This is how I make laundry detergent now and I love it. I used to make the liquid but it was so messy. Now it’s simple: one box of borax, one of washing soda, one of grated Fels-Naptha soap, one of oxyclean. The oxyclean scoop is the perfect measuring spoon.

I got this for Mother’s Day. I really like it. I’ve wanted one for years, but appliances are never fun purchases.

Miniature car wash. Good for 14 minutes of uninterrupted work time, or until they run out of bubbles.

Paint on her face, not blood.

We got two kittens. I’m sure you’ll be seeing more of them.

Blue sky.

My friends came over! I’ve missed them.

We let our chickens out every evening. We are on this crazy rotation now. Big dogs get out of the pen for about 3 hours a day. The kittens who get terrorized by the dogs right now, get let out in between dog time. The chickens get let out at the end of the day and they put themselves up at sunset. We are so going to have to hire a caretaker when we go on vacation this year to manage our “farm”.

Sunset over baseball.

I’ll admit, I haven’t been this attached to a television show since Moonlighting was on. I taped every show of Moonlighting and watched them over and over again. I memorized the witty one-liners. I adored the characters.

I have even stronger feelings for the cast of Mad Men. Times have changed, but the habits are basically the same.

I DVR every show. I own seasons 1-4 on DVD. I type my favorite Don Draper one-liners in my notes on my IPhone.

This never happened. It will shock you how much it never happened.

You are the product. You, feeling something. That’s what sells.

Lots of people who haven’t taken LSD already know that, Roger.

I stumbled upon a show on Bravo one late night called Inside the Actor’s Studio and they were interviewing the cast of Mad Men. I have to say I felt like it was meant to be that I turned on my TV at that particular time and it was on that particular channel. I enjoyed the little extras that were revealed in that hour.

There are so many things I love about the show. I love the writing. With so few shows on television that I enjoy, a well-written drama is such a treat. I love the costumes, the realistic touches (all the smoking, no seat belts, tossing trash in the park), I love the bit of history that sparks my interest even further in that era. I love that Peggy has a picture of the president on her wall. How long has it been since anyone admired a president enough to hang a picture of him in their living room? I love that it makes me think.

Did you know there are Mad Men quizzes? I think it’s the only quiz I ever aced.

What do you love about Mad Men?

All photos from amctv.com.

Naturally I searched and searched for a picture of my office before and could not find one. I know I took some, but those elusive before photos always disappear on me when I need them.

My office is a tiny space, smaller than my walk-in closet and right off the living room. I had a ginormous desk in here that made it difficult to even close the door. It was like one of those impossibly small public bathrooms that you have to be just in the right spot before you can open or close the door. I knew I didn’t want to buy another desk. I wanted it to be simple and I wanted to reduce the amount of stuff I had floating around in all those massive drawers.

I was overwhelmed by the stuff I hauled out of there. Lots and lots of loose photos and cds.

My uncle had this piece of wood just perfect for the space. My solution for storage was buying a small file cabinet to roll under the desk.

I’m slowly adding art to the walls that I love. There’s a print I bought in Seattle at the Pike Place market and a “hello daydream” print from etsy.  I just got the 16 x 20 of my daughter this week and I have a few more I want to add soon. I made the felt circle garland years ago and I picked up the white shelves at a yard sale.

This little basket holds things I need for mailing to my clients and some packaging stuff. I love having it handy and easy to find right here on the desk.

The bird prints on the wall I ordered from etsy about a year ago. I still love them.

We penciled in a family fish fry for this past Friday a few weeks ago. I bought fun colored lights and we got a fire pit. I planned a festive outdoor gathering with lights and a fire. The family fish fry part was a success, but my outdoor evening got rained on.

Saturday we planned a spontaneous shopping/eating out trip, but before we left I insisted on some Mother’s Day pictures since I knew Sunday would be too busy. We had 2 extra friends over, but they are just like my own kids so they, along with the dogs, got in one picture.

We got some astonished looks and heard some out loud counting along with some comments like, “5 girls and only one boy!” as we left the restaurant. I never even think of our family of six as being considered large, but you add just two more and I guess people are amazed. I thought it was kind of funny.

It feels completely and wonderfully like summer right now. Even though we do school year round, the long days and so much time outdoors makes it still feel like a summer vacation. We’ve spent a few evenings around our fire pit watching the kids chase lightening bugs after a late evening of baseball, playing and walking with the dogs or just swinging on the swing set. The evenings are still cool enough to enjoy a fire and not yet muggy and so hot that we are just swatting mosquitoes. We come in dirty, smelly and all in need of a bath, but it feels so good.

I’ll take dirty kids who have played hard over clean, bored kids any day.

Long summer evenings are my favorite.

25 of the best Brene Brown quotes from The Pioneer Woman Homeschooling. I heard her speak at Blissdom and she is a great speaker.

Solar Eclipse Over America from Classical Astronomy. Get ready!

Balance vs Margin from The Tiny Twig. My life is never balanced, but I always try to have a good bit of margin in my life. Nothing makes me happier than seeing a wide-open day on my calendar when I do not have to go anywhere. If I have every moment filled there’s no time to stop and visit a friend, to make a spontaneous trip to the park, or have an urge to clean out a closet and do it!

What Running Has Given Me from Eclectic Whatnot. This post made me sort of, almost, just about believe that running does actually make you feel good. I’m still in the I don’t think I can make it one more inch and oh do I have to bend my knees the next morning phase. I’m not sure I’ll ever get where she is, but I’d like to.