april showers bring may flowers...in june

I thought I'd let you see some of our hard work paying off in the landscape department. Plus it was a chance to show off my photography skills, or lack thereof. Enjoy!

Small pink azalea (Planted last year, bloomed this year!)

Large white azalea (This bush was here when we moved in, but it needed a lot of tlc.)

















Begonia (Planted this year behind the border grass and in front of the Nandinas.)



















Purple clematis (My favorite! We had over 50 blooms this year!)


















Here it is crawling up the railing.





















White clematis (This guy climbs up our backyard fence, not as many blooms as the purple...yet!)

















Yellow Gerber Daisy (Just got this one, I think it will like in a pot.)


















Blue hydrangea (My second favorite, planted last year and bloomed this year!)
















Loropetalum (Planted 2 years ago and has grown tremendously.)





















Marigold (To keep insects away from our garden.)























We also have two kinds of Hibiscus plants (a Tropical and a Swamp Water) but they haven't bloomed yet. They are usually mid to late summer bloomers. Our Hostas do more than thrive, they take over! They will be blooming in the next few days (little purple flowers).

What are your favorite blooms?

happiness is...

I am starting a new series called "happiness is..." where I will list one small joy that makes life more happy. Feel free to add your own!

...snuggling under the covers with my forever love listening to the rain.

let the waters rise

Such a simple message - I will follow you God.

june 200 challenge

Well I am officially off the shopping-at-the-15th-of-the-month cycle. That's right, I stretched our groceries a whole 2 weeks longer! We went 1.5 months without a shopping trip...and I was out of everything! So I went a little over this month, but not too bad considering this is the first time I have gone over my allotted $200 since we started this little 200 challenge party.

I have also started a new adventure. I am the newest member of the CVS Extra Care Card club. My friend Taylor (shout out) got me hooked. I had to make the initial investment, but after my first purchase of $21.37 (which got me 2 bottles of shampoo, 2 of Eric's deodorant, and 2 body washes) I had $10 worth extra care bucks! That's $10 free money to spend anywhere in the store. AWESOME!

I went to Aldi first, of course. I got a lot there and did pretty well. I got LOTS of fresh fruits and veggies! I spent $69.12. Then on to Wal-Mart. I needed a lot of things, plus I am doing The Maker's Diet soon, which requires some expensive ingredients. I already know I will have to go back, which makes me sad but I can justify it because it is for my health. I spent $120.40 there.

So my total (including CVS, Wal-Mart, and Aldi) comes to $210.89. (If you count that I have $10 waiting to be spent then I really have only gone over by $0.89!)

I am short on time now, so I will post meals later!
Good luck to you all in June!