My Spring Break Part 1

So back in March I was able to travel with Joey to Dallas. He had to travel due to business. I saw it as  an opportunity for an adventure! I have never been to Dallas to stop and explore. 

One of the first places I went was the Dallas World Aquarium. If you are in the area, I highly recommend it! Go early because it gets crowded!

Once you walk in, this is what you are greeted with. 

A two story waterfall that has monkeys climbing and birds flying all around it. 

A three-toed sloth! My first time I have seen a real-life sloth :)

They also had a two-toed sloth which was harder to photograph. 

She was located over a staircase. 

They have many tanks in their aquarium exhibit. I loved that it was categorized by area of the world. 

I do not remember this guy's natural area, but he sure was watching me!

I loved that you could see the underside of this sea anemone. 

The aquarium had many neat sea horses!

They even had baby sea horses! 

Look closely, they are that teenie! 

These are garden eels! 

They sway with the current and mimic grass. 

When a predator comes near, they pull themselves back into the sand. 

An Axolotl! 

I almost missed this guy! It was in a tank that followed some stairs. 

I love axolotls! 

Google it, it will make you smile!

I believe this is a spotted owl

Not a great picture, but it's an ANTEATER!

Tortoises are so neat to watch

A sea manatee! 

I waited a while on this one! 

It was in the corner eating for a while, then I decided to come back after visiting the penguins. 

Jackpot! It came out to say hello. 

This was only the beginning of one of my days in Dallas. 

After I left the Aquarium, I decided to venture to the Dallas Arboretum. 

Those pictures are in the next post. 

So many beautiful flowers! 

How Did My Garden Grow?!

One of the most proud moments I had in 2015 was growing my garden!

If you want to look at the beginning stages go here.

I stopped updating on week 4!! Ack!

Well you guys here is what happened:



You can tell my cherry tomato went CRAZY! This was I believe early summer





This is getting more into August.

Rundown

I planted:
-Yellow bell pepper (Bertha)
-Jalapeno
-Red bell pepper
-2 basil plants
- lavender
-Better Boy tomato
-Sweet 100 (cherry tomato)

-2 cucumbers
-2 strawberry (experiment)
-2 squash

-chives
-chocolate mint
-peppermint
-spicy global basil
-oregano

Time of year Planted:  Spring Break (March 16th)

First to bloom/produce: cucumbers
-These did very well when I got them in!
These produced a lot! They were not pickling cucumbers(it did not say that on the tag). They could grow long and were still great. Plus there was no grassy taste, like the store-bought ones. These were done by the time it got hot here. I loved making refrigerator pickles from these! It is super simple and delicious! (recipe here)



















-Basil also did very well. It needs to be trimmed and/or staked. Mine grew to about 2-3 feet tall. This is great to make pesto. Make sure you water the base of the plant, not the leaves. Once our summer warmed up, and I got a little lazy with watering. These suckers were toast. I didn't mind though since I was done with wanting to pick it.

-Tomatoes were good. I got like 1,000 cherry tomatoes,,,which we did not need/want. The plant needs to be cut back. I didn't know this! It grew out of the cage, all along the back of the bed. By the time I caught it, it was making baby tomatoes, so I felt bad cutting all those tomatoes-in-the-making off.
*I will not plant this again.

-Better Boy tomatoes are the "bigger" ones. I use quotations because they never got bigger than a tennis ball. It did not produce that many. When I used them for salsa, I needed to go buy more at the store to make sure I had enough.
*I will not plant these again.

-The peppers produced some in the summer. They started after the cucumbers were done. They need a LOT of water for the hot Texas days. Believe it or not, it seems like they have been making more in Sept-November. It has been pretty warm this past fall, so they liked the cooler warmer days. The bell peppers all start out as green, the length of time you leave them on the plant determines their color.

The "mammoth" jalapenos were not super huge. They were about 4-5 inches long. They were not very spicy, but still has a little kick. These were perfect to pickle! Basically all the jalapenos we got were pickled. I follow this recipe from Simply Scratch (here). I actually don't do a water bath. I just boil the mixture and the jar will seal itself with the hot liquid. I do not take risks with it though, I place all the jars I pickle in our garage fridge, just to make sure they keep. I also use apple cider vinegar instead of normal white. Either is fine, but I like the apple cider.

Squash plants were okay. I had trouble with darn pill bugs eating the squash while it was still making. I got smart and started propping the squashlings on a plastic plant container to keep them off the dirt while they grew. We got maybe a dozen squash from the two plants. Not a whole lot, but it was good.

Fails;
-Strawberries. They made a few...no bigger than a dime most of the time. This is the biggest one

 If you go out to the garden, they are still alive and growing. Just not making any fruit.

The lavender did okay. It flowered and grew, but never that big. The Memorial Day rain/flood drowned it though. It needs dry type soil (think Mediterranean).


Other Herbs:
-They did great! My chives grew faster than we used them. I dried some of the spices and refilled my spice jars with fresh stuff.

The chocolate mint, chives, and oregano are still going strong right now. Chocolate mint is actually creeping into the beds more and more. The spicy global basil died probably last month.

To be honest I stopped watering my garden when fall came. I figured I would let everything just grow out and then winterize it. However, my peppers, non-producing strawberries, and herbs have other plans! I'll let them go as long as they want.

For my garden this year I plan:

- Making a 3rd bed. One for mostly squash and zucchini.

- 2 or 3 jalapeno plants.
- 2 cucumber plants
- 2 bell pepper plants
- 2 or 3 big tomatoes
- Dill
-Poblano pepper?

I liked what I grew this past Spring. I think the plan is just to add to those. I want enough to make refrigerator pickles and salsa again.


I really gardening. It is so relaxing and rewarding for me. I am looking forward to growing more things this year!

My Word for 2016.

And just like that 2015 is over. It is so crazy to think about it! As I get older it seems like time flies by. Part of me thinks that is due to the fact that as an adult we are always looking 2-3 steps ahead.

It is hard to stop and think of just living through each day fully, I know me personally I am always thinking days ahead, if not months. Sometimes I have the "if I can get through______" it will be ok mentality.

This brings me to realize my word for this year.

I want everything I do, in every aspect of my life to be intentional. 

This means: 

-My time with God...living a life focused on him

-My actions in my relationships- being with friends and strengthening friendships that will help me grow to be a better person

-In my free time....stop reading random websites to pass the time...do something more constructive. 

-What I say- thinking through (all the time) what I say and why I say it. 

      - Use what I say to uplift others 

My goals for this year are pretty simple. I have goals that are separated into monthly goals. 

- Read 1 book each month

-Blog post once a month 

If you are wondering, my words last year were nurture and thankfulness. 

I definitely got nurture down with growing a garden and teaching pre-k!

Thankfulness is something I continue to work on. Not like I am not thankful, but I want it as a mindset. God is so gracious to give me each day here on this earth and I need to look to Him first to see why I am here, what does He want me to do each day. Remembering that even when things are hard, someone out there always has it harder. 

You guys it is just 6 days into this new year! Forget the mistakes you have made in the past, last year, yesterday. Each day starts out fresh with no mistakes in it. Be gracious with yourself and others. Try to make each day better than the last. Be nicer, be more patient, smile more, gripe less. help one more person than the day before. It is up to you to make this year rock! 

Welcome 2016! Let's do this!!

Hello!

Wow, 2015 is rockin' and rolling! It is already almost October! I can not believe it has been since April since I wrote! I get in these funks where I do not want to write any...or if I do want to write I never seem to have the time!

Let's catch up!!


May: 

- We went and saw Blackberry Smoke at House of Blues. This is the 3rd time we have seen them and it is a rockin' concert. If you haven't heard them, the best I can do to compare them is like Lynyrd Skynyrd/Southern Rock sound.

- Comicpalooza

As always Comicpalooza is in May! It is one of my favorite times of the year! This year we got Summer Glau's autograph!! We got to meet her. I was super nervous and such a dork. I just said "hi!". She was very nice to everyone in our fan line. For those of you who do not know who that is, she is most famous for River from Firefly/Serenity, Sarah Connor from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. 

- We went to Hayley Atwell's panel and got her autograph! We knew her from "Pillars of the Earth". She was a very nice person and she had a great panel. She was inspiring to listen to. 

 - Of course I couldn't leave without getting some loot! I've been wanting a baby dancing Groot (from Guardians of the Galaxy) and I finally found one! 

June: 

- Our key lime tree started going crazy this summer! I got at least 3 of the bowls full and there are still limes falling off of the trees, not getting used. I hate to see them get wasted, but I have no idea what to use them for! We do not like Key Lime Pie and it's hard to find non-dessert recipes for these. We used some on fajitas and that was yummy.

-Homemaking Things

 - I made salsa!! I have made 2 different batches now. I tried a stab at it back in June, while Joey was away for business. I made 2 jars the first time. Which was a little disheartening after all of that work with blanching the tomatoes and such. However, this past time I was faster and I was able to get 3 jars using store tomatoes (we didn't have any to pick).

For the first batch I used our tomatoes, our jalapenos, and our bell pepper.
It turned out delicious!!

I also pickled some of our jalapenos we grew in the garden. They were so delicious! This past batch, I didn't have any jalapenos to use from our garden, but we went to the farmer's market so I bought some there and pickled them. I was able to get I think 4 jars from the bunch!

I absolutely love it that I can use what I planted to make food for our family!  How neat is that!?

-My Birthday 

I turned 27 this year! It was one of the best "adult" birthdays I have had! I say that because after 21, birthdays aren't super big anymore. It's like "oh, happy birthday!" lol

However, this year was different!! Joey asked me this year what I wanted to do. I told him just hang out with our friends on my birthday, that would be enough. Well...he then came up with the idea to get Killen's BBQ.  Which is some of the best BBQ we have ever had! The wheels start turning and our cousin (on Joey's side) agrees to let us have it at his house and use his pool! 

The morning of my birthday, Joey and I drive to Pearland and pick up our order and put it in an ice chest to keep it warm until evening. Then once we get home Joey said he wanted to go to his cousin's house to see if he needs any help. Turns out they went to Wal-mart and picked up all sorts of party things! 

They put up streamers, had hats and even A MINION PINATA!! (I love the minions, but I wanted what was inside more....so I took him down!)

It was such an amazing birthday and even now I am so grateful for our friends coming and even bring things to my party. It was awesome!

July:

-Joey's Birthday 

Joey turned 30 this year! We went out to eat and then hung out with some friends for his birthday. 

It is unreal how much I love that man! :)

- Vegas 

We went to Vegas! Yes, again! :)

We went early this year due to my new teacher orientation (I switched school districts).

The view when you near Vegas. 

Since we live in a totally different type of climate it is really neat to see the desert this high up. 

This was the most exciting part of our trip!! 

Not only did we go to our first club, but we saw one of our favorite artists there! 

Zedd

For those of you that have no idea who that is, he is a DJ that plays EDM style music. 

EDM= electronic dance music

To some it may sound like random noises, but if you can find the beat and just enjoy it... that makes all of the difference!

We went to the club XS and danced the night away. 

Basically an EDM type concert is a huge dance party!

It's so much fun!!

I will post more about Vegas really soon, since I have SO many more pictures to share.

August: 

I got hooked on True Detective. 

I think the first season is better, but it is hard to compare since the seasons are totally different story lines. 

I just like the Criminal Minds/mystery aspect in the first season. 

- My sister-in-law got married!

She was absolutely stunning!

I got misty eyed as I watched her walk down the aisle. 

I've known her since she was in 2nd grade (when Joey and I first started dating). 

Crazy how time passes!

School Starting: 

School is now in session and I started working in my room early August, as soon as I could get in there. I teach little ones and so getting into a new-to-you space at a new school is a little crazy. I got in my room as soon as I could so I could set it up. It was basically that and going to trainings and school starting for the rest August.

September: 

- We went to an Astros game! This actually happened this past Monday. 

Joey one night asked if I wanted to go. 

It was tickets, free hot dog, free soda, and free popcorn!

Heck yeah!

We haven't been to an Astros game in quite a while. 

It was much more fun than I remembered! 

Astos won their game against the Los Angeles Angels (6-3)

This was last night!

Zedd  came to Houston!!

As soon as we saw him in Vegas, we looked up to see if he was coming to our town. 

Sure enough he was!!

Since last time we saw him, our feet were ready to give out by the time he came on (which was 1 am); we decided to get seat tickets. 

Such a good decision! 

This time there were 3 openers. However time went by so fast!

Once Zedd was on, I was on my feet dancing the entire show!

The visuals and lights at this show are phenomenal! 

The most amazing part is, the lights and the visuals are all done live. 

It is not pre-recorded. 

Zedd does not like doing that because he wants to be able to change his set list at a whim if he wants to, based on the audience's mood. 

It feels so nice to finally sit down and write about everything! 

Hope you have been doing well! 

Garden Update!

So every week I have been trying to take pictures of my garden's progress. It is fun for me to look back and see how much it has grown as well as keep a record of the plants for next time.

The morning after I planted (March 14th): 

 Week 2 (March 22nd): 

 March 27th I noticed my first bud on my squash! 

In 3 more days I noticed another bud popping up! 

Week 3 (April 4th): 

 

I put a trellis up for my cucumbers since they were getting tall. 

Some of the most fun progress to watch are the cucumbers climbing! The 2 pictures taken below were taken 4 days apart! 

April 4th

After getting the trellis, the cucumbers took off! 

April 8th

Do you see the difference in the height of the left cucumber?! 

The first bud! (April 4th) 

Squash buds!

Another view from week 3

April 7th: squashlings!

Tiny yellow bell peppers!

April 8th

Week 4(April 11th): 

My basil is doing better. 

I sprayed it with vinegar and water mixture to get the pests away. It worked on whatever was chomping at the end of the leaves. I also took off the half eaten leaves, which seemed to help it grow better.  Today I noticed I have a new pest that is making a hole through the leaves. 

Not sure what I am going to do when my climbing friend gets to the top! I am partially hoping they will just climb back down again! 

Mammoth Jalapeno is finally getting into the action!

I've had buds on my grape tomatoes, but now they are actually forming!

Big Bertha Red Bell Peppers are getting along well!

Better Bush tomato plant

You can see the garden a little better from the back angle. 

My grape tomatoes are out of control! :)

My cucumbers are growing SO fast! 

They have grown about a foot in a week!

The newest pest in my garden!

He looks cute, but I just read that grasshoppers can be a nuisance!

If you are wondering if I fertilized my garden, I have only federalized it once, last Saturday. 

Pest issues so far: 

- Strawberries are getting picked of the vine that attaches to the strawberry. It is getting eaten through. I have one quite large strawberry that is growing. If it makes it, it will be our second to eat. 

- Basil is getting eaten first by leaves bit off at the end, like big chunks. I think those have gone away and now it is tiny holes in the leaves. 

- Gnats are super bad around the garden. I do not think they are affecting the garden, but they are annoying to have when you are working out there. 

So in short: a recap!

Week 2: 

Week 3: 

Week 4:



It is such a blessing to be able to grow veggies and go out each day to see the progress! :)