...while I still have my eyes open...

...but not betting on me being able to keep them open for much longer... ;)

Here's some shots of a few going on's in my world as of late...

I thought I already did a mention on this dish above...but I guess I didn't.  So, here ya go, guys! That is my Lemon battered and pan friend chicken atop a creamy, lemony, buttery, angel hair pasta.

Ryan wanted to do chicken piccata one night for dinner.  I do not like chicken piccata. I do however LOVE Lemon Pepper Chicken.  So, I fixed my chicken up the way I wanted and Ryan made his own.  (He ended up liking my dish more...oops :)

I don't know why, but I will buy a journal at the book store if it's in the clearance basket or sporting a decent price tag.  I might not have a use for it at the time...but I always end up finding a purpose for it!  Just like the one pictured above.  I started carrying it in my purse to keep for note taking, jotting down days I need to remember to take off from work, recipes I come across (so entirely handy to have on you when you are at the doctor's office and flipping through a magazine and end up coming across an awesome recipe but you don't have the guts to rip the page out...lol!), and keeping a record of when herb and flower seeds were planted in the last month.

Basically, I can use any "gardening" type notes to reference to when next year comes around.  It has been such a great little tool already.

One of my sisters was on a "crochet wash cloth" making spree.  I have always wanted to make a couple but never seem to have the time to do so.  I finally forced myself to sit down one morning and what is pictured above happened. :)

(Super easy pattern...but I can't link it at this time.  If anyone is interested, leave a comment and I'll link/comment back :)

FINALLY!!!

(Petunias, 10 different kinds of pepper plants, Strawberry plants, 

and various other flower/herb plants were picked up last Sunday!)

I got my flats of Petunias, ready and waiting...until the frost warnings dissipate...to be planted in the beds out front.  I did go ahead and plant a few pots today.  Lady Slippers and white/pink petunias are taking root as we speak.  My Moon Flower seedlings are in their own pot now too.

(I start the stubborn Moon seeds folded up in a paper towel, moisten it, and then slip into a sandwich baggy until the seeds crack open.)

Plus the Pineapple Sage and Lemon Balm herbs are planted next to the two foot high Catnip 

Perennial I have from last year.

I love Catnip/Lemon/Ginger tea.  

Have you ever had Catnip tea?

AMAZING stuff.  Instantly calms, soothes, and relaxes the body and spirit.    

I started these seeds over a week ago and still nothing has turned up.  I planted sunflower seeds the same day and those sprouted up with in three days!  I really hope something happens with my herb seeds.  I love being able to walk outside and grab fresh leaves to compliment a dish.

The Golden Doodle in my life.  Miss Sophie.  She's such a pretty girl, isn't she?  All 80 pounds of her! hahah. She loves, loves, LOVES her people.  And she's saying it's time for bed now...

I had something pretty awesome happen for me today...I will mention it soon in the next post.  Take care, everyone!  I have to finish my laundry for work tomorrow morning.

Take care,

Y is for "YAY!"...

Today's A-Z post is going to be a mushed up ramble of a few celebrations I had these last couple of days.

First, I will start off with the biggest deal to me...

Today was my first day of work at the new job!  woohoo!

I was sooo incredibly nervous about my first day that I got maybe an hour of sleep last night.  Verdict of said first day:  awesome.  The chef who trained me in the kitchen reminded me of me from five years ago when I was cooking at my previous restaurant   She was very simple, direct, laughed, and still joked a bit here and there.  Just great.  She caught on quickly that I was a little freaked out because one of the first things she said to me was "don't worry! It's going to be alright".  hah.  

I work mornings the rest of this week (with the weekend off! yay!) and then next week I will start my solo schedule which will be primarily nights.  This means I will have to change my personal schedule around a bit since I do most of my "me" stuff in the afternoon/evening.  When this A-Z challenge ends I am going to stick to, as best I can, blogging at least three days a week.  I'm shooting for Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.  (Just a little heads up for you wonderful followers of mine :)

Next on the "yay!" list:

This little can of magic is some of what saved me through this stomach bug battle.  (This bug is still lingering.  Very frustrating!  I just want it to go away.)  Ryan went up to the grocery store this evening and picked up a special treat for me...

Vanilla ice cream + Vernors Ginger Ale =

BOSTON COOLER

Guys.  In all seriousness...this soda/shake is a gift from the angels above!

When I was a little girl my mom would order one every time we would go out for ice cream.  I never understood why she would choose this over an ice cream cone or sundae.  I never really tried it until last Friday when I was at a Coney Island with Ryan for dinner.  I finished my cooler in no time.  Over the weekend I've probably had a handful more at my parents house. 

My mom thought it was the funniest thing.

Some laughs, just because...

...these were the photos floating around the chat room my siblings and I share on our smart phones...

(when you find him below, that's exactly what my cat "Bailey" looked like when he was a baby)

This is Mr. Bailey now-a-days...

 ...he is the most laid back kitty I've ever come across...(lol)...

 ...and he loves yarn...LOVES IT.

My brothers, sisters, and I all love to "kid" around in our chat room via our phones.  Becky, the youngest of us, does not have a phone (*yet*) so she will hijack one of ours if she catches it unattended.  Below, she picked up our sister Jenny's phone and the following took place:

(The order of us "kids" goes like so...me, Missy, Jenny, Cassie, Matt, Joe, Jeremy, and Becky.  Ages range from 29 to 13. Just to give you a little idea ;)

Well, that'll do it for now.  Since I have to work tomorrow morning and then go to Ryan's hockey game afterwards I am going to get started on the last post of this challenge.  I am so excited that it's about to be complete, this A-Z Challenge...but I am sad at the same time.  Some pretty awesome things have happened during this challenge and I am going to miss it for sure.

Thanks for the read...

Take care,

S is for "Suddenly!, Selena and Several Stitches"...

My music interest scares me at times.  Out of nowhere there will be a new hit slamming the airwaves and I will fall completely in love.

I heard this track from Selena Gomez while watching the MTV Movie awards a few weeks ago.  There were quite a few "oooh!'s" and plenty of goose bumps.  I don't even like this girl's music...but this song caught me...and pretty hard...

(that was this afternoon ;)

So, that was the "Selena" portion of this post.  Here is the "Suddenly" part...

"and then suddenly...CRAP! Oops!"

(Ryan will not be very happy that I posted this, but oh well!) 

He was doing his mother a favor yesterday by aerating her yard.  There is a steep hill by the little creek behind her house.  The unit started fish tailing a bit and it slid down towards the water! Eek!!!

Ryan and a friend will try to recover it this evening.  Fingers crossed!  Hopefully the ground is a bit more dry today.  All that rain we received over the weekend didn't help him a bit!

And now, the "Several Stitches" portion...

I have accumulated a TON of "baby soft" yarn in the last year.  I get leftovers from my sister and my mother all the time.  I had some free time yesterday and started the piece above with my size G crochet hook.  That is the center of the blanket so far.  No pattern.  I'm being quite "whimsical" with it and it's been so much fun thus far!  I'm very excited to see how it turns out when it's finished. 

So, that'll wrap this Challenge post up for today.  Ryan will be done with work soon and I will be going with him over to his mother's to retrieve the beast that is trying to go for an early summer swim... hahah!

Take care.  I'll be hopping through the blog world when I get back home tonight!

Post Title: A few things that keep me happy...

...yarn and a crochet hook.

I suppose I won't go too in depth with this post as I just realized what my word for the letter "Y" can be...(lol)...

...but I can still share a couple photos.

That above was my very first completed "knit" project...ever.  I just learned via YouTube how to knit at the start of this year.  The white ruffle on the "ear warmer/head band" was crocheted.  I added the little twist on the band for accent purposes.  Plus, I wear the twist on the back of my head so that it helps to keep the band in place.  I've worn this warmer so much already that I started another head band to give this one a rest ;)  The second band will be all crochet...and I'm on the lookout at the moment for a couple of buttons to complement it.

This was fixed up with "sock yarn"...meaning it's super thin stuff.  I am really fond of this color combo and can't wait for it to be finished!  No worries, I'll remember to post photos when it's done.

~~~

I have this feeling that if I post too much during this challenge, all of my content will get "blurred" together.  I don't want to put out too many "in between" posts and overload this blog right now so hopefully you guys will stick it out with me after April...cause I'll still have a bunch to say ;)

Time to shut down for now though.  I'll wrap up my "L" post in the morning!

 (Of course, the famous quote...)

You all have a great "L" day and a wonderful weekend!