The Prettiest Place on Earth?

Here are a few snapshots I took around the house this morning. I love living here.





The humming birds love the flowers Mom planted along the front of the porch.

 

Around the corner of the house - everything is getting so green. *SUMMER*



A view of our front yard, down the driveway.



A gorgeous tree in the backyard



A view of the creek. See it? Its way down there.



Another view of the creek. If you look hard, you can see a bird on the log.



Close up of the water.



A sitting area by the creek





Fig sitting on the bench



Our garden - we have two raised beds and a plot(?). We've got several varieties of tomatoes, red bell peppers, basil, squash, cabbage, beets, green beans, thyme, lavender, strawberries, two types of lettuce, three types of greens, cucumbers, water melon, cantaloupe, carrots, jalapenos, and onions.



Little cucumbers sprouting



German Thyme



One of the many varieties of our tomatoes. I don't think they will ever turn red...



Cherry Tomatoes



Strawberries!!




We have wild blackberry bushes growing at the front of our property.



Barrack O'bunny, Gus Gus the kitten, Penny and I, and a nest of guinea eggs

Until next time,
Juliana.

Thoughtful Thursday

 

 

 

Unfortunately, now that I go to school on Thursdays, Thursday's aren't so very thoughtful. But I'll give it a go anyway.

 

 

 

Outside my window... Empty computer labs.  

I am thinking... About babysitting tonight

I am thankful for... Excedrin

From the learning room... About to go to math class

From the Kitchen... I don't think this counts but I had a chicken salad spinach wrap from the campus cafe?... I made muffins and homemade pizza yesterday!

 (But the cat got in the house and ate all the pizza....)

 

I am wearing... Darkish colored jeans, a brown cami, a white/see through blouse with brown designs, three silver rings, brown boat shoes

I am creating... This blog post

I am going... No where for now, math class later, and to babysit even later

I am reading... My bible and "My heart in His hands"

I am hoping... For smooth sailing tonight and tomorrow

I am hearing... What is it that makes that humming noise in an empty room? Computer monitors? Lights? Whatever that is. And a guy rolling a cleaning supply cart down the hall.

Around the house... I'm not home so I couldn't say. But I would guess school and getting

ready for the evening

 

One of my favorite things...  Going home at the end of the day

A few plans for the rest of the week... Babysitting, homework, gardening

From the Garden

This is a bit of a blurry picture but look at what we've grown!!!

Red and Yellow Tomatoes, Okra, Beets, and Peppers!

This is just a small portion of everything growing. We have tons of okra! The plants are so tall and they just keep producing and producing. We also have lots of tomatoes. We've picked lots of beets and still have lots growing. And our jalapenos are so hot! It is so encouraging to see all of this amazing produce our first year! God is good.

Until next time,

Juliana.

I've Been Awarded Again!

I was awarded with the Kreativ Blogger Award by Britt over at www.encouragementforeverydaystruggles.blogspot.com. Many thanks, Britt! Here are the rules...

Answer the 10 questions, then list 10 random things about yourself, and award 7 bloggers.
Pretty simple. But because I'm a rule breaker I will only be listing 5 random facts about myself and awarding one person. Here we go...

1. What is your favorite song? I don't really have a favorite over all song. I have a favorite song from each genre of music. But I'll keep it short and say my favorite Christian song is Because He Lives.

2. What is your favorite dessert? That one is easy. Ice cream. Plain vanilla ice cream. But it is always amazing to put it on top of a warm brownie and top it off with hot fudge and nuts. (Can't.Wait.Till.July.21st.!)

3. What ticks you off? I think this is where I should be able to say "nothing". Hehe... but, I would have to say asking a question and not being answered. Yeah...

4. When your upset, what do you do? Nothing in particular. Every situation is different.

5. What is your favorite pet? My horse, of course.

6. Do you prefer to wear black or white? I prefer to wear black. But I think I probably look better in white.

7. What is your attitude? Hm. I feel like someone else should evaluate me and give me the answer to this question. (Ha, if I were brave I would ask everyones' opinion and have them leave it in the comments. But I'm not brave. Don't do that.) I can't really answer this question.

8. What place, object, scenario, etc would you describe as perfection? Africa. Africa is perfection.

9. What is your guilty pleasure? Sleeping late, of course.

10. What is your favorite past time? I don't really have one these days. No time for passing the time.

Ok. So here are the five random facts about myself... (hehe, this is always fun..)

1. Change is something that terrifies me but makes me incredibly excited at the same time

2. I picked five vegetables out of the garden today: Two beets, a jalapeno, a red tomato, and a yellow tomato. (Looking forward to eating those beets!)

3. While on the subject, beet salad is one of my very favorite things in this world!

4. I want to open a food truck. It would be amazing. I'm thinking waffels...

5. I love fine arts. (Cooking, drawing, dancing, music, etc.) I wish I was skilled in every aspect of them.

Now on to the awarding part. I award...
Susannah over at http://susannahicecream.blogspot.com.

Until next time,
Juliana.

Thoughtful Thursday

Outside my window... Very green trees.

I am thinking... About everything I have to get down today. To name a few... Organizing all the books and papers in my bedroom, cleaning out and setting up the fish tank, preparing to install a new fridge, and working in the yard.

I am thankful for... Days like this. Productive.

From the learning room... At the moment my little sister is the only one doing school. She is working on grammar, I think. Everyone else is up cleaning the house.  

From the Kitchen... A new refrigerator. A friend bought it for us because our other one stopped working. What a blessing. God is good. Thank goodness for no more ice chests!

I am wearing... My jean shorts. I love these things. Perfect for summer. A pink and purple tye dyed shirt. Hair pulled up. And of course, my two silver rings. And as always... I'm barefoot.

I am creating... A pretty front yard. =)

I am going... Hopefully to get some new fish? And pick up some dinner.

I am reading... My bible. I have started II Chronicles and of course, reading my daily Psalms and Proverbs. I'm also reading through a book called The Power to True Success. Its a great learning book. You should look into it.

I am hoping... To finish everything I set out to accomplish today. Time is ticking.

I am hearing... The air condition and and people cleaning.

Around the house... Every one is busy. Some are doing school, some working on the computers, but most organizing and cleaning. The new fridge just got here. Also, everyone is all a buzz because our kittens were born last night. Two white ones and one that looks like a zebra. I'll post pictures.

One of my favorite things... A clean and organized room. And bookshelves. Bookshelves are one of my favorite things. <3

A few plans for the rest of the week... Nothing this week but the next will be busy!!

Until next time,
Juliana

Homemade Organic Pesticides

This afternoon I went out to look at the garden. Its become one of my favorite past times. Who knew pulling weeds could be so fun? Every time I go out to check up on the ever growing seedlings I notice something new. A new sprout here, a flower there. Only today, I noticed little holes in the leaves of my precious okra plants. The bugs had been there. And not only had they been there but they had also visited my bell pepper plant. And now, the war is on.

We are trying to steer clear from using any chemicals in our garden so I didn't want to buy any pesticides. I'm sure they make organic ones but I decided it would be faster, easier, and cheaper to make my own. I read several webpages looking for the best recipe and found that almost everyone uses the same recipe! It must work. And I'm going to give it a try. All you need is...

Ground Red Pepper

Chopped Garlic

Vegetable Oil

 (Hehe, so far it sounds like it would taste pretty good! Those bugs must be crazy.)

Water

Dish Soap (no bleach)

 And all you have to do is simply add the first four ingredients in a bowl. Let them soak over night. Then pour them into a blender, give it a buzz. Strain out any large pieces, pour in some soap and presto! Your own, home made, all natural organic pesticide. As easy as 1,2,3. All you have to do now is put it in a clean spray bottle and use when your ready.

I plan on trying it out today or tomorrow. I hope it works. I'll keep you updated.

Until next time,
Juliana.

Our Garden's Growing!

By what must be God's goodness - because we have no idea how to garden - our seeds are sprouting!!! Our raised beds have gone from a brown, soil-filled boxs to beautiful green growing gardens. With an exception of the lettuce and cabbage everything we planted sprouted! (To find out what all we planted click here.) Here are a few pictures of our seedlings.

Peas!

Beets!

My sister Angelica made the name cards. She made one for each kind of vegetable we planted, only I lost the one she made for peas... I need to find that. Aren't they cute though? To see more pictures of the garden click here.

Hopefully in a few months we will be eating plenty of home grown vegetables!

Until next time,

Juliana.