Miscellaneous May

Yup. . . That's me. . . =)

I occasionally make the mistake of checking the "stats" on my "dashboard" that supposedly let me know how many "pageviews" per day I get. At least I think that's what it's calculating. It says 26 views happened yesterday. Uhhh, yeah. I'm pretty sure that's not right. Unless it's counting all the people who Google words that frequently appear in my blog. Like flowers. Candy. Sprinkles. Random. They mistakenly click on the link to "Random Shannon", take one look and realize this was definitely not what they were hoping to find. But it still counts as a pageview. I don't know how the views are being tabulated, but I think Blogger is either confused or lying . . . At least, I hope so . . . If not, I guess I'm just really skilled at leaving people speechless. And I don't mean that in a good way.

I've been working in the yard quite a bit. I like it. I'd much rather do outside work than inside work. It stays looking nice for way longer than any straightening I do indoors. I enjoy pulling weeds. It's just satisfying to me. That low ripping sound as the entire root unhinges itself from the earth. I love it when the soil is moist enough that I can pull the whole weed out. Call me crazy, but I really "dig" it.

I bought a load of flowers and planted them in pots and dirt spots around the yard. Now I'm assaulted by bursts of dazzling color nearly everywhere I turn.

I finally broke down and got us a Costco membership. That's where I got these daisies. I'm having a hard time keeping them erect. I carry them in and out of the sun and try to water them appropriately, but apparently I'm doing something wrong. The ones in the backyard look like they've had better days. It bums me out when any of my flowers wilt. Most of them are in good shape, so I'm thankful for that, but some croaked almost as soon as they were planted. =(

The first rose bud to emerge on the whole huge bush. I'm getting excited.



The flower bed at the end of the driveway. I planted in the bare spots betwixt the dead tulips and daffodils. The new beauties will hopefully flourish as the summer progresses. Well, that's what happened last year. At first they looked sparse like this, but it was a whole other story later on.

I discovered the above "dianthus clownfish" at Lowe's. I think they're just dandy with their bulbous, multi-colored blossom clusters. So pretty.


I've added dahlias (above) to my list of favorite flowers. They are so perfect! They look good enough to eat.


One of the baskets I filled with soil and happy flowers.


I had the perfect shady spot for a fuchsia plant. I've been admiring hanging baskets of these for a while, and Costco had them for several dollars less than everywhere else, so I went for one. I just hope I don't kill it.

Oliver helping me water some of my pretty flowers.



The last time I had a haircut was November 1st. Needless to say, it had become unwieldy.

Bushy around the middle and straw-like on the ends. This is the day before I went in to get it maintained.

I guess the "after" picture doesn't look way different, but she did trim it up and add some more layers to help accentuate my waves.

And I opted for highlights to mask the increasing number of white hairs appearing around front. My plan backfired. I should have stuck with the darker color after all. Now it just looks like I have tons of white hair. I've sworn off highlights from now on. Every now and again I've tried them out, but I've never been thrilled with the results. I think they just make me look older. And I don't like the streaky look on me. The gal doing my hair promised me it wouldn't be streaky. But that's how it turned out. =/


The back doesn't look too bad, but I think she could have done better on the bangs and on top. I told Cora to remind me to NEVER get highlights again. They look great on other people, but they just look wrong on me. I think my hair is done being blonde. Maybe that's why it has naturally darkened over the years. It was trying to tell me something.

Oh well. It's just hair. I should have gone with my gut and stuck with an all-over color. I'm thinking mauve for next time. To go with my complexion.


So the other day I saw the saddest thing. I'm not sure how long ago this happened. . .

My childhood Arby's. Closed. Forever.
The first one I ever went to.
The one all five of my senses fell in love with.
The one my dad always took us to when he would visit.
Dangit. =(


On a happier note, Cora had her orchestra concert on Friday the 11th. It was in conjunction with the 5th grade music program. They did a lovely job.

Earlier in the day during an assembly, Cora received a President's Education Award in recognition of outstanding academic excellence. Way to go, Cora!

Later that evening after Oliver's ninja class, he and I went to meet Ryan at his parents' house to go see The Avengers with Jackie, Eric, and Ethan. Cora and Jane stayed with Shirley since they weren't eager to see the movie. Oliver was pretty excited to go, but he ended up falling asleep not too far into it. The beginning didn't have enough superhero action to keep him interested.
I liked the movie overall. The effects were extra special, of course, but I've always had a hard time watching things (like cities) getting destroyed in movies or anywhere else. I admit, my favorite parts of the movie were Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr. =)


Okay, last thing for now. I got this kalanchoe plant just before Easter, and it's still this pretty. The blossoms were originally bright pink, but the color has somehow faded.

I adore these tiny flowers. I also adore my cute cupcake wrapper planter.


I'm glad I took the opportunity to type this all out for myself. Really, I am.