Green Acres: Spring has Sprung!

I grew up with a garden. My father always grew some tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and green beans. Both of my grandfathers (maternal and paternal) grew backyard gardens, too. 

I learned at a young age that horse manure was gold and if you wanted to yield a fruitful garden the more shit, the better. 

Real Food: Chicken Something

We are in the midst of our 2nd Advocare 24 Day Challenge. The first 10 days is a "cleanse" so the idea is to not eat anything processed. 

You eat whole food meals. Fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and complex carbohydrates.

That means eliminating particular foods (but not limited to):

The Truth about Honesty

Under the thumbnail of my picture for this blog I have a quote:

"Even if you sugarcoat shit... it's still shit"

I believe that; with every ounce of my being. 

By nature I'm a truth seeker. I don't believe the paint is wet, I don't believe shit stinks, I don't believe it's raining... these are things I have to find out for myself. Plus a multitude of other less trivial things that occur in my life. 

It's not that I don't trust people - I just need to know I've gotten the full truth so I can validate the statement. I could save myself some time if I believed people at their word.

It's a Lifestyle: 24 Day Challenge - Part I

We are about to start our 2nd Advocare 24 Day Challenge. Aboy and I are already getting into mental readiness mode. 

The challenge starts on April 6th. 

For the first 10 days, we will do the cleanse portion. It's not a violent or volatile type cleanse... it's more of a gentle scrubbing of the flora in our digestive track. This helps prepare the body for the "Max" phase which is high in nutritional intake and absorption. 

It's a lifestyle: CocoNUTS!

You already know the mantra: 

New Year - New Me 

I say it all the time and I am living it every day. 

I'm owning this shit. 

I have to. I owe it to myself and my family to be the best person I can be. That includes my physical well being. 

Somewhere in time when I crossed the "40's" threshold, I began to see wrinkles. Laugh lines around my mouth, some crinkles across my forehead, some bagginess on my eyelids.

It's a Lifestyle: Better than Mom's Cooking!

We went to NY this past weekend for our Niece's wedding. It was so much fun to go and enjoy family time. 

The trip was short but well worth it!

We took lots of pictures with our new #selfiestick. 

We really had a lot of fun! 

*****

Part of the requisite of visiting home is to indulge on phenomenal food. 

We spent more time in the car than we did visiting and doing stuff - but, we did eat!!

1. I had a slice of Pizza and an Eggplant Parmesan hero
2. I had Zeppoles
3. I had Rice & Beans with Steak
4. I had an Empenada
5. I had Fried Chicken Wings
6. I had a Leggios Hero
7. I had a Cinnamon & Raisin Bagel w/ Cream Cheese 
8. I had a couple hunks of Italian Bread
9. Not to mention, Subway and Zaxby's on the ride up. 

I weighed myself today...

I lost 2 lbs this week. 

Since January we drastically changed our eating habits - but going home is a treat and we definitely "treated" ourselves to some awesome food. We stuck with our #Advocare regimen while we traveled and got right back on the meal plan wagon when we got home (I did have some leftover Rice & Beans for lunch on Monday tongue emoticon ).

Green Acres: Spring is near!

Every year I put together a mental list of major purchases for things I would like to have. Sometimes I'm due for some new electronic devices. Sometimes I have plans for a large kitchen appliance. Maybe a new furniture set or TV.

One of my major purchase plans for this year was to pick up a rototiller. I would prefer to have a donkey and a plow, but given the age we live in and some of the conveniences that are available - at this point a rototiller is more practical and less time consuming.

Not to mention - WE (get it? WE!!!) only plan on tilling a maximum of 100 feet to garden - for this year <insert devilish chuckle here>.

The weather is starting to break and the growing season starts a little earlier in North Carolina than it does in New York (my Grandfather would not plant anything until just before Memorial Day). 

I plan on getting stuff in the ground by the end of April. 

But, one does not just put stuff in the ground!  Not if you're a seasoned farmer, like me!!

NOOO!!! I have to fertilize the soil. It has to be tilled a couple times and then fertilized again. Then WE till it some more!!

And when I say fertilizer... I don't mean some chemicals you buy in a bag... I mean with shit. Lots of shit! Horse shit, cow shit, llama shit... plus the compost that we've been building all winter long. In case you missed it, WE till the soil - I fertilize the soil. Aboy don't fuck with the shit. 

Yessir! We are going to have a garden of abundance this year!!

Tonight I scratched Tiller off the major purchase list. 

I went to the Tractor Supply in Rural Hall. 

Now you KNOW I live in the country if I have to go to a store in a town called Rural Hall! Oh and the 2010 census has the population of Rural Hall listed at 2,937 residents. Pretty rural considering it's only 10 minutes out of Winston Salem!

I walked around a little bit and eyed some chicks. They weren't sexed yet and my Aunt Lori told me I don't want to buy chicks that aren't sexed because I could end up with a bunch of roosters... but that's more for a later post!

So yeah, back to the Tiller... isn't she a beaut?

I'm not sure what this means - but apparently (according to the sales guy), "it's got good horses for the money!" He also told me to "put Hi-Test Petrol in it"... 

I just widened my eyes and watched his lips move to make sure I was hearing him correctly. His southern drawl was a little thick. 

Just think "Bubba". 

I have to tell you though - the fucking thing is heavy as a shitload of bricks! It wasn't so bad getting it loaded on the back of the truck because "Bubba" did most of the heavy lifting and pushing.

I was "Bubba" when I got to the house.

My hours at the gym are paying off though and I didn't drop it... and only cursed a couple times - out loud. I did get dirty... which is some bullshit because I wasn't in my "get dirty" clothes.

So, I got her off the truck and this is where she'll sit until Aboy comes home so WE can start with the flower beds!

Have a good night Yaw'll!! 

Time for me to fetch some vittles!