June 30: Bib

Day 51

I have about twenty bibs for Peter. We go through all twenty bibs in about a week, but he's not much of a drooler (yet) or a spit-upper if he isn't eating, so I don't keep a bib on him when he's not on the bottle or being burped. I have a lot of really nice bibs and a couple of okay bibs. Today's purge is a bib that I really don't like. The velcro doesn't work very well and the bib isn't very absorbent.

This was actually one of the few things I purchased for Peter before he was born. I thought the little animals were cute. Now I think he's much cuter.

June 29: It's the End of the World

Day 50

Huzzah! Today is my fiftieth day of this purge project and I'm pretty proud that I've already made it this far. I'm purging a bigger item today: a Fossil purse that I've loved and used for years. This is the only purse that I currently own. For the most part, I use a wristlet when I go grocery shopping and the wristlet spends most of its life in my backpack. I don't feel the need to have a purse, so I'm purging it. We've had a good run together.

(I just realized that I forgot to put in a picture of the purse. However, I thought I did put it in, so I deleted it from my camera. I will have to come back in tomorrow with a new picture!)

In other news, when I woke up this morning I thought it was the end of the world. I woke up and all of my windows were glowing with this eerie orange light. I thought to myself "The world is on fire. It's the end of the world." I went to the window and when I looked out, the whole sky was a bright orange color and there was a lot of cloud cover and lightening.

This was a picture without the flash. This is definitely more what the color was like.

This was a picture with the flash. This does not capture the orange.

This only reinforced my belief that it was the end of the world. THEN I looked out our front door and saw a rainbow in the west. This made me feel better. It couldn't be the end of the world if there was a rainbow.

Without flash. Again, extremely orange.

With the flash.

It was not the end of the world. As it turns out, all the moisture in the air was dispersing the sunlight. (as explained by my husband.)

Yesterday was Peter's feast day! I took this picture and I think it's the cutest one yet!

St. Peter, pray for us!

June 28: Strapless Bra

Day 49

Today my purge is a strapless bra that I've had for several years, but that no longer fits. It's still in great shape and will probably sell quickly at a yard sale. This should be my last bra post for a while!

If any of you have ever driven across western Kansas, you might have noticed that we have a lot of windmills. Kansas is the perfect state to produce wind energy as it is largely treeless and extremely windy about 85% of the time. I actually find the wind to be the most annoying weather feature in this part of the state. More than heat, mosquitoes or severe cold - it is the wind that keeps you tucked indoors. At any rate, there are lots of windmills out this way. Windmills are enormous. Occasionally, I'll see an oversized semi-truck carrying a windmill blade, and I always gawk.

The other night, I was driving home and I saw an entire train of windmills! Each car carried about 1/3 of a windmill. It was truly an amazing sight. I took this picture through my windshield.

Windmills as far as the eye can see.

June 27: Cookie Cutter

Day 48

Today I'm purging a cookie cutter in the shape of a chicken. After acquiring this cookie cutter free from work, I started thinking: "Who wants to think about chickens when they're eating cookies?" It makes me think of those chicken 'n biscuit crackers. Yech.

This was something I mindlessly acquired just because it was free. I need to change my ways!

June 26: Dusty Rose Shirt

Day 47

Today I'm purging a shirt I call "dusty rose" for obvious reasons. I actually quite like this shirt, but it matches very little of what I regularly wear. I have several things in my closet that I keep just because I sometimes, maybe wear them. This is not a good mindset for me. I have not worn this shirt in over a year, ergo I am purging it...though I nearly changed my mind this morning as I took the picture. I have fond memories of wearing this shirt the first few times I visited western KS, during my whirlwind romance. C'est la vie.

I call the below picture "Little Boy Blue." He looks so cute in this sleeper, plus it's very cozy. He's such a good boy in the mornings! Last night, Peter went to bed at 8:30 and didn't get up until nearly 6 AM. I am so proud of him!

June 25: Dinosaur Chicken

Day 46

I've had a love/hate (mostly hate) relationship with chickens my entire life. I love eggs and I love to eat chicken, however I find the animals frightening and intimidating. With their beady eyes and scaly talons, I think of them as some kind of prehistoric creature that belongs in a museum next to the T-Rex and the Loch Ness Monster (Fact: The Loch Ness Monster is real).

I think my distaste for the birds stems from my long history of being a chicken care-taker. My Aunt Debbie had chickens and whenever she went out of town, my brother and I had the task of caring for her birds. We'd let them out in the morning and, inevitably, there would be some kind of problem when we went to put them in for the night. One night I remember trying to persuade a chicken from roosting in a tree branch. Don't ever let anyone tell you that chickens are not good flyers. Another time, my best friend Caroline had me take care of her chickens when her family was on vacation and I nearly died. This is not an exaggeration and I prefer not to think about it.

Today I am purging a children's book called Big Fat Hen. It's the old ryhme "one, two buckle my shoe..." I received this book for free from a library conference last year. The main problem with this book is the terrifying chicken face on the front. I refuse to show this picture to my son and have him be scarred for life. My fear/loathing of chickens is already a big chip on his shoulder.

Big Fat Nightmare

June 24: The Buttercream Gang

Day 45

Once in a while, I'll come across a movie that I would watch as a child and think "I've got to watch this right now!" I remember one time in college, where I decided to watch The Brave Little Toaster, a favorite in my house when I was little, in a double billing with Pulp Fiction. As an adult watching TBLT, I can honestly say that it was more terrifying than Tarrantino's classic film. It was just plain weird and surprisingly dark. I wonder what my parents thought when we requested to rent the movie over and over again as children?

I guess everyone has the urge to watch their favorite childhood movies, because one day Clint found a copy of the Buttercream Gang and insisted that we purchase it and watch it. The movie is about a local "gang" of boys that does good deeds in the community. One of the boys moves away to Chicago and there joins a real gang. He returns to his hometown and starts doing bad gang things like stealing pies from the grocery store. The good gang stands up to the bad gang and eventually the bad gang boy returns to Chicago to amend his ways. The fashions are early-nineties and the content is the most g-rated stuff I've ever seen. After watching it once (or maybe twice), we're totally ready to part with the movie.

Next up in the nostalgia movie list: Rockadoodle! or maybe Ernest Goes to Camp.

June 23: BFF

Day 44

When my husband I drive between Kansas and Missouri the drive takes about 8 hours. As much as I love talking to my husband, 8 hours is a lot of time to fill with conversation. Early in our relationship, when we drove that 8 hours just to see each other for a weekend, I started listening to audio books to make the time go faster. They work like a charm. You become so enthralled with the story that before you know it, the drive is over - or at least a big chunk is behind you. I've listened to all the Harry Potter books going back and forth between MO and KS. I've listened to Agatha Christie, Stephen King and Nicholas Sparks. Most recently, my husband and I listened to Jennifer Weiner's Best Friends Forever. This book was total chick-lit, but it was the perfect length for our drive and I think the story was compelling enough that even Clint got into it.

Today I'm purging the audio book, since we have no interest in listening to it again. It kept us from complete boredom as we drove through the doldrums of KS, so it lived a good life.

Yesterday, I was talking to my sister Mary and she said her favorite photos are the ones where Clint and Peter have their heads smushed together. I took this photo the other day and though it's not technically a "head-smush" photo, the boys do look pretty cute.

We were in Ness City on Saturday night and Sunday morning, so they were both pretty tuckered out when we got home Sunday afternoon. They napped together while I put things away, started laundry, unloaded the dishwasher...

June 22: Amish Book

Day 43

I love Amish books. I find the Amish culture fascinating and I'm drawn to their simple, family-centered lifestyle. However, I know I could never be Amish. I think central AC is the best invention of the twentieth century and I wouldn't want to live in the same house as my grandparents. There is a whole sub-genre of romance novels dedicated to Amish romance. These books are incredibly popular among older women or women who like to read romances that aren't R rated, such as myself. Beverly Lewis popularized the Amish romance, but now there are lots of authors who write these old world/modern day love stories.

I recently purchased an Amish romance at the thrift shop, but when I got home I realized that the book is the third in a series. I refuse to read books out of order and, in general, I like stand-alone romances, so I'm going to donate the book or sell it at a yard sale.

June 21: Dog Shirt and Lavender

Day 42

As a part of my summer programming at the library, I am doing a series of staycations to nearby towns. Today was the first one. Four ladies and I traveled to an organic lavender farm for a lavender festival. There was lavender food, lavender products, farm tours, demonstrations and live music. We stayed just a couple of hours and we had a great time. The whole farm had a sweet aroma and there were hundreds of people just milling about.

You could cut your own fresh bouquet of lavender.

A worker demonstrating wreath making.

 

Lavender up close.

Today my purge is something I didn't even know we had until this morning. A bunch of plastic sacks were accumulating near our front door, so I asked Clint to clear them up today. He said "One of those is for Peter." I picked up a sack and indeed, a child's polo shirt was in one of the sacks. "It came from this guy at work. His dog used to wear it, but then his dog died and he didn't know what to do with it." Obviously, the answer was to give the used, size 4T dog shirt to a four month old baby. Makes complete sense to me.

Peter won't fit into this for at least two years, so I think I'm going to go ahead and pass it along to the thrift shop...though I may try it on Zoey first to see if it fits.

June 20: Nursing Bra

Day 41

When my son was born, I was totally unprepared. His room wasn't ready (he wasn't ready), I didn't have any baby clothes, and I didn't have a breast pump or nursing gear. While my son was in the hospital, I went to Target to seek some nursing bras and tank tops. I came away with two tank tops that I love and wear all the time and an ill-fitting nursing bra. The nursing bra was so uncomfortable that I only wore it a couple of times. These items are so rare to find second-hand and so expensive, that I'm sure I'll have no trouble getting rid of it. I might post this item on our local, online marketplace.

For anyone who thinks my son is calm and smiley all the time...

This is what he looks like after he's had a bath and I'm trying to dry him off/slather him in lotion. He hates it.

June 19: Pajama Time!

Day 40

On Easter, my sister gave my son a board book called "Pajama Time." I love reading this book to Peter before bed because it has a really good rhythm "...They might be stripey or polka dot, but we can all pajammy in whatever we've got. It's pajama time!"

Today, in honor of this rockin' bedtime book, I'm purging a pair of pajama pants. They're really soft and I only recently aquired them at the thrift shop, but they have a drawstring, which is not at all desirable. Who wants to undo and redo a drawstring if they have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night? My mother warned me about this when I selected the pajamas, but I didn't listen. Serves me right. I also have a spacing issue in my dresser. The dresser Clint and I have in our bedroom was his dresser from when he was a boy. Can you imagine cramming two adults worth of clothes into a child's dresser? It happens.

I am currently on the lookout for a bigger dresser. Maybe, though, a bigger dresser isn't the answer. Whenever I think "We need a bigger dresser," I automatically think about all the people in the world who could fit their entire family's clothes into our dresser. I don't need a bigger dresser, I need to get by with less.

"Jammy to the left. Jammy to the right. Jamma, Jamma, Jamma, Jamma, P! J!"

June 18: Change Dish

Day 39

In my family, the ultimate rite of passage is when my mother chooses to bestow on you some sort of receptacle for change. These receptacles come in two forms: change dishes and milk bottles. My husband recently acquired his very own milk bottle, which is proudly displayed on his desk. As one of my mother's children, I have been given probably about 10 or 12 change dishes over the years. I've decided it's time to consolidate. Therefore, today I am purging a pretty, floral change dish that I've had sitting beside my bed to hold things like ear plugs, a finger rosary and, yes, the odd bit of spare change. The dish is really too pretty to just sit at my bedside gathering dust.

Oddly enough, or perhaps not so oddly, I see the same tendencies in myself when it comes to buying kitschy dishes. Whenever I see something that is a certain color of blue that my mom likes, or has a certain shape or I think "my mom would buy this," I usually buy it. Just the other day I saw a little plate with a cobalt blue fish on it and I thought, this looks right up my mom's alley. I almost purchased it, but then remembered that I am purging quite a few "statement" dishes, and I thought better of it. You see, the purge really is helping me change my habits!

June 17: Scarf it up!

Day 38

I recognize that scarves are hot right now. It seems like all the hip people are wearing scarves looped around their necks. Summer scarves, fall scarves, winter scarves. I'm not much of an accessorizer. I consider myself heavily done-up if I walk out of the house in earrings and a necklace. I have one winter scarf that I wear for solely utilitarian purposes and that's about it. I did go through a phase where I wore a lot of vintage silk scarves, but that passed. These days, I just keep it pretty basic. So today, I'm purging a floaty, black scarf that I'm sure someone will love more than I.

Purging is getting a bit harder. I'm trying to plan ahead a few days to make sure I don't have to scramble in the mornings! I need to get down in our basement and really go through some things.

June 16: Never-worn Shirt

Day 37

Today my purge is a shirt that I never wore. I bought it because I thought it would look good with some of my work clothes. It would look good, if it fit. It sort of has capped sleeves and, ask anyone in my family, capped sleeves are not friendly. The shirt is also supposed to fit sort of tight, which would have been fine a year ago, but my post-baby belly is not as easy to disguise.

I feel bad for never having worn this shirt, but I bet I can get my money back for it at a yard-sale. I think it was only a dollar.

June 15: Father's Day!

Day 36

Today's purge is a pizza cutter that I got for free at my bank. I thought it would be cool, but I'm really not into pizza cutters. I always use scissors to cut pizza. I honestly don't know why everyone doesn't use scissors.

Today was Father's Day, which means Clint got to select our activities. Clint wanted to go fishing at the lake, which is just minutes from our house. We loaded up our dog and our baby and headed to the lake for some R&R. Clint fished and I hunted for petrified wood. Kansas was once covered by and ocean, so there are fossils and petrified wood all over the place. I've been a rock lover and fossil collector since I was little, so going to the lake to hunt petrified wood is a fun outing for me.

Here are the pieces of petrified wood that I found.

The baby started to get hot after about an hour, so we picnicked in a shady area. We stripped him down to his diaper and he was in seventh heaven. We had BLT's for lunch and bacon for breakfast, so we got a little baconed-out (my brother would insist that there is no such thing!). I spent the rest of the weekend recovering.

All in all, I think Clint had a great Father's day.

Happy First Father's Day, Clint! (Don't worry, we only had the baby in the sun for a second).

Just like Daddy!

June 14: Water Balloons

Day 35

Yesterday I went to perhaps the best yard sale I've ever been to. It was in a really expensive neighborhood and it was on my way home, so I figured I might find some goodies. I made out like a bandit! There was a ton of Christmas stuff, so I bought a Christmas welcome mat. I also purchased a vacuum-pack storage bag for Clint's bulky winter coats and hunting gear. I bought a set of grilling utensils and an almost new pair of Lucky jeans for Clint. Finally - I purchased a never been used home-brewing kit! I knew Clint would flip for this and I was right. He's been wanting to make his own beer forever and now he can do it without having to jimmy-rig his own system.

You might think I would make a big purge today to make up for all the stuff I dragged home yesterday- but you would be wrong. I am purging a package of water balloons. Our home has always had a large, street-lamp style electric light in our front yard. Not only is it noisy, but it shines in our bedroom windows at night and drives Clint crazy. When my mother was visiting last month, she suggested that we might want to check with the electric company to see if we are footing the bill for the light since we are outside of city limits. After several phone calls, Clint was able to determine that neither the city nor the county bears responsibility for the light and neither the city nor the electric company had any problem with us refusing to have the light replaced when it finally burned out. Clint decided to hurry the process along. Hence the water balloons. He determined that if he could aim enough water balloons at the light, it would eventually go out and we would be rid of the nuisance. He brought home 100 water balloons. After several failed attempts to hit the light, he gave up, opting instead for his pellet gun, which was much more effective. We no longer have an annoying light in our front yard, but we still have nearly 100 water balloons.

 

Petie's still a bit young for water balloons!

Peter Rabbit

 

June 13: On the Cutting Edge

Day 34

Today is not only Friday the 13th, a day that spooks the superstitious, it is - more importantly - the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua. St. Anthony is my father's patron Saint, so today I am sending extra salutations and prayers to my Dad! St. Anthony is a Doctor of the Church due to the simple yet profound way he was able to relate the Gospel to the everyday folk. St. Anthony is also known as the patron of lost items. Many's the time I've hurriedly invoked "Anthony, Anthony turn around, there's something lost that can't be found" as I'm searching for a missing wallet or keys or cell phone. St. Anthony always manages to help me find what I'm looking for. I think I even prayed to St. Anthony when I was looking for a husband. Lost or not, Clint and I found our way to each other!

Today I'm purging a nearly full package of razors. I purchased these when I was in a savings mindset, believing they would work just as well as the more expensive razors. I was wrong. I used only one razor out of the whole package and then bought the more expensive ones.

Peter was in a smiley mood last night!

"St. Anthony, pray for Big Tony and for our whole family!"

June 12: More Rain and More Books

Day 33

It rained somewhere between 3 and 5 inches last night. Clint literally took a shower outside (it was dark and we have a secluded backyard so there was nothing untoward about this). This means we've received somewhere between 10 and 15 inches of rain in the last week. As you might imagine, the creek I went swimming in last week has now turned into a river. For all of you who are back in Missouri...imagine the Meramec River on a float trip when it's not been totally dry all summer - that's what's happening in my backyard right now!

I took this picture this morning on the bridge that leads to and from my house. This view is actually on the opposite side of the bridge from our house, but the water is much prettier on that side. I don't think I'll be doing any more swimming until the water goes down a bit, but Clint does want to get out our canoe, Beatrice. I also think inter-tubing on the creek could be fun.

This is the creek on our side. A ton of debris floated down and started to dam up the bridge last night. The creek is probably only a couple of feet below the bridge at this point. Along with the rain, we had hail - about the size of marbles - and we just kept thinking how glad we were that we have our carport now to protect our cars from the hail.

Any more rain and I'm not sure I'll be able to make it to work in the mornings, as most of the routes to our house involve bridges.

Today I'm purging a book that I read recently. It's a chapter book for elementary school students called The Doll People. This is evidently the first in a series that I have no interest in continuing. I picked up this book second hand because it is co-written by Ann M. Martin, who wrote the Baby Sitter's Club books. I have a pretty big collection of BSC books. Along with the Golden Girls, the BSC is one thing I can go back to again and again for either nostalgic or soothing reasons. I say without shame that the BSC books are the only books I can read before bed. They put me straight to sleep.

For some reason, I've been having trouble taking focused pictures of things without the flash. Most of my non-flash pictures are fuzzy, but I don't know how to change that.

June 11: Spat-acular

Day 32

Last night I made stir-fry, which was delicious. I seared the chicken in oil and soy sauce and then baked it in the oven for about 45 minutes before chopping it into pieces and adding it to the fry. Baking the chicken made it extra tender. I served the stir fry over rice and even had enough left over for lunch today. Making stir fry and rice ensues the use of lots of kitchen utensils. Every time I wash my spatulas and spoons and tongs, I have to shove them back into the pot on my counter and I'm getting sick of it! I have about 3,000 spatulas and approximately 2 that I use, so my purge today is a big-handled Faberware spatula. These spatulas aren't cheap, but the handle takes up too much room.

Nobody loves Chinese food more than Clint. It's much cheaper to make at home than to buy at a restaurant.

This picture is kind of blurry, but I had to post it. Clint is the best at soothing Peter when he's fussy in the evening.

June 10: Green Shirt

Day 31

I've officially been purging items for one month! Only eleven more months to go. I have to say, so far I haven't had to scramble too hard to come up with items to purge. I actually look forward to the challenge each day. It will get harder as the year wears on, but that's the whole point! If it's not hard to purge an item, then it's not really a sacrifice and I'm not really learning to detach myself from material things.

Today's purge is a green shirt that I love. I love the color and I love that it's dressy enough for work. I love the way it fits. In fact, the only thing I do not love about this shirt is the plunging V neck. This shirt has a cowl type neck that should, in theory, prevent any immodesty. However, when I wore it last week, I kept having to readjust the neckline so I'd be covered. I could wear a tank top under the shirt or add a safety pin, but it wouldn't look the same. I have enough summer work shirts, so I'm going to part with this one.

Not a great picture, but it shows off the pretty color.

June 9: Barn Coat

Day 30

Today's purge is a barn coat...for lack of a better name. A couple of years ago, I bought this coat at my hometown's thrift store...The Caring Center. I thought it would be the perfect coat to wear at my husband's family's farm. I wore it for a couple of seasons and it has, indeed been a good coat. It's worn out now and so is my "good" winter coat. I'll be upgrading to a new winter coat next year, so it's time to purge this one!

We got over 2 more inches of rain yesterday! Hip! Hip! Hooray!

Baby boy went through 4 outfits yesterday. He had a bath (change 1). He pooped through an outfit (change 2) and he spit up all over his third outfit (change 3). Daddy spilled water all over his fourth outfit, but we just let it dry.

June 8: Pottery II

Day 29

Evidently, I have a penchant for purchasing individual dishes that I believe to be "statement" pieces, but that have zero utilitarian capabilities. Today's purge is yet another example of this habit. When I bought this plate at the thrift store, my husband specifically told me that he doesn't mind my spending money at thrift stores, but that he wants me to actually get some use out of what I buy (on this trip I bought today's purged plate and another random plate that I got rid of before the Purge Pledge started). Clint does, in fact, treasure whatever he happens to buy at a thrift store no matter how needless I believe his purchases to be, whereas I am more apt to buy something one week and then turn around and donate it back the next week.

On Sunday night, I had my father-in-law and Clint's sister+family over for dinner. We grilled chicken kebabs and had a variety of other delicious summertime fare like homemade lemonade and deviled eggs. It was the first time I've hosted a summer get-together at our house and it was a great time.

Henry, Tim, Craig, Anna and Maggie. Love you!

June 7: Coasters

Day 28

Yesterday's purge was a tin lunch box that I used to hold my coaster collection. Today my purge is the coaster collection. I have at least 30 of those cardboard coasters from moderately priced chain restaurants. I would keep them, but my dog eats them whenever she has the chance, so we had to switch to a more substantial coaster. I even had a few foam coasters that are now peppered with bite marks.

I figure that if I save these for a yard sale and slap $0.75 on them, someone will be willing to take them home. There's a good 10 to 12 years worth of coasters here!

June 6: Remember the Alamo

Day 27

Today I am purging a souvenir I purchased ten years ago when my family visited the Alamo in San Antonio, TX. I distinctly remember that the Alamo had one of the best gift shops I've ever visited and this little tin lunch box was only $5. For year's I've used this little box to house the collection of coasters that I mostly take from restaurants like Applebee's and Ruby Tuesday. It sits under my coffee table gathering dust and though I like the box, it's time to let it go.

Now, on to more exciting news. (Warning! Lots of pictures ahead!) Yesterday, when I walked into my house my husband was wearing his swimming trunks. I was excited because I thought it meant he was going to wash the dog. No such luck. He said, "I'm going swimming." If you read yesterday's post, you know we received four inches of rain two nights ago, which has caused our creek to swell. In a couple of days the water will be down and the mosquitoes will have taken hold, so Clint wanted to have a swim before it was too late. I followed him down to the creek and skeptically watched as he waded into the water.

His first task was to see how deep it was.

His second task was to force Zoey into the water. Zoey has failed to realize that she is half-lab and has webbed feet. She's getting over her water fear, but slowly.

It wasn't too long before I was persuaded to venture into the water...fully clothed.

It was cold.

I too, persuaded Zoey into the water. We both look right at home.

I hope the water sticks around! It's neat to go swimming in your own backyard!