obsessions

so lately i have been obsessed with farming and homesteading and gardening (put in tomatoes and peppers this week, maybe a tad bit early but we'll see) so i thought i would put out some of the cool websites i am really loving right now:

nest and the greenhorns have interesting ideas and the greenhorns has a list of farm blogs to last me a year

while tangerine dreams and. farmama.. a little out there for me but still fascinating 

two food blogs: green your plate and dinner: a love story 

from the cookie magazine folks: momfilter and travels with clara

projects i think are great: wwoof the movie and urban roots and the loog guitar.

for you locals: backyard bees and (the vanishing of the bees movie is on my wish list)

hoping for a trip to this farm someday

just finished this book and ready for the show... the marathon starts tomorrow on planet green, set your dvr!!

so all this plus the research i am doing for a future "dream" italy trip and camp fire meeting ideas, i am busy busy busy! hope you enjoy all these websites as much as i have and be inspired as well.

can't wait for the next trip, whatever it might be.

11

emily turned eleven this week and today was our first "coed" birthday party... successful thank goodness!

emily wanted her ears pierced and yesterday was the day. i have to say there was a critical moment of panic attack right before she did it that will be etched forever in my brain. my maternal instinct was on high alert and we both had to push through it together. so thankful we did and she is flying high on the success
when emily declared "it didnt hurt!" her sister wanted to do hers as well... another tricky moment for me. unfortunately lizzie felt some pain and refused the second ear. after 20 minutes of negotiating, a second ear piercing gal earned lissie's trust and convinced her the punk rock look at 7 years old is not "in" at the moment and we got two pierced ears done

even though i work in the medical field and see some horrific things... its hard to watch your kids go through something painful. i am just glad we made it and the girls are so proud of themselves!

happy birthday my first born, love ya!!

hitting the road

growing up my family had a tent trailer and we spent many weekends camping together around southern california, never venturing farther than a couple hours away (i think mammoth was the longest trip we ever took and that was maybe once or twice). i feel nostalgic toward this kind of camping, brings back so many fun memories. my parents pulled the trailer with a little truck my grandparents owned and even with the vw squareback we called "betsy" (so cool!) when i first met chris, we acquired a tent trailer from his parents and took a few trips with it but lost interest for some reason... maybe work and a second kid plus crowded local camp sites? the trailer was swapped for motorcycles and his sister took it with her to nebraska. over the years we have wished we had kept it but it was long gone. when chris mentioned wanting a new trailer recently i immediately began to think of all the trips i'd love to take, short weekend or midweek adventures popped into my head. a quick trip to colorado and new trailer owners we became (thanks to my incredible in-laws!!)

of course chris had to send my this photo with the caption "your new trailer"



our "real" new trailer



vegas here we come! (just kidding!!)