Crop Dusting - Take 2

I recently posted THIS about Crop Dusting.

A fellow blogger, Renee has some experience and I love that she shared her perspective on this issue:

"I ran an almond facility in California (25 million lbs a year)...I have my applicator license and we treat almonds with a safe pesticide that has 0 residual (we test)...I have also had a ton of dealings with Organic product...ALL organic product coming in from the fields had 16-25% insect damage and live/invested deliveries...where there is insects and insect damage there is also a MUCH HIGHER risk of ecoli, salmonella and aflatoxin....all things I KNOW are much more dangerous than pesticide that dissipates over a controlled period of time....just something to think about....either way has it's drawbacks. I love that people (you) think about what they put in their tummies...and talk about it...each person gets to make their own choices and I more than respect your choice to choose Organic."

Thanks Renee for sharing your perspective with us.

It certainly sheds new light on the issue.

I just love this about the blogging world.

Learning from each other.

Sharing our stories.

Sarah // Fabulousness

Have you seen the latest issue of 425 magazine?


If not, then let me brag about my friend Sarah (because she would never brag about herself!).

It's a girlfriend's right to brag about the fabulousness of the other.

And yah ... I think I just made up that word.

Check out Sarah in the latest issue ...


Super hot, right!?!

The best part?

She's just as hot on the inside.

One of the most sincere and loyal friends I've ever had.

She is there for you unconditionally no matter what.

A friendship I treasure and am thankful for every day.

Go get yourself a copy of 425 magazine!

Love you Sarah!

xoxo

Wordless Wednesday

Call It Whatever You Want

I have been on this earth for almost 34 years now.

And I have never, ever, ever seen crop dusting before.

Some jazz up the name and call it "aerial application."

Whatever it is ...

GOOD LORD.

I call it "how would you like a bunch of chemicals all over your food?"

While driving through Eastern Washington yesterday, my eyes nearly fell out of my head when I saw images just like this ...



That's right people.

Those are the fields of fruit and vegetables that we eat all year.

Being sprayed by chemicals.

That we put in our bodies.

Now I know all about the organic food craze.

I've read the books, seen the movies, done the research.

But something about seeing it first hand that really rocks your world.

I'm rocked.

I can't turn back.

Can't pretend it's not there.

Can't pretend I didn't see it.

To make wiser consumer choices here is a list of produce with the highest level of pesticide contamination from gourmetfood.com

Top 12 fruits and vegetables that we should be buying organically:
1. Nectarines – 97.3% of nectarines sampled were found to contain pesticides.
2. Celery – 94.5% of celery sampled were found to contain pesticides.
3. Pears – 94.4% of pears sampled were found to contain pesticides.
4. Peaches – 93.7% of peaches sampled were found to contain pesticides.
5. Apples – 91% of apples sampled were found to contain pesticides.
6. Cherries – 91% of cherries sampled were found to contain pesticides.
7. Strawberries – 90% of strawberries sampled were found to contain pesticides.
8. Imported Grapes – 86% of imported grapes (i.e. Chile) sampled were found to contain pesticides.
9. Spinach – 83.4% of spinach sampled were found to contain pesticides.
10. Potatoes – 79.3% of potatoes sampled were found to contain pesticides.
11. Bell Peppers – 68% of bell peppers sampled were found to contain pesticides.
12. Red Raspberries – 59% of red raspberries sampled were found to contain pesticides.

And because buying organically is more expensive, here is a list of fruits and vegetables found to contain the least amount of pesticides (also from gourmetfood.com).
* Asparagus
* Avocados
* Bananas
* Broccoli
* Cauliflower
* Corn (However, almost all corn is genetically modified)
* Kiwi
* Mangoes
* Onions
* Papaya
* Pineapples
* Sweet Peas

Happy, healthy eating friends!

A Family Weekend

Jay and I had a great weekend in Spokane.

Jay's grandpa passed away and we made the trip to Spokane to spend time with his family and attend his Grandpa's service.
The service was held on Friday afternoon, which was sunny and beautiful and perfect.

Grandpa had a military grave-side burial which was absolutely beautiful.

Two members of the navy performed the flag ceremony and taps.

Oh yah, and I bawled like a baby.

And two of his uncles got pooped on by birds.

That was some much-needed comic relief.

On Saturday, we went to Kole's soccer game.

Nothing like seeing four year-old's running up and down a grassy field.

And fist-pumping when they get a goal.

Entertainment for sure.

Though Cooper wasn't too amused.

Here he is, looking the OPPOSITE DIRECTION as the soccer field (keeping attention isn't his best quality).


We spent the rest of the weekend lovin' up Tatum and taking naps.

Tatum sleeping ...

And sleeping ...

Oh ... and look at this!

Susie & Cooper sleeping!

Susie is Jay's brother's fiance and I can't WAIT for us to be sisters!

It was a fun weekend.

Milestones

You do not want to miss my friend's heartbreaking yet beautiful story.

It's all about how you look at it.

And she has a unique, beautiful perspective.

Love you friend.

And Happy Birthday Angelo!

Click HERE to read.

It's Been A Day

Today has been a day.

And I'll just leave it at that.

They can't all be good.

Right?!?

Just want to go home and crawl into bed.

Jay's grandpa passed away and we're heading to Spokane for his service and to spend time with family.

Sad stuff.

Hope you have a good weekend!

xoxo

Wordless Wednesday

4.5

I only have 4.5 weight watchers points left for the rest of the day.

Because I thought it would be a good idea to eat 6 mini Cadbury eggs.

I'm kicking myself for that choice.

Dinner should be interesting!

Guess I better earn some activity points!

Cuzzy/Sissy

This picture is posted without permission.

My cousin is pretty reserved in her public life and would never brag about herself.

So I will!

She is a super smart, beautiful, energetic, positive, carefree, and selfless woman.

She is also my best friend.

My students LOVE IT when she visits.

She starts out talking about seaweed, and every time, the kids veer her towards diving.

Which changes to sharks.

Which ultimately changes to shark attacks.

Cuz you know ... they're 6 years-old.

And sharks are WAY cooler than seaweed.

Here is a picture of her up in Vancouver, doing what she does best.

Which I'm not entirely sure I even understand.

But here's my take on it:

She's getting her PhD right now and my guess is she's studying different forms of seaweed.

Might have to do with seaweed reproduction.

I've probably totally missed the mark.

Regardless, I love this picture of her.

This is where she is truly in her element, totally at peace, and happy.

The beach.

Surrounded by some stealer seaweed.

As her dog looks on.


Love you Jenna!

This Could Be Mine

I love the Post Secret website.

If you haven't heard about it or ever read it, click HERE.

Interesting stuff.

Today's secrets were primarily focused around infertility, pregnancy, abortion/Pro-Life secrets.

My jaw about dropped when I read this one.


And I wish I could talk to the creator of this secret ...

"I know how you feel. You are not alone. Each time I start my period, I'm reminded of the baby I lost. I took a pregnancy text this morning and it was negative. It took all my strength not to cry. I might later. I wish we could talk.

YOU. ARE. NOT. ALONE.

And either am I.

Thank you for your secret."

Who's the Boss?

Last time I checked, I'm pretty sure this was my room.

The amount of dog toys on our floor is

out

of

control.

We are clearly not in control in our own home.

Cooper is the king.

And we are merely his servants.

Poop-scooping, dinner-preparing, dog-walking, toy-picking-up servants.

Totally Lured By His Charm

I have one student in particular that is ALWAYS cracking me up. I love his little 6 year-old humor. It's so advanced. I love that he always "gets" my adult humor. I'll tell a joke in class and all the kids will just stare at me dead-pan.

But not this guy.

He gets it.

Gets it people.

He is the same handsome man in THIS picture from a recent lunch date.

Today was lunch date #2.

Here is today's conversation while on his way out to recess ...
Me: Have a good recess buddy. Have fun playing.
Student: I'm only going to the computer lab.
Me: Oh, how come you don't go out and play?
Student: Well, because I'm pretty lazy if you ask me.
Me (laughing): Oh, is that right?
Student: Yah, most days I'm pretty lazy past 9 pm.
Me: Do you mean 9 am?
Student: No, 9 pm
Me: Well 9 pm is pretty late. I'm lazy after that time too.
Student: Some days when I haven't had a lot of excitement yet, I'm pretty lazy all day.

And yesterday ...
Student: I got in trouble last night during bed time.
Me: Oh oh, what happened.
Student: Well, it was bed time and I just couldn't settle down.
Me: And then what happened?
Student: My mom came in and said, "Stop being so agnoxious!"


And also yesterday ...
While the kids were quietly working on a writing project, this little cutie came up to my desk and said
Student: Hello, I'm here to schedule something.
Me (totally confused and smitten at the same time - he's a charmer I tell ya): What are you here to schedule?
Student: I'd like to teach the kids how to make snowflakes.
Me: Oh, that sounds like fun! Well ... we'll try to work it into our schedule this week.
Student: How does Friday afternoon sound?

Katherine

Though I don't know her in real life, I am honored to introduce you to Katherine.

One of the bravest women I know.

And her husband.

A steadfast and honorable man.

You can keep up to date by reading Katherine's mother's blog HERE and HERE.

You can find Katherine's blog HERE.

Processing

Not sure if this will be an uplifting, or depressing post.

Regardless, it's me.

Being real.

And trying to process some feelings ...

For the first time ever, I dreamt about being pregnant last night.

I know it's hard to believe, but I've never been pregnant in a dream.

I think this is due to all my obsessing lately about wanting to be pregnant again.

Like, right now.

My dream was glorious.

I dreamt I took a pregnancy test and the two pink lines I've been desperately waiting for since last November showed up in all their glory.

My happiness was contagious.

I wonder if I smiled in my sleep.

We are coming up to my due date in less then 6 weeks.

With this impending date, I get more anxious to be pregnant.

And more mindful that I'm not.

I have good days and bad days.

Like last week when I was okay with not being pregnant even though I really want to be.

I was accepting of the truth.

That my body must not be ready.

Or it's not in the cards right now.

But this week has been rough.

I have been internally sad.

Longing to be pregnant again.

I'm counting down the days to when I will (or will not) start my period.

Monday, April 19th, if you're wondering.

Each month that passes feels so long.

Kinda torturous in a way.

Like, how long can my patience last?

Have you been in my shoes before?

Can you relate?

Do you remember who long each of your cycles felt?

Trying to take deep breaths and wait out these next 4 days ...

And prepping myself for possible disappointment.

Wordless Wednesday

Kleptomania

I may (or may not) having a stealing problem.

Call it what you will.

I like to call it "borrowing long term."

Catchy term, don't ya think?

My 'problem' is only centered around sunglasses and I certainly like to keep it in the family.

Exhibit A:

A nice pair of Ray-Bans from my brother

And ... Exhibit B:

A classy drugstore find from my husband

Allow me to indulge you in some klepto advice

• Keeping it in the family will increase your chances of keeping your friends around. They'll still trust you - and you KNOW family isn't going anywhere
• If you blame it on the original owner, it absolves you of all guilt. Case #1: my brother accidentally left his sunglasses at my house. Result ... long-term borrowing. Case #2: Jay went out of town this weekend and left these beauties on the kitchen table. Result ... long-term borrowing.
• Vary your hiding spots for long-term borrowed items. It keeps the owner guessing and elongates your borrowing time. Time is your friend.
  

Slamming Shut

Here's your weekly TMI posting:

I've been reading a book called Trying Again.

I love it.

The first time Jay & I got pregnant, it only took two months.

So blessed.

This time has proven to be a bit trickier.

So, I started reading the book.

While I was reading yesterday, I came upon a paragraph that said, "just before the woman ovulates, she is most fertile."

Okay, duh - we already know that.

But THEN I read the next sentence - "once she ovulates, the possibility of getting pregnant slams shut."

SLAMS SHUT people.

Now, I was paraphrasing the book - but it DID use the term "slams shut."

Ouch.

Doesn't sound too hopeful right!?!

So this month, after chatting with a girlfriend (thank you Corrin!), I started using an ovulation kit (which test for your LH surge - which your body produces right before you ovulate).

Just to see what's going on with my body.

I think of it as getting to know myself.

A research project if you will.

Let me tell you something.

The book was right!

Check out these tests from day 19 - 21 of my cycle (ya, apparently I'm a late ovulator) ...

You see that?

You see that slam shut?

Day #19 ... no LH surge yet.

Day #20 ... today is the day

Day #21 ... SLAM SHUT!

Crazy stuff I tell ya.

Crazy stuff.

Wordless Wednesday

Kate // Spoofed

If you watched Kate Gosselin's dance on DWTS Tuesday night ... then you're going to love this.

Read Much?

I know this is hard to see, but I had to post it.

I was at a stop light this morning, and saw THIS next to me.

A Metro bus driver READING A BOOK at the stop light.

Really?!?

I wouldn't be feeling too safe.

April Fool's Day

I don't believe anyone today.

I'm walking around, on guard, totally being a Doubting Thomas.

That's what happens when you're a 1st grade teacher.