Garden recap- what to remember next year

Well with temperatures threatening the 30s already it is safe to say growing season here is coming to an end. I thought I would look back on my very first garden and analyze things I could do different next year. 

1.) don't plant things you aren't going to eat.  I planted peas... I don't really like peas. Why did I even plant them? Lol I also planted lettuce and was a little creeped out by it, so I didn't eat that either. 

2.) after my first section of my garden was growing I learned the benefits of proper spacing. There are spacing recommendations on those labels for a reason. So you don't have 10 spinach plants growing in the same 1inch diameter 

3.) don't plant certain things too close together. My second planting area may have had the seeds better spaced, but my rows were close and I planted zucchini right next to the squash. The result was lots of squash plants and very tiny suffering zucchini who didn't have enough space to grow. Again, read those darn labels! 

4.) don't plant pumpkins in the middle of your garden.dumb. Also, don't weed out pumpkins when people tell you that you only need one plant. You may not end up with any. :(

Recap of my garden:

I planted peas, spinach, cilantro, lettuce and pumpkin seeds. Everything starts growing so I got excited and added on. Planting watermelon, squash, zucchini, peppers and strawberry, and tomato plants.

I had a ton of spinach and cilantro, but then they went to seed and I guess their lives are over after that. I should have then planted more, but I didn't.  

I trimmed down my pumpkin plants and only ended up with one. As soon as it got its first pumpkin it died. It regrew but it was too late in the season. 

I had a half a million squash flowers, but to date have only gotten one squash! There are a ton of baby squash but the plant is starting to die from the cold temps, so I think next year I need to plant them earlier. My zucchini had no chance. The giant squash plants took over all of them.

I've a decent amount of strawberries, but those suckers are tiny! 

My tomatoes were a bust. For some reason they never grew any bigger than when I bought them! Lame! I got a few cherry tomatoes, but that's it.

My watermelon and peppers both grew very well, but were late bloomers and are just now flowering ... Not helpful! So I guess I need to start them sooner too! 

Basically I had spinach, cilantro, a handful of tomatoes and strawberries and that is it. Not happy with my outcome... But determined to do better next year! 

Homemade Granola

So I saw this recipe on Pinterest and thought Mmmmm.... Just as I was going to make it I realized it called for whole wheat flour. So I out it off a few weeks so I could get whole wheat flour. Turns out I should have bought honey too! 

I decided to split the recipe in half and still didnt have enough honey!!  Oh well!! It sill tasted great! 

I ate two bowls of granola this morning with Greek yogurt and a banana and I am still full! When usually I am starved by lunch time! That my friends is what I call a success! 

Here is the recipe!!

http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2013/05/healthy-homemade-granola.html

Fall Bucket list

So it's safe to say Fall is my most favorite time of the year!  I love the chill in the air, cute fall boots, leaves changing and pumpkin everything! 

So I decided to come up with a bucket list for Colin and our family! 

1.) Go to a pumpkin patch. (Colin's first one!)

2.) Rake a big pile of leaves and let Colin play in them! 

3.) Make homemade apple cider

4.) Make apple pie or apple crisp ( Just made a crisp this weekend! But I cut up extra apples from our neighborhood and froze them to make another!)

5.) Plan a trip up the mountains to see the leaves changing colors.

6.) One more camping trip?? (Not sure this will happen, but maybe!)

7.) Do an art project with the changing leaves.

8.). Make some pumpkin yummies! (Via Pinterest I have pumpkin pies, bread, cookies and even rice crispy treats to make!)

9.) pumpkin pie blizzards from dairy queen!!! I'm disappointed they haven't served them yet, they are missing out on money!! It is the only time I will shop there!

10.) Go for a walk and stomp on every leaf we see! 

11.) Fall also means soccer season and I'd like to catch one more game this fall! 

12.). Caramel apples!  I either need to find a place to eat them or make my own! Mmmm! 

What are your favorite fall traditions??

The silly things kids say....1.0

I'm marking this a 1.0 because I'm sure there will be more where this comes from!

Colin's vocabulary is expanding by the day. It is awesome to hear all these new words come out of him! It is also a little scary when he says things you think are bad or when he says things you didnt realize you said!

Me: Look Colin, a kitty!

Colin: Titty!!!

Colin laying on the ground the other night messing with his shirt kept saying something that sounded like shit. When I first heard it I asked him what he was saying... And then I put two and two together. Shit= shirt.

Colin's great grandpa taught him pew pew and to hold his nose. We are grocery shopping last week and Colin is proudly pointing out everything he knows in the store and telling me what they are. Milk, cheese, apple, berry, etc. We go down the toilet paper aisle and he very loudly says PEW PEW while plugging his nose!! Lol He also says this anytime I go to the bathroom which makes public restrooms fun... Pew pew momma is a new favorite!!

Apparently I say, Oh my (not so bad) and oh shoot ( could be worse but still not great!). He was playing with blocks the other day and repeatedly said oh shoot! I didn't even realize I said that, but I'm glad it isn't something worse!

What funny things do your kids say?

Meeting update

Well after months of emailing newspapers trying to get someone else to pick up my freelance writing I finally got an email last week from a local paper here asking if I was still interested in writing for them.

Today I had a meeting with them. I think it went well. I left with my first assignment. It is a bit different than what I've been doing. More newsy as opposed to my own column that I have with the other paper I write for. But I wrote lots of articles for my old job that were not apart of my column so I think I got this. 

I think it will be a good challenge for me and I'm excited about it. It is just a monthly thing for now so it shouldn't be too much for me to handle with my other column. 

Wish me luck I will share when it gets published!

Fashion post: what to wear to a meeting

So I haven't done a fashion post for awhile. Sorry.... ( goes and hides in a corner). I've just been wearing shorts and tanks lately. But don't worry I am soo soo soo super excited for fall! I bought a sweet scarf wrap thingy and was eyeing a pair of boots today. I absolutely love boot season, so never fail fashion posts will return! 

So I have a meeting tomorrow. I will explain more about that after it is over, but I had a semi heart attack over what to wear.  I had actually bought a nice workish looking skirt for this occasion (granted it is hot pink, but whatevs!) it turns out it was a little to big for me. A good problem I suppose, but it just didnt fit right. After a dozen different shirts I thought it looked best with a sweater, but it is like 80 degrees.

Then I pulled out a plain black dress from my closet. I paired it with a black belt and felt like I was going to a funeral. So I sent my options to a friend and she said def the black one and we decided I needed some color. I don't have many belts so I put on my khaki one first knowing I had shoes that matched. But black and khaki/brown don't look the best. So the winner was the black and red!

 It isn't an interview, just a meeting, but I want to look professional and make a good impression. 

Wish me luck!!!

Elmo goes Pee!

So we bought a little potty for Colin, but besides the very first day he has not been interested in it. He sat on it the first day for a good 10 minutes and we read books nothing happened, but i figured it was a good start. The second day he grabbed it, put it on his head and said, Hat!! Since then I ask if he'd like to use the potty and he just says, oh no! Lol I know he is young so I'm not going to pressure him. He is not ready.

Yesterday I was putting clothes away in his room. I heard him say something about Elmo and pee and then he walked away. It took a few seconds to register and then I high tailed it to the bathroom. But it was too late. I ran in and see Elmo going splat into the toilet and Colin happy saying, PEE!!!  

Ironically today I met a friend at Hastings. We were waking through the toy section and I see an Elmo goes potty doll. I had to buy it! Colin loves it... Now I just have to remember to keep my toilet lids down.

Pagosa Springs aka my new favorite getaway!

We just returned from Pagosa and I must say it is one of my new favorite places to visit! 

It was a risky trip for us because it had been raining all week and the forecast showed 50-60% chance of rain all weekend. We decided to chance it and we went anyway. Thank goodness, because it was beautiful! 

We met my brother in law there Friday afternoon and it was sunny and 65 degrees! We hurried up the mountain to get a camping spot before the rain hit and it didnt start raining until 1 am!!! We lucked out for sure with that! We also lucked out with camping spots. I had called ahead and heard it would be very busy and camping spots would be hard to come by. I guess the weather scared everyone away because there were spots everywhere! We got a nice spot by the river. I love camping near the river because is drowns out any other creepy sounds that might freak me out! Ha! Between the river and the rain I didn't hear a thing!

The first morning we woke up and it was still raining so we decided to head into town. We tried out the hot springs there and boy was that a treasure! It was a gloomy day about 60 degrees and we got to hang out in 90-100 degree hot springs overlooking the raging San Juan river! It was so relaxing.  I can't wait to go back there. We are thinking maybe this winter when it is cold outside! When we got there we basically had the place to ourselves but as it warmed up it started to fill up with people. I wonder how busy it gets during ski season??

Anyway we had a nice lunch in town and then headed back up the mt for nap time. We did some exploring after our nap and saw lots of deer and hiked to a really neat water fall! It was beautiful! 

It rained again the last night we were there and while the boys were loading up the camper I took Colin and the dogs down to play in the river. 

We had a wonderful trip and a great visit with my brother-in-law and his pooch! 

My happy camper

Rainy day!

Walking through the mother hot spring

My boys

Deer

Throwing rocks in the fall

My handsome and single brother in law!! ;)

Hiking with daddy 

 Bailey and Colin, my kids

Done with the crib?

We might be done with the crib. We were doing well with it before we went to visit my folks. While we were there Colin shared a bed with me because all they have is a pack n play and he can climb out. 

When we returned home he did not want to sleep in his crib in fact he has only slept one glorious night in his crib and it was 8 hours!!! Now you put him in the crib and he says Bed bed bed and points to the spare bed in his room. The problem is he wants me to lay with him, as opposed to him just falling asleep by himself in his crib. I try to sneak away which doesn't always work and I usually end up spending half the night with him on the spare bed. Which by the way is a twin and not all that comfy. 

Anyway I am thinking as soon as my hubby has a day off we may convert the crib to a toddler bed and see if he decided he likes it again. Ryan thinks it is silly because then he will have 2 beds. But what the heck, right? 

Occasionally he will request the crib like in the middle of the night. He usually doesn't stay in it long, but it kind of relaxes him if he is upset.

Oh and in case you are wondering why we don't just force the crib, he can climb out in like 2.5 seconds. And did it like 20 times the other night. 

Feeling like a grandma

Warning: whoa is me post...

So I've had bad neck and back problems ever since I was in a car accident my freshman year in college. It sucks, but for the most part I have had it under control.

Then I had my son and between carrying him on my hip, sleeping on a twin bed with him, nursing and everything else that one does when you have a kid thst isn't always the best for the body I've been not so great.  Lately my hips have been terrible. Which stems from putting a kid on my hip. Literally I get spasms, they hurt when I walk, run or move.

I was running on a regular basis and the past few weeks I just haven't because my hips have been bad. Our new insurance doesn't cover chiropractor so I go, but pay out if pocket, so I try to limit my visits... When in reality I could probably go every week. 

Anyway sometimes I feel like it is depressing being in pain when I'm not even 30. What the heck is 60 or even 80 is going to look like?? Will I be a cripple? 

Anyway I've been bummed out this week because I gained a few pounds (need to throw my scale away!) and yet I feel like I can't run because I'm in pain. Then I eat because I'm sad then I gain more weight. Viscous cycle I tell ya!! I've tried to snap out of it and I've gone on a nice 2 mile walk for the past 3 days. What makes it worse is that my hubby has been working like a maniac. Everyday he's supposed to be finished with his project. So I make dinner and sit and wait for him. The past 2 nights he's come home at 10 or 11. So I pace the house and eat. Tonight I made a ginormous kale smoothie to occupy my time and then Colin and I drank a bit of it instead of all the candy I wanted to eat! Lol  

Hopefully with my husbands project done  tonight and our family life back to normal I will feel more normal too. We all have our down weeks and this one is mine! 

I feel so much better when I exercise, even if it I just walking. I need to make sure to keep at it even if I don't feel like it or feel in pain! 

Randoms

1.) My hubby has been working 20 days straight. Yup. 20 days. All I can say at this point is we are soo ready for this project to be finished so we can have him  for the weekends and normal hours in the evenings! You don't realize how much you look forward to your spouse coming home for the day or for your weekends with them until they get taken away!! 

2.) my kid turned 22 months. 2 months and I will have a 2 year old! Oh my! He is talking up a storm and it is really fun watching his vocabulary just explode! His new words for the week: Shirt (which sounds a lot like something else), wheels,  oh my, toe and shoes

3.) Football season is here!  We love us some football in this house! Last year I did my first fantasy football league... Filled with boys and I beat them all!! This year I am in 2 leagues although my teams aren't the best. I made football foods for our draft weekend a few weeks ago complete with chocolate covered strawberries made to look like footballs! They were adorable and delicious! 

4.) kale. Yup kale. I've just recently discovered kale. Late train, I know.  I didnt realize how incredibly healthy it was for you. I bought a bag and had some with my spinach salad. Then I realized the bag expired soon. So I looked up recipes to use my giant bag. Then came kale chips and smoothies. The kale chips are ok, I will try them one more time. They were a bit bitter for my taste. But I found a delish smoothie recipe that I could eat everyday that is a keeper!

Life after death

So I've been thinking a lot about this lately. 

I've always believed when you die your spirit leaves your body and you go to heaven and that was that. I knew that my loved ones look down on me from there, but i never thought of their spirit as something that can remain in your life.

Then I started watching the Long Island Medium. Ok get your chuckles and skepticism out here....

First off I love Theresa because she reminds me of my crazy Italian family members. She is loud, talks with her hands and watching her family dynamics is awesome.

But watching her do her readings is even more amazing. I was a bit skeptical, but when she says things about people's loved ones that nobody else would know it is pretty convincing. (Although my hubby is still a skeptic). 

Further more there are things she says that remind me of instances that I've had personally where I feel like I've had contact with my relatives who've past on.

Examples:

A few years after my grandfather died I was in a car accident and even after rolling and totaling my car I walked away from the accident without a scratch. Some may think of that as just a miracle, but I know it was my grandpa protecting me. In one episode Theresa read a lady who also walked away from a terrible accident and said her friend held her and protected her during the accident.

When we first moved here I went shopping and stopped by the cheese aisle to see if they had any good Italian cheeses. As I was standing there a chunk of cheese fell off the shelf. I picked it up and it was the Irish cheese that my great uncle (who passed away in November ) had told me to look for when I tried it at their house last summer. I picked it up and told him thank you. 

My mom had an instance that happened the other day. This is one that Theresa talks about often.  She was in one of my grandmas favorite places and was sad because I had just left to go back from the weekend. She started talking to my grandma telling her how she wished she could see Colin. She said the next second she felt chills and could feel a touch on her face.  She was not alone, my grandma was there.

So what do you think? Do you ever have any instances where you've come in contact with spirits??

By the way I'd love a reading from the Ling Island Medium. It would be so beat to talk to my grandparents again!! Too bad she is so popular I'm sure she is booked for years and super expensive!

Labor Day Wrap Up

We went to visit my folks for the long weekend. My poor hubby had to work so Colin and I traveled alone. We missed our Daddy, but had a good time visiting family.  Ryan's grandparents also live there and we were able to visit them as well! Colin has such a good time with his grandparents and boy do they adore him! 

While we were there we went to a parade, county fair, a train exhibit and a nature area! Talk about busy! 

Colin and his great grandma after swimming in their pool!

Playing in my parents back yard!

Sunset at my parents house

Train exhibit

They threw green chili at the parade with candy, only in NM!

Taking in the parade!

Grandparent love!