She's going bonkers!

Nothing is off limits. It feels like she has been progressing by leaps and bounds just within this past week! She's already trying to pull herself up to a stand and she just started crawling.

I was reading when I looked up and she was halfway upright on just two legs! She was holding onto my eBay drawers on the livingroom. Thankfully, she's very cautious. She wasn't going about it haphazardly- at least.

Ugh! I'm not going to get a minutes rest from now on. She's into everything now! And Proud!

Jasmin's 9 month stats

Jasmin's Well Baby checkup went fine. No shots this time.

She weighs 21 pounds (90th percentile) and is 27 1/4" long (50th percentile)

Her head circumference is in the 95 percentile! Whoa. I hope that's a big genius brain growing in there. =p

She's crawling faster each day but looks more like an inch worm! LOL She can barely hold her belly off the floor. haha But she's sure proud of herself. I think she just cries to get our attention to make sure we're witnessing her feats.

Look at what appeared this morning!

Hair Thing!!!



It has Cheeks!!!

Happy 9 month Birthday!!

My Recent Accomplishments

* Getting on all fours

* Crawling backwards

* Wiggling forward (for the remote control, of course)

* Clapping hands

* Signing "milk" & "dog"

* Sitting up from laying down

* Front & Side splits (OUCH!)

New Seeds

Over the weekend I tried planting more seeds indoors. Basil & dill sprouted faster than I expected. Some of my lettuce seeds emerged today just 48 hrs after being sowed! Our garden is bursting with overgrowth as we didn't plan it very well and we're still getting used to "gardening" as opposed to container growing.

Our mini watermelons are pretty much taking over the garden. I know- they're supposed to be spaced out over hills and such, but it was mostly an experiment that did remarkably well. We have another similar plant that must be mini pumpkins but they weren't marked when planted and there aren't any telltale "fruit" on the vines yet.

We have a potato plant that is multipling and doing well. It's our first time trying potatoes. Our tomato plant that waned during our 2 week vacation is coming back with a fury. Our onion plant... I'm not sure... it seems to be doing fine. It's our first time planting onions (an old one from the grocery store) and I don't know how they grow. I think we have a collard green plant growing too that has grown purple blooms (maybe an eggplant plant?)...it's doing well considering that the watermelon plant is invading its space.

We have a zucchini plant that is going like gangbusters. I think we've had 6 large zucchini in the last 2-3 weeks. I think we're getting tired of squash. And our corn grew strong but only 2 "cobs" matured. A squirrel tried one. =p And "Mammoth Sunflowers" are truly large. They were a success and dominate our back yard "landscaping".

I think next year we have to plan better and double the garden size to 24' by 12'. More fresh veggies to come! =)

I finally did it

I organized all the wedding pictures into a few wedding albums. Now I don't have to be embarrassed when someone asks to look at the pictures, that's assuming that they would. LOL

It was a big undertaking: eight rolls of black and white and color film. It was nice to reminisce. Todd even helped a little. Jasmin tried to interferre, but we staved her off with last week's newspaper.

Everytime she crinkles and swooshes the newspaper she blinks. For any sudden noise, she blinks. She's a riot.

I'm not connecting with my body

I feel like my spirit jumped into a foreign body. Why do I not like how I look? It's as if every time I look at a photo or in the mirror I'm seeing something I not expecting. It's not that I think that I'm prettier than what I see, I just have a different notion of how I look.

I'm not saying I'm vane. I'm the opposite. I wear makeup once in a while just for a variation on the same awkward theme. Does Jasmin think I look like a freak? LOL

Is my brain playing tricks on me? I guess it isn't important- I don't see many people anyways. I was never a social butterfly, I mean, moth. =p

Do you know you can make homemade yogurt?

I tried it. It came out just fine in our Gevalia Coffee maker thermos thingy. It's very cheap to do and convenient when you make it to incubate overnight. Today, I'm trying to make yogurt cheese from what portion I made. To do that, you just pour some of your yogurt into a funnel with a coffee filter on it and strain the whey into a bottle. You can also use a cheese cloth and hang the thingy over a bowl. For me, the funnel-bottom technique is easier. So I'll tell you how it works out. It should result in a ricotta cheese like consistency. If it comes out well, I'll try mixing herbs and flavorings into the yogurt before I strain it.

I also made homemade granola. OMG! I love love love yogurt over my granola and it was cool to make both of them. Boy did I make great granola!

Why can't I be Super Woman Every day!

I have my good days, and my bad days. It's hard doing the yo-yo thing. If I'm not careful, I'll develop worse eating habits and gain weight. Urgh.

I'm having a hard time feeling like anything I do has value. I guess I value appreciation more than others. Feedback is helpful though!

Todd's been overhauling the garage. It looks amazing! He's cut two "windows" into the garage door, whitewashed the walls and put up more shelves. On top of that, he's organized most of his stuff! His next mission is to get his stuff out of my laundry room so that I can take over and get a laundry station going and hopefully a sewing/crafts table.

I hate doing more to the house because I don't want to stay here! Todd is committed to this mortgage like another "marriage". LOL I want to hear: "okay, it's time we move back to Illinois."

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BTW: I've made homemade yogurt with success. So- I had to make homemade yogurt to compliment it. YUM!!!!!!!! I've also been making homemade flour tortillas. I never knew that they were so much better than the perserve store bought stuff! I'm not buying that cardboard ever again!

I want to start growing bean sprouts. I also want to create a plant station in the basement bathroom that we're not using at the moment- to winterize some plants for next year and start new plants. We need a pretty Wandering Jew plant to hang in our bedroom and maybe a pothos for the guest room. Maybe I can get DH to make a gardening station off the side of the dog-house.

Lickety Split... position that is...

8.66 months and what a smile! =)

New Moves

Ms. Baby J is trying so hard to crawl!


She's been pushing herself to a sitting position from being on her belly! Every time she does it I'm always to late to see how she actually does it. She is so fast!

Now she's a pro at doing push ups but doesn't know how to coordinate her four "paws". We're trying to show her to use her knees. She does pivot on her belly and "scoot" backwards. I now consider her mobile and out of control! LOL

I have an *excuse*!

I don't think I should feel proud, but I do feel relieved. In my 26 years of life, I was called to jury duty for the first time. Lucky juror #713 was excused! Last night they declared numbers 491-750 on "standby". Then, I called at 11:30 to check and see if I still had to appear. My number was e*x*c*u*s*e*d!

It is my duty as an American to do my part for our judicial system. But- today was such a beautiful day, too beautiful to be locked in a court room! whoppee!!

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OT: My eBay Efforts

In March, I tried selling around eight things on eBay. To my chagrin, only one sold! The only item that I feared to part with!

These past 10 days I posted about 23 things and 8 items sold! So- I'm getting better- no? =)

I'm still working on getting better profits- but I think I have a better handle of it now. Thank God!

Freebie Fever

I have heard that even the richest and most famous people love anything with the pricetag: F.R.E.E.

Well, I might not be anybody "special", yet, but I do love my freebies! Sometimes I envision a phase in my life where I will not need to buy very much of anything b/c of freebies. I guess you could say I have a secret ambition to make all the "freebies" out there "work" for me. LOL

There is no "genius" to living well w/o breaking the bank. A lot of us have overindulgent tendencies. If we could stretch things out, reduce our trash, substitute and "MYO" we'd be fine! It's not that we "can't", it's that we've conditioned ourselves to give "more worth" to something just because we didn't make it ourselves. Would you rather spend more money on the most expensive coffee, or a babysitter or even a weekend vacation?

It's about priorities. Sometimes I challenge myself: how long can I make this ______ last? How many days can I last w/o pointless drives around town? Why shouldn't I want to use my money smartly- for my own enjoyment rather than to fatten corporate pockets? Would I spend my last few dollars on cigarettes (I quit, by the way) or gas or groceries. Would I be happy with an empty tank of gas, empty stomach and a cigarette in my hand? I wouldn't.

People spend money like it's guarenteed to keep spilling in our pockets! They take their 40 hr week pay for granted and yet complain about their thankless jobs? What do we have to show for our "labor"? There are plenty of "one hit wonders" out there that made a great temporary income but didn't make it work for them. Are they saying that it's impossible to live off that one time paycheck for a good chunk of their lives? They couldn't save for their (unsteady) future? Were they provided any guarantees that their success would continue? No no no.

We're not a disciplined society, at least not with our money/debt. I'm working at being the financial minority.

Put to the test

A Sign from God or the Devil?

Today, we realized that we miscalculated some of our finances. Todd went to the bank to deposit $100 and was amazed that the deposit slip showed the deposit, but he also got the money back.

Remember I said we could really use the money? He came home and told me the story. I knew that we needed the money maybe even more than others. I had to think over it a few minutes. Isn't it sick that when you get money it has to be in a mix up?

I had to think about what I'd say to Jasmin and what the chosen courses of action would say about who I am. I had to remember that, above all, it wasn't our money to begin with. Even though we had possession of it, it didn't *belong* to us. How could I feel good about that- even if it wasn't our mistake. The facts are still facts: it wasn't our money.

I had to take the $100 back to the bank. What could I control; only what I could do that was right. What if when I gave the money back and the lady just pockets the money? Who knows. I did what was right. I will never feel guilty for making the situation right. I would want my money returned to me if I were the one who made the horrible once in a lifetime mistake.

The ironic part was that the teller who made the mistake was the assistant manager whom I asked to talk to! Honestly, even devilishly, I was hoping for the irresponsible person to get in trouble or that maybe some fees would somehow vanish. You know- I'm not perfect- I have some Devil in me. But, I can only hope that since I spread good Karma, that it will come back to me.

DH forgot our 2nd Anniversary

I'm just a little bummed. Deep down, I wasn't surprised that he forgot.