Week One Done, Semi-Plants, and Anxiously Awaiting This Semester's End

I finished week one of Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30.  Woohoo!  Tomorrow I'll start on the week two workout.  I'm crossing my fingers that it doesn't completely kick my butt.  I will also weigh-in tomorrow to see if I've lost anything whatsoever.  Honestly, it really doesn't feel like it.  For the most part, I've been eating pretty well.  Although, in the mornings at school, Josh and I have monster breakfast burritos and I could probably stand to cut back on cheesy meals (like those pizzas-although, the first of the week had artichokes and zucchini and the second had spinach and avocado, thank you very much).  But, almost as important as losing the pounds, I feel really great (and sore, that means it's working).  After about day three, I didn't want to workout any of the other days, but I found after I did, I felt great.

In other news, my garden seems to have semi-plants instead of mere sprouts!  It's getting pretty legit out there, I'm pretty happy about it.  Here are some updated photos:

Cornelius Cucumber

Barnabas Bush Beans

Yale Yellow Squash

Gnelson hanging out in front of Zeus Zucchini

Roland Red Tomato

Thurgood Tomatillo

Also, some creature (probably the adorable kitty I see walking around sometimes) thought it was a great idea to walk through the middle of my garden...not a good idea, kitty.  You can see some prints if you look closely.  I spread some coffee grounds out there in hopes of keeping him or her away.  Thank goodness she/he didn't think it was a litter box, I would've been considerably more upset about it.

Gnelson was obviously sleeping on the job when this happened.

Poor Prometheus Parsley took a hit from the heavy walker
(as well as the wind we've been getting lately).

And lastly, this semester will finally come to a close in less than a month!  I am beyond excited to have a little time off (a very little time off, Josh and I are taking a summer class).  I've made my final to-do list of the semester and am slowly marking things off (which I will continue to work on after this post...boo!).  I've got a research paper to edit extensively, a giant project yet to be started, two final essays to write, and three finals to study for.  Time to get to work!

A Few Favorite YouTube Videos...

To pass the time, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite YouTube videos.  Enjoy!

Ben Kweller's son playing the drums.  Incredibly awesome.

This little girl sums up Star Wars really well in the cutest way possible.

Obama's State of the Union speech with a different spin.

All the Literal Music Videos are pretty funny, but this one is my favorite.

This always makes me laugh.

Josh and I always get a good chuckle out of this one too (can this really be a real band?!).

And, my new favorite YouTube sensation (that I've recently discovered), Nardwuar, the Human Serviette from Canada!  He's interviewed just about every musician.  Here's a good one among many.

Hopefully I've shared something new.  Have any other suggestions?

The Last of the Sprouts and Getting Ripped

Today, the last of the sprouts have indeed sprouted!

Introducing Rockwell Red Bell Pepper.

Introducing Prometheus Parsley.

Also, last night I found an amazing garden gnome to watch over the operation while I'm away.

Introducing Gnelson the gnoble gnome.

(Did you see what I did there with the use of "g"?  Clever, right?)

Also, I did plant the blackberry and raspberry bushes the other day like I said I would.  Although, I'm not going to post any pictures of them because (frankly) they look like a few sticks someone shoved in the ground out of boredom.  So, once they (if they) start growing anything, I'll show you how they look.  I will share something I thought was pretty cool about the berry bush planting experience though.  While I was digging my holes, I came across buried treasure!

Behold, a quarter from 1988!

It's no pirate booty, but I'll take what I can get.  It's two years shy of being as old as I am and that's pretty neat.  Especially if it's actually been in the ground that long (somewhat unlikely, but it's a cool thought).

And now, for the second part of this entry.  I'm sure your wondering, "what's the deal with the 'getting ripped' part of this post's title?"  (Or, maybe you aren't)  Regardless, let me explain.  I have tried many different workout routines and programs (gym memberships, running, Insanity, and countless other workout DVDs), but have yet to stick with one for more than a month or so.  During the past few months, I've seen my tummy pooch expand and found the stairs at school more difficult to conquer each day.  I've also been listening to Jillian Michael's podcast on the bus ride to school and getting increasingly inspired.  First, I bought all my groceries without any corn syrup (or corn sugar, those tricky food companies are tricky indeed).  For the past week or so, I've been corn syrup free (from what I can tell, unless I'm getting some from eating out occasionally).  Then, yesterday I decided it was time to add exercise to my new routine, so I went out and bought some hand weights and Jillian Michael's (fairly) new release, Ripped in 30.  As stated by Miss Michael's, "I have one job and that's to make you look crazy, ridiculous, sick, insane, amazing."  Sounds good, Jillian.  I'm in!  My first workout was this morning and I'm feeling pretty good.  Each workout is about 20 minutes long with circuits of strength, cardio, and abs.  There are four different levels of workouts and each week you move to the next level.  I plan on doing the workouts six days a week with one day of rest.  I'll be weighing in each Friday (since that's the day I started on) to track my progress.  I made a little calendar to get me through the next month and record my weigh-ins.  I figure, if I can workout for an entire month, six days a week, hopefully that will instill an exercise habit in my brain and I will continue working out indefinitely.  (I can do this, I can do this.)

Many More Sprouts!

My garden is going crazy!  Everything has sprouted (except for the parsley and red bell peppers) and the seeds have only been in the ground for ten days!  I'm beyond excited!  Here are some pictures of all my sprouts.  Naming has been a challenge since they broke ground at such alarmingly fast rates.  I have decided that any plant there is more than one of will be of the same name with a number added on to differentiate between them.

Introducing Caesar Cilantro (1, 2, 3, and 4)

Introducing Jeremiah Jalapeno

Introducing Thurgood Tomatillo

Introducing Santiago Serrano 

Introducing Oswald Onion (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and a very tiny 6)

Introducing Roland Red Tomato 2

Introducing Zeus Zucchini

Introducing Barnabas Bush Bean (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6)

Introducing Yuri Yellow Tomato

Introducing Eugene Eggplant

Introducing Yale Yellow Squash

An updated photo of Cornelius Cucumber

The garden overview

Also, on Sunday I planted my strawberries in their fancy little strawberry pot I mentioned in my last blog.  I really hope I did it right because the strawberry bulbs are just a tangle of roots and some stick-like things protruding everywhere which made it difficult to figure out what goes where.  I figure if the roots are mostly under the soil, hopefully that's sufficient.  We'll see what happens.  Here's my finished product:

And, hopefully, I'll be planting my blackberry and raspberry bushes later today.  I'll keep you posted!

Sprouts!

Last night, I didn't want to water the garden because Josh wasn't home and I feared our cigarette smoking often tipsy neighbor may come out and rope me into a weird conversation about running to HEB and running home with orange juice.  So, I went to water the garden this morning and, to my complete surprise, I have three sprouts!  Check it out!

Introducing Cornelius Cucumber.

Introducing Roland Red Tomato.

Introducing Bartholomew Basil (it was difficult for my camera to focus on something so tiny).

I'm so excited that my garden is growing!!!  Also, I've gone slightly grow your own crazy.  Yesterday, at work, they started marking down our spring plants.  So, I got a strawberry planter, a blackberry plant, and a raspberry (it's rasp-berry?  I always say razz-berry.  Weird.) plant.  Hopefully, I can get those planted early next week (photos to come).

Survey!

I need a break from my Political Geography review, so I've stolen this survey from Chelsea's Psycho Babble Blog to pass some time.

Three Ways I'm Still a Kid

1. I procrastinate when I have a lot of homework to do.

2. I wear Harry Potter pajamas.

3. I have lengthy conversations with my nephew about Pokemon.

Three Ways I'm Already Old

1. My idea of a fun night is watching Netflix with Josh and having two beers.

2. I sometimes get knee pains from all the stairs at school.

3. I recognize fewer and fewer bands when I open the Chronicle.

Three Things I Want To Do

1. I want to buy a house.

2. I want to go to Europe.

3. I want to be a millionaire.

Three Ways That I'm a Stereotypical "Boy"

1. I don't shower everyday.

2. It takes me less than 15 minutes to get ready for work in the morning (from rolling out of bed to being completely ready).

3. I can be very impatient when waiting on someone to get ready (Josh).

Three Ways That I'm a Stereotypical "Girl"

1. I like wearing dresses and skirts (especially when it inspires Josh to tell me I look pretty).

2. I like cooking dinner for Josh because it makes me feel more wife-like.

3. I can be overly emotional at any time of the month.

Three New Things I Want to Try in the Next Twelve Months

1. I'd like to grow vegetables in my new garden.

2. I'd like to start the photography series I've been wanting to do for over a year.

3. I'd like to get in better shape (have toned arms and lose my little pooch).

Three Things I Like About Myself

1. I like how long my hair has gotten (it hasn't been this long since middle school).

2. I like how occasionally I say something really funny that makes people laugh.

3. I like my brain (it gets better each semester).

Three Things I Strongly Dislike About Myself

1. I strongly dislike my sometimes short fuse.

2. I strongly dislike my non-toned arms and little pooch (mentioned above).

3. I strongly dislike my amazing ability to kill household plants that are supposed to be impossible to kill.

Three Things That Scare Me

1. The dark scares me (whenever Josh isn't home).

2. I'm scared that I'll lose important memories when I start getting old.

3. I'm extremely scared of roaches and june bugs.

Three of My Every Day Essentials

1. It's essential that I have a camera with me at all times (even if it's only my cell phone when I'm at school, otherwise I, at least, have a point-and-shoot).

2. It's essential that I have chapstick.

3. It's essential that I have my betrothed with me everyday.

Three Characteristics of the Opposite Sex That Appeal to Me

1. Glasses.

2. A love for video games and role-playing games.

3. A talent for painting miniatures.

Three Things I Just Can't Do

1. I can't finish school in less than one more year.

2. I can't keep working where I'm working for another five years (because I would lose my mind).

3. I can't finish my homework if I stay on the interwebs.

My Garden

I made some extra money on my last paycheck because my co-worker was on vacation and I was able to pick up some of her hours.  So, since I've been wanting to start a garden (for the past forever), I was able to buy all the supplies I needed to make it a reality.  I got a raised garden made of recycled materials (score!), lots of gardening soil (duh!), and an awesome seed kit that is specially made to go with the raised garden.  It came with these awesome layout sheets showing how to space the seeds and at which depth to plant them.  One side is a salsa garden with tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapenos, serranos, onions, cilantro, basil, and parsley.  The other side is a vegetable garden with yellow squash, zucchini, red tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, bush peas, and red bell peppers.  I thought it would have been a lengthy project, but it only took about an hour to put together the raised garden, layout newspaper, fill in the dirt, and plant the seeds.  After the garden's completion, I realized I don't have a watering can, so Josh and I made about seven trips from the sink to the garden with a blender, coffee pot, and measuring cup full of water to make sure all the seeds got a proper drink.  After all that, I also came to realize the amount of ridiculous in our watering method (and an amount of relief that none of the neighbors walked by while we were doing it), so we set off in search of a watering can.  After running (literally) to CVS, Savers, the Dollar Tree, and HEB, we found the perfect watering can (at HEB).  Savers had an adorable one that was way too small for my needs, so I had to leave it for someone else to discover.  Anway, I'm so excited about my awesome little garden.  I've been watering it regularly, Josh and his mom both said the seeds need to stay moist until they start really growing into plants, then I can lay off a little.  I'll keep updating my little garden's progress as spring and summer progress.  Here are some photos of the building process:

Pre-construction

Post-construction

Full 'o dirt

They make it where a five year old could do it!
(I spy Josh's feet at the top of the photo)

Our terrible watering job.  It looks much better now.

Thankful

Yesterday I spent a great part of the day finishing my ten page research paper that was due today (I did finish it, by the way).  Once I got to the halfway mark, I wanted to reward myself with something bad, so Josh walked with me to the convenience store up the street so I could buy a Mountain Dew.  Something interesting happened while we were there, there was a man in front of us in line (that wasn't interesting, stay tuned, it's coming).  He had his ID and passport out and was talking to the gas station employee.  At first, we didn't realize what was happening, but as things progressed the situation came to light.  The man was giving up his passport as collateral because he didn't have the money to buy gas.  He was asking for $5 in gas, which he would pay back the next day when he could get the money.  The gas station associate agreed to the terms and the man graciously left to go pump his less than two gallons of gas.  I've never experienced this type of situation before, nor have I ever been in a situation where I am unable to purchase basic necessities.  After leaving the gas station with my $1.71 Mountain Dew, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of gratefulness for the things I have.  Sometimes I'm discouraged by the little bit of savings I have or how little my paycheck may be, but I am thankful that I can manage to buy groceries, gas, a few meals at cheap restaurants, and am still able to put a little bit of money in savings.  I am very thankful.

My Betrothed

It is now officially Josh's birthday.  After 26 years of life and about eight and a half of those years together, I wanted to make a blog entry dedicated to him.  Let me start off by saying he is amazing.  Each day my mind is blown by how lucky I am to live with and be engaged to my best friend, lover, and all around most wonderful person I've ever met.  Some people will go through life and never find "the one," they may even end up settling on someone they get along with alright.  I happen to have found the one and only.  I found someone who loves me no matter how badly I randomly dance and sing (which happens often).  I found someone who loves my weird obsession with Tim Burton and took a trip to New York specifically to meet him and see his art show with me.  I found someone who listens to me babble on about the silliest of things (and sometimes complain about work and school).  I found someone who loves me whether I'm at my best or worst (and when I'm at my worst, picks me back up again).  And, most importantly, he's willing to spend the rest of his life with me (a pretty courageous adventure, indeed).  I am so lucky to have met him so early in my life and now I can barely make it through a day without him.  It's almost as if we have our own world, just the two of us, that no one else can touch.  We have a connection that seems so much closer and more unique than anyone else I've met.  He has helped shape me into the person I am today and I love him with all of my heart.

Now, a little bit about Josh.  He is also the smartest person I know.  Sometimes I think his brain has an endless capacity for knowledge.  He is hilarious and can always make me smile (and occasionally laugh hysterically).  He is also extremely talented.  From beating Ninja Gaiden on the NES to drawing post-it note art pieces, he never ceases to amaze me.  He is also a great painter of miniatures and, for his birthday (and because I said I would do it, but haven't yet), I took some photos of his work.

Happy Birthday, Joshua!  I love you so, so much (and if you think it's too much information, worry not, I only have four followers).