Harris's Get a Tree

Justus and I headed to Ted Lare Garden Center to get a tree for our backyard. Something I learned very quickly when looking at trees - they are really expensive! We debated between several trees and finally settled on a White Swamp Oak. We picked out the cheapest White Swamp Oak we could find for the size we wanted . When we asked how much it would be for them to install they said it would be 75% of the tree...eeks! We said we would plant it ourselves if they delivered it. We left Ted Lare excited for our tree to arrive in a week.

The tree has arrived

A few days passed (not a week) and a tree was waiting for us in the driveway. Our first thought, "This tree looks way bigger than it did at the garden center!" Justus called up a friend to help move the 600+ pound tree. Justus dug the hole for the tree which took a very long time since the rootball was over 2 feet tall and very wide. By 10:00pm the tree was finally in the ground. Mulch and staking the tree was going to have to wait until daylight. This was another episode of "sweat equity" for us. We were tired, hungry, sweaty, and dirty but, we did save several hundred dollars not having it planted for us.

Now, we wait. Fingers crossed this tree makes it!

Lookin' good

View from the deck

Landscaping Phase 2 of Many More

In a previous post I discussed how Justus and I completed a landscaping project on the south side of our house. We needed a walkway to the garage door, so put in pavers, edgers, mulch, and some plants that can withstand the hot sun. We were crazy for thinking we could do phase 1 and phase 2 of this project in one day, let alone a 100º+ day. We waited weeks for a weekend with some cooler temps, but none came and we were tired of looking at the edgers in the driveway. So, Tuesday night we got to work on finishing the front flowerbed.

Justus did most of the work on this phase of the project because I do not have the "art of using a shovel" down. In the before picture (below) you can see the flowerbed was rectangular with no curves. Our builder put the landscaping in per the HOA (2 deciduous trees and 10 plants). We didn't know the landscaping was even part of the HOA until we pulled up after closing to see the plants and trees. Anyway, I am glad they put in the flowerbed, but really wanted some curves in the landscaping. One day last month, without us knowing, they came and added the curve to the flowerbed. The only person I told I wanted that was Justus and my mom. Still a mystery how, when, or why they came back to add in the curves. In the after photo you can see the curves I am talking about. Yay for surprise landscaping!

This phase of the project was just putting in the edgers and adding some mulch. Next spring I want to add in a second tier in the top left corner by the steps. There is a picture below from the Home Show that was my inspiration. Next spring we will add in the corner tier, rearrange some of the plants, add plants, and move some to a different flowerbed. We did not get to pick the type or location of our plants, so will wait to work on that next year. I would love to add in some hydrangeas and hostas. I would also like to disguise the corner of the foundation a bit more, so send ideas my way!

Before

After

Not our landscaping, but want to do something like this next year.

Movies at the Library

Justus and I plan to use Sling TV as our TV provider. It is online, $20 a month, has all the channels we watch, and no contract. Our street does not have internet yet, so are waiting to signup for this service. When we do get it, I will let you know how it works incase anyone is wanting to switch to internet based TV and pay less. We have been watching local channels, but miss watching Netflix and other shows on cable. I have been going to the library when I need internet and noticed they have an awesome DVD and blue-ray section. I love Redbox, but definitely need to take advantage of the free movies at the library! I discovered they also have a great selection of TV series. Justus and I enjoy binge watching TV series on Netflix, so decided to rent Homeland in the absence of Netflix. It is a great show and I love the fact it was borrowed from the library.

For the record, I do read and love renting books for my iPad from the library. I will post later about the online library and magazine reader our library has to offer later. So, the point of this post is checkout your local library for all the perks. Rent books on your iPad/Kindle, checkout magazines online, rent movies, TV shows, and of course books! A blessing from not having internet has been discovering how great our Norwalk Library is!

Home Show Replication

I got a lot of ideas at the Des Moines Home Show, but most of them I cannot afford to replicate. The one thing I could copy was a soap dish. It was a tray with small rocks that held the soap. It looked fancy, but not sure it has a purpose. I will tell myself it collects the "soap drippings". Anyway, for some reason it caught my eye and I thought it looked neat. After a lot of searching, I finally settled on a candle holder I found on Amazon to recreate this look. I obviously didn't use the candle holders it came with and will reuse those at a latter time. [By the way... I did use Ebates to make this purchase on Amazon and got a little cash back.] So here is my attempt with pictures from the Home Show and our house.

Soap dish from the Home Show

Soap tray in our kitchen

Soap tray in our kitchen

Learning Golf

Now that we have been living on a golf course for a little over a month I thought it is time I learn to play golf. I am bad....like really bad. I swing like I am trying to hit a home run, look very mechanical, and have no "flow".  Every time I hit the ball it goes way right, so look out!  While in Boone visiting my family yesterday I thought I would take advantage of their acreage and work on my swing. My mom gave me a lesson and I have decided she is good at everything! I now know I need to work on being smooth, not trying to "kill the ball", don't bring the club back too far, and keeping my chest down. These are just a few of the many things I need to work on.  By the end of my "lesson" (which she said I can pay her for later) I was hitting much straighter. I was also getting more consistent, so their is hope I can be a golfer after all. Other good news.... I brought 8 golfball and left with 8 golfballs after searching for a very long time.

My mom has given me basketball, pitching, fielding, hitting, discuss, trumpet, math, etc. lessons all my life. I would have to say by this time in my life it is probably more enjoyable for all involved. No more teenage meltdowns! I am very thankful for the time she has spent with me working on these skills and am very happy their is still more to learn. Hopefully soon we can go golfing together. However, that may be a ways out because in her words, "You went from being really bad, to just bad." I take that as a compliment :)

Thanks for a fun afternoon and helping me golf! <3

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Healthy Snack: "Seed Bowl"

When Justus and I were dating he always had a nut/seed mix from Wheatsfied at his house. I loved this stuff! I think this is where my love for trail mix and pepitas began. For the past year I have been adding pepitas to a bowl with some other seeds for a snack to get more protein. Justus refers to this as my "seed bowl" or "squirrel food"...

Recently at Gateway Market I bought their "student trail mix" and paid a crazy amount for a tiny amount. I decided I can make my own in bulk, so today I did.  The great thing about trail mix is you can add in what you like and what you have at the time. There is no recipe, so put the measuring cups away and throw in what you want. You can make it as healthy or not as healthy as you would like. The combination I made today was very healthy and high in protein...until I added some Reese's Pieces.

Here is what I put in my mix:

Ingredients

• Honey Roasted Peanuts (stole these from Justus)
• Dried Edamame (Surprisingly high in protein)
• Soynuts
• Pepitas
• Seasame Oat Bran Sticks
• Sunflower Seeds
• Reese's Pieces
• Raisins or Craisins will be added after I go to the grocery store

The Good Sense brand items can be purchased at Menards for $1. Who would have thought the best place to buy those items would be Mendards?! I buy a lot of my seeds/nuts on Amazon in bulk.

Final mix

My aunt Tracy makes an awesome snack mix. It is the perfect sweet n' salty combination. Here is what she throws together:

• Sunflower seeds
• Walnuts
• Craisins
• White Chocolate Chips