This week is FINALLY over!

I try to avoid cussing on here, as I know my family reads this (and are probably the only ones that do but anywho) and I want to be sensitive to those that don't appreciate that language BUT, with that said, It's been one hell of a week y'all!

Monday, of course, was the Boston Marathon bombing. That was completely tragic! Three people died and over a hundred people were injured. I was out planting my garden when I happened to look at something on Instagram. Someone had posted a picture that said "Pray For Boston". I got on Twitter, because that's a reliable source for news ya know, to figure out why we were supposed to be praying for Boston. Nothing was entirely clear but it was obvious something major happened. I came inside to tell Mom to turn on the news and when she did.... it was shocking to say the least.

Tuesday Obama's gun thingy fell through. Bummer (note sarcasm).

Wednesday was the devastating explosion in West, Texas. Pete Delkus was getting asked by people in Arlington if there was an earthquake. After looking into he later reported that the "earth shake" was from an explosion in west Texas, which I later learned was West, Texas.

Thursday night there was a shooting at MIT, which then turned out to be the two suspects involved in the bombing. The police ended up killing one of the suspects and apprehended the second on Friday!

CRAZY week!

I'll leave you with a verse from a rather fitting song. I have always loved this song. I loved it when I was younger because I got to say "ass" and it was ok but it's SO true! It's from Toby Keith's Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue.

Ohhh Justice will be served 
And the battle will rage 
This big dog will fight 
When you rattle his cage 
And you'll be sorry that you messed with 
The U.S. of A. 
'Cause we'll put a boot in your ass 
It's the American way

Well, that's my Southern Soapbox recap of the week! Here's to hoping we have a GREAT weekend! We need it!
 

Green Thumb? We'll Find Out!

I'm attempting to start a garden. I've never really grown anything before and the two plants I've had, I've managed to kill. One of them was a cactus. So, ya. This should be interesting. Mom had tried a garden several years ago but, for whatever reason, didn't keep it up so now I'm going to find out how long it takes me to kill these poor little plants.

As you can see, we had a LOVELY weed garden going on! So far I've only cleaned out the bed closest to the camera and will do the other one if I need the space. Since we live in Texas and the "soil" (if you can even call it that) isn't really diggable, unless God himself were to come pick up a shovel and do it, we have to do raised beds. When Mom made her first attempt at a garden dad put these together so I just cleaned them out and put new soil in that I can dig in all by myself. I think next year I'm going to have a bigger garden and will probably end up changing thedesign up, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it!

We are starting out small, with just a few vegetables and a few herbs. I got tomatoes, green and red bell peppers, squash, onions, carrots and spinach to plant for now and will definitely add things in the fall and next spring! I plan on adding green beans, peas, snap peas, broccoli, potatoes, asparagus (maybe), and okra. Oh, I'm also TRYING to grow some strawberries but I just planted those seeds, so we'll see if they make it.

I also decided to do an herb garden! I got these from Calloways, but Home Depot has some really good looking herbs too! So far I have basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, spearmint, and peppermint!

Like I said, I'm starting small this spring but in the fall I want to add broccoli, peas, and snap peas and next spring I'm thinking about doing green beans, potatoes and okra along with what I'm already doing. Hopefully nothing is dead by then.

Here is my first bed. It has my tomatoes, red, green, and orange bell peppers and my squash. The second bed will have my carrots, onions and spinach in it!

I started out by placing everything where I wanted it and then started planting!

Now we just wait and see. Hopefully nothing dies!

Well, that's my Southern Soapbox! I'll post pictures of the second bed another time! What do y'all plant in your gardens, or what would you want to plant?

Spring, is that you?

Yes, I cheated and neither of these pics were taken recently.
Nor were they even taken in Texas.

Dare I jinx it? Yes, I dare. We had some BEAUTIFUL weather this weekend! We have some rain on the way, we need it but I'm really going to miss the beautiful sunshine! It was in the upper 70's all weekend and today it's going to hit 90! Supposedly on Wednesday it's supposed to rain (or so they say. I won't be holding my breath) and then go down to the low 60's. BOO! BUT then it will come back up to the 70's again! YAY! Now that I've completed my weather forecast for the week, let's discuss how amazing my weekend was!

I thought this was funny, and true.

Like I said, the weather was AMAZING (and yes I will keep putting adjectives in capital letters), so I drove around all weekend with the top down on my car (and you can tell because I've got a bit of a sunburn, and a tan line where the seat belt was)! I had lost the keys, and they're still God only knows where, but Dad and I went to get a new set so I'm back in the saddle again! Of course, since I was going to be driving Maizy around with the top down I had to get her all cleaned up. Am I the only one that feels like my car goes faster when it's clean? Probably. 

 Mom had gotten me this little "stuffed" hedgehog toy and while I was cleaning out my car I figured out how to hang it from my rear view mirror! It's not actually made for that, but I made it work anyways. They're "Snuggamils" and are made for ages 4 and up, so I meet that requirement, at least most of the time I do. Ok, some of the time. I also have a sock monkey hanging from my window. I call him my Vincent Van Gogh sock monkey because Jixer chewed off one of his ears. I'm not allowed to discuss how I got the beads (just kidding Mom. I think Maegan gave them to me, no indecency was required).

Brett's R1, Luna.

Saturday was fun, but Sunday was, by far, the best day of the weekend! I spent the entire day with Ryan. We had lunch and coffee, got toys for Jixer and Rebel, which they both destroyed in less than 20 minutes, AND THEN (drum roll please) our friend Brett took me out on his motorcycle again! This is the third time he has taken me out but both of the other trips were only about fifteen minutes long around his neighborhood. This time we went out for about an hour! My wrists were really sore towards the end but other than that it was AMAZING! I'll admit, I was adamantly against Ryan getting one, and I still am concerned for his safety, but I totally get it now. I have now "mastered" leaning in on curves and am much more comfortable sitting back there. It does make me want to write someone about fixing the terrible roads though! They're SO bumpy!!! I'm really looking forward to the next time Brett takes me out (Brett, if you're reading this...hint hint nudge nudge).

The above picture was taken last year (minutes before Ryan wrecked Brett's R6), before I had ever been on a bike, so don't freak out that I'm not wearing a jacket or anything. It makes me look like an alien with really fat cheeks.

Well, I hope y'all had as wonderful of a weekend as I did! That completes this Southern Soapbox, see y'all Wednesday!

Fashion Friday: The Eyelet Skirt

Spring is in the air (for now)! I have several different skirts that I have been DYING to wear but every time I actually shave my legs it turns cold again. Maybe I should stop shaving (ew) so spring will finally stick around. Anywho, on to the outfit!

                             
Minus the jewelry and the pair of sandals, I own this entire outfit. I just haven't gotten to wear it yet because I keep shaving my legs the weather keeps getting cold.The skirt is SO cute and if you wanted to you could take the belt off and use it with other outfits (you just have to cut a couple of strings, no biggie). I would totally wear this with wedges or flats, depending on what I was doing/where I was going. We all know I love my heels, but I understand that some of y'all prefer cute flats and this could totally work for that too (although heels are almost always better, just sayin'). The shirt, skirt and bracelet are from Kohls, the purse is from Avenue, the wedges are from Steve Madden (and are on MAJOR sale!), flats are from DSW, and the necklace is from Delias so EVERYTHING in this outfit can be easily obtained if you live in the states. If you don't, well that really sucks for you and maybe you should consider moving. The best part about this outfit? The purse is the most expensive thing and is listed for $40, but I actually got mine on sale for $25.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to wear this tomorrow for Ryan's birthday dinner but I have to shave my legs to wear it. So, if there's a sudden change in the forecast you can bet that my legs are as smooth as a babies bottom!

Well, now that we've thoroughly discussed this outfit and my uncanny ability to change the weather, that's my Southern Soapbox! Hope you liked it!

Wonky and Woot-tastic Wednesday

Wonky:
    - Ryan is having to drive back from Pennsylvania by himself. He's a little annoyed. I'm not so happy about it either.
    - Don't get me wrong, I'm really excited that he's coming home.. but I'm really enjoying driving Ryan's car!
    - Jixer chewed the edges of my blanket last night. It's my favorite blanket :(.

    - Everyone that knows me knows that I carry HUGE purses. Most everyone asks me "what on Earth do you keep in there?!" Well... deodorant (yes it's men's Degree), sunglasses, Listerine strips, granola bar(s), 3 sets of keys (usually 2 sets but I have an extra right now because I'm driving Ryan's car), wallet, pens/pencil case, socks, hand sanitizer, make up bag, 2 calculators, chap stick, lip gloss, knife, and in this picture I did have a pair of sandals in my purse (I take a pair of flats to change into when I wear heels, just in case my feet start to hurt). So now you know. Although, I downgraded the size of my purse.

Woot-tastic:
    - Ryan is coming home!!! He should be home Thursday night or Friday morning/afternoon. YAY!

    - New purse from Avenue! It's SOOOO small, but it does still fit most of my stuff! It's also Kenneth Cole! WOOT!

    - Smoothies for breakfast and/or lunch... YUM!

    - Prim had her first trip outside! She was a little unsure at first but quickly discovered her freedom! She really enjoyed chasing Rebel around the yard, and I enjoyed watching him run from her.

That's all I've got for this Southern Soapbox! I'm off to watch Dear John for the first time! See y'all later!

Easter Lunch and a Tricycle!

 Easter is such a wonderful day, for so many reasons! It's an amazing time to remember how deep God's love for us really is, and to remind us that we, too, should love others as our Father has loved us. I also love ANY excuse to get together and eat good food with some of my favorite people! After lunch AJ got his first tricycle and then played with Mollie and some neighbors. It was such a beautiful and fun day!

Well, that's it for this Southern Soapbox! I hope y'all had a blessed Easter! What did the Easter bunny bring y'all?! Mom got a TV... I feel jipped man.