Spring break day 2

            Today started out with a depressing doctors appointment that now requires me to go to physical therapy 2 times a week for 6 weeks! woohoooo! I guess it is a running injury but I've been having some stiffness and pain in my right leg and it is actually waking my up at night now. 
       After that my day got better. I went for a picnic at the park across the street with a good friend and her kids. We ate tuna fish, veggies, fruit and even a little dark chocolate. While the kids played we sat in the sun and had some great conversations about God, life, work, friends and even some Philadelphia sports. We went on a walk on the trails and saw some wildlife, a mini waterfall and some beautiful flowers. 
I cam home, tutored one of the kids in the neighborhood and then completed my evening with some gardening with Brandon and dinner on the grill. 
       Even though I was bummed about my leg, God gave me a fabulous day to take my mind off of that issue. 
My garden box is complete and ready for planting tomorrow. I have the rest of the yard just about completed or at least some good ideas. So thankful for the time I have had this week to do some work, enjoy the outdoors and the company of good friends, family and most importantly my husband. 


For lunch I made this tuna recipe and added some fresh spinich and some diced green peppers. I packed a bag of celery and carrots. A 
container of blueberries and blackberries and a little dark chocolate for snack (since I was walking it off any way!).

Dinner was  Herbed Balsamic chicken and papaya/pineapple skewers on the grill!

Herbed Balsamic Chicken

• 4 TBS olive oil
• 2 tsp Balsamic Vinaigrette
• 1 Tbs McCormick Chicken rub
• 1 tsp Garlic
• 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and brush on the chicken. Save extras to brush on the chicken throughout the grilling process. 
Brandon cooked them on a wood fired grill for at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes on each side. 

Pineapple and Papaya Skewers

• 1/2 Papaya, cut into chunks
• 1/4 Pineapple, cut into chunks

Place fruit alternately onto a wooden skewer. Place on the wood fired grill at 300 degrees for about 1 minute on each side. 

Brandon ready to chow down after all of that landscaping work I made him do.

Enjoy it on a warm sunny deck with someone you love!

First day or Spring Break

After months of teaching a nice week at home with little plans is so appreciated! I took my time today to begin planning out my vegetable, herb and flower gardens. Brandon and I have re-done (at least touched) every room in our house and now we want to take the focus to the outside. We've done a little to it but mostly just maintenance. With our new eating habits, we use a lot of herbs and eat a ton of fruits and veggies so we decided that we have enough space in our back yard, why not build a garden. This is a huge task but one that we both feel we could accomplish. I have been composting since we moved in, we have nurtured several roses, trees and plants back to life in our previous un-kept yard, we feel like we can handle it.
In order to get have a proper garden, I took some pages from my parents and decided to get Brandon to make me a raised garden beds. While the box is easy to build, filling it is a little bit more difficult when you are on your own. So my day looked like this:

my future meals!

1. Clearing weeds and leveling the ground in the garden.
2. Drawing out and researching veggies, herbs and fruits Northern Virginia can grow and the seasons to plant.
3. Getting a truck load of dirt from the local nursery.
4. Shoveling out the truck load of dirt by myself (my poor back)! 
5. Lining the 16ft x 6 ft box with newspaper (on a windy day- eeek)
6. Piling screened top soil  on top of the newspaper.
7. Break time for a pedicure with my friend Margaret
8. Back home to eat some sweet potato chips, drink some water, a couple strawberries and back to work!
9. Finished leveling the dirt and then I added  a layer or leaves. (This acts as a natural compost layer like hay or straw)
10. Started adding a layer of compost from my very own compost pile. I have been composting for 3 years and it  paid off today. I have the most beautiful dark soil full of worms! Big fat worms. It is so healthy and I can't wait to see how my veggies grow in this stuff. I never thought I would be so excited about worms (Gross) but this saves a lot of money and it make me feel good that I was able to make great compost (another wonderful thing my mom and dad taught me!) 
11. My back was getting sore so I decided to stop working on my garden so I didn't get rushed and do it improperly. 
12. I cleaned up all of the supplies in the back yard and finished black paper lining under the maple tree and fixing up the rock barrier. Filled it with dirt and it is finished! 
13. I weeded my current flower beds and chatted with a neighbor about swapping some plants :)                                                                                                           

When we first bought the house

Brandon built a box

Newspaper layer

Dirt layer and then a leaf layer

Look at that compost!! Wish the worms showed up in pictures

While I was working in the yard I was able to meet some new neighbors, chat with some that I had already known, share my work with some of them and hear a great story about paying it forward. So happy to be where I am and I am thrilled with the progress of my first day on spring break. Now it is time for my hot pink toes to take a rest and eat some dinner!