A Brighter Day

Hi there, it’s the Nani you all read and I hope at least like. If you did stop by yesterday and read, you know I wasn’t in a frame of mind to do any of my usual happy Friday posts. Sorry about that and if you did read, thanks for indulging me and I hope you don’t think any less of me. Both politically and personally crime and punishment is the nastiest and darkest my opinions get. I don’t apologize for that. But truthfully even I like the loving and giving me a lot better than the gloomy and grumpy me. Maybe it’s just that control-freak Nani wants to just fix everything I think is wrong with the world?

I am on break right now having just come back downstairs after folding a boatload of laundry that David did and brought upstairs. He does it in a few days of switching a load when he gets home and before bed, usually in the morning too so nothing is sitting in the washer wet. I get lazy and wait until it’s ALL done and sitting in baskets upstairs to be folded. Then it takes a while to do and leaves me exhausted. You’d think I'd learn to space it out. Oh, and I will; it’s just that I’m learning so much all the time about what my own limitations are, how I can expand those limitations that it’s sometimes a matter of baby steps. You know babies learn so much every day that some things take a little longer than you’d think they would. That’s me, MS and laundry folding. But it only took about 6 or 7 times before I got in the groove and perfected my spaghetti system, including salad and the extra garlic and chopped olives in mine. I totally got this.

Monday, April 22, is Earth Day. The Toledo Zoo honored Earth Day today with a major recycling drive. That means we finally got rid of the 32” TV with the shorting audio that’s been quietly sitting in our living room since fall 2010. You see it’s broken; doesn’t work, but it’s too heavy for one person to lift and where do we take it? It’s too big for our curbside cans and neither recycling nor garbage crews will pick it up. So without an easy answer, and not a lot more that an eyesore, not truly “in the way” in the living room, it sat there, getting an occasional swipe with the duster, but mostly just collecting dust for 2-1/2 years. There were other dead appliances in the garage awaiting a recycling drive too, so last night a coworker stopped by to help get the dead TV in David’s car and he added the other things in the garage “appliance graveyard” to it this morning and stopped at the zoo on the way to work. It feels awesome to get rid of those things, especially that TV, and in as environmentally friendly a way as possible.

The timing is wonderful. As David had the information about the old appliance drive at the zoo to share I texted him that we absolutely had to get rid of that space taking TV because it’s right where I want to use as a parking spot for the power chair. Yes, I got a call yesterday that insurance has okayed my power chair! Nani does the sitting happy-dance! The order was placed yesterday and they told me it would be about 2 weeks before they’d call to schedule delivery. I’ll want to schedule that for a day/time when David is home so we both hear and see the care and feeding schedule information for it.

Now I have need to see about getting a ramp installed. When I started looking at ramps we install and they were talking about where to drill holes in the porch, I figured we’d need to have it installed for us. David and I both have degrees and experience in media, not home improvement. I want put some grab bars in the bathrooms. That would be easier and much safer than using towel bars and toilet paper dispensers! Pop agrees and has also joined the family members who have said “what you really need is a ranch.” We do agree but are not rushing to move for $everal reasons. But Pop also said he’d install the ramp and grab bars! It’s good to be “always a construction princess!”

Still tired; I need coffee!

Happy Spring 1st

Good morning Cyberpals! Happy Spring!

The high temperature yesterday was 81 degrees here, blowing the old record away by 3 degrees. We’re forecasted for two more days in the low to mid 80s…in MARCH! I’m over the flower sadness now and ready to just enjoy the warmth! Mid 80’s is the temperature in my fantasy paradise.


Global Climate Change. Hmm… I’m still not sold on cars and aerosol cans being to blame for the weather, not yet. Climate goes in cycles and just 2 years of bizarre weather doesn’t mean a permanent change. Even if warmer weather and more violent storms become the norm, I’m not so sure it’s all our fault. True that we haven’t done much to slow it down and we really need to be more ecologically conscious, but we weren’t here with our pollutants during the time of the great glaciers. Where I’m sitting right now used to be a solid piece of ice all year round. The climate does naturally change in big ways, always has. I suppose it would have been an alarming thing to be sitting happily on my glacier and suddenly the cable goes out because there is water in my modem from the glacier melting. I’m just sayin’. It could be the process of major global climate change that’s happened before. Still, like I said, we haven’t helped it slow down the process and conservation is a great idea. Major climate change is slow. The glaciers didn’t melt overnight and I doubt any of us will be fried to a crisp. But we need to do what we can to slow the process so there will be more future generations before they all have to swelter in parkas on an average Ohio 110 degree day in January because the hole in the ozone has made sunscreen ineffective.

Just suggesting to use reusable shopping bags and save the water in a jug while it’s heating up to make spaghetti in the kitchen, water the house plants or make coffee. We love our eco-ghetti! And recycle, recycle, recycle!

I have a really cool barn to share with you and liking to Tricia’s Barn Charm at Bluff Area Daily.

I saw this farm when David and I took a day trip last Sunday, March 11. It’s a beautiful farm, even with the dry remains of the corn field and look at the barn!

It’s on Ohio 423 between Marion and Waldo. I love the unusual color and the fact that the barn and house match!

This week’s prompt from Suzanne at The Coloradolady for Tell Me Tuesday at first glance should be easy for me.

What is the best part of your average day?

As an optimist, “the best” should be easy!

But, as an optimist the first thing I thought when I contemplated the question was, “just one?”

I could say “waking up,” and the best part of waking up is that Folders is NOT in my cup. And then I guess I could say the best part of any day is when I can paraphrase advertising and slam Folders in one sentence!

The thing is that right now I don’t have average days. I mean, I’m not employed. I clean and organize, write a sponsored post when there is one available. That’s my working day. The best parts are when I discover treasures in my boxes form relatives’ estates or when I rediscover something we thought we’d lost. There have been a couple of those.

I could also say the best part is lunchtime when I relax, read a few blogs and usually experiment with something in the kitchen, whether it’s the meal or a new drink concoction.


Then there’s later in the afternoon when Kaline visits me wherever in the house I am just for some attention. It's even better just before David comes home when they both visit me although that’s in part because it's “Fresh Kibble” time.

But I think truly the best time of the average day for me is when David comes home. It’s the “Honey I’m home” kiss I starting missing as soon as the warmth of the “goodbye” kiss fades. I like my alone time during my breaks during the day and Heaven knows that it’s hard to accomplish any cleaning or organizing if there’s anyone else with me, but it’s when my partner in life is home again and I can share what I’ve accomplished during the day with him that I can really say it’s been a good day.

Wow…I’ve been totally consumed by Donna Reedishness, huh? I wonder what Donna Reed would have blogged about?

Putting my apron back on…


Join us for Tell Me Tuesday for a prompt that makes you think a little. You might surprise yourself!

Let's Talk About The Weather

I hope everyone in the East has power, or a backup generator, and is successfully digging out today. It may surprise readers, but I’m just not a big fan of snow. If you’re a regular at this cyber-coffee shop, you are wide eyed at my sarcasm there saying, “NO! Nani, really? You don’t like snow?”

My Georgiagander pals, Jeff and Jeanne were snowed in for days. Georgia just doesn’t know what to do with itself when it gets serious cold and then SNOW! Jeanne is a teacher, so work was closed for not a snow day, but more like a snow week! Crazy!

We had a few inches here in Toledo too. Nasty day, Tuesday was! Yes, back to Nani hates winter. Ya know, I’m not much of a hater, just a few things: Snow and spiders. I’d rate them about equal except that snow has one saving grace – snow will freeze a spider to death. Spiders don’t do anything to snow, so since it does do one thing worthwhile, I guess I’d have to admit I don’t hate snow as much as spiders. Okay and every time anyone mentions spiders, including myself, I do a ceiling scan. I don’t apprehensively look out the window at the mention of snow. Self-analysis saves on therapy bills.

Yesterday, in all that snow on the ground, was therapy day for me. Our plow guy, Rapid LLC in Toledo, sent me a text Tuesday night asking if I’d want snow removal on Wednesday. Yes, he wants the business, but he sent the text to set up his schedule and put his regular and return customers first. He asked what time was good for him to come in. It made me really feel like I was getting pick of the day for my convenience. Calling your regular customers first before the people who call after they are snowed in is great business! I told him that David would help uncover my car to get to therapy and the drive would be empty for plowing after 10:30. I got a text as I was leaving therapy letting me know the snow removal was done. If you are local and need affordable, great plowing, shoveling and salting, follow the links at the end of the post!Rapid LLC is simply the BEST!

About David “helping” me uncover the car? When I got in the shower, he said he’d pull the car out for me. What a doll. I’d say I was blessed in marriage just at that, but when I went out to go to therapy, the car was cleaned off, pulled right up to the door and the steps were shoveled and salted with a path shoveled from the steps to my driver’s side door! I posted my “Greatest husband in the world” on facebook yesterday and had a few people asking if David trained other mates. Chuckle-worthy!

Well, now, all that icky snow in both Ohio and Georgia has converged on the East! I know Edna had some pictures of the mounds and mounds of snow at here place yesterday. David’s brother is in Connecticut and we have friends all over the New York/New England area. Crazy this year. I know I’ve made comments about wanting that Global Warming they promised, but seriously, it’s Global Climate Change. I like the idea of “Global little bit warmer in winter” better. I’m not sure if it’s something we’re doing so much as it’s normal ecological cycles. I suspect that we might accelerate it with what we put in the atmosphere. I recycle, try to combine trips when I can and my next car will be a more fuel efficient one and save water in several ways too. It’s just a little, but if we all do just a little, it might help.

Starting today, everyone do just a little something to reduce that carbon footprint. Maybe the snow will stop and we’ll warm up by April. ;)

Okay, my coffee is done and it’s shower time. Then hit the books!

Have a great day!

Links
Rapid LLC
Excellent and affordable snow removal in Toledo!

Miss Edna’s Place
See some pics of the snow in Massachusetts yesterday!

A Feel Good Story

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Ramblers Way. All opinions are 100% mine.

This is a story about a feel good company, from the products they make to how and where they make them. Ramblers Way Farm produces Made in America wool products. They make super fine worsted wool that feels good next to you skin. Whether warming you when it’s cold or breathable in the heat, Ramblers Way Farm wool products are high quality products that you can feel good wearing.

But the good feeling doesn’t stop when you take the wool clothing off! Ramblers Way Farm is an American company that creates its apparel with 100% domestic resources. The company’s home office is in Kennebunk, Maine in a restored building from 1792, preserving the historical architectural in downtown. And the building is refurbished to meet the current day economic and environmental standards.

Rambler’s Way Farm has brought manufacturing facilities into distressed areas and NOT outsourcing, but providing real jobs for the those outsourced by other companies or whose employers and jobs were muscled out by the current recession. They further help those who need by donating clothing during the winter holidays. Profit – yes, but people first.

In a day and age where profit usually does come first, Ramblers Way Farm concentrates on providing quality products that are produced with high standards and equally high ecological standards. And they work to provide more jobs and a better life for their workers, customers and neighbors.

Try out some of the Ramblers Way Farm garments. They’ll make you feel good outside and in!

They’re Only Cute in Cartoons!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Victor® Rodent Control. All opinions are 100% mine.

When I was 17, I got a cute little runt of a beat up cat, Ritchie. Ritchie was a very lovable runt of a cat I met in my Noni’s alley. I picked him up and he put one paw on each of my shoulders and started licking my face! He must have learned that from one of the alley dogs!

I brought Ritchie in to Noni’s house, where we had just had dinner and Noni’s neighbor friends were over to play cards. I fed him some scraps from the table and showed him to my Dad. “Can we keep him? He could catch the mice we have in the house!”

Noni gasped and moved me in the direction of away from the card game. She told my Dad, in Italian, “just let her have the cat so she shuts up about the mice.” Dad never questioned a direct order from him Mother and I got to keep Ritchie. I didn’t realize what a taboo admitting we’d seen a mouse in the house was!

Ritchie turned out to be a pretty good mouser. He caught two in his first week there and we didn’t see a mouse again.

Now, I’m not saying to get a cat if you have mice in your house. Not all cats are great mousers, but if you do want to get a cat, check out some of my cat posts! What I want to talk about is un-mousing your home!

First off, if you have mice in the house, it doesn’t mean you don’t keep a clean house or that you’ve done anything special to attract them. Mice are attracted to food and someplace warm to sleep. And they are quick! They can scamper in when you are walking in the door and you won’t even realize it. We had mice in the garage at the time Ritchie came home that were attracted to the food dish we had in the garage for our dog! You can’t stop feeding your pets to keep the mice away!

Now I’d like to introduce you to the Victor® Sonic PestChaser® PRO! The Victor® Sonic PestChaser® PRO uses sound waves to repel rodents. Now one of the first things I wanted to know was how ultrasonic repellents workand are they safe to have around pets!

The Sonic PestChaser emits a sound wave that rodents are sensitive to, but it doesn’t repel non-rodent pets. If you have hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs or other rodents as pets, you want to keep them in a room that does not have a Sonic PestChaser unit installed.

This method of pest control is so much better than traps or rat poison. It’s a humane way of telling rodent pests that you have No Vacancy at your house! A mouse can suffer in a trap before it dies and you have to dispose of it without knowing for sure that it’s really dead! Plus, trap can set if you knock them with you foot, which can break toes, or when the family dog or cat noses at the bait.

Poison pest control makes the rodents suffer and they die a slow death, usually some place in your home. Don’t worry; you’ll be able to follow your nose to find the bodies. Also, remember that unwanted rodents are attracted to food, especially nuts and grains. Do you really want a box of rat poison next to your kids’ cereal boxes?

Finally, the website dispels some myths about mice and rats and gives some great tips on the things you CAN do to rodent proof your home. The Victor® Sonic PestChaser® PRO is a better way to get rid of rodents in your home without dangerous traps or poison and you can just keep the cat for purrs and playing!

Now, I just want to get the frequency for spiders!

Tomatoes and Cat Safety

You’re probably wondering how cats and tomatoes come together. In my brain it’s all a logical succession that ends with me hungry for tomato soup. Let me explain.

I love this time of year when the snow is gone and the weather bounces between those fresh cool nights that make baseball sound just awesome and the warm and sometimes rainy days that green up the grass and trees overnight. The one thing I really hate about this time of year is the return of the spiders and the fact that our house is somewhat of a magnet for them.

Last week, there was a huge one in the window. I’ve talked before about what a certifiable, clinical arachnophobe I am. I have a bottle of spider spray on each floor of the house. If I’m home alone, it takes a LOT of spray to kill one. If David's home, it takes a shot or two of spray and he squishes them. Last week, he was home, so when I saw it, I called him. I was just staring and terrified. It was on the outside of the window, but inside the screen.

He grabbed the bottle and opened the window to kill it. At the sound of the window opening, Kaline ran toward it. I grabbed her and held her while she was squirming to get down. You see, as much as cats love the open window, the spider spray is highly poisonous until it dries!

That got me thinking. I want to try my hand at growing a tomato plant this year. I’ve seen so many ads for ways to grow tomatoes and super tomato plants and the ads just make me hungry for made-from-scratch roasted tomato soup with fresh, and I mean fresh from the garden, tomatoes.

Spiders terrify me, but I have no problems with other bugs. I have some cool pictures of grasshoppers and inch worms from railfanning. I have no problem getting up close and personal with them. But I do think I’d have a problem with them getting up close and personal with my tomato plant. So, I’d want to protect my plant, but not at the cost of putting poison in the earth or on my food! Yes, I can wash it, but while Kaline and Baggle are indoor cats, we do get the occasional stray around the house and our yard is home to chipmunks, squirrels and a fat groundhog. If I put poison on my tomato plant and a stray cat shimmies by it, eventually he will groom and ingest the chemicals.

Organic pest control is the only way for me. I’ve talked before about Safer Brand products. They are OMRI listed and compliant for organic gardening, no chemicals, no poison! Safer Brand has a concentrated product, Bug Patrol, that attaches to your garden hose for use on the lawn, shrubs and garden to rid you of pests all over your yard without putting harmful chemicals everywhere. Safer Brand organic B0ug Patrol kills over 40 insects including ticks, which are arachnids, so I’m happy to see them go!

So, I’m thinking a bottle of Safer Brand Bug Patrol would protect my tomato plant and give it a fighting chance as my brown baking thumb learns to be green. It would also be good for the ornamental flowers and good for the cats in that maybe the cat nip will live this year, with no poison on it when we bring it inside!

Yanno, maybe it also just might kill off enough bugs that the huge spiders have nothing to eat and either move to another house or at least get a little smaller! I can dream, right?

Oh Dear!

Wild animals are so cool to watch in the woods or even in the backyard way in the back of a rural area, but one place you don’t want to see them is in your rural or even suburban garden sampling the veggies before they’re even fully ripe! Then, they become just like any other garden pest! But you don’t have to just deal with it to be humane. Take some time to learn about deer control

Havahart makes a product called Deer Off which you can get in a battery powered sprayer. You can target exactly where you want the deer repellent to keep Deer, rabbits and squirrels out of the garden. You’re also not going to end up with repetitive motion problems in your hand from a spray pump!

Now before you worry about any harm to the animals, you know I’m not going to suggest a product that is dangerous to animals , the environment and ultimately us. Deer Off is OMRI listed, safe for organic gardens and keeping them organic, it’s not going to give you toxic vegetables or toxic soil. Because it’s organic, it is also safe for the very animals it repels.

The formula is made from food products, the scent keeps animals away for up to 90 days and if the scent doesn’t do the trick, the peppery taste will keep any courageous critters from trying it again!

If you’re looking to dissuade the friendly 4-footed neighbors from helping themselves in the garden without being unneighborly, Deer Off is just what you’re looking for.

This, That and a Freebie

A rainbow over the stadium said there was
always hope for the Mud Hens last night!

The baseball game last night, what can I say about the game last night?

We have two new shopping bags! They’re nice ones too, a little smaller than the Meijer ones, just a little, but what’s nice about that is baggers can’t make them as heavy! It seems that everything baggers know, or in too many cases don’t, about bagging groceries goes out the window when you bring an eco-friendly reusable bag. Clue to baggers: when a woman using a cane drives the buggy up and hands you a couple of reusable bags, DON’T put all 12 canned items in one bag just because they’ll fit across the bottom! I can’t lift that much less carry it into the house when I get home. Yeesh!

The new bags are navy with the Mud Hens logo on them, quite cool and as David pointed out, we don’t have to worry about taking the wrong stores bag to go shopping. He seemed concerned about cross advertising for the competition, but I make an effort to take the other stores bag so they don’t think I’m, just buying the bag and try to charge me again. Now we have Mud Hens bags!


I wonder how many other teams, major and minor league, did the reusable bags as a giveaway for Earth Day? If you know of a team that did, leave a note in the comments!

Oh yeah, the game. Well, the season is half official. To make a season official, Nani rules, there must be one hot chocolate game and one three-bottle-of-water game. That is, there must be one where you shiver and one where you melt! Last night was the hot chocolate game. We layered and bundled, cuddled under the Red Sox throw and the Tigers stadium blanket. I’ve been to colder games. Our first date was colder! Still, it’s nice to see a game cuddled up with my hubby!

We got to see Joel Zumaya pitch in the top of the seventh inning. He’s in Toledo on rehab waiting to go off the DL and back to Detroit. He looks ready. But his performance for a half inning, didn’t make up for the other TEN runs the Indianapolis Indians got to the Hens’ only 2. We ended up leaving in the 8th inning, just after the Indians scored number ten. Normally, that’s against my baseball practices, but David had an early meeting this morning.

The Mud Hens are in first place, with the second place Louisville Bats starting a 4-game series tonight, so they have the opportunity to extend that lead! As for Indianapolis, they’re the team in town for our planned reception. The home team’s just gotta win for the (6 months later) bride and groom, right?


Wife 1500 and the Ball Park

Okay, 2 live game into the season, I can say I'm enjoying the fact that ball park food has come a long way. At Oldsmobile Park in Lansing, Michigan, Sparrow Hospital sponsors one of the food carts, where you can get low-carb wraps and salads with turkey breast and the nutritional info is displayed on the cart. At Great American Ball Park, in Cincinnati, they have apple slices and baby carrots available. What I love is that so many parks have grilled chicken breast sandwiches! Depending on the condiments you put on them, they range from 250-350 calories.

The chicken sandwich at Parkview Field in Fort Wayne was just stellar! It was easily better than most of the fast food places who often use parts-is-parts chicken or over processed breasts. The sandwich there was tasty chicken on a good, fresh bun with lettuce, tomato and red onion. Yes, if you don’t care for the onion, order it without it or take it off. I like the red onion. The one last night at Fifth Third Field in Toledo was better than I’d had last year, the chicken was better, more flavorful, but the bun was still dry and crumbly. It did have lettuce and tomato, which was something I hadn’t had there before. I’d still rate the Fort Wayne chicken better.

Oh, I still love my hot dog at the ball park, and I’m sure I’ll give up the 300 calories for one hot-dog that just isn’t that filling, but just not when dinner is at the game. That’s a high-calorie and high lots of bad stuff snack for flavor and ambiance. I still get the grilled chicken when I can for a meal!


Retiring Freebies

Time to toss a few more yearlings from the nest! Follow the links to the original posts where you can get these freebies if you haven’t yet, because when April is gone, they will be too!

Spring Sparklies


This was my first color-challenge kit for the SAS challenge in April 2008
original post - Spring Sparklies


Printemps Classique


Printemps Classique was done for the April 2008 DSO color challenge

original post - Printemps Classique


In Only Seven Days


This was a color challenge at SFS last year and a seven-day download. You can get the links to all seven downloads at the kit’s main page,

Original post - In Only Seven Days


She Said YES!


This kit was an early May kit for the DSO May color challenge.

Original post - SEMMantics Weekend and a New Kit!

If you haven’t downloaded these yet, check them out now! After April 30, they’ll no longer be available!


And now the new stuff!

I’m working on a couple of new kits right now, but the newest addition to my Scrap Bird store is a set of brag book pages in the dollar bin!


These are great pages to showcase wedding, prom or any other formal or fancy photos to slip in your 4X6 album to carry with you or to collage them as frames for a pretty full page layout. Get all four for only a dollar at Scrap Bird!

And of course, to make a new dollar bin item even more celebrated than just the stellar price, I have a blog freebie Laura quick page for you!


The wedding that inspired the kit had three bridesmaids. The triple frame from Laura Favors, accommodates that perfectly in this quick page, but it’s also stellar for photos of the bride, prom photos, even graduation pictures. Since it is helping to announce the Brag Book set in the store, the password for the quick page is bragging. Click the preview to go to the download page!

Tid Bits From Tuesday

Well, I got a little bit of scrapping time last night and this evening. Imagine that. Time to scrap. Between getting things in order to go back to school, daily job hunting grief and starting the planning for our reception, it’s been a busy couple of weeks. Now I have a huge inbox of designing stuff to get done. Hey, at least I‘ve got it planned! I’m also trying to get a layout in here and there. Still in 2006, but the layouts I did early this morning and the one I did this evening were 2009.

My alarm is set to go off at 7 and 8 AM. The workday starts at 9 and David leaves for work at 10, so everything sort of weaves in and out first thing in the morning. I turn on the work browser at 9 and go through email. If I cook breakfast and we eat together, I’ll finish the email after he leaves. If I feel like getting up at 7, I get 2 hours of Nani time, usually to scrap or blog. This morning I did the week 14 of Patch 365. I used an Eight Days A Week quick page, so it was easy to do in very little time. I like how it turned out!

Credits: Eight Days A Week quick page set, page 3 by Digitalegacies Designs,
green alpha from Eight Days A Week by Digitalegacies Designs

The next layout is a challenge layout. It fits a few challenges, but the important one is Darlene’s Quote challenge at Scrap Bird! I ask my CT members to do my challenge as part of their monthly commitment and I’ve always considered that part of my responsibilities as a CT member. Plus, I had a great opportunity to use a Shakespeare quote on a baseball layout, 2 of my favorite things!

Credits: Boylicious by Darlene Haughin,
baseball from A Perfect Summer Day by Digitalegacies Designs

The layout is scenes from our first ball game of the season last weekend in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We saw The Dayton Dragons at the new stadium for the former Ft. Wayne Wizards, now the Ft. Wayne Tin Caps. The Tin Caps won in extra innings. First game and free baseball, are we living large or what? Hehehe

Not a happy night for the Reds tonight. They dropped one 7-2 in Chicago. Darned Cubbies! And yes, I can hear Mom giving me raspberries from beyond, but the Reds or Braves against the Cubs or Pirates was always Mom and me jeering each other. I blame Fox Sports for it. I turned on the TV and the Cavaliers were on. Feh, basketball. I ended up watching the game on WGN and the Cubbies bias was very distracting for channeling my fan energy to my team.


Interesting and Odd...

Sign of the times, I was browsing a site for a possible sponsorship. There is a page for maternity wedding gowns. Imagine seeing THAT in a catalog 30 years ago! They come in ivory or white. Now, David commented that people have gotten married because a baby was on they way for years and years. I agreed. But those were usually shotgun or at least small private weddings, no opulent dress required and definitely not a white one!

Oh but another find! A wonderful and addictive find! Online Skee Ball!!!

(See link at bottom!!)

I played a few games last night. It’s bookmarked as my unwind before bed site. I love Skee Ball!


Wednesday night, in honor of Earth Day, The Toledo Mud Hens are giving away reusable grocery bags! Very cool! We have 2 Meijer ones, a Trader Joe's a Rite Aid that I keep in my tote bag and the freezer bag from Hershey last summer, so we don’t NEED Mud Hens grocery bags. It’s also going to be 36 degrees for a low temperature. So you know what that means!

We’re in section 114. :)

Toledo Mud Hens official site
Skee Ball online!

Mmm... Fresh Gazpacho!

I was reading a friends blog, heck, I’ve read posts on several blogs about gardens now that the spring weather is starting to look like it's gonna stick around. This happens to me every year, I get the garden bug! Yikes! Garden bug, Dad used to have trouble with those eating one plant or another every year. His garden is much smaller now, but he still battles those who would be the "extra protein" in his veggies! That makes me wonder about bugs in my garden if I try it too!

When I think garden, I think of how awesome it would be to have tomatoes and cucumbers in the back yard. YUM! Fresh gazpacho, salsa and made from tomatoes right off the vine spaghetti sauce! Never mind that I can just crunch right into a fresh cuke and garden-grown is the only way I’ll eat a tomato that isn’t part of something else. I love tomatoes, but prepping them for market changes the flavor, ya know?

So what will it take to get Nani digging up some dirt to grow a couple of food-providers?

You’ve heard me rave about Safer Brand organic pesticides and what a great idea those are for garden vegetables that give you just the veggie and it’s goodness when you eat them, rather than adding chemicals to your food. Safer Brand has an organic tomato growing kit that might be a convincing argument for me to mark off a garden patch (pun SO intended) in our backyard.

The tomato and vegetable gardening kit includes a bottle of tomato and vegetable insect killer that is OMRI listed, organic and made to target those pests that are naturally attracted to your garden veggies! They list more bugs that the spray will attack before they can attack your plants than I knew there were!

The kit includes the Stake It Easy system. That’s truly cool! You can make the skeletons for little tomato castles in your garden! The system includes stake anchors and 36” stakes with expandable connectors and extensions. You ban build a stake network up to 6 feet tall to support the best growth of your vegetable plants.

So, after a few blogs and then checking out the Safer Brand site again and discovering the kit that can get me started, I’m taking an even more serious look at making this my garden year! I can taste the fresh gazpacho already!