Always Be Prepared

The last time I went to the doctor (for Molly) we ended up staying in the hospital for seven days.  From this experience I learned that I should always be prepared.  I was not prepared today when I went to the doctor for my own fever.  I thought I was, but I was sadly mistaken.
I went to the doctor today because I had a headache and fever for a few days.  I put some pajamas in my purse in case I was sent to the ER and subsequently to the hospital... you never know.  That was me being prepared.
My doctor sent me the the ER for a CT Scan (and possible spinal tap). Side note:  He expected me to walk to the ER which was on the other side of the hospital campus.  That's a long Freaking walk.  I came in with a fever.  It's hot outside.  My doctor is kindof an a-hole.
So anyway, I drove to the ER with my jammies in my purse.
What I didn't have, but should've had:
1. MY BOOK!!!!! (that would have solved all my problems)
2. My iPod (I could have at least played solitaire on it)
3. A pen
4. A laptop ???
5. Snacks

What I actually did in the ER:
(They took my blood and gave me an IV and medicine and I almost immediatley started feeling better)
I was STARVING because all I had eaten was one cup of coffee, so that was a bummer.
1. I read the info then gave me about my privacy rights
2. I organized the trash in my purse
3. I got a CT scan
4. I did my makeup and hair.
5. I put a 30 min timer on my cell phone
6. I edited my contacts in my cell phone
7. I got a chest Xray
8. I touched up my makeup

(I didn't even get to wear my PJs)

My advice to you, every time you go to the doctor, bring a book or some kind of entertainment device... and maybe your jammies if you're kinda worried about spending the night at the hospital (which you should be worried about because it happens when you least expect it!)

Flowers...

Here are pictures of my African Lilies (at least I think that's what they are; they could be Asiatic, or Tiger lilies, or any other variety, but I think I'm right)I'm not a big fan of this color...

I like these two colors better:

Here are my Day Lilies... they are about as tall as I am.

And finally my miracle Hydrangia.  It's a mircale because I bought it and planted it about 6 or 7 years ago; it didn't really get any bigger and it NEVER bloomed.

Until this year! Here are the tiny flower buds from about 3 weeks ago:

And here they are from a few days ago... they're pink!  Who knew?

The Yard, Current Progress

So, I've taken a few recent pictures of my yard and here they are:

I've started putting in a flower bed around the front part of the fence, which is slow going because Scott has to dig before I can do anything. Also, I have no yard budget, so all my plants and flowers are pilfered from my mom's yard and Janae's neighbors (all donated, not stolen).

It's part vegetable garden and part flower bed.  Here are the veggies:

...and here are some of the flowers:

I know the pictures aren't that great, and really, neither are the flowerbeds.  But the garden is a work in progress.  Next year it will be georgous.

I've also decided to move some of the random plants that have started growing where I don't need them to places that are hard to mow. Since we are on the corner we have lots of stuff in our yard that we don't want like two telephone poles, a stop sign, a no parking sign, and some wire things coming off the telephone poles. I don't know how to use a weed whacker so I'm going to surround those things with pretty plants instead of tall grass.

Example:

I'm putting hostas in the few places in the yard that are mostly shaded.  Next to the back porch and at the end of the driveway.  Next to the porch they are looking kinda silly, but I will work on that.

(Sorry about the ugly picture of the dirty driveway)

Despite the crappy pictures, the yard is coming along nicely and it's not a bad place to hang out these days.

The Yard, Part II

Up until last summer when we put in our white picket fence I didn't really like my yard.  It made me mad that there were no normal spaces to put a flower bed or a vegetable garden.
I don't even have any pictures to show any progress made over the 2 or 3 years because there wasn't any.  I just didn't like going outside in my yard.  Here's one picture I found from a few years ago that kinda shows how boring my yard was.

And it also shows two cute girls!

But anyway, so, that's what I've been working on. Progress has been made!  More on that to come in a bigger, better blog next time...