The Do Nothing Spring Break

So we are halfway into this beautiful thing called Spring Break.
Ahhhhhhhhh.

We chose not to go anywhere or do anything this week, and we couldn't be happier.
I finished a book.
The boy and Dan/Daddy did a little fishing.
We're headed to the movies (Hunger Games, yeah!) in just a little while.

I thought I'd take some pictures this week to document our "do nothing" Spring Break, but so far I only have one photo from Monday.
The boy and his dog.
I told myself to look at this sweet picture every time I want to curse at my misbehaving dog...



I have no photos of me reading a book... That's boring, and I think I was in my pj's.

I have no photos of the fishing expedition... The fish were too small, and I was at the mall.

Happy Wednesday, bloggity people. I'm off to the movies. Thank you, Lord, for Spring Break.

Home Decor On Tuesday

Link up at Roots and Rings if you want to join in. Today's 10 is all about furniture and decor... Yippee!
When I grow up, I'd love to be a decorator or designer. Or a marine biologist, but these questions are not about sea life.
So today, I want to be a designer...

1. Ikea: over-hyped and confusing or genius furniture company?
"Amazingly awesome" isn't a choice?
I love IKEA.

2. Your favorite interior-decorator-type person wants to makeover one room in your house. Which room do you choose and why?
Our downstairs basement den area. It is a "finished" space, but it needs help. Actually it needs money. I'd love it to be a hangout spot... with cozy leather chairs, a TV, and all the video game equipment relocated there.

3. Describe the furniture in your childhood bedroom. Did you like it? Where is that furniture now?
The furniture was classic 1970's White French Provincial. The color scheme started out all red and white gingham... including the floor! Then it morphed into the baby blue teen thing. I did like it, and I have no earthly idea where it all is now. I need to ask my mom.

4. When you’re done with furniture, what do you do with it? Donate it to Goodwill OR Sell it on Craigslist OR Put it by the curb and hope the trash guys take it?
I am very seldom "done" with furniture. I paint things until they die. We use the heck out of furniture. If it has any life left in it, we donate it.

5. My Pinterest furniture style could best be described as
funky/eclectic
antique/shabby chic
modern/minimalist
so random and varied it’s undefinable
My Pinterest style is all over the place. So I'll say undefinable. Mostly classic. Some shabby chic.

6. Name the most important furniture/toy in a toddler’s playroom. And why?
Some type of tidy organizational system for toys. Why? Because I think kids need to be taught and encouraged to clean up after themselves.
Most importantly, because toys reproduce in the middle of the night and will take over your house if you let them.

7. Your parents (or grandparents or other relative) are giving away all their furniture. Which piece do you really want?
If I had to pick only one thing... my mom has this cool antique Louis Philippe round folding table. I love it. I need to ask my mom why she's giving away all the furniture.

8. Your biggest furniture buying or home decorating regret?
This may be an odd way to answer, but I regret all the bar stools we've had to buy. Because we move all the time, we've lived in houses with every bar height imaginable. So, we have a collection of bar stools. Come to think of it, we have a collection of curtain rods in every size, too.
If I get rid of them, the next house we live in will require the size bar stool or curtain rod I gave away.

9. $1000 gift card! Do you want it to Ethan Allen, ikea, Pottery Barn Kids?
Pottery Barn Teen.

10. Bunk beds, loft beds, trundle beds, or canopy beds?
Trundle. You don't have as far to fall.

Go Get My Gun, Ma

I am way too happy on a Monday.

The early-summer 87 degree nonsense has passed.
Our temps have cooled off into the sorta normal range for this time of year. I can put my complaining on hold again until July. Maybe.

It is also the first day of the boy's Spring Break. For me, that translates into not setting an alarm and not having to make a turkey sandwich at 6:30 in the morning. Can you hear me smiling?

And last, but oh so not least... our confused bird wasn't singing this morning. I didn't have to shoot him. Don't call PETA on me yet. Let me clarify.

Every single stinking morning for the past week, a bird has perched himself on top of our basketball goal - right outside the boy's window - and held a concert. Normally, I love to hear the birds singing. But, this guy was confused or just evil, because he started his serenade at around 4:30 AM.
(As in, the weeeeeeee hours of the morning. Before any living thing should be awake.) Not only was he singing, but he was singing LOUDLY. He sang so loud I could hear it from my bedroom, and he was waking us all up every morning. Well, not all of us. One of the 3 of us could sleep if the bird was on his head, but I'm not naming names.
Mama is not pleasant at 6:00 am when she has to get up. Mama was definitely not pleasant at 4:30 am.

The boy and I tried to devise a plan to shoosh it away, but we couldn't get the screen up, and we realized the airsoft pellet wasn't going to reach far enough. Call us haters, but we didn't want the bird to die. We just wanted him to shut up.

So on this first day of Spring Break, he did. The bird shut up. The boy and I met sleepy-eyed in the living room this morning and both asked the same question,
"Did you hear him?" "Was he singing?"
We hugged and high-fived and celebrated not waking up at 4:30 am.

Oh may the good times continue.

Tuesday's 10 And It's Hot

The weather has nothing to do with Ten on Tuesday, but since summertime temperatures have arrived earlier than normal, I will be complaining earlier than normal.

1. Should we keep doing Ten on Tuesday?
This is a good question, Chelsea. I enjoy the 10, but there are weeks I can't participate. Or don't participate, because the questions are about something I have no business blogging about... like baseball. (We are not baseball fans around here. Please don't call us un-American.)
I always feel guilty when I don't link up. Guilt is my specialty.

2. How do you pick out your sunglasses?
Do they fit my face? Do they cover my eyes? Are they cute? Do they make me look like a bug? And, do they sit straight on my crooked ears? I swear my ears are uneven.

3. Do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?
Sorta. I wear green, and I have a St.Patty's day wreath. If circumstances allow, we might eat some St. Patty's Day food.

4. Name 5 movies that you will never get sick of.
"Steel Magnolias"
any of the "Harry Potter" movies
"Elf"
"The Secret Life of Bees" (I like the book better, though.)
any of "The Pirates of the Caribbean" movies

5. Name 1 book that you will never get sick of.
"Harry Potter" (any of them)

6. Do you know any sign language?
I know most of the alphabet and a few words.

7. What is your favorite kind of Girl Scout cookie?
The kind you eat.
Seriously... I like them all. My favorite is a tie between Thin Mints and Peanut Butter Patties.

8. Are you handy? (Can you fix or build anything?)
Yes. The nature of Dan/Daddy's job makes me a single mom for stretches of time, so I have to be. I have to be responsible for a load of things that I normally wouldn't do. I have even replaced a car tail light.
I have to kill bugs and mow the grass sometimes, too.
I have not (yet) had to kill a snake. Would I be considered "handy" if I scream and call 911?

9. In what form do you prefer your potatoes? (Baked, mashed, au gratin, hashbrowns, twice baked, etc.)
All the above.
OK, baked.

10. Do you believe the saying “actions speak louder than words”?
Yes.

It is the first official day of Spring, and we're on track to break the record high here today. And tomorrow.
Let the complaining begin.

It Really Doesn't Take Much

I really am a simple gal. Our weekend was a blur, but full of little things that made me smile...


Spring soccer season started again. Yeah. This momma loves watching the boy play soccer.







On the way home from the game, we ran through Chick Fil-A for some lunch, and the lemonade was dyed green for St. Patrick's Day. It made me giddy. I took a picture to share with y'all, but the photo doesn't really speak to me the way the lemonade did. It actually looked kinda yucky. But, trust me... it wasn't.

I also took the boy to a local farm store. No, I am not a farmer. I am the daughter and the grand-daughter of farmers, however. So the farm store is a place I can appreciate. I had an ulterior motive for going.... I heard a rumor they had baby chickens.
The farm store did not disappoint.



Pictures with a cel phone can't do these babies justice.
A tub-o-chicks. Pure cheeping happiness.



Soccer, green lemonade, and baby chickens. I can't remember a weekend so nice.
Hope you all enjoy the last official day of Winter.
It feels like the middle of July to me.

Questions

There are some things on my mind.

1. How many fat free Fig Newtons can I consume before the calorie content completely overrules the whole "fat free" thing?

2. Why are Girl Scout cookies only sold one time a year? Those girls would never have to pay for a single stinkin' camp out again if they sold those cookies year-round. I could probably put a few of them through college with my purchases alone.

3. Why are 2 of my questions about cookies?

5. What should you make for a kid's school lunch if processed meats are SOOOO bad for you?

6. How do you get a puppy to stop barking at random nonsense but still let her know it's ok to bark at bad guys and boogie men?

7. Why is it 80 degrees on March 14th? I'm worried it will either be snowing in 2 weeks or 120 degrees by May.

8. Does anyone out there decorate for St. Patrick's Day? All the St. Patty's Day stuff on Pinterest is adorable; my motivation level is low, however.

That's it. I couldn't even come up with 10.
Happy Wednesday, folks.

Rosie (Don't Let The Name or The Face Fool You)

Let me start by saying I am more of a cat person.
I never really knew why I liked cats better until we finally got the boy a dog.
Now it is all crystal clear.

Please don't misunderstand me, I love all animals. (Except snakes, and they are not animals. They are Satan's minions, but that's another story.)
I love doggies, and I had plenty of them growing up.

I was more than willing to let the boy have a dog. He'd been asking for a while, but military housing has a rule about the number of pets one can own.
When sweet old Shelby "went to meet Jesus," we really began to talk seriously about a dog.
But, we were moving.
Then... we were settling into a new place.
Then... it was the holidays.
Then... we were traveling like gypsies.

And then we decided there would never be a perfect time.

After a sad and unsuccessful trip to a shelter, we started looking online. Dan/Daddy eventually found a family who needed to find a new home for their puppy.
Anybody else see red flags? Hear bells and whistles?
The family had a 5 year-old who wasn't taking care of the puppy like she'd agreed to, and the puppy needed WAY MORE attention and yard space than they could give.

So. Rosie came to love with us.
She's Puggle (Pug and Beagle) and Lab.
She's the definition of a cute mess.



The fact that I have to take her picture through the glass door should tell you something.
She is so sweet and so loving, but for the first 3 months of her life, she had no rules or discipline.
She wasn't housebroken, she was allowed to jump on people, and she was allowed to chew and nip. Not toys, but hands and faces and feet and furniture and anything else she can get her razor-sharp teeth around.
She's like a monkey on crack.
We have become "Puppy Rehab."

I do love her, but the nipping is making me psychotic.
(We've tried everything. I hear patience and time may work.)

I am now waking up WAY before I'd like to so I can feed another mouth.
And then letting it outside to make sure the floors stay tinkle and poopie free.

My house has that faint doggie smell that I swore my house would never have.
That's what I get for swearing.

Pray for me blog friends. And, if you don't hear from me in a while, please check on me. I may have been eaten by my really cute dog.