Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary...How Does Your Garden Grow?

I think the answer to that, dear friends, is VERY WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

With the odd weather patterns this year, and the later than usual start to planing my seeds this year, my seedlings are finally starting to bloom. Every morning, it is like a small part of Christmas morning:

Opening the door...

Letting Tucker outside...

Quickly scanning the greenery...

Seeking out new blooms or blooms that have changed colors...

My Morning Glories were the first ones to spring up and get to work bloomin', and honestly, they haven't stopped yet! I have two planters filled with them, one on either side of my front door this year. I thought I was pretty smart by throwing in a trellis on each one so they could climb away - but that was not enough for the dear Morning Glories. No, they desired new and extreme heights! In the photos, you can see that they desired to work their way around the siding and up to the top of my front door. Next year, Derick says he might need to build me a skinny trellis that goes all around our door, so I can do the same thing next year - and have them grow up the sides and meet and keep crawling and climbing.

 

 

I am also very happy to report, that from my squash last year that our friends gave us, I cultivated the seeds and planted them this year and the plants are doing GREAT! I see the orange flowers on them now and the vines are still getting longer by the day! Although I said this, I think last year as well, and then the thing shriveled up and died on me. So, I might need to keep mum on that one (ha - MUM).

Another shocker, was that the cactus that I received from a "Fish Keeper Friend" last year, stayed outside during the MINNESOTA winter, appeared to be dead, has actually sprouted NEW growth this year - twice over and onto more little nubs of growth on THAT growth! I am really excited about that - because I think that the cactus flowers are one of the prettiest/coolest things ever.

I think just about all of my seeds that I planted this year have resulted in green growth so far - of the correct nature, not just weeds...

I have learned to stay away from some seeds that I would love to have full-plants of in my garden, but they are just too finicky to get started inside my house or reside out on the front patio. I have to arrange my plants in such a way as well, because we face North, and our patio faces West. As you can see by my photos, most of the plants have taken up residence near the front door - due to the plants needing FULL sunlight.

I have vowed this year to be better about my plants in the fall - to make sure that I am taking care of my Perennials this year and not just leaving them out for dead on the patio, assuming they will all come back to life in the spring. It didn't work out so well that way for me this year.

-LD

The best things in life are free

The best things in life are free.

Or, after the next 2 months, they will cost approximately $2 a month.

Follow my cryptic hintings up there? 

Derick and I finally committed to committing to joining a gym! We decided at long last, and after much consideration, decided to join a local LA Fitness. Just a few of the perks that we will now be able to enjoy with our membership:

• Access to all of the LA Fitness gyms in the state (all for the SAME price as our base membership – no additional fees for clubs!)
• Access to all of the weights and equipment (obviously)
• Access to free classes ranging from Aquatic Aerobics to Zumba (yay Zumba!)
• Lap pool with three large lanes – no children allowed (unlike other gyms we went to)
• Kid’s club (not that we need it, but nice to know it is there for potential use down the road)
• Personal training sessions (additional fees here, but there if we want to enroll)
• Juice Bar (at our location - again, for a price, but surprisingly cheap!)

I am really excited to getting back into shape, now that I have gone to the gym a few times since joining. 

I never thought I would be one of those people that EVER said to herself, you know, I really miss the gym, in the case that I hadn't made it to the gym that day. This thought TOTALLY crossed my mind as I was driving to my cake decorating class on Monday night. 

Oh, BTW, I spur of the moment decided i would enrolled in another cake decorating class during the month of July - cake flowers is the focus of this class, and actually, the very first Wilton class I have ever taken. So there's that too. 

Can you tell I like to torture myself with allotting myself zero free time...

Also, in recent news, I tried (again) to start reading a Malcolm Gladwell book (Outliers) and for the LIFE of me, I CANNOT get into those books. I start reading and for some reason I associate it and his other two books with sheer boredom. I tried, I mean really tried to read it - but even opening the book felt awful. So, that book auto-made-it to the Swap Stack and ironically, was instantly snatched up and requested it be sent out. DONE! I also listed the other book I recently finished:

This is a work of FICTION by Jen Lancaster. NOT another one of her autobiographical books. I thought it was just another one in the series when I had requested it, so when I started reading the book, I was strangely confused. Then I read the dust jacket and lo and behold, discovered the reason for my confusion. It was not about her at all. Complete fiction. It was still a pretty decent book. A little reminiscent of 13 going on 30 and a lot of those mini-time travel type situation books out there. Not bad though. Her writing style still reads like her, which I l-o-v-e about her writing.

Next-up on the to-be-read stack is:

I am already falling for this book. Since I was a nanny a few summers of my life, it really rings true some of the experiences they mention in the book. And, while I did not nanny in New York (where the book takes place), there are similarities across the board for nannies everywhere, which is why I think it struck a chord with so many out there.

Well, that is all for now, happy reading and working out!

-LD