Giving the Energizer Bunny a Run for the Money

And I'm still going strong this Memorial Day!

No sleeping in this morning. Spent my day cleaning the downstairs bathroom, did four loads of laundry, folded all the laundry, put away four baskets of clothes, cleaned my room, including hanging up my clothes, changed sheets, cleaned bathroom, vacuumed, dusted, and even lit a candle!  Mowed half the back yard until the mower pooped out. Made a burlap coffee can for my potatoes. I don't even remember what else!  Right now I'm like a stinky pile of sweat who won't take a shower til tomorrow!!

Here's my empty laundry baskets - do you know how long it's been since I've seen all of these empty? A long ass time!

Here's my coffee can - had a burlap sack so just tucked it into the can and voila!!

Toying with the idea of finishing the back yard but you know what? This diva is beat! Can't wait to return to work so I can relax a little!

Bread and Braids

Continued on my domestic goddess spree today by making twice baked potatoes then whipped up a homemade loaf of French bread. Bread looks absolutely yummy perfection!!

When the bread was rising, I took off my nail polish, filed, then slathered my fingers with lotion and pushed back the cuticles.  As the bread was baking I painted my nails. Nothing like multitasking!

Today also tried a new trick with my hair - braid with a scarf intertwined.  Kept it out of my way during all my domestic activities.

The little neighbor girl, Maisey, was outside visiting with me as the bread baked. Ended up cutting a bouquet of lilacs and told her to give them to her mom. She seemed pretty happy with that idea. Makes me think back to being a child and bringing my mom home some flowers, probably with a few weeds mixed in, just to give her a smile.

The other day cousin Beth posted this picture of her son Emmett. This pic is the epitome of childhood - full, happy, and sprawled out in the sun ready for a nap. You don't realize how carefree those moments were in childhood until you grow up and wistfully look back on them.

Boys, Birthday, and Boobs

Started writing this post Friday night. Got most of it done then fell asleep on the couch. Woke up to find in my slumber I had deleted most of it with my finger. Arrrggg!  So here we go again!

Sam stopped by on Wednesday to visit. He got to see Lilly before she was picked up by Marie on Thursday.

Then, Happy 26th birthday to my Jordan this past week. He and Candy stopped by Thursday night. Showed them my fainting couch and Jordan hopped right on it, laid back, and said "yes doctor in the beginning my troubles started when I was 5." Too funny. So now I think of it as the therapy couch.

Saturday put in 5 hours at work to get caught up. Have been so swamped with three people feeding me work. Happy to get it all done.

Today woke up at 5:30 and decided to take a few more winks of sleep. Snoozed away and woke up at 10:30! Never do I sleep in that long. Must have needed it because the rest of my Sunday has been jam packed. Got gas groceries, cleaned kitchen, made pasta salad, vacuumed, unloaded car (which still held the boxes from Chelsea's wedding), vacuumed car, cleaned upholstery, wiped it all down, Fabrezed it, and sprayed it with cinnamon apple Glade. Now taking a break before I start on laundry.

Today is an overall Sunday. Ever have one of those days when something you decided to wear drives you crazy? Ended up wearing a Seahawks shirt with my overalls. Had made it into a V-neck as the round neck was digging into my skin and just not flattering . Didn't realize how V it really was until arrived at Walmart. Felt like I was sporting Mae West clevage as I sauntered through the aisles. Didn't want anyone to think I was putting my goods on display in order to rustle up a Walmart regular to be my sugar daddy. And as you may have guessed, Walmart and sugar daddy is an oxymoron.

Tomorrow is Monday yet again but in this case it's a holiday!! Whether you have the day off or have to work, enjoy your Memorial Day!

Color, Cans, and Couch

It can be very rewarding to accomplish a lot of tasks during the day even if some are not my favorite things to do.

Started off this morning coloring my roots. Those darn grays were cropping up along my hairline so much so it appeared as though I was sporting a gray headband when my hair was pulled back. That little box of $2.97 Miss Clairol did wonders.

Cleaned the kitchen then began mowing the backyard. Got about halfway done and it was time for a break to gulp down water and take a rest. Back to mowing and stopped when there was a quarter to mow.  All during this time the next door neighbor, a girl about 4 or 5, was outside trying to converse with me while the mower was chugging along.  Signaled to her that I couldn't hear her but she just kept talking so spent most of my time nodding, smiling and laughing with the pretense that every word she said was registering.

Next task was some crafting. Have piled up a number of empty coffee cans - hate to throw them away as they should be good for something! Ended up painting each one then settled on a bird house for one and a candleholder for the next. Tried to hammer "Beach" into the luminaire can - if you squint you may just be able to make it out.

Next up was a nap! Energy back went into the kitchen and whipped up some cheddar biscuits then baked a batch of chicken. Actually unloaded the clean dishes and loaded up the newly dirty ones.

Late afternoon former stepson Dylan stopped by to drop off a fainting couch he was gifting to me. He and his family are moving to Albuquerque so have been ridding themselves of extra items. Couch looks awesome just have to figure out where it should go.

After he left I then returned to the backyard and finished off the last of the mowing. Was good timing as the wind began picking up and it seemed either a twister or a thunderstorm was on the horizon.

During all this activity was able to sneak in a few movies, including the 1946 Great Expectations which featured a very young Alec Guinness. Have now moved on to watching Brene Brown TED talks on YouTube. Stumbled across her on Netflix and now watching her talks about shame, vulnerability, courage and joy. Insightful speaker.

And here it is pushing 10pm which is normally my bedtime. However, between the nap and the two cups of coffee I drank tonight, it could very well be a late evening for this diva.

Feeling the Love ❤️

Mother's Day was awesome. Received pink carnations from Jordan and Candy then Sam took me to breakfast and gifted me with a Mom cup, candle, and Mounds bar, my fav. Also received a fuschia carnation from the restaurant, which added the right touch to my floral bouquet. Was a lovely day.

Yesterday after work I spent time sitting on the back porch bonding with my family of squirrels. So cute to watch. Put out some Cheerios; they investigated but didn't seem too thrilled.

Today at lunch I clipped some snowballs and lilacs for a bouquet on the patio table. I just love summer when the flowers are blooming, birds are singing, and squirrels are running amok.

Stopped for some groceries after work and ran into not only my friend Janel but my son Jordan!  Also ran across the following which will never pass my lips. Who thought of this and why? Blech! 🥵

Tonight friend Marie dropped off her dog Lilly for me to watch over the next week as she will be in Hawaii helping her daughter move back to Washington. Lilly is the easiest dog to watch.

Tomorrow is Thursday which means one day closer to Friday, the best day of the week!

Happy Mother's Day Mom ❤️

Salishan Festivities

Sunday evening and I'm recuperating from my Salishan weekend.

Thursday met up with Chelsea, maid of honor Anna, and Ashley the wedding planner.  Went over final details and loaded up tubs of decor.

Friday picked up Steve and we made our way to Lincoln City and Salishan Resort. It was lovely - lots of trees, greenery, and bay/ocean view. We were invited to the rehearsal dinner but it felt little strange as my ex-husband would be there. It was his day too so we passed and had dinner at Pier 101 which was absolutely fabulous! Tasty dinner, great service, and relaxing evening.

Saturday morning up and over to decorate at 9am. Ashley met me there and I unloaded the tubs and began decorating the reception room. Lots of glass globes with tealights, glass vases with twinkle lights, slabs of cedar holding bonsai trees - simple yet elegant.

After reception room went to The Glen, an outside ceremony area surrounded by trees. There was a wooden structure and dogwood branches and some other greenery branches were dropped off for decor. Put two vases of branches at the entrance, two at the structure, then sat down and made a large garland to go above the ceremony area. Had twine, fishing line, box cutter and a ladder and I made it work! Took about 3 .5 hours to set it all up.

Went back to the room to relax before getting cleaned up for the ceremony. Steve broke out his suit including lavender shirt which is so outside of the box for him. He actually cleaned up pretty well!

The ceremony was beautiful and Chelsea was glowing.  Following the vows the wedding party took pictures while the rest of us made our way to the receptions for cocktail hour. Chelsea, a pastry chef, had made a ton of macaroons in a variety of colors and flavors for their wedding cake. It was set up and was beautiful.

About 6:50 the wedding party arrived. At that point the toasting commenced, then dinner, then dancing.

I was scheduled for cleanup but decided to arrive this morning instead of staying past midnight. Arrived there this morning at 7am and was so happy to see all the items had been packed and just needed to be loaded in the car. Finished up that then drove to Dutch Bros for some morning caffeine.

The last event was an after wedding brunch with everyone. Lovely and tasty way to end the weekend.

Arrived home about 4pm today and I'm beat!  Was definitely a memorable weekend filled with love and I'm excited to see Chelsea and Tracy begin their journey together. ❤️