Drinking the Cava

So we finally heard back from the City of Austin about Mayfield Park for our wedding. They reserved October 3rd for us, but there's still a slight chance we can have October 10th instead. October 3rd is a good date because it happens to be the weekend that UT does not have a football game. However, ACL Festival is being held in Austin that weekend, which I guess could be both good and bad. I would hate for our friends to buy 3-day passes to ACL fest and miss out on their favorite band because it coincides with our wedding. So anyway, I'm waiting to find out about October 10th before I send out Save-the-Date cards. I'm just thrilled to know that we definitely can get married sometime in October at the place we really wanted. Mike & I split the bottle of Cava last night to celebrate.

#66 - Planting the Spring Garden

Sorry for the long gap between posts, I've just been filling my free time with wedding planning and family and not 101 stuff. However, I've been spending lots of time in the garden the last couple months.

#66 on my list was to plant a flower garden in the front yard using the compost we started last spring. I know the picture doesn't show much of anything, because I started my flowers from seed this year to save money, but I did top the seeds with our homemade compost. It was funny to see what came out of the bin: some of it looked like garden soil, there were lots of worms and rolly pollies, and lots of stickers from the fruit veggie peels that got tossed in. We'll have to be much better about what we put in there next year. I took this picture over a month ago, so now there are lots of sprouts (I planted 100 Gladiolus bulbs in this section), and hopefully I'll be able to post some pretty flower pictures soon.

In the vegetable garden, we outdid ourselves and bought way too many seeds. Once everything gets sprouting, it's going to be one overcrowded garden. #71 was to plant 3 new types of veggies each year. This year's garden will produce (hopefully):
1. Asparagus*
2. Zucchini*
3. Cucumbers
4. Beefsteak Tomatoes
5. Cherry Tomatoes
6. Tendergreen Garden Beans*
7. Black Turtle Beans
8. Green Onions*
9. And 10+ types of peppers ( Serranos, Jalapenos, Anaheim Chilis, Cascabellas, Anchos, Poblanos, Green Bell Peppers, Cayenne, and a bunch of colorful peppers I thought we could maybe use for wedding decor - we'll see)
10. Basil
11. Sweet Basil*
12. Oregano
13. Cilantro
14. Green Leaf Lettuce*
15. Spinach
16. Mesclun*
*New plants for 2009, I've had experience with the rest

I't looks like I'll be busy in the garden for the next 6 months or so. Hopefully everything will turn out great and I'll find a way to use it all. Last year we had so many cucumbers, we were eating them for every meal of the day, and I brought large batches of cucumber salad to my friends at work weekly.

Any way, I'm still waiting to hear back from the City of Austin about the wedding date. I have a bottle of Cava chilling in the refrigerator for when we find out, and I'll be sure to post about it.

Wedding Update

Well, I've been updating my 101 list, but I've just been too busy (or lazy) for posting. I had a great Thanksgiving in Austin with my family, and then Mike and I made the 10 hour drive to El Paso (with the dogs in the backseat) for Christmas. It was my 3rd time to El Paso with him, but it was the first time I drove there, and my first "El Paso Christmas". Things were very different over there - I met lots of primos, tios, and tias, and we ate lots and lots of tamales and carnitas. It was all fun and delicious, but I missed my traditional College Station Christmas.

Anyway, since New Years, I've been spending most of my non-working time trying to plan our wedding. After lots of research and venue searching, Mike & I finally decided on Mayfield Park, which is a beautiful park in Austin full of flowers and palm trees and even lots of peacocks. We fell in love with it instantly, and we're both psyched about the wedding. We're hoping to have it on October 10th, but since the park is owned by the city, we won't have a date officially set until the end of March. I'll keep you all posted.

I think that's mostly it for now. I'm just working, planning, and enjoying my life here with friends and family.

Back from Spain...whew!

That trip was such a whirlwind! There was some drama and a few difficulties to endure, but overall, our trip was amazing. My favorite part was horseback riding in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The scenery was breathtaking! We drove from Barcelona (Northeast Spain) 8 hours south to Galera and Granada (Southern Spain), and along the way we saw castles on hills, mandarin orange groves, almond groves, olive groves, the Mediterranean Sea, many traffic circles and crazy road signs. The drive was entirely surreal.

I will share many more details as I get pictures uploaded, but for now, the most important thing is that Mike & I got engaged! It was incredibly romantic - we were sipping wine and watching the sun set between the mountains outside of our "cave house" that we rented. We're both really excited. More to come soon...

#30 - Substitute Teaching

So for #30, I set the goal to sub for 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade classes, because they are all the grades that I am getting certified to teach. While now I've subbed for most all grades (except 3rd, I think), I can finally cross this one off my list. I wanted to find out how each grade level compared and which I preferred, and I think 7th and 8th is what I'd like to teach. However, I really loved the 2nd grade class that I subbed for. 5th grade was the worst, and 4th came in second. Middle School = major headache. I've gotten lots of great experience, and hopefully someday soon I'll be able to put it to use in my own classroom.

On another note, I'm leaving for Barcelona in the morning, and the excitement is being replaced by the stress of travel. Mike and I are going to IHOP late tonight to discuss all of our last minute details, which we do every time we take a trip, and it seems to help me unwind a bit. I'm not a big fan of IHOP, but it's the only thing open late around here aside from Village Inn and fast food. I'm sure I'll have lots to post when I return. My dear friend Carla is due to have her first baby girl on November 26th, and I'm crazy excited to experience that with her. That's all for now...thanks for keeping up with me :o)

#65, #76 & #92 - Busy month!

So on Columbus Day, Mike & I drove down to Austin to take his Dad to the airport. We both had the day off and decided to hang around Austin for a bit, so I suggested we check out some furniture stores. I had been complaining about our bed for quite awhile and was more than ready to get a new one. We ended up buying an entire King size bedroom set, which we're both in love with and have been sleeping great ever since. Which led me to #76, "Buy a new mattress." While shopping for it all was stressful and we were in a big time crunch to find one because our furniture was quickly delivered, it was all worth the stress and money. Now I'm just waiting for my new duvet cover to come and I need some more art for the walls, but I'm quickly on my way to having a fully redecorated Master bedroom.

Also, while in the process of clearing out the old dressers and making room for the new furniture, we came up with 188 items to donate to Goodwill (and we still have lots more to sort through and donate), so I also completed #65 in the process. The same day our furniture came, the local theater company in Georgetown, the Palace Theater, was putting on a production of "The Producers," and I was able to score a free pair of tickets through Free Night of Theater. Mike was less than enthusiastic because there was a UT game on, but in the end, we both loved it and were so glad that we decided to go. So I also completed #92, "Attend a performance at the Palace Theater."

I've been working on many other goals this month. I finished the 2nd Twighlight book, and today I finished my 2nd week of the Couch to 5K program. Also, Mike & I went to see Railroad Earth (a bluegrass/rock band) at Antone's a few nights ago, which was surprisingly enjoyable. And I've been working a lot on cooking more at home and keeping the house clean. All in all, it's been a great October, but I can't wait for my Spain vacation in November.

Widespread Panic

Last night, I attended a Widespread Panic at The Backyard with Mike and his dad who was in town visiting. The show was very high energy, and lots of fun, except for when they sang "Chilly Water" and everyone started throwing water bottles into the air and I got kind of wet. Other than that, I really enjoyed it. I'm sad that it's the last show I'll ever see at The Backyard (it closes this week and is moving somewhere else), because I have lots of good memories of concerts there. I saw Widespread Panic there last year, and I saw David Gray and Damien Rice with Terrie there a few years ago. I know there were many more, but my mind is drawing a blank. Anyway, it was a good show, and I'm glad I went with him.

Also, I started my Couch to 5K program last week, and it was a lot more difficult getting back into running than I had expected. I felt like I was dying on the first day, but it's been getting easier. I'm going to do my best to stick with it. Other than that, I'm just working and getting ready for Spain.