How I spent my April...
So it's been over a month since I've updated--
To fill you in on the past 30 days--
Our annual World Intellectual Property Day event was April 30, and I was under enormous pressure to get 220 RSVPs. It's a free event, so we have seen some pretty spectacular drop-offs with this particular event, so in order to make the room look full, I was asked to get a huge amount of RSVPs. For the month of April, I was often working from 8 am to 7 pm or later, and came up to the office two Saturdays, as well. My boss was very encouraging, another colleague was very much stressing me out, but come April 30th, we had 202 RSVPs, and I finessed the room layout to look plenty filled with our meager 111 attendees.
I swear, event planning is truly an art form. And my gosh, they get a deal out of me. Why was I working so many hours? I have the normal promotion efforts I regularly undertake on a daily basis, then the event planning logistics to saddle, and on top of that, doing all the marketing and promotion for the event itself, digging into every corner of IP-interesed federal agencies and trade associations to recruit new RSVPs. Not to mention, the event was nearly cancelled 3 weeks out for lack of program (not my area of planning) so when we finally solidifed our speakers, I had 3 weeks to get 150 RSVPs.
So that's what I was doing the month of April.
To celebrate the end of that lovely season, I took a three day weekend this weekend. Scott and I went to the Star Trek "opening" on Thursday night at 11 pm (yes, I did -- -but I actually liked it!) Also, Emily is moving in with us for a little while now she is graduating (yay!) so I worked Friday morning on clearing out her bedroom in the house and going through our junk to simplify.
We spent Saturday evening with Scott's mother for Mama's Day, and it was nice to just relax and grill outdoors. Then yesterday evening was planned to spend with my mother. We were planning to hang out at my parents' house, but dad calls me and says "Your mother is nervous about hosting a cookout because she's getting the house perfect for PEO on Tuesday night." Oops. Change of plans to our house, then! We were also planning to grill steaks for dinner once again, so I voiced some dismay about what a pain it is for me to broil steak in our oven. (You know, the steaks pop and hiss and smoke, and then the smoke alarm goes off, and the house is all ... smoky.... and the cookie sheet is warped because we don't have a broiler pan....)
So Scott and I revist the idea of getting a grill. We've been wanting one since the apartment, but it's pricey and not exactly a necessity. I've been holding out for a great find on Craigslist or a friend getting rid of one. We researched options online, then Scott went and scoped them out while I went to the grocery store and finished cleaning the house before dinner. He came home with a beautiful liquid propane grill, and it was so exciting! The steaks came out beautifully, too. I'm glad we made the investment--- we would have spent half what we did on a charcoal grill, but I have memories of eating lighter fluid-flavored barbequed chicken and steaks, and who wants that?
And on another note, I am really loving late spring. As proud Scott is of his crown molding, I am as proud of my flowerbeds. I never really appreciated what a joy gardening can be. My little fig tree in the front is producing fruit, as is this surprise blackberry vine we have in our back yard. The stargazer lilies are spouting up quite nicely in the pots on the back porch, and I can't wait til July and August when they start blooming.
I've learned I do not like French marigolds. I love celosia-- it's so easy, hardy and fun! I have a much better appreciation over time for chrysanthemums--- not just for fall color, as they come back year after year, and have beautiful green foliage even when they're not in bloom. It's fun to see things grow and go crazy, like the Carolina jessamine vine that's storming the trellis above it, a true harbinger of spring since it's the first thing in the bed that blooms, and the purple lantana that's coming back with ferocity, making beautiful ground cover while the blooms are still getting energized for midsummer.
Garden bones are also the most important by far-- you need hardy infrastructure in place first for perennial or annual color to look good. I won'tever underestimate the importance of levels and static greenage. Shrubs have so much personality all on their own which should be appreciated. My elaeagnus (silverberry) -- a silver-tinted green foliage--- is the tall one on the sides in the back, and all the other plants slope down from it. The lorapetalum is a purple bronze shrub that helps the white petunias stand out. Before the crepe myrtle blooms in midsummer, it's a dark green tall shrub serving as the centerpiece of the flowerbed's elbow which is wrapped around the corner of the house. The hawthornes serve as a beautiful spring accent with its pink flowers, then become just a good berried evergreen shrub throughout the rest of the year.
Yeah... a beginner... but kind of obsessed already.