How does your garden grow?

Peter and I got bit by a bug... a gardening bug. Doesn't the idea of warm fresh tomatoes and fresh picked strawberries and snipping off green herbs spark something in everyone?

And we weren't going to let the fact that we live in a two bedroom condo with only the only outside area the patio outside our front door (though of above average size) stop us. Sure, we dream of our huge house with surrounding acreage, it's lush soil producing a bountiful harvest, but we have to start somewhere.

So, in March, we planted some seeds.

We won't be going that route again, because, as cute and hopeful looking as they are, they never got much bigger than that.

But Peter built some beautiful planter boxes and we got a good deal on some hanging baskets and we planted them anyway.

We also purchased some strawberry plants and planted some garlic plants that some friends of ours had started.

 

So far, our strawberry plants are the only ones that have given any fruit, but aren't they beautiful fruit? And if that isn't enough inspiration enough for you, here are some ideas about how anyone can grow anything anywhere.\

My Man

"He's not perfect. You aren’t either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold on to him and give him the most you can. He isn’t going to quote poetry, he’s not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break. Don’t hurt him, don’t change him, and don’t expect more than he can give. Don’t analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he’s not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don’t exist, but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you."

Bob Marley

Gettin My Swagger On

Ok, SwagBucks.com is one of the coolest things I've stumbled upon. At first I was skeptical because so many of those "earn while you browse" sites are bogus, but this one is real and it works!

I just made little changes to my surfing routine. I search for my regular sites through SwagBucks and do a little SwagBucks routine every morning and that's added up to $65 in Amazon gift cards since I started at the first of the year.

That little money has been so great for me. On our set budget I have "free money" I can spend on what I want. Kindle books, paper books, gifts, music, baby stuff. Right now I'm saving my gift cards for Summer Book Club books and gDiapers.

Here's the link if you're interested. I know this sounds like an promotion and if you use me as a referral I do get rewarded, but it really is just a cool thing I found and wanted to share with my friends. Good luck!

http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/Hannah2016

Who needs toys?

Paper towels are so much more fun...

 

... at least for a little while.

Party Pooper to Party Planner

I love to go to parties. To celebrate and laugh, to see people I don't get to see very often or see people I get to see all the time but love to spend more time with!

Throwing parties, on the other hand, terrifies me. The pressure, the expectation, the possible disappointment and feelings of failure and rejection... there may be lots of other issues behind that, BUT my hope for throwing parties was renewed this weekend when we celebrated my beautiful baby's first birthday!

So what made the difference? I want to remember what made the party a success!

1) I asked for help! My family was visiting from Texas and Peter's family drove down from LA. Without them, it would not have happened! Especially since the only one who could hang decorations from the pavilion roof was my 6'2" brother, sometimes even lifting Peter up! I was able to relax and do what I do well instead of worrying about what I wasn't able to do. And, a big thing for me, I actually did that! I asked for help and then let those who wanted to help do it the way they wanted to. It turned out great. And and it made the prep process just as fun as the party.

2) I set a budget but used it creatively! The 99cent store was my friend! I was able to make 5 dozen cupcakes for about $12! I didn't use the sketchy brands there. They had Duncan Hines, otherwise I probably would have had to spend more. But then I took what I had bought for cheap and put some extra work into it to make them special. I slathered on the icing and layered on the sprinkles. I treated my low-budget cupcakes special and that made them special to me. And they were tasty!

3) I was inspired by the reason for the party! One of the big reasons this party was great for me is because I was really excited about celebrating my baby's birthday. I took these pictures every month throughout the year and the process of printing them off really meant a lot to me. She changed so much and is changing every minute and I want to celebrate how beautiful she is each and every one of those minutes. So, we had to change park locations last minute? We still celebrated. So she had a runny nose and didn't have a single nap that day? We still celebrated. And if it had rained and no one came and Abby had screamed the whole time? We still would have tried to celebrate! (Though I know prayer works because none of those things happened!) And I think my focus on the wonderful reason to party rubbed off on her because I really think she enjoyed her party!

 

4) Lastly, the most important part of a party is the people that are there! I was so touched by how much our friends love Abby. She's got a few admirers already!

They came to party! They came to help! (Thanks Johanna, Lorrie, Erica, and Jeanne!) And they came to celebrate. It was a beautiful day for my beautiful baby and I might just throw another party sometime.