gardening

We all know my gardening thumb is furthest from green. I don’t think I can even pull off chartreuse!

But, being ever delusional, err, the ever optimist, I am seeing how things fare down here in the South.

I have all the gardening tools set, the flowers are awaiting their freshly potted beds, my kids are slathered in sun screen (yes, even at 9:30am…) and we are ready to do some serious planting.

My goal is for the plants to survive to the end of August. With autumn just around the corner from there, I can say I intentionally let my foliage die, to make space for new plants beaming with fall colors. And with winter coming up after that, I can say my fall plants died because of frost (we do get that here, right?). Anyhow, I’ve got all my excuses planned…gotta love a girl who thinks ahead! 😉

Back in Illinois I did battle with rabbits. Here in Tennessee, it’s moles. I have no idea how to defeat these little critters, but Adam assured me he will handle it (which is his kind way of telling me he is going to kill them).

Hey, if all else fails…I’ll just blame it on the heat.

Time to get some dirt embedded beneath our fingernails!!

Read Full Post »

great america predictions

Today, my Mom and brother are coming with the kids and me to Great America. Ava and Garrett each earned their tickets for reading during school last year. Since there are no Six Flags in Tennessee, I thought we’d take the opportunity to go while we are here in Illinois. Adam has his sales kickoff this week, so he won’t be joining us. But, I plan on sending him a picture text from the top of the Eagle.

Even with my Mom and brother, it will be a challenge to corral all three kids. While always well-behaved, we have a history of losing children at amusement parks (and it runs in the family). So, with that in mind, here are some thoughts about what could happen tomorrow at Six Flags:

1.  We will wait two hours for a ride that will break down as soon as it’s our turn.

2.  I could get lost…on purpose.

3.  My Mom will get soaked on the first water ride.

4.  Brandon will have all three kids, and me, on his shoulders by lunch.

5.  Lunch will cost $73 for 4 hamburgers and drinks.

6.  The kids will be hungry again by 2pm.

7.  Garrett will continually ask where the Indiana Jones ride is.

8.  I will not have enough time to people watch. What a shame….

9.  Brandon will drop $50 trying to win some stupid pink elephant.

10.  Grady won’t be able to ride any of the ‘cool’ rides because he’s not tall enough.

11.  Ava will remind him of this constantly.

12.  We’ll pay $4.50 for a bottle of water.

13.  Garrett will let you know EXACTLY how long the Batman ride is.

14.  My husband will call once to check in. I will text him 27 times.

15. We’ll see that crazy old man dancing in the street.

16. There will be at least one Griswold reference made…properly underscored by “Holiday Road.”

17.  We’re going to have a blast!

Read Full Post »

side table before and after

I recently had some fun decorating the studio I study at.

My coach was looking for a side table for clients to use during sessions. The space is quaint, so I needed to find something no bigger than 2′ X 2.’

I love shopping at Goodwill, flea markets and garage sales! Every once in while, I find little gems. Such was the case when I stumbled upon this piece for $8:

The piece was a mess, with missing and cracked pieces of bamboo. Also, there was some sort of animal hair (cat??) embedded in there. But, it’s potential was too promising for me to pass up.

Clients typically have a beverage during sessions. So, ideally, I needed a flat surface on top to make it functional. If left in it’s original state, this piece would create an all out spill-a-rama! So, I stripped off all the bamboo until I had a level surface. I used a razor to remove the old glue and then sanded it down to make it smooth.

The dimension of the surface was 13″ X 13″. I knew Lowe’s carried 12″ X 12″ samples of granite, which I thought would make the perfect top. After settling on the color, I glued the granite to the piece, framed the remaining edge with the extra bamboo I previously removed, attached bamboo to other missing areas around the piece and was all set!

I love the way it turned out and it looks great in the studio!

Just another thing I’ve been up to… 😉

Read Full Post »

still running

I ran my first race on May 21, 2011.

It was a 5K and the best part was sharing the race with some dear friends. I completed the race in 28:15 and was very proud to finish (yeah, I like finishing things I start… 🙂 ).

Since that day, I’ve faithfully run 5K three days a week.

Running has been a wonderful constant in the midst of all the recent transitions. I love lacing up my shoes early in the morning and hitting the pavement. It’s my quiet time. It’s my prayer time. It’s my time to clear my mind and just, well…run.

I have to say, it is harder running in Tennessee. The air is much heavier – criminy, there are mornings when I think I can actually chew on it! I’ve discovered if I don’t get going by 6am, I may as well forget it. It’s one thing battling your own elevated body temp while running…I certainly don’t need the outside heat added to the mix! Also, the terrain I run has more hills. The two toughest parts of my course are right at the start and the very end. My legs and I are finally getting on better terms…for a while there, all they did was cuss at me while I pushed them to finish.

It’s nice to see there are others who have a morning routine that includes time outside. There is an older couple: he has a long, white moustache and she wears a sun hat with a wide brim. They stroll hand in hand from one end of our subdivision to the other. I pass by them twice and they say hello to me every time.

There are also two women who walk together in the mornings. I recently found out that one of them is blind. Sometimes they are laughing, other times one of them is crying. I pass by them and in that brief moment often wonder what stories they are sharing with each other. It makes me long for my dear friends and hoping one day I’ll have someone to share morning runs or walks with.

I ran my second race on July 8, 2011.

This was my first Tennessee race! I got to share this run with my family and that was awesome! Ava was in Illinois at the time, so only Adam and the boys were there. Also running was our Uncle Jim, and cousins, Ashley, Zack, along with their spouses Brent and Jenny. Our Aunt Leslie was there cheering us on. Her birthday was the day before, so our run was not only our way to support the troops (it was a “Yellow Ribbon” race), but to celebrate her.

I actually placed in this race! I had no idea we were competing for prizes, so when they announced my name, saying I placed 2nd in the female division of my age group, I was so excited! I shaved almost two minutes off my previous race time and finished in 26:20. And hey, I also received a 3 month supply of free Pepsi product – score!!

Adam, Garrett and Grady ran/walked/rode on shoulders and completed the race too. I was so proud of them! Funny story: my boys thought the number we wore on our shirt meant that was the amount of power we had while running! They had no problem pointing out to our cousin, Ashley, that she was at a disadvantage since she bore the number “17,” while they proudly displayed their numbers “121” and “122.”

I have two favorite moments of this race:

1. Grady running right along side me at the very beginning: keeping stride with my son was an amazing feeling.

2. Garrett finishing the race in his socks. Apparently, his shoes gave him blisters, so my boy took them off and ran shoeless – I love it!!!

Here are a few highlights!

The boys and I “pre-race”

Posing with Uncle Jim and Aunt Leslie

Team “CrazyNewts” (we’re missing Uncle Jim in the pic 😦 )

“Shoeless” Garrett and Grady (I’m actually surprised to see his shoes on the right feet…)

My special guys & me!

Read Full Post »