4-2-14

7:45am

So our truck driver neighbor came over yesterday evening

to help with loading a transmission into the back of our truck.

We took it out of the TA and are having a friend

put new seals in it for free.  We paid him a couple years

ago to do it and it's leaked since.  Figured we'd get it redone

while putting in a new torque converter.

Anyways we ask neighbor about not seeing his mom

at his house watching his kids and he says he and

his mom got into a spat and he now has a friend

watch his kids for $1200 a month.

I was all like, I'd watch them for that much

just joking to see what he would say which 

wasn't anything but put the thought into his head

because he's asked me many times before.

Now I kinda take that back when I think about it.

Ya gotta think about stuff like this before

just blurting out that you'd do it!!!

$1200 sounds like a lot but I don't think it's enough.

Think about it.  This guy has someone watch over his

kids from 9:00pm til the time they get on the bus

the next morning meaning they would be 

spending the night for about 11 hours for 3 kids.

Then watching them from about 3:00pm to 6:00pm,

another 3 hours for a total of 14 hours a day.

He works 6 days a week and most holidays

considering he's a truck driver.

That's 84 hours for one week for 3 kids!

336 hours in one month averages out to be $3.57 an hour

or $1.19 an hour per child.

Plus I'm sure I'd be furnishing food & other things for them.

Then I got to thinking what if his kids got sick

or injured?  He's not even in the state most of the time to 

have him come get them.  He drives over the road

every day.

So after thinking about it long and hard

I don't think I want the job of pretty much taking

on 3 more children full time and being mommy or nanny to them.

What if I  got sick and ended up in the hospital again

or have just days of not feeling so well and wanting

to do nothing but sleep because of the pain from Crohns?

Our family would not get to do things or

go places because of having the responsibility of

someone elses kids. 

What about Summer break and other holidays

school children have off?

Then you're talking 9pm to 6pm straight

for a total of 21 hours each day!!!

546 hours a month.

Uh that's too much for too little if you ask me.

He needs to get a new job to be able to spend

more time with his kids!!!

11:50am

Oh no.  I just learned that the guy that we were taking our transmission to, hubby's childhood friend,

is in the hospital with internal bleeding getting

blood transfusions today.

We was supposed to take it to him yesterday but

he said he was sick and didn't feel good.

He said he was dizzy but I chalked it up to

his inner ear infections he has had in the past.

Prayers needed for our friend.

1:35pm

Bills all done for the month and sent out.

My favorite time of the month...NOT.

10:10pm  

So this year I hadn't planned on planting any garden.

I was going to take a break from doing it.

It's a lot of work!

Now hubby comes home and tells me him

and a few other guys at work have a competition

going on this year to see who can grow 

the biggest tomato.

Well I buy tomato plants they usually

come in packs of 4 so there's 4 plants in the garden

I hadn't planned on doing this year.

BUT, I like competitions LOL.

So now I'm on the hunt for a large tomato 

producing plant either seeds or plant.

Big Zac.

Just taking a few notes on growing large tomatoes.

i grew these 4 in pots on my porch! i only get 4 hours of sunlight a day on my porch witch gives me hope 
that not much sun is needed if your going for a monster! just let one tomato grow per plant and trim the plant so its only one main stalk! (and shade the fruit ) 

I collected pollen from this plant and hand pollinated the flower that grew this fruit. So this Big Zac fruit was crossed with itself. 
I have no clue what it will grow into but i for one am going to plant a few of these seeds to try for another winner! 
when trying for a monster you need mega blooms ( fused blossoms ) to have a chance at a record. 

It's a lot of work to coax your tomatoes into really packing on the pounds. First of all, you'll need to provide the best basic care: full sun, fluffy soil with plenty of organic matter, lots of space between plants, an inch of water per week, and support (stakes or cages). Get the plants into the ground early and protect them with cloches. Hold off on mulching until the ground warms up and the plants begin to flower. Fertilize every two weeks with a dilute fish emulsion fertilizer (but be careful not to provide too much nitrogen, or you'll get a lot of foliage and few fruits).

Once the plants begin to grow, the real training begins. Allow only one stem to develop, and pluck off suckers (the sprouts that form between branches and the main stem) when they are very young. Remove all but two or three fruits from each plant. It's best to eliminate developing fruits at the top of the vine and leave older fruits at the bottom. Prune off tomatoes that develop farthest from the stem and leave one fruit per cluster. Prevent branches from breaking by supporting the tomatoes with pantyhose slings when they start to get really big.