Thursday, April 29, 2010
For about 2 years I have been growing my hair out to donate to Locks of Love. After many months of feeling like my hair was not growing at all, I finally have the 10 inches required for the donation. And today I got my hair cut!!!


Before


Before


After


after (wow! what a huge difference)

My hair feels so much lighter, spunkier, and healthier. I am so glad I stuck with this process and did not cave in to the temptations and cut my hair before the 10" mark. It is not much, but it is the least I can do for a sick child that has lost her hair due to a medical illness.

Monday, April 19, 2010
Horne Farm's has expanded. Meredith and I wanted to put in an additional raised garden since last year. So we did it. I figured this would be a great time to show you our process on how we did it.

First of course I start with a plan. I used this great free program Google SketchUp 7.1 which made drawing up the design a cinch. As you can see in the illustration above I decided to go with a box joint instead of a butt joint just to give it a little bit of character. By drawing the garden on SketchUp, I knew exactly how much material I am going to need and how I want to put the garden together.

Then comes my favorite parts. Construction of the bed. If you know me I am a woodworking fanatic and anytime I can us my tools, I am a happy man! So here if what it looks like after construction. I first build all the wood framing before dropping it into the ground. Then I put down a weed barrier to keep out any unwanted plants and grass. The final step of construction is to put in the watering system.




The fill that I us is a mixture between compost and potting soil. The potting soil that I like to use is Jungle Growth Flower & Vegetable. We get our compost, "Miracle Dirt", from Jeff Gin, a cotton gin located just outside our neighborhood. We had a lot of success with this mixture last year.



Here is how we water our garden. I am currently watering twice a day to keep the soil moist but not wet. Last year I used sprinkler heads that were flush with the ground but had problems with leaves getting on top of the sprinkler and preventing proper watering. So this year I installed telescoping heads that can raise up to 3 feet.


With a combination of seeds and plants, this is what our garden look like this year. So get ready for some good eaten.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
The Indy Grand Prix of Alabama was amazing! It definitely exceeded my expectation and I can't wait for next year. The day was gorgeous without a cloud in the sky and about 80 degrees, it truly was a beautiful day in Alabama. My dad gave me and my brother some tickets that include access to the pit, Billy's Sports Grill Club (breakfast, lunch and drinks included) and a few more places. We sat in turn 16 most of the day. I would definitely recommend checking this race out next year and enjoy the beauty of the track, which was highlighted with crazy metal sculptures. Helio Castroneves (Dancing with the Stars winner a few years back) was the big winner of the race on Sunday and congratulations to Barber's for such a great turnout.





Couldn't ask for a better day!



I loved how close you could get to the track.



In the pit's (Julio Castroneves crew)



Steven enjoying Billy's Sports Bar Club!



These things go fast!



Danica Patrick