I have to quickly share what we had for dinner tonight. It is so much fun having yummy fresh vegetables to cook and eat. Our neighbor was nice enough to share some of his home grown corn and zucchini with us (Thanks Brendan). I steamed the Zucchini, then dried it really well with paper towels and then I sprinkled with salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese...YUMMY. I also made yummy feta burgers which includes, deer meat, sausage, red onion, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, garlic, red wine and feta. Justin grilled them to perfection and it was a perfectly delicious meal. We boiled the corn and of course it was yummy. Oh and we ate our FIRST big tomato on our burgers. I didn't realize how quickly the tomatoes turn read. I have lots on my tomato plant and finally I saw on Friday that it was starting to turn red, well this morning it was bright and calling our name. It is so rewarding and fun to have fresh vegetables.
While I am giving a vegi report. I had my very first banana pepper starting to grow. I am so excited. I love it. next year I have big plans to do more than just tomatoes and peppers! Hope that you all have a wonderful week. Lots of love!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Home Sweet Home
A weekend at home. I have already enjoyed my time here at home for the weekend. Last night my sweet husband took me to J.Alexanders for dinner (just the two of us!) It was a perfect dinner and I really enjoyed our time together. Then after dinner he decided we should rent a movie (Charlie Wilson's War) and I sadly disappointed him and fell asleep before the movie was over. I am not a good Friday nighter...I am always too tired to stay up for anything. This morning I got up and ran and then came home and trimmed the ginormous bushes on the front of the house. It was so hot out there, Justin was nice enough to cook me breakfast. It hit the spot and I was able to cook down before cleaning up the mess I made with all the limbs I clipped. It was burning up and I was sore and tired...so I decided to finish the movie I tried to start last night. It was an awesome movie. I then was able to nap and watch another two movies. Justin has gone to golf and I an in total relax and do nothing mode which really rocks!
Last weekend we went to the lake with some friends Jeff and Crystal - well Crystal and I started talking about running and that we wanted to set some goals to run a 10K by the end of the year! So we started this week. Tuesday and Thursday morning I got up and met her at 5am (do you know how early that is? well I had to get up at 4:30 so that I could meet her at her house at 5am - wow that is major early) but both mornings I felt really good and full of energy. On Wednesday afternoon we went and ran with a running group that runs weekly and we ran 3miles...well we walked some of the way but not much. For our first week we were so proud of ourselves and really feel good about our start. So, this morning we met at 6:15 and run/walked 5 miles. I am so excited to have a running partner who wants to run with me and is so dedicated. Crystal is really motivated and focused so we've set a few dates to do a few 5K's and a 10K. I'm so exited and wow, I feel great and it has only been a week. Crystal is out of town all of next week and I am going to do all that I can to continue running - it will be much harder not having her here. But I know that I can do it. We're headed to the lake on Thursday so I'll certainly be taking my tennis shoes so that I can get my runs in down there too. It is so helpful to have a friend that motivates and encourages - an accountability partner.
Well, I'm off to start another nap - I have some sleep to catch up on from those early mornings this week!
Last weekend we went to the lake with some friends Jeff and Crystal - well Crystal and I started talking about running and that we wanted to set some goals to run a 10K by the end of the year! So we started this week. Tuesday and Thursday morning I got up and met her at 5am (do you know how early that is? well I had to get up at 4:30 so that I could meet her at her house at 5am - wow that is major early) but both mornings I felt really good and full of energy. On Wednesday afternoon we went and ran with a running group that runs weekly and we ran 3miles...well we walked some of the way but not much. For our first week we were so proud of ourselves and really feel good about our start. So, this morning we met at 6:15 and run/walked 5 miles. I am so excited to have a running partner who wants to run with me and is so dedicated. Crystal is really motivated and focused so we've set a few dates to do a few 5K's and a 10K. I'm so exited and wow, I feel great and it has only been a week. Crystal is out of town all of next week and I am going to do all that I can to continue running - it will be much harder not having her here. But I know that I can do it. We're headed to the lake on Thursday so I'll certainly be taking my tennis shoes so that I can get my runs in down there too. It is so helpful to have a friend that motivates and encourages - an accountability partner.
Well, I'm off to start another nap - I have some sleep to catch up on from those early mornings this week!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Catch up
I have seemed to complain a bit about being on the go every weekend. It just occur ed to me that I am quite blessed to have friends and family who want us to spend time with them and vise-versa. Since we've been back from Napa we have been out of town every weekend. The first weekend we went to Mexico Beach with Mrs. Pam and Charles(Justin's Mom and Step Dad), along with Ryan and Eve (Brother and Sister-in-law). The guys fished both days and we gals got in some beach time. It was awesome to spend the weekend with all of them! Thanks to my dear friend Robyn the dogs stayed here. Robyn was truly a life saver and stayed at the house to keep the dogs, it was so perfect and I know that they had a blast playing with Sadie.
The following weekend we headed to Eufaula to spend the weekend with Mr. Randy (Justin's dad) for Father's day. It was so nice to get to sleep in both mornings and to get to spend the afternoon on the boat was great - Brink and Doc enjoyed it too!
Somehow I don't have any pictures from either weekend, I'll try and do better this weekend with taking some pix.
This weekend we are headed to Compass lake with some friends(Jeff and Crystal Wiggins). I'm looking forward to it being a relaxing weekend again and I do hope that the weather will be nice so that we can chill on the dock for the weekend. I know that Brinkley and Doc will be in heaven to play and swim for the weekend. Justin and Jeff are traveling this week and will meet us at the lake on Friday. Crystal, Caroline, Madeline (Jeff and Crystal's girls), Doc, Brinkley and me will all cram into my car to head down on Friday - it should be an interesting drive down.
I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend at home next week and then July will begin another month of visits and travel with more friends and family. Again, we are truely blessed and excited that we have had the time to spend with our friends and family - it isn't often that we get to spend quality time and really catch up with one another. Our family and friends make us who we are and Justin and I are both blessed to have such caring, loving and wonderful friends and family. Thankfully we both work for fabulous companies who give us flexibility and resources (company car) that make all of this travel much easier.
Ok, I think that will catch you all up with what we have been doing. Work and play and life is great. Love yall.
The following weekend we headed to Eufaula to spend the weekend with Mr. Randy (Justin's dad) for Father's day. It was so nice to get to sleep in both mornings and to get to spend the afternoon on the boat was great - Brink and Doc enjoyed it too!
Somehow I don't have any pictures from either weekend, I'll try and do better this weekend with taking some pix.
This weekend we are headed to Compass lake with some friends(Jeff and Crystal Wiggins). I'm looking forward to it being a relaxing weekend again and I do hope that the weather will be nice so that we can chill on the dock for the weekend. I know that Brinkley and Doc will be in heaven to play and swim for the weekend. Justin and Jeff are traveling this week and will meet us at the lake on Friday. Crystal, Caroline, Madeline (Jeff and Crystal's girls), Doc, Brinkley and me will all cram into my car to head down on Friday - it should be an interesting drive down.
I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend at home next week and then July will begin another month of visits and travel with more friends and family. Again, we are truely blessed and excited that we have had the time to spend with our friends and family - it isn't often that we get to spend quality time and really catch up with one another. Our family and friends make us who we are and Justin and I are both blessed to have such caring, loving and wonderful friends and family. Thankfully we both work for fabulous companies who give us flexibility and resources (company car) that make all of this travel much easier.
Ok, I think that will catch you all up with what we have been doing. Work and play and life is great. Love yall.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
My Dad
In honor of Father's Day this weekend I wanted to give a very special thanks to my amazing Dad. I realized that I have fabulous parents and my dad is simply the best dad around. Dad's really do have a special bond with their little girls - not that they love their son's any less BUT it is just different. Here are a few things that I love about my Dad....AGAIN, let me reiterate that this is only a small
list - the list could go on for days! - I love that my Dad is such a good and compassionate Dad. He genuinely cares about us and will do anything for any of us at any time.
- I love that my he will ask 1000 questions and it is all because of how much he really cares
- I love that as a baby he spanked me which resulted in my crying and he never spanked me again - not that I ever did anything to need a spank'n!
- Dad is a strong and amazing example of a Christian and God Fearing Man!
- After Justin and I were married, Dad missed seeing me (since I did live with them and saw them every day) and asked if we could have dinner with them once a week. We did for a while and still have dinner at least a few times each month together. Thankfully we only live 3 miles away!
- Dad can fix anything!
- He always tells me to call if I need anything and he really does mean it. He has rescued me when my power went out and Justin was out of town!
- Dad's two saying's when we were young: 1)'Be a leader not a follower' 2) regarding driving 'keep your head on a swivel, know what is going on around you' . Both are great pieces of advise and have stayed with me to this day.
- I love that my Dad loves Justin as if he was is own. He love Amanda (Chris' wife) as if she was his as well.
Dad, I love you and thank you for all that you do for me. I couldn't have a better Dad. Thanks for your friendship and your guidance. Love you Lots!
.JPG)
Home Grown
Nothing is better than fresh vegetables. I love them and I wish that we lived closer to the Farmers Market so that I could get all of my veggies fresh. When Justin and Chris lived together they had a full garden and that was actually when I started liking tomatoes. You 
can not beat the taste of home grown fresh tomatoes. Grocery store tomatoes are just not the same. I have two different types of tomatoes and 4 different peppers that I have planted in pots this year. It has been quite an experience, all of my peppers almost died. I actually think that I almost killed them by spraying a concoction of garlic, pepper and soap that is supposed to kill beetles. The beetles had flown in and invaded my pepper plants - well the spray resulted in all of the leaves falling off. So, I went and bought new 
peppers(am I determined or what) to plant again and when I was re-potting I realized that the original plants were actually trying to grow back. So, I ended up with a few extra pepper plants.
I would like to have a green thumb - my mom certainly does - but I am in my early learning stages so lots of trial and error is involved. I would say my thumb is more gray than green right now. I also like instant results i.e. I want my flowering flowers to bloom right away and I wanted to see quick results with my veggies. I had a sad realization, but was thankful to my cherry tomatoes that they were quickest to produce. And they are absolutely delicious, we've had about 6 that have ripened and they really do make your mouth water for more they are so good. My big tomato plant was slower to produce, which Justin later explain that the plant had to grow strong enough to support the large size of the tomatoes - the lack of green thumb is again obvious. In my sheer excitement about my tomatoes and how many are on my plants, I realized that the bottom of some of the big tomatoes are black - I freaked out because I thought that a bug had gotten into them YUCK! But after doing a little
research discovered that my soil has a calcium deficiency (BER). I've added lime to the soil and will also add egg shell and that should help. Since I pulled the bad ones off I haven't seen any more turn black. I was very very glad to discover my first sign of jalapeno peppers this week. Yippie! (The picture is sort of fuzzy - my camera is not willing to focus on the veggie but instead it focuses on the fence behind the plant - brilliant)
I hope that they will all continue to do good and produce. If they do really good, we'll be glad to share fresh veggies!
can not beat the taste of home grown fresh tomatoes. Grocery store tomatoes are just not the same. I have two different types of tomatoes and 4 different peppers that I have planted in pots this year. It has been quite an experience, all of my peppers almost died. I actually think that I almost killed them by spraying a concoction of garlic, pepper and soap that is supposed to kill beetles. The beetles had flown in and invaded my pepper plants - well the spray resulted in all of the leaves falling off. So, I went and bought new 
peppers(am I determined or what) to plant again and when I was re-potting I realized that the original plants were actually trying to grow back. So, I ended up with a few extra pepper plants.I would like to have a green thumb - my mom certainly does - but I am in my early learning stages so lots of trial and error is involved. I would say my thumb is more gray than green right now. I also like instant results i.e. I want my flowering flowers to bloom right away and I wanted to see quick results with my veggies. I had a sad realization, but was thankful to my cherry tomatoes that they were quickest to produce. And they are absolutely delicious, we've had about 6 that have ripened and they really do make your mouth water for more they are so good. My big tomato plant was slower to produce, which Justin later explain that the plant had to grow strong enough to support the large size of the tomatoes - the lack of green thumb is again obvious. In my sheer excitement about my tomatoes and how many are on my plants, I realized that the bottom of some of the big tomatoes are black - I freaked out because I thought that a bug had gotten into them YUCK! But after doing a little
research discovered that my soil has a calcium deficiency (BER). I've added lime to the soil and will also add egg shell and that should help. Since I pulled the bad ones off I haven't seen any more turn black. I was very very glad to discover my first sign of jalapeno peppers this week. Yippie! (The picture is sort of fuzzy - my camera is not willing to focus on the veggie but instead it focuses on the fence behind the plant - brilliant)I hope that they will all continue to do good and produce. If they do really good, we'll be glad to share fresh veggies!
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