Sunday, October 23, 2011

Garage Sales

Who doesn't love a garage sale! Well, besides my mom. She has issues when people don't buy her stuff. She feels it's their way of telling her that her stuff is crap. I make sympathetic noises to appease her but in my mind I am shouting, "You didn't have what they needed!". People shop garage sales for what they need.

Right now, I am sitting outside at my own garage sale. I already sold our old double stroller. Yesterday I sold over 75 dollars worth of stuff. Today I am hoping to finally unload a table and chairs. With a possible move to Michigan in the works, the less stuff we have to haul, the better. Plus, I get to sit at a table, crochet my heart out while my husband watches my children. Mommy heaven!!!!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Storm Readiness

Starting tomorrow, a tropical low will make its way over the state of Florida, dumping a lot of rain on an already soaked Central Florida, where I happen to live. Cities are giving away free sandbags. Luckily, the area in which I live was not severely affected by flooding from the storm a week ago. However, I still have my storm supplies ready to go. This storm has the potential to go severe, which always sucks. So here is what I have for supplies.

1. Water-always very important. We have several 5 gallon jugs of it.
2. Dry and canned food
3. Laterns-when the power is out, it is essential to have a source of light stronger than candles.
4. Candles-good for when you only need a little light and also for roasting marshmallows so the kids don't get      scared.
5. Charcoal-for the grill when you can't cook on the stove.
6. A charcoal starter-lighter fluid is gross. You also need newspaper to light the charcoal.
7. First aid supplies-Not only may you or your family be injured, your neighbors may be as well.
8. A working cell phone with a car charger-Your car may be your only source of electricity.
9. A NOAA Weather radio-with extra batteries!
10. Extra Batteries-utmost importance.

Hopefully, this will be nothing but a lot of rain. But, just in case, I am prepared.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Do you ever feel....

Not good enough? I have been doing a lot of craft stuff and trying to sell on Etsy, to no avail. I know times are tough but I try not to price my items too high. I was getting stuff ready for a craft show and I just felt the weight of failure drop on my shoulders. Am I throwing a pity party? Maybe.

I am just sick of making effort and it not  paying off. I guess the lesson to be learned is that I have to keep making effort. It is kind of hard to keep that in perspective when you have no capital to keep funding your business.

And now with the upheaval that we might be facing with a move, I wouldn't dream of attempting a small business loan or anything like that. This is so frustrating. It is hard to get out of muck of self pity and loathing.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

My Container Garden

In Florida, we have two growing seasons, September to December and January to April. After that, it is too hot for most plants to survive. Since I live in a community where backyard gardens are not allowed, I have to utilize container gardening. Here are some pictures of what I have:


My cucumber plants that I started from seeds.


A pepper plant for my son, who loves spicy things.



Roma Tomatoes. Lots of meat, little juice.


Beefstake Tomatoes, great for hamburgers!


Another pepper plant.


Container gardening is really easy. Each of the buckets has rocks at the bottom to allow for better drainage. It is much easier to weed as well. I am hoping for a big crop of tomatoes and cucumbers to can. I am also growing herbs in little pots. The only worry I have right now is having to move suddenly. I will probably give the plants to a friend of ours with little kids. Try your own container garden, if you can right now. If you are in a colder climate, start planning for next year!




Sunday, October 2, 2011

A Small Taste of Fall

Saturday was the first day of October and by some miracle, a cold front pushed into Florida, giving us the tiniest taste of fall weather. We headed out that morning to the Home Depot to take part in their kid's workshop. I opened the door and the wind blew cool air in. It was glorious. When we got to the car, I looked at the temperature. 74 blessed degrees. We rolled the windows down and head off to the store.

When we arrived, there was a whole host of police cars outside the lumber doors. And extremely loud music. The area was roped off so we headed through the store to the workshop area. It was crazy but we managed to get the last 4 Fire and Rescue helicopters they had. We settled in to build the helicopters. My daughter had a fit because I wouldn't let her paint them at the store. I wasn't about to carry a helicopter with wet paint on it around the store. So we went outside to see what all the police cars were for. Turns out that it is National Safety Week. Being a fire chief's daughter, I should have remembered but I have 4 kids. Our kids got to sit on a sheriff's motorbike, they loved it. There were free sno-cones and we got to watch the store manager get dunked in a dunk tank by her employees. My kids thought it was hysterical. We left the store sticky but happy.

I am very grateful to stores that have free events. They have no idea how much it means to parents who don't have a lot of money to spend on outings. So three cheers to them! My children learn some new skills, I get them out of the house.

And many thanks to the Goddess for the weather this weekend. It felt like a taste of home.