Allergy flare-up, Coach potato, T2Q, Ants, Moodiness, An invite, & Alphabe-Thursday

Last week, I wasn’t in Blogosphere too much. Monday and Tuesday were fairly productive. I began my weight training and taking Myotein protein shakes with the hopes of re-building loss muscle throughout my body, but Wednesday morning I woke to severe tummy cramps. I was having an allergy flare up. All I wanted to do was sack out on the sofa all day and sleep. And, sleep I did! The rest of the week I cat-napped a lot on the sofa and became a bit of a couch potato.

My spud roots took deep hold and I did a lot of TV watching. I got sucked into watching a few broadcast TV series on Netflix. Did you ever see the American Horror Story season 1? Well, I endured the entire season. Not all of it at one shot mind you, but I did finish it up while allowing my body the rest it needed for self-healing. This series proved disappointing. It’s. Just. Too. Weird. Word of caution, it has some intense sex scenes. Definitely not suitable viewing material for kids.

Another series I have been mildly curious about is Once Upon A Time that I started and just finished yesterday morning. The writer created a spin-off of many of our favorite fairy tales by adding new twists to the classics which inevitably leads to a curse that drags all of our beloved storybook characters into our world to a place called Storybrooke, Maine. This isn’t a series meant for small children simply because it distorts our timeless treasures, but a series young adults will definitely enjoy. I’m a bit eager to catch season 2 as soon as it’s available on Netflix. Incidentally, if you have Hulu Plus, then you can watch both seasons now.

Carpenter ants invaded our home again. This isn’t uncommon. At the start of each spring, we notice these intruders infringing our space. Bayer Home Pest Control (spray) is an excellent first line of defense in ridding our house of these pesky little creatures. The chemicals are usually good for several months. Another product, DH uses is Amdro (granules). Unlike the spray which kills insects on contact, the granules kill ant colonies and while the ants don’t vanish forever – it does help a lot! DH normally applies a round of both products in the spring and fall. By the way, we have found both at our local Wal-Mart at a better price than Amazon (or at least as good without the expensive shipping cost).

With the onset of carpenter ants, we decided to take another hard look at the trees close to our house and decided to give Shaun Best from Beautiful Tree Care some more work. You may recognize the name, as we had Shaun take down several trees back in the winter. You can read about my randomness here. It looks like we’ll have him take more than a dozen assorted trees this time most of which are pine. All I can say is, “Good riddance!” The pest problem is one thing, but fewer trees around the house may help with my allergies and that’s always something to smile about.

Now, I don’t know if being under the weather affected my mood or my crazy mid-life hormones are in need of re-adjusting but I felt down-trodden and I began to think about my life as a blogger. Do you ever wonder what you’re doing with this crazy little hobby called blogging? I am feeling a bit funky. My interests are waning, but not just my blogging interests – everything. My days need more balance. I need more outlets to express myself other than behind the keyboard. I’m at my wit’s end with this madness and it’s up to me to shake things up to shake off this feeling. I know I have even thrown these sentiments out there for you to read before, but casting the line again to reel in more feedback which makes for some good T2Q:

Have you ever felt this way?

What did you do about it?

Although I’ve been in a strange funk I am trying…trying to pull myself up by the ole boot straps to get my groove a movin’ in the direction I wanna be shakin’. I found a small measure of joy return as I began working on few hand-stamped cards for upcoming birthdays and Mother’s Day. There is something about coloring that always lightens my mood. Talk about birthdays, can you believe my baby boy will be 19 next week?

Let’s not even talk about me getting another year older. Remember, I’m trying to lift that unseen cloud that’s hovering over my head these days, which I think another thing that will help is to grow something. I decided to start a herb garden from seeds consisting of rosemary, oregano, and basil. I have not done this before, so it will be interesting to see how this goes. Last weekend, DH bought an established tomato plant for me. I’m very much looking forward to having fresh tomatoes this summer. My MIL has passed to me some of her heirloom marigold seeds over the years (I keep them in the refrigerator) and I want to get these started. These little hardy flowers stay bloomed a long time.

Speak of cheery things, yesterday as I took the trash to the curb I noticed my only surviving azalea bush bursting with pink blooms!

DH bought several plants for me last spring/summer and I was unable to get them into the ground in time. The harsh summer temperatures killed them. That being the case, I think I’ll see if developing plants from seeds is an option and then maybe we can find time to dig small holes for the young plants this fall.

I want to invite you to come join the best virtual dance party in Blogosphere. Many of you may or may not know, but I help to host a musical meme each week with three good friends. XmasDolly wants to boost participation and I’m asking you to be my guest.

Our musical theme is “freebie pick“. This means you can share whatever tunes that have you groovin’ for us to dance to with you! You can find the weekly themes on the side menu on XmasDolly.

This is a cool way to meet new bloggy buds and have fun. You are so going to love the way music rock start your week off! Plus, you won’t find a more loyal group of hostesses than you will at Monday’s Music Moves Me.

Joe Cocker “With A Little Help From My Friends”

My Alphabe-Thursday word for today is “Verily”, which mean truly. A common place for this old English word can be easily found in the New Testament of the Bible. One of my favorite examples of this is: