Puppy Photoshoot

A few weeks ago, I got my very first SLR.  After pestering all of my coworkers and several camera-toting friends, I settled on this - the Canon XSi.  It has everything I need, and then some.  I wanted a nice camera that would last a long time; something I wouldn't outgrow too quickly, but was easy enough to use for a beginner.  I contemplated the Nikon D5000 and D90 models for a while, but was convinced that a Canon was the way to go since I have a couple of Canon owners in the family who have *very* nice lenses that they're willing to lend. 

So anyway, I got the camera in the mail several weeks ago and after fiddling around with it some the very first night, I was a little worried I'd bought a very expensive paper weight.  I had no idea how to use the thing and the photos I was taking (inside, at night) weren't any better than my little point and shoot. 

Well, after reading some good entry-level photography articles and a quick tutorial from 'lil sis, I feel like I'm starting to figure it out.  My Dad loaned me his 50mm EF f/1.4 lens, which is GREAT for indoor shots.  I got some fun photos of my favorite furry subjects...

 

  

  

  

  

  

 

Meet Cypress

After our last successful weim fostering experience, Matt finally caved and let me get a new foster dog. 

I talked to the area foster coordinator for Weim Rescue and had to choose between two dogs - Gaylord, a sweet, well-socialized male, or Cypress, a younger (and more energetic) female who had been kenneled since September due to lack of foster homes.  I was initially leaning towards Gaylord, but we chose Cypress since she needed a foster home more.

Boy, was I in for a surprise!  In a lot of ways, she's is completely different from Charlie.  She's sleek,  high-strung, graceful, very energetic, and likes to antagonize Tyson and Ace.  In other ways, they are a lot alike.  Both are stubborn, sneaky, and quite affectionate.

Even though she has about 100 times more energy than Charlie, I think she's actually a bit easier to handle.  For one simple reason... she's crate-trained!  She goes right into her crate, lies down calmly, and often falls asleep.  We can put her in there while we eat dinner, vacuum, or when she gets too excited.  She's definitely got the potential to be a bit more destructive than Charlie ever was (he could be left alone inside all day with no problems), but it's nice to be able to put her in the crate and not worry about what she could be destroying while I'm at work.

Cypress, like Charlie, came into rescue heartworm positive.  The Southeast is one of the worst places for heartworm infection.  I don't know why people don't use heartworm prevention!  It's so easy, and fairly inexpensive.  The treatment is not.  It's also very hard on the dogs (they have to be confined with no physical activity for two months).

These two spend most of their time wishing they had the other's bone/chewie/toy/etc.

Cypress's heartworm infection is the only reason I can think of that someone might have turned her into a shelter (a kill shelter, no less).  Someone has obviously spent some time with her.  Besides the crate-training, she also knows sit, stay, and go away.  She's been a pleasure to have around the house.  She's a little bit alpha, and tends to harass "the boys" a bit, but she's still a very sweet dog.  She's also beautiful.  I could watch her run for hours, she's just so gorgeous.

Come over and meet her!

Be Still My Soul

I've been humming this tune in my head for days now.  I finally had a free minute to look up the lyrics, most of which I couldn't remember. 

My favorite line(s): "Leave to thy God to order and provide; In every change, He faithful will remain."  Sometimes we just need a nice reminder that we can't do everything ourselves and it's best not to try. 

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

Runnin' Shoes

Who knew that picking out shoes could be so complicated?   

Before last month, I always bought my sneakers based on which ones were the cutest and on sale.  Not again.

For the last year or so, I had noticed an increasingly common occurrence... my feet hurt during Amanda's Body Attack classes.  The arches and balls of my feet would ache through all of the countless rounds of plyometric lunges and jumping jacks.  Manda took me to Fleet Feet last year to get some inserts for my gym shoes.  They made a difference... but only for a little while.

Finally, I went back up to Fleet Feet for one of their "fittings".   I haven't had someone measure my feet since I was a kid and my parents bought my shoes at Stride Right (where if you wore a hole through your shoes on the playground before you outgrew them, they'd replace them for free), and wasn't sure what to expect.    I don't normally like someone touching my feet unless they're giving me a pedicure or foot massage!

They measured each foot multiple times and talked about arch settling and foot shapes.  Then, they had me run on their video camera-equipped treadmill and recorded me.  They played it back very slowly, analyzing my gate, foot placement, and all sorts of other intricacies that I've never considered before.  I just sat there wondering, "What the heck is pronation, anyway?"

Finally, they brought out several different pairs of shoes that matched my foot type and gave the support I was looking for.  I picked the ones I liked best, a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspires, and held my breath as I checked out.

Several weeks later, I am still in love with these shoes.  I've done several of Manda's classes, run on the treadmill, and not had a moment where I thought about my feet.  In fact, I think that I went a little too hard the first day and wore out the rest of my body because my feet weren't hurting.

This kind of thing is probably a no-brainer for serious runners, but it was all a new experience to me.  I can't say enough good things about Fleet Feet; I think I'll be buying my tennis shoes from them from now on.

Switcheroo

A lot of talk today was about the decision by an Alabama congressman to switch parties.  What's caught a lot of people's attention is the fact that he's switching to the minority party.

That sounds like crazy talk!  Why would you switch to the minority party?  Well, you switch to the minority party when your district is pissed off at the spending and over-reaching government control being pushed by the majority party.  You switch parties when you know that you might get your butt handed to you in the next election simply because of your party affiliation. 

The Republicans  welcomed Parker Griffith to the Republican Party with open arms, but Politico remembers:

"The National Republican Congressional Committee poured in $514,000 to air ads attacking Griffith, including one that suggested he was soft on Islamic terrorism.

"And the committee raised questions about whether Griffith engaged in medical malpractice when it released decades-old documentation accusing his cancer center of underdosing patients with radiation so that he could collect more money."

That's a lot of money to spend on ads like this, only to sing a different tune a year later.

This is what's so frustrating about Republicans - they want to win so bad that they'll take anyone who wants to caucus with them regardless of what they said about them during the last election and without reviewing their full voting history.  Glenn Thrush sums it up:

"While the left is dismissing Parker Griffith as an unreliable Democrat who often sided with Republicans on big issues, one Democratic aide points out that Griffith actually voted with Speaker Nancy Pelosi 85 percent of the time.

"According to these rankings compiled by washingtonpost.com, Griffith has a higher party loyalty score than Democratic Reps. Heath Shuler (N.C.), Frank Kratovil (Md.), Glenn Nye (Va.), Harry Mitchell (Ariz.), Gene Taylor (Miss.) and Walt Minnick (Idaho)."

Yeah, Griffith voted against the most recent big bills pushed by the Democrats: cap and trade, healthcare, the final TARP bill, but he voted for Pelosi as Speaker of the House, for SCHIP, for most of the TARP spending measures, and against all of the amendments limiting spending.  He also campaigned on the fact that he is a doctor and thinks everyone should have health care coverage.

Griffith only started changing his voting after his constituents caught wind and pitched a royal fit.  He met with lots of angry voters at town hall meetings this summer and had to make a strong (new) stance against any government healthcare takeover.

Note to Republicans: it always helps to check the facts and the past history.  Anyone willing to change their "convictions" based on the latest political poll is not usually someone you want in your party long term.

On the other hand, check out Les Phillip.  He's an immigrant, former Navy pilot, Christian, and staunch social and fiscal conservative.

Manda Panda

My sister is... wait for it... AWESOME.  Just recently, she succumbed to our repeated requests for a private photoshoot.

After Matt's church photo session turned out like this, we decided that we needed a professional who knew us just a little better to take our picture.

We haven't had pictures taken since we got married, 5 1/2 years ago, and this was well overdue.

She came to the house to shoot us (we originally planned to head downtown and take all sorts of cool, artistic shots, but life got in the way and we ran out of time).  We even got a few with "the boys", and afterward, she used her Photoshop magic and took out all sorts of blinks, blemishes, and wrinkles.   

So, please admire the talents of my beautiful, and incredibly gifted kid sister.  She's awesome, don't ya think?

The Second Lady

I usually say that I love politics.  However, I've been annoyed with our politicians a good bit lately; it's basically to the point where I'm so frustrated with every single thing they do (both sides), that I can't stand to read or hear anything about the current legislation being drafted, debated, and voted on.

And then I saw this story last weekend and really enjoyed it.  It gave new insight on the vice president and his wife.

It's really easy to form our opinions of public figures based on their politics or public gaffes, but sometimes you might feel a little differently about them when you hear something about their personal natures.

Take Vice President Joe Biden.  I knew the general story of how he was widowed when his boys were very young, his first wife and young daughter died in a car wreck at the beginning of his political career.  But other than that, all I knew about his second wife was that she was prone to occasionally sticking her foot in her mouth just like her husband.  (Remember when she told everyone that Biden was offered the Secretary of State job after Obama was elected?)

Now, knowing that even though she's married to the Vice President of the United States of America and still works as an English professor at a community college, I have a different opinion of her.  Not many women could make that claim.  The story of how she and Joe began dating and finally got married also showed a softer side of our VP.

I also like their admitted use of 3M products!  Scotch Tape!


Watch CBS News Videos Online

While discussing this piece on the Bidens, my father brought up another incident showing V.P. Biden's decency.  In 2001, there was a fierce debate on the passage of Bush's budget which was going well into the night, and every vote counted.  Senator Strom Thurmond, who was 98 years old at the time, was fading quickly and it was apparent that he might collapse if forced to stay for a vote.  Then-Senator Biden offered to leave with Thurmond, so that their votes would cancel each other out.  For a recap, see here.

I'm tired of elected officials dropping their responsibilities to run around on their wives and children, calling stewardesses names and generally acting like first-class jerks!  Just when you begin to feel like there is no decency left in politics, it's nice to be reminded of a few past examples of common courtesy, even if they don't always act that way.

Charlie Has a Home!

Charlie was adopted over the weekend by the Gills, who were looking for a playmate for their dog, Bella.

Charlie is a great dog, and I miss him already. He is very sweet-natured and loves to have his neck scratched. We had some adjustments to make, such as always keeping an old rag handy to wipe his mouth after drinking to avoid the slobber wipes on our pants and my homework. He also kept us on our toes in the kitchen - stealing a Subway sandwich off of the counter, disseminating the contents of the trash can, and ripping into bags of flour and cornmeal when we forgot to close the pantry door.

Sleeping has been a little quieter at our house the last few nights. Charlie would circle and paw at his bed, trying to find just the right spot. Then, he'd bump into the wall or dresser, making a lot of noise as he finally laid down. No more nose nudges at eye-level to ask to go out at 5:30 AM - the other two are too short to reach.

Ace will especially miss having his partner in crime, who pulled out this board, allowing Ace to roam the neighborhood pond for several days. We didn't catch him right away because he would come back home in the afternoons so that he would be sure to get his dinner! That story could've been a whole post on its own, but as you can see, I haven't posted in a LONG time!

Thanks to Lynne, the eternal matchmaker, Charlie now has a built-in playmate, Bella, and a wonderful new forever home.

"We're gonna be in the Hudson"

If you'd asked me one year ago if a person could land an Airbus A320 with 155 people on board in a river without killing anyone I would have said that it was absolutely impossible.

Now, I'm no pilot, but I do have a degree in Avaition Management and therefore had quite a few classes dealing with flight, crew resource management, crashes and and a varity of subjects avaition related. I've seen the news, photos and the following incredible animation of US Air flight 1549 landing in the Hudson and I STILL have an increadibly hard time beliving that they actually pulled it off. The pilots certainly deserve TONS of credit for the way this turned out, but I'm convinced that they weren't the ones determining the outcome that day.

I just found this today and had to share... Here's an amazing 3D animation of US Air flight 1549.





There is a bunch more info HERE.

One note that really stood out to me was this line:

"The Branta Canadensis [Canada Goose] has an average mass of about 3700 grams. At the time of impact, the closure rate between Flight 1549 and the flock of birds was approximately 120 m/s [meters per second]. The kinetic energy dissipated by collision with a single bird would be approximately 27,000 Joules. This is about the same amount of energy as a 2,000 pound car traveling 17 mph."

That's just ONE bird. If you've ever tried to push a car to get it rolling at just 2 mph you know how much force is required Also, for comparison, car bumper tests are commonly done at 5 mph. This was a HUGE ammount of force to hit an entire flock of Canada Geese.

Wow. Those guys did an amazing bit of flying that day.

Notes Left Behind

Get out a tissue, because this story is a tearjerker.

Notes Left Behind is a collection of letters written by a beautiful six-year-old girl who was diagnosed with a fatal form of brain cancer that she hid for her family to find after she had died.

When their then five-year-old daughter was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer, the Desserichs decided to start a journal so that their youngest daughter would never forget her loving older sister.  What they didn't know was that Elena was secretly writing notes and drawing pictures that she hid all over her home and her relatives' homes, tucked in between the pages of books, inside bags of Christmas decorations, cupboards, and anywhere else she could think of.

Within days after Elena's death, her family began finding the notes - hundreds of them so far - addressed to different family members and with messages as simple as "I love you"

'She was a child who was wise beyond her years,' said Mr Desserich. 'I hate to think she knew she was dying but I think she did.'

'I think the notes were her way of telling us that everything would be OK,' added Mrs Desserich.  'It feels like a hug from her every time we find one.'

'We don't ever want to find the last note,' said Mr Desserich. 'I hope we keep on finding them for years to come.'

...In fact, both parents have saved one unopened note from Elena which they carry with them in their briefcases.

'It's our way of saving the last note,' said Mrs Desserich.  

About a year and a half ago, Matt was playing with a framed photo of  Amanda and me as kids that sits in our living room and discovered a secret letter that Amanda had written and hidden when she gave me the photo as a gift before I left for college.

As I read it, tears streamed down my face.  Amanda was so excited for me, moving off from home and on to college, but she also talked about how much she would miss me and how things would never again be quite the same. She spoke of how hard it would be having the sister that she looked up to move away and start a new part of life without her.  But mostly, she told me how much she loved me and how much it meant to her to have me as her sister.  I never knew she felt any of that, and reading those words (even years later) made me feel so loved. 

I don't keep a journal or anything like that, but I definitely think that there is value to writing down your feelings at various times.  It's easy to forget what something was like after time has passed, and it's even harder to re-articulate those long-passed feelings to someone else. 

Write a note to someone.  Tell your friends how much you appreciate them.  Tell your loved ones that you love them.  Tell your spouse how much he (or she) means to you.  They'll never know it if you don't tell them.

Write Your Senators and Representatives

With a possible vote on the proposed House health care bill (H.R. 3962 or Affordable Health Care for America Act) this Saturday, you need to take the time to voice your opinion (whatever it is) to your representatives.

Here's a copy of the letter that I sent my Congressman.  I also plan to call him and my Senators.

Dear Rep. (So-and-So),

I strongly urge you NOT to vote for the House health bill, introduced by the House Democrats. 

We cannot afford a public option, nor do we need one - ever. 

We need to lower costs so that individuals can purchase (or not, it's up to them!) health care ON THEIR OWN. 

We cannot afford to insure non-citizens, period. 

We have a moral obligation to our citizens to never spend federal (or state) tax dollars to fund abortions. 

Forcing insurers to cover pre-existing conditions will also lead to the downfall of the private health insurance industry (and added expenses to those responsibly purchasing health care on their own) and force the country into a government-run program. 

We need more doctors and nurse practitioners, higher access to insurance plans across the country, increased use of and access to medical flex plans, and no more government involvement in health care!

Please do not vote for the House Bill, even with any "amendments" or revisions.  This horrible plan cannot be edited into a good one.

I believe that voting for this bill (or any form of it) will surely result in the election of a fiscally conservative Independent or Republican to your congressional seat next year.

Sincerely,

Rebecca H.

Do you like the proposed health care plan(s)?  Do you even know what's in them?    Please, please take the time to find out. 

You don't have to agree with me on the health care debate, but your opinion still matters.  A quick phone call or email will only take a minute.  You can't complain about the state of affairs of our government if you don't express your opinion (and vote!).

For a list of the contact info for US Senators, see here.  To find your Congressman, see here.
Several of the (current) bills are posted here in their entirety. 
GOP Plan Summary here.

The Zoo

Welcome to my zoo.

We just got our new foster dog, Charlie.

Charlie's story breaks my heart.  He's gone from home to home.  He was rescued by Weimaraner Rescue of the South this past spring, and was heart-worm positive.  He's got some scars on his legs, may have experienced a broken leg, and probably suffers from arthritis.  He's a big 95-lb. gentle giant; he's really the calmest, most gentle dog I've ever met.  Even high-strung Ace is getting along with him (a miracle).

I think because Charlie has been abandoned so many times, he gets upset when he doesn't know where you are.  He barks if you don't let him back into the house right away after his bathroom break, follows you throughout the house, and cries when you leave him alone. I hope that with time some of that will go away.  We've also learned that giving him a peanut butter-filled Kong greatly helps with any separation anxiety (at least until he eats all of the peanut butter, anyway).

Isn't Charlie a funny name for a dog?  I like it because our pastor, and favorite Charlie ever, shares the same name.  (A high honor for Charlie The Dog).  Plus, Charlie is really a people name, not a dog name.  :o)  It's like my friends' cat, Bob.  Just makes you laugh to say it.

Why are we fostering?  I've always wanted a weimaraner.  When we first got married, we lived in an apartment in Dallas and Matt said that I could get a dachshund as a compromise.  That's how we got Tyson.  Ace was a rescue (dumped in the middle of the road on busy 6th Avenue in Decatur).  Two dogs is really plenty, and Matt had a "no more dogs" rule to protect me from becoming the crazy dog lady.  He did give in, though, when I asked him about fostering.  Weim Rescue has over 50 dogs right now and about 15 of them didn't even have foster homes (where the dog lives until someone adopts them), which is costing them an arm and a leg in boarding fees.  I figured that fostering would allow us to help a dog in need, and also give us an opportunity to know for sure if we could handle such a large breed in the future.

If you've thought about getting a dog, why don't you consider rescue?  You can get wonderful mixed breed pets locally at the shelter or even find a breed-specific rescue, like Weim Rescue and Dixie Dachshund Rescue if you want a specific type of dog. They make wonderful pets (many of the adults are already house-broken) and all need loving homes.

Back to the Grind

The last month or so has been an emotional and physical roller coaster.  I just haven't had the heart (or the time) to blog.

I love my blog - I love having a place that I can post about those random things that come up in our lives or something interesting that I read somewhere, sharing it with the five of you who actually care enough to read it.  ;)  I love reading everyone else's blogs - the stories of what is happening in your lives, the recipes, the fun pictures and opinions on current events.

Yet over the last several weeks, I just haven't really kept up with everything.  School work, house work, relationships, and everything else has really been weighing heavily on me.  I feel overwhelmed and am stressed that I can't handle everything on my own.

I usually feel like I can balance it all and remain pretty care-free, but I've had a tough few weeks.  I think I'm starting to come out of the funk, and back into the light.  Having a loving husband sure has helped ground me and keep me sane.  What would I do without him?  I really thank God for giving me such a wonderful life partner and best friend.  I could not have done better on my own.

Photo compliments of Mrs. Pie Photography.

So, what have we been up to over the last few weeks?

Not much time for political article reading or blog topic musings lately.  I've mostly just been running around with my head cut off.

I got a break from class, but not a break from homework last week.  I also hit the I-don't-feel-like-doing-ANYTHING wall and have been forcing myself to work on the assignments a little at a time.  Yuck. Our house is a medium-level wreck and we've got multiple loads of laundry to wash, dry, and put away.  Our kitchen floor desperately needed a hands-and-knees scrubbing and I've got some plants that have been begging to be put in the ground for weeks.  All in good time, my dears.

Matt went to Atlanta two and a half weeks ago to finish the roll cage in the "race car" with his brother and then to the farm with my Dad this past weekend.  They did all kinds of fun "farmer stuff" and broke in my dad's new tractor.  Matt's been fighting a cold, but it hasn't gotten him down enough to miss much work or play time.

My dad got one of these, a Kubota 4740.

We also got a foster dog, Charlie.  We applied over a month ago, and after the vet reference check, phone and home interviews, we finally got this monster of a dog.  He's the sweetest thing ever, but I'm wiping up a lot of drool.

Pants on Fire

Who says you have to teach kids how to make up stories? 



It was a traumatic experience being kidnapped, "changed up", and forced to watch the battery of my Dad's flashlight slowly burn out.  The memories still haunt me; the deep southern drawl I have forgotten.

Scarred for life, I tell ya.

Car Speak

I know I tend to get a little too technical when I start talking cars. If you've ever thought I sound like these guys, I apologize greatly.



This is what it sounds like to me when people start talking about how computer software works. Or RADAR.

Matt

Flower Bed Re-do, A Year Later

Last fall, Matt helped me with my most ambitious flower bed install/makeover.  We basically doubled the square-footage of tilled bed space for this feat.  I'm happy with the way it all turned out, and am looking forward to seeing it all fill in over the next couple of years. 

I don't have any good pictures of everything in full bloom, but here's how it all looks now (and as it did last year).

First up was the west-facing side of this fence.  It had three puny crepe myrtle "volunteers" that a co-worker dug up and donated from her garden.  We planted those suckers by simply scraping back some of the brick-hard clay and plopping them down.  They didn't hardly grow in the two years that they were there, so we dug them up, tilled the ground really well, added lots of soil amendments, and then put two of them back in along with three yellow roses and a whole assortment of purple and yellow daylilies.

 Before. Puny pink crepe myrtle seedlings.

 

After.  The roses have grown so fast that they're already larger than the 
crepe myrtles (who had to recover from their transplant).

These roses have been a real show-stopper.  They have bloomed non-stop all  year long since early spring.  I have not sprayed or fertilized them and they've been completely disease-free.  I highly recommend planting 'Sun Flare', a pretty yellow floribunda rose.  The daylilies all did well  too, but will be even better next year as the clumps settle in.  They're all reblooming varieties.

 'Sun Flare'

The back side of the same fence now boasts a hydrangea/daylily bed.  It's got four hydrangeas - two 'Royal Purple' mopheads in the middle and lace-caps ('Kardinal' and 'Eisvogel') on the ends.  The daylilies are planted in sets of three - alternating between a combination of one/two each of 'Grape Magic' and 'Rosy Returns'.  I also have a couple of lenten rose and like to keep pansies mixed in this bed as well.

 Hydrangeas and daylilies. 

Same bed, from a different angle.

We expanded the bed behind the house out a few feet and added the brick edging.  I moved the gardenias and 'Forever and Ever' hydrangeas that were in front of the house to this bed and took out almost all of the pre-existing perennials.  The hydrangeas are much happier now with afternoon shade, although they and the gardenias weren't too happy to be moved.  Now I just have to figure out how to make that one gardenia fill back in where it died back from the transplant (anyone got any good suggestions??).

Before, with black plastic edging.

 After the bed was lengthened and deepened, with brick edging added, 
shrubs relocated, and original perennials removed.  You can see my 
unhappy 'Cinco de Mayo' tree rose (needs to be fertilized), and angry gardenia (from transplanting).

I also took the climbing roses out and moved them so that they now hang over the back fence (they needed to be sprayed every other week and were also getting to be a hazard for people/dogs/kids walking on the patio or laying in the hammock), and added Confederate Jessamine, Madison Jasmine, and several different clematis cultivars to the three trellises.  

 Before.

 

After.

I expanded the far back bed to have an extra "hump" in it, where I put most of the perennials that were against the house, in addition to several new perennials and my David Austin roses.

The part of the bed to the right of the bag of compost was added last fall.

We also recently added a line of "Muskogee" crepe myrtles, which will provide a nice screen of privacy along the fence.  Muskogee grows very quickly and blooms for 120 days straight!  Can't wait to see these suckers grow and flourish!

Here are a few of the crepe myrtles we planted (about 5-6' apart).  

They'll soon be a welcome privacy screen, complete with pretty lilac blooms.

Other than the addition of another tree or two for privacy, I think we are done with planting!  With all of our travel and weekend activities this summer, I had a hard time keeping up with everything (mostly just the weeding, but that was in large part because I didn't have enough mulch).  I'm fairly certain that I'm set on flower bed space, and have really slowed down on plant buying.

I decided I needed some things in the garden besides just plants.  

I saw this frog and thought he was too cute.

Lately, I've just been watching when things bloom and what plants look best together.  I've moved some stuff around and am starting to figure out what I like planted with what.  It's all a learning experience - that's the best part of gardening.  So what if you kill something?  You can always start over.

Anybody need any basil?  I have a monster of a plant with plenty to share!

With all of the bed additions and plant moving, I have ended up with a couple of extra plants if anyone is interested.  I have an unnamed hydrangea (I'm not sure if it's 'Royal Purple' or 'Nikko Blue') that's about 8-12" big and a small hot pink crepe myrtle in pots that are free for the taking, plus plenty of Shasta Daisy ('Becky'), 'Stella D'Oro' daylilies, and black-eyed susans.  I'll also have other daylilies next spring and fall that will need dividing.  If you're interested, please come claim some plants; I have plenty!

The Best Friends a Girl Could Ask For

The life of the party.  My maids of honor and best friends.

It's no secret to anyone that knows me that my family is a pretty close one.  We just love spending time together.  We have mutual interests (our ever-increasing dog population, kayaking, camping, wakeboarding, even wine-tasting) and always have a good time.

It wasn't always like this.  As kids, although we loved each other, we had some serious fights, and they were fairly frequent.  I can't count the number of times Matt's told me that he and his brother were never punch-throwing/scratching/hair-pulling brothers after I recount yet another tussle we three sisters had as kids.  (And yes, we did all of those things, and much worse, at home, in public, even once or twice in the church pew).  My mom used to ask us, "Why can't you be more like David and Jonathan (Adams)?  They never hit each other."

Not only did we resort to physical violence on occasion, but probably the most hurtful means of fighting was our use of words.  We knew just what to say to cut the other deeply - which choice words would cause the most damage, and we did it without thinking or regret (at least initially).  We were all three calculating and mean to one another.  We hurt each other on purpose.

We all followed somewhat of the same path as we grew up.  Softball in elementary/middle school, soccer in high school, life guarding during the summers, and then on to college at Auburn.  We met the loves of our lives there and went on to marry them after graduation.  However, we've never been in the same demographic or life stage at the same time before.  Now, we're all married, with full-time jobs, and live near enough to one another to get together fairly often (something I never thought would happen, and I just love that we live so close together).

Lately, I'd been feeling a little sorry for myself over the fact that the number of girlfriends I have in town that are in our "life stage" is rapidly decreasing.  It's not that I'm not excited for a friend when she tells me "the news", but it does make it a lot harder to hang out when you've got to coordinate naps, feedings, and diaper changes. There's also something about having a set of peers that is going through the same challenges as you are that is very valuable and comforting.

Dinner with my sisters (and their husbands) last Friday was just what I needed.  Grabbing beer and pizza was never so much fun as kids (maybe it was the lack of beer when we were younger, maybe it's that we're adults and get along much better now).  All 6 of us can just sit on the back patio, talk, and laugh together for hours.  It's the best group of close friends that I've ever had.

Amanda and Amy really are my best friends.  I can talk to them about almost anything.  They, together with my mother, fill in the parts of my life that Matt prefers to be exempt from (like outlet shopping, "girl restaurant" lunching, and chick-flick watching).  They hold me accountable.  They encourage and support me when I need it, rejoice with me, and cry with me.  It's not perfect - we still occasionally hurt one another's feelings, but the difference is that now we don't do it on purpose, and we always try to say we're sorry. 

I don't know exactly what it is that's made our relationship(s) change.  We all married kind, loving, wonderful, strong Christian men who have been able to calm us down a little.  I also think that as we grow and mature as adults and Christians, our relationships with one another grow and mature.  I may not be able to pinpoint exactly what has caused the change, but I can say that I'm ever so grateful for it.  I have always loved my sisters, now I also enjoy them.

Regina

We drove to Atlanta (and back) yesterday to see Regina Spektor at The Tabernacle.  I'm not usually the concert type, but I had a lot of fun!  I thought that RS put on an excellent show and especially appreciated the intimate feel of The Tabernacle (where you can sit, see, and hear everything from every seat in the house).

Regina jammed on the piano, sang a cappella, and even broke out a turquoise guitar. 

Our seats were about 4 rows up on the balcony, and with a great view. 

Manda and I even went down to the floor to take a picture or two.

What I liked best was that she has a lot of personality.  She came off a little demure while playing at the piano and didn't interact with the crowd an extensive amount.  Then, when she stood up to sing a cappella, she stopped for a second to tell someone to "Shut the f@$# up!"  In such a small theater (I think it used to be an old church), you can hear everything, and I'm sure that people singing a half beat ahead of her was probably pretty annoying.  She also goofed on the guitar, swore, and started over - something I've never seen any other performer do before.  Other than those entertaining moments, she was brilliant.  She sounded great live.

Jupiter One opened for her and they were also excellent.  They're one of the bands that AltNation and Sirius XMU plays fairly often, so I'd heard several of their songs on the radio.  After their opening, the lead singer/guitar accompanied Regina on the violin. 

We had so much fun laughing, singing, and dancing in our seats, and then chatterboxing away on the drive over and back.  The only downside is that Matt thought he needed more hours in the office this week and I cancelled our hotel in Atlanta, so it kind of stunk to have to drive back so late and then drag myself into work (late) today.  Still, it was worth it.

Thanks for the suggestion, Mr. and Mrs. Pie!