Hey! Ho! I'm Home!

Did you hear my sigh last night?  You know, around 1:45 in the A-to-the-M, when #RG & I finally made it in the door, back at home after nearly 2 weeks of visiting the Great North.   I thought maybe you might have heard it.  It was with mixed emotions that we boarded the plane to come back to the sweet sweet South, as we had to say goodbye to so many people we love dearly, and yet I knew that my bomb-phenom husband would be waiting at the other terminal when we disembarked.  

Goodbye, lovely family & friends.  Thanks for the good times.

Hello, love of my life.

That sort of thing. 

NOTE:  You can travel with as much milk for your baby as you can carry, in case you needed to know that.  You should also know that, were you to (hypothetically) wear your baby through the airport, in a carrier that resembles what bombers in movies wear, you will be stopped for a hand test, you will have to hand your bags of breastmilk over for density analyzation, and you will have your checked baggage randomly checked.  Yes sir, Mr. TSA Dude.  That's just breastmilk.  Yes, from my boobs.  So glad you could handle it.  I feel we're somehow closer now...

But we did say goodbye and then hello, and we did make it home, and we're here now.  And can I just say, Holy Cannoli!  Apparently the Upstate decided to throw me a welcome back party, as everything that was mere buds when I left two weeks ago is now in full bloom.  I'm about to walk over to my window and throw up the sash, letting in the intoxicating smell of the dogwood in the backyard.  I can't hardly stand how fabulous it is outside today. 

I'm hoping to pick up some things for gardening, and maybe let #RG feel the (crab)grass beneath her toes.  What are you up to this lovely lovely weeekend?

<3 M.

Weekend Wrap-Up

So there was this weekend... a four-day weekend, really, that started on Friday and rolled right on into Monday.  Like, today, Monday.  Handsome had 3 of the 4 days off, which made it feel so festivious (not to be confused with the holiday, festivus), and ... well, it was just what this lady needed.  Between Clemson football, Paramedic clinical hours, my many trips, and life in general, I've been missing my man.  Sometimes I think that maybe, if I didn't like him so much, it would be easier.  But really, I'm pretty sure it's impossible for me to resist his charms ;)

We went scouting for deer.  I would like to note that in the above picture, although my man is wearing suspenders, I am not.  That's a purse strap.  For my snacks.  And water bottle.  And kindle.  Because you never know what you're going to need whilst traipsing around the woods looking for sign of deer activity.  We did find some activity, and I'm proud to say that I can now correctly identify a deer rub.  See?

Deer Rub

(Whitetail) Deer routinely do this to small trees, for two reasons: to shed their velvet (a soft covering on growing antlers) in early Fall, and to mark their territory.  That's your nature lesson for the day.  If you find a whole bunch of these in the same area, that's a good sign (according to my outdoorsman of a husband) that bucks frequent the area, and would be a good place to set up a hunting spot.

Filthy With 'Em

This place

is filthy

with dogwoods

It's seriously becoming a problem here.  They catch my eye, my nose, lift my spirits to unbearable high places.  It is impossible to sit inside, in a bad mood, and see/smell these everywhere.  So if you've had enough of your funk, if you want to get rid of those doldrums, find a place (like here) that is just filthy with blooming dogwoods, and wave goodbye to you attitude.

Linking with WFMW

Dogwoods work for me!
and Tasty Tuesdays

And if those, by some stroke of misfortune, aren't enough to lift you out of the muck, let's think about cake.  Cake Week 2012 is nearly upon us.  We still need some more cake submissions on which to vote!  So here's how you can join in the festivities:

• If you have a blog, feel free to grab a button from over yonder ---> and share the sugar.
• If you have ever liked a cake, even just the look of it, leave a comment about such a cake HERE.
• If you are interested in baking along with me, come Cake Week, let me know.
• If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for Cake Week's giveaways, let me know.

Some sponsors that are already nailed down include Garnish, Have It Sweet, and Delicate Fortress Creations, just to tease you with possibilities.  Every cake that gets submitted has a chance to win!  Current entries are available to be seen HERE.

NOTE:  You do not have to have made the cake you submit.  All you have to do is think, "Gee, I really like this cake" or "Wow, that looks yummy!" or "This cake tastes awesome!".  That's it.  Then post a picture/description/link/recipe in the comments HERE.  

That's all for today's Cake Week push.  I just want you to have your cake & eat it too, is all.  Now get out doors and find some dogwoods to smell!  Spring has chosen to kiss this earth, and it's time we kiss back!  (Honestly, I don't even know what that last sentence means, I just got carried away with the perfume of dogwood blossoms in the air... it's slightly intoxicating.)

Drunk on Spring,

TFW

Great Garden Games

Okay, that's a misnomer.  There are no games here.  No games except Who's The Best Tool User.  I totally win at that game, all the time.  Totally did today, fo sho, 100 per-cent.  Of course, I was the only one playing, but still, it counts.

See that tool?  That's a Miter Saw.  I love that tool.  Seriously, LOVE.  If I could get a t-shirt with that tool on it, I would.  I might even frame that picture up there and hang it in my dining room.  Call it fine art.  Love me a miter saw.  Its just so... so... versatile.  Powerful.  AWESOME.  

Also, please don't ask how I was able to cut such small pieces.  Apparently, I did it incorrectly, and the judges docked me accordingly.  If it happens again, I'm going to have to pay a fine.  I know, I've been warned.

ASIDE: The mention of "fines" made me think about The Steelers and how their players get fined all the time for playing real-man-football, instead of whiney-wussie-football.  Which made me remember that they released Hines Ward, which makes me sad.  Which then made me remember that the Colts released Peyton, which is just mind bottling, and very sad as well.  The NFL is going nuts, that's all I know.  Can we just agree on that? FW out.

So anyhow, today, while I was totally kicking some tail in the WTBTU game, here's what happened.  

I started with this...

31 Days: Homeowners

Mighty Conqueror Moment of the Day: When I found my camera cord.

Woot!

I haven't found the cord to the camera that is actually nice, and doesn't switch between modes on a whim (Sony has got to fix that little wheel problem), but I do have a camera that sometimes takes pictures and I can usually download them to the computer.  And so my muse has returned.

Handsome did carry me over the threshold.
Because he's sweet and humors me like that ;)

Handsome and I have been homeowners for... well, probably about 19 days now.  If I recall correctly, we moved in and spent the first night on October first.  Easy to remember.  When we moved in, it didn't really feel like home though.  As the boxes were unloaded and rooms were filled up, it began to feel like a place we were going to live, but it didn't feel any different from any of our old apartments.  

Yes, we had to sign more papers, and yes, there were some different feelings (like debt), but it didn't feel much different.  Even my excitement almost seemed forced.  There was so much work to be done, and I didn't know where to put anything... it was a crazy couple of days.

I kept looking around the place and taking stock - Nope, doesn't feel like ours yet.  Unload a couple of boxes, put the dishes in a cupboard - Nope, still not ours.  Walked around in the back yard, put in a mailbox - Nothing different.  I kept looking for that one moment when things would turn, and suddenly it would be ours.  I began to suspect that it wasn't going to happen, when suddenly...

Anybody Home??

Nope.  I'm not.

Well, technically, yes, but we've been having another few of those days (you know, where its sunny and 80 with a threat treat of thunderstorms?), and I've been BUSY BUSY BUSY outside!  So busy, that its the end of my week and I've got 43 activity points stored up in WW (if that means anything to you; to me, it means chocolate icecream).  So busy that if I had gone missing, you should be on the lookout for my forearms or back, because I'm pretty sure they're going to kill me tomorrow.

And what have I been doing?

Well, I took this:

Sad, empty garden beds from last year...

and turned them into this:

Happy, (ful)filled garden beds from this year!

*warning: the rest of this post might make you feel as tired as I do*

The happy/sad aspects of the pictures could be contributed to the fact that the one above was taken during a rain storm, and the lower one was taken in 80 degrees and sun, but I prefer to think that the garden is, in fact, happier now.

Do You KNOW??

Seriously, do you know what kind of day we're having here?  Do You?!?  

I feel like you probably don't.  Because if you did, you would be here.  

Yeah, thats right.  I said it.

The best place to be right now is where I am.  Well, not precisely where I am, because I'm in the basement of a campus building, surrounded by math and weird smells.  But in general, in the Upstate of SC today is where you want to be.  

It is GLORIOUS outside.  Its about 65, slight breeze, and sunny.  Oh, and add to that the fresh-cut grass everywhere, with the smell floating on the breeze.  And, I almost forgot, the abundance of flowering shrubs.  And the availability of sweet tea (which I've forsaken now that I'm on WW, but I might just need some soon).  AND I'm going to the farmer's market on campus today.  SO MUCH EXCITEMENT!!!

I would take a picture, save for two problems: (1) It would pale in comparison to the experience, and you'd call me a liar for labeling this day glorious, and (2) I left my camera at home.  Really, the only problem is 2.  I'd totally take a picture if I could.

So instead, I'm going to make you a collage of pictures I can find on the interweb that might come close to capturing the gloriousness of this wonderful beautiful day.

This is close.  Wait!!  We need one more picture to complete how I feel about today:

Hushpuppies.  Candy for the soul.  Done.

And yes, the hushpuppy picture is just as big as the outside collage, and yes, the size signifies each objects relative importance.

Love me for who I am,

TFW

Threat of Thunder

We had a Thunder Storm warning today in our neck of the woods.  It was a lie.  Totally disappointing.  To me at least, because I LOVE THUNDERSTORMS.  That might be understating it a bit.  I love severe weather of most kinds.

• Thunderstorms: Bring it on!
• Heat Lightning: Do your worst!
• Tornado: Want to see one in person!
• Hurricane: Sideways rain is awesome!
• Blizzard: Tell Pa to put the presents in the barn and break out the board games!

NOTE: I understand that these forms of weather can wreck havoc on people's lives, and I do not take that lightly.