If any of you still follow my blog, I have moved on to weebly. I like its format much better and it has given me a more streamlined look.. so please if you wish, follow me over to...
Tales from a Misfithousewife
I will likely be deleting this one at some point. There are a few posts I would like to move over to the new one so I will keep it active for now. Thanks for following and please look for more posts to come!
-Jessica
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
Social Media?
I posted last year about how I quit Facebook and those that know me well know how anti-social media I have become. I don't understand twitter.. AT ALL and MySpace is pretty much non-existent I think. I was on Fitocracy for a while and actually liked it and it motivated me a lot, but I find myself getting sucked into the social aspect of these sites. I do have Google + set up right now, but I am already getting frustrated with it because I do not know how to manipulate it so I don't keep getting added to peoples circles and getting random messages from people I don't know. And then there is Facebook. The king of social media. Its getting to the point now where you can't even view some companies sites because they replaced them with a Facebook page, or they offer certain deals, but only if you "like" their page. My kids were watching an episode of Scooby-doo today and there was a reference on there of "friend-ing and poking". You can't escape it because it truly is everywhere.
I have personal reasons for wanting to avoid Facebook I don't feel like getting sucked into the social media hype. I think it can be detrimental to some people and relationships. It allows emotions and behaviors to surface among people that under normal circumstances would be a non-issue. I know this is not true with all people but for some I know it can cause problems. It also frightens me knowing my kids are growing up in a social media age. I can't keep them from it forever and there will be a time where they will engage in it and I cannot stop them. I want them to be able to use the internet responsibly and understand the dangers that are present. I am not about to let my pre-teens get a page of their own, but even the schools are utilizing sites that allow kids to converse with each other in social media type settings, although they are heavily monitored and only for school-related conversations. I have seen the sites they are using and they resemble Facebook a lot.
When I started making aprons last winter I was trying to think of ways to promote them. My friend suggested I use Facebook and immediately I said no way!. I know I could reach a lot of people through there, and ever since I quit my job, I could really use the extra money. I have made a few sales through etsy, and I have sold some aprons to family, and even though the craft show was successful, they are too few and far between to become profitable. I have some displayed in a local shop and have only sold one there, plus I lose a lot on commissions there so it isn't really worth my time.
Brent has been thinking of rejoining Facebook also and is trying to convince me that it's just a tool. I told him I'd be a hypocrite if I signed up again after I posted how proud I was to have quit. I would love to sell some more aprons. I am working on some new designs and I'd like to have a website for them but I am so technologically challenged. I can't even get a proper blog set up. I am relying on a standard Google template which is so boring and I don't want to shell out the $$ for someone to do it for me.
What do you think? If I opened up a Facebook page to promote my aprons, would I be a hypocrite? Is it possible to utilize Facebook as a tool only for promotion without getting all caught up in the drama and hype that comes with it? I value any input that comes my way.
I have personal reasons for wanting to avoid Facebook I don't feel like getting sucked into the social media hype. I think it can be detrimental to some people and relationships. It allows emotions and behaviors to surface among people that under normal circumstances would be a non-issue. I know this is not true with all people but for some I know it can cause problems. It also frightens me knowing my kids are growing up in a social media age. I can't keep them from it forever and there will be a time where they will engage in it and I cannot stop them. I want them to be able to use the internet responsibly and understand the dangers that are present. I am not about to let my pre-teens get a page of their own, but even the schools are utilizing sites that allow kids to converse with each other in social media type settings, although they are heavily monitored and only for school-related conversations. I have seen the sites they are using and they resemble Facebook a lot.
When I started making aprons last winter I was trying to think of ways to promote them. My friend suggested I use Facebook and immediately I said no way!. I know I could reach a lot of people through there, and ever since I quit my job, I could really use the extra money. I have made a few sales through etsy, and I have sold some aprons to family, and even though the craft show was successful, they are too few and far between to become profitable. I have some displayed in a local shop and have only sold one there, plus I lose a lot on commissions there so it isn't really worth my time.
Brent has been thinking of rejoining Facebook also and is trying to convince me that it's just a tool. I told him I'd be a hypocrite if I signed up again after I posted how proud I was to have quit. I would love to sell some more aprons. I am working on some new designs and I'd like to have a website for them but I am so technologically challenged. I can't even get a proper blog set up. I am relying on a standard Google template which is so boring and I don't want to shell out the $$ for someone to do it for me.
What do you think? If I opened up a Facebook page to promote my aprons, would I be a hypocrite? Is it possible to utilize Facebook as a tool only for promotion without getting all caught up in the drama and hype that comes with it? I value any input that comes my way.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Garden Progress
It has been really tough to resist planting the rest of the garden early and it looks as if it is finally time to get the rest of the plants in the ground. There is just a sliver of snow left on the peak of Shafer Butte, and the days are getting warmer. We might hit 90 this weekend. I probably could have planted a couple of weeks ago and covered them when we had that one night of frost, but I wanted to be safe. My early season seeds that I planted back in April are really taking off. The snow peas did not all germinate so I am going to replant some after soaking them.
Yesterday I picked up the tomatoes and peppers. I still need to buy cucumbers and a zucchini plant, plant my dill and basil seeds and we will be set. I was able to plant the tomatoes and the green beans yesterday afternoon but it got hot out there fast so I will plant the peppers today. Here is how the garden is faring so far.
I have been slowly taking out all of the grass from around the garden beds. They were a real pain to mow around last year and I thought it would look nice if we landscaped it a little by putting in some edging and mulch so it is more like a designated garden area. It is a s...l...o...w process but I think it is starting to look great. You can see in the tomato picture where I have taken the sod out from that area. I looked all over for a sod cutter and couldn't find one, so I went to Lowe's and found this knife. Its used for linoleum, but it works perfectly for cutting sod.
Yesterday I picked up the tomatoes and peppers. I still need to buy cucumbers and a zucchini plant, plant my dill and basil seeds and we will be set. I was able to plant the tomatoes and the green beans yesterday afternoon but it got hot out there fast so I will plant the peppers today. Here is how the garden is faring so far.
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| The potato planter |
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| Radishes and carrots, lettuce and scallions |
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| Tomatoes |
I have been slowly taking out all of the grass from around the garden beds. They were a real pain to mow around last year and I thought it would look nice if we landscaped it a little by putting in some edging and mulch so it is more like a designated garden area. It is a s...l...o...w process but I think it is starting to look great. You can see in the tomato picture where I have taken the sod out from that area. I looked all over for a sod cutter and couldn't find one, so I went to Lowe's and found this knife. Its used for linoleum, but it works perfectly for cutting sod.
So bit by bit, I have been clearing it all out. It's a decent workout also! I am thrilled that the potatoes are growing. Its always a little intimidating when trying to grow anything new. It will be a while before we add the next level of boards but all three planters have leaves growing and they seem to double in size daily. I have realized that I love gardening! I had to give the tomatoes more space this year because last year they overtook the beds and were too close together. It limited how many things I can grow this year and I was pretty upset that I couldn't grow everything I wanted to. I would love to have a huge garden to plant things. Even if I just gave some of the veggies away, I just enjoy gardening. I think it can be therapeutic in a way.
Tomorrow is the Race for the Cure and we decided not to do it. Instead I am going to take the older girls out for a hike Sunday to somewhere new. It should be a good time.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Race Day
Last year, I ran my first 5K with my two oldest daughters. At that point, my life was in a totally different place than it is now. I had been jogging regularly for a while, my feet weren't hurting as much and I had already dropped around 20 pounds. I had committed to losing weight and was finally succeeding for the first time. I really felt the best I had ever felt in years. When I ran last year my goal was to make it in less than 45 minutes and I made it in 42. I was so excited. Then in May, Taylor and I ran the Race for the Cure. I beat my time by one minute.
It was right after this race that my mom fell really ill. I kept up with my diet and exercise all the way through June, when she passed away, and then I just lost all motivation. I went back to old eating habits. My feet were a wreck so I quit doing any exercise. I very slowly, over the course of a year, put those 20 pounds right back on and despite trying to lose it again from time to time, I just wasn't committed. By now I was a yo-yo dieter which is one of the worst things to do for weight loss. My metabolism was all screwed up.
This spring, Taylor told me she wants to do the races again and I got really scared. I have been going back to the gym, and tweaking my diet to find out what my triggers are. However, when she told me she wanted to run again, I was really scared. Thankfully I had remedied my foot problem. For the last several years, I had been wearing Asics and my feet just kept getting worse. I talked to a person that has the same problem that I do with her feet and she recommended some (very spendy) Nikes to me. Boy, that has made all the difference in the world. I have very little foot pain anymore. I can jog, jump, walk in stores (that used to really trigger foot pain), with no problems at all. I have not been able to shed a single pound despide my toughest efforts. I am trying to push through this and keep doing the things I need to do without getting discouraged. Some days are better than others.
I am elated that my kids want to be a part of these races and go hiking and just be outside. So I decided to go ahead and do this local race with my girls. At this point, my goal was to just finish without dying. I managed to make it through to the end in 46.5 minutes. Twelve minutes longer than it took Taylor and 10 longer than Bridget. BUT, I finished. And it felt really good! I remembered how much I loved doing it and have decided to go ahead with the Race for the Cure again this year. It is the day before Mothers Day. Almost exactly a year from the last time I had a "normal" conversation with my mom. This Mother's day will be tough, but I think the best way to celebrate it, is by doing this with my daughters. I am ever grateful that Taylor dragged me out there this last Saturday morning.
It was right after this race that my mom fell really ill. I kept up with my diet and exercise all the way through June, when she passed away, and then I just lost all motivation. I went back to old eating habits. My feet were a wreck so I quit doing any exercise. I very slowly, over the course of a year, put those 20 pounds right back on and despite trying to lose it again from time to time, I just wasn't committed. By now I was a yo-yo dieter which is one of the worst things to do for weight loss. My metabolism was all screwed up.
This spring, Taylor told me she wants to do the races again and I got really scared. I have been going back to the gym, and tweaking my diet to find out what my triggers are. However, when she told me she wanted to run again, I was really scared. Thankfully I had remedied my foot problem. For the last several years, I had been wearing Asics and my feet just kept getting worse. I talked to a person that has the same problem that I do with her feet and she recommended some (very spendy) Nikes to me. Boy, that has made all the difference in the world. I have very little foot pain anymore. I can jog, jump, walk in stores (that used to really trigger foot pain), with no problems at all. I have not been able to shed a single pound despide my toughest efforts. I am trying to push through this and keep doing the things I need to do without getting discouraged. Some days are better than others.
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| Middleton Fun Run 2013 |
I am elated that my kids want to be a part of these races and go hiking and just be outside. So I decided to go ahead and do this local race with my girls. At this point, my goal was to just finish without dying. I managed to make it through to the end in 46.5 minutes. Twelve minutes longer than it took Taylor and 10 longer than Bridget. BUT, I finished. And it felt really good! I remembered how much I loved doing it and have decided to go ahead with the Race for the Cure again this year. It is the day before Mothers Day. Almost exactly a year from the last time I had a "normal" conversation with my mom. This Mother's day will be tough, but I think the best way to celebrate it, is by doing this with my daughters. I am ever grateful that Taylor dragged me out there this last Saturday morning.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Spring Planting
We had some rain roll in over the weekend so I decided to get some planting done. Things are getting busy around here so I wanted to get this early planting out of the way. We are not out of danger of frost yet, but there are some things that can tolerate the early spring cold. I planted some of the same things last year but am trying a few new things also.
Last year I mentioned I wanted to try growing potatoes, but we never got around to getting the planters built. Since we have the beds for the rest of the garden ready to go, I put Brent to work on the potato beds.
The idea behind the potato towers, is that you can grow a large amount of potatoes in a small space. Since a potato is a tuber, it will shoot off potatoes where there is dirt and room to grow. We found these plans and used them as a base for building them. Potatoes can be grown just about anywhere. Some people use tires, others garbage cans or buckets. They can be grown in the ground and in towers like ours.
We had enough lumber for three towers so I decided to experiment and plant three varieties and see which grew the best in this environment. Many websites say that you can grow 100 lbs of potatoes in this type of set-up. I plan on weighing them at harvest and see what yield we actually get. I planted Little Reds in the first tower, Idaho Russets in the second, and Yukon Golds in the last one. It will be interesting to see which variety does the best.
After I placed the 12 pieces of potato with eyes that were sprouting into the tower, I covered them with dirt. Once they are about 6-12 inches tall, I will fill in dirt until there is 3-6 inches of leaves above ground and we will add another board. This will be repeated until there are 6 layers. Some people wait and do a harvest at the end of the season, or you can harvest throughout the season as well by removing the bottom board and harvesting some potatoes and then putting the dirt back in. I have had little luck storing the big bags of potatoes we get in the fall so I think I will do the harvest as you go method.
Last year I mentioned I wanted to try growing potatoes, but we never got around to getting the planters built. Since we have the beds for the rest of the garden ready to go, I put Brent to work on the potato beds.
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| Cutting the boards |
The idea behind the potato towers, is that you can grow a large amount of potatoes in a small space. Since a potato is a tuber, it will shoot off potatoes where there is dirt and room to grow. We found these plans and used them as a base for building them. Potatoes can be grown just about anywhere. Some people use tires, others garbage cans or buckets. They can be grown in the ground and in towers like ours.
 |
| Three potato towers |
We had enough lumber for three towers so I decided to experiment and plant three varieties and see which grew the best in this environment. Many websites say that you can grow 100 lbs of potatoes in this type of set-up. I plan on weighing them at harvest and see what yield we actually get. I planted Little Reds in the first tower, Idaho Russets in the second, and Yukon Golds in the last one. It will be interesting to see which variety does the best.
 |
| Idaho Russett potatoes |
After I placed the 12 pieces of potato with eyes that were sprouting into the tower, I covered them with dirt. Once they are about 6-12 inches tall, I will fill in dirt until there is 3-6 inches of leaves above ground and we will add another board. This will be repeated until there are 6 layers. Some people wait and do a harvest at the end of the season, or you can harvest throughout the season as well by removing the bottom board and harvesting some potatoes and then putting the dirt back in. I have had little luck storing the big bags of potatoes we get in the fall so I think I will do the harvest as you go method.
Along with the potatoes, I planted some sugar pod peas this year. I only planted one row because I will probably be the only one eating them, but I wanted to try something different. I planted a different variety of carrots and radishes than I did last year. The carrots from last year failed to grow very big. I think they were a different variety than what was supposed to be in the package. Then, like last year, I planted lettuce and scallions. I will have to wait until May to plant anything else. We still will get frost and there is still snow on Schafer Butte so I cant plant anything that will not tolerate the cold.
I'm excited for this year's growing season. Everything did so well last year and I am hoping it will do good this year as well.
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| The girls enjoying the dirt from the grass we dug up |
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