only 5 more weeks

oh sweet end of the semester - you can't get her soon enough! just five more weeks stand between me and summer break! it's been a long school year. i'm tired. i'm frustrated. i feel sorta like a hamster on a wheel. just spinning and spinning and not really getting anywhere. i'm ready for some sunny days spent with my little lady. not worrying about research papers and clinicals and quizes and NCLEX questions and journal articles and toy projects and paperwork... i want to go to the park and the zoo and the pool with nuggie. i want to take long walks and play in the garden. i do have to take one evening class, but it's just an ethics class - not nursing. it'll be nice to have a small break. and i am still looking for a part-time job at one of the hospitals. it's not like i want time off to sit on my booty. i just need to not be sitting in class for a little while.

ok, gripe over. my garden is growing!! i'm quickly learning what i've got a green thumb for and what i've got a black thumb of death for! my peas, onions, garlic, beans, strawberries and herbs are doing well. my tomatoes got something called "early blight" - i talked to mama pita and she suggested some things to hopefully clear it up. i have ELEVEN little 'mater plants that i grew from seed. i can't lose them! my squash and zucchini and peppers looks pitiful. something has eaten most the leaves off my peppers. my squash and zucchini were growing like champs and then the leaves turned brown and shriveled up. why??? i love it though. i love being out in the yard while nuggie naps. our little yard is turning into a wonderful sanctuary. now, will i feel the same way when it's 102 out and i've got to care for my greenies under the blazing sun?? probably not! i'm a half-assed hippy. i love the garden and the sun and the soil... as long as there are no bugs, dirt under my nails and the breeze is blowing :-)

part of my renewed hippy love is trying, for real this time, to rid our home of unnecessary chemicals. i've found, if i'm VERY careful, i can pick up most items at trader joe's and stay on budget. if they're not organic, they are at least free of preservatives and artificial gunk. i think this is especially important for nuggie. i'm not loving my "natural" cleaning products as much as i love my pledge and clorox wipes. but - they do work and it gets more chemicals out of the house. am i crazy? is it a lost cause? who knows. will i probably have to stop when the budget gets extra tight? yea. it's sad sad how much pricier healthy and "green" items are.

only 5 weeks to go...