How is it..

..that I can be so unsatisfied with the look of my blog each and every day?  Each and every change?  What looks fine one day looks like trash the next.  I'm such fickle person..or maybe, I'm just too much of a perfectionist.  Ya, let's go with that last one.

Natural Born Gardener

I like to think that I was born to garden.  Both of my parents are avid gardeners after all. 

Year after year, my mother has some of the most beautiful and successful flower gardens that I've seen.  I don't know that she knows a great deal about the plants like my father does, but she knows what she likes and what seems to go well together. She's diligent in maintaining it too which makes all the difference if you ask me. My father on the other hand is a vegetable grower.  One of my fondest childhood memories is of sitting in his vegetable garden and eating the peas straight from the plant.  In his former life, my father was a science teacher and in his spare time he helped run the high school's greenhouse.  Everything I've learned about growing vegetables, I've learned from him.

Last year I experimented with growing some of my own vegetables last year.  I was either very successful (with peppers and onions) or not successful at all (zucchini and cucumber - and just 3 small green tomatoes).  This year my garden has grown and I'm hoping to have even more success.

This year I planted 2 varieties of tomatoes, 2 cucumbers, cantaloupe, peas, carrots, red and yellow onions, garlic, 3 different pepper plants, red and green cabbage, potatoes, strawberries, and a few different types of lettuce.  I even planted some herbs: sweet basil, cilantro, chives, and Italian parsley.

I'm also trying something called square foot gardening.  I learned about it at a seminar on raised bed gardening and it seemed perfect for gardening in the limited space that we have.


Even if we don't get a large crop this year, it's been fun planning and planting this garden.  Big Daddy and O have been heavily involved in the process and it's been enjoyable to have the whole family involved.

A Glimpse Into The Future

I think today I got a glimpse into the future of my son's life. It wasn't some big ah ha moment where I saw my son heading off to chase his dreams. It was actually something far simpler and a great deal more silly.
I instantly wished I had had my camera with me or my phone at the very least to capture the moment for prosperity.

This morning, the boy and I headed off to a friend's house to look after her two children and nephew. These are my son's very best friends and when they get together it's always something to behold (good and bad). Today we spent most of the morning outside playing. The kids were having a blast riding on bikes, throwing a ball around, chasing each other, and riding around on the battery powered kid vehicles. There I am lounging in a chair, soaking up the sun, my eyes closed and head back minding my own business really when I hear the laughter of 3 little boys, one say "hop on" and the gunning of an electric motor. More laughter ensued. Of course I opened my eyes to see what was going on and that's when I caught a glimpse of the future. There was my son, bottle (of water) tipped up as he drank while one of his buddies drove and the other straddled the hood of his sister's pink Barbie jeep. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if 10-15 years from now if I see the same scene before me except with a real vehicle.

Now that is a scary thought!

Yet Another Month..

And so another month has passed and I've yet to get this blogg as I'd like it, but you know what? It is what it is. I'll continue to make changes as I go, but as of today, I'm getting this blog back online and to the masses. I know, you feel terribly lucky.

Now it's time to test out last month's theory. Will I or won't I keep up with this blog now that I've got a new look (and a ton more time to spare)?

Under Construction..again..

After much debate, and a whole lot of procrastinating, I'm changing the look of my blog. I'm the picky sort, so this is going to take me a while but I hope you'll bare with me.

(I'm hoping this will motivate me to get back into blogging. Getting a new computer just didn't seem to do the trick.)

To Do

My 'To Do' list is always varied in length, but these days it seems to be growing and growing. It's through no fault but my own, I know. But I'm ever so spectacular at procrastinating. One of these days I'll get on the ball.

1. Get Christmas presents. - I really need to do this. I haven't purchased a single thing..for anybody. I'm way behind here.

2. Do Christmas cards - Again, I'm way behind the eight ball on this one. I need to pick out a picture and get a card made. Not to mention I then have to address all the envelopes and send them out.

3. Laundry - It's starting to pile up.

4. Send out some emails - Some of this I have already done. My list of people to email was getting rather large, but I put a pretty good dent into that list this evening.

5. Vacuum and clean bathrooms - Those things are always on the list for Monday. I suppose I thought I needed a little extra reminder this week.

6. Pay bills - Another thing that always seems to be on the list.

7. Get prepared for city council meeting - The first, but probably not last time I will have to get up in front of the council and make a presentation (I'll explain more later).

8. More research on community gardens - Again, another story for another time.

9. Exercise - See how far down on my list it is?

10. Try to relax and not think about trying to get pregnant. - Did I mention that Big Daddy and I were actively trying? No? Well..guess what?

Okay..so that's my top 10 things I need to do. I'm positive there are more and if there isn't, some will likely find their way on. Don't you just love Mondays?

The House That Jack Built

We loved our home when we first bought it and I guess for the most part, we still do, sort of. What's not to love? We have almost 3000 square feet of livable space. I have a front porch that, while lacking in real size and charm, we enjoy sitting out on. We have a decent enough sized back yard for O to play. We have a walk in pantry that has a ton of space. The rooms are all fairly large and we have lots of room to put up visitors. But that's where the love stops.

Have you ever seen the show 'Holmes on Homes'? If you haven't, it's worth taking a look at - especially if you own your own home. I wish I had a Mike Holmes.

Our house is a tract house. In case you don't know what that means..a tract house is one in a community of tract houses that were built from a few plans as quickly and cheaply as possible (read - very poorly made). I don't imagine all tract houses were made poorly, but ours certainly was. The first full winter we were in this house we noticed how cold our house felt and in particular, Bug's room. This house ooooozed cold air and our electric bills proved it. We spent close to $1500 during three of the peak winter months that first year! The windows are horrible (but look pretty from the outside). The insulation is questionable and there were gaps and holes around every door and window!
This only scratches the surface of my house woes but most of my woes pertain to the cosmetic aspects of the house and not the structure. Thankfully, we haven't been hit with anything major as of yet, but..I'm waiting. That's how confidently pessimistic I am on this one.

I get that builders are looking to make money. My town, during the big housing boom, was one of the fastest growing towns in Texas. You couldn't build houses fast enough at one point. But does that really negate building a home properly and with quality workmanship? I guess it did. Of course it's at no cost to them once the 1 year warranty expires. Even though our home had only been lived in a month prior to us purchasing it, there was no warranty and therefore the builder didn't have to fix any of the problems we found. Instead, we are the ones left fixing what they didn't or didn't care to do correctly in the first place.

How sad..