I want to be...

I want to be seen.

Don't look at me!!

Not with your eyes!!
Look with your heart and soul and your big beautiful Mind!

I am not a size 3!!!

Who cares about thighs...

I am so much more then boobs, a waste and a behind,

Touch me instead...

Touch me in my soul where I can feel you

Touch me there with your soul, with your heart

A New Diagnosis and thoughts for 2018

It has been 4 years and I have been really terrible at blogging.  I'm finally going to be back on the horse.  i'm determined to be. 

My girl is 10 years old now and in January we were given a new diagnosis.  She's ADHD Combined type which...I already knew.  I did not know the extent to which it impairs her but I knew she had moderate-to-severe ADHD.  The second part didn't surprise me either but it still took my breath away a bit.  "ASD level 1"  Ultimately it depends on if you listen to the diagnostician who doesn't know her and met her one time for 4 hours and his feeling on the test results or if you listen to her therapist/medication doctor who has known her since birth, he WITNESSED the lack of speech.  He witnessed how she behaved, he's seen her outside of an office environment before she knew he was a doctor.   She's a great kid but she has difficulties. 

We are starting the Feingold diet to help her with her symptoms but getting up on that horse is daunting because it's not like you just cut out all bread or all rice or all tomatoes.  It is dependent upon the brand name as to whether you can eat the bread. 

I have a question for you....If you have a special needs child (Or more than 1 neurotypical child) and are a working mother who also meal plans, packs lunch for your kids every day and manages to implement a special eating plan like feingolds then i need you to stand up so we can salute you!! And then all of you are coming over to my house to teach me how to do that.

SERIOUSLY.  How do you?

Meal Planning

So i've really really been BAD at meal planning lately.  My kids normally eat dinner at the sitter's house so it's only me who needs to eat from wednesday - Saturday evening but I also need some food for lunch at work and I don't really do bread very often so sandwiches aren't really an option.

I'm also just going to work on planning 3 meals a week. i'll struggle with leftovers the rest of the week....

We'll have to go to the store at some point today and my car is not behaving. so let's see what we can pull off. :)

Sunday 1/19 - Pizza pot pies (Recipe incoming)
Monday 1/20 - meatless Monday - Meatless chili  (I anticipate being at the mechanic's shop all day)
Tuesday 1/21 - Chili Dogs with uncured hotdogs...
Wed-Sat = leftovers

Sunday 1/26 - Kahlua Pork
Monday 1/27 poor man's soup (on the fly recipe to come)
Tuesday 1/28 left overs
Wed-Sat = left overs

Yes. I'm lazy. But the pork makes a LARGE amount of food and is enough for us to eat all week.  that soup makes a lot also. and so does the chili :)

Vegetarian Lentil Tacos

Found this sitting in drafts.  Silliness.  Posting it. :)

This idea came from a post over here at Greatist.  I just don't want to have to sort through a major essay to find the recipe. No big woop.

Lentil Tacos

Preparing your Lentils:

Make sure to sort the Lentils and rinse them like you would ANY bean or legume prior to cooking.  You need to make sure there are no rocks or dirt in there!

Ingredients:Tortillas

Filling:

1 cup dried lentils3/4 cup diced fresh tomatoes OR 6oz of diced canned tomatoes.1 packet of taco seasoning (Yes. I'm lazy)
Butter or coconut oil.

Toppings: 

What do YOU eat on Tacos?
We like Spinach instead of Shredded lettuce
Diced tomatoes
shredded cheese
Plain Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream
Salsa

Directions:

1. Cook lentils
2. In a medium-sized pot or large frying pan, sauté the garlic with olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes, until tender, over medium-high heat.
3. Add the tomatoes and spices. Cook until tomatoes start to soften, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the lentils and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the lentils have really absorbed all the flavors. Add extra spices as necessary.
5. Serve on corn or whole wheat tortillas and top with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, shredded cheese, and guacamole.

When you screw up as a parent....how do you fix that?

Have you ever forgotten to play Toothfairy?  I have.  Have you ever forgotten to play Easter Bunny? Guilty as well.  My friend D hides over 100 eggs for her precious daughter.  Her daughter is in 8th grade now and just told her mom this past Easter that she knows the Easter Bunny isn't real.  D cried. :(

My girl has lost 3 teeth.   For her first she got a 5 dollar bill and I told her that sometimes the Tooth Fairy hooks you up big time on your first tooth.  She subscribes to the "Rise of the Guardians" Vision of the Tooth Fairy. One Queen Fairy and several baby fairies.  This works in my favor like WHOA!

The other night after I had gotten home from work with the kids (And no cash!!) my 5 year old comes to me:

Girl: Check out my tooth! Pull it!
Me: OH no.  Lots of boys and girls lost teeth today. I think the tooth fairy is all booked up.
Girl: PLEASE Pull my tooth.
Me: Oh i'm pretty sure that she is booked solid.  we can pull it but she might not make it here.
Girl: YES! PULL IT NOW!

I pull it. I still have no cash.  As i'm drifting off I consider going to an ATM or borrowing from my father (The only other adult in the house) OR from their piggy banks..which is a bad plan because surely in the morning she'll want to count ALL THE RICHES and not just the new ones and....why....who stole $2 from her piggy bank? She would then fly into a rage.  So I decided the heck with it.

I went to bed.  And the next morning the girl was SUPER disappointed that the TF didn't come to our house : (  So i felt like mom failure of the century.

I stopped at JoAnn's and bought a variety of clearance items to build a note from the TF along with a sparkly notebook for a quarter and a hello kitty bracelet for $3. (Yep. I paid the stupid tax)   SO I built my note:

Glitter letter stickers for the names, a small tub of cheap glitter for the edge. we already had Elmer's glue, the gemstones came from a 50 cent iron on thing from clearance and the paper was 49 cents.  All in all it wasn't too expensive.  I like the excuse I came up with.  She was amazed by the note and she decided the toothfairy leaves extra stuff if she's late to make up for it.  So we are good, for now.

Our battle with ADHD.

As i've mentioned before, I am the single mother of two small children.  As of this writing they are 4 and 5 years old.  My daughter will be 6 in approximately 2 months.   She just started Kindergarten about 3 weeks ago.  We are struggling because she seems to be unable to pay attention at all.  The first few days were semi-okay but now we are down to getting notes EVERY SINGLE DAY from her teacher. Today it was "Playing. Off task. Didn't do work. Talking." and her teacher emailed me to tell me "FYI - she called me a meanie today :( "

So...to be honest the ADHD doesn't come as a surprise. to me.  I have it. Her father has it. My father has it and I have several cousins with ADHD. I bought a book called "fire child, water child" several months ago but I didn't put it into practice because I got busy and sometimes life just be's that way.

In reading this book I have figured out that my daughter is a fire child.  She is a TOTAL fire child.

Fire:  The True Leader 

Strengths:

Attracted to Novelty
Sensory-Aware
Enthusiastic
Dramatic
Lives in moment
Learns by intuition
“High Engagement”

 Weaknesses: 

"The Class Clown"
 Distracted by boredom
Impulsive
Over-stimulated
Melt-downs
Panic attacks
Hypoglycemia
Sensory integration difficulties
Sensory craving
Diarrhea
(For more info or to identify your child's type please click here for Dr. Cowan's site)

Life as we know it:

My girl is living in a household with 2 adults who suffer from ADHD also (I am an earth child and my dad is a metal child...her biological father who she seldom sees is most likely a Wood child.) My boy shows NO Signs of ADHD (THANK GOODNESS!) My dad and I have both learned coping strategies over the years that have allowed us some success in life. (My dad is very successful.  I can fake it pretty well. )

Our solution according to Dr. Cowan is:

Wood nature feeds the puppy heart 

*I am going to provide my daughter with more opportunities to feed her puppy heart with wood.  Exercise is key in this I think so I included 2 blocks of exercise time for her in her daily map.  The first thing she does when she wakes up is exercise.  That's a lot for a 5 year old I guess but she REALLY loves this Cosmic Yoga I found on youtube and if she enjoys getting 15 minutes of exercise first thing during the day and it teaches her to center herself then I'm not complaining.  We will probably take a 2 mile walk when she gets off of the bus on my days off.

*Diet Change: I am also reducing her carbohydrate load, increasing her proteins and i'm going to increase her number of meals a bit each day to help her stabilize her blood sugar.  Personally I HAVE to have small meals throughout the day and absolutely MUST have lots of protein.  I know she's not really all that physical yet so i'm shooting for her getting about 35 grams of protein a day.  A serving of greek yogurt is about 2/3 of that.  She started her day with 2 eggs and some greek yogurt and some dried fruit. she'll have a snack at school and her lunch is chicken bites (non-breaded chicken breast nugget sized), green beans, fruit, sunflower kernals, greek yogurt, milk.  When she comes home we may have some popcorn then go for a walk.

*I know I need to find some more things to help feed her puppy heart but this is a lot of planning for a single mom and i've already done a ton! i'll have to think for a week.

Water nature helps train her puppy heart

"Training the puppy heart means offering a secure path for her nature through repetition and reward." - (Dr. Cowan, fire child, water child p.112)

Water cools fire.

*I am scheduling 2 bath times for her each day on her day map. She takes a shower in the morning and i'm going to give her time to play in the bathtub each night.

*I am also having her drink about 70 oz of water a day. (She weighs 72 lbs so that's not excessive and even if she only hits half of that - i'm happy)

*We are going to add a fish oil supplement for her to take 2-3 times a week.  it's a very low dose DHA EPA pill.  it contains more EPA than DHA.  *We are reducing the amount of sugar in her diet (it's already minimal anyway but i'm adding foods from the "Salty" list provided in the book)

*Massage - I have started giving her massages each night to help her settle down for bedtime and it worked last night! I massaged her back and legs a little bit while she did her homework and she actually settled down and focused on the work then she fell almost immediately to sleep when she went to bed. That is the first time that has happened in a long time!!  I used spearmint oil for her massage.  I need to get some lavender oil to use for that time of night. I put Spearmint on her this morning to help her focus. 

*Reading more - we already read a lot but we are going to read a lot more. I also need to practice being quiet and still.  I have a very hard time with that.

Earth nature expands her big heart 

*We've started practicing analogies to help her get better at that skill.

*We are already the flashcard queens. We have flashcards for EVERYTHING but i foresee flashcards in our future. I'm a huge fan.

*helping cook - My little queen helped me cook dinner last night.  I need to look for MORE earth activities for her.

Metal nature (Rules) help her to master her big heart

*We created a map of her day to help her see the order and sequence of activities. I am going to laminate it for her and let her take it with her in her backpack to help her out. She can read SOME things so I may glue some pictures to the map for her before laminating it.

*We are going to start learning to meditate. We did SOME meditation last night when she simply WOULD NOT FOCUS on her homework. After that I told her to get her work done and she sat up and finished coloring her work without any problems.  This was after 2 hours of her refusal to work!!! She said that the breathing helped her to want to color.

*The book lists a Fire Qigong exercise called "Standing like the sun" which we will definitely try doing with her.  it's like a yoga move.  We are incorporating a lot of yoga.

We'll see how all of this works.  At the very least, I do NOT WANT my child exposed to chemicals this young in her life. She is only 5 years old!!! Here's hoping!!
Aromatherapy stuff
Geranium
ginger
Lavender
Mandarin
Neroli
Rose Otto
Spearmint
Sandalwood
vetiver
yang yang

Flower essences:

Indian Pink - sensory overload
Madia - inattention to detail
White Chestnut - Overactive mind
Saint John's Wort - Hyperstimulation & panic

Meal Plan Tuesday

So i'm trying to get off my ass and actually plan meals and such so i can save money. I'm struggling but we'll see how this goes.

I'm doing 2 weeks worth of meal planning here. My kid is going back to school August 1. So i have precious few days left of summer. I'm not sure if i'm working overtime next week or not. So there is a reason for why I am planning meals the way I am.

Wednesday Jul 10  Popcorn, cookies, sandwiches/rollups,  cotton candy. (We are going to the drive-in so I'm packing a delicious spread to have with my kids in the car while we watch monsters university and despicable me 2)
Thursday Jul 11 vegetarian lentil tacos (Make enough for me to have some left over for work 2 days)
Friday Jul 12 Pumpkin Hummus with kale chips. (Make this thursday...with enough for me to have some left over for work 2 days)
Saturday Jul 13 Lentil chili recipe = figure it out. (Other lentil recipes here)
Sunday Jul 14 Greens Omelet
Monday Jul 15 pancakes

Tuesday Jul 16 tenative drive-in night. Popcorn, sandwiches/rollups, cookies (Planes is in the drive-in!!)
Wednesday Jul 17 Creamy pumpkin sauce on pasta recipe here.
Thursday Jul 18 Lentil burritos
Friday Jul 19 pizza casserole
Saturday Jul 20 kale chips and pumpkin hummus
Sunday Jul 21 Pancakes
Mon Jul 22 ???
Tuesday Jul 23 ???

I bought some seeds

So I just bought some seeds from the Organic Seed People.  I fully expected that to be a scam site but they actually have a lot of information and they carry organic heirloom, organic open pollinated and just plain organic seeds!!!!! I spent 24.00 including shipping.  

They have several coupon codes on the website and offer a "Bulk discount" when you buy 10 packets of seeds or more. They are also having a sale.  So if you buy 10 packets of seeds you get the cheapest packet free.  I am ordering for next year/season so I can afford to wait 7-10 days so shipping was less than $3.00.

I bought 1 of each of these, they are all organic. (H= Heirloom, OP = Open Pollinated)

H, OP Tomato, Heirloom Blend 30 Seeds/pkt. Organic Seed (IEOTT102)  = $2.19
H, OP Lettuce, Tennis Ball Batavian .5g Seeds/pkt. Organic Seed (SEV62505)  =$1.79
H, OP Beet, Chioggia 5g Seeds/pkt. Organic Seed (IEOBE103)  = $1.99
H, OP Carrot, Gourmet Blend 2g Seeds/pkt. Organic Seed (IEOCA198)  = $1.99
H, OP Carrot, Chantenay 2g Seeds/pkt. Organic Seed (IEOCA190)  = $2.19
H, OP Okra, Hill Country Heirloom 4g Seeds/pkt. Organic Seed (SEV69111)  = $1.79
H, OP Radish, Blend 4.5g Seeds/pkt. Organic Seed (IEORA121)  = $1.99
H, OP Pepper, Marconi Bell (Sweet) .5g Seeds/pkt. Organic Seed (SEV46110)  = $1.79
H, OP Collards, Georgia Green 2g Seeds/pkt. Organic Seed (SEV24101)  = $1.79
H, OP Spinach, Bloomsdale  5g Seeds/pkt. Organic Seed (IEOSP100)  = $2.19
H Beet, Golden 5g Seeds/pkt. Organic Seed (IEOBE106)  = $1.99

H Tomato, Cherokee Purple .16g Seeds/pkt. Organic Seed (SEV49106)  = $1.79

------------------------------------------------------
Sub-Total: $23.48
United States Postal Service (First-Class Mail (2 - 5 days)): $2.69
Quantity Discount: -$1.79
Total: $24.38
So let me list this an easier way for me to see it: I have:
Tomatoes:
Purple Cherokee (YUM!)
Heirloom varieties. we can decide which we like and order those for 2015.
Carrots:
Orange
Variety Red, purple, orange, yellow, white. FUN!
Beets:
Golden
Chiogga (Target beets)
Okra:
Just one variety.
Peppers:
Red sweet bell peppers.
Collard Greens
Spinach
Lettuce
Radish Variety pack

I still want to obtain a lot of other things. but this is a nice start.  I would like to also grow:
Cucumbers
beans
peas
squash
pumpkins
watermelons
brocolli
cauliflour

several others. I also want the chocolate bell peppers. but this is a good start for us. :)

Links to remember...

I've been trolling my history this morning looking for seed resources because I want to start ordering seeds. If I can get my compost up to snuff i'd like a winter garden but I think it's too late for that. I don't want to waste money doing it now. I have several months...at least six...that I can prepare and save and i can order seeds over this time and some bareroot dormant plants in the spring to plant (I really want to grow some raspberries and blackberries!!! maybe some grapes? some strawberries?  My goal is that in a few years I won't have to buy ANY produce at the grocery store.  I'd like to have enough that I could sell some at one of our local farmers markets or whatever..  I built one box for SQ Foot gardening. it is 4x4 feet x 6 inches tall. I need to get some linseed oil for that and I need to find some construction and beg for some wood scraps. I can make boxes of varying sizes....I NEED bare minimum:
1 4x4 foot box per person in the house for salad veggies. = 4
1 4x4 foot box per person in the house for dinner veggies = 4
1 4x4 foot box for raspberries
1 4x4 foot box for blackberries

So that's 10 boxes. My dad MAY murder me. but if I make it look pretty he might be okay with it. and I might have to build up to it. May have to start out with only 6 boxes plus the berries.  I am putting them in a box to help control them.  Though if I get shoots growing off of them and get them to sprout roots I may try to get them to grow up our fence in a few places so we have "Wild blackberries" and "Wild raspberries"  Dad hates raspberries.   The good news is that square foot gardening is mostly portable.  Couldn't move the berries but i think he'd be okay with that if I continued to take care of them. I want to build a big cage to go over my berries to protect them from birds and squirrels and bunnies.  I'm going to try and use some chicken wire to keep animals outta my veggies since i'll need the CW for the cages anyway.

My problem is that i want to grow so many varieties. tee hee. you'll see in my next post.  I may make a square foot gardening table for my dad so he can garden too. his knees are bad and he can't get down on the ground without significant pain so if i build a 4x4 box and put a plywood bottom on it and drill holes in it and put some legs on it he could garden from a chair or while standing.  or i could even do 4 2x2 foot box tables.  Then he can pick his own veggies etc. He loves gardens and he loves veggies.

These are my links i need:
Gardening Forum
I am in plant hardiness zone 6b
Seed places:
Victory Seeds
heirloom seeds
Seed Savers
Organic seed people

TREES:
Trees of Antiquity
Berries and seeds:
Eden Brothers
Raintree Nursery

Square foot pondering....

So i've narrowed down my veggie choices to 18 seed varieties. I might be able to convince someone else to go in with me on seeds since i'm not trying to feed an army.  If not it shouldn't be the end of the world. it's only like $60 in seeds. The world won't end.

I'm going to try some square foot gardening I guess.  I got my compost heap covered.  I need to finish digging all of the leaves out of our pool and get them on the compost heap (Or start a second one)  So I need as much compost as possible to help reduce costs.

I am going to use some sq foot gardening techniques to manage our garden.  I think i'm going to try to make greenhouse coverings for the raised beds to protect them individually.  we'll see how costly it is and how much stuff I can find cheaply. 

Sizes of stuff I want to grow::
XL (2 sq feet required to grow 1 plant)
Black Beauty Zucchini (2)
Amish Pie Pumpkins (4)
Cornfield Pumpkins (4)

L (1 plant per sq foot)
Grape Tomatoes (4)
Peach Blow Tomatoes (4)
Green Tomatoes (4)
Double yield cucumbers (2)
Apple Cucumbers (2)
Burgundy Okra (3)
Chocolate Peppers (3)
Red Peppers (3)

M (4 Plants per sq foot)

Tennis Ball Lettuce (4)
Marigolds

S (9 plants per sq foot)
Beets (2)
Spinach (2)
Kale (2)
Swiss Chard (2)
Yellow Beans (2)
Green Beans  (2)

XS (16 plants per sq foot)
Carrots   (4)

planning our garden

We are in planning stages for our garden next year.  I have big plans/desires and need to document them so I don't forget them.

We have started a compost pile in the back yard.  We need to get some plastic to cover it and i need to remember to water it pretty regularly until i cover it.  I am watering it with water from our swimming pool (there are no chemicals in it and the water is nasty like pond water. so i'm scraping leaves and such off of the bottom mixing those in with food waste and other yard trash and decomposing sticks and such.  i'm working on getting the compost started. we have so much yard trash I can make multiple piles I bet...and have them in various stages of decomp.

We have several deer and rabbits in our yard and they will attack the fire out of any garden that I plant.  I want to do this organically so pesticides and poisons are not an option and even the hav-a-hart traps wouldn't be an option anyway.  I KNOW there are baby bunnies in our yard and I don't want to trap mom and dad and other adults in the colony and leave babies to fend for themselves or get eaten by snakes.  Besides which....I would rather live WITH The bunny faces....and then the teeny little fact that if I rid my yard of bunnies, more will move in. plus there are moles and other vermin in my yard anyway to eat my veggies and fruits. I'm going to have to go at this hardcore to protect my stuff.

So i found this pretty cool video that teaches us how to make a greenhouse for $150 or less:
The link is HERE.

it uses cattle panels that you can buy at TSC:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/feedlot-panel-cattle-16-ft-l-x-50-in-h

I am not 100% sure if I want to put plastic on the whole thing or on part of it or just use the wire to keep the vermin out. (We have opossums and racoons as well. and squirrels.  I am inclined to build the greenhouse as is and build an additional cage for other stuff and cover it in netting for my fruit trees while they are young. )

So here is my list of desired fruits and veg that I want to grow:

Definitely want:
Seascape strawberries: These are everbearing strawberries and will bear fruit if the temp remains between 35 and 85 degrees F.  So i'd have to container garden these bad boys.

Beans: (Pole Beans)
Sultan's Golden (Organic):  Rarely offered and almost extinct. SSE is pleased to reintroduce this variety. Distinct curled yellow snap bean. Stringless, excellent flavor. Very prolific. Pole habit, snap, 75 days.  Trellis, Teepee or Fence. Full Sun.
Bean Provider (Organic): (Phaseolus vulgaris) Introduced by Dr. Hoffman of South Carolina in 1965. Known as the most dependable early green bean. Round straight pods (5-8" long) borne heavily on compact plants. Excellent flavor, one of the best for freezing and canning. Germinates well in cool soil. Disease resistant. Bush habit, snap, 50-55 days.

Beets:
Golden Burpees:  Commercially available since 1828. Dual purpose beet for roots and greens. Roots are globe-shaped and bright orange, turning golden-yellow when cooked. Tender and mild even when large. Will not bleed like red beets. Sweet flavorful leaves. 50-55 days.

Carrots:
Danvers: Developed in Danvers, Massachusetts in the late 1800s. Leading main crop variety for home and market, stores well. Bright orange flesh is nearly coreless, sweet, and tender. Uniform roots up to 8" long. High yields in clay or heavy soils. 65-87 days.

Cucumbers:
(Organic)Crystal Apple:  (aka Apple Shaped) A prolific and sweet flavored cucumber that is shaped like an apple when mature. Listed by Ferry Morse Seed Co. of Detroit in 1934; once very popular in Australia and New Zealand. Very tender creamy white skin. Good for market or home gardeners. 65 days. Full Sun
(Organic) Double Yield cucumbers for pickles Introduced in 1924 by Joseph Harris Co. of Coldwater, New York. In the words of the introducer, “The remarkable thing about this new cucumber is its wonderful productiveness. For every pickle that is cut off, two or three more are produced.” Very early pickling type. Green 6" long fruits are symmetrical, smooth, and uniform. 50-60 days. Trellis & Full Sun.:

Kale:
(Organic)Dwarf Blue Gorgeous finely curled blue-green leaves hold their color even in severe cold. Uniform low-growing plants are 15" tall with a 20-35" spread. Very hardy; will overwinter with mulch in zones 4-5. Ornamental and delicious. High in vitamin A. 53-65 days from transplant. Full Sun:

Lettuce:
Tennis ball lettuce: Small rosettes of light green leaves measure only 7" in diameter and form loose, tender heads. Grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. According to Heirloom Vegetable Gardening by SSE member William Woys Weaver, tennis ball lettuces were often pickled in salt brine during the 17th and 18th centuries. Black-seeded. Butterhead, 50 days. Full sun or partial shade.

Spinach:
(organic) Bloomsdale Spinach  Introduced by D. Landreth Seed Company in 1826. Vigorous upright plants with dark green, glossy, savoyed leaves. Fine quality, very tender, excellent flavor. Quick growing variety with heavy yields. Well adapted for late spring or summer plantings, slow to bolt. 39-60 days.

Swiss Chard:
Five color silverbeet:  (aka Rainbow Chard) Australian heirloom from Digger’s Garden Club. Ornamental technicolor mixture of Swiss chards with shades of red, orange, purple, yellow, and white. Seed crops of all the different colors are grown in isolation to maintain a proper balance of colors. Tender and delicious. 50-60 days.

Okra:
Red Burgandy :  (aka Burgundy) Bred by Leon Robbins at Clemson University after eight years of careful selection. Introduced in 1983; AAS winner in 1988. Stunning 4' plant with burgundy accents and tender burgundy pods up to 6" long. Good yields. 55-60 days. Full Sun:

Peppers:
(Organic) Sweet Chocolate Bell Pepper  (aka Choco) Early bell pepper bred by Elwyn Meader and introduced by the University of New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station in 1965. Ripens from green to chocolate on the outside and brick red inside. Thick sweet flesh. Great for gardeners in short-season areas. 60-85 days from transplant. SWEET.
(Organic) Ruby King Pepper First offered in 1977 SSE Yearbook by Dr. John Wyche. Early bell pepper that ripens from dark green to ruby red. Fruits grow to 6" long with thick sweet flesh, excellent for frying or fresh eating. 65-70 days from transplant. SWEET

Pumpkins:
Carving: (Cucurbita pepo) First offered by SSE member Glenn Drowns in the 1984 Yearbook from USDA seed. Our top choice for use as both a carving pumpkin and for fall decorations. Fruits are flattened, light-colored, thin skinned, and weigh 12-15 pounds. Very sturdy stems rarely break off. Traditionally grown as a dual crop planted with field corn. 90 days.
Eating: Heirloom obtained by James Robinson from an Amish gardener in Maryland. Introduced commercially by SSE in 1999. One of the best processing pumpkins we have ever grown at Heritage Farm. Pale orange flesh measures up to 5" thick, and the largest fruits weigh 60-80 pounds. Firm moist flesh is excellent for making pies and for freezing. 90-105 days.

Zuchini:
(ORGANIC) Black beauty: The standard summer squash, introduced to U.S. markets in the 1920s. Compact everbearing bush plants are loaded with glossy green-black fruits with firm white flesh. Best eaten when under 8" long. Excellent variety for freezing. 1957 All America Selections. 45-65 days.

Tomatoes:
(organic) Peach blow sutton: Introduced in 1897 as “Sutton’s Peachblow” by Sutton and Sons Seed Growers and Merchants of Reading, England. Named after a style of Victorian era glassware known for its peach skin appearance. Round 6 ounce fruits with slightly fuzzy ‘tomato pink’ skin. Refreshing sweet flavor and low acidity. Indeterminate, 80 days from transplant.
Grape Tomatoes: (Solanum lycopersicum) Originally from Germany. Name translates as “giant bunches of grapes.” Introduced commercially in the U.S. in 1994 by Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. High-yielding plants. Tasty 1" fruits are borne on large sprays and shaped like beaked plums. Indeterminate, 80 days from transplant. Trellis.
(Organic) Tasty evergreen tomato:  (aka Evergreen) A favorite of Ben Quisenberry. Originally introduced by Glecklers Seedmen of Metamora, Ohio, in 1956. A green-when-ripe variety with medium-sized beefsteak fruits. Grapefruit yellow when fully ripe; flesh and gel remain green inside. Luscious and tender, strong sweet flavor. Very productive. Indeterminate, 75 days from transplant. Trellis

Maybe
Cauliflower:
Early Snowball: Introduced to American gardeners in 1888 by Peter Henderson & Company. Smooth 6-7" heads of tightly formed white curds are solid, crisp, and tender, excellent quality. Can be over-wintered for early crops in warmer regions. 60-85 days from transplant. Full sun

Cabbage:
(non-organic) Red cabbage: Introduced in 1889. Solid uniformly round heads are 8" in diameter and weigh 7 pounds. A sure cropper with a small to medium core that is red throughout; fine flavor, excellent for cooking, salads, and pickling. 98 days from transplant. Full Sun.

(Non-organic)  premium late flat dutch:  Introduced to the U.S. by German immigrants around 1840; listed in the 1924 catalog of D. M. Ferry & Co. Solid blue-green flat heads with white interior weigh 10-15 pounds. Excellent for late fall or winter use. 100 days from transplant. Full Sun

Brocolli:
(Non Organic) Calabrese:  Popular market variety that was brought to America by Italian immigrants in the 1880s. Tight heads can grow up to 8" in diameter. After the central head is harvested, side shoots will form. 58-90 days from transplant. Full Sun.
Interested in:
Apple tree
Cherry tree Two trees:
Ranier: http://www.treesofantiquity.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=178
Stella: http://www.treesofantiquity.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=179
Walnut franquette: http://www.treesofantiquity.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=19_32&products_id=481
walnut chandler: http://www.treesofantiquity.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=19_32&products_id=261
walnut pedro: http://www.treesofantiquity.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=19_32&products_id=262
Melon: Emerald gem: http://www.seedsavers.org/onlinestore/melon/Melon-Emerald-Gem-OG.html

Peas:
Green arrow: (aka Green Shaft) An English main crop variety and standard home and market variety. Slim pointed pods are 4-5" long and contain 8-11 small deep green peas. Pods are almost always borne in doubles. Very heavy reliable production. Medium vines grow 24-28" tall. Shell, 62-70 days. Double rows can be planted on each side of a trellis

Totally a possibility:
Golden Raspberries: 
Blackberries: 
Blueberries: 
Grapes:
peach tree: 

Notes:
backyard fruit growers assocation:
http://www.seedsavers.org/onlinestore/Vegetables/

What's on my TV?

I watch blissfully little television.  I try not to let my TV Rot my brain or dictate my life.  I can live without cable television.  I can live without ANY Television, but we live with my dad....who cannot live without his TV.  So I am blessed.

I watch religiously:
Sons of Anarchy
American Horror Story
The Walking Dead

That's really it.  I do also occasionally enjoy:
Grey's Anatomy
Breaking Bad

This past week i've enjoyed a few new shows:
The show before Grey's anatomy with the yummy Andre Braugher? Yes please.  I'd like some more. (I need to remember that comes on on Thursdays)
The ABC Sunday Lineup was *ok*

The fairy tale show was a VERY unique concept but i was VERY lost for the first half hour.  I understand you want to *HOOK* your viewing audience but MAYBE you could have started the series off at a point slightly before this revolution of sorts?? It was a massive turn off for me to be so confused and to be perfectly honest.....i spent my time working a puzzle while that show was on so I saw very little visual acting.

The show between that and 666 park (Which was WHY I was tuned into ABC on a Sunday to begin with) had some promise....it seemed interesting...but it reminded me of Burn Notice (which i do love...) I kept waiting to hear Good ole Michael Weston narrating things.

"When you place a listening device in the room of your supposedly dead aunt, you need to make sure that you conceal it completely if you want to get accurate information.  This goes doubly so if it has video capability.  Someone who knows what he is doing can build a fake book out of play doh, telephone wire, chewing gum and raw tuna and no one will be the wiser....until it starts to smell."

666 Park was a delightful departure from most boring TV crap these days.  People have been shouting 'BAZINGA!' for like 2 years or so and I just always thought to myself "You idiot" every time I heard them say it.  I watch so little television that I didn't even know it was a pop culture reference from The Big Bang Theory ... I have very little tolerance for TV Sitcoms anymore so it stands to reason I wouldn't watch that crap.  I've tried SO HARD to like that show and How I met Your Mother but man.....i promise....I just absolutely can't do it.  I hate them both.

I would rather get up and work out, or read a book, or spend time with my children, or write, or work a jigsaw puzzle, or play a game or...well...do just about anything other than watch TV.

Once in a while I'll sit and veg in front of netflix and when I do...i love Psych (Almost the only "sitcom" type show i'll watch), Burn Notice, NCIS, Law and Order ____ , Numbers, Criminal Minds, etc.

There is kind of a theme in things I watch...and it seems to be.....Crime.  Mystery. Drama.  All good stuff.

So uh...What's on YOUR TV?

If silence is golden....that must be why we are broke...

I live in a household with my dad (65 year old workaholic who works from home a lot), my brother (33 year old guy who just hangs out here occasionally), Myself (36 year old chatty cathy nice-to-meet-ya), an almost 5 year old Diva Braniac and a 3 and a half year old engineer in training.

My dad talks a lot when it comes to his work.  When it comes to socialization, he would prefer you pass him by.  My brother HATES when i talk to him because he says I talk too much.

I talk A LOT. My children have learned to talk A LOT.  Especially my daughter.  She is brilliant and likes to share that with people verbally.  As often and loudly as possible.

She is super creative and super intelligent and has a fantastic sense of humor and a fantastic heart for people. she is compassionate and stylish and beautiful and wonderful.  She loves to socialize and I struggle with wanting her to be a social, confident young lady and with wanting her to exercise a lot more caution when it comes to meeting new people.

There are days I just want to tell her

Which i guess is a nice way to say:

QUIT TALKING.

She is a good girl and her brother is a good boy but they sometimes make my head hurt.

I wouldn't trade either of my children for anything though.

How do you get your kids to be quiet when all they want to do is be as loud as possible?

Beware the invisible monster....

I started blogging in 2002 on another site.  In doing so...I met people who are still some of my closest friends today.  One of them is my friend  Jo.  I met her in spring of 2003.  She is super funny and amazing and wonderful and oh.  I love her so much.  Last year she shared the existence of her bumbumgerms blog with many people but I guess I just didn't feel like I was someone she wanted reading that blog.

I have issues.  shut up.

We luff each other and are good pals.  She was around when I made the decision to have my weight loss surgery in 2004.  She is someone I want to be friends with until the end of time.

So last year I found out that Jo has OCD.  I don't mean the kind of OCD we joke about because someone wants things to be EXACTLY SO.  Jo is a germaphobe.  She doesn't WANT Things a certain way...she NEEDS them a certain way.

I didn't realize how severe her OCD is until I read her entire blog Poop on a Hot Tin Slide.   I stopped and sobbed and sobbed for her as I read some of her posts.  She posted about last Halloween about how her anxiety was in full force as she went to trick or treat with her kids at her husbands work.  How she had dressed them all cutesey and gets there and how she is freaking out and worrying how she is going to sanitize each piece of candy.  How she was upset about her kids decorating pumpkins and touching glitter glue and felt pens and such that OTHER CHILDREN HAD TOUCHED.  It made me so sad for her.  I know she doesn't want to be this way.  Lord knows I have my own quirks.  Jo knows that this stuff should not be this huge of a deal to her but it is! She can't help it.  I have known her since 2003 and I did not know until this past week that THIS was the secret life she was living.  That is 9 years ya'll. NINE.  Nigh on a decade.  We had babies together. We were pregnant together, we used to write long arduous e-letters to each other whilest we were preggers.

I consider us to be pretty close.  And I didn't know.  Granted it's not like I am at her house every day.  But think about that.  Absorb it. Allow it to marinate and then listen to me.

There are people in your life who suffer from invisible monsters that you can't see and may not be aware are there.  Be sure not to judge people based on what you perceive to be the truth because YOUR perceptions may not be accurate.

There are plenty of invisible monsters:
Narcolepsy, fibromyalgia, MS, Bipolar disorder, Borderline personality disorder, anxiety disorders, depression, CFS.... etc.

If you aren't part of the solution then you are part of the problem.  don't cause problems for people with invisible monsters.  If you know someone in your life has OCD and they become upset when you don't wash your hands then even if you are a filthy pig elsewhere then AT LEAST when you are in their home or they are in yours....act like you care about them and WASH YO DAMN HANDS!!!

My sweet friend Jo whom I love more than anything in a world....she has a sign on the back of her bathroom door that says "WASH YOUR HANDS"  She also has an industrial automated Purell dispenser attached TO HER FREAKIN WALL.  I always wash my hands after going potty. (and before eating or preparing food etc)  but I promise - if I showed up at Jo's house I would show up in my cleanest clothing, wearing brand new shoes & socks and upon entering her home I would ask to be shown to the bathroom wherein I would proceed to lather up and surgeon scrub my hands and arms while she looked on.  then i would slather on purell before we sat to talk.  Because she suffers enough.  Why the hell would i cause her extra anxiety?

Jojo I am sorry that you battle this and please know I love you so hard!! and PS I am positive many of my FB pictures creep you out LOL. Thank you for loving me anyway :) I love you !!

Languages of Love (Words of affirmation)

Share instances with your spouse when words had a profound impact on your life-- positively or negatively.

Words have frequently had a profound impact on my life in both positive and negative ways.  I have an incredible memory and remember many things that were said to me as a child. My parents said some of the most hurtful things ever to me, usually about my weight and it took it's toll.  I believed i was some out of control blob of fat my entire childhood. when i look at pictures of myself as a child, I see a very unhappy, very attractive girl. I ate to push that pain down, to keep from hurting anymore.

Once in a chinese food restaurant I used a spoon to get 1 more shrimp from my shrimp fried rice plate and my dad shouted from the other end of the table "GO AHEAD YOU LITTLE PIGGY. EAT IT ALL. IT'S WHY YOU ARE SO FAT NOW." then he proceeded to oink and snort LOUDLY like a pig.  Everyone in the restaurant turned to stare and I wanted to die.  I would have willingly died right then because I thought everyone in the restaurant was looking at me thinking "What a fat, ugly little girl"  I was 9 or 10 years old.  That's been almost thirty years ago (It was susmmer, I was wearing a blue and white outfit that my parents bought me in hawaii..it had flowers on it and it was a friday night. It was probably 85 or 86 so we can call it 27 years.  I still remember the look of hatred on his face. I remember the other restaurant goers staring at me and I remember going for ice cream afterwards and dad telling me "you can't have any. you need to wait in the car little piggy." over ONE piece of shrimp. ONE PIECE. a single shrimp. I sat in the car while my brother and sister and parents ate ice cream at Baskin & Robbins.  When we got back to the neighborhood my dad stopped the mini van at the entrance and told me to get out and walk home.

Any time I reach for seconds of any food, those words echo in my ears.

***
I am notorious for saving texts that people send me that mean the world to me. I save emails and notes and things like that.

Feeding Picky Eaters. Brand new strategies

My 3 and 4 year old heathens have recently decided they would rather fill up on junk between/before/after meals rather than eat at meal times. So until further notice they can't have junk except on friday's after dinner.

Tonight was our first night of trying new meals.

I made Beef & Bean Burritos from The Pioneer Woman.

Survey says?

Mom:  I loved it.  They were really good but I wish i had thought to grab some avocado and some black olives for mine dangit!

Girl: "I like the meat and beans"  She ate the filling out of hers and the top portion of the tortilla. i'm happy.

Boy: "I don't yike it."  He's 3.  He only "Yike's" things that were born as sugar cane.  He did eat about 1/3 of his burrito which is significantly better than he's been doing.

I'd give this a 5/7 for sure.

Live on a farm or own your own computer?

1 out of 2 children in this household who were polled preferred the idea of living on a farm to the idea of owning her own computer.

The remaining polled constituent stated 'I want my own 'puter ON a farm mommy.  Cows need 'puter's too'

oh that boy....

I want to wear my checkers mommy

The girl just brought me a pair of shoes.  consulting the exterior heel of the shoe she says 'I want to wear my checkers mommy.'

I asked her, 'do you mean sketchers?'

She looks more intently at the back of the shoe. 'Um. yes. i changed my mind. I guess this does say Sketchers.'

'So. can i wear them? Can i wear my checkers? i need you to put this checker on my foot.'

So how does "Crazy" build a house anyway???

Everyone has that weird relative who is a bit out of step with the family.  happily marching to the beat of his/her own drummer s/he just travels down the road of life and you stand there and watch them and say to yourself...

Who in the hell is that person? i am not entirely sure i have ever met him/her!!

Well.  I am that person and because of that - i can confidently tell you that chances are very good that this person's personality developed as a result of crazy stuff in your family that you may or may not be aware of.

i can't expose all of the crazy from my family.  You would all stop talking to me....

School Skills

My 3 and a half year old daughter has a vocabulary that rivals a lot of adults.

seriously.

she comes out with gems like:

'BUBBA MOVE!!! STOP obstructing me!!!'

her definition? 'he is obstructing me mommy.  that means he's in my way'

'Mommy, will you transform into a frog?'

Now we have been doing sight words to learn how to read and she's doing quite well at that.

She has read a few odd things like 'my little pony'  and she can read her own name but the other day she brought me a book from her powertouch reader and says:

'mom.  i think i need a school skills book.  this book is too easy'

I looked blankly at her so she turned the book over and shows me on the back.  'see mommy.  this says um......... well that's an 'I' and then it says 'reader'  but down here it says 'school skills'.'  and as she says each word she points to the actual words on the page.  crazy!!!  (The 'I' word was 'Intermediate' which she's obviously not lol!)