What I am obsessed over now…

Readers! I have an obsession. A tiny obsession. If you watch any of the home improvement channels you my have come across shows regarding one of my tiny obsessions.

Tiny Houses

Tiny House in the Woods

Tiny House in the Woods

For the last few days, I have been spending hours at night on Pinterest looking at Tiny Houses. I have come across a few shows on HGTV. Tiny House Hunters, Tiny House, Big Living and Tiny House Builders.

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I also watched a documentary about a couple who took a year to build a tiny house out in Colorado called Tiny. I loved it. It was interesting to see how much more difficult it was to build then they thought. They had no real construction experience but I think since it they figured it was small it would matter so much. It did. The end house turned out great. They had first thought it would take the summer but no. A Year. They were still both working at the time and ran into a few financial issues during the year which slowed them down a bit.

From Tiny, the documentary.

From Tiny, the documentary.

I have told My Man and The Boy, that after we get these tumors settled and get on our own financial house in order, that I want to buy some land in the GA mountains and put a tiny house on it. After watching and reading about it, I am thinking we would have to go over the standard 200 squared feet and have something around 500 to 550 square feet. I think that would be big enough from the three of us, the puppy and the cats (should they wish to travel that long in the car). 3bfebb2c921366ad19bd4cf68c7c9ac2
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Of course this obsession might not last that long. Who knows. Although it has gotten me thinking about getting rid of the clutter in the home I live in now. I look around and think, why do we have so much stuff? We don’t need half it and it is just more for me to clean. The first room I will work on, once the pool table is removed, is my home office. It is a cluttered mess. Might do some much-needed painting since we have a lot left over from the rec room.

Tiny Terrariums and Marimo Moss Balls

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In my shopping cart.

Isn’t that the coolest thing? My Man doesn’t get my obsession of the little moss-green balls but when I look at them, I feel calm. I have two of them in the shopping cart on Etsy.

The other one I may get.

The other one I may get.

I have also always wanted a terrarium kit. I would love to have them all over the house but I know a certain Simoncat who would knock them down and mess around with them. So if I get one, It will have to stay in my office at work, which is fine. I am going to try to do the whole de-clutter thing there too.

In shopping cart.

In shopping cart.

Readers, what do you think? You like the tiny houses? Like my choices in my shopping cart? What are you obsessing over recently?

Updates, broken things and shout outs!

Readers! Things have been crazy here at the Hotel Yorba! First we had a full house for almost a week. My parents, brother, sis-in-law and niece where in town for about 5 days last week. They participated in the Merchants Market here in the ATL. They both seemed to have a great show and got the word out about their wonderful products, The Christmas Web and Ginger Leigh Designs. Check them both out!

The Boy and I got to hang out with my youngest niece, ETG, for a few days. We had a blast. She is a great girl. She hung out with me all day Friday and went with me when I hit the bank, chicken feed store and office. She even went to work out with SK and I at the gym. She rocked it. When my hour was up, she was like “we have to go?” Oh to have the energy of an 11-year-old!

Our internet has not been working for the past few days, which is why I have not posted anything. It has been very frustrating. It is crazy how much we depend on a good internet signal. We have a call into a cable company to try to run cable internet but that is not for about two weeks. Our current service sucks!  And then on Sunday, our TV in the family room died! Just stopped working. It will not turn on! Everything else turns on but not the TV. They really don’t make them like they use to do they? A TV used to last 10+ years! Now you are lucky to get one the lasts 4 years. Total Bummer.

Round 2

So far the side effects from round 2 have been the same of Round 1. I am tired. Like really tired. Like lay on the couch, pass out, wake yourself up snoring and add in some drool, tired. The pain in my ribs is still there but I am getting some new drugs today and hopefully they will help take the edge off. I am doing my best to keep being active because I know it will only help me in the end. Must stay strong!

2014 24 hours of Booty!

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I am off to a wonderful start of my fundraising for the 24 hours of Booty ride I am doing in October. I have halfway to my goal! Woot! Woot! A big shout out to the following donors and recruit!.

Christy M., William H. Family, Judi R., Robert H., Vicki H., Alan V., Geri T., Michelle H. and Dona C. 

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You guys rock! I am starting to work on my training program to get ready for the ride. I will continue to work out with SK twice a week when I am able. I am also going to start riding the exercise bike during the week, keep up with my yoga and go biking at the park on the weekends. I will admit, it is kind of hard get the energy up to do it all but I will do the best I can.

The Girls and Garden

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Nice waddle!

Zazzles and Terrance Peterson are doing great. They are about five months old now and hopefully should be getting ready to lay some eggs in the next month or two. Zazzles cone and waddle are growing in pretty fast and her little chirp is now a lower toned one. Kinda sounds like she has a frog stuck in her throat! I am sure it will settle down soon and she will settle on a nice little chirp. Terry Pete’s black feathers are so nice and shiny. In the sun they have a dark green shine to them. Her cone and waddle are still pretty small but she seems ok with it.

The garden is doing ok. The tomatoes are growing well (cherry is doing the best) except for the fact there is a little bugger who is grabbing some of the lower hanging green ones and eating them. But does he eat all of them? Nooo! He eats half of it and then leaves the other half for me to find. Little bugger! So wasteful!

My corn looks like it is growing well (really I have no idea) along with my peppers, garlic and edamame. I have gotten a few small cucumbers but no squash yet. Whoever was eating the okra has stopped and there are some okra buds popping up. I am thinking next spring about buying more bags good soil and trying to get my soil in better shape. Any suggestions? I have used egg shells, coffee grounds and some compost. The dirt that was originally put in there was not good  at all but over the years I have added to it, so you think it would be in better shape now. But really how can you tell? I need a garden guru to come out and give me a few lessons.

Readers! I hope you are all having a good week so far. Stay Strong and Be Safe!

 

Tomatoes, Peppers, Edamame Oh My!

Hey Readers!

Alomost ready to pick!

Alomost ready to pick!

I am happy to say that the garden at Hotel Yorba is coming along. I am very pleased with how things are growing. The only issue I am having thus far is that something is eating all the leaves on my okra plants. What would do that? I have been able to pull up some carrots that I have used in my morning juices.  One thing I am excited about it my Edamame! How cool is it that I am growing it! Very cool. I love the little pods. It has taken to my not so great soil really well.

Edamame

Edamame

I have spotted one cucumber growing but there are a lot of blooms. The cucumber/squash have done a good job of attaching itself to the trellis. I hope keeping the veggies off of the ground will help them grow larger.

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I am not sure if I mentioned but when I bought my green peppers, I accidentally bought a jalapeño pepper by mistake. Now, I don’t like hot things. Pepper, at times, can be too much for me! But My Man is looks spicy, hot things and it very excited about the mistake I made. He will be happy to know that his pepper plant already has a peppers growing on it.

HoT! HoT!

HoT! HoT!

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One of the lemons on our lemon tree

One of the lemons on our lemon tree

Yesterday evening I was looking at chicken coops on Pinterest (I do this all the time) and came across one picture that inspired me to decorate The Majestic some more. I have old photo’s (me and my big brother taken by my dad) and artwork that has been sitting for years in my garage gathering dust and I thought what the heck! The Girls deserve some art in their lives and it will make the coop look nice. So I went to the garage, grabbed the artwork, a hammer, some nails and a step stool and went to work. I think it turned out nice. What do you think?

The Majestic

The Majestic

I also found this old shell mirror that use to hang in my grandparents bathroom. I loved that mirror and thought it would make a good addition to the coop. I think my Honey might have made it, so it is very old. Some of the shells have come off so I am going to glue them back on with the help of a glue gun, clean it up and hang it up over the coop door. Maybe the girls will see their reflection and be like “Wow, you’re a good-looking chick!”.
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Tomorrow

Tomorrow I will be going in for my first regular dose of chemo. Round One. I will get my port accessed, have a EKG (not a big deal) and then at 1:30pm get hooked up and the chemo will start flowing. My very good friend, Rebecca, will be making the trip with me. That is making my parents very happy (me too! :)). They are out west on a trip and can’t be here. I told her that I am going to have her take pictures of everything so I can share it with you guys. She is also brining her lunch. It’s like a field trip! I am not nervous, just ready for it to start, work and shrink LT.  LT is ready too.

 

Readers, are you growing a garden this summer? Whatcha growing? Having issues?

Happy Caturday Y’all!

Caterday just got real.

Caterday just got real.

Reader’s!

It’s a rainy day in the ATL this morning. As I sit listening to Band of Horses Live at the Ryman, it is raining outside my window. And I am ok with that. Why you ask? I will tell you! Yesterday after I spent some time at the office and worked out with SK, I went to Lowes and bought more veggies (yes more!) and flowers for around the pool! I was able to get most of it all planted before mother nature starred watering it all for me.

Edamame

Edamame

Peppers

Peppers

After I picked The Boy up at the bus stop I got to planting! I bought peppers, more cucumbers, and edamame. The Boy and I are very excited about the edamame. How cool would it be if we could pick fresh edamame, steam it and eat it all up! Very Cool.

Photo Bomb via Timber!

Photo Bomb via Timber!

Pretty #2

Pretty #1

Pretty #2

Pretty #2

I still have to plant the flowers in the planters that will go by the pool. This year I chose all perennials so that I won’t have to replace them next year. I still have a few containers to fill and will hopefully go back to Lowes on Sunday and by a few more plants. Maybe even more veggies! I am on a mission y’all!

Juice!

This morning I added more lemon and an extra apple to my juicing. It made a big difference. Very yummy. I drink it while I take my $400 or so worth of pills in the morning. Makes me feel like I am doing my part in fighting the little f*cker in my chest.

Happy Saturday! Be Good. Be Safe. Be Happy.

It was a lovely weekend…

Reader’s!

How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good. The weather was so nice. On Saturday I went to Lowes and got some tomato plants, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, okra and peppers to plant in the garden.

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Okra and Bell Peppers

Okra and Bell Peppers

Cucumber and squash

Cucumber and squash

Tomato plants

Tomato plants

Yes, I have three different tomato “cages” that I am using. I have been collecting them over the past few years. I just got the ones with the bamboo sticks. This summer I will see which ones work out best.

I also cleaned out the nesting boxes in the coop. I got rid of all the used hay, sprayed them down with water and then let them dry in the sun. Then I let Zazzles and Terrance Peterson out into the main run. The meeting of the young hens and older hen’s went ok. Poppy and Turbo pecked at them a little bit. They were mainly interested in eating and drinking Zazzles and Terrance Peterson’s food and water. Today Aidan and I once again let them out again and I was able to hold Zazzles and Terrance Peterson for a bit. They are so cute! I then put them both on the highest roosting bar to try out.

Zazzles!

Zazzles!

Such a cutie.

Such a cutie.

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Zazzles roosting for the first time!

Zazzles roosting for the first time!

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Terry Pete!

Terry Pete!

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Hi!

Hi!

They did great! They stayed up there for about 10 minutes or so. Then they both flew off and landed on Poppy and Turbo. They didn’t like that too much. I plan on letting them mix together over the next few days. Hopefully by this weekend they will have gotten use to each other and will be ready to live together.

On Sunday we spent the day with friends and had a wonderful time and dinner. Although I have a lot on my mind, I had a wonderful weekend. I have a wonderful family and wonderful friends. I want to thank you all for your prayers and good vibes. They really mean a lot to me and my family.

Today I filled out an application for co-pay assistance for my medication. The pills cost around $8,500.00 a month. My deductible is around $1,500.00. The special pharmacy suggested we fill out the application so we did. After My Man and I talked about it we decided that if we do get the assistance, we would donate the money we saved to the Winship Cancer Institute. There are a lot of people out there who need co-pay assistance more than we do, so it is the least we can do. Drugs can be $$$!

Sunny Day in the ATL

The Boy & My Man @ The Braves Game

The Boy & My Man @ The Braves Game

Good Day Reader’s!

The sun (and pollen-Boo) are out in the ATL today. Yesterday The Boy and I went out and ran some errands. We stopped at Target and I spoke to the pharmacist there. I explained about the issues I am having with my sinus’. The headaches have not gone away for the past week. She gave me something to take and so far, it has eased the pain a bit. I am feeling so much better.

Me & The Boy @ The Braves Game

Me & The Boy @ The Braves Game

We also stopped at Home Depot and bought some herbs and tomato plants. Once again, as I have done the past few summers, I have high hopes for my garden. Last year’s was a bit of a bust since I was undergoing chemo. I planted ten tomato plants in the garden and three different kinds of basil (sweet, Thai & pepper) in a planting container.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes

Three kinds of Basil.

Three kinds of Basil.

I have decided to buy some cucumber trellis’. I ordered two from Gardner’s Supply Company. I am hoping that the cucumbers and squash will do better than in the past if they are up off the ground.

Ordered two of these.

Ordered two of these.

I am hoping to get word soon that our two new hens are ready to pick up. I am planning on putting the old coop and run into the The Majestic to keep them separate but close so they can get to know each other. I have moved the run into the The Majestic and it is a tight fit but they will be fine.

Turbo working on a egg.

Turbo working on an egg.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be good and stay safe!

Time to start planting!

Happy Sunday Reader’s!

Spring seems to have sprung here in the ATL. The temperature hit the 70’s yesterday so it made it a perfect day to do some planting. I have been using my old k-cups to start seeds in. They are the perfect size and there is a little hole in the bottom for draining water. I am also using the used grounds and crushed up egg shells to mix in with my soil. Have you started planting your garden? What are your favorite veggies?

Getting ready for the garden!

Getting ready for the garden!

A few weekends ago I planted spinach and arugula seeds in a big pot. Can’t wait till they all grow in and I can start harvesting for salads and The Girls.

Spinach and Arugula

Spinach and Arugula

The Girls are also enjoying the warm weather. They have been making dirt baths and scratching up a storm. I wonder if they have any idea that soon there will be two new hens in the coop.

The Majestic

The Majestic

On Friday night we went out to one of our favorite places, Empire State South, for dinner. The weather was so nice that we sat outside before dinner for a drink. Our meal was wonderful as usual.

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Empire State South

Empire State South

I love it when everyone gets along.

Simon, Timber & Panny

Simon, Timber & Panny

Have you been watching basketball? Been a crazy tournament so far. Who are you cheering for? Go Michigan State!! Go Wichita State!!