I WAS gonna buy shoes ... but ...

I had to go to B&Q to get some nuclear style bug killer because my aubergines are getting seriously attacked. I've been struggling with wanting desperately to stay 100% organic over the fact that last year's aubergines DIED thanks to bugs ...and my organic method just isn't working.

Anyway, the plan was to then head over to Brantano to get me some new shoes ... I had fantastised about new shoes all day ... I knew I was going to be looking for some low sling back heels that I can wear casually with a pair of trousers or dress up for the evening... but I was also on a budget! Yesterday's candle party was actually much better than I'd hoped for, and I figured I'd spend £25-£30 on myself!!

It has been a LONG time since I bought anything for myself and you know what? I just felt like I DESERVED it! Well, I found myself looking around the garden section in B&Q thinking I'd pick up some more herbs .... and look what I found and put STRAIGHT in my trolley!

Uhuh, instead of shoes, I bought a gorgeous teracotta planter filled with herbs! It cost £20 and I know I was probably ripped off as I could have bought the planter and planted it up myself, but it has EVERYTHING I use in it!! There is a very spindly looking thyme on the right of the photo, so I'll see what happens to that - there are actually 3 different sorts of thyme in there so I'm happy to lose one and fill it with my basil that I've grown from seed.

So ummm ... no shoes for this girl today as I spent my budget on something else ... but I have some new herbs!! Pasta with olive oil & fresh herbs served with potatoes ..... mmmmmm

Is Dee really blogging about politics????

Okay ... this post will either have you nodding in agreement and then going on quietly in your lives .... or filling my comments box with things like "banish ye wicked witch!" Hopefully it will be the former :-)

In true "Dee" style I have the feeling this may be a long post, so grab a drink and get comfy!!!

... I don't normally blog about politics, and in fact it would normally be the LAST thing I'd find myself writing about, BUT, it's polling day tomorrow and it has only been in the last couple of years that I've realised just how much the government affect ME as a person and how much my individual vote counts. I find myself in utter turmoil and this is only the local polls!

The fall in house prices and the screwed up economy has put me personally in a bad place. This is why I want to really have my vote make a difference. I blame recession and the state of the country on the fall in trade for the business -- and I said this years back. People don't have the disposable income that they used to have because the country has gone to the &*!£$. I have a fairly high mortgage compared to the "current" value of my house and although we're not talking negative equity ... let's just say that if prices drop any further or the country goes further into recession ... then - well it doesn't bear thinking about.

I've been trying to talk to my kids about politics - to bring them up knowing that knowledge is power and that they CAN make a difference as individuals ... yet here I am - admittedly fairly ignorant about politics and debating NOT voting tomorrow!! I really wish that politics could be a part of the national curriculum ... I feel like a bad parent because I've realised that I don't know enough about it to actually teach my children about it. Based on some of the research I've done this evening, that will definitely change very soon!!! Maybe if I'd taken an interest in politics in general at a younger age, I would feel more confident in using my vote!!

I think for most people it comes down to voting for who they think is most likely to win, and that is the WRONG reason to vote! Most people simply don't have the time (or inclination!) to look at every single party's referendums or look at their promises, polices and what they plan on delivering. Even then, do their "policies" mean they are worthy of our vote?? It would seriously take every single party leader coming to my front door and personally explaining how they could make MY life and the UK in general any better for me to be really convinced!

One thing I do know is that I do not want Gordon Brown to be PM. Hands up - I voted labour in, and I sat up through the night watching the results come in and I cheered & celebrated that the guy I'd voted to be PM had got in. Problem is - I, like all of you guys - well none of us voted for Gordon Brown did we!! In my own personal humble opinion, Brown is out of his depth and he has surrounded himself with brainless advisors which has made it worth. The incompetence and control freakery all point to a man who just simply shouldn't be in office!

Thing is, if I vote, I want my vote to count and to WIN. It's as simple as that. Why bother voting unless you actually WANT your vote to count?! The gutting thing is that the party I believe WILL get in at the next general election (clue, it's not gonna be Labour!) - well, they won't be the party that I will be voting for. Honestly - again this is just my humble opinion ... but I think the only disputable thing will be the margin of David Cameron's victory.

Damn I can't believe I am blogging about politics!!! Sometimes these things just HAVE to come out though, and my blog is meant to be the place where I spill my guts about the things on my mind!!

I have changed SO much as a person over the last couple of years and that has a LOT to do with the way that I think these days. I know that being a "sheep" – i.e. just following others for the sake of “an easy life” is not the ideal and that the individual really DOES count. My vote matters whether it’s the local polls or the general election!

It's for this very reason that I will be voting GREEN tomorrow.

The Green party represent everything that I believe wholly in! It kind of goes without saying that they represent a greener & more organic way of living and want to reduce our carbon footprints, support renewable energy and affordable housing that doesn’t kick the crap out of our planet’s resources! The Green Party also support small businesses just like me! They want to “help the unique and the irreplaceable local guys to compete against the multinationals” (direct quote) Not just for me, but for local businesses in general. Give me organic & locally produced fruit & veg over imported crap any day!!!

If you are reading this and can't decide which one of the “major” parties to vote for in the local polls, then vote GREEN!
http://www.greenparty.org.uk/ - check it out for yourself. Their policies represent everything I believe in, and even if they don’t make PM, a vote will count!

Okay enough politics for today! LOL

OMG Look!!!!

Ohhh this plant mama is soooo happy!!! On top of my haircut earlier and my self confidence boost that I posted about below ... I've just checked on my seedlings and yeah baby we are growing!!!!

Look at my cherry tomato plants! They are doing really well if you compare them to the photo I posted before when they had just popped up! They are probably okay in the propagator for another week or so, but I'm going to get them into pots this weekend. I still think we're due another frost so they will live in the conservatory after that until they are nicely rooted into their new pots

THEN .... I looked at the aubergine seedlings! I had all but given up on them until a few days ago because they were planted 3 weeks ago and the packet says germination in 10-14 days. The tomatoes had all popped up and were growing away happily (planted at the same time with the same germination guidelines!) I was ready to dump out the soil, call it a failure and get some salad leaves planted in the propagator instead!! I thought I'd leave it a few more days "just to see" and I'm glad I did!

Five out of six ... and the fifth one (bottom left) definitely wasn't there this morning!) These are mini aubergines that will produce (fingers crossed!!) golf ball sized aubergines that are perfect to stirfry and add to - well pretty much anything!

I am growing totally organically too. I haven't looked much into feeds for my plants yet ... last year I grew my tomatoes and all of my herbs from existing baby plants and didn't add ANY feed to anything! It all grew okay! I hadn't wanted to spend out on gardening until I knew it was something I was really interested in.

Now though I'm totally hooked!! I loved cooking with things I had grown and the taste was SO much nicer too! I want to do most of it from seed this year and really really go for it! I need more propagators and I need a polytunnel!

LOL the littlest things with me sometimes!!

Feb 29th and I never found my spare minutes

I'd already written in a previous post that the 29th Feb was the day where all the spare minutes that I lose go to hide!!! Today was going to be my day to catch up on whatever needed doing .... one whole extra day to just take off and do as I wanted! I'd also planned a night out tonight ... But it seems that the gods have once again ruined all my plans! I went into work to get orders sent out and the day just got away with me :-( I ended up just completely knackered by the end of the afternoon!

My night out tonight ended up getting cancelled too - not a bad thing in the end because I've got this little local show tomorrow ... and it would have been a logistical nightmare as I would have to leave my friend's house early in the morning after a hefty night ... or not stayed over and driven back home late tonight. Plus see above, I've been knackered all day ... hardly conducive to a good night out! LOL

So anyway, I got home after picking the kids up from school (Megan has gone over to Zara's house) and I remember looking at the clock just after 4pm ... then feeling like just having a little lay down on the sofa .... well ooops two hours later I woke up just before 6pm!

Nope, I don't think Dee is doing anything tonight other than maybe drinking some hot chocolate and going to bed! Hahaha