Something to look forward to:

Source

For starters, while Frank (my bike) hasn't been ridden in many moons, I still am an AVID cycling fan! With that said, I cannot say how excited I am about this year's tour! Maybe it's all the rock hard legs of these cyclists have. Maybe it's the drama they bring to the table that would make a soap opera look like Sesame Street brawl. I love it! Now, with Lance back with Levi (Leipheimer --Tour of California winner many times over) and Contador (2007 winner TdF who wants off the team), it's hard not to watch the drama ensue!

Now, is Lance my fave? No, I heart George (Hincapie). He was Lance's right hand man for many years and commend him on being such an amazing rider. My second is a tie and that would include Lance and Levi. Oh drool! Now, how addicted am i? Well, when I first joined twitter, my first few people I added were these cycling guys!

So I've got my DVR ready to go and my Tour links bookmarked. Last thing I'll need is to get my iphone app uploaded to give me updates if I miss something!

Yes, i'm that in love with Le tour!

Things to do before JUL 09 -- update #2

1. Walk/Run 30 miles (10.6)
2. Cook 15 meals a week (10)
3. Save 60% on our grocery bills (63.21%)
4. Do one craft project -- did some craft repairs around the house
5. Order and install Fan for media room (done!)
6. Go to the gym 4 times during the work day (ummm....)
7. Go for a picnic and a hike (never got a chance to go)
8. Go swimming twice at the gym (....)
9. Rain Gutters: measure house, create cost sheet, map out where rain barrels will go. (this is a July thing)
10. Buy drip irrigation system and start putting it together (sorta done)
11. Make apricot jam (apricots sitting nicely in the freezer)
12. Build trellis for grapes (never got this done but really need to do this!!!)
13. Finish last tier of the garden (decided to nix this for now... )
14. Start planning Christmas in July BBQ! (changed again to the beer tasting bbq)

Itching to get away...

In the planner household, we rarely are home more than 6 months without some trip planned. Last week, we were THIS CLOSE to hitting the submit button on two tickets to Madrid. As much as we could kick ourselves for not buying them (600 for the two of us roundtrip including taxes) we figured it just wasn't meant to be when we noticed the price doubled. So, we are still looking into our Costa Rica trip and toying with the idea of just going to Hawaii and bum around the island. Who knows what we'll end up doing in the fall but right now, I need to jump onto a plane and escape.

So last night, the hubby finally came through and book two tickets to what paradise... I mean Seattle. I love Seattle. If I could move there, I would but the hubby isn't soo keen on that. He's fine just visiting. This will be our second trip together there (our first trip was 3.5 years ago in the winter). We're only going for 4 days over the 4th of July weekend. So, if you have any suggestions for something for us to do, let us know (i'm looking at you Silly Little Mischief!) We've done all the major touristy things (Fremont district, needle, ballard locks--granted we didn't see any fish, Aquarium, bummed around Bainbridge island, belltown, etc.). Here is a link to photos from that last trip. We are staying downtown and will not have a car because we like the public transportation system there.

Here are the things we are toying with doing: Wine Tasting on Bainbridge Island, International District, Kayak Lake Union, hit up the Pinnacle, and Family Fourth Fireworks. Anything you can think of we could do? Any festivals going on? All help is welcomed!

Things to do before JUL 09 -- update #1

I can't believe I've barely posted this month. I feel like such a slacker. In my defense, I got tied up reading... you still alive? I know, I say i'm going to read more and then I don't, and when I don't post, it's cause I'm actually reading. I can't believe I got pulled into this whole Twilight series. I really didn't care for the first book but really liked two and three. Reading the fourth now and wish it ended like 300 pages ago.

Anyhow, onto the update:

1. Walk/Run 30 miles (8)
2. Cook 15 meals a week (6)
3. Save 60% on our grocery bills (61.38%)
4. Do one craft project -- build ottoman top for fire pit. Haven't started that yet but might change it to something else.
5. Order and install Fan for media room (bought fan and called people to come install it)
6. Go to the gym 4 times during the work day (ummm....)
7. Go for a picnic and a hike (perhaps this weekend, the weather is getting a little better, if you don't count today's thunderstorms.)
8. Go swimming twice at the gym (....)
9. Rain Gutters: measure house, create cost sheet, map out where rain barrels will go. (still need to do this)
10. Buy drip irrigation system and start putting it together (bought another soaker hose, need to finish the last tier before I add this onto the one we have)
11. Make apricot jam (got the apricots in the freezer, hopefully I'll have some time to do this this weekend)
12. Build trellis for grapes (Must do this in the next 2 weeks, there are leaves on the grape vine now!)
13. Finish last tier of the garden (slated for june 20)
14. Start planning Christmas in July BBQ! (haven't started yet but am DYING to have a dinner party)

Fruits of our Labor

Today we're going up to the Ventura to spend the day with my brother's family and my parents. With all the little radishes getting big I decided to harvest some and make a little veggie basket for him.



In the basket are baby carrots, onions, radishes, thyme, rosemary, basil, mint and lemon balm.

Little Ringo

Our little Ringo went through the ringer yesterday. On top of going to the Vet for his annual, he got lots of shots too! Then when I got home, the hubby gave him a bath and gave him a summer cut! (this was the first time we did that... took longer than we thought but overall, not too bad) Now our little boy looks skinny (somewhat) again.

Before:

Yes, he is resting his head on a bone pillow.


Ringo and Bruno (who DESPERATELY needs a cut too!)
The Red-eye feature makes their eyes look weird. haha!

After:


That last photo reminds me of a cross between a koala and a st. bernard for some reason.

Happy Friday!

New Posts on LMP Farm

Here's the link!

Random thoughts

my phone crashed last night. i acted as if the sky was falling. maybe i'm a little addicted to my iphone.

one of the cucumber blossoms turned into a cucumber, one more month until harvesting

it is 69% humid outside. that is 40% more than i like. if i wanted to live in humid weather i'd move to the south.

we never booked our costa rica flights, now they went up. going to still watch them but i think we are going to go somewhere else instead. hopefully northwest this summer and then hawaii this fall

one of my closest friends J is on vacation. i feel a bit lost because i talk to her constantly. glad she is on vacation though, she needed it!

made jam for the first time last weekend. (seven jars!) it tastes great but doesn't seem to have jam-like consistency. hopefully refrigerating it will help... it is more like a spread but i don't mind that. will make a full post about this later

contemplating installing solar panels on the house but the website isn't that easy to navigate. this is a big pet peeve, it ranks right up there with unanswered emails and things not in order.

currently listening to the weepies

watched "i'm a celebrity" last night. not too impressed. at first i loved to hate spencer but now just want him off, he's too annoying.

my new favorite snack: special k crackers. yum!

Things to do before JUL 09

1. Walk/Run 30 miles ()
2. Cook 15 meals a week ()
3. Save 60% on our grocery bills (this month we need to do a little bit of stocking up... hmmm...)
4. Do one craft project -- build ottoman top for fire pit.
5. Order and install Fan for media room
6. Go to the gym 4 times during the work day (ummm....)
7. Go for a picnic and a hike
8. Go swimming twice at the gym (....)
9. Rain Gutters: measure house, create cost sheet, map out where rain barrels will go.
10. Order drip irrigation system and start putting it together
11. Make apricot jam
12. Build trellis for grapes
13. Finish last tier of the garden
14. Start planning Christmas in July BBQ!

Green goals for the Summer

After talking to the hubby how to lower our bills and become more Eco friendly, we made five goals for the summer.

1. Insulation: we have about 15-20 recessed lights. Last time I was in the attic I noticed how many spots where hot or cold air can seep through them, wasting it. By insulating them, we'll be able keep our electricity bill down more and keep the house at a temp we like.
2. Fans: we are going to add a few ceiling fans to circulate air and hopefully keep the ac off longer.
3. Rain gutters and rain barrels: two winters down and many more to go. Every winter it's rained enough to leave huge puddles. Some storms it feels like our house is an ark. By putting in gutters, we can move the water into rain barrels and then be able use that water for the garden.
4. Solar tunnel: our master bedroom closet is dark dark! We always loved the idea of sun lights. With solar tunnels, it moves the sunlight through the tunnel and light up the area and not cost us a dime! (this one is a maybe)
5. Drip irrigation: we hand water about 75% of the garden. It doesn't seem like much but we're talking 20-30 minutes at a time. It's a good way to not waste water but wastes our time. Putting one on a timer will keep water usage at a minimum and save us time.

Due Date August 15, 2009

How will you try to become more Eco friendly than you are now?

Things to do before JUN 09 -- Final Update

1. Walk/Run 30 miles (30)
2. Cook 15 meals a week (15)
3. Save 60% on our grocery bills (71.46% lowest grocery bill of the year= $108.67!!)
4. Do one craft project (worked on a bouquet for a friend! )
5. Clean my bike and go riding (stuff came up... booo)
6. Go to the gym 4 times during the work day (ummm....)
7. Go for a picnic and a hike (lost all the weekends somehow)
8. Go swimming twice at the gym (....)
9. Do boot camp ONCE ()
10. Work out 4 times a week ALL month (i should really just scrap this one. it sounds great but i never do it)
11. Read a book (read lots but never finished it... almost done )
12. Build stairs in the garden instead of my "stepping bricks" i have. (Built but am thinking I may need to make them bigger to step on. I almost fell off the other day)
13. Map out rest of the garden and start building it. (done)