the little pitbull might be hibernating for a while.

i am temporarily admitting defeat in my ambitious blogging endeavor. i seem to have chosen quite a challenging path for myself that i can only take one day at a time. it's an understatement to say i'm busy; i am having quite a hard time coming to terms with the fact that there are lots of things i became accustomed to that i can't have anymore - one of which is free time to myself. when not in class, i'm working in the greenhouse on campus, and when not at either of those places, i'm at work at the garden center. these are all things that i wanted, which makes handling this schedule that much more frustrating since i brought this on myself. but, the resounding message i'm getting from my family and friends? this video contains the general gist.

midterms are over. spring classes are signed up for. it's almost christmas!

i should schedule blog time.

things aren't slowing down. in fact, it sometimes seems like i get busier each week. it's pretty tough. ask anyone around me (ahem.. andrew..) and they will agree.

however, i am learning. i am learning about myself, my learning style, my study style, what i need to do to achieve my balance, how stress affects me (and others), and to not give up. because even in the midst of all this, i get confirmation every day of why i am doing this. i love the horticulture department at nc state, and i can't wait to sign up for my spring classes.

i am also excited to start my new job! this thursday, i will begin as the newest employee at logan's trading company in raleigh! i can hardly believe it. it's so strange to think about where i was one year ago at this time and where i am now - things have completely changed, and it's all going in the direction i had hoped. it's truly bittersweet to be finished with my job at lulu, and i will miss my coworkers very much.

working in the greenhouse has been one of those invaluable opportunities i've been unable to pass up, and i've learned so much there. my daily activities change depending on the time of day and need, and i really like that about the greenhouse. the work is not always easy - water-logged sneakers, sore arms, orange fingers - but it is an experience that i have never had and am so grateful to be there. one of the projects i worked on for a couple days was helping a graduate student with an experiment. unfortunately, i never worked alongside the student, but the trial has something to do with geranium propagation i believe. i took a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.

this is the beginning. look at all the beautiful blooms!

instructions: remove blooms. result: sore, orange fingers.

naked geraniums.

sadness in a trashcan

more good stuff to come. let me get through midterms first!

PAX plant sale, j.c. raulston arboretum, raleigh.

sunday, september 26, was the nc state chapter of pi alpha xi's fall plant sale. i had the pleasure of working at it and spending time with some really great people. pi alpha xi is the national horticulture honor society, and each semester they hold a plant sale at the arboretum. proceeds from the sale go right back into the university's chapter, as well as the nc state horticulture club.

i was nervous about this endeavor. at this point, i'll be the first to admit that i still do not know much about these plants. but, this seemed like a great opportunity to learn as well as get to know my peers in the field better. so, what the heck. i dove in.

what started off as a slow day picked up quickly. many people (including my mom and dad!) stopped buy to make some plant purchases, and the sale was quite successful. as i was working, documenting the event was a challenge. however, i must say, the selection was impressive and the organization clear and helpful. i got away with two scented geraniums, which i was very pleased with.

at the end of the weekend, packing up the leftovers was a challenge once the heavens opened and the rain came pouring down. everything got cold and wet fast, but the people i worked with were an inspiration and all of the necessary tasks were accomplished with speed and accuracy. i dipped out due to prior engagements, but the rest of the team stayed late into sunday evening to ensure the unsold plants made it back to their homes. i was inspired by the experience, and i cannot wait until the spring sale. i will be more prepared and better equipped by then!

fall plant & craft festival, duke gardens, durham.

plant & craft festival!

this past saturday, my mama cj and i paid a visit to the duke gardens' fall plant and craft festival!

i happened upon the festival last year, while helping my friend jess prepare for her fall wedding. the wedding took place at the gardens, and during one of the weekends prior to the event, my friends and i went to duke gardens to scope the place out since we were helping jess with decorations for the ceremony and reception. that day happened to also be the day of the plant and craft festival, so after we got our business sorted out, we perused the goods. i had a great time, so when i found out the day of the 2010 plant and craft festival, i made plans to go.

mama at the festival.

mexican bush sage.

beautiful pitcher plants.

an amazing orchid vendor!

we left with one eucalyptus, one lipstick plant, and two soaps. it was a great way to spend a fall saturday morning, and i'm so glad we were able to go. there will be another plant and craft festival in the spring!

secret garden.

six hours of the week, i spend my time working in some of state's greenhouses as an intern. nc state has two greenhouse locations: there are some at the j.c. raulston arboretum, and the ones i work in are located behind fox labs on the north campus. when i heard about the opportunity from a fellow member of the horticulture club, i jumped right on it. by the end of the week, i was basically set to start. getting the paperwork completed was a different story, but as of about two weeks ago, i am official.

fox greenhouse. right about quittin' time.

the succulent conservatory.

the tropical conservatory.

it's been a wonderful experience. it's like have a private, hands-on, tutoring session. i am learning so much about plants and watering and maintenance and greenhouse management, and my "teachers" kerry and diane are great.

i hope to get some better pictures soon. the specimens in the conservatory are quite impressive. for now though, i think these stalker-style-cellphone pictures give a good idea of how lucky i am to have this gig!

i promise not to do this again.

i am going to brag about my grades for a second.

i am very proud of myself. last week, i had four exams. to celebrate them being over, i made zucchini bread with zucchinis from the nc state campus farmers market. it was delicious and you can find the super easy recipe here.

zucchini bread. you can never really go wrong with a paula dean recipe.

this week, i got my grades. I GOT ALL As!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

to celebrate that, i made pumpkin bread! i added chocolate chips and pecans to the downeast maine pumpkin bread recipe that i found on allrecipes.com.

is it time for pumpkin pie yet?

both were really successful, and it felt good to be baking some things again; it had been a while, you know, with all the studying i was doing. i want to break out of the quick-bread rut, but they are just so good. i accept any easy cookie recipe suggestions. or pie would be good. or some cookie bars. holy moses. i might have to cut this short. i'm suddenly having a strange craving for the molasses cookies in the kitchen.

i survived my first round of tests!

one in every class last week, and they're over! at least until midterms in a month, but one week at a time!

classes have been great. i actually enjoy them all, but it's still hard to get used to working with freshmen on group projects. they're almost 10 years younger than me and are in a different place in their lives. the thought of finishing college and getting a job and then going back for fun is pretty unfathomable to them, so it takes a little work to ignore it sometimes. i have to resist the urge to talk like the experienced old lady. i can't be too upset though; when i was a freshman, i may have thought about rolling my eyes at the strange older person in my class too...

in any event, things are good. i have started an internship for credit hours at the greenhouses on campus, and it's like having a private teacher 6 hours a week. last week i learned how to water (there is a very serious technique), how to test for pH, and that i need to bring a change of shoes on the days that i'm working. also, sunscreen. i need to stash some in my backpack. i have a sweet racerback tan on my back from all the time spent outside the greenhouses washing pot after tray after pot then spraying the dirt from the pots down the drain like some opposite form of vaccuming. i like it though. hopefully, i'll be able to get some pictures of the conservatories at the greenhouses. they're beautiful, and an inspiration every time i go to work.

speaking of inspiration, here are pictures of our finished plant shelf, as promised! andrew did a great job. whatcha makin next, love?!

if bulbs are your thing..

get some, and support nc state's horticulture honor society!

this year, brent and becky's bulbs are promising to donate 25% of their bulb sales to pi alpha xi, nc state's horticulture honor society. but you gotta tell 'em to send the money to us! simply visit their site, bloominbucks.com, choose nc state pi alpha xi, and then be directed to their extensive selection of bulbs and other merchandise. they have some bee-yoo-ti-ful varieties that are definitely worth a look.

money raised goes to help nc state's chapter of pi alpha xi. you can read more about the organization on their nc state chapter's site. as stated on pi alpha xi's national site, "the society promotes high scholarship, fellowship, professional leadership, and the enrichment of human life through plants." i support that! someday i'd love to be invited to join. in the meantime, buy some bulbs!

pi alpha xi is also holding their fall plant sale in a couple of weeks (sept. 25 - 26) at the j.c. raulston arboretum in raleigh. a portion of the money raised at the event is donated to the horticulture club! i'll be volunteering at the sale, probably sunday, so come buy some thangs.

also, on the other side of the world, sarah p. duke gardens is holding its fall plant and craft festival on sept. 25. (duke on saturday, state on sunday?) i went last year and really enjoyed the variety of items for sale. it was there that i was introduced to white pear soaps and lotions. claudia acosta, the brains behind the operation, was there to test her homemade body scrubs. how was it? let's just say there is a white pear lavender vanilla soap in the shower right now! for more information about the duke gardens fall plant and craft festival, here's a link to their site.

in the meantime, i've got four more days to go in this week of tests. one in landscape graphics, one in precalculus, one in biology, and one in principles of horticulture. and a presentation in biology lab. no joke. all i have to say is, thank you, andrew, for your patience with me at this time.

off to study now. BUY SOME BULBS!

avocado assistance!

this explains the avocado pit phenomenon really well. and by really well i mean like their audience is 8 years old. and by 8 years old i mean me. i posted this earlier, but i find myself referring to it.. again.

http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/seed/2002114535011263.html

enjoy!

update: avocado baby.

WE HAVE ROOTAGE!

work in progress: plant shelf!

this weekend, andrew made major progress creating a shelf for our plants made entirely out of reclaimed materials! let me break it down: 

wood from pallets

our old back door

model t running board

jeep cj5 tailgate

sounds like a bunch of junk, eh? well, i thought so too. until the sawhorses came out and the tools were lined up on an old blanket in the backyard. in just a few hours it seemed, andrew had put together the skeleton for the shelves and asking for my opinion. i was so proud.

right now it's all put together, and andrew is sanding and finishing. once it's all done, we'll put the plants on it and take some more pictures. it looks great!

meet cindy, the venus fly trap.

we have a fly problem, and swatters and strips are ugly.

intense discussion resulted in the mutual agreement that a fly trap was an absolute necessity.

upon acquisition and re-potting, we deduced that this plant is AWESOME. i was overjoyed at the sound of a fly suffering from within. i swear my eyebrows arched as i menacingly rubbed my hands together like a mad scientist. it's an inevitable reaction when you bring one of these fine specimens home. truly.

we purchased cindy, the fly trap, at the southern states in carrboro. that is also where we got our unique planter. the fly trap needs an especially moist and humid climate, so we looked for a container that would help provide this climate. andrew found the cube-shaped, self-watering pot in the pottery section. the interior pot was broken, so they sold it to us for $1.50! we had to find an interior pot that wasn't broken, so we found the blue one in a clearance section for 47 cents! bam.

according to several web sites, the fly trap will be entering its dormant stages soon. it will appear to dying, but it is not; at that time, it will need slightly lower temperatures, between 55 and 70 farenheit. interestingly enough, this is just like the north carolina climate. that is because the fly trap is native to north carolina! sounds easy, right?

i'll keep you posted.

i love the campus farmer's market.

it might have been hot out. and there may have been only 8 or 9 booths. and i may not have had much cash or ability to carry anything more than the 45 pounds of bookbag i already had. but. the farmer's market opened in the brickyard on campus yesterday and i was super pumped about going.

there was a peanut farm stand, fruits and vegetables, fresh homemade salsa & pepper jelly, COOKIES, jewelry, apples, and homemade soaps and lotions. i loved it. you could smell the soap from 100 feet away, and students were walking around campus with huge slices of watermelon. i knew i wanted to buy soap, so i visited there first. moondance soaps is right outta raleigh, and they offer homemade soaps, lotions, lip balms, and more. everything smells wonderful, and they get their herbs and goat's milk from farmers in north carolina. i purchased a lemon verbena soap and a lavender, milk & honey soap. andrew smelled them and approved.

i had about 5 dollars left, so i found it necessary to prioritize my next item to purchase. obviously, i got cookies. the cookie people had clear glass displays of humongous and buttery-looking cookies, so i naturally gravitated like a raccoon to a piece of aluminum foil. i was extremely proud of my ability to ignore the 4 for $5 deal (because we all know i would have eaten them all before i got home) and i only purchased two (AND i brought some home to share): sugar with icing and sprinkles, and a chocolate chip cookie. THEY WERE THE BOMB. i will be back.

the campus farmers market is such a neat thing that happens at state, and i look forward to stopping by every wednesday. next week, i'll be a bit more prepared. bit more cash, maybe an extra bag. a camera to document. it's great to note, though, that some of the vendors do take cards!

to read some more, the technician (nc state's newspaper) wrote an article and took some pictures.

jc raulston arboretum & nc state horticulture club!

sunday i was bummed. it's the weekend. andrew is home. jane is home. little buddy the cat is home. and i am home and we're all in the house, and we are supposed to be enjoying the day and hanging out before the work week begins again. but, i'm in the office. doing homework. i. was. bummmmed.

after a couple hours of work, the door creeked open and andrew stuck his head in.
"how are you doin?"
"fine," i said. i was not fine.
"what's wrong?"
"i want to do something fun."

he asked if i wanted to go out and walk through a nursery. yes i did! what a wonderful guy. upon further consideration, i suggested the arboretum. neither of us had been, and i had to go to do a class project anyway. it was beautiful. i brought the camera along:

i can't wait to go back. it was a hot day, and andrew's stomach was talking, so we headed out after about an hour. (lunch at jasmin mediterranean bistro on hillsborough. super good.) i want to learn about how to get involved and what kind of programs are offered. i've been stalking the website since we got home: http://www.ncsu.edu/jcraulstonarboretum/index.php. i highly recommend visiting. they also hold a plant sale in september, sponsored by the horticulture honor fraternity. i'll definitely be there!

last night, i attended the first nc state horticulture club meeting of the year. i really enjoyed it, and i am looking forward to the next one. the club goes on a few field trips each year to different gardens and nurseries. this fall they are going to ASHEVILLE (!) and in the spring they are going to THE NETHERLANDS AND GERMANY (!!!!!!). and they just roam around reveling in horticulture! i was geekin out last night. i prattled on to andrew and my mom and dad and to myself in the car on the way home. i would absolutely love to go, so i can't wait until the organizational meetings for the trips start happening to that i can find out more.

tomorrow is the first day of state's campus farmer's market. i am pumped.

i started school and hosted a party. no big deal.

somehow, several years ago, i was able to take a full course-load, maintain a B average, go to parties, date a boy, sleep, eat, dress in cute clothes and successfully graduate with a degree.  i am going to pat myself on the back now. that took a lot of good time management, as i am now being reminded of since i decided it would be a good idea to try it all over again. only this time with a dog, a cat and a boyfriend, all in the same house.

i am taking two traditionally freshman courses, biology and pre-calculus, as well as principles of horticulture and landscape graphics. there's also a 1-hour lecture specifically designed for transfer students to prepare us to enter the professional world. we have to create a resume and a linkedin profile, as well as sit for a mock job interview. awesome. i can do this.

it's overwhelming. there are so many people. i have lots of homework. i am paying lots of money. i quit my job for this, and the pressure to succeed is heavy. i have turned into the brown-noser, the girl in the front row, the shouter-outer of answers, the person who does their assignments ahead of time and gets the answers right. i will join the horticulture club. (it meets monday nights. first meeting is august 30th. you know i wrote it down in the calender and highlighted that junk, along with the horticulture career expo, which is in october.) i want to be a better and more engaged student than i was the first time around, and it's not easy. the reassuring part is that i know that i made the right decision. i find myself hanging onto every word that comes of my professor's mouth in the principles of horticulture lecture. i caught myself looking at the course catalog today for what horticulture classes i can take next semester. i am still nervous and excited, and i'll be sure to keep you posted.

in other news, we entertained our first gathering of people at the house this weekend! heather's bridal shower/party was saturday night, and i think it was a successful event. unfortunately, andrew and i were busy getting ready up until the very last second, so i wasn't able to take as many food pictures as i'd hoped - by the time i had a chance to get my camera out, most of it was eaten - but below are a few i managed to catch. after the shower, we met up downtown with the groom and some of his friends for a few drinks at natty greene's. it was a very pleasant evening.. and we are all eagerly anticipating their sure-to-be beautiful wedding this december!

heather & jason, the happy couple!

mmm.. empty plates & cherry cupcakes.

almost-drained pitcher of the crucial sangria.

update: chairs and avocados and bridal showers

chairs!
andrew continues to work hard on our vintage patio chairs! we are several layers of primer into our first chair, and will be ready to add the color soon. the chairs sat in the backyard over night one night last week, and we woke up to a couple wet and dirty chair pieces. before we could paint the next coat of primer, we had to clean them. i set the pieces in the shower with the intention of getting to them later in the day.. but looks like a couple of other goobers got to them first.

avocados!
less than thrilling news. it is still a brown pit on two toothpicks in a yellow glass. however, i must admit we had a slight mishap. let's just say the present pit is not the same pit as the one i photographed several weeks ago. a less than perfect tooth-picking job, mixed with a high-cat-traffic area, caused the pit to fall and sit submerged in the water for a while. the pit eventually split, and so i went on the search for a new pit. we found one, and it's doing quite fine so far. no roots. will photograph as soon as some excitement hapens.

bridal shower!
it's happening this saturday. it will not be outside in the backyard. awful mosquitoes (what is a cheap way to get rid of those jerks?!), deconstructed metal chairs with gray primer, HOT, mosquitoes, and a landscape-work-in-progress. however, the inside of the house is shaping up nicely, so i'm looking forward to having people over. we'll have some quesadillas, spinach and artichoke dip, chips and salsa, cupcakes, sangria and more. i am pretty pumped, but busy getting it all together. i'll post some pictures after it all goes down.

oh, and once again, SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW! my backpack is packed, my clothes are picked out, and the coffee maker is ready to go. let's gooooooo.

little pitbull's first trip to logan's!

last week, jane and i ran some errands in seaboard station, including a walk around logan's! it was super hot, but worth the stroll. jane found shade under some perennials and laid down. she also got an ear-rub and some sweet compliments by some logan's employees. we'll be back!

on another note, TOMORROW IS THE FIRST DAY OF CLASSES!