Even though I grew up in a family that always had a luscious garden and well groomed flower beds, I was never much of a green thumb.  Part of my problem was that I was allergic to pollen and mold, which as you know is something that you find on many plants.

My parents always wanted me to contribute to their landscaping design ideas, but since I couldn’t enjoy the completed landscaping designs, I really was not too eager to help.  Though they were disappointed, they continued over the years to try and ignite a passion for landscaping in me.

It wasn’t until I took a class on lantana care that I learned what my parents were truly teaching me - there is just something about watching something that you grow yourself blossom into something better.

Even though I still don’t have a green thumb, those lessons are still with me today.

The other day, I told my daughter that if I tripped over her dog bed one more time, than she was going to have to get rid of the dog. She cried; I felt bad. But, I was tired of the fact that she was dragging it all through the house and leaving it in the middle of the way.

I apologized to her for getting angry, but I reminded her of the conversation we had when we were looking for dog beds, before we got the puppy. I told her it was important that the dog have a quiet place to go to sleep and, as we discussed this, we decided that moving her bed all over the house would not be comforting for the dog.

She agreed with me and it has been much better since then. I know that she always wants the puppy with her, so I told her that she could put Mollie’s bed in her room from now on, as long as it stayed put.

Today was not a good day to wake up.  It sounds bad, but sometimes having children is a disaster in itself.

Take today for example.  I woke up just half an hour ago, thinking that it was going to be a nice day.  I could hear the birds chirping and the sun shining in the window, and well, I had a good sleep as well.  It seemed like everything was going to be great until I went to make myself coffee.

Disaster!

My children had decided to put their rubber boots on, walk through the mud, and then stomp around the house.  There was mud on every carpet in the house, and I knew that there was going to be no way for me to get it out.

Thankfully, a phone call to the first listing under carpet cleaning Devon in the phone book has someone on the way to fix my problem.  Some days I sure “love” (insert sarcasm here) being a parent!

Ok, osmosis is something best known for happening in plants, right? It is a process where the plant cells act as membranes or kind of like a strainer. Water can come in or out, but larger particles like salts can’t. It is actually the balance of water and salt and living tissue on one side or the other of the membrane that causes the osmosis or the filtering to occur.

So, what does that make reverse osmosis? Well basically, it is the same process but done from the  inside out, rather than the outside in (extracting water from a plant rather than a plant taking in water).

Reverse osmosis is used in water filtration systems to help clean out the minerals and salts that build up in a water system. This is really helpful if you have your own water well or if you have particularly dirty local water. The system will be hooked up to the incoming water to your home and product clean and clear water through your pipes and water faucets. 

One of my fondest memories of my daughter’s childhood is the day I made a video of her playing in her kiddy pool on our new deck. We had decided that wood decks were the best, and that pressure-treated boards would stand up to the sun and rain better than non-pressure-treated. We used a deck sealer to further protect it, and I’m glad we did.

The amount of water that a 9-month old baby can splash out of her pool and onto the decking is unbelievable! Her funniest antic was trying to reach a floating toy while standing up. It bobbed just out of her reach, finally going between her little legs. She was actually pushing the water which pushed the toy away.

She couldn’t bend over far enough to get it by reaching between her knees without feeling like she was going to fall. She had me in stitches. Guess you’d have to see the video, big ol’ soggy diaper and all.

A while back, our town announced that they were going to start paying people who had solar powered homes to put power back into the grid. I had never thought too much about solar power before that point and it got me to do a lot of thinking and a lot of research as to the benefits and drawbacks of solar power.

When I realized that the benefits far outweighed any drawbacks, I decided that I would try to find a solar system wholesaler and start converting my home. I found a very reputable company and had them come and do the installation. It went very smoothly and I am very happy with the results.

I remember the first check I got form the power company. It was such a nice change to receive a check from them rather than get a bill in the mail. I wish that I had done this years ago, but am happy in the fact that it is better late than never and I am looking at other ways to make my home more earth friendly.

I have been looking for some information on what I should be doing to ensure proper shoe storage.  You see, my wife has a lot of shoes, and I want to make sure that I don’t have to replace them.  With the amount of money that I have spent, no invested, in her shoes, I want them to last as long as possible.

So, I have been looking online to see if there is such a thing as a shoe storage unit.  I figured that there should be something available because there seems to be specialized storage devices for pretty much anything you can think of, and I could see a demand for shoe storage.

After looking for a couple of hours, I was able to find a company that sold shoe storage units.  I have ordered a few of them to try out, and if they are successful, I can see myself ordering more of them.  It will be nice to know that with proper storage, that I should be able to extend the life of her shoes and save myself money over the long run.

Last fall my husband and I bought a house in a small town outside of the city, feeling that it was a much better place to raise our children.  We decided, that it made more sense for me to stay home with the kids than to commute to the city for work.  I have to admit, that I absolutely love it and so do the children.

It works really well for us with me staying at home and my husband continuing to commute to his job in the city.  He telephones and each day before he leaves work to see if there is something that I might need before he comes home.  Pretty soon, he will have to bring me some garden supplies.

This is very exciting for me, as I have never had a garden before.  We got to enjoy some of the fresh vegetables that the previous owners had planted last spring.  But this will be the first time that we have actually got to grow something on our own.  I can’t wait for the day when I can put the seeds in the ground and put the flowers in the flower bed.

When I think of home office furniture, I usually think of boring desks with practical computer chairs. I think that most home offices are very dull, so I was not that excited when it came time for us to go shopping for furniture for our own office. We have just moved to a new house and the office is the last room that needs to be furnished.

We went to look at office furniture at a few different stores and I was pleasantly surprised to find some pieces that were not bland and boring. After purchasing the ones I liked best, I decided that the home office had potential, after all. I was actually getting excited about the final project in our new home.

My favorite was he two office chairs that we purchased. They were anything but dull and boring. They were actually very nice looking and I figured they would dress up the room just fine. My husband really liked them as well, and it is always a good thing when we can both agree on something when it comes to decorating the new house.

I have been dabbling with photography for many years.  Sure, most of the pictures that I take are kind of goofy, but I do take quite a few good, serious pictures as well.

For the longest time now, I have been using a digital camera to take pictures.  My reasoning was that I could take as many pictures as I want without spending an arm and a leg on film.  But the result of my decision is that I have many pictures sitting on my computer, but none of them are printed.

I thought it would be a good idea to print out some of my pictures and replace the ones that I currently have had on the wall for many years.  Sure, the ones on the wall are nice, but it would be nice to come home and look at something different.

But, I wanted a new look instead of the old wood frames that I was currently using.  I found a place that would put your photos onto canvas, and make your photographs look like pieces of art.  I have ordered some and it will be a nice way to showcase my photos - and make my home reminiscent of an art gallery.