**doin' the happy dance***

Little bro comes tomorrow! Little bro comes tomorrow! Can't wait! :)

Switchin' again!

So, I've had to put down Pillars of the Earth to start working on "What the Dead Know" by Laura Lippman. This is the bookclub selection for October. I'm only about 4 pages in right now, so it is too soon to really make any kind of judgement on the book. I'll be posting again once I have a handle on this one though!

Fall garden prep

Well, the stinkin' deer ate all of those lovely begonias I planted in the spring/summer, so I'm trying something new. Marigolds. I'm hoping that the deer won't eat these. Apparently, the smell from them is enough to keep the deer from eating them, and we can plant marigolds year around here in Central Florida. I planted a bunch in the front yard today (along with many others things elsewhere throughout the yard).

Marigolds up close:




Front flower beds of marigolds:




Here's the side yard that I worked on a while ago. Everything is growing really well, and I added two small hibiscus plants today:




Close-ups of some of my hibiscus:






Newbie hibiscus just planted today:




My hydrangea in the side garden is looking really good!




The gardenia is doing well too, but no blooms since planting in the side yard. The plant has really picked up though, so hopefully we'll see some blooms in the next year.




The front yard also has eight crown of thorns plants near the house along the sidewalk:




Purple cone flowers in the side yard:




I planted five purple cone flowers in the side yard. I'm hoping for some more color over there!




All I really have left up front is to hopefully replace the hanging baskets that currently have begonias with mums. I love fall!

Two and Ohhhh... noooo....

Seriously, I don't wanna talk about it! Grr...

It's just too crazy!

I just took a bubble bath and used the entire bottle of a brand new container of SJP Lovely fragrance bubble bath. I dumped the WHOLE THING into the tub... for just one bath! Watch out! I'm dangerous!!

I think Oprah would be proud :)

New Layout!

Whatdaya think?

Yes, I know the new pic of me is blurry... I like it that way ;)

So, one of our newer purchases for our pooches is the following:





Does this make us smart or lazy?

No, we didn't force him...

Bauer is a very strange dog. He's started to bark at us when we're in the bathroom. Why? Well, he's decided that he likes to lick up the water on the floor of the shower. No lie, I could be in the bathroom, nowhere near the shower and he'll bark and bark and jump at the shower stall door. I've put a water bowl up there for the dogs to help the situation, but there must be something about the mildly soapy aroma of the shower floor that he likes.

This all started when one day either Chris or myself (I really don't remember which of us for sure) started the shower and left the door open to let it get warm for a few seconds. When we stepped away, Bauer tentatively stepped in and started lapping up the water. Now it is a constant battle with him to get him out of the shower so we can get in and wash up. He's also taken to barking at me when he hears the tub water turned on... I often use that faucet to fill my cup and water the plants in the bathroom. Yesterday I picked him up, put him in the tub and turned the water on to a dribble. He did the same thing as in the shower... lapping up the water as it ran down.

Stepping in...




Gettin' comfortable...




Shower water - YUM!




Shower floor - YUM!




Wet doggie!

Our Third Anniversary

Just got back from dinner for our anniversary. It was wonderful. Chris is wonderful :)

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from that glorious day 3 years ago:

Pray for Louisiana

Hurricane Gustav is going to hit at a category 3 it looks like around 8:00 AM EST this morning (geez, it is after midnight already). I just checked the other storms (yes, plural; there is one named storm and two areas of "disturbance" in the Atlantic that have the possibility of tropical development), and thankfully it doesn't look like Hannah will develop into a hurricane. Guess it is going to be a busy hurricane season as predicted!

Weather Underground is my favorite for tropical storm reports... and most other weather related research :)

100 Pages In...

...and plugging along. Pillars of the Earth has gotten pretty good. I just need to find more dedicated time to read it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'm able to keep the commitment to finish by my September book club meeting!!