It's Not Easy Being Green

I have never been what I would call "green." I do recycle everything I can, and I've changed to the DNA-looking lightbulbs, but other than that, I'm all about convenience. Hey, on the "How Crunchy Are You" quiz, I actually scored a 12 out of a possible 225!

But I do think about what we eat. OK, we had KFC last night, and I am seriously contemplating going to a brand-new Arby's tonight (because I loves me some Arby's and now we have one 5 minutes away ) but still. I want to be healthy, and I want K to grow up to like foods that I wasn't exposed to as a kid.

I found a neat food co-op in the area. I went to Your Health Source and read about what was in the area. For $50, you can get an order every two weeks of fruits and veggies. You pick it up at someone's house, and it's a huge Rubbermade container full of the good stuff. I've only done two pickups so far, but I've been really happy with what we got. We eat a lot of fruit. Vegetables... not so much. I am hoping that having it in the house will encourage us to eat more of it. It's all organic, which isn't something I usually pay extra for, but maybe I should.

I've also switched to hormone-free milk. I've heard all the talk about how regular milk can make girls enter puberty earlier. (So, if I drink regular milk, will I finally get breasts?)

I was inspired by the book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. The family vowed to live for one year on locally-raised food only. They grew what they could, shopped at farmers' markets, and did without things that were out of season. I admire the dedication that took. I highly doubt I could go through with that, because it's February, dammit, and I want a banana!

My Valentine's Day Bouquet

These were delivered to me at school, obviously from G. Pretty, no?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Silly List

1. ROCK STAR NAME (first pet name, current car):
Misty Element

2. GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe);
Vanilla Sketcher

3. NATIVE AMERICAN NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal):
Blue Horse

4. SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born in):
Gay Elm Grove (is that near Oak Lawn?)

5. STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name)
EriNe (and Bert?)

6. SUPERHERO NAME: (The 2nd favorite color, favorite drink):
Pink Wine

7. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Robert Roy

8. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite flower,dessert)
Tulip cheesecake

10. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter):
Fasbender Fargo

11. SPY NAME: (your favorite state, season/holiday)
Michigan autumn

12. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now):
Kiwi capri

OK, your turn!!

Fast Feet

Spell Check

Thankfully, most of my friends are good spellers (or "word nerds" as I affectionately refer to myself and those with similar spelling pet peeves). But if you have the chance, check yourself on this spelling quiz.

I Scored a 93%!

Oh, and I think the word I misspelled was occurrence. I always get that one wrong.

Wild Wild West

Today was Western Day at K's school. I had borrowed a pair of boots a month ago, and she's been wearing them around the house. Well, she decided this morning that they were 'too tight!' and threw an absolute fit over them. I had to just let her wear her regular shoes instead! Here she is in the rest of her costume.

Extreme Home Makeover

OK, maybe not too extreme, but we have been doing a fair amount of rearranging to accommodate K's new play kitchen. We have cleaned out quite a bit in the guestroom, and now that is also her playroom. We got rid of the double bed that was in there, and ordered a daybed with a trundle. That should take up a lot less space.

We also got the computer desk out of there and moved it into our bedroom. Now our bedroom is stuffed with wall-to-wall furniture, but that's the room people see the least. They say your bedroom should be used for sex and sleeping only, but in a small house, you've got to make the most of your space!

Somehow the smallest person in the house is taking over, and she's got two bedrooms to herself, while we each have a half of one!

Extreme Makeover

So my babysitter's kids are home from school this week, and I guess they were bored. Kelsea (age 12) decided to straighten Ks hair. It actually looks really cute -- I think it makes her look older. I probably won't do it to her (maybe once in a while) but it's neat to see how long it really is.

Before:



After:

A Few Recent Pics

We spent the holidays traveling through West Texas, as we always do. We have three families to see, so that's three times the driving, stress, and time away from home. But it's fun, and we always have a great time seeing everyone.

Here are a few pics from the previous week.

My in-laws have seven grandchildren, ages 2 to 15. Here they all are, together for the first time.



Here are my husband, his brother, his sister, and the three spouses. Their grandmother is also in the picture -- isn't she cute?



We also visited my 90-year-old grandmother. She has been in the hospital, and is currently in a rehab center. She looked remarkably good, though. She was so excited to see us.



And on the way home, K was just too tired to do anything but sprawl out as much as is possible in a car seat!