I'm Grateful For... #16

Science, especially Biology!!! Look at this experiment I tend to perform with petunias. This was from last summer. The white petunias bloomed first before the burgundy and light purple ones.
Then when the other colors started coming in... I showed my two little ones what I normally do when I have petunias to play with. ;-)
I sprinkled the pollen of these two colors into each other. Then I waited until they died down and opened up the flowers for the seeds. I sprinkled the seeds into the soil.

This was the other original plant in another pot from the same flat. Look at the difference between the plants. I rescued this original plant by replanting it in the same soil after cleaning and aerating it. It's very spindly and is barely producing any flowers.

This is the new variety; my genetic take on petunia. The purple color was more dominant in this one rather than the burgundy, but slightly lighter in shade.
Look at how big it is and much hardier- it has endured several storms we've had since summer. This is one plant! It grew about a month after the original plants died from the first set of summer storms we had.

Learning is and should be everywhere and anytime. The world is our ultimate teacher, cherish each day you learn something. God must truly love us to give us such beauty amidst our chaotic life.

It Ended with a Date...

Hosted by "A Southern Daydreamer"
Yesterday was wonderful; we stocked the fridge with a trip to Kroger's (got some FREE Capri Sun and walked out with $2 next trip coupon), had lunch at IKEA and found some more of those awesome containers; even had the kiddos play in their "Smaland". Then to Home Depot for some pull chain for the kiddos' bedroom ceiling fan. After we got home, Michelle and I made a quick sausage and pasta dinner then Mr. Man and I went on a date! Yes, a date! *woot woot*

We dined on burgers and soda at the Studio Movie Grill near where we live and watched...
... the newest Harry Potter! It was great, but PG was not what I would categorize it as. Too intense in some scenes and the references to young romance and "snogging" is the undertone. Definitely a PG-13! Loved it though, as I am a HP fan! ;-)


Back in Utah, last Monday, I also took pictures of my in-laws' garden. Look at these beautiful pink roses flanked by beautiful blue blooms. Such a wonderful moment for me!

The previous owner filled the slope with all kinds of wildflowers, and while I was choosing what to shoot, a bee buzzed by so I followed it here...

... and here! Such a busy little bee!

Ok, I hope you enjoyed the pictures... I have more to share soon!

Heart you all for peeking! To our host, Susan, a big thank you!

Easy Essays?

It would seem that when you focus on something, that's when LIFE says, "Yeah, right!"

Wednesday night, I got started with my first final essay out of the 4 mini ones I had to do for my last two Public Admin classes. I actually finished one, but getting started on the others seem to be more complicated. I got maybe halfway with the second one... Did I mention I needed to do 4? By Saturday night? For points of 25, 25, 50 and 100? Yeah, I can feel my boots sh- shake a b-b-bit, j-just a bit... ;-)

In the morning, my brain stopped and asked for chocolate, lots of it! But then, my brain decided to take a rest and watch Food Network. Then Disney! After school, I had to watch a little girl. She's fun and got along great with my kids. Then nature seemed to call me. No, not the water closet kind of call! Nature! You know, trees, birds, flowers?

We walked around, picked up the mail, looked for beavers at their dam at one end of the creek. I found this bird that flew, walked and hopped! I think it was a Northern Mockingbird because it looked like this!


From Pbase.com
We even found some white bearded iris just growing wildly at the side of the wooded area near our apartment complex. Maybe some frustrated gardener thought that her rhizomes were bad and threw it out. You know, as they mentioned in Jurassic Park, "Life will find a way..." Those rhizomes found just the right combination of moisture and nutrients in that spot and boom! Up they grew! The blooms are simply beautiful... I took a picture with my phone, but it didn't turn out quite as clear as I wanted it to so here's a comparable photo I borrowed online.

From Sunset.com
We also realized that we've never been to and that it's time we used some of our hard earned dollars to help out Papa Murphy's so we had their Chicago Style Pizza and Cinnamon Wheel. It was so good that I got an extra big hug from Charlie. Love that! Maybe take out again tonight? ;-) Lovely combo... (Ok, getting hungry again) If you've been there, you know what I'm talking about. If not, maybe it's time...

Ok, back to the scent of highlighters as it glides onto the paper illuminating the information I need for my essays...