Fashion $ense

Thursday evening we had an Enrichment on Shopping for clothing on a budget. We played a game "Name that price." Several outfits were on display with what the original cost would have been, but none of them were purchased at full price. Then we had to match up the price tags with the outfit. Claudia, was our teacher and she stumped the group. Thinking I might be able to use my fashion sense from earlier days, She called on me and paid me a compliment that made my day. She said "For those of you that don't know, Emily used to be quite the fashion statement in the day." Then I chimed in before I became a mom.

Anyway this made me feel so good that someone else thought I had it together on the fashion part of my life. This caused me to reflect a little about my fashion statement or lack of during my life. So as she called on me I was wearing my brown linen skirt that I bought at Old Navy pre-Parker. So it has to be at least 5 years old. The shirt I have worn this night is a coral polo that I bought shortly after Parker was born, so it is 4 years old. So much for a fashion statement. When I was dressing for the evening I needed something light weight, it was weigh in night and coral goes well with brown.

There was a time in my life when I had more clothes, more time to shop for my clothes, more money to spend on clothes and certainly more time to put outfits together. I reflected how my sister, Rebecca just returned to BYU-Provo and packed up her Nissan Sentra full of her clothes. I imagine her car was packed pretty full for her one person. She even left a drawer behind. I too when I was in college had tons of clothes. I think I could fit all my clothes that I wear now into 1 large suitcase at this point in my life. Now if I had to pack up my kitchen, that is a different story. Bring on the truck and trailer.

When I was working, clothes were important. I was representing my company. I needed to look nice. I liked to shop and had extra money to spend. I think at one point I could go an entire month without wearing the same thing twice (well shirts at least).

Since becoming a mom I just don't have the time to keep my nails painted. I changed sizes in the process and have cleaned out the majority of my clothes. I tend to wear my clothes, wash them and wear them again. I am fine with this. I have also learned to downsize, because when you have to pack several outfit changes for your kids plus diapers there isn't a whole lot of room left for my clothes anyway.

Do I still like to shop? Yes.
Would I like several closets full of clothes again? Probably not.
Would I like some more fashionable clothes? Definitely. I told myself once I reach my goal weight I can go shopping and get some newer stuff.

Of course when you dress kind of conservatively and keep with classic styles like dockers and polos. They really don't go out of style.

There you have my thoughts on fashion.

My Garden tour

This past week was Ag Progress Days here in Central PA. They offer tours showcasing some of the research that Penn State does. I have always wanted to take this "High Tunnel" tour, but having kids and stroller would never lend me to board a bus, let alone entertain them while I tried to listen. So I got a babysitter and headed out by myself to Ag Progress Days.

They had 2 times for the tour a morning and a afternoon tour. I am not a morning person, most mornings I still haven't had my oatmeal by 9:30. I chose the morning tour because it would be easier for a babysitter (no naps involved), thought it might be a little cooler for me, and then I would have the afternoon to recover.

So I get up early, the babysitter arrives early and I get out the door. I knew that I had to park and then walk to sign up for the tour. I didn't expect to hit the morning rush of Ag Progress Days. Of course I am running behind and cutting things kind of close. I didn't want to miss the bus. I only live 15 minutes from Rock Springs, but it is bumper to bumper once I get there. Pick up trucks, vans and car loads of people are flocking to see large tractor displays, eat yummy food showcasing some of PA's best agriculture, and learn more about farming. It was 9:10 by the time that I got my parking space. It took me 10 minutes to walk to the far end for the bus tour. I made it, but really had to walk fast.

Penn State has about 100 acres of land that they use in various areas of research. Our guide was very knowledgeble on the subject. His job to oversee these High Tunnels .

They grow a little bit of everything inside these tunnels. This is what a High tunnel looks like.
This is what I thought was considered a high tunnel.

This is actually a row cover.

It was ok though. The tour was very informative and I enjoyed myself quite a bit. Here is what I learned.

• High Tunnels extend the growing season. The research facility can still harvest tomatoes up until November. They can also get produce earlier than the rest of us.
• The High Tunnel has less problems with Disease, because they are shielded from the elements and rain.
• Rain actually brings with it disease.
• The sides are adjustable to control the amount of heat inside the tunnel. Blankets or solar covers can be added to keep heat in longer (in cooler months) or to shield from the warm sun ( in warmer months).
• They still get weeds inside the tunnels.
• They take a bio friendly approach to dealing with pests. So instead of using pesticides to control bugs, they release other good insects to eat the bad or destroying insects. A fascinating idea. They also have 2 resident cats ( a favorite of mine) to control any rodents. We saw one and he appeared to be well fed.
• Plants get bigger and produce larger size produce because they don't have the effects of wind, sun or rain to beat them up.
• They use a drip irrigation system that can also deliver fertilzer to the plants.
• Penn State harvest the plants and vegatables to sell at a farmer's market down town on Wed. They even grow some more exotic things to cater to the many nationalities present on campus.
• Pressure treated lumber is not as bad as it used to be. They have changed some of the chemicals that used to make it.
• If you use pressure treated lumber for raised beds, just line the bed with plastic or landscape fabric and this will prevent your plants from coming into contact with it.
• Small trees can be grown inside a tunnel. We saw hardy kiwi.
• The ones at Penn State have doors large enough to fit a small tractor in to work the soil.
• High Tunnels are avaialble to the consumer for about $2000.
  

As I went on this tour and realized that the guide gets paid to play in the dirt and experiment with growing different plants it seemed kind of a fun job. Now the documentation that goes along with the experiments might not be the fun part, but that is what provides you and me with the results, what works and what doesn't work. That is just part of research I guess. For some reason I had the mind set that most research was done in a chemistry lab and not outside growing yummy food or beautiful flowers.

I came away inspired to keep gardening and doing my own experiments at home. Trying different varieties or techniques of gardening.

Be creative @ your library

This was the theme for the Summer reading program at the library. It gives me an incentive to see how many books I can read to the boys in 5 weeks. Later on when they are bigger they will have to read their own books. There were a few books that Parker didn't want to finish, but I made him sit threw it so we could be in the running for the prize for the person who reads the most books. Little did I know that 89 books was just a drop in the bucket. The winner had 300 books read to them.

In my new attempt to get my house in order, we took a picture of their certificates so that we could um, discard them. Gasp.

Preston is holding his out for you to see. We took the boys to story time during the school year and they are nice enough to let Preston tag along, even though you are supposed to be 3. Well when it came time to singing time he loved to run up and be a part of the flannel board. When they called his name he giggled and ran up to get his own certificate for reading 60 books with 1706 pages. That is a lot of sitting still for a little guy.

Parker is studying his. Like I mentioned he had 89 books with 2924 pages read to him.

My kitchen

One of Jim's friends from New York is a professional organizer. These types of people love to organize and they get paid to help others who feel lost and don't know where to start. I chatted with her when we last visited New York last summer. This planted a little seed in my mind.

I have really struggled to keep my house in order after having babies. Housework seemed to go out the window. I would much rather spend some free time on the computer than tending to housework chores. I finally realized that I was in over my head and decided that I would call an organizer for help. I went to a web site that lists professional organizers by area and found Kelly.

Kelly came to my house in June and I showed her everything, all the rooms in the in house and the basement too. I am tired of not being able to find things. When I go to clean I am intimidated by all the stuff that I have accumulated. I know how to organize. In fact in my pre mommy days people would often compliment me on my organizational skills. I just needed to make it a priority and be accountable to someone.

I started with my kitchen. I pulled everything out and then decided what to keep and then put it back neatly. I was able to even make space for some of my Pampered Chef that had been sitting in the computer room. I didn't take before pictures, I was too embarrassed. But here are some after shots.
My next assignment, the master bathroom.