Can't Afford It...

How often do you hear someone say that? "Oh, sorry, I'd love to, but I can't afford it" or "That's a cheaper version for the people who can't afford the other one". I've been thinking a lot about consumerism and my tendency to spend to much and that phrase came up in my mind. I think often we're embarassed to tell people we "can't afford" to go do something because it sounds like we have no money. Like finances define a person? When you really think about it, isn't that kind of odd? Aren't we commanded from God to be humble, generous and giving? In fact, Matt Chandler just did a sermon a few weeks ago on Acts 2:42-47 which is about people in the early church selling their posessions to help others. Not just give what extra they have left, but selling their stuff! So why then, is it embarassing to say we can't afford something?

I just decided that I don't like that phrase. I'd rather say, "I'd love to, but I'd just rather pay off debt, give money to others, put it in savings." I think our society instead has a ridiculous pressure to either give in and spend money we shouldn't, or face the shame of telling someone we don't have enough money.

Anyway, that's my two cents worth. I don't know if my ramblings make sense to anyone but me, but it's been bothering me lately! I guess I really should just dump my pride, not care what anyone else thinks of my "financial situation", and just tell everyone, "Awww, I'd love to, but I can't afford it..."

Garden Update 3

Ok, first of all I'll apologize for blogging about my yard constantly! I'm pretty excited about it and therefore take a lot of pictures/talk about it all the time :) I always thought I was a horrible gardener and almost felt like less of a woman for it. My mom has SUCH a green thumb, and I always wanted to be able to garden like she could, and killed everything! But, I've now realized that I can garden, but only in prime conditions like here in Denton (good soil, earthworms, frequent rain, decent temperatures, etc.)! I always tried to grow things in horrible places like Borger and Lubbock...no wonder it didn't work (of course, mom can grow things in any condition, but I'm not quite there yet). Anyhoo...

So, here's some pics!

This is the bed Carissa weeded! It was completely full of weeds before she got after it...

This is our front porch.
And this is after!! I put in begonias, some fuzzy little flowers, petunias, and impatients. Then, I mulched things.


Anyhoo, I thought it turned out looking a lot better! Our house finally has a little curb appeal.

This is a pot that Carissa's dog dug up completely when I had flowers in it, so I put it out front and re-potted it. I put in impatients, fuzzy flowers and petunias. Hopefully it'll last out of the dog's reach this time!
Daisies!!

I know you can't really tell by the picture of the spinach, but it's HUGE, like the size of a dessert plate or something. You could just eat like 3 leave for an entire salad, it's awesome :)
And we have 2 little 'maters!!! I was so excited...2 of the plants are blooming and I was excited about that, but then found these little guys. I hope the get ripe before the squirrels get to them, tho.
This I'm super excited about! It's my shrimp plant that I brought here from San Antonio, let freeze multiple times, and thought I killed. But, it came back!!
This is my rose, another thing that somehow survived my trip/freezes.
And, my daisy that made it all the way with me, too. YAY!

Working in the Yard

Carissa and I did all our yardwork today, and we're now exahusted!! We pulled all the weeds in the vegetable garden, I cut down a bunch of wild trees, and mowed the yard. Carissa pulled out all the weeds in the front flowerbeds so we can plant some flowers. We also hauled all the weeds, trees, leaves, etc. to the curb.

Funny story: I walked around to mow the front yard and looked at Carissa and said "Oh! What happened to your face!?!?!" (which, by the way, not the best thing to say apparently). She was just like "what are you talking about!?!?" She had two huge knots on the side of her eye and her eyelid and it looked like something horrible happened. She has no idea what happened, but I decided it should be one of three things (and decided I can make up what happened since we have no sure answer).

So, it's either:

A. Bug bites

B. She smacked herself in the fact with a garden spade

C. She was pulling really hard on a weed and when it finally gave way, she smacked herself in the face.

I personally like C. so that's the story I'm going with. Feel free to pick any that makes you laugh the most :)

And, of course, I included pictures!

Who knew gardening could be so dangerous!?!?!

Green Update

So, I'm in full swing with the green thing... I thought I would blog about some of the things I've done lately (ok, in like the last 2 days) and some of the things I've already been doing for a while (I figured they still count).

First, a thought on the whole process.... I've really been thinking lately about how much I LOVE to bargain shop. I'd rather go to an estate/garage sale, goodwill, thrift store, small junk shop, antique store, etc. and find a ridiculous deal on something that has a lot of character than buy something new. I also love to handmake gifts and household stuff and cook. So why am I buying new junk at the mall all the time, eating out, and buying junk food at the store? First, I think it's easier, but second, and more importantly, I think I really buy in to the whole consumerism thing. I'm blindly doing what everyone else does and not realizing that it actually robs me of true happiness. I truely think that bargain shopping and buying old stuff and cooking and crafting ar the things that stir my affections for the Lord.

Anyway, I hope I don't sound judgemental to anyone. This was just a personal realization/decision and something that I'm very excited about. I'm posting what I did so hopefully someone else can get some ideas if they are interested...

So, in light of that, here's what I've done so far:

1. Washed my clothes on cold

2. Gathered up all my reuseable grocery bags

3. Bought a skirt at Plato's closet (a resale clothes shop)

4. Planted a big garden

5. Joined Freecycle (a webiste in Denton where people post stuff they want to give away)

6. Started doing the majority of my grocery shopping at Sprouts, the Cupboard, Whole Foods, etc

7. Bought 7th generation (healthy, non-chemical, recycled) laundry soap, all-purpose cleaner, toilet paper and paper towels.

8. Refused to turn on the AC most times and then only at 80 degrees

9. Work from home (I drive a lot less and use less of the company's resources)

10. Bought glass food storage containers (to decrease my consumtion of BPA, which there's a good article about here)

11. Trying to be BPA free (no more Nalgene bottle, water bottles, less canned food, no more tupperware, etc).

12. Bought organic shampoo/conditioner

13. Have been using somewhat organic makeup

14. Shop craigslist/ebay/goodwill before buying something new

15. Making my own food from scratch, and using organic foods when I can.

16 Using a clothesline to dry my clothes (see pics)

So, yes, my clothesline is about to drag the ground. Apparently on my own I don't have enough strength to cinch it up tight enough...and that silly rope has a lot of give!

Also, garden update below. I know it doesn't look like much change, but the tomatoes are much taller and blooming, and now the squash, arugala, basil, okra, carrots and potatoes are all sprouting and looking very happy (thanks to the consistent rains we've had).

Tomorrow my big undertaking is going to be weeding the entire garden, clipping down wild tree saplings that sprang out of nowhere and mowing the yard.

Going Green

Well, I've made a decision! And like most decisions I make, it's possible this one won't last like I want it to... I frequently seem to get on the bandwagon about things, and then just forget them completely about a week or two later. I'm hoping that is not the case this time!

I really want to start being more organic/natural/environmentally friendly. And it's not necessarily because I'm really concerned with the environment, which I know I should be... It's more because I'm concerned with my own well-being! I've been thinking a lot about how many "products" we have now that didn't exist several decades ago and how much more cancer and illness we seem to have now. Instead of washing my hair with harsh chemicals, why not use plant extracts?

And to be fair, I did kinda grow up like this. We never had junk food in our house, and nothing we ate was ever pre-packaged, my mom cooked all of it! We also took vitamins and herbs for things, and my dad is a firm believer in honey as a miracle cure for most everything (and it really is, check it out sometime...or you can just ask me because I contain a wealth of odd/useless information). Anyhoo, I think it will be harder and will require more thought, but I'd really rather live that way.

So, my plan is to do the following (so far): get organic food/stuff from the farmer's market, garden, shop at environmentally concious stores (like whole foods as opposed to wal-mart), but all-natural hair/face/makup products, recycle at home, drive my car less, replace all cleaners with organic cleaner, etc.

I was also even thinking of buying new stuff. Most stuff that I get new, doesn't really need to be. Furniture/household stuff-wise, I'd always rather have things from junk shops and estate sales than from a store, so why don't I just shop there instead? I think I get so caught up in materialism and wanting the newest, bestest, brightest, that I forget what a waste it is!

Also, there are so many other countries that don't have the opportunity to have any furniture, a house, or even to throw out leftovers. I have just been feeling very wasteful, selfish and materialistic lately and want to start being more responsible.

Plus, this excellent plan could save me quite a bit of money! So, please encourage me along the way, keep me accountable, and let me know if you have any good ideas to make this happen!

Yikes!

Ok everyone, pray for us! We had quite a freaky occurance at our house last night. Around 5:20am, Carissa and I both woke up to the sound of glass breaking in the kitchen. I just figured that the cats knocked something over (a glass or something), but I thought that was a little odd because the cats never do that. Well, I saw Carissa get up and go in there and look, then let the cats out. So, I just figured I'd get up this morning, figure out what broke, and clean it up! Problem is, there's no broken glass ANYWHERE!! I even walked around the entire house looking to see if something broke outside or a window got broken or something and I can't find anything. So, I'm a tad freaked out now! I know that God is going to keep me safe and I'm actually very safe in his presence, even if there is some type of spiritual attack on our house. But, this was one of those instances that made me really wish I was married and had a man around to protect me :( Anyway, whatever it was, it makes me feel a tad uneasy, so please pray for us and our house!!

Random Information Update

It's been a while since I've had an update, so here goes!

1. So, last Monday, my car stopped working! I got in it to go somewhere, and realized I had forgotten something, so I shut down my car and went in to grab something, and when I came back out, my car wouldn't start!! So, Carissa drove me to homegroup, and I've been trying to figure out what's wrong with it ever since. I ended up emailing Ginger, and she sent Chuck over to take a look at it. He tried a few things, I took the battery to get it charged, etc. So, he said we would fix it Sunday afternoon. Well, today he actually started working on it, and realized that it was just a bead from one of my broken bracelets that was stuck. It caused the car to not go completely into park, and therefore it wouldn't start! UGH! It was so funny, though. For a more complete story on that, and a more entertaining one, check out his blog.

2. We went swing dancing again this weekend! Kathryn and her friend Sara were here this weekend to check out UNT (they're seniors in high school). They toured the college on Saturday, but on Friday night, we took them dancing! It was in Denton this weekend and a lot smaller, but that made it easier to dance and get to know people. Gina came over and we got to eat beforehand and hang out a little, so that was really nice. Also, one of my mom's friends suggested we hang out with her nephew from Fort Worth, so he (Kyle) came over, too! So, we all left the house and went dancing. We met Lindsey and Eric there and all had a good time of swing dancing!

3. Our dogs figured out a way around my fence for the garden and got in there and trampled my onions and pooped on my okra seedlings :( Luckily, plants rebound well, so it looks like there is no permanent damage. Everything's growing well! We're getting enough rain that I'm not having to water much, so that's nice. My seeds I planted last time I did an update still haven't sprouted, so the garden doesn't look much different. The cilantro is over a foot tall now, though! I think I need to figure something out to cook with it soon before it takes over.

4. Carissa had another art gallery opening last night and we had a blast! Pictures are below, which I think say a lot more about what happened than me typing it all out:


Kathryn and Sara posing for us.
We bought candy cigarettes and had a good time with pictures with those. You could actually blow them and have powdered sugar puff out the ends, it was hilarious!
Shaina sportin' a smoke

All of us girls! Sara, Kathryn, Lindsey, me and Carissa
Carissa with her painting of Olive Oyl
Carissa's painting of Popeye
Carissa and Kenna

So, needless to say, it was a fun-packed weekend, even though it absolutely FLEW by! I miss Kathryn already, she needs to hurry up and come back! I'll try and update more frequently. I didn't feel like I had much to blog about this week, but turns out I did!

Swing Dancing!!

My wonderful friend, Lindsey called me last night and asked Carissa and I to go swing dancing!! We've been trying to get together and go for several months, but we finally were all available last night. There's a Dallas Swing Dancing Society that does dances every weekend and has workshops, performances, etc. Check them out! www.dsds.org When we got there around 8pm, they were doing lessons, so we jumped in and learned some moves. After every couple of attempts at new moves, they had you rotate partners, so it was nice to meet several different people that way. I'm sad we didn't take pictures! We all got dressed up in skirts/dresses and had a great time! It was nice to dress up to go out somewhere. After lessons, the floor just opend to dancing. At first, I was a little nervous because we didn't know any guys there...I didn't think I'd get to dance with anyone! But, it was such as nice atmosphere... There were people from high school age all the way up to seniors! And, hardly anyone was attached to anyone else, so I got to dance with all sorts of people all night!

Everyone was very nice to dance with, some were worse than me, some better, some MUCH better. But, all the guys were very complimentary, telling me I looked young and was a very good dancer for how long I've been doing it. So, they were great! We just had to pay $7 and they setup a water station, and everyone danced! Also, I was absolutely EXAHUSTED afterwards. We danced from 8pm to midnight and that must've been the best workout I've ever had! I think we're going again to another Swing Dancing event on Friday night in Denton, so I'm really excited. I think I decided that it might be my new hobby to pick up and learn.

So, if anyone wants to come Swing Dancing sometime, please let me know!!

Garden Update 2

Well, while I have you anxiously awaiting the promised garden update, I thought I'd give a few random updates about other things first....

First of all, Kate and Carissa were doing "accountability" in the hammock in our front yard...some days it's a bit harder than others to work at home :(


Second, last night our favorite neighbors Chuck and Ginger came over...while Ginger and I gabbed and made dinner, Chuck volunteered to mow our yard!! Turns out it's not the first time, he came across the street the other day and mowed the front without us knowing it. So, a great big THANK YOU to Chuck, it meant the world to us. I've been working on the house, in the yard, the garage, and the garden for pretty much all of my spare time lately and the lawn was looking awefully daunting at the time... So, it was a huge relief to have that done! Below is a pick of our wonderfully mowed backyard. He also chopped up a big branch that the snowstorm knocked down with his hacksaw, thanks for that, too!! Anyway, we ended up having a great dinner and hilarious conversation...they're still trying to talk us into going to the Village's Denton campus, and they may wear me down eventually, at least for a visit!


Also, our sweet friend Corrie came over.... she and Carissa were going to hang out, so we all 5 ate dinner and then Carissa proceeded to dye Corrie's hair...quite and entertaining experience! But, great fun was had and Corrie reports that her hair came out great!


These are some of the flowers I have planted in the backyard and apparently one of Stella's favorite snacks. So, I had to puppy-proof them:


It may be kinda hard to see, but the plants are covered in Cayanne pepper. It was quite entertaining to watch the dogs sniff everything, have a little taste, and then regret it for about 10 mins afterwards. I hope it'll keep them out for a while! It was a bit odd sprinkling seasonings on my plants, tho...


Ok, so finally, on to the garden. It's officially done (almost)! This is just half of it...

And looking the other way...

These below are my soybeans, I planted them as seeds, so I'm so happy they're still alive! I kill about 99% of seedlings....

And my ginormous tomato cages..I just asked the guy at Lowe's for 5 of them, so I got 2 normal ones and 3 huge ones....I don't know what kind of tomatoes they are expecting, but I think it's quite optimistic!

So, we now officially have planted: cilantro, basil, thyme, chives, spinach, jalapenoes, red onions, yellow onions, carrots, okra, tomatoes, arugala, squash, and potatoes. We still have corn to put in, but I've got a while and am sick of pulling weeds and tilling up ground! Carissa and I are both sore from gardening, which is a tad embarassing...but, I got online to a calorie counter and found out that 90 mins of gardening burns 528 calories!!! My current favorite workout by far...now that it's done, we just need to find something else to dig up!

Anyway, hopefully we'll be overrun by produce and have some to give away shortly!

Problem...

Ok, so in the spirit of honesty, I decided to confess some of my issues on this blog as well as all my happy news, updates, recipes, etc. So, check it out! It's called Book Addiction. My sister wrote it about me... and thanks Matt for the hyperlink tutorial! I got it to work this time...

Update

I thought I'd give a quick update on what's going on in my life lately. So, here goes...

1. I got a promotion at work!! I'm really excited about it...I'll be working for another team within my company and it'll be very different. There will be a lot of new stuff to learn and I'll have to work more than I have been, but I'd always rather be challenged than bored, so that's great! I'll start on May first, so pray that I'll be good at it and enjoy what I'm doing!

2. I'm considering working on a Certification in Biblical Counseling of some sort. I majored in Counseling for my Master's for a semester before I changed my major, but it's something I've always wanted to do. I've been praying about it a lot, and I think it's something I'm still interested in, but the Lord kept me from becoming a secular counselor at that time for a reason. So, pray that I'll get into the right place for that training and that I'll continue to follow God's leadership on what to do with that. I want to keep my job and do this on the side as a ministry, but I really have no idea how that would play out...

3. I'm taking the Membership class starting tomorrow morning at church! I'm really excited about that and ready to get more involved at church.

4. This weekend I'm going to finish planting the rest of the garden! I have to till up about half the garden still and plant my potatoes, squash, okra, arugala, and corn. I'm really excited to get it all in the ground and hopefully watch it grow and be able to eat it! After we get the rest planted tomorrow or Sunday, I'll update with pictures!

I'm sure there are a lot more things to update about, but those are the big ones...so, I would appreciate your prayers! While it's all good news here lately and a lot of exciting things are going on, I want to use them all for the glory of God and need prayer so that as I accumulate new responsibilities, I'll be wise and prayerful. Thanks!

Tribute to Bob Ross

Here's what goes on around my house while I'm trying to work:

First, our tribute to Bob Ross, the great painter on PBS (I think). If you missed watching that when you were younger, you missed something amazing...

Second, while we had the great hair, our 70s workout photoshoot. I didn't do anything but roll the hair and watch, but still...

There's many more where these came from (93 to be exact), so lemme know if you want to see more pics! I'm sure they'll end up on Facebook/Myspace soon, too.

Puppies!

Ok, so I may be a bit obsessed with our pets, but I thought you might like to see our puppies in action :)

Stella!!!

There's a new puppy in the Watts household! Carissa got a black lab mix puppy on Sunday, and named her Stella (so it's fun to yell at her)...if you don't get that joke, let me know. It's much funnier when you say it out loud. Anywho... here's a few pictures of Stella and one with my puppy, Godiva, in it as well. They are TOO CUTE together!