{a perfect day}

Good morning blogger friends~
Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. I know I am!
Friday morning my friend and I got up super early to ride 23 miles! You know it's been hot here so we thought the earlier the better. Well it was perfect! We saw so much nature and when were finished we went down to the beach in New Buffalo and then after that went to my favorite beachy place that we have around here ~ The Stray Dog ~

They have an upper deck that is just so happy and cute!It overlooks a marina and if you look in the bottom left-hand corner of this photo you can see our bikes on her truck!

I know it's not the ocean....but it still makes my heart happy! The breeze..the water...the wine...
What.. that's not three glasses of wine that I had! At least I skipped the pizza this time...still working towards my goal from my birthday~
Look at all the happy people on a gorgeous Friday afternoon~
I love that they have umbrellas everywhere because it gets really hot in the sun. If you look really hard over the tops of everything you can see Lake Michigan in the distance! I just love that~I was super happy that I could actually be warm in a little sundress and sandals...it really doesn't take much to make me happy~ I think we clean up pretty well after sweating out 23 miles!
It great to have fun while still working towards fitness goals...at least I think it is! This week's long ride will be 30 miles.....getting closer to that century!

"If you want something, don't wish for it, work for it. Life is too short to wait." ~ Stephen Hines

{it's hot}

And I couldn't be happier!!

The pool is finally warm enough to swim in....

After a nice swim it's great to take a little nap on the loungers!
Oh who am I kidding I don't nap....I have too much energy to nap~

Maybe Ruby will take a nap on them!
Speaking of Ruby....she's growing like a weed~
My little baby is growing up. She doesn't even look like a puppy anymore...



Life in the Midwest is interesting for sure! We go from this...
To all of this~
Flowers bursting out everywhere~
I love geraniums...they always make me think of my grandma~
Black eyed susans are just so happy~
The lemon yellow of a daylilly~
Makes me think of a perfectly sunny morning~

I think clematis blossoms are really charming and cute! I wish I could plant them everywhere!The astilbees just glow in the morning sun! I don't think I could be any happier! Lots of people that live in the Midwest start complaining when the temperatures start climbing like they have been....me...I just enjoy it!! We wait all winter for this....

To me there is nothing happier than just tinkering around in the yard all day sweating..I am in pure bliss right now!

Hope you have a super happy day~

"Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it." William Feather

{the pond}

I finally got around to building the pond and I did it all by myself in one day!!!!! I couldn't be happier than a kitty rolling around in the grass in the sunshine!!!! I love how it turned out...but lets see what you think?!?!?

Now I think the front door area is complete~~ Except for the pond pump cord...which my husband is going to help me out with!!

I am so proud that I did this all by myself! I know my husband would have helped me but I am not a very patient person and just wanted to get it done!! So I did it! The digging took about 4 straight hours! I was super sore the next day but it was so worth it!

Plus it was a free workout! No weights required~I still need to get fish and pond plants...but I think it still looks pretty happy~ In my dream world I would be some sort of garden designer....I just love doing this!!!

In fact this autumn I am going to apply to the Master Gardener program!! Just another thing to help keep me busy during the long midwestern winter!

Oh yeah....happy first day of summer!! woohoo~
"People take pictures of summer, just in case someone thought they had missed it, and to prove that it really existed."-- Ray Davies

{dark chocolate}

I *heart* dark chocolate especially paired with a delicious red wine! I have a little square of dark chocolate almost every night after dinner... hmmm....what does that say about my wine consumption!?!?!
Lately I have been into dark chocolate with chili. Sounds a little strange but tastes fabulous.

one.....lindt
two.....toasted head
Then I found this yummy looking chocolate... chocolove
Could be a new one to try!

Or maybe I should try and do a little good while you enjoying my dark chocolate and wine! chocolate bar
Part of the proceeds of this bar go to help endangered species!!

Or I could help support and spread the word about rescue dogs by drinking wine!dog lovers wine club
You know I am a sucker for rescue dogs~They'll even do custom labels of your pet! What a great gift idea!

Of course I always love beautiful packageing and this chocolate looks lovely~

oh joy

Or maybe..vosges chocolate

And lastley...I am definately going to make this recipe at some point...

veg news
vegetarian dark chocolate chili! YUM....except i'll probably subsitute cabernet for the coffee in the recipe!!

Why you ask....am I posting about red wine...dark chocolate...and chili in what is *supposed to be* the beginning of summer......WELL

because it's crappy, cold and rainy here in *lovely* Indiana!!!!!!!

Hope you have a happy day! I am going out to continue working on building the pond!! Stay tuned!

{life}

Have a Happy Day~
{ps. can any of you direct me somewhere to learn how to make the pictures on my blog bigger?? I know I have to change the template to strech and I have played around with changing the size in the HTML code of the pictures...and it makes the picture bigger but then it's super fuzzy?!?!?}
Thanks!

{the front door}

Finally painted the front door last weekend~

Turned out *OK*.....
It wasn't the exact blue I was after...but I still think it looks happy! It seems like I can never pick the paint color that I see in my mind! Why is that?!?!?

I might paint it again at some point~

But not right now.

I added a cute little chalk board {just an old frame I had that I painted black and painted some sheet metal with chalkboard paint} works out just perfect! And I like the happy little flowers below it! I like the house numbers....Had to add those awhile back after the UPS guy wrote me a little note regarding not having house numbers on my house. Sorry!

Happy little flowers to greet our company!

The little pillows I just made look perfect {I think} on the front porch!

And one of my favorite things...

Using wine boxes to plant flowers in! Simple and cute! This one is a little old..but they do last quite awhile and I only pay $5 for them! Cost effective~

Even Ruby and L.C. like to hang out on the front porch!
OK.....really they just like to chase the chipmunks that live around the front porch!

Next will be the pond!! Yippee.....
I love summer projects!! Don't you!?!?!?
Have a happy week~

{riding}

As you know...I have been starting to ride alot! I am up to 20 miles on my long rides and last time my friend and I went we shaved 10 minutes off our ride!!! I was so proud! I am working towards riding a century in September so every little bit counts!
I love being active and have found riding to be especially fun! Last time we saw deer, heard a Pileated Woodpecker and passed some awesome homes along the Lake Michigan shoreline!

This year I finally broke down and bought a new bike! My old bike was just not made for road riding! Can you believe it....even my bike is blue!! I am blue obsessed!! It's a Cannondale....mostly because my last bike was a Cannondale and I was really happy with it!!

And here is my gear~Mostly hand-me-downs except for the gloves~ The glasses are my husband safety glasses!! Hey they work fine!

But I find myself daydreaming of upgrading some of my gear/clothes. Here is what I have found!

Super cute blue gloves!! Very important to keep your hands from going numb on the long rides!
Nice helmet in my favorite colors!!

And of course the clothing!!
The possibilities are endless! And there are lots of options in my favorite color!!!

A cute bag to store your snacks in! You definately need snacks I am learning! I have hit the wall on more than one occasion~Cute little socks~

I definately love the socks!! Plus they fit more into my budget!! Right now I get my workout clothes from Walmart!! But I think it's important to buy a few new things here and there for your sport! It helps keep you motivated and looin' good!!!!

The best parts of my new favorite song~

My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, Leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride
If today was your last dayAnd tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?.........

Every second counts 'cause there's no second try,
So live like you'll never live it twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life.......

You know it's never too late
To shoot for the stars,
Regardless of who you are
So do whatever it takes
'cause you can't rewind
A moment in this life
Let nothin' stand in your way
'cause the hands of time
Are never on your side

Nickelback

Get out there and do the things you really love~