Thursday, May 27, 2010

Landscaping H-style

I have had my landscaping plans for a few weeks now and they were downright burning a hole in my pocket. So on Saturday morning I woke up early and told D to find me a tiller because we were going to landscape. oh my! Little did we know....

Before: Apparently the previous owners had this professionally done. Here is the problem... there was NO rhyme or reason to the plant selection of placement. Symmetry? NO. Overgrown and awkward? YES.




The Solution: REMOVE. ALL. OF. IT. and I mean EVERYTHING.
Step 2: Re-use/plant the salvageable plants.... and of course add new pretty things!

Add mulch...Obviously things are a bit sparse right now. We are waiting on some new plants/bushes/trees to plant. Overall I am so pleased with how much cleaner the landscaping looks.

sucker!

I am a TOTAL sucker for Glee.

It's ridiculous.

This past Tuesday Glee featured Lady Ga Ga!!!! I was literally on the edge of my seat with this absurd smile on my face. D walked in the room and said "14 year old girls and Halley's everywhere are peeing their pants right now while watching this!" ha ha! So true.

Because I am obsessed and impatient I bought Glee Volume 3 DELUXE edition on Itunes today. **swoon** I adore it!! Besides the Glee cast....this CD includes music with Idina Menzel and Olivia Newton-John.

I can't even talk about how much I love this show and CD.

I now own 4 Glee Cast CD's.

How old am I? This Glee thing is rivaling my Jonathon Taylor Thomas obsession circa 1998.
Come on, Ladies....I know there are a few of you out there who know EXACTLY what I'm talking about when I mention the JTT obsession!!

k. I'm off to jam my new music.
-H

Friday, May 21, 2010

look what I did....

Before: After:


They (the people at Lowes) tell me that those purple ground plants are going to grow/spread to cover the entire ground area and that the red plant will grow up the mailbox....uh....we'll see. : ) I also plan to have D remove those awful logs and we'll replace them with the same stone from our patio.

birds

D and I are having a little...I mean HUGE....problem with birds. They adore using our patio table as a bathroom. They freaking adore it. Most of you all know that I am not a lover of animals. I appreciate their cuteness from afar but don't want them in my house or to touch them. (I know, I know, that sounds harsh) So these birds are driving me crazy and ruining the finish on our patio furniture.

Yesterday it was sunny and 75 degrees out and I was determined to enjoy my day outside without being bothered or pelted by birds... What did I do? I bought animal repellent (@ Lowes) that claims to repel 19 different kinds of animals, including birds. Perfect. Wrong.

I sprinkled the repellent along the perimeter of my patio. Paying attention to make sure that it was a good 3 feet out. Then I had an asthma attack. Why!? Because that stinkin' (literally) repellent is supposed to cause a safe (ha!) and mild (ha!) irritation in the nose and throats of animals....and apparently me too!!!

What the heck!!! I wasn't planning on hurting the birds, I just didn't want them on my patio!! I mean it PETA people.

I called the company and they told me to immediately hose down the mixture with cold water to "deactivate it" (apparently if you do this soon after laying it down it won't "take root/stick" to the ground and will wash away).

Now I only hope that the stuff doesn't kill the grass.

H2 and I ended up having a lovely lunch outside, where we were both able to breath.

Consider my lesson learned. x10.

-h

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

pretty

This is the vintage war poster that I ordered from etsy.com. I plan to frame it to hang in the hall outside our dining room. Love it. Basically it was made by the British Government during WWII to boost morale in the event that the Nazi's invaded Great Britain...the Nazi's never invaded and the posters were either destroyed or simply filed away.... they were found /rediscovered in 2000. Here's a link for a more official history. http://www.keepcalmandcarryon.com/pages/history

I had a landscaper come to our house and draw plans for our landscaping. I adore the plans. Will they all happen this summer? um. no. : ) We'll start small but we know where we are going.

My new curtains!!!
My sweet mom made these for me. I had been searching far and wide for dining room curtains... but could not find a single set that fit and I liked. While browsing at Hobby Lobby I came across this fabric and fell. in. love. I'll try to post a close up picture of the fabric soon.




That's all.
-h

I choose joy and loud music

Life has been a bit hectic around the D/H household lately. We've been decorating, renovating, supporting our families through difficult times, trying to support each other, attempting to be good friends/neighbors, going to school, working....and I am spent.

It's so easy to let all of your emotions pile up and to wallow in self pity. When life seems to perpetually not go your way and every. single. time. you make any progress you get thrown a curve ball and your back to square one. Yes, on those days wallowing sounds good. On those days I like to wallow with a side of ice cream... ha ha

However, wallowing is a temporary fix and it's not a good way to life your life. Lately I've been making the daily and sometimes hourly decision to choose joy in my life. I'm trying to find the good in every situation.

examples:

The kitchen is a mess? This is a great opportunity to blare loud music, dance, and get the dishes done.

You forgot to pick up a key ingredient for a recipe? Don't mutter under your breath...run to the store and while your out grab a magazine you enjoy to read after dinner.

Your toilet is leaking, the oven caught on fire, AND you dropped your laptop? ...... well that's a doozy!! Be thankful you have a house for your toilet to leak in and even more thankful that you bought homeowners insurance. : )

Feeling lonely and no one is calling? Be happy that you have some free time (which you generally complain about NOT having) to get things done around the house. Spend some quiet time in prayer.

Your husband forgot to pick up his things again? Consider it an act of love and grace to put his items back in their proper place on his behalf. He will thank you later.

The point is, there is always a silver lining. Even in the darkest, most challenging times of your life.

Choose Joy.

and loud music for dancing doesn't hurt either!

-H

Monday, May 17, 2010

rain rain go away

I am so sad!!! It is supposed to rain and thunder storm NON-STOP until next Wednesday!!! Weather.com says that this Thursday should me sunny (thank goodness). I thought April showers brought May flowers.....

You better believe I will be capitalizing on the sunny weather Thursday. I think I'll take a walk, eat outside, and open the windows to say the least.

On this rainy day I am taking care of business at home. I'm making all the phone calls I dread making (school related/health-auto insurance related/etc.) and tidying up. I guess that's an ok way to spend a day when you can't go outside.

D is going to be out of town for the latter half of this week. Which means I'll be doing some extra visiting with the ladies of Findlay...that and eating Lean Cuisines....which is my favorite not guilty- guilty pleasure when D is away!

-H

Thursday, May 13, 2010

ho hum

Today I went to the farmers market and bought a bunch of stuff that I ended up not liking....ooops

K told me that the beginning season of the farmer's market is kinda dull but by mid summer it will be hoppin. I'm looking forward to that. I am quickly becoming a trendy green bag carrying, organic produce lover. ha! I read this article about the 12 fruits and vegetables that are most covered in pesticides. They are call the "Dirty Dozen" and I buy 12 out of 12 of them. Now I am feeling like I want to buy at least those items organically (is this a word?), however here in the middle of small town Ohio I don't have many options.

After I had salmonella for the better half of a year I got really weird about food. Everything had to be double and triple washed. I needed to know where raw meats came from and exactly how fresh I was purchasing them. It got to be an expensive habit.

My mother-in-law recently gave us a deep freezer which I am planning to fill up soon. I am debating the purchase of a side of beef, or pork, or some local poultry. ???? I'd feel better knowing where the meat came from...but raw meat still makes me want to puke. Which is why I haven't bought anything yet!

Anywho, today I bought some herbs (basil, rosemary, and oregano to be exact). I am going to try to keep them alive in a cute little pot and pick them fresh for cooking. Pray for the plants. You might want to light a candle as well. I am so so so bad at keeping flowers and plants alive. I adore the way the look and have every intention of putting on my Vera Bradley sun hat everyday and watering them from my darling pink flower pot...but I don't.

Is there anything better than warm pj's and a good book? nope. and that's what I'm off to enjoy!

-h

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

ya'll gonna make me lose my mind...

Dear Michigan Drivers,

Last summer D and I took a little tour of Michigan and loved it!! Traverse City and the Glenn Arbor area are the epitome of the "Pure Michigan" commercials. (I actually enjoy those commercials, they make me take a deep breath and swoon over the scenery.) I thought that Bronners was AMAZING and the chicken dinner.....drowl.... Anywho, I see why people from Michigan take great pride in their state (H2!!).

However, dear citizens of Michigan, we have something very important to discuss, specifically driving etiquette. When you cross over the border into Ohio, you leave behind your speed limits of 90 mph. I understand the thrill of the open road, really, I do. I understand that we all run late from time to time and that normally requires a more "upbeat" speed. We've all been there but please let's be polite on the road.

For example, it is downright rude to flash your brights at someone in the slow lane on the highway to get them to move over. rude. period. In the classroom we teach children to wait their turn and expect them to be polite and patient. Well, on the highway if you want someone to move over you have a few options: #1-You can pass them using the other lane. #2- You can wait your turn. As a driver, if you flash your brights at me, I will do everything in my power to annoy you.

While we are discussing what is appropriate and inappropriate on the highway, let's talk about tailgating. If you are essentially driving in my backseat I will put my brakes on and call the cops. Not only is that rude and aggressive it's illegal.

So, let's buckle up and drive politely. I still love you Michigan. Don't have hurt feelings. I promise that when I come to visit you, I'll follow your driving rules.

xoxo,
H


I want to note that this is a huge generalization. I love my friends from Michigan and they are not aggressive. However it has been my personal experience that Michigan drivers go too fast and don't use appropriate driving etiquette.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Cinco de Mayo = yum!

I have an un-dying love of Mexican food. I cannot get enough.

...queso...chips...grilled onions, peppers, & tomatoes....pico de gallo....

This is most certainly a holiday I will be celebrating today! It's warm outside, so it feels like Mexico, sunny, and there is only one things that can quench my thirst *after school of course*

....margaritas!!!.....

: )

How are you celebrating?

-h

Monday, May 3, 2010

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!!

oh what fun!

D and I had such a great weekend!

Friday: I spent that day and evening with K and baby A...let me tell you, time with these two is never uneventful or fun! While making a routine trip to Costco (without the Garmin) we accidentally went to Michigan!! ops! Then we went to Babies R Us to buy a shower gift and put baby A in a display jumperoo which she LOVED until I made these two ducks moved and roll around...then she proceeded to scream bloody murder and K and I looked like bad adults for putting her in a display jumperoo on the second shelf. ha! It's a life experience!

D spent his evening with college friends that he hadn't seen in about 2 years. From the phone calls I received I would guess that they had a great time.

Saturday: Was R's baby shower!! K and J threw a beautiful and delicious shower. R is probably one of the cutest pregnant lady's I have seen in a while!

Later that evening some of our college friends came up to the house for pizza and beer. Around 8:30pm I decided that I had to have a fire pit because it would be soo fun to make s'mores and hang out. I then proceeded to take D's truck to Walmart where I bought 2 different firepits (b/c I couldn't decide which one I liked better) and s'more material. It was so fun!! except that our grass caught on fire...and there is now a burned, black patch in our yard. The s'mores were totally worth it though!

Sunday: We were lazy today. We napped, watched tv, and had cheese and crackers for lunch. We also conjured up a plan for a quick over-night trip next weekend. I am so so excited.

Guess where I am going..
I am going to feed a Giraffe (which is what sold me on the trip)
I get to try all the fresh, home-made cheese I want
I am staying at a bed and breakfast

yay!
-h