6 and 7 down, 5 to go!

Hello July! Apparently summer slows nothing down. School is in full swing, Skidamirink is in ballet! I started a garden, went to New Orleans, got published in a blog at work (twice!) and had a birthday! Whew!

Launching right in, I did something this year I have been wanting to do for quite some time. I started a garden!

I'm doing box gardens, it's interesting, but the yard isn't dug up and then if we ever want to get rid of it, we can. I got the boxes from some friends. Then my lovely gardening friend went to the store with me to help get me started. I got tomato plants, strawberry plants and seed for cucumbers, zucchini, peas, and green beans. I also got some herbs but did not plant them this year (I didn't want to stress myself out with too much to do).

Strawberries! They came with some and I have not gotten any since :(

I have been having fun with it. Skidamirink loves it. She checks on it with me, helps pull the weeds and is so incredibly excited to see the tomatoes start to come in! Unfortunately during one of our hot spouts, I was gone a little often and the sun scorched my thriving peas and green beans. I think some of the green beans might still come in, but I'm fairly sure that the peas or done for. Apparently they don't like heat...I guess we have that in common. But the cucumbers and zucchini are going great and should start producing soon! Tomatoes are green and we're waiting for them to ripen. I will say that weeding the garden right now is so much easier than our old traditional gardens, considering they are in boxes. I'm a fan of that for sure. 

That being underway, I also went to New Orleans! I chaperoned the youth groups Challenge 2012  Everything Is New trip last week. It. was. amazing. Lives were changed, God was moving and I am so thankful that He called me to go. We took vans down (ugh) and while some of the driving was tortuous (24.5 hours down and 22 hours back) it was well worth it for the bonding and relationships that were bettered. The speakers were incredible. The worship, inspiring. The ministry, priceless. We were able to help schools in NOLA and make a difference in our few days down there. God is so good.

Our group- 33 kids 5 adults

I got to do a lot of first on this trip, the trip being one of them. I attended a Challenge conference as a teenager in 2002, Atlanta Ga, but I had never chaperoned a youth trip before. Or driven a 10 passenger van, or pulled an all nighter driving with one other person, or or or! So many things! The best new thing? I got to eat alligator! 

It was DELICIOUS!

Despite what people tell me, it tasted nothing like chicken...sorry folks you must have had bad alligator. This was....alligator. It was meaty and only a hint of something fishy, but it was good. If I had to compare it to something I would say it was closer to pheasant than chicken, but that's just me. I also got to enjoy a Catfish Po'Boy:

as well as the BEST bread pudding I have EVER consumed:

Yes I'll take a 5lb bucket, 2 straws and the recipe please! The trip was worth it if for no other reason than the bread pudding. :)  The hat in the above photo is also new, along with a new necklace I got, and a shirt for Skidamirink. 

All that led up to my birthday, which to be honest wasn't anything much. Work and then a hospital visit to see a friend and then off to youth group where the lovelies surprised me with singing and a cake. Skidamirink also sang to me, and I got it on tape, and she got me roses and a balloon (and a card). She is the cutest thing in the world. So now I'm 27, I got promoted at work!!! and I start that next week, and school is going great. Things are looking up. I'm learning daily to trust God more and more and I know that He has a plan, and it helps me to worry less. Yes, I still have my own dreams and desires, but I have surrendered them to Him, and I know that He will always hold me in the palm of His hand. 

So a bit of lag in posting, my apologies (not like I have a crowd to cater to!) but I got 2 more things done. I still have to learn to shoot a gun...hopefully I will find someone to teach me that before the year is up! I am excited to see what the rest of the summer brings! 

LETS DO THIS!