How Does My Garden Grow?

THRIVING!

 Well, the first attempt was weak at best. My husband built this big beautiful raised bed with high quality cedar wood, complete with piping and bird netting to keep out the little creatures that frequent our yard and act like they own the place. He really did great. The downfall was maybe in buying topsoil to fill it. My little seedlings of lettuce, kale, spinach, onions, carrots and others were unable to push themselves through to ever see daylight. And it's no wonder- have you ever seen a lettuce seed? Miniscule. Practically nonexistent. I suppose most things start out that way. But it didn't stand a chance. This topsoil was heavy and rocky. So for weeks, all we saw in the sprouting production department was a tiny leaved individual in one corner. We actually thought it was probably a weed, but since it was the only thing growing, we didn't have the heart to pull it. I'm not even going to show a picture of our first attempt. It's like posting pictures of yourself when you have the flu. No fun. Not pretty.

So master gardener mom comes in to save the day, replacing the topsoil with lightweight potting soil. Looks like it worked! Even though the first attempt was a fail, we have managed to grow a few things from seeds. My husband bought lettuce seedlings that were already a nice size. Half the red potatoes ended up coming up, my grandpa gave me some bean seeds to plant and those seemed to have sprouted overnight. We had herbs like sweet basil, oregano, cilantro and parsley growing from peat pellets inside and they transplanted outside nicely. Oh, and one small little chive plant that has about three sprouts to its stature:). So did the peppers, which we have a TON of. My poor tomatoes did not survive this year. Oh, and we have artichoke plants that are THRIVING! I actually had to look up how to harvest artichoke plants because i really had no clue what part you eat and what part you don't. Right now, there are just spikey leaves, but it should grow a stem up through the middle and right before it buds and becomes a flower, you chop that sucker right off and eat the flesh from the leaves and carve out the heart. It's actually quite an ordeal. Don't know if i'll be up to it, or even do it right. But they are growing, so i gotta give 'em some props!

Sweet Basil, Artichoke

Lettuce, Potato, Beans, Peppers, Broccoli

They grow up so fast:)

The peat pellet project. How it all started.

A pre-watered pellet

Poor tomatoes did not make it, and the jury is still out on the watermelon:( You win some, you lose some, eh?

Starting from seedlings is hit-and-miss. But kinda fun to see what survives and what doesn't. You just never know.

You know that one little plant that survived the first round? Well, now it is huge and we have been eating its leaves for a couple weeks now. Nothing like fresh salads:) We still aren't sure if it's spinach, lettuce, or maybe the tops of a carrot and we shouldn't be eating it??? But we are novice gardeners, my husband and I. What's the fun of knowing everything, right?

Top Five Things I Get to Blame on Crazy Pregnancy Hormones:

1. Running my car full speed into my parents’ house (brick wall and garage door=totaled). Yes, this happened. Technically, I was two weeks pregnant, so I can now blame that incident on the body’s preparation for the babe. 
2.   Fast food cravings- McDonald’s, SONIC, Wendy’s and Taco Bell in one week=seriously? I don’t think I’d been to ANY of those in months, if not years for some. I was actually driving thru KFC the other day, on a particularly snowy day, craving one of those mashed potato bowls where they add the popcorn chicken (kinda craving that now, actually). The lady in front of me was taking FOREVER. Finally, i pulled up. Waited a minute. Yelled some tentative "hello?"'s into the speaker. The line behind me was getting longer. HELLO?? No answer. So i pulled around, only to find a flyer taped on the window that said they were closed due to the snow. Why they put the flyer there and not on the drive-thru speaker is beyond me. 
3. Erratic sleeping patterns and excessive sleeping. Really, it’s hard to want to do anything but sleep when you don’t feel well. Sad, but true. Last night, i stayed up reading a cookbook that my husband won at a church auction years back. It was all these Dutch names and strange recipe combos. "Recipes and Remembrances: Celebrating 100 Years Lebanon Christian Reformed Church". I will have to do an excerpt on some of the strangest recipe ideas they have in there.
4. Taking special trips to the grocery store for that “one thing” you just have to have! Or the only thing that remotely sounds edible.
5. Crying at virtually any song I hear. There’s always a line in the song where I reach my “breaking point” and I all of the sudden choke up. Sometimes it’s completely random. For instance, take the line that choked me up when I was listening to Jason Wade’s “You Belong to Me”: … “fly the ocean in a silver plane…” Yep. The silver plane got me.

In reference to #2, I got great advice from a friend who has had 5 little ones of her own: Eat whatever junk food you want in the first trimester, because you are likely to never want those foods again after it’s over! Excellent. I’m already disgusted by tots. Chicken nuggets, on the other hand…let’s hope that craving goes away;) 

And then i heard that they put the equivalent of SAND in the taco meat at Taco Bell... there's just no way i can get over that mental picture. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Does_Taco_bell_meat_have_sand . 

Oh, and it's snowing just beautifully outside today here in Wichita, Kansas...

Upholstery 101- Challenging and Fun

we received this wonderfully comfortable chaise lounge chair from my parents for our new home. But as you can see, it needed a makeover.

Enter Upholstery 101 at the Sedgwick County Extension office~

First class was spent de-stapling...definitely the easiest job. Only got harder from here on out...

Second class, mom was out of town, leaving me up a creek without a paddle, the paddle being sewing skills necessary to do ANYTHING else in that class. So i waited....

Third class, got the bottom cover on!

Largely due to mother's sewing skills.

Batting and Padding. Neither of which are done on a baseball diamond or in the middle school girls' locker room.

Pre-sided.

Naked backside. We stripped a lot of it down, but we didn't have to re-tie springs. Praise God!

This is looking like a chaise lounge...a pReTtY chaise lounge

Plusher. We finished OVER half the job in one class period.

the LAST class period, when everyone goes home and says Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas, we are saying, "can someone help us move this monstrosity?"

clothed backside.

Whew, are we done?

a million thousand (approximately) staples and headaches later....tada!

This was a really fun class and i am sure the next time will be better when i don't feel like a chicken running around with my head cut off. One thing's for certain, if mom wasn't there by my side, this thing would still be the tan-gray beauty it began as.

The ladies in this class are HILARIOUS and it's very worth taking. However, make sure you have the time (6-6hour classes) and the moola for the resources (staple gun, compressor, fabric, sewing machine, all the knick knacks....another thing i'd be unable to do without my mother). Great bonding time, though! Highly recommended!

Thanks, Phyllis and Frances and all the other helpful and entertaining ladies at UP101!

Pickin's

 We had the delight and opportunity to go apple pickin' this Autumn at a friend's orchard. It was SO FUN! They even made their own cider press, where D and I pressed a gallon and a half of pure unadulterated cider! I've never tasted cider so good. In fact, i mourned for a week when the cider was gone...which was like 3 days after we pressed it. I also saved some of the apples to make homemade Cinnamon Applesauce. Another wowser treat. Gluten-free recipes, such as in "Babycakes" Recipe Book, use Applesauce as a liquid and much healthier substance, as opposed to oils, butters, etc.

How do you like THEM apples?

We all see ourselves as bigger than we are.

Agave nectar, cinnamon, and baked apples is all you need for some yummy applesauce.

had a little fun with some cookie cutters on this one.

We had in when the in-laws were in town. Nothing but the best in show for Dave and Deb!

Ohhhhh it was divine.

One should always have a silver colander.

Girls Weekend

The mom and I went on a "Girls Trip" with two of our very dear friends, Ki and Sue. We headed to the great state of Missouri, in the great city of Shell Knob, sometime in the afternoon of Wednesday, August 18, and arrived by evening, after stopping at one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas- Chicken Annie's- good fried chicken yo! 'Cept of course i couldn't have any of the fried stuff. Darn Gluten.

Icy Mae's, one of the Knob's hottest eateries:)

This was a monumental trip in more ways than one. First, it was my first night being away from my hubby since well...our first night together. I missed him SOOO much. But the sacrifice was worth it, because these dear ladies that tripped with us were leaving our presence for quite some time soon after. Why can't any of my friends stay in one place?? Ack! Ki and Sue were off to Colorado Springs, home of the Grichelle's. Can't blame them, really, the Springs are heavenly. Colorado itself is one big adventure waiting to happen. So at least they headed towards a viable location that i would be happy to visit them in. :)

At the famous hotel, umm..i forget the name. It's famous, though. Mom's looking at the huge stone Jesus statue looming in the distance.

The highlight of the trip, minus the lounging lakeside, was an always welcome trip to the Gay Capital of the Midwest, Eureka Springs! My eyes get tired after looking around at that artsy little town. It's so intriguing. I should think i would be going crazy with creativity and inspiration if i lived in that little place.  But boy, do they need Jesus. Anybody wanna go be a witness to this place? I highly recommend it. 

dozens of these local artsies.

rather picturesque.

It was wonderful to have a break with two very influential ladies in my life, and two who were a huge part in my wedding prep and wedding day. Of course, i didn't get to fully enjoy their presence in detail during that time, so it was a blessing to catch up for a couple of days "away", in the oasis and childhood vacation spot i call the Knob of the Shell.

a wicker motorcycle, yet i find my mother's expression even more hilarious.

Just a small update on what's been going on. Hopefully, i will get some recipes up soon, since i have been baking/cooking like MAD!

Ya ain't gonna foot yer own home, boy, cuz ya ain't gonna home yer own foot!

This is what i said in my sleep a few nights ago, according to my hubby. And yes, in a drunken cowboy accent. What is my unconscious mind capable of?? For real, if this is as good as i can come up with, I'm no sleeping genius! But at least i can entertain my husband in bed even while i'm sleeping:) Censor that, please.

Now that we've gotten off to a fun start, let's keep the energy going!

1. My husband's drawing skills, in one word, impeccable. Look at this startling likeness! Pretty good for an engineer, eh? This is a pic from our honeymoon. The drawing tablet is actually a wedding gift from Brookstone. It's called a Boogie Board and can be erased at the touch of a button. Pretty neato!

2. Home Decor: The top clock is for my husband. The bottom clock is for me. Or should it be the other way around so we can rub off on each other? Well, my cousin Tay got the "Whatever" clock for me, so i guess i need to claim it:)

Karis serving the bubbly with her sunhat on:)

D drinking champagne like a true man:)

3. Did you know Wichita has a Polo Club? It's true, and i went to a "match" with my hubbly and some friends. Did you know there are six periods in a polo match, and they are not called periods, but CHUKKERS? Yep, six chukkers. During halftime, they pick a pretty lady with a big hat from the audience (our friend did it:), have her pop open a bottle of champagne in the middle of the field, and we drink champagne while "Stomping the Divets"...and they reminded us to not stomp the mounds...that was horse manure. I can't believe horses can run and poop at the same time. Maybe humans can too. I guess i've come close before. ANYWAYS...go to a polo match. They are long, but go with some buddies and bask in the hot sun and the smell of horse. It's really fun. Really. Oh and don't forget to bring a sunhat...I was naked headed, unfortunately.

Rudy needed a refreshing cold towel after major frisbee time.

4. Just finished reading, "Sheet Music" by Dr. Kevin Leman. SUPER AMAZING BOOK, especially if you are married and want to keep the excitement alive in your marriage. Just like anything, duh, it takes work. But the rewards are exponential!

Hello i am a stud. See, proof.

Dan De Jong, Triple Jump record. What now.

5. Went on a road trip with my hubby last month! All the way to Sioux Center, Iowa, home of Dordt College. Yep. Infamous i know. Then up to Luverne Minnesota for his cousin's wedding! Looks like my hubbly was pretty hot stuff at the awesome college of Dordt. Funny story: At our rehearsal, I decided to run around like Phoebe does on "Friends" without telling anyone what i was doing. When i made one round about the sanctuary, i said, in between gasps of out of shapeness breath, "Picture me doing this tomorrow if you get nervous! Ok, your turn, babe!" So D decided to show us his triple jumping skills...and from then on, i realized i had married a sub-human. As i'm pretty sure he is part gazelle or frog. Hot stuff!

bustin' a move with the MIL!~

I am also pretty proud of my hubs- he is the only one in his family who dances! and, as you know, to be a part of the Hanning clan, dancing is a REQUIREMENT. We're working on loosening up the rest of his family...Dan dragged his mom onto the dance floor for the "Mother-son" dance. LOVE IT! GO DEB!

Part of the De Jong fam. Rachel was a bridesmaid. What a beauty!

Well, here's me signing off with one last charge...keep a notepad and pencil handy when you sleep at night...records of spousal sleep-talking are priceless:)