Summer Goal Setting

I have a list of things in my head that I feel I've been slacking on lately and I would really like to pick them back up... So I thought if I get them down somewhere, maybe I will be more likely to hold myself to these resolutions. I almost hate to call them "resolutions" because that word sort of has the connotation of something that you decide to do, but give up on within the week. These are NOT those kind of resolutions! ;) I have already started on some of these things, but I think I need more motivation and OOMPH behind my thoughts, so without further ado, here are my summertime goals (and beyond!):

1: Take more pictures. I don't have ANY new pictures uploaded on my facebook since last November (crazy!) and haven't taken many even if I had tried to upload them. I used to take photos of Bendy almost every day, and I would really like to get back into documenting more of our life and her growing up. I have my excuses/ reasons... Clunky camera is hard to drag around with me; batteries never charged when I need them, etc etc... But it basically comes down to, I have to COMMIT and bring it and just do it, baby! I am aiming for new pictures EVERY week. I don't want to say how many because I feel like that is setting myself up for failure, but I WILL take my camera with me to places, and I WILL document this summer!

2: I feel like this almost goes hand-in-hand with #1, but I want to keep up with the blog. At least two posts every week. I always feel like I have nothing to blog about if I don't have new pictures to share, so I think this should be easier to stick to once I have #1 down.

3: Working out... This is a running to-do list item, but I have not been getting to it as much lately as I want, and frankly, that sucks! I would really like to feel COMFORTABLE in a bathing suit (bikini? I don't want to commit to something unreachable yet, but possibly...) this summer. I want to be more fit so I can feel more comfortable in my own skin and not always be worrying about how I look! My goal for this item is 4 times per week at least with cardio, and strength training at least 2 times, but more often than that for abs.

4: Take the family camping AT LEAST once this season! We wanted to go last year and never got to it, and it's something I love... I enjoyed it a lot as a kid, it's a great, cheap, fun way to relax and spend some time together, and I know Illy will love it! So on the list it goes for this year :)

5: Visit with three friends that I haven't seen yet this year. I'm glad we have online social networking now, because if it wasn't for that, I feel like I would have lost touch with everyone! My social life has taken a nosedive since we moved to the middle of nowhere, and I definitely want to make some time to reconnect with some of my best buds :) I think a goal of 3 is reasonable, and I have some people in mind, but hopefully it will be more than that!

6: Take Bendy to the beach at least once... This is kind of an every summer goal because I grew up on the beach and love it (didn't love it so much when I lived there, but I guess that's they way things go!) but my hubby is not a big fan so we don't always make it over there. I am taking her this year even if it's just us two :)

7: Try a new food. Just because. I love food, and I like trying new things, and I want to branch out more. So there you have it.

8: Pay off a debt. Any one of the old ones on my credit report. We are trying to get closer to buying a house, and we have to do this first. Given our current situation, this one might not be achievable, but I am putting it on my list to remind me to work towards that.

9: Go hiking at least twice.

10: Visit the Farmer's Market at least twice per month... This is kind of a fun one, but also good for our health! I love the local Farmer's Market and I can't wait for it to start up again this June :)

That's it for now, but I may keep adding and updating this list as time goes on. I'd like to at least come back and cross things off, add dates, etc. once they have been achieved. Wish me luck! Summer summer, here I come! You know what they say... "It's summertimeeeee, and the livin's easy..." I can't wait to be cruising around with the music blasted and the sunroof open in the nice warm weather! We had snow here just yesterday so I'm really hoping spring is on its way for GOOD now!

~Jade

We Got It!!

We GOT THE DUPLEX!!

Just found out about an hour ago and I couldn't be happier right now. WOO HOO!!!

Earl said it first, people:

"Alex: Earl, karma is a very complex Buddhist principle. It’s the totality of a person’s actions which determines the fate of the next stage of their existence.

Earl: Do good things and good things happen. Do bad things and bad things happen.

Alex: (smiling) Yeah I actually like your definition better."


PS: If you don't watch My Name Is Earl, go. Get it. Watch it. Giggle. Thank Me. It is an awesome show.

Instant Karma?

We got our tax money last week.

Rather than plan a vacation (even though I would LOVE to take Bendy to Disney), buy too many things we don't need, or toss it all into savings where it will slowly be depleted over the next few months, we decided to take most of that money and pay back a number of old debts that we had on our credit reports.

See, when I turned 18, I didn't quite understand yet the ---danger--- that IS credit cards. In my frolicky little world of sunshine and flowers, I thought, yeah, I will sign up for this credit card, and buy the things I want... And pay the minimum until the day comes that I can pay them back! *smiles* *tosses hair* *pops bubblegum loudly*

But everyone in the *ahem* real world knows that that day never comes. Instead, you just get pummeled with fees and interest and blah blah blahs until one day, you owe a company $1000 for that $100 DVD player you decided to buy to watch your favorite movie on. And then (at least if you are me) you realize you won't overcome it anytime soon, and you give up. You let it go onto your credit report and ruin any chances you have of getting any type of loan on your own for the next however many years. So that's what I did, and that's how I ended up in this mess.

Will's was actually not nearly as bad as mine, to be honest. He had a bill from a hospital and one credit card, but that's nothing to my ridiculous amounts of book clubs, credit cards, past due bills, etc. I am turning red as I write this, because really, I'm not proud of it. I should have known better.

But, I didn't. It is what it is, I guess.

And NOW... Now that I am older, now that we have a daughter, now that we are getting more serious about what we want to do with our lives and doing things like making budgets and five year plans and thinking of just how to get to that point where we can buy our own house... NOW... We are fixing it.

I spent a while on the phone two days ago with all of these credit companies. **SIDE NOTE: You DO NOT need to hire a credit counseling service to help you if you have debts. You can negotiate with these companies all on your own, and they will offer you deals- on average, most will settle for around 50% of what you owed them in the beginning. IF you DO decide to go with a credit counseling service, whatever the reason, DON'T get one that makes you pay ridiculous amounts of money! Check out CCCS- Consumer Credit Counseling Services- you can even do a lot of it online with them now...** I paid back a big chunk of what we had owed, and I am pretty sure it's going to boost our credit score within the next couple of months. One step closer to being able to buy a house in a few years!

And you know what happened??

The next day, I happened to be browsing Craigslist, and I clicked on housing. I have been keeping my eye out on there for a while, because while we do like our apartment for its size, our location and our landlord are both kind of sucky. If you read about our heat situation, you know what I mean.

So we've been wanting to move for a while, but not forcing the issue. We've been waiting for the right thing to come along. We were *hoping* for a house or a duplex, something a little bigger, with a yard (right now we live on one of the main streets in town and have ABSOLUTELY no yard, which blows with a dog and a one year old!)... and I had only seen one that was good in the past few months, which was snatched up before I could even get ahold of the poster. So I didn't have very high hopes in clicking... But what do I see at the top of the list but THIS AD:

3br - ENFIELD NH 6 ROOM DUPLEX

3 BEDROOM (ONE SMALL MORE FOR NURSERY) 1 BATH. NEWLY REMODELED. APPLIANCES ALREADY THERE.
FRONT PORCH
BIG YARD AND PLENTY OF PARKING.
$800.00 PER MONTH PLUS UTILIES
NEW WINDOWS
NEW FURNACE

We are going to look at it tonight. The woman sounds great, doesn't mind that we have a dog, and it seems like we were the first to get ahold of her about this amazing deal!! If all goes well, we might be putting down a security tonight...

Instant karma??

I think so.

Obama's First Day :)

I just thought this was a cool little snippet of an article, and I wanted to share. :)

Bush Street Renamed Obama Street in San Fran

And here is his first signature while President of the United States. Pretty, isn't it?


Edited to add: You should definitely check out this Lost Inauguration Commentary by Issa. It had me rolling! Her kids are hilarious! Urethra Franklin. hee. hee.

Buzzing, Ecstatic, Overwhelmed, Elated...

That's how I feel right now.

I just watched the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America. The FIRST African-American President ever.

He speaks so eloquently. He has faith and confidence and family values.

He gives me hope.

It's time to remake America. It's time for us to once again stand up and be proud of who we are- the many varied faces of who we are- and what we believe in.

It's time.

Take 5 Tuesday!

This is the first time I am ever participating in Take 5 Tuesday. The basic idea is that every Tuesday, that site gives you 5 topics. You are supposed to write 5 things on each one, or if you don't want to do them all, pick a few and write 5 on those. So here goes!

Happy New Year!

Today’s topics:
List…

5 things you did for new years.
1- Played Wii- Super Mario Galaxy, to be exact
2- Took pics of the Bendy
3- Vegged out
4- Missed the ball drop (again)... but at least we made it to midnight this year!
5- Ate food. Nom nom nom...

5 goals you completed last year.
1- Found a place and moved to be closer to my work.
2- Started a savings account and started putting money into it!
3- Finished paying off some old debts, started working towards paying off others...
4- Threw my girl her first birthday party!
5- Started my blog. I guess it wasn't a total goal before last year, but once I figured the whole thing out, it was a goal of mine to find my niche, find other blogs I liked to read, and make some cyber friends. Cuz I don't have many in real life. Sad, but true. Hey, that sort of makes me sound like a loser, so let me clarify. I don't have friends cuz I can never find the time to hang out, not cuz I suck. Just so ya know. lol.

5 goals you want to complete this year.
1- Pay off more debts!
2- Hopefully move up in my career and get that job I applied for... *fingers crossed*
3- Learn more about photography and manual settings. Practice, practice, practice and get better at this new hobby!
4- Learn more about making jewelry. Maybe create an etsy shop?
5- Teach Ilyana something new, and take her camping!

5 lessons you learned last year.
1- Keep believing.
2- Make the choice that feels right.
3- Love like it's your last chance.
4- Enjoy every moment.
5- Take too many pictures. You're sure to get your money shot this way! :)

5 things you didn’t do last year, that you want to do this year.
1- Camp! I already put this, but it counts again, right?
2- Go on a vacation somewhere...
3- Force myself to write more often. Get going on that poetry blog I started a looonnnggg time ago and never write in.
4- Finish reading the Twilight series!
5- Make more time for my friends :)

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Well, at least it is at OUR house!

We spent this Saturday setting up our FIRST EVER Christmas tree :) Yes, we've been together for over eight years, but since we are always at my Mom's on Christmas morning, and since we never had a little munchkin to enjoy it before, we never thought we needed one of our own. Yet. Last year, we thought about it, but our place was so small, as was the Ruggle, that it just wasn't worth it.

This year, we finally did! We had my Mom pick us up a tree from Big Lots and then her, my stepdad David and little brother Owen took the drive up to bring it to us and help us decorate it. I had a small box of ornaments given to my by my Dad- the ones that I had collected over the years at his house- and then we bought some from the Dollar Tree, since they are plastic and thus less of a fragile-scary-breakable-choking-hazard than regular ornaments. And I don't mind as much if the ruggle wants to play with them.


BEFORE DECORATING:

I got da balls, Momma.

Dada, Watch Dis!

David spent the day as photographer, which is why he's not in any of these.


DURING THE DECORATING:

The girl checks out the tree from ALL angles.

Amazingly, Owen was able to help us, even though he spent ALLLLLLL week sick with an unexplained fever. We are still waiting to hear what's going on with him, which is pretty scary. I was glad he perked up a little and was able to help me and Mom put on some ornaments...

He was showing off how tall and lanky he is. Look at him reaching almost to the top of the tree!

Odizz the decorator

Mama Ruggle the decoratess

Cey-Cey Ruggle the decoratess

"Could I help ya, Mumma?"

"Sure, honey, here's a delicate frog ornament (that was already broken once before) for you to put on the tree..."

"Uh-Ohhhhh...."

"Momma, Momma, I break the froggie! Uh-Oh!"

*sigh* S'ok, Ruggle. Here are some plastic ones to play with instead. We'll just put Mr. Froggie aside to be repaired (again) at an unknown later date... i.e., hopefully by next year.

While we decorated the tree, Will (aka hubster) put together our bed frame. See, my Mom bought herself and David a new bed frame when they were out getting our tree. Which meant, HALLE-FREAKIN-LUJAH, they didn't need their old bed frame anymore. WHICH by proxy meant... you got it... I inherited their old one. Which is just AWESOME for me. No more sleeping with our mattress on the floor. w00t w00t :)

Of course, Illy helped. "Dada, where does this go?"

Here, lemme put it in your hann! Sanks, Dada.

Look at my pretty Momma helping me decorate! Thanks Momma :)

The two sexiest tree-decorators in town. Wanna hire us? Erm, for decorating, I mean. And nothing else.

DISCLAIMER: It's not that amazing being the sexiest anything in Enfield, NH. Just for the record. If you had seen the chickies walking around my town, you'd understand. I'm just sayin'.

Uhm, yeah. I love the Dollar Tree. My tree came out much better than I expected, and I got all the red and gold ornaments AND the ribbon for 7 bucks total. STEAL!

O contemplates the meaning of having a tree...

As I anally relocate ornaments that *just look off*


AFTER THE DECORATING:

In the end, though, we had a "Pretty tree, pretty tree" (Yes, she did say that.)

Which Ilyana enjoyed all night long.

And had to check FIRSTTHING in the morning to be sure the pretty tree was still there.

Erm... Text From Post?

For some reason, with the MSNBC widget I was using, I wasn't able to post my text- it just kept disappearing when I tried to include it. So here's what I had to say about that, mostly addressed to my beautiful daughter, whose future was in the balance during this election.

Text from post:

All that hoping and crossing our fingers and teaching you to chant "O-BAM-A, O-BAM-A" has paid off, my girl. Starting 1/21/2009, our country will be led by someone who I believe has the intelligence, the empathy, and the even-keeled manner to pull our country out of this awful recession and put some policies in place that actually benefit the mass majority of us middle-class American families.

Halle-frickin-lujah!

Election '08 Results- Canigedda woot-woot?!?!

TRICKERTREAT!!

We took Ilyana out trick-or treating on Friday night. We weren't sure how she would take it- she's a pretty brave little girl, so we weren't too worried that she would be afraid of the costumes or decorations, but I wasn't sure if we'd be able to get her to go up to houses and say "Trick or Treat" or "Happy Halloween" and I didn't know if she would understand the whole getting-of-the-candy thing.

So first, we went to this place called the Powerhouse Mall. It's basically a small indoor mall, probably about 20 stores in all, but each year they do a Halloween trick-or-treat where the employees will dress up and stand outside their stores passing out candy. When we heard about it, we figured it would be a good place to start, since it's inside and not too huge, and we'd be able to get her used to the idea before possibly venturing outside to trick-or-treat.

When we arrived, things were not looking up. The woman at the Yankee Candle outside the mall tried giving her candy, and Illy didn't want to take it, didn't want to talk to her, and was having a meltdown because (a) she didn't want to wear her hood, which had the kitty ears and whiskers on it; and (b) she saw another girl with the same princess treat bucket as her and forgot I was carrying hers. She ran up to the other girl, hysterically screaming "Mine! mine!" I hurriedly exlplained that I had hers, and the other little girl just had the same one... I was thinking, uh-oh, this is NOT going to be good.

Of course, in the middle of said meltdown and pulling at kitty ears in anger, I ran into my boss outside the mall. We were able to distract her from the kitty ear situation for just long enough to get her to smile for a pic and say hi to my boss' daughter, who she goes to daycare with, before she got angry and wanted to go inside.

This is Illy in her kitty costume and my boss' daughter in her adorable witch temptress costume frolicking in the background.


This is the picture we got her to smile for... And it's before the hood was rejected for the night, so it's one of the best!

Then we went inside. She refused to say any of the obligatory Halloween phrases at first. One of the nice employees gave her a blow pop anyway, and I think she thought that was it. She started running past all the other stores, clinging to her "poppy" for dear life! Some people tried to stop her and give her more candy, but I think she thought if she got something else, she'd have to trade in her poppy, because she was not having any of that! Whenever someone tried to hand her something, she'd go "NO! Mine!" and hold the poppy to her chest.

This is, apparently, the best *poppy* that was EVER made. She is not giving it up.


Luckily, there was another little boy who happened to come up to one of the stores at the same time as us. He said his little "trick or treat" and they gave him candy, and it was as if a light had gone on in her head. She immediately went "TRICKERTREAT!" and was given candy by the employee, which she tossed into her bucket like good little kitties do.

YAY!

Trick or treat success has been attained!

After that, she was a little more into it.

Me and the girl in the Powerhouse Mall. Trick or treat, here we come!


Not exactly sure what she was doing here, but it's cute nonetheless. Notice the absence of hood.


Hey Momma! I trickertreatin'. Like my poppy?

Then we decided to grab a bite to eat and go downtown for some real, outdoor trick or treating. The candy at the mall was just not enough to suppress our sweet tooth. Oh, what, you really thought it was all gonna be for her?!? Pshaw. As if. What does an 18 month old need with all that candy, anyway?! But don't worry. We'll share some of it with her. And we won't eat her poppys. Pinky promise.

I'm kicking myself now, wishing I had gotten more shots of the outside trick or treating. But it was getting a little crazy. We didn't really want to let her walk because the roads we were on weren't shut down, so there was still the occasional car, and also... she walks slow. lol. So, Will ended up carrying her most of the way (I offered to help, but she wanted Dada...) which left me carrying coats, purse, trick or treat goody bag and camera in between houses. So you can see why I was a little frazzled. But still. No excuse. I coulda done better. Here's what I got:

Mmmmm.... Poppy.



Random scream blow up guy I saw at someone's house and thought was cool. Now, though, I'm thinking it's a little creepy?



She's looking at the other kids, going "Suckerrrs! My Dad CARRIES me AND I get the candy. What?! I know, I'm the coolest."


Okay, so I took this pic with the night setting on my camera, which apparently is only supposed to be used with a tripod, because the shutter is open for longer, which causes the above blurring if you or your subject moves at all. Who knew? I'm still figuring this cam out. In any case, I liked the result even with the blurring. I thought it gave the pic a little bit of cool movement. You might not agree. Whatevs. It's a pic of her and some cute little fairy girl she was fascinated by on the street.

All in all, I would say trick or treating was a success. After initial worry on my part and anger on her part, and after finally giving in and allowing her to NOT wear the kitty hood (after she yanked on it incessantly, saying "ouch ouch"), she was good. She had fun. She liked seeing the other kids in their costumes and thought the decorations were funny. She even attempted to say Happy Halloween to some people, although it came out as "Happy happy." I think they got the point, though. And she learned what trick or treat is- and the merits of dressing up in a ridiculous getup in return for a free sugar high.

Poor Dada, though. His arms were practically falling off for the next two days after carrying her around all night. This little girl just isn't so *little* anymore.

*sigh* Why do they have to ever get big?

An AWARD!?! For me?? YAY!!!

This must be my week, because (a) I won a contest; (b) it's my birthday; (c) I got my new camera- connected with b, I suppose; and (d) now I won a bloggy award! w00t-w00t for me! Maybe I should go and buy a lottery ticket. You never know, right?

Judi from over at Where The Road Takes Us bestowed this upon me... Thanks again Judi!

"The requirements for this award are to list six things that make me happy, then tag six more bloggers."

Six things that make me happy:

1. Kisses from Bendy Ruggles
2. Spending time with my family
3. Shopping
4. My job- I like what I do, I like the people I work with, I love the University I work for, and it provides my family with not only income (duh) but also good BENEFITS, which were a godsend for us. We needed them badly!
5. Photography & Blogging (I think they sort of go together)
6. Yummy home-cooked food... I'm looking forward to some right now!

The final requirement for this award is to tag 6 more bloggers that are Kreativ.

1. The Stuff I Live For
2. Jewel Street Designs
3. Ginger Louise Clothing
4. Dr. Cason
5. Two Dogs Running
6. A Year Of Crockpotting

Voila! My first award. I feel so warm and fuzzy inside now. :D

I won! I really WON!

I am soooo super excited!

I won my first blog contest from over at Ginger Louise Clothing's Blog and I am stoked. You should really check her out, she makes BEAUTIFUL children's clothing. She also has an Etsy Shop where you can buy things directly if you'd like. I, personally, would LOVE to have that Autumn Gypsy dress for my Bendy ruggles... it just may go on the wishlist. :D

So. What did I win?? I won TWO of the lycra/ cotton blend shirts in any color we pick for my little girl, pictured below (photo snatched from her blog, hope she doesn't mind!)



They used to be one of her bestsellers when she had two stores in NYC, she says. I cannot WAIT to get these in the mail! I love mail, and I love winning, and I LOVE getting things for my girl... So, overall, YAY!

Fun Piccy Meme! FIRST TIME TAGGED :P

Yay! I was tagged by Judi at Where The Road Takes Us for a fun picture Meme! This is so exciting, I've never been tagged before! w00t~ I made friends :D haha! You should go check out her blog, her picture of Peanut is just sooo cute, and fitting for the season! You'll see what I mean...

The instructions are:

* Go to your Sixth Picture Folder then pick your Sixth Picture.

* Pray that you remember the details.

* Tag 5 others.


Okay. The sixth picture in my sixth folder here at work is:


A picture of Ilyana and her Grumps at Easter this year! Oh my gosh, I hadn't realized how much her hair has grown since then! It's hard to notice because I still can't put it in little bows or barrettes yet... lol. How sweeeeeettt. :D

Okay so now I get to tag people! I choose:

(1) Nikki at Loving Danger

(2) Issa at Issascrazyworld

(3) Aubrey at The Fam Five

(4) Mama Dawg at Two Dogs Running

(5) Kyla at The Journey

Can't wait to read everyone's post! And thanks again, Judi, for tagging ME!

ZoMbIe TeMpLaTe... Crisis averted?

I think it's fixed. I just went back to a similar template to the first one I had. Figured if I'm gonna have all these problems, better to stick with the tried and true. :P At first after I switched back, the old one was still loading when I went to my URL... Zombie template style, it just wouldn't die!

Maybe someday I'll get up the energy (nerve?) to fix up and use another... Who knows.

I also made a new header, which I don't like as much as my old one. I'll be making another today. Hopefully my creativity is more on its game- yesterday was just a crap day in that department.

Thanks for all your support everyone! Blogger blues semi-cured, I suppose.

On a different note, HOW do you use the strikethrough in words on Blogger?!?! I can't figure it out. Help!?! :) Thanks.

Our First Ever (Sort of) Garden :D

For years, I haven't been able to keep a plant alive. I know the principles of gardening- I've been watching my Dad, stepmom, Mother in law and Mom do it for years with amazing skill and actually reap the rewards of a pretty yard and some yummy fresh veggies- but, for some reason, they have never really translated for me... Whether I was watering too much, putting them on the wrong side of the house, or they just didn't like me, who knows. As of a few years ago, I had pretty much given up and been resigned to the fact that my apartment would be bare of plant life for all time. Sad, but true.

This year, I decided to give it a go again.

It started when, on Mother's Day, I was given a plant as a gift from my Mother and Stepfather in law. They handed it over with a grin and said, "Hope it's alive next time we see you..." I had to laugh, but it made me all the more determined to keep THIS ONE alive. I almost failed again, I must admit. I hadn't gotten around to potting the plant after about a week, and it was really starting to droop and look like a sad little specimen. So I finally got my butt in gear, bought a pot and some Miracle Gro soil- I figured I can use all the help I can get. Once I'm a pro, maybe I'll consider going pesticide-free. heh.

Well, my plant came back! Bright and bushy and alive, in all its glory. Maybe being a Mommy has somehow made me more in tune with the pulse of life in all things- or probably, that's just hokey and finally something clicked and I figured out what I was doing wrong before. Or maybe it's just the location of my porch and the light it gets. All I knew was, I was psyched!



So I became inspired. When we went to the Farmer's Market a couple weeks later, I bought a pumpkin. Now, mind you, we don't have a yard. But I was told by the farmer at said market that this pumpkin (which is a special red kind, for even more coolness bonus points here) that if I bought a big enough pot, I could actually grow my pumpkin right on my porch! Yay! I was thinking that by the time Halloween rolls around, even if it's only a tiny little pumpkin, any home-grown pumpkin would be a cool source of fun for us and the Bend- to decorate and put a shiny red pumpkin out front will make her feel like such a big girl! So I brought him home, got him a pot... And here he is, weeks later, looking rather healthy and with a lot more leaves than he had when we bought him:



And then... My Stepmom gave me a whole bunch more plants. She had gotten a couple of flats for free off a friend who has a greenhouse, so she passed some along to me, too. Looking at all of them, I thought for sure, this is the end of my lucky streak with plants. There's no way I can keep like ten of them alive at once. But I'm happy to report, I was wrong! They are ALL thriving, and once Illy got over her urge to pull them out of their pots (which took a while- she had uprooted a few of them before she caught on that they're not toys and are supposed to stay IN the pots) they started growing like crazy and the flowers are blooming! So for once, I have a garden. Of some sort. I don't know that it counts when it's just ten pots scattered across the porch, but it still makes me happy. I go out there every day and check on them and it's so crazy just how fast they grow- it's good to know SOMETHING grows faster than little kids :P Here are some more pics I took of my happy little bunch:

Pots lined up in a row...

Some hot and spicy Oregano!

Flowers are oh-so-pretty...

Especially sneaky red ones that I didn't expect!

Lavender growing like wildfire looks like crazy hair.

More Lavender and some purple flowers with yellow centers (yeah, yeah, I should know the names, but I don't.)

I think this is the saddest pot. I ran out of plants, so there were only two in this one! Still growing, though...

Three flower colors...

I love purple flowers.