the giraffe life

I'm writing this on Sunday night, after getting in from the airport late last night (about 3 am because of weather delays), and regretting my decision to go immediately back to work tomorrow. Here's a time zone map to illustrate my plight: I live in the yellow area, and every vacation I've ever taken has been in the yellow area (except a 3 day weekend in Texas). On the other hand, my husband has traveled quite a bit, and even been deployed to areas 2-10 time zones away. He adjusted without a problem -  but I was tired by dinnertime for the first week or so of vacation. It was like Daylight Savings Time but more intense. Here's hoping I adjust back quicker than expected! Does jet lag bother you?

We are flying to California today! Woo!  My laptop will be taking a vacation too, so I (probably) won't be posting or commenting much for the next ten days or so. But I'll be sharing some pictures via  my instagram page  (also visible on the right hand side of my blog) if you're interested. :) Dottie helping us unpack last summer

Back in January, I took a winter walk and promised another when things had greened up. Getting ready to go out still takes about 15 minutes, but instead of bundling up, I apply sunblock and wait (and wait and wait) for it soak in. My hat helps protect my face and keeps me cool. I pair it with sunglasses because my eyes not do appreciate bright light. This is one of the trails I frequent (mostly because it's about 2 minutes from my front door): I'm grateful for the shade and the cooler air that comes with it. The stream looks different these days . . no ice! It's pretty wet everywhere in fact. Lots of rain this past week! I noticed a good bit of wildlife, but everything was much too fast for a photo - a butterfly, tons of bugs and birds, a frog, and a rabbit. And plants! Take a look at this leaf: I was following a butterfly (should've learned my lesson from Alice in Wonderland , right?) down a gully that I usually just walk by and came acros...

One of the options on Pinterest is to get an email every time someone repins something you pinned (similar to a retweet on twitter). I got one of those emails last week for this picture: And it reminded me how much I love that poem and the sentiment. Plus the way Kristin  arranged and spaced the lines is just perfect. I should read and enjoy this poem more often. :)

I bought two tank tops at Target five years ago and wear them constantly. Alone in the summer, and under sweaters or hoodies in the winter. They're still holding up, but had lost most of their color and elasticity by last summer, so I relegated them to wear during gardening, yoga, and hanging around the house. When I saw Target had tank tops on sale last week, that was the push I needed to buy a few new ones. Rather than drive to Target and then the grocery store, we decided to just bring a cooler and do our food shopping at Target too. Once we started wandering the food aisles (we rarely shop there and were pretty lost) we saw a bunch of items that advertised "Made in Australia."  It seems Target is featuring Australian flavors. (Or maybe this is typical and it's just that I visit too infrequently to notice?) Chocolate plus licorice is a strange combination to me, but the Aussie pie reminds of what we'd call a pot pie in the US. Both were yummy :) Would ...

It's that time again! Mr. G installed the rain barrel for me. In a previous life, it carried olive oil from Greece. One good rain fills it up and then I use it to fill my watering can. We've used it for 2 summers now and it makes a huge difference on our water bill. On to the garden beds. So much green: The garden's growing quick! Take a look at last month for comparison: And that "cage" you may have noticed around one of the beds is a rabbit fence. Rabbits are adorable, and I love when they visit our yard to munch on clover, but they were eating the strawberry and cucumber leaves like crazy. So we had to do something. Thankfully the strawberries shrugged it off and a month later, they look like nothing happened: The potatoes have definitely taken off! I watched a youtube video and found that I haven't been burying them quite enough so I have to go back out tonight and take care of that.  Because squash have a way of taking over, I only plan...

linking up for wordless Wednesday

Do you read on vacation? I read every day (if not books, then certainly magazines and/or newspapers), and vacation is no different. Of course, it's something I enjoy so that makes it an easier decision.  Since I stopped buying books, I've brought library books and magazines on trips without a problem. I just made sure I put them back in my suitcase whenever I wasn't reading them so they wouldn't be left behind. But last summer, knowing we'd be at the beach for 5 days, I was hesitant to bring a library book with me. Sand and salt water are not paper's best friend, and I definitely didn't want to ruin something I'd borrowed.  Unfortunately, I didn't think about it until 2 days before our flight, which wasn't enough time to scrounge up a replacement. I ended up taking a library book and leaving it in the hotel room. In the end, it wasn't a big deal - I filled my time chatting with Mr. G and people watching. This time around I wanted to ...