And Lists Were Made....

It's been one whole week of list-making with the 30 Days of Lists project! YAY! I have to admit that I was expecting list prompts closer to the kinds of lists I make (my latest being "Ways to Access the Secret Room In My Someday Mansion"), but these lists are different. And by different, I mean awesome! They are simple positive prompts that are make me think about me as a person, focus on the moment and appreciate my world. It's like list-making therapy! 

Day 1 - A Few Things About Myself

Day 2 - Things I'm Good At

Day 3 - Things I'm Looking Forward To

Day 4 - Todays Playlist

Day 5 - Weekend Goals

Day 6 - My Least Favorite Words

Day 7 - Blog Goals!

Day 8 - What's in your purse?

I'm excited to work through the next week of prompts and really hope that this project becomes a yearly thing!

Gifts that Look Like Other Things

My first ever real blog post was about cake - how much I love it and the adorable shapes in which one can make it.

My first ever blog reader and commenter was my mother, who is awesome for it!

My mother read that blog post and decided to make it a wish list. Last month I found a box on my front porch with the return address of my mommy. Inside the box I found a grab bag of awesome, including some of the cake pans I listed here as being my favorites.

The Peace of Cake pan AND the TeaCupCake liners! I am one lucky daughter and blogger! It's hard on both my mother and me to live so far apart. We both miss out on all sorts of mother-daughter opportunities with all those miles in between us. But packages like this one reminds me that she's still my best friend, even if we only see each other in person a few times a year. 

But wait - there's more!

My man friend travels a lot for work and this last trip was one full month in California - no weekends home this time. He was sweet enough to bring me to him over Valentines Day (when I wore that awesome felt conversation heart hair piece I made, seen here) and romance the crap out of me. While we were romancing, we ate at this AWESOME restaurant, The Madonna Inn, where I ate way too much delicious food and fell in love with the novelty of the place. Fast forward three weeks, my sweetheart is preparing to come home to my loving arms and thinks he would like to see me smile. This is what he brings me:

Chocolates from The Madonna Inn that look like a farmyard! 

The ladybug was raspberry, the pig was toffee and the cow was chocolate. 

The time apart is hard, but he sure does know how to make the best of our time together! We tried really hard to make those treats last all weekend but we couldn't let them survive past Saturday.

The distance between me and my family AND my sweetheart can be hard, but I think we make the best of it. How do you deal with time apart from your favorite people?

An Open Letter to My Yard...

Dearest Yard,

I know we've had an on again and off again relationship since I moved into the house you surround. And you've been a good yard, sticking by me through the hard times. I'd like to think you can return the sentiment as I was here through the dry days. I also know the last few years have been particularly hard for between us. I've been so selfish in my ups and downs I have been neglectful. Having strangers mow you after the local authorities threatened you for being out of control last spring. I know it wasn't your fault and I can't apologize enough.

But there weren't always so bad times, were there? In the beginning when we would spend hours together while I mowed you and sang your favorites from my iPod. Remember when I had those tree specialist come out and give them all checkups? I had such a great time that first spring trying to spruce you up with some pansies and landscaping. What about that time we watched the ex-husband get arrested down the street? Those were great times!!

But we both need to remember that we live in a desert. In know when you were young and adventurous you settled here hoping to change the world through lush well manicured beauty. But you're old enough to know that you might have been too ambitious. Apple and Oak Trees, a full exotic lawn and what I think use to be a few lines of corn. Some of those things just need more than Colorado can give, friend. Let's keep the same direction, but just change the path. Let's stay ambitious and adventurous, but let's try to work with the desert and not against it.

I propose we start fresh! Let's loose the thirsty trees and remove all of that greedy grass! Let's put in sage and lavender and shrubs. Stop fighting it my friend! Let's beautify the place with things that will thrive!

I have a dream too... and it's to make you the most spectacular quarter of an acre this side of Lakewood has ever seen!! Are you with me?

PS - I'm starting today with or without your response. I've been to the Home Depot and bought a hack saw. Believe me, you'll never miss those little trees growing all over the place. I'm actually saving them from dying of thirst since it never rains here and I'm too cheap to water.