More Signs of Spring...

Sweet scented backyard roses hanging heavy on the stems...

Rosy hued, tropical hibiscus flaunt their stuff...

...their way of saying, "Welcome Spring!"

Signs of Spring

A handful of sunny, yellow daffodils!

Veggie Broth

I was running frighteningly low on homemade broths (actually I pulled the last broth out) when I made chili last night so, I knew it was time to go through the freezer and pull out my slow cooker. Since I went through a veggie phase recently (poor hubby), I didn't have any chicken or other meaty bones hanging around. Thus a (stunk-up-the-house-very-badly-but-oh-the-vitamins-and-minerals-it-must-contain-cruciferous-veggie-filled) vegetable stock was born.
deeply, richly colored homemade veggie stock~veggies & herbs only, no added salt

Let's just hope it doesn't taste as bad as it smells.

Forecast: Chili

The perfect ending to a perfectly blustery, rainy day...
{Somersized Twenty Minute (turkey) Chili}

Dachshund Love/Don't Fence Me In

Now that the weather is really nice, I have been getting out for walks more. Dollface always volunteers to be my walking buddy. Several evenings in a row, I caught a glimpse of this little fellow spying on us as we walked by.

It took a while, but little by little, he became less shy. Now they are the best of friends!

*note~this post is from last spring and somehow didn't get posted. /o: And where he was once able to squeeeeeeeeze under the fence to go for a romp in the grassy spance nearby with her, sadly, his owner has secured the fence so they can only say hello to each other as we pass by.

Galveston oh Galveston

{yes that does say 25 cents! not all were that inexpensive but the most she paid was 1/2 the retail prices for the others!}

My budding (built in) cosmetologist had the total PLEASURE of attending the Armstrong McCall Hair Show in Galveston for two full days this past Sunday & Monday. She was in heaven, what with all the free products she received and deeply discounted products she bought with daddy's money (of which she promptly squirreled away to her room so I have no pics). She went nail polish crazy and even bought me a much coveted OPI polish (Guy Meets Gal-veston) as a surprise, since that was where I was raised. All the other polishes she said we could share since she knows her mama has a weakness for
a good nail lacquer. Such a sweet daughter I have.


Gorgeous color!!!

Spring Break, Louisiana & Life

This past week, my daughter and son were out of school for spring break. After a whirlwind-just-us-girls-road trip to Covington, Louisiana (so whirlwind I don't believe I took one picture!!! Arrrghhh!) to visit my youngest son, explore, shop & eat. We didn't do much relaxing since we left home early Tuesday morning and got back home Wednesday evening. A seven hour drive both ways. But we had a great time.

One "attraction" Ari wanted to see was the K-Mart store since we don't have one around were we live. I don't think she was impressed. And no offense to K-Mart but, after that refresher course, I found I don't miss them. And one of the highlights of my little makeup maven's trip (ok...and mine) was visiting the brand new, three day old baby Ulta. Fresh, clean, and filled with makeup, skin care and fragrance testers that no one had yet touched. Heaven!

{Brand new Ulta}

We rode down narrow streets in the historic part of town, passing a cemetery that reminded me of the movie, "Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil". We delighted in the regional accents of the folks that lived there that varied wildly from mild to thick. And after forcing ourselves to face the fact that we needed to hit the road, vowing that we would come back and visit the places we hadn't had time for this trip, we grabbed a few beignets at the legendary Cafe Du Monde, frappucinos from Starbucks and headed west.

In my own personal beauty department, last night I tried the "accent nail" while giving my nails some much needed attention. I !LoVe!!!! it! I used Revlon's "Opulent Pink" and China Glaze's "Material Girl" on the ring fingers. I think it's so pretty and feminine!

{bracelet from Forever 21}

I have so much other stuff I wanna share and will as time allows. Family comes first though...

Thanks for stopping by!

The Wonders of Apple Cider Vinegar

About two weeks ago Ari & I went to check out the bargains to be had at a nearby resale shop that will soon be closing it's doors. We looked and looked and only walked out with a little book called Apple Cider Vinegar, Nuts & Honey. (I don't know if it's in print any longer.) Its a small little book, only 96 pages long, but it's packed with all kinds of interesting info about the three items in the books title. And I must say, it doesn't begin to list all of the wonders of those things; the internet is abounding with info about the wonders of, especially, Apple Cider Vinegar.

One thing from the book that I've put into practice is "Dr. Jarvis' wonder tea" which is simply tea (I used black decaf tea), ACV (I use Braggs with the "mother" found at my local Kroger store and health food stores) & honey (i'm using a generic brand but hope to find a source for local honey). I've been trying to drink at least one 8 ounce glass a day because I couldn't resist finding out if it helps all the ailments the book says it can do. Things like: seasonal type allergies, brittle bones & nails, fatigue (I do seem to have more energy since I started drinking it!), memory problems (Lord I NEED help with that!!!), muscle tension and headaches (I really hope it helps me in these areas). The list of benefits goes on and on!

The information on nuts and honey is also intriguing and interesting and I hope to incorporate more of the tips into my daily life as time goes on and I learn more by researching.

A personal testimony about ACV that recently happened: Ari had been complaining about a sore spot on her gums. After a few tries of swishing with warm salt water, I told her to maybe try swishing with ACV. I never heard her complain about it again and one day it came up in conversation. Her face lit up with a great big grin and she said the sore and pain went away after using the ACV rinse (ewww don't swallow~~~but I guess you could)!

I'm Trashing My Home Management Binder!

I was just commenting to hubby yesterday that this year is whizzing by so fast! I know it's cliche' but time does fly when you're having fun! And I have been enjoying life as it comes my way.
Along with that, I have to be honest, I have not kept up at all with my plans to scrapbook, exercise and blog daily as I had planned and that has giving me that nagging feeling of failure. How can such little things plague us with such BIG guilt, like a tiny gnat that buzzes around us relentlessly?
Well, I will say that when I ran across this lady's blog post , I felt sooo much better about myself. Because no matter how I've tried (and I have tried and tried again! All the time I've spent trying to create the "perfect system" could have been better spent actually accomplishing something that needed to get done, when all it ultimately accomplished was more mother guilt...why, WHY do we do this to ourselves?!) to organize myself by creating schedules, binders, routines, etc., etc. I just seem to fail miserably (there's that "f" word again.). And it's because life just doesn't neatly unfurl itself on a daily basis. And I'm not highly energetic. But I do get things done that need to get done. Because of a little list I make most days of the important things that need to get done in a day. Usually no more than 5-6 things that need to be accomplished in a day. And everything else can land where it may. AND, if something on that itty bitty list doesn't get done, it goes on the next days list. Simple. Easy. And it works for me. Guiltlessly.
So, thank you "Ivory" for letting me see that there are other "lazy" ladies out there like me, rather than the legions of binder making, Fly Lady routine following women (who do so with military precision) that I run across online all to often. Don't get me wrong here, I absolutely admire those people that can keep to a schedule and have amazing household binders, otherwise I wouldn't have tried so long to be like them. It just doesn't work for me.
Thank you for setting me free!