the normal pets we have... well... maybe normal isn't the right word...

Sunday I got hit hard and fast with some sort of virus. And by Monday evening I was feeling much better. I'm still a little spacey and getting myself back together, but definitely glad to be over that. To top it all off, I smashed my big toe on Monday night too. Matt said I hadn't gotten enough sympathy, so I had to go and turn my toenail purple and green.

Totally unrelated to my sickly weekend I thought I would share some cute pictures of my little pets.

Hans here is my fat cat. He is seriously sweet. When I was sick he lay at my feet in the bed off and on. Most mornings he wakes me up. He absolutely loves to get in confined spaces. I've seen his fat body disappear into little places that I thought there was no way possible he was going to fit. This tub had yard sale things in it, but he didn't care. He had to test it out before I put it away.

This is Biscuit. Our little sweet mutt, with the claws of a Velociraptor. She is also super fast and can appear and disappear in a flash. She is the defender of her dog pen and barks like she is a big deal. In reality she is scared of her own shadow. He is allowed to come in the house at times, but Matt and I have to be her body guards. You see, she slipped up one time and let the cats see that she is afraid of them. Now they can smell her fear when she comes in the house. Here she is sleeping sweetly on her makeshift dog bed. Making her a cute one is on my list of projects to do.

I’ve learned my lesson about peppers!

Last year we had an abundance of jalapeño peppers from our garden. Matt made and canned salsa. I pickled some. I also learned how the make pepper jelly. Well this year the jalapenos didn't do as well, but we do have quite a few habanera peppers. I wanted to make some jelly again so that I could use it as a glaze for some chicken or pork. So last night I picked a few and got a new recipe to try that added apple juice in with the peppers. The recipe said to wear glove, something the recipe I followed last year also told me to do. I hadn't done it last year, and things went just fine, so I proceeded on gloveless last night too. I made the jelly, canned it, processed it, I washed my hands repeatedly and religiously, sat down to watch TV and work on a sewing project. Then the heat. My fingers turned red, and burned. So I washed them. It didn't quit, so I washed them again. Bed time came, so I washed my burning hands again and then made a huge mistake. I took out my contact lens. Holy Jesus! What was I thinking?!?! I lay in bed weepy and red eyed, squeezing my blazing hands. I got up and washed them again. Matt asked me to scratch his back and I told him that was probably a really bad idea. I woke up through out the night because of my burning hands.

This morning I woke up to my hands STILL tingling. It was that tingling/stinging sensation you have right after a slap. I did not even attempt to put in my contacts, for fear of being blinded. And at around noon today I noticed my hands were back to normal. I'm in no rush to try my blazing concoction and I'm seriously considering tossing those lens a little early.

I also got to thinking of all the clever names they have for hot sauces and levels of heat when you order hot wings. I thought I would probably name mine something like "don't taze me bro" after my whole little experience.

I can see clearly now the rain is gone…*

Some days I'm less than enthusiastic about living in the country, and wish that I lived closer to town, closer to friends, maybe even in a neighbor hood with lighted streets. I would really enjoy having a good grocery store where you don't discover you've purchased rotten produce. I have bought 2 boxes of rotten tangerines. Of course the five on top with the side facing the net were beautiful, but when I opened the box, green mold and mushy fruit. You better believe I investigate every carton of strawberries too.

Well for a few minutes Sunday all the rain we've been having stopped and the clouds opened up. The sun actually shined and everything outside looked green and gorgeous! Not to mention there was a full rainbow over the trees. I love being able to walk out side and enjoy the beauty of where we live. I can always drive a few minutes longer into town for the fresher food, but if I lived in town I may not have been able to enjoy this (as well as all the other things we enjoy out here).

*Johnny Nash I Can See Clearly Now, the Rain is Gone

Yard sale legal advice and 2nd graders

As mentioned, last weekend my friend and I had a yard sale. Yard salers are such a weird mix of folks. If I hadn't been one of the people deciding prices and what not, I might have enjoyed the people watching.

Well one gentleman asked my friend what she did for a living. I heard the question and began to coil up against the wall where I was sitting, hoping and praying that no one would notice me and I could fly under the radar for a few moments. And I did, at least for a few moments. I thought I had escaped this one, but then my friend (who is very proud of me) piped out, "She's a lawyer."

DAMN IT! I'd been outed, and I braced myself for possible bombardment. I got lucky. The first words were not, "my baby daddy", "It's not me, but I got a friend who…", "My brother/sister/cousin is getting a divorce and…", or "blah, blah, blah, blah… and can they do that?". He asked about probating an estate in Kentucky so I got out really easy. I was able to say I had not received my bar exam results yet, and I only took it for the state of Tennessee. So I didn't know anything about Kentucky, and I couldn't answer any questions. AWESOME!!! I wish I were so lucky every time. Most the time I feel like Jerry Springer has descended upon me.

In other news, Matt substituted for a 2^nd grade class this week. He had a good time. But he explained that it felt like someone took some chalk, drew a box on the ground, and then dumped out a bag of kittens and told him to make sure they stayed in the box. He also said that they all had to go pee, and everyone's stomach hurt after lunch. I told him this afternoon my tummy hurt and he asked me if I needed to go see the nurse.

Wicked weekend

So for our anniversary Matt and I tended the sheep and goats early, and us two bumpkins went out for a night of culture. We went to see Wicked at TPAC. It was absolutely great! Really good songs, great twist on the Wizard of Oz, and the performance was just wonderful. It was a good way to celebrate our anniversary. If you are interested in seeing it, you really should try to go.

I also had a two day yard sale with my friend from High School over the weekend. I had forgotten how draining having a yard sale is. I made a little dough, but most importantly… I got rid of some of the clutter at the house. Don't get me wrong, there is still a lot of clutter. But it has definitely given me some relief. We also decided to take down and store the spare bed at our house to get more room. No one has visited or slept in that room for 2 years now, so obviously it wasn't being used. I'm still weeding through things and trying to get things situated after the four years of neglect from being in law school, but things are starting to improve.

News on the pumpkin front is grim. The plants are definitely getting bigger and bigger. Problem is, for some reason my female plants are not flowering (I think I must have planted them too late). They keep shriveling up and dying. Like I mentioned before, this is a learning process. I had no idea that there is a male and a female part of the pumpkin plant. And well, as one would imagine... the two have to meet up to pollinate and make a pumpkin. I guess we won't have any pumpkins this year, but our odds next year are going to be pretty good after all I've learned this year. I've got my fingers crossed that I might have at least one, but it isn't looking too hopeful.

bloomed male flower

female flower- no bloom

The little pumpkin on the bottom shriveled away :(

1...2...3...4... ahh ha haaa!

"Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination."

-Roy Goodman

I really think this is a good quote for Matt and I's 4^th anniversary. Matt and I aren't where we were four years ago and we aren't where we're going to be four years from now. But I can proudly say we are happy. We have maneuvered these first few years of marriage alright. We are still trying to get settled, establish ourselves, and just plain figure things out. As frustrating as it may be at times, I can say that we are happy, laughing and making our way.

You know Matt once gave me a Valentines or an anniversary card that was thanking me for all the things I do as his wife. And then on the inside of the card, it thanked me specifically for not killing him as he slept. Every time I come across that card I giggle. Especially when I look at his little emphasis added by his scribbled handwriting stating, "no really, thank you!"

Show and Tell

I'm sure kids all over have show and tell today and I thought I would join in.

First- my latest crafty projects.

This is my first actual successful attempt at making a fleece hat. In doing so, I was supposed to sew down the two points at the top, but I thought that they would make a cute owl hat if I left them as they were. Since my college sorority mascot was an owl, and they are very in these days, I created just that. It is really cute to look at, and a friend's daughter is just the right size for it so I gave it to her (along with some other stuff) for her first birthday. I have to admit the hat was much cuter in theory, because it seriously conjures up images of the pope when actually worn by a child.

I'd like to preemptively apologize to the future 16 year old baby K for the possible embarrassing pictures that maybe a result of my actions.

Here are some pictures of my other gifts to her.

Of course a stuffed owl, and a cute little appliqué shirt.

Speaking of Birthday's... My mom celebrated her Birthday this week.

Happy Birthday Momma! I love you!!!