As promised....flower beds!

Well, the children and I spent last night working at creating beautiful flower beds where before there was only chaos! There used to be a flower bed at one point, but it has become completely overgrown, the edging is all gone and it has basically gone back to a very weedy part of the lawn. I have attempted over the last years to add some things to it to get it to look like something resembling a flower bed, but it never quite worked. So now, I splurged on some edging, black plastic and mulch. If anything it will cover and kill the weeds. I have some lilies growing, along with Black-eyed Susans, chives, hens and chicks and hostas. Once the beds have been created and filled with mulch, I plan on adding more perennials and annuals. I am also going to get shepards hooks for bird feeders and cute little garden statues! My Amish built shed will be here on Monday, so I will have a hiding spot for all the things hanging out on my deck right now!

And now, as promised, "BEFORE" pictures....

God dag Kjære venner ... Good Day Dear Friends...

 Hello My dear friends and Happy Syttende Mai!

Today is Norway's Constitution Day, or Syttende Mai (Seventeenth of May). To me it is such a joy to be a Norwegian descendant. Technically I am only 2nd full generation American on my father's side and 3rd generation on my maternal Grandmother's side. My paternal grandparents came from Norway as did my maternal grandmother's parents. It is something we hold dear and celebrate!

A little explanation for my Non-Norwegian friends.  Under Swedish rule, Norway signed their own Constitution on 17 May, 1814 and even though Norway did not achieve full independence until 1864,  Syttende Mai is still the day we celebrate. My cousin, Anna, has a fantastic explanation on her site...A Messy Indulgence  Go over and check it out! :)

I am proud to be a Norwegian American, even if I don't eat lutefisk or rommegrot!  Look for pictures of our local festival to be coming soon.....


Må Gud velsigne dere, mine kjære venner, hver og en! Happy Syttende Mai!
(Translation: May God bless you my Dear Friends, each and every one! Happy Syttende Mai! )

Gardening and weekend plans!

Well My Dear Friends, it will be a busy weekend indeed! I have gotten my garden supplies home and ready to go. I dug out and replanted a bush that needed to be moved and have started cleaning out the bed around my tree where the tulips are growing! And I am so excited that my dad has offered to bring his tiller up and use that in the flower bed and garden instead of hand digging it all! (My son and my arms and back thank him very much!) Now all I have to do is find the time to work on it! They are calling for rain throughout the weekend too, so it will most likely have to wait til next week.

In the meantime, my shed from the Amish should be done soon. They called from the neighbors and wanted to me to stop in to make delivery arrangements! I am so excited! Not only does it mean  more storage for me, but also a clothes line! In the trailer park they have to be retractable, so I can attach one end to the shed and the other to the deck! :) I am sooo excited! This shed also means more organization and cleanliness to the yard.

Again, all of this will have to wait til after the weekend! It is really going to be a busy one! Our little town has their festival this weekend! The town was founded by Norwegians (which most of the residents still are today) so we celebrate Syttende Mai, which is Seventeenth of May, or Norwegian Constitution Day. There are so many things happening this weekend and me and the kids are involved in many activities.

Cookie Monster's high school jazz band has a performance at the church on Sunday before the parade and then the marching band is in the parade.

Princess Pea is in the Norwegian  Dance group and will have 2 performances and will also be in the parade. Also her girl scout troop will lead the Kiddie Parade on Saturday! She will actually be in the parade twice as her Dance Studio has an entry as well and she is hoping to make it through the parade with them as well!

I will also be busy. Besides shuffling kids where they need to be, the high school band and band parents association work various booths throughout the festival to raise money for the kids' activities. The band usually takes a trip or two and this puts money into the kids' accounts.  Cookie Monster will be working at various booths over the weekend and so will I. Every little bit helps. The band is researching a trip to Norway in the summer of 2013, so we are working hard to get enough money in his account so he can go!

Besides the various festival activities and gardening fun, there is always the usual housework and laundry to be done as well. I think I may need to come back to work on Monday to rest up!

What are all of my bloggy friends up to this weekend?

I'm so Excited!

So my dear friends...tonight is the night I have been WAITING for! As soon as I am off work, we are headed out to Menards to get all the fixings for my flower bed.

This year I am determined to reclaim my flower bed, adding gorgeous flowers and herbs! I will also have a bird bath, bird feeders and cute little fairies peaking out at me!

Once my Amish built shed arrives, (in the next couple weeks) I will also be able to reclaim my deck, banishing all the work tools, extra pots and potting soil to the shed, making room for a cute little table and chairs or maybe a bench where I can sit, sip my tea and enjoy my  beautiful yard!

I can't wait to post before and after pictures! And maybe some "in progress" ones as well!

Military Spouse Appreciation Day - Today May 6th...

Hello Dear Friends!

Today has officially been dubbed "Military Spouse Appreciation Day!" While I am not married to a military man *YET*, my boyfriend has served in the Army and National Guard for the last 23 years. I am proud of what he does but feel that my part is relatively minor. I support him and honor him and do what I can to give a helping hand. My friend Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom kindly let me borrow the following from her post this morning.

This goes out to all the Military Spouses....I am proud to be a part of your sorority (almost):

I am a military wife -- a member of that sisterhood of women who have had the courage to watch their men go into battle, and the strength to survive until their return.

Our sorority knows no rank, for we earn our membership with a marriage license, traveling over miles, or over nations to begin a new life with our military husbands.

Within days, we turn a barren, echoing building into a home, and though our quarters are inevitably white-walled and unpapered, we decorate with the treasures of our travels, for we shop the markets of the globe. Using hammer and nail, we tack our pictures to the wall, and our roots to the floor as firmly as if we had lived there for a lifetime. We hold a family together by the bootstraps, and raise the best of "brats," instilling in them the motto, "Home is togetherness," whether motel, or guest house, apartment or duplex.

As military wives we soon realize that the only good in "Good-bye" is the "Hello again."

For as salesmen for freedom, our husbands are often on the road, at sea, or in the sky, leaving us behind for a week, a month, an assignment. During separations we guard the home front, existing until the homecoming. Unlike our civilian counterparts, we measure time, not by years, but by tours -- married at Knox, a baby born at Portsmouth, a special anniversary at Yorktown, a promotion in McDill.

We plant trees, and never see them grow tall, work on projects completed long after our departure, and enhance our community for the betterment of those who come after us. We leave a part of ourselves at every stop. Through experience, we have learned to pack a suitcase, a car or hold baggage, and live indefinitely from the contents within: and though our fingers are sore from the patches we have sewn, and the silver we have shined, our hands are always ready to help those around us.

Women of peace, we pray for a world in harmony, for the flag that leads our men into battle, will also blanket them in death. Yet we are an optimistic group, thinking of the good, and forgetting the bad, cherishing yesterday, while anticipating tomorrow.

Never rich by monetary standards, our hearts are overflowing with a wealth of experiences common only to those united by the special tradition of military life.

We pass on this legacy to every military bride, welcoming her with outstretched arms, with love and friendship, from one sister to another, sharing in the bounty of our unique, fulfilling military way of life.

Author Unknown

God Bless Each and every Military Spouse reading this, and all those that are not ....Thank you for your support and sacrifice. It is appreciated!