ten on tuesday (the what i've been doing now that i'm finally home edition)

1. We got a hummingbird feeder. I made the special food. We hung it outside the kitchen window. We have seen zero hummingbirds.

2. I bought three new house plants. From Ikea, a lovely aloe vera plant, for those just-in-case-I-burn-myself moments. From Lowes, a lipstick plant and a soft, feathery fern, for filling in some blank spaces. I love house plants. Maybe it's all the fresh oxygen they provide. Maybe because they remind me of my grandmas. Maybe I'm just a weirdo who should've gone into horticulture instead of education.

3. The hubs and I went to Goodwill today to make a lovely donation of crap. Then we went inside to shop for more crap. Came out with a really cool globe, a big huge binder (I couldn't pass up the 99 cent price tag) and, to Phil's delight, an unmarked Fenton hobnailed double crimped short vase. My man knows his milkglass. And, might I add, we love the ambiance the globe adds in our family room/office/library.

4. Wyler's Italian Ices are the essence of summer. I first discovered them when I moved out here. Found them for a dollar a box at Walgreens. But for the last two summers, I haven't been able to find them anywhere. Great sadness abounded. Today, much to my pleasant surprise, I found them at Bi-Mart. (I know, you've never heard of Bi-Mart. Well, neither had I until I moved to the northwest.)

5. I got some cash from my parents for my birthday which was cool because I've been wanting to get new canisters. After much searching at lots of different stores and online at every place I could think of, I finally found the set I liked at Walmart. Go figure. They are just basic clear glass jars with silver lids. So classic looking. And I love them. Thank you, Sam Walton. And thank you, Mom & Dad.

6. We finally hung up the Thomas Kinkade above the piano. And we've only lived here for three and a half months.

7. We've picked one banana pepper and four zucchini from our little garden, and once the tomatoes ripen, we're going to have them coming out our eyeballs.

8. I'm gearing up for VBS next week. I'm working on the songs and trying to figure out what motions to use. Our theme is Follywood - and it's about teaching kids how to discern TV shows, music, and other media. The stage is going to be decorated like a movie set. We've got a ticket booth coming, the red carpet lined with palm trees, a Walk of Faith with Bible character's names on big gold stars, and a song that spoofs On Broadway. I need big huge sunglasses and a boa. I love VBS!

9. I recently discovered when I was uploading pictures to costco.com that I can make picture collages and print pictures in 8X8 and 12X12 sizes. That just gave me a whole new reason to scrapbook!!!

10. I can't stop watching the fountains at Bellagio on Youtube. It was seriously one of the coolest things I've ever seen.