*life's a garden. dig it!*

garden, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

lessons learned from this years gardening adventures:

*get a backhoe and dig up your grassy yard. kiss that wasteful water hog bye-bye. if you wish, get a rain barrel for when the infrastructure breaks down and you have no running water.

*triple your efforts and grow many more plants, different varieties and don't shy away from more uncommon types of vegetables and grains. a couple of each kind IS NOT ENOUGH, plain and simple. i am talkin' you need rows and rows full of what you need.

*learn to can and your family will never starve during the apocalypse or just a harsh snowed-in winter with no electricity.

supporting and feeding my family aside, an ideal backyard for me would be half garden deluxe, and the other half would be a in-ground saltwater lap pool. maybe a gazebo with the hot tub would round out my garden shangri-la. mmmmmm. even thinking about it makes me smile, relaxed, calm. it's my happy place.

i feel i will be going here in my mind quite a bit over the next few months. every waking moment i am trying to project positive thinking about opening our vegan business...trying to believe in myself as much as others around me do so i don't let anyone down. i want to do right for the animals, my family...my mom. i feel like i am going from 0 to 60 and i haven't even qualified for the race! yikes!

and it's only wednesday! let's see what the rest of the week will bring. :)

*TCB baby*

signage1, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

so do i keep the name 'never felt better' or what?* :)

so far today, i am having a heaping sense of accomplishment from
a) making a pot of coffee,
b) getting my youngest out the door for her movie playdate and
c) getting my credit report (not free by the way, fuck those commercials) and rectifying some of the more fubar/old/stupid negatives. there are not as many as i thought (didn't know what to expect), and i actually found one i have no knowledge of what it *is* (looking into that one, lol).

now, if i wanted to get all CRAZY i would finish up my business plan to show to the landlord at the space. i would be subletting from melissa but still the guy needs to know what's going in his property. i think i can give him a pretty good idea from what i have so far. but it needs a lot of tweaking and to actually be typed. ha.

i suppose in the spirit of "taking care of business" i will allow some time in the afternoon to work on the plan. it's kinda important, afterall. and in the spirit of summer, i will also allow for some swimming time for myself. booyah!

*so. seriously. do i keep the name, or change it up? what to do? WHAT TO DO? :))

*don't dream it, be it*

may flowers in the yard, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

it's one thing to labor and over-think something in your mind, while it's a whole separate ball game to speak it out loud and make it real.

i have been presented with a wonderful business opportunity, and frankly the ability to live the dream: our dream. shawn and i are going to take the plunge into running our own vegan accessories shop above sugarplum vegan on kst in midtown. i am lovingly calling it the "vegan gift shop" because well, it will have what you need and what your friends and family want to get you :) i have had the opportunity to shop at portland's vegan mini-mall and sacramento needs a vegan one stop destination to support the vegan community here. the location is perfect, the clientele is perfect, the timing is perfect.

lovingly, we will offer vegan cookbooks, accessories such as belts, wallets, bags, dog treats and food, handmade goods from vegan artists/crafters, soaps, AR related goods (tee's, buttons etc). we have a covered patio and band area for speakers, music, craft shows, fundraisers and more. the possibilities are endless :) everyone is pretty much over the moon with excitement but i am nervous as fuck! yikes! there is also space i would like to rent for studio space perfect for silk screening/soap making or some other art/craft.

we are tossing around names and have a couple we like more than others. more to come there, as it all happens. i am taking suggestions of course!

if all goes well i am shooting for a soft late sept. opening. just in time for the holidaze...

*rolling up my sleeves--this is going to be a labor of love. and i am ready to get this love-fest GOING!*

*fathers day weekend wrap-up*

shawn, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

happy first day of summer! maybe today will be warm enough for an adult swim :) {the kids get in that water at sub arctic temps like little polar bears}.

saturday was the midtown bazaar which was so. very. early. in the morning, it gave me pause for my aspirations to be a farmer. that would never work out for me and my sleep schedule! the event was early, it was unseasonable cold and the cover band hurt my ears but i sold some and it was worth my while. i am not sure if i will be doing that again but if i do i will bring more than just NFB things--it was very flea-marketish with the mix of goods available.

sunday shawn and i took lucy to see toy story 3 which was adorable. lyric was with her family in woodland so we are going to try and go again to the drive-in while it is still in theaters for her. lucy wore her cowgirl hat and took jessie and woody with her to watch the movie. it was very cute to see her excited! i think he had a nice daddy's day, i think he is #1 dad, just like the tee shirt says LOL. then before dinner he and lucy did some skating at their new skate spot near our house of which i got some super cute pictures.  lucy did some new tricks!

the whole weekend was a good one, i spent a lot of time with the garden, scooping bugs from the pool and getting things mentally in order. we have two separate families coming down from portland staying with us this week and weekend, so the general frenzied housecleaning will commence. also i have to go down to merced for business on weds, possibly thursday so things could not be more hectic this week. {yay? though it is always nice to see friends from stumptown...goddamn i miss pdx!}

happy monday!

*garden zen*

cucumbers, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

every morning i stroll in the backyard, making rounds making sure everything is in tact from over the evening {you never know, there are critters who roam the neighborhood who may want a midnight snack of my carrots or lettuce. not to mention the snail fiasco of earlier in the season...}. the one bed is dappled in sunlight even at 7, where the other is shady and cool and won't receive it's sun until about 10ish when it clears the roof of the house. the containers receive their sun about 9am. their location is the best in the yard, as seen by the jillion squash flowers and now bean flowers! {who knew they made flowers?}

even though i didn't have TOO much to do with everything {things seem to grow whether i am there or not haha}, i have a sense of pride that it's my loving tending to them that helps them grow. i am no master gardener, more like a humble novice. it's one thing to keep hearty plants alive in the yard but it's another joy to plot and plan a vegetable garden and watch them produce for you to share with your family. {even though today that one new red ripe strawberry was all mine!} i might even have enough to gift friends or do the crop swap this year, which makes me even more excited for the harvesting.

i have to read up on the swiss chard, like how and when to clip and harvest...when the carrots will truly be ready...how to keep the tomatoes producing through the summer. there is so much to learn! when we are own our own home i believe i will try a year-round garden then canning. my aunt on my mom's side lived into her late 90's and when my mom asked her how she stayed so spry, she said that she got up early to bake bread every day, she had her own garden and she canned her fruits and veggies. that sounds like heaven to me...

so: how does YOUR garden grow? :)

*life IS good*

lifeisgood, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

that is all.

<3 happy monday!

*2nd saturday wrap-up*

bird headbands galore, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

yesterday was an amazing day. lucy was invited to a classmates birthday party and we went to a park we had never been too out in rancho cordova to attend. it was wonderful to see her with her friends from school and all the kids had a great time :) i also got to speak with other parents of children with varying levels of autism and compare a bit of notes. the park was...nice...but nothing to write home about, nor travel to rancho for on a regular basis. strangely we saw a HUGE gathering of muslim people (we saw a full burka clad woman--don't see that everyday.) who were doing a bbq. then here comes a goat led to the group on a rope. i said a big AWWWWW (goats are awesome) but then shawn let me know it was about to be slaughtered. literally, they were loading in hella bbq's and butcher blocks. is that even legal at a community park? NOT COOL if you ask me, i don't care who you are. if there wasn't at least 400 people in the party i would have considered a liberation maneuver. we were sorely outnumbered! {rip cute goat, i am really trying to convince myself you were the "family pet" but it's not working.}

then we had a brief respite before we had to load up and be down to set up for 2nd saturday. this month's was the best so far--the music was great and it was VERY busy! i have to say i had a honest organically good time i have had in a while. geared me right up for next saturdays new midtown bizaar. :)

for the better part of the afternoon we have all set up the pool. we got the girls scrubbing it clean and helping daddy with the poles of the pool construction. {i am seeing the value of the newer pools that have no poles, but this pool has served us well. it may be kind of a pain to put together, for the most part is a work horse. no holes yet, knock on wood!} hopefully the pump holds out another season...but it may have to be replaced. it's a small price to pay for the kids (ahem, my) fun in the summer sun.

happy saturday!

*purdy burdys*

stack o' birds, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

i am loving these epic-style naps mr. j has been taking. as i did yesterday, i made actual progress again today! not virtual progress, but actual 90% finished product progress. these birds are going to be affixed to their respective headbands tomorrow {then after saturday hopefully respectfully affixed to a cute girl's head lol}. now i turn my eye to making more pint/coffee cozies--a trial item that i have not offered before but heck...i use one that i made every day when i drink my morning pint of coffee. you need one too, i'm sure. they are pretty cute. so, then i feel very VERY prepared for saturday's craft show. not just a little but VERY VERY VERY prepared. all i need is some customers and great weather, and i'll be set. :)

{i am easy to please.}

*busy naptime*

sewn birds, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

i got to clean/organize my craft studio {how does it get so messy when i haven't been back there for some time?}, and sew 5 birds for headbands. everything is set up for me to jump back any time after jasper goes home for the night...but there is no telling if i am going to have any energy to do so. i am feeling out of gas for the day unless i get a second wind.

i am happy with what i did do so far, it's pretty awesome to be sewing and doing stuff again and feeling on-schedule. i am going to be able to crank out everything i need too before 2nd saturday's craft show. i am happy, but physically i feel drained. some people i have been in contact with have been viral recently: i REALLY HOPE I AM NOT GETTING SICK AGAIN. {sorry for the shouting, i am just so adamant about that, it's not even funny.} getting sick on average of every 6 weeks is not really working for me and my active lifestyle lol. no, seriously it's not working for me. at all.

cheers to more productivity! after all, tomorrow IS another day. {said in my very best scarlett o'hara impression}

*happy anniversary to us*

shawn n me, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

june 7th, 2004

shawn and i were married 6 years ago today. he proposed to me in december, a few months later and just a little bit pregnant we gave our vows in tahoe. we semi-eloped (his mom and gramma ambushed us there lol) and had a wonderful time with a lovely romantic honeymoon with the sierra nevada wilderness as a backdrop. we like being married so much so that we hope to renew our vows at the 10 year anniversary mark near where we tied the knot the first time. it was so gorgeous up among the trees...i would love to go back very soon. and gamble my ass off lol.

cheers to fate: it's the captain of this ship.

*vegan fascinators*

ginghambirdband, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

this weekend is all about sewing. making more vegan bird fascinator/headbands and i am going to try to have at least 10-15 pint cozies to choose from. that's a lot for me lately, but i am a clutch crafter and one week is not a lot of time from tomorrow until 2nd saturday. i need to grab a couple new camping chairs and one of those spray bottle misters with the fan...the temps are making me uber-miserable (i spent half the day in a sweater, then half the day in a pool of sweat. temperature intolerance is something new thank you thyroid*, although i always bitched about being hot or how hot it is in sacramento before...this time i really mean it!). i am excited about new items...i am interested to see if the pint cozies move at all. i would buy one! ha!

heat and bitchiness aside, i am really looking forward to this month's show...the sacramento gay men's choir is going to be there! i have always wanted to see them :) come down if you are local and check it out. 21st and k st in sunny midtown sacramento from 6-10pm. it's very kid friendly!

*speaking of my thyroid it's giving me trouble... the dr. called just today on my labs and my meds are being adjusted {again}. hopefully i can find some relief in the next month and a half until the next labs. it's a certain kind of misery, having thyroid disease. i don't wish it upon my worst enemy. lucky for me i seem to have found a dr. who is caring and has a handle on the new ranges of "normal" etc. she is really open to hearing me out and that 's cool with me. feel free to reiki me some healthy vibes. i could use them!

happy friday night!

*mmmwaaaaaah*

new pyrex, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

that's not a wail or cry "mwaaaah" that's a CHECK OUT MY NEW PYREX MWAAAAAAHHHHH {the clouds are parting and the hand of god is pointing down at this in a shimmery shower of love} sound.

i am constantly on the red hot hunt for pyrex. i have a collection in case you didn't know. we found a great new little thrift store off the beaten path and this is where i found this baby. you never find these little fridgies with the lid anymore! yesterday was my lucky day. i also found a cute little pair of vintage shorts & swimsuit.

these are the things that make me happy. then later on in the day (i had the day off from jasper) i went and chilled out in my friends garden. she gave me some morning glories and also a new green bell pepper start, along with some pots. it was a really nice and relaxing day.

i have a list of things to do for neverfeltbetterbyjen as long as my arm. and i am a procrastinator so it is just growing while i take pictures of my pyrex and chase jasper :)

ps: today i tried the vegan tiramisu from sugar plum vegan, and it kicks your ovo/lacto desserts ass.

*what's goin' on?*

lino block, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

i feel like i have not updated much information on what's going on over here at neverfeltbetter headquarters. {that's because i haven't, but this is my attempt at putting things in balance.}

first of all HAPPY JUNE! it's a busy month. on a personal front, it's shawn's 20 year veganversary TODAY! thank you shawn for all that you have done for the cause, the animals and for our family. it's also our wedding anniversary on the 7th--six years SOLID. then, and selfishly most importantly, it's my birthday on the 10th. i am turning 38, uh...again.

now for business: june 12th is 2nd saturday at mcmartin realtors parking lot at the corner of 21st and kst in sunny midtown sacramento! it's 6-10pm and always a lot of fun. bring yourself, some friends and some cash!

june 19th is the new midtown bazaar that's has a whole lot of promise for sellers/vendors of all kinds. more info to come but please check out the facebook page for more info. the location is fantastic at 16th and jst & it's in the morning so you can do this and the farmers market too (although the word is there will be food vendors/farmers at this venue). either way EAT YOUR VEGGIES and come support your local handmade businesses. :) like me!

in the meantime i am making more bird headbands (my best seller!) and i have a whole new collection of soldered pendants (my other best seller!) to check out. i am also making up a ton of my "vegan" linocut patches (see pic above!). i am getting excited for these shows {check out all my exclamation points! see? lol}-- it's about TIME.

*beans-n-potato salad*

beans and potato salad, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

i used to be so gross...i would eat cold pork & beans cold, straight out of the can, although i avoided the little white "thing". *shudders* now that i am happily free of weirdo animal ingredients i am also happy at the selection of vegetarian baked beans you can find now. nothing is better than my own (veganized from the way mom would make it. nothing low fat about her version with all that mayo!) potato salad paired with a can o' beans. the two side dishes must be touching and mixing on my plate for the ultimate picnic/bbq/summer meal experience. i think it would be very easy and delicious to make the baked beans from scratch but there is something about the canned version...reminds me of opening cans with the automatic opener as a kid trying to be a helper in the kitchen with mom. her from the hip, working class dinners were always delicious, if not always the most healthy in our 70's and 80's dolly madison and wonder bread influenced world. i think she would approve of my potato salad and of all of the other things she taught me unknowingly in the kitchen. :)

happy memorial day, i hope yours was as relaxing and interesting start to summer just as it was for us!

*the BIG salad*

shawn's salad, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

i don't want your puny side salad...i am with elaine from seinfeld and i want the BIG salad. i want it to have quinoa AND tofu...edamame, tomatoes, cucumbers, sunflower seeds, shredded {insert any kind of misc veggie here. i figure if it's a veggie, can be cut up or shredded and eaten raw it belongs in ma face} and a really good dressing like either goddess or a good miso flavored one. if the croutons are vegan i will take some of those {if not i will have some crunchy chinese noodles} and those fake bac-o bits, too. and you know what else i would like is some daiya vegan cheese and cut up tofurkey, too. yes, you read that right. all of it...in my salad.

if i can get all this at an all you can eat salad bar, that would be just fantastic. over in the arden area there is fresh choice which is pretty good. it has everything labeled with allergy information and had veg and vegan labels, too. did i mention it was all you can eat? i want to go back for thirds, is that bad? there is also the coop, which has a decent salad bar {not all you can eat, though and it ends up being pricey, it's by the pound and it's easy to pile up on your plate and it's the dressing that weighs it down so much anyway!}

clearly i am having a salad deficiency even though i make then on a regular basis for myself. i never have all those ingredients at my fingertips for viola the big-assed all you can eat vat of salad i want to be having right now. the deficiency may be perceived, and not actual but this what is known: sometime in my near future a honkin' big salad is going down the hatch. :)

*cadet lucy*

that's my girl, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

in the vegan police academy, that is. see her little name on one of the "no" faces? she may be on the autism spectrum, but she definitely knows her stuff. last night was her open house, and all day long she was excited up until two feet from the classroom door. this is where she realized a hole from our universe was about to be punctured into hers and she was not so happy to share her world with her family. fair enough, but we still stayed for a while and collected all her work, chit-chatting with other parents and her teacher. she has made us all proud this year with her progress and i am scared and excited for her kindergarten next year...she is going to regular class with pull-outs for speech. yay!

we were lucky enough this year to have a classroom staff that supported lucy's veganism, i pray next year we are as lucky. lucy is pretty good at 5.5 yrs at knowing the inherent vegan-ness of most things ("marshmallows have cow" and "gummy worms are NOT VEGAN" haha she's funny. i end up sending a box of annies vegan gummies, and hope for the best. apparently gummy-chewy treats are great for speech therapy, not so great for their teeth!) and she loves her laptop lunchbox bento system for the lunches i send. she tells people about being vegan and says "some people eat animals but we don't...no." *aw my little vegan warrior-in-training!*

as for other vegan warrior...our soon to be 6th grader, if the school district gods smile upon us there will be room (at the school lucy attends now for her special ed) for both her and her sister (the school is k-8). lyric's independent study is going ok, but this 6-8 program is right up her alley. i won't know for the next month or two...so the indecision and uncertainty is KILLING me. even the contact at the school district said our home school "would probably not meet lucy's needs", and just so happens to be the SAME school i pulled my gifted girl out of. it certainly didn't meet our needs then, and i don't think lucy's will be addressed with satisfaction.

the whole intra-district procedure is making me a crazy lady. let's hope hard it works out...i don't have a plan b! DOH!

*snailpocolypse 2010 part deux*

snailfriends, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

this light warm rain has brought out hundreds of snails. my front porch and back stoop, both lawns, and even up the sides of the house itself is being overrun by the slimy little guys. what they think they are going to find up the siding, i will never know.

guess where they aren't? that's right: my garden! the penny trick is holding up...i have been on my usual vigils to pluck them from the bed but i have come up empty since the very first night. {thank you mother nature, seriously. thank you.}

i am torn about this weather system. on the one hand it's very spring like and quite pleasant if you get right down to it. on the OTHER hand, it's gray, chilly and generally depressing. i don't want to drive anywhere, go anywhere or do anything really. however, i did quite a bit of organizing and cleaning in the girls rooms so not going anywhere worked in my favor. i got stuff done and i got to think about stuff that needed thinking about.

just two days ago i was by the edge of the creek, sitting in the sand, relaxing and getting some major sun. i am going to summon that feeling now to get me through this week of drippy dreariness. it will be sunny {and too hot} soon enough!

*cache creek*

cache creek, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

when i lived in woodland, the best thing about the whole experience was being so close to the foothills and being about to explore all the county back roads and day trip spots.

taking woodland's main st. through and follow the signs to highway 16...cache creek is probably my favorite little drive through the area. you roll out of the back of woodland to BAM!  hills, vinyards, pastoral scenes, mountain cliffs and rushing creeks. really really pretty. i have driven all my good friends out to check it out over the years and even been to a wedding held there eons ago. it's really very pretty this time of year. i always make the same lame joke about pulling over at the casino for an hour and i'll be right back...it never gets old. yesterday i sweet talked the camp ground host and he let us play without the day-use fee. {sorry i didn't feel like paying the $6 but you probably won't be so lucky so come with some cash lol}. just be sure to choose the middle campsite to access the "beach" and there is a playground for the little ones. there is also some great hiking but i would do that with adults only, personally. with kids it's just the right amount of time in the car with a great payoff at the end. plus we stopped at sonic for tater tots and a cherry slush...we don't have a sonic in sacramento and apparently i needed that sugar water and horrible brain freeze. :)

happy monday and go on a sunday drive with some people you love soon!

*busy saturday*

AM walk to farmers market, originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

today i really wanted to sleep in longer, but i am glad we got up on the earlier side to walk down to the farmers market again. we got more fava beans, dill, beets, onions, lettuce, garlic, chard and bok choy. we had one helluva salad for lunch! shawn made the dressing, and it was delicious. <3

then we packed up the girls and went to our friend jessica's grad party, and she always has the best parties. kid friendly, fully stocked, bands...i knew only a handful of people but it was nice meeting new folks. my proudest moment when lyric started talking about what it might feel like *when* she graduated. not if, not maybe...but *when*. i told her i would throw her the biggest party on the planet i would be so proud of her. and i would, too.

we came early and left at just the right time, and i am so happy for my friends and family. things are just feeling right, just like spring should feel. happy, hopeful, harmonious.

happy saturday and something tells me tomorrow is going to be another good one.

*week-end*

lucy , originally uploaded by neverfeltbetter.

it's friday. so, happy friday to you. i hope you are out doing something fun (why would you be reading this if you were!), or just relaxing at home. i am doing the latter on this fine friday evening. we did an old person early-bird dinner tonight since jasper is here late. with a toddler, it's just not worth it to risk the indigestion if they are not having it and decide to ruin the meal for everyone--it can happen even to the most well behaved. so we went to our favorite chinese place that offers a veggie menu who just happens to be lightening fast, too. doubling my chances for a successful meal, and quite possibly not irritating a whole restaurant full of people. most importantly, not irritating me :)

happy to say it was just the right amount of time to actually enjoy the food and have the toddler not incite a riot. everyone did great, as i was half-assed predicting they would.  (on their own my girls are great, but sometimes the lucy-jasper combo can be explosivo and i am having flashbacks from earlier in the week when a fun trip to the car wash turned into a nightmare of doom with those two.  yikes!)

tomorrow we are looking forward to the oak park farmers market in the AM, and in the afternoon we have a graduation party to attend. i think i will pick up some fresh flowers her from the market. that would be a nice gift, i think! mostly i am going to enjoy my days off, my girls and shawn's company. this was a long and winding week and the month's not over yet...

TGIF