My First Garden Harvest

I cannot believe I finally got something from my garden. Oh, it just made my Sunday!

Basil after harvest

I was having dinner at a friends house and she asked me to bring a drink. I made lemonade with strawberry puree and some fresh basil from the balcony. Oh course, it was made better because the basil was homegrown! Even the measly 0.1oz I harvested!

4 varieties of peppers

herbs and flowers I need to get planted this week

Weekly Totals:  0.1oz
Yearly Total:     0.1oz


 Be sure to hop on over to Daphne's Dandelions and check out other gardener's harvests for the week!

Birthdays and student Loans

My birthday was in late April. My sweet sister asked me over and over again what she could get me for the occasion. Finally she settled on taking me out to eat, anywhere I wanted. More and more I kept thinking about how much money we spend on birthday dinners in my family (we are some serious foodies) and what an impact that would make on my student loans or to the debt to the University of Tennessee. So she agreed to make one or two payments for me this summer.

I would encourage you to think about this option when gifting holidays come around for you. Yes, I would love to have some new kitchen toys to play with, and I am drooling to try the new Italian restaurant a few blocks away. Though, non of those wants can compare to my desire to pay off my debts and live with peace of mind.

In addition to that, my parents are paying my final semesters tuition and books. This means I am not longer adding to the principle of my student debts, but those damn interest balances keep creeping up.

Student Loans

I am just gonna say it. I owe the government $20,471.78. That is the cost of my education, plus 25,00 in grants I thankfully don't have to pay back.

I am actually looking forward to paying them off. While I am sure there will be months that I make a minimum payment, overall, I hope to pay them off in 4-5years. The interest rates vary 3.40% to 6.80% and balances of $1,000 to $4,607.95!

I am struggling with how to attack the loans.  Do I pay down the largest balance first even though it doesn't have the highest interest rate or pay the interest rate though its on the low end of the balance spectrum? Hmm? I have a lot of number crunching to get through. Maybe I should knock of the first grand just so I have a confidence booster.

It's funny because it's true

For the last 13 weeks of school I have been doing something that makes me cry at the thought of a Saturday. What could possibly make a college student drop tears at the thought of another Saturday morning rolling around you ask? I'll tell you. It is a Saturday morning class that lasts until 3pm. Yes, my friends, I am the fool who signed up for the class.

But today marked the last *class I have to sit through. Next weekend when I get up and make my way half an hour up the interstate to the campus it will be to turn in my final and play my part in the moot court. THEN I'M DONE!

And once I am done I have big plans my friends. I am going to go camping at Falls Creek Falls. I am hosting a scotch tasting for my 27th Birthday. And, we will be celebrating our neighbor who is graduating with both his M.D. and PhD. How awesome! Even though all of that will be fun, I am most looking forward to not waking up early on a Saturday and going to class, or making sure my Friday night isn't too fun, cause there is no sleeping it off the next day :(

spring cleaning

I love spring! And since its April 2, I am already itching to get spring cleaning underway here in Nashville. I noticed across the blog-o-sphere that there is a month of assignments to challenge us to get the house clean in bite sized steps.

Assignment 1: 

Clean out your purse

Write down 5 goals for the week

set time for 15 minutes and pick up the house

find 7 items to get rid of today or donate

GOAL SETTING

1. Mail letter to a friend in need of touching and thoughtful words.
2. Assemble the worm-composter.
3. Go for a walk.
4. Make bed every day.
5. Clean our purse.

Seedlings week 1

Everything in this picture is 1 week old, except for the geraniums. They are about three weeks old. I am sure I have over planted and I still have more in the little greenhouse, yet to poke through the surface. I only have a balcony where I live in Midtown Nashville, but it gets so much sunshine I think we will see some yummy veggies this year.

Planted:
Geraniums
Coleus
bells of Ireland
Roma tomatoes
Cucumbers
Basil
Thyme
Rosemary
Cilantro
Pinto Beans
Cherry red peppers
Jalapenos
Cayenne pepper