Inferior Gardener

I noticed while watering yesterday that one of my radishes was poking through the soil, exposing itself to the afternoon sun. Today I checked the package and apparently they were ready to be harvested. I have two buckets of radishes, so I harvested one. Here is what I got:

That's it! Just one radish. How very disappointing. The others appeared to have dark red colored roots but never achieved the red bulb stage of development. I guess I will let the other bucket go for awhile and see if they just need more time.

Killer is Purring like a Kitten

Less than one day later and my car (her name is Killer) is running like a race car. And who might you ask performed such a miracle? That would be my husband!!

As soon as he heard about my car, he came home early, opened up the hood, started her up, and immediately heard a hissing noise. Apparently one of the hoses which led to the engine had sprung a hole. He removed the broken hose, went to Checker where the nice guy behind the counter gave him the vacuum hose he needed for FREE, and installed it. Sadly, that didn't fix it right away, but got the car in running condition. He than took Killer to Autozone where they were able to read the car's computer for FREE, which told him that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. So $66.00 later, Killer has a new hose and new spark plugs and wires! We took her out today for a test drive to Teresa's house and she did great! I am so lucky to have such a skilled mechanic in my house!

Corn on the Cob

Lily is a beggar, it doesn't matter what it is: cereal, ice cream, or chips, she wants it all. We eat corn on the cob rather often and Matt has slowly but surely been teaching Lily how to eat it properly. Although funny, I worry that she will not be able to decipher between cooked corn and the corn I am growing in the backyard.

P.S. My car broke down today, I have no idea what is wrong with it, will keep you updated as we figure things out.

Summer Haircuts

We have been extremely disappointed in the last couple of places we have taken the dogs to get groomed (which includes Petsmart), so I made a conscious effort this time to try to find a nice, comfortable place, where the dogs are groomed out in the open, and the groomers are gentle. I found a place called Pampered Paws and I am happy with the result. The dogs didn't come home achy from their endeavor and they look pretty cute!

Summer Movies 2009: Part 2

In celebration of Matthew passing his PE exam, we went to see a movie on Saturday morning. This time it was Terminator: Salvation. I have seen Terminator 2 more times than I can count and Terminator 3 just once but have never seen the original Terminator or the Sarah Connor Chronicles. Needless to say I was a little worried that I wouldn't understand what the heck was going on.

But have no fear, there was so little plot to wade through that watching this movie was a breeze. Heck, I can't complain thou, there was plenty of explosions, lots of action, good pacing, impressive special effects, but very little muscle unless you count Arnold's stunt double. Overall, it was a nice way to spend the morning and it kept me from studying all weekend.

I agree with my friend Tom who said it was "stunningly average", therefore I do rank it below Star Trek and Wolverine on my scale of summer movies. Additionally, Christian Bale does use the Batman voice and did you notice that the character, Marcus Wright, couldn't decide if his accent was American or Australian?

Next movie: Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

MEP, Professional Engineer!

I can't imagine going to college for years to get my engineering degree, only to graduate and have to take two more tests before I technically can get paid to do the job that I already know how to do, but that is exactly what Matt has been dealing with since he graduated from UA. He took the EIT (engineer in training) test last year and passed. He took the PE (professional engineer) test in April of this year and we found out Friday that he passed! This is so huge on so many levels, but mostly because so many more opportunities will be open to him now that he has the P.E. behind his name. I am so proud of him!!

See Honey, all the studying was worth it!

Don't Get Excited, It's Not Mine!!

Bruce, Matt's best friend, called a few days ago to inform us that he and his lovely wife, Christine, are expecting their first baby in mid-January 2010 (see below).

Married at Disneyland in October 2007

I figured I better make this blog title as descriptive as possible so that my family didn't have a coronary when they saw the sonogram picture.

Despite our disinterest and general annoyance with children we both are pretty excited about the new arrival. Finally we will get to be the awesome, fun, and exciting aunt and uncle who teach the child all the things their parents don't want him/her to know. Plus, we can fill him/her up with candy, chocolate, and soda, bounce 'em on our knee for awhile, and send him/her home to Bruce and Christine. They thought giving us a rooster was bad, this is going to be so much more fun!

Gardening at 105 Degrees

The temperature in Tucson has been unseasonably cool, meaning that the days are only in the upper 90s instead of the 100s. Next week all that changes as the Monsoons roll in along with the intense temperatures. Being a novice gardener I have no idea how this will affect my vegetables. Below are pictures of their progress so far, harvesting should take place in early August.


Despite the unfortunate encounter with Trudy, the corn has bounced back


The cucumber plant has really taken off and by far is my fastest growing plant


The lettuce took weeks to germinate but is making great progress


I have two pots of radishes and both are doing exceptionally well

You may be wondering where the green onion plants are? They germinated and than promptly died. I think even the "mild" temperatures were too hot for them!

The Camera is Back!

Oh, about a year ago (or maybe longer), my Canon Elph Digital camera took a dump and stopped taking photographs. I carefully boxed it up and put it in the closet until we moved. When summer break started I took it out of the box and discovered via Canon's website that the defect was covered by a warranty (despite the age of the camera) and the broken mechanism would be replaced for free. I called Canon, got a UPS label from them, shipped the camera, and 7 days later my camera was returned to me in perfect, working condition. I highly recommend to all of you to purchase Canon products. They don't break very often but when they do the stages of getting it replaced/repaired are easy and trouble-free! I couldn't be happier!

Now here are some pictures of the kids because I know you missed them!

Poor Lily will be getting a haircut on Sunday


Piper was unenthusiastic regarding the return of the camera


Trudy is helpful in keeping track of our remotes and video game controllers

Summer School Begins Today

As I have mentioned a number of times, this past semester was probably the worst semester of my life, so when summer break came I cannot describe to you the joy and happiness that overcame me. Today that joy and happiness comes to a screeching halt as summer school begins. Luckily, it is only for one month for an hour and 45 minutes in the middle of each day. Hopefully it won't interrupt home life too much as I have enjoyed being with the pups, cleaning my house, doing laundry and dishes, and cooking. Matthew brought me flowers the other day, so I guess he is liking my being home too! The bright side is that once summer school is over I still have 6 weeks of vacation before the fall semester begins.

New Shoes

Matthew and I have been walking the dogs each morning at 5 am ever since school let out a few weeks ago. We both began to notice increased soreness and discomfort especially in our joints. After some discussion it seems it has been a number of years since either of us has gotten a new pair of shoes. To rectify the situation we went to Summit Hut, a local outdoors store, where Matthew got a pair of Vibram Five Finger Shoes (http://www.vibramfivefingers.com). He seems to like them so far and he gets lots of questions and compliments on them wherever we go. Unfortunately I have very small toes so these shoes were not an option for me (although they were very comfortable). I, instead, chose a pair of Nike's, specifically the Scramble TR II. They are a combination running and walking shoe and so far I am impressed. They have excellent arch support which is sorely lacking in most shoes plus they have a wider area for the toes which is excellent for someone like me who suffers from ingrown toenails. Hopefully the addition of new shoes to our exercise routine will prove to limit our pain and suffering.