Pa and Ma Ingalls didn't have trash service

Here is my completely random and non-useful observation for the day:

We used to live in a regular-cookie-cutter-housed suburban neighborhood. During that time we had a 96 gallon trashcan. It was always full to overflowing each week. Always. We went through at least one kitchen trash bag per day in that room of the house alone. Not counting bathrooms, garage, etc.

We now live on some land with animals and a garden. We have a family of six, but sometimes, we only have one (1!!) kitchen bag sized of trash for the week. Sometimes we have a whole 32 gallon trash can full. (That's only a 1/3 of what we used to have for you math challenged folks)

Why is this?? I was thinking about it as I took the trash out today. (We actually have three cans full this week - rare. A whole 96gls.)

Well, one reason is, we have a fireplace. And we can burn most of the paper trash we have around here. Except for the dumb shiny junk mail and ads on color paper I get. Those are still trashed. Stupid junk mail. Well... and my In Style mag. heehee...

We have animals that eat our kitchen scraps. And let me tell you, as much as I don't want to waste food, even with a "empty your plate" style of eating and using left-overs, it's amazing how much food is thrown out. The third world would be ashamed of us.

Other food: carrot peels, squash rinds, banana peels and the like... they go to the compost bin.

There you have it. Those three reasons are the main reasons we don't have a lot of trash. That and I don't buy a lot of processed food (that come with all the boxes and pouches to throw out).

I'll probably never be able to NOT have to pay for trash service, but seeing how close I am some weeks to not using them, I wish I could eliminate that bill!

Ladies Footed Pajamas - my review

I own footed pajamas now. I bought them last night, because, well... they just looked delicious.

Hanging there in the store they felt SOoooooo soft, and cozy. And frankly they just looked cute.

My house is usually chilly. That's the perfect excuse to get them right? Into the cart they went.

I put them on immediately as I got home. oooooooh. They lived up to the soft and comfy and cozy. I lounged on the couch watching a movie. It was at that moment I had second thoughts about sleeping in them. I scrunched down on the couch and my toes ran against the inside of the slippered toe. Hmmm. I readjusted. Though I was beginning to have doubts about a full night I decided I couldn't be sure unless I slept in them.

I was right. The night was a bit uncomfortable. My toes kept running up against the inside seam of the slipper. And since they are not skin tight, I felt a little bit like I was in my very own personal twisted up sleeping bag.... inside my bed.

So, for sleeping in: I give them a 4. Maybe a 3.5 actually.
For lounging in the house, or getting comfy after work and watching a movie? 10
Shoot. They are cute but not entirely frumpy. You could hang out with your friends in these bad boys and not be embarrassed. You just might be the hit of the pajama party!

I may have low fashion standards, but I think I could wear these in public.

A sweet moment for this mama

My 5 year old, Avalon, was sitting at the kitchen table yesterday and laid her head onto her folded arms on the table.

"Mama", she whimpered in a soft cry.

I came over to her and bent over next to her head. "Yeah baby?"
"Do you ever have a rough day? Is life ever hard?" she asked.
I tried to keep a laugh from bursting out. "Yes baby, I have rough days."

Her voice quivers as she tells me this, as if she is broken-hearted and it is all she can do to keep it together. "I just need Jesus. Right now. I need to be in heaven with Him. I need to be with Him. I want to go there right now. I want to die so that I can be in heaven with Jesus. I just love Him soooo much."

Okay, sweet. But I have to admit when your five year old says she wants to die - no matter HOW sweet the reason, it is pretty creepy.

But for the most part, my heart was breaking for her, and with her. And in that moment, I, or my spirit, caught a glimpse of what must have been going on in heaven at that very instant. MY heart was breaking??? Jesus saw His sweet baby girl desperately wanting to be with Him. Yet he can't have her there with him yet. HIS heart must have melted, surged, and broke all at the same time, but immeasurably more than her human mama's.

I assured her that Jesus can't wait to have us there too. Very soon. I assured her He is coming soon - to come and get us and take us home. (And we will all go together) But in the meantime, we have a job to do. He left us with instructions, a 'chore list' if you will. "There are some things we need to get done first", I explained to my sweetheart.

She didn't seem too comforted, or relieved, but we were able to move on with what we were doing. But her heart for the Lord still has me amazed, and thankful. HE must be sooo proud of His little girl! She's quite the keeper!!

A good (hard) days work

So today after school, me and the kids helped a friend clear out her garden before our city gets a freeze tonight.

Boy Howdy. I haven't worked harder in months!! I am soooo sore! But we got a lot of work done.

She has a large garden and we picked about 70 tomatoes still on the vine - though most of them green. We tore up the tomato plants and piled them on the melon patch. Then we covered all of that with plastic.

We put tarps on her summer squash that are still going to town. I hope it works and that her plants survive the freeze tonight.

I am now sitting here in my warm little house listening to ... hail? snow pellets??...something... occasionally hit the roof. And it's cold outside!!

80 degrees today. We were sweating working that garden, but now everyone is tucked into bed with their 'warm' pj's.

And as I sit here writing to you, I am glad that my kids got a chance to work hard. I'm listening to the Presidential debate happening in my own backyard of Denver. They talk about hard work, fair shares, etc, etc. But once upon a time, long, long ago people had to hunt or raise animals and work, work, work large gardens because there weren't super mega marts down the street. It was good for my kids to do work that pays off - eventually, and to realize that not all rewards are immediate.

More of the grown-ups in this country could stand a long days work in the garden too.

A day for the books

I'm writing this on the brink of insanity.
Motherhood is highly overrated. HIGHLY. Least it feels that way today....

I'm sure it's good and glorious and charming and powerful, amazing, inspiring and spiritual.

But.... not today. I can't see those sweet moments through the dense fog of crazy that invaded the house some time the the middle of last night while I was sleeping peacefully.  It's like all of my kids were kidnapped by aliens last night and horrible facsimiles of them were put in their place.

I woke with a headache. Oh, if only I knew that was going to be the highlight of my day....

I don't even want to see the youngest two little people until tomorrow. I think for their protection and my own, I should just say goodnight to them and start fresh tomorrow. I don't even think THEY need to be the ones to go to bed. Maybe it should be me.

I'll tuck myself into bed with a hot chocolate and a good novel I'm reading and snuggle under the feather comforter and call it a night. I'll light a candle and shut my door. Maybe I'll play some soft music after I read the book.

Yeah, right. I can dream though. Well, I better go. I have 33 minutes until I tuck them in and wish them the best until tomorrow.

I just hope the aliens take these freaks and bring my REAL kids back.

Bummed with an answer

Have you ever prayed for something and was then disappointed it was answered???

That is how I feel today. I had sorta been praying about something. ... I say sorta, because my prayer was slightly *different* than my husbands, but he asked me to be in prayer about something, and I was.

Yesterday it got answered. But not the answer I hoped for. Sure, my 'answer' was a bit of a pipe dream, but nothing is impossible with God, so I figured.... go for it. Ask for the crazy thing in prayer.

Apparently, God thought it was crazy too, and answered Patrick's version of the prayer instead.
That's life I guess. Some times you just gotta know when to hold em and when to fold em.

But although my feelings are mixed and a TINY bit ....disappointed..... I can say I trust God. It took me 30 years to actually trust Him and not just 'say' that I trust Him. Maybe this is a test. Sure, my feelings are let down, but my trust is not. We don't base life on our feelings. Feelings betray. But I can trust in God through anything.

Even this minor thing I'm having a private small pity party about. :)
I kid, I kid. No pity parties here. I'm gonna be a big girl.

Well. ....THAT was fun!

We had a very interesting night around here last night.

Vivianne is sick with a cough. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts to 'rub her up' with mentholatum before bed, I could hear her coughing while I was working on the computer. I was hoping a deeper sleep would come for her and we'd have a peaceful night.

I was trying to cheat the system - in regards to our 23 baby chicks - and put them in the barn last night, in a race against the setting sun. (there is no electric in the barn) And I was doing all that - setting up a brooding area, closing off the area with straw to keep out drafts, running electrical cords for the heat lamp, laying down pine chips for bedding, etc - because I don't want 23 chicks in my HOUSE anymore!! Oh - did I mention they are starting to fly?!?!? Yes. Yes they are. Another one flew to the top of the Rubbermaid I had them in yesterday, perched and ready to wreck havoc on my house. Thankfully I was in the room, dove and grabbed it in time, but it was a close call - and the last straw.

They are "too young" to go to the barn as they don't have their feathers yet. But as I see it, they left me no choice. It's their own doing. So... up they went.  The barn was ready, the chicks tucked in for the night. All was well. The only thing bothering me was the unprotected back of the barn. It is a wooden barn that sits on the dirt earth. There is no foundation or flooring - which is nice for the animal poop aspect - but a fox or other vermin could just dig under the back of the barn and feast on 26 birds. (the three ducks are up there too)

We go to bed.

At 1am, I can't take it anymore. Surely it is not 1:00, but 5:00, because I'm certain I have been  listening to my daughter cough all night.
I get up and give her a spoonful of honey and her inhaler.
I get back in bed, and hope for the best.

At 3:20am - after not getting alot of sleep because my girl is STILL coughing - I "wake" - and I mean violently jerk out of bed - at the sound of screaming.

Animal screaming.

I'm pretty sure I am listening to the ducks being torn apart and ravaged. DANG IT!!

I run out to the kitchen, throw on my barn boots and race out side. At 3 in the morning. (it was suprisingly warm by the way)

The coyotes were aross the way screaming and howling their heads off. Patrick, comes out too and hears this. A dog is also barking. Patrick is relieved it's not on our land. I just pray they aren't bragging about the delicious meal of birds they just enjoyed. I reeeeaaaaallly didn't want to trek all the way up there to confirm either suspicion. We went back to bed and listened to my daughter cough for the rest of the night.

Can anybody say.... coffee????

Anyway, I don't usually get out to the barn by 7:30, but did today. I am happy to report that all my baby winged-things are alive and well. Poor little chicks are huddled together as the heat lamp is higher than they are used to... but they are alive.

just another manic Tuesday, whoa oh whoa

What a day! Wowza.

• While I was up in the barn with the ducks, my son who was supposed to be 'helping' me, accidentally let a goat loose - out of his pen - and into the wild blue yonder of the forest. This actually happened due to our 3rd child for the first time on Saturday, and Patrick had to get both the goats because I couldn't budge them. Not a bit. They tossed me around like buttah. So today, I figured - shoot. We lost a goat. Somehow I managed to get it back in the pen and then I wondered if I had shut the duck door behind me when I realized a goat was out. Did we have three loose ducks too???? ....ah. Thankfully not. The Lord had mercy.
• I dropped a knife on the top of my bare foot over the weekend. It officially hurts to have a shoe touch that bruise. ...I wore flip-flops most of the day.
• I hate moth season..... but although it started with a vengeance on Sunday, I think it is milder now. I know it's only two days later... but maybe this season won't be as bad??? One can only hope.
• I had to walk into my daughter's school this morning. I was uncombed, unmake-uped, with glasses and pajamas on. It was a walk of shame,.... but let me tell you, no one has ever walked into that school taller than me. I mean... wear it like you own it, right?? Even if you have the snot embarrassed outta ya.
• I shampooed carpets today. That rocks, right??? I think so.
• I made a new dish for dinner tonight. It looks like a pile of mushy goo, but I thought it was delish!! Quinoa, grilled zucchini, corn, red peppers, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onions, garlic,olive oil. There is mixing and cooking involved... but that is the gist. Yum-o. I will/would make that again.
• I feel a tremendous amount of guilt over not having grocery shopped lately and not having more meals planned/fruit available for snacks.... but I'm just so tired....  And frankly, tired of preparing food - even with the fun new dinner tonight. Why do so many people rely solely on me for sooo many portions of food every day???  #exhausting
• I am also deeply bothered that I don't have more plants growing and getting ready for the garden. I really want ground cherries this year and I don't even have the seeds started. I hope it's not too late.
• On day two of project "clean out the overfilled nasty cluttered girls room" - and making amazing progress. By tomorrow the room will be cleaned perfectly - every nook and cranny, every toy box and closet shelf. It will totally be worth it. :)

God answers prayers....

...but not like you think.

This post is completely inspired by my day's work today. I'm loading the dishwasher (obviously not right now... but a few seconds ago. heehee) and I couldn't help but smile and have a little inside giggle. That is when I decided to share with you.

When I was young. I mean... younger.... I read somewhere that after the age of 30 it is like, I don't know 10 times/30 times.... (much) harder to learn new things. Because of brain cells dying off and other scientific facts that I don't remember. (doh! - it's started!)

ANYWAYS..... (random, poorly typed blog shall now continue)

I was horrified. The article said learning a musical instrument or new language... anything was immensely more challenging after 30 .....da da da dum.... UNLESS (magical word there), unless you keep learning and don't stop. ie: most people just drive to work, eat food, watch sports.... routine, routine, routine. Nothing new. No new learning experiences = dead brain cells. You have to keep learning, and ...wah-la. You are okay. Brain cells won't die off so fast.

So I prayed. No, seriously.
God. GOD, 30 is too young to be stupid. Keep me learning my whole life.

I had no idea what I had just done.

I am over 30 now, and let me tell you. I think I have more brain cells now than when I was 7. He keeps the challenges and experiences a'comin!!

In the last couple of years, I have learned:

• How to split a log
• that watermelon seeds germinate faster if you soak them in milk
• cock a gun
• that goats need to have their hooves clipped every so often
• that ducks don't get feathers until they are 5-9 weeks old
• that flour doesn't make a dry shampoo
• that eggs don't condition your hair well at all if you plan on having a hot shower
• that basements need to have floating walls, studs must be 16 inches or closer, and bathrooms must have exhaust fans installed to pass inspection
• that yarrow can stop a nose bleed
• about ten 'new' notes on the violin
• about 6-10 'new' piano chords
• that cattail roots are edible but don't taste good
• 4 new piano songs
• that to get beet seeds you have to let them over winter
• how to make my own dishwasher detergent
• that if you rock against a dead tree for a couple of days, it will fall over, but you will be sore for at least two days more
• and a whole bunch of other stuff that would baffle you as to why I know it.

But looking at my life and this stuff... I can say that God does answer prayers.... just be careful for what you ask.

The Late, Late Show

Starring none other than your very own..... me.

I am alone (once again) in my house after 9pm.

Did I say alone? Oh, I'm sorry, I apologize. I mean awake.

It is "good Christian values" to not live with a person before you marry them. No, God believes in surprises and has an amazing sense of humor.

I knew Patrick (we didn't date the whole time) two years before we got married. In two YEARS everytime we hung out in groups or alone we lived on Tara time. ie: we were awake past 9:30.

Heck, 90% of the time we were up til 11 or so. I did have to be to work at 6:40 in the morning back then and I'm not a morning person. Really, I'm not. So I had to call it quits before midnight. I didn't want to get fired over a relationship with a boy! ;)

The problem is, that, I don't always think the things God allows to be super hilarious.

Like coming home to our apartment after the honeymoon, it was 8:30 pm and Patrick announced he was going to bed. !!

WHAAAAAAt?!?!?

WHO did I just marry. He had to be joking. Was he serious??? What had I done???

As I stood there in the livingroom/dining room/office of our apartment staring at the empty room and gifts around me and hearing him already 'snoring' in the next room, it dawned on me he was serious. Oh dang.

And so, on the first night back from our honeymoon I learned a very valuable lesson. Well several.
My husband is not joking when he says he's tired.
If it is 8pm and he announces he is tired, expect him to be sleeping within 10 nano-seconds.
If it is winter, he will probably be asleep by the time the sun goes down. We all hope he is home and not still on the drive there.... okay, he doesn't have a sleep disorder... that was too much. But hun, you know it's true that in the winter you barely make it much past sunset.

Look. I love sleep as much as the next person. I love my bed. I love my pillow and my feather comforter. Oh, I do! Ever heard that saying, my bed is the drug and my pillow is the dealer, and the alarm clock is the police?? Is that how it goes??? Yeah, well, I love sleeping IN.

So, anyway, here I am writing to you. We have a smallish house. I can't sing right now. I can't play the piano. Or the violin. Or watch a movie on the flat screen. Those things all make noise. I could try to clean, but that is also so limited. Dishes rattling, can't vaccuum..... and so I am here with you.

On the computer. That is where I live/work after 10pm if I don't decide to join the others. But it's not all terrible. I do like the alone time. The down time, and the personal, I can-do-whatever-I-want time.
And hey, God invented ear phones for moments like these.

Dear Edi Pettegrew,

This post is dedicated to you...

Have you ever?

Have you ever driven through an intersection and wondered as you entered the middle of it if the light was actually green?

Have you ever looked in your rear view mirror after said intersection to make sure you did not, in fact, run a red light??

Have you ever opened  your contact lens case only to see it was empty and silently scream, "OH My Gosh! Where are my contacts?!?!?" Only to realize they are still in your eyes and you intended to take them out?

Have you ever been offered a snack by the woman sitting in front of you at a meeting and got really excited, only find she was just joking around and didn't have anything other than... gum?

Have you ever wondered what that amazing smell was coming from your kitchen as you wandered the house, only to realize it was the onion bagel you put under the broiler 15 (FIFTEEN) minutes ago???

Have you ever been randomly and suddenly publicly volunteered by your friend in the row ahead of you to bring snacks for 200 people at 7am on a Sunday morning?

Have you ever publicly had to tell 200 people that you are, in fact, not bringing snacks, but you could be good enough to bring them a raisin instead???

I have.
I dedicate this post to April 5, 2012

Oh, wait, I said I'd dedicate it to Edi. Well.... she'll just have to share.

Another DIY beauty fix....

Uh-Huh.

I tried to make homemade Biore strips.

I don't know why. I haven't used them since I was a teen... maybe early twenties. (so, like a year ago... ahem...)

I thought... yeah. Those are totally cool. You peel them off and see a bunch of munchy gunk that was in your face.

Who wouldn't want a chance to do THAT again with a practically free homemade recipe???  :) haha

The story began on Pinterest. I saw this lady with a recipe -and it 'only' had two ingredients in it! boo-yah. I'm sold. Milk - any kind, and plain gelatin. (NOT lime Jello people. Knox gelatin. This is an important step to pay attention to.)

So you mix a Tablespoon of gelatin with just over a Tablespoon of milk. Then you heat it in the microwave for 10 seconds, then stir again, and then slap the goo on your face and wait for it to become so hard that if you smile it might crack. Then you peel it off and have amazing beautiful skin. Waa-lah!

We don't have a microwave. Let's just say my problems started there.

So I think... do you really HAVE to heat it???

The answer is yes. Yes you do.
I had a pile of goopy-goop on my face. That doesn't work. It looks like you have gorilla vomit on your face. Like you walked under a bird, and said, 'yeah, sure, poop on my face'.

Oh. I'd like to add something here. DON'T - for the love of LOVE... don't put it even if ever so accidentally - on your eyelids. That is not, is not a pleasant experience. Just take my word on it. And.. if some should get on your hair - hair that fell onto your face from your head, or on to your eyebrows. Lord a mercy. Don't pull it off. You will be bald. Just get the other stuff off first and then wash the 'hair' part off with warm water.

So I tried again this week. (first experiment was a week ago.) I tried again last night because apparently the first time caused all the 'reasonable thinking' brain cells to be plucked from my head.

This time I heated the mixture on the stove for a few seconds. MUCH better. Then, I also applied Vveeerryyyy carefully.

I applied it too thick. You want this sucker on thin. Thin. If it is too thick it doesn't dry and you just have goop on your face for the second time. Most of mine did dry though.

I don't know how helpful this whole process is. I ripped every single fine baby hair off my face that I wasn't even aware was there. I don't really have acne. So, I don't know if it helps that. (I thought for some reason this process would just be....fun???) But... today I seem to have an entire face breakout - the irony. ;)
Maybe I can blame the gelatin????

Anyway. Ripping it off. It compares to having ...I don't know. Maybe...slamming your hand in a door. It hurts. Much more than I remember Biore hurting. Maybe I'm just 'old' and not willing to have pain for beauty. If you decide to try this, there are two things:

1. Tell me how it goes.
2. Seek medical help. There is obviously something wrong in your head.

Juuuuuust.... take my advice on this one

Okay. So I had slightly greasy hair yesterday.

Okay, okay. It was an oil slick. I needed to wash it before our date night out. (I was told I smelled good, by the way, so my hair was dirty, but I wasn't stinkin up the place!)

I didn't have time to wash it in the afternoon as the day slipped away from me. As less than half an hour stood between me and my date time, I decided to just throw in some 'dry shampoo'. 

Except I don't own any dry shampoo, so I figured flour would work.

White, all purpose, kitchen flour. (it's all purpose for a reason, right folks??)

So I throw about, I don't know... a teaspoon amount into my hair. I have a ton TON of hair. It is thick and coarse, and I just kept tossing the flour up there until the locks fell pretty, and non-greasy like. Seemed to work. And, I have (again) recently lightened my hair so you really couldn't see the flour in the brassy blond I have. I should be good.to.go.

This morning I took a shower.

This is where the story takes a negative turn.

Have you ever mixed flour and (hot) water? Even cold water and flour - it makes a paste. A full on head paste was happening on my scalp. Sooooo not cool.

It took me about three good hefty shampooings and a good load of conditioner to un-flour my head. I don't care what they say about do it yourself home remedies. I, personally, do not recommend this route for you. And if you do decide to do this, by all means, use discretion. Don't toss enough to make a cake up there. Just a small smidgen of a pinch. Yes, that is my recommendation if you must do this.

PS: the flour head did work. I think I pulled off "cute" and not "nasty head" for the date. My date seemed to like the way I looked, so I think not all was lost here. ;)

Why I don't exercise at a gym

Because I have four children. If I wanted to break a sweat and work my bum off, I would just stay home and clean my house.
...or chase my children around.

When I have the opportunity to drop all four children off (at the childcare area of the gym) the LAST thing I want to do is more work.

I want to relax.

I want to take a shower completely alone. At long as I want. With no one coming in with news of tears and bloodshed. Without being interrupted because the phone rang. Because I don't want an audience while I shampoo my hair. (ahem... Talia....) And I can use all the hot water I want and not worry.

I can just sit in the locker room, or the lobby and read a book in silence and peace while the children play.

I can blow dry my hair and/or put on makeup without 15 distractions in that 5 minute span of time.

In the summer, I would rather lay out by the pool with a magazine anyday, than stay inside on those sweaty machines that make me realize how out of shape I am.

In the winter, I would rather sit in the steam room anyday, than work out on those sweaty machines that make me realize how out of shape I am.

Am I forgetting anything? I don't know. I haven't been to the gym in awhile and haven't had that peace and quiet to gather my thoughts!