Free One Year Subscription

I was pointed to this website yesterday and think it is crazy awesome. You can subscribe to many different magazines online so help save trees. I knew many magazines were already promoting online versions of their magazines however this particular site offers a free one year subscription.

http://goreadgreen.com/

I signed up for one. You should too!

I Bought A Potato

Its huge.


Its about 8 1/2 inches long.


Its about 10 1/2 inches around.


Its almost 2 pounds.


It is a gigantic potato.

And I'm gonna put it in a stew and eat it! I'm very excited about my gigantic potato.

What Would You Do...

...if your commute was 92 miles round trip every day to work?
...if your car had over 123,000 miles on it?
...if 2 1/2 hours of your day is spent in your car?
...if you resigned?
...if your boss asked you to think about what your condition would be to stay?
...if you aren't sure if telecommuting 3 days a week will be sufficient to keep you from hating the drive?
...if you do quit you'll take a serious pay cut?

I'm prepared to take the pay cut. If I wasn't then I wouldn't have put in my notice, however, it is tempting to stay IF I don't have to drive in 5 days a week. However, I'm not even sure I want to ask for a work week that will have me only coming in 2 days a week. Part of me wants to just say never mind and quit completely.

This is my dilemma.

Dog Park!

We took the pups to the dog park.

They luv this place. I do too actually. We went on the 9th and it was PACKED. The weather had turned nice and it was a Sunday afternoon. I've never see so many folks out there, but it is always better when there are lots of other dogs to interact with.

I took my new camera along as well. I obviously still have a lot to learn, but I managed to get some decent action shots.



















I plan to take it with me again the next time we go. It was fun having them run back and forth between Honey and I to get those hauling ass shots. ;p

Fall

It turned into fall last week. When I left for work on Monday the 3rd there were a few leaves on the ground and I had noticed the trees starting to change color during the week prior.

When I got home on Friday the 7th most of the leaves were on the ground. The entire back yard is now covered. We didn't tend to it last weekend so we will have to today. Fortunately Honey is home this week and next on vacation so he can help out while I'm at work. We won't have time to get to it this weekend because we'll be out and about with family. I'll post more about that on Monday.

Last season was our first in the house and we didn't know we should keep them cleaned up if we wanted to spare the grass. I figured people just cleaned up because they wanted to keep their yards tidy. I suppose it doesn't matter much either way but this year we've decided to stay on top of it and keep them cleaned up.

I took some time to get a few shots with my new camera of them changing on the trees.

Wahoo!

I've wanted a new camera for a long time. My parents bought me a point and shoot about 6 years ago and it has been very good to me. I've been very satisfied with it. I've just kept the thought of a nice big non-point and shoot in my mind for many years and figured one day I'd get one.

That was until one day this summer. On August 24th 2008 I used a friend's Canon Rebel XTi. She had gotten it new a few months before and let me play with it a bit. Needless to say I didn't want to give it back to her. I tried my very best to play with it politely and then hand it back but I found it very difficult to let it go.

The seed was planted. I WANTED a new camera. NOW. The point and shoot has felt so sub par to me since I find it difficult to use with any passion at all.

So the research began. I started searching the internet off and on for pricing info on this XTi and seeing how much it was I realized I better cool my jets a bit and be a responsible adult.

A few weeks later I was talking to my dad about it and he mentioned a couple of lenses he had that he won't be using again that will fit this new camera. I felt the surge again knowing I would only have to purchase the body. Well I still stayed calm and bookmarked that information for the near future when I'd be able to make the purchase.

Then last week my Honey came to me and offered a part of his bonus check to give me an early Birthday/Christmas present. I peed. I did some more searching and found the camera body on Amazon. Then I noticed that since I'd played with my friend's XTi (10.1 MP) Cannon had released the next step up. The XSi (12.2 MP) and the cost between the two was insignificant!

Well of course I wanted the XSi. So I bought it. With a bunch of money from my Honey and a handful of my own, I am now the proud owner of a Canon Rebel XSi which is a nice upgrade from my 6 year old 3.1 MP Kodak EasyShare DX4330.

Most of the money I threw in bought me a nice camera backpack and a wireless remote to go along with the new camera.

Now all I need is to meet up with my dad and get those two lenses. I guess I'll just have to read the user manual in the meantime.

Prepare yourselves to start looking at this blog instead of reading it!

Cluster F*** Avoided - Raised Vegetable Bed Success!

In my October 30th post I stated that this past weekend was going to be a cluster F while I tried to figure out all the things I needed to do to get a raised planting bed in the front yard.

Well, we succeeded without too much problem. Really it was no problem at all, just time consuming hard work and a bit of snipping at each other. Well I supposed I did most of the snipping, or so it was implied.

Anyway, we have our very first raised bed, proudly sitting in the front yard, waiting patiently for seeds. I'll get them in this coming weekend.

I found instructions on how to build a bed that I thought looked good and seemed the most useful so we followed them almost to a T (accidentally making a couple of adjustments) but all in all it turned out just right. We may tweak a few things this coming weekend, like adding some more screws (we bought too few) and possibly cutting the pvc arcs down (for attaching bird netting), since we missed that step and they're too tall. Neither of these things is crucial to the function of the bed though so we're not too worried about it.

And now, here's the photo journal of our two day journey. Did you expect anything less? :)


We measured and laid out these markers to get an idea of how big of an area these beds would take up. We will eventually put in 2 2x4 beds that will sit perpendicular to the 4x6 we built this past weekend.


Back from a 2 hour trip to the store, Honey began cutting the wood.


While Honey cut the wood, I stained the freshly cut pieces. It was just a semi transparent stain to seal the wood and protect it from the elements.


After letting the stain dry overnight, we began the assembly the next afternoon.


Finished! It is actually sitting upside down at this point. The protruding posts will sit down in holes dug in the ground to keep it from moving around.


Now to mark the place. Honey gouged the earth around the posts so we'd know where to dig the holes and the area to be tilled.


Till baby till! I think he's having fun. :D


We removed the larger chunks of tilled up grass and set the bed in place.


Then we attached the pipes that will hold the bird netting frame. This design makes it easy to add or remove the frame with ease.


With the frame posts set, Honey worked to smooth the dirt as we added it a few bags at a time.


Now just smoothing out the full bed.


Here is the finished product.

Like I said before, the pvc arches are a bit too tall. They're supposed to be 6 feet long and we forgot to cut them down from 10 feet. All I need now is to buy some netting and plant the seeds!

Halloweeny!

I'm following suit of some fellow bloggers. Happy Halloween wishes and a nifty picture.



So... HAPPY HALLOWEEN! :D

Seeds!

Well, they're here.



Now... I have to build the beds. I don't have a ton of space or any experience so I have a feeling this weekend is going to be a cluster f***. I'll be trying to plan, measure, buy, build and prep. I can't decide if I want to get the whole lot planned out or just one bed to start. I have no idea how much materials will cost and wish I could find some used scraps lying around instead.

I also just realized that I ought to think about keeping the paths that will run between the beds clear of weeds. I can't imagine trying to get the weed whacker in between them, fighting the cord all the while so it doesn't tear down my plants.

I have a huge pile of wood chips at my disposal though so I might just throw a thick mat of that down to start and see how that works. Really I won't have to worry about much weed growth at all for the next few months.

Anyway, I'm apprehensive and excited. I really hope that by the end of the weekend I've got what is in my head reflected back at me in my front yard.

Wish me luck!

Victory Garden, Freedom Garden, Front Yard Garden, Whatever

I'm putting in a vegetable garden. The back yard is dog space and too shady so the front yard gets the tilling. I have ideas of how I want to put the beds in and how to plant the seeds I've purchased but just like everything else, we'll see how it looks when it is all said and done.

I bought Broccoli, Carrots, Corn, Cowpeas, Lettuce, Okra, Onion, Spinach and Tomato seeds. They are all heirloom so I hope to plant the following year's crop from seeds that come off of these plants. I'm also looking to add in Garlic, Pumpkin and Zucchini but I haven't found/purchased those seeds yet. I need to find the garlic ASAP since it is a bulb and needs to go in the ground this fall.

I'm really looking forward to doing this. If I weren't headed out of town this weekend I'd be spending it measuring the areas I plan to plant and researching how I'm going to build the beds. I want to make it look as nice as possible but of course be functional as well.

I know there will be much trial and error but you have to start somewhere! I figure in a few years’ time I'll look back at the beginnings and laugh at the silly noobie mistakes I've made. Feel free to point me in the right direction if you see photos or read comments about what I'm doing that don't seem quite right. I don't mind folks passing on knowledge!

Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll post an update on this project with photos of sad little brown beds, ready and waiting for seeds and plants.

Also, I'd like to suggest that if you aren't doing something similar, contemplate it. It's a good thing to do for many reasons. It's better for you health wise, money wise and better for the environment since you won't be contributing to shipping in foods that you'd normally buy at the store.


Photo found at www.nebraskastudies.org
Just something to think about. Times are a changing, and in my opinion, they really ought to be.

brighterplanet.com

You may have noticed my 360 Challenge badge in the left column. It's for a website that "is dedicated to helping you take charge in the fight against global warming and build a clean-energy future.

They're currently holding a Climate Matters video contest that was developed to inspire the next President to take action on climate change.

This is one of the video submissions.


This Lawn is Your Lawn from roger doiron on Vimeo.

Climate does matter. What can you do?

The Back Patio

I blogged back in July about adding on to the back patio. It said that we'd add the 16"x16" pavers "in the next few weekends." Well, it was more like twelve weekends, but, we started the next step!

We needed to add 7 rows to extend the porch to where we wanted it and we were able to get down 4 of those rows.


Before


After
With a little bit of adjusting and three more rows the porch will now run the length of that wall of the house. What once was an 8'x8' patio will now be an 8'x20' patio.

It has a very hodgepodge look for sure though. We found 25 gray pavers in the lot of a house that is going to be torn down. Since they were a different style and size than the ones that were already there, we had to get creative with the layout design. Also, to reach the 20 foot length we wanted, we had to buy additional pavers but I wasn't able to find them in gray. I only found them in red, so the design took on a whole new look.


September 2007


October 2008
It turns out that we're going to need 2 more gray ones however, but I'm pretty sure I know where to find some. Otherwise we'll have to rethink our design and do some additional work to move around what has already been laid.

Regardless, I'm looking forward to getting those last 3 rows down and organizing the items we have out there in a nice and inviting way. We hope to use the space in cooler weather for friend and family gatherings.

I Have a Smart Dog

Well I have 2 smart dogs but this post is only about one of them. Milo is his name. He's awesome.


In the Snow
Anyway, a year ago we didn't have dog doors and the pups were new to the house and still learning how to go outside for potty business. They weren't quite learning how to let us know when they needed to go out so I hung a bell on the door.

The dogs were of course interested in what I was doing by the back door so I figured I'd go ahead and show them. I leaned over, said "Potty outside?” rang the bell then opened the door. Later when I took them out again I did the same thing.


At the Dog Park
The next day I was hanging out on the computer and I heard the bell ring. I thought, "No way... I only showed them twice, one of them must have bumped it." Then as I was headed toward the back door I heard it again. Milo was standing there at the door, looking at me expectantly. I was shocked and excited! So I praised him like mad and let him out.

Shortly after that we had doggie doors installed so the bell method fell by the wayside and I took it off of the door. It stayed tucked away on my desk for probably 6 months. In that time the cats figured out how to get out of the doors and over the fence so we had to monitor the dog doors again. I thought, while they are closed we'll just revert back to the bell method. I didn't expect him to remember the bell but he did. I heard it one day and just started laughing.


We actually have two back doors and two dog doors. One leads from the house proper to a closed in back porch. Then the porch one leads outside. The bell hangs on the outside door. The other day both doors and dog doors were closed. Milo barked at the inside door and as my Honey opened it for him, he ran to the other door and rang the bell! I guess he really wanted out!


Super Happy at the Dog Park!
In April I purchased a dog training kit that focused on clicker training. The book said to get the dogs to connect the clicking sound with good I needed to give them a food reward. After several clicking sessions over a few consecutive days the dogs will learn the pattern. Within the week of buying the book I did this multi day acquaintance test. After that I totally dropped the ball and have yet to teach them a trick. It is on my list of things to do.

Well some months later, let’s say July, I found the clicker and thought "I wonder if they remember what this does?" I should have known due to the bell training that they would but I was still surprised and excited when after just one click they both came to full attention and waited for their treat. I of course gave them one.


Silly Boy
Now fast forward to last weekend. Milo got out of the house. When these darn pups do that they do not respond to my calling them. That has yet to be trained. Their noses get the better of them and off they go down the street. So Milo took off. I immediately thought "Get the clicker!" I ran in the house and tracked it down then went out on the porch and yelled "MILO!" and clicked. That little mutt turned and bolted toward me like lightning!!


Milo Loves his Tennis Ball
I jumped up and down, hollering praises at him, clapping my hands, let him in the house and lavished him with treats and petting and all sorts of verbal praises.

So now I know, basically, that he is trained to come to me by the sound of that click. Fabulous smart dog!


Grassy Tongue


He was Chewing


My Sweet Boy Milo

More Walking?

I thought I did this part already. Well I did but...

My friend over at Nothing to see here turned me onto a 6 week walking program she started a few days ago.

Since I have a pedometer and recently bought a new battery for it, I figured I'd join her. Also, since I'm already climbing stairs, I figured counting those steps along with a few others wouldn't hurt the size of my keister and it will most certainly make my pups much happier!

If you're interested, check it out at America on the Move.

The cool thing about the interactive website is that once you register (for free of course) you get to choose a trail to walk, virtually. As you log your steps for the day it moves you along the trail. It's neater than it sounds. Check it out for yourself if you want to see. My friend chose the Iditarod Trail and I chose the Oregon Trail.

We'll see how far I make it down the Oregon Trail in the next 6 weeks!

The Stairs

You may or may not have noticed the little rabbit hopping along in the tall green grass there on the left hand side of my blog. I put that there to keep track of how many stairs I'm climbing.

But why is it there?

Well there is an answer and an explanation:

Answer - I'm a nerd and I like to track things.
Explanation - Without all of the long winded details, I'm backpacking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon next year.

*GASP* "That's a big deal Sarah... are you sure you can? I mean, I'm sure you can but you're going to have to work for it you know."

Yes I know. Hence the stairs.

Anyway, so the plan is this, I work up to walking 3000 stairs (up and back down again) 3 days per week. That's 9000 steps in one week. Huge, I know. Pretty scary really and I'm not looking to beat myself up if I never reach that many, however, you have to start somewhere.

So I started with 1 set of the 6 flights in my building PLUS 2 sets of 4 flights (because I work on the 4th floor).

The routine goes like this, 4 up in the morning, 4 down at lunch, for back up after lunch then 4 down again when work is done. Those are given. No matter what, I'll do 8 flights every single day.

Now the build up comes in on adding in the 6 flight routines. Last week I just put in 1 set of 6 for 3 days. This week I'm doing 2 sets of 6 for 3 days. Next week I'll add in one more and do 3 sets of 6 for 3 days.

The number on the cute little rabbit counter represents 1 day's worth of stair stepping for each week. So I'll update it weekly. As you can see it is at 384 now. That's how many steps 6 flights + 4 flights + 4 flights equal. Have I bored you yet?

Except for a couple of weeks that repeat the pattern (such as 6 sets of 6 for 2 weeks) I'll be adding one set every week. The plan is to be at 3000 by the end of March 2009. That's the earliest we can go. We may go in October '09. But if we go in March, I'll be ready.

Step, step, step, step, step. It’s hard but when I'm climbing and sweating and huffing and puffing and I think "Holy crap!" I envision the Canyon and think, "Oh this is so worth it."

Plus my ass is gonna be like POW!

Mini Vacation

I spent the last four days with my Honey and his parents. The parents were visiting from New Hampshire and we filled the weekend and days around it with things to do and see in the area. We went to a rodeo, the botanical and Japanese gardens, a museum and an Omni show plus we took the train to Dallas and went to the Dallas World Aquarium.

I'm pretty tired from my 4 day vacation and am looking forward to a quiet weekend coming up. Other than a baby shower on the 20th I have no other plans and I aim to keep it that way.

I've used a Kodak EasyShare DX4330 for about 5 years and it has been very good to me however I recently played with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi and am forever spoiled. The point and shoot just isn't going to cut it ever again but since that is all I have for now I took it out and about with the visitors and shot what I could.

Here are a handful of highlights.










I'm glad it was a bright and sunny day. This camera has always done better with outdoor photography. I have to say also, the dragonfly picture is the crowning jewel if for no other reason than it is extremely difficult to snap them. They normally don't sit still long enough, and certainly not when you only have a point and shoot and have to lean in within a foot to capture it!

I was so excited that it turned out. Now all I have to do is save my pennies for the camera I REALLY want.

Oh one more thing, I don't believe in touching up photos so what you see here are original from the camera.