The Great Outdoors

We are not outdoors people. And by we, I really do mean me. I don't do yard work or gardening. I am not a fan of hiking or camping. I hate lakes, I sunburn easily, and bugs freak. me. out. I've always liked having my own herbs and veggies, but when I plant, it's always in pots. I like beaches well enough, and I like the ocean. But the only place I have ever craved the outdoors was Scotland... And, well, that is quite a ways away. The husband isn't much of a yard guy, either, though he likes camping and all that... gross stuff.

So, what I have been doing the last few days should come as a complete surprise.

Yes, I have been working in the yard. For two days straight. In fact, we both have.

E has been enjoying the sun (no, really, we even had sun. It's like a May-Day Miracle) with us. We pulled the baby corral and some toys outside, slapped some sunscreen on her, and let her enjoy the fresh air. The good 1Lt has been mowing the lawn (which seriously took him two days. It was THAT bad) while I weeded the front yard and islands. It looks amazingly better, but still looks... eh. Until we hire someone to design and take care of our yard, it will never win any yard-of-the-month awards. In fact, we'll probably be scraping under the omg-is-that-house-abandoned? line.

It's kind of nice to not have the worst yard in the neighborhood, anymore, though.

Anyway, we needed some dandelion killer. Usually, I wouldn't care that much, but I want to let E play outside as much as possible, and there are just SO MANY that they attract a ton of bees. The fewer dandelions, the fewer bees, right? Well, let's hope so. I got a handy dandy little tool to rip them up by the roots. It took me almost two hours to get the ones in the front yard, yesterday, and I am sure I missed a few. And the front yard is about an eighth the size of the back. There is just no way either of us will have the patience to rip up dandelions one at a time. So, we went to Home Depot to get some weed & feed and look at outdoor furniture.

Last summer, I may or may not have gotten addicted to late nights around the fire pit. And I would like to continue that little... experience into this summer (and future summers), but I would like it to be a little less time consuming and lot less work. So, we are thinking about getting one of these:

I don't think this one is really a contender, since we found one at the Exchange for less money and no tax. But this Martha Stewart one from Home Depot gives you an idea. The other one has a smaller fire pit and a bigger table space. And the Exchange set has a bench, 2 chairs, and bright orange cushions (woo hoo?). Either way, I'm excited to get my wine on.