To Everything There Is A Season

Spring masquerading as winter is a reality that I ignore every year, yet it proved undeniable this week. The first day of spring dawned, tentatively clear and hinting at the promises it held, the second day of spring brought hail, the third day provided an inch of snow, and then I realized that the faint chuckle I had been hearing on the wind was, in fact, winter laughing at my naive optimism. Trying to keep two active dogs entertained indoors until the weather cooperates is also an exercise in futility since optimism regarding outdoor conditions is apparently not restricted to humans.

Snow? Wind? Hail? I fail to see a problem...

Despite the bipolar weather, we decided to take on a new trail this weekend that offers views normally reserved for mountain goats. All in all it was a nice hike; the sun offset the chill of the wind and the footing was solid aside from a few muddy spots.

Bargain Buy of the Week:

After spending an afternoon in a local furniture store discovering that it would cost $2000 - $3000 to get an actual bedroom set, I happened upon this craigslist gem for $100. Even though it necessitates an update of the nightstands and lamps, it still feels like we will be coming out ahead!

"In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours."
Mark Twain

Another Day, Another Trail

Two days at work, two days off, one day at work, and two more off. This is the kind of schedule that I could get used to... In all seriousness though, the Thanksgiving holiday couldn't have come at a better time - especially since the issues of last week are still making their presence known.

Chris and I are making an effort to explore more of the areas surrounding Boise, so we decided to head into the Boise National Forest to check out the Crooked River Trail on Sunday. The snow was a bit of a surprise, but it definitely enhanced the scenery. 

Aren't they cute?!

"If you want to make enemies, try to change something."

Woodrow Wilson

Strength in the Broken Places

I wrestled with posting this, but in an effort to be honest about actual life (rather than just sharing the highlight reel) I decided to hit publish.

Last week I had, for lack of a better term, a mental breakdown. I've been dealing with moderate depression for the past few months and, when combined with an inordinate amount of stress at work, it resulted in an involuntary, stress-induced seizure - which was one of the least enjoyable experiences of life thus far. 

The good news is that, with a week off from work, I'm feeling much closer to normally functioning. But the situation begs the question - why, as females, is there such an enormous need to create turmoil? I'm not saying that men are immune to this, but I've dealt with far less of these issues in co-ed workplaces.

In an effort to restore some serenity, we decided to head out for an eight mile hike at Dry Creek over the weekend. Dry Creek is not, in fact, particularly dry, but our expedition was successful in reestablishing my sanity. Add in a detox soak, new recipe attempt, and a healthy dose of Pinterest and the weekend will be complete.

"Give thanks for what you are now, and keep fighting for what you want to be tomorrow."
Fernanda Miramontes-Landeros

Pocketful of Sunshine

Summer has finally arrived in Boise! Our daytime highs haven't dipped much below the mid-80s in the past couple weeks, so bring on the sun-river-camping-hiking-biking-boating-fishing fun!

My coworkers and I have a mutual fondness of dogs and outdoor activities, so we have been doing a lot of group hikes lately. Our latest trip was to check out Military Reserve Park, which contains nearly 500 acres of crisscrossing trails. The loop that we took was quite literally uphill both ways, so the final verdict is that the park is awesome. And it kicked our butts. 

Well deserved

We also introduced some friends to Korean-style BBQ over the weekend, with great success. The only part of Korean BBQ that I dislike is the prep work - the amount of time required to prepare everything is disproportionally large in comparison to the meal itself. If it wasn't so delicious, I wouldn't be so willing to make it on a regular basis.

Obsession of the Week: I'll Bark When I Want To...
Please excuse the full title of this video, but it's way too funny not to share! I start giggling every time I think about it, and hysterical laughter ensues whenever I watch it - which has been about twelve times now. I don't want to bark anymore...

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." 
- Albert Einstein

Sunshine, Freedom, and a Little Flower

The holiday weekend started out a little rocky as the weather was inclement and I wasn't feeling well. After falling into bed as soon as I returned from work on Saturday, I woke up about an hour later to discover that two of our three furballs had snuggled up with me. Best medicine ever. I felt better when Sunday (and some sunshine) rolled around so we headed out for a day of wandering and a hike up Table Rock.

Since we didn't make any plans for Memorial Day other than relaxing, I took the opportunity to whip up a quick tour of our home.

Entryway/stairs

Kitchen/entryway

The kitchen!

More kitchen

Kitchen/dining. Excuse the ugly table and chairs!

Living room/dining

Living room

Living room from the stairs

This one is actually from a couple nights ago when Chris let a hornet in the house.
The dogs and I took refuge in the office until it was dispatched.

Master bedroom

Backyard

Play time!

Project of the Week: Mantle Art
Free shipping and 20% off at Art.com plus a 40% off coupon to Joann Fabrics meant that I was ready to implement my plan for an addition to our living room artwork. I found a print online and purchased an appropriately large canvas and some Tacky Spray at Joann's. The edges of the canvas were prepped with black latex paint, and spray adhesive was used to secure the print to the canvas (smoothing out any bubbles along the way).

In other news...

We lost our first softball game last week, but it was to a team that had requested a transfer into a more competitive league. I had a bit of a rough night and ended up with bruises from getting in the way of a couple line drives. On the bright side, I earned the respect of the "serious" players on our team by continuing to play after taking a line drive to the forearm that ricocheted directly into my throat. Luckily those areas didn't bruise as much as my leg.

Softball: 1, Me: 0

"But the freedom that they fought for, and the country grand they wrought for,
Is their monument to-day, and for aye."

Thomas Dunn English

To Drink the Sunshine and to Dream at Night

It was a gorgeous weekend here in Boise - although I may be a little biased since it was also my first Saturday off in a month! We took the dogs out to Camelsback Park, wandered the foothill trails, meandered through downtown, and spent some time with friends.

Methodist Church

Cute town homes

Capitol building

Project of the Week: Sandbox Rehabilitation

I have a few projects in the works, so after bouncing between them I settled on prepping the sandbox in our backyard for its conversion to a raised garden bed. We were able to kill two birds with one stone and refill the fire pit area with the same sandy soil that we removed.

All we need is a load of garden soil!

Puppy prints

"To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace."
Milan Kundera