Wow!! I can't believe this year is half over! Happy 4th to everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying their extended weekend and are being safe! As for me, it's a quiet holiday. I am not even doing fireworks this year! Felt kind of weird...Caelan is with my mom, which isn't usually the case. I will be relaxing and working in the yard, mostly. I lounged today. Did some very light housework. :) My lawn is so long! I'm going to have to resort to the regular mower for it all this week. :( We have had so much rain, and it has not been nice on my days off so it's WAY overdue to be cut!
I guess I don't have much to say tonight! Have fun and stay safe!!
Friday, July 4, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Yardwork and Life in General. :)
Hellooooo! Hope everyone is doing well. Just when we thought summer was here in full force, it became spring again. :) Cooled right off here in Michigan....high was right around 60 yesterday, about 62 today, and only about 70 tomorrow! Had a little rain, too. Not like last weeks storms, but rain nonetheless. :) Felt weird throwing on a sweatshirt and jeans today. I should know better....I've lived in Michigan my whole life and the only predictable thing here is that the weather is unpredictable. :D
Before we hit our little weather slump, we did manage to get the flowers planted that I bought last weekend. Caelan helped me, and I can't believe how fast she was! And, the flowers are still alive and looking well 3 days later! LOL Anyone that knows my daughter knows that she may be a willing helper (at times!!), but never does she make it look like she put her all into it. I couldn't even get the little flowers laid out where I wanted them planted and she already had them in! Not quite deep enough (all very mounded), but hey, it went really fast and we didn't kill them. :) The front yard does look better, too. :) So far the 2 orange raspberry bushes we planted haven't died yet, either. :) Things are looking up! LOL I did use my push reel mower again on the front yard. It really does look good. It is definitely more work than the gas mower, even though mine isn't self-propelled. I think a lot of it has to do with the width. Not only is it less wide than a traditional mower, the blades are about an inch from the wheels on each side so you basically have to overlap by almost half the width of the push mower to get things cut right. That means you're only cutting about 8 inches wide at a time. Takes a while to cut it! However, I'm still very happy with my purchase and decision to use this. I can't wait to try it on the back yard this weekend. I'm hoping it will be ok. My back yard is about twice the size of my front yard, so I'm thinking I will be out there a while! :) My recommendation to all of you is that if you buy a push reel mower, get the widest width you can afford!! Mine is either 15 or 16 inches. I think I saw up to 21 inches, but didn't want to spend that money (I am cheap! LOL). In the future, I will look at buying one that size. They also have those little baggers that go on the back for clippings, but unless you're really obsessive, I wouldn't recommend that. It does a good job making those clippings small and barely noticable. Especially if you go over it twice like I do (once in each direction like a t or x).
I receive a newsletter in my email from Quality Health. It sometimes has some interesting info in it. The most recent one I received had some info on things to do to help you improve your self esteem. They seem obvious, but maybe we all need a little reminder about it. Here they are:
1. Write it down. Make a list of your best qualities, such as loyalty, intelligence, humor, or creativity. Repeat these to yourself whenever you’re feeling bad about your body.
2. Take stock. Think of three reasons why it’s ridiculous to believe that beautiful people are happier or better. Remind yourself of these if you start to have doubts.
3. Minimize mirror time. It’s unhealthy to spend hours scrutinizing every inch of your body. Instead, cut down on the time you spend in front of the mirror, and focus on things that make you feel good.
4. Prioritize. If you’re dieting or exercising, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. It’s more likely that you’ll stick with your routine if you can will help you recognize the rewards of feeling better and growing stronger, as opposed to achieving an appearance goal that may be impossible.
5. Wear comfortable clothes. Remember, you don’t need to squeeze into the same jeans you wore five or 10 years ago. It’s normal to grow as you age, so treat yourself to a new pair that fit comfortably. You’ll feel better and have more confidence, knowing that you look good.
I think we could all remember these things and use them to help us remember we are good people and we should be proud of ourselves. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you aren't good enough. :)
On that note, it's time to head to bed!
Before we hit our little weather slump, we did manage to get the flowers planted that I bought last weekend. Caelan helped me, and I can't believe how fast she was! And, the flowers are still alive and looking well 3 days later! LOL Anyone that knows my daughter knows that she may be a willing helper (at times!!), but never does she make it look like she put her all into it. I couldn't even get the little flowers laid out where I wanted them planted and she already had them in! Not quite deep enough (all very mounded), but hey, it went really fast and we didn't kill them. :) The front yard does look better, too. :) So far the 2 orange raspberry bushes we planted haven't died yet, either. :) Things are looking up! LOL I did use my push reel mower again on the front yard. It really does look good. It is definitely more work than the gas mower, even though mine isn't self-propelled. I think a lot of it has to do with the width. Not only is it less wide than a traditional mower, the blades are about an inch from the wheels on each side so you basically have to overlap by almost half the width of the push mower to get things cut right. That means you're only cutting about 8 inches wide at a time. Takes a while to cut it! However, I'm still very happy with my purchase and decision to use this. I can't wait to try it on the back yard this weekend. I'm hoping it will be ok. My back yard is about twice the size of my front yard, so I'm thinking I will be out there a while! :) My recommendation to all of you is that if you buy a push reel mower, get the widest width you can afford!! Mine is either 15 or 16 inches. I think I saw up to 21 inches, but didn't want to spend that money (I am cheap! LOL). In the future, I will look at buying one that size. They also have those little baggers that go on the back for clippings, but unless you're really obsessive, I wouldn't recommend that. It does a good job making those clippings small and barely noticable. Especially if you go over it twice like I do (once in each direction like a t or x).
I receive a newsletter in my email from Quality Health. It sometimes has some interesting info in it. The most recent one I received had some info on things to do to help you improve your self esteem. They seem obvious, but maybe we all need a little reminder about it. Here they are:
1. Write it down. Make a list of your best qualities, such as loyalty, intelligence, humor, or creativity. Repeat these to yourself whenever you’re feeling bad about your body.
2. Take stock. Think of three reasons why it’s ridiculous to believe that beautiful people are happier or better. Remind yourself of these if you start to have doubts.
3. Minimize mirror time. It’s unhealthy to spend hours scrutinizing every inch of your body. Instead, cut down on the time you spend in front of the mirror, and focus on things that make you feel good.
4. Prioritize. If you’re dieting or exercising, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. It’s more likely that you’ll stick with your routine if you can will help you recognize the rewards of feeling better and growing stronger, as opposed to achieving an appearance goal that may be impossible.
5. Wear comfortable clothes. Remember, you don’t need to squeeze into the same jeans you wore five or 10 years ago. It’s normal to grow as you age, so treat yourself to a new pair that fit comfortably. You’ll feel better and have more confidence, knowing that you look good.
I think we could all remember these things and use them to help us remember we are good people and we should be proud of ourselves. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you aren't good enough. :)
On that note, it's time to head to bed!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Gardening and yard work and storms and vacation
Sunday was our big storms. Quite a bit of damage around this area!!! I was very lucky, and never once lost power and my house survived with no damage. :) I saw the storm coming in, FAST!! Was on the computer and looked up and realized it was pitch black when it should still be sunny! Within moments, the storm let loose. I saw the warnings on TV (once I saw what was going on), but I really didn't find it too bad at my house....didn't even hear the wind howl...just some rain and lightening and it was over quick. Well, I watched on TV at the damage that was done and was amazed. They said there were 60-65 mph winds in my city, and after the storm I went out for a walk and saw that it must have been true! Huge tree limbs down everywhere! Luckily, in my neighborhood that was the extent from what I could tell. Many of my friends/co-workers didn't have power until late Tuesday or Wednesday, and I still have friends that won't have it back until at least Friday!!! I can't imagine no power for 5 days!! Unbelievable. I am thankful for my lack of problems for it, and my thoughts are with all who lost much (including the boy scout troup in Iowa from the most recent storms).
I was on vacation since the day before Relay For Life (the 30th). With Relay that weekend, I didn't get anything done. I needed Monday and Tuesday to recover, too. :) Then the heat hit. Didn't get too much accomplished. Without air, if I get too overheated, it's hard to cool down. I only did what I had to. I did a lot of "resting"! LOL Just when I think I can get some things done, the rain and then storms came thru. I finally managed to get all of my front flower bed weeded. Whew!! It was a real chore! But, now it's done and it looks nice. I'm hoping the weather will hold out so I can plant some flowers this weekend. I still have the side of the house and the back yard, but at least something got done!! I did also try out my new push mower. I've actually used it twice now on the front yard. It took some work to get it adjusted to where I could easily push it and it cut the grass at a good height, but I think I've got it! My yard is very uneven, which seems to make it a bit difficult to go smoothly. I found that one sweep wasn't really good enough, so I did a second swipe at the 90degree angle (cross cut). That worked really well. It's a good height. I have to be careful to not let it get too long because then it is a bit harder to cut, but I got it done! The back, not so much :) It seems to grow faster, so I need to use the regular mower to get it back down to a manageable height. I'm going to have to do it more frequently than the front, I guess. Once I can get the schedule down pat, I want them both done, if possible. The back is even more uneven than the front, so it may be darned near impossible!!! The one other thing I didn't like about it is that it doesn't get quite as close to the edge as a regular mower. That means I can't get away with not trimming. :(
Well, that's it for now! Everyone can share what they are doing on vacation!!!
I was on vacation since the day before Relay For Life (the 30th). With Relay that weekend, I didn't get anything done. I needed Monday and Tuesday to recover, too. :) Then the heat hit. Didn't get too much accomplished. Without air, if I get too overheated, it's hard to cool down. I only did what I had to. I did a lot of "resting"! LOL Just when I think I can get some things done, the rain and then storms came thru. I finally managed to get all of my front flower bed weeded. Whew!! It was a real chore! But, now it's done and it looks nice. I'm hoping the weather will hold out so I can plant some flowers this weekend. I still have the side of the house and the back yard, but at least something got done!! I did also try out my new push mower. I've actually used it twice now on the front yard. It took some work to get it adjusted to where I could easily push it and it cut the grass at a good height, but I think I've got it! My yard is very uneven, which seems to make it a bit difficult to go smoothly. I found that one sweep wasn't really good enough, so I did a second swipe at the 90degree angle (cross cut). That worked really well. It's a good height. I have to be careful to not let it get too long because then it is a bit harder to cut, but I got it done! The back, not so much :) It seems to grow faster, so I need to use the regular mower to get it back down to a manageable height. I'm going to have to do it more frequently than the front, I guess. Once I can get the schedule down pat, I want them both done, if possible. The back is even more uneven than the front, so it may be darned near impossible!!! The one other thing I didn't like about it is that it doesn't get quite as close to the edge as a regular mower. That means I can't get away with not trimming. :(
Well, that's it for now! Everyone can share what they are doing on vacation!!!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Steamy hot!!
Holy cow! It is hot, hot, HOT!! I feel like I'm living in a brick oven! LOL We skipped spring, went right to August weather here in Michigan. High 80's and 90's for at least a week straight. I don't have air conditioning (waiting for my old faithful furnace to give out), and it's really hard each year when we have this kind of heat. I don't know...do you try to keep the heat OUT by closing everything up tight and turning on all the ceiling fans, or do you open everything up and let the heat in?? Sometimes it feels cooler outside than in, but it still isn'tcooler when I open the windows. I'm not sure how to fix it. Well, of course air conditioning will help, but that probably won't happen this year. :) Cae was dying trying to do her schoolwork today (all on the computer). The room she is in gets both morning and evening sun, so it's the hottest in the summer. On the flip side, it's also the coldest in the winter thanks to their not being any heat out there! LOL We are trying to stay cool drinking lots of water and trying not to move around too much. Kind of hard to get much done, though! I really wanted to finish pulling the weeds in my front flower beds, but I don't know if it will cool off enough for me to do that tonight. :-\
Hope everyone has a good week and is staying cool!!
Hope everyone has a good week and is staying cool!!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Relay for Life
This past weekend we participated in Relay for Life, Chesterfield. Our homeschool group had a team. It was an awesome weekend, apart from the weather! If you have never participated in a Relay for Life or have never gone to enjoy the event as a visitor, I highly recommend you do so. It is amazing. It is also a great family event, and a great way to get your kids involved in helping out in the community and with cancer research. I know our kids have all loved being part of this event! Our team took Most Spirited Team and Best Decorated Campsite awards. We also won 1st place in the Best Decorated Head (they give you a styrofoam wig head that you need to decorate and make look like a "head" with what you have lying around your campsite). Floam is definitely useful for something! LOL The weather could have been better....we had high winds all day and a couple of really hard, driving rains. And it was FREEZING at night! But, we walked. It was disappointing that we were the only team that consistently had someone on the track all night long (as is stated in the rules). Despite all that, it was definitely a worthwhile day! I, myself, did 24 miles! Caelan did 11 miles. Her best friend Hannah did 20 miles! Hannah's mom, Lee, our Team Captain, did 28 miles! Our team had 4 people with 20 or more miles, which was better than any other team! We were a silver team as far as donations went, and we raised $3300 so far, with more coming in! It was great!
We thank all who helped Caelan and I reach our goal of $400+ in combined donations!
Back to the gas issue, I am finding I am averaging 23.2 miles in my daily driving. That is still better than my 21.7 avg prior to my "slowing" down. I am trying really hard to continue to do the decreased speed. It is hard when someone is going faster than you and you're in a hurry, but I just try to think about saving money and gas and hold steady!
We are still juicing. We have mostly liked the juices we have tried (all on our own, no recipes). In fact, Cae says she can't drink "regular" juice any more because she loves the fresh stuff so much! It is a lot of work, so I don't do it more than once or twice a week. :)
This week I have to try to get the yard in order, but it is going to be HOT!!! I don't know if I can work outside in that heat, but I will have to try! LOL Today I fixed my gutter that was coming out, and pulled some weeds. I have so much more to do! Someone on my green list suggested white vinegar to get rid of weeds, and I can't wait to try it! I hope it works!
Gotta run for today! I hope everyone has a great week!
We thank all who helped Caelan and I reach our goal of $400+ in combined donations!
Back to the gas issue, I am finding I am averaging 23.2 miles in my daily driving. That is still better than my 21.7 avg prior to my "slowing" down. I am trying really hard to continue to do the decreased speed. It is hard when someone is going faster than you and you're in a hurry, but I just try to think about saving money and gas and hold steady!
We are still juicing. We have mostly liked the juices we have tried (all on our own, no recipes). In fact, Cae says she can't drink "regular" juice any more because she loves the fresh stuff so much! It is a lot of work, so I don't do it more than once or twice a week. :)
This week I have to try to get the yard in order, but it is going to be HOT!!! I don't know if I can work outside in that heat, but I will have to try! LOL Today I fixed my gutter that was coming out, and pulled some weeds. I have so much more to do! Someone on my green list suggested white vinegar to get rid of weeds, and I can't wait to try it! I hope it works!
Gotta run for today! I hope everyone has a great week!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Memorial Day and gas experiment
Wow! Did that holiday weekend go by fast!! It was a very busy time. We spent it up at my mom's, trying to help her out a bit around the house/yard. I hope everyone had a great and safe weekend. Anyone have anything fun to share?? Thank you to all who serve/have served in the military to defend our freedom. It is much appreciated. :)
I continued my gas conservation experiment for the weekend. We filled up the night before, and I reset my MPG "ometer" to see how we did for the weekend trip. I was vigilent in using my cruise, and was quite successful, despite holiday traffic and traveling on a 2 lane highway vs the freeway for much of it. I have to say, the absolute hardest thing was to resist the urge to follow someone going faster than me. :) I set the cruise, and really stuck to the speed I was trying to maintain, other than when I had to pass on the 2 lane road. Overall, I got 26.4 MPG on average for the weekend!! Phenomenal! I got an extra 40-45 miles out of my tank of gas. I loved it. Especially with gas prices, although I did find the bargain price of $3.94 on the way there and $3.98 on the way home (compared to $4.09 plus!!)!
I am convinced that I need to continue with the conserving of the gas. Seeing hard results was good enough for me, and I loved the extra miles from a tank of gas. I have to say, though, I don't understand why I can't get 26.4 MPG when I'm on the highway here with the cruise on. Seems it should be the same no matter what highway you are on!
I also need to continue juicing. :) Caelan has decided that there is just no juice worthy of "homemade"! LOL She couldn't stand it at my mom's that she had to drink the regular stuff. She said there was just no comparison! She couldn't wait to get home and drink up what we had left! :)
Well, it's off to bed to continue working tomorrow. Gotta bring home the bacon. :)
I continued my gas conservation experiment for the weekend. We filled up the night before, and I reset my MPG "ometer" to see how we did for the weekend trip. I was vigilent in using my cruise, and was quite successful, despite holiday traffic and traveling on a 2 lane highway vs the freeway for much of it. I have to say, the absolute hardest thing was to resist the urge to follow someone going faster than me. :) I set the cruise, and really stuck to the speed I was trying to maintain, other than when I had to pass on the 2 lane road. Overall, I got 26.4 MPG on average for the weekend!! Phenomenal! I got an extra 40-45 miles out of my tank of gas. I loved it. Especially with gas prices, although I did find the bargain price of $3.94 on the way there and $3.98 on the way home (compared to $4.09 plus!!)!
I am convinced that I need to continue with the conserving of the gas. Seeing hard results was good enough for me, and I loved the extra miles from a tank of gas. I have to say, though, I don't understand why I can't get 26.4 MPG when I'm on the highway here with the cruise on. Seems it should be the same no matter what highway you are on!
I also need to continue juicing. :) Caelan has decided that there is just no juice worthy of "homemade"! LOL She couldn't stand it at my mom's that she had to drink the regular stuff. She said there was just no comparison! She couldn't wait to get home and drink up what we had left! :)
Well, it's off to bed to continue working tomorrow. Gotta bring home the bacon. :)
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
It's Wednesday!! :)
Well, it's Wednesday! Halfway thru this week. :) I'm ready for a nap. LOL Last night was Caelan's choir concert with OHMI (Oakland Homeschool Music). We didn't get home until 10pm, but it was a great concert. This is really an excellent program. I can't speak highly enough about it. It's amazing what these kids can do with just 1 1hr 10 min practice per week!
Today was day 3 in my saving gas experiment. I am surprised I have remembered to do this each day, but I have been vigilent! I have been very careful not to start too quickly from the stop lights, too, which I have to admit has been difficult. :) My 3 day total is not quite as good as the 1st day, but still awfully darned good! Yesterday was some highway driving, but the majority of it was city driving. I think I came in at around 75 miles total. Today was mostly highway again. The grand total for the 3 days is 23.8 MPG average. That's still 2.1MPG above my old average, indicating a significant potential savings! I will be traveling up north to my mom's this weekend, so we'll have to see how it goes and see if I notice a difference! I have 1 more day of mostly highway driving (but significantly less total miles) and 1 more day of mostly city driving. I'm excited to see what the totals are.
We have also continued with our juicing. :) Tuesday's juice was not quite as good as Sunday's, but I still like it. It's got a little zing in it! This time I used 1/2 tomato (left over from Sun), grapes, blueberries, strawberries, apples, a pear, a few pineapple rings, a couple handfuls of spinach, a splash of pomegranate, a handful of baby carrots, and a couple oranges. The "zing" comes from a handful of yellow, orange and red peppers. :) They were getting mushy, so thought I'd see what it was like with them in it. I kind of like it. It's different.....not quite as "fruity", but still like a juice. We'll continue to experiment and see what we come up with.
Night to all!
Kym
Today was day 3 in my saving gas experiment. I am surprised I have remembered to do this each day, but I have been vigilent! I have been very careful not to start too quickly from the stop lights, too, which I have to admit has been difficult. :) My 3 day total is not quite as good as the 1st day, but still awfully darned good! Yesterday was some highway driving, but the majority of it was city driving. I think I came in at around 75 miles total. Today was mostly highway again. The grand total for the 3 days is 23.8 MPG average. That's still 2.1MPG above my old average, indicating a significant potential savings! I will be traveling up north to my mom's this weekend, so we'll have to see how it goes and see if I notice a difference! I have 1 more day of mostly highway driving (but significantly less total miles) and 1 more day of mostly city driving. I'm excited to see what the totals are.
We have also continued with our juicing. :) Tuesday's juice was not quite as good as Sunday's, but I still like it. It's got a little zing in it! This time I used 1/2 tomato (left over from Sun), grapes, blueberries, strawberries, apples, a pear, a few pineapple rings, a couple handfuls of spinach, a splash of pomegranate, a handful of baby carrots, and a couple oranges. The "zing" comes from a handful of yellow, orange and red peppers. :) They were getting mushy, so thought I'd see what it was like with them in it. I kind of like it. It's different.....not quite as "fruity", but still like a juice. We'll continue to experiment and see what we come up with.
Night to all!
Kym
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
