Orange Crush

If you are a true Denver Bronco fan then you know that the only color that comes after blue is orange. So that is what I went with. I was sooo excited to try orange that as soon as I got off work (9:15pm) I took off to Target looking for the perfect orange and I think I found it. (LOL - I totally forgot that I had this shirt) It is "Cloud 9" by SinfulColors Professional. I do have to say that I am not as self-concious with this color as I was with the blue. Even though to me its a crazy color I think I will wear this one again. But with the blue I did feel a bit free - as in when it started to chip I wasn't running to repolish it, acutally I didn't repolish at all. Maybe because since I felt that it was an unfeminine color it didn't deserve my extra time. Hmm interesting. Well anyhow, stay tuned for my next color. I wonder what it will be.

Out of the Mouth - Out of the Heart?

We have all done it - lost our tempers or had a "slip of the toungue" but did we really? Is it just once in awhile or is it constant? It is one thing to just joke around with your close friends/family but I'm talking about the act of .... rudeness (for lack of better words). Constant malicious & selfish behavior. I work as a front desk person so I tend to people on  a person/person basis and I have heard it from both sides of the desk. It is easy for me to respond kindly to a person that is having an off day when I spend a total of 10 mins with them but it is the ones that I see on a regular basis - those are the ones that I can see their true colors and have a harder time being ...polite. But with these (and actually every person) I try to pass through what they said to why they said it. Not to what happened that moment but what is it in their life that made them respond to this particular situation like that. Illness, marriage, kids or are they really just... mean- it helps me to navigate people better. But what do they see when they speak with me? Now, I am by design a bit  *wink*  sassy but I am not intentially evil. So I do have to be carefull about what I am saying and how that is being perceived. "Well if people don't like me that's their problem!", is usually the comments that I hear, and not from the younger generation either. Which is heartbreaking. But is it really? Or is it really your problem? It is true that you can not change or govern someone else but you can change and govern yourself. You can choose what kind of reaction you have to a given situation. Why would you let someone else take away your God given grace. Changing your response might not change that person but it keeps you from falling out of God's loving arms. Jesus said "not what enters into [his] mouth that defiles a man; but what proceeds out of [his] mouth that defiles a man." {Mat 15:11} What goes into your mouth passes through the system and comes out but what comes out of your mouth comes from your heart. WOW! Now that gives you a bit of something to think about. You might say, "But that person made me angry and that is why I..." and fill the blanks. If that is the case then shame on you! Shame on you for allowing someone else to influence you that way. Can you imagine how bleek our world would be if Jesus said, "Well of course I bowed down to Satan - he had a convincing arguement." Allowing someone to sway you is not all bad but is it in the direction that you wish to go? If the answer is no - then figure out another path to take!       Shabbat Shalom! {Sabbath Peace}

My Secret Garden

I've still haven't gotten our veggie garden together and I'm not too sure if I'm going to get it in before the scorching heat of the summer comes which means I'm going to have to wait on the veggies until the fall. But here are some pics of what it looks like now.

My beautiful hybiscus - I feel like I'm in the tropics when this blooms.

If there is anything in this world I can do - it would be growing roses.

All natural - Thank you very much.

Daisy, Daisy always amazing     ;p

My vitamin C supply

My one and only .... lemon

It's a jungle out there

And when I look up - the view I see

Someone being nosey   ;p

A Dog, A Cat, A Fish and A Bird

When I was younger I always wanted to have a huge plot of land and rescue every single animal. I would even cry when my little brothers would step on the ant hills - mind you if an ant is in the home then its open season because they have the whole outside to live in. Anyhow we used to live in apartments who the only pets we had were beta fish (so that we could only have 1 at time - since betas are agressive fish you are only to have 1 at a time) one jumped from his bowl in a kamakazzi frenzy to escape his captures and live a free life but didn't plan it too well since he landed on the floor and nobody was home to rescue him. Yup - that was a fun day. Or the time our sweet daughter put her fish bowl a bit too close to her space heater because she heard that it was going to be really cold that night and snow (we lived in Colorado at the time) and she wanted to keep her fish warm. Yup - that was a noisy day. Or when we came home and the hampster got out of his cage and was never found - for all we know he ran off with a squirrel and lived happily ever after. And all this time there is one pet that the kids have always wanted - the one that has eluded them even with persistant pleading. That is right - a dog. Well about 11 years ago our daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and almost died (like would not have made it through the night) well what was the thing she asks for in the hospital - body covered with I-Vs - that bloody dog. Well we chose a Beagle (wow you better not have neighbors that mind the baying) - this dog was a full breed & had all sorts of neurosis (attachment disorder, epilepsy and had a fear of spaces - mostly crates) anyhow his name was Arnold. (From Life Goes On) He was a good dog when we were all together - poor thing would pace from room to room if we were not in the same room - just checking up on us. So our vet suggested to get him fixed and maybe a companion so that he had another dog to play with when we were gone or he would need to be medicated all the time. And so down to the pound we went & got him...

Ice, Ice Baby ...

Especially since I'm feeling a little bit under the weather - the nip in the air is going right through me. I am not much for medicines so I rely heavily on food to get me better. I don't mind taking vitamins but if my stomach is queasy - a belly full of vitamins just doesn't sit right. Cooking chicken soup - using bullions for my stock seasoning & frozen along with fresh veggies & I'm going to go with instant brown rice rather than pasta and along with some bread I made last week & my Mr. will think I spent 1/2 the day cooking and will reward me with a foot rub. *Wink* But for now I'm bundled to the hilt, listening to Into the Mystic by Van Morrison and the rain outside and eating some granola I made last week. This recipe is sooo simple and soo delicious.

 All you'll need is: 4 c of rolled oats, 1/2 c oil (I use olive), 1/2 c water, 2 tbsp honey, 1 tsp vanilla - this is your base - everything else is flexible. Mix your liquids together along with the oats and any seeds or nuts (I put in flax and sunflower) you want to put in 1/4 to 1 cup of each, and if you want any coconut flakes, bran flakes or spices (I use ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg) add it now. I don't put salt in my food but you can add about 1tsp. Spread in a large lasagna container (so that when you stir - none spills out) in a slow oven (300*) stirring every 15 mins for about 1 hr to 1 1/4hrs (until the ixture is golden brown and slightly crunchy). Cool the pan on a wire rack and then  * AND ONLY THEN * do you add your fruits (I put 1 c each of raisins and apricots) or the fruit will get gummy YUK!! Store in an airtight container and enjoy anytime. I even put mine over yogurt but mostly I eat it with milk or almond milk. YUM - YUM!! My Mr eats it with his hands so I don't break up the chunks too much so they are more like nuggets. It is relatively inexpensive because you don't need to by anything fancy for it and a bit healthy since you can monitor what goes in it. You could use less oil and use fruit juice instead but you will need to play with it. I just like the fact I can read every single ingredient - I hate prepared foods that I don't know what is in it. Well, I'm ready for a second bowl. ;p

Oh - Cool Idea

I forgot to show you this - it is a way that I "save" my bread. Ok the reason that bread gets hard is because of air and moisture makes it soft and moldy. Well I picked up this neat little trick.

You'll need a zip bag that fits your bread and a straw. First you place your bread in the bag and seal the corners and then you place a straw in the middle (making sure that the bag is sealed really good) then you start to suck the air out of the bag and when you can't take out any more air you quickly take out the straw and viola' - a sealed loaf of bread! Niftey trick huh! TIP make sure your bread is cool if not then it holds in the steam and your beauiful bread will spoil quicker    :_(

Blue Blue Days

In my quest to toe outside my small little box - I have been very bold. Are you ready - drum roll - here it is!!

That is right blue little nails and I have been feeling quite silly wearing this polish. I am a pink, blush, nude nailpolish kind of a girl so this is EXTREME for me but I wanted to get out of that mind set, I want to be able to wear the fun spring colors and be ok wearing them.I borrowed this color from my daughter she is the young, hip person with all these crazy colors (yellow, green, blue) the color is from Sally Hansen Calypso Blue and  as a polish it is very good - so far no chipping but the brush is big so it is good for toes but if you don't have a decent nail bed you'll get polish everywhere  ;p I was waiting for someone to say something about it but nobody gave it a second thought but still I have been feeling a little insecure (ok alot insecure) about it - which is why I am still wearing it. To me I just don't feel femine wearing it and there is no need for me to feel this way -to me wild color nailpolish isn't femine but I shouldn't have such a small part of my body define me as a whole. Right?  I LOVE LOVE LOVE the color blue, as you can see by the picture, my phone (the rumor 2 by sprint - it is the cooolest thing ever! and purposeley picked the blue over red/pink) and my sweater (which is my first non-pattern sweater I made it out of Bernat Baby Coordinate in Blue Bon Bon and it is sooo soft) is just a few things that I have that is blue - so why does it bother me so much wearing it as a polish?  Atleast I can say that I am adventuresome enough to have tried it. Geez I don't know if I survive my little torture experiment.