What Ana Does

Trying to get pumped up about working in my backyard this weekend. I'm viewing the chore with the usual resignation. During the winter months, we hardly trek into the wilds of our backyard, but it's finally time to get out there and make some much-needed maintenance. 1. Prep deck area for the new deck ... coming soon! Meaning, if I want to keep the bulbs or blossoming bush, I have to move them or they'll be covered/killed by the weed guard going underneath the deck. 2. Clean up the sand toys that were blown around the yard a few months ago. Let's not discuss the fact that the sand box was sold off last summer. (Why do I still have sand toys?) 3. Prep the veggie bed and plant some radish/spinach seeds. I've read they are hardy enough to withstand some frost. 4. Trim down the hedges. I've been researching cordless trimmers and they aren't that expensive. Just $60 and a few hours of my time and the wildness of the yard will be tamed. 5. Start adding...

Oh the joy of being back on the soccer field. Is there a better sign of Spring?! It was a tad chilly but there's nothing like the feeling of being back on the soccer field with this group of fantastic girls. Chilly Night From the Practice Fields

The best part of being on vacation is no dishes to wash and put away. The worst part? Umm, can't come up with one. Sun burn? Daily Views Vacation means unhurried time with my family. Reading time. Swimming time. Time to eat. Sleeping in. No dogs to let out early. No school bus. No schedule. Putting Facebook on my phone because I have time to scroll through. Time to get dirty. Extra time to get clean. A different pace to the day that eases the knots of what's normal.  Related posts: Let's talk about traveling with kids 

I love browsing Etsy to find new and fun items (who doesn't!?) ... and adding them to my favorites list for future consideration. Then, when I'm feeling weak and in need of retail therapy, I have a little cache of goodies to look at. Here's from my latest browse ... 1. I love this  adorable fat quarter  with the bikes in the park. The colors are a little different and would make a delightful quilt! Future Bike Quilt?  2. I'm a big fan of music quotes in art. I have a few on my walls already, and I'm always on the look out for more. This Bruce Springsteen quote would memorialize Leah and Alice's first concert experience brilliantly. Bruce Springsteen Quote!   3. I love these bright and cheery hoop earrings ! They've been in my Cart forever -- just waiting for that day I have a good excuse to buy them. Beaded Hoops. This shop is Full of Cheerful Jewlery 4. This shop is full of cut-out paper art. What a medium! I really like the color com...

For Christmas/Hanukkah, our dear friends gave us a gift certificate to have our family portraits drawn by an artist through Etsy. It took me three months to finally reach out to the artist but I did and it's been a fun process. I had to send over a bunch of images of the family. Shots of our faces and some information like eye color and clothing preferences. Want to know what I sent?

This week our neighbor who is fostering SEVEN newborn puppies at her house brought one to them bus stop and it was pandaemonium! Puppy love explosion! Leah With One of the Puppies Not unwarranted ... those puppies were soft and sweet and Oh SO fun to hold. But, HELLO! We're dealing with an 8-month-old puppy at home NOW. Sure, he's not little and soft but he's biting his way through half the house and certainly acting like a puppy. ANYWAY, yesterday Alice was so ticked off I wouldn't adopt one of Ms. Lydie's puppies she got on the bus without talking to me. Sigh. I was ready for another argument this morning about why three dogs in our house was completely insane (two dogs in our house is leaning towards crazy, as it is). But Alice decided this morning, in one of her ruler-mandate-sort-of-ways that our family was "perfect the way it was and I don't want anything new added." Alice Pleased With Our Current Canine Companions So fine. ...

Allow me to fangirl for a minute here.... because Jamie Dornan is just so very handsome! I'm so pleased they are filming Fifty Shades sequels right now because my Instagram feed is full of on-set pictures from all the fandom folks I'm following. It's DELIGHTFUL to be scrolling through my feed and find this gorgeous face. Kissy Kissy!  I'm Adorable!  This One Captions Itself I left the account names on my fun little screengrabs, in case you're looking for more pictures. And, yes, there is A LOT more pictures.. and more coming almost every day. Thank you obsessive fans! 

With each season comes the opportunity to do some shopping for my girls. They continue to grow like weeds -- especially Alice. Her feet keep skipping shoe sizes! Anyway, there's nothing I love more than scouring my favorite kid clothing sites for some adorable clothes. And even though shorts and t-shirts are most needed for summer camp, it's more fun to look at dresses! Hannah Anderson is my current favorite place to shop for "good" essentials, especially the leggings, because they hold up soooo well. This little  nautical outfit  is on Leah's Spring list. I'm completely in love with it, too. And they've got red corp leggings to go with it. Hannah Anderson: Ribbon Sundress While packing for Orlando a few weeks ago, I discovered Leah has NO summer dresses that fit her. So we hit the mall Saturday evening to see what we could find on sale. Leah just got this green dress from the Gap  that's one of her favorite colors. Gap: Floral Bloom Flut...

In an interview with  Entertainment Weekly musician Ray LaMontagne's talks about how his new album came together: "I don't regularly practice meditation," he says. "But this is as close as I come. I get very quiet and talk to whatever energy is out there. 'I'm here,' I say. 'If you want to play, let's play!' [Then] little melodies filter down. That’s how this record happened." So, yeah, I'm going to have to buy the new album. And that's that. What if we all took time to listen to that quiet energy around us? Related posts: Read more favorite quotes

My first concert was Cyndi Lauper when I was 13ish. My uncle took my older sister and I and I remember finding the whole thing overwhelming but fun. It wasn't until I met David did I start attending concerts often. In our 20s, concert-going was our main expense after food/shelter and we saw a LOT of amazing shows. He took me to my first Bruce show in 1999 at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. It felt like a religious experience. The showmanship! The talent! The excitement! Being in a stadium with the lights up for Born to Run and the whole crowd singing a long. I was hooked. Bruce is doing a concert to commemorate The River, a double LP he put out in 1980 and a big turning point in his career -- and we immediately knew the girls had to get tickets, too. It was time for them to come along. (Who knows how many more tours Bruce has in him!?) We got tickets, I ordered Snug ear protection for their little ears, and ignored the fact that the show, in Milwaukee, was on a school night. ...

We try to eat some-what local/seasonal at my house. Mostly, I try to avoid fruit flown in from outside the country. And only organics. In the summer, we pack in fruit like crazy -- especially from our local CSA. In winter, it's all about west coast kiwis and avocados.  So when Costco has California organic strawberries in the middle of winter -- not a normal occurrence -- it's a little like winning the lottery. Sure, they are twice the price as strawberries in the summer, and they don't taste as good -- but it's like a little taste of summer.  Life is Like a Bowl of Winter Strawberries

I snapped this picture just before I removed all the breakables to prepare for the carpet installation. I thought it looked kinda pretty, so thought I'd share.  Dining Room Wall

From Chronicle Books I recently erased this saying from the hallway blackboard after about a year of looking at it. It's one of my favorite inspirational quotes and a good reminder to not take beautiful things for granted. Just a little something to get you through the rest of the week. Related posts: All my favorite quotes

At Alice's teacher conferences last week, I spied this gem on the bulletin board. The first graders must have been talking about their five senses. Alice's favorite smell? Her "uncle's soap." He makes homemade soap and she's been taking great care to use it since he gave us the bars for Christmas.  And don't you just love phonetic spelling!?! 

We took a quick trip down to Universal Studios over the weekend. And while the weather was chilly for Florida at 65 during the day, it was lovely to be in the sun without hats, mittens and boots. But more importantly, the Harry Potter experience is basically heaven on Earth for Potter fans. The attention to detail! The shops! The food! To quote Ace Ventura (as I often do) "this is my Graceland, sir." Well worth the price of admission. Alice would have gone on the Hogwarts Express ride 20 times in a day, if she could. It was that amazing. The rest of Universal parks are pretty cool, too. Lots to do and see. And it wasn't a crazy-busy time of year, so the lines weren't nuts. Fantastic family getaway. HAD to Get These Hogwarts-Bound Wizards Robes and Wands! We also got to see my Grams who recently relocated near Orlando and bring her lots of flowers. We're heading back to Orlando in a few weeks but with no park passes, we're looking forward to relax...