I have a garden!

Isn't it funny how time changes things? I remember growing up that we planted a garden every year. I HATED planting and working in that garden! I would rather be doing something fun, like swimming, reading, watching tv... pretty much anything else in the world was more fun to me than working in that garden. Now that we have a yard to "play" in, what is the first thing that I want to do? Plant a garden!

Our backyard is not the most condusive to gardening, though... it's pretty much pure Alabama red clay. Nothing is really growing back there, so what's a girl to do? Build herself some raised beds, of course! I enlisted the help of my dad (he bought the 1x12's for me... they are so much cheaper in Fayetteville), my husband (gave him a reason to buy himself a circular saw), my in-laws (my FIL just built some boxes for my MIL, and I borrowed some ideas from them) and my daughters (they are using it as a personal progress project). I came up with the design I wanted, then Barry and I hashed out some details. I waited patiently for the last frost date to pass, and finally built my boxes this weekend. We built 2 boxes... both 2'x4'. We built them out of 1x12 boards, with wire mesh on the bottom, 2x4's for support on the bottom, then 2x4's for the legs. We covered the inside of the boxes with plastic, cutting holes in the bottom for drainage. They stand tall enough that the planting surface is about waist high, so it shouldn't kill my back to work in my garden! So excited by this!


I started seeds in the house, and couldn't wait to get them put in the soil. So far I have planted herbs - basil, rosemary and oregano; strawberries; peas; carrots; radishes; onions; lettuce. I still need to plant some roma tomatoes (have to find some of these, first... no one seems to have any), dill, thyme, squash, jalapeno peppers, red bell pepper and green beans. Yummm... I can taste them already!

Weekend Getaway

My poor hubby has been working some insane hours lately. It seems that if he wasn't at work, then he was working from home. Even when he has not been on-call, he is still the one that gets called and ends up having so fix some problem. So, I decided that he needed a break. I knew that he would never really agree to my plan, so I went behind his back and made plans without him! I even roped his boss into my scheme, and it worked like a charm! I surprised him after work on Friday and whisked him away to Nashville for the weekend. It's been a while since just the two of us did anything like this, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! I even took his phones away from him so no one would be able to reach him!

Our first stop was to...


The Cheesecake Factory!! It's probably a really good thing that the closest one to us is 2 hours away. I LOVE that place. We both enjoyed a yummy dinner, and got cheesecake to go. I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I saw this red velvet cheesecake... it was so incredible!

I learned an important lesson over the weekend when it comes to booking hotels... stick with what you know. I went out on a limb and booked a room for us in a hotel I was not familiar with. Turned out to be a VERY bad choice, and we only stayed there one of the two nights we were there. I won't go into details, but let's just say that the Ramada Inn at the Stadium/Downtown is by far the biggest rip-off, and worst hotel on the planet.

Barry and I lived in Nashville for about 2 1/2 years, so we spent part of the day on Saturday visiting old "stomping-grounds". It was pretty sad! Our old apartment building had been torn down, the mall where we loved to go hang-out has all but closed (probably less than half the stores were opened), and the whole neighborhood was run down. On the upside, one of the malls in a different part of town that had been struggling to stay afloat has now taken-off, and it is beautiful.

We also visited a couple of parks... Bicentennial Park and Centennial Park. Bicentennial Park and Mall was built to commemorate the Bicentennial of Tennessee Statehood. It was built after we left Nashville, so this was the first time we had ever been there. It was beautiful and so peaceful. There is also a World War 2 Memorial in the park, and they have coolest "globe" there. It is marble, and "floats" on a water base. You can move it around and spin it... so cool! The globe also shows the distance between Tennessee and different places in the war where Tennessee soldiers served.


Centennial Park is the home of the Parthenon... a full scale replica of the original in Athens, Greece. It was built in the 1860's as part of the state's centennial celebration. While Barry and I lived there we were never able to actually visit the Parthenon because it was under renovations, although we have both been there as kids. It was fun to see it all finished this time and go back inside.


After we found a new hotel on Saturday afternoon, we rested up a bit, then we headed back to downtown for a NHL Predators Hockey game. It was their last regular game of the season, and I was able to get tickets for us. We are not huge hockey fans, but I thought it would be something fun and new for us to do. The Preds won in a shoot-out after a tied game and one period of overtime. It was fun being there, but truthfully I think I did more people-watching than hockey-watching! :)

The AT&T building in downtown was built while we lived in Nashville. It's nick-named the "Batman Building" and is a fun addition to the Nashville sky-line.


Tennessee is my home state. It's where I was born, and where generations of my ancestors have lived. I have officially lived more of my life outside of the state now, but I still consider it home. It was nice to "go home" this past weekend and relax. We missed the kids and founds some new fun things to do with them, but it was fun to get away and enjoy time together.

Ahhh... Spring!!

Barry and I enjoyed a beautiful weekend in Nashville (more to come on that later). We visited several parks while we were there, and the dogwood was just beautiful. The thoughts of spring make me so happy. I am a warm weather girl, and LOVE this time of year.

Happy Birthday, Megan!

This is Meg's birthday week! Her actual birthday was Tuesday, but she is having a few friends over tonight for a party. She is officially a teenager now!!

Some fun facts about Meg... and a few reasons why I love her so:

Megan was born 3 1/2 weeks early and had to be put in the NICU when she was born due to some lung development issues. She stayed there for one night, then was moved to the Progressive Care Unit for 3 days. You would never know that now... she has the loudest set of lungs and can talk more than anyone in the family!

She developed asthma a few years ago, but she doesn't let this stop her. She still plays soccer and can run faster than her brothers when she sets her mind to it.

She LOVES animals! Cats are her favorite. I am allergic, so she has to love them from afar.

She loves to be on her grandparent's farm, and is her grandpa's shadow. She can herd cows better than most.

She has a very tender heart, and gets her feelings hurt easily.

She is determined to make straight A's this year... although sickness has prevented her from getting them this semester. So close... but she has missed one class more than the rest, and just didn't get her make-up work done in time to count for report cards.

She has a very bubbly personality. Her sister nicknamed her bubbles.

She is an awesome baby-sitter. She loves to spend time with her younger cousins.

She loves YW, and working on her Personal Progress.

She is the first one to bed, and the first child up every morning. She LOVES her sleep!

She is very artistic. She loves to draw, paint, craft and take pictures.

She loves to read... and books about animals are among her favorite.

She enjoys being in the kitchen, and loves to cook.

She is my snuggle-bunny!

She was born a natural red-head. She turned blonde as a baby, but her eyebrows stayed red, so I thought she might eventually turn back into a red-head. Since that never happened, she turned to Miss Clarol for some help!

Her hair has some natural curl to it as well. It's hard to tell now that it is so short, but when it's longer it will curl up on its own, and hold curl very well.

I love this girl! I can't believe that she is so grown up!

Spring Break 2010 in pictures

The kids and I have been on Spring Break this week, and we have kept plenty busy. We have worked, shopped, played and partied all week!

On Monday, we planted spring bulbs:


And went prom shoe shopping:


(prom is next weekend, so plenty of pictures will be posted of the full outfit then!)

On Tuesday, I worked some on my craft room:


On Wednesday we headed up to my parent's farm where we enjoyed the following:


Megan was diagnosed with Mono a few weeks ago, and has not been feeling much like herself lately. She enjoyed getting out this week and relaxing in the Sun with the cats:


The boys helped their grandma clean out a flower bed:


And my dad


helped me turn this:


into this:


and this:


He also made me a headboard and footboard, but I had to leave before they were done, so I don't have pictures of them yet. He called me today to let me know that they are finished and ready to come home. I can't fit them in my van, though, so I will have to either borrow a truck to go get them, or wait for my dad to have the time to bring them to me in his truck. I'm so excited to get these all done! I've been drooling for them for at least a good month on the knockoff wood website. Barry and I loved the Hyde end tables, but wanted them with a shelf on the bottom so we could use them as nightstands. I sent my dad the plans, he went to work, and had one all finished for me when I got there. I ran to the lumber yard with him the next day, and got the rest of what we needed to finish all my projects. Do you want to hear the best part? I got 2 nightstands, a bench, a headboard and footboard for $85!! I still need to finish them up - I am going to paint the bench, but Barry and I are not sure if we want to stain the rest or paint them. I'm just so stinkin' excited to have them all done.

On Thursday night my family gathered at my sister's chocolate shop to have our annual St. Patty's Day dinner. It was very yummy, and I ate way too much! We got home on yesterday afternoon, and enjoyed a night of pizza and movies. Today Barry and I have been discussing/researching/planning on what do to with our backyard. We bought a reel-mower! So excited about that purchase. If we lived on acres and acres I probably would have pushed for a big riding mower, but since we don't, we decided that the most cost-effecient choice would be a good ole reel mower. Josh is actually excited to use it! We'll see how long that lasts! :)

So, it's back to school on Monday. Kind of bummed, but at least we know that once we go back there are only 9 weeks left!!

For all you Knock Off Wood fans out there...

Check out today's post...

Happiness

I've decorated the master bathroom in a beach theme, and I am thinking about having this picture blown up poster-size to put on one empty wall. It's such a calming picture to me... even though waves were pretty big that day in anticipation of the storm that blew in the next day. I can just feel the sun on my face, my toes digging in the sand, and the sound of the waves, washing all my cares away. Ahh...