Spring is in the air...

and boy do I find it distracting!!! I just can't help it! I love working outside and I hate doing homework. So the procrastination is inevitable. Don't worry, I will pay for it with my precious sleep.

I have been having so much fun working in our garden and planting flowers and such around our house. It's so excited to see how nice it looks when things are blooming and growing and everything is so green! Here are some pictures of our front planter area. I wish the grass looked as good... but it doesn't. I'm excited about how many bulbs came up!! I can't remember what all the varieties were that I planted, but when they start to bloom they are going to be so beautiful!




































In the back, we finally moved all the dirt that was around our patio and flattened it out. We planted two Lillies of the Nile, two Orleans Jasmine, and a peach tree. Today I put down seeds for a variety of flowers to fill in the spaces. We also planted another tree in the middle of the backyard but I have no pictures of it.

Behind the grill I planted some thornless black berries. My mom was nice enough to pull me up some shoots from my Grandma's garden while she was in Utah last week . I got them in the mail yesterday. I sure hope they live!






Here is the dog proofed herb planter. Athena finally gave up trying to use it as a bed. It also has some strawberries that I will replant later in their own spot. The rocks are to stop the rain from digging a trench when the water falls off the roof. But I think they're pretty too.









The vegetable garden is doing spectacular too.


The zucchini are getting bigger everyday. I have four mounds of zucchini so i'm sure we'll have plenty to share!

Here are the bean. I planted both yellow wax as well as regular green beans. These are my FAVORITE garden goody. I love beans, and I find it rediculous to buy them at the store. Plus they never look as good.

The tomatoes are also doing spectacular. I have A LOT of tomato plants, and I don't even LIKE tomatoes. At least not fresh. But I do like them in things. And Russell loves vine ripened tomatoes.

I've also got squash, bell peppers, green onions, carrots, beets, cucumbers, and lettuce grow planted. I've been meaning to plant some watermelon, but I haven't decided where to put it yet. My school schedule is pretty busy and so I was concerned I wouldn't have enough time to take care of the garden. So I just planted as much as I could hoping that at least something will come of it.

Nicaragua

This is Russell posting for the first time on the blog formerly known as the Kim and Athena blog. Kim asked Athena and I finally got permission to put in my input.

Last week I went to Nicaragua with a group of medical student to Nicaragua to volunteer in a hospital. It gives students a great opportunity to see diseases uncommon in the US, to participate more than usual in medical care, and to offer our skills and knowledge. Traveling to other countries is one of my favorite things to do; especially if I get to practice my Spanish. I love learning about new places, meeting new people, and incorporating different cultural perspectives.
While there one of my favorite things was scrubbing in for surgeries in the operating room. I loved seeing close hand and getting a personal 'live' anatomy lesson from the surgeons. I mostly held instruments and used the suction tool but I also got to put in the final stitches on two surgeries. I also got to do the patient histories a couple of days in the ER.
We also had alot of fun climbing volcanoes, going to the beach, taking a boat past monkey island (a little island in Lake Nicaragua inhabited by howler monkeys. They can't swim so they're stuck there). It was great.

What the heck??

the weirdest thing i've ever heard...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23595533/?GT1=43001

Thank you Dani!!!

This morning, Dani took me on an AWESOME bike ride. (man I blog a lot with Russell gone...) We parked at the McDonalds on 1604 and Babcock somewhere between 7:30 and 8 this morning. We wonted to get going before it was too hot. But I don't have a light on my bike so of course we had to wait for the sun to come up. It was beautiful!!! We were out in the hills. We admired the fun houses along the way. Definitely the kind of area I want to live in. The way up was a bit of a climb, but after reaching the top, it was a fun ride down! How exhilarating! Which makes the initial climb worth it (and it really wasn't that bad). Thank you Dani for inviting me to go with you! I would take a good bike ride over running ANY DAY! More to see, faster, more fun, and you get a breeze.

Canceled class= fun times

My thursday class was canceled this week.  I was so excited.  I've been busy at worry trying to get a garden in.  Wednesday we finally got the manure down, so now we just have to let it sit.  So on thursday I decided to work on a planter box to go right outside my sliding glass door by the kitchen with the intention of planting herbs in.  Using the left over wood from laying our cement patio, i built a planter box with is about 2x2.5 feet and about a foot high.  I figured since it was just one planter, I was ok with buy one back of dirt to go it in.  It's right under where the water runs off the roof, so i also bought a bag of river rocks and put those down where the water will fall to keep the dirt from washing away.  I planted some strawberries (i'll probably move them later... but i needed to get them in something), parsley, oregano, basil, and cilantro.  These are just some of my kitchen basics that i use all the time.  I never buy the fresh stuff at the store because you have to buy a big bunch when all you need is a few leaves.  Everything was all organized.  Everything was clearing marked.  I just knew it would look so pretty once the plants all grew in.  

Apparently though, i didn't build an herb planter box.  I built a dog bed.  Athena is obsessed with laying on soft things.  Especially new soft things that she's never test driven before.  This planter box fit her mold of an ideal soft bed.  When I came home from enrichment last night, i found her curled up in a tight ball sleeping.  Luckily she wasn't right on the strawberries, so they didn't get smashed or dug up.  But my markers were all moved.  And the rocks were all covered with dirt.  So tonight when it cools down (todays high is 92. IN MARCH!) i'm going to turn the dirt all under and replant.  I just need to think of a way to keep her off.  Any suggestions?

Funny thing is, i'm not really mad.  I think it's funny.  Who knew sort bought dirt was so irresistible?  

Procrastination

I think I'm an even better procrastinator when Russell is gone. He's only been out of town 3 days and I've been so unmotivated to get things done...  I need to suck it up, or I'm going to be up all night studying without anyone to bring me snacks and water and chocolate milk, or whatever else I may desire.

High jumping

OK I know, this is bordering on too much of my dog. But in my defense. She's the only interesting thing going on right now. And to me, I think she does the funniest things. Here are some recent video of her. We wanted to know what she would do if we sprayed the water over the fence. We're such horrible teases! But we got some high jump shots!

This her crazed face. She has such a big mouth. I personally think she looks like stitch from the Disney movie Lilo and Stitch in this picture. She was getting her head up over the fence.
She starts to look a little chubby when she chases water. Mostly because she inhales so much air while running around it inflates her stomach. Once it's over she has to burp a couple of times and you can see the results instantly. I wish we all could loose inches that way.






For contrast, here is a video of her when she was completely drugged up. Usually, when we turn the hose on, she wont stop until we put it away and go in the house. You know she's having a hard time moving and completely out of it when she lays down with the hose still running.