Monday, June 15, 2009

A Brand New Week





Yes yes, no more whining about life like I did last week. I am over my epidural pain and am going to start this week off on the right foot. Even if I start it off on the left foot, I expect this to be a better week for me. The photos above are from the storm last evening. Surprisingly it sailed on by without leaving a drop of rain here, although I could see it falling in the distance. Sigh. I think I am safe in saying that right now, James and I are both preoccupied with thoughts about our yard- he with the grass, me with the flowers.

Our yard is doing wonderfully, and I owe it all to my husband, who works as hard at home as he does in the business world. I am so thankful to have him, especially when it comes time to mow the lawn! I do have photos of him mowing this weekend, topless, but I promised him I wouldn't post them. So instead, the photos below are a big reason I am so grateful to him. These are our side yards. And trust me, the back yard falls off even more. Out of our 1.6 acres, of which he mows with a push mower (we sold our riding mower in 2007), only the small square in the front is semi-flat. I don't think I could mow this lawn even on my best day. James is doing a great job on the yard here, and if you drive down our street, you can easily see where our yard ends and the neighbors' begins (hint: ours is a LOT greener).





Sunday was a good day around here. That morning James had to go in and work for just a bit, less than an hour, so I rode with him and hung out in his office while he did his project. We then drove over to Peachtree City and had an early lunch at Smokey Bones, a really great BBQ restaurant. Everything on the menu looked great, but I promised myself I was going to get a salad (but I would rather have had a pulled pork sandwich with mayo!) and they had very interesting choices.

The one I got was called the Nutty Chicken Salad- made with nice green lettuce (not crappy iceberg) and chicken, dried cranberries, pecans, strawberries, goat cheese, red onions, and a honey Dijon dressing. The waitress asked if I wanted the full or half portion. I said half please! And as soon as she walked away I thought, damn, I should have gotten the full size. But, turns out half was plenty, and it was a yummy salad and I left a BBQ restaurant without being bloated and stuffed. Triumph! I looked up the nutrish info on their website, and for the full size salad it had 800 calories, so looks like I made a good decision. Of course, I was drooling as I sat and watched my husband eat this gorgeous hamburger across the table from me...

(I also learned that all Wal-Marts are not created equal, as we stopped in at the Peachtree City Wally World. An item we had just purchased at the Newnan Wal-Mart for $6 was $9 at their Wal-Mart???)

But that's where my good decisions ended, and as we spent the afternoon watching the NASCAR race, I snacked on not so good things. My fault, because the snacks were in the house to begin with. I am not going to fret over it, though. I was not able to go to Weight Watchers on Friday because I still was not up to driving yet, so this week I really think I will see great results at weigh in. I am going to really hit the treadmill and walking trails this week, now that I'm feeling better. I've got to start walking outside, just to get out of the house and get some sunshine and fresh air!

Today is errand day, or as my hubby and I always joke, the day I spend with my "boyfriend Erin" (inside joke, only funny to us), so I'm headed to the pharmacy, the dry cleaner, the craft store, and Kroger's to indulge in their 10 for $10 sale this week. It looks like it will be a beautiful day here again, and as always there is our daily 30% chance of rain that has so far bypassed us every day. Looks like I will be watering the flowers by hand tonight, a chore I actually am starting to enjoy.

Hope everyone has a great Monday. Below are photos I took this morning in the garden. I'm not much for pink, but it seems as though that's all I have blooming right now! Enjoy!

PS- Does anyone know if deer eat pepper plants? Something is eating the tops and leaves off my pepper plants out back, and I know we have deer. Would they eat something like that? My hands smell peppery when I touch the plants, I can only assume it tastes that way as well, I couldn't believe deer would eat it?!








6 comments:

  1. Your yard looks just great, wish mine was that nice. If the leaves are young and tender, yes the deer will eat them. I still think you ought to let me build you a feeder and feed them corn....then they eat that...ha

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  2. Wow---I'm so proud of you Sandy. You are turning over a new leaf. But--don't beat yourself up. A move is hard---in the best of conditions. We females just have to work our way through it the best way we can!!!!! When you start to get a little 'blue'--just get outside and work in the dirt!!!!

    Your home is gorgeous... WOW!!!! We have deer too--and they will eat most anything. BUT--there are other critters which eat things too--such as woodchucks (groundhogs) and rabbits. I'm not sure about your pepper plants --but I think if it were deer, you'd notice more things being munched on. I don't know for sure, but it sounds like a Groundhog to me...

    I've been to Smokey Bones... I'm sure proud of you just getting a salad there. WOW!!!!! I love their pulled pork.

    Have a great 'errand' day!!!
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  3. Great pics of your beautiful flowers...thanks for sharing!
    I'd think the deer would have eaten those beautiful day lilies before the pepper plants. Those are like "candy" to them!!

    Have a great day!

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  4. I did have a few lilies on the side yard get chewed up, and I suspected the deer. I thought the peppers would be safe, they are right under our deck. But, I know the deer are getting into my bird feeders (cleaning them out overnight) and drinking from the bird bath (again, the water is gone overnight). Perhaps my dad is right, I need to build something to feed the deer what I want them to eat, and not my plants!!

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  5. Love the dahlias, one of my favorite flowers. I can't believe your husband moves your HUGE yard with a push mower, what a feat!

    Glad to hear you are in better spirits today.

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  6. Wonderful pics from the storm passing through.

    Yeah, I think the deer will munch most any green plants from your garden, as well as the flowers. My folks have deer come into their yard and they eat everything.

    I do hope you start feeling more "at home" in your new town. I know when we moved to AZ it was because of my hubby's job. I didn't really know what to expect. It has taken many years to establish a very few close friendships. Thankfully, once my daughter was born and got into school, it offered the opportunity to get to know more people. Some I hit it off with - others, well lets just say there are others, if you know what I mean!!

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