Garden Bounty

The garden is FINALLY starting to produce some food. The cooler summer gave the garden a slow start.

The herbs are hung so they will dry and I need to start threading the chilis that I don't use right away so I have some homegrown summer spice in the middle of winter. But first, RANCHERO SAUCE.

A New Season

Summer is over, the kids have started back to school and my garden has a few surprises for me every day.
Nate is now is his new school for the immersion program. He came home from his first day and was asked by Mike, "How was your first day?"
"It was awful," he stated in a matter-of-fact way. "Not awful, awful; just awful."

Erik is at a new school as well but with the same teacher he had last year. His new school even has the same mascot, so it's all good.

Here is Lena, ready for her next adventure! I don't know what it is exactly, but it must have something to do exploring the cabinets or "helping" with the laundry....

We are still working on the basement. It's been studded in and some new insulation to cover the concrete walls. We're waiting to hear back from the electrician, so we can move forward. It's a little frustrating since we need to get that basement done before Mike comes home to work.

In a few weeks, I'll be teaching swimming again. I don't get paid a whole lot, but I do get to sign the boys up for free lessons, so in a way, that's money saved, thus earned. In a roundabout way.

All in all, we are well on our way into fall!

Changes

I haven't posted in ages. So let's start at the beginning...

Mike didn't have a job so I found a teaching position at Mt. Jordan swimming pool. I would be teaching in a 5 hour stretch in the mornings and then two hours in the afternoon. Add onto that my usual clients at La Montagne and it adds up to a busy schedule.

Mike heard of another position, at yet another company and sent off the usual resume and cover letter. He interviewed and we settled back into our routine- not daring to hope for an offer.

We waited....I kept teaching.

Mike got the job.

He started the following Monday- just 4 days away. Two days before we were supposed to go to California. We quickly scrapped original plans and scrambled to come up with Plan B, Plan C, D and E.
.
We went with Plan D. Mike would drive to California with us on Friday. Family pics were on Saturday, he jumped on a plane and flew home Sunday. The kids and I stayed for my parents 50th anniversary and my 20th High School reunion, played in the pool and hung out with cousins.

Two weeks later, Mike flew to Reno late Friday night, woke up the next morning and drove us back to Utah.

Mike is now working full-time with benefits, insurance, everything (something we haven't had in about 2 or 3 years). He's planning on teaching part-time at UVU in the fall. Coincidentally, my hours were reduced at the pool to just two afternoons a week plus a few private clients. I still have my clients at La Montagne.

The future now looks brighter- where are my shades?

out of the mouths of babes

Clear back in March, my sister-in-law and her brood went to Maui for 2 weeks. They asked if we could keep their two dogs- A neurotic dachshund (or wiener as Erik likes to call it) and a needy golden retriever. We agreed and stated our price- bottles of coconut syrup and other Hawaiian treats.

After a ridiculously circuitous route, we finally picked up a grocery sack of Caramacs, coconut syrup (only one?!?), and even some Spam-flavored macadamia nuts. Also in the sack was some microwave popcorn. Not exactly what you think of when Hawaii comes to mind, but it was an unusual flavor. We set that aside for Mom and Dad time.

Fast forward to tonight. Mike is at a Search and Rescue business meeting, so the boys and I decide to watch Toy Story 2 and pop some popcorn. Erik tried to make it on his own, but he kept undercooking it and putting in back in for more time. One can only imagine how that would have tasted after the 6th attempt, so I hollered out, "Isn't there anymore microwave popcorn?"

I can hear Erik rummaging around and then he proclaims, "I found some Ass-Kickin' Chile Lime!!"

Another blog

Hey all! I decided to start another blog about under-employment. It's called "Catch you on the flip side." The flip side is supposed to be gainful employment.

AAAALLLL BY MMY!-SEE-EELLLLF...

Try to channel Barbra singing my title. You can hear her can't you? That belting, nasal-y quality.. Anyway...

Mike personified the "perfect" husband last weekend slaving away in the yard all last weekend so he could take off guilt-free for a SAR workout today. He'll be back sometime on Monday, maybe even Sunday if the weather is cruddy.

Mike was great though- he rebuilt the garden plots a few weeks ago so now I have gorgeous, pressure treated wood, bi-level raised garden beds. We packed almost 20 square feet of dirt into our borrowed Audi and threw in a couple bags of expensive Miracle-Gro soil for luck and voila! After two years of nagging, I have my garden beds!

I spent a happy 2 hrs. (solo, even!) at Western Garden and came home with fistfuls of seeds, a paper bag of seed potatoes and some onion sets. Per Anne, the veggie garden gal, I rinsed my onion sets and carefully divided them so I would have lots of onions instead of just a few. Planted my seeds, planted the potatoes, planted the sets. *sigh* now I can relax for a few weeks.

WRONG!! I spend my days hovering around my garden beds. OOhhhh, how are my onions?? Are they hungry? Do they need some water? I'm like the overbearing Mom at a playdate. Have my seeds sprouted yet? No? Can I help them along? Okay, I'll be right over here if you need anything....

I swear, until I have decent sized plants, I totally stress out over those seeds. I'm one step away from digging up the onions just to see how they're doing (Mike will attest to this. I am notorious for digging up and moving perennials so much, I kill'em).

Breathe, Michelle, breeaaaathee.....

dual immersion

Hooray!! Hooray!! We applied Nate to two dual-immersion programs and he got in!! He wanted to speak Chinese or Spanish (that's my boy!). The district offered French as well, but he wasn't interested in that language.

I filled out applications to approximately six different school, hoping that Nate would get in SOMEWHERE. It worked!! Nate got into the Chinese program at Ridgecrest elementary and the Spanish at Silver Mesa. I was hoping for the program at Alta View elementary, but Silver Mesa is still pretty close (I'll have to drive him myself).

My nephew currently attends a dual-immersion program in Farmington. He started in kindergarten and now he's in second grade. Whenever I speak to him, his Spanish is spot on! He speaks it with ease and correctly, too. By the time these kids get into High School they'll speak better than RM's and will be ready begin ANOTHER language! Can you believe it? Tri-lingual!

It will be tough for our Nader at first, but he's on board and is excited to speak Spanish!