Two Days is Not Enough

This weekend went by super fast just like the rest of them! Saturday was our last day of decent weather and now we're back to gray and rain... Sigh. I enjoyed the little visit of spring/summer - those sunny warm days put a smile on my face!

Anyhow, here's what my weekend was like... (via Instagram, follow me @ sincerelyangela1 if you'd like!)

Saturday -- Went to a small Farmers' Market with my B. Loved checking out the fun little produce stands along with other great homemade goods. I always enjoy the soaps and jewelry! We had a great day together which was super nice. Life gets pretty hectic sometimes and it's good to have moments to just BE.

 I almost bought myself a bouquet but decided against it. Perhaps next time! They're so lovely.

Had dinner with my parents at Mongolian Grill and then Baskin Robbins after... Yum!! Nothin' like some chocolate chip cookie dough as the finishing touch :)

Sunday -- Rainy, rainy day. Mom and I had several items we needed to pick up from stores so we putzed around town. We found some fun decorations for the bathroom and for outside the house, as you can see with this fun patriotic star. We'll probably keep it out until 4th of July!

Yesterday was a good day to get some running around done and it also included Starbucks. Yum!

 We went to a gardening center near home to get vegetables and flowers. We got three herbs (french thyme, basil and dill), two tomato plants, two varieties of corn and lots of seeds for different veggies. We planted the seeds in small containers so that they can start to sprout. I sure hope we get lots of vegetables out of our garden! :)

Once again.. here is to hoping for a good week!

Instagrammed Weekend

This was a fabulous weekend!! Hot weather (80 + degrees!) and fun times. Here is what I did via Instagram (you can follow me: sincerelyangela1)...

On Friday -- I got my present for Mother's Day, a hanging basket. It's tradition now for me to get her this. It's the gift that keeps on giving too! They last from May until October usually.

Saturday-- Most of these pictures were from that day.
Silly kitties
A nice picture of happy pansies on the porch
My amusement with people at their convertibles -- on days like this you see a lot of them
A picture of the big blue sky
Dinner at McMenamins. :)

These warm days make all the rainy ones worth it. I am pretty sure that here 1 sunny day = 10 rainy days. So I guess it's about right that we are having a week of awesome weather! Totally puts a smile on my face and a spring in my step! haha (yes pun fully intended)

Happy Monday ya'll!

When it hits 80 degrees...

I tell you what folks, there is nothin' like a gorgeous day in the Pacific Northwest. We know how to celebrate the sunshine!

I love seeing my neighbors out and about working on their yard, hearing kids playing, lawn mowers going, people out walking and riding their bikes, convertible tops down.... all kinds of great things happen on beautiful days in suburbia. These days make all of the rain worth it :) I say we have earned these days considering we hit a record last month for rain -- wettest March in 83 years (think we got about 7 inches or so, yuck). Apparently we hit a record today (gotta love extremes), 80 degrees! I was thrilled with the prospect of 70 so it's a bonus.

Alrighty so here is what I did today... after a little bit of homework, I made a dash to work on the yard!

 More instant gratification! The corner (as you see below) was not very instant however... the soil is so wet which actually makes it more challenging to get weeds out.

 Before and After on top and then some pics of the backyard...

It's been a wonderful day!! As you can tell, Cheese was working hard... haha He went from place to place resting and looking cute. I could have taken a 100 pics of him - love my big boy. Coco Chanel wasn't too pleased with us being outside of the house and yakked to us from the window. Sigh...

Tomorrow is supposed to be about as nice so I'm looking forward to it. I do have to sub which means I'll be inside all day but you better believe it... come 3:15PM, I am out the door as fast as I can go!

Hoping for a good week :)

Another Good Day

This has been a wonderful weekend! I have enjoyed spending time outside, having my brother-in-law home (he's in the Army), eating good food, and also being productive. I'm loving these fair weather Spring days!

Finally, vacuumed and wiped the insides of my car! She looks like a beauty now :)

Weeded for a little while today after cleaning my car. Got two buckets full! That makes 6 for this weekend! The yard is looking much better but we have a ways to go.

Weeding = Instant Gratification ... A little way to add value to life. Felt so good to be smelling the dirt, hearing the funny sounds of people outside, sun beating on me, cool breeze... very satisfying.

Cheese Puff was very funny this afternoon! He looked so cute wherever he chose to snooze. I call him "Resourceful Cheese" in this picture with the wood block. He loves having a place to rest his head!

Also, finally planted my Cat Chia Grass (my first Chia Pet LOL- it was a Christmas gift). Hoping this will bring some joy to my indoor kitty. She has been going crazy having the windows open, sensory overload this weekend. haha Will be fun to watch these seeds grow!

Here's to a good week!!

Delightful Saturday

"April hath put a spirit of youth in everything" -- William Shakespeare

Happy Cheese laying in the sunshine -- see that smile?! :)

Crocus had their turn first, then daffodils and now tulips are in the spotlight

It was a lovely fair weather day - passing clouds, cool breeze and warm sunshine

Flew our flag today since my brother-in-law/my sister's husband got to come home and visit

 Picked 4 buckets of weeds!

Ended the day with a delicious dinner and dessert at the Macaroni Grill

I feel so blessed :)

Pretty April Day

I spent most of this lovely day at the library doing mounds of homework. Sadly, while I spent a good part of Spring Break trying to get ahead in one class, I got slightly behind in another. I pretty much did a week's worth of reading and responding all today. Ugh. Seriously, it is going to be a mad dash to the end of this semester. I probably won't be writing as much either... :( I'll try my best though.

So on the bright side of adding value to life, I think it is important to capture natural beauty in memory and pictures. I took these pictures on a short walk around the ponds (thanks to B for making me get some fresh air!).... I also had fun Instagramming them.

Happy April! Happy Spring!

Welcoming Spring

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.  ~Anne Bradstreet

I feel like a cat on catnip. I have had the best two days. The rain may return tomorrow, but I am so thankful to have been able to enjoy two lovely Spring days. I've been able to be out and about and enjoy the sunshine. Ahh... so refreshing.


I forgot to mention two things about yesterday. One of the other reasons why yesterday was great was that I got to see one of my aunts. I delivered our birthday card to her before going to pick up Jennifer. It had been awhile since I had seen her so it felt great to catch up. So that was a great start to the day! I told my aunt I was going downtown in honor for her birthday-- she was thrilled. haha


The end of the day was very nice too. I had a good dinner in the evening and tried something new. A couple of days ago I got an Amy's frozen organic burrito. I keep finding myself tempted to eat the Reser burritos in the freezer, but stop myself every time I read the ingredients (0.5 grams of trans fat). So when Mom and I were at Fred Meyers last time, I decided to get an Amy's burrito-- the Southwestern flavor. I was quite happy with it too! I really enjoyed it and hope to get some more next time. :)

In case you want to try these here's a picture. Yum!

Today has been another uplifting day. Jennifer and I hung out again and did fun girly things. We decided to do one of our famous photo shoots. Taking pictures together has been a big part of our friendship over the years.


For our photo shoot today we dressed in blue jeans and black tops. To add some interest, we put on really dramatic eye make up, which ended up looking really neat. It took us a good 45 minutes or so to put on our make up. We had a lot of fun putting on the darkest eye shadow possible. I'm still surprised with how good it turned out! :) After putting on our make up we walked around the park near Jennifer's house to take some pictures. I'm sure people though we were kind of strange because I was carrying a tote, my tripod, and my peacock feathers (those were props-- yes we're silly!). It took us awhile to find a good spot but once we did we got some great shots. So much fun! I'll share a picture or two on here tomorrow. 


Now to work this weekend-- should be a good one though. Hope ya'll have a lovely weekend! Enjoy and savor the moments of Spring. :)

Lovely Spring

"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow." --Proverb

I love that Spring is here and that ever so slowly it is starting to feel like it. Unfortunately, the weather isn't a great indication of the new season. The Pacific Northwest truly only has two seasons: Less Rain and More Rain. While I hate the rain, I'm thankful for the beautiful scenery. I'm so happy to see flowers blooming and trees bursting with color.

I have yet to get pictures of my beloved cherry trees, but here are some pictures I've taken so far of this pretty season (and with my new camera I might add!):

(Having fun with the color accent tool on my camera. Pretty hyacinth!)

(Leaves getting ready to burst on the willow tree)

(Raindrops on a daffodil)

(Again, with the color accent-- had to highlight these amazingly yellow daffodils!)