4th of July fun

Paco was working all of 4th of July weekend, so the kiddos and I headed to Blackwell Island where some friends were camping. So fun!

 that water was COLD.

 My throne for the day...

 Look at these guys swim!

 Pay no mind to the ill-fitting shorts...haha!

On the 4th we went to a family bbq and then out to Liberty Lake for the fireworks show!! We did miss having our big 4th of July bash at our house, but we just couldnt' pull it off this year with so many other things going on. Maybe next year! Hope everyone had a great holiday!

I've got worms.

I've always been interesting in Vermicomposting, also known as worm farming, or worm composting. I do have a traditional compost bin outside, but I thought it would be fun to try this out as well. So, I thought it might make for a fun science experiment with the kids. Gracie really gets into the composting with me, and both my kids know what should go in our compost crock on the kitchen counter and who's turn it is to take it out to the big bin,. However, yesterday the kids had "outdoor-playtime-with-their-friends" on the brain, and I was left to create my new worm condo on my own.

Step 1: Find yourself a suitable container for your new best friends. (Recycle!). An old Rubbermaid storage tote will work just fine. Just dump your husband's stuff out of it and head on your merry way...ummm..I mean..look around for an unused tote and repurpose it. Then, find an oh-so-cute kid who wants to help you drill some holes before she ditches you for the neighbor kids. Like this one:

 Step 2: add strips of newspaper, shredded eggshell cartons, cardboard bits and a bit of finished compost or aged manure into your worm bin. Throw in a handful of crushed eggshells too. This will help your little buddies with any digestion issues. Also, they don't have teeth so the eggshells help them "grind" their food.

 Using a squirt bottle, completely moisten the contents of your bin. Those worms must stay hydrated! While you're at it, mix yourself up a margarita, errr, glass of water as well!

 Step 3: get your little friends settled into their new digs. Unfortunately, those wonderful guys at White Elephant only had a few red wigglers, and I wiped them out, so I am about 928 worms short. That's right, you need 1000 of these guys to start out your bin. That's about a pound. I started with what I had and a friend of mine hooked me up with a "worm guy" so I can get my fellas some roommates.

Step 4: give them a little food. The books say to wait a few days until they get settled in, but I've never been known for my patience. I got my worm cuisine from here:

This is our crock that we put all our appropriate compostable food scraps into. There's all sorts of things to choose from. Just ask my son Cole, who has been known to dig his Dad's banana peels out of the garbage and put them in their rightful place!

I fed my worms some coffee grounds, chopped apples and banana peels. I only need to feed them a couple times a week, and keep things dark and moist. They do all the work!

 
 Finally, I soaked a piece of cardboard and put it over the top, and then put the lid back on the tote. Then, I set this tote inside another one, so I can catch all the ooey-gooey liquid and stuff that will seep out the bottom. That stuff is GOLD, I tell ya! Amazing for your houseplants and flowers.

What's my next step? Well, these little red wigglers are voracious eaters and will turn all my kitchen scraps into beautiful, wonderful smelling, totally amazing...POOP! The official word is worm castings, but lets call it like it is. It's poo. They will turn all of those nutrient rich vegetable and fruit scraps into nutrient rich compost, which will greatly benefit my fruit and veggie garden, along with my plants and flowers. At the same time, they will grow nice and fat, and double in population within about 90 days. This means that some of my favorite friends may be getting themselves some big fat fishing worms! 

So, that's what I've been upto. A little weird? Some people think so, but I just think it's plain fun!  

 

Today's agenda

Hmmm...what to do on this (finally!) beautiful sunshine-y day?

• enjoy some morning coffee and kid time
• whip up some chocolate chip pancakes
• ask the kids to do their chores
• take the kids to open new savings accounts
• pick up a book at the library
• help Gracie write her birthday thank you notes
• visit our church's parking lot garage sale..fun!
• remind the kids to do their chores
• agonize over what to make for dinner
• go to the Y and burn off Paco's amazing spaghetti dinner..YUM.
• text my friends with random messages...just cause its fun
• threaten the kids about what will happen if their don't do their chores
• enjoy the BEAUTIFUL SUNSHINE!

Happy Saturday!

I'm back. Again.

If there is anybody left who may be reading my blog...sorry for the long absence. This will probably be a random post of nonsense until I get back into the blogging groove. The last 5 months have been hectic. We've had alot of big changes in our world this year. My mom moved in with us, I started a new job, we lost our 15 year old yellow lab and both of my Grandmothers passed away. See what I mean? :)

Since it's been a long day, I won't elaborate on all that now. We've also been remodeling our basement, and I'm happy to say it's looking fantastic, and we are already getting lots of good use out of it. Tonight, I am sitting next to Cole on the loveseat while the family watches "River Monsters". Interesting show.

My weight loss journey has been....stagnant. Actually, I've gained 15 pounds back since January. Sigh. I just can't seem to get back in my groove. Frustrating, since I still have about 60 pounds left to go. I'm still following a vegetarian diet...with the occassional chicken or fish.

I planted my flowers and garden last weekend!! We have had such a wet Spring that I was beginning to think I'd never get my planting done. I was able to use my compost from last year in my garden...whoohoo!!

We had a busy year with Cub Scouts...Cole finished his second year and will be a first year Webelo next year. Paco will also be taking over as Cubmaster of our pack. I know he will do a great job, and will need alot of help! We are excited for family camp in a few weeks, it's always our favorite event of the year.

That's it for tonight's update...I'm hoping to get back to semi-regular blogging ...I've got lots to say, even if there's no one around to read it :)

Sanctus Real Lead Me.mp4

Why I love church.

Happy Valentines Day! If you don't have a Valentine, be your own and treat yourself!

Go #5!!

I have NOT been on my best behavior these days when it comes to my weight loss. Last summer I hit the 70lb weight loss mark, and have been struggling to budge from there since. I gain 8 pounds, then lose it, then get confident and sabotage myself all over again. How do I get back into that "groove" I was in? Working out 5 days a week, impeccable on my eating, drinking plenty of water? Hmmmm. I'm having a hard time getting back into that mindset. I've got 60 pounds left to go and I want to just get it done!

On to other things. Work has been great. I'm really busy, but great nonetheless. I have tons of help, which allows me to get to the little things and fine tune everythign. The people are wonderful...I see lots of new friendships. This is something I've been missing since I transferred to the new location. I have really been missing a handful of people from my old work. It takes a long time to form those kinds of bonds, and talking on the phone or texting just isn't the same. Overall, I know that God knew the desires of my heart and led me here for a reason. Most days I actually am anxious to get to work, and the days just always go by too fast!!

We are having some work done around the house.  Sheetrock, electrical work, new lighting, etc. Still trying to get the family room finished downstairs. We are also carpeting 3 of the bedrooms. Unfortunately we really wanted to re-carpet the family room, but money is tight and that will have to wait a few months. The total carpet bid came back at 5k!! Yikes! Everything turns out to be so much more expensive than you think it will be!

We started going to a new church a few weeks ago. We loved our old one but it was just TOO big and far away. With that many people, its difficult to make connections if you aren't in a small group. So, we are really enjoying Eastpoint, and we have friends that go there as well which always makes it more fun. It's very contemporary and "hip", which makes it feel not like "church" at all. Our kiddos love it too! The kids and I have started doing devotionals every evening, and if I forget about it they always remind me. I've noticed a difference already in our family after getting back into our church routine. Im going into work tomorrow and am so dissapointed to miss it. Luckily, we can watch the service on podcast on our TV, so we can still do church from home!

What a bunch of babbling. I'll forgive you if you scroll down and don't read all of it. HA!! Happy Saturday to all!

Tonight I dropped Gracie off at basketball practice and am currently camped out in Starbucks with my laptop and a coffee. Coffee at 7pm....could prove to be a bad decision, but I don't care. It's quiet and I'm relaxed.

Life has been a blur the past several months. We moved my mom and grandmother out of their place and are struggling to sell it now. My Grandmother is living in a nursing home and my Mom is living with us. We have all been adapting to our new "normal".

 I started a new job last month. Actually, same job, just a new location...and I love it. Everyone is really nice and I've got plenty of projects planned to keep myself busy. This change has really renewed my passion for my work and has me excited to get to work again. It's a great feeling. It just all feels so much easier now...I wish I had made this change years ago when I started to feel the job wearing on me. Sometimes it really does feel like things all work out for a reason.

Well, my free time is up, better go get my girl!!