Gardening is good

This here is Chickweed and has very many uses as explained in previous posts I've given.

These beauties we had to put a net around after they were attacked by something... I think it was birds. We have two peach trees and they had eaten a hole in every peach on the other tree and so we didn't take our chances with the other one... we put the net up.
Cinnamon Basil smells just like cinnamon mmmmhmmm.
Then there's the grapes that are almost ready to pick.
Pomegranates almost ready and we have tons this time around. Last year they didn't survive the storm and wind and had all fallen off too early to eat. We got to eat one pomegranate from our tree, so I'm hoping these are going to stay on the tree until I can pick them.

Lime tree and we've used it and there's one left if you look close its in the bottom right of the tree.
This hasn't flowered yet but its the herb coneflower/ echinacea and its used for tea and other things I plan to make tea out of it, but this just doesn't look like any of the pictures of it so we'll see if its what we think.

Coriander, which is cilantro seeds are drying here from my garden.
The main garden L to R: Cucumber tower, zucchini, onions, peppers, tomatoes, collard greens, and beets

We added this worm tower, all it is is a PVC pipe that is 2/3rds underground and we drilled holes in it for the worms to get into and...
All we do is throw our compost in like you see here and the worms do the rest!
This is the top of an onion and these little babies are going to planted to make more onions!

Homemade and Homegrown salsa!

This salsa is completely from what we have in our garden! Here we have our tomatoes and parsley, basil, cilantro, peppers.















These are a new favorite of mine. Its my first time growing these pear tomatoes and they are so yummy and are now going into the salsa.













Here we have garlic, peppers, tomatoes, pear tomatoes, and anaheim chilies.


















Here's my sweetheart putting in
some home grown parsley.

The final product! Very delicious salsa and tons of it!

Girls Night Out! 6-16-11

I love me a girls night out! There ain't nothin like Ladies night! Of course we made it a "fancy shoes" theme. So what more could a girl ask for. I just need an excuse to break out the heels. We had dinner at Olive Garden, I made cupcakes for dessert and he had a grand ole time! I love my girls, we have so much fun together

Tammy, Jennie, Jamie, Natalie

Britney, Mindy, Chelsy, Me

Mindy, Chelsy, me

L to R: Danielle, Tammy, Britney, Natalie, Chelsy, Krista, Jennie, Jamie B., Jamie J., Mindy, Kat
So can you tell which shoes are mine? I'll give you a hint: Pink and sparkly :)

My suprise birthday party 5-10-11

So here's the story:
Ryan told me that we were going to celebrate my birthday the Sunday after my birth date. so we could have our own night together on my "actual birthday." So he makes this big "sales pitch" to me about how I need to be able to blow candles out on my birthday. I had told him I wanted to make my own cake, so he said it would be fine if I made two cakes :) One for my actual birth date and one for the party! I am in heaven cause anyone who knows me knows I love making cakes!

He comes home from work Tuesday night and his pants are soaked from washing cars on the lot. He goes in and changes his pants and I wait for him in the car. We drove into town and met Kathy at Cafe Rio. She took Jonathan so we could have a date night. So we order our food and go to pay for it and Ryan left his wallet in his wet pants back at home. So no big deal I pay for the meal. We ate our food and I asked him what time the movie started. He goes to pull the tickets out and realizes those are in his wallet at home too. So we have to drive all the way back to Hurricane!

We get home and I open the door and there on my couch in front of me is not something I expected to see there: My friends Chelsy and Natalie... So my brain began to work... "Kat, there's something wrong with this, yes you know who these people are but they shouldn't be in your house! Oh no! My very messy house nonetheless!!!" So I scream because my brain can't process this information lol. Anyway everyone shouted surprise and YES I WAS VERY SURPRISED! It was awesome... Ryan is so good he always gets me. I love him :)

The party was awesome, everyone I love dearly was there and I felt so loved. I was so happy and grateful to be surrounded by amazing people that I am privileged to know. Love you all and thank you.

Here's the cake, I was going for a modern/lace look. Its all Buttercream icing, no fondant!
You can't see but that is the number 26, I can't believe I'm 26, I remember when that used to be old to me! And by the way, its totally not old haha.


This is how I made the tiara. I used Royal Icing and wax paper and a crisco container.

Easter cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for the Easter barbecue at Kathy's:

Easter

Fun times for the kids. We did the Hurricane Easter Egg Hunt in the morning and we met up with the Wasden's, Jimenez's, Boucher's, and Bennions to hunt out the Easter eggs. So fun, then later that day we went to Grandma Kathy's for a barbecue/pool party/ Easter egg hunt. It was fun especially because Jonathan is so cute to watch look for the eggs. I love these moments. Thanks Grandma for making family tradidtions as fun as these!

1st time Marathon runner

A marathon is on my list of 100 things to do in my lifetime. I have always been amazed by people who can run these babies. Its always been something I thought of as out of my reach, and only really athletic people run these. Well that's not the case necessarily. I've talked to a lot of people and so far they are all really in shape people, but they are also neighbors and friends that I'd never would've guessed had ran a marathon. So when I realized that people I know are running these things I decided to try it out. I've been running off and on all year so far but never kept it up. Then I did a bunch of research on these things and found some schedules of running distances. Bytheway, there's a great website that was recommended to me called: http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Mar00novice.htm Its this guy named Hal Higdon, and if you read his bio its sick! I mean what hasn't this guy achieved in his lifetime! Anyway I will be using his training sheet as my guide.

These running posts are probably more for me than for anyone else. I want to document what I do and learn through this marathon training. Its also for me to refer back to, if in the future I run another one of these things. Those of you who know me know I have a horrible memory and so this is probably a good idea on my part lol.

Well its been a couple of months since I first entertained the idea of a marathon and after learning some things I finally signed up for the St. George Marathon, which is October 1, 2011. Yes I can't believe I did it either! Yikes, its exciting, scary and nerve wracking all at the same time!!!

I live in Hurricane and I am looking for someone who lives in this area to run with so I don't have to always go into town to always run (trying to save on gas) So let me know people if you want to run with me :)

This is a big step for me and I am in the first week of running and let me tell you, between running and my green smoothies I feel like I'm on a whole new playing field when it comes to life. All the energy, strength, healthy body, and even better attitude are changing my life and it sure feels good :)

GSG-SMOOTHIE 2.0 (1) (360).mov

This is for all you green smoothie peeps! This is amazing, if you are wanting to get the nurtients your body needs this is for you.

GSG-SMOOTHIE 2.0 (2) (360).mov

Here's the greatest thing you can do for yourself to get what your body needs. I have been doing smoothies and growing the stuff in our garden, which saves us a couple hundred dollars at the grocery store a month!

Choosing greens for your smoothie 2

Here's Part 2 of green smoothie girl. There is so much she does here. We just got our bee pollen in the mail yesterday and tried it in our smooothies this morning... Tastes just like honey. The video tells you what goes in the smoothie and what it does for you. Very interesting things. I think she named almost everything I'm concerned with: Eyesight, PMS, allergies, and much much more! Tell me what you think.
Here's her website: http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/

Choosing greens for your smoothie 1

Here's the Green smoothie girl and we use her ideas for our smoothies here's part 1. It is chock full of information and I am really impressed with her. Enjoy!

Farewell Mum and Dad... Good luck in Australia!

This weekend was very bittersweet for me. I was sweet because I got to spend it with my dad and mum. They are the greatest and I am so lucky to be a part of their life. The bitter part is they are moving to Queensland Australia and that's too far away! I don't know how soon I'll see them again. It could be years! So I am sad to see them go, even though I know its what's best for them. They will be missed and hopefully we'll be able to go out there to see them in the next few years.

I love you guys :)

Herbs to have FOR SURE in your garden...

The University of Maryland Medical Center has done studies on some herbs that are very beneficial in a variety of ways http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ Click on Herbs, then click on the herb you want to read up on.
The following are herbs we've done research on and a few things about them:

Calendula (marigold) used on burns, cuts, and bruises, hemorrhoids, and it speeds the wound healing by increasing blood flow to the wounded area.

Dandelion helps poor digestion, liver disorders, and high blood pressure. Is a good potassium source. It increases your appetite. Ryan put a few in a smoothie the other day and he was hungry all day so we won't be using it for that anymore :)

Echinacea helps your immune system, relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and helps with your hormones, antiviral, and antioxidant effects. It is used to treat urinary tract infections, vaginal yeast infections, ear infections, athlete's foot, sinusitis, hay fever, as well as slow healing wounds.

German Chamomile this flower dates back thousands of years to the ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks. it is used for the following:

• Chest colds
• Sore throats
• Abscesses
• Gum inflammations (gingivitis)
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Psoriasis
• Acne
• Eczema
• Minor 1st degree burns
• Inflammatory bowel disease
  
• Stomach ulcers
• Children chickenpox, diaper rash, and colic

Chickweed is used in green drinkss and is high in Vitamin C, Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium. It relieves pain and helps to reduce swelling. It is very powerful when mixed with pure aloe vera juice, which helps penetrate all three layers of the skin. It can be used as an acne wash. This herb purifies the blood and carries out toxins. good for blood vessels and your circulatory system. It helps with widght loss by working as an appetite depressant.

Basil is another important herb here's the things it helps with:

• Nerve tonic
• Sharpens memory
• Strengthens the stomach
• Fever and cold
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Kidney Stone
• Heart Disorder
• Children cold, fever, diarrhea, and vomiting
• Stress
• Mouth infections
• Insect bites
• Skin disorders
• Teeth disorders
• Headaches
• Eye Disorders

I have just given the basic basic information on these herbs, if you want to know more please look up these herbs on your own and read in detail how to use them etc. I hope this was helpful for you :)

~Kat

Garden happenings and Mason Bees!

The other winter garden now uncovered to show sweet peas. We used all the beets and beet greens and planted these peas for the winter. Look they are so tall already! Also there is one of the artichoke plants then the rectangle bins have Chamomile and dandelion planted in them. I plan to make tea with the chamomile and put the dandelions in my smoothies and salads they are great for that... See post following this one on what kinds of herbs are "must haves" in your garden.
These cucumbers, tomato, habaneros, banana peppers, and butternut squash are all on a table that is in our jacuzzi tub in the bathroom (we don't use it cause the jets don't work) until the wind is gone and we can go outside and plant them lol. I like plants in the house they bring such happiness into it:



You are probably wondering what this contraption might be? This is a Mason bee habitat complete with hibernating bees. These bees do not make honey but they will pollinate as much as 120 honey bees. Mason bees are solitary bees and don't make hives. They live in holes and tunnels and so these tubes are the perfect size and shape they look for, and move right in:


The remains of my aloe vera plant that was left out in the cold last fall and froze. It used to have leaves 1 1/2 feet long and was so beautiful but we nursed it back to health all winter in side our home and these little leaves are coming out. I can't wait to use this plant. Its great for putting in your hair after a shower (while still wet) as a face wash in the shower... and lotion when you get out. Also it can be ingested in like a smoothie or something. Cleopatra was a big fan of Aloe vera and used this plant for all the above uses as well:
My lower winter garden is thriving and we've used it every day for our smoothies. To the left is our pomegranate bush which has grown a foot since last summer. Then in the two big pinkish bins I have 3 kinds of basil and the other one has Echinacea. Then there are little apple trees and a 2 current bushes, and spearmint too:
We planted 3 different kinds of strawberries for some variety this year. My favorite thing to do is go out there every morning with my son and find strawberries, pick and eat them. He loves to search for them. ".... There's a strawberry mommy!"
Look at the cherry blossoms on this tree, that means lots of cherries to me mmmmhmmm. We only had one cherry to harvest last year so we're hoping this year will be better lol. There were only a couple blossoms last year when we planted the trees so that would explain why so few cherries.
Here we have L to R: Cumin, Alfalfa, and Borage.
Here's two more containers we've filled with alfalfa/ sprouts, and wheat grass.
These asparagus I just cut and we're having them for dinner. They are huge and thick and growing like weeds!