I run

I have many habits. Some not so good habits, and some good. Let me give you an example~

Not so good habit~
I pick my lips. Gross I know. Not to mention that I am a grown woman who does this. Anytime I am stressed, or deep in thought, my hand goes right to my lips to see if there is a willing victim. AND the bigger the piece, the more satisfaction I get from it. Because of my habit I have become dependent on chapstick and it is not uncommon for me to make a run to the store to buy 10 new sticks.
 
I need a support group.

Lip pickers unite!!!

Good habit~
I run. I started running after I graduated from high school and fell in love with it then. Then I started having babies. I thought I could continue to run for the beginning of my first pregnancy, and then the vomiting began. All running came to a full and complete stop. I did not run again for 7 years. About 2 years ago I joined the local YMCA and headed straight to the treadmill. I am not gonna lie, it was not pretty, but I went back the next day and it got better. The love was still there, I just needed to work on me. Having been a mom for the last 7 years this was something I had forgotten how to do and I was desperate to get it back. So I kept it up and it got easier, and smoother, and less of a task and more of a treat.

Somethings I love about running~
~It allows me to listen to the music that I would NEVER be able to play in my car. The faster the beat, angrier the lyrics, the faster I run.
~At some point in the run my body takes over and I go into auto pilot. This allows me to really think and enjoy my time.
~I burn a boat load of calories.

Last month my friend Kristy invited me to do a 5K run with her. I have been wanting to do a race but had no idea where to begin so this seemed like a perfect chance to get my feet wet.
So I upped my running at the Y, rubbed my armpit raw for the first time ever, and bought a new pair of running shorts for the big day.
Looking good on race day is very important. Trust me.

   Cute shorts, right!?

My running buddy Kristy~

I wish I could be this tan in a photo just once!!

The crowd~

It was like one big giant party and I loved it!!!! Then the race started and this mob of people started to move forward. You moved forward whether you wanted to or not. I stuck right behind Kristy, she has done several races and knows her way around a crowd. Without her I am sure I would have been trampled. After it was all said and done I came in #409 out of 905 and 27th out of 71 in my age group.

Oh, and Kristy beat me.

It is on like Donkey Kong! Little competition is good for everyone!

I ran my best mile ever, and it is safe to say I am addicted. There will be many more races in my future. A few things I learned in my first race~

~I should have run some outside instead of only on a treadmill. I had swollen ankles the next day and had to take the week off to recover.
~A race is a wonderful opportunity to people watch! Seriously, even the freaks run.
~It is a giant party after the race, lots of free goodies and who doesn't like free!!
~Nothing feels better than crossing the finish line!

I have another race on the calendar at the end of October so I am off to prepare for it!!

Meg





This is how my garden grows.

Last week was a very stressful but productive week for me. The best thing about last week is that I finally got the house listed and the sign in the front yard!! Can I get an AMEN!!

"AMEN!!!!!!"

So now I am turning my attention back to somethings that had to be put on hold while I was patching holes and trying to match paint cans to rooms. Mainly, my garden was put on hold.

Side note: Never again will I paint two separate rooms the same beige but make one a shade lighter than the other. Complete mayhem. Trust me, I almost lost my grip on sanity over this.

Anyway, back to my garden. It is going crazy, and I am surprised it has lasted this long! With the weather in the high 90's and the heat index well into the 100's, I am surprised it has not shrivelled up and died yet. Not to mention the past couple of weeks it has been lucky if I get out there to water it every other day.

This is what it looked like it the beginning~

And this is what it looks like now~

Craziness, right? It is seriously about to take over! A few of the items I have growing this year are~

Cantaloupe

 So far I have three growing, and I bought pantyhose yesterday (to put on them) to keep the bugs off and help support the fruit. Today, my project is to reinforce the chicken wire it is growing on. The fruit is starting to weight the whole thing down.

Red Pepper

This will be in my belly tonight. Yummy!!!

Cucumbers

Best crop I have ever had of cucumbers this year! Cucumbers are a great starter plant for anyone who wants to start a garden. All you have to do is keep it watered and harvest in the morning before the sun gets hot. Trust me, you will have more cucumbers that you know what to do with.

Green Beans

Another plant that I have more than I know what to do with. We have had green beans A LOT this summer.

Broccoli

This is the first time I have planted broccoli. So far it looks like I will only have one plant that will produce an actual head. But I love this plant! The waxy nature and the silvery blue color of the leaves makes it one of my all time favorite plants in the garden. It is tied with my tomato plants, I LOVE the smell of a tomato plant!

and Carrots

 Another plant I have never planted before. The other day as I was trying to get control of my cantaloupe vine, one of the vines had attached itself to one of my carrots. So when I pulled the vine it up rooted the carrot. This is what it looked like~

This will not get us through the winter!

 I expected more than just that tiny little thing. It looks like I will have a lite harvest of carrots this year. This seriously smashed my dreams of the carrot cake I was going to make. Oh well, they still have more time in the dirt before harvest.

I also have 2 cherry tomatoes, 2 Roma tomatoes, 1 green pepper plant, 2 zucchini, and a box of wild flowers. The wild flowers have taken longer than I had expected and as soon as they give me something to take a picture of I will post the photos. BUT, right now they are just causing my water bill to go up. Ungrateful weeds!!

So this is how my garden grows and I really want my house to sell before we get to far into Fall because I have my Fall and Winter crop already planned out!!

I love my little garden and all its wildness.

I think it is a reflection on its gardener.

Organized. Chaos.

~Meg

Summer Camp: The good, the dirty, the tangled.

This is Clare~

Isn't she pretty? She is 8 years old, has finished the second grade, and last week she went away to camp with our church. For FIVE days!!!

Now, I have never been one to encourage my children to hold on to my skirt tails, but because she is the oldest every experience is a new one and we learn from it. Just like when she started kindergarten, all of a sudden it became apparent to me it was time to get her out of a five point harness car seat. The thought never crossed my mind to put her in a booster seat!! (Big E has been in a booster since the age of 3. See, I learned from it.)

 Well this time it became apparent to me that she was going to have to wash and brush her hair all by herself. She does most of it already but I always go back over it. I was not to worried about the whole bathing and brushing teeth part. She is very good on that end, but really, it is summer camp. What child stays that clean at summer camp.

Also, did I mention she is supper tender headed? Do you see those curls? It's a recipe for disaster.

So I made her PROMISE me that she would not come home at the end of the week with one big giant dread lock. She promised, and we got her packed and on the bus headed to Alabama with 100 of her friends.

While she was gone Big E and I had some good quality time.

We went to a movie, played Just Dance late into the night and sent lots of letters to Clare at camp.

Five days later we headed over to our church to pick up my first time camper. This is what I got. ~

I kept seeing pictures of this in my head ~

Cast Away much? :)
2 things~ 1.See that skirt she is wearing? It's not a skirt, it's a halter top (she was gone for five days, I packed her clothes for eight days). 2.She hardly brushed her hair. She thought if she just washed and used conditioner it would be alright. AND, I have still yet to figure out what that stain is on her tank top. All I know is it is sticky, and smells like a combo of syrup and milk.

As we were leaving I asked her if there was anything she might have forgotten or if she remembered anything she had a hard time finding in case we needed to look in the lost and found.
"Yes." she said "My toothbrush and toothpaste."
Me: "Seriously?"
This is what the lost and found looked like ~

Even if I did go and look for the toothbrush in there and did find it, I really don't think I could boil water long enough to get it clean.
We stopped at CVS on the way home.

So after I hugged her and kissed her and told her how much I missed her (and made her tell me how much she missed me) I sent her off to the shower while I started her laundry. Three days later I am still spot treating.

All and all ,she had a BLAST and I love hearing all her little stories about the adventures she had. Did I learn anything from this experience with summer camp? Absolutely. I learned that she tasted a small amount of freedom with some independence and acted like any other 8 year-old. Even if she did look like Tom Hanks from Cast Away, we will do it all again next year!

Meg 

P.S.~ It took 2 shampoos, 1 huge amount of conditioner and 15 minutes to get all the tangles out.

 

 

Book Review: The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

This lovely little book was our book club selection from last month.
I love book club. It has brought so many new books to me that I might have looked over or never heard of. Plus, my book club is not one of those Nazi book clubs. If I run out of time, or don't finish the book (I have literally had my book at a stop light and read until it turned green trying to finish. Does that fall under the no driving and texting law? I have not been caught yet!! Rebel. That's me.) I am still welcomed with open arms.

The Chosen One is a heartbreaking and disturbing account of a 13 year-old-girl named Kyra who grows up in an isolated polygamous community. Kyra loves her family deeply and never questions why her father has 3 wives and why she has 20 brothers and sisters. But Kyra has witnessed terrible acts of violence: deformed babies being cast out because they are deemed unfit for the community, small children being tortured, gunshots in the middle of the night, "disobedient" boys being dropped in the desert at night and women being beaten for no comprehensible reason. Kyra is starting to understand that no one is safe and what little faith and safety she felt from the leader of the community (the Prophet) is gone when he orders her to marry her 60 year-old uncle who has 6 wives already. Kyra decides she must do whatever it takes to escape and survive. Even if it means putting her and her family in great danger.

The Chosen One is a quick and easy read, only 224 pages and the font is rather big so I knocked this bad boy out in about 2 and a half hours. Not my best time, but pretty darn close. Character development is a little lite and (for me) the ending leaves you hanging.

I hate that.

My mind is already busy trying to figure out if  that was a bird that just hit my window, or are there 12 ninjas outside trying to kick in my door (rebel and a wimp). JUST TELL ME HOW IT ENDS!!!! AND it better be the right ending!! Nicholas Sparks you know I am talking to you!!

Anyway.....
 If you are looking for an easy story that holds your interest from beginning to end this is the book for you!!
Hope you enjoy!!

Meg

Recipe: Beergaritas!

How was your weekend?
Mine was great!
First, it started out like this~

My car needed brakes and my dear, sweet SIL let me borrow her jeep so I was not stranded at home waiting for the repairs to be made.
There is just something about riding around town with the top down, it just makes me happy!!

Anyway, Friday night was book club with all my lovely lady friends and I offered to bring beergaritas for everyone to try. Beergaritas are one of my favorite all time big girl drinks and I thought I would share with you~

Step 1.
 Go to the liquor store with your two children at 10:30 in the morning.

Step 2.
 Make direct eye contact with other people in the parking lot, (who are staring at you because you are there with your 2 children at 10:30 in the morning)  thinking the whole time "I dare you to say something!"

Step 3.
Grab these items~

3 light beers, Triple Sec, Tequila (I prefer silver, its just smoother.), and one can of frozen lime aid.

Step 4.
Walk over to the wine section and attempt to look like you know what all the different labels mean. Then just give up and grab the same old pinot you always get and vow to take a wine tasting class.

Step5.
Stop and think "Thanks a lot you jerk!!" when the man at the register does not even bother to ask for your I.D.. Then make a mental note to get a facial. Immediatly.

Step 6.
In a pitcher dump all 3 beers in, then add the frozen lime aid. Take the lime aid container and fill 3/4 of the way full with Tequila.

Dump that in with the beers and lime aid. Fill the lime aid container again 3/4 of the way full with Triple Sec and add to pitcher.

Step 7.
Stir and serve over ice to all your friends.

They will thank you.
And if they don't, they probably weren't that fun to be around to begin with.
Hope you enjoy!!!

Meg

Selling the home, a.k.a. the giant stresser of my life right now.

So we have decided to sell our house. Or, to at least put it up for sale and hope that we sell it.
This is the first house that we have ever owned and so this is the first time we have ever put a house on the market.
I thought that this would be easy, a piece of cake. Take a few pictures down, clean it up a little, maybe paint some of the base boards and then put the sign in the yard!
Not so much.
We decided to sell about 2 weeks ago and we still do not have a sign in our yard.
Want to know why? Sure you do.
First, we contacted the wonderful woman that helped us buy our house 6 years ago.
To me she symbolizes everything that is a true southern woman. She is sweet as pie, calls everyone "Honey", tells you like it is, talks all about her children, and has perfectly styled puffy blond hair. She is just one of those people you cannot help but be happy when she is around.
Anyway, She came over walked through the house and seemed very confident we could sell our house and get very close to our asking price! (YES!!!!!)
Before she left she made this comment ~ "Honey, before I can take and post pictures you are going to have to DE-personalize this house. "
Me~ "Sure, no problem."

De-personalize. This has become a four letter word to me.

What she should have said, and I am coming to realize is ~ "Honey, your house has got enough personality it should have its own profile on match.com."

So here I sit, two weeks later, no sign in the front yard, boxes everywhere,and Spackle all over my walls. It seems when you have a lot of personality, you also have a lot of holes. And they all have to be filled.
I am sure there is a joke in there some where....
Is this work worth it? I sure hope so.I have not cried yet so that is a good sign.
The one thing that keeps me going is the thought of "personalizing" a larger and hopefully newer house.
It is a sick and  twisted cycle.
I think I will find a support group.
Or a large bottle...I mean glass, of wine.

Meg

Book Review: Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter By Tom Franklin

I love to read.
It gets me through life's tougher times and allows me to escape into a world where the laundry and hungry children do not exist. ( The laundry gets finished and the children are fed. I am just in a better mood when it happens.:)
Anyway, here is what I thought of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter~

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter is Tom Franklin's third novel, a  bestseller and 2010 Edgar Award winner.

I came across this book while researching group questions for another book, then a friend of mine recommended the book after her book club had read it and really enjoyed the story.
So I took it as a sign from God and bought it.
And I was glad I did.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter takes place in rural Mississippi during present day and several flashbacks to the 1980's. Larry Ott is the town outcast after a girl he dated in high school ends up missing. When another girl ends up missing years later, Larry is dragged back into the spotlight by town gossip but then made the prime suspect after he is found with what looks like an attempted suicide gun shot at point-blank range. In comes Silas "32" Jones, Chabot Mississippi's detective, traffic controller and local small town celebrity. As children Silas Jones (black) and Larry Ott (white) had been best friends until their families found out and Larry's Dad (Carl Ott) puts a divide between them that causes Larry to say something he regrets for years to come, and Silas to turn his back on Larry. But Silas and Larry have more of a connection than boyhood friends, they both have secrets and connections that neither knew about all those years.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter falls mainly in the mystery genre. But never fear, there is no need for a "who done it" outline. The characters are simple and eloquently written. The mystery itself is slow to unfold, but there is no guessing game as to who the murderer is. So no sleepless nights trying to put all the pieces together in your head, the character reveals itself as you read.

Altogether the novel is a good easy summer read and I would definitely recommend it!

Meg

FESTIVALS!!!!!!!

I love, love, LOVE festivals!! 
With our vacation plans having gone down the toilet I started a search for something fun to do this holiday weekend, boy did I find something!

Sunflower Farm Festival! 

I love sunflowers, they make me all kinds of happy!
Anyway, the SFF was wonderful! The whole event was on a smaller scale than most festivals but had some great local artists and blue grass bands.
The only down side- It was hotter than the devil's lake front property that day! Really, you have to understand, I wore a navy blue sundress and I rocked a giant sweat mark down the back of my dress the whole time. Not cute. 
My girls really enjoyed it (the festival, not the heat) and they had a lot of free activities for the kids to do so that made me happy as well.
Some of the activities we enjoyed were the hayride through sunflower field, cutting and getting to take home our fresh sunflowers, touring an 1811 farm house, walking through an enchanted forest, arts and craft area, and a petting zoo.....

We love chickens at our house. It is a sickness, and I am proud of the fact that my kids handle chickens like baby dolls. :)

I think these two escaped the fryer.......... 
Later we found out they are turkens, a cross between a turkey and a chicken.
They were so ugly I wanted to take one home. Boss man said no. Boo!!

All in all we really enjoyed the Sunflower Farm Festival and will return next year for all the fun and festivities.
It was a win win in my book because 1. I LOVE festivals! and 2.

I LOVE sunflowers!

Meg

This is how the conversation went:

This is Eleanor, also known as Big E.
She is also my baby, and it hurts me that she is starting kindergarten this fall.
But that is another post for another time.
Big E also keeps me on my toes with her daily activities and comments. You know what I am talking about, every family has one weither they want to admit it or not.
Well she is mine and I can admit it.
Just to show you, this is how yesterday went. Enjoy.~

As I was outside watering my garden, I hear some noise over on the other side of the fence next to our lake. When I walk over to see what it is I find Eleanor naked from the waist down peeing next to the lake! This is how the conversation went:

Me: "ELEANOR!!!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?! WHY ARE YOU NAKED!?! WHY ARE YOU GOING TEE TEE OUTSIDE!?!"
Eleanor: "Well, I had to go to the bathroom but it was to far to walk inside so I decided to go outside and I did not want to get tee tee all over my clothes so I took them off and....then.....(screaming) MOMMY!!! There is an ant next to my flip flop!!!"
Me: "Eleanor, get your clothes and get up here so I can wash you off. You better pray you did not sit in poison ivy. NEVER, EVER, EVER DO THIS AGAIN!!!!"
Eleanor: "Ok....Can I have a snack?"

The lesson I have learned from this~ Eleanor has a greater fear of ants than public nudity.
I think I might be in trouble.
Pray for me.

Meg