Busy Sunday!

Yay for sundays!! Here is some pictures of some seeds I have already, there is many more to come. Also here are some pictures of my simple seed starting kit. The trays I bought last year, and I have been keeping egg cartons for the last few months to start seeds in. I started peas in these egg cartons last fall and it worked great so going to try it again.





I will be busy planting later today I think I am going to start pumpkins, lemon cucumbers, parsley and some thyme. Those all take a while to either germinate or mature. Also this year I promise to do succession plantings. I have not done this in the last two years, but everything I have read says that it is the key to success! The dogs are happy about the pumpkins as they love when I make their favorite pumpkin cookies!

Today is the Healthy Planet/Natural Living Expo of which I am so excited to go to. There will be veterinarians there, gardeners and many other 'green' booths. Poor Anthony he says he is happy to go, but sometimes I think he thinks I am crazy! Well, I am...but he is stuck with me now. I will see if I can take my camera in and take pictures as well as I will collect any information I can and ship it out west, you know who you are. I will post later about my discoveries.

Cat update: No cats last night, still haven't figured out who is feeding them, but she will be discovered! The dogs were quiet last night when I went out with them and Kirby was sad that there were no cats to chase away from the fence! He galloped to the fence where they have been and then turned and looked at me, as if to say, 'mom...where did they go???' I told him I had already done his job and that I was sorry I didn't save it for him!

For dinner: Artichokes with Holendaise Sauce, which I discovered I love! Then for dinner we had Sage Chicken with Cauliflower and Asparagus and the rest of the holendaise sauce. YUM! Oh and of course WINE!

New House

This is the front of our new house, very cute and don't worry we are going to paint the purple around the door, what were they thinking?? We have a small front yard and some older bushes, I will rip some of them out and put something its place not sure what though. There are planter boxes on the porch that I will be sure to fill soon.
This is the back of the house, the door on the side goes down to the full basement! As you can see I have a very small sun room!

Garden bed number 1! Needs some work, but I think will be great soon!!

Garden bed number 2! This is going to need a little more work, but I think is going to be great for my tomatos and other sun loving veggies!!

This is the whole patio area. Sorry Maddie Grace's butt is in the picture! I think this is going to be a great area in the spring and summer to eat outside and entertain as the house itself is not very big!

This is part of the dogs yard. We will be moving the bird bath to the garden area. Thats our neighbors car, they are very nice, but aren't as luck as us as they do not have a driveway or garage so they have to park on the street and I believe that there are 4 people living there. These are it for now, as we do some landscaping I will take pictures so you can see our progress!

Saturday

Well there is no dog show this weekend, (thank goodness) and my hubby is at work, so instead of unpacking some more I am curled up on the couch with the best pet in the world and my new gardening magazines. (Thank you friendly neighbor:)-) I know it is probably not the most responsible thing to be doing, but I can't help myself. I do have laundry going, so I am not totally failing at my job as 'housewife.' Speaking of jobs I do have a job interview next week, ugh! I wish we would win the lotto, however as my mother says, you probably have to play to win, oh well!

I have been reading gardening blogs like crazy and have learned tons, some people are so resourceful. If I only I was that creative...I more of the buy things type of girl not the re-use type of girl! I am trying...and hoping to get better.

We discovered Costco yesterday, can anyone go there and spend less then a $100 dollars, I just don't think it is possible! I try, but just can't, we don't ever buy anything that we don't need, but it always seems to add up way quicker than planned!

So far we love St. Louis!! We haven't seen a whole lot of the city, but there is plenty to see and do. What a neat place!!! I feel like a child at christmas!

Alright back to my reading, when I go out with dogs in a little while I will take my camera so I can take pictures. My garden space needs some serious TLC, but my hubby promised he would be the muscles and help me, you will definitely get the idea though. We did get the garage somewhat organized yesterday and put the jet skis in so that they are not out for the whole world to see.

One downfall that we discovered was that apparently the corner of our lot is the local stray cat feeding center. NOT ANYMORE!!! I couldn't figure out why every night the dogs would go crazy at the fence, so much that they have had to wear their bark collars as I don't want to disrupt the neighborhood. Well Thursday night, Anthony took me to Coldstone Cremery and when we returned there were probably a dozen CATS feeding from a bowl at the corner of our lot. So Anthony and I did away with the bowl that night and the cats scattered. We haven't figured out who is feeding them, but they need to stop!!! I will keep you posted on my stray cat fiasco, so far that is our only problem.

Spring is Here!!

HAHAHAHA well I wish. However it is here atleast in my house! As soon as Anthony gets home in about an hour we are going to plant seeds!! I am hoping that part of my seed order will come today, so I can do it all at once but I won't be sad if I have to get dirty twice! Today is suppose to sunny so I will get out and take some pictures. More to come!

Heaven!!

I think I might have found heaven here on earth. I found a strip mall less than a mile from my house that has a Borders Bookstore, a Nordstorm Rack, Whole Foods, The Container Store, REI and Pier 1 all in the same block! I mean really, what could be better! The only thing that could make this block better is adding a Starbucks! However I did see an empty space at the end of the strip that would be perfect for a Starbucks! Are you listening Howie?!?!?!

So today started out a little rough as I had NO HEAT! And lets just say it was 18 degrees outside until about 1 o'clock! I could have cried however a really nice maintence guy did come to my rescue and fixed my problem. Thank you maintence man! I spent the rest of the afternoon, unpacking more boxes and playing with the dogs.

Thank you, you know who you are for the magazines. I finally got to open them tonight and quickly look through some of them. Amazing...I have so much to learn.

Tonight for dinner we had fish with a Buerre Blanc sauce that was absolutely amazing! Anthony also made a homemade salad dressing that was so good too! Yay for having my hubby home at nighttime!!

Tomorrow I need to plant Parsley atleast, if not some other herbs, maybe Thyme. And thank you to a few seed companies that are sending your seeds already, I am so excited!!!

New Discovery!!

I LIKE BRUSSEL SPROUTS!!!!! Who knew. I am growing Brussel Sprouts this year in the garden, but I was originally only growing them for Anthony and now he has to share. I don't think I have ever had a Brussel Sprout until tonight. Well this is truly a break through for me. As you can tell I am pretty excited about this discovery.

I am hopefully going to order my seeds tonight. I am a little behind according to others, but oh well I am doing the best that I can. I will start most everything as soon as I get it but until then I will just dream about my garden and my new found favorite; the Brussel Sprout!

I am feeling alittle better today, but only by a little. I want to be well by this weekend as the there is a Home and Garden Show/Expo on Saturday and a Healthy Planet, Nature Living Expo on Sunday that I really want to go to. To learn more about it, click here... www.thehealthyplanet.com

Tomorrow will be more unpacking, I don't know which is worse packing or unpacking??

Meatless Monday

Tonight we have officially completeld 'Meatless Monday!' Now don't worry we are not becoming vegetarians, but I thought it would be fun to try. Plus it will help Anthony broaden his vegetarian menu. We had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato and basil soup. It was very good and both of us were full afterwards so we will see how long this lasts. On the menu for tomorrow...steak!!!

So Many Things Where To Begin....

First off, the move went well or as well as to be expected. Anthony had a head cold during the move and now I have it lucky me!!!

Tuesday morning on our way out of town, I discovered a black and white pointer on the side of the road. She was so cute and came right to me when I got out of the car. So needless to say I picked her up and since I was headed out of town so I took her to the nearest veterinary clinic to see if they would keep her until I could figure out what to do. Just what I needed was to find a dog. After dropping the new dog off I continued on my happy little way to St. Louis. We arrived in St. Louis aroung 6pm which wasn't to bad. Anthony's boss, Jaco came over and helped Anthony move our mattress into the house as it weighs so much and is to big for me to move very far. We unpacked a little that night about a third or so and did the rest in the morning. Anthony and I returned the truck on Wednesday afternoon, which was actually a day early. Thursday we left St. Louis and headed back to South Carolina as we had a dog show and my trailblazer and jet skis were at a friend's house. Friday I returned to Georgia as no one had claimed the dog I had found, of course!!! I was happy to go and retrieve her, as she is super sweet. She was thrilled to see me again and my dogs looked at her as if to say, "mom, what the heck is wrong with her!" I explained to them that not every dog is as lucky as they are, however they didn't seem to care and right on with their self-entitled behavior. Anthony was a big winner thankfully at the dog show which was nice. He cooked an amazing dinner for me and friends on both Friday and Saturday night. Saturday I took the little rescue dog to her foster home for the time being. She should be up on the Pointer Rescue Website this week and we are hoping she will find a home pronto.

Sunday was a long drive back, but both us and the dogs were happy to be back. Anthony started his first day of work and so far so good. Let me tell you, 3am is really early. He now works 4am to about noon or so. It was nice to have him home early this afternoon and we got lots done. Tomorrow is another day and hopefully I will feel a little better that I can get more done on my own, but we will see. I attached a picture of my little rescue dog. She was so sweet and just happy to be alive. I will take pictures of the house and yard soon.

To Sprout or Not To Sprout

Well today was the beginning of our new adventure. My poor hubby did not get home until 6:20 this morning. With it being Valentine's weekend they have a full hotel and a busy dinner service, so he had to stay late and prep for tonight, which he is currently suffering through now I am sure! So at about 10:30am I woke him up, as the Penske truck place opened at noon and we needed to pick it up by noon for him to get back here and to work on time. Our mission was to pick up the truck, get to the storage unit, load everything from the storage unit into the truck and then back to the house all in about 3 hours. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!! Although everything from the storage unit was just THROWN into the truck, atleast we don't have to go there tomorrow. So for day 2 of our new adventure we are getting up early and loading the rest of our stuff. Our mission... to have everything loaded and out of here by 3ish! (I am laughing out loud as we speak as I don't think this is even remotely possible)

Onto happier things... I have been reading other peoples gardening blogs and it seems there are tons of people that grow sprouts. Mainly Alfalfa and Mueng Beans. I think I like sprouts, I am not sure. I looked at sprout seeds in my magazines and they are kind of expensive. Any advice? I may try to grow them once I get to St. Louis only because I love when Anthony makes asian stir-fry from scratch. It is so good!!! We usually buy sprouts for this, but they always go bad so quick and the sprout bloggers say that doesn't happen when you grow them. I guess its worth a try.

Lastly, Kirby is on strike, he claims no one gives him any respect. As the eldest dog in the house he believes that NO ONE should lay close to me, near him or heaven for bid take his bone right out of his mouth. I have pictures of Maddie very carefully knocking the bone out of his mouth and than quickly grabbing it before he even realizes what has happened. I would post pictures but he looks like a killer and lets face it he wouldn't hurt a fly. (Truth be told he is mortified of flies!!)So his life continues with no respect, he grumbles loudy as if to say 'leave me alone,' but no one listens!! Poor Guy!

Alright, time for an early bedtime, as I have lots to load tomorrow!

Good Morning SNOW!

Well the dogs and I woke up to quite a bit of snow on the ground. It is now 5pm and it is almost completely gone!!! Thank goodness. Enjoy the pictures. As you can tell Kirby preferred to stay under the carport where there was not much snow, where as Maddie Grace found a branch that had broken off and tried to eat it!

More SNOW!

Just some more pictures of the snow before I go to bed!!

REALLY...snow in Georgia!

My mom recently sent the dogs coats to wear in St. Louis as it is rather cold this time of year. Well...they got to wear them earlier then expected as it snow in Georgia today. Currently it is still snowing. I want to say it started roughly around 3pm and is still coming down. Lovely. I have to move in less than 4 days and it looks like I will be doing it the snow on both ends. I was going to pack up all my gardening stuff today but I am not going outside when it is 34 degrees outside and snowing like crazy. I guess it will have to wait.

In the mean time the dogs love their new coats and enjoyed trying them out today. We spent the day doing laundry as I am determined to move with not a single thing dirty. We (Anthony and I) did pack the new car with boxes today as, Anthony insisted that it will be one less thing we have to do on Monday. So we loaded it up then discussed a plan of attack for Monday, the packing day and Tuesday, the driving day. I am hoping we will actually get down earlier enough on Monday that we can head out that afternoon and atleast get a little ways, maybe halfway...wishful thinking.

On the gardening front, I am getting closer to planting seeds!!!! I am so excited, I am bursting at the seams! I am a geek, I know, I can't help it.

Anyway back to watching it snow and the opening cermonies! Enjoy the pictures, more in the morning.

T-minus 5 days to LIFT OFF!!!

Well I survived my birthday, I am one year older and maybe a little wiser...maybe! I did panic alittle when I realized I was only 3 years from 30. 30 sounds like one of those big milestones that I shouldn't be excited to get too. Who knows I might warm up to the idea.

We are certainly St. Louis bound in a matter of no time! I thought I was ready but I have come to the realization I am not. I officially watched movies all day yesterday and didn't pack a thing. OOPS!!! It was freezing outside and the dogs and I just snuggled on the couch and watched Love Happens and The Time Travelers Wife. So today its back to work, UGH!! I have a new stack of boxes to fill and some laundry to do. We pick up the truck on Sunday afternoon (Happy Valentine's Day to me) and fill it on Monday only to make the long drive on Tuesday morning. Everyone keeps saying 'its a good thing your young,' well let me tell you, I am not thrilled about this arrangement, but its what we have to do and it has nothing to do with being young. Trust me I looked into moving companies and if I had won the lotto last week they would be hired. It's going to be a long two weeks but Anthony and I can barely contain ourselves we are so excited. I will be sure to take lots of pictures of us along the way and of our new house which I am sure will still be covered in snow. Oh boy!!!

Blogs...

So for the last couple days I have been scouting out other peoples blogs, especially gardening ones. I love it! I have learned so much already. I can not wait to get to St. Louis and start seeds. While it will still be winter there and from what I have heard from friends it just snowed another five inches or so last weekend. Lovely! Anyway, nothing can curb my ambition. I have my seed orders all ready to go but Anthony said I had to wait. (He always spoils my fun!! LOL!) So my plan is to order them the week we are moving so they will be delivered later that week. I have lots of seeds to start and am a little nervous about it. This will be the first year I use mostly seeds. The only plants I am ordering are heirloom tomatos, eggplant and an assortment of peppers. I dont have the set-up nor the equipment to start those seeds as they need really warm soil. Anthony promises me when we buy a house the first thing he will build me is a greenhouse. So my goal for this year is to save enough money for a big down payment, I am also excepting donations!! HEHEHE!!

On the packing front, I packed up our entire kitchen today. Yesterday while at Wal-mart, we bought paper plates, plastic cups and some plastic silverware so I could have everything packed up. I have to go by Starbucks tomorrow and see if I can have there recylced newspapers so I can pack up some breakable stuff. Tomorrow Anthony will be responsible for packing up most of his clothes and I am going to pack up all the extra dog stuff. One of these days I have got to get Anthony over to the storage unit to pack up stuff there. We have made great progress and I continue to throw things away when he's not home...I am sure he will notice later!

Plans for this week...packing, grooming dogs, and first dog show of the year this weekend. Going to be a quick week, I hope. More later, for now back to packing!