Michelle Projects

It's late or maybe it's early......but I haven't written for a few days and I'm trying to get back on track.

See the plant below? I just about killed it. I've had it for years, ever since it was housed in a little 4 inch pot. These days it's almost 4 ft tall and it's overgrown the pot it lives in. The roots have filed through the bottom of the pot and into the ground. I noticed it was looking droopy, so I watered it again. Still drooped.

Finally, I noticed that the droopiness was from over-watering. I punched some holes in the plastic pot and some really stinky water drained out. Mom looked at it with me and said that I needed to cut it back. I plan to dig it out of the ground, but for now it's cut back and no longer resembles the photo below. Instead, it looks like pot full of sticks.

I was talking to my boyfriend about my blogs. He said that he spent an hour and a half clicking "back" over at Relationships, on Blisstree. He told me that he read some, too, and that he liked them. The reason he did it, the back-clicking, was to find a post that someone was leaving comments on. It's a long story and one that I no longer want to spend any time on - it was negativity and I'm not going to worry about it any longer - but I did appreciate that Mark went looking for it.

When I first started talking to him he told me that he made a list or notes on me. Sometimes he will say, I have some things I want to talk to you about and there's another list - this time topics that he wants to cover or questions that he wants answers to. I like that he takes the time to take care of these Michelle Projects.



I am really tired and I need to get to bed now. I wish you a wonderful day/night.

Wordless Wednesday - I Love His Ears

My wordy part of Wordless Wednesday...... this is the back of my beautiful boyfriend's head. As you can tell, he's a lot taller than me. Also...don't forget to enter to win one of two cookbooks at my giveaway that you can find here. Thanks! And happy Wednesday to you!

Kitty Made Me Cry

This is a sweet potato sprout. Did you recognize it? We used to grow these in jars of water on the countertop when I was a kid. Mom thinks it will grow, so I stuck it in the soil today and I'll let you know. It sure grew great where it was sitting on the microwave. My tomatoes are starting to do their thing. The cherry tomato has little green tomatoes on it. One of the squash plants is getting big. I don't know which one it is. Ooops. Guess I'll figure out when the vegetables show up.

I'm adding dill to my herb garden. I think I need it for salads. Or something.....okay, I just thought it was pretty. So lacey.

These are the seeds that I planted today, but I couldn't plant them in the GroGood planters because they are marked, "Not for food, ornamental only." I wonder how many of those no-food planters they mailed out for the program?

I moved some stuff around and planted the seeds into a big plastic pot. I have no idea how they will do there. It's deeper than the GroGood planters, so they should be fine. I've never grown radishes before. Teeny-tiny little seeds.

I feel very odd right now. Sort of brittle or fragile. Mark wants me to promise to go to bed by 11, but that's the plan for every night and every night something comes up, something needs to get taken care of.

A little bit ago, Kitty jumped into the air - just straight in the air - and did this sort of turn. I think she was going to jump onto the lamp table, but my Diet Coke and ice water were in the way. It was so funny, so silly, that I started laughing, but I could feel it turning into something else. I felt like I was going to sob and I started to cry a little. I could see that it was freaking Greg out - he's sitting with the kid's computer filling out online job apps - and his eyes got really, really big. Still, I could not stop laughing, I kept seeing her little body jumping into the air again and again. Even now, 20 minutes or more later, I can feel that it could happen again.

Mom used to do that. She still does it sometimes. Just laughs and laughs and can't stop. Is she tired? Is she feeling brittle and maybe a little overwhelmed?

Something has to shift, but I'm not sure what. I'll figure it out.

Okay, now I'm off to get Bay.

Balance On One Foot

I was messing around in the front yard with my camera yesterday. I haven't been out there as much as I'd like, was making up for lost time. I had a lot of things to shoot, but I was out of fresh ideas. I got this and wanted to show Mark, because I was trying to explain to him, on the phone, how it looked. Like an onion, I said. It's sort of plopped down in a pot that includes a tree from Grandma's old house and assorted flowers. I have a feeling that it was a one-shot Easter flower. I like to lay in the grass and have my focus catch on different tiny plants or grass blades. I like the disjointed look in the background and sometimes I get some cool bokeh.

Make a wish!

I had a photo in my Etsy shop and I've been thinking that I'd like to recreate the shot with my Canon, because when it's printed, it has a bit of noise and messiness to it. Very frustrating. I want something better. I need to work on the colors .......

and the framing, composition, etc, so that I can recreate this one below.

See how I'm not even close? I think I shot toward a car and the light flared back or something. Hard to make it happen again. It needs more pink.

I am so tired today. I wanted to get away for a quick trip to the creek, but I had too much work. I kept falling asleep mid-type with my laptop in my lap, so I thought I'd take the advice of a friend and nap. Nope. Bay called and I have to go pick her up. I hope that I don't fall asleep on the road. Oh, that's not funny. Sorry.

I feel bad today. My eyes hurt, my tummy hurts.

*edit* I took a part out here. I'm way too introspective lately. I need to get over myself. So, this next part won't make sense, but well.........

Everything is about balance. Balance your diet. Balance your checkbook. Balance your skin ph. Balance your time in terms of work and play. Balance the spices in the dishes you cook. Balance on one foot for Tree Pose.

See the ending is kind of out of left field. What does that saying mean? "Out of left field?"

I'm All Over It

I went on a hike with Mom and Sarah this weekend. Don't they look cute? It was so warm on Saturday. Mom brought us Capri Suns and when we got to the top, I felt sick to my stomach. I don't think that Pop Tarts make an adequate pre-hike meal. I guess that's the reason I don't buy them more than once or twice a year. That's just often enough to really appreciate the treat-feel of them.

I had so much on my mind this weekend and the best place to go when I'm feeling like that is up the hill. I heard from my ex's ex and apparently she was never an ex at all. I feel bad, not because I still want him, because in no way do I ever want that again, but I feel bad that I was put in the place of The Other Woman. That sucks. I would not do something like that. Never. Or maybe we were both The Other Woman. Either way it sucks.

I got a couple of messages from her, one was a comment on a blog entry. She seems really nice and he always said negative things about her. I feel like I chose not to see so many early warning signs. For example there's this - if your exes hate you, it's probably for a reason. I did not hate any of my exes, including my ex-husband, until now. I felt, with them (including him when we were kids) that we grew apart. It was painful at the time, but it was just a natural thing, a sort of progression. This thing with him, it was a deliberate plan to get away with something horrible and deceitful. He is not a good person.

After hearing from her, I was really doubting myself and my ability to see people clearly. I think of myself as a good judge of character. I could not have been more wrong. When I think that he actually used Depression as an excuse for disappearing it makes me sick. I was so worried about him.

I refuse to spend another moment thinking about him and his BS. He is a fraud. I don't have time for frauds.

Here are a few of the things that I do have time for:

*My family
*My Mark
*My friends
*My work
*My camera
*My running
*My hikes
*Okay, really Mark should be on that list a few more times.


I'm hoping to go to lunch with Leah this week. We are going to meet at a Tea place. They have smoothie drinks made of tea. Yum. I'm trying to figure out how to make one for the Food/Nutrition blog. Anyone know any good tea-type smoothie recipes?

That reminds me....... I'm doing another pistachio giveaway. These pistachios were not involved in the recall. I don't have the link, but if you'd like to enter for a chance to win five 16-oz bags of Pistachios go to Blisstree and look under the Food/Nutrition section. Leave a comment on the "Healthy Snacks" post. I'll pick a random winner at the end of the week.

I feel like I've finally got myself back. I was mistaken, but I'm not going to change who I am because of it. I still have to live a life that I can be proud of. I want my kids to be proud of me. I want to be a good example. I'm on my way again - not perfect, but working at doing my best.

Okay, time for bed. Good night/morning/day to you.

Showing Mark the Park

I had the best weekend. My pal, Jackie, brought her kids over and they spent the night. We sat out on the patio, around a fire, and talked and talked. The kids played video games and got goofy. It was so relaxing.

The next night I stayed up all night talking to my new boyfriend on the phone. Again, we talked and talked. I figure we've put a couple of months worth of talking in just a week and a half. He's got a lot of ideas and I look forward to hearing him examine each and every one. :)

This one is of Bay and I took it when I was walking up from the creek. It's so beautiful here. The trees curve above and it feels like you are in a .... basket? a tent? It feels pretty and it feels protected, like the trees are embracing you.


These photos of the park are here for him. Well, I want to show them for Nature's Notes, but I picked this spot in particular to show to Mark. That's his name. Mark. That's the creek, back there. I'm facing the opposite direction now and just a little to the West of the first photo. In the past few weeks, the trees have filled out, so it's probably even more green now.

Tomorrow is the first day back to school. I have loved every single day of sleeping in. I will be sad when my alarm goes off and it's still dark out tomorrow morning.

I had such plans for the vacation time. I was going to organize and clear out and finally get things back in order. Instead, I wandered around, my head in the clouds. I cannot say that I hated it, because I so did not. I think I deserve a bit of head in the clouds time and I will savor every single second of it.