Some More Gardening and a Quick Recipe

I'm a little wiped out tonight. This morning, Addie and I went out right after breakfast to do some more garden shopping. We headed out to The Home Depot and Lowes and spent a total of $0.76. That is not a typo. We bought 4 bags of river rock, two crocus plants, a terracotta pot and saucer, and 7 more bags of pine bark nuggets. $0.76! You see I had $41.70 worth of gift cards to the stores we visited, and I tried really hard not to spend more than what I had gift cards for. So far, my gardening adventure (including yesterday's trip to Walmart) has cost us $25.25 in addition to what I spent with gift cards. I am so thrilled, but I'm not sure if it is because my garden is taking shape or because I am (with God's help) keeping costs to a minimum.

By the time we got home, Addie was ready for a nap (picture is from yesterday's adventure). She is such a good little shopping buddy. I put her down, grabbed my garden gloves and went to work pulling weeds. I finished cleaning out the flower bed along the garage wall. I planted my two crocus plants there, laid the rock towards the front of that area, and put the mulch around the plants and in the rest of the bed. I then moved over to the main flower bed in front of the house and began pulling weeds and laying some more mulch. I still need to pick up another four or five bags of mulch (I can't believe how much of that stuff you need to make your garden look right!) and finish weeding half of the main bed, but then I can finally sit back and enjoy the beauty of my garden. I told Brian that once this project was finished, I just need to keep it up by pulling weeds and actually putting it into my schedule as one of my daily or bi-weekly chores.

By the time my little sweetie was up from her nap, I had cleaned up the yard, put my tools away, watered all of my little plants (I have a cute little watering can), and cleaned myself up as well. I had always heard that gardening was good exercise, but I never realized how much exercise it was. The nice thing is, I can still exercise but also be productive at the same time (I just love multi-tasking!). I really feel good tonight. I feel good because I am branching out and trying my hand at something new. I feel good because I am being productive in my yard, and I am feeling a good sense of pride in the way it is looking. But mostly I feel good because I am following in the steps of the two women I admire most in all the world- Mrs. Proverbs 31 and my mother. Tonight's sleep will be very good from all of my yard work today.

...And for the quick recipe- the best ever tuna sandwich (recipe taken from Kraft Foods). You will need:

Ingredients 

1/4 C celery, chopped

4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cans of tuna, drained and flaked
1/4 C onions, chopped
12 slices of bread
6 slices American cheese
2 Tsp butter

Directions

1. Combine the first 4 ingredients
2. Spread the mixture onto 6 of the 12 slices of bread
3. Lay a slice of cheese on the mixture
4. Put last slice of bread on top
5. Toast sandwich in a skillet with butter
6. Enjoy!