Golden Compass

Courtesy of Michelle mouse over the image. You can take a quick survey that let's me know how other's see me.

I couldn't resist. Oh, and keep looking below for pictures from the weekend.

Photo Monday

Blurry Kitty - but I like it anyway

Hiding Lily


My first tulip - I planted bulbs in the fall and this is my first one to flower

Dappled light through the plum

Cassie and Sophie

Caleb smiling

Tulip - one of the few in the backyard to make it due to our odd weather

Toes exposed

Shades of spring

Plum blossoms

Max - no camera mom, seriously NO CAMERA

Some hubby bonding

Today was one of those catch up days with the loved ones. A hot shower, a little love, and then the always romantic weed pulling extravaganza. I have gone with the Darwinian theory that what ever can grow in my yard, great, fabulous, terrific. Go nuts. If you can't survive on your own, tough tiddly winks. So, as you can imagine that pretty much leaves three things growing in my English garden style front yard, dandelions, weedy grass, and cat mint. Everything else struggles to just grow a few inches. I am not a good gardener, I'm more of a half assed gardener. And maybe I don't even deserve that much credit. And this year, it's painfully obvious how bad a gardener I am. The grass like weeds have pretty much taken over. At this point if I want to fix this situation I have to dig it all up, put down some fabric and start all over again. Sigh...........And I have no one to blame but myself.

I do have to say I love laying on the thyme ground cover that we have, it's softer than a hotel mattress, and pulling out the little clover plants that seem to grow in and amongst the blanket of thyme. The hubster joined me and we sprawled on our sidewalk and pulled out the little clover runners. It was actually kind of fun and relaxing. Our little Sophie princess was out with us. She just plopped down on the sidewalk and kept her mommy company.

When I said a few posts ago that the plants literally grow before your eyes. I meant it. I can't believe how fast things are growing. I LOVE this time of year. I love that we have nothing but warmth for the next several months. I love that things are green again. And that the birds sing non-stop. I simply love being in the sun and fresh air.

I never used to appreciate the warmth and the sun when I lived in it all the time. I took it for granted. But now, now I relish every moment. Our climate really encourages us to live our spring and summer lives to their fullest. And that is marvelous. It feels just plain spectacular to be alive.

Now I will grab a bottle of brambleberry tea and curl up with a good book while basking in the sun. I think tomorrow I have plans to do the same.

Coffee thought

I went over to my *gasp* favorite coffee shop near work which yes, happens to be Starbucks. You know I struggle with this, but dang it, they really are the only ones with a reliable cup of coffee near here.

I curled up in a chair with my book and a mocha and found myself 2 pages later not having a clue what I had just read. This would be because a million thoughts were running through my head.

This absolutely adorable young couple were having coffee together and the chemistry between them was electric. They were sitting at a small table facing each other and while they talked they leaned in close. They only had eyes for each other. She was an absolutely gorgeous young woman. The kind of girl that wakes up perfect. No makeup, hair tossed casually up into a bun. And simply stunning. Not to mention that you could tell just from her smile that she was a sweet and genuine person.

Two friends of hers walked into the shop and they greeted each other warmly. Not the high pitched annoying girly greeting but rather just a sweet and honest warmth. One of the girls asked the little beauty if she would be doing a solo and the little beauty replied that she hadn’t been asked yet but she was hoping to. I have no idea what sort of solo, be it singing or musical, or dance but I could totally imagine her captivating an audience.

Her two friends, one was very tall, very elegant, and poised. The other was a tiny little thing with long hair and a sweet smile. She was a dancer I found out during their conversation.

I’m not sure why this little interaction struck me like it did. But one of the things I realized was that this was their time. They were the future. All the bright and beautiful possibilities of this world. They were the ones making things happen. Bringing change. Moving the planet forward.

And I started to feel my age. I never really have before. I kind of think of myself as always around 30. It’s not that I am even that much older. But I realized that my life has settled down. My life has pretty much found it’s course. I have a family, a mortgage, two cars, and a yard I take care of. Don’t get me wrong, I love my life. I wouldn’t change a thing. But my “time”, my possibilities, my bright star has found it’s place. It’s no longer shooting brilliantly across the sky.
I know you make life what you want it so I still have brialliance and possibilities, but it's not quite the same, not quite so pure and so unhindered.

These four people, their stars were blindingly brilliant. They were moving, and they were shaping what the world will become. I wish them well.

I can't believe I'm not dead yet

So today I went to "school" to get ServSafe Certified. And in 2-3 weeks my certificate might come in the mail. I sorta doubt it. I am not a good crash learner. I don't have very good short term memory. So basically I retained 10% of what they taught us. Probably not enough to get me through the test. 90 questions about Foodborne illnesses, symptoms and causes of diseases I can't pronounce let alone remember details on. You also learn about the importance of food temperatures, storage and handling.

After taking this class I did learn one major thing. The health department should have shut me down a long long time ago. You are supposed to get hot food down to 70 degrees within two hours and then refrigerate it and get it down to 41 degrees in under 4 hours. I leave dinner out till the next morning and then remember to throw it in the fridge. WAY WAY WAY past the safety time. I'm not sure if I have ever cooked a meal that wasn't time temperature abused. Not good.

So, like I said, I can't believe I'm not dead yet. I should have gotten a few major illnesses over the years.

And if you want to talk about preventing cross contamination. Yeah, I have never done anything to prevent cross contamination. I cut up my chicken and then my carrots on the same board with the same knife. I don't clean and sanitize the surface and the knife before switching food. I guess I like mixing up my micro organisms and spreading them as far around as I can.

About the only thing I don't do is smoke over food, prepare foods with my hands with open cuts, nor do I sneeze in the food. But aside from that, what can I say. You take your life in your own hands coming over for dinner at my place.

Or, perhaps for those that have been eating at our house for a while and have remained healthy, it's more of a immune system strengthening program. Our bodies get so exposed to little nasty creatures that we have become SUPER human. Yeah, that's it. I make my guests into super humans.

The good news for the world out there is that I don't actually work in the food industry. I just have to be able to advise people that do. I promise I will preach though I don't necessarily practice.

Hat's off to Mikey

Sometimes I have a mundane post that really isn't all that interesting.

It rained, Lily got scared. It thundered, Lily got even more scared.

It was also warm and sunny, we gardened.

See, mundane.

So instead, I will send you over to read this which made me snort tomato soup out my nose.

Photo Friday

New Tulip - planted the bulbs last fall - yippee some actually grew!
Tiny spring flowers in our back yard
Cosmos just starting to come out
Caleb - isn't he cute????
My dear friend Girl J's daughter Lil Al is going to her first prom this weekend. Lil Al asked me to make her jewelry and a garter for it. I was so honored. I forgot to take pics of the jewelry but here is the garter that I made her. It almost from afar looks like I knew what I was doing!