5 A.M.

The internal alarm clock went off a little early this morning.

5:00

Good Morning!

Not sure why. Maybe could have had a little to do with Dear Hubby's snoring serenade. Whatever the reason, I was up. I figured must as well take advantage of the quiet before the hustle and bustle of getting everyone off to school and work.

Coffee was made.

Me and my perfect cup of hazelnut with two sweeteners and a large splash of low sugar french vanilla creamer coffee decided to take in the peaceful early

morning out-of-doors.

Just a few chirping birds and cooing mourning doves sang to the sunrise. I decided to grab the camera and take some early morning pics around the gardens and some pots on the deck.

It was nice.

The Herb Garden

Lamb's Ear and Chives

Catmint

The Pond Garden

Liriope

Goatsbeard

The Perennial Garden

More Lamb's Ear

Perennial Geranium, Baby Lamb's Ear and Salvia

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I NEED A GOOD KICK IN THE SEAT!

For sure!

I have been so unmotivated lately.

I've not felt the least bit creative.

I've not been able to gather the energy to start my bedroom/bathroom reno.

Yes, not a thing moving there except everything off the walls.

My workouts have been lackluster.

I've stalled on my weight-loss efforts

I've not even had the desire to really get going full steam in my gardens.

Seems I've been reading this as maybe a trend right now on more than a few blogs. Is it something hanging in the air? Can't be the water since we're all from all over. Maybe it's an age thing.

I dunno, but wish I'd snap out of it!

Oh, I've been working, keeping the house clean and the laundry from piling up.

But other than that . . .

nadda . . .

just unmotivated laziness. I haven't even been visiting all the blogs I so enjoy to read and gather inspiration from. I'm hoping I'll snap out of this blah, unmotivated phase real soon. I have too much stuff to do!

On a more fun note, I hosted a girl's movie night in this past Friday night.

Cosmopolitans were the must cocktail choice for evening!

Of course, as is usually the case, I hardly took any pics. The few I did get were real bad! I just have to much socializing to be running around snapping pics. I'll have to work on that!

I had some girlfriends over to watch

The Sex and the City Movie

to get us all pumped up and excited for the new SATC 2 Movie opening this Thursday. I'm sure I've mentioned maybe just a few times what a BIG SATC fan I am. I own and watch all six seasons quite frequently. I'm pretty well educated in SATC history and trivia . . .

only next to my good friend Tracy ;o)

This Thursday night, we're (about 8 of us altogether) are all meeting for the movie (tickets already purchased!), then a girl's night out of fun, food and, of course, cocktails!

Switching gears . . . errr, channel . . .

LOST

Yes, I still am.

Are you?

I've been an very avid, patient, sometimes reluctant LOST fan for the past 6 years. Easily admitting to being mostly confused and frustrated for probably 4 of those 6 seasons.

At last!

All the strange, outlandish, contradictory questions that arose over the show's life will finally be answered in the 2-1/2 hour series finale.

Not exactly so . . . for me anyway.

The only real big query answered was . . . are you ready . . . hold on to your hats. . .

{{{{gasp}}}}

They've been dead the whole time. No one survived in the crash.

Ahhh c'mmmooonnn!!!!

GRRRRR . . .

There they are. Gathering at their own funeral of sorts. At least those of them who are now "moving on" to their final destination.

That's the best they could do??? I think everyone I know who watched the show felt by the end of Season 2 that might be the case. But with all the different story lines within the series and flash forwards . . . flash backs . . . flash sideways . . . time traveling . . . island shifting . . . etc., maybe it's going to be a little more "out there" than them all just being dead, and either living in a sort of hell on earth or a realm between life and the hereafter.

Oh well, maybe the writers/producers wanted to leave some of the ending up to viewer's interpretations or something. Either way, people are talking about the series and it's ending, and most likely will be for quite a while.

Now I must concentrate on my other two big TV vices . . . who will be the next winner of the Mirror Ball Trophy on

Dancing with the Stars,

The final three - Nicole Scherzinger, Evan Lysacek and Erin Andrews. My votes are for Nicole and Derek.

and who's going to cat fight with whom on

The Real Housewives of New Jersey!

If anyone out there can tell me what I can do to get myself more motivated,

perhaps maybe less time in front of the TV . . . . ????

please, feel free to enlighten me!

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CATCHING UP, A BIT OF RANDOMNESS AND A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Oh my! I had no intention of going a whole week without posting. But, as is usually the case, everything and nothing kept me from posting. I say "everything and nothing" because it was just that - being very busy and being very lazy.

Last week started out pretty busy with work, weeding and what-not. I also spent a good deal of time last week getting the house ready for Son No. 1's return home from college. I have to admit I can't imagine a 20 year old guy really cares how clean the house is when he comes home from school. And, if he really doesn't notice, at least the house is clean, right!?

Son No. 3's baseball schedule is taking up at least half the weeknights these days. And combining all that with stepping up my workouts

(getting in 5 days last week with a couple marathon

workouts eating up 2 hours each!)

. . . the days just flew by.

Also, I have to acknowledge my youngest little man's birthday today.

What a bad, bad mother!

This photo is the most recent of Owen. I almost couldn't believe it when I was searching for a pic of him for this post. Think I better get the camera out tonight!

Can't believe my baby is in the last of his tween years, turning 12 today. How did that happen? He celebrated Saturday night with a sleep over. If I could have just bottled the energy of eight, 12 year old boys running around outside until 10:00 p.m., I could live to be 150!

Tonight we'll have a quick (because there's baseball tonight) family dinner with his requested chicken parm and cupcakes for desert.

My Peonies are starting to bloom.

I've looked forward to their arrival all spring. They are my absolute favorite flower. I wish they bloomed longer. They have the most fantastic fragrance, and their soft petals feel like the most smooth silk ever. I love to literally bury my face in their blooms. I cut the first few blooms and brought them in. I wish you could smell them!

I have a trio of blooms in inexpensive Ikea vases right above the kitchen sink where I can enjoy their beauty and take in that fantastic fragrance while washing dishes.

Another multi-votive holder caddy thingy groups more individual blooms on the kitchen table.

A little project I finished up this week was these cute herb plant markers.

I purchased super-inexpensive wood shims from Lowes. Give them a quick, thin coat of spray paint.

Printed out the names of the herbs I have potted in a font I liked.

By rubbing pencil on the back of the paper, I can transfer the letters onto the shims.

Using a detail brush, paint the letters. Some of the shims have really rough surface, so that along with my lack of artistic ability and equally lacking penmanship, the results are a very primitive-looking marker.

Just what I want!

Give them a good spray of acrylic sealer, and they should be good to last the season.

I've been wanting to share these two books with you all. I've had these books for quite some time, and still love to grab them off the shelf for gardening inspiration from time-to-time.

WINDOWBOXES

SEASON'S AT SEVEN GATES FARM

The authors, James Cramer and Dean Johnson, were once contributing editors at Country Living magazine. After some Google research, I couldn't find any results on what they're up to these days, but their style stays timeless for me.

I've always preferred a casual, whimsical gardening style, and they have captured that feel in these two books. I went a little overboard with the photos of pages out of the books, but these books are fabulous. I don't think you'd be a bit disappointed if you were to purchase either or both!

The following group of pics is from

WINDOWBOXES

This next group of photos is from

SEASONS AT SEVEN GATES FARM

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