It causes plants to shrivel as I walk through the nursery section at Wal-Mart. It brought about the untimely end of two deserving, low-maintenance houseplants. It is my black thumb of death, and it is a big part of why I haven’t joined first lady Michelle Obama and a host of others by planting a vegetable garden this year.

Thankfully, Denton County Master Gardener Al Kirchhoff has two very green thumbs and was willing to offer me some tips about starting a successful vegetable garden.

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The Helpless Housewife has misplaced her planner. She will return with updated events soon.

My husband and I are on a strict, spend-as-little-as-possible budget for a while.
This means no frivolous shopping. No eating out. No fun – so I thought.
But I’ve been poking around on neighborsgo.com, and I’ve found lots of events that are both fun and free – and even our tiny budget has room for that.
So here’s a list of a few free, upcoming events. If you know of others, post them here!
I’ll update this every Friday.

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One more reason to not cook (as if I needed one): Free pancakes at IHOP.

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As I’ve said before, my idea of budgeting is to buy shoes on sale.

I’m clueless about saving money –a problem that grows as the economy shrinks. That’s why I was thrilled to learn ways to save on groceries from the area-based Sisters of Savings, Cheryl Jackson and Lynette Shofner. (more)

Hats and I can never be.

I’ve tried to make it work. It should. I love accessories, vintage clothes, and looking just a tad unusual. Hats can be or do all these things. But it never works out.

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I’ve been a Helpless Housewife for a year and a half. I’ve burnt at least one item from most food groups, grown dust bunnies the size of real bunnies, and killed two houseplants.

But in amongst the spilling, the shattering and the not-cleaning, I’ve learned a few things. (more)

Everybody needs a little help, especially if you’re The Helpless Housewife. Here’s a few of the places I find domestic inspiration and enlightenment on the Web -I highly recommend them.

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My New Year’s resolution: keep a New Year’s resolution.

Most years, I make resolutions as I’m  counting down to midnight, usually something to do with all the food I just ate (“I’m going to eat better”) or how chubby I feel from trying to fit into my party clothes after a string of holiday meals (“I’m going to work out more.”) My track record is about three days per resolution.
 
So this year, I asked Chico West and Steven Lytle of West Counseling in Dallas for some advice. Here’s what I learned about what I did, why I shouldn’t have, and how to do better this year.

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Isn't this grand?

My cousin Jenny, who decorates with panache and cooks with moxie, has added to her arsenal a penchant for finding and sending peculiar vintage cards.

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Two of the people who have helped me enormously this last year are my new sisters (in-law) –Janet and Jenny.

In addition to doing the regular sister-in-law sort of things (welcoming you to the family, telling you stories about what a nerd your husband was as a child, and asking you when you are going to have kids), they also gave me a wonderful wedding gift: a family recipe book.

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