Happiness Project – Lucie

This is my first time participating the Leigh’s Happiness Project over at Leigh vs. Laundry. Thanks so much for inviting me Leigh. We can not have too much happiness in our life.

This is Lucie,  my big red dog. Yes, I always refer to her as “my big, red dog.” Why? Because she is and she reminded me of Clifford the big, red dog when I rescued her over a year ago.

She is about a year and a half old and still a big puppy. She loves to play and dig (bad dog) and junp on people (pretty much cured that with a spray bottle!)

All in all, I love her lots and she returns the sentiments everyday. Thanks for visiting from the Happiness Project and please leave a comment and tell me about the pet you absolutely love!

See How My Garden Grows – Summer Series

My garden is doing well despite 100 degree weather. Trust me, I spend a lot of time with the garden hose these days. I was happy to see that my snap beans are bearing.

I like this shot because I accidently created Depth Of Field without even trying to!

Here is another shot of the cucumber flower. Waiting for actual cucumbers.

My corn is nearly a foot tall now.  So exciting!!!

Just another shot of my beans, carrots and Asian radish, which I need to check because I think they may be ready for harvest.

Topsey Turvy Strawberry: Weapon of Mass Destruction

So, for Mother’s Day I received a Topsey Turvy Strawberry thingamajig. What I really wanted was a strawberry pot. You know, the pots with multiple openings for the strawberry plants. Well, Corvette only went to one store and then gave up the search. I was a little disappointed, but I accepted it and bought the plants and put them in the thingamajig.

I did not water it until after we hung it since it would become heavy after watering. Guess what? It was heavy even without the water. We hung it up and I watered it and that was that. I watered it about every two days since them because it it nearing 100 degrees here these days.

The other night Corvette was telling me that we should put another line on because the line was stretching. I said, we can take care of it this weekend. Yesterday I was watering the berries as usual and I put the hose in the top and just let it run. It is hot outside and I do not want stand and hold that hose up to it. I went in the house to do a few things and a bit later, maybe 10 minutes, I came back out and this is what I saw.

The Topsey fell right into a pot of pansies and the pansies exploded all over my back porch. At first sight I thought, “Oh no”, but then I just started laughing. As you can see, my big red dog, Lucie was a bit shocked too!

Well, I man handled the Topsey out of the pot and yes, it is much heavier when wet! Here are my poor pansies. Kind of looks like a crater in the pot.

Unbelievably, some of the pansies actually survived the impact.

As for the Topsey Turvy thingamajig, it presently resides on the back porch, awaiting a METAL line to hang it on.

Note to Corvette; Next Mother’s Day, just find the strawberry pot. Please!

As a side note, Corvette also wants the TP tomato planter and the TP Hot Pepper Planter.

Nooooooooooooo!

You Capture – Sky

I was not able to get any good shots over the week, but I checked my older photos and came up with these. First of all, I must say that the first few pictures were all taken on Tuesdays. You see, on June 23 2009, a Tuesday, our family lost our Lolly Pop Kid. He is my grandson and Cinderella’s son.

For many Tuesdays after that, I would walk outside and see a red sky. Our Lolly has flaming red hair.

We. Miss. Him.

I would like to think it is his way of saying hi. I do not know.

This first photo looks like a red angel to me.

The next photo looks like the hole to Heaven.

This photo, although not very red, is still amazing. Yes, it was a Tuesday.

Another amazing shot on a Tuesday. The rainbow is coming out of the clouds. Thanks Lolly, for the amazing shot!

Thanks, Lolly for sending me these beautiful scenes. Till I see you again!

Free Shipping on Housewares

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Linens 'N Things. All opinions are 100% mine.

I love to shop for things for my house. It is always fun to pick new décor to brighten up a table or pick up a new sheet set. I have found quite a few things at Linens ‘n Things. I find great things both in the actual store and on the website.

Do you like to shop at Linens 'N Things? They carry beautiful housewares, curtains and of course linens. There is a huge variety of chef’s tools in large variety of styles and colors so I am sure you will find something you will like. Maybe there is a wedding coming up soon. Linens ‘N Things is a great place to find a wedding or shower gift. Many brides-to-be register for gifts here.

Right now, they are offering free shipping on orders over $26 with this coupon code MOMBLOG. This offer is exclusive to you bloggers and readers out there and is only good until June 1.

I need new window coverings so I visited the Linens ‘n Things site. I found these Bamboo blinds that would look terrific on my windows. I was also happy to see that they are 25% off the normal price. That is a nice savings along with the free shipping.

What would you purchase from Linens ‘N Things today? Head over and check them out, then come back here and leave me a comment and tell me what you just cannot live without.

Cooking From Scratch.

I just started growing herbs a few weeks ago. I have basil, thyme, oregano, cilantro, chives, parsley and rosemary. So far I used the basil and cilantro. I must admit that fresh herbs are so much more flavorfull than the dried version from the super market.

Now I am on a quest to find more recipes that use fresh herbs. This fits in perfectly with my plan to only cook from scratch. For the last 2 weeks I succeeded in making meals from scratch. It definitly saved money. I normally spend anywhere from $60 to $80 a week for groceries and my bill was around $40 for the cooking from scratch weeks.

I am also going to make bread this weekend. Years ago, when I was a young SAHM, I baked bread by hand all the time. This was before bread machines came on the scene. I do have a bread machine, but I am just going to use the dough cycle and then bake in the oven so I can have horizontal loaves instead of vertical.

I wish I had more time to devote to my new endeavor, but I work full time and there is only so many hours in the day. Maybe I will win the lottery one day so I can go back to being a housewife again. hah

I will be taking photos and post them here and over at Life is a Box of Chocolates for my weekly Sunday Brunch edition.

You Capture – Depth of Field

This week’s assignment was Depth of Field. I must admit, my camera can not do that, but I did google how to do it in Photoshop and luckily, I found a way. Also, I think I now have a new obsession. Thanks Beth for once again challenging us.

This is an Anthurim. I love the tropical feel to this flower. Makes my Desert Southwest home a little softer.

This is a rose bush that was given to us when our Lab, Genie of 13 years passed away. Our neighbors at the time brought the roses. Very much appreciated gesture. Also, yellow roses were the flowers at my wedding 31 years ago.

This is my corn that is growing in a crate that my homie girls at work went out of there way to get for me.

Falling at Home: Protect Yourself and Loved Ones.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Medical Guardian. All opinions are 100% mine.

Last Friday after coming home from work, I let my dogs out and did something I usually do everyday. I filled up their water bowl.  As I went to take the bowl outside, Lucie, my big red dog, jumped up and bumped the bowl spilling water on the floor. I proceeded to take the bowl outside and after went to change out of my work clothes.

After changing, I grabbed a glass of water off the nightstand in my bedroom and headed towards the kitchen. By now, I had forgotten about the water on the floor. I have ceramic tile throughout my living room and kitchen and as I rounded the corner to the kitchen, I stepped in the water and down I went. In an effort to keep the glass from hitting the floor and breaking, I landed on my knees and elbows. I saved the glass, but spilt more water. My knees and elbows were not as lucky. Trust me; I have the bruises to prove it.

I got to thinking how lucky I was. I could have broken something or worse. About half of all falls occur at home and many falls happen to senior citizens. Now, I am not a senior, but I still could have been seriously injured.

Maybe you have an elderly relative that could benefit from a medical alert system. Medical Guardian provides this service to seniors and can be invaluable during an emergency when the senior cannot get to the phone.

There are several ways to help prevent falls in the home.

• Definitely clean up spills when they happen especially if you have floors that are slick when wet.
• Move things that you might trip over like clothes, shoes, books or boxes.
• Use a non-slip mat in the shower or bathtub.
• Placing double-sided tape under rugs will keep them from moving.
• Wear shoes with non-slip soles.

These are just a few things to help avoid falls in the home. As I said before, if you have a senior relative that is living alone consider the Medical Guardian system. It will give both you and your loved one peace of mind.

As I found out, a fall can happen at anytime and the Medical Guardian system could possibly save a life.

See How My Garden Grows – A Summer Series

Well, I found out, I should have planted my peppers and tomatoes later, when the soil is warmer. Oh, well, it is a learning game. Hopefully, they will thrive despite my unknowledge.

My big, red dog, Lucie.

Who likes to help me garden.

I finally got the Topsy Turvy Strawberry Planter Thing-a-ma-jig done. That thing is heavy! Hopefully, I will have a lot of strawberries soon.

I also planted a few cacti. I put in an Aloe, one Old Man Of Mexico and the flowers I received from Grandma M on Mother’s Day.

I also paid a visit on Sunday morning to my local home improvement store. I mainly went to get strawberries for the Topsy Turvey Thing-a-ma-jig, but of course I walked away with a few extras. This is a barrel cactus that I could not live without.

I also picked up an Anthurium. It is so perfect, it looks almost fake. But I like it and it adds a little bit of tropical to my desert home.

On to my veggies. My corn is growing daily. You can almost see it growing.

My lone Artichoke. Experiment in the making people.

Asian Radish, Carrots and Snap Beans.

Here is my first tomato flower.

Here is what I plan to plant next: Asparagus and Spinach. I looked all spring for Asparagus. Why? I love Asparagus! I did not get to planting these this weekend. Next weekend, yea baby!

Also, on my home improvement shopping trip, I picked up a couple Bird of Paradise for Corvette’s Father’s Day present. Yes, I am early. That is another story. My big, red dog Lucie likes to eat our birds. So far, she has eaten four of them! We have two windows that look out over part of our yard and we want Bird of Paradise plants in front of the windows. I am trying one more time. I guess I will have to police her. Actually, I think she likes to eat the potting soil.

Weird Dog.

Lastly, here is a photo of my Rosemary and Cilantro. Smells so good! Can not wait to season that turkey on Thanksgiving with the Rosemary!

So what do you do after a day of gardening?

Take a nap, of course!

You Capture – Yellow

This is a Palo Verde tree in bloom. They bloom with these tiny yellow flowers in the spring. Then the flowers drop to the ground and encircle the bottom of the tree. I love how the trees look, but the reek havoc on my allergies.

This was my Mother’s Day bouquet from my daughter, Cinderella.

A pretty, yellow cucumber flower peeking out between two leaves.

Ceramic chile peppers hanging in my kitchen.

My newest apparel purchase. So Southwestern.

One of my many military pins. Yellow ribbon with the Eagle, Globe and Anchor emblem.

The last two photos did not turn out too well. Still learning.

Tomorrow is the last day to enter my $25 Save-A-Lot gift card giveaway. Hurry time is running out!