Monday, June 29, 2009

Productive Sunday

Now that the weather has broken a bit (more normal rather than 90's and humid), we were able to get a bit of work done, including the long awaited play area for the boys. It isn't done, but finishing touches and expansion can happen as we go along.
Our garden is also doing well, with the exception of the rosemary, which I think is not getting enough sun. For next year, we need to make a second box so one is only tomatoes and the other can be for whatever else we want to grow. The box is extremely convenient and easy to manage, with very little weeding. Below are pictures of 1) some of the tomatoes, 2) the pepper plants flowering, 3) the basil, 4) my mystery plant, which turns out to be eggplant, and 5) the rosemary that is not doing so well.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Moments

Here are just a few moments from today:
Sam was crying earlier and Wil told him, "Sam, no cry baseball." Translation: "Sam, there's no crying in baseball." We've used that quote from "A League of Their Own" for years (Grandpa Tom started it when my niece was a baby) and Wil knows it now.
It was time for Wil to go to bed, but he wanted a piggy back ride upstairs, so he climbed up on the couch, behind Chris, and hopped on. He giggled the whole way up, and was happy getting in bed.
I picked up strawberries at the grocery store today. Sam turned and reached back for them, then proceeded to chew on the plastic clam shell through the whole store. Later when I got a few out, he cried while I cut them because I wasn't giving them to him fast enough. The boy loves strawberries.
And I have decided what kind of cupcakes he's getting for his 1st birthday. We do spice cake for Wil, because that is a great cake and very autumnal. I love spice cake and Wil seems to like it too, so that's what he gets until he chooses a favorite. Looks like Sam will be getting strawberry, which is appropriately summery.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Bird house

We have an abundance of birds nesting at our house this year:
  • Doves are nesting in the evergreen bush just outside our front door.
  • Robins are nesting in the Japanese maple tree immediately next to the bush.
  • Other robins were nesting in the evergreen tree between our house and the house next door, but we saw that baby a few weeks ago and it is now gone (hopefully of its own volition.)
It's a really nice feeling that so many birds like our yard - especially so close to the house, where people go by all the time. The nest in the maple tree is right outside a window, although high enough that we can't see into it.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Potpourri

Just a few updates:
1) Here's a current picture of my square foot garden
2) Our June challenge has been challenging. We've made 2 1/2 weeks with a few slips (mostly by Chris, although I did have a slice of the garbage pizza when his parents were here Sunday - after a burger Saturday) and I have discovered I like falafel.
3) So far, I've gotten our neighborhood approved for an ice cream social grant from the city.
4) The semester is officially over, so after tonight (photo job), we should have a few more relaxed weeks (until the end of August when the fall semester starts.)

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Might as well have the title too

At our neighborhood association meeting today, I was elected president for the next two years. I've actually been doing most of the work the last two years, since Chris got elected 2 months before deciding to start grad school. So, it wasn't a big surprise. Hopefully we can do lots of good stuff the next two years and maybe hand off the office to someone else next time.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Letter to those who wait

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm in two moms groups. Here's my gripe, which would offend many if said at our social, but really needs airing.
"This group will only work if we all take ownership and make it work. The calendar is pretty empty because you don't put anything on it. The same 4 or 5 people regularly schedule events, but can't do everything. Don't complain that there isn't anything to do but not pull your own weight. We are all busy and understand that sometimes things happen, but you still have to participate.
"Every time we have a meeting to discuss how to make this group better, people offer suggestions, but then expect someone else to do all the work. It doesn't work that way. Some people like to plan their whole month in advance and others don't know what they will do from day to day, but there is room for both to be on the calendar.
"So, if you want the group to continue, take a coordinator position or at least try to schedule the activity/quarter that you agreed to when you signed up. The more activities on the calendar, the more to choose from and the more likely we will all find something we want to do at a time we can do it."
Now that I have theoretically offended all but the handful of people who have put a lot of effort into the group, I'll go quietly sit in my corner and think about the family activities I plan to schedule in the next few months. 

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Moms groups

I've joined 2 moms' groups. The first, Moms of Bloomington (The MOB), is one I helped form out of the ashes of MOMS Club. The second, Bloomington Moms (or Hoosier Mamas), I found through Meetup.com
I joined both groups because they have different strengths and fill different needs. Hoosier Mamas has a very full calendar and lots of activities to do. The MOB has less on the calendar, although we hope to change that, but provides age-based playgroups, a monthly social and service projects. 
The nice thing is that both are inexpensive (less than the cost of just the MOMS Club before we dissolved that), $1.50/month for both. Many moms are in both, but I have met different moms at each, so it has expanded my network. 
I see no reason to be snobby and only join one. Isn't the point to do things and meet other moms and kids? The fun part is trying to keep calendars straight. 

June challenge status

We are 1 week into our June challenge and so far it is going well. Chris forgot and had a burger at lunch mid-week, but otherwise, we chose Saturday as our meat day and managed to find other options for the rest of the week. 
It helped that I made a cheesy pasta bake on Monday and we worked on leftovers for much of the week. Lots of pb&j, ramen, beans & rice and pasta, but we like those things and they are cheap, so it's good for the pocket book. 

Friday, June 5, 2009

Opinions

Ok, so I try not to rock the boat and offend other people with my opinions, but they have no problem offending me with theirs. So, here are a few things to get off my chest.
Unpopular opinion #1: Our taxes are too low.
Unpopular opinion #2: We should ditch the penny and switch the dollar to a coin. Think of all the tax money we could save.
Unpopular opinion #3: The post office should stop Saturday delivery. There would be griping, but it wouldn't really make much difference.
Opinion #4: The government really needs to get out of the business of legislating morality. This means gay marriage should be allowed because the whole man/woman thing is religious morals. This also means abortion should be between a woman, her doctor and the father of the baby (and on this note, can we improve sex ed so maybe we can reduce the need for abortion?)
Unpopular opinion #5: Mandatory sentencing should be scrapped, especially for drug crimes. Why do we spend so much imprisoning people who aren't a danger to society?
I think that's all for now.