California!!

     When my family told me that we would not be going on a family vacation this year Matt and I decided right then that no matter what we were going to go on one ourselves. Of course when either of us think of vacation we usually think of Hawaii, which is a little expensive, or the lovely state of California which is way more affordable. So lucky us, our two favorite people live in Pasadena, California, Luke and Kristen.
     I really wasn't sure how traveling with a baby would be, but with thirty toys, blankets, graham crackers, and not near enough binkies, we made it to beautiful California. We actually split the drive in two and slept in the not so beautiful Mesquite, NV for the sake of Lillie. We are actually really glad we did because it was so wonderful to have her sleep all the way from Vegas to Pasadena.
So the first day in Pasadena we spent at the aquarium and Queen Mary Ship. They were both really fun!

Sea Dragon. Ever heard of one?

Lillie would be making such a cute face and as soon as we got the camera out she would make this face.

                   Spider Crab. All I could think about was how bad I wanted to eat it. MMMM!

    Next we went to the Queen Mary. If you buy a combo ticket for both the aquarium and the ship you get to take the haunted tour on the ship. It was a little different than I thought because I thought that they were going to tell real ghost stories from the ship, and maybe they were, but I felt like I was in a haunted house. The funniest part was that it was really dramatized with strobe lights, mist, and loud booms and Lillie slept through the whole thing! Seriously though, she didn't even move. Then right after it, when it was peaceful and quiet, she woke up. I seriously don't understand that child. The Queen Mary was fun though. I totally felt like I was on the Titanic and found myself saying "I will never let go Jack" and "Look Jack I'm flying" over and over in my head. 

The second day we went to lunch in Santa Monica at a cute little cafe:

Then we went to the beach in Malibu:

Lillie has always been a water baby (you should see her in the tub!) so she loved the beach.

So we had a great time and were sad to come home. Oh how I love thee California :)

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

     I've always been a big advocate for recycling. Ever since I was little I have always tried to do my part by "cleaning the world". (Melissa, remember walking around the neighborhood picking up trash and sweeping the streets and ditches? We even went as far as cutting the grass with scissors and we called it cleaning the world). So maybe doing this wasn't exactly helpful but after being married to a crazy agriculture freak I have really become more aware of what an individual can do to make a difference for our environment. Although there are hundreds of ways we can reduce, reuse and recycle I decided to break it down into three ways that Krista likes to reduce, reuse, and recycle. First,

Reduce:

Matt has studied a lot about waste management and alternative ways to agriculture, and while doing so came across some great info on vermicomposting. For those of you that are not familiar with the nerdy terminology, that means worm composting. Matt and I are the proud parents of thousands of worms in a bin in our kitchen closet. I know it sounds disgusting but surprisingly they don't stink and they poop out gold when it comes to compost! So what we do is feed a portion of all of our green waste to the worms and for free we get some great all natural fertilizer for our garden! You don't have to have worms though to be a good composter. First just become aware. 1/3 of all of the methane in our atmosphere is from rotting garbage in landfills and manure. In case you don't know, that is what is depleting our atmosphere and contributes largely to our inversion in Salt Lake City and Logan. So what can we do to fix it? Compost! Matt and I have a small compost pile in our back yard made up of three pallets we found. What we put in there was some dirt or compost that we had left over from the dump. Then what you do is collect all kitchen scraps from the day, exclude meat, cooked food, perennial weeds, diseased plants, but all green waste, egg shells, grass clippings (free from weed seeds, pesticides and herbicides) and newspaper throw on in! All you have to do is turn it or mix it every month or so. You know when your compost pile is working right when it gets warm inside and starts steaming. A good compost pile will get to be about 160 degrees inside! Then in early spring and late fall put that shiz on your garden and watch it grow! Free compost that is environmentally friendly and count it as doing your part for "cleaning the world".

Reuse:

Now from a less hippie point of view, I love to sew! I have been following some great sewing blogs where these ladies make things that are amazing! I have a love for old fashioned things and vintage. These ladies have some great ideas! An idea that I love is buying old clothes like suit coats, old skirts and pants, etc and making new things out of them like purses, baby clothes, and skirts for you! I am kind of in the process of some projects right now. Not only can you save money by buying second hand clothing, but everything you make out of it will be so original! I will post pictures of my creations soon.

Recycle:

Lastly, recycling. My favorite thing is taking out the garbage cans Sunday night and seeing that my recycling bin is full and my black garbage can is almost empty. It is so fulfilling to know that I am doing my part! So much can be recycled these days! Look on your trash and see what has the recycle sign on it. All paper and most plastics are recyclable! Also, recycle your grocery bags. Nothing is worse that seeing garbage bags blowing away in the wind and getting caught in trees. Matt and I actually have done away with plastic grocery bags all together. We figure that paper comes from a renewable resource: aka wood. Most paper bags are made from up to 90% already recycled paper. And you can compost it! I always think to myself, where is this plastic bag going to go when I am done using it from my car to the house? A landfill? Plastic doesn't biodegrade so will always be around! Think about it. Next time you are at the grocery store ask for paper!

Agriculture?

   As many of you may know Matt is the agriculturalist in our family. Although I did grow up having a love for gardening, Matt's love and knowledge has really surpassed my own. Matt's is not only just a love for agriculture but more of an obsession. A calling in life if you will. It's funny to see peoples reactions when they ask Matt, more of a surfer than a farmer,what his degree is because he doesn't quite fit the part for an agriculture student.

   But although Matt has never lived on a farm, let alone work on one, he has more knowledge about farming techniques and practices than anyone I know! Matt, bless his heart, has kind of an obsessive personality and when he has an interest in something he cannot help but learn everything possible about that subject. Food and sleep become second and third on the list to his obsessions. At times I have wondered how Matt would make it in this industry not having the knowledge and background that most people in this field do, but to be honest I think it is to his advantage. Matt has not be indoctrinated to believe that there is only one way to agriculture. Matt has spent hours and hours on studying alternative and sustainable practices to agriculture, please ask him about it because he would love to talk your ear off about it. (Love You Babe).
   Well, with this whole new obsession of his, and with his new decision to stay in Logan and farm rather than go to North Carolina, we are looking at a fun and plentiful summer. This week Matt and I dug up our square foot garden and are preparing it to plant radishes, peas, lettuce, arugula, onions and spinach this week. We also look forward to in a few weeks planting beets, carrots, swiss chard, tomatos, beans and everything else you can imagine. Basically Matt and I are going to see how sustainable we can be. We are going to plant a garden and try to live as exclusively off of that as we can. Matt has already drawn up plans to turn our greenhouse into a chicken coop:

Stay tuned to see what the Landlord says. I think it is really cool what Matt does and I think in the near future agriculture is going to take a huge turn and become a much bigger priority. With the economy the way it is and gas prices where they are I really do believe that becoming more self reliant is a MUST! I agree with, I believe it was President Benson, that everyone should have a garden. It's amazing the money that it has saved Matt and I in years past to have a garden. Not only does it save money but it is so fulfilling to be able to go out and pick the fruits of your labor. Matt and I also look forward to learning ways to preserve produce throughout the winter through bottling, pickling and even a potato cellar. If you are feeling overwhelmed by gardening and don't know where to start, start by thinking of what vegetables you eat on a regular basis. Then go to any local store that sells seeds or plants and ask someone there! If you are worried about not having enough space google urban farming or intercity gardening. It is so popular right now! Take all of your green waste and table scraps and compost them for richer soil. I'm just saying, there is so much we can do and it can be really fun. Feel free to contact me or Matt with any questions or ideas! Also check out Matt's blog at www.alternativeag.blogspot.com. He is always updating it with fun ideas and agricultural ideas. Remember, just like Matt you don't have to be a farmer to grow anything. Good luck!

Oh and randomly for those that care, here are some updated pictures of our little family:

 Lillie with her cousin Greyson

My Newest Project!!!

 So I really have never been much of a sewer except for the last six months when I got a sewing machine. Like I said in one of my earlier posts, my first real project was Lillie's baby bedding and that was super ambitious of me! After months of toiling after the bedding I realized that I really started to like sewing. Maybe this could actually be a hobby of mine! A few weeks ago both Joann Fabrics and Hobby Lobby had their patterns on sale for $0.99 and I couldn't pass that up! I bought a few patterns for Lillie that I thought I would try. I even found a really cute dress for me, but when we were in the check out line I got so scared of the idea of making myself something that I gave it to the cashier and told her I didn't want it. I'm a baby I know! I figured that a baby is easy cause it doesn't have to be some form fitting dress. Anyway, maybe someday I'll get brave. So I bought this pattern:

Last week we finally bought the fabric and I finished it today! It was actually pretty easy and a lot of fun! So this is what I made, Lillie's Easter dress:

I'm super excited cause I think it turned out really cute, and Lillie seems to like it! Anyway, YAY for sewing and I think that if there is anyone out there that is scared of sewing, just do what I did, TRY IT! Oh and here is a preview of my next project: