The Story of the Little Pepper (a tragedy)
Posted by: erinmlee on: July 26, 2009
Once upon a time, there was a cute, sweet little pepper. It was so cute and small and adorable that when the brown thumb gardener saw it smiling on its little branch in its little pot in an aisle at Lowe’s, she couldn’t help but to take it home. The gardener promised herself that this time, things would be different. She’d nurse and care for this plant until the pepper was ready to be picked and … uh … eaten. (She didn’t tell the pepper about that part.)
At first, things seemed to be going well. The pepper was as small as a marble, but it loved its Miracle Gro soil, its bright, warm sunshine, and its cool, clear water. Soon it began to grow. The gardener checked on it daily and was thrilled to watch it thrive. The pepper looked forward to the gardener’s visits each day.
After a while, the changes in the little pepper’s growth became less noticeable. The brown thumb gardener became a bit bored with gardening, and she didn’t check on the little pepper so often. Then the gardener and her husband started to build a giant playground for their little gardeners. The giant playground blocked most of the little pepper’s sunlight.
The little pepper felt sad and a little miffed. She wasn’t sure why the brown thumb gardener was ignoring her, or why she didn’t feel so strong and healthy anymore. One day she noticed that the stalk on which she was perched was sagging a little. Before long, the little pepper was resting on the ground – just a bit.
The pepper sighed and thought, “Well, at least this bit of ground is cool. It is SO very hot out here, and it seems I never get any water to refresh me anymore.” So she rested on the ground.
The little pepper did her best to continue to grow. She drew up as much energy from her little stalk as she could. But there wasn’t much energy to be had. And after a while, she noticed that the part of her that touched the ground was a bit mushy. She tried to ignore it, but the mushy spot grew and spread. The pepper figured she’d mention it to the gardener on her next visit. She resolved to wait patiently.
Many weeks passed before the gardener came to visit again. The little pepper tried to perk up and look her best, but it was no use. She could see the gardener’s look of disgust at the sight of her rotted flesh. Before the little pepper knew what was happening, the gardener snapped her off the stalk and tossed her in the trash.
The End.
7 Quick Takes Friday (5)
Posted by: erinmlee on: July 24, 2009
1. I still want to move. On my birthday I went house hunting and found a house I love. I keep finding myself daydreaming about where the new office/schoolroom would be, where the playroom would be, how much time we’d spend playing in the backyard… and then I come back to reality. This house is nowhere near ready to sell yet. Prepping it for sale has been going slowly. Snail’s pace. Slower than a snail’s pace. So slow, you could say we really haven’t done anything yet. So if I really want to get that house, it’s time to get motivated! Updates to come, I hope.
2. The kids have colds. Again. What is up with that? I thought kids weren’t supposed to catch colds in the summer? As a result, they’re not sleeping well, and I’m once again incredibly sleep deprived. So if I sound at all incoherent here, now you know why.
3. My husband has started his own blog. It’s about his fitness journey, which he will be starting on August 1st. You can check it out here.
4. Last night my older kids went to sleep without me in the room. If I find a way to help the baby do the same, I might actually get some alone time with my husband (or even a little time to myself) in the evenings. I think that might go a long way toward refreshing me! But I won’t hold my breath; it’ll probably be some time before the baby can sleep without me.
5. We’re trying to save money around here, so today I got rid of cable. I wonder if I’ll miss it? I don’t know, but I sure will appreciate the $65 saved each month. And I won’t have to worry about what the kids are watching. 
6. We will also be changing our cell phone plans next month when our contract is up. We’re going to try T-Mobile’s prepaid pay per day plan. It’s an interesting idea. It will require some discipline to actually save us money, though.
7. I feel this list is pretty boring this week, and I probably wouldn’t have even posted a 7QTF today if not for Jen’s teaser. So if you’ve never read my blog before, don’t judge me by this entry, please.
Go to conversiondiary.com for more quick takes! See ya next time!
To Do List
Posted by: erinmlee on: July 16, 2009
These are in no particular order.
- Do major spring–er, summer cleaning. Clean and declutter entire house, especially closets and garage. Daydream about how nice it would be to park in the garage again.
- Decide on the main purpose of each living space/room in the house, and have hubby arrange furniture accordingly. Change mind several times, and have hubby rearrange furniture accordingly.
- Set up and organize school area for upcoming school year. Review curriculum and prep for first week of study, which will probably be here before I can finish typing this blog entry.
- Start family on super healthy eating plan. Grow all vegetables organically in back yard. Stop eating sugar, starch, caffeine, wheat, gluten, dairy, aspartame, hydrogenated oils, pork, red meat, high fructose corn syrup, msg, and red dye #40. Munch on organic celery stalk and try to convince self that life is still worth living.
- Pick one of the 15 or so books I’m in the middle of, and resolve to finish it before starting any new books. Try not to feel discouraged upon realizing that I’ve forgotten everything I read so far, and therefore must start back at the beginning.
- Feel sick at the enormity of to-do list. Tear up to-do list, pack a basket of goodies, and take kids to park for a picnic.
7 Quick Takes Friday (4)
Posted by: erinmlee on: July 3, 2009
- In: 7QTF
- 3 Comments
1.
I really, really, really, really, really want to move. But the thought of fixing up this house to sell is frighteningly overwhelming. I’m going to try to take it a room at a time and see where that gets me. I really do love this house, but our family has nearly doubled in size since we bought it, and it’s feeling a bit tight for the five of us. If we could find a place with all the elements of this place plus one or two more rooms (a family room, maybe a fourth bedroom), I would be a happy camper. It doesn’t even have to be updated – we are do-it-yourselfers.
2.
I wish I had found this years ago!!! Gone is the nasty late afternoon glare in the living room and kitchen. This is going to keep our house cooler and save us money. And it was only $20 and super easy to install. Awesome.
3.
I wish I had thought of this years ago!!! Since Kayla is a climbin’ fool, I devised this ingenious (if I do say so myself) way to keep her from scaling the living room bookshelves: sheets of clear plexiglass velcroed to the edges of the bookshelf. They’re nearly invisible, and the added bonus is she doesn’t sit and pull books off the shelf anymore. Score!
I would post a picture, but since it’s nearly invisible, you wouldn’t really see what I’m talking about anyway…
4.
I went to the store tonight and bought David a 6-pack of beer.
They didn’t card me.
Phooey.
So I’m about to turn 32 and have borne 3 children. I don’t look like a teenager anymore. I get it. But could the cashier, a fellow female no less, not humor a gal?
Oh well, whatever.
5.
I had a dream last night that I was outside with the kids when I spotted a ferocious looking tiger, and I had to hurry the kids inside while wondering if the tiger had spotted and was following us. I dream this dream a lot, though the animal and our location may change. What is up with that? Is there some significance to dreaming that you’re afraid of being mauled (or your kids being mauled) by a large creature?
6.
A quick update on my vegetables: they are actually thriving!!! I’m so shocked. They look good enough to eat. (Compare this picture of my pepper to the one I took just over a week ago!) I just can’t believe nothing has died yet. Thank you, Miracle Gro!
7.
Happy Birthday to my niece, who turns 7 tomorrow on the 4th of July! What fun to have the whole country celebrate your birthday with you. I hope she has a very special day, and I’m looking forward to spending at least some of it with her!
Head on over to www.ConversionDiary.com for more quick takes. Happy Friday!
The ladder of success
Posted by: erinmlee on: June 25, 2009
Here is Kayla at the top of the elephant bed ladder. (I knew it was too much to hope that she could only climb the bottom rung.) She got here entirely on her own. The picture is taken up close because of course I had to be right there with one arm ready to catch her.
Fortunately, I can remove the ladder. Unfortunately, I cannot remove the couches.
I think it is time to wrap her in bubble wrap.
And by the way, can someone please, please, please remind her that SHE IS ONLY TEN MONTHS OLD AND HAS NO BUSINESS ENGAGING IN SUCH CLIMBING ACTIVITIES AS THESE?????
Lettuce rejoice!
Posted by: erinmlee on: June 25, 2009
I thought my pepper plant had died, but apparently it was just in a coma. It’s back, and it’s actually growing a little pepper! Isn’t this the cutest little pepper you’ve ever seen?
And my lettuce is growing…
And my green onions:
I have never had any interest whatsoever in gardening before, but so far this has been more fun than I ever would have dreamed. Stay tuned over the coming months to see if anything edible actually results from all this toil!
I’m in seeeeeeerious trouble…
Posted by: erinmlee on: June 23, 2009
I’m really not ready for this:
Or this:
Or this!!!!
Isn’t she too young to be climbing already??? Isn’t it wild enough that she’s already walking? What kind of crazily ambitious little dynamo do I have on my hands???
Sickness
Posted by: erinmlee on: June 20, 2009
Sad, huh? This is how Kayla looked most of yesterday. Her temperature was near 104 and she wanted to be held constantly. (I took this picture after putting her in the high chair to clean up after she threw up.) Can you see the tear on her cheek? She tried to cry because I wasn’t holding her, but she barely had the strength. Talk about heartbreaking. Carrie was sick too, although her fever didn’t get as high and she didn’t throw up.
They both still had fevers this morning but seem to be doing better this afternoon. It’s been an exhausting few days; I haven’t slept much since Tuesday night. And even though Kayla is feeling better, she still wants to be held constantly. She did wander off to the playroom for a little while (which is why I decided to snatch a little computer time), but it didn’t last long; I can hear her fussing and calling for mama.
But the good news is my roma tomato plants sprouted yesterday, and my lettuce sprouted today.
Very exciting! If I can manage to keep them all alive, we might have some fresh fruits and veggies in a couple of months. That’s a very big IF, though… I already managed to kill my bell pepper plant. 
Not such a teachable moment
Posted by: erinmlee on: June 17, 2009
I’m sitting next to Logan, gazing out the window at the clouds rolling by.
Me: Logan, did you ever wonder what clouds are made of?
Logan: No.
Me: Well, are you wondering now that I’ve asked?
Logan: No.
I am alone!
Posted by: erinmlee on: June 6, 2009
It may not last long enough even for me to type this sentence, but as of this moment, I am all by myself. The first moment of quiet alone time I’ve had for as long as I can remember. Everyone else in the house is asleep. Oh, sweet bliss!
No, you don’t understand. This… NEVER happens. Usually the baby wakes me up, so first thing in the morning I am caring for her. If I try to get up before her, she is awake within minutes. At bedtime, she falls asleep in my arms (or next to me) and won’t sleep long without me. To demonstrate, she has just awoken; my moment is gone. Still, this was amazing – she gave me enough time to shower, eat a bowl of cereal, start a load of laundry, and write a few sentences of this post. Which I’ll continue, even though she is awake.
Moments like this morning’s are rare, and I enjoy them quite a bit. However, having been through this twice before, I’m fully aware of how short this phase is in my baby’s life. To me, the moments that she sleeps securely in my arms are precious.
Now the only problem is that she has fallen back asleep in my arms, and it’s time to get everyone ready for Logan’s t-ball ceremony…
