Drive-by Greeting

It's late or very early, depending on your point of view. I haven't been writing here as much as I'd like. I'm off to bed now. Happy Saturday to you!

Michelle Projects

It's late or maybe it's early......but I haven't written for a few days and I'm trying to get back on track.

See the plant below? I just about killed it. I've had it for years, ever since it was housed in a little 4 inch pot. These days it's almost 4 ft tall and it's overgrown the pot it lives in. The roots have filed through the bottom of the pot and into the ground. I noticed it was looking droopy, so I watered it again. Still drooped.

Finally, I noticed that the droopiness was from over-watering. I punched some holes in the plastic pot and some really stinky water drained out. Mom looked at it with me and said that I needed to cut it back. I plan to dig it out of the ground, but for now it's cut back and no longer resembles the photo below. Instead, it looks like pot full of sticks.

I was talking to my boyfriend about my blogs. He said that he spent an hour and a half clicking "back" over at Relationships, on Blisstree. He told me that he read some, too, and that he liked them. The reason he did it, the back-clicking, was to find a post that someone was leaving comments on. It's a long story and one that I no longer want to spend any time on - it was negativity and I'm not going to worry about it any longer - but I did appreciate that Mark went looking for it.

When I first started talking to him he told me that he made a list or notes on me. Sometimes he will say, I have some things I want to talk to you about and there's another list - this time topics that he wants to cover or questions that he wants answers to. I like that he takes the time to take care of these Michelle Projects.



I am really tired and I need to get to bed now. I wish you a wonderful day/night.

Feeling Grumpy

I've been craving Nutella sandwiches lately. I love wheat bread, but the Nutella sandwiches need to be on white bread, best if it's Potato bread. They taste a bit like a frosted donut sandwich. I think Ashlee is a new fan of Nutella.

I wish I had something fun to look forward to today. Instead I've got work and later I'm digging out a plant and replanting it. I've got a bill to drop off across town. I'm going to help Sarah with her room. Woohoo, the anticipation is making me feel a bit giddy........ Wow, where did the sarcasm come from? I am feeling a little bit grumpy. Darn.

I'm going to kick the bad attitude. There's no room for negativity in a Saturday. Maybe Mom will watch Buddy and I get get to the creek with Sarah.

A Midday Float With Polliwogs

We had Ashlee over for a sleepover. We took a midday break and headed over to the creek for a picnic, a float, and some polliwogging. See the polliwogs above. That is one big one in each container. They were HUGE.

Here's the floating part of the day..........

Bay used the time to catch up on phone calls.

The cousins had fun. Sarah walked all over holding Ashlee's hand because the rocks were slippery.

It was nice at the park, but it was full of camp kids, so a little loud. When we walked up and saw them, I could see Bailey visibly stiffen. Teenagers are not fans of large groups of unruly kids. One little boy, named August, kept getting the numbers. As in, "August, I'm going to count to 5. 1, 2, 3, 4, ....4.5, ......4.75....." I explained to the girls that nobody wants to get to 5.

Time to head for home. I said, "Girls, hurry! We have to be back in time for Max's bus!" And they kept struggling, trying to paddle their way over to me. I said, "Stand up," and this was right after that. Very shallow. You don't need a lot of water to get a good float.

TGIO - Thank Goodness It's Over

This post brought to you by Max's sweet little feet. How cute are they? He is the only teenage boy in the world who never has stinky feet. My weekend was.... on the exhausting side. I have some things to figure out, but I feel like it's going to work out okay. I am trying to keep a level head, think it through with my brain and not my heart. These are not always easy things for me to do. I'm a go-with-the-gut kind of girl. My gut is just saying, "Ouch. I hurt. Stop stressing."

I did a bunch of baking and cooking today. A lot of fun. I couldn't do my work for awhile, there was a problem with whatever allows us to put up photos. In the long run, it worked out well because I had time to do fun stuff. I made up a cookie recipe and a granola recipe. Both are good. I love granola. It's so pricey though. Have you ever noticed that?

I put some organic fertilizer out yesterday. It smelled like cow poop. The kind that I remember from when I was a kid and cows were still allowed to eat grass. These days, you drive by a stock yard and about pass out from the stench because they feed them things like rendered animals. It's not natural and the smell that comes out of them is the most basic proof of that. Poor cows.

We used to use cowpies for bases when we played kickball. The old dried out ones, not the warm and juicy ones. Eww. I can also remember my sister and I throwing it at each other.

That was so much fun, moving from the city to the country. Absolutely the very best decision my mom ever made. Thank you, Mom. I love you.

My beautiful sister got bit by a dog last night. On the face. Mom called and told me today and I'm afraid I fell apart. (I'm so sorry, Mom!!!). It happened when she was petting the dog and then she laughed. She thinks that she startled it. I kept picturing my beautiful sister laughing her wonderful laugh, her hand on the dog, and then the horror of the bite.

She had to have 14 stitches and 12 shots. She sent me a photo on the phone and it's on her chin, down below the corner of her mouth, a crescent shape of swollen stitches. Damn.

I usually do not say this, but I am very glad that this weekend is over. Now, I'm going to give Max his medicine. Goodnight.

Ruby Tuesday: Scootering

Here's my handsome nephew, Brad, scootering by to wish you a happy Ruby Tuesday!

Odd Weekend

I had an odd weekend.

A very sad thing happened to a neighbor whose apartment is across from me. (Note, if you read the story that is linked here, it is not completely correct - the man was not being evicted, he gave notice a week ago and I am afraid the eviction story was neighborhood gossip).

And I generally felt sorry for myself because I miss my boyfriend. (He asked me what "think-y" meant). So, in an effort to brighten my outlook, I'm going to share some photos of my wonderful nephew, Hayden. Hayden, who turned one last month, is a smiley guy. He is a warm, little soul and I am very lucky that I get to be his Aunt. Below see Hayden chasing a big pink ball. He is a natural athlete as you can see by the pride on the face of his Grandma Sandy. Go, Hayden! Go!

Hayden enjoyed taking the bubble wands apart. I appreciate a kid who has his own way of doing things. Check out those cheeks. I can tell you that they are sweet and smoochable. (Oh my goodness, he is just so cute).

He has some pretty good motor skills. It's not easy to pick up and hold three wands in a hand that size. I wish I could remember how he did it. I like how the free hand is helping the holding hand - see those fingers in action?

There he goes with the pink ball again. A boy needs to play. Thanks for visiting Hayden and me. I hope that you enjoyed your weekend.

Moving Beyond Thinky

I keep hearing that we have a big storm coming. Thunder and lightening, rain, but it never really lets loose. It did get a little sprinkly when I was out on the playground with the kids yesterday (I subbed at lunch), but ..........pfht.... nothing much. Maybe this weekend - I'd love a lot of rain.

I had so much fun with the kids yesterday. I got a bunch of hugs - especially from Sabrina and Reece. We rescued a teeny-tiny grasshopper. We were heroes.

The 6th graders are graduating today. Very exciting. When I first started working at the school, they were in the 3rd grade and so naughty - big with the food-throwing, the back talk, thought it was funny to have a time out in the blue chairs. I can remember thinking that I wasn't sure that I wanted to handle them as 6th graders, but honestly, they were great this year. (It was those mean 5th grade girls who got to me). They always were a charming bunch of boys, even when naughty, and the girls just followed the boys around - probably found the boys charming, as well.
My kids have two more days of school left. They are all sick. Greg is going to school today and I'm pretty sure that Sarah is...........Okay, had to go check on Sarah. She'd gone back to sleep. Silly girl. She sounds not good, very congested, but she has to go to school because there's an, "...assembly, cool cat store, gameboy ..." I think she meant "game day," not "gameboy." Cool cat store is when they take all the points (cash?) they have earned all school year and buy some cool stuff. How fun does that sound? I bet she will pick some sort of ring or bracelet. The girl loves her bracelets. And Friday, she's off to Girl Scout camp - the June Jamboree.

I am going to look for another job. I'm not getting rid of any of the others, just looking some something additional. I'm a certified massage therapist and I do nothing with that. That's where I'm going to look, for something in massage. I've thought about that it for awhile, but that's it, just thought about it....... Okay, I have no idea what I am going to do, or more accurately, I have some ideas, but the point is this - I feel like I need more wiggle room in my budget. I need to get active, not just thinky.

Okay, time to get busy. Sarah needs a ride and I need a Diet Coke. Happy day to you!

Ruby Tuesday - Flowers and Strawberries

Happy Ruby Tuesday to you! Ruby Tuesday is hosted by the Teach and it features photos with a red theme.

I've got a few shots from my patio. These are some sort of geranium. They have a very red center to the leaves, so the plant looks pretty even when there are no flowers.

Here's a strawberry. Yum..........

And another view of the strawberry.........

And a geranium. This plant is a piece off of a geranium that Mom had on her table as a decoration when my sister graduated from college 16 years ago. If you weren't already aware of it, you can easily do this with geraniums. You break off a piece of the thick part of the stem, then you bury it in some good potting soil, water it, and eventually it will root and take off. Pretty cool, don't you think?

If you would like to take part or see more Ruby Tuesday posts, take a look here.