Just Me.

So,  last week I was trying to update-- or maybe just revise my whole "about me" page here on the
old blog and I found it a little difficult to do.
I'd start and stop, erase it, start over.
Is that weird?
It feels dumb and uncomfortable and hard to write about myself like that.
I mean, obviously I talk about myself here all the time, but writing a summary of yourself is different.

So here is my new and improved(?) ME page... maybe it will give people just a little better idea
about who I am or what I am about besides just the surface basic things like; 'I Love Coffee' and
 'I love My Family'. Obviously.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hi there.
Wanna know just a little bit about me?

I married my sweet husband many, many years after he threw a beer bottle and accidentally
hit me in the head with it at a college party(he was in college, my young self was still in high
school). We started dating many years after that. It took a while to get past it.
True story.
If I didn't marry him I would have married Eddie Vedder.
We have two kids and went through a big, old infertility mess to get the first one.
Child #2 was a complete and total surprise. Wouldn't ya know?
I love music. Love, love, love, music...and art...and photography.

And creative-type people.
And scratchy old records.
I love anything from The Cure to the Grateful Dead, Edith Piaf, Prince, Tom Petty, Dinah Washington,

Ryan Adams, Jay-Z and Fleetwood Mac...  

with a little bit of everything else in between.

I love 80's movies and alternative 80's music.
I am a child of the 70's-- Volkswagen's, bell-bottoms, roller skates and love beads?
Yes, please!
Biggest struggles for me?
Weight and crazy anxiety + panic kind of stuff. Not fun. Neither of them.
If I could be anyone in a movie, who would it be?
Kate Hudson as Penny Lane in Almost Famous. Sigh.
I love anything old with chippy paint that tells a story.
Having my own Etsy shop is the perfect excuse to thrift, antique and rummage sail all the live-long
day. Best thing ever.
I like to take lots + lots + lots of pictures.
My Nikon is what I refer to as my "big camera", the rest are taken with my iphone.
I am mildly obsessed with Instagram, so much fun.
I live in Central Illinois with my husband, kids and 14-year old beagle, Phoebe.
We live in a 90+ year old house that is a work in progress...huge understatement. HuGe.
I am not the girl who always dreamed of her wedding day.
No fancy white dress for me, we got married in the backyard of our first house and I wore a blue dress.
Dive bar or dance club?
Dive bar! Dirty, dark, little dive bar with a really good jukebox and my best girlfriends.
Some may say I am a smart ass a tiny bit sarcastic, a little shy, a little crazy, a little creative,
a little sweet + a little not right.

I love my friends and family beyond measure.
I am passionate about keeping it real here on my blog and in real life... no pretending to be someone
I am not, no competing or keeping up with anyone.
This mama is way too old for that.
I do not care what everyone else is doing, here or in real life, I will usually be doing the opposite.
I really do dream of one day owning my own margarita machine.
And travelling cross-country with my family in a VW bus.
Dreamin' big, y'all.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Now I think you should leave me a totally random fact, fear, love, dream or confession about YOU.

Okay...GO.

She's Gone

Do you know that feeling when you have been with the kids solo for several days and your husband
finally gets home and you are in the car peeling out of the driveway before anyone even realizes you are leaving?
I know you do.

That was me Sunday.
I had plans, big plans.
I was going to get several quiet, productive, relaxing hours to myself.
Oh, but wait. Before I get to that.....

We took a picnic lunch to the park on Sunday and the kids ran around and burned off some energy while I closed my eyes in the sun and took deep breaths

and listened to the kids run and laugh and scream.

If I'm honest I will also tell you that I was counting down the hours until Eric got home and plotting exactly what I was going to do with my few hours of time all to myself.

A couple days with a grumpy, stressed, nothing ever goes right(oh, poor me!) attitude had me in a funk

and I don't really enjoy the funk.

Here's the thing-- it's not even the kids 90% of the time, it is ME.

Sometimes that's a hard pill to swallow; to admit that maybe YOU are the problem and the kids are 

just being kids....and you just need to get over yourself.

Sure, there was a little too much fighting, teasing and whining-- but mostly, it was me.

For some reason I found myself in an on and off grumpy mood that I could not seem to shake, for a couple of days really, andI have come to know that it usually stems from stress. 

And is usually self-inflicted.

Later that night while editing these pictures I wondered how I could have even been grumpy?
It was a picture-perfect Fall day.
70*, breezy, sunny and perfect, look at these pictures.
And I was trying out my new lens I got in the mail on Saturday.
Life was good-- and yet I still could not shake the funk.
Dumb.

So I got myself ready- make-up on, presentable clothes(no yoga pants), hair semi-fixed.
Computer, charger, camera, headphones- everything I needed for a few hours to myself at Panera.
I got in the car; sun shining, windows down, absolutely perfect weather, turn on the radio and what do
I hear but the very beginning of "She's Gone" by Hall & Oates.
Seriously? Could it get any better? 
Hello, 1970's and a song you cannot listen to quietly but have to turn up as loud as you can and
sing along.
Heavenly.
My funk is on it's way out, and fast, folks.

So I pull up to Panera, unload all my stuff and---> sign on the door says they closed early for
an employee training.Ughhhhhhhhh.
I would have kicked the tire and threw a fit had there not been people sitting at the tables out front.
But I quickly stopped feeling sorry for myself,  made a Plan B and looked up movies playing and saw that The Odd Life of Timothy Green
was starting right then, which meant that I could get across town by the time they played all
of those previews and still be on time. And right on time I was.

I liked the movie a lot.
I cried through a lot of it - but I think it was just my mood.

There is no moral to my story- just that sometimes it's hard to shake a funky mood even when everything around you is good.
And sometimes I feel super guilty for acting like a brat when I have no reason to.
And yes, I get stressed out and feel sorry for myself and some days I want to run away from it all but
I would not change one single thing about my life.


And if I had any singing ability what-so-ever, I would sing "She's Gone" by Hall & Oates at karaoke
one day.
After about four Blue Moons....and if I ever even went to karaoke in the first place.
Oh- and a shot or two.






ps- i hope to god the 70's mustache never comes back.
ever.
yikes.
my dad had one and i just got the mental picture and it was not pretty.
not at all.

Coming Clean

So.
It's time to come clean.
I don't know why I am hesitant to say this, I think it's a little like what I talked about here, but anyway....
I do not really know what to do with myself now that school has started.
There, I said it.
I can't believe I am even saying that because I did not expect to feel this way at all.
Not at all.
Don't get me wrong, I knew it would be weird for me and emotionally I knew it would be tough to
know both kids were in school now and that we would never go back to the days of just being home together, but I did
not know that I would have a hard time figuring out  what to do with myself.

In the past I had even heard other people say it-- they were lost, didn't know what to do with themselves
now that their kids were in school, where they fit in...
And you know I was rolling my eyes.
Really?
I could give them a list of about 100 things I would do as soon as my kids were in school.
Please. Give me a few days to myself, I will show you what to do with them!

I am still just not sure how to spend my days and knowing I have four full days to do whatever
I want with(I watch my nieces one day/week) makes it really easy for me to procrastinate and do nothing.
Way too easy.
And when I say nothing I mean I am doing all the usual home stuff but just not any of the huge
projects I imagined I would do once I had big chunks of time to myself.
It's really just kind of dumb.

Here's another thing--
I didn't imagine that I would be the one to feel this way because I didn't think I was the person that
did not know what to do with myself outside of my kids.
You know?
My kids and my family are my life, everything I do revolves around them in some way or another.
BUT, at the same time, I have always felt like I was also my own person with my own interests and friends and needs
outside  of being a mom.
I know a lot of women/moms who don't, whose whole identity is wrapped up in mothering and they never take time for
themselves or their interests.
If you are that person I am not criticizing you at all, but I am not that person.
I have always needed and craved, and not felt guilty about wanting, my own time away from my
kids to do things that I wanted to do, that made me happy and were fulfilling to me.
To me, that is one of the most important ingredients in being able to BE a good parent.

So, I guess I will figure it all out...right?
What to do.
What I want to do.
I also think that I probably need a little time to get adjusted to all of this but then I will start looking
for a job.
Just a little something to do a couple of days a week during school hours.
I don' t think it's probably real good for my mental health to have too much fre time.
Too much time in my head = cukoo.
But not enough time in my head = cukoo.
It's all about balance, baby.

I'm kind of over all of this and a little annoyed and sick of myself now.
I think I had better be over this mini-crisis by the time next Tuesday rolls around and the kids are back in school.

>>>>>>>>>>

Happy Friday!
Hope you all have a great weekend.
We have a long, holiday weekend ahead of us and I am looking forward to it!

Struggling

Confession time, friends.
I have been struggling or am struggling and I need help.
It's all about the crazy mama and the insomnia.
{And you know when I refer to myself as "crazy" I don't truly think I am crazy but humor is just my way of dealing, right? I also don't think anyone else struggling with anxiety or any kind of anything is crazy}.
Anyway, the insomnia comes and goes but won't just GO for good, like I need it to.
Have you dealt with this? Anyone?
This is so frustrating. Last night I made sure to be in bed by about 10:20 even though I really wasn't tired.
I watched tv for a few and then turned it off to let my brain rest and quiet down before I went to sleep.
Well, here comes 11:30....12:10...12:45...1:15...1:44....yep, still awake.
Still awake and getting really pissed I might add.

Here's the thing; I know that for my anxiety and my health and my need to really lose weight
I need to be able to get some sleep so I can get up early in the morning and exercise.
I don't just want to, I need to.
I know it would help with everything and if I could just get out of this messed up cycle and into a new
cycle I would be feeling much better in all areas.
BUT, in order to exercise before Eric leaves for work I need to be up by 6:00 at the latest but it's just not happening.
I set my phone alarm, all of my clothes and tennis shoes are set out before I go to bed, all I need to do
is GET UP. And I can't.
Since I am having so much trouble sleeping, by that time of the morning I am dead to the world, it's like that is when I am getting my best sleep.

So, I need help...any ideas, advice....anything?
Books, theories, thoughts, beliefs, diet, spiritual advice, religious advice (you won't offend me), vitamins, potions, herbs, exercises, tea...anything?
I am open to/ would consider nearly anything...except maybe Dr. Conrad Murray.....
not quite that desperate.
Yet.
Thanks in advance.

Signed,
Sleepless in Illinois ; ) 

The Post Where I Realize How Cheap I Really Am.....

 today charlotte and i got away for a few hours of girl-time. we went to target, pier 1 and panera. 

i am looking for an outdoor rug for my new favorite little spot on the front porch but had no luck today. 

i refuse to pay an arm and a leg for an outdoor rug that is going to get wet, dirty, buggy, bubbles 

spilled on it, popsicles dripped on it and rained on. plus i am cheap, so i'm just not.

that little old copper watering can belonged to eric's great-grandma i think.

this little canister holds a whole bunch of chalk and sits on a little book case on the porch. 

we are set on chalk and bubbles for a while, along while.

whenever i see either of them for a really good price i guess i buy more.

 bubbles and chalk are essential for summer days at the bramer homestead. 

i love those birds on that canister, i scrounged it up at one of my favorite junk stores for under a dollar.

charlotte took this camera with her on our errands today. she said she was a real photographer. 

in target she said she was video taping people with her camera and at one point she dropped the camera, looked at a lady in the aisle by us and said; "now THAT is ridiculous to be that full! " i looked up and the lady's cart was actually overflowing and yes, it was ridiculous.

 i hung my head in shame and made a quick exit out of that aisle. that girl of mine....!!!

i got this necklace at a rummage sale for twenty five cents last week. 

mmmm hmmm...a whole quarter. 

and actually all i had on me was a twenty dollar bill so wyatt bought it for me from his

 rummaging money. what a sweetie. 

although i guess i did give him his rummaging money in the first place.

i smuggled these in when i took the kids to the movie the other day.

i know, it's illegal and stuff but i did.

and if i must tell the whole truth i also smuggled in a capri sun for each kid.

some days i have no shame to my game.

i confess the main reason i bought the animal crackers is because i really wanted to
 make these with the kids though. so, so cute.

i usually avoid wal-mart in favor of target but some times i give in because i actually need something specifically from wal-mart. well, yesterday was one of those days. the trip was worth it because i scored this shirt for myself for $1 and an even cuter one for miss charlotte for $2. oh yeah. i have to admit that one reason i avoid that place is because i usually cannot get out of there without seeing one of 

my families from school. 

{translation: one of the families that i did home visits with or that came to our playgroups when

 i worked in the birth-3 program for our school district}

some days it's a good thing to see my families and some days i just want to block that 

jerry springer-drama from my mind completely.

wyatt and his best and favorite cousin, ben,  playing with the water guns today.

best $3 i ever spent? quite possibly.

 now i need to remember to go buy a few back-ups for when these break. 

they can't last long with the amount of use they have gotten already.

Wow- this whole post was pretty much all about how CHEAP i am, huh?

i'm not sure if that's a good thing, but i just re-read the post so i guess it's true.

well, time for me to go lay in bed and watch a little crime/prison/investigation/mystery tv.
it might just be another "Lock-Up" (anyone?) night for me again if there is nothing else on tonight...
yep, love me some crime tv, not gonna lie. 

good night, y'all!

I....

* love the way a hot, just-poured cup of coffee feels in my hands.

*just finished reading Ape House by Sara Gruen. Loved that book and now I just started reading
Water for Elephants by her as well. i cannot wait for that movie to come out but I really
hope there are no clowns in it. I just don't do clowns.

* can't wait for lilac season. our lilac bush out front has teeny-tiny buds on it. we transferred it last Spring from my in-laws yard so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that it does well this year. i love, love, love lilacs...one of the best smells. ever.

*need a date night. and i want it planned for me {hi honey}. i don't even care what/where is is. i hate when we finally have a night out and then get in the car and say"...where do you wanna go?...i don't know, where do you wanna go?" i want a real, good old-fashioned date. and soon.

* love jewelry. i love to buy jewelry and to get jewelry as a gift, of course. i love it cheap, vintage, home made, department store, rummage sale, handmade... you name it. i'll take it all.

* go through reading phases. i won't read for a while and than i will read four or five books in a row and not be able to put them down.

* think oatmeal is a perfectly acceptable dinner.

* feel so much better after all the beds are made and upstairs rooms are picked up in the morning.

* have not forgotten that this is my one little word this year. well, not entirely anyway. BUT, i'm also not feeling real good about where i am with it since it is now march and well into the new year now. ooops.

* have had some kind of little stomach bug this week and have not been feeling too great. i am behind on laundry and cleaning and...yeah...pretty much everything else in my life. and where's my cleaning lady, anyway?

* think tonight calls for ordering in pizza. this mama just doesn't have the energy for much else.

* never, ever really watch oprah these days but have seen some of it the last two days and have found myself crying over her trip to australia. good lord, do i need a vacation that bad? what's wrong with me!?

*****

and how about you? how are you...weekend plans? anything fun going on in your little world?

do tell.

i hope everyone has a great weekend!

XO

{I Was Like...}

So I think I mentioned a while back about trying to get myself in more pictures with the kids...and without. You can read that post here and see a beautiful picture of my grandma while you're at it.

I've been doing the whole self portrait once a week thing. Man, that's hard. And annoying.

And sometimes depressing...really it's often quite depressing. But anyway, I'm doing it. I take lots of pictures of the kids and I with photobooth on my MacBook. I love that thing. It's quick and easy and the quality may not be the best but at least I am actually in photos with my kids. Next up? Family pictures. We need to get family pictures taken this Spring/Summer. We have never had an official family picture taken. I know, I know, that's terrible. We are going to do it. We have to. I also think it's a little ironic that many bloggers (myself included) hate to be in pictures....like, you're talking all about yourself and your life here every day for everyone to read but don't want anyone to see you? Really? Yeah, really.

Then again, I also think it's strange when you never see the writer "behind" the blogs you read, too. Where are you anyway? We don't want to see 1.5 million pictures of your life and kids and what you ate today and never, ever catch a glimpse of you. Right?

***

Charlotte's new thing is to constantly say; "I was like..."
{Yeah, and she's four}
Charlotte: Mommy, I can't find my shoes.
Me: Look in the basket.
Charlotte: Mommy, I was like;  Oh my gosh, I can't even find my shoes...
Hopefully this phase doesn't last long.

* * * * *

Mother-of-the-year (that's me) just realized that Spring Break actually starts this week, the last day of school is today. Off tomorrow and all next week....so ready for the break. A vacation would be nice, really, and you can call me crazy but I really look forward to just hanging out around here and taking it easy. Letting the kids stay up a little later, staying in pajamas way too late (or all day) and hopefully spending lots of time outside. I am so happy my kids are easily amused and do not need me to entertain them all of the time, I am lucky that they are very good about that.
Well, now I have some more coffee drinking and lounging to do, then we need to get showered and dressed so we can go visit my sweet little niece today. The kids haven't seen her yet and they can't wait. 

 Hope everyone has a great Thursday...I can't wait to hear Wyatt's report on whether they caught any leprechauns with the traps (upside down cups) they set up on their desks yesterday. 

On the way to school the kids asked me if there were really leprechauns, and although we have never acted like there was, I just kind of blew the question off because I am not ready
 for that whole house of cards to fall--you know, the Easter Bunny, Santa, Tooth Fairy, etc. 

Let my kids stay little, and none-the-wiser, a while longer, please.

Thankyou, Thankyouverymuch.

*wow- what a random post, thanks for hanging in there with me.

embracing the camera with Emily today.

Not Quite Scrooge, But....

 I am feeling a little Scrooge-ish already regarding the holidays and gifts this year. Not Scrooge-ish really, that's not the right word,  but I can't think of a better one. I love buying/making/giving gifts to others but when it comes to me and my own kids I just want to stop the insanity before it all starts. Let me try and explain....I want the kids to have a wonderfully magic Christmas, I really do, I just don't  want them and us (me & Eric) and everyone else to get so caught up in the gift part of it. Mainly the amount of gifts, the number of things they/we all get. I am already feeling pressured by grandparents/ family to give them ideas for the kids and myself and I just can't make myself do it. Isn't that terrible? I know they want to get on with their shopping too...it's not really fair.  But you know what I would really, really love from the grandparents? I mean,  really? A weekend away. For them to take the kids for a whole weekend so Eric & I can get away together, just the two of us.  I am not going to say that we never get away for an evening because we do and for that I am so thankful, but I could not tell you the last time we had a whole weekend away. Maybe two years. To me, that would be the best gift ever. But everything has to be equal and even between all the grown-ups and kids and I get that but that, to me, would be the best gift ever.

I guess that's what I wish we could really get back to, a gift that really means a lot to someone, not just trying to come up with one more thing because someone still needs to spend X amount of money on me. That's the part I hate. Does anyone else feel this way? I get this overwhelmed, almost depressed feeling around the holidays and a big part of it is not just the shopping and wrapping and engagements but it's a feeling of wishing the big-ness and more-ness of the holidays could just slow down a little bit or go away completely. Does this even make sense to anyone else? And if so, does anyone have any advice on how you handle this in your family, or just thoughts on this subject? I realize I can't force everyone else to conform to my way of thinking (damn) but I wish there were some little things we could do, changes we could make to get back to what is really important about this season.

As I go back and read over this I wonder if I come off  sounding like a grumpy little brat? Maybe a little? What some people wouldn't give to have people who wanted a list of things their children are asking for, I know that. Who loved them and wanted to make Christmas special for them. I get that and I am so thankful for our family and our life and for everything we have. I truly am. And I am not against gifts either... especially if it came in the form of a fancy new camera lens or this necklace...or this one. I guess the older I get I realize I/we just don't need that much, or want that much. And as far as Christmas goes? I love the holidays. Especially the baking and decorating and getting to be the parent and getting to experience Christmas all over again through the eyes of my children. I really love that part of it.

Tomorrow is the big day, we are planning to go get our Christmas tree. Hopefully hauling the boxes down from the attic, looking through all of our ornaments, the smell of our freshly-cut tree and listening to Elvis will help me shake this feeling and figure out a way to celebrate this season with true meaning.
Happy Friday everyone! I hope everyone has a great weekend. XO

{PS- Thanks for all the sweet comments yesterday, you guys are the coolest. But you knew that already...}

{in my ear}

Last night when Eric got home from work I made my big escape.

Grabbed my purse and grocery bags and made a bee-line for the car.

Got in the car and put in Nirvana.

I was in the mood for this and turned it up. Loud. 

And then this....louder.
After a long couple days at home with a sick one,
 although there is nowhere else I would want to be when one of my kids is sick,
a brief escape is just what I needed.
And music. Loud music.

So many memories and emotions and feelings are tied up in music for me.
Certain people and places and times are brought back to life.
Concerts and tapes and albums...
Cd's and ipods and listening to bands in bars.

Today and all week really, we have been listening to Stevie Nicks, Charlotte and I.

We listen to it in the living room so there is plenty of "dancing room" 

for Charlotte to do what she calls her dancing/ballet moves.

Our favorite lately has been Free Fallin'. 

I love Tom Petty's version and I love this version just as much, maybe more. 

I will never get tired of listening to that song.

*******

And yes, I can go from Nirvana to Patsy Cline to Ryan Adams to Prince 

and

 Fats Domino to Notorious B.I.G. (wait-did I just admit that?)

 to Stevie Nicks and  Fleetwood Mac to Stevie Wonder and Pearl Jam

 to Jack Johnson and Black Sabbath, the Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson 

to Blind Melon and The Grateful Dead,

Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris and Blondie.

...all in a day.

For me music is relaxing and calming and inspiring and necessary.

Tell me, what is playing in your ear lately?

Old, new, a song, a group, a favorite music-related memory...anything.

I'd love to hear.

But first I think you should go listen to one of your favorite songs or your favorite bands... really loud.

Go.

Ever have that feeling that you just want to go somewhere, anywhere, far away?
And it doesn't even really matter where?

Actually it's not just a want but a need.

You need to go somewhere.

Do something.

Different.

See something. 

Different.

Pack those bags, make some plans.

It could be far... a plane trip away.

 Or close by, just a couple hours drive.

You mentally scan where you could go and with whom.

You realize that none of your girlfriends could really do that right now for various reasons.

But still. That need to get away is there.

She's rearing her ugly head, throwing a fit almost at how bad she really needs to get away.

She says she has to go.

There is nothing in particular to get away from, just the need to go.

For something different form your day-to-day.

Maybe a weekend away at a Bed & Breakfast, just the husband and I.

But due to homework (him) and lack of babysitters (us) you realize that really won't work.

And you briefly, just briefly, feel guilty about your urge to get away.

Because it's really strong.
To just go.

And you remind yourself that it's not even about getting away form anyone (read: kids), 

it's time for yourself, a breather, a break with new scenery and no laundry.

So you continue to fantasize about packing your bags and driving out of town a few hours away, 

in any direction, after dropping the kids off with the grandparents.

Because everyone needs to get away. 

And come back refreshed.

And then your dog throws up in the house again because she was on the run yesterday and someone named Anthony found her and left you a note to call him to come pick her up and he tells you

 he found her wandering down the street eating a dead bird so you should probably take her to the vet today to get some sort of sample taken because she could get really sick....

and then you wonder what in the hell you were thinking because you are not going anywhere. 
Anytime soon.

But a girl can dream.

******

Happy Friday.
Let's say you found out just late last night or early this morning that you had
 just the weekend to go away somewhere, you are off duty of all responsibilities.
Just two nights away.
Where would you go?
Do tell.

*You can find me here today, too.

A Little Randomness...

Okay,  so a while back I was tagged by Melissa of Miss Sew & So to share 7 Random Things about myself. I am finally getting around to it.

I would love to take guitar lessons. Well, first I would have to actually own a guitar, then I would have to learn to play it...and then I would want to be able to play it like her.
Not too much to ask, right?

I hate to fly, hatehatehate to fly. Period. Hate it.

In another life I would like to be a criminal investigator, not a cop though. I know you really need to be a cop first but I just want to skip that part and go straight to being an investigator.


I wish someone would come in and help me organize my house and my life just a little.
Then I will take it from there...I sware.

I can't believe I still have to deal with pimples and face stuff at my age.
 Really?  Twenty years ago I never would have dreamed I would still be dealing with this crap.
By our thirties haven't we paid our dues? I think so.

Just a few movies I could watch over and over:
The Breakfast Club, The Big Chill, Almost Famous.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.

I hope to one day have a margarita machine in my kitchen, like a restaurant grade one, both frozen and on the rocks. Lime please.
Okay, maybe not really, but wouldn't that be fun?


There you have it folks, seven random things you never knew about me.
And thanks again to sweet Melissa!  Oh and by the way,  Melissa is one creative mama (or mum) from Australia that transplanted her family to England just because they wanted to.
They are living out a real adventure, which I think is really cool.
Happy Friday everyone!!!

What Would You Do?

Today I found myself with a couple of hours all to myself and about $20 in cash. What did I do? Well, it was a beautiful, sunny day so I could not stay inside and fold laundry, clean the bathroom or any of the other million things I should have been doing at home. I stopped for coffee, took a long, nice drive through the country, listened to my boyfriend, listened to nothing but the sound of silence and then stopped at my favorite Nature Preserve for a short walk--well, actually it was more like a stroll. And it was so nice.

So tell me...what would YOU do with a couple of unexpected hours to yourself and only about $20 in your pocket? Oh, and don't you just LOVE how green everything is? I love Spring, I really do.