Vacation preparation...

I've been busy this week... what with lots of work to finish off, a stack of ironing ( and when I say stack, I mean STACK - I hate ironing, I normally like to save pile of it for when my friend Anne comes, but she doesn't like me anymore and hasn't bothered to visit) (Only joking Anne..do you want to book a holiday when I'm back from Aus?)and there is the packing...Packing, where are you going Clare?

Well, I'm off on a little sojourn to Jamaica actually (Whoop Whoop). Consequently this week has been manic. Today is nails day (you should see them) and I pity the poor girl when she starts on my feet.. don't quite know what has happened to them these past two weeks but they look something like this....

Maybe not quite this bad!

Hoping by this afternoon they will look like this!

Then its a home to touch up the gray... yes, not only am I not a natural blond, I have tons of grey too!  I don't know what my natural colour is anymore its been so long that I've been dyeing it. Unfortunately whilst my Mother is extremely youthful in the face (hopefully this will pass down to me!) she went grey very early in life and I followed quickly behind.. so in between highlights I have to touch my grey up every 2-3 weeks... nightmare!

I've booked Gary into Doggy Daycare for the weekend - he goes to Dog Day Afternoon. He always has a great time and gets to play all day with the other dogs! I did tell him this morning that he was going on his holidays and didn't get much response..

Gary not taking any notice of me ..

I'm not having my dog ignoring me, so I coaxed him up and got him to sit and listen me ..

'Gary, Mommy loves you, but she's leaving you for 4 days at Dog school. You'll have a great time, and wont even miss us'

 As you can see, he doesn't care a hoot...and what tongue!

Maybe get one more post in tomorrow before I leave, but if not, Bon Voyage...and I'll be back with an irritating amount of tropical pictures next week xx

Think of me when I have to get off my sunbed to swim to the pool bar...


UPDATE....

Nails buffed and shined, I look like a human again, although as I chose to have 'holiday, no work nails' I now cannot type!

Gary ..loving the taste of my new nails!

On a happier note...

So I have banished my depression about the garden away now and have been focusing on getting things 'done'...You know when you say to yourself..' I really need to do this' and 'tomorrow I'll do that'... well fed up of procrastinating I made a list of everything that needed to be done...and wait for it...did it all!!!

I had the most huge pile of ironing....well it looked huge until I started .. it actually whittled itself down to considerably less (funny how that works!) .. I hate ironing, so to do this much in one go was a huge step for me. Why bother? I can't bear to see my husband go out of the door rumpled in the morning (or me for that matter) so ironing it is...

I've looked for solutions to ease my ironing affliction....

... this seems a little extreme, time consuming (and nutty!).. sort of defeats the object..

I've found websites that promise a miracle spray that 'magically' disintegrates wrinkles..

apparently 'Spray It On and Watch Wrinkles Disappear!' Mary Ellen’s I Hate Ironing! Is the fast alternative to pulling out the old ironing board. All you do is hang your garment on a hanger, spray at least 8 inches away with a sweeping motion until it is slightly damp, pull out wrinkles, and using your hands-smooth downward. Let hang to dry before wearing. It’s odorless, too! Now that sounds good..but I don't have time to wait til everything is dry...where am I supposed to hang everything, and surely one bottle would last about 1 load!... expensive de-wrinkler that!

So good old fashinoned ironing it was... ths was about half of it!

So ironing done..what next..

Dinner....I've had a lonely packet of mince beef in the freezer crying out for a bolognese sauce for ages...and most unlike me, I did a whole 'mise-en-place' first. (Normally when I cook the kitchen looks like a bomb has hit it, but today, serenity.

My Mise-en-Place! sorry for the shameless advertising for Hunts & College Inn

Next ..the doorbell rings and whooohhooooo my super sale shopping bonanza arrives.. Firstly let me premise the next paragraph by saying that I had to buy some jeans and polos for hubby for work from Old Navy, and may have just been drawn into the sales items.....

 

 I thought my 17 items for $143 including delivery & tax was pretty smart shopping! Some of it is going back because I seem to have got smaller (or they have changed their sizing!), but I now have a few nice tops for spring (which seems to have arrived today (75F) in Jacksonville!)

Gary watched on approvingly as I tried them all one..well he was getting his tummy tickled everytime I went to admire myself in the bathroom mirror!

Lastly on my list of 'to dos' I have been meaning to take Gary 'up the trail'.  The apartment complex where we live during the week is surrounded by nature trails.. but I normally stick to walking round the development as it feels safe. But I picked up my pepper spray and we set off into the woods.... well it was very nice, and safe (no need to mace squirrels, raccoons or vicious dogs) and Gary had a great time with all the new smells..it's a lot further than we normally go, but thats a good thing as this is what happens to him! He tried to play ball with his squeekies, but was exhausted after about 3 fetches!

All in all a most excellent day...what dead plants?