Funny Friday

I don't post enough of Silly Sophi, she's such a character. She really knows how to get our attention and uses it to her advantage all the time. She cant sleep on our bed anymore because she takes up the whole thing, makes my legs hot and sits right in front of the dogs crates to make them go nuts at 4 in the morning. So now she just howls at the door at 4 in the morning. If she's really mad at us and we're not giving into her demands she rips the leaves off my house plants.

See, she knows how to work the system.

She also loves to crawl into any box type thing. This must be a cat thing. John got a lunch box from work...not really sure why, I never asked...and it's never used but sits next to the garbage can in our kitchen. It now belongs to Sophi. This is where she sits to greet us when we come home from work, where she'll sleep during the day and her new favorite hiding place.

If it's not zipped up, she'll hide under the flap and when you walk past she'll poke her paw out and whack you one. She'll also jump out and bite toes, but she saves that for only me. Needless to say, its rarely unzipped now.

Ever since camping Enna will not go into her crate first. She runs right into Makoa's and then whines like crazy when we tell her to go in her own. Finally I gave up and let them sleep together. (terrible cell phone pictures)

here the dogs are/were staring very intently at the cat. caught them just before they were going to run after her.

And here's proof that the dogs...okay mostly Enna...can get along with Sophi sometimes.

Sophi actually doesn't hate Enna as much as she hates Makoa, it's probably because Enna doesn't body slam Sophi's face.

More flowers

Are you tired of flower posts yet? That sucks if you are because this happens to be another flower post. It's my blog and I'll post all the flower posts I want!  :)

This little guy is from one of the cosmo seeds I bought earlier but I didn't think I had planted one right there. Every time I walked past it I thought, "Is that a weed? I should pull it. Naaa, I'll just leave it and see what happens." Well this is what happened, it bloomed some beautiful yellow flowers. I still have some seeds left so I'll definitely be planting more next year since it's a annual and wont come back. 

Isn't this dahlia beautiful? It's the first of the ones that I grew indoors to bloom. Okay I just fibbed to you, its

the first to not bloom all retarded and on the bottom of the plant like the white one below. All the ones I planted from seed are going to surprise me with their colors since I bought a variety pack. I love seeing the buds starting to open.

Okay I know the above looks a little pathetic, but it's the start of the peacock ground cover blooming. Come mid-August this plant will be covered in tiny blue blooms. Two of the three plants have grown so wide in the past year that I will probably have to split them.

Look how far the blanket flowers have come in just a few weeks! They're so pretty and really brighten the garden. They grew taller than I thought they would so I'll have to do some rearranging in the fall.

Camping!!!!!

So I told John that I was going to take next Monday and Tuesday off to relax since I've been working like a crazy person and he suggested that he take Monday off and we go camping! YAY! I'm so excited! Just him, me and the dogs, so lots of off leash hiking and relaxing with a great book. (A kindle would be fabulous to have right now)
I don't think Friday will come soon enough!

p.s. hopefully by the end of next week we'll have enough money saved up to do the ceiling AND the cabinet doors...that is if my car doesn't need anything fixed to pass safety and emissions. Please car, just be good and pass the first time! I'm totally slacking, it's due by the end of this month, I'm blaming this on my busy work schedule.

Birdah! *say like how Bambi says bird*

So I want some of these:

Cute little zebra finches

One teeny tiny problem, I am deathly terrified of birds.

This fear all started years ago when I was asked to check on our neighbor's pets while they were out of town. They have a whole zoo of animals, two rabbits, a dog, some fish, 4 finches and a parakeet. All was going fine and dandy then I walked into the little girl's room to check on her parakeet. The minute I walk into her room I was dive bombed. I shriek, run to the corner to hide and to figure out what tried to kill  me. Perched merrily on her foot board is a little blue and green parakeet, she lets it fly free in her room I guess. To get to the birds cage I'd have to pass the bird, but whenever I moved the parakeet would take off flying and try to land on me. I was pretty sure it was trying to peck my brains out.
I finally got to the cage but it took me 20 minutes and I had to crawl the whole way so I wouldn't make the bird fly.

Because of this first negative experience with a bird I never fully gained trust of birds. I went to the zoo with my mom and her pre-schoolers when I was in 8th grade, but to preserve my dignity we'll say I was in 5th or 6th grade. The zoo had changed my loved butterfly house to a bird exhibit where you can purchase a popsicle stick with bird seed glued to it for an unremembered amount of change. All the pre-schoolers were taking sticks and I didn't want to look like a big wussy so I bought one too.
"Okay" I thought, "This isn't too bad...." as one fat dove landed on my stick to eat. "I can handle this, try to look like you're having fun. Get that look of terror off your face..."
Then another fat bird landed on my stick, but since the stick is only wide enough for one bird, the bird landed on my hand. I screamed bloody murder, dropped the stick and did the "get that thing out of my hair" dance. Everything got quiet and everyone turned to look at me, even the birds turned their little bird necks to stare at the freak.
I was then asked by one of the zoo employees to not scream, it scares the birds. SCARES THE BIRDS!?!?! WHAT ABOUT MY FRAGILE LIFE?!?!? IT ALMOST CAME TO A SCREECHING HALT NOT MOMENTS AGO!!!
I then pretended like I didn't just embarrass myself in a room full of strangers and walked around the exhibit trying not to get pooped on.

See, so I have a dilemma. I want a pair of cute finches and the good news is that they aren't really social with humans so I wouldn't have to hold them or anything but what if they get out of their cage while I'm changing their water of something. I'm pretty sure I would have a meltdown and have to be put in a crazy house.

I need to find away around this bird fear....I also want chickens but that's a whole other ball game.

The Pops would be proud

I forgot to tell my dad this story back when it happened so I'm going to tell him this way. I only remembered this story because I was folding invoices and one of the addresses was on Studebaker Road. I then told someone walking by and said, "Studebaker, like the car! Isn't that cool!" and they looked at me like I had three heads. They just don't realize how awesome a Stude really is, so uncultured.

Back to the story I forgot to tell my Pops...Last Saturday I was at my Grandpa's. He rebuilds/restores classic cars. My grandpa is totally cool, I know, you don't have to tell me. Try not to be jealous.
Well his Stang (that's code word for Mustang) was sitting in the driveway while my cousin's friend and I were waiting for my cousin so we can go on a walk. The friend asks me, "What year is your grandpa's Mustang?" I reply as cool as a glass of water, "a '66"
"How can you tell?" she asked.
Without even a second passing, I walk up to the Stang and point to one of the scoops (that is total car lingo, right there) and say, "See these three spokes in the scoop? The '66 is the only year that has them" I almost went off about the grill but I could see I was losing her interest.  So I said, "If you stick around this family long enough you'll learn everything you ever wanted to know, and some stuff you didn't, about classic cars."

See Padre, I have listened all those times we've walked around car shows and you've pointed stuff out to me.

Dinner

Last night I didn't get home until 8 PM because of work and then a nail appointment. John had text me earlier in the day asking what I wanted for dinner, I told him to make something for himself and then I would make me something when I got home. He then suggested that we go to dinner. Angels sung in the heavens when I read that. I secretly didn't want to make dinner for myself.

I was craving a baked potato like a homeless person craves aluminum cans....also probably baked potatoes...and the only place I could think of that has them was Texas Roadhouse. In hindsight I'm sure many other places have baked potatoes.
Anyway, not that I have anything really against Texas Roadhouse I just don't like that it's insanely loud and overly crowded all the time (I have this massive hatred towards overly crowed areas, that's why I never go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. I get this from my father).

Well TR didn't disappoint, it was its rip roaring, loud, crowded self but I was starving so I was willingly lead to our terribly placed booth. When we met our waiter I instantly thought, "Oh crap". Just one of those over annoying personalities who emphasizes every other word they say. He brought us our drinks right away, but then disappeared off the face of the earth for 20 minutes. Was he ever going to come back and take our order? My stomach had started eating itself by then.
So I'm sitting there thinking terrible thoughts of our waiter and trying to pretend to be interested in John's story about guys he works with that I don't even know when out of the corner of my eye I see our waiter chatting it up at a table full of hotties. I then death stare the back of his head, but it was a no go, he chatted for a good 10 minutes! When he came back to us I was livid and forgot how to say please and thank you, instead I said, "Chicken fried steak, baked potato with cheese, A LOT of cheese! and apple sauce" Death starred waiter until John finished his order and then grumbled about how I will possible die at TR.

FINALLY our food came. I snatched my plate out of the waiters hands and started inhaling my food. Then I noticed some 6 year old in the booth behind John was standing on his seat watching me eat. I hate this no matter the children's age, but 6?!?! (okay I don't know if the child was 6 but he was oldish) Parents, no matter how cute you think your kid is it doesn't mean I want to look at/be looked at by them, its awkward and one of my least favorite things in the whole entire world. If you child doesn't stop I will be forced to do something very unlady like.
I started making disturbing faces to the child and I must have frightened him because he finally sat down and didn't get back up. GOOD, now I can eat in peace.
Nope, no such luck because then someone walking out of TR saw the people in the booth behind me and they hadn't seen each other in 10,856 years and had to brag about their life! yay! seriously, this woman would win the Olympics of bragging. "Oh Scottie? He met the love of his life two months ago and is getting married next week. Rob just got ANOTHER promotion! Sara just learned how to roller skate! Want to hear about my awesome sex life? no? Well too bad I'll tell you anyway at the top of my lungs because I'm that awesome!!!"
Just as I was about to stab the lady with my potato covered fork in a fit of rage she decided that her bragging was done (probably could feel my wrath) and skipped merrily out the door.

When we got home it was pushing 10 PM and that's my bed time. It's not good to go to sleep on a full stomach, it makes you fat (p.s. thank you grandma for pointing out my weight gain repeatedly since I didn't notice I had and didn't already have issues with it) so I ran around the backyard with the dogs to work off my dinner. Truthfully I don't care if I was pissing off my neighbors with my girly laughs and the dogs barking. Stop throwing steak knives in my backyard and I'll stop laughing loudly at 10:05 at night! (okay that only happened once but I will hold it against them until the day I die. On my death bed I will tell everyone about it so they'll gasp loudly)

The rest is boring because I just went in and went to bed. I know, my life is super exciting.

Friday

Today my brain thinks it's Friday. No matter what I tell it, it says, "Nope, totally Friday! Let's party!"  Probably because these crazy, long hours I've been working. le sigh. Truthfully just thinking about having to work 11 hours tomorrow makes me want to cry. I wish after all this I could take a day or two off but no dice. Oh well, it's a good job and I'm getting paid.

These last few weeks before I transfer to my new position I'm trying to wear all my dresses, skirt, Bermuda shorts and heels. You see, where I'm going all those things aren't allowed (well I could wear my heels but my feet would cry), where I'm going I get to rock a lab coat and safety glasses.
 I will miss my wardrobe very much. I've been doing reception type work for almost 5 years now so I really have no casual clothes, even on the weekend I struggle finding something to wear, so I'll probably be way over dressed and people will think I'm a goody two shoes. One positive wardrobe change, I finally have a reason to buy Pumas! Oh how I love Pumas!  I had no reason to buy them before since I'm a flip flop girl, but now...WOOT!
I'm also trying to break my habit of having water with me all day. No food or drink allowed where I'm going either. I think just because I can't have it I'll feel parched all day and crawl around on the office floor saying, "water....water...." like I've been stuck in the desert for weeks.
I'm excited for my new position, but it will be a big change and a lot of work.

Anywho somewhere in the craziness of my long days I need to finish a gift for John's cousin's wife for next Saturday. It's due by then, well really that's when her baby shower is, but "due" is a good word. I've finished half of it already and it's way cute. When I'm all done I'll post pictures since I'm crafty and amazing and need to share my mad skills. *Paula, remember when that girl put mad skills on her resume? Too funny!*

new bloom

I have multiple of these lilies, Specie Lily Scarlet Delight, and one has started to bloom. These are one of the first flowers that caught my eye when I was browsing through catalogs. They help add vibrant spots of color in an other wise baking July garden.

They look similar to Stargazer lilies except they have lime green throats and can reach up to 8 feet tall. Most of these lilies in my garden are reaching 5 feet tall and have to be supported with 1 inch dowels or they droop to the ground.

If you're interested in these gorgeous blooms the only place I have found them is at dutchbulbs.com but be warned that they aren't that cheap. You only get 3 for $15 plus shipping and handling, but they do produce a ton of blooms on one plant once they mature (some of my lilies are only 2 years old and have over 20 buds ready to bloom)  and they divide like all bulb plants over time. 

Any day now I should have blooms on my peacock ground cover and my dahlias.

What a wonderful man

As most know I'm not one to be over the top affectionate. I don't post, "I love my husband!" on facebook or leech onto him when we're out in public because I don't feel like I need to do that kind of stuff for us to know we're in love and in a strong relationship. But this post John very much deserves.

I've been working late for the past week with some 11 hour days thrown in there and John has been a saint. He's had dinner waiting for me when I got home and not just canned soup or mac & cheese from the box, real dinners (not that I'd complain about that since I'm just happy he's helping out). He's pulled out my recipe book and made sloppy Joe's, cheesy ham & potatoes, spaghetti and tonight, tortellini bake is on the menu.
He also had all the clean laundry put away (since he knows that's my most hated house chore) and the washer loaded with dirty clothes on Monday.

I don't know how I got blessed with such a good guy, but I'm sure glad I was. Even after his long 10 hour days at work he's willing to help me out. I think I'll keep him around for a little while longer ;)

Backpack

Makoa was ordered a new backpack for John's big hike next weekend. John says that if Makoa wants to come he has to pull his own weight and carry his own stuff. His backpack came on Friday, it did need a few adjustments because it was too big around his middle but I knew that was going to be the case.

The straps needed a good two inches cut off so I sewed the excess to itself to make them shorter, I also cut the excess of the adjustable strap off and sewed it back together so it wouldn't drag on the ground.

At home Makoa wasn't too thrilled to have it on, he would just sit down until I called him over to me then if I left the spot he'd just sit there. I was worried that hiking would be that way. No sir! He was his normal happy self.

Enna does the funniest thing when she gets wet. She runs as fast as she can down the trail, it's like she's trying to run off the water.

Looks like Makoa is all ready for the hike! Good luck boys! While they're off being one with nature, Enna and I are going to spend time with my family in Fountain Green for Lamb Days, should be lots of fun.

More blooming

Now that it's July different flowers are blooming, here are a few.

This lily is called a Tiger Yellow Star, I have two planted but since this one came up last year (never flowered though) it is now 5 feet tall where as the other one is only 2. I was lied to when I bought these on-line, I was told that they'd flower into September. No, the blooms only last a week before they start to dry up. Oh well, they're still really pretty.

The blanket flowers I started from seed and transferred many to my garden, this is the only one that has started to flower. It's still only a baby bloom so it's tiny. All the fluffy parts of the plant will be flowers soon, it'll have a ton! They'll grow a little over 2 feet tall and should bloom through out the summer, cross your fingers with me that they do.

These poppies are some free seeds I got with the drama queen poppies. The drama queens have already bloomed through and weren't as spectacular as they showed in the picture. Oh well, at least they added some color.
These free ones are nice because they're all a different color and texture, even on the same plant. One bad thing though is that the blooms dont last that long. Sometimes I'd notice a bloom on my way to work but when I got home all the petals had fallen off. I hope these and the drama queens will reseed themselves for next year.

I also have some dahlias that have bloomed but they're really pathetic small blooms so far so I didn't take any pictures.
Some things on the list to bloom any day now are my ground cover peacocks, more dahlias, blanket flowers, flowering shamrocks, giant pink lilies and some exoticas. 

hiking gear

Every year John and a handful of people hike the Aspen Grove trail up the backside of Timpanogos Mountain. He took Enna last year and he wants to take Makoa this year. It's an all day hike, I think about 18 miles and at one point you slide down a glacier. At this point John has to be able to use his hands to control his speed and direction so he cant hold Makoa on his lap and he's too big to shove into a backpack like he did with Enna last year.
John was in a pickle and didn't know how Makoa could come with if there was no way to get down the glacier, that is until I found an awesome dog pack.

You may laugh, in fact I was laughing the whole time Makoa was in it, but now he can join in on the fun. I got the pack from Golly Gear for $40.00 plus shipping and handling.
We're not going to be those weirdos that carry their dogs around the neighborhood but we do plan on getting one for Enna and using them for other activities (like four wheeling).

sisterly hiking

My sister asked me to go hiking last week, she wanted to go to Donut Falls but since that's in Big Cottonwood the dogs couldn't go. We then choose Millcreek and went on Monday morning.

The pups found a lab friend to run up and down the trail with, anyone who will run with them instantly becomes their best friend.

Makoa liked John camel pack, once he figured out that's where water came from he would sit in front of John  waiting for a squirt every time we stopped. Enna on the other hand wasn't as thrilled. John would have to hold her face to get her to drink but she'd only take a few sips and then turn her face and get sprayed all over.

This is a terrible picture of me, you should feel lucky that I'm including it.

Enna found a nice place to sit on the way home, Mary's lap meant she could look out the window.

It was a nice hike and I hope my sister wants to come with us sometime soon.

new brushes

Who would have thought that new brushes would change so much?

I broke my everyday make-up bag's zipper a couple of weeks ago so I needed a replacement. While grocery shopping I grabbed the first bag I saw since it really was the only one and I liked that it came with brushes.

When I got home I threw away my old brushes (the ones from like 10th grade and covered in cat spit since Sophi loved to carry them around in our apartment living days) and stocked the new bag.

This morning after my invigorating (it says so on the bottle) scrub with my St Ives apricot scrub, I applied my make-up with the new brushes. I use a knock off version on the Bare Minerals that I found a few years ago (if you need convincing on mineral make-up just let me know, I will never go back to liquid crap) and it's always been nice to apply but with the new brush, oh my! It went on really smooth and I don't think my face has ever looked so flawless. I'm in love. My face is now matte perfection.

I'm glad I didn't go with my first thought of, "this is such an ugly bag...maybe I'll find another one..." and just bought it. 

They're the Ecotools by Alicia Silverstone and I highly recommend them (along with mineral make-up). The brushes are made of  highly sustainable bamboo handles, 100% cruelty-free, soft taklon bristles and  recycled aluminum ferrules. The bag is natural hemp fabric printed with non-toxic ink. It's sold at Wal-Mart and I think it's around $14 though I'm not too sure on that since I have a bad habit of never looking at the price tag.

If you buy them let me know what you think!

lighting

We picked out these lights months ago for the dry bar accent lighting, they were $119.

We were waiting to buy them because of the price, but yesterday John went to Lowe's to get parts to fix the swamp cooler and noticed that they were reduced in price to $65. With my birthday gift cards from my good friends I ran to Lowe's to buy them.
When I got home I realized it was a previously purchased box, parts were missing and there weren't any instructions. So back to Lowe's to return them. They only had one other box and it was missing the instructions too so Brenda, the head of the lighting department, called every other Lowe's in the valley to find us an unopened box.

One was found at the Riverton store but was still $101 so Brenda asked them to price match it for us. Thanks to Brenda we saved $54 and have the lights we wanted. Too bad they cant be installed until the ceiling is.