This one's for the boys

Notice how it has a soft light around it, much like an angel would? It came to save us from the prospect of push mowing the lawn.

And this one's for the girls.

I bought these for Zane and I. For our anniversary last week. I've been enjoying the company of Zaner for quite a few years now. I'll keep him around for another one, I think. (Happy belated to Sabrina and Levi)

Tickets to Abq are now $198/person.
I know this because I miss my friends back there. My heart feels all achy. :'(
Too bad we bought that dumb mower. Sigh.

I'm going to paint my loneliness away... (room #2, the master bedroom) Well, maybe. If I decide the color is right.

GSA

Hi, my name is Mindi ("Hi, Mindi!" you all say in unison) and I'm a Shopaholic. Even Dave Ramsey couldn't crack me. Well, why don't I look like a million bucks? you wonder. Because I don't wear the stuff I buy. Except around my midsection. I'm addicted to grocery shopping.

Seriously!? What's with me? If there's a sale, I'm there. Even if there isn't a sale, I'm there. Today I bought 6 lbs of strawberries. Because Susan said Costco strawberries are the best. Never mind the fact that I already had 3 lbs at home. We have been here not even two months and I have filled the rest of the freezer that we had partially filled, another small chest freezer and the fridge freezer. Fridge? I practically have to duct tape it shut. Cupboards? Lets not start. I could feed a small army for a month and be completely fine. And I'm still not content. I mean, hello! I totally have a $4 off coupon for Meijers- so I must think of something else I still need so that I can use it. Big deal if I'll walk out with at least $50 worth of groceries. At least I'll use that $4 coupon. Which I earned, by the way, by buying 4 million boxes of cereal last time I went in. What? They were on sale. Duh.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And more cupboard space to store my groceries.

The Backyard.

You asked for it. Or someone did. Pictures of our backyard. I love it. With a few "candywions" (dandelions) for future bouquets from Izzy to adorn our kitchen. I love them, too. Is there anything sweeter than a crumpled pile of weeds, er, flowers from your baby meant to brighten your day?

I remember thinking it would make my mom so happy to get some flowers. So it warms my heart that Bizzizzy would think the same. I tell her I love them and she usually jumps up and down and says, "Oh, good! My mom is so happy! She wuvs candywions!" Too stinkin' cute. So, this is our backyard. FYI: To push mow this lawn with our mulching mower, 4.5 hours will not even get you to the swingset.

Zane bought a rider. (I'll have to put up a picture later. For the male readers of my blog. I don't understand the fascination with lawn mowers and such, but I don't have to.)

This view above this comment is from my sliding glass door. The one below, is the same view from the railing of the deck. In case you wanted to know.

My big life moment

(I collect fabulous friends.)

When I was four I couldn't wait to turn five. Twelve, sixteen. Eighteen. Twenty. I didn't actually want to turn 25, but I did it anyway. (Such a good sport I am.) Unlike most people, I didn't dread 30. I never knew what the hype was. If you look at people in their 30's, they are all finally coming into their own. Comfy in their skin. Confident in their bodies, personalities, intelligence, beliefs. And I wasn't afraid of that. I woke up the other morning feeling like a kid again. It was my birthday! And I was so happy about it. I finally reached the milestone that I actually waited for. And it didn't disappoint. That's it, people! I actually am 30. For realsies. (Yeah, I might have been telling people I was when I actually wasn't.) What? It's not against the law. My twenties were good. They served a purpose. But I was over them. My life, I felt, was better suited for the 30 something crowd. What with my million and a half kids I have. But, I'm here. I made it. Bring on the fine lines and other beautiful signs of age. I'll just be sitting here waiting for the big 40. They know where to find me. I'm not scared.

Well, maybe a little.

*Just in case you were wondering: I actually spelled "intelligence" wrong- spell check caught it. heh.*

BFL's and no BFL's

It's true. It was Pegs birthday yesterday. Leanne and I both posted BFL's about her in honor of her birthday. (Big Fat Lies) That's how we roll. We had planned on having a contest to see who could come up with the better BFL, but neither of us were successful. A truly successful BFL is one that you can get people to fall for. And that clearly didn't happen. Shoot.

For realsies, Penny is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. And that is no BFL. She's hilarious, smart, gorgeous, non-judgemental, accepting, loyal, kind-hearted, etc. To a fault. And I'm thankful that after years of not seeing each other, we can easily pick up where we started off. And I'm also thankful that we can do dumb stuff like tell BFL's about each other and we never offend each other. (This includes Lenny, of course.) The three of us are hilarious and we know it. Nobody else might not know that. Just as long as we can crack each other and ourselves up, we are good.

Hope it was happy, Peg. You rock.

A happy day in more than one way!

Dear Mama Peggles,

Happy happy birthday to you, my dear friend.

I just wanted to tell you how proud of you I am. I know this past year has been very difficult, what with all the hard work you have put into getting over your debilitating fear of flying. Even though the hypnosis and acupuncture didn't do the job, it probably did help you when you took those classes. I'm so thrilled that you were finally able to take the baby steps and complete your first flight from M**q**** airport to H****t** airport. That's an accomplishment you should be shouting from the rooftop! Pretty soon you'll be a pilot!! Wear those wings with pride, woman!

Happy birthday!

Love always,
Mindizzle