A beautiful process...

On Saturday morning we were playing the normal water and weed game in our back yard. We really enjoy spending quality time with our plants on the weekends. I feel like gardening brings me closer to the Lord and I love retreating to our backyard to learn new things and admire God's glory in my humble garden.

At a local farmer's market I splurged on a plant. I say "splurge" because I try to grow as much as possible from seed. We want our gardens to help with budgeting, not hinder it. Now, you might roll your eyes when I tell you the plant cost one dollar... but that could have been an entire package of seeds!

Anyways. I splurged because it was cotton and you can't eat it, it dies every year and I didn't think it made pretty flowers (just small functional ones)... so I figured I would never buy an entire package of seeds. I also splurged because it was AGGIE COTTON! In the sunlight the leaves turn maroon... the cotton is still white.... but the plant is maroon! Come on, get excited...

Here is a picture of when we first planted it. The leave have darken up since this picture. It was so cute and something different in the garden.

Back to Saturday morning... I don't really enjoy going back behind the shed. We don't weed very well back there and every time I go back there I'm sure a snake is going to jump out and bite me. Steven wonders back there every once an a while. The Aggie cotton is planted in the back corner of the garden near the shed.

Steven called me over to come look at something and to my delight a beautiful flower had opened up. I was so surprised. I'm not sure why... but now I may buy an entire package of seeds.

See why....

Now the picture is the background on our computer. It reminds me that we never know when and where the Lord is going to bless us. If we keep our eyes and hearts open He will have more opportunity. He is waiting to bless us... even through, as silly as it may be, Aggie Cotton!!!

Sunflowers!!!!

The Sunflowers are in full bloom! They look great. They take a ton of water, especially because we need rain so badly in Texas... but they are a joy to grow. I will of course try them out again and hopefully plant them on a year that has more rain. Can't wait for the blooms that year.

They are so easy to grow and pop up quickly. At first we were trimming back the grass around the plants (we didn't want to ruin the grass by tilling it up because this is a rental house). Then we decided to let it grow and see what it would look like. As you will see they are doing fine. They aren't drought tolerant, but they are aggressive.

Below is just a series of pictures of the sunflower growing season. It's not over yet, next comes those wonderful sunflower seeds. Count how many busy bees you see polinating my flowers. Enjoy!

Grilled Zucchini

Steven and I recently started doing something amazing with the grill. It's called grilled zucchini! It's so easy and a healthy way to get your veggies in.

We start with zucchini that have been cut long ways. Sprinkle on some garlic salt. Then add oil. Grill for a couple of minutes... and YUMMO!

Eat 5 a day!

Gym Rat... or Mouse?

We recently joined a local gym. I was working out on campus, but the university was going to make me pay for the summer so I thought, "why not join a gym where my husband can work out with me?"

It has been going really good. We have a few friends who are also members and it make is a lot fun to run into someone during your workout. The gym also has cable so if we want to watch TV we just hop on a machine. Right now (only three weeks into it) we are still really excited. There are a lot of different machines to try and, of course, classes.

We went to water aerobics once. It was my request. I lost a few pounds when I first came to school from taking a water aerobics class. In just about every class I've ever been to, you do 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength training. It was funny to watch Steven do the cardio part. His body was half way out of water the entire time, so he didn't get much of a cardio workout. He got more out of the strength part of it. I told him that I really appreciated him trying it with me, and that I wouldn't make him do it again.

Steven likes the bikes the best. Mostly because you don't have to deal with getting into a bathing suit and getting dried off before you get into the car. (I don't mind smelling like chlorine... it's actually comforting to me... it reminds me that I did something good for myself) But Steven does swim with me at least 3 times a week. At first he was pretty bad, however, he is improving. He can almost do 150 (down and back 3 times) with out stopping. I'm proud.

On Saturday I helped host a baby shower (I did the cake... pictures to come). Afterwards Steven and I went to work out. I really needed a good workout because I definitely ate a piece of extra cake for breakfast.

We hopped into the pull and started off kinda slow. I think Steven was doing 100 meters at a time and I was doing 150. We really make up the workout as we go. I try to incorporate intervals, but mainly just try to keep my heart rate up. I stayed with my 150 and increased my speed then did the kick boards in between to rest.

In the lane next to us was a man who was in very good shape. He would do sit ups or crunches or push ups, then jump in the pool and swim 50 meters as fast as he could. He would rest for like a minute then do it again. At first I was intimidated, then I got over it. I was just there to lose weight, not impress anyone.

After about 30 minutes the guy started a conversation with Steven. I stopped to listen in because I was beginning to end my workout. He was asking about our workout and of course I asked him about his. It was mainly small talk except one part... Steven mentioned that I swam with a team for a short time and he piped in, "It shows."

I was shocked! I thought I looked like such an dork in the pool. It really did bother me at first, especially since I swim when the swim team practices. However, I stopped caring because staying active and losing weight was more important to me then trying to show off in the pool. However, the comment made me feel really good.

Working out is pretty addictive. Especially when you start to notice things changing on your body. Now that I am swimming again, I love shaving my legs. It's amazing what water will do to your calves and thighs. Just think about how water erodes soil... translate that to your fatty legs... good things, my friend, very good things. Something else that makes working out addictive is how I feel if I don't work out. If we go regularly (don't skip more than two days a week), I feel so good about myself and I don't have to stress about every calorie... weight just magically comes off. :)

I don't think we are gym rats yet, but we are definitely gym mice. It's growing on us and I hope it doesn't change. We both want to establish healthy habits before we have kids and maintain those habits so we can grow old together.

Happy Exercising!

Oh Shucks!

Early this week I noticed some silks popping out of our corn stocks. I just wanted to share the photos for everyone. I need to call Steven's grandmother because we have no idea when to harvest. It's Indian corn so I would like to dry it out, however I also need to know when to do that. Steven still wants to try to eat it.... :/

I'm having trouble being patience with the corn. I so badly want to break into one and see what it would look like. Those silly shucks are tempting! I want to know what is going on behind them. However, it is one less decoration I could give away. Steven says it's not worth it.... but I still want to see... especially because it is Indian corn. Maybe we will grow it again next year and I can peak early.

Here are more pictures from the garden.