planting a veggie garden

i mentioned briefly in my last post that since we've moved in to our new home, i was able to start working on goal #9 from my 30before30 list : plant a thriving vegetable garden. my parents came in a few weekends ago, and since they're garden aficionados, i begged for their expertise.

i wanted to start out small, since we haven't really begun working in the backyard and i'm sure things will get switched around here & there. so for right now my plants, herbs & veggies are in pots - but they will eventually make it to a box garden once we figure out where that will be.

we planted celebrity hybrid tomatoes, bonnie green bell peppers, jalapenos, cilantro and rosemary. i've been tending to them more than necessary just because i'm determined to make them thrive and be one of those women who can walk out to their garden to pick their salsa ingredients. there's just something about using vegetables, fruits and herbs that you've grown to cook for your family, you know?

this is a photo of one of my little tomato plants followed by what i've been staring at for inspiration when i'm ready to grow my garden. i know my plants look teeny tiny, and that's because they are. they were planted less than two weeks ago, but they have actually grown a lot in those two weeks! despite being hailed on-

inspiration:

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

please feel free to send any tips my way - i'm pretty certain i'll need some.

the hiatus has come to an end.

I'm back!

Back from New Orleans and back from Cleveland, and I am so happy to be able to say that. I had a really great time in New Orleans celebrating our anniversary and eating too much salty, delicious food. And I learned a lot and gained a lot from my work trip to Cleveland, so I'm back feeling refreshed and ready to go. More than anything, I'm extremely ready to get back on track and focused on some goals of mine, now that the out-of-town things are over with.

#8 on my 30before30 list is to participate in some sort of marathon or race. Now, I didn't originally  make this one of my 2012 goals, but luckily it's just one more thing that I'll have the satisfaction of crossing off this year. On April 21 I'll be participating in the Diva Dash here in Austin. It's a 5k which is a great starting point for me since I've never done any sort of race at all. It does have obstacles at every 1/2 mile though - think rope climbing, tire jumping, etc. The last "race" I can say I did was in high school, running track. Pretty sure I fell at some point. Or multiple points. So this will be interesting to say the least. I know it may not sound like it, but I am so excited! This is the perfect motivation for me to get all prepped and ready for my Bahamas birthday trip and an opportunity to shorten my list. Not to mention the ladies that I'm running with will make it a lot of fun. So here's where I'm staring with this goal...3 basic rules I'm following:

1. Healthy Eating. I'm not "dieting"...I think everybody hates that word. I would say that I generally am pretty conscious of what I eat, but I'll be a little bit more conscious for the next few months. I'll focus on eating a protein-rich breakfast every morning, drinking tons of water (although I drink a ton now. I might turn in to a water balloon), & filling my body with things like these vitamin boosters.

2. Healthy Living. This goal of mine could not have popped up at a better time. The husband is currently competing with 2 friends to see who can lose the most weight in a 2 1/2 month time frame. If there's one thing that man has, it's dedication. He leaves for the gym before I even consider waking up in the morning and pulls 2-a-days like nobody's business. So this keeps me very motivated to make sure I'm busting my ass just as much as he is! I don't have a specific regimen I'm following (for now), but I'll keep up a mixture of yoga, cardio and weights to keep it all interesting.

3. Healthy Mindset. Even with good willpower, it's hard to have a healthy lifestyle if you're surrounded by people who live an opposite lifestyle. If you constantly are around people who are happy eating fast food and snack machine treats all day, your healthy  mindset starts to slip. Or at least mine does. In a previous post, I mentioned that I've recently been able to avoid that negative energy that's been haunting me for a few months (I won't say fully avoid, that's pretty impossible in this situation), but this fits right in to that.  I'll be constantly reminding myself of my goals and how good I can look in a bathing suit in a few months!

Do you have any fitness goals you want to accomplish in the next few months? In the next few years?

(see my original 30before30 list here)