What we've been up to

Okay so I have fallen off on blogging (big surprise).

I've been quite busy lately. Not so much with work...work is steady and interesting, but not at all stressful,which is great!
Some things that have been keeping me busy:

1. I've been busy helping hubby with some of his college courses. I love his determination to go back. I know its difficult for him as he is working full-time and all, but he is doing a GREAT job.

2. We  planted our new veggies. We just planted Basil (again), Okra (again), Cucumbers, Bell peppers (again), Jalapeno Peppers (again), watermelon, rosemary(mmmmm, it smells so good), and cilantro. We are trying several new items as you see. I can't wait to see what actually up and what doesn't. The fun part is seeing the things grow. Now, if we can just watch out for those pesky birds and rabbits from last year lol.

3. We are planning our vacation. YAY!!!! can't wait. Planning a vacation is as fun as the actual vacation. We are also going to plan a getway soon and a couples getaway with some of our friends.

4. I have been trying to get into couponing. I have started clipping some coupons. I read some were recently that you should try to clip use at least $20 of coupon when you grocery shop. So, we will see how that goes.

5. We have been working on some ideas for our backyard. I need to get some plans in stone. I want to make sure it comes out to be something that I really like and backyard oasis that I can enjoy. I LOVE BEING OUTSIDE!!!! I have become obsessed as always with outdoor items. I will do a post later of the items that I am lusting over LOL.

6. We planted a new tree in our front yard. Due to the drought, one of the trees was looking miserable. So, we went ahead and replaced it before we get a nasty letter from our homeowner's association.

So, all in all, I have been quite the busy bee.

What have you guys been up to lately. Post a comment and let me know!

My Vegetable Garden

I had been talking to my darling hubby about starting a vegetable garden in our backyard. I thought a vegetable garden would be a nice touch to the backyard oasis that I plan to eventually complete in our backyard....little by little.

So, we had some funds in our house maintenance fund...(Side Note: I love our ING Direct bank and that allows us to setup up different accounts/funds and name them different names. Hubby didn't understand why I did this before we got married, but I love earmarking money for certain reasons....instead of just all in one big "savings" emergency fund/account). Anywho, one Saturday I went for it and decided I would get it. I purchased the raised bed kit from Home Depot. I got some soil for vegetables and flowers, some hummus compost and some top soil (all also from home depot). I purchased the vegetables at wal-mart. Walmart had several herbs and veggies (in plant form) for about $2-$3. I bought parsley, basil, green bell peppers, yellow bell peppers (to add some different color to the garden) and some cherry tomatoes.

Walmart has some raised bed kits, but they were not made of cedar, and I read cedar is best as far as it not breaking down in the outside conditiions, etc. Also, the guy at home depot mentioned that I could probably build a bed myself of treated lumber (2x6's)...ummm, no, I read that the chemicals in the "treated" lumber will evade your soil. So, I kindly declined his offer. I've read that if you go the treated route, a way around it is to cover the inside of the bed with something to help prevent the chemicals from invading the soil. But, I didn't want to risk it.

Hubby was at his mom's when I purchased the items, but I texted him letting him know what I had purchased. He said, oh you should have gotten some jalapeno peppers. So, I went back to wal-mart and got the jalapeno peppers (in seed form). I thought it was a great idea to try our hand at growing at least one item from seed. Plus, the seeds at wal-mart are about a $1 each...extremely cheap!

The next day hubby put together the raised bed (with MY supervision LOL. ...which basically consisted of me reading the directions (guys just do NOT like to read directions ) and making sure he completed it correctly. The bed was pretty easy, despite a little snafu with hubby's electric screwdriver going dead, but we finished in no time.

Next, we decided on placement, the place that I orginally planned to place the bed did not look right and there wasn't much sun as the garden would need. So, we moved it to the far end of the yard...ummm, no,  the bed looked lonely. Then we moved it kitty cornered in the opposite end (corner) and it looked great! Plus, that area gets full sun and I can see it from my kitchen nook. Hubby said that he can just picture me saying...let me pick some ____ for dinner tonight. Or, honey, can you go pick some____ for dinner tonight. LOL He's so silly :-)

I read online that newspaper is best to be put down instead of landscape fabric since the newspaper breaks down over the years and helps the soil. So, I laid newspaper down and we got busy pouring the mixture of soil, compost, miracle grow soil.
I think it turned out great!

We have already noticed that the jalapeno has started to sprout. It was too dark to take a pic tonight. Right now it looks just like leaves LOL....But we know that it is our jalapenos.



Boobee! Read the directions!




Almost there. I guess he doesn't need directions any more :-)




My shade tree worker LOL






The electric screwdriver....must need new batteies

 

My "Secret" Vegetable Garden LOL

And a little sexy music from Quicy Jones :-)