Hello Mrs. Schnelder, it's been awhile.

I realize that I have fallen from my semi-regular blogging ritual so today I thought I would take a moment to bring it up to date.  Life has been going smashingly well.  I am as happy as I can remember.  It seems my whole life I have been search of something.  It was, "I will be happy as soon as I...go to college...get my first real job...find the man of my dreams...marry the man of my dreams...get the next promotion...go to Dairy Queen" (that one found it's way into the mix pretty frequently and typically brings much happiness)  But in the past I would achieve the next accomplishment and immediately check it off the list and look for the next "thing" to accomplish, rarely taking the time to enjoy where I was.  I can say that for the last two months I have been appreciating every moment of every day just as it is.  I am exactly where I want to be and I want to hold on to the present for as long as I can. 

Things are going well at work as I help Career Investments launch their division for career consulting for the recent college graduate.  It's not moving as quickly as I had originally hoped but then again, that's ok.  I have had the time to take days in the middle of the week to spend at a lake house in Columbus with friends I hadn't seen in nearly a year, breakfast with a friend that finds herself in one of the hardest stages of her life, a pool party in Avon with all of my closest college friends and their new(ish) families.  John and I are the last married couple of that group to start a family and one friend asked me yesterday if being around all the babies makes me want to start a family that much sooner.  I answered honestly...not yet.  I love where I am and I love where our little family is.  We have had enough change and excitement in the last 6 months to carry us for at least another 6, so for now, I am exactly where I want to be. (and that's on top of my bed in my peaceful little bedroom with 2 dogs and 2 cats nestled around me on a Friday afternoon.)

One month has come and gone

When I started this journey it was the end of April.  It's hard to believe that today is the 2nd day of June.  It has been a great month and I have to say that it was great timing to have this transition take place in the spring.  Not only do I feel like I have grown immensely in the last month, I feel so fortunate to have had the time to dig in the soil and plant our first garden in our new home.  It is likely to be the biggest garden we will ever have at this house because when will I ever have a month "off" with no children, no full time job to worry about and time just to concentrate on whatever I want to do?  I have to admit that I went completely nuts on this garden and I am very happy about it.  I didn't realize how nuts I had gone until I went to write it out in an email to someone that had inquired about what I had decided to plant.  Here goes: we have 5 kinds of lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, mung beans, green beans, kohlrabi, squash, fennel, sweet yellow peppers, 3 kinds of hot peppers, zucchini, eggplant, celery, cucumbers, watermelon, 3 blackberry bushes, potatoes, tomatoes, basil, thyme, lavender, rosemary, mint, chives, oregano, savory, and cilantro.

Tomatoes and basil

Potatoes and cucumbers

Kohlrabi, zucchini, bush beans, eggplant, celery and cauliflower

Peppers, fennel, brussels sprouts and broccoli

Lettuce and outdoor herb garden.

Herb pots so I can move them inside in the winter.

Lovely strawberries!