PT in a Garden

I am writing today to bring your attention to my new blog! While I may not be posting a whole lot here, I have lately been posting a bit over there.  It is called Pear Tree in a Garden, and is all about Hubs and my adventure into Organic Gardening.  Whats worked, what didn't, what grew, what died, products we like, etc.  SO go check it out!

Kona says: Its time to get up!

One of the things I was looking forward to most this Saturday was to sleep in.  To maybe around 8:00.  Gosh I remember when that was early.  I'm not sure if you've noticed this silly thing that happens with spring, the sun, it rises earlier every day.  This rising of the sun is my dog's signal that it is time to GET UP!

So at 6:20 today (which is earlier than I get up for work on some days) I was woken by the blessedly cute, but painfully annoying (before the hour of 8:00 am) Kona. 

So my lesson today is... blinds, must get blinds!!

Wallpaper, drywall, mold, plaster, brick.

Today at the PT House we were started the simple project of tearing down (ancient-faded-pink) wall paper to paint a room.

Then we found some moisture.

 Then we found some mold.

 Then we found brick.

...and now we have a big project. 

Lifestyle changes!

Recently Hubs has been on a crusade to safe the world!! He has been watching documentary after documentary, has lost all trust in politicians (save for Ralph Nadar), wants to go green (now, right now, save the planet now!!!), and has convinced me to completely re-think how and what we eat.  Gosh, he as a superhero complex!

Of all his new obsessions, I really like the idea of eating healthy.  So we've decided to have a Vegan-ish diet.  Yes, I call it Vegan-ish.  Not unlike most Americans, Hubs and I grew up eating cheese burgers, and chicken nuggets, and pizza.  In fact we quite enjoy a good hearty steak, and giving up the pizza will be difficult, so why the vegan-ish-ism?  Quite a few reasons really.

First of all is the fact (yes fact) that the Human body is not build to digest meat.
We Humans have flat teeth for grinding, not gnawing and tearing, and have soft nimble fingers for picking nuts and berries, not the claws needed for tearing raw flesh.  If we were meant to digest meat, our bodies would look more like a dog, or cat, with claws and sharp teeth.  Also our digestive track is long and digestion in humans is very slow, perfect for digesting plant based foods!  The digestion process takes about 48 hours for Humans, and about 2 for carnivores, meat tends to putrefy in our digestive track or get stuck in the many bends of our intestine.  This can make us very sick!

A vegan diet is just plain healthy.  In eating a vegan diet you are reducing the amount of fat and processed foods you eat, and are ingesting more nutrients instead of 'fillers'.  People who switch to a vegan diet tend to lose about 20-30 pounds, although that is not one of the reasons why Hubs and I are switching.  We are switching mainly because we like to feel good, and eating good means you feel good.  Also we don't want to have to worry about diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, colon cancer, and auto-immune diseases which can be a side effect of eating meat and not enough vegetables/fruits.

Not to mention- a plant based diet encourages more (plant) farming and less animal farming which is good for the earth.


So Vegan it is!


But then there is the 'ish' part.  Hubs and I have also eliminated gluten from our diet.  Gluten is in wheat and anything that uses wheat.  No bread, pasta, beer, crackers, etc. unless it is 'gluten free' of course.  We first ventured into the gluten free diet more of an experiment.  About 1/3 of my family members are on the gluten free diet due to food allergies, so it may just be good for me because of my genetics; but also it is a suggested diet for people with ADD/ADHD, or auto immune diseases, AND it is estimated that about 90% of the american population is allergic to gluten and don't even know it.  So we threw our hands up in the air and said WHY NOT?!  Really why? 


Then, since we were altering our diet so drastically and were nervous about getting enough protein, we decided to keep seafood in our diet.  This aspect of our new diet was to avoid that jumping in the deep end feeling.


So.  Vegan - gluten free + seafood = Vegan-ish.


Now it's been over a month.  I sorta wanted to try it out for a while before I announced it to the world.  It isn't even 'facebook official' yet.  Anyhow it's been a while and I feel awesome.  I have more energy, I feel stronger, I have less of a double chin and more bones in my face (which looks awesome in my opinion), I have less gray under my eyes and more color to my complexion, and I have less pimples!  Hubs who used to be hypoglycemic said that he hasn't experienced one blood sugar crash since we've started the diet, and exclaimed that he feels hungry - not shaky- and doesn't think he's felt actual hunger before.


It's amazing.


And I thought I would miss meat, and cheese, and bread, and croutons, and cheese its... but really I don't miss it one bit.


So look forward to some vegan-gluten free recipes in the future!

Because it is still February and can get at least ONE post in here...

So, have you all been wondering what is going on?!!
It just so happens that the PT house HAS in fact moved, and ARE in fact homeowners!!

YAY!!!

For a while there I wasn't sure it was going to go through. It got right down to the wire, the closing date got pushed back 4 times... FOUR TIMES, and the house's foreclosure deadline got extended twice!! It was most nerve wracking! But the house is ours now and we are all moved (but not settled).

It was a lovely hectic type of moving experience. Hubs and I had help from my Mom and Brother, and Hub's Dad and Great Aunt & Uncle. They were all amazing and worked so, incredibly hard (I didn't have to lift any heavy things! It was amazing!!!!)

We really didn't have time to pack everything.... sooo it was a lot of hurry up and shove!
For the love of Jesus most Holy, I didn't think I had so much stuff!!! It took us 2 whole days to have everything out of the old house and into the new house! We've been recovering ever since.

In fact we've been in the new place for about a month now and we haven't recovered at all. We haven't even painted anything yet! Aaaaaand there are some interesting paint choices from the previous owners. Sherbert lime green (living room) for example, and vivid purple on the bottom and blue on the top (spare room... former kids room). Once I find my camera cord there will be pictures to follow.



Some things that I LOVE about my new house:

~There is NO dish washer... I know you are thinking "What?!!" Yes its true. I like that there is no dish washer. In fact I have a dish washer that is much more eco friendly: HUBS! Honestly its true, he does all the dishes! I like that there is no scum on the dishes from being in the machine, no residue and no food stuck on the dishes. It's great!

~We are next to a cow farm (again, go figure! I don't plan these things) and so it is very quiet and there are lots of trees. Because of this we have a great show of birds at the feeders. Tons of Cardinals, Chickadees, Nut Hatches, Finches, Tufted Titmice, and even Woodpeckers (Downy and Red Bellied), the highlight of my Saturday morning!

~We have a beautiful Sun Room in which Hubs and I (and the cats) can watch the birds and what not! It is even heated so we can enjoy it when the weather is very cold!

~The door to the basement has a cat door on it. It is very cute, and the cats love it. They run away from the dog and turn right around and look at him like "nah nah nah nah, you can't get me!"

~The house is heated with Propane instead of Oil, which is saving us a LOT of money; and the house is smaller so that saves us in money too! PLUS it has a fireplace which I LOVE... it even has a remote to turn it on and off, how cool!!

~We have a huge gigantic pantry. It is amazing!! It is the size of a small powder room, words really can't describe the wonders of this pantry!


The list can go on and on and on. For now I am going to work on getting some more pictures around here. A Blog with no pictures is just sad :-(

About that purchasing of a house...

Well as things go, we are able to purchase that house after all!!! Good things come to those who wait I guess! Everything is all worked out and in a few short hours Hubs and I are going over to sign all those papers! Then we will be working on cleaning/moving over this week and the holiday weekend.

(It is looking like we are in for snow this week too... so hopefully school will be canceled so I may work on cleaning the house!)

Hubs and I were over at the house yesterday for our final walk through, and there was a ton of junk still there. We may have a lot of moving to do before we can move in... I'll keep you posted

Lessons Learned in 2010

The PT house has NOT moved yet. The closing date has been pushed back over, and over, and over again. We've packed, unpacked, packed again, decorated for Christmas, then left town unsure of whether we were going to rush back to VA to move, or get pushed back again!! Which, of course, closing was pushed back once more. We've been start to stop so many times I think I have whip lash! We've been tossed around like a yo-yo first by the appraiser, then by our bank, then the owners bank, then by our bank again.

The whole experience has forced me to relax, work through the clutter, and to have patience... (and I thought I was a patient person...) I haven't blogged because I was waiting and waiting for something to happen with the house (so I could write about it)... but nothing has happened.

So onward, just like the time that is ticking. Here I enter 2011: forcefully relaxed, patient, and living each day whether we've moved or not. I plan on having more fun, reflecting more, and getting back to the things I love to do!




I am still waiting on that house though.....