Mission Accomplished!

Brianne and I should go into the furniture assembly business...

Okay, maybe not, since all we did with the patio table

was attach the top to the base :-)

We've also gained, under Doug's watchful supervision,

experience with kitchen tables, chairs and counter schools.

Go girls!!

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Another pretty front-yard scene from my neighborhood...

Bet they wish I'd get busy and plant my flower pots

or, at the very least, spray the weeds :-(

Actually, I've already tried spraying the dandy lions,

but I've got a bumper crop coming up from all the rain - ugh!

Never fear, I've called the yard guy for back-up.

Hopefully, he'll come to the rescue this weekend...

Happy Birthday, Doug!!

This is how my love would like

to be spending his birthday...

Bath Day

Fresh out of the bath!

Looks good :-)

More importantly, smells good :-)

I give it 24 hours...

Happy Birthday, Ryan!!

Wasn't this picture just taken yesterday??

20 years ago today, this amazing guy

was born into our family.

We have been blessed!

Tulips

The nice thing about rain - flowers!

These tulips are just starting to bloom in my neighbor's yard.  

Just a few more days and they will be lovely :-)

Happy Easter

Latest Bumper Sticker Snicker

I actually saw this bumber sticker in the

high school parking lot - visitor and staff area...

Just a tad ironic!

It's Earth Day

Treat your Mother with Respect

Today and Everyday!

Sharing...

We teach our kids to share...

Thank you, Bee, for remembering that lesson!

However, next time, please be selfish and

keep that cold/flu bug to yourself.

I'll be MIA for a day or so...

April Showers

We had a lovely rain last night - perfect for falling asleep to!

This morning, everything is damp and smells good.  It reminds me that "April Showers Bring May Flowers."  I am looking forward to planting my annual pots next month!

April's flowers are, coincidentally, the Daisy :-) and the Sweet Pea. We already know that the Daisy is always associated with the positive...  The Sweet Pea is associated with blissful and delicate pleasure, good-bye (I like to consider this to be "happy travels"), and thank you.

Both the Daisy and the Sweet Pea come in a variety of colors.  It's too early for flowers to be blooming here in my part of the world, but maybe I'll pick up a bouquet today to celebrate Spring.

Chicken Noodle Soup

I've got a sick kiddo at home, 

so Chicken Noodle Soup and Nyquil

are the prescriptions for the day.

This is a quick, simple-ingredient recipe 

that's flavorful without being too much for a sketchy stomach...

Chicken Noodle Soup with Vegies

Ingredients:

     5 cups chicken broth (I like to use Better Than Bouillon) 

     2 medium carrots, diced

     2 stalks celery, diced

     1 pound chicken breasts, cooked and diced

     1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed 

     1/4 teaspoon dried basil, crushed

     dash salt

     1/2 cup wide noodles

     ***  I consider all the ingredients to be "ish."  

            I go a little heavier on the herbs and noodles.

            I do not add salt - there's plenty in the bouillon...

Instructions:

     In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil.  Add carrots, celery, chicken, 

     rosemary, basil and salt.  Reduce heat and cook until carrots are slightly 

     tender.  Add noodles then cook until done (usually 7 - 10 minutes).  

Serves 4

Blah, blah, blah...

Today is Blah, Blah, Blah Day!

I'm not joking...  

It has a copywrite with Wellcat.com.  

Today's purpose is to accomplish the 

tasks others (or yourself) have been nagging you to get to.

So...  

Clean out that closet.

Stop smoking.

Start on that "Honey-Do" list.

Give the dog a bath.

I've got my motivation now :-)

I'm going to recycle the items we no longer use:

one pile for Good Will

another for the Cancer Center's Barn Sale

Have fun and make it a good day!

Endzone Victory Dance!!

I survived!!

Don't laugh...

When was the last time you hosted

a dozen"ish" teenage girls at a sleepover?

The girls had fun.

No drama.

No sneaking out.

I feel like a just won a marathon.

Woohoo for me :-)

What's Going Around Facebook, Volume 2

I've always got a book or two that I am reading, so this one piqued my interest.   April 10 - 16 is actually National Library Week (FB is a little behind); however, let's not call a technical foul when there's a game to be played...

FB:  It's national book week. The rules are: grab the closest book to you, turn to page 52, post the 5th sentence as your status. Don't mention the title. Copy the rules as part of your status.


My post:  "The rugs, a bit faded and frayed with time and use, came down from a generation before that."

I'll cheat just a bit...  This is the final book in a quartet by Nora Roberts.  Lots of hearts and flowers - literally!!  
I'm giving it a "must read" rating :-)

Life is Good!

"Dance like the photo's not tagged, 

love like you've never been unfriended, 

tweet like nobody's following."

I love it!

This was posted on the Life is Good 

Facebook Page yesterday...

I'm a huge fan of Life is Good products.

The daisy above is on my backpack :-)

Trees

First, I found the plaque my Grandma used to hang on her wall.  

It looks like a piece of redwood with the poem etched in it.

Second, one of my girlie friends quoted it on Facebook.

Third, the birds happy chirping woke me up 

and it started running through my mind.

Since this poem keeps popping up, 

it needs to be shared, so...

TREES

by Joyce Kilmer

I THINK that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,	5
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.	10
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Tuesday Titter

And you thought you had to be careful with your credit card #...

A tune to start your week off :-)

Today is Barbershop Quartet Day...

Who knew?

I thought it was interesting that the 2010 

Barbershop Quartet Champions were "kind of" local.

If you are up for this unique type of music,

I believe I have figured out how to post the link.

As always, there is a high possibility of operator error

between me and my technology, so

Good Luck! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWCNiIikbFw

Bicycle Built for Two

Doug and I got the tandem out yesterday

for the first time this spring. 

We took a short ride to see how to connect the 

Cherry Creek Trail to the CU Denver campus and

then over to Ink! for a late lunch.

Cherry Creek has a trail on each side - 

south side for bikes or walking;

north side for walking only.  Nice system :-)

Beautiful day!

Riding tandem with Doug

 is my favorite mode of transportation <3

New Coffee Spot

Ink! is a new find for me...

If you are in Denver,

this place is located on Little Raven.

Yummy coffee, sandwiches, salads.  

Fun atmosphere.

I love this part of town!!

Enjoy the Weekend!

"Only Robinson Crusoe got everything done by Friday."

- Author Unknown

Adult Truths #11

You never know when it will strike, but there comes 

a moment at work when you know that you

just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

Although I do not work outside the home, I just arrived at this point. 

I think the trip to King Soopers was the last straw.

We have a fairly new King Soopers store - 

it's close, clean, well-organized, 

or, at least it was until a couple of months ago...

They are renovating it - isn't that grand!?!?

No idea why - like I said, it's pretty new.

Today, I couldn't find the mushrooms.

Even the guy stocking the shelves, who I enlisted to help me, 

was getting frustrated.  

The poor lady at the check-out...

She asked me if I had found everything and when I answered "no,"

she didn't quite know how to respond.

She then asked if she could get someone to help and when I again said "no,"

she started looking a little stressed.

I finally told her I had used up all the patience

I had for the day trying to locate the mushrooms 

and was going home to have a strong drink.

I said it with a smile (it's not her fault they're renovating),

so I think she thought I was joking...  

I wasn't.

I'm playing on the computer and I'm going to start my new book.

Drinking a "bold" coffee...

Doing nothing productive for the rest of the day...

Rain, Rain, Come Again...

Although Daisy and I were outside yesterday enjoying the sun,

we are going to do our rain dance today.

We hope that Mother Nature will help out the firefighters 

who are working very hard to get the Crystal Fire,

burning in the foothills just west of town, under control!

Morning Coffee??

I've been anxiously waiting my turn at Starbucks

when someone ahead of me ordered this drink...

It's morning!  Some of us are running late!

Are you trying to get strangled by the

uncaffienated folks behind you??

BTW:  This is the ZITS comic strip

by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

Personally, I think they brilliantly capture

the lives of teens and their parents!  

Tide Pools

One of my favorite places to explore when I'm

at the beach are  the tide pools!

This area was loaded with them - big and small.

The abundance of life that you can observe is amazing :-)

Note to Self:

Condo Clean-Up

Being productive and getting a big job done

feels GREAT!!

Brianne and I got in some good

mother/daughter time while we cleaned

the condo Ryan will be moving into in Denver.

Great people-watching location.  

The guys below our patio were flirting with Bri...

They are going to be pretty disappointed when

they find out her brother is moving in instead - lol!

Flowering Snow Crab

Spring has officially arrived :-)

My favorite tree is leafing out!

It will be loaded with beautiful blooms in

just a few weeks - I can't wait!!