Our Garden and Yard Plans

We live on Leif's parent's property. They built a large "Barn" that is actually a garage with a 800 sq/ft apartment above the garage. We have gradually made the apartment into our home. When it comes to the yard space around the garage it would be considered partly finished, and that depends on who you're talking to:) We have all used the majority of the space as a garden through the last few years. This year, we're getting down to business.

Leif's dad built a huge green house many years ago. Right now, the green house is being used as a storage space. Soon, we are going to organize it and put it to proper use. We are going to grow our garden in grow boxes in the green house. This type of gardening is supposed to help save on water. Living in the hot climate during the Summer, our gardens require A LOT of water to maintain growth. Hopefully this will be a fun way to help us save some money. We're planning on growing a lot of different plants this year. Even the root veggies like onions, garlic, and potatoes. It will be quite the project! My goal is to actually grow a decent crop of herbs that I can actually use. And my next goal is to grow the right foods to bottle a few different kinds of yummy salsas and some Pesto for pastas. Wish us luck!

Going along with new ideas, we've got a doosy! We're pondering the idea of getting a few chickens and MAYBE a goat. WHY you ask? Well... We can eat their eggs, and they eat our bugs:) Not that we have a ton of bugs, but we won't have any with chickens. They also go along with our family goal of preparing to be self reliant if needs be. We have the room, so why not. Now the GOAT, well, that's just my crazy idea of a lawn mower. :) Bless that little goats heart! We're still pondering that idea!

When it comes to landscaping the yard I'm excited about our plans. We're going to put grass in half of the space that we have been using as a garden. On the grass we will bring out the trampoline for Jakob and Leif to play on. For me, we will plant a row of roses to line the yard. We will also build or buy some type of shade maker (like that description:) Something like an arbor or something to sit under to give us shade. Somewhere in the yard we will dig a fire pit and put benches around it too. I'm really looking forward to it!

Working In The Garden

The kid's don't have school on Fridays. So Leif didn't have to work today. Well, he worked his part time job until 2:00 and then we had the rest of the day to ourselves. We decided to be productive. Spring has sprung here in our little piece of the world. So we decided to play outside. We cleaned up our yard. Now that our home is all fixed up(last year's project.) We are planning on fixing up our side of the yard this year. We're hoping to lay sod down and set things up so we can enjoy ourselves outside, or be able to send Jakob out to play and be able to see him when we peek out. Up to this point we have used Leif's parents yard (which is wonderful.) The problem is there is a large wall of pine trees that block the view of their yard from our side of the property. So I hope all works out so we can set up a little yard on our side. We're planning on setting up a fire pit too. That will be fun! ANYWAY... Here are some photos of our Spring Cleaning. We even burned our weeds (Something I hadn't done before.)

Sick Little Caleb

Our Book Is Finished! Check It Out

We Finished Our Book! Click below to check it out! It's Called: Dinosaurs Among The Nephites, Tales From the Warriors of Long Ago.

Dinosaurs Amon...

Tales From the Warr...

By Leif, Lena, and J...

Book Preview

This is a funny little story meant to give a chuckle to the young, and the young at heart. This tale is all about a group of Nephite warriors out on a hunting trip that end up finding much more then they had bargained for.

This book is set up so you will not only be able to follow this fun-filled story about Nephites and Dinosaurs, you will find scientific facts about each of the dinosaurs depicted in the story, as well as a few of the action-packed and faith-filled stories from the Book of Mormon.

A perfect storybook find for the Latter Day Saint family with little boys!

Hospital Workers Agree To Go Without To Save Jobs - The Boston Globe

This true story really brightened my day today!

It was the kind of meeting that is taking place in restaurant kitchens, small offices, retail storerooms, and large auditoriums all over this city, all over this state, all over this country.
Paul Levy, the guy who runs Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, was standing in Sherman Auditorium the other day, before some of the very people to whom he might soon be sending pink slips.
In the days before the meeting, Levy had been walking around the hospital, noticing little things.
He stood at the nurses' stations, watching the transporters, the people who push the patients around in wheelchairs. He saw them talk to the patients, put them at ease, make them laugh. He saw that the people who push the wheelchairs were practicing medicine.
He noticed the same when he poked his head into the rooms and watched as the people who deliver the food chatted up the patients and their families.
He watched the people who polish the corridors, who strip the sheets, who empty the trash cans, and he realized that a lot of them are immigrants, many of them had second jobs, most of them were just scraping by.
And so Paul Levy had all this bouncing around his brain the other day when he stood in Sherman Auditorium.
He looked out into a sea of people and recognized faces: technicians, secretaries, administrators, therapists, nurses, the people who are the heart and soul of any hospital. People who knew that Beth Israel had hired about a quarter of its 8,000 staff over the last six years and that the chances that they could all keep their jobs and benefits in an economy in freefall ranged between slim and none.
"I want to run an idea by you that I think is important, and I'd like to get your reaction to it," Levy began. "I'd like to do what we can to protect the lower-wage earners - the transporters, the housekeepers, the food service people. A lot of these people work really hard, and I don't want to put an additional burden on them.
"Now, if we protect these workers, it means the rest of us will have to make a bigger sacrifice," he continued. "It means that others will have to give up more of their salary or benefits."
He had barely gotten the words out of his mouth when Sherman Auditorium erupted in applause. Thunderous, heartfelt, sustained applause.
Paul Levy stood there and felt the sheer power of it all rush over him, like a wave. His eyes welled and his throat tightened so much that he didn't think he could go on.
When the applause subsided, he did go on, telling the workers at Beth Israel, the people who make a hospital go, that he wanted their ideas.
The lump had barely left his throat when Paul Levy started getting e-mails.
The consensus was that the workers don't want anyone to get laid off and are willing to give up pay and benefits to make sure no one does. A nurse said her floor voted unanimously to forgo a 3 percent raise. A guy in finance who got laid off from his last job at a hospital in Rhode Island suggested working one less day a week. Another nurse said she was willing to give up some vacation and sick time. A respiratory therapist suggested eliminating bonuses.
"I'm getting about a hundred messages per hour," Levy said yesterday, shaking his head.
Paul Levy is onto something. People are worried about the next paycheck, because they're only a few paychecks away from not being able to pay the mortgage or the rent.
But a lot of them realize that everybody's in the same boat and that their boat doesn't rise because someone else's sinks.
Paul Levy is trying something revolutionary, radical, maybe even impossible: He is trying to convince the people who work for him that the E in CEO can sometimes stand for empathy.

Kevin Cullen is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at cullen@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.Beth Israel workers agree to go without to save jobs - The Boston Globe

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Bright Eyes

I needed brighten things up a bit by putting a cute photo at the top of my blog rather then my tired Yoga photo. Here's our Precious Bright Eyes!!

Healthy Menu and Grocery List Results

This last week has been busy. I have been juggling a lot of things throughout each day. I am moving through my schooling in a timely manner and learning a lot. It has been a life changing event. Because of all that I am learning in school we have committed to following as many of the health guidelines as we can. This is where the photo of Jakob and I doing Yoga fits comes from. This also includes eating as much organic or whole foods as possible. So I took the time this week to create a good menu and shopping list. I got all of my ideas off of BobsRedMill.com This is a line of whole grains, beans, and natural baking supplies that you can find in any of your grocery stores (if I can find them here, I promise you have them!;) Anyway, they have a huge data base of recipes. So I found all of the recipes, made a menu, and a shopping list and yesterday Leif and I went into SG and did a huge shopping trip.

We were concerned that we wouldn't be able to stay within our budget. But we did and we even have money left over for the rest of the month. I am Thrilled!!! When we got home, I wanted to organize the cupboards and get rid of a few things that aren't part of our eating plans these days. This is what ended up happening:

It was NO fun putting it back together. But it's nice to have it organized. Tonight we ate dinner up at our house with Leif's parents. Tuna sandwiches and very yummy whole wheat & oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. It was a good night! I'm going to try harder to put all of my recipes on my Healthy Mama's Kitchen blog. So feel free to browse and get a few ideas.

Blog Book Arrived!

Well, my book arrived yesterday! It was the best part of a really bad mood day!

We've been anxious to see the quality of the book. On a scale of 1-5 here are the scores:

Cover (not graphics): 3-4 Good quality, Not necessarily the BEST. But I'm not afraid to show off the book. The only negative I'm noticing is that the cover boards don't lay flat against the pages at the edges. Almost wonder if there are too many pages for this size book. Not sure... Also, because we chose the wrap style cover the cover seems foggy.

Binding: 3-4 Good quality. But I don't think it would hold up to constant reading and rough handling. But it's a lot better then a 3 ring binder that could come open and spill all or some of the pages out.

Pages (not graphics and content): 5 We didn't even select premium paper and the pages feel great. They Look Great too! The pictures are clear and the backgrounds aren't too overpowering. Really Nice! It's a 208 page book.

Overall Quality: 4

Overall Value: 5 Priceless! We paid around $70.00

This was the first of many books to come. Blurb gives you several choices when it comes to book size, cover style, page layouts, etc. Really Neat!

Processing

Leif is waiting for the Jazz game to get over. I have some exciting news, but I will wait until tomorrow to write about it until I can take pictures. Instead, I will take a minute and try to process all that is going on in my world at the moment:

I have finished my first Module (text book) for school out of 6 Modules. It was really interesting. Tomorrow I hope to post a few more subjects in review on my Mama's Notebook blog. I learn better that way. My next Module is short, I hope to be finished with it by the end of next week. I really want to be done with my Holistic schooling by the beginning of summer (HOPE!) I'm kinda done with wanting to take community college classes at the moment. But for financial reasons I need to go part time this summer. So I will take a couple of English classes. Then I will be done with schooling for a year or so. Bet ya can't guess what the adventure will be after I'm done with school?

Well, the games over. It's time for bed. Tomorrow's another day...

Thank You Father!

Tonight I am pondering one of my greatest blessings. I had a total of 13+ years of high quality, professional experience in child care before I became a mother. Every single day, several times each day I thank my Heavenly Father for leading me in that direction. I know that the experiences that I learned from throughout those 13 years has made my current lifestyle possible and so much easier then it otherwise could be. I know I need to knock on wood... But really I just want to thank Him for this blessing!

- Thank You Father!!

FINALLY!

I Did It! I Finally Exercised!

I was planning on joining the local gym this month. But finances won't allow it. So I mustered all the motivation I could to exercise, and I DID IT! I pulled up a Netflix Pilate's workout video and invited Jakob to join me.

I actually really enjoyed Pilate's. I knew I probably would. I much prefer the stretching endurance type workout to the jumping and dancing routine. I still feel like I got the calorie burning side too. So I'm happy. Jakob was so cute the whole time. I'd peek over and he was trying his hardest to follow along. It was fun to have a little partner. And THANK HEAVENS for Netflix and their Instant Movies! Tomorrow I'll try a new one and see how it goes...

Mama's Health Update

Forgive me for these posts. Just ignore them... They're (you got it!) For the Record.

It has been one month since I adjusted my anti-depressant meds. I went off Wellbutrin and moved my Paxil down to 10mg instead of 20mg.

I haven't had the nightmares or bad dreams more then a couple of times. So that is a Huge improvement. My mood is stable most of the time. However, the last few days have been really unstable. Unfortunately, I have gained a couple of pounds:( and I am having a difficult time loosing weight. I am going to have to buckle down and exercise (Heaven Forbid!:) I struggle with getting to sleep off and on (possibly due to Caleb not nursing as much/lack of that hormone), and my body aches have returned. The aches are not as intense as they have been in the past. They could be from the fact that SSRI's have been used to treat pain (serotonin is a pain reducer) and because I cut down on my meds they pain is showing up again. It could also be because SSRI's have been known to block sodium absorption in the body which leads to muscle pain. Either way, it looks like I probably have to go back up to the 20mg per day. I am going to take 10mg in the morning, and 10mg at night. I wish there was a way to take 15mg per day. But the pills only come in 20mg and can only be broken once.

UPDATE: March 8th

The day after I wrote this I realized that I felt MUCH better then the previous three days. Then through happenstance (not) I ended up studying about vitamin B for school. I realized two things:

1. The last few day's struggles were most likely due to my menstrual cycle that I can't really follow clearly because I am still nursing and not bleeding.

2. I am most likely Vitamin B deficient. I have known this in the past and formulated a Mega Vitamin B complex for myself (and others who are interested) I took it for a while and felt better... and you know how it is, you feel better and forget the problem you just solved. Anyway, I have decided not to up my meds but to take my Mega vitamin B for the next month and see how things go. I am also studying up on parasites because it looks like that is a huge possibility in my world right now, GROSS!! So, that's my update.

Home Sick Again

We took another Sick Day today. It really wasn't because we feel terrible. It was mostly so we didn't share the sickness that we have. Leif has been getting better day by day. His cough is acting up at the moment. But hopefully it's better tomorrow. Jakob has never caught the worst of it. He has a lingering cold with an occasional fever. But that heavens it hasn't knocked him out. Caleb has a junky nose and a cough. Poor guy! But he's still in good spirits. I'm over the cold and just playing doctor mom to everyone else.

We had another Sunday School at home this afternoon. The subject went along with the Sharing Time lesson in the Friend Magazine, titled A House of Order. If you look at the header of my blog you'll note that I have the scripture about having a house of order as the blog description. That scripture is actually our family Mission Statement. So the lesson went as follows:

Prayer: Jakob
Story: Standing Up For Caleb (Mama: Friend Magazine)
Story: Daddy's Sunshine (Papa: Friend Magazine)
Sharing Time: A House of Order (Mama: Friend Magazine)
Activity: Making a house of order. Put away our own clothes from the mountain of clean clothes on the couch;) (Great idea huh!:)
Singing Time: Music Dice (Papa)
Prayer: Mama

The House of Order activity really inspired me to continue on throughout the house. It wasn't the best "Sunday Activity" but when I get the motivation, I have to go with it! So my house is a lot more tidy and Caleb can climb around on the floor and I don't have to worry about him being a human vacuum cleaner. That is REALLY nice!

Leif and I worked on our latest family project (dinosaur book)for a large portion of the day. We are almost done. I think it will turn out cute. I'm really Excited! I need to get it done and check it off of my list. I have too many little/big projects floating around in my world right now. I need to finish this so I can finish the big ones. But I'm glad we acted upon this idea. I know it will be priceless in the end...

My Holistic Health Practitioner schooling is the biggest project looming over my head. I am really glad that I am taking on the challenge. But I want to have it all finished by the end of the Summer. So I have to really focus. I learn so much every day. A lot of it so far has been added knowledge to what I already knew. But it is all still life changing information. As I study I have to realize that all that I am reading is biased material. So I have to take all of the information, and form my own conclusion. I agree with the vast majority of what my instructors feel. However, I am not as extreme as the majority of them are. I would like to be a lot more holistically healthy. But right now I have to take things one step at a time. Luckily, Leif is very supportive and has a similar stand on all that I am studying (for the most part). I did chastise him for putting green food coloring in the breakfast muffins today. I felt bad and ended up apologizing. We ended up having to talk about a concern I have. How in the world am I going to take in all of this information and find a way to apply it to my family life. One step at a time.

Luckily, we're not too far off of the boat when it comes to holistic health. Now I just have to come up with a way to find and afford Organic Foods, throw out all of the sugar (FOREVER!), and stay on the band-wagon. Wish Me Luck!