Hello March!

Well, here we are, the first day of March, and I'm still trying to understand just how we got here so fast.  Were we not just celebrating Christmas a few days ago?

Goodness gracious, slow down time, just slow down and let me catch up.

Signs of spring seem to be all around me, in the beautiful flowers blooming all around me, to the green seedlings popping up on the ground, the green leaves on the trees and the dead brown grass that is now turning green in the backyard.

It makes me so happy, Spring is such a joyous time for me.

Every morning I open the door to the back yard, for my pugs to go potty, and this fellow comes flying to the chair right next to the door, waiting.....for dog food. No kidding!

He will hop around there and then sometimes walk right into the house, grab some dog food and fly to his nest. Stinker!

It is quite funny to see, though I wonder if he'll one day start barking. LOL

Puttered around with my yarn today, looked, reorganized, mixed and matched colors here and there, tried this and that, all while trying to decide what my next project would be.

I have a blanket figured out, and will start working on it tomorrow, but for today I wanted something super quick to make, and you can never have too many cute dishcloths and doilies around the house. One thing I like to do when I find a really cute dishcloth is to use it as a doily instead.

I grabbed a few colors from this basket, found the pattern I wanted to use and within about 45 minutes had it finished. For those interested, it's called the Be My Valentine Dishcloth from Sugar N' Cream.

Sometimes, those are the best crochet projects for me, the quick and rewarding ones.

Not sure if you can notice the light blue color, it was hard to get a picture that showed the exact color of that blue, but it's a very pale one.

Since it was payday, I got all my bills paid, and I did manage to finish that menu plan.  Whew!

Kids and I ran to the commissary for a few things for dinner as I'll only be going grocery shopping sometime this weekend.

After returning home and enjoying a quick lunch, Jasmine and I messed around with our nails for a while.  I have to tell you, I'm so happy that my daughter loves England and everything English as much as I do.

She even tells me that her plans are to go study in England, and she always says she wants to marry a cute English boy.  Hahahah

Anyway, since she's such a huge UK fanatic, we decided to have some fun with nail art and even though they're not perfect...like at ALL, I do so love her new nails.

And here's another look, she was drinking tea in her Doctor Who mug.

Aside from the cuteness factor, it's always great spending time with her. I believe that these teenage years are so crucial in a young girls life and I'm happy and blessed to know that my daughter enjoys spending time with me, chatting about what she is interested in, talking about boys and all that other fun stuff. Hope it goes on for many years.

Before I end this post, I wanted to share something with you.

I often go back through my blog and read old entries, it's a great way to reminisce and to think back on different times, where I was, what I was doing, my children as little ones, and so forth.

I came across a post I did back in 2008 called "I am from...." and it brought tears to my eyes.

The very first thing I saw was a photo that I took of my grandmother's hands as she baked.  Beautiful!

That alone put a lump in my throat, but the entry itself made me cry, it reminded me of where I came from and what wonderful things have molded me into who I am today.  It is a beautiful testament of  my life and was such a pleasure to write at the time.

I ask you to read it, and then if you so feel inclined, to write one yourself, and if you do please let me know, because I would love to read it :)

I AM FROM.....

I am from aprons and greatgrandmothers cooking in the kitchen, from tea with milk in the morning and wholesome homemade food for dinner.

I am from a seaside town, from fresh seafood and big family gatherings. From the smell of the ocean and the sound of the seagulls, from the narrow roads and the sound of kids playing outside until after sunset, from cashew nuts and warm afternoons on white sandy beaches.

I am from palm trees, from dense scrub-brush and impressive palm groves, from waves washing onto the beach and tourists sun tanning.

I am from big family dinners, talking and singing, from a loving family, from Ema and Eduardo and Odete and Julio, from Jacinta and Antonio. I am from skillful hands, and loving hearts. From talented singers and painters.

I am from Christian family loving people, from dinner tables set for twenty, from beer bottles and wine, from talking too loud and laughing too much. From survivors of the Independence War in Mozambique, from fighters and courageous souls. From Portuguese, Brazilian and French.

I am from "wear a coat or you'll get sick" and from "don't go swimming right after you eat, wait at least 3 hours".

I am from Mozambique and from Portugal, from big plates of prawns and curry, from steaks and fries and from sweet rice pudding.

From the men who went to war during the independence and fought with all their hearts, from the greatgrandmother and grandmother who bought me little toy pots and pans to practice cooking, from grandfather Julio who loved life and loved to laugh, from grandfather Antonio who was a brilliant guitar player and accompanied one of Portugal's famous Fado singers.

I am from old photographs kept in boxes in the closet, from photo albums stained from age barely holding together the memories of years gone by, from crocheted pot holders created by loving hands and big family trips by car.