It's summer.  I'm so ready for fall.  I want to have the windows open, coffee brewing and pumpkin pie in the oven.

This summer, I haven't been doing much.  The garden pretty much takes care of itself. I picked 2 quarts of blackberries. That was enough to make ice cream, cobbler and a pie.  The darn bluebirds that live in the peach tree kept snacking on the blackberries.  I tried to send my cat Remy out to guard the blackberries but she only did that a few times.  Remy enjoys being inside.

I feel horrible, I still have never made any jelly with my jelly maker.  I just need help doing that.  I'd like to actually jar the jelly, I just don't have any experience with that.  I know that you're supposed to boil the jars, then add the jelly and the lid seals it.  I'm just over thinking this process.  You should've seen the first jelly that I entered in the county fair when I was about 9 or 10, the jelly didn't jell.

For my cousin Wendy's birthday, my little 11 year old cousin Allie baked her mom a cake.  It was kind of spongey, but it was good.  I'm glad that she likes to bake.  I bought her a few things to help her learn to bake.  Her mom rolled her eyes when I said that Allie needed good bake ware if she wanted to be a good baker.

My stepdad killed a huge copperhead not to far from their house in the pasture.  That stopped Jessi and I from walking in the pasture. I was supposed to pick wild plums across the highway, but I don't know if I should or not. Maybe I can bring Talulah, my loyal outside dog to be the guard dog against snakes.

Wants

My birthday is on Christmas.  Yes, I get two days off for my birthday in the same week.  It's at the end of the year and in the middle of the year (I still go off of the school calendar).

Usually for my birthday, I get house stuff or winter stuff. Last year I got a 4 cup food processor and a hoodie. It's great and useful, but at other times, I would like things without having to buy them myself.

Last night I was cleaning house and I was singing, "If my birthday was tomorrow, I'd ask for a new vacuum." It's true.  I got my wonderful vacuum after Thanksgiving, but the canister is small and I have to empty it out several times if I vacuum the whole house.

If you know someone who has either a summer or winter birthday, drop them off a gift on the opposite time of the year.  I know that they'll appreciate it!

Summer Time!

Where have I been? Yes, I've been Missing in Action for a while.

I've been doing Focus T25 workouts! They're every day for 25 minutes!  Early on, I woke up at 5 and did the workouts in the morning, but as it got warmer, I just want to stay in bed longer.  Isn't that how it is?  I finished my first 10 weeks and now I'm into my second week of doing the exercises again.  They're still harder, but it seems like now I don't have to do the exercises that the modifier does. This workout series is definitely worth it!

The garden is going great! I haven't done much with it, just weeded it. Here in southern Oklahoma, we've had quite a bit of rain, so we haven't had to drag around the water hose like we normally do. The tomatoes did wonderful but the cucumbers didn't. Blue birds keep eating my blackberries but I was able to make some ice cream with the blackberries. Jessi and I eat some blackberries and strawberries as we pick them. We can't help it!