To Plunge or to Dip?

This past winter we finally set up a gift my husband was given by his father that was moved with us about 4 times before it was finally taken out of the box.  It was an Aerogarden.

I've always wanted to garden but have yet to cross that off the bucket list or make it a part of our routine. For a handfull of years we never lived anywhere long enough to have been able to reap the benefits of what we sowed in a prior planting season. Then when we landed in Chicago, sadly in our entire acre plus plot of land, there was not one square foot that received enough sunlight to produce a decent garden. Now our home has plenty of good spots (in my limited understanding....) for a garden and there is no excuse. However, my husband grew up gardening and hopes to never do it as long as he lives....something about weeding for endless hours. He can't deny that gardening helped him discover his knack for sales and entrepreneurship. Selling all those bell peppers door-to-door was no doubt an essential precursor to his future career --which now is our bread at butter.  So, with me with no experience, and Husband with the thought of gardening making him throw up in his mouth, the aerogarden was a good start. It was simple to set up and when we went out of town, no one needed to water or weed. It was as low maintenance as a pet rock.

Unfortunately, I did make the mistake of not planning my meals around what we grew. In hind sight, I would have ordered some seedlings (or whatever the little seed packets are called) in more common herbs that I cook with (cilantro or basil for example). It was a great start in allowing myself to see how SIMPLE an herb garden is, and it was great fun for the kids to watch how FAST they grew.

I'm all about baby steps when encountering unfamiliar ground, and this was a good one to help me dip my feet in the pond of becoming more self-sufficient with my food. But seeing as how that Aerogarden took place 6+ months ago and nothing else has come to fruition in the way of growing something edible, I'm wondering if plunging in is the better option?

So that is the question. To plunge or to dip?

With many things in life I can be a go-getter, but that is often with things that are familiar or low-stressors. Give me a disastrous garage (okay, actually, I do have one of those) and I can  whip it into shape without a panic attack.  Give me a pantry full of food and no rhyme or reason to the placement of it all, and I will happily tame it. Give me 5 kids to entertain, feed, and keep happy on my own, YES, I can conquer! But gardening?  I need someone to hold my hand. The ENTIRE way. I swear. It just seems so....hard!

Mom's Best Friend

I recently purchased this calendar in effort to simplify and mainstream our weekly and monthly planning.

Can be found at Target. Made by Mead. Part of the Organizher collection.

Why do I like it?

It's cute

It's large

Has a row for "mine" -- to put my calendar items

Has 4 rows for "Theirs" -- to put the rest of my families items

Has a row for Meals -- so my meals can go on the same spot, too

 I loved the calendar so much I even purchased a table for it to go on in my kitchen. I've learned it's important to not only have a calendar, but to house it in a central location in the home so that other family members can update it as well as be aware of what is going on in everyone else's world..