Most people don't know me from when I was much younger! My old friend Destiny posted these on her facebook account. These pictures were before digital cameras! I thought you guys would get a real laugh from them.
Best friends back at BYUH! I'm thinking this was fall of '96
Completely fun night of eating out and dancing!
Sumiteer Trip to Boundary Waters! I think we took this trip Summer of '95! One week canoeing, no electrics, and no real bathrooms. Talk about living out in the wild! Can you find me in the group picture? Second girl from the right? I'm wearing a plaid green and blue hat! Senior Pictures! I'm about 17 years old!
After talking to several people about gardening my favorite neighbor Violet, my friend from church Nancy, and my father who can grow just about anything. I have finally came up with my plans for my garden this year. I think I might be trying to grow to many things but we will see how it goes. I think the hardest part about gardening is coming up with a plan and sticking to it. I already started to grow some plants from seeds! They are doing really well. Check out this picture:
I'm growing tomatoes, eggplant, more tomatoes! Also, Vinca, Zinnia, Sunflowers, and Cosmos~!
Last year, my garden on the side of my house didn't do so well! The plants never got enough sun. My tomato plants were terrible looking. Skinny and short. I did manage to pick a couple of tomatoes and that was all. My summer squashed did fine but everything else was a failure. So, I decided to try a different approach! I'm going to be making my own self-watering Containers.
Anyone familiar with N.W. Arkansas especially knows that we have no soil, lots of rocks, and lots of clay! Not a good combination if you ask me! My side garden doesn't get enough sun! My dad told me about a new product called "Earth Boxes" but they are expensive. I'm going to try to save some money and build my own boxes or containers. I found this really informational YouTube video on how to build your own! Check it out!
My dad built his very own Greenhouse! I'm really hoping maybe I could get Leroy to build one for me! Here are the instructions from my dad:
Here is a few shots of my greenhouse which is 8x6. The sides are 4 feet with plastic hoops over the top. I have made it so I can use a screw gun to disassemble when I am done. I take the flats out when the sun is out, and bring them in a night. You have to have two ventilation windows you can open, and a thermometer, since it can get too hot when the sun shines. I have a vent in the door and in the end. I used spray cement to glue the plastic on the ends to the part that goes over the top. It works real well. Some times it gets over 100 degrees, so you have to open the door or windows to control the temps.
This is my gardening plan:
I'm going to try to grow all of my plants in my backyard which is fenced in! This will keep the deer away and pesty animals from eating my plants! I'm hoping to start building my containers soon! I'm going to plant: Peas, cucumbers, watermelons, and beets! Also, next month I'm planning on planting carrots, onions, broccoli, corn, and eventually summer squash! When my peas are done producing. I will plant bush beans!
Has anyone tried to grow potatoes in old tires????
I really want to be able to canned my own salsa and tomato sauce! I really wanted to do this last year but I didn't produced enough tomatoes.
My dear readers, what are you planning on growing in your gardens this year?
Starting tonight, I'm going to be introducing a new chore system. Everyone including Mom and Dad will take care of some of the responsibilities of dinner. I did have a hard time coming up with five things everyone could do every night. I'm hoping this will be a good experience for the whole family. I can't do everything around the house. I'm feeling like my evenings are being wasted with spending an excessive amount of cleaning. I just wrote on each stick a chore and placed them in a jar. I will have everyone pull a stick out and this will hopefuly keep the kids fighting over chore duties. So, what type of chore system does your family use? What works and what doesn't!
The Importance of Chores
Why chores are important
Here's the reality, and American society's dirty little secret-many kids don't learn how to wash their clothes, cook a meal, mow a lawn, make a bed, or even effectively wash a dish until they've moved out of the house. (In other words, you're not the only one with a demanding slug for a child!) Yet, most people agree that kids do benefit from having a role in the daily operations of the family. Figuring out the right amount of responsibility is a balancing act. Kids work very hard. Between schoolwork, learning to deal with social situations, and, for many kids, their many extracurricular involvements, kids have very little “down” time. They need a chance to play, relax, daydream, nap. At the same time, teaching children life skills (and I'm talking kids of both sexes here, by the way) has a number of benefits: It's a Good Idea! Think about the benefits of family responsibilities as more than just learning survival skills. It's the participation that matters. Participating in family responsibilities helps a child develop essential social skills. A person who enters college, or an independent living situation, with life skills will have a far easier time living with roommates. Family responsibilities teach basic discipline. The skills learned from having family responsibilities include time management, prioritizing tasks, and general organizational abilities. With family participation, the parents don't have to slave their life away serving the royal offspring. Most importantly, the child understands that he is part of a community (your family) and that as a member of the community, he needs to share responsibilities to keep the community going.
Check out Family Education website for more information and articles!
Oh, course! I made it out of felt. Landon informed me this morning he needed a Dr. Suess Hat! I decided to look into my craft box and I realized I had just enough material to make a really cool hat. Don't ya just LOVE it!
When I was a little girl attending elementry grade school; we use to sing this song all the time. This was seriously my favorite song from school. I think I might of learned it in the fourth or fifth grade during music time.I was able to locate the Lyrics at the boy scout website!Also, I wasn't able to locate the book at the library. So, this was the best I could do. I found this rhyme and youtube video. I'm going to try the Rogers Library on Wed. If I can find the book. I'll probably do some spaghetti painting activity and make spaghetti and meatballs for dinner one night. I'm a little bit behind in the planning stage. I tried to locate an online version of the book but had no luck.
New activity school tray-playdoh! I made my own playdoh and I added gold color glitter to the playdoh! Don't ya just love the cookie cutters!
My sister in law teaches special ed and requested my playdoh recipe. I decided to go ahead and post the recipe for her and anyone else who would like to make their own playdoh. This is seriously the cooked playdoh recipe ever. No chemicals, feels great, and it's super easy to make. I just put together this really cute activity tray. I found these really cute Three Left Clover cookie cutters at a garage sale last year. I have been waiting all year to use them. We are having a little girl over for a playdate tomorrow. I wanted to have a couple of new items out to keep the little ones busy.
COOKED PLAYDOH
2 c. flour
1 c. salt
4 tsp. cream of tartar
2 c. water
2 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. food coloring (any color)
Combine all ingredients, except water and oil, in a saucepan. Gradually stir in 2 cup water mixed with oil, add food coloring. Cook over medium to high heat, stirring constantly until a ball forms. Remove from heat, place dough on table and knead until smooth.
Leah was so cute this morning with her cake roll. You should of seen the look on her face. All smiles. She found the cake roll on the halfway and started to play with it right away. She even tried to take a bite of the strawberry. She wasn't to happy to discover it was felt! She ended up being very protective of her cake roll. She insisted that I put it in a tupperware container. I'm going to try to make a couple more rolls. I still need to work on my hand sewing!
Best friends back at BYUH! I'm thinking this was fall of '96
Sumiteer Trip to Boundary Waters! I think we took this trip Summer of '95! One week canoeing, no electrics, and no real bathrooms. Talk about living out in the wild! Can you find me in the group picture? Second girl from the right? I'm wearing a plaid green and blue hat! 
Senior Pictures! I'm about 17 years old! 
