Sooooo Guilty!

I've been leaving the dogs loose in the house lately since Bo has gotten past his "must nibble everything" phase. Well today I made one big mistake. I forgot to empty the trash and came home to this. (sorry for the poor quality pic but my camera took a dive off the dishwasher and hasn't been the same since).

Yes, that's right! We've got coffee grounds and chicken fat! What a mess. Well I knew Jazz was guilty because this is what she does....

And I'm not sure why but I had a nagging feeling that Bo was a willing accomplice. (I believe this is my new favorite picture of him!)

Why yes! Those are hot dog buns in his mouth! He was following me around with them for a good 2 minutes before I figured out that he had salvaged some trash. He even gave them up willingly.... how could I be mad at that?

My Garden

I have wanted a vegetable garden since I was at least 7. I never got one because my mom is admittedly not a "green thumb." Well, now I'm 26 and I have a garden! 2 summers ago I tried just doing cucumbers and tomatoes. The next summer I expanded quite a bit and went a little overboard. This year I think I've got my perfect plot. I'm still perfecting my planting roster but I'm getting there!

Living in Kansas, or at least where I live in Kansas, Bermuda Grass is king. It is also my greatest foe. Last year my garden was bordered with railroad ties and became overrun with Bermuda. It was impossible to beat and at the end of the summer I just gave up and my garden became a jungle I was afraid to enter for fear of giant insects. This year I got a little smarter. My wonderful husband built a wall for me! My mom and I dug 4 inches down the entire area of the garden to get rid of most of the Bermuda. Then my wonderful husband put up my walls. Next my mom and I put a layer of newspaper and then dirt, dirt, and more dirt. Sadly, I couldn't use any of the dirt from my yard because it all has Bermuda in it. This is sad because I have excellent dirt. However, I would rather have a Bermuda free garden, so I'll build this dirt up over the next few years.

I have growing right now cucumbers, garlic, green beans, onions, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, Florida 91 tomatoes, Celebrity tomatoes, Sun Gold tomatoes, green bell peppers, red bell peppers, and sweet potatoes. I love it!

And this year, when I weed, it actually makes a difference!

Morning Thoughts

As I sit here waiting for Photoshop to stop being mad at me, I figured I may as well be productive in other ways... such as my blog.

Today's struggle is discouragement. I am extremely discouraged this morning about my vocation. During the school year I am a para-educator at an elementary school, I have a photography business, and am a certified strength and conditioning specialist. I love all my jobs in some ways and am frustrated with all my jobs in other ways. I have decided to not describe my frustrations to keep myself from whining, but I will say that I feel torn and burdened to my core.

I was reading some passages in Ezekiel and Isaiah today about visions of Heaven. I can't believe that even after reading about such amazing glimpses of the Glory of God I am still discouraged. That almost discourages me even more! But I know that God has a perfect plan for me. I just need to be patient (not my strong suit) and wait for His guidance. In the meantime, I'm trying to sort out my options and make wise decisions. Which is difficult considering I have no idea what to do!

So I'm going to post verses that remind me of God's faithfulness.

Joshua 1:9

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."

2 Corinthians 1:3

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

Praise God!

Bo the Hunter

Today as I was fiddling around with my blog, my dog Bo kept whining and crying. That usually means there is a toy he wants under an object he cannot move. So I looked under the chair, no toy. I assumed that he was merely bored and trying to get me to play with him. So, I ignored him. He kept whining....... and kept whining. Probably for a straight 10 minutes before I figured things out. Bo was hunting.

There has been a fly trapped in our house since at least yesterday. Bo doesn't like flies in our house so he hunts them. Well, the smart little dog he is, he figured out that the fly had settled on the windowsill in the office. So he was crying and whining because he couldn't reach the fly.

He cried and whined for a good half hour at least. He is a determined little dog! Even now (about 2 hours later) he keeps checking in to see if the fly has left... I'm not sure how he knows because he can't see the fly but he checks.