Catch-up...yet again

So I have been a slacker...we have been busy and then I have been just lazy too

We have been working in the yard - planting the garden and flowers, etc. We bought one of those metal gazebo thingy's and we put that up on Memorial Day...I really like it - I'll try to take a pic tomorrow and post it. The inside of the house has suffered a bit though...since we've been outside so much, but that's ok, we'll get to it this weekend hopefully.

I am pretty excited for the garden, we planted 5 types of tomatoes, cucumbers, spaghetti squash, peas, lima beans, watermelon, 2 types of peppers and 2 types of string beans. We'll see if we can get to harvest without killing most of the plants.

We have the nicest backyard neighbor - She is from Germany and we have gotten to know her a little bit more over the last week or so because of spending more time outdoors and she is great...she did tease us a bit about the MASSIVE (and I am not exaggerating) weeds we had growing in the back yard last year...but she is glad to see we are putting all this effort in too.

We are still adjusting...it is hard to believe that we have been here for one year...it seems just like yesterday I was planning the Annual Dinner at the Chamber... We have not adjusted completely...we really only know 2 neighbors...and we don't really know anyone from church (I guess it would help if we went regularly)...but I have gotten all the back ways to work down and figured out which grocery stores are the best for which types of food...and so I guess things aren't as bad as they could be...(heaven forbid I don't know where to find Hoisin Sauce!)

I am going to try to form a book group - the first month or so might be kinda small, but hopefully it will grow and I can make some good friends out of it. The first book we are reading is My Sister's Keeper (which is really good by the way).

Wedding

My little brother got married last week...I need to get some pics from someone else because mine are not that good...plus I only got like 10...

This one is pretty funny...that's the twin of the brother who got married...and me (in the red) Shanna (bride) and Emma (yellow) line dancing to Boot Scootin' Boogie - because we're basically a bunch of hicks...sorta

Brad didn't really know what he was doing, so most of the time I was trying to avoid running into him...nerd

When you click on the pic and see me upclose I am making a super funny face...double nerd

This is me and my mommy...the bridesmaids were in Popsicle dresses (so nicknamed by me and Michelle and Emma) I wore red (obviously), Emma yellow and Michelle HOT pink (the three girls from Shanna's side wore one of each color too) I'll try to get a pic of my sexy hot shoes...4" white stilettos (ya, I'm crazy...but hey I'd do almost anything for sexy hot shoes!!)
..Then the 3 moms (Shanna's real mom, step mom and my mom) each wore one of the colors...funny that my mom wore red too :)

Passing the buck...

I don't know how many of you have heard this story but I read it and felt sick to my stomach...sure, it sucks that your kid died...but HE was the one drinking and HE was the one using a cell phone and HE was the one speeding and HE was not wearing a seatbelt... (not to mention the weed found in the car)
I understand in the wake of tragedy you look for someone to blame (believe me, I understand that) - to make you feel better. But I say SHAME ON YOU for suing others... sure, the bartender should not have given him more drinks, but HE should have known not to drink and drive...and sure the tow truck driver was in the middle of the road, but had HE not been speeding and using a cell phone he would have time to react...

had your son been obeying the laws he likely would not have been killed...stop passing the buck and just accept what has happened...or you could just add a few more defendants to the suit...like the manufacturer of the cell phone, for making a 'dangerous' weapon...or how about the sun - for not being around and making it light so HE could see...

sheesh

oooo...I can hardly wait!

How does your garden grow?

I planted a TON of bulbs and flowers this spring and some have come up (some haven't) but I'm thinking it is starting to look really good...next year will be better when they spread a bit.

The front bed - you can see the corner of the new patio around the corner. The rock in the middle of the bed is to catch the rain coming off the roof - just in case you were wondering...The bird feeder is a John Deere - given to us by some great friends back in RI.

The fire colored lilies


Close-up of one of the Alliums (a little blurry)

Absence makes the heart....

So I am finished with my hiatus...things are ok...a little rough with Mother's Day and all, but overall - ok.

I spent some time in the yard with my parents, hubby and brother on Saturday. Nathan and I have wanted a deck/patio but it is a little tricky because of how our house is situated in the cul-de-sac. Our backyard is virtually non-existant, but we have a large side-yard so we decided to put it there. We were going to pour concrete (I could get a good deal with my connections at work) but then my dad found a whole mess fo brick at a yard sale for $15 so we decided to go that route instead. We had to get some other stones too to make it as large as we wanted, but overall it looks really good...

The grey stones weigh 36lbs each and my mom and I moved 62 of them...THREE times. (From the pallet to the push-cart thing to the truck to the yard) The doggie 'helped' and got pretty tuckered out too. Here are a few pics:The Finished Patio - we are still going to add posts and an arbor but this is a good start.



Brad and Besta all tuckered out (look at that green grass!!)


Dad - supervising from the shade.

...blue...

So I have to first apologize for not updating sooner...but TRUST ME...you would not have wanted to know what horrible dark thoughts were swimming around in my head. I have been dealing with some deamons off and on for a few years, and they are trying with all their might to surface lately...scary things...scary, dark things...

Also, my little heart is broken, again......I am pretty sure we lost another baby just over a week ago..in fact I would bet my life on it. ...I had a hunch I might have been pregnant...especially after passing out and falling in my closet. But it was not until it 'ended' that I was pretty sure...the way it happened mimicked almost exactly the way the first one went...it would actually explain a lot...I had been extremely tired, moody, my face broke out something terrible and I was a little bit of a Bee-otch to all around me...more so than I EVER get with PMS...I just don't know how much more I can handle...I got an invitation to a baby shower for a friend in the mail and this is the friend who let me find out she was pregnant in a mass e-mail...after a very deep heart-to-heart (or so I thought) about infertility...(it took her like 6 months to get pregnant)...and it is being hosted by the friend that I think is pregnant again...the one who won't return my calls or e-mails...the only real friend I have made here is pregnant too...on their first try. A few in my family are also pregnant or have just had babies...It just seems to be EVERYWHERE, and it makes it hard to do even the simplest of things, like go to church...family gatherings...grocery shop...

Just when I feel like I have the whole thing under control and I can deal with it...something else pops up and kicks me in the stomach...and it is never one at a time...that I could maybe deal with but this 1-2 sucker punch stuff is really knocking the wind - and life - out of me...

It better not

The weather here today - and supposedly for the next two days is supposed to be nasty...like 12+ inches of snow nasty...and it had better not be - my Aliums are coming up and it will kill them :(

In other 'news' - hehe, I said that like I am so important...chuckle. Nathan's brother flew in for a couple days and that's always good - but the happier news is that he's coming back this summer and bringing the whole fam! I haven't seen all those nieces and nephews in a while and it will be SO fun to see/hang out with them! :) Its hard because Nathan's got siblings spread all over the world...and some we don't see very often. In fact, we have 1 niece and 2 nephews that we have never seen :(

I have been seriously contemplating buying a sports car...I like them but so far I have seen it as totally unpractical...afterall...you can't put a car seat in a 2-seat convertible...but I think it might be good for me...having a car that won't 'allow' for children can give my mind (and heart) a break from thinking about it all the time. Plus, driving around in a sports car would be a little more motivation to lose some weight - cause I don't want to be the fat girl in the hot car...