My Bounty

Back from my visit to Chicago with some of my favorite people. Too bad I only took one picture the whole time. It was worth it though. See the proof:

Caitlin and Matt accidentally dressed in identical shirts. They are flashing their matching Asian couple gang signs. I won't even let Rick and I wear similar colors or shoes. But with us it's because people would probably think we were twins.

Oh, and some guy asked if Matt was from Thailand when he was wearing that shirt. He looks Thai to me.

I tried to convince Rick we should move up there. We could all pool our money and buy a house together. That's how we would start our commune. It would be awesome. The warmest day was like 85 degrees. Rick countered my Chicago offer with Alaska or Colorado Springs. We are now in negotiations.

Now to see how my garden grew while I was gone. Actually, just a picture of my bounty because I was too lazy to go take a picture of the garden. But, hold up, did you hear me say bounty? Glorious bounty.

I made pesto.

And just for jollies, we have Dad opening birthday presents and Molly lookin' so fine.

His favorite birthday/Father's Day/Christmas gift. Happy 50 something birthday!

She's growing out her nails.

See what an exciting life you are missing, Rick?

Third times not a charm.

Only 1 mile today because it's 2 in the afternoon and hot. I'm calling myself an evening runner. I'm supposed to be out the door in ten minutes so thought I'd take the time to post for posterity.

I'm smiling because like I said, only 1 mile. And that it took at least 6 times taking a picture to find one suitable for posting online. This one almost didn't work bc I didn't look quite exhausted/bad enough. I've looked like this a lot of times just at the end of the day. You must have lucked out.

P.S. Congratulations to the new Captain in the family. Hint: it's not me.

Quick and Ugly.

Someone owes me two more dollars.

Pay up!

Last August (or maybe it was January? We'll use August bc it makes me feel less lazy) Rick propositioned me. He told me he would pay me a dollar for every mile I ran. Apparently money is not a real motivating factor for me. I think I earned a dime over three months maybe even longer. Then he decided we, his mom included, should all run Ft. Worth's Turkey Trot over Thanksgiving. Just a 5K. I could handle that I thought. Besides money, I also had the motivating factor that there was the distinct possibility his mom would show me up. She's only 60 and was definitely training more than me. So I ran a few miles and was just getting to where I could finish just about two miles without collapsing in the middle. Then I started teaching full time. That was stressful and time consuming enough without the run. Basically I had a really good excuse now to bail out.

Rick never paid me though. NEVER. (Ignore the fact that he's been supporting us for the last four years.) Well, he owes me now. I'll forgive the back pay, but as of tonight he owes me five dollars. That bill includes several runs. Don't get too impressed.

Including tonight's almost two miles in the eight at night muggy summer in Arkansas heat. Yumm. What's even better is the pictorial proof:

No, that's not a sweet pregnant glow. I'm not pregnant. That's just unadulterated sweat dripping down my body. Geez, I'm hot.

For Rick

You can read it too, but I doubt you are that interested in how I finally got around to painting the front door and shutters and close-ups of my jalapeno peppers (plural. as in I have four of them. Four!). Let's not delay any longer.

Try to ignore how horrible the yard and flower beds look. The 100+ degree heat combined with no rain is too much for anything live to handle. Except apparently Greg. Greg's my new pet: a lizard with a short cut-off tail whose made his home over by the rain gutter and insists on darting out at me, scaring me half to death ALL THE TIME. Rick wouldn't let me get a kitten so adopting a lizard seemed the logical Plan B.

This picture shows the color best. It's a very dark teal-ish color. It almost looks black in some light (which I'm not thrilled about). I don't know how to describe it. It's called Forest Canopy and I think that's probably the best description. I guess those paint namers really know what they are doing.

A close up of the front door so you can see how great the color looks with the bright pink crepe myrtle. By the driveway we have a dark purple crepe myrtle which looks really good with the new color, too. I was disappointed that the crepe myrtle was pink when we first moved in but know I'm thankful. I guess I'll have to get over my pink flower aversion. Now, I just need to find a small bench to put by the door. That way I could sit there, drink coffee, and spy on my neighbors.

Now on to what we've all been waiting for. Garden updates! Yayyy!

Did I ever explain why the garden was in that fence? Dogs, duh. Then, of course, I leave it open all the time and they never even go over there. Oh, well. OH and I have dug up two toads on separate occasions when working in both gardens. Terrified me as much as poor Greg. They were both alive just trying to keep cool, I guess. I touch one of them with my hand by mistake. Ughh... Oh and I know my squash is out of control and overcrowded, but it makes me happy because it makes it look even bigger.

Jalapeno close up. Can you find all four? There's about to be three because I'm going to pick that big guy and make a jalapeno popper. Just one though. It'll will be awkward when Dillon asks for a bite.

Tomatoes and basil. Made the cages by hand with a roll of wire I found under the sun porch. My hand hurt for three days from using the wire cutters. My basil is doing awesome. I'm going to make some pesto soon and freeze it for later.

Then, to continue to brag on how industrious I've been...Curtains for the sunroom. I just finished one side and they look pretty sloppy, but we can unroll them and block out some of the blazing sun. Which means the dogs can actually stay out there. Always a plus when Bill is feeling like peeing on the floor.

Last but not least just a couple of randoms.

This is why you should always use a Furminator when you are brushing your dog. Absentmindedly, using your hand to brush/pet them is disgusting. I won't even describe how it felt when I washed it. I'm gagging just thinking about it.

And just to make Rick laugh....

Showing off my muscles in St. Louis. Embarrassed because there was no one watching when I decided to do it. When I did it there was quite a crowd walking by. I can't be sure if they were laughing at me or in gossiping about how strong I am.

Peace out, y'all.

For all you naysayers

Bill just got a clean bill of health from the vet. No heart worms, a strong heart, definitely no hearing, and no dangerous weird growths. Not even the scary looking one growing where his tail should be. Apparently that one is just part of his docked tail that is now protruding. Lovely no?

He also got hooked up with some major pills. Anti-inflammatories, heart worm meds, and antibiotics for his teeth that are about to fall out. Like his snaggletooth that, for the past week, I just thought was a piece of lint stuck to his lip. So if you need something, I might be able to talk to him. It'll cost you though.

21 years and going strong. Let's make it until September and then try and hit 22. Go, Bill, it's your birthday! It's your birthday! Oh, oh.*

* Actual birthday that we guessed is in three days. I don't think he'll mind or notice if we celebrate early.

** No pictures, because it's his birthday and he hates pictures.

Super Star Blogger Here!

Twice in one day!

Ok, I just realized I have never posted any pictures of the new house. New to us, of course. Except of course the one I posted about two minutes ago before I reread the blog to see if I actually HAD posted other pictures. Which I hadn't. Got that?

These are a few months old. I haven't taken any since because either the camera is MIA or I need to clean. Usually it's I need to clean. At least they will prove I haven't been lying to you and we haven't been living in a tent in the middle of a vacant lot.

This outside shot is actually only a couple weeks old. And I just realized the front door is open. Welcome, neighbors. Please come rob us again.

That whole flower bed had huge holly and some other kind of bushes in it. It actually extended around the sidewalk all the way to the driveway. You would open the car door and walk into a holly bush. Besides being overgrown it gave the whole house a prickly demeanor. (Get it? Holly? Prickly? Hilarious, I know). That is probably the biggest change on the outside of the house. Pulling the bushes out was not only some of the best fun I've had in a single afternoon, it completely changed the way the house looks. Next step is getting the grass to spread and paint those mustard yellow shutters. Soon.

Just a close up of one of the hydrangea bushes out front. They have a ton more blooms right now and look great. Which makes up for the four plants I am about to pull up because they died. There are three hydrangeas and a gardenia along with some low lying perennials under the windows. Oh and the crepe myrtle tree. It has a bird's nest in it but I've been scared to check it out. Some bird screams at me the whole time I'm watering so I'm pretty convinced she's going to attack me if I get too close.

I only have pictures of the living room, kitchen, and dining so you'll have to wait for the rest.

This is what you see when you walk in the front door. The TV is to your right. against the wall. Out the back door is a sunporch which we basically just use for the dogs' bedroom.

This is looking back at the rest of the living room and into the kitchen and the dining room. Oh and say hi to Molly looking all cute in the corner. Stay, Molly, stay. We had the kitchen cabinets, walls, and all the trim painted before we moved in. That was the biggest change inside. Before the cabinets and trim were just a wood color and the walls were bright white.

Good girl! Good girl for staying!

Looking into the kitchen and laundry alcove behind. The garage is through there. It holds the cars and a bunch of bikes. Oh and that is a candle on the counter, not a glass of scotch like I first thought. That string is holding our dinner bell which you can't really see. That's right, this house is so big we have to have a dinner bell. (I'm lying yet again. Rick can probably hear me talking normally in the kitchen from the other end of the house. He's just not listening.)

Just another view of the kitchen. You can't see the awesome faucet Rick put in but it's there. We are really proud of it for some reason. I think it has to do with the fact that we thought we were going to have to get copper pipes cut and soldered on to put it in. Then the Lowe's guy looked at us like we were idiots and gave us these flexible pipe thingys you just screw on. I love Lowe's.

The End. Or To Be Continued (if I feel you are deserving enough for me to spend another hour on blogger at some point in the future. Or if someone asks what the bedrooms look like? I may just be all "What bedrooms? This is is 0 bedroom house." Booyah.)

The End. For reals.

The homestead

First and foremost, a quick pic of Bill I accidentally added. I was able to snap it before he realized I was using the soul-capturing machine (his words, not mine. I just refer to it as the camera). He's old. Really really old. And dirty and stinky.

Back to the important stuff:

I'm a farmer now. Whoo-hoo! Rick doesn't believe I can grow anything. Here's proof:

The pictures are pretty hazy because of the humidity I think. We aren't going to dwell on that. Or the fact that those plants were already that big when I bought them. Instead we are going to look at the awesome beds my dad and brother helped me make even after I explained I would take all the credit for making them. We have three tomato plants, two bell pepper plants, jalapeno, squash, and zucchini plants. There is also some basil, parsley, and cilantro in there. I'm probably going to move the squash or zucchini plants bc it's a little crowded. Hopefully, I'll get at least a couple tomatoes by the time Rick gets home. Just be forewarned, there will be lots of bragging and gushing about how great I am at gardening and how beautiful my bounty is. Just a couple up close and personal pictures to help you imagine the beauty that is yet to come.

Our cherry tomato plant has a bloom.

So does the jalapeno plant. It was just watered. In case you couldn't tell.

The interior of the homestead is currently pretty messy. I have finally become successful in completely trashing the house in just a few hours. Please send my awards for this right away. Thank you.

While I was trashing it yesterday I was also making curtains for the bedroom. So it wasn't completely pointless.

Just ignore the clothes on the bed. I'm sure they were folded and put away right after I took that picture. Not just shoved under the bed like I may have done the other day when my mom came to visit. May have.

There may be a need for further photos of the homestead to be accessible by all of the internet drones but I'll have to check. So stay tuned for possibly more photos if I haven't already posted them. If I were to make an educated guess based on my blogging history, I would say I had not. We'll see.

You're welcome.