And OH How Our Garden Grows!

So, after the success we had last year with our small experimental garden, we are going to plant an even bigger garden this year.  We’ve already started growing our seeds in little pods that sit in our kitchen.  Megan is having great fun checking them every day to see what has sprouted and what is growing larger.  This weekend we put these seedlings in bigger pots to start acclimating them to the great outdoors.  Eventually, we’ll put these plants in the ground when the threat of frost/snow has passed.  Can’t wait for that!

I can’t begin to tell you how much I love eating fresh fruits and veggies.  There really is no substitute.  We hope to harvest and freeze right away to seal in freshness.  In the meantime, though, I’ve found a wonderful site of which I might consider becoming a patron: Door-to-door Organics.  I think this is a wonderful idea!  Why not support our local growers? Of course, part of the year this company procures it’s produce from California growers.  Still, I think this might be something I’d like to explore a little bit more.    

A Zero Waste Family! Check it out!

It's amazing what this family did to go to Zero waste! Talk about cutting the crap!

Vitality - Yahoo! News

And more about stress relief

In honor of yesterday’s post, I decided to look up how other people relieve stress.  I did a search on Yahoo Answers (yes, I like using this medium), and was not surprised to see that this question has been asked before.  Many times.

Physical activity comes out on top.  What kind of physical activity, you ask?  ALL kinds… from walking, to yoga, to sex (and that one came on top, too).  Many others cited quiet time activities like reading, massage, tv, simply doing nothing at all, etc.  There were a lot of crude answers I won’t share here, but they definitely got points for being colorful.  Here are a few of my favorites:

• Here’s a comment that I swear my husband wrote: “In no particular order: Scotch, sex, spending a few hours on a combat pistol range with my favorite 'therapist' (a ParaOrdinance P45.15), throwing myself out of an airplane, or trying to pull the wings off of one.”
• “Harassing people who ask stupid questions on Yahoo Answers. Or taking a huge dump. It's a close call.”
• This person reminded me of my dad: “don't laugh,,,but I like to build model cars,,it takes my mind off what is bothering me,,makes me think about what i'm doing,,such small detail,,I like to paint everything,,the gauges on the dash board,radio buttons,,,the lug nuts on the wheels,,it really makes me concentrate,,so I forget about the day I've had,,specially if it was a bad day,seems to work for me!”
•  “I take two eggs and roll them in my hands like stress balls.  But I'd love to try destroying a room.”
• “Putting on the music loud.  The landlady comes to complain. We start quarrelling. I`m shouting at her, she`s shouting back, I`m blaming her for every single evil on earth, she`s threatening she will raise my rent or kick me out of the house. Then all of a sudden I become quite. I realize my problems are nothing compared to walking homeless as a street dog, my aggression and frustration are relieved by speaking out , so I give her a kiss plus a piece of cake and I`m the old me again.  If it doesn`t work, try kickboxing:)  Seriously, don`t hide anything in yourself, just say it all aloud. There will be always someone to listen and help.”

Stress relief is very obviously necessary.  Without it, we’d all go bonkers, and, dare I say it, the Human Race would no longer exist.  We would have killed each other to extinction long ago.  I should think that more people need to better handle their stress.  I know I’m one of them, and I know that I don’t manage it nearly as well as I could.  But seriously, wouldn’t life be much more simple if everyone could find his/her specific pressure relief valve and use it on a regular basis?  Is this a no-brainer, and if so, why haven’t we all caught on?   

Suffice it to say that while I do get stress relief from writing, I could use a bit more physical activity.  I think I’ll up the ante on that particular item.  In fact, I’m going to do whatever it takes to get the stress out of my life… one step at a time.    

To write or not to write...

I’m trying to get better about posting on my blog.  It IS, after all, an outlet for me.  I need to write.  It’s like a pressure relief valve.  I started thinking about what this really means to me the other day.  

At work, I’m part of this writer’s group that meets once a week in the break room for a write-in.  On the weeks that I can participate, I’ve noticed a marked improvement in my work performance overall.  I feel better about things.  I respond more quickly to my action items.  I’m slower to anger and angst.  I actually have some clarity by and large.   I think that by writing on a regular basis that I cut certain amounts of stress from my life.  In short, writing is good for me.  

I found an older blog post that pondered the value of daily writing.  It states that in order to get therapy from journal writing, that one must chronicle feelings and emotions.  I’m not sure I agree with that completely.  I seem to be reaping benefits just from blogging and working on my novel.  I share feelings here, but they aren’t in depth.  Even this small exercise is great therapy for me.  I would encourage anyone to take up writing as a form of stress relief.  Even WebMD recommends it.  :) 

What other ways do any of you relieve stress?  Let me know.        

YAY For New Phones!

I just complicated my life with a new cell phone.  An HTC Inspire 4G.  Boy oh boy is this thing awesome!  I spent a large part of my evening playing with it and downloading free apps.  The touch keyboard is taking some getting used to, but I think I’ll figure it out eventually.  The new droids now make it easier to get all my exchange server email/calendar/tasks.  I’m LOVING it.  This thing is LIGHTYEARS beyond my old Blackberry 8310.

I think I simplified my work life by purchasing this phone.  Everything else got a bit more interesting, though, as I think I’m addicted to apps.  LOL  Do any of you have any app suggestions?  Hahaha!      

SoCal, here we come! Hopefully.

As some of you have heard by now, we’re planning a trip to SoCal for Spring Break this year.  We haven’t seen our family there in AGES.  In fact, the grandparents haven’t even met X yet, and he’s 18 months old.  Yes, we are overdue for a visit!

As we have eagerly been anticipating this trip, we started to make a list of all the things we wanted to do/see/show the children while we’re there.  My hubby and I grew up in SoCal.  We know the ins and outs (speaking of which, we’ll DEFINITELY be eating a meal at In-N-Out), and we know we can enjoy some time at the beach without spending too much money.  However, we do have a limited budget.  So, we had to cut out the crap from our activity wishlist.  We won’t be going to San Diego.  We’re trying to see which relatives will let us crash a night or two at their place so we can whittle down the hotel expenses.  

I think what we’re learning is that we need to figure out what we want most out of this trip.  We want to see our families, AND we want to go to Disneyland.  All that other stuff… whale watching, Queen Mary, etc, can be done later.  Now, I’m not suggesting that everyone should cut stuff from their vacation itinerary.  I’m saying we had to for the sake of our budget.  LOL  

ON that note, does anyone have any cheap suggested for activities in SoCal?       

If you wanted to make your life more simple, what would you cut out?

I posted this question on Yahoo Answers over 8 months ago with the intention of sharing the answers on this blog.  Boy.  Am I behind.  I think it just goes to show you how completely crazy things have been. 

I did get some interesting answers, though, and I wanted to share some of them with you here. The answer that was voted the best by the readers was this: “My very simple answer to this is: I would cut out the wish to make my life more simple”  This man went on to explain that he moved to an island (near Spain in the Mediterranean) and purchased some land with an 800-year-old ruin on it.  He went completely off the grid and enjoyed it.  Then more people moved to the island and things started to get more complicated.  This made him unhappy and caused him to conclude “I can add something else what I would cut out if I could restart my intention for a more simple life: I would cut out the wish to share my life with others.”  I think this is so sad.  I don’t want my life to be so simple that it cuts out interaction with other people.  Reading his response further revealed that he actually did strike an equilibrium.  “Reflecting a bit more about the question, I conclude that it is not what one might *cut out* but what one gains as insights that makes one’s life more easy. As more one comes near to ones *essence* as more simple becomes one’s life, at least this is my experience after long enough struggling and fooling around...”  

By far, this was the most interesting answer I’ve ever received on Yahoo Answers.  It was eye-opening.  Mostly, other people wanted to get rid of material encumbrances that bogged them down.  Others were more esoteric and I think they directed their answers to the WORLD… they said they wanted to get rid of greed, fighting, misunderstandings, etc. 

There were other colorful answers.  Here are a few: 

• virtue and brains? [REALLY? That one doesn’t make sense] jewels?   my perpetual attitude of suspicion and refusal ?  social non-conformity ?
• Cut out subconscious desire (be able to better control emotions). For example, it would be easier to get over a past relationship/feelings for someone etc. Life would be so much simpler. [this person must have recently gone through a tough break-up]
• electricity!!!  That would make my life simpler and happier!!! [I wonder if they had a high energy bill that month]
• Desire.  Blessings [why on earth would anyone want to get rid of desire? OR BLESSINGS?]
• My frontal lobe. [maybe that would be a good idea]

So now I’m going to pose the question to you, the readers.  What would you get rid of to make your life more simple?