Whew! Vegas Was A BLAST!!!

That's right! I skipped out to Vegas for 5 days this week! 

Why you ask? 

Scentsy's 2012 Convention was there! 

While I am a Scentsy Consultant and I did go last year as well I confess that I loved meeting with a few of my very closest friends while I was there too, even more than convention! Too bad I was too busy visiting to get any pics :( 

BUT I did make my very first trip to.....

I'll share with you the few things I got while I was there on Friday! It was really too bad I could only get what would fit into my suitcase :( 

To check out what I did at convention go here. 

I Got a Spray Gun! Hey Hey Hey Hey!

A month or so ago I was just coming home with a friend and saw there was a yard sale down the road. I had no intention of buying anything that day but I though since it was so close I'd go have a look. It was a great yard sale with great prices on everything, in fact I am still kicking myself for not buying a bed frame that would have been perfect for Anberlynn's new room (oops! haven't blogged about that yet! Soon, I promise!) but the super storage solution we found is great too. BUT the one thing I did walk away with was this:

FOR $5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a gamble though. It still had paint in it from the previous owner of the house and the people selling it had no idea if it even worked or not! I guess I was in the mood to take a gamble with my $5. 

Clean up? 

I have never used a paint sprayer before but I have used an air brush. From what I hear on the internet about paint sprayers the biggest concern is cleaning. I'll tell you right now that compared to a dual action air brush this thing is a breeze! Everything rinses right off if you do it while it's still wet. 

Easy to Use?

Like I said, I've never used on before and instructions really aren't my thing but really, the secret to any air tool is pressure and consistency.  You need the right amount of air pressure (this has a handy little knob right on the trigger!) and the right consistency of your liquid. If it's not working it's either too thick or too thin. As soon as I got the hang of what a liquid should feel like it sprays like a charm. It did come with a handy dandy chart and viscosity cup too for those not into "feeling" their paint. 

Light? 

Most of the weight comes from the paint itself.  After a bit I did use two hands but more for comfort than need. I would suppose a a man, or even a woman with more arm strength would be able to hold this up no problem. 

Would I change anything? 

Well, it would be nice if the paint cup came with a lid. I've been using plastic wrap and a rubber band. It works just fine but it would have been nice if it had come with a lid.

Over all?

IT'S AWESOME!!! 

I've used it on several things already (more on that soon!) and I pretty much never want to go back to a roller again! 

What about you? Any adventures in paint sprayers? Any awesome yard sale finds? 

In My Pretty Garden

So much has been going on and my poor little tire garden is getting the short stick when it comes to attention! 

The tire front and center did have one HUGE lettuce plant in it up until this week when I pawned it off on my mom. 

The strawberries I planted from a hanging basket I bought last summer are doing awesome! Funny, the individual plants I bout from the store didn't even come back. 

That's OK though, these plants are shooing off runners like CRAZY! I am thinking of expanding the bed and  putting in stepping stones just so I'll have a way to get to them all! 

That is if I can keep my girls away from them! And speaking of things I can't keep my girls out of...

The gooseberries are growing like mad as usual! We had a bad run in with some leaf eating worms this year but they didn't like the berries so it's all good. 

The bleeding heart is doing well as always too. It really loves being up in the tires here. 

Here you can see some of the apples in the background on our less productive tree.  The TP tube is what's left of a bird feeder we made. We have a pair of blue jays that feasted on it int he mornings. 

This was the first year we have had the lilacs early enough for them to bloom. They have almost come and gone but they smelled BEAUTIFUL while they lasted! 

I am still loving my little patio makeover! My happy little potted plants make me happy. 

The foxglove is another one of those plants that I never got to bloom last year but here they are in all their glory and I am in LOVE! 

Look at those sweet little spots! 

I got 2 six-packs of these this spring. They came in various colors and a few people in line after me got back out of line so they could go hunt them down for themselves.  I can't remember what it's called but it's won me over.

An last but not least, the nasturnum. I think this is the third year it has come back, though not nearly as strong as it has in the past. It's a fun little flower to watch as it sheds it's pointy little cap to bloom. 

Replacing Roosters (NEW chicks!)

Well, I finally cut "the cord" and let my roosters go to a new home last weekend. It was though to see them go but it wouldn't have been very considerate of me to keep them with neighbors so near by. 

BUT we have a fairly large coop and 2 chickens weren't going to keep it warm all on their own so...

Introducing our 5 new baby chicks! 

The two bigger ones are Easter Eggers and the three little ones are White Leghorns. 

The little gals are about 1 week old. White Leghorns are know to mature faster than most other chickens so I am thinking they might even produce faster than our 3 week old Easter Eggers.  

The Leghorns see no reason why they can't do EVERYTHING the Easter Eggers do! 

When we picked out the Leghorns they were with a broody hen. I could not believe how many tiny chicks fit under her wings! I was hoping, though not really expecting, that one of our two older gals would take them in the same way. They didn't care to have anything to do with them! So, I gave them a try in the box with the EEs (Easter Eggers) and they took to each other at once! The EEs gently pecked each of them on the beak like they were giving them a kiss and every once in a while I'll find one or two Leghorns under their wings. It's precious! 

They certainly eat like they have something to make up for! They act big and tough too, running around pecking on each other or trying to fly away. Sometimes they remind me of the penguins from the movie Madagascar.

At the same time they are just so tiny and fluffy it's crazy! 

The Easter Eggers are the more tame of the two breeds. They love to perch on your shoulder and just ride around while they snuggle into your hair. I am hoping that they will stay that way. 

Somethings we did different this time around: 

1. We know what breed they are!!! 

We searched Craigslist and Googled all the different breeds they were selling and the pros and cons of each to find out what we wanted in a chicken. The EEs we wanted for the multicolored eggs and the Leghorns are supposed to lay large eggs on almost a daily basis! 

2. We "know" what sex they are!  

Again, we searched Craigslist for chicks that had been sexed at a hatchery. Many people here have to order more than they'd like and so they sell off the extras. So all 5 of these gals SHOULD be female! 

3. Spending time outside. 

We live on a nice sunny hill that's a little warmer than the surrounding area so it's been in the high 70s-80s all week. We have a set up for them in the garage (where these pictures were taken) but they like the small run in the yard to. Most websites recommend not putting your chicks outside until about 5 weeks old but we introduced them earlier this week and they LOVE it!!! They hop and play all over. Of course if it gets cool during the day and at night we bring them in. 

So that's our new chicks!  And because nothing is sweeter than seeing tiny little animals sleep...

Winner Creek

Winner Creek is one of my favorite hikes. I consider this my first date with my husband and every time we go it brings back so many memories.

The hike starts at the Alyeska Resort. This fire pit out front is super awesome! Can I have one please? 

 We have started hiking with a group every Sunday and here is the infamous Megan Moody and I. 

She'll get hte shot even if it mean using her Iphone! LOL. 

One of my husband's quirks is his love for mushrooms! He loves photographing and sometimes eating them. 

My favorite part is the water. Especially the waterfalls! 

 You get to pass right over one on a bridge and if you are careful you can walk right down to it too.

Joel likes to take photos of the burls too. This one is an interesting color. 

Usually just after this they have a hand tram too that takes you to an old gold mining town, but the tram is down until they can fix it. 

The Forrest Fair was going on while we were there too, which was also part of our first date! 

Fun fact: The hike and the Forrest Fair were our first date, we got married one year to the day, and this was right after out 5th year anniversary! 

When the hike was over we got to check out this cool vintage car show in the parking lot too! 

Now do you see why this is my favorite hike? It's just packed full of awesomeness! 

By the way, if you ever make it up there you HAVE to check out The Bake Shop! They have the BEST soup you've ever had! 

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Calling All Chicken Experts!

So we have been working on our coop every spare second that we get and here is where we are right now. 

It will get there in time but until then I am keeping and eye out for signs of who might be male/ female. We live in a city and that mean there are NO ROOSTERS ALLOWED! 

At first I assumed that all the chickens that grew a comb would be a rooster and that would be the end of it but in looking at different pictures of different breeds that isn't always the case.

Also, we got them as a mixed batch and had no idea what breed they were either. I THINK I have it narrowed down to Rhode Island Reds, Golden Comets, and, as suggested by a reader earlier, one Copper Maran. 

Soooo.... any one want to play the guessing game?  Male? Female? Breed? 

My Guess: Male Golden Comet

My Guess: Male Golden Commet

My Guess: Male Rhode Island Red 

My Guess: Female Rhode Island Red

My Guess: Female Copper Maran

As eggs there were 2 yellow/white ones (the first two pics), 2 brown ones (third and fourth pics), and 1 black one (last photo).  To me that should mean that color should equal breed or at least sex, but it's looking like 3 roosters to me!

 Now, I have NO experience in these things but it's fun learning new things about all the different kinds of chickens in the mean time!  

I would LOVE to hear your opinions, guesses, experiences, and expertise! 

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

With your best photo shot that is!

With all the things we've been up to we manages to squeeze in another photo shoot with my photographer friend, Megan. This one is extra special to me because my Mom and Grandpa were able to come out too.  

Thanks for the AWESOME photos Megan!