November

November. . . 

NaNoWriMo Month Goal

11,000/50,000

It's Day 14. I am a little behind but there is still so much time left to catch up. Are you writing a novel? If so, what kind of story is it?

Reading?

So far I have barely found time to read. I am overly stressed abut events filling up this month and a very busy schedule to find time to read. I have a large bookshelf full of books and I just can't seem to settle down long enough to read them. I started Rush, by Maya Banks and a Nancy Drew Book. Hopefully, I will have them finished by the Month's end. We shall see.

Personal Goals:

Walking/Running

Every other day I want to walk at least a mile or run half that. So far I haven't been doing a great job at that. Or at least not how I planned. Walking around the yard (Which is 10 archers mind you) I find doesn't count too much. I need to get out and walk the road. I managed the first few days and then I stopped. Ah!!! Why?!! Why can't I stay focused!

Thanksgiving

We have four Thanksgivings this year. That's a bit much. This time of the year is supposed to be not as stressful right? I mean, time with your family and friends. A time for being thankful for having each other and right now I'm just glad we survived the first Dinner. haha Thanksgiving 1 was with my family and my sister who can't come down for Thanksgiving day so we always have one before with her and her wife. Then we have another on the day of Thanksgiving with my grandparents and most of my side of the family. Thanks giving number 3 is with my husband's side of the family on a different day and then the last one is when my great Aunt comes down this year the family was going to get together and celebrate with another dinner.

Four. Wow! That's a lot of cooking! I feel like I am going to have to just starve myself (Don't do that) to loose all the weight I know it coming. But man, turkey and rolls all month long isn't too bad. :D

What do you love about this time of the year? Any favorite foods?

--Brenda

Running thoughts and November plans

I went for a run by myself today, well, kind of. I had my faithful dog, Cassandra, with me. She's a black Lab with a happy spirit. She's always happy. Unless she's in trouble, then she's guilty, but she takes the punishment like a trooper and after a few minutes and plenty of apology kisses she is back to being happy.

I don't like to go walking or running without someone. Being alone makes me anxious, but I survived today. Cassandra made sure the squirrels didn't attack me and she ran alongside me and past me plenty of times.

I have two reasons for the sudden run:

1.) I wanted to get candies on my Pokemon Go App on my phone which you can only do by traveling certain distances.

2.) I gained a couple of pounds!!

A couple of pounds is fine but I was already on the border of being proper weight for my height and I just went over a little bit. What's bad is I have watched this slowly increase over the past two months. This isn't something that hit over night, it tells me my life style isn't working out. Physically I want to be as good as I can be so that I can keep relying on a small anti-inflammatory pill everyday to keep my back pain down, but with added weight it will become more of a problem on my lower lumbar support and we can't have that.

So What am I going to do? 

---Drop my weight back to 140 first and foremost!

How am I going to do that?

1.) No more sodas

2.) walking a mile at least three times a week

3.) Opposite of my walking I am going to do at least a 30 minute workout regimen of some kind.

Pray for me. ;)

If I'm being honest I am a little hesitant. I, like many others, wants to put it off. I want to keep telling myself I'll start next week, but every time I think about that I think of something my annoyingly great sister said, “Just Do It!” Such wise words. If you are stuck thinking about doing something you are wasting minutes and making false promises you hope you forget about more than anything else.

So here I go, My November goal has started! Thank you for the support and I hope you accomplish your goals for this wonderful month of November that has come very fast! :)

-Brenda

Going for a morning run inner thoughts to myself

Have you ever run for what felt like a very long time? You tell yourself:

"You can do this!"
"Just one more step."
"The end is near."

Then, you finish feeling exhausted and satisfied that you have done one heck of a run. You have earned that large cup of coffee waiting for you, a hot shower, a long nap, or maybe a full body massage. Heck, you should be barking orders to all those that have failed and said they were going to run with you! Where were they for this well worth it hellish run?

Then you step inside and finally get a hold of something to tell you the time.
20 minutes? No that couldn't be right. You just shed blood, sweat, and tears! There was no way that was right. Surely the clock is broke. Yes, that's it. nothing a thing of batteries can't fix.
Then you check your phone.

19 minutes?!

Denial sets in. Nope. No way. But after thinking about it you realize that 20 minutes, of course rounding up, isn't so bad. I mean. People nowadays can't even find ten minutes of free time let alone 20 minutes to work out. You start feeling proud again.

. . . That is until you realized you walked there and back to your running destination. What was that, like a minute in a half or two? You did bend down to pet the cat. And don't forget that the dogs came up and smelled like they rolled in something. So  subtract 4 minutes. Oh wait, you saw your husband and told him proudly you were going for a run while you secretly prayed he would steal you away to do something else, but you again returned to the straight and narrow and headed back to do your run. So don't forget to subtract the two minutes that took.

So now you are down from 20 minutes to 14, maybe. . .

But at least you made it there! At least you ran! well, you ran most of the way. Okay, you more so ran two-thirds of the track while having power walking moments, but at least you were moving. That is not counting the few seconds to stretch and when you re-tied your shoes. But tying shoes don't count because you've been practicing that for years. You can tie in your sleep your so good, so we won't count that against you.

But forget all that, you F-ing RAN! That's the important part. Now, sit back and drink your much deserved coffee!

--Brenda. I freaking ran! :D What have you done to feel accomplished this morning?

My favorites of August

Dramas

Greatest Love Ever

Starring: Gong Hyo Jin and Cha Seung Won

About:

Ae Jung was once the most popular member of girl band The National Treasure Girls. However 10 years ago the band broke up and she received most of the blame. Despite her warm personality her career has suffered ever since and she now spends her time fighting for air time on variety shows. Dokko Jin is a top movie star at the height of his career. The two meet and become involved in each other's careers. Yoon Pil Joo is a doctor of oriental medicine who has no interest in the entertainment industry but agrees to make a dating show. Dokko Jin helps get Ae Jung a role on a new reality show called Couple Making. Pil Joo is the bachelor being set up on Couple Making. Both men fall for Ae Jung both off and on the screen.

This drama was a blast! The comedy was so natural and these stars just play so well off of each other. I didn't find a single duel moment and am I sad to say I finished this series in two days. But it was two intense days on binge watching that I will cherish. This is one of those go back and watch the whole series because it leaves you feeling fullfilled and happy in the end even after everything these two go through and what Dokko Jin goes through. I think everyone needs a Dokko Jin. haha maybe a little less conceded version, but we all need one none the less.

movies

Star Trek

About:

A surprise attack in outer space forces the Enterprise to crash-land on a mysterious world. The assault came from Krall, a lizard-like dictator who derives his energy by sucking the life out of his victims. Krall needs an ancient and valuable artifact that's aboard the badly damaged starship. Left stranded in a rugged wilderness, Kirk, Spock and the rest of the crew must now battle a deadly alien race while trying to find a way off their hostile planet.

I loved this movie! What more is there to say about it? Well, it's not all about the action. it is also about finding a place where you belong. Fighting doubts about yourself and when in times of total despair never giving up. There is so much to the Star Trek movies that I can see why there is such a heavy following. I hope they leave the trilogy at this movie because it was wonderful. I would hate for them to do one more movie and it suck. But that is just me. I thin that is the fear of doing any movie in a series, is 'will the next one be as great at the last'. But We shall see. Until then, this was marvelous and is my favorite movie of the year so far.

books

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

What can I say about this book. . . It was amazing. The return of beloved characters in a new setting with twists that had me holding my breath. But let's not forget that there's a new generation in the Wizarding World and Harry and Malfroy's sons are in the mix of a very dangerous situation that involves going back in time. It is a play so it is written a little differently, but it doesn't take away from the story. I don't want to give much more away about this beloved read, you are just going to have to grab your copy and see for yourself why this has already become my favorite 2016 book and top ten list of reads.

Game

No Man's Sky

Stole from Wikipedia:

No Man's Sky is a first-person, open world survival game that allows player to engage in four principle activities: exploration, survival, combat, and trading.^[2] Players take the role of a planetary explorer, called in game as the Traveler, in an uncharted universe. They start on a random planet near a crashed spacecraft at the edge of the galaxy, and are equipped with a survival exosuit with a jet pack, and a "multitool" that can be used to scan, mine and collect resources as well as to attack or defend oneself from creatures and hostile forces. The player can collect, repair, and refuel the craft, allowing them to travel about the planet, between other planets and space stations in the local solar system, engage in space combat with alien factions, or make hyperspace jumps to other star systems.^[3] While the game is open-ended, the player is guided by an entity known as the Atlas to ultimately reach the center of the galaxy.

This really is a game where you do whatever you want. You want to dig a hole into the planet, be my guest. You don't like the way those animals are looking at you, shoot them. Then you can run for your life from the robots that protect the life and resources on the planet to your ship that you found crash on a different planet into space where a fire fight breaks out because you stole a high price resource from the planet under you and pirates want it. You can then kick their butts or run for it. I run, my husband kills them gathering supplies. You might want to head towards the center of the universe or, like me, go the opposite way. I mean, anything is possible. This game is just so big with so many planets and things to see that the only thing I can guarantee is that you want be able to see them all. Heck, I have yet to meet another player. It is just that huge. So if you are a gamer of any kind I suggest you take a little peak. It's not for everyone, but if it is up your alley it's so worth it. Just be prepared to not get any sleep and keep food close by so you don't starve.

What were your favorites of August? Games, books, movies, music, dramas, anime, mangas, ect... I'd love to hear. Please leave a comment.

-Brenda Franklin, goofball for life.

Cats taking over!

Aki

We had 3 cats.

I mean we have had others through the years, but our house was sitting at the wonderful number three. That's a good amount, right? My mum's house had two and I had one at my house not to far away. Same bit of land where the animals can run around, but between us there were three cats and two dogs.

Cats: Temperance (my grey lady), Aki (my dad's old lady age 8), and Goldee (Age 7, who was mine but loves my mum more)

Dog: Cassandra (black lab) and Virgil (hound mut)

My baby: Goldee

Now I've always loved pets and I believe once they are with someone you shouldn't get rid of them. Maybe it's more of the fact that I don't have the heart to look the animal in the eyes and tell them I am throwing them away, but I can't! Thank God for husbands. lol They can be the bad guys. (But I still won't let it happen.)

Anyway, several months ago my uncle came over (neighbor) with this cute orange and white kitten. Apparently a cat had had a litter somewhere and this little guy was running around demanding to come into his house. Well, my Uncle said no and brought him right over where I got my hands on the little guy and wouldn't let go. And I mean I was that kid on Christmas clutching their toy for dear life begging mum not to let it go when they were in trouble. And I say in trouble because my husband was already saying, "We shouldn't keep it" and I was giving him those eyes that men struggle to say no to. And they worked!

Tails

Cat number 4! Tails became his name thanks to my brother's love for Sonic games.

And so the family grew a little. It was more than a month later my dad had come to the conclusion that Tails was lonely. The other cats, being old and crazy, seemed to not really like him. Heck, they were more interested in hissing at him then letting him get anywhere near them and that saddened my dad though we told him it would take time. Next thing we knew he was cat shopping for a playmate for Tails. No animal should be alone! 

Somehow my mum agreed and I was happy, I mean who wouldn't be when told you're going to get another kitty?

Cat number 5!! Hunter.

When we got Hunter he was shy and just wanted to hide under the couch. Dad had got him from a shelter, but after a couple of days he and the other kitten, Tails, actually started to play. The older cats were in a state of panic as the little ones kept multiplying, but the managed to avoid the chaos that was the two little munchkins. And in time the two kitten/teens started to grow on Aki and Goldee. Temperance was happy minding her own business at my house where she is queen and no one bothers her.

And if you are wondering about his name he was named Hunter after having him for a while when we noticed the increase of dead things in the house. He has since killed lizards, moles, a mouse, and at least one bird that we know of, but there are probably so many more kills under his belt. So Hunter it is!

left: Stray. Right: Tails

No, if you were keep track, our family was sitting at 5 until the day my mother went out to feed the dogs and noticed a white and orange cat outside. It looked just like Tails, but the thing was, this one was bigger and he was outside where Tails wasn't. So we aren't sure if he (yep, he's a boy) is from a littler before Tails in the wild or if he is Tail's dad, but he comes around everyday since hanging out with the young teen cats sometimes, but mostly he is on my porch where every morning, just about, he greets me meowing alongside our cat Temperance. It's a wonder she has kicked him off HER porch, but they get along, so far. So you can kind of say he is adopted, but not. we just feed him.

So 5 cats owned, 1 stray

We didn't think our little cat family could get much bigger until about a month back when I was relaxing watching my husband play a game and suddenly my mom ears tuned into a sound I knew all too well, the sound of a kitten crying. And I mean the crying as it's looking for mum and having a hard time kind of cry. I bolted to the front door where the teen cats Hunter and Tails were being chased my this little black fluff ball and they were acting like their life was in grave danger.

Left: Hunter. Right: Coffee.

So I cried back, because I talk to cats, of course, and kitten calmed down still wanting to be near Hunter who was getting closer to it but not close enough to touch. After several minutes I was within reach and scooped the kitten up. We walked down the road, through the yard, looked all over for anymore kitten sounds or any sign of another cat and when we turned up empty we were left with this little black crying fur ball who was now inside the house looking for a cat to call mum and he was locked onto any cat he could find.

So we adopted another cat. I mean, who can say no to a kitten?!

Cat number 6 and still 1 stray.

After a week the teens, Hunter and Tails, actually took kitten in and became parents. It was and is still so very cute. Kitten, who is name named Coffee, will be playing with any of the cats (Except Aki-She is cranky) and randomly Hunter will pin him down and start grooming him. Hunter and Tails play and let him wrestle against them as well as they watch out for him and if he wanders off one or both of the boys is usually there (and me). :)

I love it!

Temperance. (The Stray looks like her only bigger)

...Then, a bout two weeks half ago, while I was having ice cream with a friend at McDonalds my ears perked up to the families sound of yet another cat crying, though this one was a full grown adult grey cat, but he was skinny. The kind of skinny where in a few more days something will be needing to dig a grave. it was sad and I couldn't just NOT do something. . . So, because my husband wasn't there, :) I kind of put him in my car, (which is dangerous, don't do this!) and drove him home. We have 10 acres. I figured if he didn't get along with any of our animals or ran away at least he would be free and there are houses further down the road where people could take care of him. We also put plenty of food out so he is welcomed any time. and low and behold, though he ran the first day, he comes around and hangs out with all of my cats and eats to his heart content. He is looking so much better, no more ribs showing! Even the dogs are starting to not mind him. But again, he is a stray and not really our pet, but now he has a better chance of a better life. Or at least that's how I like to look at it.

So at the moment we Own 6 cat, 2 dogs, and there are 2 strays. I think I might just qualify under the crazy cat lady category. What do you think?

And with our kitty Cat Army we will be taking over the World, very soon!

-Bee (Crazy Cat Lady)

Gardening Week 5

Week 3 end

The Morning Glories in a matter of ten days have sky rocketed! We had been gone for a wedding and when we come back these little guys weren't so little anymore! The leaves are larger, the vines are climbing to the top of the small wire I did place up for them to grab onto.

These plants don't require too much care to grow, just keep the soil well hydrated and a little miracle grow once a month seems to do the trick. And sun. Lots of sun. We have two different sections of Morning Glories one patch in direct sunlight and the other in partial sunlight and the direct sunlight one is growing faster. So they love sun. :)

Did you know that Morning Glories could grow an average of fifteen feet in one season? I'm gong to have to build something higher for them to climb up that rests against the porch. We are trying to control the direction the Morning Glories go and right now they are so tall they want to reach across the screen and block our vision of the lovely pond. Time to get crafty.

Week 5 beginning

Look at those things go! the second flower plant you see there with the more pointed leaves are my Zinnias. They too seem to be doing well and growing several more inches up. I was glad to see them still alive after the cat decided to dig a few up. It's amazing that the cat is evil and my dog hasn't destroyed anything, So odd. I guess you never know until it happens what the out come is going to be. And now that I have said all of that watch the dog decide to play in my Garden....

These tall little creatures are my sunflowers! They are well over a foot tall and are getting taller. They love the sunlight so plant them were they can get direct light for most of the day. Beside them is a slightly plant and those are my two little pepper plants. I didn't grow them from seeds but my dad gave them to me already pretty big. My only concern was how they would transplant but they seem to be doing very well. Beside them are my radishes! The leaves are big and the radishes are growing. My husband has been keeping a close eye on them and can't wait to pull them.

Radishes

For all of those that didn't know Radishes are good for Spring, Summer, and Fall. So if you love radishes then they are pretty easy to continuously get. My husband loves them so I might be growing more when these are all done, but we shall see.

Another plant that is doing amazingly well are these. They are known as Brugmansia, or Angle's Trumpet. This flower loves moist soil and half sunlight. I have to be honest I was trying to kill the thing. This is a very scary plant for me because it is so toxic but it is thriving. I plan on placing them in larger containers within the next month that way they have more room to grow. Thankfully my animals have no interest in these plants, yet. So I am feeling much better about growing them. I am actually getting a little excited to see how long I can grow them for and what they will look like in my yard.

These are some of my plants which are doing very well, I did have a few cuttings of roses I tossed and I go into the planter and pull all weeds every morning. I water during the day as the soil dries depending upon the plant. As I continue to garden and learn new things I will share my experiences with you. Me failures and accomplishments both, because we can not learn without a few mess ups.

Thank you for reading,

-Brenda

Gardening week 3

On March 30th I planted Morning Glories along with several other flowers in starters. After about a week they were all starting to pop up and I started to take them outside to get some sun. after a few more days and on April 8th (Give or take) I planted all my flowers in their own little spot in my long planter boxes alongside our porch. Because I know the morning Glories are vine flowers I also stapled wiring to the side of the porch and planted the Morning Glories closest to the porch as to allow them to climb upwards.

The only downside to the planter boxes are my cats. Apparently the little critters decided that planter boxes and littler boxes were the same thing and it has been an on and off battle to keep them away. They have decreased my flowers by a few, but there are plenty there! They started growing faster as of April 20th. It's like they are all having little growths spurts.

they aren't the only plant doing well. The Radishes, which I had planted on April 6th, are looking beautiful. At this stage what I should do is thin them out. Part of me just wants to let them keep growing and see what happens.

I just transplanted my tomatoes. They got big enough that it was time to upgrade containers. I think the transplant was good but we shall see. Apparently some plants endure a shock from the transplant and not recover... resulting in a dead plant and a sad face for any new grower. I know I'll be a little sad if I kill all my plants, but that's why I had a good dozen seeds of everything started so that it would be harder to kill everything. Something should live!

These are my little Tomatoes freshly replanted. I might transplant them one more time. For now I have to take a trip and will be gone for about ten days so this will just have to do. For now. But they are growing and I am so happy about it!

Little Secret... I don't eat Tomatoes. :D But it would be great to make something for my family with them. I think that is going to be the best thing about growing veggies being able to cook something from what was grown.

Okay, I hope everything does well since I am off for ten days, thankfully I have family gong to run over to my house to water them and feed my cat. Here's to the trip and looking forward to seeing what they look like when I come home.

--Brenda

First veggies

I planted my Radishes and Tomatoes on April 6th. I am super happy about that. I personally don’t like them but it’s for my husband. My first veggies, here we go.

For the Tomatoes I used a pre-prepared package we picked up from wal-mart for a couple of dollars, so if it doesn’t work I’m blaming them. :) It’s pretty simple. You just follow the direction on the package. Pour 3/4 lukewarm water into a container and place the compacted soil mixture in the water and let absorb. Once it is absorbed loose the soil with a fork, or in my case a stick because I didn’t want to use something I would be eating with.

Then place 3/4ths of the soil into the small container they give you followed by about ten seeds and the rest of the soil on top. I placed the rest of the seeds in a ziplock for later. You can toss ‘em or do the same. Whichever you prefer.

Afterwards you are going to place in the sun and rotate a quarter turn every so often throughout the day so it gets equal sun all the way around. When sprouts start to appear you need to thin out and place in the ground or planters like me. Don’t crowd them together. Depending on the size of the area you will do only a couple a planter. I haven’t gotten that far yet, but I look forward to it.

Do not over water. Check the soil each day. When you put your finger in about a centimeter the soil should be moist, if dry add more water. Also, when you transplant you could add a little fertilizer to its new location to help it out.

Happy growing!

-Bee

Beginner Gardner meets a Pro

Call it what you will, luck or a gift from above, but days after I started my flower seedlings I decided that I wanted to go to Lowes and look for some more flowers along with ideas for the future and I met the nicest lady. She was an older woman in her 60s (who has been ding this for 40 plus years) and she took me around Lowes feeding me so much information I thought my head was going to explode. Lucky for me my head stayed exactly where it was and I walked away with so much more knowledge then I had half an hour before and on top of that a new friend.

The woman kindly gave me her number and offered me cuttings she had of several different plants. I thanked her and two days later, after making four planter boxes filled with fertilizer and top soil I called her and scheduled a day to go and see her. We talked for an hour over the phone like we were best friends. It was refreshing.

Quote: “Gardeners help each other out.”

Going over to her house was amazing. There were so many hidden surprises all across the yard and it wasn’t a large yard it was just tightly packed. I mean, she used anything and everything to put plants in. From wheel burrows to a swimming pool, and a dead tree to a satellite dish! It was pretty impressive and inspiring for any Gardener in the making but a little intimidating. I could see where it could get out of hand or take over someone’s life. So once we left I did have to do a little soul searching, which I am still in the process of. How much of my life do I want to dedicate to being a gardener alongside all of the other works? What should I do so that I don’t get overwhelmed? These issues are things everyone has to deal with and that’s where I am.

But getting back to her house! Ivies, roses, some trees, wildflowers, lilies, Aloe plants and a cousin plant I can’t remember, along with so many more. My head was sky high and dizzy. Thankfully my husband was with me writing down a lot of names to these plants so that I could look them up later, which I have started since I finished planting them all.

When we left there Monday, April 4th, I knew I would have a lot of work ahead of me and I would be extremely sore. And I was right. With over two dozen rose cuttings, a dozen trumpet flower cuttings, endless amount of ivies (4 different kinds), a Cannon Flower, Four O’Clocks, Purple Jews, four mystery plants (forgot what she called them), and a few other plants I have been very VERY busy. And I am Really sore. :D But super happy about what I have done.

I have also planted all of the Morning Glories against my porch because the seedlings had grown to almost 4 inches in height. When they started to come up I opened the container they were in and placed them in the shade, bringing them in at night. I did this until the sprouts were nearly four inches and then I planted them in a row about three to four inches apart. I wasn’t sure about the spacing, but this is a trial run.

Quote from my husband: “Gardening (as with life) is all about making mistakes and finding out what works best for you.”

So after two long days I got everything planted in pots and planter boxes since we are surrounded by clay. I am a little nervous but very excited. For the next several days I will be doing research about each of the plants and try to learn as much as I can about the proper way to care for them. Every plant is different. Some like full sunlight or partial sunlight, a lot of water or just enough to moisten the soil. So much to learn. . .

But I’m very happy to have met my new found Gardening friend and hope that something grows. After all of our (mum, husband, and I) hard work it would be sad to not have anything survive. So here’s to my first month of growing (raises a can of Root beer). Cheers.

I will post more about the amazing array of plants I was given in a different post.

-Bee (I am feeling very blessed)

Gardening Day one!

I took the plunge in Gardening today. Well, more like I got my toes wet, fingers to be exact. I decided that I wanted to plant flowers and so I did it. Wish me luck on this endeavor! :)

I had wanted to plan out when to plant them so that they would all bloom at the same time, but my husband urged me to just plant them all since I got a big enough starter kit. This is just my tester year after all. What could hurt? So I will be posting up here each week to let you know how Gardening is going and what I have done in that area. If you have any advice or recommendation just post a comment.

Today: March 30, 2016

What I did?

Using a starter kit that has premeasured soil (good and healthy mineral rich stuff) I placed 2 or 3  seed about a quarter way down and covered them. Follow the directions on the starter kit you have for adding water. After planting and marking each row of flowers so I know what the heck they are I covered them and placed them inside my house where they will stay until little greens start showing.

What kind of Flowers:

Morning Glories Milky White and Heavenly Blue

Vines grow 10 to 20 feet in a season. Morning Glories have dark, heart-shaped leaves and produce breath-taking trumpet flowers up to 3 inches in diameter. Morning Glories don’t like to be well fed. If they are, they will grow huge and lush vines, but won’t flower. Is it past the Summer Solstice date of June 21st ? Morning Glories are “short day” plants, meaning that they will only set flowers when the days are shorter than 12 hours. As summer continues past the Solstice (the longest day of the year), the days shorten and nights lengthen, eventually triggering blooms. Depending on your geographical location, some gardeners will not see blooms until late July, August, or even early September in temperate areas.

http://www.wikihow.com/Grow-Morning-Glories

Zinnia (Giant Violet Queen)

https://myfolia.com/plants/373-common-zinnia-zinnia-elegans/varieties/8471-violet-queen

"Zinnias are very, very, very easy to grow, but they must have full sun which means at least 6 hours each day. Plant zinnias after the danger of frost is over.  Broadcast the seed over an area of freshly turned soil and then rake the seed into the soil or rake a small layer of soil over the seed. My favorite way to plant zinnia seed is to make little holes in the soil with my finger (no more than ½ inch deep) about 6 inches apart.  I drop a single seed in each hole and close the hole by pressing the soil around it.  I always water after I have planted my seed.  I find that 6-8 inches between the large zinnia plants produces strong healthy plants and large blossoms.  Sometimes this is enough distance so that air circulation around the individual plants keeps the powdery mildew at a minimum.  I am not aware of a zinnia variety that is not susceptible to powdery mildew.  A slow release fertilizer, 5-10-5, is all you need to feed zinnias well."

Quote from: https://www.landrethseeds.com/newsletters/Volume%202/Issue%20V%20-%20The%20Zinnia/

Blue Bachelor Button

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/grow-bachelors-button-blue-boys-43170.html

Also known as cornflower, bachelor's button "Blue Boy," (Centaurea cyanus "Blue Boy"), is a hardy, drought-tolerant wildflower, valued for its intense, sky-blue blooms. Bachelor's button "Blue Boy" requires little maintenance and thrives in poor, dry soil, including sand or clay. Plant seeds directly in the garden after the last frost in early spring. In frost-free climates, plant the seeds in autumn for spring blooming. Although the plant is an annual, it usually reseeds itself for a repeat appearance year after year.

http://www.planetnatural.com/growing-bachelor-buttons/

Sunflower (Mammoth Russian)

And last but not least is the beautiful Sunflower. I've always loved them for their brightness and size so of course it would be on my must grow list. And I'm not kidding I'm starting a "Must Grow" List.

Thank you for reading, again, if you have any tips or suggestions just post a comment. :)

-Happy Growing
-Bee

Thinking about Gardening

I want to start gardening! But I'm a little lost where to start. I have these seeds packets for flowers that were given to me and the weather is finally starting to get lovely outside.

Burst into song “Spring is in the air. Everywhere I look around.”

So I am thinking about pulling out my little planner and taking lots of notes. The kind that say What was planted and when and don't forget to water them or else. Yeah. That sounds like a descent plan to me. Something to keep one on track. Not that I plan on planting 100 things, this isn't Story of Seasons or anything, but I still need a little reminder on what the heck I planted.

Monday: planted little flowers.

Tuesday: Watered non existent flowers

Thursday: Violently waters plants again because I was worried I forgot.

Friday: It pours (I never check the weather)

Saturday: Why water when it rained?

Sunday:...

Monday again:....

Tuesday: Oh crap! Waters the A LOT

3 weeks later....There's still nothing.

“Why!” Begins having a mental break down and points the blame to hubby. Gives up on life. Refuses to plant again. Curses all of hubby's attempts. Gets angry and starts talking to flowers that hubby brings home. Everything beautiful suddenly brings about bad memories. The I decide that if I kill hubby I won't get any more flowers; no more flowers mean no more bad memories......

Yeah. I mean, I really love my husband so for his safety I need a planner for planting. His very life depends upon it!! :)

With all that being said wish me luck. :) I am going to plant sunflowers. I'll let you know if my husband survives—if I am successful I mean.

-Bee

Taxes :(

Taxes, not my favorite thing to do I will say that, but something you can't avoid. This year my husband and I decided to try our hand at using TurboTax. After two days of starring at a screen and asking a hundred questions I have finally finished!! I am so happy about it.

I have to be honest I thought I was going to disappear in a hole, throw the screen, or even bow down and call our Tax guy to schedule an appointment, but no! We prevailed!!!

To be fair, the site was very helpful and explained so much. But like all loads of paperwork it is a scary creature that takes time and a lot of reading. that's where I was growing weak. For the most part Turobox tax took me through a step by step, easy to follow, process with explanations around every corner. A few things I didn't know and turned to the forums, but I still found the answers easily enough. Those were only made hard because I was filing all of my online royalties and such. I made it more complicated, but I will know for next time.

And if any of you were wondering, yes, there will be a next time. Granted I will probably have forgotten half of what I know now, but that's okay, because I know the answers are there and I can do it.

Okay, I just wanted to rant about Taxes and pat my back a little. :)

Have a great Tax season!

-Bee

Power Yoga Rant

Power Yoga, whoever invented this monster was certifiably insane. :) And Thank You. The routine I follow are advanced moves in which have been really helping me on my lower abdomen and core muscles, a location that helps with my lower back.

When I went from Beginners (Yes, I have been doing the beginners for a while) to the Power Yoga I was like, I got this! Ha! Too funny Brenda, I think someone slipped you something. Which just for future reference I do drink occasionally but it is rare and far between and not much at all. I am not opposed to drinking I just don't do it often.

Anyway, a new pose I have learned that kicks my butt is Warrior III.

http://www.yogabasics.com/asana/warrior-iii/

Helps balance, memory and concentration, and tones the body. :)

Getting into this pose after the stretching and the workout they put you through is hard. I mean, it's tough enough for me to maintain my balance with my leg back, staring at the floor with my fingertips barely touching, let alone dare try lifting my hands! Talk about a life threatening moment as I swayed towards my yoga buddy. Granted, it is funny as heck, but AHHHHH, that's what I want to say about that.

UPDATE: Amazingly enough, I have been doing this for longer then five days and I must say I have noticed improvements. My leg muscle are tightening up and I feel more control over my stance and more confident to raise my hands out. Keeping my leg high is hard and I still feel the want to shake and lean my body, but slowly I am getting there.

To everyone that does yoga, y'all are amazing and I give you props. Keep it up. Yoga is hard than it looks but very rewarding.

I would also like to say that doing it with a buddy can be, not only, challenging (especially if the two of you keep giggling) but so much fun. It really helps having that support when you want to drop out of pose. They are a cheering squad and a motivation that I know I need and I am grateful to have. Cross your fingers we continue to do this.

-Brenda

5 days in January

I hope you have had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. We are officially five days into 2016 and already so much fun and so busy. Between reading and writing, which I talk about on my other Blog “Into My World. . .” My life stays pretty busy. And I really don’t know how! What’s so hard and time consuming about sleeping in, hours of peace from your husband while he’s at work, lots of free time to write? You can eat and nap whenever you want. I think I am part cat.

Seriously though, life is pretty busy. I spend a few hours a day at the computer typing away for a book, even when I don’t feel like it. You always want to stay on some sort of writing schedule, it’s much like working out, and once you skip a day it’s a heck of a fight to get back in working order.

I also read at least a chapter (which leads to at least three when I’m done) a day. Working on reading the first ten Nancy Drew books this month. Yeah! I haven’t ready them in a long time, but I drift. Then 1-3 times a week I am spending time at my grandparents, where I have started to master the art of the Bobby Pin for doing my grandma’s hair.

Oh, then there is eating. Haha And I know they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I can’t help it, I tend to skip it and grab something about ten or eleven in the morning. Does that count as breakfast still? No, darn. I also have a bad habit of writing for too long and forgetting to eat. That is a no, no. Plenty times Shawn, my husband, has reminded me that there is such a thing and that I can’t survive off of air. I’d be long since dead without those sweet, annoying, little reminders.

Also the extra little things that fill up the day, like watching a show, spending time with family, remembering that working out is still required at some point. Darn you laziness you are so mean, and I love you.

Writing all this down it doesn’t seem to crazy. Now that I am really looking at it I think it’s just a matter of time management for completely all these in a timely manner. The day will still go by but perhaps I won’t feel as worn by the end of it.

Okay, add that to my New Year’s resolution: Time management, or clone yourself and have them do everything. I don't know if I could stand another me wandering around, so I might have to skip that one. Darn.

Now, speaking of busy, time for a run. :) Y'all have a wonderful day.

-Brenda

New Year's Resolution 2016

My first goal of the year is to get over my cough. Okay, that’s not really a true New Year’s goal, but I would like to put it in the category of being healthy, so I think it counts.

Speaking of being healthy, I know it is among the most promised act of people starting the New Year, as well as the most broken one, but I would like to try my hand at it. . . Again. But I’m going to be a little more reasonable. I would love to loose five pounds by May, because I am going to be a Bridesmaid. So five pounds would be great and maybe gain a little more arm muscle. Yeah. Then, by the end of October, I would love to loose five more pounds. Then, I won’t feel bad when I gain ten pounds in November and December. I think that is a very reasonable goal, don’t you?

Now, everyone knows how I love to read and this year is the same as the last. I want to read A LOT! My Goal this time is 50 books, starting with the wonderful Nancy Drew books which I haven’t read since I was a teen. I own just about 20 of them and haven’t had the time in 2015 to sit down and really enjoy them, so I am going to do that this year. I mean, who doesn’t like a little mystery from time to time?

Staying with the bookish theme I hope to publish two more books this year and have them available as paperback before Christmas.

Now, a New Year resolution is not just about setting up goals for the New Year it’s about challenging yourself, trying something new, and being a better person. Just because you break the healthy streak you are going for, only read 49 out of 50 books, lose 4 pounds instead of 5, doesn’t mean you failed. Yeah, you didn’t reach your goal, but heck! You tried! That is the point of the New Year resolution to me. It is that you tried, experienced, and had fun. If it wasn’t for little or big goals sought after then we wouldn’t accomplish or appreciate things as much as we do already. You wouldn’t have gone to that gym where you found a best friend, read the book that changed your views, ate the food that was horrible but gave you great laughs, or failed at yoga only to discover you prefer jogging since you have the cute outfit. I think you get my point.

Failure or not, I hope that your 2016 is filled with lots of resolutions, friends, good times, laughs, adventures, failures, and triumph!

--Brenda Franklin