Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Attack of the killer tomatoes!

Ok, so this might not be a post about the 90's cartoon show, but our tomato plant is seriously taking over the garden. I have never seen one so huge as the one we've got growing. Now I understand that when planting veggies one should take into consideration the planting advice given on the white little plastic thingy. But really...who ever does? As you can see from the pictures...we should have.As you can see the plant is taking up the whole garden bed

The tomato plant has already over grown one of our strawberry plants and two of our pepper plants. And I do believe that it is just going to get bigger. For the longest time I thought we bought a dud. The plant was growing and growing but there weren't any tomatoes. Then they started to appear. However, they are still green and we are hoping they ripen up before it gets to cold. After consulting the white plastic thingy...I realized that our tomatoes will grow to be 10-16 ounce each. That is almost one pound of tomato! I can't believe it. So if you are even in the mood for huge tomatoes and bushes that grow like crazy....grab a Burpee Big Boy (I guess I should have know from the name they'd be huge!)On that note...our garden is growing quiet well. We are finally getting peppers on the three plants that aren't getting over ran by the tomatoes. I'm really excited for those. We did plant some red pepper plants...how ever those would be the ones the tomatoes decided to squash out.
Our corn is doing really well and I can't wait for it to finish. They are growing so big and I can't wait to cook some up. Candace heard from one of her Physical Therapy buddies that you should plant beans around the corn to help keep the bugs away. I do believe that it is working...but not only does it keep the bugs away...we have beans now. Luckily I'm the only one who likes them :)I do believe we planted the cantaloup and watermelon a little too late in the season. But as Missy was watering on Sunday she did spy this little guy. I doubt he will be big enough to eat before it gets cold....but we can always hope.
We have four or five little cucumbers growing. It seemed like for the longest time nothing in our garden was growing. But then over night all these things started to appear. I love cucumbers and can't wait to start eating them.We also planted carrots (sorry no pictures) and strawberries. The carrots are growing and should be done soon. I know that strawberries are an early spring thing...but we are getting some every now and again. So all in all our little garden is doing so well. If only I could keep the tomatoes under control!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Snorkeling in Hawaii

I don't know what happens at night when I get home from work. The hours at night go by so much faster than during the day. But I am bound and determined to start making this blog a priority and updating more often. About two months ago...I went to Hawaii and had a great time. One of the highlights was going snorkeling.
In 2007 I decided to purchase a new camera. I got my old digital camera while on the mission and I knew it was time to upgrade. So I headed over to Best Buy to do a little searching and see what type of camera was best for me. When it all came down to it, I ended up purchasing an Olympus Stylus Tough. It was a great find. The thing that sold me on the camera was the fact that I could take it underwater. When I went snorkeling in Belize I had to purchase one of those underwater disposable cameras and my pictures turned out awful. I didn't have any that turned out and therefore nothing to remind me of that great trip. So when I heard you could take it in the pool, ocean or rain...I was sold.Since I got the camera I have taken it surfing with me a couple of times and it worked great. But this trip to Hawaii was the first time that I actually used it under the water! Man was I surprised with how well it actually worked!
The snorkeling was great! We were able to go out on the boat and have two different trips. The first trip was to Molokini Crater. I was amazed at the clarity of the water and how much you were able to see.
After Molokini Crater, we were able to go to Turtle Bay and see tons of sea turtles. The water was deeper than at the crater and therefore a little darker and so the pictures didn't turn out quite so well. But it was cool to swim after the turtles and watch them go by.All in all I loved snorkeling in Hawaii and had a great time. I finally got to use my camera and think it was a great purchase. I am so happy with my purchase!