batteries in my camera, I'll post on the garden too. Until then~ Toodahloo!

It's June! I've Done A Craft!

So, in my previous post, I stated that I was working on a project. I am still working on the project, but so far, it has not come out the way I hoped it would. However, I did do another project, which I'm excited about. I made a handbag! I joined the Better Homes and Gardens website last year, and I love it. I get e-mails from them showing craft projects and gardening projects and recipes. It is really inspirational to look at some of the home decorating projects that they do, and the e-mails keep my creative energy flowing. Needless to say, I am a big fan and very thankful for this website! So, the other day, they showed how to make different handbags and they provided the instructions on how to make it. I went to the store, and I got cheap fabric and I made it, so here it is!

I added a pocket on the inside for money, and I took the advice from another who wrote that they added a button closure. I love it! It has six pockets on the outside; so, I can have my phone, my player, my sunglasses, etc. free and easy to find. This will be a great summer bag. The kicker is, it was so darn easy to make!

I'll post my other project once it's completed. Until then~Toodahloo!

Face, too Face

So, this weekend, I began a craft which I am still in the middle of completing. In an effort to be a better blogger, I remembered to take pictures of my progress. When I finally complete the craft, I'll post on that.

Lately, I have been feeling pressured by my loved ones to join a social network. Many have detailed the virtues of being able to get into touch with old friends past and to keep far away family updated on the goings on of my life. Many have gone into great detail explaining how to set my levels to extra private and that I can even block people from trying to find me and/or contacting me.

So, I'm on the fence. I'm not exactly one to post about my deep thoughts; and even though this is a private blog, I am still fairly vague when it comes to most things that I post about. I say vague meaning, that my posts could come from, pretty much, anyone.

One reason why I don't join other sites is because it is too open. You make it very easy for complete strangers to know more about you than they should. A lot of people don't mind that though, in fact, they sort of embrace it. A lot of people love sharing their thoughts on a public blog and have feedback from followers and in many cases friendships have developed.

As for myself, I've had to deal, in the past, with negative people who I ejected out of my life attempting to get information about me from friends that we have in common. Fortunately, my friends know better and they don't play along, because like me, they see how unhealthy it is.

So, the question is this, do I cave and join my friends, or do I stick to my guns? I'm still on the fence with this personal debate. I'll let you know how it all works out. Until then~ Toodaloo!

Spring Renewal

Ahhhh, at last, the clouds have parted and the sun is shining, once again! The rain, the rain was starting to be annoying. The other day I remembered how much I enjoyed rainy days at school. I loved the idea of wearing a rain coat and seeing what sort of umbrellas the other kids and teachers would bring to school. Even then, I loved to accessorize!

Now, however, the rain means very large puddles on the playground. When the rain stops and it's simply cloudy, we have outside recess and now I have to be the adult telling kids to stay out of puddles, when really, I'm thinking "that looks like fun."

With the sunshine and moist soil comes flowers and earth worms. Yesterday, I raked the garden and found the irises waiting to be exposed. I raked the yard of debris and raked so hard, my hands blistered. I transfered my green beans to a large pot and next week, I'll transfer my rainbow heirloom tomatoes. I'm really looking forward to having a vegetable garden again. It's so nice to walk into your back yard and pick fresh produce and cook with it. We have raspberries and herbs too. Having access to a garden makes me feel like such a culinary princess. Almost as though I have my own quaint cooking show on the cooking channel; where everyone marvels at my splendid, yet, simplistic creations that I made from scratch- from the ground up!

A few days ago, I raked the leaves out of the herb garden and I have yet to see what is to come of it. I have a gal pal who also grows herbs and I'll ask her about the status of her herbs. That way, I'll know if my herbs are done for.

So, today, I will be spring cleaning the inside of the house and organizing. Then, at some point, I have top make meatballs for spaghetti and then some sort of dessert; I'm thinking of making lemon chiffon pie. Then, I'd like to craft and then have a steam facial. I really need to treat myself to a steam and a mani. /pedi. before the work week starts. Well, if I manage to get even some of my "to do's" done, I'll try to post pictures of the results later. I really need to get back on the blogging train. The thing is, I've been busy just existing, so busy that I've forgotten to do the things that I enjoy doing; and therefore, I've had nothing to post about. Today the sun is shining and I'm feeling inspired, so I look forward to posting again. Until then~ Toodaloo!

Snow Daze?

Whenever my area has a really terrible snowstorm, school gets cancelled; which means I get a snow day! Most snow days, I try to stay cozy by wearing warm fuzzies and sipping tea. I read a book, browse through my magazines and I do the girly things, like have a facial. I happen to really love this facial sauna; it is very relaxing to use and my face feels amazing when I'm done with it. Any time I try to give Fred a mani/pedi during spa day, he hides under my bed. Yes, I need a life.

While I have my facial, I also put my feet in this handy battery operated foot massager. I purchased this after Christmas, when it was on clearance at 75% off! I think the zebra print is fun.

Fred also likes to take it easy on snow days!

On other snow days, I like to bake cookies and have lattes. Today, since school was dismissed early- due to wintry weather, I am posting on my blog and doing a serious cleaning marathon of sorts. I stayed up late last night watching Agatha Christie- Miss Marple: They Do It With Mirrors on CBC and then caught the end of the Oscar ceremony. I am very pleased to see Colin Firth win the Oscar for his performance in The King's Speech as it was a fantastic movie and if you get the opportunity to see it before it gets pulled from the theaters you should go to see it. However, I only slept for about five hours, so I was very tired getting to work today and got even more tired walking through about four inches of snow on the uncleared sidewalks during my commute home. So, my post is unforgivably dull and I apologize. Hurray for snow days? Tomorrow will begin March; which will bring with it St. Patrick's Day and daylight savings, which will further mean that winter and it's giant snow balls is nearly over! Until next time~ Toodaloo!

Cobwebs- Pt. 2

The super bowl didn't start soon enough! Now, I am home from work and continuing my laundry marathon which started over the weekend. I must wash some of my own clothing, I was stuck wearing a skirt to work today. Normally, I don't mind a skirt once in a while. However, the weather being wintry and all, I'd rather have some more comfortable pants instead. I must hurry with this post though, as I have a chicken roasting in the oven and it needs basting. So, here are some more of my thoughts.....

*I am really loving the ability to demand television shows on the television. Now, whenever I am in the mood to watch Being Erica, I can do it--without commercials!

* Whoever said that sleep was over rated, wasn't doing it correctly.

* I'm trying to become a vegetarian, once again, in a carnivorous household.

* "Bridget Jones", no longer a " love pariah", I find to be more insightful now than I did in my early twenties-- because I am a" singleton" burgeoning on becoming a "tragic spinster"

*cats are soooo much smarter than dogs, and therefore, mustn't be trusted.

*chickens don't bast themselves while in the oven.

That being said, I'm being booted again. More thoughts put forth coherently~ Toodahloo!

I See Cobwebs!

Okay, so I haven't posted in a long time and here's the deal.... I never get the time to do it. I have a lot of things to post on. However, when I get home from work in the afternoon, somebody is already on the computer and they stay there for quite a while. When they finally do get off the computer, I have just enough time to look at the blogs that I follow before another person ( higher up on the computer chain) comes home from work and boots me off. BOO! I say!

So, I am taking the opportunity now whilst others are distracted by impending Super Bowl/ Food feast to post but a morsel on my barren blog. I didn't bring my camera to load photos, I do hope to load some soon. Sometimes, I feel like I have to get up really early in the morning and make my way to the computer by way of suction cups attached to my hands and feet, thus undetected by sleeping computer thugs. Yes, I called them "computer thugs" as they are one key stroke away from stealing my milk money.

I will give a brief run through of my thoughts, with the hope of being able to elaborate on such thoughts in future postings.

My thoughts are as follows:

* I am loving Pretty Little Liars this season

crap, I hear a thug.. I'm getting kicked off. ~Toodaloo!

Guilty Pleasures....

I've been pondering the notion of posting my, so- called, "Guilty Pleasures" for some time now. I have mentioned a few before, in previous posts. Now, maybe it's because I've been thinking of the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" or maybe I've been more indulgent lately, but I now feel brave enough to share my "shame." Keep in mind, some of these on the list are guilts of pleasures past. So, here it is in no particular order:

1. The TV show S Club 7, a friend and floor mate of mine, Jacob, turned me on to this show in college. I walked into his dorm room while He was watching it and I couldn't stop laughing. It is about a British bubble gum pop band a la Spice Girls or ABBA. The band was some sort of spin-off of the Spice Girls. I think they had the same manager or founder, something like that. The show was all camp and it was delicious!

2. Doctor Who the guilt began while I was in Junior High and later became a healthy obsession. The older shows made me laugh at the low budget costumes and sets. Now the show makes me laugh because of the good writing. I can't wait to see the Christmas Special this Christmas night when they time travel to Charles Dickens' time of The Christmas Carol, brilliant!

3. Coronation Street, a hugely popular British soap opera set in the Manchester area. I can't even explain why I like this show so much. They don't do the raised eyebrow to transition to another scene, nor do any of the women look like they're fighting a fart to transition to another scene- something that I witnessed on numerous American soap operas growing up. Tonight, the CBC is having a special all about Canada's obsession with Coronation Street. I will certainly be watching that tonight!

4. Gossip Girl, I lower my head in complete embarrassment over this one. I just think that the characters are over the top and Leighton Meester is hilarious as the character "Blair." The characters on the show are so vapid and narcissistic that the gooeyness of the show sticks with you, like Milk Duds. It's just plain silly. I blame the nations preoccupation with reality television on my shameful television choices.

5. The Twilight Saga, I am too old for this crap, I mean really, I am a University educated woman! I've never had braces and I am a loyal "Buffy" fan. I am a vampire purist- vampires aren't nice. "Angel" wasn't even nice when he was "Angelis" ! It's just so, so bad.

I was given the first three books from the series by my sister; and I read them all in a few days. I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning, fighting sleep just because I needed to see what was happening next. Then I forced myself to leave my cave for a few days and not buy the final book. I worried that if I didn't get some sun exposure, I may start to look like a "Cullen". So, after a few days of withdrawal, I bought the final book and retreated to my cave for two days, the book was large.

Then, I bought the first movie, which made me giggle because it's really absurd in so many ways. It's even funnier after a few beers! Now, I'm looking forward to seeing Eclipse. Yes, the movie's been out for a while and yes it's on DVD. However, I'm hoping Santa will treat me with the two disc wide screen set, and there is no way I'd go to see these movies in public. I went to a Lord of the Rings movie once- it was opening night. I was really out of place there. Like Barry Manilow at a Rob Zombie concert. Wouldn't that be hilarious though, Barry opening for Rob?!

6. Pretty Little Liars- This is a TV show shown on ABC Family and is based on a series of novels. Once again, this is geared towards the teen audience. However, it is fun to watch when you want to unwind. It has intrigue and suspense. The actresses on the show aren't bad actors compared to the actors on other ABC Family shows. It features Chad Lowe and Holly Marie Combs as the main characters parents- as an adult who was a teenager in the 1990's these actors are familiar. The shows plot is wrapped around a mystery- who killed our friend, what are we hiding etc. As a fan of Agatha Christie, I love a juicy murder mystery. Even though this murder mystery is coated in lip gloss, skinny jeans and Cosmogirl, it still is amusingly preferable to any "reality" show.

7. Peach Blossoms- called by my sister as "old people candy" I love the stuff! It reminds me of Christmas, and the peanut butter center is such a surprise!

8. Wii Golf- My favorite way to blow off steam. I want to get a real set of clubs, put on my favorite argyle and head out to the nearest range. However, based on my bowling abilities on the Wii and my actual bowling abilities, I'm guessing I'm better suited for croquet.

So, there you go, my secret shame is no longer. Given the popularity of the things I've listed, I am clearly not the only one who indulges.

Soon, I'll be gearing up for the holiday. I've already decorated the interior of the house, when it warms above freezing I'll decorate the porch. We still haven't bought a tree, but I'm sure we will next week. I'll be baking up a storm soon to! When that time comes, I'll share. Until then~Toodaloo!

It's December!

So, it has been a long time since my last post. In fact, November passed by without even a note from me- my many apologies to you all. This past month has been a busy one! There was the holidays to experience, which was a lot of fun, not at all hectic. Also, I had a new nephew arrive, so I had a lot of fun entertaining my sister while we waited for him to come. We watched a lot of spooky shows, and while she was out, I caught up on the show Doc Martin. Here are a few photos of things that were in my world this past month......

These are a sort of yellow daisy in a large patch. I

passed these each day on my way to work and on my way home. They are just so cheerful! However, now that the cold has arrived, they are gone.

This Halloween, it snowed in the morning, completely coating the ground and garden. If you look at the angels head, you can see a bit of snow. I took this picture early in the storm. Later, there was a lot more snow.

This week, my father did something awesome, and I was happy to help him with this. We got a new doggy. My mother missed having a dog. I think we'll always miss sweet Brandy Bozo, but giving a new friend a loving home is very therapeutic. His name is "Fred."

Introducing Fred, the super wonder Pini Poo!

When I'm not at work, I am still making yummy treats at home or visiting with my friends. This particular month had me busier than usual because I was going from place to place and helping out my sisters. It's always fun to help my sisters, because I get to spend time with them and be silly, just having coffee together. Also, I get to spend more time with my nephews and that too is a ton of fun. Now, I have Christmas to look forward to as well as play time with Fred. I've already begun decorating for the holiday! I'll post about that and treats soon!

Until then~ Toodaloo!

Autumn Warmth

October is here already! Our weather has been so strange lately, that it's hard to tell what season it is. However, the colors speak for themselves. Today, the air is crisp, once again. So far, I've only put up a few decorations for Fall. However, in a few weeks, I'll get out my Halloween stash. I try not to decorate too soon, because mid October tends to be stormy and it stretches out my cobwebbing. I try to decorate around Columbus day weekend, or after.

I have been indulging in some of my fall traditions. A few weekends ago, I made root soup! It's soooo yummy. I add as many root vegetables and herbs as I can, along with bratwurst. I even used some turnip from the garden.

Also, I made bread pudding with apples and craisins! These sorts of foods tend to warm me up and really are enjoyed best in the Fall.

Today, I made mincemeat bars and a potato and meatball soup in the crock pot . I really love this time of year for crock pot cooking, especially during the busy week. Once again, I'm enjoying cozy food.

I am also starting a new craft for myself and my sisters, whom I'll be visiting next weekend. I hope to finish the craft by the time I go away. I think that if I work on the project a little at a time in the afternoons, I should be able to finish them with ease. I hope to post the craft when I return later that week. Until then~Toodahloo!

It's Starting To Feel Like September!

I haven't posted in a while. Summer was winding down, and as a result, I needed to finish up some projects before the school year began. I have been so busy and adjusting to my school year routine. When I have it solid, I hope to post more.

So, a few weeks ago, I went to the church auction. I won a baby changing table for $1.00! When I went to take it home, I discovered that it came with all kinds of baby bedding and a wall hanging that just happens to be the decor for my sisters nursery! So, I got a sturdy wooden changing table AND a garbage bag of baby bedding for, yes, $1.00! So, my sister is taking the bedding, but she doesn't need a changing table. I, however, needed a TV stand. With my bedroom, I inherited an old entertainment center that we had since the 90's and it took up a lot of space; I really wanted it gone. So, I converted the changing table into a TV stand.

**Sidenote**

That is Merlin napping on the table. Whenever something new is brought into the home, he sleeps on it. His eyes, usually don't look like that. Clearly, he is trying to use his feline tricks to get me to feed him something yummy.

I began my project by removing the top slats, the top bars, and the plywood. Thank goodness ABCFamily was playing the movie Can't Buy Me Love, it really kept me in high spirits as a dismantled the furniture.

The next day, I recycled some of the wooden slats and I used them to run parallel to the slat positioned in the middle, that way there would be more support for the top. After that, I used decorative molding and screwed it to the front; attaching it to each shelf. That way, it could support the weight of a television.

Then, I took the plywood top and I used it as a template to cut another piece of plywood, in order to have an extra layer for the top, making it more sturdy and durable.

Finally, I took some white household paint that we had on hand and tinted it using acrylic craft paints. I guess you could call the color "jade."

There you have it. I now have a much cleaner shelving unit for my television, plus I have storage for my Cd's, games, and some of my DVDs. The best part is, I did it myself by reusing old stuff from the house and the changing table.

This weekend, I had a much earned girl day with my bestie and I picked up some decorations for Fall at the Dollar Store. Soon, I'll be decorating and making spice cookies in the shapes of leaves. I made my first baked apples the other day!- So very delicious! I am also getting into the fall mood by watching movies that I always watch in the fall. Last night, I watched The Others, so scary- I got the DVD in the cheap bin the other day. Soon, I'll be watching The Village and Nosferatu. What really is getting me excited, though, is that the Fall premier of Being Erica will be on in a few weeks! I can't wait to see what happens after she goes through the door that she picked. Now that I have such a fabulous TV stand, I can enjoy my viewing pleasure in style.

Well, I think that I have more than made up for lost time. When I bake, craft or decorate again, I'll update you. Unitl then~ Toodaloo!