Pretty gift packaging at Target

I picked up some lovely gift packaging supplies at Target today.  Each item was just $1. Mega score!

May have to go back and pick up some more!

More pretty flowers

These flowers just make me happy. I filled a vase with them and I cannot stop looking at them!

Pretty flowers all in a row

I love flowers. One day I shall have a home with much acreage and it shall include a flower garden purely for my own joy and happiness. I sometimes dream of owning a flower farm but I am not sure I would be able to give any of the blooms up for sale! Today I had some beautiful flowers that the label says are black eyed Susan's but I am not sure. They don't look like the black eyed Susan's I know and love. I love them whatever their name is. I spent an hour just taking photos of them.  Please to enjoy!

Today I am....

Going to pick these

So I can make another one of these

I love the Pacific NorthWest!

losing my dependence on my smartphone

or how the demise of my iPhone made me question its hold on me!

I was an early adopter of the smartphone. I have always been a geek and tech makes me happy. I absolutely and unequivocally loved my iPhone 4s. It was soldered to my hand. I saw no reason to upgrade to a 5 as I loved my 4s that much. My husband upgraded to a Galaxy S3 or 4 or some such thing and instead of being envious (which is what I expected to feel), I just smiled and held my iPhone closer. She fit me like a glove and was everything I wanted or needed in a phone.

I am a clumsy person by nature. I try to be graceful but it is not happening. Consequently, I dropped my phone on more than 20 occasions. Apart from a little dent on the corner, she was fine and kept going. Imagine my surprise when I dropped my phone just about an inch from a counter to the trash can and upon picking it up, saw the screen was cracked and badly damaged (picture above). Still she worked! So I continued to use her, trying to avoid the glass splinters that were inevitable! Her complete demise was at my hands. Fo reasons I cannot fathom, I decided to take my shattered glass having iPhone with me when I learned the fine art of stand up paddle boarding! It did not end well. It was the final outrage for my poor phone!

I am due for an upgrade so I can take my pick from all that apple and samsung has to offer but I have yet to make a decision. I know Apple is widely rumored to be releasing a new phone sometime within the next two months so I have decided to hold off on a decision until then. In the meantime I am using an old (and I mean OLD) droid that I had sitting in my kitchen drawer. It is absolute tedium trying to use this phone but something kinda cool has happened. I have got back quite a few hours of the day along with a new interest in the world around me.

As I walk around running errands or doing the minutia of the day I have found myself observing others and I see all the things I used to do. I have to tell you, they annoy me. Nobody makes eye contact as they walk around. People are oblivious to others as the walk with their heads down focusing on the little screens in their hands. I have had to dodge duck and dive out of the way of some of the people. They step off curbs into ongoing traffic with no acknowledgement of danger! It is head shaking. On a more personal note, I sit in a lot of therapy waiting rooms with my daughter and I usually let her do her thing while I check facebook or twitter or whatever. Now, I actually interact with her again and it is eye opening in such a great way

Do I think when I get my new phone that I will go back to my old ways? Yes, probably, but I hope to at least remember to stop and look at the real world occasionally. It is way better than anything you may see on that little 4 or 5 inch screen.

Stand up paddle board

I have wanted to try this for so long. Weight gain and a little loss of confidence meant I put it off for way too long.  A few weeks ago, I finally said screw weight gain, I am doing it.  One of the benefits of being a military spouse is that we have MWR (morale, welfare and recreation). This is set up to help with quality of life for military members and their families. I signed up for the one day course. This involved an hour of instruction at the facility before driving to a local body of water and getting in the water. 

I absolutely loved it.  I started by kneeling on the board until I felt comfortable enough to try standing up. I stood up and promptly took a nice dip into some brisk Pacific Northwest Puget Sound water! Up again and into the drink again. Finally I mastered it and it was fun time. I could feel muscles working that I had forgotten existed.  A fantastic way to spend a Sunday. I can't wait to get back out and try again.

There was only one real problem.  I decided to take my phone and take photos of my friends who were taking the course with me.  I got some great shots and I would love to share them but unfortunately my waterproof case proved to not be able to handle the amount of time in saltwater it was forced to endure. RIP my beautiful iPhone - I miss you so much. I have decided to not replace it yet as I know a new model is due soon. I am using an old serviceable droid that I had sitting in a drawer - it is slow as molasses but it works!

Bon Appetite magazine!

I am a long time subscriber to this magazine. It is always a welcome sight seeing an issue waiting in the mailbox. For a long time, most issues required little more than a flip through and sometimes I would flag a recipe or two that I thought I would make at some point. However, the July 2013 issue is outstanding.  Not only did I flag many pages, but I have actually made many recipes from the issue already.  Some, I am looking at you turkey spinach burger, have been made more than once!  An exceptional issue of a great magazine. Adam Rapaport has done an amazing job since taking of as editor. The magazine is fresh and exciting again and somehow more accessible. The Jack Johnson article was fantastic and I think my crush on Eric Ripert somehow intensified!  

These turkey burger have no business being as good as they are. So simple, so easy and just am amazing flavor and juiciness that has my family asking for more.  You can find the recipe here. Try it, you won't regret it!

and do not get me started on how good these zucchini fritters are!

If you have not picked up a copy of the July issue yet, hurry! You won't regret it