#BlogChallenge Day 3: 15 Interesting Facts About Me

Hmm, "interesting" is pretty subjective. Here are some facts in no particular order. Interesting or not--you be the judge!

1.  I have a B.S. in biology and worked as a research technician for 8 years.
2. Until recently I would have told you that I hate writing. Its growing on me :-)
3. I'm 32.
4. My first baby steps into flower gardening was buying  Iris and  daylily collections by mail-order.
5. I love to travel and have been to Mexico, Scotland, and Hong Kong.
6. I don't read much these days, but my favorite genre is sci-fi. My favorite sci-fi author is C.J.Cherryh.
7. All my pictures are taken with a Canon Powershot A590IS set on automatic. I turn macro on and flash off but that's about it.
8. I started knitting last year and quickly became addicted to yarn.
9. I met my husband the first day of college orientation in 1998 and we have been married for 9 years.
10. We waited to have children because we were scared and self-centered (in a nutshell), but after putting our trust wholly in the goodness and faithfulness of God, he gave us a son last year. What an amazing blessing!
11. I like to be brief. 15 facts? Really?
12. When going out, I prefer Asian restaurants
13. I love pickled things!!! Last week I ate a whole jar of pickled okra in a day. 
14. I just knitted my first pair of socks!
15. I used to hate myself, but Jesus set me free. His life in me is my favorite fact. 

Siberian Iris 'Caesar's Brother'

Summer #BlogChallenge : My Smiling, Naked Face

Well, here I am (in the bathroom of all places--best lighting). I finally stopped wearing any make-up after becoming a SAHM. Lazy? yes. But I feel so much better. For years I though my eyes were dry from my contacts. Then I had laser surgery and I thought my eyes were dry from that. Then I thought I must just have naturally dry eyes. It turns out that when I don't wear mascara my eyes are just fine!

Also, I've learned a few things that make me comfortable with a naked face:


1. The love and acceptance I have received from God blows insecurity out of the water. He made me, redeemed me, and wants to love through me. Hating myself because I don't reach my broken standard of perfection is over, and that's big! Make-up is not bad or wrong (itchy eyes and questionable chemicals aside), it just has nothing to do with my identity.

2. People don't care as much as you think they do. I have always had a few people in my life that don't wear make-up and I didn't notice until I thought about it, or they suddenly wore it for a wedding or something. And I never, ever, thought that they were ugly (hideous, monstrous, whatever lie hits you when you look at yourself). For me, a person looks how they look and its actually change that surprises me, and then I get used to that look. It should be irrelevant to how I feel about a person's worth. When you love someone, they don't look ugly!

-End rant.

All that being said, I still wear make-up on special occasions. Except now I feel more self-conscious and uncomfortable when I do!

Must. post. flowers. :-)

Peonies are blooming now! And its been raining all day--yay!

The Summer #BlogChallenge: What is it and why am I doing it?

I was inspired by some blogging friends to join the Summer Blog Challenge. The challenge is to have a blog post every day for two months with topic prompts to help with ideas. I decided to participate for the following reasons:

• The other blogs participating are really cool women I have met through the Green Moms Network on Facebook. In other words--positive peer pressure :-) Thanks especially to Going Green with the Grizls for all her hard work starting us up!
•  I can feel the outdoors calling to me (a good thing!) but I don't want my writing to taper off after these few months of diligence.
• I have never even tried writing a post for every day, so its both daunting and exciting. I won't put undue pressure on myself, but I hope to at least give a valiant effort.

Since I'm still getting used to the concept of sharing my thoughts with the blogosphere, I see myself sticking with the Garden Me theme while throwing in some (hopefully interesting) personal details. Tomorrow's big hurdle? Post a picture of me smiling.  *trepidation*

Gratuitous flowers--Irises are blooming!

Iris 'Mother Earth'

 My fellow challengers are linked below:

Friday Flowers:Iris, Campanula, Poppies, Salvia

I don't water my flowers unless the plants are new or are looking sickly. We really need some rain! Thankfully the perennials are still looking good, but I need a jackhammer to get the weeds out.

Let the flowery madness begin!

Pool Garden: Siberian Iris 'Caesar's Brother'

Campanula Birch Hybrid

Dianthus 'Bath's Pink'

Bearded Iris 'Persian Berry' (maybe)

A few unknown Dianthus. To my surprise, I'm liking the dark pinks.

Oriental poppy 'Coral Reef' and Salvia 'Caradonna'

8"The grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:8

Linking up at the following spectacular sites:
Fertilizer Friday/ Flaunt Your Flowers
Creative Corner Hop

Dyson Housewarming Giveaway

This is one shiny vacuum! Garden Me is happy to be joining in the fun. The dust bunnies are cowering under the couch at just the thought of this Dyson crossing the threshold. What a blessing for the winner! Will it be you?

Welcome to the Dyson Housewarming Giveaway event. This took months in the making and Mom to Bed by 8 and the Iowa Mom are proud to bring you this fantastic home essential and offer you the chance to win one too! Big thank you to our lovely co-hosts How to Have It All, Mark Your Savings and GiveAway Bandit.

Dyson DC23 TurbineHead Canister Vacuum
Delivering 220 airwatts of suction power, this canister vacuum cleaner features advanced Level 3 Root Cyclone technology to ensure thorough, efficient cleaning with no clogging or loss of suction. It also offers a TurbineHead brush bar that's ideal for cleaning medium and short pile carpets and can be turned off for hard floors. Certified asthma and allergy friendly by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, the unit expels air that contains up to 150 times less mold and bacteria than common breathing air thanks to the vacuum's money-saving, lifetime washable HEPA filter. Plus, Dyson's Bactisafe screen traps and kills bacteria, mold and allergens on contact, preventing them from re-entering the air.
The Telescopic Wrap System allows the hose and wand to be compressed, and ensures that the Dyson DC23 can be stored away neatly and compactly, with no loose components or wires to get tangled. It comes with a stair tool for focusing on dust and dirt from stairs and stair carpets, a brush tool with long bristles to dislodge cobwebs and for delicate cleaning, and a high-velocity airflow crevice tool that's ideal for cleaning base boards, picture frames and in-between furniture. Other features include a clear bin with 0.44-gallon capacity, 21.6-foot cord length, and easy-to-maneuver fixed wheels. The vacuum measures 13.9 x 19.3 x 11.9 inches (HxWxD) and weighs 19.5 pounds. The Dyson DC23 TurbineHead is backed by a 5-year warranty.

Open to worldwide, ages 18+. Giveaway ends on June 15^th. Please use the rafflecopter form below to enter. Good luck to all!

a Rafflecopter giveaway