Project of the Month – Page 3 – branching out… on a limb

Part Two- My Yard “Cleans Up Good” more of APRIL Project of the Month

Out with the old, in with the new.

Went back to Walter Anderson nursery today, found Leslie and she helped me pick out more semi-drought tolerant container loving plants. These should last longer and hold up to our dry weather better than the ubiquitous annuals that I have planted in the past.

We found…

Into the pots they went. The portulaca is nifty- I’d never noticed it before and hope that this succulent-ish flower really can take the heat. The salvia should bloom for quite a while when it gets going, but I have no clue how the celosia will do- it sure is a bright red and it looked really nice with the white portulaca. White with red and blue with yellow kind of pops, so that’s how these got planted.

I still have three or four more yard projects to tackle that involve trying something different or doing the job on my own for the first time… “NEXT!” she yells out to no one in particular.

APRIL Project- Do You Clean Up Good? Part One…

My yard “cleans up good.”

I hd never heard that phrase until my early 20s when a neighbor paid me the compliment. I may not recall what special event The Boyfriend/Husband was taking me out for that evening, but the “You clean up good, kid!” I remember like it was yesterday.

Yeah, I'm hanging my head. — Yeah, I’m hanging my head.

This is the sorry state of affairs that I am working with. Just this very day I am learning that this desiccated disaster is not entirely my fault. It seems that The Husband had turned of the water… for the last three weeks! Now, April has been a rotten month for me so far, but usually my entryway doesn’t fall apart to this extent. I’m glad to know that I had help in this mess.

To help prettify my window boxes, the dead alyssum, pansies and geraniums are headed to the compost pile and being replaced with less thirsty flowers.They aren’t natives or succulents, but with help from Leslie at Walter Anderson Nursery I learned that succulents wouldn’t take the heat and the local plants that would, get way too big. Trust your Garden Center Gurus. They know all.

Here are the replacements (you can click on the small photos to see their detail and names):

And here is the lovely finished project. Sorry kitty lovers, but both cats had jumped down from the window by the time I took this photo:

If I remember, I’ll post an update in a month or so when these little guys fill in more. In the meantime, this is what gets replaced tomorrow:

APRIL Project- Stop being Those Neighbors…

…you know who they are. Their lawn could use a trim. They have some bushes that are half dead. And are they ever going to do something about that spot with weeds? Yeah… that’s us.

Smart people who can maintain their yard... — Smart people who can maintain their yard…

I have four spots in the front and back yard that need work that I keep saying I will do something about-

Put another citrus tree in a pot in my backyard- do the work myself this time instead of making The Husband do it all
Find a water-wise plant and rocks for the front of our walk
Also, more water-wise plants for my window boxes instead of committing plant abuse and killing off a bunch of flowers again
Plant the cactus The B-I-L has so generously offered to share from his plant many times- fresh nopales in my future!

I don’t know why our citrus trees are dying slow deaths. Yes I do. I don’t fertilize them, the snails are eating up the new leaves. and then there is the entire North American population of Whiteflies living on one little Meyer Lemon tree/bush in my backyard, struggling to overcome these pests.

It isn't arborcide if your tree has blossoms, I tell you! — Unpotted tree… It isn’t arborcide if your tree has blossoms, I tell you!

Hopefully, by the end of the month I’ll have gotten out there and made our incredibly nice neighbors proud, and turn over the job of being THOSE neighbors to someone else.

Big Goal Reached- First 5K is the Hot Chocolate Run!

Me peeking into the photo, about to run... — Me peeking into the photo, about to run…

Why wouldn't you learn to run if at your first 5K they hand out chocolate at the halfway mark?!? — Why wouldn’t you learn to run if at your first 5K they hand out chocolate at the halfway mark?!?

Holy cow, this was fabulous! Especially since my Official-Running-Coach-turned-Official-Chauffeur joined me… can’t beat that at 5:30 in the (fill in your preferred explicative) morning. “Yes, dear. Drive me to Padre Stadium at the crack of dawn, thank you.”

A supportive spectator along the way is WordPress blogger and Jubi Kitty teileifortunes.wordpress.com. Hi and thanks for the kind words!

More awesome supporters, cheering on family and more..

There were all kinds of people running or walking the San Diego Hot Chocolate 15/5K– I loved seeing the kids and parents! The DJ pumping up the crowd at the start line tried his best to keep up with congratulating children running their first race. My favorite thing (besides the chocolate) was the comments I overheard. Overall winner- the guy who asked volunteers handing out water “No thanks, I’m looking for the Chardonnay!” Close Second to the couple calling out to other volunteers and supporters with the bells and noisemakers, “Needs more cowbell!” Honorable Mention to the college girls who couldn’t believe they were there at 6:30, “That’s it, walk time, we are so not even running this!” Makes you wonder if they were just ending a long night without any sleep! You know why teen girls don’t go out in groups of three, five or seven? Because they can’t even. Ha!

Forget the goodie bag, here's the goodie bowl! — Forget the goodie bag, here’s the goodie bowl!

Ready for snarfing down hot chocolate and a banana to dip into really good chocolate... — Ready for snarfing down hot chocolate and a banana to dip into really good chocolate..

I’ve been using my family’s activities for an excuse not to do much for myself. Don’t get me wrong- I LOVE the organizations, projects and competitions that my children and husband have chosen to challenge themselves. The teachers who led The Boy’s Academic Decathlon? Gold standard. Our community’s Rec Soccer? The best parents and coach. Don’t get me started on The Girl’s high school, I have several posts lined up on this blog for them alone. And The Husband’s work and biking friends? I thank God for them in particular. I just enjoy going along with everyone else’s plans and needs. You need a Helper Bee and not another leader? I’m there, just ask.

But, along with the theme of this blog, it is time to start branching out and learn new tricks for me. I wonder what next month’s project will be and where it will lead me? :oD

Happy day to you all, and thanks for reading!

Why Challenge Yourself? (Book and Project of the Month Pep Talk)

March Read: The Mistaken Wife

March Project: 5K and The Only Two Reasons I Run

The month is halfway over. I am more than halfway through my book, but failing at this running challenge. I won’t give up, though. I have friends who have gone back to college and set far higher fitness goals than I have- out of respect for them, and myself, I’ll keep plugging away. They truly inspire me!

Need a reason to challenge yourself with new projects, plays, and books, recipes, etc.? Go online, look up “neural plasticity” and follow links on reputable websites. (here’s some!) Even better, enter “neural plasticity” into the search bar on Pinterest… now sit back, and start reading. In a nutshell: when you experience new things your brain is energized.

Doing something new every day and going out on a limb is my way to help get over years of anxiety.

If I also end up expanding my cognitive abilities, broaden my perspectives and become more creative, even better!

“Creativity is just connecting things.
When you ask creative people how they did something,
they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it,
they just saw something.
It seemed obvious to them after a while.
That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had
and synthesize new things.
And the reason they were able to do that was that
they’ve had more experiences
or they have thought more about their experiences than other people.
Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity.
A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences.
So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions
without a broad perspective on the problem.
The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.”
Steve Jobs

Read the whole WIRED interview here: http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/4.02/jobs_pr.html

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