#33 Life Lessons From Lawn Care

So I'm gonna go REAL DEEP on this must anticipated post...Are you ready?

Life Lessons from Lawn Care

So last year we had a really bad drought here in Texas and we decided, because of the water restrictions in our neighborhood, we would just stop watering the lawn all together.  Needless to say we just about killed the entire lawn. So this year we have been trying real hard to get it living again  without sodding or hiring a professional (Hey we are not made out of money!) and not be the shame of the neighborhood (which we are pretty close to being).  I think we have done more crap to this lawn this year than the 5 years we have been here combined.

this is what it looked like...but without all that green

We aerated it (we have NEVER done this) 
We seeded it 
We watered it almost daily 
We added a fertilizer 
We did a liquid weed and feed 
We seeded again 
I weeded the CRAP out of it 
We added topsoil to the dead spots 
We kept watering 
We SEEDED AGAIN 
I did another fertilizer

The water never stopped flowing from our sprinklers

After all this, our lawn was still spotty, had weeds, and still the shame of the neighborhood.

Then about a week or 2 ago I decided to seed the backyard again and read the directions on the seed bag. It said to rake the dead spots first, then add seed and water.

I followed.

Grass started growing in the dead spots.

HOLY CRAP

So this morning after my weight watchers meeting....down 5% of my body weight thank you very much....I grabbed the rake  and for an hour cleared all the dead grass from my front lawn.  I then got on my hand and knees and pulled out (from the ROOT) every STUPID STINKIN' WEED that I could find.

Hubby then mowed, I edged, he weed-eated, I swept.

3 hours of non-stop yard work. I was /am exhausted. But our lawn actually looks decent for the first time this year!

So what life lesson did I get from this horrible experience?  Here you go:

1.You got to clear the dead things out of your life so it can flourish.

That seed was never going to take root because there was all this dead grass underneath it that was preventing it from getting to the soil to grow.

This was a real dead bunny courtesy of our dogs that I had to ALSO clear out

What's the dead things preventing you from growing?

2.If you just treat the symptoms, the ACTUAL issue will never be resolved.

Our issue was that the seed never had a chance to get to the root. We tried all of the above to fix it, but all that was in vain because it was never helping the seed get to the ground. 

This is Jerome after a run in with my daughter. I fixed him up with glue but that will only last till the next time she breaks him. What we should do is not let her touch him...but she loves Jerome so much!

Let's be honest, that person you just were really short with wasn't really because their face annoys you, it's because you're cranky that you didn't get that promotion...which is really because you slacked off at your desk and was on blogger and facebook for most of the work hours...

3. Sometimes you have to pull that crap out by the roots

The weeds kept coming back because I was doing a crappy job of pulling them out....you know...I just pull the green stuff off and nothing else. Well until I got the green AND the roots...the seen and unseen things...that stupid weed was going to keep on growing.  And coincidentally, the root system was getting bigger, even though you couldn't see it above the ground.

I would also put in LIFE as well

We you are always apologizing for the same thing over and over again...or are feeling bad about the same thing over and over again...maybe you need to pull it out by its roots and really stop that behavior. 

All in all it was a lot of work, but I can already see the difference in my lawn.  And it doesn't mean I'm never going to have to pull weeds or mow anymore, I still have to maintain it. But isn't maintaining so much easier than starting from scratch?

I would say....

SURE DOES!!!

#32 Bangs

So I decided randomly about 8 months ago to cut myself some bangs. I've been wanting to do something different with myself to "mix it up" a bit and i was debating on wither or not to dye blue streaks in it or just cut it differently.

After getting out of the shower one day and staring at my still 10lbs till pre-pregnancy weight but 20 lbs to loose after that body, I grabbed the first pair of scissors I could find, a chunk of my hair and cut. And there they were. In all their glory. I turned to my husband and said " what do you think?" To his reply... "huh..." Not exactly what I was expecting.

This isn't me, but this is sort of what they looked like :)

I brushed this comment aside and quickly got dressed. My friend was on her way over for some much needed hanging out. When she arrived, her first comment was "Interesting..."and we went about our shopping with kids in tow. She said to me finally, " ya know they are growing on me a bit, but they aren't even straight!" As a side note, my friend Heather is Awesome, she will always tell me the truth which most people are uncomfortable with doing ... especially when the truth is crooked and ugly)

Not straight?! You mean when I hacked off a piece of my hair randomly with un-sharpened scissors we use to open boxes with it wasn't a perfect out of a style magazine cut?! I got home and took a closer look at them and they were indeed quite crooked....but it made me smile. I took the scissors and evened them out and reflected on what the crap I just did.

In a nut shell, with things in my life that are so out of my control it was nice to think of something and get results instantly. Yes crooked, GOD AWFUL and not flattering bangs. And it made me feel good about myself....even pretty....which i hadn't felt in a LONG time. And when they grew a little and I posted a facebook picture to build up my self esteem a bit. Gotta love facebook. Instant ego booster. All in all I'm happy i did it...and the blue dye? I got fake extensions that clip in. Works AMAZING and I can take them out when I want to feel more like a responsible adult! check it!

I am SO HARDCORE! lol ok these are red not blue, but I do have blue ones too...

And what am I thankful for today?

AWESOME MOVIES!!!!

The avengers was FAMAZING!!!!!!! please go see if if you haven't...my GEEK was in OVERDRIVE!!!

I of course had to put my friends husbands and my own into the characters.... I think we should always view our hubbies this was

and yes...I made myself black widow :)

#31 how to help a new mom out Mother's day special

Oh my goodness,  we went over our friends house the other day for a much needed dinner hang out that involved my Nannie's lasagna recipe.  They just had their second baby a little over a month ago, so needless to say, everyone in the home is exhausted.

I immediately went to grab the adorable baby out of momma's arms to give mom a break. Not quite 10 minutes into holding her, all feelings came back to me of when I had my baby girl at that age.  (not great feelings...I would almost describe it as a panic attack....like something inside of me is screaming YOU WANT ANOTHER ONE OF THESE!? YOU WANT TO GO THROUGH THIS AGAIN!? GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN!!! GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!!!!...but i digress)  My poor friend! I empathize with her BIG time! So I have decided since Mother's Day is just around the corner (May 13th people!!), to give you all some tips for helping your new momma friends out there. They may not say they want it, but TRUST me....they do.

• DO NOT CALL!!!    For the LOVE OF GOD the baby JUST went down for a NAP!!!! And when is nap time? ALL THE TIME. Do not call their house, do not call their cell.  If you need to contact them, txt them and wait for a response. If they don't have txt. Email or Facebook....and if they don't have email (what planet are they on?) or don't check stuff that often...find out what would be OK times to call in general and wait to call during those times.

• When you see momma, ask if you can hold her baby.  MOST moms will jump at the chance to have someone else hold their kiddo. It has nothing to do with them not loving their baby, but EVERYTHING to do with being around the same person (In their ARMS no less) for hrs on end! They need a BREAK! If anything, their ARMS need a break! (caveat... please make sure you actually KNOW the mom before you try to take her baby from her! )

• Make them a meal.... BUT .... DO NOT include anything that is super spicy, has onions, garlic, etc.  Depending how old the baby is and if momma is breastfeeding, anything the mom eats, the baby is getting in the form of milk.  Most baby's guts are not totally developed and makes them SUPER sensitive to anything strong in food form....aka making it a living HELL for momma because baby has an upset stomach or worse... GAS!

• When mom is up for it, try to plan some lunch, play or COFFEE dates.  You'd be amazed at how little she will get out of her house those first 2 months.

• Ask her if you can watch the baby/kids for an hr or more.  I guarantee the only thing that poor woman  wants right now is a hot shower, brushed teeth and a NAP!  It's amazing what you can do when you get a little more sleep in you!

• Last....be open to be available to her. In whatever way that means. Everyone is different, and every baby is different, therefore sometimes the needs are different. Sometimes all a new mom needs is someone that will hear them and know they have a support team.

And there you have it! Go out and be blessings to those new moms out there!

#30 A blonde, a brunette and underoos walk into a bar...

So I just want to say thank you to everyone that commented or read my last post on Post -Partum Depression.  I know its not my usual posting style, but hey, its nice to know others have gone through it too and if I can help anyone who is going through it now, then why wouldn't I?  If you are going through it, GET HELP!! You are not alone... (don't roll your eyes at me missy, make an appointment for your doc and get some good drugs in ya!)

Our babies!

SO, my sister and her family just came to visit last week and I had such a marvelous time! She has a little boy that is 2 months older than my little girl.  We were both prego at the same time, which was really cool since we were both first time moms.  Well, one of the main reasons they came was because we signed up to run SHAPE's DIVA DASH It was a 5k obstacle course.  

My sister has run many races before, but this was going to be my 2nd race ever! (Remember the first was that Valentines day race where the stupid ROBOTS won the costume contest?) I was really excited!! This would be the first race we were going to run together! We had talked about doing this for a while, but since the distance between us is GREAT (physically, not personally..shes in PA Im in TX) it had never panned out till NOW! 

She tried to talk me out of it a couple weeks before since NEITHER of us had trained...but I REFUSED!!! I wanted to do it! I wanted to make stupid costumes and make a fool of myself!  and i already paid $40 which I couldn't get back at that point. We were in. we were DOING IT!

We decided to be "SUPER SISTERS" and ran to walmart for supplies.  We found some men's underoos and fabric that I sewed into capes for us. WE ARE SO AWESOME. 

Me and sis in our SUPER SISTER garb

The race went pretty good...minus the moment where my sister took a BATHROOM BREAK in the middle of the race (in a port-o-potty not a bush), or that we walked almost half of it,  or that I was yelling at her the whole time to KEEP GOING! YOU CAN DO IT!!! 

Us not quite a mile in

 or the "incident" where she fell and twisted her ankle right towards the end and had the first aide crew assist her only to realize she was fine and her tears were unnecessary... (she really actually twisted it bad and i felt REALLY bad for her)...or when I realized our race time was over an hour to do a 5K!!!!  I had a great time and we "MADE SOME MEMORIES!" for sure.

Such a sad sad finish....lol

So in honor of our SUPER AWESOME run, I have a mug a coffee with EQUAL awesomeness!

I title it:

I'll take the blonde AND the brunette!

In my head I'm saying "Heeeeeeey!"

OH YEAH! I found this wonder woman mug at Ross and HAD to buy it! I thought about giving it as a present to my friend Amy who got me the Dr.Who mug for her 30th....but i'm selfish and I really wanted to keep it :) I'm also wearing my DIVA DASH shirt they gave me that was 2 times smaller than what the tag said ( thank God I got a LARGE!)

And the coffee is just as awesome. My friend James told me I had to try out the new Starbucks Blonde Veranda Blend coffee, so I bought a package and checked it out for myself. It was around $9 from my local store. SO GOOD. I am I lighter roast sort of person, and this one just took the cake for me. It is smooth. yummy, not harsh at all. All around deliciousness. I highly recommend it! And I hear that it might have a higher caffeine percentage than other coffees....mmmmmm... just what I need...MORE caffeine! 

Jess Rating?

Two thumbs up, crazy jazz hands awesome, rocks my face off go buy it now!!!

And what am I thankful for?

Family and wonderful memories!