It seems that no matter what we try, our bedding wears out in about a year.  Whether we buy expensive bedding or cheap bedding, it doesn’t really matter – it never really lasts.

I guess that part of the problem could be that we have kids and our blankets are used for everything from dragging the kids around the house, to making forts – so we get our moneys worth out of them.

Lately, we have been looking at clearance bed in a bag sets as an alternative to the more expensive ones in the stores.  So far it looks like we can save quite a bit of money without having to sacrifice quality – I’ll update you in a year as to how it went.

One of the things that I learned growing up was an appreciation for landscaping designs.  You see, my father was a perfectionist when it came to our yard, and he even went as far as entering competitions to see if he was indeed the best.

His biggest challenge was learning the art of lantana care as no matter what he tried, the lantanas rarely survived.  But, through perseverance and trial and error, he was finally able to get it.

I thought that I would not have the same passion as he did when it came to innovative landscaping design ideas, but I was mistaken.  In fact, it was his passion that ignited my interest in landscaping.

Though I may not be as dedicated when it comes to landscaping, I am at my best when I am taking care of the yard - there is just something truly peaceful about working with plants.

We have lived in our home for many years now, and it is starting to look dated.  It could be the yellow color of the appliances, or it could just be the fact that my home just reminds me of the 1980s.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the money to change everything at once.  So we have decided to take it room by room and do a little at a time.  Hopefully, we can have the whole house done over the next couple years.

This month, we have decided to go look at showers.  We currently just have a tub with a shower, and it would be nicer to just have one of those shower cubicles instead.

I think that we will also look into electric showers since our water heater isn’t working very well lately.  They would be much cheaper than replacing the water heater at the moment.

Well, I should get going to the store - I would like to get started on the bathroom today.

I think that our home might have suffered the worst disaster that it has ever had to in the five short years of its existence.  Now, it wasn’t any natural disaster by any means, but rather something that happened by accident.

You see, I had my son carry a case of wine from the basement up to the main floor.  Now, I knew that it was going to be sort of heavy, but he is a big boy, so I didn’t think that it was going to be any problem.

Boy, was I wrong.

He made it successfully up the stairs and into the living room, when the box broke.  The wine bottles all smashed and I found my white carpet stained with wine - pretty much all over the living room.

Thankfully, the carpet cleaning Exeter company that we usually use has an emergency line, and they are over right now.  I hope that it can be fixed.

When I shop at the supermarket and the bagger asks me, “Paper or plastic?” I pause and tap my chin. “Let’s see,” I say. “Shall I kill a tree today or pollute the environment?” Clearly the teenagers who bag my groceries miss the irony entirely. The girls just giggle and look confused. The boys just appear clueless.

Such debates don’t end here. When it came time for installing replacement windows in our house before the divorce sale, we threw the question “Wood windows or vinyl windows?” back and forth for about a week. We opted, in the end, for vinyl replacement windows, since we wouldn’t be living there and they were a popular home improvement recommendation at local home improvement stores and in realtor newsletters we were inundated with when we started shopping around for the best real estate company.

Still, I have to agree with Kermit. “It’s not easy being green.”

In my humble opinion, there is no better location for a great home barbeque than atop a deck. There’s just one problem. It’s outside.

Let me explain. I hate to clean. Anything. Well, except for my hands. Can’t stand to have them dirty.

Anyway, since decks are outside, they’re exposed to the elements, tree debris, animal leavings and just plain dirt. When the deck became my husband’s domain, I assumed that meant he would take care of the deck cleaning. Well, I was wrong.

So I pulled a “Tom Sawyer” on him. I said that was fine, that I was looking forward to cleaning the deck, since the directions on the deck cleaner container showed what watery fun it actually was to make your deck gleam.

He grabbed the container and read quickly, kind of harrumphed and said, “On second thought, I’d better do it. It’s too much for you with the baby due.”

Works every time…

I’ll be honest here: I love the outdoors but I hate bugs.  I especially hate it when you get Mosquito bites after venturing outside for a few minutes to take out the trash.  We have tried using bug zappers, but they have never really given us the results that we were looking for.

While I was at the store today, I took a look in the seasonal department to see if they had developed anything new to combat bugs.  I wasn’t expecting a bug flamethrower by any means, but I did want something that would work.

What I found was a Mosquito trap that they had on sale.  All you had to do is plug it in, and the trap would do the rest.

I have purchased a couple and will be setting them up in my yard tomorrow.  I feel that it would be best to get a head start on removing the mosquitoes as soon as possible.  Who knows, I might actually get to enjoy my summer this year.

Well, most of the snow in my yard is melted, and that means one thing - it is time to get ready for summer.  I wouldn’t say that it is my favorite time of year by any means, but the sooner I get the work done, the sooner I can sit down for a break.

Yesterday, I spent most of my time pulling out old weeds from the flower beds.  I guess I must have been lazy last fall, as there were a large number of weeds to remove.  But, I find it pretty easy to take care of that in spring, so I am not complaining.

I also made a point of getting my deck cleaning done today.  It was a lot easier this year than last, thanks to the deck sealant I put on it last year.  It was as simple as pressure washing the deck, and that was it.  I even had enough time to wash the patio as well - and it isn’t even noon yet!

Well, I think my break is over - I should get back outside.

Have you ever had a toilet where it just trickles water into the tank all night long?  Well, I did this week, and it was driving me nuts.  Unfortunately for me, my bedroom is right beside the bathroom, and that is all I could hear.

Three days with no sleep definitely gives you the resolve to fix a continuously running toilet.  Now, I could have called a plumber, but I figured that it had to be something really simple.

I looked online for a good home plumbing repair website that would have step by step instructions on how to fix the toilet and I managed to find one.

After a quick trip to the hardware store, I was able to fix the toilet by myself.  Let me tell you - if being a plumber is as easy as the job was today, maybe it is time for me to change careers.