Thursday, October 15, 2009

Anniversaries got me thinking....

first               paper
second          cotton
third              leather (really??)
fourth            fruit and flowers (awwww)
fifth               wood
sixth              sugar/iron
seventh         wool
eighth            bronze
ninth              copper/pottery
tenth              tin
eleventh        steel
twelfth           silk and linen
thirteenth      lace
fourteenth     ivory
fifteenth        crystal

twentieth      china
twenty-fifth  silver
thirtieth        pearl
thirty-fifth    coral
fortieth         ruby
forty-fifth     sapphire
fiftieth          gold
fifty-fifth      emerald
sixtieth        diamond (sweet)

Monday, October 12, 2009

gardening update

want to first wish my hubby a happy first wedding anniversary! one year ago today we had an all day/all night party. a classy elegant outdoor garden ceremony, a beautiful reception, perfect weather, men in kilts, a bagpipe, scottish dancing, loved ones... it was amazing. thanks to all that shared with us in that day and thanks to my hubby who pushes me to be a better person every day.

for three weeks, my parents in law came to visit. and let it be said, they are serious gardeners.
there is new grass growing on the front lawn.
there is a more defined grass line in the back.
there are plants that are being trained to hug the fence and cover wires, fence and give us privacy.
and last weekend, alistair and i were fortunate enough to get a patio furniture set for our one year anniversary as a gift. and we can't just have a patio set with little look at, so we also bought some plants/trees, beautiful living things to plant around the garden.







here is one of the plants dad cooper and hubby planted ... beautiful




we bought this gorgeous tree called a hong kong orchid tree. it has the most beautiful leaves (looks like butterfly wings) and the flowers are supposed to be lovely as well.
when we were ready to plant it, this is what we found in the area:


a fun tree stump! 
the best laid plans....


here is a photo of the orchid tree








this is a japanese blueberry bush/tree. i loved the leaves and the dark green colors. when the leaves fall off, they are a brilliant red.


in other news
the lemon tree has not lost all of its leaves after being planted, thanks to my father in law. it's doing well and there is still a lemon growing on it. hopefully we'll get some fruit next season!


and the orange tree has grown it's leaves again! hooray! 
we suspect that the nursery thought we were over watering it when we were underwatering it. but it's doing well now. Go little orange tree Go!


and herb garden is going strong.


















Friday, August 21, 2009

Podcast obsession

yes, you read the right

i'm really into history. (when i was growing up, i wanted to be an archeologiest or palentologist as many of my friends did after we saw indiana jones and jurassic park) 
but seriously i do enjoy learning about history and sociology
so i'm totally addicted to the podcast "stuff you missed in history class" by howstuffworks.com
they vary in time (up to twenty five minutes long) and have a full range of interesting topics from the 1916 shark attacks on the jersey shore (close to my heart) to "who were the other two men on the ride with paul revere" anyway, i suggest you check it out. it makes my gym time go a lot faster.
i'm also listening to "money girl's quick and dirty tips for a richer life" which is a fun eight min. podcast dealing with everything from budgeting to 401ks. i have read numerous financial books over the past few years, so a lot of this is old hat to me but i find it very helpful to listen in anyway because it helps keep me focuses on it. 
Also, "stuff mom never told you" is pretty good too, though i like "stuff you missed in history class" more.
"grammar girl's quick and dirty tips for better writing" is also a very good podcast. sometimes it's nice to brush up on your grammar. they are not long, at the most ten minutes, and grammar girl isn't preachy.  and it's got a good theme song.
happy listening!



Sunday, August 16, 2009

mini break- palm springs






it was 10 degrees cooler than 'normal'
so it only hit 105 degrees F during the day!
above is our hotel which was lovely.  it's a small hotel with only twelve rooms or so and adults are preferred so no screaming children!

friday night we went for chinese food at Wangs in the Desert (yup)
apparently friday night happy hour is THE place to be if you are a gay man in palm springs. it was awesome.  
i did get a couple of funny looks though, as i was one of three girls in the restaurant that evening. (and maybe they were checking out my husband as well)

below is palm springs main area at night
we ate some really good thin crust pizza at Matchbox, and sat on their balcony overlooking the main street


our days were filled with sunbathing and swimming. each room had a kitchenette so we were able to make our own breakfasts and lunches.

and at night, we watched movies in our room and went night swimming. here is the hotel at night... beautiful!
we had a wonderful time. but glad to be home!