I Like Psychobabble...

...and I really like to take personality tests. I took this one after I saw it on Daiquiri's blog and I think it's quite accurate:

I'm always game for learning more about why I am the way I am and why I do or do not feel comfortable with other people. If you like this stuff too I highly recommend this book:

I first read The Color Code after borrowing it from a coworker and then I bought it for myself because I liked it so much. The best thing about it was torturing my poor husband by making him take the test too. It not only explains your own personality type but also what types of people get along well together (and those who don't). I was pleased to find out that Joel and I are a perfect match (I kind of had a hunch that we were ;0)). On the off chance that you are curious I'll reveal my color code...drum roll... Blue (introverted, intensely loyal, needs to be needed, reliable) and Joel is Yellow (fun loving, creative, disorganized, social). We are a good match because he needs my stability and I need to be needed; he makes me laugh and I keep his feet on the ground. He pushes me out of my shell, encourages me to be myself and won't let me quit when I really, really want to. I will love him and be loyal to him till my dying day. We're definitely not perfect and sometimes we drive each other CRAZY but I believe very strongly that God knew what he was doing when he led us to each other. We are "old building and loan pals" (think Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life-one of the best movies ever), we're a team.

Leave a comment and tell me about yourself. Pretty please?

Farmin'

Have you ever experienced the satisfaction you feel when you watch someone you love do what makes them happy? That is how I felt when Joel hopped up on the tractor and started plowing our own land for the first time. When he was done for the night he came into the house grinning from ear to ear. He is happiest when he is outside digging in the dirt or tending to green and growing things.

As you can see this is a "budget" operation to say the least. Joel is using an old Farmall tractor that he borrowed from a nice man at our church. The moldboard plow attachment is borrowed from a local pig farmer in exchange for any leftover vegetables that she can feed to her pigs. We are also borrowing a disc plow attachment from our neighbor Earl to prepare the soil for planting. Do you see a pattern here?

In case you have an inquiring mind and want to know what in the world a "moldboard" plow is (I had no idea either) I found the following description to satisfy your curiosity:

"Moldboard plows are designed to slice and invert a layer of soil, thus covering the sod and leaving a rough surface. These plows have large curved bottoms called moldboards which attach to a frame. The moldboards have shears along the bottom edge and large curved wings above to turn the soil. "

There you go. I'll bet you feel better now.

I love this picture of our kids. It just speaks "freedom" to me. Freedom to be kids, to run and dig and be as noisy as they want to be. The only downside to such freedom is all the extra baths they have to take. There is always a price to pay. ;0)

Like father, like son.

We are only going to garden about one acre this summer (which is waaay more than we have ever tackled before) but Joel is plowing under the rest of the land too just to keep the weeds down.

Here are the starts that we planted back in February and March. When I took this picture it was still freezing at night making it necessary to cover them with plastic so they wouldn't become little green Popsicles. We are getting a late start with planting but I suppose it's better late than never.

Where Do I Start?

Well, we moved exactly 2 weeks ago and frankly it's all a bit blurry. There has been a whirlwind of activity between moving to the new house, cleaning the old one, being sick, having stress at work, and dealing with nightly tantrums from both of my children who are trying to adjust to this whole mess. I can only account for my continued sanity by quoting the bible,

"I lift up my eyes to the hills--

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

the maker of heaven and earth."

Psalm 121:1-2

This was the view from my hammock on Mother's Day. I took a brief time out to relax and enjoy the beauty of our new home.

I really do like it here.

We're Baaaack!

Oh Internet, Oh Internet, How dearly do we love thee!
Oh Internet, Oh Internet, we hail thy connectivity.
It's been so long, since we logged on,
Though we were blue, we made it through,
Oh Internet, Oh Internet, How dearly do we love thee!

(To the tune of "O Christmas Tree")

We are back online as of tonight!
I promise new pictures of the chaos, ASAP.

Jen

Farmhouse Renovation: Part Whatever, I'm Too Tired to Care

I am so tired of painting.

Farmhouse Renovation: Part Six, A Brief Update

This is Jennifer with the latest, up-to-the-minute news here on Hilty Sprouts. Yes, yes I'm a geek, this is well established territory... ;0). I was just emulating Bridget Jones on "Sit Up Britain", she's my role model you know. Anyway, I digress...

1. Looks like red won at the polls (thanks to all 8 of you who voted! I'm grateful, not bitter. Nope, not at all. Too many cooks in the kitchen, you know, not a good thing!). If you checked the comments at all you will have discovered that recycling man leaked the final result of the Great Paint Debate...RED. It is actually quite lovely and vintagey and by golly, I like it. There I said it. Pictures are forthcoming. Someone (me) forgot to bring the camera all weekend long.

2. What's done:
a. rooms painted, check (the door and window trim has primer, WHAT a pain).
b. bathroom counter tops and vanities installed, check, check.

3. This week's schedule:
a. Wednesday: vinyl flooring (kitchen & bath).
b. Thursday: the oh so important plumbing! No mo' "po' potty"!
c. Friday: master bedroom carpet.
d. Monday: final seal on wood floors.
e. Ta da! Then we move in!

The End (for now).
Jen

American Idol This Week

Well folks, I'm a day late and a dollar short (one of my dad's favorite sayings) to give you my take on AI. I did think that Brooke was going home this week but I was WRONG again. My AI radar is way off lately. Instead of giving you my expert opinion I'm going to to link you to the most creative AI blog post I have encountered so far right here. I'm a regular lurker on this girl's blog cause she's so stinkin' funny. Her husband even has his own blog with AI posts. Enjoy!

Jen