It's Not Easy Being Green

It's not easy being green, seriously!  Gardening / Yard Care is a lot of work. 

As a new homeowner, I knew there would be a day when I would have to work in my yard.  (SCARY THOUGHT)

For those of you that know me, you understand my concern over this fact.  I have in NO WAY inherited my grandmothers green thumb.  Her ability to create lush, vast, gardens of oasis has obviously escaped me and I am only capable of creating dead, stinky, brown, broken down plants who beg to be put out of their misery.  I've killed cactus, aloe, and lucky bamboo (among other plants that require more ambition).  It's just a fact of life, I'm not good at keeping plants alive.

SO, my 'gardening history' has kept me in doubt about my ability to maintain this lawn.  That's why we paid a lawn guy to come and mow my yard and maintain my landscaping.  But when he mysteriously stopped showing up I knew I could only go so long before having to do something about it.  But then came winter and I knew with everyone's plants dying and turning brown around me, my yard could go a little longer without care. 

BUT THEN, we decided to host the superbowl party at my house.  This has given me good reason to worry about how my yard looks.  Nothing like public scrutiny to motivate.  :)  Plus I'm sure I'm only days away from a lovely letter from my home owners association.

So, I finally got ambitious and went to Lowes.  I planted new plants in my window boxes, cleaned out my flower beds, Round Up'd a million weeds, and even planted new flowers that will bloom in the spring.  Not only did it take me several hours, it was hard work.  But now I feel a sense of accomplishment, like I can take on the world (or maybe just my yard).  We will see how it turns out though.  It's always easy to start something new, but can I maintain it?  Time will tell.... stay tuned for up to the minute updates. (or how about in a few months?)

My Yard Before This Weekend:

My Yard After This Weekend:

*Pictures are not actual. In fact, the second one is grossly exaggerated but you get the point!.

How to Change Your World

Change your thoughts and change your world.
– Norman Vincent Peale

How many times do you get caught up in what’s wrong with your life? It’s so easy to focus on what you want to do next, what you don’t have, what your relationships aren’t providing, what’s wrong with your job, and the list can go on and on and on… indefinitely.

I heard the quote above last week at a church function and it has stuck with me. I’ve come to this realization before but it just rings SO true to me. We cannot discount that everyone struggles and endures hardships; but in your life, are you focusing on your blessings?

I know that if we choose to believe the best about our life, our friends, our spouses (significant others), our parents, our bosses, etc., then we will have a much more joyful life. God promises to bless us and take care of us, so if I can’t SEE his blessing right now, I’m going to choose to believe that it’s there or will be there.

I imagine everyone struggles with this, but I'm going to choose to believe the best.  At least I'm going to try.  I've noticed that when I do that, I'm happier. 

What about you?  Do you think this is true?

P.S.  Sorry for not posting in so long.  Work has been very busy (which is good)

Do You Read?

I don't mean CAN you read, I mean DO you read?  I'm not much of a reader, I used to be then I took a long sabbatical then I came back to reading a few years ago.  Every year I set goals for myself, so a few years ago I agreed to read 6 books, and I did.  Then last year I agreed to read at least 8 books, and I did. So this year, I am taking on 12 books.  I know, 12 whole books!, what an amazing feat (not really).  But think about it, do you have time to read everyday?  I don't.  Do you want to read every day?  I don't.  Haha.  So I figure if I can read one book a month, I'm doing good.  I think this is a good goal, I like this goal. 

The problem is. . . my book is boring.  I started off the year with a novel set in colonial times, and I can't get past a paragraph or two everytime I sit down to read it.  It's a tradgedy if I've ever seen one.  (me not being able to read it, not the book itself).  My favorite books are Nicholas Sparks books.  I've read every one (if you need a recommendation, I'm your gal)  He publishes a book right at about once a year and for about 3 days, I'm a book reading fool!  His books are very good, they make me cry, they make me laugh, it's all good.  But that only accounts for 1 of my 12 books that I need to read this year.  I've also started reading the Janette Oke, Love Comes Softly series, which is a good series.  But other than that, I'm at a loss for what to read.

What do you read?  What are your favorite types of books?  Who is your favorite author?  Help me out here peeps.  I have a quota to keep up.  :)