Wish Wish Wish, Wish Wish

I like dandelions.  When they're all bright and sunny and scattered all over the yard.  They're really cheery little things, aren't they?

If only they'd stay like this. 

But, instead, they suddenly get all tall and fluffy - and dandelion seeds spread at the slightest breeze.  Which, I suppose, means more dandelions next time.  If today is any indication, we're gonna have lots.

They say you should make a wish when you blow on a dandelion puff and send the seeds flying.  I didn't exactly blow on them, but I mowed through a whole bunch of leggy, fluffy dandelions today and sent seeds flying in every direction.  Sometimes I had to hold my breath as I mowed straight through a cloud of them.  I guess I should have been wishing my little heart out.

The yard looks better now.  Except, have you noticed how some of those sneaky little dandelion stems lay down to avoid the mower?  I bet they'll be standing up again by tomorrow.  But they'll be naked.

At Least It's Green (Sort Of)

I mowed the yard today, for what should be the last time this season.  75° in October, and I mowed in shorts and a t-shirt!  It was good to have a reason to get outside and enjoy the weather.

Back Yard

The yard does look better now.  At least the back yard looks pretty good.  It's nice and green.

The front?  Well, at least it's mostly green.  Or partly green.  The summer was so dry and hot that the grass went all brown and dormant.  Then when we started getting some rain, weeds started growing where the grass should have been.  The grass started growing, too, just not as quickly.  A lot of times mowing just meant chopping down the tall weeds and rogue grasses scattered through the yard - and it's practically impossible to see where you've been and where you still need to go.  I usually end up mowing over the same places just because I can't see.  I know I do.  If I could actually mow in a straight line, that might help.

Right now some of the weeds that first took over the yard - and were at least green - have turned brown and dead, and there is a bit of grass coming through.  Maybe there's some hope.  I'm sure there's something we should be doing to take care of it, get it ready for winter, and encourage the grass to come back, but I have no idea what.  I just mow.  And comfort myself with the knowledge that we're not alone in this.  Other yards in the neighborhood are in the same shape.

And while I'm mowing I'm also thinking maybe those smaller lots in Champaign won't be all that bad.  Instead of taking an hour or an hour and a half to mow the entire yard - depending how many times I stop to get a drink, blow my nose, or clean out my shoes - I might be able to mow in half an hour.  Or 45 minutes.  Of course, I won't get as much exercise doing it.

Tuesday Tidbits

These weeks, they go so fast!  How is it Tuesday again already?  I'm sitting here watching the Dancing with the Stars elimination show and realizing it's almost 9:00!  Tuesday is almost over...

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The weekend was mostly spent hanging out with a little guy.  In case you missed it - Jason spent the night Saturday night.  You should go read that post, because there are some cute pics there!

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And, since I wrote that whole post about the weekend, I can't really think of much else to say.  I went and got my hair cut today.  The ladies at Cost Cutters were awesome.  I took a picture in, and the girl cutting my hair gave me her opinion and suggestions about what would work and what I'd be happiest with - and it turned out really well.  I haven't played with it yet, but she put some product in it and styled it a bit, and it just feels so good - so much lighter, and bouncier!  I'm also wondering where all these curls came from.  We'll see what it looks like when I do it.  She said it should be really easy to take care of, which is perfect for me.   I took a few pictures with my phone, but they didn't turn out too well.  Blurry!  But at least you can get an idea.  Way shorter than it was.

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After the haircut, which I didn't get to until 3:30 because I was waiting to get in on the Dr. Oz Nuttzo giveaway - which went totally Nuttzo and crashed their server so that I didn't get one anyway - I came home and mowed the yard.  It looks pretty now.  Cut hair, cut grass - it's all good.

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So that basketball player I never heard of with the new weird name got kicked off Dancing with the Stars.  I agree.  He was the worst.  Also, what's with the weird name?  If you have a normal name like scott kay or john smith or whatever his name was, why would you change it to a non-name like Metta World Peace?  *shakes head and rolls eyes*   My early favorites are J.R. Martinez and Chynna Phillips, and they both did well with the judges too.  I look forward to seeing how they do.  Jeffrey's pet peeve is that, no matter how they do, it seems that they put Cheryl Burke and her partner 'in jeopardy' on every elimination show.  Like we're supposed to believe they're really going home!  Also, nice to see Derek Hough back.

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OK, Tuesday is officially over.  Or almost.  Tune in next week.

Tuesday Tidbits

Somehow, Tuesday  is almost over for this week, but if I get this posted, it will be 3 weeks in a row - and that's gotta be a record or something.  Actually, I posted Camera Critters posts almost every week for at least a year, so that's a real record.  Unfortunately, I've gotten away from it, and I just can't find my way back.  I miss all the cute critters, too.

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Cory left on Thursday and went to Michigan for the weekend.  He had a great time with a whole bunch of friends, pushing cars out of the mud, canoeing, going to the beach, getting majorly sunburned, etc.  Thankfully he didn't have to drive all the way by himself.  He drove about an hour from home, met up with some friends from Minnesota, and they all rode together.  And, thankfully, he's old enough to drive now so I didn't have to drop him off and then have to be back and pick him up Sunday night - because he didn't get home until after midnight.  Then, he had to be up the next morning so he could go to work at 7am - the earliest he's had to work since he started at Walmart.  But, he survived.

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We went to the bank Friday afternoon and signed a bunch of papers.  Beth needed a new vehicle because she couldn't get 3 car seats in the Regal she was driving.  For work she watches two kids, and now she has one of her own, so she needs to be able to get all three of those car seats in.  So, she got a Buick Rendezvous, which is nice, and most importantly to her it's not a mini van.  I'm not sure what the deal is with mini vans, but whatever.  She got a decent deal on it, all three cars seats fit, and she's happy - and now that all the papers are signed, she's got her very own car payment to make every month.

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Jeffrey and I went to a church conference in the Chicago area for the weekend.  We left Saturday morning and didn't get back until Sunday evening.  We had a great time with some great people, heard some good presentations, ate lots of wonderful food, and just had a really good weekend.  I had my first Lemon Drop Martini thanks to my friend Trisha, and it was yummy!  And our friends Paul and Laureen opened up their home and gave us a bed to sleep in Saturday night - which was really nice, because they're always so busy when they host one of these things, so staying with them actually gave us some time to spend with them we wouldn't have had otherwise.

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I mowed the yard Monday morning.  I can't remember when I mowed it last, and the boys hadn't mowed it for a while either because it's been so dry.  But we got some rain recently, and things have started to grow, the grass included - or at least all the weeds/extra plants in the yard - so it needed done.  It was a bit hot, but there was a breeze and clouds, and I drank plenty of water.  Then Jeffrey called late afternoon and said not to worry about it.  Too late!  Yes, I could have waited until tomorrow when it's supposed to be much cooler, but it's done now. 

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Today it was hotter, or at least that's what they said.  I was inside, freezing in the air conditioning.  For some reason it seemed colder than it has been, even though the thermostat was set the same.  I went outside to warm up several times.  By tomorrow, I should be able to turn the air off and open the windows because it's supposed to be nice for a while.  Looking forward to that!

Image via Wikipedia

And now, Tuesday is basically over, so this post must come to an end.  A gold star to you if you made it all the way to the end!

Tune in next Tuesday....

Yard Mowed

I just finished mowing the yard.  Well, not just - I had to take a shower and eat some lunch when I came in.  Mowing is such great exercise.  You people with riding mowers don't know what you're missing!

I heard about a study once that said if people consciously think about the exercise they get when performing ordinary tasks, they get more benefits than people who perform the same tasks but aren't thinking about exercise.  I never found the actual study or any information on it, just heard it in passing on the news.  So, if anyone knows anything about this, please let me know.  I thought it was really interesting. 

Mowing isn't like that, though.  Mowing is exercise whether you think about it or not.  All that walking and pushing.  I was amazed at how much of a workout my arms got - so much that I had to bend over to wash my hair in the shower after, because I couldn't keep my arms up to my head any longer.  Yeah, I haven't mowed for a while because Jeffrey and Cory usually do it.  And Cory usually complains about having to do it.

I can't believe he complains so much about mowing.  You'd think he'd want to do it as often as possible to get in great shape - so he can impress those college girls.

Too Much Help?

A couple days ago when Jeffrey and I were walking, we noticed that the yard across the street really needed mowed.  Since their house was quite damaged in the storm, those neighbors won't be living there for a while.  We thought it might be nice if we volunteered our teenage son to mow the yard for them, giving them one less thing to worry about.

I mentioned it to Cory, but he didn't really feel comfortable just going over there and mowing their yard, though he was more than willing to do it if we talked to them first.  Then yesterday, the neighbor who lives right next door was mowing his own yard, and when he finished his, he kept right on going and mowed his neighbors' yard, too.  So Cory didn't get a chance.

Then today, someone else showed up to mow the yard, someone they had hired to do it.  I guess Cory was right about talking to the neighbors first...  The hired guys stood around for a bit, like they were wondering what they were supposed to do now, and then one of them went ahead and mowed - even though it had just been done yesterday and didn't need done again.  I don't know if mowing is the way he gets his ab workouts or if he didn't want to miss out on getting paid for mowing.

The good thing is that, ever since the tornado went through, people have really been coming out and helping their neighbors and helping the community.  At one point in time, the Red Cross said they had more volunteers signed up to help than they thought were needed.  You don't want to see a disaster like this happen to anyone, but it's encouraging to see people pull together and help each other.

The Saga of the Yard that Needed to be Mowed

Beth spent the night at Kayla's. She finally got up around 11 this morning and managed to call around 11:30. She was supposed to come home and mow the yard. Remember, she said she'd do it. Well, she thought the grass was too wet so she wouldn't be able to mow, so she didn't come home until 2pm. By then the sun had come out and it was starting to feel rather sticky. Still, she started mowing - not too much complaining, just got ready and went out to mow. Soon, she's back in the house. "It hurts." "I can't breathe." "I can't do this." I think she had mowed about half of the back yard by then. She was supposed to get the yard mowed and then she and Cory were going to go meet their dad to go shopping. He's got a 30% savings thing that expires today. 30% off of any purchase is significant savings, especially if they can find some good stuff on clearance.

Suddenly Beth is all pitiful. She's never going to get the yard done. They're just not going to go shopping. Cory wants to go shopping, so he agrees to help mow - even though he did it last time, and Beth is supposed to do the whole thing this time. It's just really sad how the girl is almost 17 years old, and she just can't mow a yard - never mind the whole complaining thing about how she shouldn't have to mow a yard anyway, especially not with a push mower. She should be in better shape than that! Of course, she says it has nothing to do with not being in shape. I don't know what it has to do with - besides just plain not wanting to do it. Lucky for her she has a brother who will jump in and help her out - sometimes even when there's nothing in it for him. It amazes me the things he will do for her, whether she deserves it or not. I'd love to see her do the same for him. I guess driving him up to go shopping qualifies in some kind of way.

So, they got the yard mowed, both took showers, and left to meet their dad. I can't go because I've got a library board meeting tonight. I don't need anything, anyway.

Mowing

Cory was supposed to mow the yard the other day. He didn't. His dad was not very happy with him when he got home from work - and he went out and did it himself. The reason Cory couldn't do it by that time was that he had to go to marching band practice. Since he missed last week's practice due to work, he really couldn't miss it this week - though his dad threatened to keep him home to mow. That was Monday. On Tuesday, I told Cory his job was to vacuum the floor. I didn't get much complaining at all. He just did it. I think he realized that when he is asked to do something, that means we want him to do it. Unfortunately, we try to ask the kids nicely when we want them to do something, and they take it as a request and not as us telling them what they must do. We've done some explaining recently about how it is not a request. We just don't want to sound like we are ordering them around - though that would be our right, wouldn't it? I just really want to treat the kids as people - and not slave labor. :D

The yard needed mowed again today. Cory did it. Beth was busy running around with her friend Azaria and then her boyfriend Tim, but she did tell Cory that next time, she will do the whole yard. I just thought I better document that - in case she conveniently forgets when the time comes.