queen of something challenge

i'm making this post so that i can save a place for my queen card challenge. i currently hold the "Queen of Chaos" title. "QOC" for those that have never been crowned. with this title comes alot of responsibility. i mean you have to be ready to run outside in your pajamas when your 2 year old escapes after breakfast. you must always tell your children that they're not going to go to the pool if they don't behave. as QOC you have to be ready for any and all events. if you find out 20 minutes before that your inlaws are on their way over for dinner, you get to really flaunt that QOC title.
i'm delighted to wear this crown. indeed i am but the title that i covet is the Queen of Completion. now that's a title that sounds fun!
i will get a card done. it may be by the time the next challenge comes around but i'm going to conquer it.

the surprise was...

TOBY KEITH in concert and backstage! i went to college with a guy that is in toby keiths band so i called him up and asked him to set me up with tickets for chad's birthday. well he did. i told chad to bring a bathing suit and a tie. he couldn't imagine what the surprise might be. we drove to charotte and my dear niece watched the boys while we went with two of our friends to the concert. i haven't been to a concert in a loooong while so i didn't know that i couldn't take my camera in. i hear this and come up with a genius plan. i had my friend put my lenses in her purse and then i carried the camera in my bag. i was able to get in but they stopped her and took my zoom lens. they said we could come pick it up after the concert. after the concert my friend invited us backstage and so when we went to get the lens... they were closed. so my cool zoom lens sits in charlotte (4 hours from me) until monday. nice. but we got to go backstage at the concert and i got to see my friend from college.

disney world is so much fun

we had such a great time at disney. i think we hit every ride and every event at 4 parks. we went to sea world, magic kingdom, animal kingdom and hollywood studios. and we somehow managed to go to downtown disney and play at the pool a few days. we needed more hours in the day for that trip for sure. the highlight of the trip was seeing nolan with buzz lightyear. it brings a smile to my face now thinking of how he interacted with buzz. ethan turned 5 at hollywood studios and we had 2 of their cousins with us. i have to say it was a vacation to remember. i've taken tons of photos and i'm determined to do something with them. i have to for the kids, both mine and my niece and nephew. tomorrow we are headed to charlotte for a surprise for my dh. i'm terrible with surprises so i'm not sure how i've not told all this time. my plants are growing like crazy and yes i'm sticking to the watering schedule here in town. it's hard to believe that things can grow with only 25 minutes of water every other day. we have raspberries that we are picking and eating right off the plant. how great is that? any day we should have squash and zucchini too.

what have i been doing?

i cannot think of anything specifically that i have been doing but i know i haven't been blogging. i guess it's because i've changed a few diapers, been to a few t-ball practices, watered and watered my new plants, and showered (hmmm. i think).
my plants are going crazy. i can't get over the fact that i have planted stuff and it's still growing. i still haven't figured out how to send pictures to my blog from my phone though.
we are off to disney for 4 days. my sweet baby boy will be turning 5 while we are at the parks. he is super excited because they are having star wars weekend while we are there. he loves star wars and i'm not sure why. he's seen the first one but not in awhile. we are taking two cousins too. now, how do i keep my plants alive while i'm gone? it's like having a pet.

phone post

finally figuring out how to post from my phone. Loving my iPhone because I can get email and look at stuff online while I'm out! It's been especially great for looking things up about my couponing when I'm in a store. Plus I can look up addresses while I'm out.. Of course I pull over before I type. I'm not sure how people text and drive. Seems crazy 2 me. But I am an abbreviator now! It's to hard to type everything right? Now let's see if I can post a pic from here.

project complete

today we finished up the front beds and i must say i am quite proud. wow. who knew the muscle groups that get worked when doing yard work? i am so very sore. but i have both my beds done and they look so great. it feels good to dig in the dirt and be outside. the great thing is having the boys right with me to dig and find worms. they love being outside. since we are having water restrictions in georgia we haven't been able to use the water hose as much as they would like. when the boys see me turn on the hose they fall over themselves to get wet. they love the water and recently i introduced them to "water balloons." now they ask me about water balloons everyday. people should always have water balloons available. i think tomorrow i'm going to get a strawberry plant. watch out for me. it's official. i have a new hobby. growing stuff.

one bed down

before...

the boys and i have been outside all morning. we have done it!!! we finished one bed. i've taken pictures from the beginning. i have never seen so many rocks. i mean big rocks. what did they do build on top of a rock quarry here? when i hear that... rock quarry.... i immediately think of fred flinstone. funny. i loved the flinstones. simple times. kind of like gardening. this is the first time i've been on the computer all day and it feels good. i guess that's how fred must have felt. of course his feet must have hurt from all that driving.

happy day to you all. photos soon. willllllllmaaaaa!

after...

i've been planting

i haven't been blogging because i've been out in the yard.... PLANTING. holy moly. i have never been a green thumb kind of gal. i've always admired those that could do dazzling things with plants but i've never thought i might pick up a shovel and actually plant something MYSELF. well i have. in fact i have planted: squash, zucchini, tomatoes, cilantro (my favorite herb) and tons of flowers. ha. how did this happen? now every morning i run outside and check on everything and water and do all that green thumb kind of stuff. i'm a super excited to see if i can grow a squash. i mean seriously if i can grow something and then cook it. now that would be amazing. i guess since i'm about to be 40 i'm taking on new challenges. and now i can say that planting helps with that creative outlet. i find that i am enjoying planting as much as i like taking photos and writing. now off to look up what else i can grow around here.

artists way finale

this morning i will be meeting with my artists way group to finish up our book study. it's been interesting. these last few months have been a great time for me to rekindle my artists way. so today as i go off to my last meeting i ask myself, "what have i learned on this journey?"

to listen and respect my true artist.
my inner critic is some kind of powerful. but i can choose NOT to listen.
stirring among other artists is inspiring and helpful.
to move forward. do something.

and in other non related stuff... i found this website. http://www.babynamesworld.com/meaning_of_Shani.html i didn't know the meaning of my name. it says shani is hebrew and means crimson. i find this kind of stuff fascinating. but i also find birth order pretty interesting too. crimson? there's a meaning behind there somewhere. go look up your name.

today is red

today i've decided i'm going to look for things red. not sure why i picked red but i have a tree right outside my door that will be my first photo. maybe it should be A RED weekend. yeah that's what it is. a Cinco de Mayo celebrating, red tree appreciating, firetruck spotting, flower finding kind of red weekend.
and by the way i read on squidoo.com that the color red increases enthusiasm, stimulates energy, encourages action and confidence! Yeah. that's why i chose red.

new to me

so i'm looking at planting like i should give myself a break because it's all new to me. for instance. when it tells you on the plant info that you need full sun. well, i know where the sun rises and where the sun sets but i'm still not sure where to plant my stuff.
i'm thinking the best way to look at this is to think, "hey, this is a new learning experience." when i started couponing 4 months ago it was the same thing. but now i feel like i'm a coupon queen. me and the boys planted 3 lilies. i'm going to try and keep them healthy and happy for as long as possible even if i don't know what i'm doing.

my little fever man

today i was headed to my artists way book club to talk about the vision board... which still isn't finished but is closer than the day before. anyway, little ethan has fever and i just couldn't leave him. so i've spent more time working on the board and caring for my dear heart. i hope to take photos tomorrow.

i'm also still working on my book for the 25th of the month challenge too. looks like i've got pics to take.

artist's way board

i'm working on my artists way vision board. i'm not sure if that's exactly what you call it but i'm working on it. me and the boys got outside with some paint today. there is something so freeing about painting like you did when you were a kid. watching nolan was such fun. he really gets into the paint and smears it around. he touches it and looks at it and really looks like he is intent on making something happy.
now that my board is painted i have to add the words and pics. off to nap and then cut up some mags for the VISION!

mud, iPhone, and little people words

somehow we ended up on the mud trails. every bump we would go over the boys would say, "cool" and "whoa". ethan also has a new word that he uses alot... "awesome." chad had a serious car wash after we were finished while the boys and i went home to get cleaned up.

i got an iphone. how cool is that? i didn't even know that i really wanted an iphone but now that i have it. well let's just say that it is "awesome." of course it's going to take me weeks to figure out how to use it. plus i've got to figure out how to get my stuff from my dell axim and my old cell phone and my ipod. it sure will be nice having everything in one place though. yeah for me.

ethan told me that we are going to have to send nolan to another family if he keeps running off. i always wonder what makes little people think of these things. i love hearing the funny things that roll out of their mouth. i was telling nolan that i loved him more than rainbows, and presents, etc. etc. he said, "you love me more than coffee?" yeah and i haven't had a cup of coffee for over a month now.

paint paint glorious paint

we are shopping for paint today. don't you think paint just adds happy to a place? we've moved alot and so we don't usually paint but i'm itching to add some happy color to this place. i think it will change everything. i'm thinking of crystal springs by benjamin moore for my kitchen/dining. love blues and greens.

the 25th.

short morning quiet time, toaster strudel, garage sales, sweet slumberous naps, feet hugs, musical chairs dinner, mommy computer time, new found robots, overdue planting, new neighborhood friends and spring in FULL BLOOM!!
it doesn't get any better than this. i know it. i feel it. i love it.