Raised Bed and More Random Thoughts

I have suddenly decided that I have to grow a garden this year - I find myself with my jaw to the floor in the grocery store from shock at the sky high prices. I was actually perusing Albertson's ad last night - since when is orange juice at $5 a SALE? We are trying to stick to a $400/month grocery budget (that includes Jude's food and we never eat out - so three meals a day at home for a month for four people). That's a hard budget to stick to when I 1) try to buy organic so as to not kill my family off with pesticides; and 2) cook most meals from scratch. Thus my need for a garden. So Joel stopped by last night to grab some pumpkin bread and helped out while Colin and Samuel built me a raised bed. Please excuse the horrible flash photography - it was dark out.

First random thought: who ever knew Country Living magazine has really beautiful decorating? My mom has been giving me her hand-me-down mags (she has many subscriptions) and I always dismissed it as a frumpy country bumpkin type magazine, but I love it and I'll say it - I think it's my style - GASP! It reminds me of a mix of Martha Stewart Living and Pottery Barn with a flare for French flea market finds and rod iron beds. I even saw a kitchen I hope to be my own. Which leads me to my next thought: I am starting to love the look of white subway tiles as a backsplash in a kitchen. I am a lover of bright colors, but I am picturing a bright white kitchen with black fixtures, black concrete countertops and white tile backsplash. I guess I would just pick one accent color to pop out here and there - an old antique piece of china here, a vase there, etc.

Another random thought: I'm taking my boys in to a naturepath today to get them tested for allergies and any bugs/bacteria that is in thier system. Something in me wants to convert completly natural, but usually health insurance doesn't allow that. Speaking of health insurance, Colin cut the tip of his finger off on Thursday while I was getting my hair done and found himself in the ER waiting for stitches. He didn't wait for one hour or even two. It took 6 1/2 hours to get treated and that was in Urgent Care - not the ER. Thank you, Kaiser. We are seriously considering changing insurances in the summer. Another bummer - Kaiser is starting to filter people through the ER (even for non-urgent matters) to make more money. What has happened to our health care system?