A Walk In The Park

Special meetings, house/dog sitting, and my vegetable garden among other things jumped life into the fast lane the last couple of weeks and my blog got neglected! Although I did enjoy the week we spent in Castine house/dog sitting, it feels SO good to be home! Matt has also been busy at work, and is going to be putting in a couple of 14 hour days the end of this week going to fairs/concerts to advertise for Darlings. The best part is that I get to go with him, so we can spend some time together even though he does have to work extra long hours. If nothing else I'll be able to help him wash the dust off the cars at the fair. :-)
In the midst of our somewhat busy schedule we were able to take a relaxing little trip to Bangor Sunday afternoon. Matt's family was on vacation and needed us to deliver Pam's puppy to them, so we met up with them in a park for lunch. It was a beautiful summer day with lots of sunshine and a nice gentle breeze. We ate our lunch under a large tree that gave us just the right amount of shade, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the park. Matt's family had to head out right after lunch so that they would be able to get to the church they wanted to go to that night, but Matt and I stayed a bit longer and took a leisurely walk through the park.

 

 

Every time we have driven by this park, I have commented to Matt that I would love to stop sometime and just walk through it. The fountain there is so beautiful and I kept telling Matt that it would be a perfect place to have a photo shoot done. Imagine my surprise when we pulled into THIS very park to meet his family for lunch! A waterfall starts at the top of a hill and runs all the way down to a pond where the fountain shoots the water high into the air. This is the view from the top of the hill.

 

 

The little bridge leads you across the pond to the other side of the park where there are more paths to explore and a sweet little gazebo to rest in. (Another perfect place for a photo shoot) *smile*

 

 

The view from the fountain looking up the hill. It was so much fun to be able to just relax and wander through the park enjoying the beauty of it! 

 

CHECK IT OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As of Saturday I no longer drive a little red Pontiac Sunfire!! Check out what we traded it in for!!  

2012 Chevy Silverado LT Z71



This truck is BEAUTIFUL!!! It is decked out in chrome and is LOADED!! Power seats, windows, etc. I can bluetooth my cell with the truck so if someone calls me I just hit a button on the stearing wheel and can talk to them without even picking up my phone. It even has a USB port in it to plug our iPod or iPad in and charge it while listening to music off it!! 

 

The leather wrapped steering wheel is SO comfortable!!  Our truck is a four wheel drive so it will be perfect for our road in the winter time should I need to get out of a snowbank or something! ;-) It has OnStar capabilities, so all we have to do is press a little button on the rearview mirror and the truck calls an OnStar office and helps us with whatever problem we might have. If I ever crashed, OnStar would immediately call the truck and make sure I was ok, and then have police come to the scene because they would know my exact location. OnStar will also be able to unlock my truck for me if I ever lock my keys in it. Matt has an app for his phone that will lock/unlock, start/ turn off the truck as well! Through OnStar, the truck will run about 200 diagnostics every month and that will be emailed to us and to the dealership so that we will know if there is something that needs attention!! Matt and I both have a key and a remote start for it... so handy in the winter when we want the truck to be all warm when we hop in! :-) It also has a max trailering package and an off road package with a skid plate underneath. (Not that we will be doing any offroading with this beauty!) I'm not sure if I can tell you everything it has yet, because I haven't gotten used to all of the gadgets myself yet... I just know it's a pretty SWEET truck!!

 We both knew we didn't just want a regular cab truck, but we didn't care if we got a crew cab or an extended cab. We finally decided on the extended cab, so we would have the needed room should we ever need to add a baby carseat to the family! You can tell that the truck was definitely designed by a guy because there are 9 coffee cup holders for a 6 passenger truck!!! ;-)
I'm not sure it has sunk into my brain yet that this is what I'm driving from now on when I need to go get groceries or something, but we are both enjoying this new ride IMMENSELY!! Our payments are unbeatabley low, and that makes the truck even more enjoyable!!

I love the Mocha Steel color, and the alloy wheels! It just glistens in the sun!! I also loved the fact that when we drove it off the lot on Saturday, the truck only had 12 miles on it!! ;-)  SOOOOOOO if you don't see me blogging in the next couple of days..... I'm out joy riding!!!!!!! * smile *

Happy 8 Months

Today marks 8 months of marriage for Matt and I!! It seems that the time has flown, but in other ways it seems that we have always been together!! In celebration of the 8 month mark, I am taking a trip down memory lane and posting some of my favorite pics from our wedding. Enjoy!!!

 

       Through the years a young girl prays for her husband to be,

She prays that God will reveal Himself, and set His spirit free.

To love, believe, and walk with God, His Spirit to obey,

She asks that Truth will be his guide and keep him for her someday.

 

Now she's rejoicing in his love as it flows from God above. The one for whom she's prayed and dreamed is here for her to love.

 

She knows now who God's given her, that she might understand 

The love of Christ for His own bride-- she's rejoicing in God's plan.

 

At the same time a young man asks that God will give him a wife;

A woman pure, who loves the Lord, a friendship made for life!

 

He hopes that she will love God's Word and often that she'll pray;

For Jesus Christ to be her life and then turn her heart his way.

 

Now he's rejoicing in his love as it flows from God above.

The one for whom he's prayed and dreamed is here for him to love.

 

He knows who God's given to him, that he might understand,

The love of Christ for his own bride-- he's rejoicing in God's plan.

 

Today they come to unite their hearts as one in Jesus name;

They'll give their hearts, their lives, their love;a ring to seal the same.

 

What once was two shall become one, that the world might see again

A testimony of the love of Christ between a woman and a man.

 

Now they're rejoicing in His love as it flows from God above.

The one's for whom they've prayed and dreamed are here for them to love.

 

 They know now who God's given to them, that they might understand,

The love of Christ for His own bride-- they're rejoicing in God's plan.

 The hardest thing about dreaming of you is waking up. If I could only see you in my dreams, I would sleep forever!!

 

 Thank you for the best 8 months of my life, honey!!  I love you!!!

Gardens and Flowers

This was the first year I have ever tried to garden. I had watched my Dad put in a garden several times, and I even helped him plant seeds a few times, but overall I only had a very general knowledge of how to plant and care for a garden. I dove in head first and planted several different rows of vegetables after Matt helped me prepare a spot for them, and anxiously waited to see how my garden would grow.  I have to admit that the results of our labors were not as fruitful as I hoped, but not too bad for a first time gardener who has no clue what she is doing. :-) Our plants are just beginning to produce vegetables, and Matt and I are excited!
Keep in mind that where we planted our garden was all woods earlier this spring. Matt tilled it up for me, and we had a load of topsoil hauled in to put on it. Even though we have been using fertilizers I don't think the ground has much nutrients yet so we are glad that even one plant has survived this far.

Our first picking of peas

Our peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers are flourishing, but sadly the other parts of our garden did not fare as well. Only about seven pea plants came up out of the whole package that I planted. These seven plants did give us peas, but only enough to enjoy a couple of handfuls of raw peas along with our supper. Out of a whole package of lettuce seeds only two plants came up. I guess that means there will be a plant for each of us to enjoy! :-) Our green beans came up very well and were flourishing until we got a whole week of rain. Some of them got flooded, and the ones that did survive I was skeptical about. Matt helped me give them a dose of Miracle Grow and they have made a comeback and now have blooms on them. But because of the setback, there will not be a bumper crop. I was excited to see that most of our carrots came up. It took them awhile, but they are definitely growing. I weeded the whole garden this past Saturday, and when I got done I was quite proud of my little garden, even if some of the seeds didn't come up. Hopefully in the years following our garden will just keep getting better and better!

Matt LOVES my Mom's dill pickle recipe, so I made sure I got the recipe to take with me when I left. We didn't quite have enough of our own cucumbers to make a whole batch of pickles, so Matt bought enough to make a batch and I made him pickles Friday night. He is getting SO excited to try them!!!

My flower gardens have fared much better than my veggie garden. It has been hot and dry for the past three weeks or so, but I watered them almost every day, and gave them some Miracle Grow, and the plants that were looking thirsty now look quite healthy. I enjoy the color the flowers add to our front lawn. Huge thanks to my Dad for getting the flower bed ready for me when they came to visit in April. Below is a pic of one of my favorite flowers in the garden.(Please note that the weeds in this picture have been removed along with the rest of them that were in my garden!)

 

This garden was already here from the previous owner. I have been enjoying the lilies that bloom every day. I do need to relieve it of the brambles and fern that have grown back from the first purge I gave it!

Matt's Mom gave me this double impatien in June. I didn't get it planted right away, and it almost died inside because of the air conditioner. I finally got it planted in this pot and set it out on the porch. I didn't realize that rain drips of the porch roof right where I set this pot, so quickly my plant pot was flooded, and the impatien almost died again. I rescued it from that spot, and after the soil dried out, and a bit of Miracle Grow, the plant revived and is now in full bloom. It is more beautiful to me than normal, because it is still alive after all of my neglect for it! :-)

Decorations

I found a really neat section in the Family Dollar store when I was looking for a birthday present a little bit ago -- good quality, beautiful framed pictures, and different wall hangings and candle decorations VERY cheaply priced. I had some extra spending money last week, so I stopped in and bought a few wall decorations to fill up some empty spaces in our house. I hope you enjoy looking at the pictures as much as I am enjoying having them on my walls!

HOME is where our story begins

HOME Plaque: $3.00
We hung this over the fireplace in the living room. The dark frame around it complements the dark wood of the fireplace.

Family- All because two people fell in love.

 Wall Decal:$3.00
I was SOOO excited when I found this!! I've been looking for one since before we got married! It was very easy to apply to the wall and adds a touch of modern elegance to the empty wall space I had by the piano.

 

Laughter is like music for the soul.

 Music Wall Hanging:$3.00
This picture is neat because you can display it just the way it is, or you can add a picture of your own in the little frame! We hung it near the piano so that there is some connection with the music theme! I was pretty impressed that I was able to buy all three of these for under $10.
There are more framed pictures and little decorations that I would love to get, but they will have to wait for another time when I have a little extra spending money! :-)
Many thanks to my darling man for hanging these for me after a long, tiring day at work! I love you!!

Matt bought me this tart burner at WalMart and I LOVE it!!!!! Just turn a switch and the light comes on and melts the tart on the top. The tarts that I have right now make the whole house smell SOOO good!!! :-) ( Just thought I'd add this pic since I'm enjoying it so much on this rainy day)