Tag Archives: Spring

TGIF!!!! Linking it!!

Bringing it to the 7 QTs with Jennifer Fulweiler and crew….Must be FRIDAY!!!

  1. This week the kids went back to school after Spring Break….can I get a WAHOOOOOO!!⁄?!?!??!?!????  Fine, I’ll give myself one…WAHOO!!!!!  Actually, I’m glad for them to get a little break in the schedule, but I didn’t take any time off so it was a little boring for them, the weather wasn’t all that fantastic, so I’m happy we are all back on schedule and the weather is FINALLY springing up.  Longest winter ever, right?  Even here in Central Florida…gray skies for months.  Boo hoo…I’m certain several people have just clicked away after that comment.  You can always come visit and escape the snow….come on!!
  2. Speaking of people escaping the cold….my mom is here!  She lives in Pennsylvania and has been enjoying the fantastic weather all week!  Of course, she had a rocky start with bad weather  through the southeast mid-trip and was delayed a night in Charlotte, however, she’s been running to and fro catching up with my grandparents, us, and a lot of her friends all week.  We’ve loved visiting and I know she has, too….but man, oh man….it gets exhausting running around visiting, doesn’t it???  Today she and I get lunch together and I am looking forward to our one-on-one!!
  3. I made it back to the gym AT LUNCH this week and I am still sore.  It WAS great to get in a good workout and not be up at the crack of dawn.  This weekend I may have the Hubs get in the pool with me and give me some pointers and add some swimming in on lunch, because it IS getting lovely out!  Although I don’t think I can give up my 5 a.m. spin class which is TORTURE getting up for….but oh, so worth it!!!
  4. This week saw several Paleo-based meals at our dinner table and with the weather changing, I feel I may be emerging from winter time hibernation and almooooooooooost ready to plan and cook ahead our healthy meals and snacks for the week.  The planning and prepping ahead is THE hardest thing for me to consistently stick with and it is also the thing that makes the biggest difference in sticking to a healthy routine or not.  Taking it all one day at a time, and remembering daily that summer’s coming and my bathing suit is waiting.  Motivation?  Um, yes.
  5. Our Yukon needed an oil change this week and it only cost us $465.  Occasionally, when your truck has almost 200,000 miles on its 12-year-old self, service is required.  Painful?  Always.  Grateful for a solid and well-maintained vehicle?  Yup.
  6. Some interesting opportunities are turning up for me in the work arena.  BIG changes and I have been crazy conflicted and praying up a storm.  Must be working because so far, I’m OK with whatever happens.  Of course, I’m not actually at a point where I am making a choice yet; interesting how things present themselves sometimes though.  “Jesus, I trust in You”…..my prayer and my mantra.
  7. Wrapping it up as I bring the first shortie to school #1 and get ready to own this Friday.  Y’all have a great weekend and don’t forget to check back Monday for the Photo Link Up…if all goes well, I’ll have it figured out by then.  How hard can it be, right?  famous last words!!

7 and splendid!!!

7 days of blogging…DONE!  Thanks for the fun, Jen!

This weekend is a perfect reason why people move to Florida.  Just spectacular!!!  My genuine apologies to those of you still surrounded by snow, mush, more snow to come, hopefully you’ll enjoy a little glimpse of spring/summer here and perhaps….PERHAPS…..it might be enough to propel you through.

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Honestly, though….I don’t know how you do it.  Hubby would love to move to New Hampshire in a hot second…me?  I’d love to visit and would even consider a “2nd home” (LOL)…but live?  No.  Can’t do it.  Listen, it’s already pretty consecutively in the 70s here and I put the flannel sheets and fleece blanket on under the heavy comforter.

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Again.  Thin blood.  I’d die.  OK, enough bellyaching.

Off to the produce store before I pick up the girls from their Religious Ed classes…no dillydallying!!

A brief message from our Homily this morning from our priest…”God loves us for WHO we are to Him, not what we do.”  Stuck with me.  Sticking with me.

And the ever-present always-hopeful-reminder:

Matthew 6:34  

Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

Happy Sunday!

Spring fever Saturday

Day 6 of the blog-o-thon and SATURDAY.  Not to make anyone feel bad, but oh MY word!!!!!  The weather is stunning already and it’s only 7:20 a.m.

The life of a parent:  so funny…we had all 4 kids OUT of the house last night at once, which is unheard of. However…….as life would have it…..the times overlapped a bit and by the time we had the youngest dropped off at the skate rink, the tax guy showed up an hour earlier than anticipated, as he was finishing up our youngest son made it home.  The great news is that we were still able to sit and enjoy the 2nd to last episode of Downton in peace!!  And the taxes are done.  Not to mention we had leftovers, so I didn’t have to cook.  Overall:  GREAT night and no complaints!

Alleged to creep to almost 80 degrees today and we have a bike ride on the beach planned for the afternoon!!

Stole this from a friend who was at the beach the other day!!

Stole this from a friend who was at the beach the other day!!

Until then, though…..I must pay the bills and get the grocery list ready to tackle the “must-dos” before the “fun-dos”.

Happy Saturday!!!

May-hem…the gardening version

Friday again and that brings us to Jen (who’s got a publisher!!!!!! for her book!!!!) and her peeps.  Can you say book tour???  Yes.  Yes, I can!!  Of course, let’s let her enjoy her newborn and finish up this crazy little month of MAY!

And with the craziness of May…what WAS I thinking of pulling off the annual “Every day in May” blog-a-thon again?  I totally and completely retract that post, statement and thought.  It’s been a big fat FAIL, in fact, this QT is basically consisting of photos of our garden and spring in full bloom here.  Check ’em out and if you have some tips for us…throw ’em out in the comment section…(I do LOVE some comments) because we are mostly winging it in the gardening arena!!!

Without further ado about nothin’…..our garden (otherwise known as “Who knew Hubby had a green thumb” AKA “How will we know when it’s ready for harvest”).  Enjoy!

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I hope these babies do as well as last year….MAN we had cucumbers every other day!!

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Lettuce. I guess it’s ready when it’s bigger?

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Peas. Experimenting. They are almoooooooooost hooking up with the lattice to climb.

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And….yeah, not really sure when to pluck these. Clearly not yet…but…..yeah, not sure when.

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We’re not even sure WHERE the broccoli is going to show up. Another fun experiment, because we can eat some broccoli around here!!

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Disregard the weeds that we need to yank, but that isn’t grass folks….and sadly, I don’t really remember WHAT kind of onion it was….I’m leaning toward green onion, because I do enjoy those. Hmmm, time will tell.

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No explanation needed. These did well last year. We got a little flooding last weekend and spotted a few (unwelcome) visitors, so they’ll be getting the Sevin treatment tomorrow….and hope for the best!

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check out those ITTY, BITTY oranges!!!! First year we’ve had ANY sign of life out of this tree. Super excited!!

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For kicks, we figured what did we have to lose except a little part of the yard that does nothing!

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My hydrangea!!! First year of blooms since I planted it two years ago!!! Looks like the flowers will be pink! LOVE. THIS. PLANT!!

And so that was more than 7….I know….it’s been a long week!  Thanks for humoring me 🙂

Have a blessed weekend !!

It’s almost here…..

Lent, that is.  The week started off with a bang with Pope Benedict’s announcement of retirement/abdication/stepping down (listen, call it what you will…we are all a little confused, it’s been 600/700 years since this has happened, the protocol is a little hazy); anyway Lent is among us.  A time to sacrifice, pray and serve others being mindful of WHY Christ came to us as a mere MAN and rejoicing in God’s ultimate sacrifice for us and the hope and joy of Easter that sacrifice brings.  Add to this 40 days (Monday through Saturday, people…every Sunday is a mini-Easter) we have Spring….absolutely my favorite time of year.

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Tweet by Matt Swaim…have you read his book,”Prayer in the Digital Age”, it’s a good read, so timely in this technological era we live in.

And so, the big dinner talk last night and to be continued tonight is, “What are you going to give up?”  Young minds are busy working on their strategy, preparing to receive ashes Wednesday night, no meat on Fridays and an influx of fish sticks to the freezer.

As for me, my sacrifice will be giving up Facebook and Twitter, and I’ll also be heading to Adoration once a week, in which I invite you to send me any prayer requests.  I did that a couple of years ago and it was quite fruitful.  As for acts of service, I’m still discerning.

However, the whole “giving up FB and Twit” generally gives me more time to blog as well as increased quality (IMHO) of blogging…go figure.

Happy Fat Tuesday y’all.  Enjoy those pancakes and king cakes, for tomorrow the journey begins!

Blessings!!

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