Tomorrow!!!!

Tomorrow. I can finally say “we leave tomorrow.” Yesterday I was super excited. Today I feel nervous and want to throw up. This is such an emotional ride!

I’m still working down my to-do list. Yesterday I finally transplanted my avocado tree into a bigger pot. I was surprised how big the root ball had gotten. I would have taken a picture of it but I only have two hands!

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old pot

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old and new pots

The side benefit to transplanting the tree is that I could finally adjust it so that it grows straight up!

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lovely!

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I have no idea what this bug is but it was hanging out on our patio door when I got ready to come back inside. Pretty markings.

This morning I am headed to the grocery store. Our fridge is almost empty and we don’t have enough food to make it through today and tomorrow. I also need to pick up some staples for when we get back, as well as protein bars and snacks for the plane.

Yesterday we sorted through a pile of toys and activities to decide what we should take with us to Taiwan. At least my dining room table is half clean. Once I can get the clothes packed, I can pack the rest of these activities and finish cleaning off my table. This afternoon, after I take a nap, I will clean both bathrooms and then see what else needs to be done.

My prescription sunglasses are still not available, though I ordered them on July 3. I have to call and talk to the manager today to find out how they are going to fix this. I called twice last week and they just keep saying, “sorry, but they have not been delivered yet.” Yes, but I ordered them three weeks ago and I am going to Taiwan tomorrow. I’m also waiting to hear from the bank that they have our Taiwanese dollars available for pick up.

Nope, no stress! HA!

Mushrooms – Day 7 and 8

My mushrooms have exploded!

Day 7

Day 8
They will be ready to harvest on Wednesday. We eat mushrooms several times per week. I am dying to know if I can grow more after this first harvest. The box says these are grown in old coffee grounds. We drink tons of coffee! Might I be able to start my own mushroom farm?

Mushrooms sprouting overnight

I am in awe of how fast things grow. My avocado tree sprouted overnight and grew visibly each day. My mushrooms are now doing the exact same thing.

Here is what they looked like when I started.

Day 0
Nothing happens for a few days and I wonder if I messed something up.

Day 4
All of a sudden, white growth happens in the corners.

Day 5
And then the mushrooms start growing.

Day 6
It is supposed to take 10 days for these mushrooms to grow big enough to harvest and eat. I don’t doubt it! I can’t wait to see what they look like when I get up in the morning.

Gimbap and oyster mushrooms

I’ve been having some motivation issues lately. A lack of motivation to blog, clean, study, etc. I’m not exactly sure what’s causing it but I’m pulling myself up by my bootstraps and forcing myself to move forward. My wonderful husband cleaned the bathrooms for me today, which was so very much appreciated!

I started overhauling my menu planning and recipe book. Both have gotten very sloppy. Last week we added a new recipe to our rotation: gimbap!

We did “veganify” the recipe, leaving out the meat and the egg but adding in tofu. The rest we kept the same. This was our first time trying pickled radish (also known in Korean as danmuji). It was really good!

My mother-in-law bought me a mushroom farm for Christmas so today I got it started. I’ll be taking pictures every day to record the progress. It’s supposed to be ready for harvest on day 10. This particular farm will grow oyster mushrooms so I need to start looking for a recipe that highlights oyster mushrooms. I can’t wait!

Here’s to a productive week!

A few random thoughts

Still no adoption news today…

I found this shirt at the mall. I kind of wish I could wear it on the Skype call to encourage my girl to want to be adopted.

aha moment, noun, a moment of sudden insight or realization at which something becomes clear

But I don’t think the translator would appreciate my attempt at humor and my girl doesn’t know enough English to understand the irony.

It’s been rather warm lately (mid 80’s) and my cat is miserable. Here he is plastered against the wall trying to find just a tiny piece of cool floor or wall to give him some relief. Silly cat…

Someone at church was handing out tomato plants earlier this year. I feel bad that I pretty much killed mine. I think it’s because I don’t have a garden to plant it in and my patio doesn’t get enough sunlight. I thought the plant was completely dead when one day it sprouted tiny tomatoes. I waited for them to get a bit bigger. Because I have no idea what type of tomatoes these are supposed to be, I don’t know how big they were supposed to get or if they were supposed to turn red. But they easily came off the vine today so I ate them. The two tiny ones weren’t ripe yet but the biggest one tasted great!

Now I want to grow tomato plants so that I can eat my own tomatoes. It was highly satisfying to eat these three tiny tomatoes, even though it’s the only produce I grew this year. I do hope to cultivate a garden someday.

Anyways, just a few of the tiny things I’ve been up to lately. Nothing insightful, just day to day life!

Ming Ming has been pruned!

I didn’t realize how tall Ming Ming had already grown. He was 8.5 inches tall.

Now he’s only 3.5 inches tall!

I really didn’t like cutting off all of that growth, especially the leaves at the top. I sure hope that Ming Ming is able to continue growing and sprout some new leaves. Once Ming Ming is six inches tall again, I’ll be potting him in soil. I can’t wait!