plan b

last night we wanted to go on a hot date. i like to call all our dates "hot", have you noticed? anyways, we hadn't thought about going out until 5:00 so really it was just a passing whim as we soon found there were no available high school babysitters. i think in reality all we were aiming for was an air conditioned movie theater.
but then i remembered i was craving some yummy food cart food. our portland monthly magazine did a feature of great grub served from a trailer. we threw mack into the car (but not really) and speed away to enjoy a wood oven pizza from pyro pizza. yum.

kenzie liked the food carts too, it too, here's why:

jalapeno in my eye = true love

i made tacos for dinner last night. they were delish. one of my key ingredients was a jalapeno pepper. recently this item has made its way into many of our dishes (salsa, chicken rubs, and now the tacos). i seeded the hot sucker so we didn't scorch our mouths. usually i use a knife to scrape out the seeds, last night i used my hands. mistake number one. on my way over to the sink i wiped my mouth (i have no clue why) and was instantly sorry. my lips and surrounding skin were on fire. i doused it with water, justin was laughing. it still burned. mistake number two.

"honey, quick! google what to do!" i moaned. justin found a sight suggesting to rinse exposed area with milk. i gave my face a milk bath. three times. it felt a little better. pretty soon my hands started to burn. because i am super intelligent i again tried to wash off the jalapeno juice. i tried milk. it lessened the heat but the burning feeling lasted until this morning. as we were readying for bed that evening i started to bring my finger to my eye to remove my contacts. what was i thinking????? 

"justinnnnnn" i whined, "you have to take out my contacts..." he crinkled his nose in disgust. touching someone else's eyeball clearly was not high on his bucket list. i reminded him that i was carrying his child. that always guilts him into compliance. with slow fingers and a scrunched up face he slid each contact from my eye as i held them open for him. now that's what i call true love.

the size of a turnip

someone asked me how far along i was this morning....and i totally drew a blank. was i fifteen weeks? no, i just had a doctor appointment, sixteen then? nope, i am 17 weeks along. i blame it on crazy summer schedules. weeks melt into one another and all i really know is that my old clothes don't fit and my baby bump looks more like i hate too many tacos.

but according to babycenter (very cool online site that gives you updates week by week) our baby is the size of a turnip. other good to know advice from babycenter is that i am more likely to stumble or tumble because i am unsteady on my feet. what does this mean if you are already challenged by walking in a straight line without tripping, running in to the person next you, or bumping into an object? i should probably start using a cane.

ruche

sometimes you come across a store that makes you go weak in the knees. it has been awhile for me. i have gotten pickier with age i suppose (i know my mom is gasping, "how is that possible..more picky???"). 

i was reading through my daily blogs and was encouraged to check out ruche. i clicked the link and boy am i glad i did! you also might remember that i am pregnant, which translates to shopping just isn't that fun right now. i also hate the idea of spending money on a ton of clothes that i will only wear for a few months and then never want to look at again. so as i perused ruche's site (wiping away the drool every now and then), i stuck with things i won't grow out of or have to pack up in a few months...earrings, bracelets, and of course shoes! the style reminded me a lot of anthropology but about a million dollars cheaper. the fabrics and cuts are bold and the variety is awesome!

here is the link: http://shopruche.com/

here are some things i spotted..er.. bought acutally (did i mention justin just left for a backpacking trip...)

 (love these heals by pink studio...they are a 3" so i hope i am not too giantess in them)

 (sadly, these were sold out but i wanted them so bad! they remind me of earrings i had as a little girl, i will be checking back on these babies!)

 (i didn't buy this dress, oh but i wanted to! love the cut, color, fabric...maybe it will be my "congratulations-you-had-a-baby" present to myself)

(yes, i am now the proud owner of these sweet things. they will go with everything. stoked.)

(last but not least, a simple gold cuff...i am a sucker for that pounded metal look)

garden before and after

i wish i had all the original pictures from when we first moved in. the backyard was a mess! it was chalk full of overgrown weeds, invaded by blackberries, and suffering from years of neglect. however, i did find a few pictures of what we started with on justin's computer. check it:

 (our buddy a.j. practicing his chainsaw skills on a tree in out backyard...notice the awesome shed)

 (a better view of the two rusted out sheds left for us to enjoy, that groundcover to the left...blackberries!)

(after the removal of sheds and one tree)

(justin loading up the previous owners things and hauling 'em out of our line of vision. the previous owner still owns the acre and a half behind us, so it is technically his property but i am the one staring at it)

(after we had it disked and removed all the blackberry bushes)

(the garden boxes)

the pictures below were taken this evening. phase two of backyard makeover will not happen until next summer, but will entail a patio with a sitting area adjacent to the garden. 

(there are four boxes, one has peas and beans, the other a variety of squashes, the back are carrots, lettuce, broccoli, cucumber, tomatillos, artichokes, and spinach)

(corn)

(dahlias and sunflowers line the back of our property)

(this picture was from street of dreams. justin and i are using this as a template for what we want to put down next to the garden. i love the idea of having the "step-able" ground cover in between the pavers. as of now that area is being once again taken over by weeds.

pests

i don't know if it is the age of our house, the lack of care it had before we bought it, or maybe the huge field behind us...but we have had more than our fair share of pests lately.

it all started with these little rascals:

(spotted five of these guys headed into my garden at dusk one evening)

have you ever seen the movie elf? i was picturing this scene as justin ran TOWARDS the raccoons (of course i ran in the opposite direction).

then one afternoon watering my roses i came across these nasties:

(aphids all over my roses, sick!)

but don't worry i showed these bugs a thing or two...

what will i discover next?

did you ever think life'd be this good?

justin and i were sitting outside eating dinner a few nights ago and he asked me, "did you ever think life'd be this good?"

i shook my head no and smiled. he can be soooo mushy! i love it!!

but his words rang in my ears this evening, even though he is hundreds of miles away at camp. i opened up his computer and got lost for a minute staring at this picture of our little girl (above). he has it life size on his computer screen background. i looked at her chocolate brown eyes, the wet ringlets, her gap-toothed smile, and her golden skin. (i also noticed the little boogey). i started crying. yes, it is probably the pregnancy hormones coursing through my veins but tears none the less. justin was exactly right, this life we have...even with its hardships and stresses, is so much more beautiful than anything i could have dreamed up. 

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us to him be the glory..." Eph 3:20