Friday, March 31, 2006

Spring days are good days...

Today:
1. I finally got gauge for my lace sweater that is supposed to be finished in time for Easter. I found the yarn by accident after a long search for similar yarns, and stumbled onto this website where the yarn that the pattern called for and the color that I thought was out of circulation was on clearance! I'm only about five rows into the project, but Rowan 4-ply knits up beautifully and quickly, even on size 6 needles.
2. My Mom, three younger brothers and my younger sister and I went for a hike in a nature preserve not too far from here. We hiked a trail that we hadn't explored yet, and it took us to an island in the middle of a lake. It was very peaceful, with only the occasional hum of airplanes to remind us that we were still smack dap in the middle of suburbia, even on a nature preserve. :-) There were insects galore and it was very hot (the trees did give us some cooling relief from the sun, though) so we were all heated, tired and bug-bitten when we made it back to the start of the trail. However, despite all of the heat and bugs, it was just so wonderful to simply meander along in a peaceful setting with birds and beautiful, huge butterflies flapping all around us. There were turtles, ducks, egrets and a boating couple on the lake. We intend to rent a canoe or kayak the next time we go.
3. After that, we went to a beautiful gardening store and I did some herb shopping. I didn't purchase any as I wanted to see what I could fit and where in my garden first. While pondering what I could afford to buy when I make it back, I realized that for the same price as a mocha at Starbucks (my bad habit) I could have a new herb in my garden. In fact, in one week I could probably have 10 new herb plants in my garden, and maybe a cute garden sign, too. With that thought in mind, I decided to not have a mocha today, and instead save the money for a plant. So when my mom pulled through the Sbux drive-through, I declined a drink. Then we got to the window and the barista had made a mistake and gave my mom a venti instead of the ordered tall mocha. She didn't even charge Mom the venti price since it was her mistake, so I ended up sharing the monstrous drink and getting my mocha anyway. :-)
4. Then I got home and found my $100 Visa gift card that I won from Blingo early this month waiting in the mailbox (my sister-in-law received one as well when I did)!
5. After a great dinner, prepared by my younger siblings (grilled hamburgers&onions, homemade guacamole, fries) and a cute movie, I am now ready to hit bed so that I can get up for an early morning run.

I like a good day...

6 comments:

Sarah said...

Isn't the Bling money grand? I'm afraid mine is mostly spent already - I ended up taking Jennifer Pettit out for dinner and a movie for a special Girl's Night. She had such a hard week, discovering she has melanoma, etc. so I wanted to do something she would really enjoy. And then I took Hunter Welling thrift store shopping and got her ice cream, and then felt bad because I hadn't spent any on Trent, so we went for a date to Cheddars. :-p Only a few dollars left now, I guess... I guess a cute Spring outfit will have to wait! Oh well - It was $100 I wouldn't have had and it was fun to use it to bless others. Have you used any of yours yet?

Sarah said...

lol - BlingO, I meant

Shelbi said...

Wow, Sar... I wish I was as sweet and benevolent as you are! So far I've spent about $20 and all of that was for me. Oh, I did buy Mom a bottle of flavored water when I was doing some shopping at the health food store. :-) I actually do have some good plans for the rest of my gift card, and the boys are giving me plenty of ideas. ;-)

Anonymous said...

I Was thinking Canon XT...?

Shelbi said...

I forgot to mention that if the boys' ideas were a little more practical and affordable, we might actually get somewhere on the question of what to purchase. ;-)

Anonymous said...

I hear LAGQ has a new CD out... :-)