Cut

*Image by Judith511 went on a photo walk

I'm not a wuss!  It wasn't my fault that the lawn mower wouldn't start.  No amount of pulling the mower chord would have worked because the carburetor was clogged and needed to be cleaned.  I feared that the moment my husband came home and pulled the lawn mower chord that the whole thing would start and leave me looking like a wimpy fool.  Once the part was cleaned the lawn mower started up and yesterday I did the whole yard myself.  Yes, I'm proud, but can you blame me?

Mower

*Image & t-shirt by Viva Sweet Love

Today I tried to mow the lawn, and I failed.  I couldn't start the stupid lawn mower.  I tried until I was super tired and sweaty, but still couldn't get the lawn mower to actually start.  I feel like a big wimpy failure right now.  My husband said that it might take a bit to get the lawn mower started because we haven't used it in a while, but I didn't think that it would be this difficult.  Hopefully we get it started tonight so I can mow to my heart's content tomorrow.  Oh, such an exciting day I have planned!

Strawberry Pie

*Image & recipe by Cook's Illustrated

Yesterday, to celebrate the 4th, my husband made a fresh strawberry pie.  I wanted to take a picture of it, but we devoured it too quickly.  Seriously, there is no pie left today and I am sad about that.  The whole, fresh berries are pulled together with a cooked jam and fill a flaky pie crust.  There is nothing better than chilled fresh strawberries on a hot day, and this pie was just the ticket.  I think that it will be a repeat in this house.  We spent our day outside playing by the water, grilling, and then devouring this tasty pie.  How did you spend the 4th?

Homecoming

*Image & print by HANDSworkshop

I'm back y'all!  I am so excited to see my husband and my wiggly bull.  The best sight when I've been gone for so long (or even a short trip, really) is the car pulling up with a beaming driver and a dog that is all bent sideways with wiggles.  The best welcome home greeting ever.  I can't wait.  What makes your homecomings special?

Relax

*Image & card by Two Guitars

Now that we have two furnished patios, I have no excuse not to sit outside and relax.  Yesterday I got to grade papers and read on the front patio while my husband worked away on yet another project.  Hopefully, he'll do more relaxing with me on the week nights.  I love having an outdoor space and right now it's the perfect weather.  Our summer isn't scorching us yet.  Only 8 more days of school and I'll be able to kick it out on the patio that much longer.  How do you relax in the evenings?

Quilted

*Image by Ross Pollack

Storms have been passing through town recently and last night I looked up into the sky and it looked like the clouds had formed a quilt overhead.  It was truly a beautiful sight.  I'm glad for all of the rain, our yard is greener than ever and looks fantastic.  This rain is making an impact on our small garden as well.  Our little cherry tomatoes are climbing the trellis and tiny little peppers are sprouting up too.  How has your spring started to bloom and grow?

Parade

*Image by Doug Matthews

A day off from school for a parade?  I'm in.  No, I didn't go to the parade.  I'm taking full advantage of today to catch up on laundry and dishes and other mundane chores.  The kids said the parade was worth it, but I'm inclined to say that sleeping in was the perfect way to start my morning.  How is your fiesta Friday?

Terrarium

*Image & terrarium by Teresa's Plants & More Store

I'm pleased by how our new little garden is growing.  Now I'd like to bring more green inside.  The cat likes to nibble on plant leaves so some of our greenery needs to be out of the way.  This terrarium would be perfect.  I love the vibrant color and textures of the moss.  Growing up my mom had a terrarium and I was always fascinated by it.  This might be my next small house project.  Now I've just got to find a good spot to hang something like this.  Where would you hang a terrarium in your home?

Earth Day

*Image & print by happydeliveries

This week has been relaxing, but productive. The finishing touches mean that there is one little Roma tomato that still needs to be planted before we can officially call our garden project planted. I'll have pictures up as soon as the sun moves and there is less of a shadow.  My husband put in a full day of yard work yesterday, but it really paid off.  Our yard is now far from the crunchy dead lawn we had at the beginning of spring.  Our outdoor space is now thriving and I have a great place to relax on the back porch and admire the growing plants in our garden beds.  Quite a lovely coincidence that it all came together on Earth day.  How are you celebrating our planet?

Pooped

*Image by Shtterography

My husband's sister came to town and it was awesome.  She and her husband are great to hang out with.  Too bad that it happened to be on the same weekend I had a stack of tests to grade before my Monday deadline.  I entertained and graded, I didn't think a weekend could get that full.  Now, I'm ready to crash.  How was your weekend?

Basil

*Image by Louise Denton

Our garden has five kinds of basil, one of our beds is predominately basil!  We'll have pesto coming out of our ears this summer.  We have: sweet, Thai, Cuban, amethyst, and purple ruffles.  We made sure to put the basil close to the tomatoes so that the fruit will pick up a nice full flavor.  I can't wait to start eating food spiced with the herbs from the backyard garden.  Do you have any great recipes that feature basil to pass along?

Shell

*Image & eggs by my mom

I think that this was the very first Easter that I did not eat any hard boiled eggs.  What a strange realization.  I did eat my fair share of bacon buns.  In my house it's first come first served, and I will not be the disappointed person looking at the empty bag.  Maybe next year I'll have my egg, and maybe next year it will be beautiful.  For now, I'll just feast my eyes on my mother's creativity.  How was your Easter?

Garden

*Image & Garden Markers by simplyprettyprints

We finally bit the bullet and decided to try to garden in this godforsaken state of TX.  Yes, you can grow things here - but you have to fight to keep them alive in the summer.  Yesterday we cleared a spot in the yard to put in some raised beds.  My mom sent me the Square Foot Gardening book for Christmas and we're going to put it to the Texas test.  It got up to 86 degrees yesterday and with the humidity and hard labor it was a scorcher.  I even have the sunburn to prove it.  This will hopefully be a fruitful project at the house - as soon as we get some seeds and plants in the ground.  What yard projects are you undertaking?

Weeding

*Image & print by SoundsLikeRain

I am not exaggerating when I tell you that the weeds in my back yard were almost as tall as my fence.  I spent a good couple of hours tackling those monsters.  Now you can laugh at my expense because I even got a little sunburn where my shirt rode up above my shorts.  Yeah, I have a striped sunburn right above my butt - fantastic.  Next time I'll just garden in my bikini to avoid all of the funny lines I now have.  How do you deal with weeds in your yard, or are you lucky enough not to have to fight this battle?

Flood

*Image by photoholic1

This is what the weather in TX looks like right now.  We had a tornado drill at school yesterday just in case, tornado warning last night.  Flash flood warning is still on for the morning and water is pounding down from the sky.  I'm glad I just had a week in the sun, maybe the rain will help the kids focus now that they're back in school.  I hope that school trumps weather this week, especially considering that some of my windows have been expertly sealed with duct tape.  Any storms on your horizon?

Kissy

*Image & card by hellosmallworld

I love the hand drawn aspect of this card and all of the small imperfect hearts.  The sentiment makes me laugh because it reminds me of my husband, and my bulldog.  Odin gets into these licking frenzies and it only happens with my husband.  I think that the dog likes the saltiness of his skin post run.  Whatever it is, it always makes me giggle when Odin gets in his "kisssy kissy" mood.  I never thought I would appreciate being licked by a dog - in fact I'm still not a super fan, but it sure is funny to watch.  How do you feel about animal "kisses"?

Grapes

*Image by loco ejj

I ate my fill of grapes after the amazing dinner with my husband and our friends last night.  We had a great evening with games and fun and began our day with a nice morning 5k.  Yesterday my husband decided to run a mind-boggling 16 miles so today, instead of racing, he ran with me.  I couldn't have been happier, and he made sure I achieved my goal time.  Tonight we'll feast on some lentil soup and I'll mentally prepare for students tomorrow.  How did you ring in 2012?

Timing

*Image & print by cardamompress

I know that it seems like a typical thing to do, reflecting on the year come it's end.  That and the lamentation of how quickly things passed.  Now that I'm in my 30s I feel so young still and so comfortable in my budding life.  I can't believe that my time in Texas is ticking down and that more and more friends are welcoming babies into their families.  Am I really that much of an adult?  As much as I deny my age, I'm totally an adult.  2012 marks the beginning of my husband's last year of residency.  Woah.  Nuts.  Instead of looking back, I'm going to look ahead.  I have so much to do to make this year amazing.  I'm not resolving, but setting some goals to make this next year great.  Are you looking ahead? To what?

Hot

*Image & thermos via Kate Spade

My mother knows me so well.  I have two thermoses that I've been using to bring hot tea to work for the past couple of years.  One was beautifully striped, and I broke the mechanism that keeps the thermos sealed so that the hot contents don't spill out at random.  The other was a plain, utilitarian silver and I dropped it or something to cause the lip to bend slightly which results in tea that starts out hot but cools at the normal speed of tea cooling.  I am not one to complain about cold tea during 5th period, I kept that to myself.  I can make do and even though I drooled over this lovely Kate Spade version, I couldn't justify buying a new thermos. The ones I had worked, even with their slight defects - they carried my tea to work and kept it relatively warm.  I never uttered, out loud, how pretty and awesome this thermos is - but my mom knew.  I was grinning from ear to ear when my husband pulled it out of our Christmas care package.  She knows me so well.  Did you get any pleasant surprises this Christmas?

Eve

*Ornaments by Ona Norvilienė images via Lithaz.org

This is my third Christmas away from home.  In my family, Christmas Eve is the special night to eat a traditional dinner and celebrate with family.  I truly can't wait to spend this holiday home once again.  My tree is up, the house is mostly clean (still have laundry to finish folding) and while my small family is cozied up napping on the couch I'm still missing everyone I don't get to see this winter.  Three years feels short, yet long at the same time.  If you're in the snow enjoy it a little more for me, if you're with your family hug and kiss them once from me.  Linksmų Sv. Kalėdų, Merry Christmas.