New Lawn...

We knew we needed to reseed our lawn and we wanted to go with something more ecologically sound than your average sod. So, after much research, I found Protime Eco-Friendly Lawn Seed. I let C choose which seed to go with and to my surprise, he chose the Fragrant Herbal Ecology Lawn (which is not what I would have gone with, but I did give him the choice, so that's what we bought). So, after a long May weekend of removing sod, filling with dirt, leveling, compacting and eventually sowing, we had ourselves a new lawn.

The neighbors were hesitant when we told them our plan because it was so different, but now they all love it as much as we do. I can home yesterday to find a lawn full of neighbors, because it is so soft and smells so good. We LOVE it.

So here it is, after about 4-5 weeks of growth, only watering about 2 times per week:


And here it is mowed on the left, unmowed on the right:

If you like well manicured, golf course grass, this is not the lawn for you. If you love mowing and watering a LOT less while still having a green yard all summer and doing better by the environment all while smelling a beautiful smell every time you walk through your yard, this is the seed for you!

Poor Flurry...

Our big fat Maine Coon, Sampson, is having issues. He has had an allergic reaction the last 2 summers and had to get a steroid injection. He feels better, but because he was so itchy, he licked obsessively and now he's lost all of his long, flowing rump fur. He's still got the short furs, but he looks so strange with what we are now calling a bald butt. It's growing back, but not quickly enough!

Here he is in his more flurry days:


And here he is when he learned I was posting about this embarrassing situation:

Accidental IT Girl

That's me... I am the "IT Girl" for my company. But I hesitate to use the title IT because that means I might have some training instead of just learning by doing. "IT Girl" raises people's hopes and expectations. They think I might actually be able to fix their computer problems. And there's about an 80% chance that I can. But that leaves 20% broken. Someone told me to just go with being called "IT Girl" because everyone already thinks I am so I might as well claim the title. I like that. Think I can put that on my resume?

Ew... mobile blogging. How exciting.

Busy Times...

Well, I have survived the spring. It was touch and go there for a while. I am working full time and going to graduate school full time and we had to double our class load this spring to squeeze in all of the required credits. I also have been volunteering at the local elementary school on Fridays and I had to take another grad test (I passed ... yahoo!). But, I made it through and came out the other side mostly unscathed. Now it's back to just working and graduate school full time. Good times and noodle salad (as my friend John says, where there is fun, there is always noodle salad to be had).

Add to that mix that Father's Day and my Dad's birthday are in there and it made for an emotional time. This time of year has always been tough since Dad died. They say it gets easier and I guess it has a little, but not much. I think this time of year will always be a little hard.

This weekend was the weekend of unexpected expenditures. First, we had to replace the front tires on the Bunny (as my 4 year old nephew calls my VW Rabbit) this weekend out of the blue. Well, it wouldn't have been out of the blue if I had been paying attention, but I hadn't noticed how low my tread had gotten so, that made it out of the blue. I called around, looking for the best price and ended up at America's Tire again. They are SUPER friendly and very reasonably priced. We got both front tires replaced with very high quality tires for under $200!

Second, we had to take our Maine Coon cat to the vet. He has a swollen lip and has been super itchy. He had the same thing happen last summer and he got a steroid injection to treat it. He seems to be doing better, poor fella.

Along the cat note, we asked the vet the best way to deal with a bully. We have a little cat, Kash, who weighs about 8 pound and he constantly picks on the Coon, who weighs 18 pounds. She suggested putting a collar with a bell on Kash, so his victims will hear him sneaking up on them. I did and I wish I had had a video camera ready. Poor guy hated the sound of the bell and spent the whole afternoon yesterday bucking like a wild bull trying to get it off. I think the vet's suggestion may just work, but not for the reason she suggested. Kash is going to be too distracted by the ringing around his neck to pick on his cat siblings. Sweet!

Contest at Haugen's

Hey all...

The photography studio my sister works for, Haugen's in Monmouth, is doing a great holiday contest. You can win a session, custom holiday cards and a gift basket. Click here if you are interested!

www.haugensgalleri.com

Updates...

Yes, it has been a while. Lots has happened. I have started my new job and it is going well. I was talking to my good friend Molly today about how it is so much less stressful than my last job. Molly said, "You feel like it's cheating, huh?" She had the same experience when she left too and it really feels like, wait this isn't hard enough! It is so good to be in an environment where not hard all the time, I am not carrying it on my shoulders, like the million ton rock my last job was.

I have completed my first graduate class and am halfway through my second (The art and science of teaching) and it is fun. I wasn't really prepared for it to be fun! It is a lot of work, but I am really enjoying learning again.

Cesar is doing good, animals are okay. 2 of the cats, Ripley and Flea are currently PO'd because I changed food. They spend a lot of the day screaming at me and running to their bowls, as if to say, "where's the real stuff?" The new stuff is better for them, but it is sure funny watching them try to relay their message. Puppy Pixie is still cute, but a pain in the ass, as puppies and small dogs tend to be. She currently uses Ripley (the cat) as her chew toy, dragging him around by the scruff (even though he is bigger than her) and he loves it (he's a bit of a whore).

Tis all for now...I will try to update more frequently. :P