World's Worst Gardener

I have a hunch that no one can kill plants faster than I can. Exactly one week ago I left my local garden center full of hope and excitement about my first gardening experience. I busily and lovingly potted fragrant herbs and cute little flowers. Knowing full well that gardening may be tricky for me I had the nice garden lady steer me towards only the hardiest of plants. "This is easy to grow right?" I kept asking. "Oh yes." She would reply. Now, I am not a total gardening moron. I know most plants can't live out in the freezing cold. In BB the last frost is usually around May 10th. So, I asked nice garden lady what I should do with my plants. She replied that they should be outside in a sunny place, and if it was expected to freeze overnight then I should bring them in. Okay! easy enough. I was on my way.

So, how come just a few days later my poor little herbs were so droopy and sad? I went back to the garden center again and asked them what could be wrong. Nice garden lady #2 looked horrified when I told her the herbs had been out overnight. "It was 35 degrees last night!" she exclaimed. Since when is 35 degrees freezing? I want to know. I was not deterred. Even more determined to nurture my plants, I developed a rotation system by which they would receive full sunlight at various windows and patios throughout the day, then spend the night inside. Then Keith and I drove to Kearny. When we left it was 70 and not a cloud in the sky. My plants would be so happy, I thought. And then it hailed. Not just little gravely kind of hail. I'm talking big marbles and gobstoppers falling from the sky. There are tiny decapitated flower buds scattered all around the veranda. The basil plant looks like a fallen soldier. I am left wondering if there is any hope for me.

On a cheerier note, Keith and I used our cute new dessert plates the other night. The shortcake was delicious.

Happy Birthday to Me

Happy Birthday Shaleah!!! You're 32 years old! And as Keith tells me, I don't look a day over 31. To celebrate my birthday, I am hanging out by myself and composing a birthday blog. That may seem sad to those of you who partied until 4:30am on your recent birthday (Valerie), but for me it's kind of par for the course. I cannot remember the last birthday I had where either Keith or I were not on call. Tonight is no exception with Keith still at the hospital at 9pm. Lucky for me, doggies and the Decemberists are excellent company.

Actually, I have had some good times today. Always friendly neighbor Amy had me over for birthday lattes, and nice clinic staff rushed out over lunch and bought me a last minute cake. The biggest highlight today, though, was when I went shopping in B.B. and I was actually successful in finding some stuff I need. I went to the library and found a not from the 1970s green home and garden makeover book (yippee!), and I found out that my beloved garden center sells all the supplies I will need to build a patio (Yay!). I also bought mattresses for our new trundle daybed. Those of you who can drive a few blocks to a Home Depot and Target and fill all your domestic desires may not appreciate that, but trust me, it was exciting!

Also, I've gotten lots of stellar gifts. I got a fancy dutch oven, and cute apron to wear while using said oven, and a cookbook. I'm sensing a theme here. The 17 year old Shaleah would be rolling her eyes in disgust if she could see 32 yo Shaleah raking in a bunch of cooking stuff, but 32 yo Shaleah seems to like it. I also got a lovely assortment of coffees and hot chocolate which I have been enjoying all week (thanks mom!).

"Spring has changeable weather."

So states my Nebraska: Guide to the Cornhusker State (nice book, thanks uncle Tim). They ain't kiddin'. Last week Keith and I spent a warm evening lounging in these chairs with our laptops. This week they're buried in snow! Nebraska spring, you tease me with promises of long weekend bike rides only to dump 8 inches of snow on my front lawn.

We had been expecting a visit from members of the Gautreaux family this weekend, but perhaps that will not happen after all.

In other sad ironies, Keith and I finally upgraded our television only to find we couldn't get the big game (or any channels for that matter). This is how we watched it instead.

Not much else new going on here. I am starting to deliver a few babies, which is always fun. And I continue to make small, slow improvements to our home decor. It looks as though flying will never be a part of my future since the one instructor in B.B. has left town. Instead I am seeking out more domestic hobbies like gardening, interior design, and shopping for a myriad of baby showers.

Desert Flowers

Here are some pictures from our vacation this week. For the most part the fun-having was done during the first few days. For Keith and I, the second half of the week has been spent sitting in a large, overly air-conditioned auditorium for nearly 10 hours straight listening to people talk about various medical topics. The talk on pap smear updates was good, the one on aerospace medicine, not so practical. Truth be told, I love a good CME. I love sitting around and drinking coffee while soaking in what really smart people have to say about the studies I've been reading all year. I love pontificating about various medical practices. It's amazing how much difference in opinion and practice style there is between various clinics and communities. Keith thought I was crazy when I was actually more excited to go the the conference than I was about sight seeing or sitting by the pool. Anyway, enjoy the pics from our "Kat almost died hike", as well as our trip to the botanical gardens. More pics will eventually be available on Flickr as usual.

Top 10 Reasons to Move to Broken Bow

For those of you who aren't aware of all the attractive offerings of our beloved B-squared, here's a partial list in reverse order of importance:

#10) Nice people. Our garage door has been torn off for over a month, and no one has stolen a single item.
#9) Open spaces. If you like the outdoors, and you don't mind frequent gale force winds and an occasional waft of cattle manure, then you'll love walking or biking on rural roads through rolling plains.
#8) Local produce. Talk about a green-minded people, BB has a nice farmers market throughout the summer. You can even buy local, grass-fed Bison there.
#7) Friendly neighbors. Ours have come through yet again in the doggie daycare department while we're vacationing in AZ.
#6) Very nice doggies live there (yes, I mean ours)
#5) No traffic. You know you're getting spoiled when sitting at the intersection for 30 seconds while waiting to cross the highway causes you to throw your hands up in frustration.
#4) Home cooking. Sort of a necessity rather than a bonus given the dining options are few, but hey, it's still good.
#3) Excellent health care from very qualified professionals.
#2) Housing prices: You can afford a veritable mansion here for the cost of a down payment many other places in the U.S.. The median home price in BB is $57,800.
#1) Keith and Shaleah live there, and if they aren't enough, they now have a big TV.

So, if it hadn't already occurred to you, give it some thought. Broken Bow, "In the middle of everywhere!"

Rich people live here.

We're in Scottsdale. It's a ritzy suburb of Phoenix that seems to exist solely for the purpose of helping people consume. The road our hotel is located on is lined with countless restaurants, hotels, coffee shops and shopping centers. And if you don't like the Crate & Barrel across the street, you hop on the shopping trolly and ride 8 miles south to the next one. Awesome! Today I bought cute dessert plates at Anthropologie, a lemon juicer, and espresso cups -- all things that are very hard to find in rural NE, but easy enough to take back as a carry on.

We have four days of Continuing Medical Education (CME) conferences here, and four days of consumption. Kat and Jeffrey were kind enough to drive out here and entertain us for the weekend. We did lots of cool stuff including a nice hike and a visit to Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home (see this blog for professional style description of events).

When we come back we will be smarter, tanner and better dressed. Very successful CME week indeed.

A good rule of thumb: Any time you go to observe nature, bring binoculars

Did you know we have a national insect? (I know Keith and Jeffrey probably did, but other people with normal sized brains?) Well, I didn't. I have no idea why we need one, but I guess if we're going to have one, the monarch is a worthy recipient of the title. Monarchs may not seem real sexy to the casual observer, but I'm here to tell you that they're hot! Monarchs have a pretty amazing life cycle. For example, Monarchs from the Northern Rocky mountains migrate south to Mexico each year where they inhabit no more than a 70 square mile area for the winter. The migration cycle is longer than the butterflies life span, so somehow their tiny little bug brains have to hold the navigation information in such a way that it can be passed on to future generations so they can complete the round trip.

This winter Christa and I decided to escape our respective tundras and travel down to Mexico to observe the hibernating butterflies in the Michoacan state. Neither of us are really butterfly buffs or naturalists of any sort, but we were both incredibly impressed with the experience. It was definitely worth the three and a half day trip it took us to get there (no joke!). When we were there we met a guy who loves Monarchs so much, he got his PhD in Monarch life cycles. He now works at the Smithsonian, but he comes back to Mexico each winter to lead nature tours of the Monarch sanctuaries. How cool are you sir?

This picture shows the butterflies all clumped onto tree branches where they are hibernating. (If one did not bring binoculars one might have missed this). Monarch watching wasn't all we did though. During our week long hiatus from our husbands, we also managed to hike a volcano, visit a colonial city, and sip pina coladas poolside before heading out to the sand for some volleyball. (Another rule of thumb: when hiking volcanoes in Mexico, don't tell your guide you're pregnant unless you really want to freak him out.) Mom and baby did great, and we're already planning our next sunny vacation.