Whoo Wee!!

Has it really been that long since I've blogged? I am so sorry. Things have been a little nutso around here. Ok, things are always nutso around here, but now they're a different kind of nutso. Ready for an update blog? Good, 'cause that's what you're getting today. And it's gonna make me seem like a redneck, or at the least, a country bumkin.

• Hubby and I are great project starters. It's the finishing we have issue with. There are a couple of things that have become near and dear to our hearts and we were determined. The first was the garden. We worked very hard to get it built, filled, and growing. It is so beautiful. We have so much zucchini growing right now, I have visions of quick breads and muffins and stuffed and all kinds of different ways to make it. The tomatoes are rocking. So excited about all the fruits of the labors. We're hoping everything will start to ripen soon and we can start harvesting. I'm looking for a great homemade spaghetti sauce recipe. I'm also looking for a tomato sauce recipe. We could make our own ketchup and BBQ sauce. Yeah, we have plans.
• The second big project we worked on was the chicken coop. That was four days of back breaking, fall into bed exhausted work. At one point I had to keep repeating over and over "Just keep moving". I almost did the Dory thing but changed my mind. Hubby and I had talked about what we wanted the coop to look like, how the roosts should look, where we were going to put it. We talked about all that stuff. What we didn't do was meld our minds together so we could see each other's thoughts. That would have helped tremendously. It took us longer because we didn't SHOW each other what we were thinking. We had to talk about every frickin' step. Sometimes we even argued. But it looks really good for our first coop. If you go online you can buy kits. That's what we're doing next time. Or at least plans. That way all we have to do is follow the pattern and not talk the damn thing to death. But we got done just in time.
• The day after the coop was finished, the chickens arrived!! They are beautiful. So far we've named 5 of them. We have Glory, Babe, Pearl, Veronica, and Fluffy. Go figure, right? They were a little groggy from the trip when we picked them up. I don't know if that just happens or if they get a little extra something in their feed. They have certainly come alive since. We go out and watch them and hang out with them. I think the chickens are made of pot. We just sit and stare at them and smile. Sometimes we scratch ourselves. We always come in with the munchies, too. Craziest thing you ever saw. Sometimes I just have to go outside and stand by the cage and get a hit. And we got our first egg today!! We've had them for about 2 days and already have an egg. We'll see how the other ladies do.
• We were given some fig trees. They should do very well in our soil. We're going to plant them at the other end of the house from the garden. There isn't any room down by the garden. We have one that's ready to plant and three more that need another year or so. That should be interesting. I may have to learn how to make all things fig. I am not a fan of fig newtons, but if I made them I might like them. There's something that might keep me out of trouble for half a second. 
• We have 2 more 4x4 gardens we want to start and three 2x2 gardens. We want beans and peas. To get any decent amount of those you have to plant a butt load. I'm not sure if that's a real gardening term or not. We also want spinach, bok choy, and pickling cucumbers. That's our next big project. We need to hurry since we're already half way through April. Time is a wasting!!

That means I gotta run. I need to start dinner. I hate to say it, but we're having chicken. Not one of ours, though. That would be awkward at this point. See ya'!
 

Theme Parks with a Fashionista, or, You Really Went Out in Public Like THAT?!?!?!

When hubby and I get our taxes back, we always try to pay down a large bill and then do something fun for our family. This year we got Disney passes as the fun part. I wanted the Big Daddy passes that allow access to the water parks and some other fun things for free. But for our family of five, that was more money than I could justify. Instead, we got the Big Momma passes. We get discounts at the water parks and discounted access to those other things. The important part is that we also get free parking (wish we collected money like with Monopoly) and no blackout dates. Between our screwy days and hubby's screwy work schedule, it's nice to be able to go when we want.

The boy loves him some roller coasters. So does the big girl. The baby has never been big enough and is just now starting to get tall enough. The problem is my petite children. Although the baby is tall enough, she isn't big enough. And then this morning there's the report of the little girl that came off a carnival ride. She only had bumps and bruises, but it was a small ride. Not happening for the baby. When she gets some more bulk to her, I'll be ok. Hubby takes the two older kids on the rides and he rides with the boy. And holds onto him. One time the boy almost came off a ride as it plunged down the last steep hill and it scared the bejeezus out of hubby. If hubby can't go, the boy doesn't go. Period.

I can tell a story can't I? I always feel like you need the background. I think it's really so I can hear the sound of my own voice a little longer. I don't ask my kids that famous question: Do you think I'm talking just to hear the sound of my own voice? The answer is yes, yes I am. Anyway, all of the first two paragraphs to say that the baby and I have some free time on our hands while the others are riding. Can I say that my two new favorite words are "fast pass"? Not as much wating time. Loving that. The baby and I wander the stores or try to find a ride to go on that doesn't involve spinning or jerky movements. Sometimes it works. Sometimes we just try to find a shady spot to sit. And watch people.

You would think people would know better. They don't. Did they look in the mirror? They DID!! And liked what they saw. Why? Is the mirror dirty? Do you need glasses? Both? Maybe they just don't know any better. They should. C'mon people, use a little common sense. Yeah, I know, it isn't that common. Big sigh. Here are just a few observations. My eyes will never be the same.

• Keep your bra to yourself. I don't need to see that you are wearing a bra that clashes, intentionally, with your tank top. Really? They have these great clips you hook to the back of your bras that will make the straps fit the racer back style of tank tops. That way, I don't have to see your tacky bra and you look like you went up a cup size. We bought some for the big girl for dance one year. Her costume had a racer back and there was no way she was letting it all hang out and we didn't have the money to buy a fancy bra with clear straps. That you can still see. She said she never felt it, even while she was dancing. They were $5 at the dollar store. One cup size, huh? I may have to start using them. And if your shirt isn't made to wear a bra with it, as in loose and flowy and low cut, and you have large breasts, wear something else. I do not need to know that you bought your bra at Victoria's Secret. Your bra should stay a secret. Leaves a little mystery. Anyone know what that is? Yeah, I didn't think so.
• Leggings are NOT pants!! Oh my giddy aunt, how many times do I need to say that?!?! 'Cause I will say it over and over and over!! If the material is stretched so thin that I can see your underwear, or the fact that you aren't wearing any, you're wearing the wrong pants. The only ass I want to see is hubby's. And Matthew McConaughey's. But they aren't women. I think they should ban flesh colored leggings. There is only one reason you wear that. They're attention getting. But you're getting the wrong kind of attention. People are pointing and laughing. I know because I've seen them. I just gripe about it. And really, if you don't have the butt of an 18 year old, firm and perky, you really should cover that thing up if you're going to wear leggings. Ugh!
• Don't think I'm only picking on the ladies. I am an equal opportunity fashion basher. Gentlemen, and I use that term loosely, pull up your damn pants!! I don't give a shit what kind of underwear you're wearing. I really don't care to see the stains on your tighty whiteys. Yuck! It's a prison thing that means you are available for the men to come tap your ass. And I don't mean with their hands. And if you have to walk bow legged to keep your pants from falling down, you have gone from ridiculous to ridiculous AND stupid. Pull them up where they belong. Please!!
• Men should not wear capris. They aren't cute. I've tried to learn to appreciate the look. I just can't. I don't get it. It doesn't look right. Specially when they wear them loose and slung low. And with a wife beater. You do know why they call them a wife beater, right? Because you look like you beat your wife. Come into the now...
• And finally, for men and women, crack kills. Pull it up, wear a belt. Suspenders are making a comeback. I don't like women's jeans. They come up to my waist and cut me in half. They make me look like a two lump snow woman. I buy most of my jeans in the juniors department. They are cut lower and sit on my hips or below my waist. They fit my silhouette better. The problem is that they are slung super low most of the time. I have to wear a belt or I'm showing the world my undies and beyond. I just love the fact that I can wear juniors jeans AND a belt. As someone that has been over weight for the majority of my life, that is a great accomplishment for me. I'm still carrying 20 more pounds than I need to, but this too shall pass. I always make sure before I bend over or sit down that I'm covered . Nobody needs to see that. 

I went jeans shopping this summer with big sis. I knew when I went out to Texas that my pants were too big. I could take them off and put them on without unbuttoning or unzipping them. I don't get much of an opportunity to shop by myself for myself and when I take the kids they get fidgety after about 30 minutes. She made me get a size smaller, which were still too big. And then a smaller size, which fit but were a little tighter than I like. Then a size smaller, which fit, but when I sat down, they couldn't contain all my awesomeness and it spilled over the top. UGLY! So I went back up one size. But that's also how I started looking like the aformentioned snow woman. They fit and feel good, but lumpy is what I am. That's why I always bought a bigger size. They didn't cut me in half. Of course, the stress of the holidays helped that when I lost about 18 pounds in a month. But when the stress went away and I could eat again, I gained some of that back. Our no sugar for Lent has helped trim some of the extras and I look better and feel better. I also hope I know my limitations. The big girl and I have a deal in the dressing room. Total honesty without brutality. I like that deal and so does she. Now if I could go into the dressing room with those people that like to wear leggings and show their cracks...

Really?

Just a quick one, because it's hilarious.

I love my youth kids like I birthed them. Praise band having a hard night. Lead singer drops the microphone and walks off the stage after the last song. Band goes storming off after him. Some major issues going on. I couldn't go after them right then, right there, but make a point that I need to talk to them later.

About 20 minutes later, the rest of the kids are heading to the youth house after announcements and stuff. I go upstairs to look for hubby. Hubby has already taken his charges over. The lead singer, drummer, and guitar player are sitting on the floor, looking pretty serious about something and obviously don't want to be bothered.

Me: What ya' doin'?

Drummer: Talking.

Me: What ya' talking about?

Guitar player: Stuff

They know me. They should have known that wasn't going to play with me. I sat down. You should have seen the looks on their faces. Shock that I sat down, shock that I would interrupt, shock that I would stay with them.

We sat and talked for almost 45 minutes about what was on their minds. But, they felt better when we were done. My advice was to not throw up road blocks where there are none. My repeated statement was "Are you going to let that stop you?" The answer, finally, "No. We can do this." Thank you, my sweet boys.

What are talking about? Stuff. Really? Like I'm a sucker.

Gosh, I love my kids.

Reformed

I am not talking about me! We haven't had TV in our bedroom since we got rid of satellite.We don't watch much news anymore. It's been lovely. Except for the fact that hubby and I like to have the TV when we go to bed. We've been watching DVDs, but we've run through most, if not all, of the movies we own about a bajillion times. Then one day, the TV wouldn't turn on. Well, how do you watch a movie with no TV? It's not easy. So we bought a new one. It was something we hadn't planned on, but we did it anyway. I don't agree with the whole digital TV being mandated by Congress, but I do like that most TVs nowadays have a built in antennae. We have TV in the bedroom again.

So what do I put the TV on in the morning as I start my day? Morning news shows. Why? Because I am an idiot. I don't know why I bother. All it does most mornings is piss me off. They talk about politicians, celebrities, and crap that just makes me think that the general IQ of our country has dropped about 100 points. People, please, grow a brain. More importantly, start using it. I have a brain cramp.

Education reform is another way to say that we have no idea what the hell we are doing when it comes to educating our children. Where I live they are considering changing the grading system. Know what that's going to do? Make more kids fail. I am not one that thinks that we should only use positive statements. They need to learn to be disappointed. Life is not easy or simple. But we shouldn't necessarily make it easier for them either. Standardized testing is a crock of shit. They don't measure performance of teachers or students any more than a ruler will measure cups and ounces. In our state, it is illegal to teach to the test. Um, someone should tell the schools that. They are teaching to the test. They did it when my kids attended public school and they are doing it now. It's not the teacher unions that are the problem. They are a problem, but not the root of this problem.

The problem is that we are using outdated standards and listening to "experts" that have never taught a day in their lives. Why? Because they have a degree that says they studied about how to educate? How about listening to teachers about their job? Sorry, just makes sense to me. How about we realize that teaching a room of 20-30 kids is almost impossible? They learn different ways. How about we recognize that there are different ways to learn? Some are visual learners, some auditory. Some people need to actually do to learn. It is impossible to teach to each individual and still accomplish teaching and learning. Placing kids together by age makes no sense. Is that how your job is? Are you only working with people your age? Are your friends all your age? I'm going out on a limb and saying no. Should there be standards and a yearly review for teachers to keep their jobs? Doesn't everyone else get one? They should. What would the criteria be? I don't have an answer to that, but I know it's got to be better than what is going on now. I have several teacher friends and they are frustrated that they can't do what they love, but instead, are forced to follow rules and curricula that ties their hands.

Do you know why there's high school? It started in the days of the Great Depression. Too many men were out of work. The work force needed to be decreased so that there would be more jobs available for men. What better way than send the kids back to school. There were avenues of higher education, but not a country wide high school system. They were also training them to be able to work in a factory setting. Think about it. What do your kids learn in school? Stay on the line, follow the rules, and do what I tell you. Sounds like factory work, doesn't it? Just some food for thought. But remember, it's not the kids or the teachers that are broken. It's the system in which they have to operate.

Healthcare is another area that needs serious reform. Insurance for all is certainly not the answer. And, frankly, I don't want to pay for your insurance. I also don't want to pay for your groceries, housing, and cell phones. We can barely pay our own bills. It's about reforming the system that provides healthcare as well as the insurance system. Some hospitals require you to pay up front before they see you, insurance or not. I have a friend that was forced to pay $2300, up front, before a procedure was done. No money, said the hospital, no procedure. Wow. I always advise people not to pay their deductible until the insurance company has determined who the deductible should be paid to. The hospitals don't play by that rule. When the boy had his appendix out, they did several tests. They only needed one. Why did he have to have all the others? They were covering their butt. And costing me money. And costing you money, too. We had no insurance at the time and we were put on emergency Medicaid. Know who pays for that? We all do. Thanks for paying $25,000 for my boy to be transported by ambulance from hospital to hospital, doctors to read his tests, having emergency surgery to remove his appendix, and an overnight stay at a children's hospital. We are ever so grateful. And pissed off about the whole thing. Still. 6 years later. It's not about treating patients, it's not about diagnosing properly, it's not about helping people that can't help themselves. It's about the Benjamins.

Who did Congress talk to while putting together Obamacare? CEOs of hospitals, doctors, and insurance companies. How about the billers? They are the ones that have to collect the money from insurance companies. How about the customer service reps that deal with hospitals and doctors offices that question the billing? How about the patients that have to go through test after unnecassary test? Yeah, why? That would only lead to responsible reform. 

Political reform. I could write a whole blog on the evils of the current political system. I find it odd that the best way to become a multimillionaire is to become a Senator. They have first hand knowledge that allows them to play the stock market and buy or sell stocks in companies that are being awarded contracts or losing contracts with the government. Really? And that isn't insider trading? That's bug nuts crazy is what that is. We do have more than two parties in this country, but no one else gets exposure except the big two. And talk about crooks! Rick Perry wanted to have every girl in the state of Texas to have the Guardisil vaccine. Sounds magnanimous and generous, doesn't it? Yeah, until you found out that one of the major contributors to his campaign is the maker of the vaccine. Now that makes better sense. Not the only time he's done that, by the way. It's not just him. Politicians couldn't get away with it if we didn't let them. And, boy, do we ever let them. I have screamed and screamed that we need to educate ourselves. Still screaming, people.

It's not enough to pass a law. It's not enough to change a grading system or administer a test. It's not enough to order a test. It's the sytem that's broken. Look to the root of the problem and fix that. Talk to the people that are having the issues. Talk to the people that would be affected by the solution. Or just leave it alone and let the systems break down even further. Yeah, not so much on this blog.
  

Updated

Just a few things on my mind. Not much, just enough to clutter things a bit. Thought I'd do something I don't do in real life: dust. My allergies are kicking in already.

• I used to be very political. Hubby was worried that some of my blogs would lead to black SUVs following me everywhere. We used to joke about snipers in the back field. I just got tired of all the bullshit. Oh my gosh, there's enough of that stuff for many, many square foot gardens. Except that there was this push to pretty much make your home garden illegal. Sorry, just had to throw that in there. Be aware, people, be aware. And I am. Doesn't mean I'll blog about it. Doesn't mean I won't, either. Just not to the point that there is the possibility of surveillance. For the record, Monsanto is evil and they should be ashamed of themselves!! Just needed to get that off my chest. Well, so much for surveillance...
•  I am a sucker for word games. I have probably told you before that I have Words, Hanging, and Scramble with Friends. If you play any of those, and you have my email, text, or we're friends on Facebook, let's play. Send me your name and which one(s) you play and it is on, honey!! My favorite out of the three is Scramble. It's like Boggle. I have games going with my friend MFE. She is whooping me but good. I get a game every now and then and I'm getting better, but she still beats me. Can't help but be addicted. I check my phone every 10 minutes to see if I have words. If I go more than 15 or 20 minutes without a word, I'm like a junkie looking for a fix. Two of my kids and hubby have some if not all of the games, and I am forever bugging them to give me words. "I NEED WORDS!!" is the most dreaded phrase heard in our house.
• We got our taxes filed. I hate this time of year. Mermie and Big Sis worked at the same CPA firm. Mermie first and that's where she retired from, and Big Sis for a few years until the babies started coming. I think I got tax anxiety from my brushes with accountants and CPAs. I hate it. Anyway, it's done and we got a refund. Thank you, God! We owed money one year and that was stressful to the nth degree. You do not want to mess with the IRS. Gives me the heebie jeebies.
• One of my favorite apps right now is I Heart Radio. You can listen to radio stations from all across the country. It's awesome! It's not every station from every city, but there is quite the selection. I listen to stations from Dallas, but you can scroll through and listen to pretty much whatever. The big girl added it to her iPod. Funny thing that we both have the Mix Master station.
• We are in the market for three new appliances. We need a washer, an oven, and a dishwasher. We've found a couple we like, it's just a matter of checking to see if they fit. There goes the nice padding in my wallet. Oh, well, I keep thinking convection oven, convection oven, convection oven. That's better.

Ok, mind cleared enough to let me sleep. Thanks for HANGING in there. I knew I could find the right WORDs. Just needed to unSCRAMBLE my brain. Peace out, FRIENDS!

There Ya' Go

It is a rainy morning which means I would rather spend all day in bed with a self-replenishing cup of coffee and a great book. Since I have kids, that isn't happening. I think I'll blog instead. Ready? Let's go.

• I am still trying to figure out where self respect went. The other day hubby and I took a  little time for date night. Love date night and that we're able to leave the kids for a little bit. We went to the mall to get the boy's birthday present. As we were coming out of the mall, package in hand, there was a couple coming into the mall. They were both wearing pajamas. Um, what?!? Are you kidding me. Since hubby and I were holding hands, he took a quick second to squeeze my hand. Kinda hard. Like he was telling me to shut my mouth until we got to the van. And that was exactly what I did. I am not the submissive type, but sometimes I know what hubby is saying when he doesn't use his words. He was saying "It's date night. We're about to go eat dinner. I'd like to do that with all my teeth." Fine. But, are you kidding me? What the hell? They were tattooed and pierced to within an inch of their lives. And you go out in public with cartoon characters on your pajamas. Are you 4? Grow up. Put on some damn clothes!! Have some self respect. All that stuff you did to your body is negated when you wear Spongebob pants to the mall. And fuzzy slippers. I'm taking away their "bad ass" card. Good grief. Guess who's gonna rule our country one day?
• After we left the mall, we went to a Mexican food chain restaurant. You pick up a menu at the door, then walk to the counter to order. As we were sitting waiting for our food another couple walked in. They were wearing wedding rings, but I can't say that they were married to each other. When they walked in, they each picked up a menu. He walked to the counter when he had made up his mind, leaving her standing by the door. When they sat down at the table next to ours, they both pulled out their phones. We left before they did, but the whole time we were there, they said not one word to each other. Not. One. Word. I felt sorry for them. Call me a quitter, but when it gets to the point that you say nothing to each other, you only play on your phone, that would be the time to call it over and done. I don't know them. Maybe that's how they are in public. Maybe they're different at home. Maybe not.
• I like short blog titles. They don't even have to pertain to the blog. I follow one blog written by a woman in Texas who is so stinkin' funny. She usually has these long blog titles that used to drive me crazy. Sometimes they're two sentences long. Then I noticed that some of my blog titles are long. And getting longer. Great. I'm actually starting to dig it a little more. When you read the title of my blogs, and it's a short story, please feel free to let me know. I will rein them in. Please and thank you.
• I feel strong when I dance. It doesn't matter if it's the Wii or dance class or standing out front of CiCi's pizza during a youth fund raiser. Yeah, that was me. Just honk and wave. Everyone else did. I like the way my muscles feel. They feel long and lean and strong and endorphins storm through my body. My knee doesn't like it very much and I have to ice it and take two Advil when I'm done. I missed a dance class because I was sick. Hated it! Nothing I could do about it. There was no way I could have danced without hacking up a lung. Not attractive and I was not feeling well enough to clean up the mess. That and when I get sick, if it's respiratory, like this was, I get a touch of asthma. Not good for dancing. When I went back this week I had to learn from the beginning and learn quick. They were moving on. OK. One of my dance friends said she couldn't believe how quickly I picked it up. I love it! Makes me wish I had followed my dream to dance in music videos when I was younger. Imagine where I could be now. Yeah, I would still be sitting in my room blogging. But I would hopefully have bedroom furniture that matched.   
• I needed to send an email the other day while we were out. I don't email from my phone. Call me crazy. But I really needed to send this one. I did all the stuff to add my email to my phone, and then the dinger went off saying I had email. As I was clearing the emails, an old one popped up. It was the one from my SIL that accused me of ruining the fishing trip my FIL was going to take. It started bringing up all that ick again. I didn't even have to read it, just see the "subject" line. The only decision she could ever make that I would agree with would be her decision to fall off the face of the earth. The icky feeling didn't last long and I was pretty happy about that part. I sent my email, deleted what I needed to, and took email off my phone. Moving on to happier stuff.
• Speaking of my phone, what did I ever do before I had this thing? I take notes on it. I added the note about my first topic to remember to blog about it later. I used it to take pics of the Lego sets the boy wanted for Christmas. I saw a book that reminded me of Big Sis, so I took a pic and texted it to her. Hubby wanted slippers. I saw some on sale so I took a pic and texted it to him. He said no, but thanks for thinkng of him. I'm glad he said no, because they were really ugly. REALLY ugly. I like that I can play word games wherever I am. I have Hanging, Words, and Scramble with Friends. Look out world! Music wherever I go. That is my favorite part.
• I haven't watched the morning news in I don't know how long. I could turn on the TV in the living room and listen to it while I cruise the internet, but I don't want to wake the kids yet. I get about an hour or so in the morning all to myself. I'd like to keep it that way. I don't miss it much anymore. I do miss having TV in the bedroom while we go to sleep. I like the noise. It gets turned off sometime during the night, or I really wouldn't sleep. We don't watch much news anymore. I just don't care to be brought down every night listening to how mean and cruel people are to each other. We get a channel that is all local weather, and that's all we need. They can keep that other junk.

I think that's it for now. I've cleared the notes off my phone and my paper. Well, except the ones that go on the other blog. That's for later, though. See ya'!!

New Year, New You or, What the Hell Is Wrong With Me the Way I Am?

Good grief, if I hear that one more time I may have to strangle someone. You can be a new you without the new year. My nephew had posted something along the lines that you can say new you all you want, but it's still the old you underneath. That doesn't mean people can't change. I am certainly not the same person I was 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago. I still have some of the same traits, but I look at the world and react differently than I used to. You can teach an old dog new tricks. I guess one thing that will never change is that if you tell me no, I'll do it anyway and kick ass at it. And the other thing that doesn't change: my love of bullet points. Here's a few now.

• I don't make resolutions. I love to hear them, I just don't make them. I don't like to exercise, but I like to dance and do yoga. If I made a resoltion to go to the gym, I would find every excuse in the book to not go. Sticking to a budget is hard for me. I like to spend money. It doesn't help that we have things that we need to spend money on. We need a new dishwasher, washing machine, front stairs, a fence, and supplies for a square foot garden. My goal is to be a better wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister, aunt, woman, person than I was yesterday. Sometimes it works. Sometimes, maybe not.
• There is a new hydroponics store in our area. Hubby spends a LOT of time there, picking the owner's brain. Some things do really well in our tower. We can grow lettuce all day long. Our tomatoes and peppers had a lack luster showing. Cucumbers and squash out the wazoo. But not our current crop of squash that gets about as big around as a 50 cent piece, then withers on the vine. It can be a little frustrating. The guy at the store said something very wise. If it blooms, grow it together. If it doesn't bloom, grow it together. Well, duh. That only makes the most sense ever. And when we look back at what worked well when planted together and what didn't, he's right. Right now, broccoli is kicking ass! We didn't realize that brussel sprouts took so long, or we would have planted those a lot earlier than we did. The cold snap seems to have energized the plants, too. We've even managed to get a couple of strawberries off the plants we got for Christmas. Trial and error.
• And sense there are things that we can't grow in the tower, like onions and carrots and potatoes, we're planting a square foot garden. Hubby's been pulling out the shrubs at the end of the house to clear out some room. It has also cleared out a bunch of bugs. I despise bugs. We are hoping to plant tomatoes and cucumbers and zucchini as well. I wonder if bok choy likes the spring? We already have a deep container for planting potatoes. They have to be mounded with dirt. Then pile more on top. Then a little more. The more you cover, the more potatoes you get. When it's time to empty the tower and clean it, we'll move it around the corner to join the garden. One day we would like to have a second one. Hubby's working on a prototype because he is weird that way. He wants to use the buckets that our beans and rice came in. Guess we need to get to eating that stuff.
• We order brown rice, black beans, and lentils in bulk. Sounds funny, doesn't it? I order spices in bulk, so why not? I also order popcorn in bulk. Love me some popcorn. It's a company called BreadBecker's. When we get our taxes back, hubby wants a grain mill. Then we can grind grain as we need to use it instead of buying the stuff from the store that has lost most of it's nutritional value. Which means I'll be buying grain in bulk as well. Someone needs to teach me how to use the cool opener thingy that you have to have to seal the bucket with. And I need the cookbook. So much freshly ground grain, so little time. Just call me Laura Ingalls. 
• Doing our research about health and nutrtion and how they tie together, hubby has come to a crossroads. Hubby will no longer eat pork. Good thing he found this out after Christmas since we had ham. He may have been a very hungry man. Pigs will eat anything, including their own babies. I knew that, and I'm pretty sure I told him that. Maybe he didn't believe me, I don't know. And, of course, I had just bought a pack of pork chops. We don't eat much pork anyway, but there was a sale. It was the first time in probably 4 or 5 months, except the ham, that I bought pork anyway. So last night we ate the last of it. Poor hubby. The look on his face during dinner. I buy turkey bacon, so that won't be much of a change. I want to try beef bacon. Maybe if I have a little extra money at co-op, I'll see if they have some. I like beef sausage, but not turkey. I really like venison sausage, but I haven't been able to get that for years. Changes, they are a-coming.
• We ordered a kitchen composter. Yippee!! I have wanted one for awhile. We found one at the hydroponics store (told you hubby's been spending some time there). We still have a compost pile outside, but hubby moved it. It was on top of the hill, since that's where we had the garden for awhile. Hubby moved it so it will be closer to the new garden. The yard compost will go in that. The kitchen scraps will go in the inside composter. Please pray for the worms that I will be able to keep them alive and composting.  
• I almost burned the house down overnight. Never get a snack at night and forget the oven is on. Hubby and I had the munchies. He dragged out the beef summer sausage (yes, the food. Mind out of the gutter.) and I threw some garlic bread in the oven to warm up. And after we stuffed ourselves with meat, cheese, and crackers, we forgot about the bread. Until this morning when I was wondering what that burning smell was. I knew it couldn't be the heater. I jumped out of bed, which is never good with my back, and ran to the kitchen, kicking myself the whole way. That was really good garlic bread, darnit! Not so much this morning. This morning it was charcoal. Well, crap. 
• I have got to stop saying "crap". It's getting some of my younger friends in trouble with their parents. And my kids are starting to say it. I'm trying to use stuff or junk. Good days with the bad days is how I take that one. Come on, good days...

That's all I've got for now. Just the same ol' me. Or the new me. Or, me like I am, an ever evolving creature of habit. Yeah, that's something to figure out, isn't it? Good luck with that. May all of your years, not just the new one, be fruitful and prosperous and joy filled. Peace.