Introducing boo!

A few weeks ago we made a journey to a local farm that provides Halloween themed activities for children. Pumpkins, corn mazes, slides, games, and of course...a petting zoo! We spent forever feeding the baby goats until we saw something in the corner...baby bunnies! Steve must have noticed that I fell in love because he swiftly asked if I wanted one. Of course I said yes! A few weeks later we got the call that baby bunny was ready for pick up. Steve is currently working on building it a cage which I refer to as boo's dream house. Boo will love it once its done. So blogland, please meet boo radley ( to kill a mockingbird anyone? ) .

Life at a million miles an hour.

Change. I cringe when I hear that word. I understand change can be a good thing. In my experience change doesn't end well for me. However, sitting here now I find myself in a new apartment with a (somewhat) new boyfriend on the cusp of getting a new job (fingers crossed!). The majority of the changes have blindsided me within the last week. It's like a life makeover! Does anyone else completely shake things up once in a while too?
I attached a few pics of the new digs, or at least I think I did. With the lack ot internet around here I'm attempting to blog via Blogger app.

The dog days of summer

 I turned 25 yesterday! My life is not at all what I imagined it would be like at this point in time, but that is the beauty of life. It's unpredictable and messy and almost never goes according to plan. I spent half of the day at work, where I came in to balloons and decorations from my lovely coworkers. Right after work Jewels and Alex came over to enjoy my pool and a cookout with me.  But they were not my only vistors! My brother and his dog, Bella came to visit me as well! ( Still waiting on my new camera, so phone pics it is!)

I must say, she is a really good swimmer. But she needs to learn to stop drinking the cholorinated water.  I'm about to head into the pool myself now.. and potentially the lake this evening after work.  We must find some way to beat these dog days of summer where the temperature feels like over 100 degrees! Pools and popsicles are all we know. What do you do to beat the heat?

(On a side note, ever wonder where that phrase "dog days of summer" comes from? Me too. Here's the wiki:

"Dog Days" (Latin: diēs caniculārēs) are the hottest, most sultry days of summer. In the northern hemisphere, they usually fall between early July and early September. In the southern hemisphere they are usually between January and early March. The actual dates vary greatly from region to region, depending on latitude and climate. Dog Days can also define a time period or event that is very hot or stagnant, or marked by dull lack of progress. The name comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, also called the Dog Star, in close proximity to the sun was responsible for the hot weather.)

Stay cool to all the Midwesterners battling this heat. Remember to enjoy it. Winter is a-coming!

it's the little things.

We had gone to the zoo last weekend with the hopes of feeding the goats. However, by the time we arrived in the children's area, the goats were no longer being fed! Jewels and I felt terrible because Alex had been chanting about feeding the goats for hours. So yesterday we took advantage of the wonderful summer weather and whisked Alex away from daycare to go feed some animals. Located off of I94 right behind a gas station is the Concord zoo, full of :peacocks, calves, goats,donkeys, mini horses, pot bellied pigs, and alpacas.  For .25 you get a handfull of feed, and several squeals of delight. I'm not sure who was more excited, Alex or me.  I'm currently between cameras(hint boyfriend, birthday is coming!), but I snapped a few pictures on my cell phone. It's not much, but we definitely enjoyed the simple things today.

Hello Spring?

The weather outside has been steadily improving, consistently hovering around 40 degrees. Yesterday we started preparing our lawn for spring, celebrating the fact that the last of the snow has finally melted away. What did I see staring back at me in one of our flower beds?

Tiny purple flowers! It hardly seems warm enough for these little gems to pop out of the ground, but they definitely warmed my spirits. Hopefully they withstand the tiny amount of slushy snow we are slated to receive tomorrow. I've even seen robins, which traditionally are the first sign of spring ( according to our small town paper, not actual bird watching people).  Either way, Saturday is supposed to be nearly 50 degrees and we've got plans to have the grill fired up and some lovely lawn games, in addition to a barn demolition earlier in the day. 

Moving on--- and in.

I have a reputation among my friends as someone who has a ton of trouble with commitment. Truthfully, my longest relationship has been with my cell phone company and sometimes the only thing that stops me from leaving is that pesky contract and early termination charge.  A few months ago, I decided to try something different and take the plunge into a long term relationship- with a boy this time, instead of my cell phone provider.  I think that I've made the transition from being a singleton into a pair very well. I'm crazy happy, most of the time, and am (dare I say) happily in love.
Last week, I started doing his laundry. Which, of course, lead to him receiving a drawer at my place. Holy commitment! I started to freak out a bit with how much I've changed in a manner of months.  I didn't realize that it would be so easy to change when I was so hard wired the way I was. How does everyone else deal with commitment? Is it hard for you like it is for me, or do you function better as part of a pair?

Sugar Scrub- Homemade

I have had an obsession with sugar scrubs in the last few weeks, removing all of the dead and facing spring feeling fresh and renewed. I even gave some to my mother, who has in the last two weeks already asked for several refills. This stuff works very well, leaving skin soft and smooth (even the bottom of your feet!) 
I plan to dabble with the recipe a bit when I have some more time, but so far this is what I use:

•  a splash of olive oil 
• half a cup or so of brown sugar
• 1 cup lemon juice ( fresh squeezed is more fragrant-but bottled is cheaper to use)
• white cane sugar - I just add until I have the desired amount of sugar in the scrub. We use a lot of sugar in our sugar scrub, probably at least two cups. 
• few drops of mint and vanilla extract ( I love smelling minty!)

Mix together and enjoy!