I'll do that tomorrow

Do you get caught up in that phrase? Boy, I do. I can be a world-class procrastinator. You would think at 31 I would be mature enough not to, but old habits die hard, I suppose.

This week I shipped off this month's issue of the magazine I edit. The July issue. It was supposed to have gone two weeks ago, and I worked hard to meet that deadline (no procrastinating there), but sales needed more time and apparently no one felt comfortable shipping without me while I was on vacation.

My sister visited while her daughter was up the road at a cross country camp. It was a wonderful week. But coming back was hard. Between shipping, trying get some interviews done for some writing assignments I've taken on as a freelancer, and lastly, still trying to get a new job, things are falling off my plate left and right. And procrastination is setting in. 

Do you ever meet those people who tackle every assignment and project with purpose? I wish I was that kind of person. Instead I spend a lot of times spinning my wheels sitting around (OK, sometimes I procrastinate for the sake of a nap, which I never regret) thinking of all the things I want to do and could be doing, but I get so overwhelmed that stress sets in and I go sit on the couch or porch instead. It's a disheartening process that I realize a lot of people go through. It takes a lot courage to follow up on inspiration. How do you head of procrastination and stay accomplished?

Summer means pesto

What are you cooking this summer? We live in an open concept front-to-back ranch {I think that's what it's called, don't quote me}, so although all the light that floods our house colors me happy, cooking in it can become a hot affair. So I've been in search of recipes that don't require the oven and either are made on the stove top, crock pot, or of course grilled {it's hot out there anyways}. Since we're growing a few things this year, namely basil, mint, and tomatoes, I've been making pesto {with stinky cheese}. I love pesto {with my whole heart}, but I've always bought it at the store. I'm learning I can make it just as good and it's so easy and simple. Throw it on a bed of whole wheat pasta and top with some fresh cut tomatoes and pair with grilled fish or chicken, and you're set {and your house stays cool}. Now I just need to work on my wine pairings. Any thoughts?

{from this}

{to that}

Yum!

A large pile of...strawberries!

Name that popular kids book! Pete the Cat is popular in our house, but if you go online and listen to the reading of it, the  voice over is hilarious.

I plucked these babies from my clearance $2.50 strawberry plant from Walmart. They're teeny tiny and probably don't taste the best, but they're fun.

Bitter pill to swallow

We tried growing lettuce this year. Crazy I know. But it grew. And looked pretty. Then I picked some and ate it in a salad. It made me cringe how bitter it was. I guess I didn't pick it early enough, and the heat caused it to bolt and be bitter. But that's what I love about gardening. You get multiple chances each year for a do-over, learning as you go and growing yourself as you do. If you don't do some sort of gardening, I highly recommend it. It feeds you body and soul. 

Here's Vincent frolicking through my flowers. You can just glimpse my simpson lettuce. This picture is a little old, and probably right when I needed to pick the leaves. 

Garden fresh but bitter lettuce on the left and another garden's cucumbers (they were tasty, thanks Katniss!) on the right. 

Clearance flowers

Yesterday I was in an uber grouchy mood. Not sure why. And I needed to go to the store. Vincent is a good store buddy. He loves going to the store, and he's really good too.

We headed to Walmart and I was determined that I would buy some clearance flowers for my patio. 

For $9 I got three mandevillas. You can see them in the picture above hanging out with my containers of herbs, tomatoes, and a few flowers. I plan to buy some worn stone urns to plant them in. Since I have extra pavers, my sister had a great idea to place them sporadically around the patio and place containers on them. Great idea!

The Patio

I struggled with what to call this post, and decided simply to call it The Patio because it has a story. The Patio actually came to be from reading Young House Love's experience of putting in their own patio. That John made it look so easy and beautiful. And I thought, "Surely we can do that." 

This project began last summer. Did you catch that? Last. Summer. And it isn't an easy project. It's not a short affair like YHL's was, which was done by a single person!!!

Oh, did you notice that I used present tense there? Well, that's because it's not done. We have three rows left, which probably equates to three hours of work if not more. It's back breaking, sweaty, and frustrating work. And the perfectionists in us are struggling with doing it right. Except when we're not doing it right. We're probably doing every part wrong to achieve a patio that works for our sloped yard. I'm hoping the end result, which should be done this weekend since we'll be kidless, will still look good. If it doesn't, I might have to move. 

Because we are building such a large patio--I think it's around 6ft.x15ft--we needed to dig down half an inch for every foot. We dug down 7in. I think that's the correct math. It sounds small, but it isn't, especially in 107 degree weather we experienced last summer.

So we dug, and my in laws even got in the action <--forever grateful. Then we laid weed blocker, base, and sand. We rented machines we had no business operating. We laid probably a fourth of the patio before we got derailed by the surgery husband needed. So two tarps were purchased, and The Patio was covered. And it sat until nearly halfway into the summer because of some heavy rainfall we experienced this spring and early summer.

This summer we uncovered it. Purchased more bags of sand and base. We learned our lesson there. Go to a place that will deliver a bulk pile. Live and learn. And learn how to calculate properly. I think that first day back on the job we laid five rows we were so eager to make headway on The Patio. Now we have three rows left and I'm itching to cruise patio sets (we'll buy one next year since almost all sets are sold out), flowers I want to plant, and some containers to put around here and there with flowers. I'm aiming for a Tuscan feel, but it might end up being more rustic (read: DIY and beginner experience)

One day, I'll share more on our process, what we spent (haha...budgets), how it turned out, and some other ideas have I have percolating. 

Um, hello

I've decided to come back to the world of blogging. I've spent months soul searching about it. Do I blog? Am I oversharing? Who cares to read what's happening in my life? Does blogging make my ego look fat? In this time, I've journaled. A lot. And it's still something I hope to do. There's something about the old-school form of taking pen to paper, not worrying about adding pictures but letting your words describe what's going on in your life. Your words are your pictures. Sure I condense it down more than I would if I were blogging because I am prone to writer's cramp, but I choose those big moments of what's going on, not currently standing in line at Walmart and here's a picture of it. Although, that's sometimes fun too. But I miss this too. It's a little more creative.

What am I coming back to? I'm not sure yet. My organized brain wants to put together a blog calendar, schedule posts, do projects, take pictures, but the other part of me wants to not miss enjoying little moments because I'm trying too hard to capture them on this blog.

Anywho, I'm coming back, if you care. Next week my sister from Oklahoma comes to visit. We're bound to get into trouble (wine) and have fun (more wine). Also, catch my world in pictures or in 140 characters.