Southwest Airlines Community

Growing up, we always had a garden in the backyard.  Every year, my dad planted vegetables that would last almost all summer.  As an adult, I always wanted to plant a garden, but I wasn't really sure where to start. Tilling the soil and knowing when and where to plant everything just seemed a daunting task.  It was just something I was afraid to tackle, until I saw the answer to how to make a manageable garden. I was on Facebook and saw someone share how to create a wooden pallet garden.  Could it be this simple—no tilling, no weeding, no worries?   I was ready to give it a try.  As summer is coming to an end, it’s time to plant for fall vegetables, so maybe this will inspire you to get your veggies out of the garden rather than from the grocery store! First, I had to find a pallet.  That part was easy enough, because we had some here at work that were about to be thrown out. Next, I needed a barrier cloth and boards to shore up the ends of the pallet.  I went to my local home improvement store and purchased a barrier cloth and some inexpensive fence panels.  Some stores will cut the boards to size if you need them to, which is very convenient! After that, I was ready to nail the boards in place, staple the barrier cloth to the bottom, and fill the pallet with the potting soil.  If the boards on the pallet you have are too close together, you can remove one or two of the slats to allow enough room for planting. The hardest part was deciding which vegetables to plant.  After some thought, I decided to try growing green beans, onions, radishes, green peppers, and we even decided to see if a cucumber plant might work as well.  For the green beans, I planted them at one end, and when they get big enough, I will attach a trellis for them to climb. With a minimal amount of space, you can have a great garden.  As you can see, the plants are doing well, and, except for watering, it has been no trouble at all.  We have a concrete slab in our backyard, so I put our pallet on that.  But, you can put the pallet in the grass without a problem because the barrier cloth will help keep the weeds out.  If you want a garden but have either little space or little know-how, this is a great way to gain the experience of growing your own vegetables without a huge investment of time or money.  We are already talking about what to plant next year, and we may even increase our garden to two pallets! ... View more

How do you celebrate National Cheeseball Day?  Naturally, with a cheeseball contest.  We had 15 cheeseball entries, and of course one of them was mine. Some of our fearless Supervisors and Trainers bravely volunteered to be our judges, and the competition was fierce.  After sampling the entries and having a meeting in a secret room (the conference room... oops, guess it wasn't so secret), the winner was chosen.  First place went to Denise Bernum, second place was Carol Davis and third was Susan Benn.  Since we work at an almost 24-hour center, I was not able to get the recipe for first or second place but I have included the recipe for Susan's third place winner.  I did not win, but I bet if there had been a 15th place it would've been mine! I hope you enjoyed your National Cheeseball day as much as we did.  Here is to next year! Recipe:  3- 8oz packages cream cheese                   1 pound powdered sugar  1 small jar nutella                                      1 pkg cheese cake flavored pudding mix  1 pkg dark chocolate chips                          2 tsp orange juice concentrate (do not add water)  1/2 tsp orange extract                                4 oz bag chopped pecans 1- 6oz pkg sliced almonds  combine all ingredients except almonds.  Form into ball and refrigerate overnight.  In the morning cover cheeseball with almonds to coat.   ... View more

This year for Black History Month, Southwest teamed up with The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum to send four of the wax figures from the museum on tour to Southwest properties across the country.  One of the five cities chosen to host the figures was Oklahoma City.  Once I found out the figures were coming here, I started talking to my son about them.  Of the four figures that were scheduled to be here, my son and I had only heard of one of the names before, so we decided to start researching and find out about all of the figures.    General Daniel “Chappie” James, Jr. – First African-American Four-Star General, U.S. Air Force;  member of Army Air Core Squad known as “Tuskegee Airmen” Doctor Dorothy I. Heights – National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) President Earl Graves – Founder/Publisher, Black Enterprise Magazine Sojourner Truth – Abolitionist and Women's Rights Activist Once we learned who they were and learned what great accomplishments they achieved, we waited for their arrival.  We had quite a few different events scheduled for Black History Month, including several speakers who came to the center I work at, ending the month with the display of the wax figures.  When the figures did arrive here at the center, I couldn't believe how lifelike they were.  Dressed in costumes of the period when they lived, they were quite striking.  When my son Vance saw them, he was a little taken aback.  He said he didn't realize they would be life-sized and so real looking.  We looked at all four of the figures and decided the one of General Daniel James, Jr. was our favorite.  Not only in looks, but in all that he was able to accomplish as well.  We were also quite impressed by the figure of Sojourner Truth.  Sojourner's period costume really took you back to how many hardships she must have faced.  Of course, all of the figures were amazing and we talked about in the future going to the museum in Baltimore, MD to see the entire exhibit. It really meant a lot to be able to share real history that seems to come to life with my family.  I feel very fortunate to work for a company that takes such a great interest in not only me but in allowing me to share such wonderful opportunities with my family as well.  ... View more