Breaking Monotony

I feel as if my life is in a bit of a groundhogs day slump. Monday through Friday, I wake up, get myself dressed, get little man up and on track to get dressed, apply makeup and attempt to make my hair presentable, continue to beg little man to get dressed, threaten little man that I'm going to leave without him if he doesn't get dressed, plead for little man to get dressed, race out the door to work, spend time at work conquering one task after another (yes, I'm a rockstar), race to pick little man up from daycare, quickly brainstorm a dinner idea, follow through with said dinner idea (have I bored you to sleep yet?!?!), bicker with little man about bed time, then proceed to melt into the couch in a pathetic attempt at unwinding and clearing my brain.

Does that "schedule" sound as gross to you as it does to me?

The catch-22 is I love my life, the company I work for, where I live, and my son. Love, love, love. I'm fortunate that I love all of these things...but I still feel like I'm stuck in a boring monotonous rut. I need to break free, switch things up a little...preferably with things that are low-no cost.

My geeked out garden has been a great distraction...Gardening is solitary. I'm a social bug, and recharge by communicating with other people.

Any suggestions?

I'm tempted to try and take a random half day, grab a cup of coffee out in the sun, mentally debug my head, and possibly tackle some much needed and long overdue laundry. Maybe that will free up some of my funkiness (?)

Dear Today,

I quit.


Miz.

Garden Update!

I'm completely geeked out about my vegetable garden this year!! As of this past weekend, I've officially planted everything that my little heart has desired. Here's what's in the dirt:

• four sugar snap peas (one sprouted)
• four green beans
• one beef steak tomato
• one roma tomato
• one sweet 100 tomato
• three rows of lettuce (all sprouted and coming up beautifully)
• one row of carrots, sprouted
• one green pepper
• one red pepper
• one mild jalapeno
• four rows of onions, two walla walla, two spanish sweet
• two eggplants
• one rosemary*

The water source we have is what we can carry over to the garden, as they're having technical difficulty with the spout on the building next to the garden...but I'm ok with the extra effort.

So far, the garden has been an amazing teaching tool for little man. The other day, I asked him what we used to water the garden. He logically responded with water. Then, I asked him if we used soda to water the garden, and he rolled his eyes and said of course not. I posed the question, "Why don't we use soda to water our garden?" to which he had no answer, so I explained how water makes things grow, plants or people...so if he wanted to grow big and strong he'd have to drink a lot of water. The idea has stuck with him, and I couldn't be happier.

*we also have 6" pots of basil and cilantro growing in our kitchen..this summer is going to be fresh and delicious!!!

Times, they are a changin'

I think back to the days of my early twenties. Life felt forever, permanent. My friends, my activities, what I did and didn't do. I felt like I was in a groove...some of my groove was great, and some was not so great...but it was a groove, and it was mine.

I firmly believe change is a foreign word to a young 20-something. It's a word that you only associate with clothing or your cell phone.

When I was 20, I felt like I was resistant to change. I felt as though my friends, career, school, and life in general wouldn't change because I didn't want it to.

Little did I know.

Change has been a main theme in my life for as long as I can remember, even when I didn't want to admit it.

• I've changed apartments
• I've changed friends
• Friends have changed me
• I've changed jobs
• Jobs have changed me
• I've changed. Period.

Reflecting on how much my life has changed has opened my eyes to how much life for others around me has changed. New jobs, houses, marital status', friends, family additions...you name it.

The same things people laughed at five years ago could be the same things you scoff at today. It doesn't make those things right or wrong...it's just a change in perspective. You can call it "growing up", but I chose to call it just a change....

Some personal changes I've gone through?

• Moving, although I've been living in the same spot for over four years now.
• Having a child - one of the biggest "tip my world upside down" changes I've ever experienced...and also one of the best things that could've ever happened to me.
• Changing jobs - stressful but extremely worth it in the end.
• Altering my social life to fit all of the above.

For me, some change has been exciting. Some change has been scary. Some change has been down right tough. To this day, and even at this very moment, I have to remind myself that change isn't bad. It's inevitable....and some change can be absolutely great.

The Single Parent...Part II

As cliche as life feels, hindsight really is 20/20.

As the years pass me by, and I'm afforded the opportunity to look back on my life choices, it's amazing how much perspective I've gained.

I've been trying to wrap my mind around this single parent thing for a while...specifically, how I could understand non-single parents views of single parents in the dating world.

The other morning, while driving into work listening to the radio, a local station hosted a man-panel. They asked the panel what they felt was a dating/relationship deal breaker, and presented the men with different scenarios....one of which was dating a single mom.

One man on the panel said something that caught me off guard. He said that if the woman acknowledged that they had been in a previous relationship that didn't work, put the child/children first, and were a great mom, it wouldn't be a deal breaker.

The light bulb went off in my head.

See, all of these years (read: four and counting) I've always approached my single parent life as being undeserving because I was irresponsible and wound up pregnant by an abusive, drug addicted man. I thought I was damaged, and that my baggage was far too much for any man to want to date me. I never gave myself an ounce of credit...even when people tried telling me I was a good mom, I'd smile and say thank you..but I never believed it. How could I be a good mom when I don't have a positive man in my son's life?

Ya know what? I AM a good mom. I love my child, and I am making the absolute best with what life has thrown my way. I'm responsible, kind, caring, loving, funny, silly, sweet, and can cook....the total package, really.

The only other reason I've shied away from announcing my son to the world was to protect him. I've feared (and still fear) attracting a man that would be harmful for my son...but from now on I'm going to trust my mom-gut. My intuition to protect my little man is strong...period, the end.

Thanks for all of your single parent input. I know there's still a lot for me to learn about being a single parent, and about other peoples' perspective, but I truly appreciate all of you who've shared your insight with me. It's helped me through some interesting mental battles, and I don't know if I could've gotten there without you.

And to all of you mother's out there (single or not)....stretch out and give yourselves a pat on the back..you deserve it.

Hi, I'm Stacy....

...But today, you can call me Martha flippin Stewart.

Why, you ask?

Because this chick has planted herself her very first vegetable garden. #boom.

Growing up in the city, my mom would occassionally till some land in our backyard, and plant various vegetables. I loved it. She did all of the work, and all I had to do was go outside and pick a tomato here or a cucumber there if I was hungry. Talk about the life!

Since moving out, I've become familiar with apartment life. Window boxes, gardens, having immediate outdoor access from my dwelling...these were things I was fine living without, because that's the way life is for someone in an apartment (for the most part).

In the past year, there has been buzz around my apartment complex surrounding the start-up of a community garden. While I've never participated in such a thing, I was very intrigued (especially if the cost was FREE*).

This past Saturday, the buzz was turned into a reality. The complex tilled up a 30ft x 50ft section of land, purchased chicken wire fencing, and away we went. Close to 16 people will be participating in the garden. The fence has been placed, and the plots have been sectioned off. I managed to snag plot #7, (in honor of Joe Mauer, duh)....and on the very first day I planted three rows of lettuce (all different varieties), one scattered row of carrots which I'm sure will be a disaster, four rows of onions both sweet and savory, sugar snap peas, green beans, and even managed to sow some marigold seeds close to the fence to deter pesky rabbits.

So far, this has been an exciting adventure. Honestly, I'm not expecting ANYTHING that grows to be edible...but it sure would be fun if it was!

In a few weeks, it will be warm enough for me to plant a couple of tomato bushes, eggplant, jalapenos, and green peppers. I think I'll have an awesomely well rounded patch of veggies at my disposal come June and July...I couldn't be more excited!

*Things in life are never free...although I've only had to invest about $30 for supplies and seeds...I'd say I'm doing pretty well.