Month: March 2012

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Reaching Goals

The end of the month is drawing near.  I always love the beginning of a new month.  It encourages new beginnings, new goals to be set, and new activities to take part in.  Looking back over the past month I’m very excited about how far I have come and how much more there is to discover and learn.

One thing that I am proud of is the way my garden is coming along.  A women at work is helping me with all of her wisdom and knowledge regarding gardening.  She even gave me some bluebonnet seeds to plant around the trees in my yard.  The growth that has already occurred is amazing.  The tomatoes on the other hand have not come out of the ground yet.  This will be my focus for the month of April.  Eating healthy and exercising have been coming along great too.  I have been eating  a salad everyday, taking vitamins, and at least walking for thirty minutes if I can’t make it to the gym.  It’s amazing the results I’m seeing in such a short period of time.

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The Home and Garden Expo

With the weekend slowly approaching I decided to buy a paper and see what is going on in and around the city this weekend.  I noticed a Home and Garden show was being held at the Expo Center. Although I hoped to spend some time outdoors I also knew that missing the Home and Garden show was not an option.  With my new home and new garden I knew they would be selling things that I could use.

I think by planning ahead and deciding on what I really need before heading out there is the best thing to do.  I have also decided to take $200.00 and work with that.  This is a big step for me since planning ahead and spending only so much money does not come naturally for me. With the new home and being on a budget I am starting to realize how grateful I am for what I have.  Being able to spend time at the Home and Garden show and pick up a couple of things means so much more to me now. In the past when I never had a thought about money I didn’t appreciate things as I do now.

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The big, beautiful, yard

I know I had mentioned earlier how big the yard is.  I think we have about 2 acres with beautiful trees surrounding the house. The thing I forgot to mention was the fact that this yard belongs to us which means the upkeep belongs to us as well.  Which means another purchase from the Home Depot or Sears.  This yard calls for a large lawnmower and I don’t mean one that you push either. For a yard this size you need a lawnmower you can ride on.

I decided to get on-line to see the different brands of lawnmowers and the different price ranges.  Sears seemed to be the only site that offered reasonable prices and a huge selection of lawnmowers. I chose one that was roughly $2000 with an extended warranty.  I figured you usually get what you pay for.  I made a good investment and I’ll have the best looking lawn in no time.

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The Neglected Garden

It’s the first day of Spring and I just realized that I have been neglecting my garden.  I haven’t looked at it in over a week.  Life just takes over sometimes and a week can go by with it feeling like a day or two.  Gardening really is like having another job that you work when you have the time and energy.  For some reason I don’t seem to have much of either one lately.

Besides gardening I’ve become interested in a whole new project too.  It’s not home improvement either.  It’s eating healthier and working out more.  Living a healthier lifestyle has become really important to me lately.  I think the garden has played a part in this, as well as, the new neighborhood I’m in.  I’m excited about taking walks and meeting the neighbors.  I’m feeling this need to spend time outside either relaxing or gardening.  I’ve also met one of my neighbors who sells Mary Kay.  I invited her over for lunch and she is going to give me a free makeover.  I really am loving this area.

 

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My Plumber

Have you ever wondered what life must have been like when only outdoor plumbing was available?  I don’t know about you but I feel as though I get up once or twice in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.  I wouldn’t be too happy if that trip included putting on shoes, maybe a jacket and walking out behind a shed or garage in the dark in order to use the toilet.  I think at that point the tub would have looked pretty good instead.

The reason that I’m bringing this up is because I had to call the plumber this weekend.  I accidentally flushed one of my small lotion bottles down the toilet.  It was the middle of the night and I was sitting on the toilet.  I grabbed my lotion that was on the tank lid, used it, and threw it back over my head.  Instead of landing on the tank lid it went right down the tank!  I mean I flushed the toilet because I didn’t even realize it landed in the toilet and down the the tank it sailed.  The plumber practically had to take the whole toilet out to find that lotion bottle.  Oh the lessons in life are sometimes like the little things that make you go hmmmm.

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Sleeping through the Night

What a difference a good night sleep makes.  I haven’t been sleeping very well lately and decided to try something out.  On my way home from work tonight I decided to stop at Walmart and pick-up some new sheets and blankets for my bed.  I knew they would be expensive but I figured it would be a lot worse if I got into an accident if I fell asleep behind the wheel.  Or I could possibly be so tired that I would fall asleep at my desk and lose my job. Those reasons helped me rationalize my big splurge at Walmart. If there was such a thing.

To my surprise and shock of horror there is such a thing as a splurge at Walmart.  I ended up walking out of there with $250.00 worth of things.  I got my sheets, my new pillow cases, a couple of blankets, towels, and a few other necessities.  I don’t know about you but shopping is great therapy for a lonely heart. I bought things that reminded me of the south.  Things to help me feel at home right here on the east coast.  Plus they were things that will help me get a good nights rest. So tonight will be the big experiment.  We will see if new sheets and blankets can cure insomnia.

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March 12!

I think I just figured it out.  Monday morning came around too quickly and I am off to work again. The day I had yesterday was amazing with the warm, sunny weather.  I was trying to figure out what was wrong with that day, and now I have.  It went by too fast and now it’s cloudy and time to go back to work.  I wish there was a job out there that I could do only when I felt like it.  Sort of like working on my garden.  I will do a little more today after work, but only if I feel like it.

My plan is to stop and pick up more bluebonnets along with seeds to plant tomatoes.  I want to make salads and start eating healthy too.  It must be that warm weather coming in so soon. After I do some more planting and work on my garden I will keep you updated on how things are going.  In the meantime I’m headed off for a full week of work.  Don’t you just love Monday mornings?!

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Sundays

Today is Sunday March 11!  I am feeling very relaxed and have decided to make myself some lemonade and go sit outside in my beautiful lawn.  I have never had a house before or at least not a house with such a big yard.  The sun is shining but not too brightly and the wind is blowing just a little bit.  It is hard to believe that this is the middle of March and not the middle of July.  I am so thankful for the warm weather.

The winter was calm this year in the south followed by an early spring.  There is something amazing about the beauty of a warm, sunny day.  I’m not quite sure what it is.  Sometimes I feel that it’s too good to be true.  When you hear that there is some bad in every good it makes you wonder if that person ever saw the beauty of a sunrise or a perfect spring day.  I don’t know about you but I can’t find one thing wrong with the beauty of this day.

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New Home

Although the move was tough coming from the South and ending up on the East Coast.  I have to admit I am really loving it here.  Besides the beautiful weather and the amazing garden that I have started, just the peace and quiet of this area I have fallen in love with.  You hear so many things especially before a move.  Such as oh the traffic is going to drive you crazy.  The cost of living is 3 times as much as it is in the south.  You’ll be back.

With so many opinions and so much help even prior to the move I freaked out a little.  I mean a new area means new friends, a new home, new furniture, a whole new lifestyle.  Speaking of furniture I miss my old chair that I use to fall asleep in.  I miss my neighbors as well, but my life on the East Coast has turned out to be more pleasant than I had experccted.  Maybe walking into it terrified from the horror stories have made it so much more beautiful than I had expected.

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Starting a Garden

For a while now I have been thinking about starting a garden.  With the warm weather coming so early this year I guess my thoughts have been on flowers and gardening.  On my way home from work last week I stopped by the home and garden center to see what they had.  I knew there were a couple of things I had to take into consideration before starting up.

I wanted to start up with some flowers that would bloom for this season.  I didn’t want to wait  a whole year before seeing the results.  I also wanted to plant some fruits and vegetables as well.  I was thinking about tomatoes and watermelon.  I wanted to do a whole bunch of things but knew that as a beginner I had to take it slow and be patient.  My patience has paid off.  I noticed the bluebonnets that I had planted have already begun to come to surface.  They are the same flower that First Lady Barbara Bush had planted around Texas.  I was surprised and shocked at how easy it was and I am ready to run out to the home and garden center again for my next purchase.