Memorial Day Weekend

Mama's 90th Birthday

Memorial Day Weekend

The above pictures take you to our newest photo albums. This past weekend, I went to South Carolina with my parents for my grandmother's 90th birthday. It was a whirlwind weekend but it was worth it. I was able to see family that I haven't seen since Travis and I got married over 4 years ago and I met some family I didn't know I had. It was kind of a mini family reunion I guess you could say. I wish it could've been longer but alas, the seminary doesn't close for Memorial Day. How crazy is that? We get Fat Tuesday off but we don't get the day that has been set aside as a national holiday to honor soldiers who have died for our freedom...a bit backwards if you ask me. But then again, the administration didn't ask me when they decided upon the schedule. Oh well...

Zephyr Game

Saturday night, Travis and I went to the New Orleans Zephyr's baseball game. They are a AAA farm team for the NY Mets (Boo...GO YANKEES!) and we thought it would be a nice break from all the paper writing and reading Travis has had to do lately. Plus, I am always looking for opportunities to take pictures! They played a team from Omaha. It was Beatles night so there was tons of Beatles music playing (part of the reason I chose this game- Travis Loves the Beatles) and we had awesome seats! We were on the first row behind home plate! We've decided if we can't be up close and personal with the players again, we won't go to the game! HA! Probably won't work because it is hard to keep me away from a baseball game. The only player whose name I recognized was Sandy Alomar, Jr. He plays for the Zephyrs. He is Roberto Alomar's brother. They both played Major League ball for the Orioles (I think.) Sandy is one of the catchers for the Zephyrs. He is probably the oldest guy on the team too! He was number 25 (you will see several pictures of him.) He didn't start the game- the starting catcher was ejected in the 2nd inning (there are pictures of that as well.) All in all, we learned that the Zephyrs are a horrible baseball team with ferocious tempers (2 players and almost a coach were ejected.) It was quite interesting. Enjoy the pictures! If the slideshow at the top doesn't work, click on the picture below and it will take you to the online album.

Zephyr Game

New Camera Lens!

I ordered an attachment for my lens last week on Ebay. I really want a dedicated macro lens and a dedicated wide-angle lens. However, they are both VERY expensive. Therefore, I ordered an extender that screws onto the end of my existing lens and makes it wide-angle or macro. The pictures aren't as high-quality as they would be if I had dedicated lenses, but that is OK- this extender saves me at least $700 right now. Hopefully, one day we can afford the "real" lens, but until then...I plan to have fun with what I have. Below are some pictures I took with the macro attachment. I hope to go out and use the wide-angle portion somewhere on campus this week and I will post that too. FYI- the Tabasco bottles are itty-bitty sample sizes that are 1/8 of an ounce, hopefully that will give you some perspective.

Houston, we have a tomato...

In my attempt to be "hippie-ish" I am growing my own veggies and herbs in a container garden. It has been quite interesting. I tried last year to grow tomatoes and failed. This past March, a church member told me a type of tomato that is "nearly impossible" to kill- Sweet 100s. These are a type of grape tomatoes that grow in little clusters. I also learned from a ProDoc student that you need to have 2 tomato plants if you want tomatoes. Apparently, if you have 1 it never gets pollinated and so if you have 2 they will pollinate each other. I asked some people if they had heard of this phenomenon and was told that it was indeed true. That was probably part of my problem last year- I only had 1 tomato plant. After searching for Sweet 100s, I picked up 2 plants, matching pots, and two different herbs. Since I have really gotten into cooking (and have been having quite a blast doing it) I really wanted to try my hand at growing herbs again. I tried in TN but managed to get ONE chive to grow. It looked quite silly. I picked the 2 herbs that I use the dry version of the most, basil and oregano, and added that to my cart as well. I also picked up some dirt. Not just any dirt though (I have NOT been blessed with a green thumb and thus need all the help I can get,) I got moisture control miracle-gro dirt! It prevents me from overwatering or underwatering. I am always scared that my plants are going to scorch in the New Orleans heat so I water them daily. Travis thinks I overwater and thus drown my plants. This dirt helps me not do that! I also picked up a mister bottle to mist the leaves. Now I have 2 pots outside of our apartment, a tomato and basil pot and a tomato and oregano pot. I have enough basil to start using it. I am hoping to chop some tonight. I don't think I have enough oregano yet.

I checked my plant at lunch and discovered my first baby tomato! I had to take a picture because I am very excited about the lil' guy. You can't really tell from the picture, since it is a close-up, but my little tomato is about the size of green pea. I am hoping for a tomato explosion soon so I can stop buying grape tomatoes and start picking my own for my roasted tomato pasta! YAY!