Under the orange umbrella with a strawberry limeade

It's been too long since I blogged! I was talking to a fellow blogger friend (and real friend :-) about that this afternoon. I love it so much but there are many times you just can't get to it!
Nevertheless, I've been outside enjoying the weather a lot lately and it's been fantastic! So today I decided I wanted to be outside and I wanted to blog... so I'm blogging from outside!! I'm sitting under my brand new orange umbrella from Old Time Pottery (that I got for $35) with a strawberry limeade and enjoying the mild temperatures:

A few updates on the garden:
The seedlings are on their way to being real plants:

 and I have a plan for everything that's going to be planted:

If you can't read my geeky chart above (hey, I'm a graphic designer), I'm planting Sweetie tomatoes, Beefsteak tomatoes, Brandywine tomatoes, peppers, corn, peas, carrots, onions, squash, zuchinni & watermelon.
Yes, that's a lot! Especially for a first-timer but I'm guessing the plants aren't all going to live and I'm going to learn a lot of lessons about gardening so I figured I should start out with a bang and see what will grow. I'm fully aware I may lose several plants throughout the process but I'm excited to try!
A big thank you to my friend Matt who runs a community farm on his property and taught me a lot about what to put where and the different intervals to plant. I hadn't even thought about not planting everything at first, you want to plant things like carrots, corn and onions a little at a time so they aren't all ready at once. The other plants regenerate and grow continuously so you don't have to worry about those.
I also fenced it in with T posts and garden fencing. It was a little expensive, but again, I'm learning the first garden definitely costs a bit. However, I'm hoping that I'm laying the groundwork for using it for several years. I'll update it with a good photo this weekend. There are a few other things to get done first. I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful day in Nashvegas! If you're not in Nashville, take a moment to appreciate whatever it is that's around you. And if you're gardening this spring let us know what you're growing!