Beach Baby

We went to Florida a few weekends back. Our plan was to spend one day at Disney World and one day at Universal Orlando. Well, after a long day at Disney, my feet were aching, my lower back was sore and I was starting to rethink spending the next day at Universal. I blamed my exhaustion on being pregnant, but honestly I think that park would have kicked my ass even if I wasn't toting a tiny human around in my body. Don't get me wrong, we had fun, but by the next morning we were thinking the beach sounded mighty nice!

I sprayed myself from head to toe in sunblock, squeezed into my now extremely tight swimsuit and we hit the road. Our drive was a little over an hour, but we were going to a top secret beach that we knew wouldn't be crowded with people. It was worth it too...so beautiful.

Mark and I stayed on the Atlantic Ocean while we were in Ireland, but it was February and far too cold to swim. That made this trip to Florida the first time either of us had swam in the Atlantic. We had gotten a late start and stopped for lunch on the way, so by the time we got there the tide was getting high. I had never been in the ocean when the waves were so intense and I was honestly a little intimidated. Mark was completely comfortable and kept reassuring me that we would be fine. It took me a good long while, but I slowly inched my way in deeper and deeper until we were riding the BIG waves! I mean, yeah, I got smacked a few times until I got the hang of floating on them, but once I had it, I HAD IT! It felt absolutely fantastic to surrender to the power of the ocean and knowing my baby was with me made it a truly magical experience. It was the most fun I have had in a long time! Sorry Disney, but you just can't compete with Mother Nature!

~ Love & Light ~

Project Baby

We made it home from Florida! And as promised, I am here to reveal the project I have been working on for the past three months. If you are following me on Facebook, then you already know that I have been working on making a BABY! That's right! Mark and I are expecting a baby in November! And it is a BOY! :D We couldn't be any happier!

I feel like I haven't had much to blog about since we found out, because almost everything I have been doing has been baby related. Now that the cat is out of the bag, I will be posting more often. I'll do my best to not turn this blog into a baby blog, but while I'm pregnant, no promises!

~ Love & Light ~

The Happiest Place On Earth

Tomorrow we leave for Disney World and Universal Orlando. I'm seriously excited to go play at the happiest place on earth with Mark! Right now I'm packing for the trip, but I took a break to get a little post up before we go.


This week Mark painted my bathroom and I redecorated it. It's a totally new space!

Frilly new shower curtain.

I bought a print from the antique store across the street for a dollar and had it framed at Hobby Lobby. I think it turned out beautifully.

Angel With Soap Bubble And Straw (19th c.)

New willow basket for hand towels.

The new wall color is called Romance and is an HGTV color. I like the way it looks with the vintage foam green fixtures.

Ok, I didn't take the best shots of the wall color...you can see it, right?

So, that is my latest indoor project. Let's see what has been going on outside...

The lemon balm and monarda we planted last year are doing wonderfully. I want to add more herbs to fill this bed out this summer.

The herb garden. 

The honeysuckle bush bloomed this week. It kind of looks like Cousin It, but it smells heavenly! (and a family of cute bunnies live under it).

The honeysuckle bush.

These pictures...ugh. Anyway, I planted the lantana I wintered over next to the dianthus in the flower bed...but you can't really see them in this shot.

The flower bed.

The spring planters are looking good. We have had such a lovely, rainy, mild May and I haven't had to water anything yet!

Spring planters.

The hostas we planted in the shade garden last year are back and they look even healthier this year!   

Hosta shade garden.

The tomato plants are in the ground now. We have a Gypsy and a Beefsteak given to us from Cynarra and a third volunteer that will be a surprise! I hope it's a cherry tomato!

Tomato bed.

The Gypsy.

That's the scoop, folks! I'm also really excited to announce the project I have been working on and will be doing that when we return from vacation! I can't wait to clue you in!

~ Love & Light ~

There Will Be Magic In May

The cauliflower are growing. Aren't they cute?

With all the rain we have had lately, I haven't had to do anything for them...I just planted them and am watching them grow!

May is such a lovely month...the weather is perfect and the Farmers Market is in full swing, people are back on the river fishing and kayaking and next Friday we leave for Florida! We are going to visit Disney World...

and Harry Potter's Wizarding World at Universal Orlando...

I'm really excited for this vacation because 1. I've never been to Florida. 2. I've never been to Disney World or Universal (I guess that was a given since I've never been to Florida)  and,  3. Mark and I always have a good time when we travel! 

I've got to keep this one short today, because I have tomato and lantana plants begging to be planted. I better get out there and get them in the ground while we have a break from the rain! What are you planting this month?

~ Love & Light ~ 

A Visit To The Photo Roll

Hi! Hasn't this Spring been lovely so far? I've been loving these chilly sweater days. The herb garden is loving it too...everything is green and full of life.

I haven't been as active here on NPLH the past couple of months. I have a big project underway that is taking up all of my time and brain space! The good news is that in the not so distant future I'll be ready to reveal my project to you. Until then, my posts may seem a little weak, but I do want to drop in and say hi every few days.

Today I decided I would just share some photos from my phone's camera; always a good way to see what someone has been up to lately!

I give you, A Visit To The Photo Roll...

I saved this poster of delightfully dark flowers, because I'm thinking it would be really fun to do a shade garden full of these beauties. If I can find a spot, I'm doing it. 

Yasso frozen greek yogurt bars are a current obsession. I need to have them stocked in my freezer at  all times. You probably do too...just try them. 

As someone who identifies as a witch, I had to save this image and awesome description. 

I planted some cauliflower in the vegetable garden last week. I haven't put much thought into what to grow out there. I had bought these to use as decoration in my spring planters but they soon started to crowd out the pansies and had to be transferred to the vegetable bed. Between the chickens and the rabbits I'm not incredibly confidant about the veggie thing. 

My neighbors compost "pile". If you thought you were just looking at garbage thrown on the ground, you would be right! Ugh. Yes, that is their driveway RIGHT NEXT to the "pile". My carport is literally 3 feet from that mess. I'm not sure these people understand the way composting works, but the chickens, stray cats, raccoons and other critters love what they've got going on! *sigh*

Tori Amos and Robert Plant. The Queen and King. 

Lunch I can't stop eating; lentil soup with feta cheese and toasted sourdough bread for dipping!

Some tasty salad dressings to try!

HaHAhaHAhaAH! My hubs and the hound on the way home from doggie daycare. I love them so.

That concludes the snippet of random images from my phone. I hope you have a beautiful last few days of April! 

~ Love & Light ~

Coursera Is For Everybody!

I am taking a class on Curanderismo and wanted to talk a little bit about Coursera, the online education website that is offering the course. Coursera is an education platform that partners with top universities and organizations worldwide, to offer courses online for anyone to take, FOR FREE! That's right...it doesn't cost a penny. (unless you want to buy a certificate for courses you've passed).

Coursera has a class for everybody! They offer subjects ranging from Finance to Astronomy and so much more. What I think is the best part, is that the instructors are from top universities and the information they are taking the time to teach has such a great value. 

I am currently taking the Curanderismo: The Art Of Mexican Folk Healing class offered by the University of New Mexico. And next I want to participate in the Magic In The Middle Ages course offered through the University of Barcelona. I've always loved to learn and discovering Coursera makes it that much more fun! 

What have you always wanted to know more about but didn't think you could? Or what University have you always wanted to take a class from? Harvard? Yale? Because they are there! Why not spend some time discovering something new? After all, Knowledge IS Power! 

~ Love & Light ~

Mystery Mountain Lion

When Mark and I first moved here back in 2012, we were invited to a friend's 4th of July party. The shindig was held in a big workshop on the property (which we lovingly call The Barn) and the big garage doors were left open to let the fresh air of the night in. This was your typical Ozarks gathering. Food, good music, drink and of course lots and lots of fireworks. After hours of merriment, Mark and I were the last guests still there. Our hostess called it a night and headed back to her house to go to bed. We hung back to finish our drinks. As we sat talking, we were interrupted by a terrible screaming sound. We both froze; alarmed by this weird noise we didn't recognize. We started guessing what it might be...a coyote? No. A dog killing a small animal? No. The Chupacabra? Possibly. Then I remembered a Youtube video I had seen a long time ago. I think we might have heard a mountain lion!

We told our story to my friend a few days later, and she confirmed that a female mountain lion had been spotted in Ozark a few weeks earlier. We decided that must have been what we heard and that was the end of it. We didn't hear it again.

Female Mountain Lion.

Fast forward to last week, Mark is in our front yard late at night taking the dog to do her business. He was out there for a good five minutes and when he came in, he was excited to report that he had heard the same weird screaming we had experienced on that 4th of July almost 3 years ago. He said that at first he thought it was a woman screaming but he quickly realized it was an animal. We googled the sound of a mountain lion screaming, and he confirmed it was the same noise as he had just heard. The following video is audio of a mountain lion also heard in Missouri. Some kids recorded it with a phone. You can hear why Mark thought at first that it was a lady screaming.

I'm going to go ahead and declare that we have at least one mountain lion here in Ozark, which is great! If she isn't hurting anyone, then let her continue to hunt on the river and live peacefully. Do be cautious if you are one of the many people around here who have yard chickens, or small dogs that spend a lot of time outside. Come to think of it, I haven't seen the neighborhood dog called Lucky in a long time...

Stay safe, friends! And enjoy nature and her creatures! 

~ Love and Light ~