9 Summer Surprises

I had 9 fun and unexpected surprises come my way this summer:

1) Our friend and neighbor, Todd, dropped off two tomato plants for me at the beginning of the summer! He had been growing a bunch of them in 5 gallon buckets, but they got too big, so he had to separate them out, and give some away. Little did Todd know that I come from a family legacy of gardening tomatoes! Of course, I hadn't yet tapped into that legacy on my own until this year with Todd's gift. Here's a look at the plants:


Not sure why they didn't grow very many leaves. So far I've harvested 1 ripe red tomato. Right after harvest I sliced it and ate it! It was good. These two cute tomato plants just might give me that inspiration I have been looking for to plant my first ever garden next year!

2) My best friend from highschool emailed last month to tell me that she was engaged! This was a surprise because Shelly puts the woman in business woman, and I never ever ever thought she would get married until she was older than 30. And, she asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding! This is the first time I will get to be in someone's wedding as a bridesmaid. Every girl needs an occasion to play dress-up, at least once a year!

3) At the beginning of the summer I started buying a bouquet of fresh cut flowers to sit on our dining room table (the $7 assortment at Hy-Vee).

I borrowed this idea from my mother-in-law. I am surprised at how uplifting and fresh it makes the room feel. I like waking up every morning and seeing them there...bright and cheerful! Each bouquet actually lasts about 2 1/2 weeks, so it is a cheap way to brighten up the house!

4) This summer during our tournament travels I was getting sick of hotel coffee. Too watery or something. So, while in KC I hunted down a Starbucks. For the first time I noticed the 'iced coffee with milk' option and I ordered it. YUM! Perfect summer treat for hot coffee drinkers. It tastes like an iced latte, but includes good ol coffee instead of espresso. Oh, and you get the good ol coffee price too.

5) About a month ago I heard through the grape vine that Ankeny is going to be getting an Olive Garden. Do I even have to express my excitement about that?!?!

6) I am surprised with petunias! I planted them this spring in that little space in between our front walkway and garage. They spread like crazy, and are super easy to take care of. They didn't even die off during our 7 day KC trip when they got no water. They've been in beautiful bloom since that cold day in April when we planted them!

7) Last week my friend got back from a trip to Mexico and she surprised me with a gift that she brought back for me....this cool serving dish:

It was so fun to get this cause I wasn't expecting it! And, not to mention, it is my EXACT taste. I just love these patterns and colors.

8) Yesterday I found out that Jake's Kingdom Hoops Foundation is going to be hosting a black tie dinner in October to raise money for the Ghana project and Kingdom Hoops scholarship players! Yay - another reason to get dressed up! I also get to help plan it! I am so glad I've gotten my feet wet with event planning through helping with the Night Under the African Stars Gala (which is next Friday btw).

9) Last month Jake traded in our clunker at Karl's Chevrolet in Ankeny. This was before the cash for clunkers deal going on now. Then last week we received an appreciation letter from Karl's Chevrolet, and they included in it a $500 gift certificate to Lowes! It was a promotion going on at the time we traded in our car, and we hadn't even known about it. What a wonderful surprise....if you read my blog yesterday then you will know what we will be using the gift cert for. :)

I do love surprises!