Autumn Bucket List

There is something extra special about this time of year.  I want to make sure that I enjoy every bit of it, so I have put together a bit of a bucket list of things I want to do during the Autumn season.

* Make puzzle piece trees with my kiddos, like what they did at Play, Eat, Grow.

* Eat pumpkin smoothies

* Make pumpkin bread

* Take a trip to the local pumpkin patch as a family

* Do leaf rubbings on paper with crayons

* Make jack-o-lanterns

*Make bird feeders and fill them up with food

* Go trick-or-treating

* Bake cookies together

* Teach Anna to sew a Fall Leaves Garland like A Beautiful Mess

* Watch The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

* Go to a football game at the highschool where hubby and I went and fell in love

* Paint cute Halloween fingernails

* Watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

* Go on a picnic with hubby w/ cider, smores, and warm wool blankets

* Take lots and lots of pictures

What is on your Autumn Bucket List?

The Road Before Me

(Pin curls in action again - I love how easy they are)

Took this photo when I headed out for work the other day.  I spend a *lot* of time in the car for my job, but I really do love it.  I am probably one of the luckiest people in the world to have the job I do.  

I get to help families of children with mental illness... families like mine.  I get to support them, be their friend, help them however I can, and advocate for them and what matters to their family.  I get to make my own hours, work from home a lot of the time, and have enough flexibility to still be there for my own family.  The company I work for is run by parents of children with mental illness, and values its employees (it shows).  I make a fair wage in a terrible economy, and can see my future in this career.  I never take that for granted.

 A lot of hours get clocked on this long road between my home and theirs.  It gives me time to think, to count my blessings, to remember how lucky I am to have a car to drive, and a job to work at, and a family at home with me to love.

Affection for Sourdough

A while back we ordered the 5-pack of sourdough loaves from Bountiful Baskets.  They cost $10 for 5 loaves, which around here is a steal for bread.  I know I can make bread for much, much cheaper, but frankly my schedule has been so hectic that I just haven't had time to even think about it. The family still needs bread, however, so we wanted to give it a try.  

I was so very pleased with this yummy bread that I plan to order it again and again whenever it is offered as an add-on. It comes as a loaf, unsliced, which is in many ways really nice.  I love slicing home-made bread, and find that the store-bought bread is often sliced way too thin for my liking.  We like to serve bread with dinner sometimes too, and a thicker slice with a little butter and garlic on it is just the ticket.  

We made it through all 5 loaves in one week, which completely surprised me.  Even though we had a little bit of sliced store-bought bread on hand, we barely used any of that.  Everyone wanted the sourdough.  I think we've definitely found a new family staple.  In fact I've ordered another 5 pack to pick up this weekend.

Produce, Week of 10/6/12

This was the haul from Bountiful Baskets today. We received 1 package orange grape tomatoes, 1 package strawberries, 1 package blackberries, 5 apples, 9 big potatoes, 1 English cucumber, 2 red peppers, a bunch of bananas, 2 ears of corn, a bunch of spinach, and a bunch of lettuce. 

In addition to today's load, we have 3 lbs of strawberries, 2 bunches of bananas, a mini-watermelon, a honeydew melon, 2 lbs of carrots, another English cucumber, 4 zucchini, 6 pluots, 10 apples, a pint of grape tomatoes, 4 pears, a butternut squash, and an avocado.

We still have a ton of tomatoes left too.  I'll post soon about that project, so be watching. 

On the menu this week will be: 

* Salad.  We have a bad habit of not eating our lettuce fast enough, so that will be the first thing we tackle.  I'll use up some of the grape tomatoes and the avocado in that as well. Yum!

* Pinto-Bean Chili with Corn on the Cob and Melon on the side.  In the chili I'll use up the red peppers, and probably some of our tomatoes that need to get used up!  I'm also going to pulse the spinach in the food processor so it is in smaller chunks and put it in there for added fiber and greeny-goodness.  I'll shred up some of the carrots to put in too. The chili will be vegetarian.

* Smoothies - this is where the berries will most likely come in.  The blackberries will probably be eaten whole, but the strawberries at least will go in to smoothies.  Pluots and bananas will probably wind up in smoothies too.

* Refrigerator Pickles.  I keep saying I am going to make these.  I need to do it.

* Crock pot whole-Chicken w/ Carrots & Potatoes.  We'll have melon on the side for this as well. 

* Stuffed Squash - I'll use leftover chicken, and any leftover veggies to stuff the butternut squash.  We'll serve this with any leftover melon we have as well.

Earth Mama

(32 Weeks)

Much thanks to my amazing hubby for taking pictures, so that I could always and forever remember this brief and precious moment.

Fall Wreath, Family Style

We are trying hard to include the kids in everything that we do, especially when it comes to things that are displayed in the home.  I want so much for them to feel a sense of pride about their home, and having their own time and efforts invested in it is a great way to do that I think.  It also teaches teamwork within the family, and shows that everything comes together when we all do our parts. 

Anna is my crafty girl, so she was the one that helped me out with this project today.

I am of course still trying to be as frugal as possible, so I have been gathering items for this craft for some time.  I was lucky enough to find the wreath base for this project for $1 at a thrift store about a month ago, and snagged it up.  If you are looking for one, I know Hobby Lobby has them for about $5.99 for the same size, which is still a great price (especially when you use their 40% off coupon).

Personally I like these wreaths as is - they are beautiful and natural and all kinds of earthy, which is right up my alley.  But, I wanted to do something with the kids, so this project was born!

 I'd seen a lot of neat ideas on Pinterest for painting coffee filters to make leaves.  We started out by filling several bowls with about 1/4 cup water, and a good squirt of liquid acrylic paint.  In each bowl we put a different color - purple, orange, yellow, brown, and green.  We were going off of things we had on hand and I ran out of red or that would have been in there too.  It's important for the paint to be watered down a bit, but not really faint.  You want it to still come out pretty bold on the coffee filters because it lightens after it dries. 

See? Lighter, but so so pretty. I love that there is no rhyme or reason to the color placement (though I am sure Anna would tell you different).  That makes this project incredibly kid-friendly.  The only important thing is just to cover the whole coffee filter when you paint it.

To dry them, we used clothespins and hung them up outside for about 10-15 minutes each.  We made around 10 of them.  They dried really quickly, so we could easily move on with our craft to the next step.  Yay for instant gratification!!

Depending on the age of your kids (and their frustration level) this may be an adult portion of the project.  It was in our case simply because Anna went off to the county fair with her daddy, and mama was too impatient to wait.  To cut out the leaves I started by folding the filter in half, and then folding that into thirds for the maple leaves.  For regular "oval" shaped leaves I folded the half into quarters since they didn't need to be as big.  Hopefully that makes sense. 

Also - a tip!  I was a bit surprised that it was easier to cut the leaves "upside down" rather than from the point outward.  With the bottom of the leaves typically being the "fat" part, it worked out better to start at the rounded edge and cut my way up toward the point to make the leaves.  I got more out of each filter that way.

After you cut them out, fold them down the middle to resemble the spine that usually goes down the center of each leaf.  It gives them a bit of dimension too, so that's a pretty important step.

I have to pause here and just drool a little bit over the beautiful fall-ness of these leaves.  I mean seriously.  Don't they look totally real and autumny?  My 11 year old, Abbi, came in and started lifting them up and watching them drop down in the air.  SO so pretty.  Of course my camera wasn't cooperating for that part, so feel free to use your imagination.  

If you want to take fall photos of your kids without them getting dirty, this is a great prop (hint to any budding photographers out there). Bonus -they're reusable and don't fall apart over time like "real" fall leaves do.  Also - the color.... gorgeous.  See what I mean about mixing the paint colors in random ways and how it winds up being awesome in the end product?  If they were totally solid and perfectly painted they wouldn't look real at all, but they totally do.  The weird thing too, is that they even feel like leaves with the neat texture of the coffee filter

Annnd one more oogling glance at the pretty leaves.... ok moving on now.

Finito!

(and sorry about the spots where the glue was obviously still drying - it dries clear, I promise... did I mention that I am impatient?)

I just used tacky glue to tack down the leaves all facing in the same general direction (but kinda caddy-wompus to the left and right of each other to give it a more spread-out natural feel). They dried to each other pretty quickly.  I felt like it needed a little something extra so I added a few sticks in a circle to hilight the "wreath" feel to it.  

I may add some acorns or other natural findings as we go on nature walks this fall, but for now, it is finished (except for the glue drying) and hanging on my door, ready to welcome visitors.

Be sure to check out the Frugally Sustainable Blog for more fun ideas for DIY and Frugality!

What kinds of things do you do with your kids to welcome the Autumn season?

A Little Romance

Hubby and I got our eternity tattoos in May 2011 as a renewal of our commitment to each other after 11 years together.  We've been married 12 years now, together 14.  We've been through many ups and downs in our marriage, but I think the thing that works for us, and has kept us together even through the big-bad-awful-stuff is that we are both in it for the long haul. That is what these tattoos mean to us.  Always.  Forever.  Never giving up.

I can truly say that I have never been happier in my marriage than I am right now.  I wholly and completely love this man.  He is my best friend, my confidant, my comfort, my happy place.  He keeps me grounded, and balances me out in all the areas that I am lacking.  We make a good team, and know how to talk to each other to work through things after 14 years together.  We have a type of rhythm between us that just works.

We tend to be a bit non-traditional when it comes to how we show our affection to each other.  Flowers don't usually come into play, especially because they cost so much, and we're both trying so hard to be budget conscious these days.  Still, hubby has a way of surprising me sometimes.  He brought these home to me the other day after working at a teacher's luncheon where there were extra unclaimed bouquets leftover at the end.  He made a point to ask if he could bring some to his wife.  He thought of me.  He thought of my smile when I would receive them. He made a point to bring a little romance into our otherwise practical and hectic lives.  

Those are the moments I hold on to and treasure, and those are the things that keep me smiling long after the flowers fade.

Welcome Autumn

This is the last bit of sunlight that summer had to offer this year.  Hubby and I were lucky enough to soak it in while we went camping, just the two of us on the eve of the Autumn Equinox.

We are so lucky to live in this amazing place, surrounded by the world's largest Ponderosa Pine forest.  I can't think of a better way to welcome Autumn than out in nature, surrounded by our favorite sights and smells.

With the massive amounts of rain we have had this summer the forest floor was lush with all kinds of amazing green things.  I couldn't help but dip my toes in.

20 lbs of Tomatoes

Not quite ripe, but lots of possibility.  Any ideas?

Finding Fall

Anna and I went on an adventure to welcome in the new season.  First we stopped at the farmer's market to pick up some fresh fall produce from local vendors.  After that we went to our city's downtown square to hunt around for the biggest, brightest leaves we could find.

One thing that is glaringly and amazingly obvious to me is how much she changes with each new season.  I love watching as my little girl grows and develops into an incredible human being right before my very eyes.  She has a huge heart and a brilliant mind, and teaches me new things every day.

How did I ever get so lucky to be able to call her my daughter?

Our Life in Produce - 9/22

I am a bit late in posting this due to my crazy work schedule the past 2 weeks.  Still, here's a brief rundown of what types of fruits and veggies have made their way into our home in the past week.

(I'm sorry for the terrible picture - my camera wasn't working right Sat. afternoon)

Anna and I made a trip to the Farmer's Market in Prescott.  I was amazed at how many different vendors there were, and the variety available!  We came home with about $30 worth of produce.  Included in our haul were 4 different kinds of tomatoes (all the little ones have become snacking tomatoes, which I am SO thrilled with - yummm). I got 5 onions, 6 sweet chiles, 3 banana peppers, a bag of tomatillos, a pumpkin for Anna to decorate for fall, and a bag of apples that Anna had been munching non stop all day.

This week from the co-op we got a bunch of bananas, 4 sweet potatoes, 2 lbs of black grapes, a huge bunch of collard greens, two bags of carrots, 7 limes, 8 big slicing tomatoes, 4 huge cucumbers, 2 small zucchini, 5 red apples, and 4 red pears. Not bad for $15!

So What Happened to the Pears?

I made Belgian Pears of course!

I wound up giving away about half of the pears we had left.  They were just too good not to share.  What was still in the box desperately needed to be used, so I spent some time yesterday making Belgian Pears.  I'm not sure why they're "Belgian" (apparently the recipe has nothing to do with being Belgian), but we'll go with it.

I was surprised at how easy it was to make these, and how truly yummy they are.  The vinegar and sugar just helped to highlight the flavor of the pears.  The syrup is wonderful by itself too, drizzled over ice cream.  Next time I may add a little something extra to flavor them.  I'm thinking possibly some vanilla, or caramel flavoring. 

To make them, I used 4-1/2 lbs of pears, 2-1/3 cups apple cider vinegar, and 4 cups sugar.  I peeled and cored the pears (though the original recipe said you didn't need to).  Then I mixed together the vinegar and sugar until the sugar was dissolved.  I then put everything into a big pan and simmered it together 3 hours with the lid on.  I then simmered it all for 3 more hours with the lid off (for a total of 6 hours).  After that was all cooked down, I put the pears into clean jars and covered them with the remaining liquid, leaving a 1" head space.  I processed for 12 minutes at 8 lbs pressure.

I love how pretty they look, and how truly delicious they are!  It will be wonderful to bite into these when winter comes and it becomes more difficult to find fresh fruit.

Pear Butter

 

I found this amazing Rival Crock Pot Roaster at an estate sale 50% off for a total cost of $4.  It came at just the right time, since the big pot I usually use for cooking down large batches of things bit the dust.  Somehow the bottom of my pot separated from the sides while I was cooking, and it didn't make it out alive.  I love my new roaster, though!  It doesn't heat up the house, it uses less energy than cooking on the stove-top, and I don't have to babysit it all the time.

 12 lbs of pears went into this batch of pear butter. Total of 11 and a half pints made their way through my new-to-me crock pot roaster this weekend.  I love the way the house smelled so cozy and fall-ish with the pears cooking down for 36 hours at about 200* with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger (no sugar added to keep them healthy).  I processed the jars at 8 lbs pressure for 10 minutes in my pressure canner.

Now what to do with the remaining 20 lbs of pears? It is a good problem to have!

Zucchini Relish

6 pints of zucchini relish, and it only used 3 zucchini!!

I used this recipe to make the relish, and was thrilled with how it came out.  It tastes exactly like sweet pickle relish!  I heard that the zucchini keeps the texture better than cucumbers do, so it will still taste as fresh as the day I made it when I open those jars up this winter. 

Because the zucchini was a gift from a neighbor I am going to bring him a jar of the relish as a thank-you.

This Week in Produce

This week's basket from our co-op was a little bit less exciting than normal, but I am still amazed at the bounty. We have a lot to use up this week, and I will have a lot of fun being creative with the fruits and veggies! We got an english cucumber (thinking refrigerator pickles), 2 heads of broccoli, a head of lettuce, a bag of carrots, a personal watermelon, 4 white potatoes, 2 green peppers, 6 nectarines, 6 green apples, 4 oranges, a bunch of green bananas, and a huge batch of radishes. 

We have a quite a bit of produce leftover from last week to use up as well, and a few things I picked up with vouchers at the grocery store. Plenty to work with! We have a bag of red potatoes, half a bag of white potatoes, a green pepper, 6 zucchini, a pound of green grapes, a pound of red grapes, a package of oyster mushrooms, a package of button mushrooms, 2 packages of blackberries, 12 ears of corn, 1 orange, and 5 tomatoes.

In addition to all of that, we took advantage of another amazing co-op deal and ordered 8 lbs of strawberries to put up for the winter.  2 lbs will be yummy fresh snacks for our family.  The rest will be made into various kinds of delicious jams.  Yum!

Brought to You by the Letter R

The holidays are sneaking up on us so very quickly, and while the idea of crisp cool weather, warm woolen socks, the smell of fireplaces, and baked goods all sounds wonderful, I am also completely freaking out about how busy things are going to be.  I won't bore you with the detailed list, but suffice it to say there are 13 birthdays between now and then in our close family and friends (not including any that the kids are invited to from school), our baby is going to be born, plus we have Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  

Holy Moses.

With that in mind, I have been working like a fool trying to get things made up early so that I will be prepared when the time comes for all of these happy events.  I am also trying to do this without breaking the bank.  Not always easy. 

My first goal was to do all of this with stuff we have on hand.  While that is probably very possible with my shameful and immense craft supply collection, the truth is that I can't find it all because it is in storage right now.  So, I am having to be a little more creative and bend a bit on the "free birthdays and holidays" goal. 

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a bunch of their paper mache' letters when they were on sale 50% off.  That made them a whopping $1.24 each.  (You can find them on their website here). I then sat down with Anna and handed her a bottle of school glue that we'd bought in bulk back when the stores had their 10/$1 sale.  She made all kinds of cool squiggles and dots all over the place on the letters, which was perfect.  After that we just let it dry and came back the next day to paint it a pretty cream color with basic acrylic paint we had on hand.  I let Anna do that too, and she did a great job.  The paint crackled just a bit around the glue, which made it look old-worldy and perfect.  After that was dry I grabbed a wipey and dabbed it in a drop of brown and black paint and basically wiped down the letter, which made it look aged and hilighted the impressions of the glue.

Here's our final result:

All in all, not a bad gift for $1.25, and Anna loved having a hand in things.  Bonus, she did it at the kitchen table, so I was able to fiddle around in the kitchen canning things while she worked on the project.  We will make sure that when we give the gifts this year they say that they are from her specifically.  She is over the moon about that, and hopefully our friends and family will be happy too.

Pin Curls

Suffice it to say that the summer heat and humidity has had me less than thrilled to do anything with my hair besides throw it into a messy bun.  While that works for days I spend canning at home or hanging out with friends who love me anyway, the truth is I really should do something a bit more exciting for work.  I'm sure my husband would get a kick out of some pizazz when we go out too.

I tend to be a "have your cake and eat it too" kinda girl. (I mean really, who doesn't eat their cake?  I worry.)  I want something low-maintenance, pretty, and something that won't damage my hair as I continue to grow it out.  

I tried out pin curls last night, and was surprised that they were very easy to sleep on using this tutorial. About 10 minutes after my shower I started to put them in, and really it took less than 15 minutes to do the whole thing.  That is actually less time than it takes for me to do it with my curling iron.  Bonus is that with this technique there is no heat involved to damage my hair, or to burn curious 6 year olds who can't remember that I told them the curling iron was crazy hot less than 5 minutes ago.

The only downside is that the pin-curls-in look really isn't as charming as one would hope.  I think I scared my husband just a wee bit.  The good news is that it is totally worth it (if not for the funny expression on hubby's face, then for the hair).

 

 This picture shows what my hair looked like after I had done nothing but take the pins out and let it rest for about an hour.  I didn't use gel this time just to get a baseline of how my hair would hold the curl without it, but I may use a little bit next time to tame the frizz monster (thank you monsoon season).  Please ignore the mutant curl by the left side of my face.  Bobby pins saved me with that one, and I will just ignore my growing-out bangs from now on when I put the pin curls in.  Note to self: shorter hair curls waaaaay up.  For the normal portion of my hair, I love how soft and bouncy the curls were, and that they loosened just enough around my crown area to look more natural.  My hair is normally a bit past the middle of my back, so you can see how the curls will definitely shorten the length a bit, but I'm cool with that.

Since this is a style I am planning on doing on a regular basis, I wanted to try out a variation that I can wear to work or on a date with hubby, and look a bit more put together.  I did sort of a French-roll starting on the right side of my head, and kept it going around the back, and then put it all in a low pony on the left side, letting the curls cascade down.  I pinned back my growing-out bangs to keep them out of the way too (and to hide the mutant curl by my forehead).  The whole thing took me less than a minute to put up, and I would feel comfortable going into meetings, or out to a nice dinner with this style. 

Let me know if you give it a try! 

Food Challenge - Week of 9/8

Here's a picture of this week's co-op box!

Included are 2 leeks (YAY!!), 4 peaches, a bunch of golden potatoes, 4 plums, 6 vine tomatoes, broccoli, 4 oranges, a bundle of bananas, a head of lettuce, green grapes, and 4 ears of corn.

 We also got 38 lbs of pears!  I have about half of these cooking at the moment.  Check back to see what they turn into!

 

 In addition  to all of the goodies we got from the co-op today, we have some more fruits and veggies to eat up.  Shown (and not shown) are: a bag of red potatoes, a bag of idaho potatoes, 2 yellow squash, 3 peaches, 2 green peppers, 1 red pepper, 1 avocado, 4 grapefruit, 1 asian pear, 4 plums, 6 yellow onions, gobs of zucchini, 8 ears of corn, champaigne grapes, black grapes, and a flat of strawberries.

I can't wait to see what all of this bounty turns into!  Check back to see what is on the menu!

Barefoot and Pregnant

31 Weeks Pregnant.

I can still see my toes.  This is a good sign, I suppose!  I can definitely feel our little man moving around like crazy almost all the time.  You can even see my tummy jump when he kicks and wiggles around.  Kevin likes to play games with him while I'm sleeping, poking my tummy gently and waiting for him to poke back.  These precious moments and days go by so quickly, and I am trying so hard to soak it all in. 

Fruit and Veggies Challenge

Food has a big impact on our lives here at the Rose household.  I do my best to cook from scratch when I can, stock up, and live frugally.  I also try to not waste anything, which can sometimes be a fun challenge to keep up with what we've bought.  

I have recently challenged myself and several of my friends to commit to using up all of the fruits and vegetables that make their way into their home.  In addition to that challenge, I have committed to buying a basket from Bountiful Baskets each week.  Sometimes I even buy extra fruit and veggie goodies from them, like the24 lbs of  peaches I got last week.

Aren't they beautiful?

The point of this challenge is to:

1. Keep our grocery bill low, while remaining focused on healthy foods.
2. Increase our intake of fruits and vegetables.
3. Try new things each week.

In addition to regular blogging and crafty stuff, I am going to commit to sharing on here the many ways I succeed and fail at this challenge.  I hope you'll join me and do your own version of the fruit and veggie challenge!  

Here are some goodies from this week's haul of peaches that I have been putting up in pretty jars. 

 

10.5 Pints of Peach Salsa

3 Pints of Cherry-Peach Conserve

7 Pints of Caramel-Peach Conserve

Connected

I love this picture of Anna.  She was giving me that look that she gives me when she is really trying to connect with me, to understand what I'm thinking, to be a part of things.  I love that she reaches for that bond with me, and that we are so close.  I really do feel so connected to her, and wanted to find a way to celebrate that part of her childhood.  I hope that every time either of us looks back at this page, we can feel exactly what it was like, and only continue to build on that connection.

The View Through You

Rachel had me over for a visit the other night, where we scrapbooked, laughed, created new memories until the wee morning hours.  One of the projects I worked on was this page for Abbi-girl.  I wanted so badly to capture the unique way she sees the world.  One of her favorite things to do is walk around with her i-Touch on the camera feature and look at the world through the camera screen.  So often I wonder what is going through her mind as she explores the world in her own unique way.

Blog Feature: My Creative, Authentic, Life

One of the blogs I follow and love so very much is My Creative, Authentic Life, written and created by my beautiful friend, Rachel.  She is also the one who helped me to design this blog, and it is because of her that I have this little piece of the web to write on.  

  

Rachel and I have known each other since we were in Junior High, and always have so much fun together.  We can really get into trouble given a nice bottle of vino and some crafting supplies.  One of the things we love to do is go treasure hunting at thrift stores together followed quickly by coffee at our favorite local coffee shop, Wild Iris.  We can easily spend late nights gabbing wherever we are, whether that's barefoot on her couch in her living room, sipping tea at Denny's, or parked in the Peter Piper parking lot until 3am (I told you we were trouble). 

Rachel is one of the biggest inspirations in my life.  Everything she does just has that "it" factor, and brings it to a new level.  She challenges me to go beyond my own limits and encourages me to never give up.  She's an incredible mom to her beautiful girls, too. 

In addition to all of that, she takes beautiful photos, and has created a blog that makes for some pretty great reading.  If you get a chance to check out My Creative, Authentic Life, I suggest you do so.  You can't help but feel inspired for getting to know a little bit more about this amazing lady.

New Journal

I have been on the look out for the perfect journal for years.  I wanted something timeless, with a good feel to it.  It couldn't be too big, or too small.  It needed to stay open while I was writing.  The paper needed to be nice, and the right texture.  Ok, so I'm picky.  Sue me.

I finally found the journal I was looking for a couple weeks ago on the Barnes and Noble website.  It is real leather on the outside, and the paper is fantastic.  It is bound beautifully, looks timeless, and feels wonderful.  It even has that new-leather-bound-book smell.  The best part?  It was only $17 and I used a gift card I got for Christmas to buy it!  I may buy a few more since I have a bit more on my gift card, because this is seriously the PERFECT journal. 

One of my goals for 2012 is to really start recording my life, and writing my story down.  What I hope is to write a picture of what life is like for our little family in this day and age.  It will be the story of us. Our history.  A gift for future generations.  

I love the feeling of a new journal.  Possibility just seems to leak out of the empty pages.  How could it not, with a journal like this? 

Do you journal?  Is your blog your journal?  I'd love to hear your experiences!

Growing Cuttings

This plant has been taking OVER my house.  I mean taking. over.  I no longer have an end table.  I have a plant with an end-table shaped stand beneath it. Naturally I thought, "It's completely growing out of control, so why not reproduce it with cuttings and make more?"  

Nobody said I was sane.

This is step one in the experiment. I also have some spider plant shoots growing in there, and they seem to be rooting already.  Apparently I have a latent green thumb that mutates normal plants into Audrey from The Little Shop of Horrors.  

If I stop blogging soon, you'll know I have either gotten lost in the jungle, or eaten by carnivorous greenery.

Overall Wellness

I had my appointment with my psychologist today, an appointment I had been putting off for a year. I don't know why it is so difficult to ask for help or just say "I need someone to talk to." We can go to the doctor if we feel off physically but somehow we put our mental and emotional health in another box entirely, and believe that if we struggle with depression, frustration, or anxiety, we should somehow be ashamed by our own weakness.

 Mental and emotional struggles are no more a choice than high blood pressure or a tooth ache. We can do things to make them better with the help of a medical professional. Taking charge of your health in any capacity is a reason to be proud of yourself. For me, this means my OCD will get a bit more under control and my depression will continue to improve.

I saw a great poster in the office while I was waiting that talked about total wellness. I loved that it talked about the many different things that work together to create overall healthy living. Of course it mentioned eating healthy and exercise, but it also mentioned things like time with loved ones, inner peace, etc.

It got me thinking about what my own overall wellness would look like. In addition to those things I think it would have to include time spent focusing on creative interests. That is usually a wonderful outlet for me, and gives me an opportunity to change my outlook on things while I work.

What does wellness look like to you?

Jillian Michaels: 30 Day Shred

Ok, so it took me about 5 tries to get this picture without looking totally pained or half dead after doing this workout, and I still look like a slightly crazed tomato.  

All said, I survived it.  I really didn't think I could.  After reading the reviews of the work out, I had built up so much anxiety over starting this program that I almost didn't do it.  Don't get me wrong, the reviews all said that it was an incredible work out that gave the results they promised.  In fact, they were so promising that I eventually did try it.  That however says a lot, given my level of minor hysteria after reading reviews that said things like, "after the first work out it will hurt to live."  Yikes.

Truthfully I was probably the most pathetic excuse for a worker-outer today than anyone in the history of the 30 day shred.  I modified the modifications; that's how lame I am.  The important thing is that I did it, and it obviously worked, because my legs shook for 2 hours afterward every time I tried to stand up.  We are almost 5 hours post work out and yes, I can still feel it.  I don't feel it in the "ow" sense, but more in the, "omg my arms and legs turned to Jell-O and I don't think I could lift a fork if I tried" sense.   (hmmm... I sense a conspiracy...)

In any case, I did it.  I did it for the whole video, and I survived it with nothing worse than a case of Jell-O legs.  The most important thing I gained from it is the confidence that I can do it.  Over time I will get better at it, build endurance, and maybe even be able to get through the whole 20 minutes without yelling profanities at Jillian.  One can hope.