My Day Off

This is my first trip to the beach with the dogs. We had a lot of fun. At first I didn't let them off the leash because I thought they'd head out to sea and never come back. Turns out if I yell loud enough, they listen. That's Biloxi in the background. The beach right by my house doesn't allow dogs so we came to this one which is about five minutes down the road.

I just thought these looked cool. I'm pretty sure they serve no purpose.

This is one of several huge dead fish that the dogs sniffed. It was nasty and I'm not sure why there were so many. They were mostly heads attached to skeletons, too, which was weird.

This is my garden. Every section is growing! Any day now they'll be ready for picking...

This is me at work. You can tell this is towards the end of my shift based on the exhausted look on my face and the level of frazzledness that my hair has taken on. I'm much peppier looking at 545 in the morning when the shift starts. Wait, no I'm not, that's a lie.

Growing Day 2

Only a couple days into growing season and already I've got little sprouts sprouting! It's only a matter of time before all my food will be home grown...or at least the six things I planted. Yay!

Check out those zinnias! (They're the little ones behind the fence). So many have already sprouted!

This is the cilantro that I transplanted from the indoor pot. The roots smelled like cilantro when I dug them up! Seems obvious, I know, but still exciting.

I'm A Gardener!

I started a garden today. I think it will go well. I planted zinnias, chives, cilantro, oregano, peppers, sweet basil, and tomatoes. The downfall to this plan is that I have no idea how to garden or when I should plant want or how to actually make things grow. So I'm hoping that all of these will thrive with nothing but my love and some water. We'll see.

These are the peppers (left) and cilantro (right) that I will soon transfer to my garden. I just don't want to yet because they're doing so well- I fear they may die outside.

This is my garden! There aren't any drain holes in the bottom of the giant pot but there's a crack down each side so I hope that will be an effective drain. The little pot on the ground has nothing in it...yet.

Sparti sitting in the garden!

Garden close up. Behind the tiny wire fence are the zinnias.

In case you were expecting more pictures, you should know that the large pot itself is the whole garden. And the little pot will be the garden annex, whenever I figure out what to put in it.

Mom visits Biloxi

My mom came down to see me this weekend! Actually, I think she was just ready to get rid of my dogs, but I'm going to think that she really missed me. The good news is that the weather was beautiful and I didn't have to work too much. The bad news is that I came down with a fever Thursday night and by Friday it was over 101. I went to the doctor and got a prescription but I'm pretty sure tonsilitis has struck again and it's only a matter of time before I get it for the fourth, that's right, FOURTH time this year. Luckily, I feel okay if you don't count the fever or the feeling of glass being lodged in my throat every time I swallow. Here, however, are the pictures from her visit and a few other things.

This is at the picnic the previous NTP students had for the current students. I took my mom and we ate all sorts of delicious food. (She just didn't want to be in any pictures.)

This is a dead fish we saw on the beach. Most were marked with little flags, I have no idea why. This guy did not have a little flag.

This is my mom wading out to show how far you can go and still only be up to your ankles. She could have gone a good bit farther. I'm not sure why but the water doesn't get deep until you go waaaay out.

Another dead fish. My shoe is there for size comparison. Note the little flag.

Another dead fish!

A dead sea turtle. I could say it's from the oil spill but that'd be a lie since it's not here yet. I really don't know why this guy is here but it appears he's been dead for some time.

These are all the dogs that came to see me. I think they like cruising around my back yard. The house is a little crowded but it's not too bad.

This is the crock pot I bought while my mom was here. Apparently you can cook a lot of delicious meals pretty easily in these things and this one was on sale so it was a win-win situation. The chunk of meat in there is about to become pulled pork. I'll let you know how it goes.

UPDATE:

This is the s'more making fire I built in my backyard fire pit.

My mom and I making our first s'mores!

S'more making is serious business.

But it can also be fun!

S'more self-portrait.

My mom excited to be eating s'mores!

(Side-note: the words in the background were written by the former owner of the house. She was apparently a very 'free spirit' and may or may not be currently living in a renovated school bus down by the ocean. Seriously.)

This was way tastier than the look on my face implies.

My first ever homemade pulled-pork: pre-sauce.

My first ever homemade pulled-pork: post-sauce. Next to my first ever homemade pulled-pork sandwich. I couldn't taste it because of my sore throat but my mom said it was the best pulled-pork sandwich she ever ate. And I'm pretty sure that had nothing to do with the fact her daughter made it- it was just that delicious. I love my mom. Happy Mother's Day!