DIY with your kids: Mudpie Kitchen

April 21, 2012 in DIY Life, DIY with your kids, Pinterest, Crafts, and Home Decor Projects, Raising these kids, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle by Upcycling, The Small People Know Me as "Mommy"

Yet another brilliant idea from

Vermicomposting with Children

April 17, 2012 in DIY Life, Homeschooling, Indoor activities, It's Easy Being Green, Just Life, Natural Gardening. Sometimes Organic, Pinterest, Crafts, and Home Decor Projects, Raising these kids, Staying Home Didn't Kill the Feminist

I won’t say it’s a boy thing– since it isn’t. But the Small People do love insects, arachnids (spiders), and annelids (worms). Now, because they are tech-age kids, they will dig for a few minutes, give up, then move over to stand 8.5 inches away from my leg, waiting for whatever worms I find. It makes my chest hurt that they don’t have enough patience to dig for their own worms. Which begins the choruses [...]

Crazy? Perhaps.

January 31, 2012 in Adult ADHD Isn't a Bad Thing, DIY Life, Just Life

In my experience, there are at least two common themes among DIYers– the desire for nice things/surroundings and the inability (either tangible or mental) to fork out wads of cash to do so. For yes, declareth the masses– she embodied all that was Cheap and Skin-Flinty. But, lo, she couldn’t deny the appreciation of the expensive items she scorned. And I’m not talking Home Depot/Pottery Barn expensive. I’m talking custom-made, one-of-a-kind, hipster-magnet-boutique. I’m not a [...]

Kitchen Remodel: Phase I

January 25, 2012 in Adult ADHD Isn't a Bad Thing, DIY Life, It's Easy Being Green, My Disorganized Mind, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle by Upcycling, Thoughts from a SAHM

Yes, it’s Phase I– of Version 4. This isn’t the first transformation for our kitchen and all the big ticket items (new floors, cabinets, appliances that aren’t brown) have long been paid for. But thus far, the total investment in Version 4 of Redesign That Kitchen is $56. $50 for low VOC Benjamin Moore paint + $6 for sponge rollers. Everything else (to include the materials for the building projects) existed down there in the [...]

The Beauty of Love

January 18, 2012 in Adult ADHD Isn't a Bad Thing, Just Life, My Disorganized Mind, Pinterest, Crafts, and Home Decor Projects, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle by Upcycling

This was the little story that JB and I (snort, who we kidding, it was I, all I) included on our wedding announcement. Sweet, hunh? Now, that I rediscovered the thing a few hours after screeching for him to bring me crowbar? Just amusing. That he brought me the crowbar, with the only comment delivered being a reminder to not accidentally knock a hole in the wall? That’s trust– trust I haven’t necessarily earned. But, [...]

Fences Make Good Neighbors

February 22, 2010 in Uncategorized

My neighbors think I’m nuts.  I can hardly blame them considering my “throwing rocks at squirrel in gutter” escapade. A lot of them seem to question my landscaping methods.  And again, considering the current–and past–state of my yard, is still not particularly unreasonable. I use organic and natural methods almost exclusively.  One, because I’m frugal (nice word for cheapskate, isn’t it?); two, because it’s better for the environment; and three, because my Dad died of [...]