Meme Monday

Meme Monday is something new to me that I read over at Karen's blog and considered myself “tagged”. I’ve seen her post a few of those, and I always wanted to participate, but never found the time. Today I have some spare time on my hands, so here it goes!

1. Can you cook?

Yes, I believe I can, although it doesn’t happen very often anymore. But all meals I have cooked for Tim he says he loved.

2. What was your dream growing up?

I wanted to grow up and have a nice family, house and a dog.

3. What talent do you wish you had?

Above all, I wish I could play the cello and draw.

4. Favorite place?

Seaside. And home.

5. Favorite vegetable?

Artichoke! Unfortunately, I can’t find it here, so I am planning on asking Tim’s sister Melissa if she could mail me some seeds.

6. What was the last book you read?

I recently finished Philippa Gregory’s ‘The Boleyn Inheritance’ and loved it!

7. What zodiac sign are you?

Scorpio

8. Any Tattoos and/or Piercings?

My ears are both pierced (one of them twice), but I have no other piercings or tattoos.

9. Worst Habit?

Sleeping late, procrastinating, and cutting my fingernails too deep.

10. What is your favorite sport?

If you consider dancing a sport, then that would be my answer.

11. Is a glass of water half full or half empty?

Half full!

12. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me (after we called for help, of course)?

Start panting and crying, and more than likely pee myself – I always have to pee when I’m in the elevator.

13. Would you share an embarrassing moment with me?

I really don’t keep tags of those (maybe because I have so many!) and can hardly remember any of them. But, for example, I got drunk off of one glass of wine yesterday and started acting like a child on sugar rush in my mother’s car while slurring my speech. Both her and her friend had a blast.

14. Tell me one weird fact about you.

I am a fan of a symphonic epic metal band called Nightwish. You didn’t expect that of me, did ya?

15. Do you have any pets?

The guard-cat, Hope!

16. Can you read a book upside down?

Yes, but it would take me ages.

17. What time is it where you are now?

7:06 p.m.

18. Who was the scariest fairy-tale/children movie hero ever for you?

Baba Yaga.

19. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?

I’d make my feet look a little less like bear paws.

20. Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?

Uhh… I’d stick with your conscience.

21. What color eyes do you have?

Almost black.

22. Ever been arrested?

No.

23. A cop or a robber?

A cop (but an office rat, I don’t like all the action).

24. If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?

Remodel the bedroom, buy a used car, and put the rest in the savings.

25. What kind of bubble gum do you prefer to chew?

I love fruity gum.

26. Favorite fast-food restaurant?

Wendy’s.

27. Do you believe in ghosts?

Yes, I do.

28. Favorite thing to do in your spare time?

Craft and care for my plants.

29. Do you swear a lot?

No, not really. I try to keep it civil.

30. Biggest pet peeve?

When people eat with their mouth open. And when they wouldn’t stop talking even when they see you are busy with something else.

31. In one word, how would you describe yourself?

Casual.

Gardening News

Like I posted here a few days ago, my poor hydrangea was suffering from some serious disagreement with the temperatures outside. But once some necessary doctoring was done (including cutting all those beautiful blossoms and leaves), poor thing now looks to be in a better shape.

Now I just need to wait for the temperatures to go up, continue to water it, and soon enough I will have those gorgeous blossoms back.

I am so happy I managed to save it!

Moments of Life

Like I promised, here’s some pictures from our gardening adventure yesterday.

This is my mom, digging a hole to plant her cherry tree.

And this is the clothes’ hamper we bought yesterday:

Isn’t it cute?

Timmy and I had homemade bruschettas today! SO yummy.

We have a really simple recipe for them.

Homemade Bruschetta

Ingredients:

Loaf of French bread

2 Tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

fresh/dried basil

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

How to make it:

Cut French bread into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Crush one clove of garlic and lightly rub the garlic on one side of the bread. Additionally, lightly coat the same side of the bread with olive oil using a brush.

In the pan: Place in pan to bake until the slices are golden-brown. This takes about 3-5 minutes per side at medium heat.

In the oven: Place slices on a baking sheet and bake/broil them for a few minutes. Make sure you pay close attention, because once they start to brown they are done, and they go from brown to black in seconds if you don’t pay attention.

Meanwhile, dice the tomatoes and squeeze them slightly while transferring to a different dish to get their juices flowing. Add olive oil, some minced garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and then add the basil. Stir and you are ready to go!

This is a very quick and easy basic bruschetta recipe. You can add different ingredients depending on taste and preferences. Hope you enjoy it!

And, as promised, here’s a picture of my new hair style:

Productive Day

I had a lovely and productive day. Mother, me, my aunt, grandma and family friends went to Grandma’s villa to help her plant some cherry, peach and apple trees, and some flowers. We had a warm and sunny weather today, ate lunch on the lawn and spent almost the whole day basking in the sun. Then we had dinner and the biggest news of the day is: I bought a new bed! The set includes a bed frame, mattress and topper, and will be delivered in 15 days. That’s what it looks like in their catalogue:

I loved it for its simplicity and color. It can easily be combined with other furniture pieces to make a nice set if needed. And it will be perfect for us once we move into our house.

We also got a lovely little clothes hamper (black and white, woven). I’ll take a picture and post it here (hopefully on Monday, but we know how that works).

All in all, a lovely day!

Hope you all had a great weekend and I wish you an even better new week!

Gardening Woes

It’s been almost a week since I last posted, but my life swirled around me and caught me in a hurricane I haven’t been able to get away from for a few days. Been so swamped with things I couldn’t even think of anything inspirational to even blog about.

But, some gardening troubles can quickly get me back in mode!

So, here’s the bad news. My grandma gave mom a beautiful hydrangea for her birthday, and so I was promoted to be the sole tender after mom put it out on the balcony because the weather has just been so gorgeous. Well, the plant didn’t think it was that gorgeous… I came home to a withered hydrangea last night, all the beautiful blossoms looking like someone dragged them 5 miles from the back of a car… I can’t tell you how much it pained my heart, especially since I love those plants. I didn’t get to take pictures of the poor creature, but here’s what it looks like after some necessary doctoring…

But, it’s not all that bad. I believe she (yes, I think it’s a girl, and yes, I am that badly involved) will get better now that I cut all withered parts and gave her some fresh water.

On the plus side, do you remember the liliums? This is what they look like now!

They took a while to start growing, but once they did, they’ve been like mushrooms.

I also spent some time repotting my basil, rosemary and petunias. They have grown significantly in the past day and a half.

And another update! I don’t know if you have ever used it, but it’s a program that came with my MS Office package, and it’s called OneNote. I love that program! You can create your virtual notebook with as many separators, tabs and folders as you like. You don’t have to save it, you can add colors and borders to it, you can write anywhere you see fit, and they give you templates for all kinds of theme notes in case you don’t want to have a custom one.

So, if you remember, I talked about creating a Gardener’s Journal, and guess where I did that… yes, my Journal is virtual, paperless, totally GREEN Gardener’s journal. I can add pictures and notes to my heart’s content!

In addition, I found an awesome lady’s blog that truly inspires me - Simply Seleta.

Oh, and I got a new hairstyle I will show you tomorrow.

Have a peaceful afternoon, everyone!