Spring..Oh Spring.. Where art Thou

I always get an extra burst of energy this time of year- which ususally ends up inspiring me to invent all sorts of "projects" around the house to do. Two years ago, I was right around the corner from falling in love with the most amazing thing that God has ever put in my life- Trey. I had gotten a bunch of irises and buttercup plants from Gran's house after her passing in January 2009, and was transplanting them all over the yard- hoping they would be as beautiful in my yard as they were in hers. I was also repainting the exterior of the house, and re-doing the patio furniture Amanda (Maynard) Brown had passed down to me after our year spent on Mud Island- the white wicker had to go, and it became chocolate brown- and then last year it became a darker brown-grey metallic color which looked better and less splotchy. Two years ago, I was also actively training for my first half marathon. Last year, Trey was putting up new shutters and I was ripping out monkey grass from the front, planting seeds in cute little biodegradeable cuplet things and letting them grow- and looking forward to every sunny day so I could put them outside, covered in their little clear wrap, and let them germinate and do this crazy green house effect thing onto the clear wrap. I was determined to turn into some urban housewife gardener person who would grow fat squash, canteloupe, tomatoes, peppers, and wow all my friends with my green thumb. The plants grew, for a while, and then the historically hot Memphis summer hit and ultimately killed my veggies and my dreams of urban-gardener-wifeness.  Alas, local farmers selling their goods at Easy Way got mucho business from me! The morning glories, however, took over and I ultimately killed them myself so myself and any visitors to my house could walk the walkway to the front door. The gerbera daisies, irises, hostas, and whatever else I planted did well- just not the edible plants. And the husband was much relieved with the water bill once I gave up trying to salvage my poor puny veggies. Oh, and we also replaced the attic ladder, so now there is no fear of decapitation or irreversible facial damage everytime the door is pulled open and the ladder is let down. It is still unpainted, and a very nice shade of construction wood - so add that the list of this years "to-do's"...which brings me to...

What is in store for this overly-excited-ambitious-energetic-project-crazed housewife this year??
1. Paint the attic ladder door.
2. Paint the hallway- just want a new color!! Thinking more brownish instead of yellow...
3. Repaint the trim throughout the house- it's chipped and in neeed of a facelift.
4. REMODEL THE KITCHEN- well- rip out cabinets and countertops and replace the sink... some of this depends on Uncle Sam and how nice he is with our tax return...
5. Ripping out the rest of the monkey grass and giving it to Susan, my mother-in-law, and Kate soon-to-be-Shelton across the street.
6. Running another half marathon, although I have been less than invigorated about my training this year, which leaves me a little worried... hoping when the weather warms up for good, I'll get a burst of energy!
7. Maybe trying my hand at gardening again...maybe...

In the meantime, it's March and it's still cold and I'm over it- So I'll just look at pictures of my hard work from last year and hopefully get inspired!

The monkey grass that remains here will be ripped up soon!

One of Gran's irises

More of Gran's irises

The hostas that were out of control...the black eyed susans had not bloomed yet- there were also out of control!

My beautiful azaleas!

On the right, the little morning glories that replaced the monkey grass. They also got ripped out when they took over everything and grew almost to the other side of the walkway

Lamb's Ear..and more of Gran's irises

Beautiful rose bush in the backyard

Daisies! and the lilies before they bloomed bright orange and yellow

Gran's irises

The squash and pepper plants..before the sun and heat murdered them.