Garden Archeology

Hello Spring! Welcome! ...please... please stay. We're begging you!

Especially since the gardening has begun!

Since we have a lot on our plate this year, we won't be tilling and putting in a vegetable garden until next year. This year we'll be more focused on learning what's already coming up here, what is dead and needs to be removed and replaced, and weeding and remulching the landscaping we have. It's very exciting but I do admit, I'll miss my garden this year. Yeah, I'll probably be too busy to give it the attention it would need to survive even if I DID have the garden, but still. I'm plant greedy. DO WANT ALL THE GREEN AND GROWING THINGS.

Moving on!

I do have some planters so there's that. I've already gone ahead and planted 2 with mixed color bell pepper seeds! Fingers crossed on those. Having fresh bell peppers for Tony that we can pick ourselves would be so amazing. Small container gardening will also be the smaller amount of work we're looking for this year.

I must also pause here to tell you the pure joy reawoken in me while planting them. The weather has been just absolutely fantastic and my leafy little heart has been all aflutter. I chose to plant on one of these beautiful days because I had a glorious open window of time. Tony and I had been out and about adventuring (windows down, baby! woooo!) and Tony needed to stop back in to the house for something.. (wallet? sweatshirt? Hell, I don't remember, it fell out of my head as soon as I thought of planting.) When he walked out the patio door to have me turn to him with dirt up to my elbows and most likely some up to my eyebrows, and both hands full of dirt, I got hit with that look he gives me that makes me stop and go "uh... what?". It's made up of 75% amusement.

The missing 25% is a matter for a different kind of blog.

Anyway, the "uh... what?" moment was just right, because it made me realize how blissfully and stupidly happy I was in that moment of dirt covered activity. It made me hungry for more planting, for more things to grow green and beautiful for me that I can share with other people.

.......

Alright that was a long pause. But I enjoyed it so it couldn't have been too bad. But here we are and we've found our way to the meat and potatoes of this post.
I had the spring (pun intended) in my step to get some yardwork done. There is a back strip in the yard that isn't accounted for in the landscaping layout we received with the house. A rogue garden! Dun dun dun! Rogue enough that I asked the previous owner what in the heck she even planted back there. Her response? No idea, it was there and it had been allowed to do its own thing.
A mystery! DUN DUN DUN!

And a buried one at that. This very small section of the yard isn't ideal, as it's in the shadow of a very large pine. Well, a bit smaller since it snapped its top off in the recent windstorm. So I became a garden archaeologist for the day.
It didn't look so bad to start, but oh. my. glob. there was a lot more leaves and needles than I thought.

Luckily for my procrastinating butt, the shoots of the plants coming up were still low and sturdy enough that raking won't damage them too bad and in most cases, not at all. Here's a tip: I used a wide plastic rake for this job. I have an adjustable metal tined rake that's very good for multiple jobs but I chose the plastic one for a few reasons. 1: The metal tined rake has very thin tines, as I'm moving pine needles, a wider tine is more desirable. 2: The plastic tines have a more forgiving flex to them which means less damage to plants.

I can't believe how big this pile is from this area.

Now I got to study the things I uncovered. I'm 90% certain that we have a large section of irises and a CRAP TON of PEONIES! *SQUEE!* My heart! Oh madre mia! Such joy! I counted no less than the sprouting of 5 peony groups. There are some plants as of yet unidentified, but once they get bigger, identification should be a snap.

Friends, I can't tell you the love I have for peonies. Had we not had them, I would have added them myself. The existing flowers are so exciting! We'll have irises, lilacs, and peonies. If they come back (they look dead) we'll have roses too. In the fall I'll be adding the tulip bulbs from the potted orange tulips we're currently enjoying. Yay Easter flowers!
Speaking of readily available Easter flowers, Tony asked about adding Asiatic lilies, and sadly I had to decline the addition suggestion. He loves them, I love them. Why not? The same reason I will never grow lavender. There are some smells I love that stab me right behind the eyes immediately. Asiatic lilies have that lingering and long wafting smell that would fill the yard and set my migraine demons on a frenzy. So only when we find one that has a smell my head can stand, will we have them.
But Amanda, lilacs and peonies are lingering and long wafting in scent, why the distinction?
I don't make the distinction. I have no idea how it works. I just know that it hurts my brain or it doesn't hurt my brain.

I'm excited to find out if the few plants I couldn't identify will be brain-busters or some joyfully colored but non-offensive garden lovelies! Make sure to check back with us for future garden updates!

Meat & Potatoes

Now that we've got that moving surprise out of the way, let's talk some more internet friends.

Alright, we're still a little on the moving thing.

Let's be fair though, moving 30 minutes away into our first home that we own is not like a small single blog post kind of event.

I'mma be selfish. Let's talk about ME! Because it's my blog about our life, and it turns out I'm a large (haha! fat!) portion of that.

Enough fluff, lady! Meat and potatoes, please!

Well, since you said please.

And meat and potatoes it has been.

Meal planning has been, to say the least, not a priority. Budgeting is always a priority especially after scraping the bottom for a home. (A damn nice one if I do say so myself) What's a stressed out, bottom scraping, house...fiance? to do?

Pork chops. Instant mashed potatoes.

I have gotten shockingly adept at cooking a flavorful and juicy pork chop. Good enough in fact, that my "flavorful" ranch mashed potatoes were exceedingly bland in comparison. In this house, adding flavor usually means adding calories. SO I FREAKING DID. Tony has a physically demanding job, so why not? I make sure he gets the larger portion of the meal because of it. Leftover mozzerella cheese, parmesan, more ranch, and seasoning salt.

Seasoning salt is magic. MAGIC. It's like the bacon of seasonings. Throw it on anything. TADA! BETTER FOOD. More salt... but BETTER FOOD! Yay! *confetti toss*

Really though, pork chops and mashed potatoes have been a life and wallet saver on a good number of meals already. Pork chops I can get 4 for under $5 and I always have a box of cheap, instant mashed potatoes.

Don't cringe at my cheap potatoes, they're better than the individual packets. The ingredient list usually only includes one thing. Potatoes.

Tony gets his veggies in, but I (not so) sadly don't. I don't include that in my description of meals because I quite honestly don't care. Vegetables and I have not become friends, I imagine we will not be friends for a while yet.

A hearty and cheap meal on backup has been really great for me. I can't tell you how much crap I have to sort through and organize in the house taking up my time. On top of that, I've picked up an addiction. A certain citrus soda of some dewy range that's highly caffeinated. I decided to kick it because A: It's an expensive (legal) addiction. (I mean it's not like it's crack. Then again I'm not sure how much crack rocks go for either so...?) B: It's terrible for me and mostly importantly C: I actually don't even really LIKE that soda. I needed a carbonated and cold drink and it was there. Now it's STUCK to me, dammit.

For 2 days, I've been trying to kick it. I. Want. To. Die. Figuratively of course. I already suffer from chronic migraines, so this has been hell. The reason I can even look at the screen to type now? I broke down and took some Excedrin Migraine. That's right. I've even held off on Excedrin for 2 days of migraines. Normally taking some for a migraine is fine, but as it has a caffeine aid in it, it would NOT be a good idea when you're trying to kick the level of jacked up I've been. Vomiting my guts out wasn't really a good idea either so I took it.

Alright I took it with a chocolate eclair, so sue me.

It was such a shame to be dying on the couch today though, as the temp sat over 60 F and was a great opportunity to clean up all the twigs in the yard and yank some weeds out of our landscaping. Our neighbor puts my landscaping enthusiasm to shame. The man already has all of his landscaping raked out, weeded, and re-mulched. AND he did it already last week. I on the other hand have been considering if I would like to put on pants and go outside.

Side note: I am a cave troll. This is just something I need to deal with. In our home, I am a sloppy nightshirt wearing, hair a rat nest in a poor excuse for a pony tail, cave troll. Do not knock on the door if you are expecting some nicely made up, polished house-wifey type. Or don't knock at all really. If we don't expect you, we don't answer. End note.

I did accomplish one tiny thing today. I pulled the bag of potting soil out of the trunk of the car. MHHMMMM. That's right. We're getting ready to plant. Since there won't be a full-fledged garden this year, I'm container gardening and we're starting with bell peppers. So stay tuned for our dirt adventures.

I'm excited. Are you excited? If you aren't, that's a shame. And also, dirt adventures are like... 50% of this blog, what are you doing here?

We love you anyway. :)

picture provided by PEXELS

Return of the Blog

Welcome back! 

So, Amanda, why so long? What have you been doing?

My loves, we've been busy.

Well that's rather vague. Please elaborate.

Righty-O
Well I've been food-sperimenting.

Hibachi soup and steak bites

A one pan Fajitas meal

A visually underwhelming but good meal

Doting on the cats

Oh and we bought a house and moved. A big adventure in itself!

And the adventure didn't end.

We had a pretty terrible windstorm in WI early March. Loud but everything seemed okay. I finally started to relax, so you can imagine when I was crawling into bed and reaching for the light switch I was a little more than startled to hear a horrid tearing sound, thud, and the house going dark.
Magic light switch! It knows when I want the lights off!
Or possibly I just heard something rather awful.
So I walk outside (like someone with a death wish) and take a look in our backyard. I can't see anything wrong.

Do you ever get one of those feelings? One of those gut wrenching, spine tingling, hair on your neck raising feelings?

Because I did. I have never felt that feeling as strongly as I did then. So I booked it. I bee-lined. I ran like a little girl with a swarm of bees after her.
Then my adult senses started tingling and I did what I should have immediately done. I lit a candle, went into Tony's brand spanking newly moved into office, and called the electrical services. Then I waited until 6:30 in the morning for the guys to show up.

And boys and girls, it was a doozey.

We have an electric pole in our back corner of our backyard. That terrible tearing noise I still can't get out of my head? That was the sound of our neighbor's very large tree having its top violently ripped off. Surprisingly, the thud wasn't the sound of tree hitting ground. It was the sound of tree hitting taught wires, ripping off the top of one pole and cracking the pole a few houses down.

Folks, appreciate those that go out at all hours and do electrical work. This poor young man that knocked on our front door and apologized that it would be quite a while before the power came back on looked like he was ready for me to verbally berate him. Why dear God, have people preconditioned this young man to cringe away when delivering news he can't help?
I told him not to worry about it, I know it's a crap-ton of work. It feels good to watch the stress and worry drain out of a person when you're understanding.
And why wouldn't I be understanding? He didn't cause my problem. He'll have to (with as it turns out, about 3 crews of people) crawl up and work with live electricity, in frigid temperatures and snow stinging him in the face, while he tries to yell to his crew through a still-nasty wind. Further, they had to cut and remove the widowmaker that caused the problems, and replace 2 poles.
So 7 hours later when the power came back on and all 4? 5? crew trucks left and the power popped on, I was glad noone was hurt.

I'm not thrilled about the tire ruts in the backyard or the branch broken off the lilac, but all things considered, we're more than okay.
Oh no, I have to wear a sweatshirt because it's getting cold! Whatever shall I do?! Are people really that mad about these things? Look, unless you do dialysis or something like that at home, you'll be fine. I promise.

Ah, the first taste of home ownership. A tiny inconvenience but a reminder nonetheless that it's us now, no landlord to call.

Oh, we've also ordered pizza a few times and OH MY GOD THIS IS LIVING. What can I say any better than my father did? I'm a country bumpkin moving into the city.

This country bumpkin has more about those previous mentioned meals and an ongoing project to restore Tony's grandmother's china cabinet. We'll be coming into spring so I get to see what's popping up in our new backyard and adding some more to the landscaping that our FABULOUS previous home owners started.
But for now, I still have so many things to unpack, clothes and dishes to wash, floors to sweep, and most importantly cats to chill with.

My Mother

So as you can imagine, it's been go go go these last few weeks. It's no surprise after all the running around I finally caught something. I had been feeling physically too good for too long. I've been coming down with something for over a week now and today seemed to be the worst of it. ( Let's not jinx it.) So today while I was sitting on the bathroom floor deciding if I could just live there, I had a mild freakout. I haven't bought groceries in over a week. The meal plan I made can't be done without the groceries, there isn't really anything in the house that Tony can make for his dinner and work lunch without waking up hours earlier, and I've been living on ramen because it seems to be the only thing I can keep down.

So I broke down and called my mother. 

I cannot describe how much I appreciate my mother and how she's always ready to help no matter what it is. So she was ready to go with some hamburger and beans dish for Tony for his lunch, some really good quality hot dogs, a pizza for later, and Sprite and crackers for me.
Clear sodas and crackers. are. magical. You forget how good they are when you aren't sick.
You can also forget how good your mother is when you don't need something. Thankfully, I've reached that point in my life I never thought I'd get to. I've finally reached that "your mother is your friend" point past the teen angst garbage.
As I've been going through this process of being a stay at home "wife", there are a few things I realized and came to respect about my mother. Today I'll be giving you 3 things I realized. We'll keep it short so I can go lie down again.

My Mother is NOT Lazy
As a nasty angsty teenager that really needed anti-anxiety medication, I thought my mother was the laziest mother on the planet. I would come home from school and she'd be napping. On the weekend she'd be napping by noon. What I didn't get? My mother wasn't napping because she's lazy. She was napping because she was EXHAUSTED. I never saw her getting up at 4 in the morning, cooking multiple meals because of multiple picky eaters in the house and for my father's lunch, the multiple loads of laundry washed AND put away, grocery shopping, running crap to me at school, vacuuming and washing dishes and ON AND ON.
I get it now. Dear God, do I get it now.

Just Because I Didn't See a Change in the House Doesn't Mean She Didn't Do Anything
The basic concept of "if she had done nothing at all, the house would be worse, not the same" never occurred to me until I was much much older than I ever should have been to be first realizing it. The work piles up visibly in a day. It is constant work. Constant. Improvement? Not if she had to take care of a schmuck like me. My immaturity and need to see flaws in the main authority in my life overshadowed basic sense.

The Reason She Eats in the Kitchen Isn't Because She Hates Socializing During Dinner

She wants to sit down, I promise you. She feels an overwhelming need to make sure everyone else has their food first. To produce enough hot food for everyone and make sure she herself gets some of the hot food, she eats on her feet while she continues to make food. Either eat it hot in the kitchen or chance not getting any of the food you made. I've struggled with this and it's just Tony and I. I can't imagine feeding 5 children and a husband and manage for all of them to get hot food let alone for me to get hot food. I've quietly been making food sacrifices without letting Tony know (now you know, honey... oops!) since we've been together to make sure he always has enough. He needs the fuel to keep going at work and I can snack on odds and ends here at home. I cannot imagine how many food sacrifices (let alone all other sorts of sacrifices) my mother has made over the years. My eldest brother is in his 40's. She's been making these sacrifices for over 4 decades and I never knew until I was in a similar place in my life. I never saw them, and when I did, I still didn't SEE it.

I see it now quite clearly even if I haven't gone through nearly so much. I haven't experienced it on any sort of level she has, but I've definitely gained invaluable insight.

So thank you mom. I wish I could say it more.

picture provided by Pexels

Getting Up to Speed

First let me start by saying the Happiest of Birthdays to my father! I wish you the very chillest of days. Continue enjoying the retirement, old man!

So let's catch up. What have we been doing anyway?

Well first, we ran away to Chicago.

We ate some delicious food

We had our very first authentic Chicago Deep Dish Pizza at Lou Malnati's. It absolutely blew us away!
Their Tiramisu is also magical

I returned to the Rainforest Cafe and Tony experienced it for the first time

Tony ruined himself for other hot dogs with this Chicago hotdog from a street vendor

 We went to the Shedd Aquarium. We could have spent days there!

 

 

But we were happy to come home to our babies

 

I resumed cooking meals

This oh so satisfying Ham and Cheese Hash Brown casserole

My first attempt at pork chops (success in cooking, failure in picture taking)

This old staple I call "Italian slop" which is delicious but always looks terrible

This Crab Rangoon Dip that didn't last us the night from sheer amazingness

And this "super easy!" Chicken Dumpling mess that was just doughy and gross

I also managed french bread pizzas (topped with green pepper from our garden!), lasagna, some stovetop helper meals, and a few other unmemorable meals.
We also had a couple treats

These chocolate chip cookies that I made for the very first time

 

And this fry that's happy to see us

We've been doing all those things that should be normal but are new to us. Cleaning, budgeting, the occasional nap. We've decorated for Halloween and have been enjoying the season! We welcomed a baby niece (Tony's first "uncling" and my SIXTH "aunting") and a new sister-in-law (about time, Shannon and Steve!)! We got the last of our produce from our garden, have started a family game night, and I may or may not have eaten through 2 or 3 books. Life may not be the easiest, but we are so very happy.

 

DIY Halloween Yard Art

Woopsie Daisies

September got away from me.
That, of course, is a gross understatement.

Let me say how much I love Halloween. I start planning next year's Halloween typically during the current Halloween season. I have 5 tubs of indoor Halloween decorations as well as large pieces kept in the garage. I have enough tombstones for a front yard cemetery that you have to drive by at a small distance to be able to see it all.

So when I missed the first of October, please understand how horridly shamed I am. Not only did I not get my DIY Halloween post out at the end of September, but I haven't even decorated the yard. October 1st is the day Halloween explodes onto my yard all at once and somehow, this year, it hasn't.

At the end of September, Tony and I went on vacation. This was a very big deal for us both as individuals and as a couple. Except for a band trip I took as a freshman in high school, I haven't ever gone on vacation. It just isn't something my family ever did. As an adult I've never been able to afford to go on vacation, and when I could, there wasn't anyone to cover my cleaning locations. Tony and I have never gone away together, let alone 4 hours alone in the car together. But! I'll post about our vacation later.

So let's talk about that DIY Halloween project.

 

We have both enjoyed Pokémon for many years. Tony has played the Gameboy games, avidly watched the television show, and collected the first generation trading cards. I personally started playing the Pokémon TCG a few years ago and have been hooked ever since. Shout out to Gnome Games in Green Bay and (at the time) 7 year old Libby who gave me the worst beat down I've ever received in a game. Since the launch of PokémonGO! this summer, we have been living Pokémon. So why not haunt our yard for Halloween with them?

So I used my special tool. My go-to source of help and information (and an SUV) is my father. I stole him from my mother and we hit up Home Depot's lumber department. I decided on wood cut outs as soon as I had the idea so my father helped my pick out a suitable thickness of wood. Do I remember the thickness? Nah. But here it is in our living room.

  

 The supplies I used were the wood paneling, pencils, permanent marker, and Google image search!

I'm pretty good at drawing already existing images, but cannot for the life of me create a whole new image from my own mind. Now since I'm keeping these cut-outs for myself and won't be using them in any manner that will bring in money for myself, I'm not particularly concerned about Trademarks. However, should you decide to do a project like this and would be selling them, make sure your backside is covered, okay?

So I decided to keep the number of images down. I planned on only making 4-5 cutouts so that I don't overdo it and actually FINISH the project!

I went with these 4 creatures! I drew them out with pencil first and drew over the final design with permanent marker. My fabulous father cut them out for me with a jigsaw.

After having them cut out, I made sure to sand the edges. It's kind of important, so make sure to do it!

So let's get painting! I did the majority of my painting with spray paint. If you decide to go this route, paint the whole thing white first. Unsealed materials are notoriously difficult to get a good spray paint coat on. It just soaks in, and in the case of wood grain, you can still see all the swirls and lines. I used Dutch Boy's Dura Clean paint + primer in a flat white for exterior. I chose a flat paint so the spray paint would adhere better. It's an acrylic latex paint so it's ridiculously easy to clean up. After painting them with 2 coats (with dry time in between) I went to town. I chose spray paints that are a combination of glossy and flat. At the end I sealed them with a glossy outdoor sealer anyway, so it didn't really matter for those. I did all my spray painting outside on the lush grassy areas of my yard. It didn't hit the root systems that way and would just get cut off during the next mowing. You absolutely can kill your grass if you spray on the short stuff, so be warned!

 

Some were a little trickier to paint. I employed a technique I learned in high school. Instead of expensive artist tape, I used cheap cheap cheap masking tape and it worked great! 

I cheated on the details. I tried doing nice lines in a black paint, but I just don't have a fine enough brush for it. How did I manage it then? Black permanent marker over the top of the paint. Sharpie to be exact. When I was happy with the look, I took them outside and sealed them all with a clear glossy exterior spray. On 2 of them, my father attached a wood stand to the back fastened by a door hinge so they can fold away flat for storage. On the Haunter I completed, I attached an eye hook to the top, and a metal bracket for hanging on the Ghastly. So now all that was left was to place them!

Ghastly

Muk

Haunter

 

Thanks for stopping by! Check us out next week with an update on the domestics!

5 Domestic Habits to Break

5 Domestic Habits to Break 

to Improve Your Life

I don't have my crap together, I imagine a lot of people don't. Here's a beginning list of bad habits I personally have that I know breaking will improve our lives.

1. Leaving the dishes for later

• Dried on food is a pain. Moldy dried on food is the worst. At least giving a quick rinse to dishes will make it faster should you decide to put it off. You can soak dishes, but if you're like me, they'll “soak” for 2 days

2. Setting things down on the kitchen table/end table by the door

• A big no no for us. We can't find our kitchen table. Why? It's one of the first surfaces when you come in the door. This is a GREAT way to lose mail you should have opened. This is also lost usable space. We've all read or at least seen the articles on eating at the table, so if you have a table, don't just use it for a garbage dump. You'll also feel better about having guests over. Sitting around the table is an awesome interaction space. You've now opened yourself up for so many more activities! Board games, card games that, sure, you could play on the floor, are so much less back breaking and relaxing at a table. Let's not forget you can start hosting like the almost-adult you are. 
  
  
  
  
  

3. Leaving dishes, cans, and bottles around the house

• Just pick it up. You don't even need to make an extra trip. Take it with you when you get up. Unless you've grown to the furniture, you're going to get up eventually. Save yourself from scrambling around because suddenly it's recycling day and most of your recycling is still laying around the house. You'll feel better when you don't need to shove 5 empty soda cans off to the side to find a coaster.

 

4. Cleaning “whenever”

• Make a schedule for cleaning certain things. It'll help you avoid those sudden realizations that EVERYTHING needs cleaning. Not only will you not have a massive cleaning come due, but cleaning on a regular interval whether it really needs it or not helps decrease the amount of effort it takes to clean. You avoid nasty build up and keep your environment healthier. Don't wait for cat hair tumbleweeds on the carpet to vacuum. And guess what? You don't need to be a doctor or scientist to know that with a clean environment you won't just feel healthier, you'll BE healthier. If it isn't growing in your house, you are less likely to breathe it in.

5. Not planning meals

• We all wing it from time to time. Deciding to order a pizza is A-okay! The thing is, you COULD live that way and be alright, but we aren't looking for “alright”. Planning your meals if nothing else is COST EFFECTIVE. Plan both what to eat and how much time it takes to make it. Having the time to make your food saves you on those pre-prepared food costs. Knowing what you'll be eating throughout the week saves time and gas. One trip to the store is the goal. You can stay on budget better because you aren't popping back into the store and picking up those little impulse buys we all love. If you do forget something vital, make Quick In- Quick Out your mission and stick to it! The longer you spend in the store, the more likely you are to buy. So get in, get out!

So now we have some goals. Are they easy? In concept, absolutely. In execution? If they were, we'd all already be rid of habits like these. And that's exactly what they are – habits that need to be broken. We're all somewhere in this domestic adventure. Some us aren't climbing adult mountain yet and are sitting in base camp enjoying our college age style of living. That's okay too, just know that there are some foothills like these to beat and for some of us, they're a gnarled path of bad habits. Maybe adult mountain is easier than the foothills. To each their own. Good luck and Godspeed.


Pictures in today's article provided by pixabay and PEXELS