Black Gold

I have been working on a compost pile in my backyard for a couple of years. I haven't really used any of the compost but it has been a place where I could dump my yard clippings, food scraps, and fallen leaves so that it didn't have to go to the landfill. We have been talking about putting some gravel down in our backyard where it is currently dirt. This posed a bit of a problem because that is where said compost pile is currently located. I now needed to find a new place for the pile. I looked online at several composters but they were all WAY out of my price range (like into the hundreds of dollars). Then I "googled" homemade composters and I found the STEAL of a lifetime. The City of Phoenix recycles their old broken garbage cans into composters. They cut off the bottom of the cans and drill holes in them. However, the best part was that they were only $5. I know! Can you believe it? It was a little bit of a drive to obtain one, but I tell you what, I haven't been this excited about anything in a long time. Then to make it even better, I went to dig up the pile to put it in the barrell... it was in fact Black Gold. It was beautiful compost and if you look at the picture below, you can see that I have quite a bit left over even after filling my bin. I might have to go get another bin next week. But like I said, totally worth every penny of gas and all the driving time. Now I can put the rock in my backyard and still get the benefit of my compost pile!

Mud is FUN!

So while working on the backyard today... this is what the boys did:

The neighbors watered their trees today and the excess water streamed into our backyard making a giant mud puddle! I told the kids to strip down to their underwear and have at it. So much fun for them and what a mess!

Good Eats

Once a month we have the privelage of dropping our kids off at their Grandma and Grandpa's fpr the weekend. It gives them a chance to hang out with our boys and it gives us a chance to have "us" time. I look forward to this weekend every month. This last weekend was said weekend and we had some big plans this time. Some friends of ours started a Multi-cultural dinner once a month and it just so happened that we got to attend Friday night. This time it was at Caijun Seefood Corner in Gilbert. The food was pretty good. I had catfish and chips while others enjoyed jambalaya and red beans and rice. But before we could enjoy the good eats... I had to brave the fried alligator. Yes, I said fried alligator. Not too bad but I don't think I would order it again. Kind of like a chewy, fishy, chicken nugget. Anyway... the company was great and the food was worth going for. If you like authentic Caijun food, give it a try.

So since we had no kids, we decided to keep the southern theme alive and went to Lolo's Chicken and Waffles on Saturday afternoon. If any of you ever watch Food Network like we do, you would know that this is rumored to be the best chicken in Arizona. You might also recognize the name because they cater for the Arizona Cardinals before each game. Anyway... so we thought we would give it a try. Well, the rumor is true! It is in fact the best fried chicken I have ever had. In fact, it was so good that I have wanted to have more every day since then. We waited almost 30 minutes for a table and I tell you it was worth every minute of waiting. Their waffles are also quite fabulous. I had what is called the "Betty Boop" which is one chicken breast and a waffle. I also tried the collard greens which were yummy. And your drinks come out in a quart sized mason jar which they call "A jar of Drank". Definately worth going to. It is on Central Ave and Yuma if you are interested in taking the trip.

I will let you know what next month's Multi-cultural dinner brings. I think we have authentic Mexican food on the schedule next. And if anyone knows of a great cultural place to have dinner, or maybe just some place unique, please share. We are always looking for new places.

Will the Craziness EVER End?

It has been a little while since I have blogged. The reason for this is that my days just seem to be full of craziness. And by the end of the day the last thing that I want to do is get on the computer and blog (no offense to the cosmic technology world). I don't know why the last few weeks have felt so stressful. I don't know if it is that I am just filling my "plate" extremely full or if the chaos of my own home is driving me to the "loony bin" as my mom would say. Whatever the case is, I am going to try a few things to see if they help. The first is:

I started reading this book a few months ago but to be honest, I didn't get very far. And not that the parts I read didn't work, but it was just one of those things that fell by the wayside. I sometimes feel like my boys ignore me on purpose or as I like to say "I think their ears are painted on". They choose when to listen and it gets really frustrating. I know kids don't listen and obey all the time, and I don't expect perfection...just improvement. I will tell you how this works. Hopefully the frustration that I feel as a Mom will soon decrease.

The next thing I have been struggling with lately is time management. I have often talked about how I need to prioritize and it seems to be working as far as putting more important things in front of less important things. However, I still fail to get everything done in the day that I would like to accomplish and often times I go to bed feeling dissatisfied with the day. I am going to try a mental redirection to improve this problem. Instead of thinking of all the things that I have not accomplished, I am going to focus on the things that I have done over the course of the day and hopefully that will help me get out of this mental "funk" that I am in.