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gardening gnome newbie spring summer series returns rita slanina
house and home, How To, humor, self-help

Gnome Gardening Newbie Returns

Rita Slanina

The gnome gardening newbie returns to the scene of the garden for yet another go! THE GARDENING GNOME NEWBIE DITL DECLUTTER REFRESH

GARDENING GNOME NEWBIE DITL DECLUTTER REFRESH

We’re back for another season of the SPRING SUMMER SERIES FOR 2022! Okay, I’m not a gnome, but I sure as heck feel like one as I roll around in the soil, plucking, planting, kicking up my heels in the dirt! It’s declutter, refresh time and It’s my second year to plan the dirt kicking, plant the seeds and somehow I don’t feel like I’m getting much better at this squash sitting thing. I digress. Let’s DITL!

BRUNO

Bruno the puppy has more gnome-like qualities though as he goobers mischief as soon as my back is turned! So, with high humidity, soon-to-be lazy days ahead this fine Summer, and loads of videos and television watching in my future, I thought it was time to hit ya with the first installment of how my garden started this year, how I prepped and planned it!  So… let’s…..

GET SEEDS & GET GROWING!

A FEW LESSONS LEARNED IN R2

Ah… the monsoons are back, and the garden is a’growin’!

  • ITS NEVER TOO LATE! If you haven’t gotten your seeds for your garden and aren’t getting it growing; you are NOT missing out! But, don’t continue to sleep on it, y’all! There is still plenty of time to get outside and throw down some seeds! I was binging some vids the past couple days on what seeds to put out in your garden in July for you slackers that will produce a harvest that you can still rave about to your friends as though your a gardening savant!

CORN, RADISHES, BEETS, BEANS, CAULIFLOWER, SQUASH

  • FIND YOUR ZONE! I find it’s best to check the farmer’s almanac to find out what ZONE you are in first to make sure but the veggies mentioned above should fare well regardless. I’m in zone 8a, which means, I get humid heat & snow in the winter. But I also average a 200 day growing season… what luck!! Woo! However, what works in fall/winter does NOT necessarily work in spring/summer. But it’s fun to just try and see how it goes. That’s literally half the fun of gardening.
  • DON’T TAKE GARDENING TOO SERIOUSLY! It WILL drive you nuts. Just enjoy the journey. For real. Some plants will make it and some won’t. That was probably my biggest hurdle last year. I was so frustrated but this year, I realized, it’s a learning process and until you toss down the seeds and see what happens… just for the fun of seeing what happens… that’s when you will get it.
  • BUY SEEDS FROM YOUR LOCAL FARMGIRL, HOMESTEADER, FARMER’S MARKET. Another lesson I learned from last year is that all the seeds bought commercially are pretty much one size fits all. They come from the same place, no matter where you have bought them. While – in theory – this sounds fantastic, it’s not always practical in application. Sure, you’ll harvest something but when I started buying from the farm girl in my town who literally has been doing this her whole life, my gardening took off! For roses, I did buy from Jacksons & Perkins, and they have fared quite well. My grapevines from Gurney’s, were a 50/50, one made it/one didn’t. I purchased some seeds from Lowe’s online and some are doing great and others were buttkiss.

The upswing in homesteading, growing one’s own food, or learning how to just rock a great herb container in the windowsill has skyrocketed in all our homes. A lot of peeps are now thinking – Holy Poo! – what if this no-grocery store thing – goes down again? How will we eat? An economic collapse bc of a tyrannical government is feeling less conspiracy and more probable these days! How do we handle it if something this cray cray goes down?

*uh oh.. impending tangent ahead?

No lol ..but my interest in this topic is deep.

Circling back… *wink

oh thank goodness.

Early Fall Season Deals! Save up to $30â—Š off our Fees on Flights Use Coupon EFALL30.

PLAN. PLANT. DECLUTTER. REFRESH.

broccoli leaves gardening rita slanina GARDENING GNOME NEWBIE DITL DECLUTTER REFRESH
Broccoli leaves are just as tasty & useful as the florets themselves!

This is my second year gardening and believe me, when I say, I used to believe I could keep a plant alive to save my life  and now I am harvesting my own greens for salads everyday… it’s awesome to know that anyone can learn to do this! ANYONE!

So… show us!

Geesh , so impatient. Check out the fun on my DITL on how I got organized this year, what I planted and my blunders! THE GARDENING GNOME NEWBIE DITL DECLUTTER REFRESH! Hopefully this full 20 minute video on Rumble will inspire you but if you’re short on time cruise down to the shortened version!

FULL 20 MINUTE VIDEO ON RUMBLE BELOW

OR CHECK OUT SHORT VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE:

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baking, humor, self-help

Gluten Free. Kind of… Not Really

Rita Slanina

pexels-photo-302022.jpeg

When was the last time you baked something? I’m drawing a blank.

This morning? A pop tart.

Last night? Quesadilla.

Over the weekend? Papa John’s made my pizza. And it made it to my home.

You remember good ol’ mom’s cupcakes? I think I was 8 years old.

Anyway, I had a hankering to bake. Oh no. I had old bananas and hopefully enough ingredients to put those ripening bananas to good use. This may not end well…

Oh no. Remember the last time you did the-

Hold your horses. I don’t plan on recreating the Pumpkin Seed Incident. Well, I don’t intend on it… but things can happen and we’ll just keep our fingers crossed over here.  Or maybe you should just hit the local Starbucks and bite down on a cake pop… 

Stop it. But yeah, maybe I should.

I found a recipe online for One Bowl Gluten Free Banana Bread. Wow, that’s a mouthful. Hmm, do I have these Gluten-Free items? What the heck makes a food gluten free anyway? Turns out, it’s the flour you use… Maybe. I think. Actually I still don’t know and I still feel a little confused about it. A lot confused, certainly.

Circling back: So, since I didn’t quite have enough almond flour-the gluten free part- I did equal amounts almond flour and white flour. White flour is not the gluten free part. Which I guess makes my One Bowl Gluten Free Banana Bread a Semi-Not Really- Gluten Free Banana Bread… And semi-not really yummy, most likely.

But I have faith. There’s the problem. Focus.

pexels-photo-227432.jpegI’m usually a healthy eater. Lies. No! Totally true! Here’s some recipes -of the au natural 10 MUST TRY Banana Bread Recipes cleverly design to prove it!-  I tend to stick to the basics and the natural stuff like fruits and vegetables. Yuck. I don’t eat a ton of sweets, might be fibbing on that one; throw a bag of Swedish Fish in front of me and I’ll inhale them like a vacuum. Go ahead, try it! But for the most part, my diet is quite predictable and extremely BORING. I knew it. Blah. 

Ask me what my diet entails and I will sound like a broken record. Squash. Zucchini. Salads using only dense greens like kale, baby greens, and spinach topped with flaxseed oil. Potatoes. Hard boiled eggs and Egg whites. Protein shakes. Anything fried up is done so using organic coconut oil. I practice intermittent fasting (what?!) and I wear a waist trainer (a who?!) on a daily basis. Tell me more about those things. Upcoming vlog/blogs on those soon. Good, my life wouldn’t have mattered otherwise. Oh geez. Anyway…        Hey, I’m aging just like the rest of the human race. I gotta stay on top of this killer body I treat like a temple. Did you just say “killer body?” 

That’s right. I said it. Killer attitude, killer body people. Keep it confident. *wink

humor, relationships, Uncategorized

The S.S. Ego Warship

Rita Slanina

Cheesy Ego who?
Cheesy Ego who?

Arguments happen. Hate it. People disagree. Eh, fact of life. Whatever the issue that may lay on the table, it usually gets resolved and everyone moves on. Tea, anyone? But, not for some people. So, no  to the tea then?  There are some people who like the drama and chaos of fighting. Not me, I shut down. Unless I blow my fuse. Then, you’re dead to me. And THEN, I shut back down. *Insert cheesy grin here.

If things are going too good, there are people who will CREATE something to fight over. You hate waffles now? Or engage in actions that they, knowingly, will start WWIII. Ok, no to the waffles then. Got it. You can pretty much bet, if you argue with me, and I feel you are just trying to control the subject? with manipulation? Or that only you’re opinion, that you’re stating as fact, is the only right answer?  You can also bet that I will likely walk away from you…. mid-sentence. Or just go to the kitchen and find something other to make than waffles. I just don’t have time for that bat-shit crazy. And, I most definitely don’t need that toxic energy attaching to my energy. Where’s a cloud and a pogo stick when you need them?

Open & Receptive! Yeah!
Open & Receptive! Yeah!

If I love you, then I will do what I think is best for me -and you. Uh, hi, caller? Yeah, I’m reporting a 5150. Uh, yeah, well, he’s wearing a kimono and has taken up stilts-stunting? Oh, and he’s not wearing anything underneath the kimono. And it’s a mini-mono. Ok, a bit extreme, maybe. But, sometimes you gotta save somebody from themself. Seriously though, I would absolutely just back away and let your Ego Warship set sail, until you’ve come to the realization that it was all docked at the harbor, by anchor. And was a complete waste of time and energy, when LOVE, should have been the underlying motivation. I’m motivated by cake. Too bad, there wasn’t any cake around during an argument. I’m definitely motivated by cake. Most arguments come from the place of the psyche. You’re a psychologist now? No. But, self-image and how we see ourselves, when challenged, is what causes contention. Keeping glitter around usually helps ease the tension too. If you remove the narcissism, you’ll find yourself FAR LESS angry, and hostile toward anyone. Open to opposing ideas. Like waffles with edible glitter in them! Receptive to those with a different experience. I had edible confetti in them before, but prefer the glitter. I could care less when I’m wrong; But, I won’t be disrespected. They taste like shiny pop rocks. My opinions and experiences are my own and just as valid as the next homosapien. No, that’s not a monkey. Although, I love monkeys. They’re fuzzy. And like to hug.

 

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