Dashing Dahlias

A couple shots of this year's window box flowers -- Dwarf Dahlias!!



Not to toot my own horn, but they may be the best I have ever taken. I LOVE them! :)

Am I Hypo?

Both my mom and grandma have hypothyroidism, and I currently have more than one of the symptoms. They have crept up in the last few months. I have done a bit of reading on it in the last few weeks and have decided it is time to see my doctor. I will be having blood work done tomorrow and will see my doctor next Wednesday. It could very well be nothing, but I will not ignore my body when it is trying to tell me something.

I have gained 20 lbs in less than a year -- nearly 15 of that has been since mid-March. I eat right most of the time, I exercise, and there is no way it is 15 pound gain in muscle. I had to buy bigger clothes. My nails are brittle, my hands & feet swell, I have lost a small portion of my left eyebrow. (A few other symptoms I have may be considered TMI for my blog so I will spare you the details...LOL!) :)

These all could simply mean I am getting older and need to adjust my lifestyle again, but with thyroid disease in the family I think it is wise to rule that out.

Photographic Evidence

Here is some photographic evidence of our busy weekend.

As you might remember, over the winter our mailbox lost a battle with a snowplow so we purchased a new one. A new mailbox called for a fresh look. We had planned on doing this (minus the mailbox) for the last couple years, but never got around to it.

Before

After #1

After #2

Replacing the coral bells, three euonymus, and a bush that was somehow a mixture of spirea & weigelia are fountain grass surrounded by creeping phlox, coreopsis, coneflower, meadow sage, veronica and some sweet alyssum. The rock has been replaced with mulch.

Thank you again, Olivia, for moving all that rock to the back yard.

Old Friends

This afternoon I got together for lunch with my best friend in the whole world. We have been friends since 8th grade. She has been by my side for some of the greatest & worst moments of my life as I have been for her. Even though we don't talk or see each other as much as we used to when we do get together it is like we were never apart.

Let's not let another five years go by without seeing each other again -- I missed you!! I love you, Linda!

Someone's 15 Today

Happy Birthday to our dear little girl young lady!!

Olivia at 3 months

Spring Blooms

These were blooming about a week ago (two weeks later than normal), but are done now...

They are the tulips & rhododendrons I have shown before, but this year I took pictures from a different vantage point -- worm's eye view and ultra close. The close up of the tulip is my fav, and I may have it printed on canvas to hang in our house somewhere.

Shaping Up the Yard

The last couple days have been busy ones!!

Purchase:
mulch -- check
annuals for window boxes -- check
hanging baskets -- check

To Do:
put down mulch -- check
plant window boxes -- check
hang baskets -- check
put more sand under bricks to level sidewalk area -- check

I also began getting rid of some bushes in our front yard. I have hated those things since the day we moved in. I wanted to get rid of them, but Bob liked them so that took some convincing. That is until he realized he likes summer blooming things more than those things.

They had spread and grown so much that I had forgotten there were only three. I was thinking there were five of the large ones. One of them was massive. I also pulled out two other pine/evergreen bushes one was dead and the other was in an odd spot to leave. Once I get some muscle (Yoohoo -- Bob and Scott, Kevin, or Dale!) to dig out the roots from the three larger bushes, we will have a blank slate and begin planting some perennials. I can't wait!

Wow, I must have really hated those bushes. I cannot find a single picture of them unless they are covered with snow. My camera batteries are dead (again), but once they are charged, I take some pics.

CrushCrushCrush

Crush, unhealthy obsession, or watching Idol too close to bed time? Which one is it when David Cook shows up in a dream? ROFL!!



This morning, I asked Bob & he just laughed at me. I don't think he has an answer because he's remembering his dream of Edyta! *snicker* ;)

Mission Accomplished

Don't you just love days that all the things you need to happen to accomplish something finally do? Bob left the truck home, the weather was beautiful, my grandma didn't have any appointments, the lawn mower we took in for a tune up was ready, and the dump was open. I was finally able to get the leaves, branches, and other yard waste out of our yard and to the dump. Some of it had been buried under the snow all these months. I won't tell you how gross some of that stuff was. I was also able to pick up our lawn mower.

I am looking forward to being able to mow for the first time this season. Our mower was at the repair shop so long I wasn't able to do the first mowing of the season. Since it had gotten so long we hired the company that does our fertilizing to do it this one time. They came Friday morning and would you believe it needs cutting again? Guess what I will be up to tomorrow if the rain holds off as it is looking like it will now.

A Day at the Park

Miller Park that is...

We spent Mother's Day at the Milwaukee Brewer game. They won with help from my guy Ryan Braun and his pink bat! :)

I like to think his hot streak is because I bought his jersey Saturday afternoon! :)

I forgot my camera so Bob took a couple pictures with his Blackberry. They aren't the best quality pictures, but I had to share...

Pink ribbon behind home plate.

The racing sausages just for Carolynn.
The Polish Sausage won (video)! :)

Ladies Night

Last night I joined five friends for a rare ladies only night! With all our schedules it is really hard to get all of us together, but this time it worked. The stars must have been aligned just right when we planned...LOL!!

I had a great time, ladies! Thanks for being such great friends!

Bob & the Guys

That Bob of mine and his friends are crazy!

As I mentioned a little over a month ago, Bob & his Vegas buddies booked the flight for an October trip to Las Vegas. Well, rates are a little lower now so they have already booked their March 2009 flight! I told them they are nuts, but they think they are a bunch of geniuses since the rates are so good compared to when they went in '08.

They were able to find travel insurance that will cover them should the airline cancel the flight for whatever reason -- including bankruptcy!

Were You Nervous?

I was so nervous about American Idol tonight! Yes, my man David Cook was good last night. Not GREAT, but good -- well, maybe the second song was better than good. I was just a wreck because this was the week Chris Daughtry went home. I am glad he's safe for another week!

Is any one else growing weary of David A? I am and would love to see a David C, Syesha final! :)

I know there are bigger things to worry about & be nervous about, but this week AI is my much needed distraction from reality and a crappy situation!

Tremendous Tunes :)

Time to tell you what newer music I am listening too and LOVING...

I have heard Panic at the Disco's CD called Beatlesque and would have to agree on a few of the songs. It's a fun one! :)

For quite sometime before Spirit was available in the US, I was loving the song Bleeding Love and was going back & forth on whether I should purchase just the song from iTunes or the CD from a store. (I like to have the "stuff" so I purchase the CD rather than purchasing/downloading it from iTunes.) After she was on American Idol, Bob said he would like that CD. He didn't even know I had been trying to decide what to do. Scary hey? LOL!!

Anyway, I purchased it the day it was available in the US as a gift for Bob's birthday. I listened to it for the first time this morning and have been listening to it ever since. Hooray -- it wasn't like that Tim McGraw CD we bought a few years ago!! ;)

Happy Birthday

to the love of my life & best friend...

Bob!

Cudahy Soldier

Last week a young man from Cudahy named Steve Christofferson was killed in Iraq. Cudahy is very nearby. The funeral was held today.

Steve was buried at the cemetery near my house. The one I frequently go for walks through. The street in front of the cemetery was lined with American flags and throughout the cemetery there were clusters of 3 - 5 flags. The main flags in the cemetery were, of course, at half mast. I have never seen so many flags in my life. What an amazing site to see.

I was on the outskirts of the cemetery during a portion of the burial. There were a few people standing way off. I just felt like I had to be there -- to say thank you for the sacrifice he & his family made so my family and friends can live in freedom -- even if it was from a distance. I didn't want to intrude on the private time his family & friends deserved. At first I thought it was weird, but when I saw how many others had walked up and were doing the same thing I felt I had made the right decision.

While each story of a young serviceman or woman lost breaks my heart, once I heard Pfc. Christofferson was going to be buried near my home the loss of his life brought tears to my eyes. Each time I think of him now, I tear up. I think it is because seeing this with my own eyes rather than a story on TV makes it more real.

Thank you Pfc. Steve Christofferson and all the men & women in uniform for serving our great country.

Whoa!

Where has all the time gone? I can't believe it is May already! I can't believe this week is over and this is the first time this week I am posting! I wish I could come to tell you I hadn't posted because I was away on some glamorous trip, but that isn't the case. It has just been a busy week of doing some spring cleaning, errands, and appointments.