Suburban Notes

So, I'm on a quest to shop more frugally and to not waste food in our home. I find uneaten yogurt and left-overs in my fridge growing their own gardens, and the produce I bring home gets wrinkly and soft.

I think this is more meat than I've bought in two months and I got it all on one day. Ick. But my naturopath says I need way more protein than I'm getting and wants me to eat 100grams of carbs a day. I don't think that's even possible for a human being, is it? (shaking my head) I don't really want to know the answer to that.

Plus Paul's been told that he's pre-pre-pre-diabetic. So to lay off the carbs and eat more protein. Sigh. So, more meat. Blah.

Other news on the farm, we've added a new tenant on the weekends. She's got an amazing personality, is a fantastic webpage designer and photographer, and is helping me with my food budget.

We also have a couple other tenants leaving. They have found a bigger space closer to downtown that will suit them much better. They've been great tenants and we're sorry to see them go, but wish them grand adventures and good energy in their lives.

On the garden and chicken homefront, I've decided to free-range the girls a bit here and there. I mean, they already are free-ranged, but I want them to have the run of the yard, too. That doesn't work with our space (and having a maniac puppy dog that wants to eat them), so I'll just have them out when we are gone and the puppy's in the crate anyway, or for a couple hours a day where I can monitor the dog closely.

This is Sophia. She's the noisiest booger-head in the world.

I've signed up for the Willamette Writer's Conference for the third year in a row and was sorry to discover that I'd registered too late to get the agents that would be best for my book. So, I'll be pitching to agents that I'm not as confident will like my proposal/book.

But I'm so excited about going again. I always come home renewed to write and with lots of platform and web-presence ideas. My mother-in-law is going with me this year (she's got two books to pitch). So I'll be "traveling" with her again.

Things seem to be constantly on the brink of change around here. It's exciting and overwhelming.

Our local DAN (Defeat Autism Now) doctor is recommending that Robert see a doctor in Portland, so I'll be calling her soon. Robert's been on the gluten-free, casein-free diet for just over three weeks and I've noticed subtle differences in his behavior. He seems to be more .... even-keeled, if that makes any sense. Though right now, we are experiencing heavy outbursts regarding the diet. He is completely freaked about staying on the diet. All his favorite foods are affected. Beer Cheese soup, Roasted Red-Pepper Soup, ice cream, candy, Naan bread, Chicken Tikka Masala, corn dogs, and cheese sandwiches. Poor kid.

So, tantrum city.

A couple of friends have suggested that he is detoxing and that is the flare-ups in behavior I'm seeing. I hope he settles down soon.

School starts in three months for him, and I want to have more facts and routines under our belt to make his transition from unschooling to Village School a success.

What else?

Paul and I are visiting Costa Rica this Fall to check out the area. We may even stay this place he found: Osa Mountain Village.

We're also looking into purchasing a business. Once the kids are both in school this September, I will need to pick up some work to help pay tuition for Aubrey's school. So, I could go the part-time route and write the other part of the time. Or we could start a business, enabling Paul to switch careers in the near future and then we could either work together at it (which would be fun), or it could be mostly him working it and I can write full-time. (Which would be dope, as my friend says.)

So, big changes and opportunities.

May they all be entered upon with the least amount of drama and stress.

Amen and Blessed Be.