When It Rains, It Pours

Usually when people say, "When it rains, it pours," there's a bad connotation to it, but rain can be a good thing and an overabundance can be a good thing too.  The last couple of nights the skies have opened up and poured on us with a big light show of lightning and thunder.  It canceled a lacrosse game(not entirely a bad thing as we were winning.)  Our waterfall is running extremely well.  Love the bright green of the ferns awaking for spring around it.(Ignore the dandelions needing to be pulled.)

Editorial Note:  I tried for a really long time to get a video of the waterfall to upload so you could both see and hear it run.  I finally gave up and just posted this pic.

Our grass is looking particularly green and lush right now.

The pouring isn't just happening from the sky.  I've had an embarassment of riches coming from blogland, too.  I've won several giveaways recently.  I won some gorgeous brown transferware from Alison at The Polohouse.  For those of you unfamiliar, Alison lives in a converted barn that is simply gorgeous.  She has such an eye for decorating and accessories, that I was especially excited to win this giveaway.  Included in the prize were a beautiful brown transferware plate, a couple of bone dishes that I used on my Easter dinner table, vintage monogrammed linens, an adorable bird and nest that I tucked into my big mossy "G", and a candlestick lamp.

When her package arrived I tore into it like a kid at Christmas.  Each item in the box was wrapped so beautifully in red toile tissue paper and lace, velvet, and grosgrain ribbons.  I wish I had had the foresight to have taken a pic before unwrapping everything, but like I said, I was pretty excited.

As fantastic as all those things were the absolute best part of the whole package was the vintage Easter postcard that she had tucked into the box.  It was adorable, and I immediately tucked it into the base of my Easter brunch table centerpiece.  But the part that makes it the absolute best is what was revealed at brunch.

While we were sitting at brunch my SIL plucked it out and read the back of it.  My FIL looked a bit shocked and had to read it himself.  The card was signed by Frances and Clarence.  My FIL's father(CG's grandfather,) who we knew as Frank, was named Frances and his step-father was named Clarence.  This card was obviously not from them, but spooky weird right?

I also won a follower milestone giveaway from Carrie at Fine & Handy.  She writes a blog that shares her love of DIY, thrifting, and fantastic makeovers.  What's the absolute best prize for a DIYer?  One of these.  Woohoo!  I'll finally be able to finish that bookshelf I've been working on.  Home Depot here I come.

I also won a pretty fantastic prize from Roeshel at DIY Showoff, but I'll wait until that arrives to show it off properly.

And last but not least, Bianca at Little Brick Ranch presented me with the Kreativ Blogger Award.  She writes a blog that features a terrific mix of food, DIY, and gardening.

To accept this award I need to tell you all 10 random things about me and give this to 10 other bloggers.  So without further ado:

1.  I don't eat mammals.  I know this may come as a shock to those who have tried my pork chops or cheddar brats recipes, but I don't eat those things.  I have no problem feeding them to my family.  It's just a personal thing.  I tend to eat fish or tofu on the nights when I make that stuff for the boys.

2.  I had a really hard time adjusting to SAHMomdom.  I'd worked sometimes 2 jobs since I was 12 and had no idea what to do with myself and WD was driving me nuts.  I told CG that if I'd been a smoker, he probably would have come home to me chain smoking in the bathroom.  I've worked it out since then.

3.  I listen to industrial metal music.  I listen to orchestral, pop, show tunes, folk, etc. too, but in the car by myself I listen to headbanging music.

4.  I went to school in Miami, FL and could never, ever again live somewhere where Christmas lights are strung in palm trees.  I may complain about the long winter here, but Christmas lights do not belong in palm trees.  It's just wrong.

5.  I own over 75 pairs of shoes.  It's a sickness.

6.  I totalled 3 cars by the time I was 20, but have had a clean driving record since.  It's amazing what having kids will do to your aggressive tendencies.

7.  My arms are obnoxiously long for my body.  My wingspan is longer than my height.  I call them monkey arms.

8.  Those monkey arms make me a great rock climber, and in my crazy younger days I even rock climbed with WD in a baby backpack.  Maybe that's why he's the daredevil of the two.

9.  I eat a bowl of ice cream while watching The Biggest Loser.(only when Glee is a rerun, because if it's a new one - I'm watching Glee.)

10.  Eating that bowl of ice cream while watching them sweat will make me feel tremendously guilty which forces me on the ground for pushups and crunches for the next half hour.  I'm nutty like that.

And now that you know more than you ever wanted to know about me, here's who I'm handing out this award to:

Cat on a Limb

Charcoal and Crayons

Country Glamour Home

Crafts by Holly

Debbiedoos Blogging and Blabbing

Fine and Handy

In the Fun Lane

No Place Like Our Home

Tumbleweed Home

You Made That?

Thanks for popping in and listening to my randomness.  I hope you'll check out some of the blogs I linked to.