I am happy to report that thanks to an awesome month of no driving days in July, I’ve hit my goal for the year. I had 7 no driving days in July and that gives me 35 no driving days all together. I was hoping to have an entire month without driving, and I’m really proud of achieving this goal.
August is going to be different, school is starting, and I’ll be driving Thade to and from school everyday. I’ll still try my best to keep the car at home as much as I can.
This year my organic veggie garden is one big mess. I noticed two very over ripe cucumbers yesterday, and I had just about given up on getting out and getting the garden back in shape. This morning I woke up with more energy, and 2 kiddos that needed to burn off some extra energy too, so we headed outdoors to work on the garden.
I found 3 more cucumbers that were ready to be picked, and 1 lonely okra too. I spotted a few more okra that are growing well, so I hope that in a few days I’ll have enough for a mini batch of fried okra. The green beans are doing well, and there were lots of blossoms on the plants. The corn is sprouting well too, and I can’t wait for it!
I got some much needed weeding done too. It isn’t all finished, but thanks to the recent rain, the task wasn’t too bad. I hope to get a few more veggies out of the garden this Summer, and next year I hope to be a better gardener all together.
We had a small grocery list for the week, and I decided to bring along my reusable bags to bring home the groceries. I hate to admit this, but I’m really bad about bringing along my bags, unless I’m shopping at Aldi. I’ve put Thade in charge of reminding me to bring them along when we shop any where, and Dylan is happy to help carry the bags too. I also had a handful of coupons in hand to shop with this week too.
So we go thorough the store, and I’m off to the checkout with reusable bags in hand, and checkout goes something like this.
I unload the bags first, and with a big smile, I say: I’ve brought along my own bags.
Cashier: Really giant sigh, and a very big eye roll.
I quickly loaded up the conveyor belt with all of the items, and when the groceries were almost finished making their way into their reusable bags, I had to say…
Nico: I’ve also got a few coupons…
Cashier: Really really really big sigh, and an even bigger eye roll.
Yeah I’m totally that lady, but happily I didn’t bring home another plastic bag, and I also saved about $5.00 on my grocery bill. It didn’t come without a snarky sigh and a few eye rolls though…
Despite all of the June activities for Thade, I did pretty good at keeping the cars parked at home. I ended up with 6 no driving days for the month, and that brings my year to date total up to 28 days. I just need 3 more days, and I’ve hit my no driving days goal for the year! Let’s see if I can accomplish that goal in July.
Since I’ve got two hostessing events planned this week, I’ve got to get a lot of extra dishes washed. For the dinners, I’m trying to avoid using disposable plastic products as much as I can, so that means I’ll be spending a lot of time busy washing dishes at the kitchen sink.
For the dessert bar I’m using a set of vintage Blue Willow dishes. I’m also using my cake stand, and two large Blue Willow plates, for all of the cookies and brownies.
For the dinner (which is Chili) I’m using a mix of brightly colored over-sized coffee mugs, and square bowls.
I have a mixed set of glassware for beverages too. They might not match, but as long as there is enough, I don’t think that anyone will mind.
Don’t forget about the spoons. I’m serving desserts that require no forks, so that saves me a little time there.
I will have a few extra dishes to wash, but it is worth it. Greener hospitality is the way to go!