So It Begins!!!

My backyard landscaping!!! We got the quote last night and agreed on a price and the projects to be done and I submitted the HOA form via email last night with an urgent request for approval. Our contractor wants to start NOW and be done with everything by mid to late NEXT week!!! This is a good distraction to keep me busy from freaking out about the recital coming up in a couple of weeks. Here is a breakdown of the things we are wanting to do, as long as the HOA approves.

#1: Mulch and add plantings to our entire back hill in the backyard. Aprox 75 feet worth of hill
#2: Add a dry creek bed with river rock to help with our water drainage problem at the base of the hill. It will follow the hill and be across the entire back of the hill 75 feet worth.
#3: Increase the size of our patio from its current 10x10 to 23x10. And add rounded stairs at the back door.
#4: Add a pergola over the new patio.
#5:Transplant our "mystery bushes" I think they are boxwoods but we have no idea, over to the A/C unit as a natural barrier and put pea gravel around the ac unit.
#6: Add a wrap-around flower bed from the back patio and connect it to the front flower bed. We live in a corner house so the side of our house is just as important as the front. and the back is totally viewable.
#7. Add a Weeping Cherry tree to the front yard and put a circular garden at the base for spring plantings.

And all this my contractor wants done by NEXT WEEK!!!! It is going to get very busy around here. I did take pix but Matt took the laptop and I can't find the little reader so I will get pix posted sometime. I'll keep you posted too.

***UPDATE***

Here are some Beginning Pix (mom, I found the cord for my camera to connect it to the computer.) Oh and my straberry plants are starting to blossom I will have my first crop of strawberries that I grew all on my own! Go me!

Busy, Busy Girl

Today was one of those "I have to catch up on everything and do everything for the rest of the month" days. Today was my only free Thursday for the next 2 weeks then it is the week of the recital and I could not put shopping for a dress and everything till 2 days before so I had to do it today. My list of things I did today:

1. Vacuumed and Mopped my kitchen floor. ( I love my new Dyson Animal and Shark Mop they are awesome. Thanks Uncle Sam.)

2.Mowed the lawns, (every speck of grass on my property got mowed because we are about to get a ton of rain and I don't need my grass getting all out of control. I can't push the stupid mower if the grass is too tall. Cheap mower.)

3.Waited for the Piano Tuner, who ended up canceling.

4. Went on a walk and enjoyed the beautiful weather outside.

5. Waited for the Contractor to come and figure out my landscaping for the backyard. (never came. He had other priorities with his wife and procreation thru a doctor.)

6. Found my recital dress, and shoes, and jewelry. YAY for Sales!

7. Found all the paper needed for my recital, flyer paper, certificate paper, special certificate paper, and program paper.

8. Took my friend out to dinner for her Birthday.

9. Helped same friend from number 8 move her furniture in her bedroom.

Now it is time for me to sleep.

All Too Soon

This week of bliss flew by. I barely taught students this week to spend some extra time with Matt and it is already time for him to leave to AZ for 3 more months. This sucks!

He Has Returned!!!

YEA!!!! Matt is finally home safe and sound. He was also a Werewolf, man he had a ton of facial hair. I kept calling him Moses, cause that is what he told his mom who he looked like. Anyhew I am not going to post any pix of the beard but here are some pix of the Barber shop and getting the hairy beast removed.

Sneak Peak!!! Shhhhhh!

Ok eveyone. I talked to Matt and there is no way that he has access to a computer at this point, so I am going to post some pix of my newly re-done room including my new plantation shutters. Here you go. You get to see this before Matt, you should feel very honored! Also I wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to the lovely ladies that helped me paint my bedroom, so thank you for helping me and doing such a beautiful job!

~Before...sorry I took it with my cell phone to show the lamps I just bought.~

~This is so funny, I moved Archer's cage to the other room we were going to sleep in and he kept sitting and laying in the place where his cage usually went. You can see the carpet indentations under him. It was very cute!~

~After with just the paint done, without the shutters~

~New fan, I love it! Even installed dimmer switches for the fan and bed lamps.~

~Love the shutters against the Teal in the Bath~

It's Almost Time

Well I will be leaving Arizona early, early Sunday morning to go back home. I can't believe that it has already been 2 weeks since I have been here. Things are going well here and mom is getting much better. I am really impressed with how well she takes pain, cause as most of you know I am a WIMP with pain and she has just handled this whole thing like it was nothing. I kept busy with helping around the house and keeping it picked up. Also Kat and I did a TON of yard work to the front of the house. We trimmed bushes and pulled every last stinkin weed in the front yard. We also cleared out all of the dead bushes or ground coverings that were a major fire hazard. Their front yard looks unrecognizable now.

I also found out that Matt is coming home earlier than I originally thought, a whole 2 days earlier. He will be home March 30th. YAY!!!! I have a ton of things to do before he gets home including getting my shutters installed and a big surprise for Matt. Most of you know what the surprise is but Matt checks this blogspot so I can't list what it is until after he gets home. Anyhew I am so happy that I get almost a whole week with him being home, even though I still have to teach that week but at least we could stay up all night and talk. I AM SO HAPPY HE IS ALMOST HOME AND SAFE AND SOUND ON AMERICAN SOIL!!!!

Look At What I Am Missing...

~Picture courtesy of my neighbor, Erin. My house is the 1st on the Left.~

Snow?!? Go figure, when I leave that we get blasted with the biggest snow storm to hit our area in a while. We went from only 2 inches of snow to 4.86 inches. My neighbors are saying that our area got about 7-10 inches last night but it just looks like beautiful white stuff to me. Well I think I will go back outside in the hot blistering heat of 90 degrees here in AZ and enjoy the heat while I am in town. Good luck everyone back East!!!