rabbit, rabbit

We remembered this morning when we woke up to say 'rabbit rabbit' before anything else. (Well, Ross remembered, and I followed suit.) Guess it's supposed to provide good luck or something - here's the debrief from wikipedia. Speaking of rabbits, our former indoor cat (now an outdoor hunter) is leaving a lot of dismembered rabbits and mice in the backyard. Argh. Then he comes inside. Yuck. What to do?

So what's in store for July? We're in full-on summer. A few things happening around here:

1. Ross and I are in the second month of our new budget/spending plan. We've done away with credit cards (which we would pay off each month, but paying with a credit card didn't help with the budgeting). Now, we have a set amount in a checking account to be used solely for groceries, gas, and any extras (everything from haircuts to new shoes to date nights to home improvement). We're using a debit card to track that money. Last month we went over by about $400 we're thinking, but the budget's pretty tight, so we may adjust a bit. We'll see how it works. It's definitely been effective in reducing any impulse buying. Oh, and did I mention we've been eating a lot of beans? (see #2)


2. Eating beans, grains, and fresh greens from the garden. Greens are so easy to grow (you just need a little strip of space), and you can keep harvesting them all summer. My favorite are beet greens - I have one row that I thinned (so we can have some beets) - the other row is lush with greens that I'll just continue to harvest (then they grow back). Cool weather greens like bok choy go to seed quickly in the high heat, so they're not ideal. Last night we had crispy kolhrabi greens, yellow eye beans, and butternut squash tortellini (a splurge). Those beans are sooo delicious - creamy like baked potatoes. Mirelle gobbles them up.

3. Finding new ways to reduce our carbon footprint when we hit the road this month and next. This month's Body + Soul magazine has some great tips. A couple of my favorites:
1. Rent a hybrid. We're hoping to head north to Jackson WY and Yellowstone in August. I wonder if renting a hybrid would save us on gas (and definitely wear and tear on our car...?)
2. Pack lightly. A lighter car requires less gas.
3. Park in the shade. Thanks to my dad, I'm already a shade junkie when it comes to parking spots.
4. Camp (not on the B+S list). We'll be pitching a tent. I guess if we splurged, we could look for an eco-friendly hotel here.


Other goals of mine:
4. Make the time to do more spontaneous stuff!
5. Do one crafty project each month. On my list:
-large canvas
-paint old school lockers currently residing in the garage (see how cool these could look inside? BTW, that's someone else's really cool nursery. Photo found on ohdeedoh.)
-budget for and purchase unfinished adirondack chair and toy chest (stain chair, paint chest)

OK, that's it for now.

<< Just re-read post, and it's kinda funny that I wrote 'make the time to do more spontaneous stuff.' Isn't that a bit of an oxymoron? ha ha. >>