Great nights, busy weekends and mountain climbing...

Well, a wonderful weekend started out with a fantastic Friday night. Cyle and I attended a delicious BBQ at Jess and Al's house with lots of wonderful people in attendance. It was superb to get to spend time with Jess, Al, Paul (who's finally home from out west... just for a minute), Elsah, Jim and Leah. We ate tons of great food, including the most amazing strawberry shortcake I've ever eaten. Al's baking skills never cease to amaze me and make my taste-buds ache for more. The biscuits he made were tender, soft, sweet... everything you want in a biscuit and more.

Saturday was a busy day at Bearcamp Garden with lots of people coming in to find some fabulous flowers for their front yards... and probably back yards too... and just shortly after I got home, my Megan came up!! We had a belated birthday bash with spaghetti pie, kale salad and ice cream cake. It's not a party until you break out the ice cream cake...

After dinner we went to visit the ponies and then went for a drive around Tamworth and Sandwich checking out the sunset and finding scores of lovely Lady Slippers on the sides of the many multiples of back dirt roads we took.

On Sunday, Cyle unfortunately had to work, and Megan and I decided to go to the mountains. It was time to conquer Mt. Chocorua and so conquer we did. It was a touch on the hazy side, but the pictures came out decent anyways. It was a gorgeous day. A lot of fun. Here's to a good, busy, weekend!

The summit from the trail.

The Jim Liberty Cabin.

Looking back toward the Ossipee's (I think!).

Looking up toward the Presidential's (I think!).

Chocorua Lake from the summit.

Finally, Mt. Washington. Not too much snow left up there!

Special...

So, for you pet lovers out there - you know how when you look at Petfinder.com on those days you feel compelled to fall in love with an animal that you just have to save, they have those symbols that pop up next to the ridiculously adorable pictures to tell you about the animals. Whether they're good with kids, other dogs, cats, etc... Well, there's a special symbol for pets with special needs. That symbol used to be a little purple heart, but upon just checking it to make sure I had my facts straight, it appears that they've changed the color to a funky green heart.

I won't ramble on too long before getting to my point here, so what I'm getting at is that if I were a pet listed on Petfinder, I would have that little green heart next to my picture. I admit it, I have special needs when it comes to life. I don't think I'm needy per se, but there are times that I am in need.

I couldn't tell you why exactly... maybe it's the fact that I'm a Leo or maybe it's because I was an only child for such a long time, but I require a lot of attention. I like being involved in conversations with people and interacting with people and getting the attention of people in various ways. I never used to be like that. I was a shy, shy little girl who tried to avoid the spotlight like the plague for years, but now... now I like the attention.

I have had self esteem issues for my entire life and I think that the attention makes me feel better about myself. I feel like I can't be that bad looking/that fat/that heinous if people are talking to me and laughing with me and joking with me. I suppose all told, that it's not a bad thing to like attention... the bad part about it is how I feel sometimes when I don't get it.

If I'm not getting that attention, I feel like there must be something wrong with me. I must have gained weight. I must be ugly. I must just be stupid.

Now, the logical Casey inside my head knows that none of that really makes any sense. Unfortunately the emotional Casey has a tendency to overrule that logical voice... the one who has the glasses and is drawing all of those flow charts.

Emotional Casey immediately goes to the place where the world is out to get her and everyone hates her. She heads toward the desert called "MakingMyselfMiserable" better known as MMM.

I'm just hoping that someday that logical chick I have living inside my brain will take over and tell emotional Casey to stuff a sock in it and chill out. That will be the day!

Good Morning.

Good morning! I'm not just using that as the every day greeting... I'm saying I'm having a good morning. In fact, I think that the perfect storm for a good morning occurred this morning. It has gone a little something like this...

I hit the snooze button a couple of times this morning so I got a little extra snuggle time. That is always a good thing.

I packed a quick and easy lunch of leftovers. Yet again. Awesome.

Driving to work, I was listening to WCYY and in the morning now they play blocks of 5 or 6 songs without interruption. Not only did they play that many songs, they were all good songs. Old songs that brought back memories of high school days like Cracker, Pearl Jam and The Bloodhound Gang. When my mom used to drive me to the bus stop, we would hear "The Roof is on Fire" by The Bloodhound Gang and she would sing the chorus. Being 14 or 15 and hearing your mom go to town singing, "The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire. We don't need no water, let the mother f-er burn. Burn mother f-er. Burn." is one of the best things ever. I suppose that's one of the reasons my mom is the coolest. That and she took me to get my first and second tattoo and she paid for them. I don't think it gets much better than that.

After that, I got a big latte with an extra shot of awesomeness... and THEN, my first class of students today chose to continue their RED time through class. A room full of fifteen 12 and 13 year olds chose to continue reading silently for an extra 40 minutes. How much better could that be? Not much, I don't think.

Lilacs, pruning and squeaker wars...

Lilacs. I seem to be completely obsessed with them right now. I suppose that could be because every time I take a deep breath, I am swimming in them. I love it. They are amazing.

My mom has some very well established lilac bushes at her house and they are quite large. I think generally they top out between ten and fifteen feet and these ones are getting close. They hadn't had any horticultural attention in quite a while and so last night Cyle and I went house on them. Out came the pruners, a ladder and even a saw. Those suckers (literally, suckers from the plant that grow up out of the ground and take energy away from the main plant...) never knew what hit them.

It was buggy, scratchy, itchy, dirty and awesome. I was covered with lilac twigs, the dried remains of last year's spent flowers and lots of black fly bites, but it was all completely worth it. I don't know why, but there is something I love about pruning. It is artistic and cathartic all at once and when you're pruning lilacs, you have the added bonus of it being favorably scented. Not bad... not bad.

Meanwhile, we're having major squeaker wars in the front yard. Squeakers are more commonly known as chipmunks, but my fantastic friend Jess refers to them as squeakers and it just stuck in my head. We have several factions in the front yard, each claiming their own territory and that doesn't even touch the renegade band who rule the back yard and harass the dogs just outside the fence 24-7.

Sitting outside on the deck you are right in the throes of the battle. They are constantly running back and forth yelling at each other and they have gotten mighty brave. One had the cojones to stand up and start speaking harshly to me the other day when I was just trying to enjoy the evening. I gave it right back to him (or her) and he (or she) retreated to the safety of their fortress under said deck.

It's a wild, wild world out there. Bull moose walking through the yard, a huge black bear lurking in the shadows at my grandmother's house and the never ending epic squeaker battle. Come on down and enjoy the show.

Smells like heaven...

That's where I thought I was last night. I got home from teaching at the Eagle Academy and Cyle had picked a HUGE bouquet of lilacs and put them in a vase right next to the bed. I drifted off to sleep on a sweet smelling lilac cloud and boy did it make my dreams sweet.

Who's a lucky girl?

I'm a lucky girl.

Gearing up...

It's going to be a busy, hectic, fun-filled weekend. It will be my first weekend of the year working at the fantastic Bearcamp Garden and I'm working both days since it is Mother's Day on Sunday... don't forget about your moms! Feel free to come on in and grab her a gorgeous perennial of some sort so she can plant it and remember you every day instead of those cut flowers that only last a week and then start to stink.

The weather really has me going. It is absolutely gorgeous. Spring and Fall are my two favorite times of the year and we are in the throes of the springtime rush. I am happy, excited, twitterpated and ready to get out and get my hands deep into the earth.

Things are sprouting, things are growing and everything is so GREEN! I love it.

Spring time and the livin's getting easier...

Has anyone else noticed the fact that it has been GORGEOUS outside lately? Yes, the bugs have been a little on the obnoxious side, but the weather is warm and sunny, the leaves are all popped out and the lilacs are starting to bloom.

I love walking out the door to the sweet smell of lilacs in the air. It's especially strong when the dew is setting and I just can't stay away. I have been battling the bugs each night just to walk outside and take deep breaths so I can savor that amazing fragrance.

There are somewhere around 30 days of school left and I am ready to be out for the year. It's going to be a busy summer, but there will be plenty of time for fun to be had. I hope to be spending quite a bit of time working, but some of that work will be outside so that will be awesome.

Here's looking forward to good friends, good sun, good food, good fun and so much more!