Lions, and tigers and... flamingos!

I'm digging this whole relax and vacation thing so far. Especially now that I've stopped waking up at 5:45 and have managed to catch up on some sleep instead! In addition to working on projects, the parentals and I have tried to head out for an adventure each day.

Saturdays adventure...the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo!

Omaha actually has an AMAZING zoo, complete with a jungle, desert dome, butterfly house, aquarium and of course the most important aspect of a zoo-flamingos! We had a zoo membership growing up and I remember going there often as a child. Now that us kiddos are out of the house, the Momcat and Daddo decided to join again so they could go for a few hours every once in a while and not feel like they had to do the whole zoo in one day.

I was slightly worried about the field trip since Omaha recently tore down the old Rosenblatt baseball stadium, building a new stadium downtown and making the old stadium and its parking lots into additional parking for the zoo. The zoo parking was desperately needed, but I'm not a huge fan of tearing down childhood memories. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they'd made a little park with some of the old seats, bases and pitchers mound in the middle of the parking lot. They also left up the vertical foul ball markers and marked where the bases originally stood. Gold star, Omaha.

We didn't hit everything, but I think we saw everything we really wanted to see. Or in some cases, ate everything we really wanted to eat. 

Snow Cone of Deliciousness! 

Butterflies in the new (to me) butterfly house.

Daddo and the Momcat. 

Mr. Crab

 And last, but not least, the most important animal at the zoo...

Flamingos!

Work is over, Vacation has begun!

Wednesday was my last official day at Notre Dame. I keep waiting for it to feel real that I've moved on and don't work there anymore. The facts that yesterday was a holiday, my part of the office is closed today and that I'm going back in on the 16th for the official goodbye party probably aren't making this any easier. I hope it kicks in soon, because for right now...

I'm on VACATION!  (or, as Daddo put it "now you're unemployed!" Thanks, Daddo).

CatCat, Friday and I spent nine hours cozied together in Fluffy the Scion xB yesterday driving to the parent's house in Omaha. We'll hang out here for the next week before I head off to the next adventure and they remain here for a vacation from stress of moving across the country and selling a house. I somehow feel like the cats have gotten the better end of the deal here...

I'm actually going to be pretty busy here working on things with the Momcat (more on this VERY exciting news next week!) and learning how to parallel park from Daddo. The N-boy is alarmed that we didn't have to learn this in driver's ed, especially since it does seem to be a required skill for living in San Francisco. What can I say? Nebraska seems to have PLENTY of space so parallel parking is rarely a necessary talent. Given that Daddo recalls his New York City days saying that "parallel parking is an art form," I'm really quite surprised he didn't teach me when he taught me to drive. I'm sure it will be fine. I learned how to drive on a manual, and today demonstrated my driving prowess by successfully negotiating back onto the interstate, in a manual while eating an ice cream cone and ignoring two very grumpy cats. (A feat that did not seem to impress the N-boy when I told him about it.) Surely parallel parking is easier that that.

Basically this next week promises to be...

Winter blahs.

The winter blahs have hit me early this year. I'm not sure what the deal is. It's not that cold, the weather hasn't been awful (although it is supposedly going to snow next week). It's been dark, but no darker than usual for this time of year.

Blech. I hate feeling this way.

The N-boy and I kicked it old school last night with a comfort food dinner of Kraft Mac n Cheese. Yes, name brand even. Growing up this was one of the meals that Daddo would make for me and BabyBrother when he was left in charge of our feeding for a night. One time he tried to substitute store brand for the tried and true Kraft and was called out on the first bite. I like think this means BabyBrother and I have exceptional and epicurean taste buds. But it probably just means we ate too much boxed mac and cheese.

Jealous.

The Momcat and Daddo flew out to visit BabyBrother today. He moved from Chicago to San Francisco in January for a new job. The new job part was pretty awesome but I miss having him just a train ride away in Chicago. I'm not sure what all they're doing during the visit (other than meeting BabyBrother's girlfriend(!!) who has already joined family Google+ Hangouts), but I'm sure it will be super fun. Pretty jealous I'm stuck at work and missing family adventure time.

BabyBrother and I at Christmas. Let's not ask why we were showing off our muscles. Or lack there of for some of us. 

Daddo, BabyBrother and the Momcat hiking in Colorado a few years ago. Without me. 

Have a good time, family, and take lots of pictures! 

Raised Vegetable Beds

In this third year of home ownership I decided to again try my hand at a vegetable garden. We planted a garden the first spring we were in the house, and I learned some very VERY important lessons about reading and believing the information printed on seed packets.

Lesson 1: If the seed packet says that the acorn squash seeds need to be 3-5 feet apart, it is serious. It is not an attempt to deceive you. Do not plant the seeds one foot apart.

Lesson 2: If you fail to follow lesson one, you cannot use tomato cages to corral fully grown squash plants. But your husband will get a kick out of watching you try.

Lesson 3: Gardens have to be weeded, not just watered. That same water you give to the plants is also a favorite drink of the weeds. Your husband will not get a kick out of coming home after a week away for research and discovering that you have adapted the mindset that if you ignore the weeds they will go away.

Last year because of some crazy uncertainness about what our plans were (moving or not) we didn't do a garden. But this year we decided to give it another go, this time with raised beds. Our house sits on the side of an old railroad embankment, so even though the trains and tracks are long gone, a lot of bricks, glass and other debris remain in the soil. My friend Bob helped me build the beds [this adventure, aka Laura's Adventure with Power Tools, will be elaborated on in a separate post], and then the MomCat volunteered herself to fill them with soil when she was here for an extended visit.

Daddo started the seeds and then sent the seedlings out with the MomCat. Here is how they looked when I planted them on May 14.

Note the tape measure. Yes. I really did measure. 

Daddo sent me a several types of each vegetable, so I buried the cups next to the plant so I'll know what's what. 

I'd like to raid Pinterest for cute little plant markers. Maybe this weekend. 

And here is how they look on June 11. I can't believe how much they've grown in less than a month! 

I've got broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, eggplants and tomatoes. So far I've only lost one of the tomato plants, and he was sickly looking to begin with so it totally doesn't count.

What are you growing in your garden this year? Any tips for a successful garden?