Garden and Beach

Today was a refreshing start to the new week ahead. Will really likes to get up early at least one day on the weekends to have some "solitary" time, which works out quite well for our marriage because I will always choose sleeping in just a little longer :)

This morning when I got up at 7, Will had coffee made, a coffee cake in the oven, the dishwasher running, and a load fresh out of the dryer. I know, he is pretty much awesome.

We spent some time outside on our back porch while breakfast finished cooking, just talking.  I treasure those moments when we are able to have quiet chats- usually they aren't of any particular importance, but there's something special when the day has just begun and chaos hasn't yet ensued.

After church, we stopped by Lowes to pick up some supplies for Will's grand plans for the afternoon.

When we bought our house, there was zero landscaping in the backyard. The only thing back there was a storage shed that we were made to rip out because "it wasn't up to code" per the HOA (they said it was too close to the fence, and it may have been. I just have an issue with it because you can drive around the neighborhood and count over 25 other houses with sheds within 10 feet of the fence.) Pretty much all work in the yard was put on hold to this year because, like all people, we had to budget our funds and we decided we'd rather prioritize the inside space where we spent most of our time. Will was really hoping to replace the fence this summer, but we've decided against it for now since the main reason he wanted a fence was for cosmetic reasons, not structural reasons. However, his compromise was that he wanted to plant some vines and other things that would help hide the fence.

Add landscaping? I can get on board with that!

We planted two Texas Lilac bushes along the left fence that we see as soon as we step out the back door. They should eventually grow to be pretty tall and wide.

My phone lens was apparently foggy for some of the pictures

And we planted a Creep Myrtle tree in the corner. For now we put down the landscaping fabric, cut it where we had dug holes. and covered it with new soil. I'm not sure that we'll plant any fillers since these are supposed to get pretty big. Eventually we will get pavers to line all of the beds that we've planted so far. 

Along the back fence, directly in front of the back door, I planted to grape vines. I'm pretty excited about these, and I'm hoping we'll be able to eat them next year. We were planning on getting regular lattice to screw into the fence but these were all Lowes had. 

This area under our window looked horrendous due to our dogs and a cousin dog spending several weeks on play-date  tearing up a few parts of our backyard. As a temporary fix Will put down a bunch of scrap wood and rocks so the dogs couldn't really get in the mud, but I absolutely hated it. I suppose it was better than having muddy dogs every time it rained, but our backyard looked like a junk yard. 

A week or so ago, Will got started planting some rose buses under our bedroom window. Only, it started POURING rain a few minutes into his project, so I let him take care of it himself. 

Now, not to belittle how hard Will works and tries to make me happy, but he kinda messed up a little. I mentioned in the store that the bushes needed to be planted about three feet apart from each other, but he planted them like a foot apart. Since I knew they were supposed to be that far apart we only bought two bushes, but since he planted them closer it was kind of lopsided and obvious that we needed a third bush to round things out. So we got a third bush today and I planted it.

You can see how it looked lopsided with only two bushes. Also, dogs are caught red-handed!

Three's much better

Now, you might have noticed that much bush look a little puny compared to the two that Will planted. For one, the one we bought today was on sale, so that could imply that maybe it was a little past its prime, the gardeners weren't taking such care with it, etc. But also, I learned that Will did not plant his bushes in the ground. No, he plopped the rose bush on top of the gardening fabric and poured a whole bunch of new dirt around it. I'm not sure what that is going to mean for the longevity of those bushes (will the roots be able to get very deep through the fabric? Is it too late for me to go back and replant them?), but we're both super amateurs at gardening so we'll probably just wait to see what happens. 

And finally, I bought these other really pretty flowering vine-things (a very technical name, I know) that needed full sun. Originally I had thought we'd plant them along the back fence next to the grapes, but that would push them into the day-long shade of the tree. The right side of the fence pretty much has full sun, so that was our only other option. 

For the past six months or so we've had these lovely remnants of our out-of-code storage shed leaning up against the fence:

So we halled them out of the yard to the side of the house where they'll be easy to put on the curb on heavy-trash day and then we planted the small vines:

The don't look very impressive yet, but I'm hoping they'll grow quickly and add some drama to the fence. I'm not sure what else we're going to do to this side of the yard; it's kind of awkward because it's right next to the back gate and we have an electrical box just to the left of this picture, and we can't really plant/do anything close to that. So I guess it will just have to stick out like a sore thumb? 

Up close: 

Befores and Afters:

So around 1 p.m. we had accomplished all this and it was time to head to Galveston to meet up with Will's family for beach time and dinner at my sister-in-law's. Will and I went to the beach for a short period of time a few weeks ago, but it ended up being cloudy and a little chilly. This was our first time to go to the beach for a few hours and really feel like summer has arrived. 

I may or may not have gotten a little sunburned. And that may or may not be a bit of an understatement : / 

After the beach we headed back to Megan and Brent's house, where she made a new pasta dish and a fabulous strawberry dump cake. Megan and my mother-in-law are both trying so hard to try new dishes that are vegetarian friendly and it means SO MUCH to Will and me. I know it can seem daunting or overwhelming to cook for people who eat differently from you, so seeing them make such an effort reminds me how much they love me. It would easy for them to fix a meal they would normally eat and expect us to eat the sides, but they both go above and beyond, finding new recipes and experimenting. They are pretty much the best. 

And finally, we made it home in time to watch a few episode of Season Four of The Vampire Diaries. Not gonna lie, I like that vampire series a lot more than the Twilight movies. 

Our evening ended with a classic twist: a dog (not sure who) had a visit from the Tinkle Fairy ON OUR BED. This has never happened before, so I'm not sure what's up. But I do know I am not looking forward to squeezing onto a half of the bed with Will tonight while the other side dries from the cleaning stuff. Oh, and let's hope my mother-in-law's washer is big enough for our king-sized comforter and mattress protector.

Ah, this is the good life. 

Summer 2013

I made it.

There were many times I thought I would never make it to June, but after my first semester of teaching, I can proudly say I not only survived, but I finished out the semester strong. My first semester at my "big girl job" deserves a post of its own, so for now I thought I'd talk about the thing I have been waiting for since spring break: SUMMER!

Source

We all look forward to it; it's a time to slow down a little and enjoy the simple things in life. Of course, here in Texas we have to slow down because we'd all die of heat stroke if we moved too quickly. For me, though, I have been looking forward to the next few months because I can finally tackle some projects that have been on the back-burner for the past ten months.

If you remember, I started student teaching last August, which left me more exhausted than I have ever been. I know, I know- we all feel like there are times when we are burnt out and completely exhausted, but there is something to be said for student teaching, and I think most teachers would agree. For one, you start a brand-new job that is at least 40 hours a week, but I think it's safe to say most work more like 50 hours a week. Plus, it's not a desk job where you sit all day, but you are literally on your feet all day except during your conference period (unless you are running all over the school doing errands and making copies) and during lunch. My feet have never hurt so bad before in my life (but thankfully they got broken in and don't bother me much these days). On top of beginning a new pseudo-career, my sister-in-law was getting married in December so we spent a lot of time helping her get ready for that and getting our house ready for her bridal shower and hosting family for Christmas. Oh, and I was still taking two online classes for my university, so there was all of that.

Then I got hired to teach full time after graduation. I was extremely overwhelmed with all the new responsibilities (I mean, I was in charge of and responsible for the safety and academic progress of 120 teenagers throughout the course of the day, and I feel like I am barely out of teenager-hood myself!), so I was up at 4 a.m, at school by 5:15 a.m, and not home until after 6 p.m. for the first few months. It was really hard not seeing sunlight at all except through the window in my classroom. I was working so much because, obviously, I was brand new and had never done any of this so far, so I had to start from scratch whereas other teachers with experience usually have materials and lessons they have used before and can fall back on. I will be there in a few years, but not just yet. In addition, part of my new job is being the debate teacher and coach, so I stayed after school with the kids who wanted to practice. This also meant that on Fridays I taught half a day, left school with the debate kids and traveled to tournaments and didn't get home until midnight, only to get back on the bus at 6:30 a.m. on Saturdays and not get home until 7 p.m.

While this may feel like a bit of a pity party, it truly is not. I thank God every day for giving me this job when I know so many are jobless. It is a hard schedule, but in the end I will be a much better teacher (and person in general). My kids, for the most part, are wonderful young adults and I am so proud to see the progress they make both in and outside the classroom. This illustration of my life for the past several months is to emphasize the fact that, by and large, I have not had the time nor energy to tackle many of the things on my to-do list. Which is why it all got saved up for a big Summer 2013 to-do list:

In no particular order... just the way it came to my brain

A short explanation of each:
1. I have the fabric. I have a brand new sewing machine. I just need to do it.
2. Almost all of our cloth napkins are going on three-years old; we need some new ones
3. We've been putting this off, even though it will be one of the easier rooms in the house to paint because I really want to do board and batten. However, Will and I decided that project isn't on the forecast any time soon so it would be worth going ahead and painting the last room in the house to be touched.
4. I know, I know. After I waxed and waned how much I love bright and fun colors, I decided I wanted to paint it grey to match the rest of the house. Though I still LOVE the green, it has been extremely difficult to decorate. Pretty much black and white accessories are the only thing that work with it, and we are trying to move away from a bit from that (I know, again, after all this). I look forward to a more neutral pain that will allow me to have a bit more fun with accessories.
5. We recently painted the two hallways to match the living room, but I painted the long hallway at night which made for some spots that need a little more coverage, and Will painted the short hallway by our bedroom, which basically means that there are a lot of touch-up spots :)
6. Like any home with some years under her belt, our baseboards could use some touch ups. The ceilings need it due to one husband who is not quite as careful as his wife when painting without tape :)
7. This room is small but (kind of) functional. I have dreams of adding a counter over the washer and dryer, adding shelves that are lower (and therefore, short-person-friendly), and removing the existing cabinetry. All of this may not be in the budget for this summer, but I think I can at least make it a little more cute with little money.
8. I can't wait to show you all the progress we've made on the back porch, but it's not quite done yet!
9. This goes with number 8- I want a place for gardening supplies as well as a place to put drinks/grilling stuff.
10. Yeah, this stuff is pretty nasty despite frequent mopping sessions
11. We added new curtains to the bedroom when we repainted, but I want to line them to make them more light-blocking because this girl is a crummy sleeper and light seeping in from the neighbors' porch lights does not make me happy
12. I haven't read something for pleasure in a while- I have already started And the Mountains Echoed by my favorite author.
13. This one and numbers 14 and 15 all go with number 12- I want to go to the local library to get my four books, which will likely be read at the beach or the pool.
16. I have a few no-fail vegetarian dishes that I love, but it's time to up my repertoire and find some more.
17. Will and I started CrossFit in February and we LOVE it, but I want to add some running in the mix to aid with goal number 21...
18. I saw my family at my graduation in December and few two days in May for a friend's graduation, but I deeply miss them. We're trying to work out a few days for them to come down to visit since they haven't been here in over a year.
19. I am thinking of a particular area that has some fantastic stores like West Elm, Restoration Hardware, and the Container Store.
20. This shouldn't be too hard if I actually get going on my list
21. Since we started CrossFit in February, I've lost ten pounds. It's certainly not a huge number, but it's made a big difference in my energy levels and self-confidence. However, I've hit a stall the past few weeks and while I haven't gained anything back, I haven't made any progress. Ideally I'd like to get back to the weight I was when we got married, so I need to amp up my clean eating and throw in some additional running to keep things burning this summer.
22. Woop- I've done this the past two days so I can cross it off my list!
23. I know- but it's a guilty pleasure

It's kind of a lot, but at the same time it's not. I also plan on having lots of relaxation time as well. It is the summer, after all.

I'm Alive!

Last time I posted I was eagerly awaiting my trip to Houston. Well, I made it down here and I am having an absolute blast!

I won't be really posting about my trip until after I return home in another two weeks because my time here is precious and I want to spend it with the people I love and not my computer. As weird as it's been not checking my email email five times a day and reading all my favorite blogs (and logging into Pinterest!), it is so important to unplug sometimes and focus on what truly matters. For me, right now that means working on all the little projects that will make our house into a home and spending time with Will, my beautiful SIL, and our pups.

In the mean time, here are a few sneak peaks of what we've been up to:


P.S. I'm blogging from my phone for the first time, so sorry for anything that looks really weird!