What Chu Talkin' Bout....

There are a few "For Sale in..." groups on Facebook in my area of the world.  I've joined a couple because let's face it, it's like a year around yard sale through the internet.  This morning I came across a couple of posts by a woman that really pushed me over the edge.  The grammar and spelling edge.

I am not perfect in any way with my own grammar and spelling.  I think I do okay though.  I don't come across as the most well educated person on the planet, but I don't think I look like I've never had any school either.

U thnk its ok 2 rite ths way?  To use "mi" instead of "my"?  "R" instead of "are"?  "Rly" instead of "really"?  This list could probably go on forever.  I am guilty of occasionally using "text speak", however, I use it while texting my friend.  

How does this relate to a "For Sale" site on Facebook?  

This screen capture just happens to be one woman, but I've seen several different people use bad grammar and/or spelling.  Examples in this first photo include:

1.  newheres - If you aren't quite sure what you are reading here, let me break it down.  N-E-WHERES.  Normally words (that aren't really words at all) like this one are reserved for we Southerners to use in a face to face situation.  Much like "over yonder", there is a place to use these quaint sayings.  Trying to sell your items over the internet IS NOT ONE OF THEM.

2.  n there - How hard would it have been for her to stick an "i" in front of that "n"?  Lazy.

3.  sheles - I'm just going to go ahead and guess this was supposed to be "shelves".  A simple mistake that I probably shouldn't criticize, but because that little cell phone icon indicates that she posted from her smartphone, auto correct should have taken care of that.   

No punctuation.  Misspellings or "text" spellings.  Ugh.  I feel like I have to work twice as hard to read it!  Don't even get me started on having "tons of stuff that i needa get rid of".

I didn't come across another pet peeve this morning to screen capture, but I've seen it used often.  Using the wrong words and plainly feeling they are the correct word.  When you post something "for sell", say you need to "sale" something, or any derivative of that, I do a bad thing.  I judge.  It's not "for sell", it's "FOR SALE".  You don't have something you need to "sale" (unless it's a boat and then you spelled it wrong, it's SAIL), you have something you need to "SELL".

I know that I should not judge others.  Glass houses and all.  I just can't help my brain from immediately going there.  I don't think blame can be placed on any one specific person, place, or thing.  I think it should be noted that my children, ages 11 and (almost) 13, have never had grammar homework.  The last time I can recall them having spelling homework was when they were in the 4th grade.  In the 5th grade their spelling tests were multiple choice.  With the advancement of cell phones and text messaging, grammar and spelling classes NEED to be revamped and reinstated in our schools.

Does your local school system still teach grammar classes? Or spelling?  Thoughts?

Farm Livin'

One of the local farmer's markets sponsors Farm Days every third Thursday of the month.  We get to visit different local farms, see their animals, sample some local meat and produce, and generally have a good time.  Something is always going on and I've not been able to attend one.  Until last night!

The husband and I took the baby and headed to Crooked Creek Farms.  They raise their animals the right way.  In pastures, free to move about the country as they see fit.  During the tour, someone actually asked why they didn't have their pigs penned up.  Her answer made me respect their farm and practices even more.  She asked him if he'd be comfortable stuck in an elevator with 20 other people all day.  She said they felt the animals were happier and do better being able to move around the pastures.  She also said they felt the meat tasted better as well.  We've purchased meat from their farm before at the farmer's market.  The best pork chops we've ever eaten.  I'm not sure if it's the pastures or the fact that they don't use growth hormones and all that extra CRAP that goes into other meats, but we could definitely tell a difference.

Hay ride to check out the pumpkin patch!

When I first heard people talking about this Pig Candy iced cream from Meltdown {simply delectable iced cream}, I was a little skeptical.  Oh my goodness y'all!  It's the best ice cream ever!  Made with local sweet cream and whole milk, it's a maple flavored ice cream with... wait for it.... BACON in it!  Do you see those little bits?  Bacon from Crooked Creek Farms!  

The biggest peppers I've ever seen!

She wasn't sure about the watermelon at first.

But she warmed up to it pretty quickly!

The sunset was absolutely beautiful!  I couldn't get enough.

Aw... look at my sweeties!

More gorgeous views.

No farm would be complete without a friendly, kiss giving, dog.

I couldn't get enough of the cute little piglets roaming around with the chickens.

This visit just renewed my interest in having a larger garden next year.  I wouldn't mind having a couple of chickens either.  I highly encourage you to visit your local farmers markets or local farms.  There just is no comparison between the local produce/meats with what's in the grocery store.

Support your local business.  Support your local farmers.  Bring home better tasting, fresh food.  It's a WIN-WIN!

Nurture Your Photography

I love a good photo challenge.  Even though my photo a day skills aren't stellar...

Back in the Summer of 2011 and again in the Fall, I did photo challenges hosted by Alicia of Project Alicia and Kristi of Live and Love Outloud.  I learned so much about how to take photos.  I saw so many beautiful and creative photos.  I love the inspiration.  I need it.  

So when Kristi announced that she and Rebecca of bumbles & light are hosting the Nurture Photography Autumn photo challenge,  I giggled like a little school girl with a Snack Pack!  I need this challenge, not to mention that this, Autumn/Fall, is my favorite season.

There are two prompts for each week.  Choose one or choose both!  Every Friday of the challenge you can add a link to your blog post or Flickr photo to the list of participating photographers.  Don't forget to visit the other photographers images as well.  Don't have a blog or prefer taking photos with your phone?  No problem!  Add the hashtag #nurturephoto to your Instagram images!  There is even a Pinterest board to check out!

I'm so excited about starting this challenge!  I'm going to be looking for photo ops everywhere now!  Better go charge my camera batteries!

Merry Go Round

I realized this weekend that I really need to get out of this house.  I spend entirely too much time in these four walls.  The weather has become absolutely beautiful here.  Shades of Autumn have arrived and I AM IN LOVE WITH IT!  

I decided that in the spirit of getting off my ass I'd take the wee babe to the park this morning.  There is a great paved walking path.  One trip around and I came to the stark realization that I am more than out of shape.  I'm like a walking Jello mold.

*jiggle, jiggle*

Good times were had though. 

Ro is a huge fan of the slow moving merry go round.  She talked and giggled the whole time.  The playground isn't exactly toddler friendly though.  She kept pointing to the slides and grunting so I helped her up to one.  I forgot it was still fairly early in the morning though.

Wet butt syndrome.  A disease that plagues mothers of babies and toddlers across the world.  

How could I be upset?  Look at that cute little face!

Home of the Week - Perdido Key

Back at the end of July, we took a little mini vacation to the beach.  I haven't been able to stop thinking about going back to the beach since we returned.  I would love to live closer so I could escape for little trips to the sand, Sun, and water.  This year we camped, but I've been obsessively scoping out potential vacation homes for next year.

I decided to do a little search of homes for sale in the area on a whim.  WOWZA! Did I find an awesome place...  for only $2.95 million dollars.  I mean, that's just pocket change, right?

Front entrance

This is a two-story penthouse with an insane 5,226 square feet of living space.  It has five bedrooms and five bathrooms.

Most of the floors are made of travertine tile and I like the neutral color.  Even the paint isn't too bad.  I have no idea if the paintings/drawings on the staircase wall are all wonky like that because of the fisheye lens used in photographing them or they are just wonky on purpose.  I really hope it's the photography.

The living room space is beautiful!  I wouldn't have any need for that big ol' piano in the corner, I'd be too busy staring through the windows at the great view.  With three kids, the white furniture wouldn't work for me.

Looking at the living room space from the opposite direction, you can see a little glimpse of the dining room. I'm not sure that I like the wet bar right there in the living room.  The kitchen can't possibly be so far away that you need those so close at hand.  In fact, the kitchen is located (in this photo) just to the right of the mini fridge!

Here is the ever important television.  Crowded into a corner with a fireplace.  Why on Earth the nice, fluffy, comfy sofas aren't in front of that fireplace, I'll never know.  In fact, I would probably do away with those uncomfortable looking chairs altogether.

Love the kitchen!  Stainless steel KitchenAid appliances, double ovens, sink in the island, etc. etc.  Love it, love it, love it.  Can I cook something in there PLEASE?!  Get rid of the big ol' honkin' out of place television hanging on the wall though.

Master bedroom is 18x18 with it's own balcony.  Swanky.  There is a chandelier in here too.  Swankier.

Oh looky... more chandeliers!  The master bath is nice though.  Two vanities and that spa tub are winners!

This closet is the size of my house.  That is all I can say about that.

Other bedrooms:

All rather nice and seem to be fairly roomy as bedrooms go.  This listing says these rooms range from 19x13 to 12x14.  I like how the rooms seem to be mostly light and airy.

Other bathrooms:

Ahhh here we go, "normal" bathrooms!  Two with tub/shower combos and two with just showers.  The green bathroom looks kind of out of place with it's nicely tiled corner shower, wall sconce lighting, and really cool bowl sink.  It feels like they ran out of money on the bathroom fixtures after the master and green baths and just threw in "regular" bath fixtures in the other three.

Last, but not least, is the wrap around porch/balcony.  Oh my stars...  there is 2,600 square feet of outdoor living space in this home.  I'm not sure we'd ever be able to use that much space, but I'd love to try!

Thoughts?

More images and info can be found here.

Google's Street View

All images from realty listing found here, here and Google Maps.

Ewww!! Bugs!!!

I have never been a fan of bugs, insects, creepy crawlies, or anything with more than four legs.  Creepy looking, scratchy legs... *shiver*

That being said, my Dad has no problem with them.  So when I stepped out of the back door last week and there was a praying mantis on the railing, I freaked out and Dad jumped with glee.

He was nonchalantly cleaning his wee little scratchy (and really creepy!!!) legs.  He didn't seem scared of us in the slightest.  I was ready to scream like a little girl at any moment if he were to jump or fly in my direction.

I did think he was super icky, but was in awe of his stealthy nature.  He was the exact same shade of green as the grass.  If we didn't know he was there, he'd have blended in beautifully.

We put him down on one of our cloths line posts.  A few minutes later he was gone.  He flew away as quickly as he showed up.  Glad I had my camera ready, but poor Dad walked around with a pouty lip 'cause  his little friend was gone.

Discovery

What I imagine is going through her head here:  "I've got my stick and my rock.  Oh this driveway is so interesting.  Oooo... what's that?"

If we don't get some kind of fence up soon, we'll never be able to keep up with her!

And apparently mowing the lawn makes you thirsty.  Look at that red hair!!

Blue Moon Hijinks

"Blue moon of Kentucky, keep on shining
Shine on the one that's gone and left me blue..."
- Bill Monroe "Blue Moon of Kentucky"

August 31st there was a second Full Moon in the month.  These are called Blue Moons.

There are only so many photos of the Moon one can take before it just becomes monotonous.

But the Moon was so bright.  We didn't even need lights.  *BING*  An idea hit me.

 Nikon D40 | f/4 | ISO 1600 | 55 mm | Exposure time 5 sec. | Shutter Priority mode

Nikon D40 | f/4 | ISO 1600 | 55 mm | Exposure time 5 sec. | Shutter Priority mode

Shadow people!  Even convinced the hubs to kiss me in the moonlight.  For five whole seconds...

New Month, New Challenge!

It's time for a new Photo A Day month! September has some challenging ideas.  Excited to get started!  You can find more info here or by clicking the photo above.

Follow my progress on Instagram, Twitter, or here on the blog.

Maybe...

I don't know what it has been about the month of August.  Maybe it was the kids returning to school.  Maybe it was all the books I've been reading.  Lots of libraries in Kentucky have begun lending books electronically and I've been reading like crazy.  Maybe it's because Ro is only taking one two hour nap now.  Maybe I've just been lazy.  I've been very neglectful of this blog lately, only 7 posts in August!!   But it shouldn't take it personally,  I've been neglectful with my precious camera lately too.  Mostly I think it's because I've been doing a lot of sewing.

 This is one of four dresses I've sewn from 5Berries patterns.  This is the Mia dress.  It is so easy to make once you've made one.  I have fabric cut out for another dress, but just haven't found the time to finish it yet.  These are great for Summer because they are easy on, easy off and light and breezy.

This pattern is from Go To Patterns.  It's the Go To Signature Dress.  I can't even begin to tell you how many different dresses you can create with this pattern.  Three lengths, seven sleeve options, four pocket options, with or without hood, and three waist options!  Oh and it's also available in sizes 12 months to 12 YEARS!  Talk about a pattern that goes a long way!

Please excuse the hastily taken photos of the eldest girl, but you see how this pattern is easily adjustable.  This was my first time working with knit fabric.  I guess I made a mistake by visiting the local Hancock Fabrics store because I paid $12.99 a yard for that cute pink elephant fabric.  I'm not the wisest about fabric, but good grief!  $12.99 a yard?!?  Since it's not the easiest fabric to work with I'm not a huge fan, but I am working with an extremely basic sewing machine and only basic knowledge of sewing.  While this pattern CAN be used with a basic sewing machine, I believe that a serger would be an excellent idea.  In fact I am currently pining for one myself.

The ultimate goal here is to open an online shop.  Whether it be through Etsy or my own website, I'm still not sure.  It's a big decision and a little pressure, but I need a challenge and some goals.  And a paycheck would be super nice too.