mother earth is waking up!

look what she does....she just makes the prettiest things.....

harvesting the christmas soup mix

every year since i moved to this (my first) house, i have planted a beautiful garden in the yard. i find weeding and loving and pruning to be therapeutic, and it makes me feel like i am doing something positive. one of my favorite things to do with my harvest is dehydrating the herbs and vegetables to make an organic, healthy soup base that i give away at christmas time in gift baskets. i have created a monster, as everyone who finds out about this requests a jar, and now it is all i can do to make enough if i work hard at it all summer! next year, i will need to expand my operation just to keep up!

Autumn in the Secret Garden

i decided it was time to take the final photos of the secret garden before the early frost stole the beauty away...last two years i have been caught off guard and sorely dissappointed! Not this time mother nature, not this time!

100 days til CHRISTMAS!!

im dreaming of a white christmas, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, jingle bells, jingle bells, oh holy night, jolly ol' saint nicolas, we three kings, rudolf the red nose reindeer, i saw mommy kissing santa clause, let it snow let it snow let it snow!!! my favorite time of the year!! time to make the christmas cards (yes, MAKE), time to start collecting sugar and molasses and cinnamon and chocolate! time to start sewing, and stamping and painting and snowing!! snow snow snow...snow snow snow...if i think it enough, it will start to snow!! yay!! whooohoooo!! 100 days til christmas!!

if you cant tell, im kinda excited.....:)

What the f.....

aww crap, i did it again! how does so much time pass without me knowing it? a minute ago, i planted mint, basil and sage in my garden, went to the first festival of the season, and planned all these awesome things i would do this summer, which included but are not limited to: going to portland to see my beloved pacific ocean, (oh, and sarah, delaney, elliot and jake too) losing 20 pounds, getting a WICKED awesome sandal tan, and taking the baby (yes, the hairy 16 year old with a drivers license) someplace fun for a holiday. now its the next to last day of august, and the only thing accomplished is a pathetic little barely noticeable sandal tan....where does the time go? before i know it, there will be frost on the pumpkin, and little hooligans will be ringing my doorbell asking for candy!! good thing too, because as all of you who know me, know that my favorite season is the one thats just around the corner!!

time goes by so fast....

so, once again, time has gotten away from me...so much has happened! rebecca and her boys came back to SLC to live...YAY!! sarah, jake and the girls came out for a week in may...YAY!! david and hali bought a CUTE little house with a giant backyard perfect for our new favorite past time, "slacking", YAY!! and the cabana boy, the "baby" (the huge hairy 16 year old that once was my premie) and i went to the first festival of the season! YAY!! summer and all its beer/wine tasting is here!! YAY YAY YAY!!!