Everyday Balance, Vol 3 :: Spring Edition
Grocery Shopping Day. I do not want to hear from ANYONE that there’s nothing to eat. You hear me?
This is what my husband did when I was in Washington DC. Planted an organic vegetable garden. I have always loved the thought of a garden. But for the last few years, it’s been on my To Don’t List (#14), because I was afraid it would be more like, “Look, Honey! I planted YOU a garden for YOU to maintain!” But Jon’s been great! He built it, planted everything, and has been watering it every day. I haven’t had to do a thing. Except neither of us has a clue as to when the vegetables are ready to harvest.
Like the broccoli.
And all those lettuce leaves. How do I know?
Here are the herbs that still need to be transferred to some pots by my door. I’m excited to have the herbs.
Oh look! It’s a bin of old sand toys right next to the new herbs! I forgot all about these until now. We haven’t had a sandbox in probably two years. And the lid to the bin cracked centuries ago. So, what you can’t see at the bottom of that bin is about three inches of sludge.
I have been entirely too neglectful of the maintenance and beautification of the outside of my house this spring.
Oh wait…I did find some GORGEOUS hydrangeas at Costco a few weeks ago. Only $19.99! Those beautify the front step of my house.
Tulips to beautify my kitchen.
For me, from me.
That makes it sound like my husband doesn’t buy me flowers. He does. He’s really good about that. In fact, he’s really good at buying gifts, period. Remember when I dropped the hint in this post about the MacBook Air?
Guess what I got for Mother’s Day….
What you see pictured there is the brand new computer– with a case and everything– sitting on the counter, unopened.
Because I’m scared of it.
I have a history with technological-ish things whereby I sit and try to work them by myself and end up losing about a week of my life.
If someone who is not afraid of technology would please come to my house and open this box and plug it in—and then show me how to get all my stuff from my Dell over to my Mac, well, that would be just swell of you.
Here is one of the things Elliana gave me for Mother’s Day. It’s her old shoe turned into a flower pot. Makes me want to cry.
And here is one of the hundred or so notes she has given me to tell me that she loves me.
Elijah wrote out ten reasons why I’m the best mom ever. In a world where I feel like I completely suck most days, this is good to read.
Speaking of feeling like I suck…I walked into my teenager’s room the other day and nearly came out of my skin from the mess. Instead of telling her (again) to clean her room, I decided to do the opposite. I put these right in the middle of the mess and shut the door behind me.
(Remember when George Costanza decided to do the opposite of every natural impulse and he ended up with a girlfriend and a job with the NY Yankees? Yeah, I’m gonna try that with parenting my teen and see how it turns out.)
Jon took Elliana to her first Father-Daughter dance at school. She wore her flowergirl dress from a wedding in January. She looked so adorable…
As cute as she looked, I was so excited to find out they took formal pictures for purchase at the event. Imagine, then, my sheer delight when I opened them up and found these:
Yep. We paid for those. We have wallets and 5×7’s.
Do you have an Apple store nearby? I hear that you can take courses (I think free with purchase) to learn how to operate your fancy new devices!
Yes. And actually Jon PAID FOR a One-on-One training session for me. But I’m still scared. I know it’s going to take me forever to learn how to use it. Hold me.
Tyler Rowan, you have an awesome name!
Tyler has an awesome name AND she is awesome in person. I *heart* her.
LOLOLOLOLOL
Awesome. The picture.
The garden makes me wish more than ever you were my neighbor. That & the 20 pounds I need to lose. And the wine in my fridge that wishes to be opened as I plug in your MacBook & totally convince you it’s just like your Dell only better. And easier. And hey, I I can do it…
And classes… Ugh(that’s me making the gag me with a spoon gesture) boring! So if you decide to go, fly to Houston & teach me. I’ll bring the wine.
Lisa, we could stare at my garden together with a glass of wine in hand and watch broccoli grow…
It’s the stuff that comes from the heart that really matters. I got cards, flowers, and runny, burnt pancakes. Happy Mother’s Day, Sis!
Runny, burnt pancakes are the best when they are made with little hands that think you are awesome. 🙂 Happy Mother’s Day to you, too, Sis! 🙂
The boys made the cards. Daddy made the pancakes.
Happy Birthday to Sandy’s Sister!
No Birthday, Mark. Just a late Mother’s Day wish. 🙂 But you will be good until December on her birthday wish now!
Thank you, Mark. I usually start celebrating my birthday in November. But, I’m more than happy to bump it up a few more months. 🙂
Love to see you back in action… writing a funny post!
I’m hysterical over those professional photos… oh, my… and you still bought them!
Thanks Donna! I never saw those pictures until after Jon bought them and they came home in Elliana’s back pack a few weeks later. I said to Jon, “In this world of digital photography, did you not LOOK at these before you bought them?”
And he said, “It took us like 15 minutes to take that picture. He took 2. This one was the better of the 2. So I just said, I’ll take it.”
haha.
I would have loved to see the worse one!
Apparently, Elliana was terrible…Poor Jon.
I hate to admit this but I just came back to your site so that I could giggle again… yes, at your family’s expense. My apologies. John and Elliana both looked so perfect in those two photos taken at home… you weren’t hired as the professional photographer.
Donna…that is so funny. You know every time I get a comment, I come back too, just to laugh. It is so very funny.
Oh Sandy, I’m so glad the photos you took were so good. That picture made me laugh out loud again, even after LOLing 100 times on facebook already.
LETTUCE. I planted my first garden last year, so I am no expert, but you can eat the lettuce as soon as it is big enough to cut. In fact the baby leaves are the sweetest and yummy. BUT you must cut and use it before it turns bitter. The longer it stays in the ground the more bitter it gets. So go taste it. If it is bitter don’t panic. The great thing is that lettuce grows back!!! Just cut it with a sharp knife close to the base and it should grow back. I have no idea about the broccoli though.
Thank you for the lettuce tips!! (also known as “lettuce tips,” as in the kind that you cut off and eat??) That was such a lame joke.
So, by “big enough to cut” do you mean like a couple inches? I keep looking for it to grow as big as bunches I see in the stores. I don’t know…
Little leaves are yummy. Think those organic baby lettuces in the plastic containers.
Just taste it. If it tastes good cut it and make a salad.