Back on the wagon.....

I am going back on the raw wagon officially on the 17th of October. Until then, I am going to practice. My husband is having a contest at work for weight loss and I figure what the hell, I might as well join him. Plus, I needed a good push off point to get myself in the groove again.
Watch for updates on menu items I am making and my comments about them as well!

Pictures!

I finally joined most of America and now have high-speed internet. YAY! Here a picture for your viewing pleasure. ;)

Here is an aerial view of my lavender right after I planted it:


This is a test. More to follow providing this is successful!

high speed internet and PHOTOS!

So I got this work at home gig and it requires I have high speed internet, so in about a week I'll have high speed internet. Which means I can post pictures now. Lucky you! :)
YAY PICTURES!

What to plant.....

I'm in the process of xeriscaping my yard, I want to go more than 50% xeriscaped but for now I'm just focusing on one little corner at a time. (P.S. a huge pet peeve of mine: when people pronounce it zero scape. If you are one of those, QUIT IT! haha)
I have my one corner planted with: 2 Russian sage, 5 lavender (2 French, 3 English), 1 Jupiter's beard, 1 blue flax, 5 lillies that might die :(, 1 Rocky Mountain penstemon, purple ice plant that is dying, wooly thyme that is dying, sedum that is thriving, and some chicks and hens.

I want to purchase: butterfly bush(es), agastache (ALL sorts of varieties, my cousin turned me onto these and I'm in love!), and rose of Sharon bushes.
I have a west facing wall that is really ugly right now, and until I amend the soil enough to put down sod (yes, I'm going to put down SOME grass so the kiddo's can have a place to run and play), I think I'm going to scatter sunflower and hollyhock seeds all over, for visual interest and SOME shade.
I do have some rose bushes, two mini and three regular that I took from a friends house and I am hoping they will live. They have purple roses, I believe. The mini's are pink and red. Not sure yet where I'm going to plant them.
OH and I have (so far) 96 bulbs to plant as well. 50 tulip (red and white stripe, they are awesome looking!) hyachinth's (mixed colors) and of course, crocus.
Next spring can't come soon enough! I need to find something that I enjoy doing outdoors in the winter time, some type of physical activity to keep my blood pumping and get me out in the sun. I suffer from SADD and I REFUSE to fall victim to it yet another winter!

already planning

Next year, I am growing my own vegetables, FINALLY. I decided then when I started paying closer attention to the money I was spending on food, a direct result of me staying at home.
I refuse to pay for anything that I can grow myself, ever again, unless I am a: too sick to grow my own food; or b: living in a place where it is impossible.
Seeing as neither one of these scenarios are likely, I will be grown my own food next summer.
I have already begun the planning process, and in fact, have begun my compost pile for next year. I can't afford to purchase a compost bin right now, but for right now I'm just doing an open compost pile that I will cover with black plastic in the winter time.
I am planning on using small children's plastic swimming pools, and arrange my vegetables in a wagon-wheel type of layout. The plastic will not rot, and I will puncture small holes in the bottom for drainage. I also plan to arrange the dirt from the lip of the pool to the ground in such a way you cannot see the pool, and all you see is a hill, on which I am planning on grown some type of creeping herb. I'm open for suggestions. ;)

My new trees!

When we first bought our house, it had 6 trees. An apple tree, a cherry tree, a peach tree, a red maple leaf tree, and a 'junk' tree which has grown very tall and big and looks interesting and produces edible plums (at least I think they are edible, I have eaten several of them), and a pine tree.
Unfortunately, we had to cut down the peach tree and the maple tree because they were both half dead.
Last night, I planted 3 Eastern Redbud trees. I love these trees. They are gorgeous year-round. If I had a photo of one I would post it, but I don't, but if you google Eastern Redbud you can see many beautiful pictures of them.
YAY TREES! :)

Bellydance!

I am so excited about my ATS belly dance class. I feel like such a nerd, but I haven’t ‘felt’ it like this with other styles of belly dance. I think there are a few huge reasons. First of all, I like the slow, snaky movements. I have always loved industrial/techno/dance music, so the fact that these types of music are used, although not exclusively, excites me. Also, another thing that excites me, is that I am using muscles that I haven’t used before, muscles that, on my body, need to be toned. Not to say that cabaret isn’t its own challenge, it is just that these are different moves that my body needs. I know this because it has been very difficult for me to get my body to do the moves my mind is thinking. I am proud to say that after a week and two days of practicing, I finally got my body to walk and shimmy, simultaneously. Honestly I thought it would take longer, but when I started to do it last night, my body just clicked with it naturally without even really thinking about it. YAY! Auto pilot has been engaged! If anybody out there has any patterns or instructions for making your own ATS style costuming, please give me a link, I would really appreciate it! I’m afraid that it will be financially necessary for me to make my own costumes, but that’s ok I enjoy creating anything, so it will be fun. YAY again. I just like to say YAY. ;)