About a week and a half ago, I was folding clothes and watching TV in our bedroom. It was one of those afternoons I call "gentle." You look at the clock and it's at least a good two hours before you have to be anywhere. Sunshine was busily searching the room, looking for new spots to shine upon. Favorite fleece clothes were worn, only the kind you dare wear at home, and the room was *gasp* on it's way to being
clean. To be very honest, for me that is quite a feat. I will share the blame with Jeremy as we both use the room for what it is: a place to crash at night, shed clothes, don new ones, and leave. It can get a bit, ahem,
messy. Our room is our crash pad, and not used for much else, so, being in our bedroom in the early afternoon, humming to the TV commercials and folding laundry was kinda something nice. It felt productive. I liked it.
Dr. Oz was on, and I have to admit, I am a fan of his, but have never watched the show. It sucked me in, and I learned all I wanted to know about belly fat and hormones. I nodded a lot, as if he could see me through the TV screen. Groaned with the audience when he mentioned no matter how hard you work out, it won't do anything to shed weight unless your hormones are in balance. He went on to talk about his three day smoothie cleanse which intrigued me, and I wanted to learn more. Do tell, Dr. Oz. It looked doable, eating nothing but four smoothies a day for three days, and my mind searched for the best three days to do it when I would be busy enough not to be tempted with such things as wine and dessert, aka, NOT on a weekend. I told Jeremy about it, and he said he would do it with me. I started to get excited. I've had this five pounds hanging around which stuck to my a** the second I turned thirty five that I wanted gone. Maybe this could kick start loosing that birthday bulge?? Could I be so lucky?
Let me just tell you, Dr. Oz, sometimes your body does things to you once a seed of thought has been planted into your mind. I was busy thinking about this cleanse when a couple days later my body decided to do a little (a LOT) of cleansing of its own. I came down with the freaking stomach flu. I haven't had the stomach flu since the fourth grade, which I remember
very well because it was so awful. And, this was just as awful, and it wasn't no 24hr bug, either. We are talking 48 hours of ridding every single speck of food out of the body, then living off small bites of apple for the next three days after, because just the smell of food may bring the past two day nightmare back for a repeat visit. I still don't feel back to normal. Silver lining? Those five pounds I wanted to loose? Gone. Bad thing? Two have already come back since I have started eating small amounts of food, and, I may never eat a Trader Joe's turkey corn dog with hot and sweet mustard ever, ever again.. I'll take it, tho, loosing the three pounds. Even though Dr.Oz's cleanse might have been tastier, healthier, and doesn't require you to be on your knees hugging the porcelain throne, I don't think I will be doing the smoothie cleanse anytime soon. The great cleanse of 2013 has been done. Mind over matter, Dr. Oz, mind over matter.
*****
I've had an itch I've been needing to scratch. Pinterest has been teasing me with these cute little terrariums floating around its site. So, I scrounged up some containers all found for a buck or two at our local thrift shop, and I started to plant. And not just terrariums, but I planted in any cute container I could find. If it can hold soil, it can hold a cactus. So, if you have a green thumb, and have a love of cacti, plant some. Bring some green inside.
This is my favorite container I found. I researched the stamp on the bottom of it which led me to the history of where it came from. It was made for the Arlington Hotel by Wallace Bros. Silver Co. The hotel was erected in the late 1880's then was taken down board by board and moved by train 300 miles away to be re-erected, only to have it burned to the ground on New Years day ten years later. How this piece ended up here on our little Island over 100 years later for sale for $2.50 at Granny's Attic, I will never know. Go figure. I do love it though, and it's history.
Creamers and sugar containers make great houses for cacti. They shined up nicely after a good cleaning from the thrift store and now live on my windowsill.
If you are interested in making a terrarium, it is super easy.
Good things to have on hand are:
GLOVES (cannot stress that enough, especially if you are working with cactus)
A straw
Tweezers
A small spoon for moving the rocks around
You will need:
A terrarium container
Small cacti or small plants
Rainbow or crushed rock. Or, sand, if you like
cactus potting soil
potting charcoal
First, gather your supplies and pick a place where you can spread out. At our place, unfortunately that meant the dining room table, which would have been fine if I didn't accidentally tip over the open bag of potting soil which fell all over the chair and floor. If you are using your table like me, line it with some newspaper for easy clean up.
Next, you want great drainage, so you fill the bottom of your container with crushed rock. Then, sprinkle on about three or four tablespoons ( more if using a big container) of potting charcoal onto your rocks. It will look like this:
Next, put in a layer, not too deep, of potting soil, and if you can, use the potting soil that is made especially for succulents. Once that layer is in, carefully plant your cactus. It will be a tight squeeze, so this is where the gloves become important as your hands will constantly be brushing up against the cactus. A small spoon is good too, for putting the soil around the plants. Once the cacti are planted, cover that layer of soil with more of the crushed/rainbow rock and use the tweezers to pick out rocks from the cactus, or the straw to gently blow the dirt off if there is any in the cactus crevasses.
The terrariums like lots of light and thrive on neglect, so they make pretty good houseplants. Place your little science project somewhere bright, and water very rarely. And, there you go. Insta cactus garden.
*******
Today is my mom's birthday. I cannot tell you how much I love this woman. She is the kindest person I know, I could literally melt into her hug, she has a goofy/corny/silly sense of humor, and she still dresses up for Halloween. You cannot not love her. She is the best. I love you, mom, more than you will ever, ever know. XXX's and OOO's.
Happy Birthday to you!!!!!
A lemon bliss bundt cake with blackberry glaze I made for my mom's birthday table. : )
