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A Poolside View

Well, the memorial garden is going to take a little longer than I had hoped for. I have been in denial about the great presence of rock on that side of the yard and as it turns out, about four inches below the wonderful sandy loam, is nothing but a solid sheet of rock! Alas, it just means I will need to build the bed up, but that might take some time, as it measures close to 35 feet long and 5 feet wide. That is some serious dirt hauling, but it will get done. The good news is, that should be the only bed I need to raise. In light of that discovery, I decided I would start the first phase of another bed I have been designing in my head since we sat on the porch the first night. I am pleased to report that sandy loam really is da bomb, as it's pretty easy to clear the grass out for new plants. Oh, I still got a few blisters and my back is not very happy with me, but it's so worth the final results. As a cherry on the top of the sunday, what better way to put my garden in that with a beautiful overcast day, the dogs puttering about and helping me garden while my sweet husband sits out on the porch watching Sunday afternoon football and keeping me company. God is so VERY good.

Here's the bed ready to go after some shoveling.


My little helpers









The first phase almost complete. Now to get the mulch in. More to come in the spring!

Let the Gardening Begin!!

Ahhh fall! While the first official day of fall came last week, yesterday was the first day to really feel the coming of fall. I made an executive decision this morning to play hooky from my list of "have to's" to take advantage of this glorious weather. This is the fruits of my labor. It may not look like much now, but my vision of this space is a cottage/ wildflower garden that is being created with the love and memory of my mom in my heart. I can't wait to see how this great space develops!!

Here is before...
and after....

Home at last!

So...we didn't get the house with the double ovens or the fields behind us, but the great thing is, just as I said, God had our backs. He had something so much more wonderful in store for us and while the journey getting here had some bumps along the way, it made walking in the door of HOME so much more sweeter than I ever imagined.
When Scott and I married, we had a videographer that went around and let our friends and family share their thoughts and dreams for us as well as words of wisdom. One of the things I have cherished and hung onto over the years is my mother's wish for us to find our own "castle on the hill".





So different than Windreamer and yet, I have found my castle on the hill, complete with my trees AND sunset AND sunrise view AND a pool AND acreage and the list goes on. I can't ever remember feeling so completely at home in any place I have ever lived, save Windreamer, but then again, I never lived there, only stayed for short periods of time.
The peace and contentment I feel here is a small taste of the bliss that heaven has in store, I am sure.
I sit in the backyard in the early hours of the morning, my favorite cup of tea next to me, reading my bible and staring off into the yard, dreaming of the gardens I will create. I find myself distracted by the hummingbirds seeking out sweet nectar in the trumpet vines and count 4 cardinals on the fence line. I find myself amused that our yard is so big, I have lost track of where the dogs are on numerous occasions and I contently spend many evenings in the pool watching the sunset and the stars come out above. The quiet sounds of the crickets and cicadas are all I really hear and I am so very content. I am HOME!

Hakuna Matata

After 10 weeks on the market and 27 showings later, I think we may finally have an offer on our house. As of now, I still don't know what it is or if it will work, but I find it interesting that it comes only 2 days after we made an offer on a house as well. The house we made an offer on, well, for me, it's been the first house we've looked at that just felt "home" the minute we drove up.
You see I have been having these conversations with God about some of the more detailed aspects of our next home, as they are not something you can necessarily find on MLS. In my heart, I have wanted a country feel, even if in the middle of the suburbs. I wanted a taste of a more quiet and nature involved surroundings in my day to day life. I've had conversations with my Father about how much I would love both trees and a sunset view and how I know that I may be asking too much, but if my Lord wanted to give it to me, He would lead us to the right place.
I still don't know His will for this endeavor, and I trust and accept whatever His answer is, but I know I am in love with this place. It's not as big as we had been looking at, but the space is efficient and well laid out and I like it very much.
It's funny, the backyard is so important to us for so many reasons and that being the case, that is always the first place we go when looking at houses because we know the yard will make or break the rest of the deal for us. So, we went straight to the backyard at this place and WOW. First of all, this house is tucked away on a cul de sac and then the big bonus, behind the house is pasture land, no houses!! Over the fence you see nothing but trees from the pasture and because of the way the house faces, I would also have my view of not only the sunset, but the sunrise. Also, it is a clean slate for my gardening visions and bonus, it has a sprinkler system, something we have wanted.
The kitchen is a decent size and JOY, has double ovens. A big bonus given how much I love to cook!
It's all in God's hands and to boot, we will be leaving for the happiest place on earth soon as well to celebrate my birthday and our anniversary. Wouldn't it be so cool to get a house for my birthday chased by the magic of Disney?
Whatever happens, I trust God has our backs!
Hakuna Matata

Journals of an odd kind

I'm a journal writer. Have been since I was 5 years old and still have every journal I have ever written. I love to to look back and read through them from time to time and to remember the path that brought me to where I am today.
When I got married, for the first time in my life, I didn't journal, or at least I didn't think I did.
As I sat in my comfy chair yesterday, jotting down my plans for our upcoming trip, I had an epiphany of sorts, right smack in the middle of plotting our route through Disney World's Magic Kingdom.
While I have picked up blogging the last year or so, I realized that my journaling had taken on a different form since I've been married.
I am a planner and I have, over the years, kept notebooks that contain all of my many plans of various important moments in my life. Nothing formal by any means; there were lists and phone numbers and doodles to myself.
Oh Doodles, I have noticed that I am especially good about notes to myself in my garden journal that I won't miss when I look the next year. I left myself a note two years in a row before I finally listened to myself about not spending money on new guinea impatients ( I kill them every time).
I can look back at all of the raw moments of planning my mother's funeral as well as my papaw's and bits of my uncle's as well. I can see what my menu was for my cousin's baby shower or what plans I had for my last big Thanksgiving spread. I can look at the formation of the playlists for my niece and nephew's special CD's and of course planning the big anniversary trip.
It's certainly not a journal in a traditional sense, but then again, when have I ever fit the traditional mold?

Head em Up

And move em out! It seems our ticket has come in and we are gearing up to sell our house and move onto something new and different.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please make sure all arms and legs are secured and hold on!!!

I'm a food freak!

One of the other aspects of this trip that I love is that we will be using the Disney dining plan, which gives us literally hundreds of options to choose from and among those options are some signature fine dining restaurants. I love food...I love to cook it and I love to eat , so planning our dining options has been a blast. I've completely dorkified myself and purchased the latest edition of The Unofficial Guide to Disney as well as located the mecca of disney online forums. I've spent the last several evenings perusing the dining reviews in both the book and online, and tomorrow I will hopefully book all of the reservations for the places that we have decided to experience.
My sweet husband has endured me popping into his office more readily than ususal as I read him reviews and get his opinions. Really, he thinks it's sweet...I hope he still thinks so a few weeks from now, haha, I really do find this quite fun.
On to the choices:

Jiko – The Cooking Place fuses the bold flavors of traditional African, Indian and Mediterranean cuisine at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Twin wood-burning ovens roar and the soothing, warm colors of an African sunset bring energy to this remarkable restaurant. The menu includes vegan, vegetarian and meat-based dishes that change seasonally, such as berbere Grilled lamb, Durban shrimp curry and chermoula roasted chicken, along with conventional favorites. Imaginative appetizers include curried potato and corn samosas, and brick oven-fired flatbreads.

California Grill is a Signature Dining restaurant that serves award-winning gourmet dinners and sweeping views atop Disney's Contemporary Resort.
Choose your view—the shimmering Seven Seas Lagoon, the enchanting Magic Kingdom theme park, the fireworks bursting over Cinderella Castle or, perhaps best of all, each other.
The food is just as spectacular as the view. Inspired by classic cuisines from around the world, yet combined in inventive and delicious new ways, the California Grill's menu reflects the very best of California Fusion cooking. While the menu changes regularly to utilize the freshest produce, the superb attention to detail and quality stays the same. You'll delight in such exquisite dishes as sushi, brick oven-baked flat breads, handmade Sonoma goat cheese ravioli, oak-fired filet of beef with Teriyaki barbeque sauce, oak-fired pork tenderloin and Valrhona chocolate cake; warm chocolate cake with molten center and house-made ice cream.

The Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant, open for lunch and dinner in Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park, serves contemporary American cuisine. Seasonal specialties include seafood, steak and poultry selections.
The fact that the upscale atmosphere harkens back to the Golden Age of Hollywood is no coincidence. The Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant at Walt Disney World Resort is an authentic replica of the famous Brown Derby, a longstanding Hollywood landmark and haunt for Tinseltown's biggest and brightest personalities. The Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant redefines the concept of dining with the stars. The warm wood-paneled walls of this gourmet restaurant are adorned with caricatures of famous faces. The tradition of capturing the likenesses of luminaries began in the original Brown Derby restaurant.

Disney Here we Come

So this year marks mine and my sweetie's 10 year wedding anniversary and we couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than going back to where the magic all began.
Excitement doesn't even begin to describe how I am feeling, as this will not only be our anniversary celebration, but the first major trip we have taken together since our honeymoon!
Being the Disney dork that I am, I've decided that it would be fun to share some of the plans we have for our upcoming adventures.
On our honeymoon, we opted to stay off Disney property and this time, we are going for the gold!
We will be staying at the beautiful Coronado Springs Resort!
And here are some other shots of where we will be staying!!