Pink slip

I've been temporarily relieved of my duties as family secretary. This morning we suited up and strapped Maren in and drove to the place where you get emissions testing done for your car, which is required for registration in the state of Colorado. You see, I was under the (erroneous) impression that both of our cars' registrations were due for renewal this month, and since Quin is on leave we decided to do it all at once. We pulled into the emissions testing facility, Quin in one lane and me in the other. At that time, decided to pull out the old registration and insurance documents in case they were needed, and that's when I noticed that my car was actually registered last September. A quick hop out of the car and I verified that there was a 9 sticker on my plates, not a 7. Oopsie. I called Quin and told him of my total stupidity, and luckily there was no one behind me so I was able to do some fancy driving maneuvers and pull backwards around a curve so I could get out of line. Just as I pulled out and over to where Quin was, it was his turn in line (at least the wait was short!). I walked over to his car where he kindly pointed out his registration documents that clearly showed that his car's registration isn't due until the end of August. Double oopsie. So, I've been fired.

The photo above is the pot that sits on my patio table. Last weekend I finally managed to get to the nursery, since Quin could watch Maren for me. I bought red geraniums for the pot on my front walk that match the cute little welcome sign slate that I ordered. I saw an article on succulents in a recent magazine and I decided to do those on my back table instead of flowers. You don't have to worry so much about them getting dried out--in fact, they like being dry--plus they're interesting-looking, aren't they? They look like little alien plants, and I had much fun picking out different varieties for my pots. I love how they turned out! The smaller pot here at right sits on a little side table that matches my big table, but I'm going to have to keep a good eye on that one because Maren has already sampled the little guys hanging over the edge of the pot. I know they look like peas, but I doubt they taste like them. That cute little guy is called String of Pearls, for obvious reasons. The one on the left is called Sea Shell, I think. I love the big ones in the top pot that are gray-green with pink tips! The cushions on my patio chairs have greens and burgundies, so they coordinate perfectly. I just love them!

I have 4 iron window-box type planters hanging off my back deck, placed there by the former owners. They had coconut husk liners that I tossed at the end of last summer because they were in rough shape. I've looked all over for replacements and finally found two this morning at a nursery on the way home from the Emissions debacle. They were $10 each and I still need two more, and when you add in soil and flowers, I'll be into those things for a hundred bucks, easy. I'm thinking maybe this year I'll get the liners, and leave the dirt and flowers to next summer. I like petunias, but not $100 worth.

This afternoon I'm going to get my hair cut! It has literally been 7 months since I had a haircut, which is a long gap even by my standards. Curly-haired folk such as myself can get away with going a little longer between cuts, because it's not so obvious when we have split ends and I don't really have a 'style' cut into my hair that needs maintaining. Jen Stewart mentioned a website on her blog called NaturallyCurly.com where people can post recommendations for salons, and I found a girl who happens to be nearby who got several thumbs-up nods. I'm not sure what I even want done with my hair other than highlights and a good cut. I think I'm tired of trying to figure it out myself and I just want to find someone I can trust enough to say, "Do whatever you want, I know it will look good." We'll see. Maybe if it turns out I'll even post a picture here later.

And with that, I'll leave you with a picture of Maren on the 4th of July in her cute flag outfit that Daddy picked out (way to go, Daddy!) and my new red geraniums.