Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

We fell into the trap of many new homeowners and thought a garden would be a 'lovely' addition to our new home. So in the late spring (much later than we should have) we started growing seeds in these cardboard egg crates that we bought at Home Depot. We were green (pardon the pun) and had no idea what we were doing. So we planted 5-7 seeds per hole and thought we would be good to go.

Fast forward to now, late summer, and we have close to a dozen gigantic tomato plants, which were apparently hardy enough to survive me. I say 'me' specifically, because Kevin is out there tending the garden every morning or evening. He sprays for bugs, waters and picks vegetables, while I'll occasionally glance out the window to make sure we still have a garden. When he goes away on business there are frequent calls urging me out into the garden. But as I'm always running late in the morning, the plants are lucky to be hit (quite literally) with a quick deluge of water from a bucket.

So the hardier ones have survived their inhumane treatment at my hands and now we are inundated with tomatoes upon tomatoes. The problem is, so is everyone else and we have no one to give them to. And before you ask, I'm not adding the talent of canning to my repertoire.

Finding McDuff

It's been almost two years and I have been on Kevin non-stop for a dog. But not just any dog, a Westie. And not just any Westie, but a puppy (see how cute they are >>).

I'm not sure what the initial attraction was but I fell in love with Westies the minute I saw them. We've been calling our future Westie "McDuff" after the popular children's books.

Because of our future McDuff, we've put a hold on furniture as I've been told they like to chew...especially on furniture. Fortunately for us the furniture in our house is few and far between.

We're currently looking for a reputable Westie breeder in Frederick County, Maryland. If anyone knows of someone, please let us know!

Domestic Bliss

With my brother's surprise party accomplished, Kevin and I were able to settle in on Sunday for some well-deserved rest and relaxation. Being of Pennsylvania Dutch heritage, 'rest' and 'relaxation' were words that were never uttered by my family growing up. Sitting still and watching TV or reading a book are still to this day followed by recriminations that "I should be doing something." But not just any old Something - "Something Constructive."

Kevin and I constantly compete on how well we know the other person. And this weekend I think he won. He knows all about my PA Heritage and my guilt when a weekend ends without me being able to point to something and say, "Yes, we watched 'She's All That' on TV for the tenth time, sat around and read the newspaper, and spent way too much time playing with our computers, but look at what we did!"

As long as I can point to the "Look what we did!" Kevin knows he's in the clear. So, Look what we did!

Surprise!

I've been hiding a big surprise for the last few months from my brother. He turns 40 next weekend and my parents and I have been planning a huge surprise party for him.

So on top of the two jobs I've been talking about, I've been planning this party. And my stress level had been a little high. I'm happy to report that the party went even better than expected. We had nearly 80 guests and Terry had no idea. When everyone yelled surprise he just looked stunned.

Our theme revolved around biking. The cake had a mountain scene with a 4 1/2 inch red bicycle riding up the road. Then we gave him a gift certificate to Backroads.com, so he could go on a bicycle adventure anywhere in the world.

There were the people he's known from high school, college, church, all of his five jobs and family there. His excitement, surprise and delight made all of the hard work completely and utterly worth it. I'm just so happy that I was able to share with Terry how much we all love him and value him as our friend.