Digging in the dirt.

My son would be jealous.

This soggy barren flowerbed represents an afternoon of hard work, planting 129 bulbs.

I don't think I really like gardening (this IS my first house, remember, so I'm not totally sure).  But I do like flowers.  Hence planting bulbs.  I love the idea that I can plant these babies once, and every spring they will bloom, for years to come.  Genius.  If that doesn't prove divine design, I don't know what does!  (I think I'm so funny.)

Anyway, despite the fact that I was bent over digging in the dirt so my back hurts now, it was a lovely day for it. Overcast, but dry.  Comfortably cool.  I even enjoyed the smell of the dirt...well, at least until I unearthed what looked suspiciously like cat poop on the verge of petrification.  Not quite petrified (though it held its shape remarkably well) since there was a bit of a...smell......

Moving on, there is a reason we ripped out all our shrubs and garden beds and seeded everything.  I don't want to garden.  And looking at my little rectangle, I was kinda thinking that was too much!  But it's done now.  I'll be on the look out for other perennials come spring.  Any recommendations?

Showing off a few more digiscrap pages...

The best of our engagement photos.  We got married at the ripe old age of 22.  We look so young.

P.S...remember how I was going to do that "Getting Started with Digital Scrapbooking" series...?  Oops.  Sorry (Nat, Michelle), I WILL get to it!

I DO have something to share...

I don't know why I didn't think of sharing these before, but one of the big projects I've been working on is a photobook of miscellaneous things from our wedding (yeah, I'm behind).  We had disposable cameras on the tables at our luncheon and reception, plus our engagement photos, the photos in the slideshow we had playing at the reception, and the photos we took on our honeymoon.  I'm on a deadline too, since this is for a Groupon to Picaboo that expires at the end of the month.

Anyway, thought I show you a few of the pages from the slideshow section:
(I know I'm biased, but dang! I think we were cute little kids...must be why my kids are so adorable...)

The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck book review

The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck: A Novel
Synopsis: "Unlikely romance is sometimes just an inconvenient marriage away.
Charlotte Beck may be entering adulthood, but she can’t seem to keep to her stubborn, independent spirit from bucking social protocol. Fed up with her behavior, Charlotte’s father Daniel pressures her to settle into a nice marriage despite knowing she is set on going to college. Then Daniel sees Charlotte with the handsome but annoying English astronomer Alex Hambly, and everything changes.
Though Alex and Charlotte can barely stand one another, Daniel offers them a deal they can’t refuse: if they agree to marry, he will save Alex’s family from financial ruin and grant Charlotte the freedom to go to college. Reluctantly the couple agrees, but in private they plot to annul the marriage as soon as possible.
But when Alex’s feelings change and he refuses to dissolve their contract, will Charlotte find a way out of her vows? Or will she discover that maybe this marriage isn’t so inconvenient after all?"


Hmmm.  Where to start.  Don't bother.  It's not terrible, but with all the other books out there why waste any time on this one?  The story just felt like it rambled on without control.  And then there was the random insert of "faith."  If you're going to be Christian fiction, fine.  But the three paragraphs towards the end of the book that brought up faith just felt like an after thought.  Like the author had forgotten she needed/wanted/should include some little ditty to make it Christian fiction.  
The story line wasn't completely unbelievable, but again towards the end when Charlotte begins to change her mind and decides she wants "to be a wife" to Alex, it's just so silly.  Apparently in the author's eyes, being a wife just means sex, because that seemed to be all Charlotte and Alex meant by deciding not to annul their marriage.
No thanks.  I usually like the books I get from WaterBrook Multnomah, but this one I just didn't.
I give it 2 out of 5 stars. I did receive this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for this review.