Happy Mother's Day and a little catch up ..

Just wanted to give a little shout out to all the mother's that read here and say Happy Mommy Day to you. 

I'm halfway through this set of classes and come June I will happily take the summer off from school, yay me!  I'm awful proud of myself for making it through the first classes I've taken in nearly 20 years =)  Hopefully the next semester will be a little easier since I've kinda slid into a groove and gotten used to being a student again.  I did manage to tank one of my early classes, but I kinda expected to (which is probably why I did), and will just have to re-take that one at a later date.  I'm rather enjoying the ones I have now and am looking forward to the next the next semester classes, which will include Psychology and Sociology -- my favorites!!    I hope that, if nothing else, Pookie learns that it is never too late to make and reach a goal in her life, even if she waits until she's nearly 40 to go to college.

I've been doing the Yard Sale Hop with mom for the last couple weekends and have really enjoyed getting to spend that time with her when it's just us and Pookie.  I swear she has the best eye for spotting yard sale signs from miles away.  I told a friend the other day that mom's Bargain Senses tingle, just like Spiderman's Spidey senses lol.  We've been finding some pretty cool stuff for really cheap!  I like cheap ;)   I'll be adding pictures of some of my favorite finds as the summer progresses, since this is to be a weekly thing. My bestest deal was a brand new laptop case, never been used, for 25 cents.  I am alllll kinds of proud of that one!  I'm on the lookout for garden gnomes and a bird-bath, if I can find those this summer I'll be ecstatic!  lol 

The grandparents came by yesterday to drop off the riding mower for me to borrow for a few days because the yard is kinda like a jungle right now and it's so rutted from the shoddy job that the septic people did a few years ago that I cannot use a walk-behind mower back there without busting up the blades.  It has gotten so tall already this spring, I swear I saw some monkeys out there swinging in the bushes.  While they were here, grandpa checked out the dishwasher for me because it decided it wasn't going to work anymore.  He ran out to Lowe's to get a part for it real quick and came back an hour later (Lowes is 5 minutes away).  Grandma says, "Oh we got a little sidetracked.  Grandpa bought a new mower."  So, now I have a new-to-me riding mower.  My garage is getting a little cramped, but my yard may actually stay mowed, which means I can actually have friends over and let their children play in the yard without fear of losing them!!  They are so good to me!! :) 

My flower beds will also look much prettier without all the grass standing in front of them lol .. I've managed to separate and spread out all the perennials and have a few spots for some new ones that I probably should start seedlings for.  I worked all last summer on those beds only to realize this year that everything I have out there blooms in the spring or late summer, Tiger Lilies, Asiatic Lilies, Lambs Ear, Hosta, Asters, some kind of yellow flower with a fringy stem that I still haven't figured out, and some purple stuff lol.  There are no summer-blooming perennials out there!! LOL  So, I grabbed some seeds for summer bloomers, Hollyhock, Echinacea, Lavendar, Oriental Poppies, Goblins, Butterfly Weed, Blackeyed Susans, and several others, and will add those to the beds too.  Next summer they should be nice and full :) 

Anyway, just wanted to throw a little post out here since it's been a while, I have a strawberry-rhubarb upside down cake (The nummiest!) in the oven and need to get ready to get outta here for our Mother's Day cookout :)  Hope y'all have a GREAT Mother's Day!

Strawberry Rhubarb Cake

Melt 1/4 cup butter in bottom of 9 x 13 cake pan
Sprinkle with 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Press 1 cup sliced strawberries and 1 cup sliced rhubarb into brown sugar/butter mixture

Mix 1 orange or pineapple flavored cake by cake directions, pour over fruit. 

Bake by cake directions, may take a few minutes longer than box says because of the extra fruit.  Take out when toothpick comes out clean.  (usually 5-10 minutes longer than cake directions state). 

Let cool and flip out onto serving plate. Can be served warm or cold, yummy both ways. Top with Cool Whip and Enjoy!