connected...

i carry this with me everyday. without fail! and i left a couple of items out of the picture. and it all has a special place in my backpack...along with my laptop. no wonder my back hurts!

i run thru a mental checklist every morning when i leave the house. all the chargers go into a bag...then into the backpack ~ check. cameras ~ check. laptop...blackberry & bluetooth ~ check...check...check.

while i make sure i have all of my gadgets with me...i have left the house (and the office) without my purse. and if something stops working...i don't accept that's its broken until i at least dismantle it...and contact tech support. once i've determined that all hope is lost...i will break down and replace it. of course...my gadgets usually don't break down until a day after the warranty expires. *karma

just yesteday...i had to purchase a new bluetooth because every time i was on the phone the person i would be talking to would ask...where are you? and then comment...you sound like you're in a tunnel. well...i spend a good part of my day on the telephone...and those comments got old fast!

now...i must go and add an appointment to my calendar for march 15, 2010...to remind me to give my new bluetooth a thorough once over...before it's warranty expires. check!

reap what you sow...

• do unto others.
• an eye for an eye.
• what goes around comes around.
• karma.
• the early bird gets the worm...but the second mouse gets the cheese.

i'm sure you've all heard these terms before. well...maybe not that last one...unless you watch food channel as much as i do...or you've seen me tweet it a time or two.

what do they mean? do you believe in them? are you willing to suffer the consequences of your actions? can you 'do the time'?

i believe in karma. i've actually waited for it to show up! i know! i know! that wasn't exactly the 'right thing to do' but i needed to see that choices have consequences for other people...and not just me.

i tend to look at both sides. what's the best thing that can happen? what's the worst thing that can happen? can i accept it?

why are you crying? you said you could handle anything? well...handle it!

flower garden...

i love gardening! i get great pleasure from picking out the plants...planning where i'm going to put them...planting them...and then nurturing them. i have a flower garden...a vegetable garden...and an herb garden.

this weekend we worked on the flower garden. it took us three hours to get everything planted...and afterward i was wiped out. we were barely able to get the plants into the ground before we had butterflies ~ bees and ladybugs coming to investigate.



when i'm out working in my garden...i queue up my faves on the ipod...and can lose myself for hours. one of my current fave cds...heather headley ~ audience of one. 'running back to you' is my fave song from the cd. and...if you're a brandy fan...her new cd ~ human ~ is pretty good. 'piano man', '1st & love', 'shattered heart' and 'camoflauge' are great workout songs...in the garden or the gym.

turn out the lights...

light a candle...or two. earth hour 2009 ~ march 28 ~ 8:30 - 9:30 pm.

this is one of the few times in our house that we turn everything off. unless of course...we're not home. we usually have a televison...or two...on at our house. especially on saturdays. i'm usually having a food network marathon day...and mrchazman is watching the art shows during the day...and boxing at night. tonight...we'll sit...and talk.

talk! what a concept! to each other! i mean...i'm talking to you all right now via the blog...and i'm always on twitter...or facebook...or...you get the picture...but he and i don't sit and talk a lot.

we've been married almost 30 years...so we know each other pretty well...and we talk...but not for 60 minutes straight. unless of course there is something we need to discuss. like making a big purchase...or planning a trip...but...heck...one of us (me) usually does the planning and then shows the other (him) the info...and then we (me again) decide...i make the arrangements...and we go.

so tonight...we talked about earth hour...and gardening...and our daughter...and looked to see if any of our neighbors had turned off their lights (they hadn't)...and mrchazman counted down how much time was left before the lights could get turned back on.

we were pretty tired because we bought quite a few flowers for the garden today...and worked in the yard this afternoon finishing up the prep work for tomorrow's planting day. now...we're getting ready to watch a movie and rest up for our early morning planting. we got some great flowers...that i'll start posting tomorrow.

if you didn't turn out your lights during earth hour...it's not too late. turn off the television and light a few candles. i rather enjoy quiet. i can hear myself think. what about you?

isn't she lovely...

ranunculus...latin for 'little frog'. hmmmm...i guess that's a fitting end of the week post for a princess. :)

so...yesterday i received my healthcare spending account check in the mail...and my mind instantly started trying to figure out what i could spend it on. being the 'gadget girl' that i am...my first thought was the new kindle2. after i twittered it...my daughter wanted to know what was so great about it. what's so great about it? it's a gadget! it has buttons! what else is there?!

seriously. the pluses...obtain books instantly...not bulky or heavy...don't have to find a place to store all the books i buy (which mrchazman will love). then of course...the daughter reminded me that SHE is in the publishing industry...and all these books in print equals 'job security'. oops! scratch the kindle2!

now...i'm thinking i'll probably get a flash for my camera. i'll be starting a photography class in a couple of weeks...and i would love to be able to have them instruct me in the proper way to use it. *i've been thinking of buy a flash for a year...and haven't done it yet.

of course...i really don't have to buy anything. there's nothing i really need. little things make me happy. seeing the ranunculus above puts a smile on my face. the color reminds me of sunshine...and what's not to love about that.

this weekend our weather is spring-like and the temps will be in the 80s. with my sunglasses & gardening hat on & a glass of iced tea or wine in hand...i'll play in my garden...read one of the many books i already own...and just relax. that sounds perfect!

gardening time...

i love this time of year. the nurseries are overrun with seedlings. the sun sets later. and the weather is warm enough for me to spend time after work in my garden ~ planting ~ weeding ~ nurturing.

i've been wanting to get to the nursery for a couple of weeks now...but i want to make sure the warmer weather is really here to stay. on my first trip to the nursery...i plan to replenish my herb garden. all five types of basil that i planted last year suffered from frost-bite and i had to pull them up. i'd like to plant them all again...as i loved the look and fragrance of the different types. i still have pesto in my freezer that i made last summer. *i used it in the orzo w/shrimp from a couple of days ago.

i would also like to have more rosemary plants this year...as it has become one of my favorite herbs to use for roasting. rosemary ~ garlic ~ olive oil ~ and sea salt are delicious on root vegetables.

last summer my hair stylist was at the house trimming my hair while i had a lasagna cooking...and i gave her some of it...as well as some herbs to take home with her. her grandson said it was the best lasagna he'd ever tasted. *it was pretty darn tasty. this year...she has an herb garden.

i make my own flavored olive oils...and also grow tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, radishes, beans, and a few other items. i'm not sure yet what else i'll grow this year...as i haven't seen the offerings yet.

if you don't have the space to put in a full garden...container gardens are wonderful. and remember...you don't need to plant four different types of everything (like i sometimes do). a little goes a long way.

tribute...

happy birthday to my grandmother. she would be 92 years old today. she lived most of her life in a small town in georgia. the same town i was born in.

one of the funniest memories i have of my grandmother is from 1990...when mrchazman, my daughter and i went 'home' for christmas. it was the first time i had been there as an adult. it snowed. she said it was because i had finally come to visit. kind of like...hell freezing over!

anywho...we rented a car at the airport and pulled into town at about 9:00 pm. after driving around for a while...i finally admitted i had no idea which way to go...and we pulled over and called my aunt. she drove to the restaurant to pick us up. i was less than 1/4 mile from the house. *that restaurant has some of the best seafood...i go there every time i'm in town.

now for the funny part. my grandmother was only 4'10" (and thats a stretch). well...when we arrived at the house...there she was...jumping up and down...trying to look thru the peep hole in the door as she awaited our arrival. i guess she didn't want to look out the big picture window that was right next to the door. i promptly got her a foot stool...and left it by the door...so she could see future visitors...without the jumping jack routine.

happy birthday, grandmother! i love & miss you! oh...and your bald-headed grand-daughter (that's what she called me when i had cut all my hair off in this photo...cause it used to be half-way down my back) has cut her hair again.

orzo w/shrimp...

last night when i came home from work...i knew i was having shrimp for dinner...but i didn't know what i would have with it...or how any of it would be prepared. my initial thought was to saute the shrimp (shells on)...and peel & eat as i went.

mrchazman is not too fond of shrimp...so i needed to make something that both of us could eat. pasta!!! into the cupboard i went. lately...i've been very fond of orzo pasta...and i reached for it again.

this isn't one of those formal recipes you'll find in a cook book...as i cook mainly by taste...but...this is pretty much how i did it.

ingredients:

1 pkg orzo pasta
1 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
1/2 onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 handful mushrooms, diced
crushed red pepper flakes
pesto (i made it myself last summer)
olive oil
garlic sea salt
black pepper
lemon pepper
cilantro

while the orzo cooked (according to pkg directions)...i sauteed garlic, onion, mushrooms & red pepper flakes in olive oil for about 5 mintues...then removed from pan.

next saute the shrimp...and removed them from pan.

added drained orzo to pan with dash of olive oil, pesto (to taste), garlic sea salt, black & lemon pepper.

top w/shrimp mixture. garnish w/cilantro.

new beginnings...

we've been living in our neighborhood for a few years...and last year we noticed an abundance of cherry trees in our 'hood and in our city...and they were in bloom. the trees were always there...but had never produced fruit.

next thing i know...mrchazman went to the nursery and bought a small one for our backyard. unfortunately...we had quite a few freezing nights in the winter...and a lot of the plants in our garden didn't make it due to the frost...so i was delighted to see the new growth on the cherry tree yesterday.

just like that cherry tree...my workouts have been dormant as of late...so this morning...it was back to the gym for me. *nothing like a day at the mall trying on clothes in your usual size and having them fit a little snug and not quite hanging right to use as extra motivation!

i don't know if this tree will actually produce any cherries (ever) but i'm going to give it the love and care that it needs to stand a fighting chance. as for this 51-year-old body of mine...i can't go get a new one...so i'm going to give it the love and care it needs as well.

tiara...

and what princess wouldn't have a tiara. actually...it's my second one...cause after a year of having the first one...it fell out of the car when i was making a starbucks run...and was run over by the car that had been parked next to me.

i'm not sure which was more pitiful...the mangled look of the tiara...or me trying to straighten it out. after about a month of having this crumpled...and beyond repair tiara sitting on my dresser...i trashed it.

after seeing a card by curly girl design about a tiara and needing one to conquer the world...i knew i must have another one. the one in this photo was a gift to me from one of my co-workers. thank you rhonda!

and now...the world awaits!