Happy Birthday Ma!!

Today my amazing momma turns 60!!!

We celebrated last night with a BBQ (burgers, corn, and watermelon – all were amazing) and some awesome cake!!

Happy Birthday ma!!!  Hope you have an amazing day!!

Summer Goal Accomplished!!

One of my personal goals this summer was to wear shorts … seems like a silly goal but I NEVER were shorts in public unless they are knee length.  I just feel like I weigh too much and I am not comfortable even buying normal length shorts.  Thanks to my protein smoothies and exercising I’ve lost about 20 pounds!  More exciting than that I went down 3 pant sizes!!  The shorts I bought at the beginning of the summer are too loose now!

Today is my last day of summer.  It flew by, but this school year should be amazing, so I am kind of excited to start back to work.  I decided to share these pictures on my last day of summer: 

 

I’m not wearing makeup, I didn’t brush my hair, my shirt looks all funky, and I am pale – but I LOVE these shorts!!! 

I went from one knee length pair of shorts to three normal short length shorts.  I’ve worn all three pairs in public and felt comfortable in them (even with my pale legs).  

As soon as Chance saw I was taking pictures in his spot, he ran over to claim it.  He is such a funny puppy!!

I still have a few pounds to shed to reach my ultimate goal, but I am happy, happy, happy that I reached my summer goal!! 

Did you have a summer goal?

Heman in Motion

Last weekend we spend the weekend up my my sister.  My nephew, Heman, has a game he likes to play – keep the bone or the stick or whatever the dog wants to have throw away from the dog.  Heman loves this game and played a few times while we were there. 

Notice how he has the bone up in the air?  Smart little man!

When the dog stopped following him, he would go back and find him and say look at this, look at this. 

Then he would start running again.

Look at that tongue sticking out!  

This was not the end of the game, it was just a break.

It is pretty hard to take pictures of a toddler in motion!  But, he sure is a cutie!

Idaho Falls

The next stop on our Idaho road trip (see post 1, post 2, and post 3) was Idaho Falls.

We walked from our hotel to the falls and saw about a million Canada Geese. 

Idaho Falls is a hydroelectric project.   

The ducks got pretty close to the edge – there was one on the other side that was right on the edge. 

It was really pretty and I’m glad we took the time to walk down before we hit the road for the day. 

There were lots of unique park benches.  A fishing lure – this was my favorite. 

a tree bench

This horse bench is double sided.

There were a few of these Canada Geese benches. 

 

Next stop … Craters of the Moon …

Creating an Inviting Entry

Your entry is usually the first thing people see when they come to your house.  Making sure is says “Please come in!” instead of “Leave me alone!” is important – most of the time. 

1 – Clean!  I’m not talking perfectly clean, but make a point to take down the cobwebs and sweep the porch.  Clean windows would be ideal too.

2 – Make sure your door is noticeable. Have you even seen those houses were you can’t find the front door?  You come to their house for one reason or another and you have no idea where or how to get in.  So frustrating!  We have a sidewalk leading up to the door off the driveway but I still wanted to make sure our door is noticeable from the street. I painted it black (if you follow me on facebook, that is old news), and repainted the trim. 

3 – Add some life to your entry!  I bought these two pots from WinCo for super cheap and planted house plants (since my patio gets no direct sunlight).  Two simple plants add so much!  Yes, my entry way would look better without the cat dishes, but that’s where they eat, so ignore them if you don’t like them. 

4 – A nice doormat – I got this at Walmart for like $10 a year or so ago.  I LOVE how simple it is.  Someday, I may make my own to say our last name or come on in or something cute but for now this mat is perfect! 

A few simple steps to creating a simple and inviting entry way!

Cleaning the Blinds

I am no expert on cleaning – and I avoid cleaning the blinds.  I hate it!  It takes forever and they are never really clean. 

Isn’t that gross!  These are the blinds on the patio door in our master bedroom.

Yuck! The blinds in our room get really dirty really fast.  We have 3 dirty dogs that sleep in our room, so I blame the nastiness on them. 

I started by vacuuming each of the slats on the blinds.

That took the bulk of the dust off but there were still spots all over.

I sprayed window cleaner …

Then wiped off each slat. 

Look how clean they are!

Here is a better picture – it is pretty hard to take pictures of blinds.  Our blinds look new!  I think this is the cleanest they have ever been!

Now, this still took 20 minutes but I feel like they are really clean now. 

What is your secret to clean blinds?

Pear Pickin’

Last weekend we headed down to the Delta to our favorite pears farmer’s stand to get some pears.  I LOVE pears and the family that runs this farm is awesome!

I would tell you about the first time I met them and how hilarious Michael (not my Michael but Amber’s Michael) was but he would be embarrassed so I’ll be vague and say I met them at the Young Farmers and Ranchers Conference in Modesto last year. 

Double M Farms is located in Walnut Grove, CA and is a third generation family farm.  They have a diverse farm and grow wheat, corn, alfalfa, pears, and other commodities.  They also have a hunting preserve.  Read their history here.

If you are wondering about the Delta Grown sign – find out more here.  It is a scenic drive along the Sacramento River with farms that give tours and/or have a farm stand.  I’ve never done it, but maybe during passport weekend I will. 

This sign is so cute!

They have a u-pick area which is an adorable mini orchard (that is my description not theirs) just perfect for pear pickin’. 

Tons of pears hung from every branch ready to be picked. 

Someday I will have a nice little orchard at my house … someday. 

The perfect pear just begging to be picked!

Along with the u-pick area they have a farm stand.  The fridge outside hold eggs from their hens which are available year round. 

Pears are available by the box with is about 50 pounds and only $40.

They are also available by the bag – this brown bag is about 10 pounds and is $10

and this white bag is about 5 pounds for $5.  We bought a box and a brown bag – we go the pre-picked pears but next year I will be bringing Heman to pick pears.  I think he would love it – especially running up and down the rows of trees.   

If you live in the Sacramento area, I would highly recommend taking a scenic drive down to the delta and while you are there – grab some pears from Double M Farms!  But, you will have to hurry – last weekend was the last weekend for u-pick and the pre-picked pears will only be available through August or until they run out. 

I’d love to hear from you … what would you do with 60 pounds of pears?