LIST LOVE

Courtesy of Pinterest

Disclaimer: This picture has absolutely nothing to do with my post. It's super cool and I love the colors, so it's in. =]

It's amazing how time gets away from you when you're not feeling very good. It's amazing how time gets away from you even when you are feeling good. I've just entered my 14th week of pregnancy (AWOOHOO!) and my energy is coming back and my gag reflex is not rearing its ugly head quite as badly. Have I shared too much? We're all friends here, right? With new energy comes tackling the multitude of projects around our house. As promised, I'm including just a few things on my To-Do list for the beginning of 2012. 

• Have you read "Organized Simplicity" by Tsh Oxenreider? It is brilliant! I'd like to go through her step-by-step and room-by-room plan for cleaning and organizing. It's exciting to even think about that level of clean happening! Chills!
• De-clutter! I need to clean out the room that will belong to our beloved offspring come July and start going through boxes out in the garage to get rid of the clutter I know is hanging around. You know how you can just sense its presence sometimes? Come out, come out, clutter! That's where I'm at.
• Researching baby furniture and baby items and finally making those purchases. Oh my goodness, this seems like an impossible task sometimes. Thankfully, the book "Baby Bargains" by Denise & Alan Fields has been a huge help to me and Mr. N. in taming the crazy.
• Helping our front yard. Let's just say that the term "curb appeal" can't be applied to our front yard right now. It's not horrible, but it's a product of the previous owners tastes (and my neglect) and doesn't possess the charm that I really wish for our house, mostly because I haven't figured out what to plant and what to rip out yet. 
• Planning our back yard. We had a great little garden growing last year, and we'd like to make it even bigger this year! I'm hoping to also get a lot of other plants established this year and some of the weird stuff back there ripped out to make room for the new. Plus, we'd like to have our un-traditional baby shower in the back yard, so even more incentive to get it together. 

Now, these are just a few on my list, so keep that in mind. There are lots of other personal goals, lots more things to do revolving around the baby, and the like. It's a process, but it's good to have goals. Hope that you've been able to tackle a few things on your lists so far and that you're cutting yourself some slack if they're not being completed as quickly as you'd hoped. That's the hardest part. Be kind to yourself and go forth and check things off of your lists!  

Silver Lining

It's a beautiful, gray day here. Is it the same where you are? We were expecting some thunder storms today, but it looks like all we're going to get is overcast skies. While we're pretty ready for summer (I know our poor pepper plants are and are cursing my name for planting them in March), we are so thankful for a few more days to enjoy cooler weather and stay cozy inside. 

I thought today might be a fun day to visit the outdoors, kind of a silver lining to remind us that things are still growing, and blooming, and thriving right outside. I know that sometimes all it takes to brighten my day is to clip a few flowers and put them in a simple jar inside. Won't you join me on a little tour of our garden? Please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. Thank you! =]

This is me and Mr. N. shortly after we purchased our home this year. Notice the socks with sandals, proving we were meant for each other. =]

  Hydrangeas out front. I am loving getting to bring a few of these inside to enjoy! I can take no credit for planting these. They were already in the ground.

 Here are my spoils from Green Acres (the most incredible nursery in the area!) this past weekend. I skipped dress shopping to spend more time at G.A. Can't wait to plant these this week, hopefully!

 And our vegetable garden. This is the first time we've tried planting veggies in the ground, so it has been a huge learning experience for us. Only the carrots (which you can't see off to the left), one zucchini plant (the one that looks like it's from Jurassic Park), and the beans were started from seed. All the others were purchased as plants. This year we tried a little of everything and ended up planting carrots, zucchini, green beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, basil, rosemary, and thyme. We also have a little citrus tree that's trying hard to come back and a few apple trees that were already here. It has been a fun adventure so far.

The poles used for the beans and peas are actually iron garden hooks we purchased for our wedding. The metal in between the poles for the peas are from a china hutch we were given. Each one was set in front of a pane of glass on either side of the hutch as a design element that screamed 1980's.

 

And since I've kept you long enough, here's a rare sighting of our majestic Dr. Leo Marvin guarding the apple trees. (He is also another fun find from the previous owner.) 

 I hope that you've enjoyed your tour today and that you get a chance to step outside, breathe the fresh air, and bask in the beauty of God's creation around you. When you look at the plants outside your home and inside, just think about how the earth actually cries out in praise to God. That these little blossoms, vegetables, fruits, mountains, streams, etc. are glorifying God and His handiwork.

"....You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice...." Ps. 65:8b

"We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near." Ps. 75:1