Who me? Awww shucks

Lookie lookie! JAM gave me an award! Awww, you shouldn't have, now I am blushing ;-)
Thanks so much for the "bling" and for thinking that I am Awe-summm!

Ok, now for seven Awe-summm things about me (at least I think they are awe-summ!)

1. I cloth diaper my son. Yep. Its really A LOT easier than most people think!
2. I am a stay at home mom, just like my mom was =) - I think that is pretty awesome!
3. I love to save money and hardly ever buy new stuff - I love thrift stores, flea markets & garage sales!
4. I am a graphic designer - I love to mess around with Photoshop and Illustrator
5. I am trying to do more bird photography - took a couple neat pics of one of my favorite birds - check them out here
6. I can cook pretty well, not good at making up recipes yet, but I can follow them and get great results (I am ok at tweaking them sometimes)
7. I am pretty good at drawing/painting etc. Y'all wouldn't know that though, because I haven't posted any of my artwork yet! I will soon, I promise!

Ok, there is my list, that was really hard!

I would like to pass this award on to my friend Angie, she really is the Queen of ALL things lol! Please go show her some bloggy love!

VGNO - It's Derby Time!

It's that time again! Time for Virtual Girls Night Out, hosted by the wonderful Ann at Ann Again... and Again. It is a night full of pj wearing, blog hopping, new friend meeting, blog buddy chatting, game playing fun! And DON'T FORGET to head over to JAM's for even more fun, its an all around good time! =)

Tonight we are celebrating May Day and the Kentucky Derby with a Mint Julep. Head over to Ann's for the recipe.

Now, since I love the Kentucky Derby, that is where I am taking you! Yes, a VGNO weekend getaway to the Run for the Roses! Here are the top 10 contenders (as posted on the Kentucky Derby website this afternoon). Which one will you be rooting for?

Pioneerof the Nile

I Want Revenge

Hold Me Back

Regal Ransom

Desert Party

Chocolate Candy

Friesan Fire


Dunkirk

Papa Clem


General Quarters
(my fav, isn't he pretty?)

Now, make sure you head over to JAM's to pick who you wanna see at the post-Derby concert. If you go with me, we are gonna check out Jason Aldean. Mmmhmmm. =D

Happy VGNO everyone, hope you all have a blast!

Day 1 of No 'Poo

Alright, I did it. Today was the first day I washed my hair without shampoo. See my post here if you need to catch up =)

So I took some pics for you to see.

Before:
This is my hair from the back just so you can see what I am dealing with =) Yes, I need a haircut. I usually straighten it, I will have to take a pic of that at some point too. Anyway, this is after the last time I used shampoo and conditioner.
After:
Here is my hair from the back AFTER I washed it with Baking soda and a lemon juice rinse on the ends (I would have used apple cider vinegar but didn't have any)It looks a bit lighter colored, but I think that is just because of different lighting from before (in the next two photos my hair looks darker). This pic captures how dry and "dead" looking my hair is though. The hair underneath is always so nice and smooth, but this, bleh! I hope a haircut and my new routine will banish this! It makes me feel like Hermione Granger! (character from Harry Potter for those of you who don't know ;-) )


Before I washed it with Baking Soda for the first time. I hadn't washed it in 2 whole days! Blech ;-)
After - came out looking like always
Ok, so over all, I was very pleased with my hair after washing it with baking soda for the first time. It came out very soft and I was very pleased to find out that I could comb it quite easily when it was wet. I was so afraid it was going to be a tangled mess! I did make sure to brush it well before I washed it, so I know that helped, but nonetheless! So, day 1, victory! Stay tuned for more. I will post about this every couple days to keep up to date. I am interested to see if there really will be a difference after a couple/few weeks.


Edited to add the answer to the question from Ginspaghetti:

Question: How does it *feel*??? Does it still feel as fresh as with shampoo?

Answer:
I was actually surprised, my hair was squeaky clean. I remember when I was little, my mom always told us to rinse our hair until it squeaked, that way you knew the soap was all out. Well, I have always followed that rule and today it was even more squeaky! Now, if you need suds, this would not be for you! It is all gritty and when you massage it in, that part doesn't "feel" luxurious lol! But once you rinse it, it is alright. I think the feeling may change a little over the next couple weeks, so we shall see!

Skywatch Friday #42

I am not sure I have ever noticed a ring around the sun like this before. I have seen a ring around the moon, my mom used to tell me that is how the Indians knew rain was coming (her great-grandmother was full blood Cherokee). But does that apply to the sun too? I think it did rain sometime after I took this pic... =)

Wanna see more? Check out Skywatch Friday. Click their logo or the link for more awesome skies!

Thankful Thursday

I am so Thankful for this:

Why you ask, are you thankful for that?? Well, first of all. let me tell you what THAT is. Those are my Stargazer lilies. Here is what they look like for those of you who might not be sure (this pic is from last summer):

These are my very favorite flowers! And here is why I am thankful for those sprouts in the first pic. Last fall, Cody, our Border Collie, got loose and Mr. Lovestodig decided he was going to dig a nice big hole in my flower bed! EEEEKK!!! When I discovered that huge hole, RIGHT where my Stargazers had once been, I was SO unhappy. The stalks had still been there, I hadn't cut them down yet because I was waiting for them to die back. But they were strewn all over my flower bed and dragged into the yard. SO....fast forward to a couple weeks ago. I saw my tiger lilies pop up, but no Stargazers....then, a few days ago, to my very delighted surprise, I saw my Stargazers had started to peek! Oh happy daaaaay! I seriously did a happy dance, you have no idea. I guess when Cody dug up the flower bed he just missed them and must have somehow just knocked off the stalks (that or he totally dug them up and reburried them and they survived somehow). So anyway, I am a happy camper knowing that I will be able to see and smell my lovely Stargazers once again this summer. Yay!

Do you have something to be Thankful for? Let everyone know about it! Just enter your name or name of your blog and add the link to your specific Thankful Thursday post (not your blog's homepage please!) Also, please add the Thankful Thursday logo or link to my blog in your post. Have fun and thanks for joining me!