Taking the good with the bad

The good: My seeds are sprouting. Isn't amazing how something as simple as sprouting seeds can make you feel better?

The bad: Things are bad at school. Really, really bad. People saying all sorts of mean things about me and the woman who is my co-chair. Oh, and the whole boycott thing. I'm really fighting with myself to not let it get me down. I'm losing. Fortunately, I have only 15 more days or so until I can let this whole thing be history.

I'm off to have a drink now.

?????

I got this from A Soldier's Wife

You Are a Question Mark

You seek knowledge and insight in every form possible. You love learning. And while you know a lot, you don't act like a know it all. You're open to learning you're wrong. You ask a lot of questions, collect a lot of data, and always dig deep to find out more. You're naturally curious and inquisitive. You jump to ask a question when the opportunity arises. Your friends see you as interesting, insightful, and thought provoking. (But they're not always up for the intense inquisitions that you love!) You excel in: Higher education You get along best with: The Comma

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Sigh

I truly believe that we, as Christians, are meant to have a community together and a formal building that is set aside for worship only. That being said, I do (and I mean REALLY DO) understand why there seems to be an increasing movement among Protestants for home churches. It is much "safer" and you are much more "in control" of what goes in in the environment. I can see the allure right now. But I also believe that what does not kill us will make us stronger, and that God has a lesson for us in both the good things and the bad things that happen in our lives. So, teach me O Lord. I really need to get SOMETHING out of everything that is going on in our Parish right now. UGH!!

We have sold 12 tickets out of 250 for the Late Nite Catechism 2 show. The show is March 15th. I have been told that we are being boycotted by members of the church because of things that are going on in the Parish and School. But this falls into the category of cutting off your nose to spite your face. We need the money from this fundraiser to be able to keep the school open. Boycotting us because the Priest has made budget cuts to keep the school open while we try to increase enrollment just doesn't make sense. We really need people to support this so that we can make money to end the budget cuts. So, we are going to outside parishes to try to sell tickets. If we do not sell these tickets we will LOSE over $4,000 that we cannot afford to lose. Pray for us please. We need all of the help that we can get right now. We're in big trouble.

I can't wait for spring!! I am so ready to get out in my garden. I have been neglecting my seedlings a bit, but they are struggling along. As soon as the weather breaks I am going to go out and spring clean my garden, double dig, add my soil amendments, and let it rest (if possible) for a few weeks before I plant my heavy duty feeder stuff like broccoli. I'll plant my peas directly outside as soon as the weather permits.

Well, that is all of the blogging that I have time for today. Have a great day!

Playing Catch Up

Hmmm.... Where to start, again. There has been lots of stuff going on in my boring old life lately. I have been much too busy planning for a Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner and Late Nite Catechism 2 show at the school. Lots of people aren't happy with the way that I am planning for it and are saying some really awful things about me, but those same people haven't purchased a ticket or offered to help. I have a delicate heart. I cry when people say mean things about me. So I have been really sad about this whole thing (that I am doing only because I was ASKED to by the Priest, not because I volunteered). I am just gritting my teeth and trying to get through it with my dignity semi-intact. But it has really left me in a state of wanting to just go hide in a corner and lick my wounds. Please, if you could be so kind, say a little prayer for me that I might take the higher road through this mess and make it through without making a fool of myself. This all ends after March 15th, so I have less than a month left.

Also, there has been alot going on at our school lately. We were blessed with a new Priest a little over a year ago, but many people are unhappy with the direction that the school and church are being taken in. It has been a difficult year. We have lost lots of students. More are saying that they are going to leave. I am wondering if we would be better off leaving now to the Catholic School that is just down the road from us. There are pros and cons. It is weighing heavy on my heart. I just don't know what to do.

So, these are some of the reasons why I have been a bit absent in bloggy land. I'm working through them. Guess I just need some time to think this all through. I'll keep you all updated.

Have a great weekend!

Has my "Rebel Yell"......

turned into a Rebel Whimper? I shudder to think.......

You Are 39% Non Conformist

You conform a normal amount. And the amount you don't conform is also pretty normal. So congratulations, you're a conformist nonconformist!

Are You a Nonconformist?

Soil Mix

In my previous post, I mentioned that I make my own seed starting mix. I started thinking that some of you may be interested to know how I make it. (Cuz I am just SO interesting, LOL!!) My mix is very simple and I have no exact measurements. I simply use 1/3 peat, 1/3 compost, and 1/3 soil with just a sprinkle of lime. This really works well for my garden, but your garden may have it's own needs so I will include this handy link to give you some ideas of other soil mixes. Enjoy! :)

Cheater, Cheater pumpkin eater

Ok, ok. I admit it. Sometimes I cheat a little here and there in my garden. I am a bit pressed for time lately because there are a few (ok, quite a few) projects at school that are finishing up this month and next. Usually when I start my seeds I pull out my reusable windowsill greenhouse, carefully wash and bleach it, mix up my perfect starter soil and carefully plant each seed. This year, I just really need to get my seeds started fast so I found this little gem (#p036) at the grocery store. It seems easy enough, and I figure that some extra doses of compost tea when I water the seedlings will help make up for the lack of nutrients in the seedlings because I didn't use my regular starter mix. Right now, I am going to start my green peppers and jalpeno peppers, broccoli, and cauliflower. I'll start my tomaotes, lettuce, and spinach in another week or so. Wish me luck, and I will let you know how it turned out.

I'm not lost!!

Really, I am still here. And for those of you who have been checking in on me occasionally to see if I really do still blog: Thanks for not giving up on me. :)

Hmmm.... Where to begin? First, we had a wonderful family vacation. Yep, vacation. Our very first one as a family unit and we all survived. And it was great. On January 18th we flew to California. In a whirlwind 2 day tour, we did Disneyland and San Diego Zoo before we boarded a big beautiful ship and set sail for Mexico for 7 days. We went to Cabo San Lucas. (Cabo Wabo Cantina RULES!! We love Sammy Hagar! But I swear that I will remember to take the Dramamine with next time that we go whale watching on a choppy sea with empty stomachs.) Mazatlan and Puerta Villarta were the other stops that we made. It was so BEAUTIFUL and if I ever get the pictues downloaded onto my computer and take a few minutes to learn how to post pictures on blogger I swear that I will show you all some pictures. But trust me, it was beautiful.

I am behind on getting my seeds started. But I will get it done before the end of this weekend. Bad Kitkat, Bad!! I have been more focused on planning our Late Nite Catechism II and Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner at school. I have been slacking on everything else and I desperately need to stop and pay more attention to my family and home. It's so easy to get caught up in the things that matter less. It's a personality flaw that I am working on. But it sure is a hard flaw to fix.

I have officially given up Pepsi for Lent. Oh the pain! But I am doing ok except for one small incident at a Taco Bell where I TRULY did forget that it was Lent and got a pepsi from the fountain out of habit. :(

Well, that is all that I have time for today because I SWORE to myself that I would get my house something that resembles clean today. And I have a slightly sick kiddo at home so that makes it all the more challenging. Better get cracking!!

Take care and have a great day!! :)

Earth Boxes

An interesting link for container gardeners: Earth Box

I have wanted to try these for quite some time but never got around to it. The concept is very interesting but the cost was a bit high for my budget at the time when most of my veggies lived in containers. If anyone decides to try these I would love a product review from you. These are still something that I am considering because my DH REALLY wants me to grow corn but I would have serious space and soil issues if I planted it traditionally.

Why should I grow my own veggies...

when I can just buy organic from the store?
Do you really save money growing your own veggies?
How do you grow enough for your family when you have a small garden?

These are just some of the questions that I get from my friends who have not yet discovered the joy of small space gardening.

Let's start the first two questions, especially "Why should I grow my own when I can just buy organic from the store, co-op, farmer's market, etc.?" There are many answers to this question but the most basic answer is CO$T! Yes, you really do save money in the long run when you grow your own veggies. Last year, I spent just under $25.00 dollars for seeds, supplies, and soil/peat moss. My costs now are low because I am an established gardener. It was higher when I was collecting supplies over the years. Last year was my most abundant year but also the year that I lost the largest percentage of my harvest to frost, floods, etc. BUT despite my losses I still have NOT purchased frozen broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peas, or onions since JUNE. Yes, my friends, I typed that correctly. My family of four has not had a store bought vegetable (with the exception of corn and brussell sprouts and veggies for Thanksgiving and Christmas because the holidays would have been hard on my stash) since JUNE. If I keep using at the pace that I estimate that I will not have to buy the veggies that I grew in my garden until March. In March, my carrots and peas will be scheduled to come in by May along with my radishes, lettuce, and spinach. So, if (and with gardening it is always a big IF) everything goes well, there will only be about a 2 or three month span where I will not have my family eating something that I have grown with my own hands. That is a great feeling!!! I have saved so much money!

I have two separate gardens that combined equals a garden much smaller that what most folks consider big enough to feed a family. I have one small garden along the side of my house that depending on the season and crop rotation grows strawberries, lettuce, spinach, onions, green peppers and jalapeno peppers. This garden is approximately 3 ft wide by about 10 ft long. Tiny. My "big" garden is really two squares corner to corner joined together by a triangle. It is stuck in the corner of our yard where our fence juts in around a utility box, that is why it is an odd shape. But it is still small. In there, I grow my broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers (vertically), peas, onions, cilantro, and mint (in a container otherwise I would have a garden filled with mint).

So, what is my secret for growing so much in a small space? Crop rotation, companion planting, and a "small space" mind set where I plant crops close together in a more "French gardening" stagger method vs. the traditional row planting. I also use "bonus spaces" such as the areas along my paths to grow things like extra carrots or green onions because they grow almost straight up or underground and don't take up a great deal of space. Creativity, determination, and a willingness to experiment and perhaps fail are important if you are going to get the most out of your small space garden.

Over the next few weeks/months I plan to chronicle EXACTLY how I set up and care for my beloved garden so that those who are interested can keep tabs on what I am doing. Please keep in mind that gardening is based on region and I am in zone 5a so your results, plants, etc. may be different. If you would like to know what grows well in your area, I recommend that you contact your local gardening extension or just leave me a comment and I can help you figure out what will work in your area. (Unless you live in, let's say, Florida or Arizona. I have no idea how to grow things in those states. LOL!!)

Gardening is easy and fun. You will learn more about your region and it's weather and ecosystem than you ever imagined you would. You will learn to love bees (we would run out of food without them to pollinate everything!), butterflies, spiders and snakes. Your children may just eat things that you never thought they would. You will learn to be patient and wait for a natural predator to come and begin eating whatever is bugging your plants. I am still amazed when I see the wasps come year after year to clean up the cabbage worms from my broccoli and cauliflower. You will know the satisfaction of growing something yourself and not relying on the store. You learn to see the hand of God in nature. Gardening is GREAT and I hope that you will feel inspired and confident to do it in whatever method you can, be it in 5 gallon buckets on your patio or on your very own path of land somewhere in your yard.

Have a wonderful weekend!! :)

A New Favorite "Big Blog"

I consider any blog authored by a person who may be remotely widely known to be a "Big Blog". I don't know of a better word or the correct term for it, so that's what I call 'em. (If you know the right term, please let me know!!) Anyway, I LOVE Relevant Radio (see the link on my sidebar) and the author of this blog (Sheila L. ~ I can't remember how to spell her last name.) used to have a wonderful afternoon show on Relevant Radio. This is a blog that focuses on ISSUES relevant to, I believe, people of ALL Christian denominations even though Sheila herself is passionately Catholic with a son currently in Seminary. Sheila is very very logical, an attribute that I appreciate greatly. I usually try not to get "all political" on my blog, but I feel confident enough that Sheila discusses the many issues that we are facing in our society with a fair, balanced,and logical view to be able to recommend her blog to those who may be interested. I hope you enjoy what you see if you take a peek at this informative blog.

Here is her website: Inforumblog

Gardeners, Start Your Ordering!!!

Attention all gardeners: If you have not already done so and are planning on ordering seeds for the 2008 gardening season, DO IT NOW. It can take 6 - 8 weeks for you seeds to arrive depending on where you order them from. I personally am recommending Veseys this year.

A few seed tips:
* Make sure that your choices match your hardiness zone. If you try to grow something that has a longer growing season than what you have, it won't work well. Trust me. Luckily, You can grow lots of veggies in most climates! Just check the maturity time. But if those flowers catch your eye, be sure they will work in your area.

* Read the description carefully. Make sure that it will match ALL of your gardening needs including space, time, water, feeding, etc. If you are going to be container gardening, be sure to try out the "patio" or "dwarf" varieties as these are usually hybrids that will do well in containers or small spaces. Some good small space or container plants are certain varieties of tomatoes and cucumbers, all herbs, lettuce, and even green onions. All of these are a great way to get started if you have never done container gardening before. (I will have a longer post on container gardening in the near future)

* If you do not have one, consider purchasing a windowsill greenhouse seed starter. They work great!! Also, consider purchasing some peat pots to transplant your larger plants into once they outgrow the windowsill greenhouse. You can just pop the peat pot into the ground once it is time to plant. Works GREAT!!

* Have fun!! I get such a thrill when I am ordering. I hate to wait for the seeds to arrive, but it just makes my day when they do. I get started right away. This year, I don't have to order. Veseys sent me plenty last year and I have seeds left over that will still germinate. So you guys have fun and let me know what you ordered. ;) Or you can just wait a bit and buy some nice seeds at the store. Sometimes that is easier.

Well, I am off to go grocery shopping. YAY!! (Note heavy sarcasm) Have a great day!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year, everyone!! Here's to an even better 2008!

And because we all know that blog quizzes are so incredibly accurate:

You Had a Fantastic Year!

Compared to most years, last year was definitely great. Overall, you're living a much better life than you were twelve months ago. And nothing is a better mark of a good year. Here's to hoping next year is even better!

How Did Your Year Rate?

Ok, I admit that I rigged this quiz. I mean, who really wants to admit that you had a bad year? Or even a normal year? For our Family, it was just a nice, regular year. Filled with Ups, Downs, Highs, Lows, Struggles, and Triumphs. The stuff that life is made of. I wouldn't have traded my regular year for anything in the world. But it sure is fun to pretend that it was fantastic. ;)

"See" you all next year. Oh, I have just been dying to say that! Cheesy, aren't I? ;)

Whew!!

Ok, is it just me or do you find yourself wondering how Christmas could POSSIBLY be over already and yet slightly thankful that it is? Wow!! That is all that I can say about Christmas right now. Of course it was a WONDERFUL celebration in remembrance of Christ's birth. :) But it was also a huge family gathering!! At my house!!! AHHHHH!!!

This was our menu:
Crown Roast of Pork (Yummy! Stuffed with carrots, onions and celery)
Stuffing
Slow Cooker Broccoli Casserole (No, I didn't use my stash of homegrown broccoli)
Chive and Herb Corn
Cranberry Relish
Applesauce
Cream Cheese Bacon Crescents
Irish Cream Cheesecake

If you would like to know my menu for the rest of the week, please refer to the menu listed above. :) Yep. Lots of Leftovers!! There is so much food in this house right now that I am just plain embarrassed. We will be eating good for the rest of the week.

My youngest DD just celebrated her 6th Christmas here on this earth. This was also, by far, the most excited she has ever been about Christmas. We have ALWAYS stressed that we give presents in honor of Jesus' Birthday and that it's not about the presents, but this year she was just TOO excited about the presents and the festivities and such. Starting at 4:00 AM (!?!?!?) on Christmas morning all I heard about every thirty minutes was "Momma, can I wake up now?" I am still recovering from the lack of sleep brought on by her enthusiasm. We really try each year to limit the number of presents that our kids get. But this year they got WAY TOO much stuff. (Overzealous Grandparents!!) All in all, it was a good Christmas for them and I am sure that they will remember it for a long time.

I was lucky enough to get some nifty presents myself. My favorite by far: The Chia Herb Garden given to me by my parents. My dad knows me so well. He knows that if I didn't start growing my own food again soon I would go stir crazy by the end of January. At least now I have something to keep me busy until March. :)

Well, I must go clean my house after yesterday's festivities. Hope that all 2 of my readers had a Wonderful and Joyful Christmas Day!!

Merry Christmas!

Isn't it amazing how the time just flies when you are getting ready for Christmas? My To-Do list isn't shrinking as rapidly as I would like, so I have to focus on all of the things that I need to do for the next few days. I hope that everyone has a Blessed and Merry Christmas! "See" you all after the 25th! :)

Just a quick post....

I am trying hard to live up to my promise that I would not wait three weeks to put up another post. To be quite honest, I am just not in a good mood today. I always try to have a sunny disposition, but some days it is just SO HARD. You see, it has been such a Monday. My donut order for "Breakfast with Santa" has to be cancelled because someone decided that Krispy Kremes would be better and cheaper. The school kitchen was FILTHY this morning because nobody cleaned up after the Our Lady of Guadalupe Taco Fiesta Dinner so I spent all morning and afternoon cleaning it. The folks preparing the tacos used our Hot Lunch aprons while they were preparing raw meat and nobody washed them afterward so they smelled bad and were contaminated. I pulled my sliding oven rack out of the oven only to discover that someone had broken one of the wheels off so it was completely useless to me. I spent all morning pulling scalding hot oven racks out of the oven by hand rather than being able to simply slide them out like normal. Then I called our Lunch supplier to report the broken sliding oven rack and they told me they would TRY to send someone out tomorrow but it may be more like the end of the week. I could go on and on and on, but just trust me when I say that it was definitely a MONDAY.

So I opened my advent Book of Devotions when I had a few moments to myself after I returned home from school. Surely, I thought, my little advent book would give me a little bit of joy to chew on. Today's devotion talked about John the Baptist and how he prepared the way for Jesus. It spoke of how he was part of something bigger that he never really got to see the end result of. It also told the story of a woman living alone and putting up her Christmas tree. She was arguing with herself about putting it the tree up because no one would see it or appreciate it but her. Kinda how I felt today alone in the kitchen cleaning up a mess that no one would know I cleaned, I guess. The passages in that little devotional book didn't have anything listed for today that I could directly apply to my wretched day. But just spending time with the Word of God did help me begin to stop having my little pity party and remember that I am pretty darn lucky no matter what kind of day that I have. I found it reassuring, in an odd sort of way, that just spending time reflecting on this time of preparation (Advent) was able to bring me out of my funk. Sometimes it's easy to want God and his Word to give us immediate answers or solutions to whatever it is that is bugging us. And sometimes he does just that. But sometimes he simply gives us peace and a nice way to cool our heels. I have learned to appreciate either kind of answer. :)

Oh, I am such a bad blogger!

Gone for weeks with hardly a peep. That sure wasn't responsible blogging, huh? :) I have still been reading all of my favorite blogs but haven't been commenting much. I kept sitting down at my computer saying to myself "Ok, I am going to put up a new post today." Needless to say, I never got around to it. But today is the day!! There's no turning back now. ;)

Where to begin, though? I guess since my last post was right around Thanksgiving I should probably start there. Anyone remember me mentioning the great Thanksgiving Feast at my children's school? Yeah, me neither. ;) It seems like it was so long ago. But it did go wonderfully. We had a few snags here and there, like how we kept tripping the circuit breaker in the kitchen with all of the roaster ovens that we had going to keep the turkey hot. (It is an old building.) And the stuffing that some dear sweet mom brought in. She was SO proud that she was bringing in her homemade stuffing. But when we opened her pan up we discovered that it was more like stuffing soup. I didn't have heart to tell her. How do you tell someone that their "Famous Stuffing" didn't turn out? It seemed so cruel to do that. So we did our best to mix it with rest of the stuffing and told her that it was wonderful. Is that a little white lie? And is that as bad as an outright nasty lie? I just don't know. But stuffing and electrical issues aside, everything really did work out. I got lots of compliments from event workers and staff on how well it ran and how good everything was. I can't take any credit. To me, everything tasted as good as it was last year and I was lucky enough to have a great team of hard working volunteers who made everything fantastic. I simply oversaw everything. No big deal. But don't let me do it again next year!! LOL!! It was a lot of hard work and planning.

I was really looking forward to doing a post about the INCREDIBLE concert that my Dear Hubby and I went to see on December 2nd. I'm finally getting around to the post almost 3 weeks later. Let's hear it for my friend procrastination!!! ;) Anyway, we went to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra! The show was absolutely incredible!! Our seats were so close to the stage that you felt like you could just reach out and touch the performers AND we were in the section where it fake-snowed on us. (That's a big deal. If you have ever been to a TSO concert, you know what I mean.) My hubby got to high five the female lead singer (She has such a beautiful voice!) and Paul O'Niell (one of the founders and composers) was there. (Again, a big deal if you are a TSO fan.) He came out into the audience during the show and he walked right past me while he was autographing folk's programs. Of course, we were late getting to the concert so it was the one year that we DIDN'T buy our program before the show. Murphy's Luck. But he did say 'Hi' to me. And he was just an all around cool guy. One family had about six kids with them and he gave ALL of the kids T-shirts and autographed stuff. It was just so cool of him. If you like your Christmas music with a little electric guitar and you have never heard of TSO, I strongly encourage you to go to their website, check them out, buy a CD, and go to a concert. You won't be disappointed. But then again, I am a big TSO fan so I may be a bit biased.

Now I working on putting the finishing touches on our school's "Breakfast with Santa" show on December 21. The kids get donuts, a magic/juggling show, and a special appearance by Santa. I know, I know: some folks don't like the whole "Santa" thing. I totally understand. But the kids just love it and most kids know that it is NOT really Santa up there on that stage. Our school Children have the benefit of learning about St. Nicholas and his feast Day. (December 6th. I had to plan something for that, too. All the kids left their shoes out by the classroom doors and we room moms stuffed 'em with goodies.) But it is good fun and the kids just love it so I have a hard time making a stink about the whole "Santa Thing". I'm a sap for tradition, I guess.

I hope that you all are having a wonderful Advent & Christmas season. I have to try to clean the house now before I go pick up my kiddos from school. But I really don't plan on having another 3 week break anytime soon. No more procrastination! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are having Thanksgiving at our house this year, as we do every year. Hubby and I are both only children and our parents are kind of spread out all over the area, so we are a neutral location. I am going to be extremely busy this week! I keep saying that phrase, don't I? ;) But it is a good kind of busy, one that I never complain about. However, blogging time for me will be a bit hard to come by, so I just wanted to send out a big "Happy Thanksgiving" to everyone!! May it be filled with love and joy, no matter where you are or how you celebrate it. :)

And just for fun:

You Are The Stuffing

You're complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together. People miss you if you're gone - but they're not sure why.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

I Passed!

When I came home this afternoon from a frenzied day of grocery shopping for the upcoming Thanksgiving Feast I found the most exciting little letter in my mailbox. I actually passed my Food Service and Sanitation test. With a 95%. Woo hoo!!! Now I can be absolutely certain that my food for the Thanksgiving Feast at school tomorrow will be safe. Who knows if it will taste good, but it will definitely be safe. ;)

I must return to my turkey and stuffing now. If you ever need to know how to make an entire catering size tray of stuffing (apx. 90 servings), just drop me an email and I'll tell you all about it. I've never made this much stuffing before, but I sure know how to do it now!

Thanksgiving Feast

I have been doing entirely too much at my kiddos school this year. Seriously. I have had folks come out and ask me if I have moved into the building. It's been crazy, and I did it to myself so I have no one else to blame. This Friday, I am the "General Overseer" of the Kdg - 4th grade Thanksgiving Feast. And this is not just a small little lunch. We are feeding about 215 kids and adults a real Thanksgiving Meal: turkey, corn, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies, rolls, etc. I have been busy all week shopping and trying to find people to help cook and serve. I am not complaining. As I said, I did this to myself. But it has been keeping me very busy. So if I am a bit scarce over the next few days, you know why. And if you wouldn't mind, please say a prayer that I have planned enough food for everyone and that everything goes well. I'm running on a wing and a prayer this week. ;)