Great idea!

I think this is a fabulous idea, although some may find it tacky and informal:

save the date * save the trees







I found this site via Brenda's Wedding Blog.

Passionate about passion flower

A while ago I saw a picture my friend posted of a passion flower. Having just moved from New Mexico, I thought this flower was so unique and something that one would only see in the tropics. I was quite pleased to find out it's a common wildflower in North Carolina. I was also quite pleased to find out that I have several growing around my property.

Some interesting notes on the passionflower:

The species found in the southeastern US is Passiflora incarnata. This species is also known as maypop, wild apricot, or purple passionflower.

It produces a fruit about the size of a chicken egg. It is edible, but mostly benefits wildlife because of the abundance of seeds. The purple fruit produced by a different species is toxic.

P. incarnata leaves are used to make a tea that treats insomnia, epilepsy, and "hysteria". It also has painkilling and antidepressant properties and the dried leaves can be smoked.

Curiously, its name did not originate from the idea of love, but rather from its structures likened to the crucifixion of Christ on the cross. From Wikipedia: ...the radial filaments which can number more than a hundred and vary from flower to flower represent the Crown of Thorns. The ten petals and sepals represent the ten faithful apostles. The top 3 stigmata represent the 3 nails and the lower 5 anthers represent the 5 wounds.

There you have it folks!

Kitchen renovation has commenced!

The guy is here doing the electrical work right now, the cabinets are being delivered today, and the installation occurs tomorrow. YAY!

Proof I help with these projects:



Chris thinking about what he did that landed him in time-out:

Goal #2 Accomplished!...

...as well as goal #1 again. I rode to campus and back for a total of 12.75 miles in an hour and 7 minutes. Not only did I ride there and back, but I also rode all the way back up my driveway without stopping. My fuel? Chris acting like he didn't think I could do it. What a great motivator. :o) I know it's hard to see, but here's the ride elevation. I was going to post the ride itself from MapMyRide.com, but I don't have the patience to figure that out right now. :o)

Sunday Weigh-in

Beginning weight: 148

Current weight: 145.2

Beginning body fat %: 35

Current body fat %: 35.7

As you can see, my vacation to the beach didn't help with my weight loss. I've also had a hard time getting back to logging what I eat and not eating the leftover food from the wedding. It doesn't help that I don't have a kitchen right now...we took the cabinets out yesterday. :oP I have high hopes for this week!

My Garden

One of the things I was so excited to start after moving into my home was a garden. I bought Month-by-Month Gardening in the Carolinas by Bob Polomski and quickly started my plans. I figured my best bet was to buy small plants (instead of starting from seed) and I was so excited to get to planting that I jumped the gun and planted them too early. I lost a couple of plants, but not all of them. I chose tomatoes, strawberries, bell peppers (I think I only have the red kind left--I don't even like that kind), yellow squash and zucchini. I think I had others, but they haven't survived.

I'm a novice gardener and it definitely shows. Something's eating my squash plants and I have yet to determine what it is. I thought I'd put up chicken wire fencing in case it was the neighborhood cat or the groundhogs, but the fence was too flimsy to put up without stakes (my bf maintained all along that it wouldn't work, but I was determined--I admitted, reluctantly, that he was right and I was wrong). I also tried to do some sort of organic pesticide, but I couldn't decide on anything. Sadly, I took the easy road and used the spray pesticide my bf bought. So no squash yet. No bell peppers because...well, I don't know. I don't know if they pop out later in the season or whether I'm supposed to be picking the flowers off so the plant will put more energy into the fruit. No strawberries. Why? I don't know that either. I got the roots on sale so it's possible they were old. It's also possible I planted them too late in the season or incorrectly. The tomatoes are the only plants that have produced fruit so far. This was the only reason I planted them--I actually don't even like tomatoes, but I knew they are hardy plants and I'd have to drop a bomb on them to kill them. BUT, even still, I'm dealing with problems associated with these plants. One: the tomato hornworm. If this thing wasn't so big, I'd be okay with it. But this thing is...gross. And yells at me when I try to take it off the plant. Seriously. It was disturbing. I'll probably have nightmares tonight. Two: I didn't realize I bought 2 tomato plants that both produce salad sized tomatoes. Geez! I guess I'll be eating a lot of salads... :oP