The lasagna's cooking!

I promised photos of my tiny lasagna garden, so here is one -- the summer squash in the back now has one little squash on it, and you can see the hot banana peppers that my DBF has been laying claim to.

It is a very small garden, and it's had hits and misses. The lettuce was slow to get going and I am afraid that the Mississippi June sun is going to roast it. I wish I had put out some pink eye purple hull peas. No cukes on the cucumber plants yet, but I have high hopes - the plants have lots of yellow flowers. Honestly, I think I would plant squash and cucumbers even without getting veggies in the bargain -- they are pretty with their tropical-looking leaves and yellow-to-orange blooms. There's also a few zinnias thrown in -- some of them given away as seeds from our alderman-at-large during election season.

I want to widen the garden next year and put a few more plants in. I would say I'd add tomatoes but I am thinking about getting one of those topsy-turvy tomato hangers next year. Maybe I can add some turnips for fall and winter. I've never grown those, but I did have good luck with broccoli and onions one winter in northeast Mississippi.

I've been enjoying watching the progress in the tiny garden this summer, and my 11-year-old is quite impressed that "everything's sprouting!" Now if I can just get him to eat the veggies those plants produce ...

Team in Training-click to make a donation

I have been a slacker in my running -- I haven't hit the road in my Adidas in over a week -- but my friend Armanda Manuel isn't slacking! She is training to run a marathon in San Francisco as part of the Team in Training, raising money to fight blood cancers. Make a donation at http://pages.teamintraining.org/ms/rnrsa09/amanuel -- $5, $10, $20, anything will help.

She's up to 10 miles now, and 26.2 miles is her goal.

Speaking of running, the Renaissance Half Marathon is a week away in Ridgeland, and already, more than 1,500 runners and walkers have signed up to participate. Just writing about this has me inspired to at least do the 4 miles a day/5 days a week my doctor recommended.

Long time no hear from!

Hello, and it's been a while. Somehow a few days of not posting turned into a few months. All is well my way, but all is also busy — there were some papers to write for graduate school, houseguests in April, Easter, moving my oldest, a University of Southern Mississippi student, home for the summer, my 18-year-old's graduation and everyone being home for the summer. This summer, I am the only one still in school, but I am working in some fun by helping with my daughter's tennis team and plan to help with Vacation Bible School at church.

I started that Lasagna Garden. It started out organic but I have cheated with the addition of Expert Plant Food, found at the local Wal-Mart. I have some plants growing but I think I have to keep building up the organic content to make for a better patch of soil next year. But I do have blossoms on the squash, cucumber and hot banana pepper plants.

Out front, I added some Sonset Lantana, Radtko double knock-out roses and purple easy wave petunias, along with some mint in a pot. To me, there are few things as good as iced tea with crushed mint on a hot day. I'll take pictures as soon as the rain stops.

Lasagna Gardening

Nothing makes me love spring like reading a gardening book in the cold, gray, wet winter. This past January, I was fortunate enough to find Lasagna Gardening by Patricia Lanza in my local library.

Now that I know I have a week off coming up in the spring, I am ready to start layering my garden, and I don't mean with ricotta cheese. A lasagna garden is made of layers, like our favorite Italian casserole, but the garden layers start with wet newspaper and build up with peat moss, dirt, barn litter, whatever's cooking in your compost heap, dried-up leaves, etc. Keep layering away on top of the ground, and when you get to about 18-24 inches tall/deep, you are ready to plant.

One thing about this idea that appeals to me is that it is a no-till way of gardening. I don't own a tiller, so this is sounding better to me all the time.

The question now is, what to plant? I am thinking yellow squash and zucchini, pink eye-purple hull peas and maybe some peppers and tomatoes, although some wildflower mix might be nice for indoor bouquets. In another part of the yard, I am thinking about putting in some blueberry bushes. It's a sure sign of spring when I start dreaming up all the things I'm going to plant. The plants never produce quite like I want them to, with the exception of zucchini. One summer, I overplanted zucchini and everyone I knew got a gift of homegrown zucchini that year! Maybe this will be the year the rest of the garden takes off!

Here is a link to a Mother Earth News article by Lanza -- enjoy!

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/1999-04-01/Lasagna-Gardening.aspx

Mi Vida Loca

Hi, and I realize this is long time, no hear from. Life has been busy, what with a final project due in a grad school class, taking the U.S. Census Bureau employment test this morning, working at my regular job and also selling Mary Kay on the side, plus keeping up with my four sweet babies (technically, two are young adults, but as I tell them repeatedly, they will always be my babies).

That's life in these times: if you have a job, you work like crazy to keep it and pray you don't get laid off, and then you throw in plans B, C and D, which for me are earning my master of science degree in management to better myself and my chances of being hired should I find myself job hunting; seeing if I can get on with the census bureau since I will be on an unpaid furlough for a week next month; and Mary Kay -- some women get the pink Cadillacs, but I am more interested in it as a little extra money plus a nice discount on 3-in-1 cleanser, mineral foundation and all sorts of other cool products. Check out my Web site at marykay.com/annieo.

Since life is crazy for us all, here are some tips for dealing with it while remembering to be nice to yourself. These are all low-cost or free as that fits my budget, and these have all been tested by yours truly.

- Take a deep healing breath, or several: Inhale deeply and slowly, then exhale, drawing your abs in toward your spine. Guaranteed to lower your stress level.

- Take a hike ... or a run, or be a wogger. I confess I don't do this often enough, since cold weather set in, but get outdoors and move. Take your dog along if you want. Take your iPod along if you want music. This will improve your health while helping you get in those skinny jeans. And -- this is a bonus -- never have I ended a walk/run/workout session in a worse mood than when I started.

- Be good to yourself: Sure, you are short on time, but you've still got time to shower, right? Break out the Lotus and Bamboo scrub, or do a micro-dermabrasion treatment, or just make sure to cleanse and moisturize your skin properly. Men, you can do this too -- get a great haircut and use some wonderful lady-killer after-shave. It'll improve your outlook, I promise.

- Get a snack: OK, who can be stressed if they are having a snack? You see all those runway models and how angry they look? You'd look angry, too, if you weighed 90 pounds and didn't have a snack. My favorite is a Diet Coke and microwave popcorn while I am studying, or better yet, during a study break. Jazz it up a little by throwing a little seasoning on -- I like Cajun seasoning, Taco seasoning or lemon pepper on my popcorn.

- Catch a flick: Do this cheaply with Netflix. The kids and I recently watched Snow Buddies, and tonight, if I need a laugh, Old School is supposed to be in my mailbox this evening.

- Just do it: If you have something you need to do, just get it over with and then you don't have to spend mental energy thinking about it. Same goes with housework -- not that my house is a showplace because it is not -- but do a little bit such as making the bed in the morning, loading the dishwasher, etc. and that's less that you have to come home and face later.

- Plan ahead for crazy times. I usually keep at least one quick dinner on hand in case there is hardly any time to cook. A box of lasagna and a loaf of garlic bread in the freezer can sometimes be a lifesaver.

- Spend time with those you love: De-stress by spending time with your kids, your significant other, friends, your cat or dog, etc.

Fabulous (and cheap) birthdays!

My girl Ladybug will be having a birthday next month. We've been talking about party ideas, and to hear that she wanted to have friends over to the house was wonderful! I say this because the economy is awful and just because I still have a job doesn't mean I won't be without later. In our area, birthday parties at restaurants, kiddie arcades and stores will set you back at least $200, and that is on the conservative side.

Now, I realize this means I will have to clean the house beforehand, prepare the food and clean the house afterward, but I'll save some money and ... here's the kicker ... Ladybug asked for the house party.

I was looking around online for ideas and along came this one from www.kraftfoods.com. These are the prettiest cupcakes I have seen in a long while, and the good folks at Kraft had party ideas. One I plan on throwing my girl's way is a Spa Party, where she and her friends can paint their fingernails and do girlie things, but there were plenty of other cute ideas.

Here's the recipe for the pretty Flower Power Cupcakes shown here, and please, post your party ideas:


What You Need!
1 pkg. (2-layer size) white cake mix
1 cup boiling water
1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed
Few drops food coloring, any color
24 JET-PUFFED Marshmallows
24 JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows
1/4 cup colored sugar or colored sprinkles
Make It!

PREPARE and bake cake batter as directed on package for 24 cupcakes; cool completely in pan. Pierce cupcakes with wooden skewer or large fork at 1/4-inch intervals. Add boiling water to gelatin mix; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Spoon 2 tsp. gelatin over each cupcake. Refrigerate 3 hours.

TINT COOL WHIP with food coloring; spread onto cupcakes.

CUT each large marshmallow crosswise into 5 pieces with clean kitchen shears to resemble flower petals. Arrange 5 petals in flower shape on top of each cupcake. Place 1 miniature marshmallow in center of each. Sprinkle with colored sugar. Keep refrigerated.

What to do if you get a pink slip...

Start drinking heavily is not the answer, people. If you have your friends Jim Beam and Jack Daniel console you, you'll be just as jobless but with a massive hangover. Not a pretty picture.

Now being that the company I work for has had no less than three layoff rounds in 2008 and unpaid furloughs and who knows what else in 2009, this is a question I face every day. Advice from my wiser-than-his-years son John is to not worry about that which I cannot control. Advice from my DBF Rus is to live month by month, or week by week -- if I have a job in March, it's been a good month.

Now, being a planner, I can't completely do this. As a mom, I have to plan, and I want to know we'll have food on the table and that the bank won't come and take the house.

Given the deteriorating state of the economy, here are a few tips. Hopefully, I won't need them and you readers won't either. These are courtesy of the Better Business Bureau of Mississippi:

Say Goodbye to the Old Job
Employees need to make sure they understand the terms of the situation including any benefits they are eligible for. Many companies provide a severance package and, by law, employees are entitled to any accrued vacation. Laid-off employees should also ask their former employer for references - if they left on relatively good terms - to help with their job search.

Line up Unemployment Benefits and Health Insurance
It’s important to get the ball rolling immediately by applying for unemployment benefits through the state unemployment office since it can take up to three weeks to start receiving checks. Eligibility requirements typically take into account wages earned, length of employment, and reason for unemployment.
If the employee received health insurance under their former employee, he or she can apply for coverage under the Comprehensive Omnibus Budget Resolution Act (COBRA). COBRA provides up to 18 months of health insurance after being laid off. A company’s Human Resources department will have application information or employees can go to the U.S. Department of Labor Web site at www.dol.gov.


Evaluate Family Finances and Cut Wasteful Spending
Having and managing a budget is crucial to success in unemployed situations. If the employee didn’t have a family budget, now is the time to make one. Money will be tight and evaluating expenses, including finding ways to cut costs, will help a family get through the lean times. The worst thing to do is to ignore bills. The BBB recommends keeping in contact with lenders to explain the current unforeseen situation and potentially work together to find solutions for weathering the financial storm.

Keep Busy
Job hunters should take inventory of their career and consider the opportunity to change occupations or relocate to a new city. Being laid off can be a discouraging time to start looking for a new job, but it is definitely not the time to let the grass grow underfoot. Fill the down time in a job hunt by volunteering, learning new skills or taking continuing education classes.

Check with the BBB for information on potential employers and/or employment agencies and counselors. Go online (www.ms.bbb.org) or call 800-987-8280 for information from the Mississippi BBB.