Pinterest in Reality

In an attempt to actually grow our own vegetables this year, we decided we would utilize some raised beds in the front yard this year.  After many years and failed attempts in the back yard, we decided to take down our Bradford Pear trees and go for it.  I have seen so many wonderful ideas on Pinterest and decided to put one into action.  I wanted it to look decent, since it is going to be in the front yard.  So, here is our finished product 1 of 2....

I picked up all the materials for this and a twin at home depot for about $225.  I used 8 ft. galvanized sheet metal for the inside.  I got a bargain on Treks Decking boards for the top, bottom, and sides.  They were on closeout for $15 for 16 ft boards!  I used cedar fence panel pieces for the end covers and middle support.  I am pretty pleased with the result, so far.  Here was my inspiration from Pinterest:

Yes, they mitered their corners and have lovely corner caps, but for this rookie and no instructions, I think I did a pretty good job!

Finally....

So, I am attempting to make my blog more about family, but at the same time, it is still called, "The Rantings of a Trucker Turned Momma".  So, it still need to allow for some rantings!!

 I am so excited!! I finally found an actual sweatshirt that has sleeves long enough! It has always been a complaint of mine. XXL to many clothing makers just means bigger around. I have compared them at places like Kohl's and JCP. Yes, I am big there, but I would also like my shirts to come down to meet my pants pockets. I also like it if a long sleeved shirt actually reaches my wrists! I have many shirts that this is not the case for!! Well, finally, I bought a sweatshirt at Target made by Champion and it not only has LONG long sleeves, but they can be extra long and act and hand covers! Here they are:

So, as I am finding this so exciting, the girl has to deflate my mood by saying that the sleeves look funny in thumb mode.  Her Aunt Jody was here and had several Under Armor shirts that did the same thing and the girl thought they were cool.  I guess being Mom and having hand covers is not cool.  Oh well.  Guess it is the first of many embarrassments I will cause for my children!

Day 16.....

It has been 16 days since I gave up Facebook.  I realize how much time I mindlessly wasted seeing what everyone else was doing, measuring myself against others, and telling the world my every move.  So, what have I done with my time saved in the last 16 days?  I have thought of my witty comments that I would have posted in the past, and just kept them to myself.  I knitted a baby sweater and ballet booties for a friend's niece.  I started a chemo hat for a neighbor's daughter.  I also came to a conclusion that I need to communicate with my family, since they grew to know our lives through Facebook.  I am going to use my blog to help keep them in the loop, if they choose to read my rantings!?!

So, to catch up on the events of late, we had a house-full for the holidays and it was a bunch of FUN!!  Here  are a couple pictures to recap the events:

Burke got her American Girl Doll!
She cried for a good hour the night before worried that she had
not been a good girl and Santa wasn't going to leave her anything.

Monster on his new bike!

Papa John got new Muck Boots!!

The "new" kitchen was a hit!

Grandpa's Birthday Gift:  A Mad Bomber Hat for the VT cold!

Story time with the cat included!

Then, in January, we celebrated a boy turning 4 with make our own pizzas, eating Spider Man cake, opening gifts, and talking on the phone to family.  He said it was the best birthday ever!

Making A Change

Welcome 2013!

I have decided to not make resolutions, because they are easily broken.  Instead, I am going to make a change.  At 1 am this morning, I deleted my facebook account!  My father-in-law was here for Christmas, and said that he always knows what is going on in our life, because it is on facebook.  My Mom said that she hears about my life through her work friends via facebook.  My brother-in-law and his wife were here for New Years and she keeps tabs on us via facebook.  All that is great, but NONE of it is personal.  Yes, I have enjoyed catching up with and reconnecting with old friends, but do they need to hear about my every move and do I need to know about theirs?  I have decided that neither is actually gaining a thing for me or my family.

Instead of waking up to see what everyone is doing via my phone facebook app, I can call them if I want to see what is going on.  If they want to find out what is happening in our life, they can call or text.  ~OR, I can focus more on my kids and less on what others are doing.  I can give the time I was giving to facebook to my family.  I can focus on crafting, knitting, teaching my kids to cook, CLEANING, and maybe not have to charge my phone 1/2 way through the day!  I feel liberated!  I hope I can stick to my change and do the right things!

Rolling with it ~or~ Do we go too far

I often wonder if my kids get it.  We often have to change directions without warning and while I know they do not like it, they roll with it!  But, do they get that their ability to roll with it will benefit them in the long run?  Think about it, if life only goes perfectly, would it really be life or would it be a dream.  Life is full of ups and downs.  If you are unable to deal with the roller coaster, even at 5 and almost 4, how are you going to make it in the long run.  While my kids have yet to participate in team sports, they might eventually and there will be losses!  Every game, even the game of life, has winners and losers.  If a kid does not understand this early, how devastating will it be when they first fail at 15?

I am not saying that I am a perfect parent.  In fact, I am far from it.  BUT, my kids are understanding that life does not revolve around them.  They revolve around the life of our family as a whole and that family is more than just the 4 people under our roof.  We have friends that are family.  We have employees that are family.  We have neighbors that are family.

Last week, our work family needed us.  We had an accident and coordinating the logistics of it all requires all hands on deck and then some.  The call came while I was at gymnastics with the girl.  I managed to make it through her time there by just making phone calls.  After it was over, we ran to get her brother from school early.  He was not happy, but that is life.  We rolled to the poor truck and the husband who was stranded with it and packages still to deliver.  No, the accident was not his fault, but he puts all else before himself.  After running him around, we waited on the tow truck and finally made it home.  We rolled with it.

Today, a friend needed some help.  I picked the kids up from lunch bunch early, because we needed to roll to get my friend's little girl.  The kids were not happy, but they got over it.  There was more that was important than them at that point.  It was little Gracie and her Mom and Dad and future sister.  My kids tried to make Gracie feel better when we took her away from her Mom at the hospital.  We rolled with it.

~OR~

I sometimes struggle with whether or not we go too far with being nice to our employees.  Just today, we helped 3 of our drivers in a huge way.  We do it for 2 reasons, but they aren't just self serving.  We do it because of all they do to keep our business successful.  Yes, Brown Dog Trucking, Inc. had a tough week last week with a complaint and an accident.  But, we truly know that we have a good group of employees.  So, rides to work, helping with a driver's toddler, or loaning one of them our vehicle so they can get to and from work just seems right.  We also do it, because we hope our understanding makes up for the fact that we can't pay them a million $$$$.  I think we pay them an honest wage, but I wish we could do more.

And that is the Trucker Turned Momma's thoughts for the day!

What the Hell Rants

What the hell is wrong with people today?  We are having a hard time filling a seasonal position.  Candidate #3 that is unable to pass a background check!  WTF!  Shoplifting, weed charge, and an unknown background check failure.  Really?!?!  How are these kids going to make it in life?  Where are their parental influences at age 18 and 19?

What the hell is wrong with the makers of jeans for little kids these days, especially little girls?  My kid does not need jeans to hug her ass!  My kids does not need low rise jeans!  No one needs to see the underwear of a 5 yr old!  She has outgrown all of her size 5 jeans, so I bought 3 pairs of jeans for her to try on.  They will all 3 be going back!!  The 6 slims fit the best, but they make her look like a teenager with a cupped ass!  The regular size 6 sits so low even with the waist adjusted!  The size 6x are extra snug!  REALLY!

What the hell is wrong with Wal-Mart?!?  If you have a fabric department, at least staff it with someone that knows how to measure and cut the fabric!!  The ability to use the scanner to get your cut pieces priced is also a good quality to make sure that employee has!  I cannot make that up!!  Yes, Ruth at my local Wal-Mart, you need to find a new line of work!

I could go on for longer, but I need to refill my wine and try to calm down!!

Give Thanks for Christmas Decorations??

I had to run to Target today for some last minute things for Halloween.  I needed candles but thought I might try to go eco-friendly and buy one of the LED lights.  Well, the 6 aisles of Halloween were crammed into 2 and Christmas has taken over.  Do we, as a society, just turn every holiday into a commercialized mecca for which to waste the hard earned $$$$ on?  What happened to that BIG holiday between Halloween and Christmas?  That holiday:  THANKSGIVING!?!?  A time when we GIVE thanks for all that we are so lucky to have and not GIVE plastic shit made in China to our kids to show them love.  A time to to GIVE thanks for health and freedom and eat wonderful traditional food and not GIVE gifts that we have put little thought into.  A time to GIVE a meal to others that are not as fortunate as we are and not GIVE more than can ever be enjoyed by our own family, let alone fit in our own house.

I am here to make a pact with myself and my family to ENJOY Thanksgiving and focus less on the commercialism of that other holiday that has taken over.