Watch My Garden Grow

Living in an apartment is really tough when trying to plant a "garden".  Last year Ryan and I tried our hand at tomatoes, strawberries, red peppers and a handful of herbs.  Unfortunately the only thing that made it was the red peppers and the cilantro.  This year, since we are in a different apartment and have a little more room on our balcony, I sent my sights on bigger and better things!

I found a coupon for a website that guaranteed the plants would grow, because they only ship when the plants are ready and the conditions are correct.  I ordered a lemon tree, a lime tree and an orange tree, all dwarf size, meant to fit on a patio.  Being that they said trees, I was expecting something a little larger when they arrived.  They are all about the size of my hand and look tiny in the big pots we have for them.  I've had them about a week now and so far, they don't seem to be growing all that much. 

Lemon Tree

Lime Tree

Orange Tree

I love the idea of fresh fruit!  One day I hope to have a nice big garden that I can grow a lot of fruits and veggies.  I also one day hope to have a bee hive with fresh honey.  Oh a girl can dream!

So What Wednesday

I found the link up for So What Wednesday and I thought it could be fun!

I'm saying so what if:

• I haven't had a hair cut since before Thanksgiving.  My hair is in desperate need of a hair cut, but I'm too cheap to pay for one.  Plus, for some reason, it takes them two hours to cut my hair and I just don't feel like sitting there for that long.
• I don't floss correctly.  I went to a new dentist and they harassed me about not flossing and that I don't floss correctly.  My old dentist is looking like a saint after today!
• I wrote a review on Kudzu about the experience I had at the dentist.  It wasn't a nice review, people need to know who they are going to see! (No, it wasn't just about the flossing, there were several bad things that happened to me)
• I really want new spring clothes and shoes.  I've been eyeing shoes on eBay because I'm too cheap to buy them anywhere else.
• I don't cook dinner every night.  I have really tried to cook at home more and this week we have resorted to the Mexican restaurant down the street and peanut butter sandwiches.  I just haven't felt like cooking.
• I had a regular coke today! I've been drinking diet coke or water in an effort to cut back calories, but a regular coke just sounded so good!

Bullet Points

Just a few random thoughts:

• My sister is just under three weeks away from her due date.  To say I'm excited! is an understatement, I can not wait to meet that little girl!!  May family is taking bets on the day and weight.  Even my 96 year old grandfather and 94 year old grandmother got in on the bets!
• My sister-in-law found out she is having a boy, so in August we will have a nephew!
• The pollen is killing me.  I have never had seasonal allergies, I have plenty of skin and other allergies, but the pollen normally does not affect me.  This year, maybe due to outrageously high numbers, I feel like I'm suffocating and my lungs just can't handle it.  Praying for rain!
• I've been reading the book Cure for the Common Life.  The question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" has puzzled me for as long as I can remember.  I know that God gives each of us special talents and gifts to use for His glory.  I have constantly struggled with this and have always been one to compare myself to others.  This book is helping guide me to find those talents and truly find what it is that I would enjoy doing. 
• My husband started his new job Monday!  It has started off well and we hope that it will be a good fit.  It was a much needed change!
• My husband's aunt passed away this weekend from complications following heart surgery.  Because of the new job, we will not be able to go to the funeral in Mississippi. 
• I ordered a lemon tree, lime tree and an orange tree.  They are being harvested right now and will be shipped at the beginning of April.  I would really like to have a garden, but being in an apartment is not conducive to having a garden, but a few trees on the balcony will be nice.
• We joined Costco.  It's been great!  Ryan ventured out to Costco three times in the first week of membership.  I think it will save a lot in the long run.  And I love to save!
• We are supposed to have dinner on Saturday night with a few of my Italy girls and their husbands.  One of the girls has been sick though, so I'm hoping she is still feeling up to coming.  I've really been looking forward to getting together!

That's all for now!

2012 Recap

Well it’s been a while. Life has gotten in the way. I really thought the start of the new year would help me get back into blogging. Well, it’s March and that didn’t seem to happen. So for a quick recap.

To start the year off, Ryan and I celebrated two years of marriage. We didn’t do any major celebrating since at the time we were/are planning on buying a house. We had a gift certificate to Salt, the restaurant up in Roswell that we got engaged at. We had a lovely night out.

On to the baby showers. My mom, my sister’s best friend and I threw a shower for my sister and her little girl on the way.

We quickly started the home search in late January. We were really interested in purchasing a fixer upper, however most of the homes we looked at were way beyond being fixer uppers. We noticed that many of these homes needed a great deal of work but did not have the purchase price attached to it to be able to afford to do all the repairs and upgrades. We quickly changed our focus and found a great home in our price range that we loved.

For a few weeks we went back and forth on whether to put an offer in, submitted an offer and then turned down on our offer. The seller even came back a week later to see if we were still interested. We hesitantly put in another offer to be rejected again. Unfortunately the seller was severely under water in the home and did not have the cash to sell. The seller was a little unrealistic in their expectations and at most only reduced the list price by $5,000, stating that they had done numerous upgrades to the home. I believe they bought the home as a flip, but purchased the home in 2008 just before the market crashed and then they continued to put a lot of money into the home. Unfortunately, some of the upgrades were great and much needed, others were poorly done and the value is not there. So we had to walk away. A first we were devastated, I think Ryan a little more upset than me, but after the final offer, I was at peace. The home was not meant to be. More than likely the home will go into foreclosure and we may be able to get the home at a more reasonable price.

Throughout the whole home buying/not buying process, to make things a little more stressful, Ryan was interviewing for a new job. Thankfully, he accepted the new job and has left Enterprise. I cannot explain how wonderful this is!! Enterprise had been taking advantage of Ryan for the last four to five years and it was a much needed change. He has been at home for the last two weeks and will have one more week at home before he starts. It’s been a nice time for him to slow down and rest from the ridiculous crazy life Enterprise created for him. Even though he hasn’t started yet, it’s already a huge improvement, they offer better hours, better benefits and a more relaxed environment. We are excited for the new direction and are looking forward to see what this job holds for our future.

For my birthday, my husband surprised me. I’m not easy to surprise, I tend to play detective and figure it out. But this year he surprised me. I spent about three hours in the car heading to a destination unknown before he finally spilled the beans that we were about thirty minutes away from Huntsville and we were going to the Jason Aldean concert that night. Because we got to Huntsville a little early I was able to spend a few hours with my Italy girls, Kristi and Ashley. Ashley and Ben just had baby Chloe in January and I was super excited to meet her! As an added bonus Kristi happened to be visiting with her little boy, Trey, who is now two years old, and I have never met. Since one of my most memorable birthday was spent with these girls, it was nice to spend the afternoon with them. The concert was awesome and I think Ryan and I are Jason Aldean fans for life, he puts on a great show!  Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I have no pictures of the day except for the few I took with my iphone at the concert. I'm hoping Ashley will share the ones with her sweet little girl!!

Which now brings us to March. Last weekend I went to a surprise baby shower for a sweet friend who is having a little girl in May. It was exciting to be a part of the surprise and it was a lovely shower.

I’m hoping that now that I’ve done a little bit of a recap, I can move forward with blogging, but I make no promises.