the giraffe life

Oh, March. I called it in my end of February post - this month we had highs in the 60s (15° - 21° C) and several snowstorms. Such a tease! But for April, I'm hoping the weather cooperates with some more consistent (and pleasant) temperatures. :) Besides nicer weather, it's also time for some goal updates. First up is the mortgage: $1100! It looks awesome on paper, but in reality, it's just my tax refund and proceeds from selling my wedding dress. Yes, I sold my wedding dress! This is one of those decisions that seems to fire people up, but for me it came down to the simple fact that I don't plan to wear it again and it was taking up a ton of room in the closet. Plus the woman I sold it to was overjoyed, so I'm super happy with my decision. :) Books I read this month:   I was running a little short on time this month because I've been cramming in school stuff after work, but I still managed to fit in a little reading. I'd recommend: The Rosi...

We use wool dryer balls in the dryer to speed up the process a bit and hopefully save a little energy. (I prefer to dry stuff in the sun - weather permitting - but since I live in a humid place, there are times when things start to mold before they are dry. And sometimes I'm just lazy.)  So as I was folding laundry the other day, one of the wool balls fell out of a pant leg and Dottie immediately pounced on it. Before I could even react, she had knocked the ball down the stairs and was intent on killing it. After laughing at her silliness for a few minutes, I took a couple of pictures . .  She's also been caught attacking an octopus and onion . Nothing like a goofy kitty cat to melt my heart :) What do your cats like to play with?

It's been a good week. :) Robins are considered the first sign of spring around here, and guess what Mr. G spotted last week?  A robin! That robin may be regretting his decision when we get another snowstorm on Tuesday, but it was nice to see him while we could. I made bread! (Well, I put the ingredients in the bread machine, and 4 hours later, took out a perfect loaf of bread.)  I am sorely disappointed by the bread selection at my local grocery store, and unless I want to pay $4-5 dollars a loaf, I can't find any that are vegetarian! So I figured if I make my own loaf 2 or 3 times a month, it'll help us save a little money over store bought. Plus, there's not much better than warm, fresh bread with butter . .  And there's been a whole lot of typing going on . .  Getting closer to being finished every day! How're things going for you? What's the first sign of spring in your neck of the woods?

The perfect activity for a dreary Saturday morning? Paying a visit to the garden center, where it's always warm and colorful. Are garden centers your idea of a good time? linking up for wordless Wednesday

I've been thinking a lot about social media lately since I made the decision to join instagram. So I figured a post about my (limited) social media usage might be interesting. And of course I'd love to hear which ones you use :) The short answer is - I use Pinterest , goodreads , and instagram , of which only Pinterest and instagram are really heavy hitters popularity-wise (although not to the level of Facebook or twitter). haha goodreads was my first love - recording books I've read, following/friending people who enjoy the same books I do, adding books to a paperless to-read list? Perfect .  Then I added Pinterest mostly to organize recipes and pin information that would otherwise get lost. It's especially nice for a quick scan compared to cookbooks of yore, because I love seeing how a recipe looks when I'm browsing. And finally, I joined instagram because I like seeing how others capture little moments every day and was hoping to do so myself. It'l...

During most snowstorms, we don't see many birds out flying around, so hubby and I were excited to see this guy (and some of his friends) perched on our gutter. They were adorable! I love how they fluff their feathers up and hunker down to cover their feet. :) We're pretty confident he's a tufted titmouse . Seen any cute bird antics lately? linking up for wordless Wednesday

Back in my original goal post for 2014, I mentioned finishing my degree. And crunch time is officially upon us! My deadline isn't until next month, but I'm feeling the pressure increase. So in an effort to gain a few more hours a week, I'm going to cut back my posts around here to twice a week - most likely one longer post on Monday and a brief post + photo for wordless Wednesday. I'll still be visiting/reading blogs and leaving comments though :) A shot of the lovely sky yesterday. I couldn't resist because the moon was peeking out despite being 3:00 in the afternoon!

You may have noticed a few Rotten Ralph books in my recap of February. While I do love to randomly read children's books (and they're placed right next to the checkout counter at my library, so I often - unexpectedly - come home with several), I read the Rotten Ralph books on purpose. :) The author, Jack Gantos, came for a visit and book signing!  Jessica introduced me to him last summer, and I immediately read 3 of his chapter books. Dead End in Norvelt was probably my favorite, but they were all well written and made me laugh.  On the posters announcing his visit, there were a few Rotten Ralph book covers. And being a crazy cat person, I was instantly intrigued. I can't speak for all of them (there are 20 books in the Rotten Ralph series), but the three I read were enjoyable. Ralph especially made me laugh when he hid in the mailbox with a water gun to ambush the mailman (typical cat behavior, right?). Meeting Jack was lovely. He is so funny! I was nervous and...

Seed catalog mailings are perfectly timed - I usually get mine in late January or early February, and they serve as a great reminder that spring will be here soon. I've looked through mine about 8 times, and finally narrowed down my purchase to zucchini and broccoli seeds, seed potatoes, and strawberry plants from Burpee and catnip and coneflower seeds from Victory Seeds. (My parents grow the catnip and bring over clippings - the plants would be lovingly destroyed by my cats if they were in my backyard.) Are you planting a garden this year? Have you ordered seeds? linking up for wordless Wednesday

February is not a well-liked month 'round these parts. Tons of people at work have complained that it's the worst month ever. I have to disagree - I really love February. It's got Valentine's Day, more daylight than January, and a bonus day off from work (for Presidents' Day). And with February, I know what to expect: cold. March is often tougher for me because it teases with spring weather one day followed by snow the next. So yay February.  Ready for goals? :) Mortgage repayment was minimal this month because I bought a smartphone . However, by the end of the year, I'll recoup the purchase price of the new phone plus a little more because the monthly service charge is so much lower. A win in the long haul. :) I read 7 books this month (only possible because 4 of them were under 35 pages). My favorite was Tell the Wolves I'm Home  by Carol Rifka Brunt. It's the story of June, who loses her Uncle Finn to AIDS, and the strange man she first no...