Friday Ramblings (February 3rd}

How is it Friday again already? I am not really complaining that the weekend is here already, but the past week flew by super fast! Did anyone feel like they blinked and the past week was over?

According to the Ground Hog we are set to have 6 more weeks of winter- if  you are one of those who believe in that whole animal seeing his shadow thing. Honestly, if you think about the timing, 6 weeks, that means winter will be over by mid-March. If that is true, winter will be over sooner than normal here in MN.  We normally are still getting mountains of snow mid-March in Minnesota, so if we can bypass that, it would be a wonderful Spring.  I have a feeling that the 6 week rule, really does not apply to MN, but I am going to be hoping for the early Spring.

Speaking of early spring, I am dreaming about the garden I am going to plant this year. As well as all the landscaping I want to do around our house. I am freakishly excited about it, and I am sure you will get a few planning posts out of me before the snow melts.  Planning my outdoor space is just as exciting for my as planning our indoor space.  I love the fact that the backyard at our new house is much bigger than our last house, and that there are a few spots that get enough sun for a garden.  I have been looking for ideas on how to setup my garden, and my biggest conundrum right now is deciding if I want  ground bed,  raised beds, or even off the ground raised beds.  Then there is a matter of the perennials and the shrubs already in the yard. The previous owners had at one time had a beautiful yard with lots of different flowers and shrubs, but it doesn’t seem like much maintenance was done in the last few years. Last summer all the shrubs were over grown, the flowers had gone crazy and spread everywhere, and some of the trees blocked the driveway.  We didn’t have the time last summer to spend on yard work because of everything we had going on. We only were able to remove a few trees {more on that in a later post}.  I feel like this spring/summer is going to be my blank canvas to really make our yard my own. I could not be more excited! <— I think you get it now 😉

Speaking of my backyard, is it crazy of me to want to get chickens? I am pretty sure my desire came from the fact that I learned Target sells Chicken Coops! I think about how amazing it would be to have fresh eggs from our own backyard.  Going back to my small town roots here. Imagine it, I could walk out to my backyard, gather some eggs, veggies, and herbs, and then whip up breakfast also using beef from my grandfather’s farm, then head out to my back patio to eat. Dream state, right? I know The Hubby would squash the ideas of chickens because of their lack of cleanliness but I guess I can dream…

Monday I had the opportunity to hear Elizabeth Gilbert the author of one of my favorite memoirs. Her talk focused around her most recent work, the book Big Magic, which I ordered promptly after leaving her talk. I left the event inspired and motivated to tap into my own creativity. As well as read another of her books! I have been telling everyone this week about her talk, and how phenomenal of a speaker she is.  Her hour talk flew by.  You know a speaker has really touched their audience when she has them crying tears of sadness, but not 10 minutes later, laughing so hard your eyes won’t stop crying from such amusement. I have decided that I will be reading Big Magic as my next book. Thank you all for the great suggestions last week.

I am really trying to deliver on my 2017 Resolution of being more active!  Or should I say The Hubby is really focusing on my resolution? I love to make excuses about why I can’t go to the gym. I have tired. I have to blog. I have to make dinner. I have to spend time with the dog. I have to wash my hair.  Any reason not to go is a valid excuse for me most times. This past week The Hubby has snapped me out of my excuse riddled ways and we went together Monday and Wednesday. I also started drinking my Shakeology every day this week.  I am slowly getting myself back on this health and fitness train. Its not like I don’t want to do it, its just that blogging, eating cookies and watching Netflix always sounds more fun. You know what I mean, I know you do!

One final note, yesterday was my single highest traffic day on My Urban Oven! It was a really exciting day for me to see the visitor count climb and climb through the day.  You all must really have been nosy about our new house. 😉

XOXO, 

Rachel 

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