Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
It tends to travel downhill...
The entire family is now sick (including me). Strep and sinus infections are the malady of the hour... But, I am on the strongest antibiotics money can buy (and they are pretty expensive...) so I hope to be feeling better soon.
In other news, I have agreed to let my 16 year old nephew move in with us. He is having some major problems at home and it looks like there aren't many options left... I hope we can have a positive influence on his life. And if I don't pull all of my hair out or go completely gray in the process it will be a miracle.
We are going to the coast this weekend to pick him up and I am hoping we have a little beach time while we are there. Hopefully, everyone will start feeling better and we can enjoy the trip.
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Friday, May 15, 2009
Weekend Plans
The family is sick hence the lack of posts this week. Hopefully everyone will start feeling better soon.
I have a feeling that it is going to leave my weekend to taking care of them and trying not to get sick myself.
I plan on working in the garden and hopefully doing a little hiking on Saturday.
We have a birthday party and brainstorming session planned for Sunday.
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Sunday, May 10, 2009
Mother's Day
Hickory Nut Falls "Other things may change, but we start and end with family"
-Anthony Brandt
Today was such a special day.
It started with me waking up before everyone else and watching "The Secret Life of Bees" Not as good as the book, but a guilty pleasure none the less.
Then the the kids and I took a little day trip and hiked to Hickory Nut Falls.
Here are some things we saw along the way...
A little lady bug
Snakes in the grass
The waterfall was absolutely beautiful. It is over 400 feet high. While we were there, a woman told me that a young toddler fell off the top of the waterfall and died last year. What a tragedy. It didn't help that my toddler (ok she is a little bit bigger than a toddler) was running around with no concept of sharp rocks...
The best thing about Mother's Day is being a mother.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
A little crush revealed...
I am hesitant to share this, but I have a little crush on a fellow by the name of Ira. Ira Glass, that is. There is something about his honeycomb voice. Or maybe it is thick, black glasses. I don't know what it is exactly, but everytime I hear his voice it makes my married, professional with 2 beautiful children heart skip a beat.
I have been ultra busy at work and not feeling the classic rock that is blaring from the cube just down from mine and my Pandora just seems to play the same songs over and over again. I decided to change the soundtrack of my work day. I started by listening to the audio book Walden. Then I stumbled upon the free podcast of This American Life.
Do yourself a favor and download this now!!!
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Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Metaphysical Roller Coasters and Modern Day Pioneers
The ongoing recession accompanied by the Swine Flu outbreak has really shaken me up. I am sure I am not the only one and maybe it is because my husband is a current unemployment statistic, but it has really made me rethink a lot of things.
One of which is waste. I waste so many things; food, space, time... I started to look at ways to live a simpler life. What would it be like to wake up and not have to spend 10 hours away from home... What do I really want out of life? What kind of environment do I want my kids to grow up in?
On this metaphysical roller coaster, I stumbled upon some interesting things one of which was housing.
I thought there was only one way to look at housing and that was the traditional 30 year mortgage. But there is a whole movement dedicated to sustainable living. To living on your own terms in your own way. To being free from waste and making the planet a better place. Having recently read Walden, I have begun to ask myself is this worth my life? Is this fill in the blank worth the time it took to make the money for it? Is 30 years of my life worth a 3 bedroom adobe in the suburbs.
Take a look at some of the cool unconventional housing I found...
So, this is the first installment of what will be a closer look at real alternative housing...
Tipis or teepees
Tipis served as homes for native Americans for thousands of years. The flawless engineering that provides instant shelter and comfort for not a lot of time or work really got me thinking. Could my 21st century family really live in one of these things? I think the answer is yes.
Photos from Earthworks Tipis
Can you believe this is the INSIDE of the tipi?
Hook up my high speed internet and I am there!
Square Foot Gardening
We are planting our first garden this year. I have always loved the idea of gardening... It just isn't something that comes naturally and noone really taught me how to grow vegetables or plant flowers...
Well, during one of my intraweb expeditions, I stumbled upon Square Foot Gardening. It really makes it look doable...
So, my husband built a raised bed and now all we have to do is plant, water, pray, and repeat...
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My aching back and a tomos scooter...
I hurt my back this weekend while I was cleaning out the garage. It pretty much left me bed ridden for a couple of days, so I am just now starting to bounce back. But I have a cleaned out garage!!! A couple of week ago I bought my husband a moped. I think cleaning out the garage was a nesting reflex... The moped needed a clean and tidy home...
Mr. S has been begging for a moped for ages. I happened upon one on one of my thrifting adventures and bought it. It made him quite the happy camper. I think he looks a little silly... He is quite a big fellow and seeing him on the tiny moped brings a smile to my face. You really can't look at him on the thing and not crack a smile.
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Strawberry Shortcake
My youngest loves Calliou and watches it over and over... (there is a reward waiting for me in the world to come...) In one of the episodes from one of her DVDs Calliou goes strawberry picking. Of course, Hannah immediately wanted to go pick strawberries. We had trouble finding a place to let her pick, so I took her a to a huge roadside stand and let her "pick" the strawberries and put them in her own basket.
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