Good Deed Wednesdays

Since the beginning of the year when we had the Rachel's Challenge assembly, my advisory kids have been participating in Good Deed Wednesdays. Each week, they would write down something nice they had done for someone else without being asked or prompted. We started a chain and it kept growing and growing! So I attached it to the ceiling outside my room. The kids would do things like "I cooked dinner for my mom 'cause she had to work late" or "I helped my neighbor's kid get back home." Fun to see what they had to say.

This is how they attached to the ceiling. We covered the entire width of the hall 3 or 4 times back and forth and then went about 20 feet vertical from my door on either side.

Here's the pile of good deeds at the end of the year. When I showed my kids this morning, it was fun to hear their response about how many there were and they really impressed themselves! That pile is thick, too! It would be like jumping into a pile of leaves in the fall. Great job, cute kids!

Welcome to the End of May

Yes... that IS snow on my car at work.

The dryer is working again

Part 1: For days now, my dryer has been working less and less efficiently. I've had to run some loads 2-3 times to get them dry. Its been buggin the heck out of me because my appliances are not old enough to be going out on me already!

Part 2: Since spring is here, I've been enjoying listening to the birds and hearing their little chirps and scratching going on outside my house. While sitting in my catch-all room, I can here them quite clearly! Almost like they've made a nest in the rain gutter. I thought- hmm, no problem. I'll tell the HOA and they can clean out the nest so it doesn't clog. When I started working outside and getting my patio put in shape, I noticed ALOT of sticks and leaves and crap in one particular spot... funny how it works that spot is RIGHT underneath where I keep hearing the birds scratching like they're in my house! I finally looked up to see this:

Yep- that's a bird's nest in my dryer vent. Lovely. Now you see how Part 1 and 2 go together! So I gave it another two weeks and decided that any little baby birds that may have been in there have long since gone and I cleaned it out yesterday. That was no small task! The nest, as you can see, looks deceivingly small! Now look below and see HALF OF A 5 GALLON BUCKET filled with bird's nest! And I'm still not convinced I got everything but enough to where my laundry is functioning again. :)
Now I understand why Hitchcock made a movie where birds are evil!

My creativity astounds me!

Here sits my sad chaise lounge. I "inherited" it from my grandma's move from St. George. She was just telling me yesterday that it was old when she bought it and that was almost 40 years ago! It has seen all parts of the state. But I love it because its sturdy and reclines when I want it to without tipping over. Its been hobbling along for several years now. I decided this was the year to give it a make-over.

This is where the wheels are suppose to be so you can pick up one end and wheel it. Another feature I love. The poor rubber wheels have long since rotted and I have to pick up the entire thing if I want to move it at all! So I went to Home Depot and they directed me to some lovely casters. Nope- not even close to wagon wheels, but thanks. I wandered the store until I found these awesome dolly wheels! Now my chaise lounge is a 4x4 cruiser!

Here is my finished product! I sanded all the rust off and spray painted it an antique white. The new cushion adds some color to my very beige house and yard so I'm very pleased with myself once again!

Pretend with me

I love my yard. Its just the right size for me. As we are going into gardening season and planting vegetables and, hopefully, a new tree, I am always grateful its not more space! I've been here for 5 years now (I know- weird) and each summer I've tried to plant some flowers. Some years have been more successful than others and this year I was dreading dropping $50 on flowers that were going to die mid-July. So I did the old lady thing! :/ I "planted" flowers today...
Here's my two hanging planters.......

Here's my load of "plants" from Tai Pain- I mean Tai Pan.

And finally- here's my two finished hanging flower baskets!

I'm fairly pleased with them! Obviously you shouldn't look too close but most people won't since its just me and when my friends come over, it gets dark outside haha I'm sure they're going to fade and I'll have to replace them next spring, but I'm hoping they'll last for the season.