Happy Father's Day

A shout out to my brilliant, gorgeous, amazing husband on his first ever Father's Day. (I'm sorry for embarrassing you sweetie, it's what I do.)

Thank you for being such a wonderful dad, and yes, yes you are.

Thank you for not leaving me when I was an emotional basket case and I would have left myself if it had been possible.

Thank you for the tall genes you have passed on to Baby A so she won't have to live her life as a near midget. Also for passing on your rosy cheeks, blue eyes and fine motor skilz.

Thank you for hours of carrying her around so I didn't have to listen to her crying in my face instead of eating.

Thank you for building me up and telling me I was a good mom even when it was questionable.

Thank you for playing guitar and singing and being a goof around our daughter. I'm hoping some of it rubs off on her.

Thank you for changing countless dirty diapers, for feeding her bottles and cereal and baby food, for comforting her many times until I finally got home, late, from work.

Thank you for loving us. Unconditionally. Because sometimes, let's face it, we're both a little difficult.

Say WHAT?

It's Friday and that means it's time for my AWESOME game Say WHAT? In case it's your first time or you forgot how to play here's the deal. I post a quote from an 80's movie and you all leave me your guesses in the comments. I will announce the winner on Sunday night and if the winner has a blog, I'll link them. If they have I profile picture I'll post that too.

Last week's winner was Beth from Total Mom Haircut. Although I don't think she realized she'd won until like, Wednesday. Obviously it was very important to her. *sticks tongue out!* I love her anyway for many reasons. Most recently because I found out we both dressed up as Wonderwoman in our childhood.

Now for today's 80's quote. Good Luck everyone and don't forget to come and check if you won!!



"Everything's different, yet the same. Things are more moderner than before, bigger, and yet smaller. It's computers. (pause) San Dimas High School Football Rules!"

Bloomorama!

Peter and I have been working very hard to beautify our yard. When we moved to this house the yard had been sadly neglected. I mentioned this a little here. Our first summer was spent getting rid of five volunteer trees that had grown up big and tall. Where the trees weren't growing perrenials and weeds were running amuck. Peter's first impression of the house was negative because of the yard. Thankfully we bought it anyway and after nearly three years, it's coming along. The back yard only has about 4 more trees to lose. We actually have a lawn back there now. And the big development is that our friend came over Saturday and cut down the two HUGE cedars in the front of our house. Here is a photo of them (sort of) in the spring.



You can imagine how huge they must be since they are hardly in the shot. They were like, twice the height, at least, of our house. When they were planted they likely meant for them to be the kind of cedars that grow a maximum height of like 8 feet or something. That wouldn't have been so bad. We were concerned about them being so close to the house (roots, etc.) and were sick of cleaning up the mess they created in the eavestroughs and flower garden. So anyway, as of today they are gone, gone, GONE! And here is the proof.





Is it ever weird that they are gone! So much more light comes in the front door now. It will take some getting used to and I told Peter I am going to make him put up Christmas lights this year now that the trees aren't in the way.

And to end this post on a happy note. Here are some pictures of the flowers in my garden going mental. Hurray!

Back to Normal?

Tonight was my first night back to TaeKwon Do. I was so excited. It felt good to put my Do Bok (that's Korean for uniform) and my black belt on again. (But why is my belt shorter?) It also felt strange. Not only because it's been a while but also because since I left to have my baby the location where we train changed as well. The building I trained in for over nine years was torn down. They're building a seniors complex there or something.

Our new Do Jang (that's Korean for training hall) is in the HUGE (sarcasm) downtown area of my city. It is in the upstairs of an old building. My instructor and those that helped him (unfortunately I couldn't as I was busy giving birth or something) worked their booties off, stripping and refinishing the wood floors, drywalling, plumbing etc. It looks pretty amazing. It has a patterned tin ceiling. Kind of like this. I like the new digs, though I'm not used to them yet. The wood floors are a lot easier on the knees but my feet haven't made friends with them yet. I am missing a part of the skin from one of my big toes. Yowee!

Being that this was my first class since having a baby there were a few things that, well, um... didn't go right. One was I forgot to take my sports bra. For me this was serious business. I was wearing a nursing bra. (handy!) Oh and a light (cheap) sports bra over top. Why? To handle the spillage. Oh how I hate boob spillage. Especially when wearing light summer cotton shirts. If I'm not careful you can see all sorts of jiggly lumps and bumps in my booball area. NOT GOOD people. not good. I'm a trooper though and I sure as heck wasn't going home. So what did I do? I had yet another cheap sports bra in my bag which I put on also. So let's count em' I had one, two, three bras on. So when we did sixty jumping jacks (no, I'm not kidding) the girls stayed put right? Right? Um... I wish I could say they behaved. They stayed compact in their three bra prison true, but they uniformly bounced up and down threatening to knock me unconscious before I even had a sparring match. Needless to say I was a little self conscious. One thing I have to thank Baby A for is since having her I'm a lot less self conscious about my body. Except when people ask me if I'm expecting again. Then I feel self conscious once more.

Thing number two that didn't go right, or was bad, or wrong. I have two words. Bladder control. Here are two more. Up and Down. Which is how my body moved a lot during the hour long class. Jumping Jacks. Jumping Kicks. I have been rather proud of myself since having A. Thinking, I don't need no stinking Kegals. Apparently, I do. I'm not saying I gotta break out the Depends or anything. Maybe just a liner for some 'feminine protection'. This also made me feel a little self conscious although I'm pretty sure no one could tell.



I just kept thinking “Wow, my life has really changed.” It never ceases to amaze me how I go back to doing things I did before having a baby thinking nothing will be different, only to discover that everything is. It boggles the mind. I don't think there is anything else left to surprise me anymore. I have now officially done everything I did B.B. Before Baby. From now on everything I do will be done with the mama perspective.

The Plunge

Well, I finally did it. Or we did it, I guess. We meaning Peter and I. Mostly me but he gave me the go ahead...

We took the plunge and bought a new (old) couch. Feel free to tell me it's ugly in the comments. You won't hurt my feelings. (much) I know it won't be everyone's cup of tea. It's plaid, it's old, it's like, made of wool or something. I don't know. It struck my fancy. Not to say that I didn't argue with myself about it a lot. 'Are you sure that's what you really want? A plaid couch? Really. But it won't go with your area rug.' (See new plain off white burber one) I dragged Peter to the second hand store with me at 9:30 on Monday morning. He said “It's fine. It's nice. It's not anything I thought you would have chosen at all. Hurry, up I'm going to be late for work.” So with that, I handed over my VISA and for $149 bucks we had a new couch, chair and automan. I bought the rug that afternoon before they were delivered.

The best part? We kept our lovely green couch and chair. Peter and I miraculously maneuvered the thing (it's over six feet long) into our narrow hallway and down the stairs which have a turn in them halfway down. We did this while A was screaming her guts out in her crib. (We thought that would be the safest place for her) And we didn't ask each other for a divorce when we finally got the d@mn thing down the stairs. Also Little A slept awesome after tiring herself out with all her carrying on. Thumbs up to all. Peter and I are considering opening the P & D Moving Company. Our motto? “We'll move yer stuff. It might get broken, we might damage your house in the process, it might take us a whole week to do it, but we'll get er' done!”

So far I'm liking the new furniture. It's not as high off the ground as our other one and even though the springs are good you really sink down into it. It doesn't smell bad but it doesn't smell like us. (We smell like roses) So it will take some getting used to. But I like it. I think. Do I sound like I'm trying to convince myself?? Anyway, here it is. Behold its beauty.

A Letter

There is an update at 'The Mama D Experiment'

I have never done one of these letters to my daughter before, so bear with me.

Dear A,

You are now officially nine months old. The same number of months that I carried you inside my womb. You were considerably easier to care for during that time (Except for all that vomiting you made me do!) thanks to the efficiency of the human body. It fed you (on time), took care of your waste, was always a nice warm place for a nap as well as having it's own swimming pool. Being born and having me take care of you must have been such a disappointment. This may explain why you were in a pretty bad mood for the first three months of your life. You were in no mood to eat, poop or sleep and since that is pretty much all that babies do that meant you didn't want to do anything. Had you been a little more aware of the world I think you would have found it entertaining to watch me slowly lose my mind with each nearly sleepless night and every challenging day.








Right about the time I was ready to throw in the towel I went back to work. You spent more time with your Dada, your auntie, your cousin and your grandma. I spent time with people my own age and had intelligent conversations. About you. About being a mom and how hard it is. About how cute you are. About how my life will never be the same. Soon after going back to work I began to really appreciate my time with you. I started to realize that you could actually be a lot of fun. I hadn't really noticed what with all the changing of diapers, breastfeeding, laundry, housework, sleep deprivation... Sometimes while I was driving you to your aunties I would feel sad that I had to go to work instead of be with you. On the other hand, you were totally happy to be with auntie and hardly noticed me leave.





I often look at you and can't believe how absolutely lovely you are. Your enormous eyes, long lashes and pronounced eye brows, your perfect full lips, your tiny little nose. Beauty isn't everything but you make my heart swell with pride as your gorgeousness takes my breath away. I happen to think your dad is mighty cute and I know I am not a troll but it is shocking to think that two such ordinary people created such an extraordinary you. We know it is our duty to teach you to be as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside. If we succeed you'll be the nicest person on earth.









Now, nine months into your life I can't believe the journey we've had. We've watched you grow from a tiny helpless and belligerent baby into the beginnings of a little girl. I am trying to imagine how you will look as a five year old without a single tooth since I am finding it hard to believe that you will ever get any. You are smart and funny and stubborn. Most of the time you make us so happy that we could cry. Some of the time you make us so unhappy, we do cry. You are the greatest joy in our lives and we can't imagine how empty we would feel without you. We get up every day just to see your smiling face. We love you, sweet baby.

Your Mama & Dada

A Total Winner

Beth is a lucky name. Beth from Total Mom Haircut gave the first correct answer to this week's Say WHAT?



I contemplated my quote. At first I thought it might be too easy, then too obscure but it's one of my favorite lines in the film, it's so quirky. That scene captures so perfectly the awkwardness of our teen years. That is, if we had the opportunity to go to a secret party of sweaty dirty dancers and had a much older man whisk us onto the dance floor and gyrate his pelvis into ours. Sadly, this never happened to me. Except in my dreams.



The quote is from 'Dirty Dancing' yet another inappropriate (for my age) movie I saw when I was 11. I believe it was the first movie we rented and watched on our *game show host voice* Brand New Video Cassette Recorder! From the moment it began I was enthralled. An ordinary young girl going on a summer holiday where she learns how to dance and falls in love with a hunky guy. That could be me! Except I was 11, and that would just be wrong. Needless to say I had a huge crush on Patrick Swayze and after seeing that movie bought a gynormous (yes it is a word!) poster of him to put up on my wall tout de suite. (are y'all impressed with my use of francais?) He was old enough to be my father (my actual father is much older) but it didn't matter cause man, could he dance. This may explain my current obsession with this show. (watch the clip or suffer my wrath!)

I had to quote from this movie since some people don't think it's worthy of being on my list of 7 movies I could watch over and over again. I guess you should have watched it a few more times after all Big Fugr!

Till tomorrow, Ciao! (Oooh, Italian! But no, I am not your slave.)

Say WHAT?

Before posting todays Say WHAT? I would like to share a Haiku poem I wrote about Blogger. This is my first time attempting a Haiku so I may not have it right. Let me inspire you to leave me your Haiku poetry about blogger in my comments along with your Say WHAT? guesses.

Oh Blogger
How I hate thee
You suck!


With that let us begin my new game Say WHAT? How do you play? Basically I post a quote from an 80's movie and you all leave me your guesses in the comments. I will announce the winner on Sunday night and if the winner has a blog, I'll link them. If they have I profile picture I'll post that too. Beth from Her Majesty's Throne (her site is temporarily under construction) won last week and she was quick on the draw so, good luck everyone!



Here is today's quote. (Not that you need any hints but my first few Say WHAT?'s are going to be taken from my most favorite 80's movies. (See my profile.)

"I carried a watermelon."

I Spy With My Little Eye

Something I love to do when I get the chance is to spy on my daughter. I love to watch her when she doesn't know I'm looking. I find this to be one of the most entertaining things ever. I used to do this all the time at the door of her bedroom a few months ago when she just started to play with her crib toys. I thought is was the cutest when I'd see her little feet and hands reaching up to make a button squeak or a wheel spin. We have a little aquarium that she used to turn off and on with her foot. She could be happy doing that for days. This is it, only the baby in this picture has teeth. TEETH! You know, those things that my baby is never going to get. She'll be the first toothless Supermodel.



Once she learned how to get up on her hands a knees she began head butting everything. Especially the little green squeaking button on this thing.



She had tiny little bruises on her forehead that matched the design on the button. Peter and I would stand at her door stifling our laughter. It was amazing to watch all the things she was beginning to do. Had it really been that long ago when she would just lay in her crib on her back and not do anything?

Now that Little A has learned to stand I don't often peek in to her room unless I mean to go in. Her eyesight is keen and if she catches site of me she'll expect me to come in. But when I get the chance I do enjoy a bit of spying. Watching as she plays by herself. It is truly a sight to behold.

I don't much care for her new bed and nap time routines which involve her waking immediately after I lay her in her bed, rolling over, standing and crying hysterically. I can't think of many things that would be more fun than being her own personal human bed. Oh wait, yes I can. That would be just about anything. Not that I don't bask in the beauty of my darling baby asleep in my arms, but come on. A mama's got to get stuff done. Like dishes. Laundry. Or sleeping! Especially the sleeping, which is pertinent to a happy mama the following day. So, no baby, I do not enjoy letting you sleep on me the rest of the night when you wake up at 2:45am. Almost as much as I don't enjoy getting up at that ridiculous hour. So I apologize for your unhappiness about this. Life is hard. I teaching you early. Some day, you'll thank me. I promise.

This current sleepy time unpleasantness is slightly relieved if I am able to spend some quite time standing at the door to her room watching Baby T.V.

Getting Back on the Horse...and man, does it hurt!

This is the week I started getting back to the gym. And also to TaeKwon Do. It's not as if I've been sitting around on my butt all the time or anything. If it's nice out, we go for a walk. And I do work 16 hours a week. While I'm at work I am constantly on my feet (except when I eat my lunch/supper and pump) or scurrying around mixing colors and such. But it's not the same. I get no satisfaction from leisurely walks or busy days. I need to get my sweat on. I need to make my instructor think “Wow! That girl is really working hard!” It's sick, I know. I think it stems from my childhood. My parents rarely told me that they thought I was doing well, working hard or that they were proud of me. They were I guess, they were just too busy (getting drunk) to say it. (That was a bit mean. I'm kind of sorry.) Anyway, now as an adult I crave positive feedback about everything I do. I go above and beyond to try to impress people. Even if I can't walk the next day.

Such was the case On Monday night. Baseball night. Yes, I went back. I'm no quitter. I may hate it but I'll soldier on. Actually, last night was a lot more fun. We played an actual game. We were short players which made it more challenging. I say bring it! This other team were very good. They like, knew what they were doing or something. One girl actually slid! Can you believe it? What did she think this was MLB? I played 2nd base. It was action packed and I did my best. Apparently it is one of the more difficult bases to play. So let's put the girl with no ball experience there. *shakes head* I was definitely out of my comfort zone. I hate not being good at something. (See above paragraph) I persevered, I learned and next week I'll be better. I got up to bat three times and got on base twice. I even got home once. Someone told me I needed to run faster. I swallowed my pride and the urge to say something in my defense. I am the youngest and probably the fastest runner on the team. Not the best ball player, not by a long shot. But I can run. If they had said I needed to catch better, bat better, understand what the heck I was doing better, I would not have questioned it. But I nodded and said “Okay.”

I definitely need to practice my catching. Last week I bruised my left hand catching with the ball of my hand instead of in the glove. Last night I bruised my right thumb trying to make a catch when I could have got someone out. Strangely enough the fact that I hurt myself a little both times I played gives me more respect for the game. If you can get hurt playing it, it must be worth playing. My desire to be a better ball player is driving me. I actually had fun last night. I want to be an asset to my team. Not an ass on the team.

I did a step aerobics class Monday and a cycle fit class yesterday. Neither were the hardest of classes which was actually perfect since I haven't been in a while. Little A had a blast in the kids room with older kids buzzing around yesterday and today a little guy from our La Leche League group was there. That made me feel a lot better about leaving to go work out. I have to say that between aerobics, baseball and cycle fit I am one hurting unit right now. Stretching my chin down to my chest feels like heaven. I just have to get through my TaeKwon Do class (without getting kicked in the head) and then I'll take a break until Friday.

Peter was wishing he'd brought the camera to ball. I borrowed a baseball hat to keep the sun out of my eyes. I asked him if he'd ever seen me wear a ball cap before. He said “Never” and had the most peculiar look on his face as he observed my new fashion statement. The really weird part is, I think he liked it!

,Seven

Nikkie tagged me for a list of Sevens. I haven't done one for a while so this should be fun!

And when you're done reading these useless but possibly interesting facts about me check out 'Ten' at The Mama D Experiment.

7 things I want to do before I die:

-Have another baby
-See my kids graduate from high school and college/trade/university
-Give my kids 'away' at their weddings
-Celebrate an anniversary at the location of our honeymoon
-Travel my country with my family
-Travel with my family
-Cuddle my grandchildren


7 Things I can't do:

-math
-sit still
-stop talking
-worrying
-stop being paranoid
-play baseball well
-stay mad at my husband

7 things that attracted me to my spouse:

-his grey hair
-his intelligence
-his painful shyness
-his sense of humor
-his laugh
-his body
-the whole package, baby

7 Things I say often:

-crazy
-like
-for real
-go to sleep already!
-come on then
-I love you
-Hi Baby! (emphasis on eeeee!)

7 Books I love:

-The Catcher in the Rye-J.D Salinger
-Jennifer Government-Max Barry
-Fray-Joss Whedon (comic, does that count?)
-The Stranger-Albert Camus
-Romeo & Juliet-William Shakespeare
-Hope Springs Eternal: Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption – Stephen King (short story from Different Seasons)
-Bible

7 Movies I could watch over and over again

-Say Anything
-Some Kind of Wonderful
-Pretty in Pink
-Vanilla Sky
-Dirty Dancing
-The Princess Bride
-The Matrix

7 People who I'm going to tag!

Okay, my blogging world is not that big. I am going to tag my two buddies who actually know me in my real life. Like, for real. And hopefully they'll still want to be my friends after I tag them.

Big Fugr from Confessions of a Small Town Rock Star and Gardener Extraordinaire - This Single Spark

Surreality

This weekend was an eventful one. Our friends had their baby 5 weeks early. He arrived early Friday morning. We went to visit that evening. Everyone seemed to be doing well. It's hard to believe our bodies can produce these tiny perfect little beings. That was the first time I have been back on the maternity ward since having Audrey. I was surprised at the emotions that came rushing back.

It made all those feelings of excitement and fear about the birth come rushing back to me. As well as the feelings of overwhelming sadness and frustration that I also experienced shortly after the birth. When we arrived for our visit the mama was in 'the pumping room'. Another room I was very familiar with during my week stay in the hospital. The surreal part of our visit was the fact that even though being there made me feel like I'd just gave birth yesterday I stared at my almost 9 month old girl and there was the proof that I hadn't. She was crawling all over the room and trying to get up on the bed. I just kept thinking, '8 and a half months ago when we were here you couldn't even manage to eat. And now look at you!' Talk about a reality check!

Since having A, every time someone I know has a baby I have feel a strong responsibility to do everything I can for them. I want things to be easier for them than they were for me. I want to prevent everyone from going through the crap that I went through. People put on a brave face, want everybody to think that things are great. But I don't buy it. I know about the hormones coursing through your body. I know about the sleep deprivation. I know about how desperately you just want to feel normal again. I just want to be there. Be someone who knows and will listen. Nothing will shock me. Just spill it.

But maybe it was just me. Maybe having a baby is a lovely experience for everyone else. Perhaps other women take it all in stride. Embrace the hormone surges, say “Bring it on!” to the sleep deprivation. Maybe they want everyone to back off and let them do it on their own. But from my experience, and from what most other mama's I've met here have told me... I don't think so.

We Have A Winner!

Congratulations to Queen Beth from Her Majesty's Throne who knew what film this weeks Say WHAT? quote was from. She also knew the name of the character quoted as well as the actress's name. Show off! (Just kidding!)



This is a quote from one of my all time favorite movies – Some Kind of Wonderful.



I am not sure how old I was when I first saw it. Perhaps ten or eleven. It was very likely a tad grown up for me at the time. Yet it would still have been one of the tamer of things that I was exposed to at a very young age. All I know is that I fell in love with it. I wanted to be Watts. I already had the tomboy part down all I had to do was learn how to play drums. Keith Nelson was my dream boyfriend until Lloyd Dobler came along. (and he shall forever be in my heart.) The kissing scene in this movie still makes me get all tingly. That feeling of kissing someone that you are absolutely dying to kiss. I love the way her eyes twitch when their lips first touch. And the music in that scene, though it is now dated, is perfect. I couldn't tell you how many times I've watched it. I have probably watched it at least once a year since I first saw it so... math is not my strong suit... that would be approximately...twenty times. And I know that's low. Between the ages of 15 and 24 I must have watched it at least three times in one year. I have forced every friend I've ever had to watch it with me. Even my male friends. (I love you guys!) I think my three older nieces have also watched it with me. And my husband. My poor husband. He has suffered through it many times as well. He watched a lot of movies with me when we were first dating that he probably had little desire to watch. Now that we've been together so long it is difficult to persuade him to watch my favorites yet again. My power over him is waning...

I recently purchased a DVD copy and have retired my tired old VHS version. If you haven't seen it I highly recommend you go out and rent it. I am surprised that I still love it so much after all these years. I can't help myself. I am a sucker for a good love story. Especially a John Hughes love story. I can identify with being friends with a guy that you love (or think you love). That happened to me several times when I was younger. It is a cruel way to live and unlike the movie those friendships of mine never ended in romance like in this movie. But I've had my happy ending and am starting with a new beginning!

Say WHAT?

Hello all and welcome to my new game Say WHAT? How do you play? Basically I post a quote from an 80's movie and you all leave me your guesses in the comments. I will announce the winner on Sunday night and if the winner has a blog, I'll link them. If they have I profile picture I'll post that too. The Big Fugr won last week and I'll warn you all, he is a movie aficionado. If he gets here first you may not have a chance. Good Luck!

Here is today's quote. (Not that you need any hints but my first few Say WHAT?'s are going to be taken from my most favorite 80's movies. See my profile.)

"The only things I care about in this life are me, my drums and you."

My Garden - A Tour...

I'm going to post something happy about my garden but first I must put this out there.

*its the eye of the tiger,
Its the thrill of the fight,
Rising up to the challenge of our rival,
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night,
And he's watching us all
With the eye of the tiger.*

To clarify - Baby A has the eye of the tiger, it gives her a thrill to fight nap time, I am her rival, she is the survivor and stalks 'her' prey (me) in the night. 'She's' watching us (Mama & Papa D) with the eye of the tiger.

After much protest, as per usual, she finally fell asleep. Sadly I must wake her in an hour and a half to take her to my sisters while I go to work. What she really needs is a three hour nappy. I was having a stress reaction of laughing when she was making this awful screeching/crying noise from her crib. It was the oddest sensation. What I wanted to do was cry. Because it was hurting my ears and my heart. Instead I laughed... Weird. I have tried various methods of getting her to sleep but there comes a point when putting her in bed and leaving her there is the only method that works. Let me say I do not enjoy this new phase.

And now on to brighter and happier things! Thanks to great advice and help from This Single Spark my garden is in! I invested in several perennials and a few annuals. Also two shrubs. (Peter was reluctant about these, imagining them taking over our yard and house like some kind of evil thing. After much coaxing and promises of keeping them pruned back, he agreed.)

When we bought this house, the yard was an over grown disaster. There were perennials but they were running wild, overgrown with weeds and very neglected. Had I been a more experienced gardener I may have been able to salvage more of them. What seemed easier was to do a clean sweep. When we did we found pipes, glass, shells and rocks. Oh the rocks. Last year one of the ones we had missed relocating to our rock collection got run over by the lawn mower. It was pitched through the first pane of glass in our basement window. Ouch. As you can see in the following picture it's fixed now. Oh, I nearly forgot. There was also a kitchen sink in the back yard. No, I'm not kidding. Perhaps it was meant to be a pond? Or maybe a bird bath.




Though we pretty much dug everything out I kept this little corner by the stairs. Iris's and a Peony. And something else I can't remember the name of that looks like rhubarb. As I think you will notice I am a color Nazi. I plant red, yellow, orange, green or white. No girly colors allowed. No pink, or purple. My reasoning is simply because I don't think those colors go with my tan house. And I like those other colors best anyway. Unfortunately the peony has pink flowers and the iris's are white with purple. Why do they get to stay? They are well established and if my attempts to fill my garden with colors I like fail then at least they still look good.




Here are pictures of my Hosta post hail. Thought I'd stick my finger through it for dramatic effect.







Now I'd like to introduce you to my shrubs. (A SHRUBBERY!!!!)

Rose Glow Barberry - Isn't it lovely. I wanted a red one and this is the one I chose. It makes me happy when I look at it!




Annabelle Hydrangea – Pleased to meet you, I'm sure. Will one day have gorgeous white puffs of flowers... Yeeeaaaay!!!



This is called Yarrow and it's red, though the sun is shining brightly and it almost looks pink. See color Nazi portion of my post.



My narrow little portion of garden by the house. A Marigold, Day Lily and Silver Mound (the pet of the garden).



And lastly my Creeping Jenny. I have been warned of her evil spreading ability. Since this is what I want her to do, I'm cheering for her. She can't get into any trouble between the house and the sidewalk.








How did you enjoy your tour? Please sign the guest book.

P.S. Sorry you have 'Eye of the Tiger' in your head now.