so then i said....

so much has changed in the last couple of weeks. so much hasn't changed in the last couple of weeks.

1. we're paperless - no paper napkins, towels or toilet paper and with the exception of a few jokes and a raised eyebrow from a friend, everything has gone smoothly.

2. things are growing - green bean plants were moved from the backyard to the side yard today as were 3 small tomato plants. they looked a little stressed (translation: damn near dead) immediately after transplant but then who doesn't? an unexpected and welcome rain shower helped to perk them up.

3. tonight we ate our first completely homemade meal - there was pizza with homemade sauce and crust, strawberry limeade and for desert honey vanilla ice cream made in my freecycle obtained ice cream maker. months ago i was terrified it would be restaurants & crappy meals for the rest of our lives.

4. i'm working less - in part by choice and in part by circumstance. working for a staffing agency can be unstable. one minute the hospital is begging you to work 16 hour shifts for 5 straight days, the next thing you know there's no work for 2 weeks 'cos corporate just got the bill for the extra shifts. it can be frightening if i let it. after all, there's no more money but the same stack of bills waiting to be paid. it helps to look at what i get in trade. all of the time off means more time with the kids and in the end... when i'm old and gray that's what's going to matter to me.

i've learned that there's more that i can do than i ever thought i could. that i can, slowly, exchange old habits for new healthier ones.

think... thinking... thought

over the last week or so, i've been reading some really great blogs... most of which left me feeling less informed and less interesting that i probably really am. i know that's not the intention of the bloggers but great googly moogly my world is T-I-N-Y! two of my new favorite bloggers are sara at www.walkslowlylivewildly.com and crunchy over at www.crunchychicken.blogspot.com
sara has inspired me to dread my hair... something i've wanted to do for ages but never had the nerve. i was always too worried about what other people would think. heck, i'm getting too dang old to keep worrying about other people's opinions! i've asked mom to do my hair for me. she agreed, however, i think she thinks i'm nuts. so what's new? crunchy is sooooo dang smart! her challeges are fantastic. because of her, we're moving to a paperless household. the paper towels and napkins have been replaced with cloth and starting tomorrow (for the kids. i started over the weekend) we go toilet paperless. they have a lovely little decorative basket chocked full of handy terry cloth squares. they too think i'm nuts but, quite frankly, i think we're at a point in our collective history that if we don't do something fast it's all gonna blow up in our faces.... although, the voice in the back of my head says we're already headed the way every other ancient society that ever graced the planet. we're too big for our britches and one of these days the planet is just gonna shrug us off. happy thoughts....
in the garden the beans and cukes are coming along nicely. the plants all look healthy and sre growing at a fine clip. the watermelon seems to have slowed down. but then again, they havent been getting as much water as the other plants. a couple of day ago i put in some broccoli, okra, tomato and acorn squash seeds. the okra appears to be racing for the sun on tall hungry stalks. i really hope it'll be a good year for the garden. i'd love to see the kids enjoy food they grew and to have them get excited about being able to do that for themselves.