Then & Now: Part Two

Then:
Okay, okay! This one needs a serious explanation! You see, I didn't have to go to work today because it's a snow day in my school district. So... I'm bored and home with sick kids and have nothing better to do (besides clean my house and pack) than to completely embarrass myself and my husband (so sorry Joel)! This picture always elicits the same reaction: gasp, "Oh my gosh, you look so young!", followed by uncontrollable laughter. My response, "Well, you see, I had just turned nineteen....", I trail off, realizing there is no point in continuing, the damage is done. But I think we were really cute and we were really, truly, madly, disgustingly in love (just ask our families, they witnessed the excessive displays of public affection)! Just ignore my gigantic, over-sized t-shirt, my early 90's frizzy perm and foofy bangs. Oh, and the fact that I look like I'm twelve years old? Ignore that too.


This is one of my favorites! I loved my pretty, Anne of Green Gables, puffed sleeve dress. I loved my new husband. I loved that we were starting a life together, the sky was the limit!
I should, however, explain the heart-shaped, scratched, and stained condition of this photo. I cut it to fit into a heart shaped frame because I was 19 and a romantic, then the glass broke exposing it to the elements over the past 14 years. It's weathered, it's abused, it's a funny shape but I still love it.

Now:

This one? Well, it's the best I could come up with on such short notice! Our kids are really cute though, right? And I like the way we are holding hands. The love is still alive, baby!

I Have a Job For You

http://www.abkldesigns.com

***Thanks for your responses! I'm with you on the berries, I could eat them every day! We have had a lot of success with raspberries in the past and not so much with strawberries. We are definitely going to take Sarah's (http://lifeabundant.wordpress.com/) strawberry advice. As soon as we have an official list of what we will grow I will post it. Please continue to give us your feedback! We love it!

Last night Joel was planning out how to set up his drip irrigation and deciding how big our garden should be. It is so hard to know what we will be capable of the first year. I'm thinking there will be a lot of trial and error!

http://abkldesigns.com/

For the past few days we have been looking at seed catalogues and making lists of veggies we would like to grow. But we need your help!

If you were to receive a box of veggies what would you want in it?

How often would you need a delivery? Weekly? Biweekly? Monthly?

Does anyone have a good source for organic seeds? We have discovered High Mowing organic seeds (http://www.highmowingseeds.com/) but would love to hear about others.

This in no way obligates you to order from us, we only wish to pick the brains of all you smart people out there! Many thanks!

Little Sprouts: My How They've Grown!

I thought it would be fun to do some "Then & Now" pics of Miss N & the Z Man. They have changed so much, it's unbelievable.



Then:

Z is 5 days old here and N is 2 years old.

I love this picture. N has the sweetest look on her face.

And now:

Joel took this picture on Thursday. It's great because they were actually being nice long enough to hug! They seem to get on each others nerves a lot lately. I don't know if all siblings are this way or if it's just our little misfits! ;) I do know that my brothers and I used to fight like crazy!


This one was taken after playing outside in the snow. These two adore being outside. I think they are going to love living on a farm!

Recycling Solutions

In preparation for the big move I have been cleaning out all the junk in every nook, cranny (what is a cranny anyway?) and closet in our house. Today was pantry day! You may ask, why would someone take pictures of their pantry? Because that is the home of our recycling bin and when I saw it I suddenly envisioned my next blog post!


Joel and I were recently discussing the merits of recycling with some friends and I thought this post could demonstrate just how easy it really is.

We have a basic plastic bin in our pantry next to the garbage can so we will remember to do it. We toss anything in that could be recycled and we don't worry about sorting at this point. It has become such a habit now that when I am about to throw something away I think, "Could I recycle this?". Even my 4 year old asks me, "Mommy, garbage or recycle?".

The next step is when the box gets full we take it out to the garage and sort into paper, plastic bags, plastic containers, aluminum, and cardboard. When I say "we" I really mean Joel, he's the one who does it most of the time.

Joel has a good system going with all the big bins on the shelves. It keeps a potential disaster area under control. There is a reason, however, that I am not sharing pictures of the rest of the garage! Because it really should be named a Federal disaster area and you would have no respect left for us if you saw it! ;)

We have curbside recycling so on garbage day we set one or two bins outside. That's it! Nothing to it! I really am proud of how we have reduced the amount of garbage we put out. We used to have two overflowing cans with plastic garbage bags around it and it gives me such a sense of accomplishment to set out a single, half-full garbage can now.

By the way, I am not writing this to judge anyone else. My desire is simply to share how easy it really is and if we can do it anyone can!

Oh man! It just occurred to me that there is no curbside recycling out in the country! There are no curbs! Ugh!

I think we'll manage somehow. ;)

Farm with a View

Here's another taste of the lovely views surrounding the farm. These are the mountains at the west end of the valley. I love that we are surrounded by mountains. I imagine that we are going to have some amazing sunsets and I really, really want a new camera to capture the beauty.




This is the 10 acre view! There is a fence waaaaaaay out there at the property line but you can't see it in this picture. That's a lot of dirt!

Here is our leaning hay structure? I don't know what it's really called; I am so not a farm girl! My dad is highly amused that I will be living the country life. He recently asked me if I am going to invest in a good pair of overalls and a pitchfork.





What luck, we have a hen house! Seriously, Joel has been talking for years about keeping chickens and selling the eggs. I'm a little nervous about chickens but receptive to the idea. Joel's brother and his girlfriend have chickens and will help us with the details.

Here is a shed. That's about all I have to say about that. Well, except that it houses myriad piles of junk that we will have to clear out.

Okay, deep breath. Just look at the mountains and don't stress about all the junk to clean up and remodeling to do over the next few months. Lord, we are gonna need some patience and long-suffering!

First Post Ever!

Okay, um, Hi, I'm here! After three days of writer's block and new blogger anxiety I feel compelled to just jump in and post! Especially after seeing that my friend Daiquiri has put a link to me on her blog (http://calledblessed.blogspot.com/). Yikes! Way to push me into the ring!

So here's the story... my dear hubby (Joel) has a dream to start an organic produce farm. The idea is to be able to deliver fresh veggies to homes and eventually supply local grocery stores. We also plan on having a booth at one of the local farmer's markets to gain exposure and just because it's fun! We have always enjoyed walking through the crowded streets of our city market, perusing the assortment of hand crafts, fresh flowers and brightly colored organic produce. However, I've always wondered what it would be like to sit on the other side of the booth, in the heat, with hundreds of strangers staring at you and your stuff. Slightly intimidating, perhaps? Good thing Joel is the social one. I think I will just hide behind the basket of assorted lettuce (think beautiful leafy greens and things with great names like arugula, endive, and radicchio) and let him talk.

Where are we now in the process? Well, we just made an offer on a house with 10+ acres and it was accepted! The hope is to have a closing date of mid-late February.

I forgot to mention one teeny-tiny detail-- the house is a disaster area! No exaggeration, check this out...

There are piles of stuff (to put it nicely) everywhere! Inside and out.

Oh and the inside smells like cat pee and my children will NEVER take a bath in this tub.

Other than that, the place appears to be structurally sound (according to the experts because I really have no idea). We are doing a "rehab" loan (sounds appropriate doesn't it?) to fix up the house before we move in.

Now here's the great part... The VIEW!

Wow, it is breathtaking. I love our mountains.