Happy Thursday

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Growing Babies

Today when I got home from work I had a few chores to do outside and one was weeding the garden. 

I was going through the rows of plants picking out grass and weeds and...

LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

My first squash

My first couple of zucchini

I was so excited. As I weeded the rest and inspected all of my growing babies I discovered that my okra has little okra makings on it and I think my peppers are going to start doing something different soon to.  :)  I am so excited...have I already said that? LOL 

Sunday Golf

Last week Amber, Lincoln’s sister, emailed me saying she wanted to go play golf. We made a plan to play on Sunday and I looked forward to it for the rest of the week. I have been itching to play and learn more about the sport and now was the perfect time. She stayed the night Saturday and then we got ready Sunday morning and headed to the Pittsburg country club.

**Now a brief overview of my golf skills or lack thereof are in need. Friday night Lincoln and I went to dinner at a steak house in Winnsboro and over dinner we were just talking and he was asking if I was still going golfing and all that. OF COURSE I was still going I was so excited and he’s like “babe I don’t mean to bust your bubble but this isn’t going to be as easy as you think. Golf is hard. Do you even know your way around a golf course, do you know what a tee box is, do you know where to tee off from…?” Question after question. By the end of this I was a bit intimidated but still I was going and I was going to have fun. I mean the sole purpose was to go and have fun. I didn’t expected to be able to try out for the WPGA after my VERY FIRST ROUND of golf. Geesh**

Our score card starting out

So once we got to the course I was sitting in the car like shit, what have I gotten myself into? It was like looking at a book in Chinese. I had no clue where to begin, where to go next, or anything. We checked in and off we went in our cart. Our tee time was 10 so luckily on a Sunday morning there weren’t that many people just me, Amber, and another couple. We let them go ahead because they looked real professional and then it was our turn. The first couple of holes were my worst because I was just getting used to swinging a driver and hitting off a tee and all that. By the third hole I was getting the hang of things and it was a lot of fun. Amber is pretty good in my eyes. Her ball USUALLY goes a long ways and pretty straight. I was so envious but as far as I was concerned with a few more rounds of practice I could really see myself improving. I mean YEAH I sucked…but I also didn’t suck as bad as I thought I would have and I got the general idea of things. I really liked the game and I learned a lot in just one morning/afternoon. Lincoln was texting frequently to make sure we were making it and was always anxious to know my score. LOL

My VERY first tee off!  It might have taken me 6 swings or so before I finally sent that ball flying.

We made it through our first 9 holes ok. I will admit that since the course only has 9 holes I was a little weary of starting the same ones over AGAIN to finish up our 18. I was sort of thinking mmmaannnn we are never going to get done but the back nine were actually full of excitement. On about whole 13 we got behind 3 ladies there were just on the first 9 and boy were they fun to watch…I thought I was an amateur but Amber and I put these gals to shame. First, they cheated! I can honestly say that I played the entire round without ever just picking up my ball and moving it and I never skipped a hole or anything like that. I finished the entire round just like I knew what I was doing. These ladies would hit it terribly and then go pick it up and just drop it where ever they thought was a better spot. On top of the cheating, once they were on the green they wanted to act all professional by throwing grass and stuff into the air to check the wind like it would help them and they even bent down looking at the lay of the ground….COME ONE!!! They knew we were behind them WAITING at every hole for them to finish and they didn’t get in any hurry. I don’t think they were doing it to piss us off but just watching their ridiculousness made me feel WAY better about my golf game.

I also learned a bit on golf etiquette. We were working on finishing a hole and Amber way overshot the green. Her ball rolled down and we were looking for it. Well, Amber found a ball but I also spotted one in a different direction but it was closer. Before she hit that one I went to check the name on the other ball to make sure that one wasn’t hers…well it wasn’t but hey I found a spare ball so I grabbed that little baby up and went on about my business. Amber hit on the green and we were about to finish up that hole when a slew of carts came racing down the hill and all stopped in the trees where we just had been. Amber said ssshhhh! I was thinking I didn’t need to talk because I had already been warned by Lincoln that there’s no whopping and hollering because golf is a mental game so you have to be quiet. Well that is a true statement but this wasn’t the reason Amber was telling me to sssshhh. She came up and said “DON’T SAY ANYTHING BUT THAT BALL YOU PICKED UP WAS THAT MANS”!! When she saw where they were it dawned on her that we were no longer the only people on the course and that they teed off and hit that ball from #8 which is up the hill and we can’t see. LOL We laughed and never told on ourselves. I felt sort of bad but it was too funny watching them all wonder around the exact spot and not find anything. The looks on their faces were….I know I hit it over here where could it be. LOL Poor guys…SORRY!

 So we finished the game in 4 hours and I felt great about accomplishing something I have been wanting to learn. I know that as I continue to play I will get better. 

FINAL SCORE:

Megan: 168

Amber: 107

Saturday chores & a quote

I received this little quote from a friend in my email and it explains a lot of my daily struggles in any relationship.  I thought it made perfect sense and from now on I'm going to remember these wise words along with a few more.  I worry constantly and as long as I'm needlessly worrying my heart isn't at rest and I don't trust.  I need to take a chill pill on most days and not worry about dumb things. Happy Saturday I'm going to finish my coffee and then.....CLEAN MY CARPETS.  I'm so exciting!

If we worry, we don't trust; if we trust, we don't worry. Worry does not empty tomorrow of its grief, but it does empty today of its joy. - James Kurtz

Wanted: Girl Trips

I have recently been told, read about, or accidently discovered a few places that would make great girl outings. I would love to do a lot of these things with Lincoln too but some have to do with wine and he drinks beer and then the others are just too artsy for his taste. LOL He wouldn’t enjoy it but I know some great gals that would have so much fun with me.

Girls Gone Wine

Rachael told me about this place in Oklahoma near Beavers Bend called Girls Gone Wine. I looked them up and agreed with Rachael, this would make a great girl trip. Not only is it a great place to sit, relax, and drink a little wine you can mix your own bottle and take it home. I’m going to put this one at the top of my list. Not only does it sound really fun and different it’s only an hour car ride from the house and before we hit up Girls Gone Wine we can take a small trip down the river in a canoe or kayak. The best of both worlds!

http://thegirlsgonewine.com/index2.html

Los Pinos

On another wine note there is a winery in Pittsburgh that I have been to a few years back but I hear it has changed quite a bit and I would love to go back and have a fun evening catching up with the girls. We all are always telling each other we need to go to Los Pinos but never make it out. Piper, Rachael, and I actually did try to go one evening but we were unprepared and never even checked if they were open we just assumed they were so when we pulled up they were CLOSED. L I really have no excuse on this because it is only 20 miles from my house and all the girls are really close too.
http://lospinosranchvineyards.com/

Dale Chihuly at the Dallas Arboretum

I have no clue how I stumbled across this little treasure but I’m dying for it to be available so I can hop on over to Dallas and visit it. I might be able to talk Lincoln into this if I can make it worth his while. Beginning May 5^th and going all the way through November 5^th the Dallas Arboretum will be hosting an exhibit from the awesome glass artist Dale Chihuly. First off I’ve never been to the arboretum and that in its self would be nice to see but then add all these amazing glass sculptures and things to it and BANG…….. I don’t know what you have but it’s bound to be pretty dang cool. Me and Lincoln’s one year anniversary is coming up on June 1^st and I may be able to get him to go see this with me and we can go to Top Golf after or the next day or something. Hey that way we both win!

http://www.dallasarboretum.org/

http://www.chihuly.com/

Sayadream Studio

Last week on me and Kaylynn’s Winnsboro outing we discovered the neatest little place. I don’t know how long it’s been there but it’s beside the best cupcake place ever and we stopped in to see what it was all about. Sayadream Studio is an art studio featuring ceramics and a place where you can PAINT YOUR OWN CERAMIC! How fun does that sound. At first all I could think about was I have to bring Averie here she would have so much fun but I also would love to get a small group of ladies together and have an afternoon of painting. I’m not very creative but they have all the things you need to become creative right there. We went in to grab a business card and ask about pricing. I was expecting it to be expensive because when I think of crafty artsy things I think multiple dollar signs come into play but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was very reasonable and maybe even cheap. The plain pottery is already made for you and you just pick whatever you want to paint. They have vases, cups, bowls, little wall hanging things, figurines, and lots more. The price is on the bottom of each piece and that is the total price for that project. I picked up a cereal bowl and the price was $18, which includes the bowl, painting, glazing, and firing. I thought it was awesome and can’t wait until I can take Averie and get some girls together for an adult run at it.

http://sayadreamstudio.com/Welcome.html

I would love to do these 4 things this summer!

Goodbye.....Hello

GOODBYE,

Picnik you’ve been a great photo editing friend to me and I was very upset to see you go. So much that I was even researching software to buy so I could continue my editing process. Not that I use it for every picture but it does come in handy when I’m feeling creative. I asked a girl at work if she knew anything about photo editing software and she said she uses Picmonkey. I said PIC WHAT? She said Picmonkey and wrote down the website. I checked it out last night and I love it. It has way more features than Picnik and it’s still FREE. I played around with one of their photos but look forward to using it on my own.

I thought I was losing something but I guess that’s how life goes…when you lose something you gain something even better. (how philosophical of me to use that in a photo editing post) LOL

HELLO Picmonkey!

New Mornings

**Warning this post if full of whining and rambling about my procrastination**

I need to get motivated and start a new routine for my weekday mornings.

The job I have allows me the luxury of not having to come to work until 8:45 but it’s not all good since I do have to stay until 5:45….

Right now I sleep in as late as possible which is anywhere from 7:30 to 8. I don’t mind it but I am really getting too much sleep and have to make myself stay in bed that long only because I’m too lazy to get up. LOL

I really want to start getting up at 6 so I can get housework, homework, and whatever else done in the mornings before I go off to work.

Two reasons.

One because I could get a whole lot accomplished in the mornings since I have 2 hours and second…I just really don’t feel like doing anything when I get home from work.

I am not so much tired but my mind is just shot.

Plus since it is staying light longer in the evenings I want to spend every minute I can outside with the animals, in the garden, or just relaxing on the back patio.

I have been terrible lately.

Laundry is my big issue. I get it washed and unloaded from the dryer fine but that’s when it gets tough. I hate folding and especially hanging all our clean clothes…MAINLY my clean clothes because all my work clothes hang up so the majority of the laundry is hang up.

So I procrastinate until I get so aggravated in the mornings from searching many different places for one clothing item I finally breakdown and fold, hang, and put away all the laundry.

As of now there is a HUGE mountain of clothes I plan on tackling tonight but I have to put them all back in the dryer first because the wrinkles have sat so long they might just be permanent. And that’s a problem when you don’t own an iron…hey my philosophy is if the dryer won’t get the wrinkles out you wear it or store it for another day. J

So now my goal is to get up at 6 am and get a lot done...including my laundry.

On a different note: I went to my brother's baseball game tonight in Winnsboro. They lost but Caleb did good anyways.

Thanks to Instagram for my cool pics. I'm not and insta-addict YET but I do enjoy it when I remember I have it now since its available for droid phones.

Read, Reading, To Read

Read

I started a great book the middle of this past week and finished it today. It was so good.  I recommend it to anyone.  Like Hidden in Paris, I bought The List while I was searching for books from authors and genres that I usually don't read. Well I found an author I like, J.A. Konrath is a great writer and the story line for this book will keep you interested until the very last page.

Amazon book description:
A billionaire Senator with money to burn...

A thirty year old science experiment, about to be revealed...

Seven people, marked for death, not for what they know, but for what they are...

THE LIST by JA Konrath
History is about to repeat itself

Reading

Now that I finished The List, a book that I pre-ordered since it wasn't out yet is now available and I plan on starting it tonight.  It is the latest book in the Vampire Diaries series that I love reading, Vampire Diaries: The Hunters: Moonsong. I love watching the series on TV too and they are both SO different that they both keep me interested and wanting to know more.

Amazon book description:
Evil never dies. . . .

After escaping the horrors of the Dark Dimension, Elena and her friends can’t wait to attend Dalcrest College, the beautiful ivy-covered campus where Elena’s parents met. Life with Stefan is better than ever, and with her closest friends Bonnie, Meredith, and Matt by her side, Elena knows it will be their best year yet. Even Damon seems genuinely changed and is getting along with everyone.

But for Elena, moving away from Fell’s Church doesn’t mean she has left her dark past behind. When students start to disappear from campus, every new acquaintance is suddenly a potential enemy. Panic soon spreads and the friends struggle to protect each other.

Then Elena uncovers a long-hidden secret, one that shocks her to the core, and realizes tragedy may be unavoidable. Will Elena outrun her fate? And will it be Stefan or Damon who catches her if she falls?

To Read-

I'm really excited about this book that's coming out in May.  I was surprised to see it on Amazon today because I wasn't sure when or even if this author was going to write another Sookie Stackhouse Novel.  I went ahead and pre-ordered my copy and will be marking the date that it's available in my planner so I don't forget to download it.  Like Vampire Diaries the books are quite a bit different than the series on HBO...True Blood but I love each bases on different qualities.  I can't wait for it to come out.

Goodreads book description:
With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard—especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.
Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

HAPPY READING!

Dead Egg

Easter Sunday we hid some dyed eggs and some candy filled eggs around the yard for Averie to find.  She was running around collecting her eggs and every time she found a dyed egg she would holler that she found a DEAD EGG! LOL We all laughed and thought it was so cute and she thought because they were boiled and hard that they were now dead. 

Well there is way more logic in that little 4 year's old head than all of ours because that is not what she meant at all.  That night Shanna (her mom) asked her why she keeps calling those eggs dead eggs?  and her answer was simple.... she said that her and Nana (my mom) had dyed them the night before so now they are dead!  Dying now Dead :)

No one but a 4 year old would think of things in such literal terms. LOL  I'm sure from now on all hard boiled eggs around our family will be referred to as dead eggs.

Weekend Randoms

A long awaited and MUCH needed 3 day weekend was what I had this weekend and it was a lot of fun with friends and a lot of relaxing times. 

Thursday night Casey and Kaylynn came over and spent the night since we had some girl time planned the next morning in Winnsboro and the guys were off playing golf. 

Friday we woke up, the guys went off to play golf and Kaylynn and I hung out around the house until it was time for our appointments.  At 11 we had 2 spa pedis at the Copper Leaf Spa. 

After we got our toes did we headed across the street to the Bakery and ate a sandwich lunch.  THEN the best for last we headed down a block to indulge in the best cupcakes in the world.  Kaylynn agreed.

Oh and I forgot...the whole purpose of our girl time was to celebrate for Kaylynn's birthday which was Saturday and she was the big 23!

The rest of the day was spent just lounging and hanging out.

Saturday we were at my house all day and that afternoon we decided to have a fish fry.  The guys did the fish and we did the homemade fries and hush puppies.  I had never made hush puppies before but now that it's so easy and so good I will never buy the pre-made ones again.  All you use is Jiffy cornbread mix and we added onions and jalapenos.

Kaylynn making her hush puppies

Today it was drizzly and gloomy all day long but I did get a few good pictures.

Tyson sleeping in his chair

Garden is making great progress

Butterfly on my fern on the back porch

not a big fan of roses but this little bush just refuses to die so better get a picture of it's determination

SNAKE!

EEK! 

I just about had a heart attack last night when I put the hens away and went to feed them. 

I bent over to open their food container and right in front of my face on the ledge was a BIG black SNAKE!

I ran out of the coop screaming and jumping around like a little girl. LOL

Lincoln, Casey, and the other guys were cooking fish and Casey came with a hoe but not before Lincoln came with the gun. 

He blew its head off and saved the chickens and me. MY HERO :)

I had just asked Lincoln either the previous day or that same morning if a perfect hole in floor in the back corner of the coop could be a snake hole...if there is such a thing.  He said I don't know!  Of course we didn't know and still don't but the irony. 

Anyways, I had a snake and it freaked me out and now I'm wondering how many more snakes I will encounter this summer?



Camping Easter Weekend

Over this past weekend Lincoln and I went camping at the TXU park.  Since I'm sure you don't know what that is it's the private company camp grounds that are on lake Bob Sandlin.  It's private and so nice to get away from the house for the weekend even though its only about 15 to 20 miles from the casa.  After work Friday I went out and met Lincoln who had set up that day.  We stayed Friday and Saturday nights and on Sunday morning woke up, packed up, and headed home.  We did AB-SO-LUTE-LY nothing all weekend.  I layed out and helped the guys check lines which in the end we caught around 30 catfish. :)  All in all it was a successful and relaxing weekend even though we came home completely exhausted.

Home Sweet Home

Hercules baby

thems worn out

oohhh Tyson dog

Master Griller

Tired and sunkissed

Lincoln, Mark his Dad, and little brother Cade

Wish List

A few things I'm lusting after!

Some new items from.....

I had never looked on a J. Crew website or in a store until our weekend in Austin.  When we were hitting up the outlets in San Marcos I visited a J. Crew and fell in love.  Where have I been when all these awesome outfits were being produced?!

to complete an outfit you have to have shoes right? So something that I didn't really like at first but have really grown on me are Sperry Top-Siders found HERE.

I'm loving this pair.

To look good in those clothes I will be needing this mountain bike found HERE.

I really like riding bikes.  I have what I call a Pee Wee Herman bike now and it is good for riding flat surfaces but since it doesn't have gears it's a tink hard to ride long distances and up and down the hills that are near my house.  I think if I had this awesome bike then I would be biking all over the place.

while I'll be exercising and looking good on my new bike and in my new clothes I better keep it up with eating healthy too and to do that I need first a new strainer because the one I have sucks and I cuss that damn thing every time I have to drain anything.  I love these collapsible ones so they are cute, handy, and easy to store.

when I'm not straining I will be scraping and the spatulas I have now also suck because they are cheap and old so some of these colorful babies would be nice and would make my cake baking really easy.

last, a cast iron skillet is needed, not because it's healthy but because I don't have one and think I need one.

SO I will be wearing all my new stuff, riding my new bike, and using my new kitchen stuff in my AWESOME Dream Home!!!  How amazing is this thing and it's in MV!!!!! I think me and Lincoln could pool our millions and come out on top.  If we do then I will be sure to invite all you lovelies over for a pool party!

Serene



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