"Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy" - John Denver

Miss me? Things have been so busy around here and it's a GORGEOUS day. The sunshine is shining and it's supposed to hit 60 degrees by mid-day. I've got the backdoor open so the boxers can lounge on the deck and sunbathe. I'll have to set an alarm to go check on Matilda in about 30 minutes; she sunburns and I can't let her lay out all day. LOL

I went to the library last night and got a whole stack of books, one on the Atkins diet. Last week I decided to start investigating this program -- I know so many people who have used it and had tremendous results. My goal is to drop 30 lbs and get back to my "fighting" weight . I started cutting sugars and carbohydrates out of my diet last week and have seen a little drop in weight. Interesting, huh? I figure this blog is a good way for me to track my progress and keep me honest. Last week I weighed in at 144 (yikes!!) and this morning I broke the 140 barrier and was at 139. Tonight I will find my sewing tape measure and take some measurements -- incredibly scary thought. All through high school and college I was very fit and trim; some how I have let things slip. I have a gym membership but have been very lazy and don't use it often, so basically I am flushing $26/month down the toilet. This needs to change.

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with 1/8 cup cheddar cheese, oregano and garlic. 1/4 cup of branschwiger (spelling?) and I am still drinking my pot of green tea.

"My fairy king can see things, He rules the air and turns the tides..." - Queen

Some tricks to start a moss culture in your faery garden:

VERSION ONE:
Go to the hobby store and get some sphagnum moss in a bag. It's usually sold near floral supplies -- it's the dried green stuff that is used in hanging baskets. Puree a handful moss with a 3:1 ratio beer:sugar. It will be like a thin milkshake-like consistency. Spread this on rocks, old logs or bare soil in a cool moist area of the garden to grow your our moss colony.

VERSION TWO:
Buttermilk or Yogurt:Water, 2:1 ratio to make the "starter"

Paint the mixture on garden ornaments.
Two weeks later paint over again with plain water.
The item should develop a moss or lichen coat.
Add more of "starter" every few weeks as needed for additional growth.

**For those of you in dry hot areas of the country, you may have a challenge in keeping the items cool and moist. I haven't yet tried these techniques in Colorado, but they worked great in my hosta and fern gardens in Ohio**

"A blogging we will go, hi ho the cherry o, a blogging we will go"

I am in love with this concept and can't believe that it has taken me this long to set a blog up. My day is still going well, I have my VW back in my driveway, the sun is still shining and Dirk brought me Chik-Fil-A for lunch. :)

I set up a CafePress Store for Dirk this afternoon after I swiped a drawing out of his sketchbook, scanned it, cleaned it up and digitally colored it in. Go to http://www.DesignsByDirk.com and under "Store" choose "Apparel" to see it, looks pretty cool. Dirk is selling his tattoo machines -- we figure if he can sell 6 to 7 a month we can afford to go get a nice shiny new Jeep Grand Cherokee for me :) Anyone interested in purchasing a tattoo machine or 5...? LOL

Give plans for this weekend are to attend a local antique show. I recently started to collect sterling silver flatware and am searching for a nice velvet lined silver box to store it in.

"I'm walking on sunshine, woh, oh..."

What a beautiful sunny day with the rays reflecting off the snow.

I am *finally* getting my Volkswagon back this afternoon..it's been in the shop since 1/27/04. This morning I sat down to look at our finances and I think I have it all figured out. I can buy a new stove with my expense check and the Yule gift certificate from my boss, our tax return will go towards our credit card balances, the Jeep is for sale so that I can put that money down on a new car and trade the VW. (click here if you know someone interested in a GREAT off road vehicle -- no body damage, low miles, excellent condition) and then we can also sell the CJ to start restoring the Mercury. Whew! I'm exhausted just thinking about all that...

"Woke up, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head"

Headed to the vet this morning to get little Allie's foot re-bandaged. Wooo -- the excitement was almost too much for me. She is now sporting a hot pink bandage with red hearts; she's so fashionable.

Dirk had a meeting way up north this morning, and having breakfast with Mr. and Mrs. Bella.
I wanted to go....

It was raining about 15 minutes ago, but now there are big fat snowflakes falling and on the news they just said "If you're down in Parker, watch out there's heavy snow coming your way. I better get to the grocery for some food and check if we have enough wine in the wine cabinet to weather out the night.

Shall I go give my snowglobe a little shake?

Things have been crazy this week...

Saturday we were packing up to head to Bella's for a night of food, wine and friends. I was upstairs getting ready to jump in the shower when from downstairs I hear "Get down here NOW, someone is bleeding!!!"

I grab the nearest clothing -- navy blue flannel pj's with stars and moons on them, a hunter green jeep sweatshirt and race down the steps to see what appears to be a bloodbath in my living room. The injuried party was Allie, so Dirk grabbed her, plopped her in the shower so we could hose her down and determine what was bleeding and how badly. She sliced her foot open, so off to the vet we go....with a quick stop at the closet to slip on a pair of black chukka boots....yeah, yeah...I'm such the fashion queen... $150 later she's sporting a nice hot pink bandage with a purple heart.

Saturday night we *finally* made it up to Bella's and had a great time eating, drinking, drumming, hanging out in the garage...

Yesterday, I stop in at the doctor's office because of a stomach ache, only to have her start to wonder if my appendix was the problem. Off to the medical imaging center to drink a gallon of urine colored something-or-other and a CAT scan only to find out they don't know why I hurt, have a fever and what appears to be an infection of some sort somewhere. So I came home and took a nap. :)

Welcome to my world....