Traveling Memories

Creative challenge: the first steps

2012-01-30T10:09:00.000-08:00

The next few weeks are going to be heavy with posts about my new favorite hobby: Sewing.

Quick background - for those of you who have known me for quite a while, know that I adore fashion. And not so much in the haute couture scene, but more in the everyday individual style sense. Trace back even further to my days in high school and I was heavily involved in our business club's 'Fashion Team' where I worked with local merchants to produce fashion shows. After a few years of traditional college at University of Washington, I decided to needed to pursue my true passion and applied at the Art Institute of Seattle in their fashion merchandizing and designing program. I was accepted, yet after a few weeks of excruciating contemplation, I decided that I could not attend since each year's tuition was upwards of $20,000. I decided to pursue my second passion which was early childhood education and development psychology and I made a very nice little career for myself in that arena.

But I never forgot the fashion.

Fast forward now to me in my mid-30's. I have four kids, a marriage, a home in the suburbs - I'm not the young idealistic kid I was back in Seattle. But luckily through a series of fortunate events, I've had the opportunity to pursue my passion again.

I taught myself how to sew (using that old 1960's singer machine you see pictured above).

I've been self-taught for the past two years going about easy, straight line projects that I pick up from books, website, or blogs.

But now, now I feel the creative urge to start designing. So here it is. I signed up for an online ecourse called 'sewing essentials' which is a daily intensive course that last six weeks. Apparently I'll be pretty proficient by the end of this course.

And while I am doing my daily basic training, I'm in my "workroom" (read: bedroom) designing my daughter's spring and summer wardrobe. If you interested, I'm compiling my inspiration board on Pinterest.

I'm currently getting all fabrics ready (a batch I ordered will come in the mail today) and patterns assembled and ready to go. I'm really excited about this creative process so please come on this journey with me! Yeah!

Winter Garden Week: Prune

2012-01-29T21:08:00.000-08:00

I want playing with the instagram app on my ipod and this post is a direct result of these pictures. Anyway, yesterday was a gorgeous beautiful clear sunny day. How could I not take advantage of that to finish up my winter gardening? I finalized all the rest of the pruning and now I wait a month or two until active spring planting begins

Hydrangea bushes. I always wait until late winter to prune these because I love the shape of these dried out sticks in the bush.

The first set of leaf buds are starting to emerge. I always cut down my *huge* hydrangea bushes down to the first set of these little leaf sets

Pruning my tea roses. Count down five sets of leaves and do a diagonal cut right above the next set of new leaves (see the bud?)

This tea rose hung on to this bloom for five months!

Tulip bulbs are emerging

Daffodil bulbs emerging along with perennial columbine shoots

The gorgeous hellebores plant getting ready to bloom

All my primroses survived the mild winter and are starting to set out their first blooms of the year. I trimmed off all the dead and sad brown leaves and got ready to enjoy the first spring blooms (do you see the little buds?)

Awww...my hydrangea bushes after a fairly severe haircut. Don't worry they'll be 8 feet tall in the summer with huge dinner plate blooms.

My most gorgeous flower. Can you believe I have a little girl? I still can't believe it.

Edible Garden books I recommend

2012-01-28T13:58:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, a commenter on this blog asked me what books would I recommend for vegetable gardening. Granted I've been collecting gardening books for 10+ years now, but I find I refer to these three books over and over again.

This remains my tried and true favorite edible book. You can't go wrong with a book published by Sunset in my opinion

I was given this book in 2011 for my birthday and I love it. Easy interface, simple ways to incorporate homestead principles into your own suburban backyard. It's pretty simplistic so I would definitely get a more comprehensive book from Sunset as a companion.

Confession - I don't own this book. But I do check it out from the library every year at the beginning of the season to refer to one or two things. If I find it at Costco, then I'll get it this year.

Winter Garden Week: planning for the year

2012-01-27T10:19:00.000-08:00

Every experienced gardener will tell you this simple truth - winter is for planning. It's the time when you get sick of the rain and grey (okay "sick of grey" if you live in the Northwest like I do) and you need something to pull you through to the spring.

This is when I get out my big 4" spiral bound notebook and start planning!

there are so many options for planning a garden. I'm a busy busy mom who really doesn't have much free time to be drafting layouts on the computer or inputting information to excel. No, I use the very old-fashioned method of getting a white piece of paper, a nice dark Sharpie marker, all my past research and sit at the kitchen table overlooking my backyard victory garden. I draw out a simple sketch of my backyard planters - not to scale - just so I am able to differentiate each box. Since I like to successively plant, I do a 'spring' layout and 'summer' layout on one piece of paper.

An important part of organic gardening is practicing a method called 'crop rotation'. Google this term for more extensive information, but in very basic simple terms it means that you change the location of certain crops every year so diseases and pests stay one step behind you.

When i plan out my current year's garden, I take into account not only last year's layout, but the previous year's layout as well. In fact, for extra credit, I will even go as far back as three years.

I group my plantings into these categories: Tomatoes, beans, peas, peppers, cucumbers, zukes, and eggplant. I have 8 planting spaces so that means I am able to rotate all of these crops effectively from one box to the next with 1 box leftover for herbs, tomatillos, and lettuces.

Every good gardener knows that there is always something new to learn. This year (after many many years of food gardening) I finally learned the plants that actually put nutrients back into the soil - like beans and peas. So as I'm planning out my rotations I make sure to put a bean crop in a box that has previously grown very heavy feeders like cucumbers and tomatoes. And when my spring pea crop dies off in the heat of the summer, I chop up the leaves and bury them in boxes that house heavy feeder plants.

Inside my spiral notebook, I have pages from magazines that have vegetable design layouts I want to try or new growing techniques that look very attractive. I put the pages into plastic sleeves and refer back to them when I'm in the planning process.

After I have the new year's layout pretty much drawn out, I get out the old seed catalog and pick a few (okay 4-5) new varieties of my vegetable standards that I would like to try. This year I'm going to try a new variety of paste tomato called Cuore Di Bue Tomato and a small cucumber that will be fun for my kids to eat off the vine called Mexican Sour Gherkin Cucumbers (they look like mini watermelons!). Here in the NW, Territorial seeds is the gold standard of unique, tried-and-tested varieties, and serious gardener eye candy. However, the one thing that sets this company out is the amazing and extensive information they give on every plant and seed they sell. In fact, at the beginning of every category they will give all the basic growing conditions and tips for that plant. It has become my bathtub reading!

For other seeds and plants that aren't as special and dont' need to be ordered from a catalog, I use seeds from my previous year's stash, seeds that I collected and saved, and plants from a local nursery.

Are you excited? I am!

Gardening in Years past

2012-01-24T12:37:00.000-08:00

I was going over my past few years of gardeing posts and I have to say that I have some good ones. Today is a busy cleanup-the-house day for me so I'm going to post my favorite early spring gardening posts from 2010 and 2011. They are pretty informative written from a very informal level. Just click on the sentence for the link. Happy Gardening!

EPIC long version of my 2010 garden: what worked, what didn't, what to change, what to look forward to

The Beginning of our BackYard Victory Garden

Early Spring Veggie Planting: bush peas vs. vine peas and Salad Greens

February Backyard Gardening and adding organic materials

Getting the Front Yard ready with bare roots, natural fertlizers, dividing plants, and spring annuals

Why I went Organic and Why I am obnoxious about it

Adding natural and organic materials to amend your soil

2012-01-23T13:39:00.000-08:00

Whew - how's that for a blog post title?

It's true, though, that this is a really good time to start thinking about amending your soil. I'm of the belief that when you are adding organic material to your soil you need a good couple of months for the materials to break down and filter into the soil.

As you know, I'm getting myself reading for another gardening year by cleaning up my yard. After I have my planting beds tucked in, I usually focus on the existing perennial plants, trees, and shrubs in other parts of my garden. In January and February - since they are not active growing months for me - I save certain kitchen scraps to make my own little "compost" to add to the soil.

Right now, I'm amending my rose plants and my hydrangea. I googled 'natural fertilizers rose bushes' a few years back and came across several suggestions of adding banana peels, egg shells, and coffee grounds to the soil.

I keep the coffee grounds container right next to my espresso machine and empty the used grounds into that. After the bucket is full, I make up my compost solution.

If you are not a coffee drinker, they have used grounds at Starbucks that they will give you for free. Coffee adds acidity to the soil.

Chop up the banana peels before mixing - they will break down faster that way. By the way, banana peels add potassium to the soil.

Let the egg shells dry naturally and then give them a few good whops to crack them up into little pieces. Shells will add calcium to the soil.

FYI: I add lots of peat moss and coffee grounds to my blueberry plants, hydrangeas, and strawberry plants.

I add egg shells to hydrangeas, tomato plants (prevents blossom end rot), and anywhere I'm going to plant brassicas (like broccoli and cabbage).

I will add banana peel to just about anything since most plants like potassium.

You can use BONE MEAL for calcium and phosphorus and used when planting bulbs and tomato plants.

BLOOD MEAL adds nitrogen which is the one essential nutrient that is typically missing from soils (phosphorus and potassium being more common). Plants grown in soil lacking proper amounts of nitrogen will yellow from the leaves down due to nitrogen deficiency. Applying blood meal will help plants become green again

Winter Garden Week: cleanup

2012-01-17T16:13:00.000-08:00

You know how some people are reluctant to show you their messy homes, closets, garages, etc? I don't like to show people those things, but I especially don't like to show my messy gardens because it is something I pride myself upon.

But in order to help anyone out there to get their garden on, I figure I should show you how I do things, messy or not.

I usually find myself "cleaning" up the garden in January. Mostly because I'm dealing with a severe case of holiday and birthday letdown and I need to get out and clear my head. But also because by January we've had a hard freeze or two and I know what has completely died or gone into dormancy and it seems easier to trim, remove, and prune what I need to.

Red twigged plant in the container is one of our blueberry bushes

Get my large yard waste container and put all the late maturing fruits from last summer's garden in it as well as any woody stems or dead annuals

View of the back door leading out to the deck. See the green moss that covers the wood? You can thank wet Oregon fall and winter for that. Looks like I will need to pressure wash this spring

Clear the side perennial bed of dead leaves, annuals, and plants that didn't survive the frosts (I haven't lost any so far!)

I usually pile up all the cleared materials and put it into the walkways and then wheel around my yard waste container and put the piles in them

I also add the hoops for my hoop house at this time because we're really only a month away from planting cold season vegetables. Plus, with this method of hoop house heating, I may get to start as early as a few weeks from now!

After I clear all the debris from each bed, I put a double layer of black garbage bags (or if I wasn't so cheap, I would use black plastic mulch that I could reuse next year) to insulate from weed seeds, bake out and help break down the current plants in the bed, and warm up the soil. In the spring planting, I will cut holes in the plastic in which to place my seedlings.

This is my side pumpkin, squash, and sunflower bed. I use many of my empty hanging containers and baskets to weigh down the plastic.

Tomorrow - adding organic material to the winter garden

Garden WEEK at Traveling Memories

2012-01-16T09:55:00.000-08:00

This week is WINTER garden week at my blog.

For those of you who comment that I have a Martha Stewart garden (which I totally don't!), I wanted to show you the winter preparations I make in order to get ready for spring. Every day this week will be a new glimpse so check back with me everyday!

Ruffle Dress completed and came out a tunic

2012-01-15T16:09:00.000-08:00

Look at Friday's post for the inspiration dress. Although its designer - Jessica at Me Sew Crazy - claimed it was a 10 minute dress - I think that was meant for people who had mad sewing skills. I'm not one of those. I'm a very new beginner. So my first attempt at creating this dress was a big fat fail. I spent last night redoing the dress using double fold bias tape on the neck and arm hems and adding a polka dot sash. The only problem was that I cut the original dress over three months ago and my darling girl has grown a bit since then so it was now a Ruffle Tunic instead of a Ruffle Dress.

Please excuse the pictures - I'm kind of inbetween cameras and I'm currently using my iPod camera.

I looked at one of Lane's current Gap dresses for ideas on how to finish the neck and arm hems.

I also liked how the back closure was finished.

So I took my dress - and laid the Gap dress over it to trace the shape

I then added double fold bias tape on the edges

This was the original finished neck - you can see why it looked so bad

Arm hole finished with bias tape

For me - the key to attaching bias tape is lots and lots of pins and patience

I then decided to use my WALKING FOOT that I got for Christmas to sew up the sides. The walking foot makes it so both sides feed the fabric at the same time. It really works! I loved using it on the knit fabric!

Finished product

Whew - such a relief to finish that one! It turned out to be a 2 hour dress for me once it was all said and done. I'm not sure if it looks super homemade but oh well - she'll grow out of it before I would have a chance to fix it anyway!

Do-over on a ruffle dress

2012-01-13T14:56:00.000-08:00

If you're on Pinterest, then you may have seen this dress floating around on it.

from a fabulous mommy sewing blog called Me Sew Crazy

I felt confident enough in my beginning sewing skills that I thought, "surely, I can make a 10 minute ruffle dress". Off to the fabric store mecca in Portland I went and came home with 2 yards of purple ruffle fabric. I followed all the directions on the tutorial and threw it on Lane. My husband came home and I exclaimed, "Well....what do you think??!!"
He said, "Uhhh....looks like you sewed it."

Not a good review.

So I picked out all the seams, remeasured it, refitted it on Lane, and promptly put it away in the cupboard. That was about three months ago.

Since then, I've taken a few classes and have made a few more garments. I feel like I can return to the ruffle dress. So be watching for my finished garment....

Want to save over $200 a year on coffee?

2012-01-12T10:42:00.001-08:00

A few years back my brother and sister in law handed down their old espresso machine to us. We looked at it and thought, oh okay, sure we'll take it and kind of put it on a shelf and forgot about it. We continued to buy lattes or coffees at local espresso joints throughout the week. And then, one day, we thought about getting the espresso machine out and make a latte.

This was the beginning of the end.

The end of purchasing lattes ever again.

Fast forward a few years later and I easily - EASILY - make myself 2-3 lattes a day. If I know I'm going somewhere where a coffee purchase is a possibility, I just make a to-go latte for myself to sip while others are purchasing and drinking their coffees.

And yes, I have even been known to TAKE THIS ESPRESSO MACHINE WITH ME to places so I can make myself a fresh latte. I did it just a few weeks ago when I met with my cousins for a holiday get together - of course I offered to make anyone else a latte but they kind of looked at me like I was crazy and frankly, it is kind of crazy, but who cares? I'm saving tons of money.

Here are the numbers (and honestly I don't get any sort of compensation for recommending these although it would be good if I did)

De'Longhi espresso machine - anywhere from $80-95 - http://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-EC155-Espresso-Cappuccino-Maker/dp/B000F49XXG
Organic Rain forest Espresso Coffee - 3.5 pounds purchased at Costco for $19 (lasts us about one month)
Organic milk - $4/gallon purchased at Costco in a set and it lasts about a week.

I've already converted one of my best friends - will I convert YOU??

Pressure Canning - not something to fear

2012-01-09T17:11:00.001-08:00

This post is for canning nerds - you know, people like me who think that the retro activity of canning and preserving foods is really neat and fun (tongue in cheek)

If you enjoy canning but are afraid of the dreaded pressure canner - let me be the first to tell you that PC (pressure canning) is really easy! Almost easier than boiling water canning. It definitely is less burney on your fingers than boiling water canning - that's for sure.

Anyway, I find that I have been spending these winter months stocking up my pressure canning stores - like refried beans, white (cannelli), kidney, and black beans. I've been PC lots of chicken, beef, and ham stock.

And it's all organic and how local can you get - I do it in my kitchen - okay that is not what is meant by local, but I still love the fact that I spend $2.50 on a 2 lbs of dried beans and in return I get 7 cans of organic beans. How's that for frugal?

We recently just popped open the LAST JAR FROM SUMMER'S PRESERVES! That's right - all my 28 jars of various jams GONE, all 20 quarts of applesauce GONE, all 55 pints of various tomato products GONE. All that is left is some apple pie filling and some pickles. So it makes sense to stock up on other items that I can pressure can for the time being.

The new normal

2012-01-05T10:06:00.001-08:00

I now blog from my phone which should tell you something about my inability to keep up with things. Below are pictures that I felt provided a small sample of my life and wouldn't you know it - they are blurred, upside down, sideways, bad quality, and disjointed. Hmmm....metaphor for my life?

A sideways view of my office - AFTER Lane systematically destroyed it while I was checking FB - happens on a weekly if not daily basis

If you turn upside down to see this picture - it's all my kids in all their glory - a typical car ride from here on out!

The gorgeous destructor herself - most everyone who meets her says that she is the MOST busy out of all my children (and that is saying something) and she is definitely the MOST destructive (but dang, isn't she cute??)

My new full figure. I need to lose about 10-15 lbs. But I haven't yet and so I'm super voluptuous

If I want to clean anything - I have two "HELPERS" who don't really help at all but get in my way most of the time

Every family meal is LOUD, CRAZY, CHATTY, ANIMATED, AND FULL OF CONVERSATION. Great if you're into this type of thing - a headache if you're not.

So welcome FRIENDS and FAMILY!

I'm back - I just couldn't stay away. You may have noticed that last year I fell off the blogging bandwagon a bit before summer began. That was when my baby girl started RUNNING and then I was in full fledged mother of four kids mode. I kept telling myself that things would return to normal in a few months - I would have my house under control, I would lose the 10 remaining baby pounds - Lane would get "easier" - I could have a more controlled chaos.

But guess what?

It never did return to normal. It only got more complicated, more crazy, more loud, and more chubby (me). So I did some introspective thinking and I've come to this conclusion.

This life - my life - this...is the new normal.

I finally got it through my thick skull - life is not going to return to what I knew. Why should it? I now have four children. I'm thicker into this motherhood and homemaker thing than I ever was before. Here is another revelation - one I had been fighting for quite some time.

I like my life. I like being a mom. I like being a homemaker. No, scratch that. I really like being a homemaker.

I always operated under the assumption that I would have a career separate from being a mom because that is what women of my generation do. They have a career and they have a family. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE that we have this option. But I decided a few years back when we decided to add two more kids to the bunch that I would be a mom - as a career. I would be a kick-ass homemaker. And so far - I really am kicking ass as a homemaker. I find it to be really exciting and allows me to be very creative.

No, cleaning toilets and doing dishes is not creative. But figuring out where to take the little kids on a their morning outings is. And designing and creating new clothing for Lane is very fulfilling. And dont' get me started on my organic garden - I mean, I love that entity that occupies my entire yard. My garden expresses who I am and what I love and value.

I remember reading years and years ago that you can't take a U-Haul with you to heaven. But you take your loved ones and you leave the legacy. I may not have a strong career in counseling and child development like I thought I would and my house and car are not very glamorous. But oh - the legacy we have going here in these walls is great. I have passionate and purpose in my life.

And for here on out on this little blog of mine - I'm going to share it with you.

Welcome to my new normal.

New year - new start

2012-01-02T20:30:00.001-08:00

There is a very strong chance I will be coming back to blog world. stay tuned!

It's time to say Goodbye

2011-09-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

After much pondering, I have decided it is time for me to shut down my little blog. It's something I've maintained for over 4 1/2 years and it has been a blessing for me. However, as my fourth child grows into toddlerhood and I feel like I'm being pulled in a million directions, I decided I needed to declutter my life. Blog or not, I can only handle the very small simple things.

Love to you all and catch you again when life slows a little - whenever that is.

love, shannan

Sweet tomatoes

2011-09-13T13:37:00.001-07:00

I was feeling so bummed mid-August because of unripe tomatoes and blossom end rot on the tomatoes that did get past green, a direct result of the coldest and wettest summer I have experienced since living in oregon. But in a clutch moment, this post week boasted 90-100° weather, thus ripening almost every tomato plant I have.

Well lookie what I picked yesterday!

A Cherokee Purple heirloom grown from seed (generously sent by fellow garden blogger Di from Voice in the Garden).

You can see how large it is in my hand and weighed almost 10 oz! I love the weird, kooky shape of Cherokee Purples - they never cease to amaze me with their size and shape contortions.

This next heirloom called Pineapple lived up to its reputation. This is the first one picked (many more large ones to come hopefully) and it weighed in at 1 lb. 2 oz! Wow!

It looks more like a small pumpkin in my hand rather than a tomato. I'm going to be taking this with me to places I frequent to show it off. So if you see a crazy lady in TJ Maxx showing you her large yellow tomato, don't be too freaked out :-)

Thanks fellow Oregon gardeners for being so generous with your seeds, advice, and garden wisdom. It has made a world of difference. Check out one of my favorite Oregon blogs called An Oregon Cottage on this Garden party Tuesday

One of my better gardening choices

2011-08-17T09:59:00.001-07:00

This is my office on a typical morning - checking emails, ebay, paying bills, etc.

Most mornings, the window is open for the morning breeze to blow through the screen.

This past spring, I planted the two rose bushes that have the reputation of extremely fragrant blossoms. I also planted lots and lots of sweet peas.

And my plan worked! Every time I sit down to the computer, I smell the most intense sweet fragrances of these flowers as their scent blows in on the breeze. Smart planning Shannan! (and they don't look too shabby as cut flowers on my desk as well)

Boo to the farmers market

2011-08-13T09:04:00.001-07:00

Farmer's Markets are all the rage. I mean, c'mon, you have to be living under a rock the past five years to not understand how trendy, hipster, "green", and fabulous it is to shop locally, esp. at the local farmer's market. Under normal circumstances, I would say that I whole hearted agree with this concept.

HOWEVER...and it's a big however....I have found that the more I grow my own produce and the more I learn about fruits, vegetables, and such, the more I realize that the farmer's market just isn't for me. I go into these markets with such happiness and energy that I support this movement, but this summer the few times I have visited my farmer's market, I feel so disappointed when I leave.

Case in point: This is what I picked yesterday from my garden.

ALL ORGANIC - pint of blueberries, handful of pickling cucumbers, three zucchini

A entire basket of green beans, a few walla wall onions

Another basket of basil and a few more pickling cucumbers.

Imagine what this would have cost me at the farmer's market. Also, I know exactly what I grew and I knew how to cook it, etc.

The other day I went to the farmer's market looking for beets. I have never really eaten them, but I hear such great things about them, I thought I would try some before I made the commitment to buy seeds and grow them. I went to three different stands and I asked all of the people behind the register how to cook the beets and what is their favorite. All three were cranky and unhelpful and one didn't even know how to locate a beet on the table. I was so disappointed. I did buy some beets, and I did like them roasted, but I won't be going to farmer's market to purchase them again.

I also read this story recently from a fellow gardener blogger about her experience with farmer's markets and inability to discern what a tomato is. Blah!

I feel even more discouraged as I write this. Oh well.

If you are wondering what I made with some of those fabulous green beans - I blanched them, then caramelized some of my Walla walla onions, and stir fried the green beans, onions, basil flower heads (leftover from the basil I picked for pesto), and toasted walnuts. It was so fresh and flavorful.

Late July Garden

2011-08-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

The summer has finally started! Up until late July, the weather has been cool and kind of rainy - never getting above mid-70's (I know people in the midwest and east are growling as they read this, but it is true!) I've been babying my little garden along and finally now that the heat has set in, my plants are growing like crazy.

So let's meander down through the garden, shall we?

Pepper plants - happy against the white house and light stone pathways - very hot

Can you see the peppers? Hopefully they'll turn red by the end of the summer!

Romaine lettuce that grew in the cool shade of the tomato plants. Looks like we're having some Cesear salad soon.

Bush bean plants - I thought I planted the rows far apart, but I guess I didn't. Purple, yellow, and green beans.

Walla walla sweet onions - this is my first year growing these. So far, I think, so good.

The squash plants. This bed is on the east part of the house and I planted so many plants because I was afraid they wouldn't grow. Well, they are growing like crazy vines. Right into the dogs' poop patch!

Baby pumpkins

Eggplant - my first Millionaire. Yeah! These are fantastic brushed with a little EVOO and grilled or roasted. They have a sweet nutty flavor.

Blueberries

I noticed that a few of my plants were looking a little droopy and yellow. So I figured it was time to give them a little liquid boost. I've used fish fertilizer in the past for seedlings, but never on a large scale for the garden. First of all, fish fertlizer is organic and water soluable - which is great. But it stinks - oh lordy does it stink.

I have this old miracle grow sprayer from back in the day before I went organic. I use this sprayer for watering my plants because it has a great spray. But then I had this great idea to put about a half cup of fish fertilizer in this and add water and see how it goes. Well it worked great - but smelly smelly yard! (can I just say that the next day, my plants looked so perky and happy)

This leggy tomato plant has been sitting in its pot, waiting for the peas to peter out so I could pull them out and plant this tomato. Finally, this past week I decided to pull the plug on the peas (they were still going!) and put the tomato plant where it needs to go. Would you believe there were roots coming out the little water drainage hole in the bottom?

I gave all my tomatoes a nice haircut and pruning session.

Tomatoes, bush beans, and onions

Beginnings of Cherokee Purple tomato

San Marzano 'Gigante' roma tomatoes - it looks like I'm going to have a steady supply for salsa and sauces.

Roma plant after it's haircut

Why I love Oregon

2011-07-21T22:30:00.001-07:00

Today I was feeling a little blue and out of sorts. So I figured out childcare for the little ones and headed out to one of my favorite U-pick farms - Olson's. For 90 minutes I furiously picked and picked every fruit available. I picked in silence, I prayed a little, I listened to some podcasts and rounded out the time with a book on tape called The Dirty Life (note: you can get so much done when you are not sheparding littleones at the farm).

I visited a gorgeous cherry tree grove with perfectly ripe Rainier and Bing cherries (8 lbs). Then off to the blueberry field overlooking the rural Salem countyside (5 lbs). Quick stop at the strawberry patch (it was the last berry picking of the season, but manohman are those berries ripe and sweeeeet) (2 lbs). Last stop at the thornless raspberry bushes and HUGE Katota blackberry bushes. (2 lbs).
When I loaded up all my picks at the pay stand, the grand total was $15.35! How can you beat that? Answer: you can't. Almost all my blues were melted away as I headed back for home. Best $16 I've spent in while! Tomorrow I have an entire day planned with baking, canning, pie making, flash freezing-home making heaven :-)

Shelling peas

2011-07-21T22:25:00.001-07:00

This is the first year I've grown shelling peas. Warning: they grow TALL! Luckily we built a trellis "bridge" between two of our planter raised beds. The variety I grew was called 'Tall telephone' and it is gladly putting out bowls and bowls of peas (small bowls, but bowls nonetheless). The highlight of most of our mornings this past week have been picking, shelling, and eating fresh peas. Love!

July Garden post in the works!

2011-07-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

As the summer days are in full swing around here, what with four young children at home ALL DAY LONG, as my garden provides an opportunity for part-time employment, as I make daily running and exercising a priority, and my camera keeps breaking - I wonder if keeping this blog up is important or not.

I've decided that it is important enough to highlight things that are important to me and thus I'm working on my July garden post. Please stay tuned.

First preserving of the season!

2011-06-30T21:28:00.001-07:00

Just made it. A batch of strawberry jam made fresh from strawberries I picked just this morning from my organic patch. I used organic fair-trade sugar and cooked to gelling point. I did not use pectin.

It took lots of time and effort to get these humble jars of jam, but boy does it feel satisfying to see them on my counter.

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Early June garden

2011-06-12T20:13:00.001-07:00

(salad bed - Romaine, mesclun, and BonVivant mix)

Oregon is not short on cool spring temperatures and rainfall.

As a result, my early June garden is full of cool season plants who are loving the conditions! Green, lush edibles meet you at every step. Let me show you what the garden looks like right now....

Bush Pea Plants

Notice that they are not very tall. They do send out tendrils to wrap around supports, but grow only 12-18" high. This particular variety is one that lets you eat the shell as well as the pea. Pictured is the FIRST blossom! It would be nice to get some peas before July when I absolutely have to rip this plant out to get my tomatillos in.

Raspberry Plants

I have to say that my two favorite fruits are blueberries and raspberries. Well we have seven blueberry plants - time to get some raspberries started. I know NOTHING about planting these so I am learning for the first time. We bought four little canes from our local nursery (for $2 each!) and here we go! I'm planning on staking them onto a trellis like they do in the U-pick farms so my hopes are that they don't get too out of hand.

Peppers

This year we are growing: 4 red peppers, 2 jalapenos, and 1 poblano. They are situated in the bed right next to our house. Not only do these south facing beds get ALL DAY SUN, but the light and heat reflects off the light house and light pathways. Perfect for peppers!

Vine Shelling Peas

We had this amazing idea to employ more vertical spaces and installed a trellis over two of our raised boxes to make a tunnel. Right now we have "tall telephone" shelling peas growing on them

Walla Walla Onions & Cilantro (with ground cherries growing in the background)

First time growing onions. I took Jami's advice from Oregon Cottage and decided to plant my onions on the perimeter of each planting bed. Pictured is my herb bed. I have 9 cilantro plants right behind the onions (I started in the bed from seed). In the very back are the ground cherries or husk tomatoes - this is the first time I've tried these. I hear they are fabulous.

Squash/Pumpkin Bed

This bed faces eastward so it gets great morning sun (which is not very hot) - it has sun on it until 3 or 4 in the afternoon - so it gets at least 7-8 hours of sunlight. Not the best growing conditions for squash plants, but this bed gives the most room for these plants to roam. I started all of these plants from seed - half of them I planted direct into the ground in mid-May and the other half I started indoors in pots in mid-May and just recently transplanted them out to the bed. I'll let you know how they grow! (I also plant sunflowers in this bed to encourage lots of bees to come to this section of the garden).

Varieties I'm growing: Jack Be Little, Sugar Pie, Casper (white pumpkins) and Acorn Squash.

Broccoli (the ants attacked again!)

This year I planted 12 broccoli plants determined to not let those stupid black ants get to them again. Well guess what? The black ants did it again!! I lost three plants so far. They eat the roots! However, nine plants are left and doing okay so far. Pictured are the broccoli grave sites of my lost plants :(

Bush Beans

I just planted the first three rows of bush beans (each row is denoted by the flower plant markers) - my preferred way to grow beans. I'm started with a row each of purple, green, and yellow beans. In about one month I'll start another three rows of the same varieties.

Tomatoes

Out of all the plants I started and/or purchased, the tomatoes have been the most drama. First I lost most of my early seedlings to mouse/cat attacks. Then, when I was hardening off my crops, I lost half of them to too-cold nighttime temperatures. I was able to save enough tomatoes for my own garden as well as sell 25 plants to friends who took my gardening classes.

Varieties I'm growing this year: Legend, Stupice, 2 -Beef Eater, 2 -San Marzano 'Gigante' roma, Pineapple, Cherokee Purple (all three of these varieties were shared by fellow gardening gal Di from Eugene, Or), and last but not least my most FAVORITE cherry - Chocolate Cherry. If you count - that is NINE tomato plants. Pictured below are the small babies in our south-facing bedroom planting bed where we planted our zucchinis last year.

Dill

At the front part of my squash/pumpkin bed, I decided to throw in some dill seed. You may remember that my family Loved - Capitol L-O-V-E-D the homemade dill pickles I canned last year (especially the fridge dill pickles). It really bugged me that I needed to buy fresh dill at the Farmer's Market every week. So this year I threw in some seeds and grow my own - we'll see.

Blueberry Plants

Oh how I tried to get closeups of the blueberries developing on my plants - but no luck - I don't have a fancy camera :( I will say this, my plants are so happy! And to think they were little twigs three years ago. Every year I amend the soil with used coffee grounds, peat moss, compost, and composted manure. They seem to love the combination. They have literally hundreds - maybe thousands of berries on them! (well thousands between all of the plants)

Last but not least - my new most favorite part of my garden. Two new clotheslines! They are located on the far western part of the garden and most mornings I hang the laundry up to dry and then work in the garden after that. How awesome and Norman Rockwell is this garden!!

Keep you all posted! Here's hoping for warmer temperatures - we've been holding steady at low 70's for the last few weeks.

I'm fine(d)

2011-06-07T16:20:00.001-07:00

{A picture tells 1,000 words}

You can't tell because I took a screen shot of my computer from my phone, but this is my library account.

Yes, you read correctly, I owe $21.00 in fines. *free* library isn't so free anymore.

Do your kids eat green?

2011-06-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

How many of us complain that our kiddos - especially the toddlers - don't eat enough greens?
Here is what has worked for me. First, I don't have a negative attitude towards vegetables. As in, I don't say out loud to my children, "I hate vegetables. Kids, just choke down your veggies because they are good for you." We actually enjoy fruits and vegetables around here - organic makes it taste sweeter and better - and we tend to grow only fruits and vegetables we really like to eat. Why grow something you dont' want to eat?

Second, my kids help plant the vegetables. A few months ago, my 3 year old helped plant seeds (spinach pictured here) and throughout the following weeks, help me water and tend to the plants - often taking samples.

Third, they help harvest the vegetables. They ALWAYS have free reign over eating from the garden. They can eat what they want since that is one of the reasons I grow it! (they especially like to operate the salad spinner)

And Fourth, I throw greens into everything. Smoothies, sauces, pasta, dishes - it is not unusual in the least to have green flecks in their food.

My recent and best discovery? I found Popsicle molds at IKEA and I will freeze smoothies into them. My favorite smoothie recipe: 2-3 cups of frozen fruit (I like the wawona mix from Costco), 1 c. of cottage cheese, 1/2 c. of milk (enough to let the smoothie mix), and a ripe banana. Once mixed up, I add 2-3 handfuls of fresh spinach. It looks green once mixed, but tastes like heaven.

Nothing artificial in this "Popsicle"!

Linking to Tuesday Garden Party at Oregon Cottage. Want garden ideas? Check the links!!

Perspective

2011-05-29T15:16:00.001-07:00

You may see a backyard full of weedy beds and paths.

I see an opportunity to get on my knees, put on my headphones, listen to a book on my ipod, catching up on podcasts, pray, meditate on goodness in my life, and plan for my and the garden's future while I hand pull every last sprout.

And then, before I know it, the task is completed and it is time to go back inside.

the garden has over taken! (and it's not even summer yet)

2011-05-28T13:17:00.001-07:00

Forgive me dear family and friends if I don't return your phone or texts over the next week. My garden has taken my life over and I have such limited time to work in it (given my four young children, a baby who likes to eat dirt, a husband who has to work 75 hours this week). I'm just grateful I have such an awesome garden that gives me such huge opportunities to hone my talents and craft!

First real "harvest"

2011-05-23T05:55:00.001-07:00

Tonight we had spinach quiche for dinner. Around 1:00, I realized that I didn't have enough spinach in my freezer. Then I remembered I had an abundant supply growing in my yard.

Check out my gorgeous organic spinach! They were so happy under the plastic row covers. Some leaves were as big as my hands! 1.5 lbs harvested and fit into a gallon ziploc bag.

Quick tip: if you decide to grow any sort of leaf vegetable-like lettuce, spinach, chard - invest in a salad spinner. Trust me. It spins the water off the leaves and saves you soggy leaves.

How we PacNW have to start tomatoes and peppers

2011-05-19T14:42:00.001-07:00

I've been in the PacNW (pacific northwest) for 17 years! One of the most endearing qualities (and I sincerely mean this) of this great region is that you have MANY days in May and even June where the daily temps stay in the mid-60's. As someone who HATES hot weather, this is a blessing.

However......this is not a blessing for a vegetable gardener. I've only been seriously growing fruit and vegetables for a few years now and I understand why PacNW gardeners lament over "cold" spring temps. With cold soil and unpredictable rainfall, we have to figure out methods to trick our plants into thinking that it's okay to start growing and producing.

This is the first year I've done this and so far so good. I bought a box of black yard trash bags and I folded each bag up and laid them flat over the beds I'm going to put the tomatoes and peppers in. I laid some rocks I had laying around the yard on the corners to secure the bags and then basically let them m sit for a few weeks. When I went to go plant, I cut a crisscross slit in the bag and planted the plant directly in the dirt. The soil felt incredibly warm despite the outside temp being 63°. I tucked the plastic back around the base of the plant until daytime temps are consistently warm (prob around mid-June). I also have plastic milk jugs with the bottoms cut out that I put over the plants for cold nights.

Hopefully my efforts will pay off and I'll have tomatoes in late June!

Cool season update

2011-05-17T15:31:00.001-07:00

I began my "cool season" garden about one month ago in mid-april. Normally, I like to get the peas and lettuces in by mid-march but I was late for whatever reason (baby, toddler, two older boys in sports -take your pick).
Luckily everything seems to be producing whole-heartedly.

{blueberry plants with tons of flowers!}

{Lettuce bed - front: mesclun mix, mid: romaine, third: bon vivant mix, back: peas}

{Row covered Box - front: spinach, middle: rainbow chard, back: broccoli}

{over wintered parsley, cilantro, and thyme}

{My own seedlings hardening off - tomato, peppers, and basil}

{Early May view of the backyard garden}

Linking to Tuesday Garden Party - check out other fabulous gardens - I sure do!

Garden Week!

2011-05-16T10:42:00.001-07:00

My garden has sprung up almost overnight. There is so much to share that I thought I would take the opportunity to share all my updates throughout the upcoming week. Enjoy!

{and please feel free to comment or ask questions}

Happy
Spring!

Ode to my mother

2011-05-10T06:34:00.001-07:00

This year I get a really special mother's day treat. I get to be a mom to a daughter. So special to me on so many levels.

One of the best parts about my daughter is that she isn't a carbon copy of me (something I had wished for), but rather a carbon copy of MY mother. Every day she is looking more and more and more like "Janie". She has curly brown hair and big blue eyes and she just looks like a Brown you know? (i think we need to insert tribe or brown into her middle names)

The kicker- the other day she woke up with the frizzest curly hair ever-something my mom complains about always. So mom, here is your tribute, your copy, your granddaughter, enjoy :-)

50% smarter

2011-05-08T17:50:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, Blake told me he couldn't see very well when he read books. He also frequently complained of headaches. I figured he needed to get glasses. Off we go to the eye dr. who tells me at the end of the exam that Blake can see just fine, but perhaps needs the glasses as a sort of ego booster. Considering our insurance covers one pair of glasses per year, we figured we would go ahead and get our older middle child some symbolic attention- a way of carving himself out of the fray (he's the only one who wears glasses so far).

Today we picked up his glasses (I think he looks rather dashing) and he announced that indeed he reads better and is 50% smarter! Well...great!

A lovely day

2011-05-04T12:31:00.001-07:00

Enjoying a warm sun-filled day in the comforts of our home victory garden. No screens, no bulk-laden over consumption stores, no artificial noise. Just sun, wind, pebbles,a watering can, hanging laundry. Simple.

Nights at the ball park

2011-05-03T19:53:00.001-07:00

Both of my older boys are playing upper division little league. J in his second year of majors and B in his first year of AAA. Between their combined playing and practice schedule, we, as a family, are at the ball park six days a week- and we're not even in playoffs yet!

The thing is, even though it is quite intensive time-wise, I really like baseball season. The two little kids have a ball playing in the grass, dirt and flowers. There is always a little sibling to play with (and slide down dirt hills with!) We've been with the south league long enough that we've made good "baseball" friends with other parents. And it is a way to get out of the confines of our safe house to be outside every evening with fresh air and in our community. Not a bad way to transition out of winter and fully appreciate spring!

For you baseball nerds out there, I'll tell you that the family baseball gene has been passed on to our boys. Jer has been working with Jackson on playing catcher and he took to it like a fish to water. It is amazing to watch him play. Blake plays catcher as well and mimics the major league movements his dad taught him.

You don't hear a lot about the older boys on this blog partly because they are older and have a growing social life outside of the home with sports and school. However, I am proud as punch of them! They're my boys!

A little bit of organic pest control

2011-05-02T16:59:00.001-07:00

The other day when I went out to pick some fresh cilantro to add to our dinner, I noticed that there were lots of tiny holes all in the leaves. Upon further investigation, I identified several teeny tiny slugs buried among the base of the plants. If there is anything that makes me mad, it's freakin' slugs eating my plants! (okay, it's up there with mice eating my plants. Oh and ants eating my plants too).

Anyway, after a quick search on my fave garden blogs, I saw two (organic) methods I could try. The first method is to hand pick out all the slugs you see and squash them (check) and the second one is to place eggshells around them- the rationale being that slugs don't like to crawl over jagged surfaces.

I'll let you know how out works out (and I always have the option of breaking out the slug bait, I'm not above that!)

Moving to higher waters

2011-05-01T20:00:00.001-07:00

This morning was the final straw. I went out to the garage and most of the tomato plants were eaten within an inch of their lives. Blah that makes me so cranky. So the survivors were air-lifted to the warm comforts of my kitchen and joined my other plants in the south facing window. This is commitment, people.

Careful what you fertilize with

2011-04-30T06:48:00.001-07:00

(still mobile blogging)

A big tragedy struck my poor seedlings the other day. Quick background: We started a variety of tomato, pepper, and herb seeds, most heirloom varieties. We put most in our unheated garage under a shop light and over a heatedT seef mat. We didn't have enough space in the garage so we put about 1/3 in a south face window. That was about a month

Fast forward to this week. Seedlings were getting pretty big and strong but I noticed some leaves were turning yellow. Taking my gardening friend, Jami from Oregon cottage, advice I put liquid fish fertilizer on them. Well wouldn't you know it the next day when I went out to turn on the shop light I was greeted with the most horrifying sight. (at this point in the story check out the pictures below). Something in my garage had eaten every last one of my poblano and red pepper plants. Also almost every single set of seed leaves were eaten off! Seriously? SERIOUSLY!

We have a stray cat that occasionally lives under our house-which is fine with us since it eats all the mice under the house. But I think the fish fertilizer was just too enticing for kitty because within two days of putting that fertilizer on, the plants were eaten!

It's been almost a week since I discovered the terror annihilation in my garage and I'm sad to say that the plants look terrible (look at pictures). I originally started all these heirloom varieties to sell at my warm season gardening class. But I don't know if they will make it. Weak plants are sitting ducks for garden pests and I don't think my seedlings are strong enough to sell. What a bummer as I wanted to make a buck selling them! Blah and double blah!!

Seedling adventure to be continued......

End of an amazing day

2011-04-28T19:20:00.001-07:00

After that amazing 40 minute stint playing nicely with each other, they wanted to take a bath together which lasted another 20 minutes. Wow! You can tell how amazing I think this is based on three whole posts dedicated to this event. Heck, my garden doesn't even get this kind of press.

Still going...

2011-04-28T12:35:00.001-07:00

(refer to the post right below this for reference)

They are still going....playing nicely for 45 minutes!

***post-edit: right before I was about to publish, Lane fell off the bed and playtime was over. But still... 45 minutes!?!

(sorry about the sideways picture, I'm still figuring out this mobile blogging thing)

A rare moment and miracle

2011-04-28T12:16:00.001-07:00

Behold, you are witnessing a truly rare occurrence in our home. Chase and Lane are actually playing quite nicely.
Now, if you are involved in my daily life, then you know that Chase playing nicely with his sister does not happen.
But today, God took pity on my poor, tired, and waried mothering soul and inspired Chase and Lane to play in their room together COOPERATIVELY for 20+ minutes. And no one got hurt. I feel like I just won the lottery or something. Hurray for small miracles!

Mobile blogging

2011-04-25T23:11:00.001-07:00

Today was one of those days when a bunch of little things went terribly wrong culminating into one big crappy day. At the top of the list is my computer breaking which means no computer time for me. It also means that I must now use my droid phone as my new computer- explaining to ebay buyers why I can't complete transactions right now (paypal app won't work), hoping I'm not overdrawn on my personal spending account (bank doesn't have an app available so I can't transfer $$ between accounts), can't download my podcasts (they are a huge part of my daily routine), and feeling overall general frustration at my inability to effectively blog (trying this blogger app for the first time)

Other craptastic parts of today: polite complaints about my 3 yr old's behavior, pouring rain, canceled playdates, & notifications of actions taken against me on ebay.

Thank you for listening And here's hoping tomorrow is better

Spring in my yard

2011-04-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

Remember back in early March when I first cleaned up my front yard? I promised that snipping off all the blossoms would produce vigorous growth in April?

Well it did - the front yard is pretty colorful and vibrant with new growth. I top dressed the entire bed with my homemade compost (more on that in another post) and I think it really helped the fertility of the bed.

My hellebores are almost on their way out - they've been blooming since February. I cannot stress enough how great this plant is for shade and early spring!

I found these pansies at Costco - you know how they get the most random plants? I have never seen ruffle edged pansies. I impulsively bought them and plan on using them in my front flower porch planters - don't worry, I have a plan for them.

Two more blueberry bushes - I pulled these out of my strawberry bed. I had this brilliant idea to plant blueberries along with strawberries a few years ago. The strawberries have flourished, but the blueberries got choked out. Now to find a suitable location for these two plants in my tiny yard! Until then, they have a home in this cardboard box.

The light box is fixed and the tomato and pepper seedlings have been transplanted. I have a seed heat mat underneath all of these. So far, they seem pretty happy.

We're trying a little experiment. We have way too many seedlings and not enough light from the light box. So we're putting a flat of seedlings next to the south facing window and we are going to see which grows the best.

My little ones have woken up for the morning so my day begins. This week promises no or little rain and lots of sun in the Pac NW and I am so looking forward to this - we hope to put row covers over the broccoli this week. Vegetable garden pictures soon!

Linking with Tuesday Garden Party - check it out

To Do in the garden and some things that are DONE!!!!

2011-04-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been pretty busy getting the garden ready - but that is what early spring is for - lots of prep work so that you can have a beautiful space in the summer!

As I mentioned in my last garden prep post, I had a bag of bare root blueberries that I purchased at Costco for very cheap. I potted them up in some containers I had laying around using compost and peat moss (peat moss is acidic - something blueberries like). However, I don't think it was the right thing to do as the blueberries don't look so hot - the leaves are "burning" up (probably from the compost mix) and they are not thriving. I'm not going to give up yet - we'll see how they do.

Since I'm trying to be as organic as possible in my yard, I'm forgoing using chemical controls in the lawn (i.e. MOSS OUT) and thatching the lawn (getting rid of old grass and moss) using a thatch rake. Lots of work - but lots of calories burned doing it!

Okay everyone - you are seeing into my worst part of my yard - the scary east side of my house - SCARY and SAD!! Some key sad highlights of this side of the yard:

grass growing into the rock walkway
torn apart trampoline (courtesy of my overactive boys)
trash scattered around the trampoline (courtesy of boys and neighborhood friends)
wagon of newspaper - waiting to be added to composter

I need to get this part of the yard shaped up. We plan on using the raised bed pictured on the right side of the picture for squash, pumpkins, and sunflowers. I'm currently working on hand weeding out the grass

(organic!) and try to carve out the pathway again. IF we get chickens - they will go in this part of the yard

Let's move on to better parts of the yard - the less scary part - so here is my strawberry patch. We have Hood and Quinalt varieties in this bed. Every year I weed the bed in early spring before new growth begins - weed out any grass that seeped into the patch and old plants and runners - and I sprinkle compost over the top.

The grass always grows into my walkway border - all it really takes is a few swift swigs of my spade shovel and it looks neat again.

Front planting bed - remember I told you that when I plant the primroses I always pull off flowers so they can establish? Well look at them now - bright, big and beautiful. Just waiting for the tulips to bloom (any day now!)

Here is the finished product of carving out the walkway.

Seedling Update! I mentioned a few weeks ago that I planted 72 seed pods. They germinated and were moved to a south facing window until I repaired my light source in the seed box.

For beginning gardeners and seed starters - it's time to transplant seedlings to bigger pots when the seedlings develop their first set of "true" leaves. The first two leaves you see from the initial germination is not the actual plant - it's really a set of leaves called the Cotyledon and these leaves provide the first food for the young plant. You have to wait until you get real leaves of the plant - I illustrate below what I am talking about.

So today - it's Sunday - and I need to transplant the seedlings into bigger pots - Thankfully my light is fixed and I have plenty of space to put them in! Will update all of you soon.

Salem Area Urban Gardening Classes

2011-04-07T16:10:00.000-07:00

I recently decided to begin teaching beginning gardening classes to people who want to farm in "urban" areas. Gardening is truly my passion and I hope to teach many people that is can be simple and accessible. If you are local to me, please leave a comment or email me at: shannandesh at msn (dot) com and I will get back to you ASAP to reserve your spot!

URBAN GARDENING CLASSES - ORGANIC WAYS TO FEED YOUR FAMILY

4-PART SERIES WITH BONUS 5TH CLASS. ALL PLANS AND TECHNIQUES DEMONSTRATED IN MY BACKYARD. YOU’LL LEAVE WITH HANDOUTS AND WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF URBAN GARDENING.

You’ll learn:
• Organic techniques
• Soil preparation
• Cool season vegetables
• Warm season vegetables
• Pruning, staking, thinning techniques
• BONUS: food preservation (canning & freezing)

CLASS SCHEDULE

Each class is $5 per person/per class. Each class runs 60-75 minutes.

Class Dates/Times are as follows:

• March 5: Soil/Garden Preparation. Hands-on learning on how to plan out your garden based on conditions. Also how to prepare beds, supports, soil additives.

• April 16: Cool season vegetables. Plant salad greens, peas, broccoli (with row covers), and herbs.

• May 14: Warm season vegetables. We’ll prune and succession plants the cool season vegetables. Also plant out rest of garden – tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, beans, eggplant, and others.

• July 9: Prune, staking, and harvest techniques

BONUS CLASS:

• August 20: Learn how to can using boiling water canner and can pickles and tomatoes. Also flash freeze methods taught.

More about Me: I'm an urban gardener. I have never lived on acreage and I have never raised livestock. But I have carved out every availabe space in my small suburban backyard that has good light to raise productive plants. Gardening provides exercise, sun, meditation, and results to my life - something a tired mother of 4 doesn't get very often! Once you are able to see what you can grow in your own yard, you will never look at supermarket produce the same way again. I believe in high quality soil, excellent sun and heat conditions, daily (or every other day) attention to your garden, and the community of gardeners sharing their seeds, experiences, and support.

Check out this post when we removed our entire backyard of turf grass and put raised garden beds so we could our family of 6 organic fresh produce.

Word spread and we were even featured in our local paper - check out this blog post!

Where have I been? Where do you think??

2011-04-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

Thank God! I made it! Spring is here! Hurray! (enough exclamations for you?!)

finally, I made it through a dark and dreary and home bound winter with two babies under the age of 2 (I do not recommend this age difference) and now the cherry blossoms are out and it's time to get those seeds planted. We have been so busy these past few weeks with all of our preparation

This is my seed starting station - a "greenhouse" (72 cells, thank you very much) in my office because it is very warm in there and very dark.

We started pepper, tomato, and basil seedlings. I place my greenhouse over a seed heating mat. Do you know that almost all of my tomatoes germinated in 5 days? Go heat mat!

Then we got busy planning things out. I spread out all the seed packets that I've collected the past few months and set out to decide what goes where and when it gets put in.

This is a beautiful colorful sight to my winter weary soul.

This year we employed the Popsicle stick labeling system. We cut each stick in half and label the seed cells. I don't know if I would recommend this method for next year. I noticed that many of the sticks had mold growing on them after a week or two.

Jeremy rigged up a cold fluorescent bulb shop light in the garage for the transplanted seedlings. Yeah, but wouldn't you know it - and I'm not kidding here - the BULB CAUGHT ON FIRE within a week and so it is closed for repairs at the moment.

Good thing we have a south-facing window handy - but man!!! - I want my shop light in the garage!!!

Another gardening item that has taken quite a bit of time on our "to-do" list is the load of power plant mix that was delivered last week. Every year we order 2-4 yards (depending on how much our garden soil sunk) and wheelbarrow it to the backyard to amend the soil. This soil is worth every penny because it is a mixture of compost, composted manure, and topsoil and I never have to fertilize anything in my garden (save for a few liquid feedings of Miracle Grow on the annual flowers).

This is a little pathetic bag of two blueberry plants that was marked down at costco. 2 bare root blueberries for $8.00. I put it right next to the door to remind myself to plant it ASAP (footnote: I did plant them up, but they don't look so hot right now a week later, I'll give you updates)

That's the update for now. I just caught a quick moment of sun right now so I'm off to mow, thatch, and edge my front lawn. This is normally a task I reserve for the boys to do all summer, but I like to do the first major maintenance job of the year so I can get the lawn off to a good start. We also need to add the power plant mix to the strawberry patch. See ya!!

A week of "letting it go"

2011-03-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

So the overwhelming responsibility of taking care of four children while husband works long hours finally got to me. I seriously hit a point where I said, "Okay, I can either go crazy trying to keep this house tidy, or I can let it go". Once I made this statement to myself, I wondered if, indeed, it would stress me considerably to just let it go. What would it be like to let it go? So, my dear friends and family, here is a week of my version of letting it go. No major judgements please!

Monday : A day of laundry - four loads thank you very much - and no time to fold them up. They sat in my room for few days.

Tuesday: The boys wanted to have a grand sleep over - move all their mattresses to the floor and pile every blanket available on them. It looks like trailer-park-shanty-town, but instead of freaking out over the mess and distress, I reminded myself of the fun memories they were making.

Wednesday: I needed to clean my room and finish up the laundry. But my huge pile of "Things That Need Sewing" called my name. What to do? Why - keeping true to the theme of the week - I popped in my favorite season of Project Runway, set up my sewing machine, and sewed all the things I wanted to my heart's content.

Messy messy messy room!

Thursday: Another day of laundry. Line drying dominates the hallways and cleaning out toys and closets felt like a good project, but didn't feel like taking the final step and actually removing items to garage and garbage. Instead, they sat in the hallway for a few days (more like six days!)

Friday: why clean up the main family room? They just destroy it within a few hours anyway.

Normally I vacuum the carpet daily on account of dogs with very long hair. I just didn't get around to it for a few days. those dark streaks on the carpet aren't shadows - they're dog hair.

Lane attacked the piano music basket. Oh well, dinner needed to get made and music remained on the floor for a few days.

Saturday: the whirlwind of a walking baby and older brother toddler descended up on the front rooms of the house. It was a sunny day and I wanted to start my seedlings. So I did start my seeds and didn't clean up the toys and mess.

Sunday: supposed to be a day of rest, but that laundry pile didn't get any smaller by us just looking at it. We employed the older boys to help me out with folding and they did. I didn't expect perfection, just their laundry in folded piles and put away in drawers.

The Conclusion: the week of "letting it go" didn't kill me as I thought it would. I even had a few unexpected visitors and normally I would die if they saw my house in this condition, but I had to just let it go. This week, the week after letting it go, I feel more renewed and energized to tackle the house. I also feel a greater need to employ the children to help because one woman simply cannot do it all. It was refreshing to give myself a break, but I really don't want to be the woman whose house is a disaster - just not my thing. One tiny confession? boy it sure was nice to sew and garden all day instead of doing housework!

Rescue Green bean and Zucchini from your freezer!

2011-03-16T15:55:00.000-07:00

As Tuesday Garden party starts heating up, all of the participants (today) were asked to share some good recipes - especially using some of the veggies we have stashed in the freezer. Lucky for me I was able to cut up and flash freeze several bags of zucchini, green beans, and peppers for my freezer to save for long winter days.

Here are two recipes that I have used in the last two weeks - tested once and I thought they tasted awesome.

Zucchini and Pepper Ciambotto (Italian stew)

2 tbsp. EVOO

1 large onion

2 sm. bulbs fennel - trimmed of stems and tough outer layers, thinly sliced

1-2 large peppers - cut into 1" pieces (I had some frozen sliced peppers in the freezer

3 cloves minced garlic

1 can whole tomatoes in juice (I used a few freezer bags I had stored in the freezer)

4 med. zucchini - cut into 1/2" pieces (again, flash frozen in freezer)

1 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces

salt and thinly sliced fresh basil

I also added 1 lb of browned sausage just because my boys complain if I don't have meat in the main dish.

In a dutch oven, heat oil and saute onion and garlic and fennel; cook until veggies are lightly browned (about 10-15 minutes). Add pepper and garlic, and cook another 5-7 minutes or until pepper is tender-crisp.

Add tomatoes with their juice, zucchini, green beans, and 1/2 tsp. salt; heat to boiling, stirring and breaking up tomatoes with sides of spoon. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer, covered, for 25 to 30 minutes or until all vegs are tender. Stir in basil (can top with some basil)

Green Bean and Parmesan Soup

2 tbsp. butter

8 oz green beans, trimmed (from my freezer)

1 c. grated zucchini (from my freezer)

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 c. chicken or veg. stock

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

1/4 c. light cream (or whatever milk you have in the fridge - I used 2%)

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley to garnish

Melt butter in saucepan. Add beans and garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes over med heat, stirring frequently. Stir in the stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring to boil. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered fro 10 to 15 minutes until beans are tender. Pour soup into blender or food processor and process until smooth. Stir in Parm. cheese and cream and sprinkle with parsley. Serve hot.

Enjoy these freezer vegetable meals. I'm sure I have more but this is all I have time for :)

Love is in the air

2011-03-13T23:08:00.000-07:00

My baby boy decided to turn 3 last week! (what's up with that?)

So we invited a few cherished friends over to celebrate

including his super cutey girlfriend (and older woman may I just add)

I told him that it was okay that he chose to celebrate with his girlfriend, but he better not forget who his first and real girlfriend really is.

Happy Birthday Chasey!!

Front Yard Gardening - a walkthrough

2011-03-09T07:37:00.000-08:00

Sunday was a beautiful day here in the PacNW. Late Feb and early March is the time I use for yard preparation. Check out my front yard prep two years ago! Last year, the focus was getting the vegetable garden ready and so I didn't do anything to my front yard. But this year I'm feeling much better and ready to beautify the front as well as backyard!

My front planting bed faces North of the house. Closer to the house, the bed is shaded and the front part of the bed receives 6-9 hours of daylight. With that in mind I plant two different types of plants in the front. Hellebores, hostas, and Japanese maple in back. Daylillies, roses, lavender, and dahlias in front. I already had a few daylillies and heucheras in front. Since I'm on a budget I decided to divide the perennials instead of buying new plants - we'll see how it goes.

I also wanted to put some new plants in my front yard. I did spend a little of my "outdoor" budget buying some bulbs and bare root roses. My goal was to have plants that I could cut and bring inside for fresh flower arrangements.

Since I'm a vibrant girl, I also wanted to choose flowers that had bold colors. So I'm going for bright reds, yellows, purples, oranges, and fuchsia.

Remember these primroses that my hubs brought home from Costco for my Valentine's Day flowers?

They were all planted in front of the bed. I'll add a few pansies in there. With my tulip bulbs coming up, I definitely will have a gorgeous spring display in a month's time!

All store bought annuals look beautiful in the store, but let me share with you one of my little tips. In order to get them acclimated to the ground, I always trim off any flowers and dead looking leaves. This allows the plant to focus it's energy in establishing instead of maintaining flowers. In a week or so, I'll give it some liquid fertilizer to help the blooms for the spring display.

This year I also decided to embark on planting dahlias in my front yard. This bag has about 10 tubers and I purchased it from Costco for about $13. In my other house, I planted the whole bag and only 2 plants came up. They were huge and beautiful, but ONLY TWO! I'm hoping I will have better success with this bag.

I planted four plants in the front and used some plant markers to remind me where they are coming up so I don't accidentally pull them when I'm weeding or thinning out.

Speaking of plant markers, you must see the ones I just bought up close. Guess where I got them? Target - in their $1 bins!! I also picked up some gardening rakes (for the kids) and these plastic coated ties.

Isn't it cute?

Now that I'm looking from my front door onto my planting bed, I really really hope that the bed fills in. If the dahlias come up like they are supposed to, then it will look so spectacular and full!

I also decided to embark on growing roses. My goal was big full blooms and strong rose scents (so it fills the house when I cut them and bring them inside). After a little research, I chose hybrid tea roses that have strong "spicy" scents.

I used my homemade compost to help fill in the holes and placed them close to the house hoping that the bright light and heat reflects from the house and helps them along.

I'm terrible at cleaning up after a long project. I leave my tools, dirt, buckets, and discarded weeds all along the walkway. Don't worry, it only looked like this for TWO DAYS until I decided to pick up and sweep yesterday. Just keepin' it real for ya :)

Okay, remember my Cleaning Naturally post when I told you that despite my best efforts to not use chemicals, I do have a cheat? I do use bleach occasionally in my house? Well, here is my dirty little secret from Mrs. Organic gardener herself.

I use snail bait in the front yard! There is nothing worse then spending hours upon hours planning and planting and then have those nasty buggers come overnight and decimate the plants. I've tried natural solutions, but frankly, after a hard day's work, I sprinkle a healthy dose of pellets around my precious flowers and sure enough, the next morning it is snail and slug Armageddon. No snail bait goes in the backyard however as my dogs, kids, and edibles are there and I must keep up my organic certification :)

I look forward to posting pictures this May once all the plants have established and leafed out or flowered. I'm also trying a little experiment where I bought seed packets of Rubeckia and Echinacea plants instead of buying full plants. I'm hoping to add those strong colors to the mix.

COLORS in the garden:

red - roses, primroses

orange - primroses, marigolds, zinnias

fuschia - dahlias, echinacea, primroses, zinnias

yellow - roses, rubeckia, primroses, daylillies

green - hostas

purple - lavender, primroses, leaves of heuchera, leaves of japanese maple

white - dahlia, primroses, hellebores

Linking to Tuesday Garden Party

Room: A Review

2011-03-06T11:04:00.000-08:00

**Some spoilers: don't read if you don't want to know anything about this book***

I just finished this book this morning - it was pretty darn good. I want to talk about it, but sadly, no one in my little Oregon world has read it. So I'm putting it out there - what did you think of this book? I'm posting my review that I just posted on Goodreads and it does contain plot spoilers so don't read it you don't want the book ruined for you! Please also keep in mind that I was not an English major and although I love to read and read other people's reviews, I am not a great writer of reviews. Often I would like to write a review and post but I think of Bridget's reviews or Alisa's reviews and they are written as if they could come straight out of a magazine. But I am throwing my insecurities away and going to post my review anyhow!

Goodreads review:
I listened to the audiobook version of this book. I had some preconceived notions of this book before I read it and those notions prevented me from reading this book sooner. I didn't want to read a dark book about abuse, violence, and hurting children. Luckily this book is not about that. Sure, abuse is a part of this story, but it is spoken of peripherally and so I was able to tackle this book with open arms. Usually I listen to audiobooks while I am doing my household chores and thus a 12-15 hour audiobook will last me at least one week. Not so with ROOM. I began this book on Thurs and just finished this morning (Sun). I listened to it every chance I could get - it was that addicting. I even spent one night reading spoiler reviews of this book because I couldn't flip ahead to see if Jack and his Ma escaped their captor.

What I liked about this book:
-Jack's description of his relationship with his Ma. I have a three sons and one daughter. My 3 yr old seems closest developmentally to Jack and it made me see him in a whole new light.

-Ma's human side - her strong, motherly "make-it-work" attitude during captivity and then she crumbles once she doesn't have to be as brave.

-LOVED LOVED LOVED the escape!! I was so entrenched in this part (luckily while I was driving by myself) that I was gripping the steering wheel.

-Loved that the bad guy got caught!!

-That the book ended with Ma and Jack going to room for a final closure. What a beautiful way to wrap up the book.

-Many many reviewers of this book said that the breastfeeding really bothered them. However, although I am not in the camp of breastfeeding five year olds, I believe that the b/f'ing was an essential part to the story. It was the lifeline connection between Ma and Jack and when it was over, it was symbolic to saying goodbye to the old life.

-I love that Ma - although young and forced into the role of mother - knew to have a schedule for Jack. In my opinion that is what saved him - children love continuity and structure - and this story illustrates that point.

-I am happy that Jack was never abused - that would have completely changed my view of this book.

-I liked that

What I disliked about this book:

-No offense, but Jack seemed obnoxious. Granted I was listening to the audio version and thus a child actor was reading the part of Jack (I have a suspicion that it is the same voice actor who also plays Caillou - they sound exactly the same - so imagine Caillou reading this book to you - annoying!!!), while an adult woman played the parts of Ma and Grandma and an adult male played the part of Old Nick, but Jack seemed especially whiny and his endless questions really got to me~

-Grandma was obnoxious. Jack's time with her seemed like she was trying to force him into a regular world without taking into account his background. Where was the child psychologist? How come she wasn't coached into how to handle Jack's adjustment?

-Jack's narrative was inconsistent. One minute he is speaking like a two year old in his descriptions - the next moment he is using quite advanced phrases.

-I would have like to read about the court proceedings and prosecution of Old Nick. I understand why it ended when it did, but I would have liked to see Ma put him in prison.

Other than those minor annoyances - I loved this book. It was a pleasure to read and think about and figure out how I relate to it and the characters. It brought a different side to my own mothering. Definitely one of the best books I've read.

When my anger gets the best of me

2011-03-05T20:53:00.000-08:00

One day I was really mad. So I threw a chair out the door into the garage. The second it landed in the garage, I felt much better. That night at dinner, my son made fun of me. He said that the new furniture mover in the family was me. We all laughed so hard that I almost peed.
Days when you are so mad and so happy are pretty good. I'm glad my that boys can laugh about the times when I'm crazy. Better than being worried about me being mad all the time.

Hey, need a furniture mover? Call me!

Share with me? Lemon Cucumbers

2011-03-02T15:55:00.000-08:00

Shameless ask here. Any of my fellow gardeners have about 3-5 lemon cucumber seeds they would like to share with me? I don't want to buy a whole packet and I only want to grow ONE lemon plant this year. We love them, but I wanted way too many last year! Leave a comment on how I can get a hold of you and I will send you my email or address. I would be more than happy to swap out any seeds I have extra of. Thank you so much!!

Facebook Dropout - two weeks later

2011-02-28T09:16:00.000-08:00

About two weeks ago, I decided to close my facebook account (or 'deactivate' it - as Facebook told me "You Can re-Activate It at ANY Time!!")

Since then, I've had a handful of friends and acquaintances tell me that they have thought about dropping out themselves, but not sure if they are ready. I'm here to tell you that - indeed - dropping out of social networking was really good for me at this point in my life. The first few days were tough, as I felt sort of "lost" when I went to check the account and found it no longer there. But after a few days of reinventing my routines, I found the time that I had been looking for. As predicted, the time I spent on facebook and the subsequent computer activities FB led me into was being sucked out of my day. Deactivating FB brought that time and energy back to me.

I also find I live in ignorant bliss. I have no idea that all of you are doing out there. I dont' know what you are doing, the milestones your children are achieving, the fun social events you are attending. And it makes me feel less stressed. I'm not alone in this thought. I read this article today on MSN stating the correlation between stress and Facebook (click link on 'this article')

Well, I'm off to do some gardening or sewing or cleaning with all this extra time I have this morning!

Attn: Pacific Northwesteners - Seeds 50% off

2011-02-27T18:04:00.000-08:00

today I was in my local Fred Meyer store - which is kind of like a one-stop grocery/Target type store here in the PacNW. Anyway - all their Ed Hume and Lilly Miller seeds were 50% off! This week only. This also includes the organic varieties. Since it is so early - the selection was deep! I even saw my beloved Casper white pumpkins which took me FOREVER to find last year!!

Life as a mom

2011-02-25T16:11:00.000-08:00

(A fun day eating cake with my mom and younger children. Thank God we made it through the forest!)

It's been a long winter. I wanted to talk about this for a minute so I can look back one day and have perspective.

To say that "it is a challenge" to try to figure out the balance of parenting all four of my kids is an understatement. One preteen. One "middle child". One jealous two year old big brother. And one baby. At times, okay most days, I thought I was drowning in a deep lake. I desperately wanted to conquer and excel at mothering my children, but I mostly could only get up out of bed and manage to fix everyone food and get most kids dressed for the day. Many days included screaming and crying fits from at least two of my children. I wondered what I was doing wrong. Many commitments that I used to do I began to bail out on. Once a board member at the kids' PTA, I barely saw the inside of their school. My house remained cluttered and messy. Dinners were made, but never planned out or executed well. I was mad at my husband all the time for getting the privilege of going to work.

However, the heavy weight of the holidays lifted. Buds formed in my garden promising another year of working in the soil. I potty trained the two year old. I lost some baby weight. I prayed intensively with my small group to ask for the Lord's protection on me and my family. Sunny days began to outnumber cloudy days. I made a close friend with whom I can confide in. I began regular dates with my husband again. I upped my meds to a larger dose.

And all of a sudden, life became fresh again. I have the energy to run every day. I have the peace of mind to deal patiently and assertively with my children. I ENJOY them again.

Keep in mind that the house still remains messy, but it doesn't weigh me down like it used to. I released the embarrassment of imperfection (at least for now). And I planned out my garden and look forward to it every day. I ENJOY my husband's company. I am happy for what I have.

Thank God!!!

My garden in February

2011-02-23T14:31:00.000-08:00

As I type this (Wed), there are snow flurries outside my window. Hurray that we still have a little bit of winter. Crazy, you say? I just don't have quite the energy for full blown spring planting yet. It's nice to have a little dose of winter before I gear up for my growing season.

With that said, let me show you my garden this past month. Oh, how I've missed it! I eagerly look forward to planting everything out and seeing what sort of harvest I can yield.

One of the lone survivors of the winter - a little leek in the corner of the garden box that housed eggplant last year.

The other survivors of the winter - a hearty robust crop of Italian parsley, cilantro (planted in late summer from seed) and thyme. I'm not wanting for fresh herbs!

Blueberry plants are budding out - they have doubled in size from last year - I can't wait to see how many berries we get this year!

I developed this technique last year and it seemed to serve me well. It is recommended to apply an acid fertilizer to blueberry plants in February. So all of January I save our used coffee grounds. Then when I get a few fulls bowls of the stuff, I put a two inch layer of coffee grounds on the top layer of the blueberry. Then I add another 3-4 inches of peat moss. Work it in a bit and there you have it - organic, homemade acid fertilizer.

This curious creature growing out of my side planting bed is none other than a Bleeding Heart plant (dicentra)

I tell my hubs, "don't you dare spend the money on overpriced flowers for Valentine's Day!" (he gives a big thumbs up to this). Instead, he comes home from Costco with this huge flat of primroses. Ah, a man who knows my heart!!

This is the view of my front yard planting bed. It needs a little TLC after I gave so much attention to the backyard last summer.

But that doesn't stop my beautiful red tulips from coming up year after year.

Last but not least - my most favorite plant of spring (and my most favorite evergreen and most favorite shade plant) - the wonderful HELLEBORE or Lenten Rose. This puppy stays evergreen all year and in late January produces flower buds that open up in February and stay open for most of March. I like to couple them with primroses and tulip bulbs for a fantastic welcome to the spring gardening season!

It is going to be the best year in my garden! CHEERS!!

I'm a social network dropout

2011-02-15T15:13:00.000-08:00

For a few months now I've been struggling with Facebook. Yes, it moved into the forefront with the movie The Social Network, but it is something I've always felt. I've never been really comfortable with the whole FB phenomenom. I decided I'm not a huge social network kind of person. So this week, I closed my Facebook account. Want to know something crazy? I've managed to keep my kitchen clean and dinner fixed since I've done it. Holy cow - how much time suck was FB to me this past year??

The main number one reason I dropped out is because I clearly became addicted. I caught myself checking FB 5-6 times a day. Then since I was already on the computer, I would go and check other things. Each time I estimate I was on the computer 15-20 minutes. Times that by 5 trips to the computer and that is one hour each day (conservatively speaking) wasted. Not to mention if I got a random email or update from someone - then the FB time would increase to 30-40 minutes because I would check that person's profile, check their pictures, check their friends' pictures, and so on and so on. Blech!! I'm done with the cycle.

Reason number two and three for dropping out - I don't want to be a part of the whole Mark Zuckerberg empire. And I became addicted to getting messages. When I didn't have a message in my inbox I felt bad. Stupid!! There is no reason why I should feel that way so I decided to eliminate the problem.

You'll probably see me blogging more often now.

I've been on the computer 15 minutes now - time to loggy off.

**POST-EDIT** I snuck on the computer to check some ebay auctions I had going and decided to check my blog list. Wouldn't you know it - today on the great fitness experiment, Charlotte blogged about this very thing. Ha!! Check it out - much better written than my lowly post.

Master Muffin Mix

2011-01-28T19:38:00.000-08:00

Before this post starts, I must give 100% full credit to Gina over at HomeJoys. She is a wonderful homemaker, gardener, and mother and I thoroughly enjoy her blog. One of my most favorite posts was her Master Muffin mix. Recently, I brought a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins to my church's moms' group and so many women loved them. This post is my promise to them to extend the recipe.

Having three growing boys who need a good hearty breakfast was always a worry for me. I would like a good warm option for them and, of course, EASY. So this muffin mix is such a great discovery for me. I personally make the master muffin mix about once every two weeks. And we probably have homemade, healthy, and fresh muffins 1-2 times a week. It takes 5 minutes to make and 20 minutes to bake. I love it (have I mentioned I love this mix?) Anyway, I compiled all the information from Gina's 3 separate posts into one big word document. Here it is.

Master muffin mix.

6 cup whole wheat flour
6 cup white flour
2 cup sugar
4 T baking powder
3 tsp salt

Store your master mix in an air tight container.

When you want to make muffins, choose one of the liquid ingredient options.

Option #1
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 cup milk

Option #2
1/3 cup melted butter
1 egg
1 cup milk or buttermilk

Option #3
1/4 cup melted butter
2 eggs
1 cup yogurt

Option #4
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1 1/4 cup milk or buttermilk

Next choose the additional ingredients you desire. The sky's the limit but here is a few variations to get you started.

Almond Poppy Seed
2 tsp almond flavoring
2 T poppy seed
1/3 cup chopped or sliced almonds (optional)
Cheese Onion
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup chopped chives
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Berry
1 cup blueberry or strawberry, fresh or frozen
2 tsp grated lemon rind, optional

Cinnamon Apple
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup chopped apple

Breakfast
3 slices chopped bacon
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Banana Nut
1 large banana, mashed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Chocolate
3 T cocoa
1/3 cup additional sugar
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Combine: First mix the liquid ingredients. Then stir in 2 3/4 cup of the dry master mix and the additional ingredients. Combine until just barely moistened.

Bake: Spoon batter into muffin pan. Makes 12 large muffins or 18 smaller muffins. Baking time will vary depending on variation chosen. Bake at 350 or 375 for 15 minutes. Check to see if additional baking time is needed. Muffins are done when a toothpick comes out clean. Allow muffins to sit for a few minutes before removing from muffin pan.

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Choose one of the liquid options

2 3/4 cup of the master mix
3 T peanut butter
3 T grape or strawberry jelly

Stir liquid ingredients, dry mix and peanut butter together gently. Fill batter in muffin pan 1/3 full. Place a tsp of jelly on batter. Use the remaining batter to fill muffin pan. Bake.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip
2 3/4 cup master mix
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup oil
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Stir together egg, milk, oil and pumpkin. Mix in remaining ingredients. Bake.

Gingerbread
2 3/4 cup master mix
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup yogurt or milk
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup oil

Mix together molasses, eggs, yogurt, milk and oil. Stir in dry ingredients. Bake

Ham and Broccoli
1 1/2 cup master mix
3 T melted butter
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped cooked ham or bacon
10 oz frozen chopped broccoli
2 cup shredded cheese

Mix together butter, egg, and milk. Stir in remaining ingredients but save out 1/4 cup cheese to garnish top. Pour in muffin pan. Sprinkle on cheese. Bake.

For the record, I like liquid option #3 (I've been known to use duck eggs - great for baking!) and pumpkin choc chip muffin and breakfast muffins.

This is the Original Muffin Mix post. Say hi to Gina for me!

2011-01-25T09:05:00.000-08:00

Date 1-24-11

Week 25 Check-In

Weight: ( I don’t know if I will ever take it again – it is too loaded for me personally)

Measurements:
Waist – START: 37”; TODAY: 31” LAST TIME: 32” Goal: 27” -1”Hips – START: 39”; TODAY: 37” LAST TIME: 37 ½ ” Goal: 36” – ½”
Thighs- START: 22 ½”; TODAY: 21” LAST TIME: 21 ½” Goal: 20” – ½ “
Chest – START: 39”; TODAY: 37” LAST TIME: 37” Goal: 36”

Specific Weekly Goals
o NO Caloritic drinks (sweet tea, coffee, alcohol)

o Eat a good solid healthy lunch every day (this is sometimes a cheat for me). What I need to eat is: 300 calorie meal, 2 servings of veggies, protein

o Exercise 4 hours a week.

o Drink 60 oz water day. 4-16oz. glasses.

Last week was a tough one as I had to potty train Chase. Didn’t plan on that being our potty training week, but he showed significant interest and we had to go for it. Which meant – not going anywhere for a whole entire week and dealing with the inevitable stress of potty training a strong willed 2 year old.

Meeting my Goals last week
I didn’t keep track of each daily entry, but I logged in 3 HOURS of exercise. (one hour short of my goal- still took 3 rest days instead of 2). I also drank a few glasses of wine which is not allowed in my mental program. Oh well.

How I feel about myself and my body this week
Better! I’m blasting fat by running 40-60 minutes several times a week. I am officially the same measurements as when I was first pregnant last year – IT TOOK 7.5 MONTHS TO LOSE THE BABY WEIGHT!
Now I want to tone up and slim up and lose one more size. I started watching a program on HULU.com called “How to Look Good Naked”. It is teaching me how to appreciate what I DO HAVE and not what I don’t have.
I also want to highlight this important idea but I'm burying it in the middle of this boring insignificant post. I get jealous of other women's bodies. I wish I didn't, but the fact is, I do. I feel like such an Amazon next to certain women and I wish I didn't. I really want to work on my mental toughness and become immune to comparison. When I show up to a mom's group or small group and one of my friends (who also had a baby) looks really thin and her jeans are falling off her - I dont' automatically think "Wow - good for her". I think, "Wow, my jeans aren't falling off my body." That is ridiculous thinking on my behalf. Why can't I be proud and happy for my friends? I don't want to be a petty woman who compares and contrasts. I want to be a positive force. If I could accomplish this, I would consider it a huge victory!

Goals for Next Week
• Try to take only TWO rest days instead of THREE and I’m sure I will meet my four hours of exercise this week!

• Time to start Crossfit intensely again. Cardio is going great, but weight training has fallen by the wayside.

A reminder about my goals and the program I set for myself

MY PROGRAM

*Modified 1/16/2010*

• Exercise 5-6 days a week. Include cardio/weight and circuit training. Training must be at least 30 minutes. Running 45-60 minutes daily.

• Eat 1400-1500 calories a day. As a busy mom I don’t want to keep track of everything that goes in my mouth i.e. through a food journal, so I'm going to break it down like this. Shannan's patented 3-2-1 eating program

• 3-400 calorie meals

• 2-100 calorie snacks

• OR 1- 200 calorie snack

• Have rest days to recover physically - at least one a week, if not two try to have only one cheat meal. Until I see good results, I can only afford one cheat a week.

Allow one to two high calorie meals a week. Switch things up a bit.

• Get 7-8 hours of sleep at night - very crucial for weight loss. I wake up very early in the morning, so in order to get that sleep; I have to be in bed by 9pm every night (YIKES!)

MY GOAL

I’m 5’4” and I would like to be 125-130 lbs.

Lose 25-30 lbs

Lose 10 inches off waist - goal 27"

Lose 3 inches off hips - goal 35-36"

Lose 2 inches off thighs - goal 20"

Lose 3 inches off chest - goal 36"

All of these hopefully by my birthday - March 27, 2011 but for sure by Lane's first birthday

Why I went organic and why I am obnoxious about it in 6 parts

2011-01-21T13:16:00.000-08:00

Part I: A few years back, well more like 6 or 7 years ago, we lived in a large sprawling suburban Seattle neighborhood in a small small house with a small small yard. All the surrounding yards were small too. It's one of those brand new built neighborhood where you get like ten square feet of space and the houses are pressed up right next to each other.

One day I was outside and I saw my neighbor who lived backyard to me (but at the top of a small slope) and he was spraying roundup on the few weeds scattered along the perimeter of the fence. I thought to myself (in a kind of judgemental tone, forgive me), "Why doesn't he just get on his hands and knees and pull those weeds up himself?" I'm talking about probably 20 minutes of work. But no, he had to poison his yard and frankly mine along with it since I lived downhill from him. That was a sort of start to my quest for organic gardening and farming.

Part II: I could never afford organic produce. Around this time circa 2003-2004, CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) was gaining lots of popularity with suburban Seattle families who didn't live on a farm, but really wanted to have fresh organic produce. A year's membership to CSA was around $400 and due in one big payment - something we could never swing at that point in our lives. But it planted a seed in my brain - could I one day have my own sort of organic produce?

Part III: Three years ago we moved to Salem, OR. Suddenly, we had very close access to U-Pick farms, beautiful Farmer's Markets, and local Oregonian people who supported green living, sustainable gardening and farming. The people I have met here in Oregon are very different from the people I lived next to in Seattle. Here, not very many people bat an eye at tearing up your backyard to plant your own victory garden. In fact, if you have a neighborhood like mine, several people join you and tear up their own backyards and plant their own victory gardens to rival yours!

Part IV: Once I saw that I could actually do this - go as organic and local as possible - I enveloped myself in the concept. I read book after book. I spent one summer asking friends, family members, friends of family members, neighbors - pretty much anyone what they were doing in their gardens. I toured gardens. I asked lots of questions. I read blog after blog. My husband caught the fire of my passion. And we embarked on the journey together.

Part V: I read this book last year -Wisdom of the Last Farmer by David Mas Masumoto - about a Japanese man who raises organic peaches. The book was about his family's struggles to buy the farm, the ups and downs of farming, and several organic farming practices (like hand pulling weeds). Sometimes the weather is unpredictable (okay the weather is ALWAYS unpredictable). Sometimes you lose your crop. Sometimes you have bumper crops. For some reason, it gave me mounds of confidence that I could grow food for my family and it didn't have to be perfect. The fact that I was even trying was good enough. For a perfectionist like myself, it was nice to give myself permission to go with the flow of gardening despite the circumstances that happen to you (like an army of ants eating my broccoli last growing season!)

Part VI: After hours and hours of reading, researching, talking, and embracing the organic concept, I stopped seeing the high prices of organics. I guess, instead of saying, "oh we could never afford that," I would say, "Hmmmm...I wonder if I could do that myself." If it was something I couldn't produce, like organic stone ground wheat flour, I would save portions of my grocery allowance and buy it. One week it was organic apples. The next week it was flour. The next week it was fair trade sugar. The next it was grass fed longhorn beef. We made it work.

Now let me say this - if you come to my house - you will not be met with an organic shrine. That is nearly impossible to do with my human skills alone. But I try to come as close as I am able to because it is something I really believe in.

She just makes me smile

2011-01-19T14:53:00.000-08:00

7.5 months old and full of baby happiness, gooiness, chubby thigh/cheeksness, and slobbery kisses. I'm so glad she's mine!

Potty Training is not for Wimps

2011-01-18T11:30:00.000-08:00

There are a few things that can bring a woman to her knees. Pottery training a headstrong child is one of them.
I'M ON DAY FOUR OF POTTY TRAINING H*E*Double Hockey Sticks.
I haven't taken a good shower in four days (2 seconds in, 2 seconds to dry off, 2 seconds to get ratty exercise clothes on after shower). I broke my "no alcohol" rule to myself and dived into a bottle of red wine last night. We're down to ONE accident a day (but today's accident was a huge log of poop on my wood floors). I feel kind of sorry for myself.

HOWEVER....as with most things associated with great rewards....once we get this thing down and I'm confident we will, it is going to be very nice to have only one child in diapers! An instant raise (to not spend $35 in diapers a month - I'm hiring a sitter with that money).

Operation Lose Baby Weight Week 24 (6 months!)

2011-01-18T11:21:00.000-08:00

Operation Lose Baby Weight is BACK!!

I started this blog feature six months ago when the baby was 2 months old. Here is the original post with my original goals HERE. I figured that with a weekly accountability of how I was losing the weight, it would help in the tough times. Slowly, slowly - the inches started to whittle away and the weight started to come off. But it was slow, slow, slow and I felt myself become more and more frustrated.

When I Stopped the Program (mid-November):
-Went from running 1 mile very painfully to running 3-4 miles with minimal calf/ankle pain
-Lost a total of 10" between waist, hip, thighs, chest
-Size 8 (my "fat" clothes - but at least I'm out of all maternity and size 10)
-Completely detoxed my eating - eliminated all artificial colors, sweeteners, and preservatives from anything I eat. This means making pretty much everything from scratch and if I do eat something from a box, I have to be able to pronounce all ingredients on the label.
-Doing Crossfit a few times a week - increasing my lifting to weight I didn't think I was able to do!

Date 1-16-11

Week 24 Check-In
Weight: didn’t take

Measurements:
Waist – START: 37”; TODAY: 31” LAST TIME: 32” Goal: 27” -1”
Hips – START: 39”; TODAY: 37 ½” LAST TIME: 38” Goal: 36” – ½”
Thighs- START: 22 ½”; TODAY: 21 ½” LAST TIME: 21 ½” Goal: 20”
Chest – START: 39”; TODAY: 37” LAST TIME: 37” Goal: 36”

Key Highlights since taking a two month break from journaling

• I took six weeks off my eating program. While I didn't completely abandon eating well, I was definitely drinking alcohol a few days week, eating holiday treats occasionally, and enjoying yummy holiday dinners. I was probably consuming 2000 calories a day. I continued to run a few days a week and do Crossfit, but basically I was not strict about anything and coped with the stress of the holiday season by eating and relaxing.

• I’m now the size I was when I was first pregnant (size 6-8). I’m looking forward to getting down to a nicer size (4-6).

• I run 4-5 times a week and each time I run 5-7 miles (Yeah!) Pain is minimal and I am energized.

The Last Fifteen POUNDS weight loss begins (AGAIN)

• I’m losing my vanity weight. My body would be healthy at this weight and size and that is okay. But I want to be a smaller size. I know I’ve hit a healthy weight because my waist measurement is less than 34” and I can run 5-7 miles without any injury or strain.

• Specific Weekly Goals

o NO Caloritic drinks (sweet tea, coffee, alcohol)

o Eat a good solid healthy lunch every day (this is sometimes a cheat for me). What I need to eat is: 300 calorie meal, 2 servings of veggies, protein

o Exercise 4 hours a week.

o Drink 60 oz water day. 4-16oz. glasses.

Meeting my Goals last week
Last week (Jan.9-15) I met most of my goals.

SUN: 30 min intense w/o (workout); good lunch, good water
MON no w/0; good lunch, good water
TUE 30 min w/o, good lunch, ½ amt of water
WED 1 hour w/o (run 7 miles plus Xfit), good lunch, good water
THU no w/o, good lunch, ½ amt of water
FRI no w/o, good lunch, ½ amt of water
SAT1 hr w/o (run 7 miles plus dance central game),

3 Hours of total exercise last week – missed my goal by one hour
Not quite to level of water drinking that I want to be
I’m doing a great job at eating a solid healthy low cal lunch (a problem area for me in the past)

How I feel about myself and my body this week

As a woman with body issues, I’m working hard to erase old negative thought patterns. Yes, I’m not as thin as I was when I got married. Yes, my stomach is a little flabbier after having five children. Yes, my body hurts more when during and post exercise. But I’m proud that I am getting so strong. I’m proud I can run very far. I’m proud that I can do ALL OF THIS while staying home with 4 children! I find I feel a lot better about my body when I look better (do my makeup, hair, and wear cute clothes). If I look good, I feel good. I may not be the SIZE I want to be, but that doesn’t mean I can’t look really cute at the stage I’m at. Does that make sense? (Repeat this mantra to self several times a day)

Goals for Next Week

Continue my Weekly goals from last week. Try to take only TWO rest days instead of THREE and I’m sure I will meet my four hours of exercise this week!
Now that I'm well on my way to eat good lunches - it's time to tackle HEALTHY LOW-CAL SNACKS

A reminder about my goals and the program I set for myself

MY PROGRAM

*Modified 1-16-2011*
• Exercise 5-6 days a week. Include cardio/weight and circuit training. Training must be at least 30 minutes. Running 30-60 minutes daily. 4 Hours of Exercise a Week.

• Eat 1400-1500 calories a day. This is what I'm shooting for:
• 3-400 calorie meals

• 2-100 calorie snacks

• OR 1- 200 calorie snack

• Have rest days to recover physically - at least one a week, if not two.
• Try to have only one high calorie meal. Until I see good results, I can only afford one cheat a week.

• Get 7-8 hours of sleep at night - very crucial for weight loss. I wake up very early in the morning, so in order to get that sleep; I have to be in bed by 9pm every night (YIKES!)

MY GOAL
I’m 5’4” and I would like to be 125-130 lbs.

Lose 25-30 lbs

Lose 10 inches off waist - goal 27"

Lose 3 inches off hips - goal 35-36"

Lose 2 inches off thighs - goal 20"

Lose 3 inches off chest - goal 36"

All of these hopefully by my birthday - March 27, 2011 but for sure by Lane's first birthday

2010 Garden Roundup - Lessons Learned and Looking Ahead - VERY LONG POST

2011-01-07T21:40:00.000-08:00

I meant to write this post for quite some time. However, the demands of four children including a young infant delayed me significantly. Gardening is so important to me and I wanted to do this right. Finally I have energy to document my 2010 gardening season - all the things I did and planted - lists of plant names - successes and failures - and looking ahead to this year's gardening season.

Won't you join me in this virtual journey of my 2010 garden? And then afterwards, see the extensive list of what I grow, how I grow it, and what I've learned from experience.

And finally, I list what I plan on doing differently next season. This is a huge post. It will take you a few days to digest. Please bookmark and enjoy! My experience is for all to pass along to others!

The Beginning of 2010 Gardening Season

It all began in late February - we decided to dig up most of the turf grass in our small suburban backyard (which happens to be shaped like a bowling alley). Dogs poop all over it and it get gross and messy and with young children - it was annoying. See POST HERE. We (meaning Jeremy) built 5 new raised planter beds.
We covered the grass with landscape fabric, trucked in gravel and compost and put together a new backyard. See HERE. It still makes me giddy to see how we transformed 1000 sq. feet of yard.
I fell in love with this local Portland artist's interpretation of propaganda. I can't wait to line my office with his work! See HERE

The First Seeds are Planted and the Season Begins

The first seeds are planted in our new planter boxes in late March: salad mesclun mix, broccoli, and sugar snap peas. See HERE
Early May, we started to see the beginning of the fruits of our labor. Baby salad greens and little pea shoots are up. Strawberry patch is perking up and lots of flowers. Looking at my beautiful sunny garden in these pictures from last May as I sit in cold, rainy, gray, and dark January - Man, I tell you, I can't wait for the new season. See post HERE.
Discovered Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage. Jami hosts a weekly linkup of gardeners and their gardens. I learned more than I ever did in any book and met more gardeners than I have in my lifetime. A Gift! See An Oregon Cottage for yourself HERE.Tuesday garden party is still going strong!
Black Ants eat my Broccoli roots. You all say it doesn't happen and it is impossible, but it happened and I lost my entire crop! See HERE
I officially joined Tuesday Garden party and I shared my favorite gardening books: all are from Sunset Magazine. See THIS POST for those titles.

Beginning of Summer Growing Season

The true growing season began with the birth of our beautiful daughter - our most precious thing we've ever grown! See HERE
A cold snap hits the PacNW. Gardeners all over the region lament over the cold rainy May and June. Several of us lost our warm season seedlings and starts. I lost all of our cucumber starts, but the zucchini and tomatoes survived. I threw seeds in the ground the week before I had my baby and they all came up. I asked for advice on thinning and got good response from TGP. See HERE
Despite the coldest June in the history of Oregon, our strawberry patch started producing wondering huge strawberries. And I made pie and jam with all those berries. See HERE. (When our strawberries hit this year, I'll share my famous strawberry pie recipe, so be on the lookout in mid-June!)

Mid-Summer Garden in Full Swing

The heat finally hits the PacNW and all of my cold season veggies (salad and peas) started bolting (flowering) and petering out. I replaced them with Eggplants and tomatillos plants. Zucchini began flowering and producing. Peppers were pruned and began growing. The bush beans plants. Tomatoes began flowering and growing tall! The garden looks neat and tidy - perfect for a picture! See HERE
I shared some small tips (like keeping a small pair of child's scissors next to your herb bed) and I also shared how I keep my garden abundant with POPS of bright color using annual flowers. See HERE
As August began, the effects of a cold early summer became quite evident as we had not harvested anything, but the garden was abundant with GREEN unripe fruit. Waiting, waiting, waiting. See HERE
In Mid-August, as the beans and zucchini began to get to harvest stage, I shared several ways that I cooked, baked, and preserved our backyard harvest. I also learned how to CAN and preserved my first batch of pickles ever! See HERE
By the end of August, the garden was in full fledged production mode. We began harvesting cucumbers, eggplants, herbs, and some tomatoes. All the plants began to grow quite large and even though all of the them were contained in raised planter beds, they began to look quite out of control. See HERE.

End of summer Garden

Late harvest season. By early September, I began to see daily huge returns on my garden. Every day or almost every day, my patio table would be overflowing with summer vegetables and fruit. See HERE.
I perfected pickling cucumbers using not only the boiling canner, but also Jami's refrigerator pickles using pre-dilled vinegar. My family loves them! See HERE
I visited an U-Pick peach farm and picked 50 lbs of white peaches. Delicious. This is how I preserved them. See HERE
I shared some tricks I learned this year to make preserving your garden produce easier. See HERE
My mid-September, the NINE tomato plants began to produce like gangbusters. Including heart-shaped Cherokee Purple tomatoes. Serious tomato love-awwwwhhhh. See HERE
And then - all of our efforts of shaping our small suburban backyard paid off as we were featured in our local newspaper! See HERE
The tomatillo plants that our neighbor gave us began to produce large large harvests. I made large batches of salsa verde as well as one of our family's favorite dinners: Tequila Pork Chile Verde. I shared these recipes in this post HERE

End of Garden Tour

About early October, I was able to harvest three large pumpkins from our pumpkin patch. I wrapped up the garden and the stress of four young children began to get to me. I had done a pretty good job of keeping up on all of it, but by this time, I had run out of steam and it shows. The garden posts pretty much stopped. We visited lots of local U-Pick farms at this time, including apples and grapes.

What We Grew This Year - 2010
*Broccoli (planted from nursery starts)
*Strawberries - patch in front yard
*Mesclun Salad Mix (seed)
*Spinach (seed)
*Sugar Snap Peas (seed)
*Basil (our starts died, so we planted nursery starts later)
*Thyme (nursery starts)
*Cilantro (our 1st seeds died, planted another round of seeds later)
*Italian Parsley
*Peppers: Red, Green, Yellow, and Jalapeno (nursery starts)
*Tomatoes: Sweet 100, Cherokee Purple, Chocolate Cherry, Early Girl, Yellow Pear, Big Boy, Sweet Million (nursery starts)
*Cucumbers: slicing, lemon, and pickling (our starts died, planted seeds later)
*Beans: purple and green bush beans (seeds, planted successively throughout summer)
*Zucchini (seeds)
*Eggplant: Millionaire and Dusky (nursery starts)
*Tomatillo (neighbor's volunteer plants)
*Pumpkin (volunteer from last year)

What Worked/What Didn't

Broccoli was eaten by ants - not my fault - but after reading several TGP blogs, I think I may need to explore row covers because I love love fresh broccoli from the garden
These plants work from seed: salad, peas, cucumbers, zucchini, beans, pumpkins, spinach, and sunflowers
What I have planted from seed in the past indoors and didn't do quite so well transplanted: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and eggplant - go ahead and buy starts from nursery
If you can get your hands on good seed, start tomatoes indoors 6-8 weeks before you plant out in yard. Otherwise visit a local nursery (NOT HOME DEPOT,LOWE'S OR WALMART!!! Those are crappy crappy plants!!!!) and get starts. We did starts this year because I was 8-9 months pregnant at planting time and I didn't want to babysit starts in my house.
Planting my salad mix very very close together is great for baby greens, but not good for mature plants. If you want large leaves, thin out as needed.
If you buy peppers or eggplant from nursery, go ahead and get the smallest starts for $1.00. We bought the small dollar starts and the big $4.00 starts, they both grew the same once in the ground and looked the same full grown.
Tomatoes, no matter how small they look at the beginning, grow to be monsters. Properly space, properly space, properly space. And stop being cheap and buy the good solid supports. Stake the supports.
Stake Peppers.
Prune suckers from tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant early in the game, and you will get large, healthy, full plants with large, full healthy fruit!
Basil, Cilantro, and Parsley can all be grown from seed easily - just plant double what you want because not every seed will sprout. Thin as needed.
It's okay to plant as many pickling cucumber as you want because you pickle them!
Tomatillo grow large, big, and sprawl - give adequate space.
Tomatoes did great next to white house in hottest part of yard - hot hot hot is important for tomatoes.
My spinach failed. I tried several varieties and all of them produced pretty wilted, stunted spinach. I don't know why?
Sweet 100 tomatoes split and produce too much - we never even begin to eat them and i don't like the waste.
Yellow Pear tomatoes taste mealy - won't plant again.
Loved Big Boy!! I want to do more large fruit tomatoes next year.
Chocolate Cherry and Cherokee Purple are my favorite - they look cool and taste great!

What I Will Change about my Gardening in 2011

Only plant 1 and I mean ONE lemon cucumber plant. We planted 3-4 plants and it was too many.
Plant Romaine lettuce
Grow Onions (never have done this and want to supply our family with this common staple. Do I successively plant these?)
Plant Dill in a pot - I had to buy this weekly at the Farmer's Market because I was pickling cucumbers like crazy and it bugged me I had to pay lots of $$ for organic dill when I knew I could have grow this inexpensive weed in my own yard.
Add yellow wax beans to my bean patch so I'll have purple, yellow, and green. FUN!@
Cucumbers grow the best from seed planted in ground no matter what my husband says about starts!
More plants in pots.
Plant shelling peas
Hopefully I can have the energy for a fall garden (plant salad, peas, and brassicas in late summer)
I love arugula and forgot to plant it this year - doh! (I like to plant separately in a pot)
Heirloom tomatoes will dominate my tomato crop this year.
Eliminate Sweet 100 as my cherry tomato. Chocolate Cherry is much much better tasting and doesn't split!
More Roma tomato plants - I had very limited tomatoes to can because my one Roma plant got blight later in the season.

Best Tips I can Offer Based on my Experience

Pepper your yard with flowers - lots of flowers. I plant dozens of sunflower plants, zinnias, marigold, cornflower, impatiens, and hanging baskets full of annuals. Not only do they bring bright pops of color to your garden, but they also attract BEES which is instrumental to vegetable gardening success. Lavender is another GREAT way to attract BEES - I need to plant more in backyard this coming year!
Zucchini only need 1-2 seeds per hill. Trust me on this one. Need sunny hot hot spot.
HEAT is the key to successful gardens. We didn't intentionally mean to do this, but we used gravel for our walkways instead of bark and the stone in the gravel heated up and radiated lots and lots of heat. Our garden produced far more than any of our neighbors despite similar growing conditions. The only variable? The heat retained gravel!
SOIL IS THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL GARDENING! I just said heat is the key, but really, it is soil. I firmly believe that organic compost is the the absolute best thing you could ever do for your garden. I amend my soil twice a year with compost. We spend big bucks to truck in composted dairy manure. But I don't have to spend a dime in fertilizer. We put compost on our strawberry patch and it produces like crazy!! It may take a year or two to get your soil right, but start now on amending it with rich black soil and it will payoff in the end!
Successive planting is great for salad, beans, peas. Missing anything?

Are you still here with me? Please feel free to offer anything back. I thrive on interaction between gardeners and friends.

Voice in the Garden

amazing tomatoe

Here's to a really exciting 2011!

My version of New Year's Resolutions

2011-01-05T09:05:00.000-08:00

I won't lie - I like resolutions. First-born, Type-A personalities everywhere unite: we like a list, we like a challenge, we like to push ourselves to be better, faster, stronger! My version of the new year's resolution is the 12 Things Challenge. In it, you challenge yourself to learn or do 12 NEW things that you don't already know or do.

New and Revised 12 Things Challenge

AUGUST - learn how to can --completed See This POST -- (next up, pressure canning)

SEPTEMBER - make my own non-toxic cleaning kits for each living area (bathrooms, kitchen, bedrooms) Completed See This POST

OCTOBER- Relaxation/De Stress Habits. 1)Make a habit of having a day of rest (make the Sabbath holy) God rested on the 7th day, I need to as well! 2)I am also going to add one more thing to thing to this month's challenge. I'm going to create a 2-3 MINUTE yoga stretch/meditation routine and do it daily!! Especially when I am really really stressed at moments during the day. FAIL- not completed~

NOVEMBER - Create the ART DOCENT program for our school and have one session completed before winter break. FAIL - didn't even begin to do this one!

DECEMBER- buy a new sewing machine, take a sewing class, and learn how to correctly hem and alter clothing. Completed - see THIS POST

New And REVISED 2011 Goals

(and I reserve the right to change my goals)

New Jan. Goal: go to bed early and get 7-8 hours sleep
JANUARY - learn how to use/cook quinoa

FEBRUARY - learn how to change a tire
Additional Feb. Goal – Finally attempt to Pressure Can - Broth and Beans

MARCH - Make a real food Grocery Challenge post and find one new way to make the grocery dollar extend further and buying whole foods in the winter.
Additional March Goal - Develop a gardening series where I teach and demonstrate easy beginning organic gardening classes in MY OWN BACKYARD! (I'm really excited about this)

APRIL - Buy a Greenhouse and learn how to use it to begin/extend my growing season.
Additional April Goal - Teach Classes and Begin Organic/Victory garden consultation services
MAY - run a 1/2 marathon (hopefully my two neighbors will join me)

JUNE - Participate in one local cultural event - like Salem 1st Wednesday Art Night or an exhibit opening or cultural festival.

JULY - have a party in my garden (I don't like throwing parties at all!! so this will be a big challenge)

Here's to a very exciting 2011!

(I know I have more resolutions in me, but I can't think of any more)

Adventures in Hair

2011-01-03T10:32:00.000-08:00

It's been fun having a little girl for many many reasons. One of those reasons I've been excited for a little girl is the chance to do hair! Lucky for me, Lane's hair is pretty thick and curly for a 7 month old. I was finally able to wrangle enough strands of hair for pig tails!

Chase is sometimes a little too eager to help me out when it comes to little sister. One day I went to the bathroom, came back, and he had "done" his sister's hair.

Caption: "help!"

December's Challenge: completed!

2011-01-01T10:53:00.000-08:00

This is quite fitting for today since it is a day of new year, new goals!

My original 12 thing challenge was featured on THIS post, however, if you don't want to click back, my DECEMBER goal was to: "buy a new sewing machine, take a sewing class, and learn how to correctly hem and alter clothing."
I am happy to report that I did complete this goal for December although not quite in the fashion I originally intended.

About a month ago, my mom purchased a new Singer Brilliance (thanks Costco coupon) for me as an early B-day present. I had been sewing on my mother in law's *ahem* VINTAGE Singer sewing machine, circa 1970-something? Anyway, right before I got my new computerized Singer, I taught myself how to do the magic hem on my jeans. I'm a shorty short girl (5'4") and therefore ALL my pants need to be hemmed. I hate shelling out $12-20 for a simple hem job. Pictures of this attempt of hemming follow.

I regarded this post on how to hem your jeans and I tested the theory out. It works!!

Blake - my older middle son, age 7, wanted to sew something as well. no time like the present. We set out to work and he and I sewed a simple fleece University of Washington pillowcase. He did 70% of the work!

I didn't find a sewing class that was suitable to my needs, but I am on the continued lookout. I find that I really really enjoy sewing, but holy moly, do I really really get frustrated!! machines jam easily and sewing DOES take patience and time - something that can be a challenge for a mom of two very young children and two older high-needs kiddos.

The sewing goal also asked me to learn how to alter my clothing. Every fashionista knows this: altering is your friend to making clothes look and feel better on you. I have a larger chest and stomach, but smaller arms and butt, hips, thighs. So I often buy my clothing larger and take it in on the sides. By using a very simple straight stitch, I am able to bring in clothes on the arms making my arms look thinner and longer. I am tuck in the sides while leaving room in the chest and tummy area (note to self: need to learn princess seams). Also, I purchase my pants with a larger waist and tuck in the thighs and hips area while leaving the waist larger. All tricks of the trade and easily accomplished with a sewing machine and high density needle! Money saved and clothes look better!

I am enjoying making custom everything for my daughter - bedding, bibs, burp cloths, drapes, etc. I also find it quite simple to sew any easy home decor project. I want to learn simple dresses (like pillowcase dresses) and frilly skirts.

What I am needing to learn next is more elaborate sewing techniques like different types of stitching (blind hem stitch and satin stitching) as well as try my hand at simple quilting.

this is the way we roll around these parts

2010-12-31T07:43:00.001-08:00

Yep, we've gone WT and Country all at the same time.

I'm coming back - get your readers ready

2010-12-30T09:48:00.000-08:00

This is what I get to do today - jealous?

Hello Friends and Family!

If you haven't already deleted me off your blog list - then yeah!! Thanks so much!!

I realized that the holiday season was clearly kicking my butt (post to follow on that soon) and I simply couldn not keep up on blogging. However, in the six weeks I bailed out on blogging, I realized I missed it and so I'm coming back!

Today I am taking down Christmas - holy tornado - you should see the chaos and destruction in my home. And it's all my fault - I can't blame children or guests - nope, all me. But Christmas decorations are OVER and I'm DONE, so off they go to be boxed. I have the kids locked in their rooms with a movie, Lanie in her jumper and my goal is for the room to look normal by tonight! Wish me luck

Just Keepin' It REAL - this is my front room people!

A work in progress....

2010-11-08T16:22:00.000-08:00

I had a fantastic visit from my mom this weekend so I'm a bit behind on my workout blogs.
I"m also working on my big grandmommy "Garden WrapUP 2010" post, so get ready. I'll talk about the beginning, middle, and end of this year's gardening. I'll share my successes and failures. I'll let you know what I plan on planting again next year and what I WON'T plant again. And it will be peppered with plenty of pictures. Get your bookmarks ready!

Cleaning naturally

2010-11-04T06:45:00.000-07:00

For the month of September, I challenged myself to create and use a non-toxic cleaning kit. I never got around to posting the specifics, but today I had the special privilege of waking up EXTRA super early (thank you Chase for the 4am wake up call) so I had some time to myself to pull the list together.

Let preface this post by saying that I always keep an eye out for 'natural' posts on blogs. And when I find one that is easy and like able, I will bookmark it and save it for a later date. For about six months, I have been compiling the list of non-toxic cleaners and when the 12 thing challenge arose, I knew I had my "excuse" to finally get my kit up and running.

Basics of natural cleaners

Making a non-toxic cleaning kit

Powdered oxygen bleach

Top 5 homemade cleaners

Homemade laundry soap and stain remover

Laundry is one of my chief areas of cleaning - With six people in my family (4 of them being boys) - I do a lot of laundry and a lot of stain removal. I have never felt very good about using cleaning materials that are chock full of chemicals - so I have tried really hard to gravitate to as natural as possible.

I use the baking soda primarily for laundry - but since the laundry room is near my bedrooms and bathrooms, I will take a plastic container, put a couple of scoops of baking soda in it, add some water to make a paste and use it to scrub my bathrooms or any area that needs cleaning.

I keep this tray on top of my dryer. In the glass jars are baking soda (large on the left) and powdered oxygen bleach (on right). I use 1/2 c. of baking soda in every load of laundry to 'boost' my laundry detergent. I soak socks, clothes with stains, and smelly anything in oxygen bleach. I save my old 64 oz. yogurt containers and 36 oz. cottage cheese containers and I soak items of clothing in those for days. Then I will take a little scrub brush and scrub the affected area. I really have had about 90% success rate of stain removal with this method.

A friend of mine asked me about my Fels Naptha bar (pictured in front). I read about it when I first looked up homemade laundry detergents. I've been trying to wean myself off 'Spray N Wash' or 'Shout' for a while and thought that perhaps I could use this laundry bar soap to aid in my stain removal. I found it in the laundry aisle of WINCO. Anyway, it totally works for stain removal (wet it, rub it on the affected area, and use small brush to scrub stain). However, it is stinky and I find I like to store it in sealed container when not in use.

For now, I use the Kirkland Signature 'Free and Clear' brand of laundry detergent. We go through too much laundry and the cost for me would be pretty high to buy the 'all natural' brands. I'm also too busy to make my own laundry soap right now. After reading this post about natural laundry detergents, I may try to locate some of these brands. Until then, Costco it is.

Recently, I've been coupon savvy and watching Fred Meyer's natural foods aisles for sales on fabric softeners. The two I have found that I like is Mrs. Meyers (super strong scent - so I use a tablespoon) and 7th Generation. They are both super concentrated so I really don't use that much and they do soften and add a fresh scent to my laundry.

I also use white distilled vinegar for many things - my husband doesn't like the smell at all so I try to use it when he is at work. By the time he gets home, the smell is gone. You can buy these huge bottles of vinegar at Costco for $6 for a pack of two. I saved a few spray bottles from previous cleaners and added the vinegar + water. I use it for all general disinfecting and de-scumming purposes. It has become my go-to kitchen cleanser. If Jer is home or I have guests, I will use Mrs. Meyers' all purpose cleaning spray (diluted into water) for cleaning. The scent is so strong that I use it quite sparingly.

Here is my cheat. My big fat cheat. The thing that cancels out ALL of my non-toxic cleaning routines. The big granddaddy CHEAT of them all. I use bleach occasionally.

I use it to clean the nasty bathroom that all three of my boys use. Because you really can't get the urine, boy dirt, and doggy smell out of the bathroom without bleach. And there is urine, like, everywhere. And bleach makes me feel like that place is CLEAN.

So there you go - my attempt at natural cleaning. I tried to compile a kit for every room of my house and I'm about halfway done. I like what I'm doing and feel like it is making up for my use of bleach.

I never want to go to the party, but once I do....

2010-11-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

Story of my life - I usually don't want to drag my lazy butt to the festivities (literal and figurative), but once I get involved, I almost always have a good time. Did you read my whah,whah,whah post yesterday? After kicking and fighting it most of the day, I finally geared up, had myself a little Halloween spirits *wink*, and just went for it. Believe it or not, the kids had a great time. I took the little ones trick or treating to a few neighbors and it was so much fun to show them off. I even ate a few Twix. So all in all, it was a really fun night and I'm glad we did it.

Bah Hallo-humbug!

2010-10-31T09:15:00.000-07:00

(in a really cute sweet way, my 2nd child came up to me and whispered, "Mom if you are going to have a high calorie day today, I'll save my Twix for you.")

Can I admit something to you? Not a fan of Halloween. Why? Sugar candy. Carving pumpkins (mess and more mess). Having to figure out costumes. I've been reading all my favorite blogs this past week and EVERYONE is so excited for Halloween and carving pumpkins and dressing up and I'm like, "am I the only one out there who wishes I could just pretend it didn't exist and make felt hair bows and satin flower hairclips all evening?" Wow - what a Hallo-Scrooge I am, but there you go, just keepin' it real.

Anyway, despite my true feelings, I'm big time sucking it up and all four kids have costumes secured, we're carving pumpkins this afternoon, I'm decorating the front door with them after pumpkins, the kids are playing Zombie Red Dead Redemption with their father right now, and I'm serving Zombie guts stew for dinner tonight (red bean chili).

Eating infant sleep humble pie

2010-10-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

(not an actual picture of my child, but close)

Did you know I had a baby a few months ago? Of course you did if you are a regular reader of my blog. But just in case you are tuning in for the first time - yes, I had my fourth child five months ago. With every baby, I like to participate in a new baby trend and see how it goes.

For my first, I used an exersaucer (yes, eleven years ago those were a brand new 'IT' thing)
For my second, I used a Boppy (eight years ago, it was a new thing and I loved it. Great for nursing, sleep positioner, tummy time, etc)
For my third, I bought a Bumbo (two years ago, and he hated it so I got rid of it tout suite - too bad I had to rebuy it for my fourth who loves the bumbo!)
For my fourth, I tried a generic version of The Woombie and thus the reason for this post.

I first read about the woombie on my blog friend Bridget's blog. She was the first person to talk about it, so I was very intrigued. A few Google searches later and I thought, "hey I think I'm going to do this for the next baby."

So I purchased a very generic version of The Woombie called The Swaddle Pod (retailed for $10 on Amazon). I actually purchased three of them: one for me, one for each of my friends who were having babies at the same time. After one of my friends said that it didn't work for her baby, I asked if I could have hers, so I actually have two of them. One for wearing, one for the wash.

Anyway, we used the Swaddle pod from the moment Lane came home from the hospital. Wow!! and more wow!! That child slept. and slept. and slept. All I had to do was zip her up in that thing and wedge her head against something soft (like a bumper pad or blanket) and she was good to go. She slept for a solid 6 hours by 3 weeks old. She slept 8 hours straight by 6 weeks old. By 2 months, I could count on her to sleep 10-12 hours at night plus 3 - 2 hour naps a day. Oh yeah, I was cocky, I was stoked. I was an amazing baby sleep trainer. I tried not to gloat, but how could I not? I mean, my newborn was sleeping and I didn't even have to use the "Cry it Out" method. She didn't need a paci, she didn't need to be rocked or nursed to sleep - I just zipped her into the swaddle pod.

Okay - now I am paying for my last five months of sleep bliss. Two days ago, Lane decided to roll. And boy does she roll. Problem is - rolling is not compatible with the Swaddle pod because she doesn't have her arms free to hold herself up in case she rolls over. Without any warning or planning - we had to abandon our sleep crutch immediately.

And now, my friends, I am in the trenches with all of you while my baby learns how to sleep. We are learning ALL OVER AGAIN how to sleep for naps, how to sleep through the night, how to cry, how to use a paci to get to sleep - all of the above.

In the end, do I regret using the Swaddle pod in the beginning, knowing that I was really delaying the inevitable later? No, I do not regret it. With four children at home, two large dogs, a house to manage, baby weight to lose, and a husband who has to work long hours - I needed sleep ASAP in order to function. And I am totally and completely caught up on sleep right now so a few nights of sleep deprivation aren't going to do me much harm. I am confident that she will get over it (and reading my friend Kelly's post about sleep training helped fortify my resolve) and life will resume to normal.

But man oh man - to hear my sweet little girl scream herself to sleep is terrible! Don't let anyone fool you - you can't have your cake and eat it too. :) Cheers!!

Operation Lose Baby Weight Week 12!

2010-10-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

Here I am - 3 months into the program and officially halfway there in terms of my goals. On average, I am halfway to all my goal measurements. I did a different post today about my weight loss, but I should return to my normal post regime next week. I caught a cold this weekend, so I'm not my normal self. I expect to be healthy by the end of the week and thus, return full force into routine!!

Date 10-25-10

Week 12 Check-In

Weight: didn’t take

Measurements:
Waist – START: 37”; TODAY: 32” LAST TIME: 34” Goal: 27”

Hips – START: 39”; TODAY: 38” LAST TIME: 38 ¾” Goal: 36”

Thighs- START: 22 ½”; TODAY: 21 ½” LAST TIME: 22” Goal: 20”

Chest – START: 39”; TODAY: 37” Goal: 36”

Key Highlights since taking one month break from journaling

• I took four straight days off cardio and training – when I returned to my program, I felt much stronger and was able to up my deadlifting weight to 155 (up 20lbs) and bench press 115 lb (up 30 lbs). The rest and recovery was very crucial for continued success.

• IMPORTANT NOTE: A few weeks ago, I was halfway into my program. I was officially out of my postpartum clothes and into my ‘fat’ clothes (size 8 pants and medium shirts). I took one week of easy exercising and adding several high calorie days into my week (average of 1800 cals/day). The reason why is because I wanted to let my body know it wasn’t starving and I wasn’t heading into famine so it didn’t need to plateau.

• RESULT OF HIGH CALORIE WEEK: because I didn’t go crazy and continued to eat clean but eat a little more, my body ended up losing more weight and continued loss of inches. My ankle injury has healed and when I went running last week, it didn’t hurt at all!!

The Last Fifteen POUNDS weight loss begins

• I’m losing my vanity weight. My body would be healthy at this weight and size and that is okay. But I want to be a smaller size. I know I’ve hit a healthy weight because my waist measurement is under 34” and I can run 4-5 miles without any injury or strain.

• I began food journaling again – back to 1400 cals/day. Back to intense weight lifting (Crossfit routines) and 45-50 min. cardio 5-6 days/week (goal: 4 to 5 hours of cardio/week)

How I feel about myself and my body this week
I have a cold, so that makes it tough to do any sort of heavy workouts, but I think I can fit in easy workouts until I regain my health. I am proud of my body for responding to all the training I put it through. I do feel a little bloated and puffy this week, but that is because of my monthly ‘visitor’ and I expect to return to normal soon.

Goals for Next Week

Begin posting workouts again.
Continue food journaling
Chug chug chug the water

A reminder about my goals and the program I set for myself

MY PROGRAM

*Modified 8/16/2010*

• Exercise 5-6 days a week. Include cardio/weight and circuit training. Training must be at least 30 minutes. Running 30 minutes daily.

• Eat 1400-1500 calories a day. As a busy mom I can't keep track of everything that goes in my mouth i.e. through a food journal, so I'm going to break it down like this. Shannan's patented 3-2-1 eating program

• 3-400 calorie meals

• 2-100 calorie snacks

• OR 1- 200 calorie snack

• Have rest days to recover physically - at least one a week, if not two try to have only one cheat meal. Until I see good results, I can only afford one cheat a week.

• Have two cheat meals a week - this is recommended by Jillian Michaels - you can't have cheat DAYS, but two cheat meals makes you feel satisfied and helps you stay on your program.

• Get 7-8 hours of sleep at night - very crucial for weight loss. I wake up very early in the morning, so in order to get that sleep, I have to be in bed by 9pm every night (YIKES!)

MY GOAL

I’m 5’4” and I would like to be 125-130 lbs.

Lose 25-30 lbs

Lose 10 inches off waist - goal 27"

Lose 3 inches off hips - goal 35-36"

Lose 2 inches off thighs - goal 20"

Lose 3 inches off chest - goal 36"

All of these hopefully by my birthday - March 27, 2011 but for sure by Lane's first birthday

Putting Three Weeks Worth of Material into ONE post

2010-10-17T10:14:00.000-07:00

One of the passing comments I hear often is, "I don't know how you do it with four kids".

Here's the truth - four kids is a lotta lot of work. Mental, physical, emotional WORK. It's day-in, day-out lots of work. And being the self-actuated being that I am (just kidding, what I'm trying to be), I have to give up certain little "unnessaries" so I can do my Number One Job well. So blogging about my life has fallen a little by the wayside. I'm still doing all the things I USED to post about: weight loss is going full speed, garden is still producing like crazy!, kids and their activities take up all my time, and oh yeah, spend time with hubs so he doesn't feel neglected. Wrap up my NEW AND EXCITING hobby of crafting little girl headbands and clips and well...you get the picture. FULL FULL BUSY LIFE.

Here are some highlights (denoted by *):

*Lane is growing like a Weed!

Lane had to start eating baby cereal. She was up to 5- 8oz. bottles of formula and still screaming for more food. She has the OPPOSITE problem of her more petite older brother - she wants to eat. So organic multi-grain cereal it is. (check out that baby belly - makes you just want to blow raspberries all over it)

*12 month challenge: Non-toxic cleaning kit

(baking soda on the left, oxygen bleach cleaner on right, Fels Naptha bar in front)

I'm completed my 12 MONTHS challenge for September. I challenged myself to create a non-toxic cleaning kit. I'll write a post soon about the specifics I did and the resources I consulted, but for now I wanted to share that I DID begin to make differences in my toxic cleaning routine. Most important change - I'm using white distilled vinegar like crazy (small tip: use it instead of jet dry in your rinse cycle of dish washing - you'll be amazed!) I also did away with Spray N Wash and using Baking Soda as a laundry booster and powdered Oxygen bleach Cleaners and a Fels Naptha bar for stain remover.

* Made my own BABY LEGS (click on this title for a link to the tutorial)

I love Baby Legs for my girl. Problem is: I just don't think it is worth $10/pair. My solution? I found this tutorial which is so stinkin' easy that a super beginner sewer like me can actually make a pair of ruffle edged baby legs for Lane for $1/pair.

*Went to my local Pumpkin Patch for our pumpkins this year

Our local pumpkin patch is our BACKYARD. How about that for saving gas/time/money?

At our local pumpkin patch you may not get to go in a corn maze, but you do get to jump on the trampoline all you want.

And you can put your baby in her Bumbo chair and let her stare at rocks and not worry for a second about her getting taken or lost or forgotten.

Check out the brilliant blue Oregon sky at our pumpkin patch (two year old may have taken charge of the camera while I was harvesting pumpkins)

*Lane and Older Brothers Bonded

She adores them. If she is crying, I just put her next to them and she stops. She absolutely adores them.

*I lost Weight!!

this is the only picture I could find of myself in the recent past. I've lost another 10 pounds and another 5 inches all around and another pant size. I'm officially in my 'fat pants' which is just one size bigger than my normal size. My crossfit/running/calorie restriction is going well. Don't let me kid you, it's hard, but it's working. You can see my jawline now- no more puffy-face.

*I'm canning everything under the sun (everything local we can pick)

My family loves this Salsa Recipe. Luckily my garden (nine tomato plants, jalapeno plant, tomatillos, and sweet pepper plants) are producing the majority of the material to make this. I think I can about 2 quarts and 4 pints of this salsa every week.

*Still visiting U-Pick farms and loving our Oregon landscape.

I found a local orchard (unfortunately not organic, but very well kept) that charges $8 for a 5 gallon bucket. We usually pick about 2 buckets worth which amounts to about 40 pounds of apples. They have so many varieties of apples, I can't even list them. Once again, my family usually eats through this harvest in 2-3 weeks. I don't have a lot left over to can applesauce!

*My state of mind is really good right now

That's about it for now. Can you believe how full my life is?? Right now I'm listening to Darryl Worley's song "Awful Beautiful Life" and it perfectly describes how I feel about my life.

"I lay in bed at night and thought the day and how my life is like a roller coaster ride. The ups and downs and crazy turns along the way - it will throw you off if you don't hold on tight.

You can't really smile until you shed some tears.

I could die today and I might live a hundred years.

I love this crazy tragic

sometimes almost magic

awful beautiful life."

Combine that song with 10,000 Maniacs song "These are Days" and that is my state of mind right now. Crazy blessed right now.

I survived and catching up on an old favorite

2010-10-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning here - I survived I Am Legend. Woo Hoo! No panic attack, fast forwarded through the most intense finale scene, and lived to tell the tale. I challenge all of you to try to tackle your fears (although I will tell you this: I didn't take the dogs outside in our dark backyard last night right before bed - I'm not stupid).

My older boys are in super restriction grounding right now which means no friends, no TV, no screens of any sort which means I'm also in the doghouse with them, guarding it. They LIED to me about something they did that they KNOW they shouldn't do, they covered their tracks for a week, and then I found out about it. Major major trouble.

This morning I'm catching up on mountains upon mountains upon mountains of laundry. Maybe I'll do a little sewing since it is raining cats and dogs. Catching up on a few week's worth of This American Life. The Crybabies episode from a week ago is absolutely brilliant. Go listen if you are so inclined. Peace out from the warden.

Today I am tackling my fear

2010-10-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

"Oh you poor tired bored housewife", you may say to me because today I am tackling a fear that I've had for a few years.

Today I'm going to watch the movie I Am Legend.

Okay, okay, don't laugh. I'm serious. Don't LAUGH!!*

I don't like scary movies - even stupid scary movies. Even as an adult I have an overactive imagination and I can totally envision vampire zombies coming to my house at night and attacking me. The first time I watched this movie I seriously had a panic attack (this was before I was on anxiety medication) midway through the movie and couldn't finish it. I had nightmares for a week or two. Well now I'm stable on my meds, I'm doing great mentally so I'm going to tackle this fear of mine. I WANT to watch this movie to prove to myself that I can handle scary movies.

Don't laugh!!* This movie was scary to me (at least in my memory of the movie - mostly I can just remember the panic attack I had and I want to prove to myself that I won't have another panic attack).

This is personal therapy in its finest form!

*you can laugh - well, I would prefer a chuckle at my expense