KaBoom

Our hideous, yet mesmerizing landmark FPL towers have been demolished.
My sisters and I went out on my sister's boat, the Hakuna Matata to watch the explosion from the waters of the intercoastal. The boat left dock at 8 am and it was already blistering hot.
Loads of people had come out for the event and tents lined up on Peanut Island behind us from beach-goers who camped out overnight.
At 8:30 the blast went off and sent shock waves through the water. I was surprised the towers fell to the left, as I had assumed they'd implode and fall straight down. In just nine seconds the towers, two boilers and a water tower were completely collapsed and a huge cloud of smoke burst out and to the north.
Once the smoke cleared the boats began to scatter and we made our way back to dock. I've never watched a demolition before so I found the whole thing pretty thrilling.
The view is sure different now.

Too many creepy frogs on the front porch...

A few nights ago I was chillin outside playing on my laptop when I hear a rustling in the tall grass. I resume my internet browsing, assuming it's just another large toad, when suddenly this HUGE mouse comes running from the yard up the grass right next to me on the porch! I was startled but it appeared that the rodent was more so. After a few seconds of staring each other down, he ran around the porch into my tomato plant to the right of me.
Crisis averted.
Or so I thought.
A few minutes later he comes full speed out of the tomato bush, smashes head first into my soda can, regains his composure and bolts across the porch to the thick bushes on the other side.
... And then I noticed my aunt's big black cat quietly emerge from behind the tomato...

My lil Buddy

Some kid must have left their tiny stormtrooper behind at the restaurant. My older sister texted me this first picture of him last weekend and he's since been occupying the host stand at work.

I made him some lightsabers out of toothpicks on Friday and carried him around in my apron.
Finally, on Saturday, I just brought him home to enjoy his new position as my garden security.

Teeny-tiny cane toads are everywhere lately!

Katamari!

My new favorite thing - The Katamari Hack!
It lets you use your mouse to control a little katamari ball to scoop up text and pictures from whatever webpage you're on. I love it!
Here's the ball when it's little and just collecting words:
And the ball when it's bigger and can grab larger pictures and objects:

Mother's Day

My little sister and I took my mom out for dinner Sunday night to the restaurant of her choice: Sal's Italian Ristorante. It's a local pizza / italian cuisine restaurant and I love their pizza, AND I had a coupon, so the evening started off great. We arrived to the cozy little Abacoa location to find it pleasantly uncrowded.
My mom and little sister ordered baked ziti pasta and I, of course, had a personal pizza.
The waitress, however, seemed to abandon us throughout most of the meal. I think we saw her when she took our orders and then again when we got our check.
And the family in the booth behind us were having a rather heated discussion about politics to which my mother took to loudly stating her own opinions, much to my chagrin. I told her if she didn't behave herself she wouldn't be getting ice cream when we left. She kicked me under the table.After our meal we drove across the street to a little yogurt & ice cream shop and indulged in some heavenly dessert. All in all, a fabulous Mother's Day spent with my most amazing mom!
(mom and lil sis)

From the Top 25 Ranked Freshwater Aquariums in the World: these gorgeous aquatic masterpieces have me mesmerized:

See more HERE

Plant Life

My garden has been exploding thanks to not only our severe heat wave, but the rash of small thunderstorms that blew through in the past week. I'm trying some new additions, like potatoes and blueberries and trying failed attempts again (cucumbers, strawberries).

The cucumbers are so far progressing exactly the same. The plants become large and bushy, even small fruit appear:

But then the plant leaves yellow, some holes are noticeable, and eventually the plant withers and dies. I'm trying to avoid the withering and death part this time around but here's a picture of the middle sprout:
My strawberries, however, seem to be growing strong! This plant even has a half dozen flowers already:
And my scotch bonnet pepper seeds I harvested from Karen's crop have been slowly maturing. I'm certain they should be taller by now though.The potatoes are growing fabulously, as well as my cabbage and lettuce. The blueberry bush is still young; I think it might be awhile before I see any real growth.

Our handmade leather Marina Sandals are in a FAB new treasury by TooCute11:
A Weekend At The Beach HouseAnd check out these delicious looking chocolate dipped sea salt toffee shards by SugarMouthCandy: I'm drooling!

"Grow Some Moss In Your Bathroom!"

I found this while scrolling through my tumblr feed: "Live Moss Carpet - a soft grass carpet that thrives from the few drops of water you leave behind when getting our of the shower or bath." Well, gross.
Everyone else who commented seemed enamoured with the idea of stepping out of the clean shower onto some slimy moss so I guess I'm in the minority saying that this seems like the last thing I want to put my feet on after getting out of the bath.
Ew.

Did you know that pineapple fruit is actually created by up to 200 tiny flowers that join together to make one massive fruit?
I didn't.
My pineapple plant is FINALLY producing fruit! It's been about a year and a half since I stuck the old top in the soil. Here's a close up:
I'm hoping this one survives to at least a slightly decent size. The last pineapple we had fruit grew to the size of a grapefruit and than promptly died. If it doesn't work this time at least I have reinforcements on the way!

GRASSHOPPERS!

Tiny little grasshoppers are living in my backyard garden. They always keep together and travel in a group. One day they were all resting on my pineapple plant.


I love the little buggers!When I was little I used to catch them and keep them in little plastic bug-keepers. Usually they would escape after a few days.

Clever, Helpful, Practical, Whimsical by MaskingTapeFromJapanMy Georges Briard glass tumbler set is featured in this fab Etsy treasury - check it out!

Here comes trouble...
Buddy Cat (aka 'Belly') is something else entirely.
Allen and I brought him home one day, along with another little kitty about 3 years ago. My best friend had broken up with her boyfriend, was moving and hadn't yet found a new home, so she was spending a few weeks couch-surfing. The boyfriend refused to take the cats and she couldn't find any other temporary homes for them, even from family and friends. As a last resort, Allen and I accepted the kitties into our lives and they've been pooping here happily ever since.
Buddy Cat, however, is the strangest creature. He's always been known as "that dick cat" due to his tendencies to randomly attack and bite people, their shoes, and other kitties. That behavior never really stopped but has morphed into something a little sweeter.
He immediately took to the dogs we already had, following them around and mimicking their behavior. When the dogs were fed, he wanted to be fed. When they got milkbones, he wanted one. When it's time to go outside to do toilet business, he's right there with them.
Now when I'm outside in the garden, I'll hear the pitter patter of his tiny feet running behind me and when I turn to look at him he stops and meows. He'll jump into my lap for quick snuggles and even puts his arms around your neck for a hug."Oh, look! Grass I can eat and puke up on the carpet later! Yum!"

I love this fuzzy, arrogant, and high-strung bugger and despite the fact that I am SO not a cat person, I can't imagine my life without the little monster.

Oranges! (maybe)

Speaking of things that take WAY too long to grow...
Our orange tree has blossoms!
We planted this buddy as a little sapling about three years ago, along with a grapefruit tree (which has since died) and I've waited patiently to see the fruits of my labor. Literally.
Trees are difficult for me. I'm an impatient person. I want results and I want them yesterday, so having to wait for several YEARS to see any major growth out of a plant is nearly unbearable for me. Which explains why the grapefruit died, I eventually became bored with them and spent long periods of time skillfully ignoring both trees. The orange simply had the luck of being hardier and resisting my attempts to neglect it into an early grave.
Any now - blossoms! This picture was taken about a week ago when I first noticed the tiny green buds sprouting all over.
And this picture was taken two days ago:
Hopefully we'll see some small fruits this summer!

Ain't got nothing on my word jumble...

Finally finished!
After months of slowly working my way through Caleb Carr's The Angel Of Darkness, I've breezed through the last few chapters tonight. I couldn't be happier with the ending, which, as I've come to expect from Caleb Carr, was as dramatic and exciting as I'd expected.
This historical thriller takes place in New York during the late 19th century and brings the usual cast from the 'Alienist' back together to find a Spanish diplomat's missing baby. What they discover is a brutal killer, methodically murdering children while evading arrest with cunning charm and devious plans.
I HIGHLY recommend this book. Regardless of what genre you usually read, this story, cleverly narrated by 13-year-old character Stevie Taggart, will instantly suck you in and leave you wanting more.

Treasury Fantasma

Etrelle's goodies are in three more treasuries this week!
This first one is called Blue and Green:
by clevernamehere~

And I LOVE this next one called African Safari and featuring our croc-print leather sandals:
by enchantingdecadence~
And finally, Something's Fishy:
by thetwistedjewel~

Plants that take too long to harvest:
Pineapple.
I don't have the patience for this.

Our family's boxer has been a huge source of stress and anxiety this past week.
Here's a picture of the cutie:
Our sweet boxer, Demon, has been having some health troubles lately. She has a nasty cough that's hard to stop once she get's going and at one point was hacking up some pretty gnarly, bloody lumps. On top of that she was randomly having mini-seizures (or strokes, we're not sure). Basically, she'll be walking around like usual when suddenly her entire body goes stiff and she literally falls over onto her side, sometimes relieving herself in the process.
Obviously, we were extremely concerned about the matter and my sister took her in to the vet early last week. She was given some allergy medicine to relieve her cough, but nothing for her paralyzing episodes.
Unfortunately, the poor girl's just old, and aside from costly and painful surgeries that aren't likely to help, there's not much we can do aside from make her comfortable.
Two days ago I was genuinely worried that she might not even last the weekend, but her coughing fits are getting shorter and fewer and her seizures are also starting to lessen. She's had some worrisome health issues throughout the past two years but has always managed to keep pushing on. Already her demeanor and playful spirit have sprung back in full force and I'm hopeful she'll continue to improve.
We've been so lucky to have this amazing dog in our lives and hearts while I'm sad that time is almost over, I'll cherish my memories of her forever.
♥ Love you, Demon ♥

I've had quite a few Etrelle's items featured in treasuries on Etsy lately. I'm not quite sure where all this exposure is coming from, but I'm enjoying it!

This first treasury is called Warmth by MilkDustCreations:
It's A Man's World by NicksKitchen:
Snap Crackle Pop by DonnaElizabethDesign: (mug from Holypotato)
and My Favorite Things 5 (it's A Madcap Life Team Treasury) by theMadcapHeiress: