Makes My Monday

This weekend was nearly perfect. The weather had a lot to do with it, there is no denying that.  But it was good in other ways too.  It was full of simple pleasures.

On Saturday, Brad and I took our first bike ride of the season, we stopped for lunch, and then we rode through the neighborhoods for well over an hour. 

After we returned home, we got in the truck and ran errands.  I bought a hula hoop--not weighted, I'm going to start slow and whittle my waist.  I'm intrigued by the weighted hoop workouts, but I have to learn more about them. 

Girlie, eh?  

We went to TJ Maxx to buy a glass pitcher, Brad has broken our iced tea pitcher, but instead I bought some unmentionables (CK on clearance!), exercise bands, and Brad made me buy a sweater.  Does your husband hate shopping?  Mine DOES NOT, and I have to beg him to leave the store.  He would have grabbed a cart and loaded it with spring items for me.  Alas, not in the budget.

I did buy a cool new reusable shopping bag.  That's all that's getting shared.

We stopped in at Michael's, and Brad selected little Easter gifts for many of his grandkids. He's a thoughtful grampa.

Dinner that night was Pinterest inspired--a no carb cheese and spinach egg casserole.  So good, and I made it all myself--I don't cook much, so this was a little victory.  (It made a great breakfast on Sunday too.)

Then we went to our friends' house for a backyard bonfire, good conversation, and a Mike's margarita--or two.  It's March people, and a hoodie kept me warm for hours!

What a delight filled day.  Brad is my very best friend, time like these are to be treasured.

Sunday Brad had to show houses, so I picked up our yard a bit, clipped some dead plants, and made some signs...

The grounds crew tends to pull things that aren't builder approved, so these signs went out last fall and again this spring to protect our perennials. I write them in English and in Spanish, just in case.  This sign, protecting our sedum, made it through the winter, too!

Speaking of perennials, I forgot I planted some iris last summer, and my pansies didn't totally die off due to the mild winter.  Tender surprises waiting to bloom.  (I'm quite the forgetful gardener.)

I spent some time reading on our little patio.  Savoring this bit of summer in March.

Lastly, keeping myself accountable, I checked in with my Pennsylvania partner.  I exercised beyond the bike ride, and I've decided to put a dollar in a jar each time I work toward my goals.  Not sure what we'll spend it on, but I'm hoping to do this for a few months.  June 1st is my date for my first goal--when I make it, I'll share it, but not before then.

Forgive the diary like post, I wanted to document some things that bring me happiness.

Put on your red shoes...

Dani's brought back...

So I had to join.  

I bought these flats about a month ago when winter was getting to me.  I went on DSW's site and typed in "red flats."   They were just the cutest; the flower is a kick.  They were more than I'd spent on shoes for a long while, in fact, just today I found the receipt for them and wondered what I was thinking (remember the source, I get sticker shock over EVERYTHING!)

However, I do love them.

I don't plan on buying anything but jeans for the next few months, so these are a treat.

I wore them last Saturday night to church;

I wore them yesterday to school and they game me blisters.

And I still love them.

Here on out, I will love them more with band-aids...

Friday Fragements with Bullets No Less

Oh, it's been too long.  Fridays always catch me by surprise.

But this week, I'm on it.  Just watch me fragment. Thanks for the opportunity Mrs. 4444, I'm taking you up on it this week.

• Don't you just love making up verbs?
• Pinterest is making me sad. There are some people pinning whom seem to want so much more than they have.  I wonder at that.  Do they see the blessings around them?
• Last time I wrote about Pinterest, a reader sent me a link to a woman who has over 50,000 pins.  Yikes!  Fifty thousand.  I hope to keep mine under 400. 
• The photo above is of my skin firming cream and my curly hair cream.  Um, guess how many times I've squeezed out a big dollop of one when I want the other?
• I thought having a student teacher would mean less work. It does not.  Don't get me wrong, she's great, but now that I'm out of the classroom, I have too much to do.  I'm completely discombobulated.  
• I love that discombobulated is a real word.
• Our church is teaching a 16 week "Revelation" series.  Is it wrong to admit I was mentally done about four weeks ago?  Am I the only one who thinks it's good to read it, but what's going to happen is going to happen however we work to interpret it?
• These twice annual time changes are dumb.  
• I fell off my healthy diet a bit over the past few days.  When I bake, I nibble.  I nibbled too much.  How is it I don't crave sweet stuff, but when it's right in front of me, I give in to temptation?
• I really haven't started my spring cleaning yet, I like to purge. This spring's slogan, "Pretend I'm Moving, Would I Move This?"  Hello Goodwill drop off lanes.
• Where I have been purging?  Pins, facebook friends, and facebook "likes."  I just get so easily overwhelmed by large numbers. I don't think anyone will notice, but if someone does, it's not personal. It's not you, it's me.
• Yesterday I had to stay home from school due to hurting my back when exercising.  My husband's SUV broke down later in the day.  To say it wasn't a fun day is an understatement.  To say we are still able to count our blessings if not the money in the bank is a blessing itself. 
• Up early to deliver treats to school, write sub plans, and then I'm off to a tech meeting.  Nothing funnier than me at a tech meeting.  Zealots, knowledgeable ones, and me the tech doofus.
• I hate that doofus is not a real word.  Spell check would rather I use "doffs."