Friday, June 3, 2011

Inconsistent

I have been inconsistent with everything lately: parenting, moods, housekeeping, grocery shopping and even my list making. I will make a list and leave it where I made it. Not a whole lot is being checked off right now.

I am a bit down and feeling overwhelmed with the end of school, beginning of summer sports & activities, outdoor projects, endless laundry, and many other things that are too boring to mention here.

So I decided to write a bit and blog some photos, which always makes me feel better!


This is where Rich and I have chats about the children, one of our favorite date locations~the back porch:

The patio before being painted by my sweet hubby (power washed by me!):

After, please notice that he also put up the trampoline and washed all the patio furniture:

When you buy a home there are certain things that come with it that you either detest or love. Sometimes these feelings can change over years. One thing that I completely adore about our home is the massive rhododendrons that signal summer. It is one of the first things you see at our home when you pull up the driveway. They bloomed about 2 weeks late this year due to all of our rain. The window on the left is our garage and the one on the right is my laundry room. It is wonderful to look out at these flowers, as it changes my perspective after be inundated with laundry. 


A couple of years ago we invested in a new lamp post (made of Azek from Walpole Woodworkers). The original lamp post was boring black and didn't look very nice. This makes more of a statement, as do the irises. Rich threatened that if the irises didn't bloom this year, that they were getting replaced. They must have heard him because they have bloomed beautifully.


So lovely, rhododendron up close:

I usually plant zinnias from seed, but decided to get a jump start and buy the plants this year:

I have never planted cosmos here, but thought I would try them in this bed!

I feel better now after looking at the pictures of my flowers. I am in progress on some other projects, so I will be sure to post when I have something completed. 

We are embarking on girls weekend here. The girls and I will spend some time together tonite & tomorrow while the boys are off golfing and boating. Guess what is on the girls list? Shopping! You betcha!

UPDATES
update on healthy eating and working out: I weighed in yesterday at lowest weight in years!! I have still been working with the trainer, getting in extra workouts (kickboxing~love it), tracking all of my calories, drinking crazy amounts of water and trying to eat as healthy as possible.

update on coffee: not good! back up to 4 cups, ugh!

update on Mom: spent time with her in Michigan last week as she was in the hospital. They released her, she is doing well and only has 1 more round of chemo. So awesome to spend time with her, my Dad, my sis, my youngest brother and sister-in-law. Mom & I cleaned out some cupboards and cabinets and donated a bunch of things to Goodwill. She is a strong cookie. Who leaves the hospital after 3 days and then organizes cabinets?

GRATEFUL
3 things I am grateful for:
sunshine and gorgeous weather!
awesome husband that kept it together while I was gone for 3 days!
beautiful views

Thanks for stopping by my blog!
Hugs, Cathy


15 comments:

  1. So glad to hear your mom is doing well. And big congrats on the healthy eating and weight loss! I've started to try to eat fish for dinner nightly. It's made a nice difference in the scale. Slowwwwww but so nice for such a minor change.

    Love your back porch. The paint makes a world of difference!!

    I am swamped w/end of the year events too. And here I sit pretending they don't exist. *sigh*

    ReplyDelete
  2. hi cathy - we are slammed up here as well ... soooo many things to do as the school year ends, i'm overwhelmed for sure ... but like you pictured here, at least the sun is shining, the summer flowers are blooming, the days are long and i'll find my summer rhythm soon i'm sure ;-)
    SO glad to hear your mom is doing well ...
    take care!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You have a beautiful yard, I love all the flowers! I planted cosmos last year and I loved them, I had a constant stream of pretty flowers in little bud vases for our home. They did start to grow rather tall though, they were taller than the fence! lol.

    Congrats on the weight loss after all of your hard work! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love the blog. Now I'm up lifted. Sometimes we forget to look back at all we have accomplished because we are overwhelmed by what is in front of us. So proud of you, give yourself a pat on the back take a deep breath let it out slowly and smile. Mom

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've missed you, Cathy! Your backyard looks AMAZING! So jealous. Can I come by and sit and chat (I just accidently spelled 'shat' instead of 'chat') with you while the sun goes down?

    Wow. How big is your backyard?

    So glad your mom is doing okay. She is such a trooper!

    Have a wonderful girl's weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congrats on the weight loss (even though you didn't need it!)and being healthier! I'm happy to hear your mom is doing well too!

    Your patio looks fantastic and your view is so pretty! One of these days I will be in Mansfield and stop on over!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow Cathy! Everything is so pretty! After all the snow this season, I adore the green.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Nothing wrong w/a little extra coffee when needed. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you everyone for the kind comments. Would love to entertain each of you on the back patio...let me know when you will be near Mansfield...Kerri, the kids will play tennis with Brady! Mandi, you can give me some woodworking ideas on my foyer nd crack me up with stories about your kddos. Kim, we can SUP in the pond! Susan, we can have coffee! Karla, you could give me some great flower tips! Sloan, we could chat about weather on the East Coast and our kiddos. Marlowe, we could talk about skiing and enjoy the sunshine! Mom, when you come for a visit we will do what we always do: watch Dad play catch with the kids, wathc em run around and Bella chase the golf cart. But this time we will celebrate your completion of chemo!!

    {Marlowe, our property is about 6 acres, the pond is about an acre, so landwise the backyard is about 2 acres).

    much love to you all,
    Cathy

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your home is beautiful Cathy and I love your rhodies! Mine bloomed late this year as well, in fact I noticed them today. :) I love your back yard, what a perfect spot for dates. :)
    Have a great girls weekend and I hope that things slow down once school is out and things fall into a routine. I know that overwhelming feeling.
    Hugs to you!
    XO

    ReplyDelete
  11. Busy busy busy here too! We have something going on every night of the week and blogging seems to get put to the back burner....along with many other things. So glad to hear about your updates. Your house looks fantastic. I love Spring in the Midwest...everything coming alive after a long winter. Take care!
    Sabby

    ReplyDelete
  12. Beautiful scenery...and soooo glad to hear about the strength of your Mom! Enjoy your summer and congrats on the weigh in too!

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a peaceful back porch and love your yard!

    ReplyDelete
  14. what a beautiful yard!!! and what a view!!! yup..right in the middle of the crazy transition here...my "to do" list is getting longer by the minute...

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Cathy,

    Loved this post. Hope you get to feeling better soon. Being "down" is such a struggle. I just prayed for you!

    Ginny

    ReplyDelete

I truly LOVE your comments and hope that you will take a second and share your thoughts with me! I will return the favor, too!