Craft FAIL

Remember that cute Easter wreath I whipped up last weekend?  Well, on Tuesday I opened my front door to find this: 

And this:

Yeah.  

My theory is that the glorious sunshine pounding through the glass door melted the low-temp glue I had used to fasten the eggs to the wreath. 

So, that's the end of my Easter decorating.  

I think the Bunny will now focus her energies on filling fuzzy baskets with chocolatey goodness.  

Front Yard Glory

After having skipped a William Morris post for a few weeks, I almost thought I wouldn't have anything once again.  And while this is neither particularly useful, nor beautiful, it's a start.

This was the front of our house when we bought it:

Pretty innocuous, right?  But I always hated the bushes in front.  Over the summer they really "bushed out", which meant that they blocked the view of the porch.  And the ones on the right (other than the juniper) were thorny and nasty.  

The juniper lost his home last Fall, but the rest of those bushes just hung out all Winter, annoying me.

After a visit to the garden department at Lowe's on Saturday, we came home and did this: 

Bye-bye bushes! 

We used the car to yank out some, and the stubborn ones got roughed up with the shovel. 

Once we remove about 10 cubic feet of lava rock we'll be ready to replant!

And no, my plan did not include an "After".... so as usual, I will wing it & hope for the best. 

But honestly..... dirt patch or no, I still think it's an improvement!

Hub will gone for the month of April, so I guess I have 30 days to figure it out.  

Any suggestions on what to add?  I prefer something easy to grow and not messy (no flowers that will drop off and make a huge mess). I love hydrangeas, but those are probably better suited to our back yard.  Hosta?  Wildflowers?  A concrete slab?    FYI, the front gets sunlight from noon-sunset.  

Quick Easter Craft

With my self-imposed housebound Saturday (stupid allergies have made me unfit for human interaction... crazy eyes, cracked lips, and a serious mouth breathing problem), I decided to whip up a quick Easter craft.

Supplies: glue gun, wreath form (Dollar Tree), plastic eggs from last year, ribbon for hanging.

Yes, I keep the plastic eggs.  

It seems silly to buy them over and over each year.

An hour of gluing, and VOILA:

Ah, Springtime!

Total spent: $0

Remembrances of the Week

Goodness, it's Friday already?!  Ugh, the week started a little rough....I needed a vacation from my vacation, but felt lucky to have a quiet Sunday at home to recover & prepare for the week.  Note to self: Next time, schedule a FULL day for R & R from my r & r. Also, exercising after 10 days off = sore.  Jillian Michaels, you are a she-devil.

On Thursday I fixed my torn belt loop with Fabri-Tac 10 minutes before leaving for work.  It got me through the day, but only because I had to restrain myself from tugging up my pants every 10 minutes.

Did you know that Preschool is dirty?  Sunny days = time digging in the sand pit.  And they also = baths as soon as we get home. And then naps while Mom squeezes in a quick workout.  So, really, not such a bad thing. 

Soccer started this week!  No games yet, but she surprised me with her ball skills & level of aggression on the field.  I mean that in a good way. 

Also, if you talked to me this week & I had "crazy eyes" it's because of allergies!  Hoo-wee!  I didn't know this was the pollen capital of the upper-SE-U.S.!  And I was even less excited to find out that apparently there is a big issue with chemicals in the water here.  So, I'll be spending part of my weekend researching water filtration systems for the kitchen sink.  

And finally, how can I be expected to eat healthy when I find this in my mailbox?  Between the perfect poached eggs on the the inside pages and the delectable looking pecan sticky bun on the cover, April is doomed! It's an Easter conspiracy!

Happy weekend!

Baked Potato FAIL

I love baked potatoes, and really, if I'm going to have one, the best way to make them is in the oven.

If you microwave them, they are mealy, not fluffy.

Also, did you know that if you wrap them in foil, it steams the skins & they are not nearly as tasty?  True!

On Saturday night, I decided to grill some steaks & threw 2 potatoes into the oven.  I checked them after an hour, and they needed a little more time, so I closed the oven door again.  About 10 minutes later, I heard a weird "POP" sound, but it seemed to come from another part of the house.  My children were outside, and husband was upstairs, so I thought maybe it was a ball against the house or something like that.

10 minutes after the noise I checked the potatoes again, I found this:

Yes, that is an exploded potato.... with potato debris on every surface of my oven!  Has this ever happened to you?  I'm not sure what I was more sad about: having to share a potato, or cleaning up the mess.  

OK, it was totally the mess.  

Disney World in Pictures

First we took a little detour to Clearwater Beach outside Tampa.  It was delightful!

We're there!

Room at the All-Star Movie Resort.

Note the double beds. 

Hollywood Studios

Animal Kingdom

"Safari"

See!  I was there too!

Mickey-head popsicle. A classic.

Guess who turned 4 at The Happiest Place on Earth!?

Pirate Makeover at The Pirate's League.

His new pirate name: Bartholomew Stormwater, captain of the Red Bear.

Check out that scar!  Pirates need better health benefits!

Taking the pirate oath. 

Gift from sister: a pirate pistol!

Pirate Goofy

Jasmine & Aladdin

Birthday cupcake + card signed by Tigger, Pooh, Piglet & Eeyore.

Pirate parade!

Pirate "lessons" from Captain Jack Sparrow.

Princess makeover at the Bippity Boppity Boutique.  

And a sprinkling of fairy dust.....

Dole Whip Pineapple Float!

Look!  Husband was there, too!

Kissed by TWO princesses! (and not happy about it)

Epcot