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It's unofficially the start of summer and I am still cleaning the dirt out from under my nails.
My mother jokes that by the way I talk about gardening I have a secret farm somewhere. Sadly, that is not the case.
What is a condo dwelling Domestic Goddess to do you may be asking. Good question. So good in fact that I will tell you.
When you run out of ground, think UP!
Today I was lucky enough to receive Daylillies (Tiger) from a neighbor, thanks to Freecycle. Normally, I don't use the little plot of dirt I have for flowers, but I love the Tiger Lily. How could I not devote a small corner to it's beauty?
On the way back from picking up the flowers, I stopped at the local gardening shop and picked up a few plants. So far I have a 'patio' tomato plant, broccoli, bell pepper, white eggplant and cucumber plants. Just one of each. That came to $12 total, I have $4 set aside for lettuce if I decide to grow some in hanging baskets. If not, I lied and it's "My $12 Garden".
Hidden away in the closet was a TopsyTurvy. No, I am not paid to endorse them. (Hint: Topsy people, I will be willing to praise your glory if you send me 5 of them for next year) This is the first year I will be using them, I have made my own in the past.
Life would have been easier if someone hadn't stolen all my gardening tools. I had to dig it with a shovel about the size of a tablespoon!
I am writing from my sick bed - a place I have been a resident of for the majority of the last 4 days. It started out as a sniffle, progressed to a cough and has morphed me in to looking like an extra from Zombie Prom.
Apparently someone didn't give me the memo that said Momma's aren't allowed to get sick! I have to give kudos to Elvis though for taking care of things in my time of need. Well, he was the one who gave me his cold...
My week has looked something like this --
Monday - *sniffle, cough, sniffle* Ugh, am I getting sick? I probably should just call for pizza delivery just in case.
Tuesday - I'm officially sick, luckily Elvis has the day off and he can drive Diva to and from school today, and since she has her play tonight, we were going out for a post-play dinner anyways.
Wednesday - Elvis back to work, Shrugs will drive Diva to and from school and take her for dinner. Elvis cooked his own dinner with some coughed out directions.
Thursday - Why am I still sick? Enough already! Good thing this is the start of Elvis' normal days off, he can take her to and from school. If he wants food, he knows where the kitchen is. I'm going back to bed - wake me up when it's over!
Elvis went to the grocery store to get a few items we needed for the house. Yes, he knows how to shop. He isn't exactly the frugaltarian I am, but he does fairly well. He made a pepper and onion quiche for brunch. Yes, I said quiche. He made it. It was his idea. Men -do- cook. He even got enough to make one for tomorrows brunch too. Not very creative, but I've been living off cough drops and pastina the last few days, who am I to complain? Dinner is in the crock-pot for when Diva comes home from soccer practice tonight. I would say it smells wonderful, but *sniffle, cough, gag* I can't smell anything. It looks like terryaki pork roast. I will be having my usual garlic heavy pastina tonight.
I am trying to fake myself better - or at least get to a point I can be vertical without looking like I am going to fall over. We're having a birthday dinner for Diva tomorrow night, I can't cancel since the Outlaws arranged it.
I know it's late, but I was otherwise occupied this weekend. I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day.
Elvis and I started 'the great purge' of the bedroom on Saturday and managed to get the bed on the wall I wanted. There is only so much you can do in a room that has a wall of windows, a wall of closet and a wall with a door. The rest of the purge will have to wait - for today... I am sick!
Originally I had planned on 'sleeping in' Sunday in the 'finally in the right place bed'. I was up at 5:15... in the morning! I kissed Elvis good-bye since he had to go to work (and of course, that's how I got sick).
Diva was up around 6:30, so I made us blueberry pancakes. Normally it was something Elvis and Diva made for me, but she isn't quite ready to tackle cooking on the gas stove alone yet. She gave me a bird house she had painted in school and a drawing she made complete with accolades.
After an afternoon of watching Harry Potter and rounds of 'Go Fish', Shrugs came over to give me a beautiful hanging plant for the patio. I don't know what type it is, but it is a pretty shade of pink. I have to admit, I was surprised to see him here. He isn't a bad man, and we don't have the stereotypical divorce. We actually like each other.
Elvis got home early (around 7pm, after working 12.5 hours) and gave me a cute card, a bag of Lindt chocolates and a Barnes & Noble gift card. He even joked how hard it was to sneak money to buy it because I do too good of a job keeping track of the finances. I took that as a compliment.
My future star is in a play Tuesday - Ants'hilvania. She has two roles, an ant in the opening scene and a bug/dinner in the last. All black clothes was easy... finding lime green tights to wear under her lime green bug suit was difficult. When all else fails... dye it!
Shrugs is on his way over here to bring Diva to school right now, he's been driving her 3 days a week. Being a one car family is starting to weigh on us. Elvis' car needs repairs, yet again and since he needs a car to get to and from work, he wins temporary custody of my car. We're looking at used cars now, but I am unwilling to deplete the emergency funds in order to buy one right now.
Sometimes being financially responsible can be annoying. We could have credit cards, we could go out and buy him a brand new car... but then we would have credit card debit and another car loan.
On a positive note - my new refrigerator was delivered Friday afternoon. I think I stood in the kitchen for an hour just staring at it. It's by no means huge, but it's a heck of a lot bigger than the dorm-size one we've been using for 3 years!
I was reading a post at Frugal Village about a group of people who have formed a compact and agreed not buy anything new for a year. They allow for some items (food, underwear, etc) , but everything else has to be purchased used.
It got me thinking. How long could I go without buying anything new - at all.
I'm realistic. Diva is growing out of her clothes every time I blink. (I tried not blinking... no luck there.) Elvis and I don't need much in general but things do pop up from time to time. Could I go a year without buying anything "new" (first owner). The simple answer is no.
Don't see it as a failure. I view it as knowing my personal limitations. School clothes could be purchased second hand... school supplies can't. Diva's birthday and party is coming up this month and summer is coming faster than usual around here, so she will need new summer clothes. She has outgrown everything from last year, and I will need to buy her clothes this month.
About now, I am thinking I need a spending challenge.
Back to School Challenge
I already have some things in my school stockpile, I will update the list, along with the final costs. Some of her clothes will still fit for the start of school, so I have not added those to "new" list.
The Rules
- stick to the list
- complete list for as little as possible
The Unofficial List * subject to change as her sizes and seasons
5 pairs of pants/jeans or shorts
5 short sleeve shirts
5 long sleeve/hoodies
2 pair sneakers
5 pair socks and unmentionables
1 winter jacket
1 pair boots
scarf, gloves, hat
The Official List (per the school all things mandatory)
36 #2 pencils
8 ct. washable markers
12 ct. colored pencils
5 blue/black ink pens
5 red ink pens
2 highlighters - different colors
2 erasers (white medium)
5" sharp scissors
pencil sharpener
1 12" sturdy ruler (inch and cm marks)
6 small or 3 large Elmer glue sticks
3 packs of 100 lined 3x5 index cards
2 spiral 3x5 index cards
3 packs 3-hole wide ruled paper (100 sheets)
1 composition notebook
1 5x7 spiral notebook
pencil case
container large enough to hold all supplies
1 1/2" 3-ring view binder w/interior pockets
1 expandable coupon holder
3 large boxes of tissues
3 containers Clorox Disinfecting Wipes
1 Scotch tape
1 old shirt (adult size) for painting projects
