Waka Waka Dance

This song couldn't wait until next Monday, I wanted to share it with you now!

My good friend (the one I did the Henna with) shared this song with me

last week and I have been listening to it lots since.

It has a great beat and it is fun to watch

some of the African style dancing.

BUT...

I took it a 'step' further than that and found some dance videos

so I can could do my own dancing!

I found lots of dance routines and tutorials to this song,

but I am sharing the ones I thought had the best moves and video quality.

Zumba dance moves!

This one was a little bit harder to follow the moves,

but I love the beginning steps and motion and

the waka waka part is more like the official

music video.

This one has some interesting moves too.

I think this may be my new exercise routine!

So get warmed up and

d*a*n*c*e!

~Me~

Dogs and Gardening: The Larger Four Legged Pests

I nearly cry....

nearly scream.

A strange sensation comes over me, a sinking feeling with an odd mixture of righteous anger.

After hours of searching for the perfect plants, enduring numerous frustrating online checkout sessions, digging, laying, digging, layering, and finally placing not just seeds and flowers, but dreams and visions into fertile dirt, it comes to THIS!!

A hole.

A big whopping, dog sized hole right in the middle of my hard work. Not to mention disturbing the area where my disappointingly minuscule and precious few Wishbone and Perennial Primrose seeds were planted.

*Sigh*

I had doubts they would grow as soon as I pulled out the tiny, Barbie doll sized envelope containing 25 (yes, they specified 25! How they counted I have no idea) seeds the size of a grain of salt...smaller, actually. And NOW, I might as well give up watching for them.

BUT!!

All is not lost!

After a good 4-Wheel ride, a walk in my cowboy boots (an empowering feeling I must say, why don't I wear them more often?!) the ingenuitive fighter arose in me once again!

Knowing I wasn't the only one to have struggled with this, I turned to the ultimate source of information....the Internet.

My findings were very interesting and gave me hope that I could solve this problem without giving up on my flowers OR banishing the dogs.

10 Tips for Keeping Dogs Out of Flower Beds

One of our three dogs, Joyce, enjoying some shaded seeting.

1. Mothballs-  Dogs apparently hate the smell of mothballs, but then again, doesn't everyone!


2. Their own poo-  I found lots of sources that said this worked great for them. The reason being is dogs will not do their duty in the same place they sleep and lie down, so if they are laying in your flower beds, this is a good way to keep them out. I'm not entirely fond of the idea of doggy poo in my flower bed tho 0_o


3. Orange Peelings-  another scent repellent dogs don't like, however this one is much easier on our own noses, and probably pretty good for our growing flowers. Just throw your orange peelings around the flower bed and reportedly dogs should stay clear.


4. MOUSE TRAPS!- I'll admit, this one sure caught my fancy at the time, granted I was still a little perturbed. People say they have used this trick for teaching dogs to stay off their furniture as well, although in those cases they hide the mouse trap under a couch pillow so when it goes off it won't hurt the dog. I'm not sure how one would accomplish that in an outdoor garden setting ( I have yet to see someone use pillows in their flower bed decor.) One person suggested tying string to the straps and somehow rigging it so the dogs would trip the string before actually sitting/stepping on the trap, merely providing the scare and startle of the trap without the pain.


5. Chili powder, Cayenne or Black Pepper- Dogs always sniff out an are before laying down. Sprinkle a bit of one of these three hot choices in your flower bed and the dog will go away pretty quickly. (Mom thought this was mean, I though, hey, dogs are smart, once may be all it takes, and if it works, then good.)


6. Rocks- This is actually the method that my brother (the official garden guru around here) uses in his flower beds. He fills them with old farming equipment and rocks. These uncomfortable


7. Sticks-  To make your flower beds less inviting and comfortable to your pooch, grab some twigs or skewers (as used for making kabobs) and poke them into the flower bed, spaced close enough together so there isn't a comfy dirt patch exposed. You don't need sharp sticks, just a protruding object so the 'bed' isn't comfy (think the Princess and the Pea).


8. Vinegar-  Again, dogs don't like the strong smell of this all around wonderfully useful liquid. Simply spray undiluted vinegar around the perimeter of the flower bed. I went ahead and sprayed it lightly on the soil inside on the 'problem area', the special spot they like to return to. I don't know if the vinegar would harm the plants or not, so I didn't spray it all over inside.


9. Half full water bottles-  This one sounds pretty strange, but I came across person after person that swears this works! No idea why, but over and over it warded off unwanted puppy dog in their beds and on their lawns. All they did was take old water bottle (pop bottles) filled them half full with water, then laid them on their sides scattered around the flower bed or around the perimeter of their yard to keep out strays who liked to leave little gifts.


and finally....


10. Give them their OWN place- The reason our canine friends are sleeping in our flower beds is because they are looking for a cool, shaded place to nap. Create that same environment somewhere they CAN lie down: wet down the grass under the shade of a tree, create a separate plant bed for them that you don't mind getting a little tousled, or make up a sand box in a shaded place and keep it moist.

So there you have it!

I have already implemented orange peels and a vinegar spray around my afore mentioned flower bed. It has been a whole day and so far the perpetrator hasn't returned! It was only 80 degrees F today (a cool spell!) and cloudy so it doesn't mean much just yet. The real test will be a hot, sunny day when the temperatures reach a squelching 100+ F!

I'll let you know how goes the battle in the near future! In the mean time, good luck and happy gardening!

~Me~

Monday Melodies: I Can't Help Myself

Here is a good oldie that you can't help but DANCE TO!

I'm sitting on my bed writing this and listening to it and I'm dancing,

so even if you are sitting in your computer chair,

get a little groove on and

enjoy!

~Me~

I Can't Help Myself by the Four Tops

Levitating Photography

"I believe I can fly...I believe I can touch the sky...."

OH.

Hello. :)

I'm so happy you dropped by 'cause I have something fun I want to show you!

Look what I found!

I love the expression on the older lady's face!

Her name is Natsumi Hayashi, a photographer who lives in Japan. She takes and posts pictures daily of herself 'levitating'. Although I noticed that the most recent pictures up on the home page are dated nearly a year ago!  But don't worry, you go back and look at pages and pages of previous work.

I find it quite interesting, some of them are so believable.

AND for those of you who would like to do this sort of photography yourself, she explains, in detail, how she does it. What shutter speed, camera settings etc. she uses are shared under the "About" tab.

You can find it all at her site!

yowayowacamera.com

Enjoy!

~Me~

Monday Melodies: Haven't Met You Yet

I adore Michael Buble's voice, music style...and face!

*Reminds self that he is married*

But seriously, he is a great artist!

I tend to like a lot of oldies and classic artists like

Frank Sinatra,

Bing Crosby,

Louis Armstrong,

and newer artists like Harry Conick Jr.

This is one of my favorites by Michael, it is pretty popular,

you have probably heard it playing in department stores and Wal-Mart.

This is a cute music video! Who doesn't want to

spontaneously break into song and dance at a grocery store!

The ending is great, I love his face as he finishes the song and

realizes he is standing in front of the checkout. :)

If you like him, there are more great songs on YouTube

OR

you can just wait and I'll probably be posting them eventually

in Monday Melodies. :)

Enjoy!

~Me~

Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Buble

I'm not surprised, not everything lasts
I've broken my heart so many times I stopped keeping track
Talk myself in, I talk myself out
I get all worked up then I let myself down

I tried so very hard not to loose it
I came up with a million excuses
I thought, I thought of every possibility

And I know some day that it’ll all turn out
You'll make me work so we can work to work it out
And I promise you kid that I'll give so much more than I get
I just haven't met you yet

I might have to wait, I’ll never give up
I guess it's half timing and the other half's luck
Wherever you are, whenever it's right
You'll come outta nowhere and into my life

And I know that we can be so amazing
And baby your love is gonna change me
And now I can see every possibility
and
Somehow I know that it’ll all turn out
You'll make me work so we can work to work it out
And promise you kid I'll give so much more than I get
I just haven't met you yet

They say all’s fair in love and war
But I won’t need to fight it
We'll get it right and we'll be united

And I know that we can be so amazing
And being in your life is gonna change me
And now I can see every single possibility

And someday I know it'll all turn out
And I'll work to work it out
Promise you kid I’ll give more than I get, than I get, than I get

Oh you know it'll all turn out
And you'll make me work so we can work to work it out
And promise you kid to give so much more than I get yeah
I just haven't met you yet

I just haven't met you yet
Oh promise you kid to give so much more than I get
I said love love love love love love love
I just haven't met you yet

From India With Love!

Ahhhh!

The colors pop....

textures allure,

patterns invite,

and outfits intoxicate!

East Indian traditional dress is just one of those things I love.

I am inthralled with the culture of India, the people, the clothes, the landscape, the whole.

I admit I don't know that much as far as facts and knowledge go, but I love it none the less.

Which is why I was SO excited to find this site last week!

Actually, how I stumbled upon it was rather funny! I don't quite know where it came from, but I got bit by the wedding bug last week! 

Colors, dresses, flowers, decore and themes!

There isn't even a squinty shadow of a husband on the horrizon,

and here I was planning out my wedding!!

Well, at least I'll have a headstart, right? ;P

Anywho, I have toyed with the idea of actually haveing an

East Indian themed wedding, as in no traditional white wedding dress,

but instead wearing one of the exquisite traditional lehenga choli outfits I found.

If you want to see what I'm talking about go visit

Utsav Fashion!

Lehengas and choli like this are sold at Utsav Fashion,
however you can't use their pictures, this is just
a google image.

They have beautiful lehengas, jewelry, shoes, sarees and much more!

I was almost drooling! And the prices (especially compared

to the traditional wedding dress) weren't bad!

BUT....I haven't made up my mind on that for sure yet, but it sure is a fun idea!

Enjoy!!

~Me~