Project 2011 - Week 26

Thanks to Cate, our lovely Project 2011 host. If you'd like to join us, there are still 26 weeks left!

You can check out the Royal Goals by clicking the tab in the tab bar above.

Things are about the same around here. Princess is riding. She's been a little hesitant lately. There was an incident where the pony put his head down and Princess fell forward and ended up hugging his neck. She didn't fall, but it freaked her out. We are working on getting past that. For the last few lessons she has only wanted to walk and won't trot. Hopefully by next lesson we will have worked this out.

LK is still waiting on pistons. *sigh*

I'm rocking my weekly workout and feeling strong and great. Not that my workout has anything to do with it (exercise does not facilitate weight loss -- yes, really) but I've now lost 31 make that 32 pounds.

I'm still taking lots of photos and reading/learning more all the time about how to use my camera and take better photos.

We have been spending a lot of time outside, either in our yard, at the park (weekly homeschool park day), or at the beach.

On the sewing front, I printed the free pattern, modified it a bit to fit the fabric that I had, and cut out the pieces. I've got to get to the fabric store for a couple essentials, then I will sew the dress. I did realize that the fabric is kind of thin. I don't want to attempt adding a lining, so Princess can wear shorts under the dress. If I get to the fabric store soon, maybe I'll have this done for next week!

Now head on over to Cate's to see how everyone is doing with their goals!

P.S. Nature Connection should be posted today, but I will be posting that in a couple of days. I hope that's okay, Sherry!

Wardrobe Wednesday

The Lizard King's hair isn't as thick (or as red) as it used to be, so he is prone to a little sunburn on the head. He purchased this VERY stylish hat to wear when he's working outside in the yard. This weekend, Princess was playing outside in the sprinkler and decided that this hat was a necessary addition. Honestly, I think she pulls it off quite well. :-)

Isn't she just too cute?!

Now head on over to Aliceson's, Feet Off the Table, to see what all the cool kids are wearing.

Strawberries!

On the first day of summer, we went strawberry picking for the first time ever. That's right, I've never been strawberry picking. Shocking. I know. We went with Freckles and her kids. It was an amazingly beautiful day and we all had a wonderful time!

Now I get to eat strawberries . . . yummy, organic strawberries that Princess and I picked.

Princess has yet to try strawberries and the Lizard King will eat some, but likely not many. I keep trying to tell Princess how good they are. Oh well . . . more for me!

Monday Garden Club

I'm back for a garden update! Thanks to Aliceson at Feet Off the Table, our Monday Garden Club host.

Here is the view of the veggie garden, except for the bottom bed which just isn't doing as well. Things are growing like crazy!! We are having one little problem. Slugs. Ewwww!  I tried beer traps, using the cheapest stuff I could find. We didn't catch any slugs, though. Maybe these Portland slugs are more into microbrews? Anyway, we're trying another solution . . .

. . . hazelnut shells! Apparently, slugs don't like to slide across this stuff. We were going to use cocoa shells, but being that they're chocolate and the royal dog eats EVERYTHING, this is a better choice for us.

The Lizard King said he had to laugh when I walked out into the yard with the 30 pound bag of hazelnut shells thrown up on my shoulder. The old me would have left it in the car for him to carry. But the new strong, fit me hoisted that baby up and carried it. Go me! ;-P

Remember the summer squash with the weird stems. Well, whatever it was/is, they're growing like mad and we've even got flowers!

And the tomato plants have flowers, too!

We've been eating lettuce from the garden every night, as well as kale and chard. I love walking out to the garden and picking food to eat.

Beach Weekend

The Royal family joined Such Lovely Freckles and her family at the beach for the weekend. What better way to start the weekend than with homemade whipped cream, sweetened with real maple syrup?!

Then a walk to the beach, where we spent hours . . .

The kids learned how to make a fire . . .

I got to play with my camera . . .

And we all had a fabulous time! We can't wait to do it again!

Fairy Fridge

My sister, the Duchess, took a little road trip/vacation down to California. Of course, she returned with a gift for Princess. While the gift was not reminiscent of California, it was perfect for Princess. After briefly trying to manipulate the magnets in the small space provided in the set, I suggested using the fridge. So much better of a canvas for fairy creations!

Remember to think outside the box. It can make things so much more fun!

They Miss Us!

You may be aware of our Disney World obsession. We were there at the beginning of March. Each one of us has commented, at least weekly, that we miss Disney World. It's a sickness really.

Then this arrived in the mail.

Then our Disney travel agent, Minnie (yes, that is her real name! and she is awesome) at Small World Vacations, emailed to tell us that the 2012 prices were released. What could we do? We had to book the trip! I've added a ticker toward the bottom of the blog, counting down to our vacation.

The special bonus this trip? We will celebrate Princess' 9th birthday in Disney World!!!

Project 2011 - Week 24

Yes, I know . . . I missed Project 2011 last week. Don't you remember Monday? I made excuses gave you all my very valid reasons for not blogging most of last week?! Anyway, I am back for another Project 2011 post.

If you'd like to check out the Royal Goals, go ahead and click the tab in the gray bar up above. There are some other interesting tabs up there, too! Go ahead and check 'em out. A big shout out to our Project 2011 sponsor, Cate at Moments of Whimsey. And now, on to our update!

The Lizard King is still in a holding pattern, waiting for pistons to appear from somewhere. I know he'll find them. For now, he is spending his free time working on yard beautification . . . with rocks!

Princess had to take last week off from riding lessons, but she was back at it this week. It is such a joy to watch her on a "her" pony. Check out the attitude . . .

As for me, I'm still rockin' my goals.

I have learned (and continue to learn) so much about photography and my camera. I don't think I've shared this, but my camera has been in manual mode for a couple months now. I never even think of putting it back in auto! How cool is that?! I even entered a photo contest. I didn't win, but had fun with it. I will likely do it again at some point.

This week I needed LK's help as my spotter for my workout, so I moved my weekly workout from Monday to Sunday. He was happy to oblige and I had an awesome workout!

It's been a while since I've done anything with sewing. Although I have wanted to, it just hasn't happened. Well, I'm taking some steps toward my next project. Don't want to rush things, now do I? ;-) My sister got these hand-me-downs and passed them on to me. I thought they would make fabulous dresses for Princess! After 3 washes in baking soda and vinegar, the stench smell essence of perfume is almost completely gone. Almost.

I want to use the floral print to make this dress. I have an idea for the paisley that sounds like it will work. I want to take a t-shirt, cut it off and attach it to the paisley fabric to make a dress. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm going to wing it. I feel so brave. :-)

As for our bonus family goal of outside time . . . it has been beautiful here in the Pacific Northwest and we have been spending a lot of time outside. Most of the time we are in our own backyard. I love our backyard!!

Now head on over to Cate's to see how everyone is doing with their goals!

Wardrobe Wednesday

Summer weather has finally reached the Pacific Northwest! And with summer weather comes fabulous summer fashions. Princess is rockin' her fashionista style, all while toiling away. A true Cinderella if I ever saw one! Actually, Princess thought it was pretty fun to scrub the chairs with the soapy scrub brush.

Now head on over to Aliceson's Feet Off the Table to see what all the cool kids are wearing!


P.S. Of course, now it has also left and we're back to cooler temps. Long sleeves and jeans for the first homeschool park day of the year. *sigh*

You Gotta Have Heart

You may or may not know about my love of rocks. When we bought our house, one very important thing for me was to not have bark dust in the garden beds. Bark dust is awful, nasty stuff made of shaved up bark (or something like that) and is generally loaded with teeny tiny slivers that are horribly painful. I hate bark dust. We had to put something in the beds to keep them from becoming a muddy mess. What better choice, for the rock loving lady, than river rock. You may have noticed it in many of the yard and garden photos.

Princess has inherited my love of rocks and will often play with them, creating a variety of games. The other day she was "selling" rocks. I was a customer and came up to purchase my first rock and noticed this one in her lineup.

And I've been carrying it in my pocket ever since.

Monday Garden Club

Have I really been gone that long?! I kept meaning to post something, but the week was just so busy . . . or am I just making excuses? Hmmm . . .

It is time for Monday Garden Club!

The garden has exploded with growth! A few days ago, I harvested 5 gallon size bags full of Romaine lettuce, 2 bags of kale and 1 bag of Swiss chard. Amazing!

I'm still not exactly sure what is up with the summer squash stems, but they are growing like crazy! I covered the open stem with soil. They sure do seem happy!

We added Marigolds to the tomato bed. There's a reason for that, but I don't remember what it is. I have not idea what I'm doing in the garden, so I just do as I'm told. ;-P They do add a nice burst of color, don't they?

Strawberries are growing . . . and making the birds very happy. I caught one eating the only ripe strawberry. We're going to get some bird feeders to put around the yard. Hopefully that will distract the birds from the garden.

The strawberry plants are quite happy, too! Check it out! They're sending out runners.

The fairy garden is beginning to get some color.

But what is up with the spinach bolting already?! It's only been in the ground a short time. I guess it's time to plant some more seeds. Hmph!

I was so inspired by color around the bloggy world and our neighborhood, I decided we needed some color, too. I am certain that you are all shocked that we chose every shade of pink to brighten our yard.

Now head on over to our Monday Garden Club sponsor, Aliceson at Feet Off the Table, to see what is happening in gardens everywhere!