Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Garden Progress

I was able to purchase a flat of vegetable plants from a local greenhouse for $14.99!  I am not sure what the going rate is, but I thought this was a great deal. 
For $14.99, we got:

  • 15 tomato plants (grape, medallion, roma and beefstake)
  • 4 zuke plants
  • 3 eggplant (my first year growing these)
  • 3 sweet banana peppers (first time)
  • 3 yellow peppers (first time)
  • 3 unknown (I lost the tag between the greenhouse and home)
I was able to plant the tomatoes last night before the rain came, and I am so thrilled that I did!  I still have to weed one of the beds, but I hope to do that this week.  Slow and steady so I dont get burnt out.  

Next year, to avoid the weeds, I am going to do what Becky does on Becky's Homestead.  If you are interested in homesteading, she has great vlogs.  When I found her, it took about a week to get through all of her vlogs.

The only other thing to do right now is to plant the rest of the vegetables, plant my greenbean seeds and squash seeds, and watch everything grow!



So far this year, I have spent less than $20 on vegetable plants and seeds.  I spent $18 on strawberries that I think I killed (for the second year in a row!)

I am linking up with Frugal Gardening 101 for this post. Please, come join us!
What do you have in your garden?

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day!

I would like to take a moment to tell you about the most incredible woman I know. 


Isnt she beautiful? All 5' of her!



My mother is amazing.  She has always been (and always will be) Super Woman to me.  From childhood, she worked 40 hours a week yet still made it home in time to rush around and get dinner on the table before my father got home every night of the week. She did this day-in and day-out with no complaints.

My mother tucked me into bed every night around 9:00 with a kiss and an “I love you.”  She did this until I moved out at 17, and she still does this when I visit her.    

My mother would do special things for my brother and I all the time while growing up.  Some of the fondest memories I have are the green milk on St. Patrick’s Day because “the leprechaun peed in it!” and the Saturday mornings she’d let us stay in our pajamas and watch Saturday morning cartoons most of the day.  We had to change out of our pajamas about 30 minutes before dad got home from work.

My mother has the biggest heart of anyone I know.  She sponsors kids at Christmas-time to ensure they have gifts under their tree, she volunteers, hosts parties, gives unselfishly and loves abundantly.  My mother is one of those people who buys something for someone and asks that it be given to them anonymously.  She is really big on “surprises.”

My mother taught us how important family is!  She was at every soccer, baseball and softball game my brother and I had.  She was at every piano practice and recital and a good amount of dirt-bike races my brother had when he first started racing.  She has the most unusual (shrilling) scream ever.  I could tell her scream out of all the other parents in the crowd. 

My mother gives some of the best surprises ever! She took my brother skydiving on his 18th birthday.  For her wedding to her husband, they flew us all out to Antigua to witness their wedding as a family.  She is so fun to be around and is always laughing and having a good time.  When we are together, my mom and I tend to laugh so hard that we cannot catch our breath and she eventually starts snorting…which naturally makes the laughter continue for minutes at a time and the giggles to last another 20 minutes. 
Funny Story:  We were in the kitchen once and for some reason, she put her hands between her legs.  I asked if I could pull on them (trying to flip her over.)  When I did this, I didn’t get enough air and she fell flat on her forehead.  I still remember the thump her head made on the linoleum floor and how hard we laughed afterwards.  I still chuckle every time I think about it.

My mother was the rock in our family when I was extremely ill in 2009.  She helped Todd and my father understand what was going on while I was in ICU in a medically induced coma.  She was the one to show everyone how to “scrub in” to see me.  She was the one who read to me even though the doctors said I couldn’t hear her.  She drove 4 ½ hours each way to come see me more than 3 times as my status would improve or decline.  She stayed with me until I was lucid and on the mend, unselfishly driving back up to visit me in the hospital at the end of my stay just to spend the day with me.

I love that even though I am 30 years of age, my mother still calls me her “baby girl.”  When we are together and with our husbands, we are constantly reminded that we are “two peas in a pod” with so many similarities and silly quarks.

My mother is and always has been my biggest supporter and best friend.  I am truly blessed to have such a loving, strong, independent woman in my life.

Mom, I know you are reading this, and I want you to know how much I love you and how special you are to me.  I love you biggie bunches.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

2011 Garden

I absolutely love to garden!  Last year was the first year we had a true garden.  Years before, I had a cute pot bellied pigger that would eat the vegetable plants before anything could grow on them! 

Last year, Todd built me a pig-proof garden.  The fence was made out of oak planks that Todd got from work for free.  Good thing, too, because the nutriet-rich soil we purchased was pretty expensive.


Do you see all the green inside the fence?  Those are the weeds that I havent gotten to yet.  I have worked several evenings after work for the past couple of weeks and the weeds are still horrendous.  I feel like all I do right now is weed.


Luckily, we are able to add more mounds to the garden so that I will be able to plant even more veggies.  I'm not sure if it will happen this year, but it will happen eventually.  I would love to grow enough food to last the entire winter months.

This is what we have growing right now:


Strawberries

Lonely Grape Tomato Plant (given to me by a friend)


Pea Pods (my first time growing them)

Potted Blueberry

Dwarf Plum

Raspberry Patch

One (of two) Pear Tree

Apricot Tree
I cant wait to start planting some warm-weather plants in the upcoming weeks.  We had a frost last night, so I decided to wait until after vacation.

Last year, I computed that the garden cost us over $300 for the soil and supplies needed to build the garden.  We did not see a $300 return on investment in my mind with the produce.  However, we still have plenty of nurient-rich soil left in a pile to add additional beds in the garden, and there are no other expenses but buying some zuke, cuke and tomato plants.

To read about other frugal gadens, please go to Frugal Gardening 101 at GettingFreedom.net.  Happy Gardening!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Happy Anniversary!

This day, 4 years ago, Todd and I were married at a beautiful bed & breakfast in Berlin, OH (Amish country). 

Our wedding party consisted of 9 of our immediate family only.  Todd's parents, my father and his wife, my mom and her husband, my only surviving grandparent (Grandma), my brother and his wife.

We got married in front of this waterfall on the beautiful May afternoon with those who love us.  It was absolutely perfect.  The sun was shining and the weather was in the mid-60's.

After the ceremony, we all ate together as a family a home cooked meal of chicken cordon bleu, green beans, lasanga, salad, rolls and wine we bought at the first winery we went to together (where we both discovered our love of wine).  The gentleman who married us also made our wedding cake that was a light yellow color (fondant) with white polka dots.

When we were all stuffed from our great meal, we gathered around the beautiful family room of the B&B talking and having a great time.  Everyone had their own room at the B&B where we got up and had another meal together as a family the next morning.

Our wedding was in no way conventional, but it was perfect for us.  We had an absolute blast and were with those who mattered the most to us. 

You may wonder where the pictures of our wedding day are, and that is a great question.  They are on a disc somewhere in the house.  When I find them, I will post them.  Until then, this story will have to do.

Todd, I know the last 4 years have had their ups and downs, but I love you more today than I did the day we married.  I am so glad we have made it work and are growing together instead of drifting apart. I love you for being so strong, understanding, funny (and corny!).  I love you for being my biggest supporter.  I love you for taking such good care of our "son" while he was ill up until the last moments of his life.  I love you for putting up with my odd sense of humor, all of my crazy ideas and my OCD. I love you for loving our critters as much as I do (even though you swear that it is only by proxy).  I love that you are always willing to go on adventures with me whether it is a drive through the country or going on a train ride through the Yukon Territory.  I love you for all the hard work you've done to make our house a home and how you give your all with everything you do. I love and appreciate everything about you. I love you!!

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Normal is Stupid!

I was listening to a Dave Ramsey Show podcast on my way home from work yesterday, and Dave was ranting about how much debt the "normal" American has.  He also said that "normal is stupid!"  I couldnt agree more.

Since January 1, 2010, Todd and I have paid off $23,000 and change in debt.  We have been in debt since the very moment we met in 2005.  As of today, we only owe $2098 on our very last debt and I couldnt be happier.  The light at the end of the tunnel is definitely coming closer and closer.  I never thought we'd get this far, but day-dreamed of a time when we would.

By July 1st, we should be completely debt free (except the house).  We have been able to "snow ball" over $850/month to go toward this last debt by paying off the other debts we had.  Those included $375 for the property we bought next door, $227 for a car loan, Home Depot card (0% financing for a year), and $200+ for the credit card we are currently paying off.  We were paying nearly half of my take home income on revolving debt payments! No more!

We killed it this month by living so tight we squeaked! I think Todd is sick of hearing me say how broke we are and then in the next sentence, how much less our credit card balance is.  Even this week, we have only $95 to live off of.  This month, we both had extra pay due to 5 Friday's as well as Todd getting paid a little more money for training a new guy at work.

I told Todd that if we squeak through the month of April, we could breathe a little bit in May and June to pay off the rest of the debt.  May is going to be an expensive month for us due to a vacation the first weekend of May, our puppy getting fixed mid-May, and hubby's birthday the end of May (he's turning 40, so I am doing something nice for him!)

Do you have debt?
Are you working Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover?
How is the process going for you?