{ Feeling accomplished and a mini greenhouse }

There are times that I tend to let things slide.  Certain spots in the house that need attention, cleaning, organizing or just a bit of tidying.  But I don't always feel like tackling them, and so they sit, waiting for me to get with the program.

I'll be honest, some times it's months before I tackle a certain project, and not because I don't want to, but because life gets busy and time flies and when I finally get to it, it's been quite a while.

But the past month has been one of "getting it done".

I've found myself just doing and not thinking about doing.  Does that make sense?

If something needs to be put in it's place, it's done immediately, because if I set it aside for later, chances are it will be a long while before I get to it.

One of those things, is the never ending paperwork.  I wish I was completely paperless at this point, but unfortunately every day, the mail man comes and more bills, junk mail, important papers are sent and so they sit in that basket.  It had been, oh my word, months since I last went through it.

It's much easier to just shove the paper in the basket and walk away, always with that thought in the back of our mind "I'll get to it soon".  Never soon enough!

By the way, I was editing that photo and started thinking, where did that double chin come from?  And those lines around my mouth or near my eyes?  I'm ageing, and what a blessing that is.  To think that I've been blessed to be on this earth for 43 years, allowed to enjoy my life and have a wonderful marriage and beautiful children.

Too often we look at our ageing faces and cringe, get upset, sad at what is no longer there, but the key is to embrace it.  That's me, and older version, but still me. :)

I was getting down to clean all the chairs and Mister Marley immediately attacked me with kisses.  He is such a big baby, and I mean that in a loving way.  Big boy with an even bigger heart :)

But back to what I was saying, I've been feeling very accomplished lately, I've gotten a lot of things done, I'm on top of it all, cleaning, tidying and putting things in their places, which makes taking care of a home (one especially this big), an easier task.

Another way I've felt accomplished this past week, is through the growth of my seedlings.

Let me tell you something about growing things in general.  I've always told everyone, and it was the truth for many many years, that I couldn't be trusted to take care of any living plant because I surely killed it.  I was pretty shocked in Arizona when I suddenly developed a green thumb and started growing all sorts of things.

Herbs, veggies, fruits and flowers.  It was like suddenly I became the plant whisperer.  It felt absolutely fantastic, especially in a State that gets so hot that I did not think I would ever be able to grow anything other than a big sweat.

When we moved to this house, I had all these plans and ideas, I could envision certain areas in the big 3 acres, being designated to planting and growing our own fruit and veg.  So I started trying to grow things thinking that I still had my green thumb, only to be extremely disappointed that nothing I tried to grow, was actually growing.

I gave up for a while and then I turned to my husband.  If you didn't know, he used to be big into herbs and plants and he grew many a herb gardens.  

I tried to do it on my own, but realizing that it was not going to happen, I asked him for some tips and tricks on how he grew everything.  I felt quite idiotic, I've been with him for 21 years, and only now remembered to ask him for help.  Thankfully he didn't laugh at me, and just set about showing me what he did and how he grew everything.

We bought the soil, the seeds and the pots and got down to business.

Within about a week or so, I started noticing the seedlings start popping up.  One of the things that my husband told me to use was Miracle Gro, which I never did before.  Oops.

Doesn't mean that it's absolutely necessary, and if you don't want to use it, don't.  But it's done wonders for me.

I had a metal baking pan that had rusted and was going to throw it out, but it was the perfect size to fit all my pots in, so I placed it on another tray with handles, which makes moving them all around much easier.....lined it with plastic cling wrap, and set the pots in.

Now one thing I've wanted for a while, is a greenhouse, but I don't have the money to buy the store ones, and I don't have the materials to make one...YET....so I improvised with what I had on hand.

I taped down some wooden skewers on the four corners of the tray.  Taped some clingwrap to the skewers to hold it down, and left just one side untaped so I can lift it up and water the plants.

You guys, you have no idea how happy my seedlings are.  They have grown in leaps and bounds since I did that.

Another thing that makes a huge difference, is to water the seedlings from the bottom up.  My husband told me to pour some water into the tray and let the pots absorb it that way, instead of pouring the water over the soil, because some of the plants are very fragile and when we do that, they tend to fall over or get broken etc.  DUH!!!!!  (why did I never think of it that way?)

They are so much happier in their little greenhouse, and the best part is that as they grow, I'll move the clingwrap up to give them more space.

It's not the best looking greenhouse in the world, but it does the job and I didn't have to go out and buy anything.

I must be on a roll, because just take a look at my Poinsettia.  It's alive, thriving, regrowing and doing so well.

I've had it since December, and I'm quite shocked that it's flowering again.  I thought it was dead, it had lost all it's flowers and leaves, and the branches had gone completely brown and dry.  I kept it though and watered it faithfully, moved it around the house to different areas for the right light, and have given it a few spritzes of the Miracle Gro, here and there.

So chuffed with myself, it looks amazing :)

I have to give my husband a huge thank you because without him, I would have still been growing just plain dirt and nothing more.  Goes to show you that sometimes it's fine to give in and ask for help from someone who actually knows what they're doing.

It doesn't in any way, shape or form, mean that I'm dumb, it just means that I'm human and as such, I don't know everything, goodness I wish I did, but life is all about constant learning, and I have to say that at 43, I'm still learning something new every single day.