Fibromyalgia and my Life- Creekside City Farm

Slacker! Confession time

2011-07-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

So, I don't know if it's part of the ending nesting/organizing/cleaning out stage of pregnancy, or just time itself. But I've been thinking about things I've really let slide in the past year.

What have I let slide?
-My eating habits have gone downhill, I've allowed white flour and sugar into my diet.
-I haven't been eating as many nutritious raw fruits, vegetables, and seeds.
-I've started using shampoo and conditioner again, even though it's only 2-3 times a week.
-I've used pregnancy as a way to indulge in more food than I should, larger portions (even for being pregnant). That's probably why I've gained so much weight in past nine months. (50 lbs) Plus I've been eating bread.
-I haven't been exercising as much. We can blame that one on the last month of being on bed rest. But I had no good excuse prior to bed rest. It sure is nice to be able to move around again, even if it's still limited because of my growing baby belly. (we're at 38 weeks today)
-I've been eating more meat since I've been pregnant, whereas I ate very little before.

So what do I plan to do?
-Start with cutting out white flour, and soon to cut out all processed starches.
-Cut out cane sugar
-Push my hair shampooing back to once a week with baking soda/vinegar washings in between.
-Start moving more. That will increase after I deliver and then recover from birth. Thank goodness it will be summer still and easier to get outside and move.
-Eat more vegetables, especially green veggies. Which I've already been doing, as the garden is plentiful this summer.
-Eat less meat, but still get adequate protein in my diet, about 50 grams per day, which is about 17 g per meal. Wow, that seems like a lot. I think I need to focus on this goal more!

Those are my starting points. Of course I'll soon have a newborn to welcome into the world, and a new rhythem for the family, but it's all doable with time and patience.

Other health goals.
-Get my kids to eat organic peanutbutter
-Get the whole family off of white flour. We actually don't use it that much, but we still do some baking with white flour. We converted to sprouted grain bread a few years ago and it's helped with gluten sensitivities.
-Eventually convert to all glass storage dishes instead of plastic tupperware.
-Make our own medicinal tinctures for the cold/flu and immune support, rather than store bought medications. Half our family rarely takes medicines, the other half thinks over the counter drugs work.
-Get a new water filtration system.

Fourth of July update

2011-07-04T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well, we were hoping to have the baby this weekend, but it hasn't happened so far. I think the baby is making us wait now, since we made it wait by being on bed rest. But the great news, I'm off bed rest and off the medicine to stop contractions. This are progressing, but slowly now. I can have as much patience as needed, as long as I'm able to move and be off bed rest. So we spent the weekend tinkering in the garden. The weather has been great and my wonderful husband has kept all of the garden growing while I was on bed rest for the past month. Now I'm able to get outside and do what I enjoy doing. Although I'm a bit slower and heavier then normal.

Watering my strawberries in the raised strawberry bed.

Garlic and onions. You can see the tips of the garlic turning brown, they are almost ready to pull up and cure.

Here are our 6 week old chicks, these are a top hat breed.

Top hats with a few americaunas on the left

This one still needs a good name.

Watering the other strawberry bed with the meat chickens under it in white.

The new herb bed that was put in this spring. In the background you can see the temporary/movable fencing we purchased this year for the chickens so they don't get into all the gardens. They will only have to be confined to this area until the gardens are finished producing, then they get free range of the yard again.

Happy Fourth of July!!

Third Grade Graduation!

2011-06-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

We had an official Third Grade graduation ceremony today. Here are the kids receiving their third grade diplomas. Now onto summer break!!

I hope we'll still be home schooling next year. Things are really up in the air right now for the schedule for next year. It's all pending cooperation from their biological dad.

We hope and pray we'll be able to continue on the home schooling path we've been following for the past few years.

6/14/11 update

2011-06-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

I'm bored out of my mind on bed rest, especially on Tuesdays when the kids are gone and we aren't home schooling. The kids have adapted well to home schooling in the living room with me reclined way back on the recliner, and the little white boards are really coming in handy.

There is so much I want to do, but I can't. My hubby has adjusted now and isn't quite as stressed about having to take on the world solo right now. He's sleeping more and doing a wonderful job, I'm so proud of him. And our friends and church family have been so supportive and helpful in running the kids to and from their activities, and helping out with meals and visiting me to curb my boredom.

The baby chicks are getting big, the top hats are getting their head feathers. The garden looks ok, although we wish it were growing better. I look out there and see all the transplanting and thinning that needs to be done, but alas, I can just look.

Baby in the oven is doing well. We're at 35 weeks this week. The plan as far as I know is that I'll get to go off bed rest and the terbutaline medicine that's holding my contractions at bay, on July 1st. And if my body reacts the way it did last round (10 years ago with the twins) then the baby will be arriving soon after going off the medication. So it looks like we'll be having a 4th of July weekend baby. We're excited! The reality of it is that we're only 17 days from going off the medicine. Which is very soon! Except for a few minor essentials like a padded changing pad for the changing table and some nursing pads, we're ready for the baby's arrival!!

What's complete torture?

2011-06-09T10:50:00.000-07:00

Nesting in the last stages of pregnancy and being on bed rest for 4 weeks!
Uggg!
We're all holding on here, thank God we have wonderful friends and a supportive church family to help us out.

Bluegrass Festival May 2011

2011-05-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the Bluegrass Festival last weekend. The on stage pictures didn't turn out very well, as I was zoomed in a lot, the lighting was hard, and people were moving around. The video should be ok. The kids had a wonderful time learning to play with different musicians and having lessons. The performance was held in front of 150-200 people.

My wonderful Birthday

2011-05-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderfully relaxing birthday yesterday. The kids and I went to Olympia to play in the park and do some errands. Then the whole family planted seeds in the garden, my wonderful hubby made me a yummy dinner, and the kids topped off the evening by making strawberry shortcake for dessert.

And to make my day even better, I had three people tell me while we were out and about that I was a beautiful pregnant woman. I think any mom knows that sometimes, expecially at the end of pregnancy, you don't always feel so beautiful. Women take care of other women by letting them know that they are beautiful, even when they're plum and uncomfortable. What a blessing!

Belly pics to come soon, I need to clean up my pictures on my camera and get them downloaded. Week 31 this week, and time is ticking!

A good Quote

2011-04-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/265723

I couldn't cut and paste the quote directly onto my blog, so I had to attach the link, I hope it works.

If you haven't seen or read any books about Tasha Tudor, you're missing out. She's a wonderfully inspiring old woman. She passed away in 2008, but her legacy lives on in her art work and books. The few books I've found at the library about her life I tend to just look at all the wonderful pictures.

Fruit Trees on a small scale

2011-04-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

We live on just under one acre in town, but that doesn't mean we can't grow a lot of our own food. I wanted to jot down a list of all the edible foodscapes we have on our place, not including of course the vegetable gardens.

The fruit trees we have are all semi-dwarf varieties to conserve space and resources and the vines are all trained to maximize space.

3 peach trees
1 fig tree
2 pear trees
1 cherry tree with three types of cherries (grafted)
3 plum trees
3 apple trees
1 goji berry bush
6 blueberry bushes
blackberries
2 different raspberry patches
strawberries, (22'x4') raised bed and 2 (4'x5') raised beds
white grape vine
kiwi vine
Still on the hunt for a local resource of marionberry starts

Why not put in edible landscaping? It costs about the same as regular landscaping trees, yet you get to eat the product of your growing. Kids and adults alike just love to browse in the summer and fall and partake in the yummy, nutritious, fruits of your labor, literally.

As the prices of fruit goes up, and the quality of fruit goes down, you'll be able to rest assured that you're providing the best for yourself and family.

Create your own paradise at home!

meat chickens
meat chicken area under raised strawberry bed 22'x4'

Lupine with rain drop

Daffodil flower near our blueberries

Garlic and onion bed 22' long

strawberries that have been covered in a mini greenhouse,

already in bloom and it still freezes at night

blooms on a peach tree

Living Fences

2011-03-28T17:52:00.001-07:00

Living fences are usually easier and cheaper to build and maintain then a typical privacy type fence. They can also be used to supplement an existing fence for extra protection, privacy, or food. We had a wonderful weekend planting new trees around the parameter of our little plot of land. Above our large garden area, on the north side and near the road we planted a fast growing hemlock hedge. The little trees are only a foot tall right now, but they are supposed to grow 1-3 feet per year and make a dense hedge. Already we noticed, while putting in the trees, that someone had cut our fence with wire cutters. We aren't sure if it was to pet the goats when they were there, or if it was in preparation of the ripening plum tree right on the other side of the fence. Oh the joys of living in city limits. Don't get me wrong, I want a place where people can come visit and learn about urban gardening, etc, but I also don't' want people stealing our food, damaging our property, and invading our privacy when we want it. In the small front/lawn area near the front of our house we put up a hedge of evergreen hedges intermixed with Rose of Sharron tall shrubs. I sure hope I end up liking the Rose of Sharron, if not I'll plant in more evergreen hedge trees. In the backyard near the river we used fast growing poplar trees and willows to create a living gazebo. It will also be a few years in the making, but we (especially the kids) are excited to watch it transform. It will take some pruning and training, but the end result should be a igloo like living tent. We even have an arched willow entrance. Over the next few years we'll have to train the trees to do what we want and bind them together on the cross points. We even put the poplar trees an even space apart in order to hang a hammock on them. The total diameter is about 8 feet across. The next step is a Marion berry living fence in the backyard, on the east side of our little apple orchard. It will go along a fence we share with the neighbors. Oh yes, we also added a few flowering vines along another fence on the east side of the raised bed garden, where we have a neighbor's garage within reaching distance, and also some flowering vines up the kids' tree house. Along with useful planting we also took the time to put in some astheticlly pleasing flowers. Along the enge of the river we put in a 50 foot bulb and flower bed. We planted about 100 new bulbs in the pst week, some for spring blooming (which of course won't bloom this year) and more for summer blooms. When things get growing better I'll have to include a picture or two.

22 weeks along and going well

2011-03-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

Baby Pratt update

2011-02-26T21:22:00.000-08:00

Ok.......we finally went in for an ultrasound.

And...........

We're having ONE!!!

At first I was bummed because I really wanted twins again. But then I though, WOW, this is going to be easy, especially with all the help I have at home.

And we're also farther along then we thought. So we're actually at the beginning of our 5th month.

The new official due date is July 22!

And no, we're not finding out what we're having, so don't ask. :) Green will have to be the color of choice until the little one is born. One good thing is that there will still be a lot of garage sales to go to after the baby is born.

Update 2/24/2011

2011-02-24T12:09:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in awhile. Our home computer was getting work done to it and we didn't have it for a week or so.

AHHH, it's a snow day outside. Yes, it's odd for us to have a snow day the end of Feb, but non-the-less, winter is still here. My poor onions, garlic, and bulb flowers are all growing and now they will probably go back to sleep for a little while. As the snow falls outside we are inside planning our garden and looking at which seeds and baby chicks to purchase for the spring.

Homeschooling goes on even though the snow falls. But it also involves writing about the snow, playing board games, and sledding (for PE), and of course doing our studies with warm hot cocoa and marshmallows.

As far as baby news goes, we are measuring farther along then anticipated, so our midwife recommended that we get an ultrasound done to see whether we are having twins again, or are just further along then we thought. Either way it will be great news! Tomorrow is the ultrasound, so we'll know more then.

That's all for now!

Martin Luther King Jr Day 2011

2011-01-20T16:20:00.000-08:00

Here is Will's lapbook he did on MLK day.

We've finally hit our three month mark

2011-01-19T16:19:00.000-08:00

Here we are at 12 weeks! Yippy, we made it to three months. Now things should be getting easier....??? For a little while anyway.

1/6/2011 update #1

2011-01-06T21:16:00.000-08:00

Here are the kids doing their oral presentation on some of the animals in Australia. They did about ten minutes each, but we only filmed their favorite animal.

They drew the continent, read about each animal learning about their habitats, characteristics, eating habits, breeding habits and other interesting facts (four animals each), put sticks representing the animals' different habitat ranges, wrote a page for each animal, drew the animal, and then did the presentation. They had a lot of fun with this project and will be choosing another continent to do more animals soon.

For some reason Will's presentation wouldn't download to attach.

Eating habits

2010-12-30T19:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, since becoming pregnant my eating habits have changed a lot. I went through a lot of effort to cleanse and detox my body pre-conception to get it ready. In doing so I ate mostly RAW foods and was feeling wonderful.

Well then rolls around week six or so and the nausea sets in. All I wanted was a chicken sandwich from Burger King and french fries. If you've never been pregnant and craved french fries, then you don't know what it's like. It was pure bliss. Now normally, I am repulsed even thinking about a fast food chicken sandwich and fries. My body was really craving protein. I also couldn't even look at salad without getting sick, and that was the same for most vegetables. My diet as of lately has been egg sandwiches with cheese and ham in the mornings, toasted bagel and cream cheese for lunch, or grilled cheese sandwich, and of course various other snacks throughout the day and night.

I'm finally now to a point where I'm not feeling as sick and I notice that now I'm actually craving nutrient rich foods. I had a smoothie the other day, and salads and veggies with dinner. I'm still making sure I'm eating a lot of protein right now, as my body is craving it. I go through at least three eggs a day.

The main point is that I'm not being hard on myself for not sticking to what I thought was the healthiest diet for me. I'm still trying to keep things balanced out, but I'm not worrying about eating all or mostly raw, or even vegetarian. I know this is the most important phase of life to be eating healthy, but moderation is more important to me right now.

As I'm feeling better I'm sure I'll be enjoying my green smoothies daily again, because of course the little one inside of me will soon have taste buds and I'll have to do my best to get them enjoying yummy fruits and vegetables.

Our Christmas Surprise!

2010-12-19T19:10:00.000-08:00

Well, the big news is that we found out we're expecting!! And not a baby chicken, or duck this time, and actual human!

The tenative due date is August 2nd, 2011.

More to come later I'm sure, my time on the computer is limited, as it makes me feel sick.

New Basement Office remodel

2010-11-29T13:09:00.000-08:00

This is what we had to start with.

Looking towards the window

The finished library section and my reading nook!

the same window there on the right. We still need to finish the calendar white board on the wall and have an electrician come in and put in a light switch (so we will no longer have a light bulb hanging in the middle of the room).

It's not heated, but it's still cozy. I'm also going to make some curtains for the window, they will be of heavy fabric to help hold in the heat. It's so nice to have a little retreat area to hide and read, do household management, etc.

Hailey playing at the Senior Center

2010-11-20T08:53:00.000-08:00

Hailey and her teacher are playing "Down in the Valley" for an audience of about 50 people in November. We try to have Hailey do a performance once a month at the Senior Center in downtown Shelton.

Will and Hailey playing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" together.

Family Legacy

2010-11-03T22:59:00.000-07:00

We recently took a quick trip over to Idaho to see the Grandparents (Great Grandparents for the children). Grandma Pratt is 94 years young and still going strong living at home, and Grandpa Pratt is 92 years and has just recently had to leave his lifetime home and stay at an assisted living center, where they can take better care of him after he had his stroke.

Family is so important!! And it's so important to listen to the family heritage, legacies, stories, and tales from the older generations. They have so mush to share. We decided to do our best to capture some of the family stories and information before it was lost. The best way we found to do this was to purchase a journal type book that's made for grandparents. We all had a wonderful time listening to Grandma and Grandpa tell stories about when they were younger, and their lives growing up. We wrote it all down to document it for future generations. We figured we might as well get it done before it's too late. I encourage all families to do something similar, because you never know who God's going to call home next. Below are some pictures from the visit. And the fall colors up in the mountains were amazing!

food

2010-10-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

I haven't been eating 100% RAW as of lately. I did really well for about a month when I was trying to clean out and detox my system. Although I have felt really good sticking to a gluten free, vegan diet with lots of raw fruits and veggies. My downfall is always the late night snacks and sweet yummies. At least most of them are all homemade and they don't have all the artificial sweeteners and preservatives in them. In saying that, I've been feeling a lot better lately, not as much joint pain and stiffness and no muscle pain.

I try to remember that if I'm not going to be eating all RAW foods, then when I don't I need to make sure it's at least gluten free and vegan. Whole foods are so wonderful for your body also. We've also noticed, with myself and daughter, that eating the sprouted grain bread doesn't cause the stomach aches as much as if we were to eat a regular wheat product.

God is awesome!

2010-10-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

It's a hard choice sometimes to take the path of faith. Sounds like it should be easy, but sometimes God tells us to do things and we don't understand why or for what reason. You have to choose to do it in faith, even if it causes strife and discomfort, and even if other people don't like your choices.

The great part comes when you finally "get it" and God's lets you in on His plans. Then you have peace and even greater faith then before. God loves us and never gives us more then we can handle. We have to step out in faith and be obedient to what He says. It's ALWAYS worth it !

There are things in which God showed me a few years ago, and I've been waiting for it to happen. I finally see the ball rolling in the right direction, and it's so awesome to watch.

In faith, Heather

Road Trip in August

2010-09-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

Finally, here are some pictures of our road trip to Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, and to see family in North Dakota. We took a ton of pictures, but here are some. The others are can be seen on our shutterfly sharesite at http://hmmsharesite.shutterfly.com/

Pretend blacksmithing with their cousins at a historical interpretive center

Cousins

The garden you were given

2010-09-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

Everyone has a garden, some people just choose to plant grass all over it.

Don't wait until you have the perfect piece of land to cultivate and grow food. Plant food in your garden and it will bless you and your family, and possibly others who live at your place after you.

Givers and Takers

2010-09-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

Some people are givers and other are takers. It takes all to make the world go 'round. But I sure like being around givers, they seem to be much more pleasant and also cheerful. I truly believe that when people live unselfish giving lives, they make the world and themselves a better place.

For some reason I was thinking this evening about the three major events that have happened in my adult life.

1) giving birth to multiples, which were premature, along with being married to an unsupported (mean) man man at the time who was military and the twins were born Sept 1st 2001. They were ten days when Sept 11th happened. We live off base at the time and their dad wasn't even able to leave base for about a month. I was living in a very small town at the time, I didn't know anyone and had no support. Who came to help me, my mother, that's all. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for her support, with out it I may have gone crazy at the time. The funny thing is, she's the family that lives the furthest from me.

2) The divorce (July 2004). Need I say more. I was at risk of loosing my home, I had no job, I had to work with a domestic violence support center and set up and use a safety plan and evacuation to get out of the situation. To make a long story short, who was the one to offer up their house for the twins and I to stay or live at if need be? Again, my mother.

3) Third and hopefully the last, the onset of my illness (Aug 2008). I didn't know if I was ever going to go back to work, some days I couldn't walk or lift a water bottle to drink, I was close to foreclosure, I couldn't drive to the grocery store to get food for the kids. Who called and talked to me daily (until I said I couldn't afford my phone bill anymore) ? Again, my mom. Luckily by this time in my life I had a local circle of support, whom I couldn't have done without. But what about the rest of my family?

My kids are my priority. Their health, well being, happiness, security, etc. Although they aren't spoiled by any means. When I think of my security in the future, it's not how much money I have in the bank, or how much stuff I have, it's making sure my kids are taken care of. I want for them to always have a home and garden to come home to. When/if they ever run into hard times, I/we will be there to help them. Security is knowing you don't have to depend on the government to supply you with food and things. If I keep the home I own in the family and pay it off as soon as I can, along with the garden and all the edible landscaping, my children will never go without. They can choose to purchase their own home someday, but if something happens, they will always have a place to go, and feel welcome!

Thank you to all the givers in this world!! And may your children learn from you!

One cute chick!

2010-09-12T20:34:00.001-07:00

Here's Solo, our baby chick. She's an arucana chicken. We call her Solo because she's the only one that hatched out of 12. We were told from a friend that they were fertile, but oh well, we'll just have one spoiled chicken. We all really, really, really hope she's a girl, because we can't keep roosters in the city. And after all this disapointment, with only one hatching, we'de hate to have to giver her away, or worse yet, eat him. So we're hopefully calling her a her.

I think she sort of looks like a baby owl.

This is her campanion, so cute! She snuggles up with it when she sleeps. I had to really sneak in to get this picture when she was really tired. Usually everytime she hears us come into the back room, she perks up and peeps at us.

Gluten free, dairy free, and egg free cake

2010-09-01T20:40:00.000-07:00

I've really been challenged as of lately in finding recipes that we can all enjoy but not have any allergies too. When looking at a lot of the vegan recipes they often use wheat flour and/or oatmeal. Well, with Hailey's wheat allergy, I had to keep digging. It's not too bad eating gluten free and dairy free, as we've been doing that for awhile now at our house. But theN to add egg free also, it makes baking anything near impossible. I told the kids they may like a raw dessert, with fresh fruit and chocolate pudding even better then the "want to be" cake.

In doing some research I found that you can mix up ground flax seed (which we already always have on hand) and mix it in with water and heat on the stove top at a simmer for 5 minutes. I added 1/4 up ground flax seed to about 1/2 cup plus 2 T water. I mixed it together, let it simmer for 5 minute and then let it cool. It says that it stays good for up to two weeks in the fridge. You add 1/4 cup of the mixture for each egg in the recipe.

Ok, so the easy thing I did it was to purchase a gluten free cake mix at Fred Meyer. On the box it calls for water, eggs ,and butter. I simply substituted the flax mixture for the eggs and veggie oil for the butter. It turned out wonderfully to all of our surprize.

Now I just need to find some new recipes for dinners that we can all eat and enjoy the taste.

Changes on the farm

2010-08-18T20:30:00.000-07:00

We've had some changes here on our little farm. It all started with the results from our allergy testing. Hailey and I got tested for food allergens since we were the ones suffering from symptoms and also have a lower immune system.

If you know about what we've been up to, you'll know that we have been looking for the right goat to have and breed, with the ultimate intention of having a milk goat. One of the main reasons besides being more self sufficient was the fact that my daughter and I didn't do well with cows milk, and goat milk to purchase is so expensive. We've also been working on growing our small chicken and duck flock. In fact right now we have a chicken incubating 2 fertile eggs and then the cousins are using an incubator to hatch the remaining 10 eggs. Our goal, more eggs, more affordable and healthy protein for the family.

Ok, so what's the change? Well, lo and behold, guess what Hailey's allergy test showed. A high reaction to chicken eggs, soy beans, chicken, and turkey, along with the ones we already figured out, cow's milk, cheeses and gluten. And here's the kicker, she's also allergic to goats milk! As for myself, I also have an allergy to milk, gluten (although not as severe as Hailey's), peanuts, beef and chicken eggs. Yikes!

So we had to sit down and really think if it was still worth it to continue on our path of owning a milk goat for just two people. Right now we do rice milk, and probably only spend at the most $10 a month on a case of rice milk. So, it looks like we'll be turning our goat pasture into a large garden next year to expand what we already have and be able to sell and can more produce. It will also save us a lot of time and money on goat feed, housing, etc.

As for the chickens, we won't be getting rid of them. We'll be able to sell more eggs and we also really like how they do a great job eating our food scraps and the chickens also provide a lot of entertainment and companionship.

Now to figure out if the family will be eating two separate meals or if we'll all convert to vegans. I'm all for the conversion to a mostly vegan RAW diet. But's it's easier for me to do it, since I have health issue, which makes for motivation. It will be interesting to see how the meals all work out. The boys sure like their meat!

What we're up to this week

2010-08-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

We went down to the Ape Caves (Mt St Helen's lava tubes) this weekend. We had a great time visiting with family and friends that joined us, and had a blast exploring the dark lava tubes underground. We camped at a camp ground along the Lewis River. Of course we had to go play in the mud.

After quickly packing up camp this morning we headed home to meet with the man who was buying our untamed and horned goats to eat down the brush on his property. I September we'll be started over in our goat endeavor with two new, tame, and de-horned goats.

Then we spent all the extra energy we could muster to can up two batches of tomatoes. Hence the reason I'm still up this late. Only the die hard caners can when it's 95 degrees outside! When it's that hot we use the propane burner outside on the side of our BBQ.

Beard, here and gone

2010-08-10T15:09:00.001-07:00

For family who wanted to see.
Here's Keiths 5 week old beard. We shaved it off today. I think it looked good on him, but the owner didn't like the feeling, and feeling good about how you look is more important. So off it came. I'm proud of him sticking it out for a full 5 weeks. I'm sure thankfull I don't have facial hair to shave off every day, what a pain! If I were a guy, I'd probably have a beard, just because I would be lazy.

Thankfulness

2010-08-08T21:49:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like I get so far off track on life. Why? Who knows how or why I do it......all I know is that I feel like sometimes I just wake up and shake myself back to reality and wonder where I've been lost.

Yes, I blog for myself, if others read it and they get a smile or a kind reminder about life, then that's wonderful too. You never know where my blog bantering may lead. :)

Sometimes I get lost in the world of "I wants" and "if only I had this" and "someday I'll have ____ (deck, patio, nice yard, more time, more money, you get the point)"
Then I wake up and look around me and think to myself how blessed, lucky, fortunate, and most of all grateful I am to have what I do have. Boy am I blessed! Life really can't get better.

I struggle sometimes with contentment, I always strive to improve my surroundings, yet I don't try to live like the average American ie large house, fancy car, designer jeans, etc. It's an odd combination. Sometime I just get in a funk and get tired of things being unfinished in the house, unfinished in the yard, etc, etc. Life's the jurney, not the destination, right? After all, once all my projects were finished, I'd just make up more. I'm a dreamer, what can I say. :)

When it comes down to the important stuff I have all I could ask for......above all, God's grace, a wonderful family, a roof over my head, food in the garden and in the cupboards, a car that drives, a job, and improving health.

And when it comes to the important things, what I really want more time for is.....time with my family, time to be in God's word and time outside in God's marvelous creation.

Note to self.........life is much happier when you look at the things you DO have and not the things you don't have.
Live a life filled with thanksgiving and gratefulness, it's a lot more fun that way!

Washington Old Time Fiddles Association

2010-07-31T14:50:00.000-07:00

The kids and I are headed off for a week at the WOTFA workshops and classes, in Ellensburg, WA. We'll have a great time and also relax a bit. Along with music playing, there will also square dancing, jamming, etc. We'll be camping out for the week in the hot sun, thank goodness the classrooms we'll be in are air conditioned.
The hubby will be holding down the farm for the week.

Pics in a week or so!

The government is hurting the American Society

2010-07-30T11:12:00.000-07:00

I'm so frustrated right now I could explode. For some reason I've been extremely irritable as of lately. I have a fairly calm demeanor, so I think something is out of whack. And no, I'm not pregnant, I checked, but that's how out of whack I feel my hormones are.

But what I really wanted to vent about is our government. Our government supports and encourages women to not get married and to not make money and to have a lot of children. Now I agree that we should have children and stay home and be the best mother possible, but it's not the same way the government sees it.

My frustration comes from the fact that I work in the social field with low income clients.

Here are some comparisons that run through my head and make my blood boil.............

Many of my clients work at low income jobs with no education, then they are eligible for housing grants and also for enrolment in the federal HUD program. Where the less you make, the more they give you. I do home inspections on large, beautiful, new, homes that my clients rent for $300 a month, the boyfriend works at McDonald's. The mother of course won't ever marry this man she has two children with, because then she would loose her DSHS cash help of $350 per month, her food benefits of at least $550 a month (she only has a toddler and a baby, they don't need that much food), and her HUD help which covers about 700-800 dollars in rent a month. And lets not forget the FREE Medicare health benefits. And mom's only real income is social security for her daughter because she has fetal alcohol syndrome, hmmmm, guess how she got that? Staying home and taking care of her own children is not a high priority.

Here's the contrast...........

We are an average family, both college educated, with school loans to pay off, living on one income and a half (I work part time). We struggle to keep our food budget in close check every month, and it's set for $400 a month. I home school our two children even though I have to work part time, in order for them to receive a better education then the one offered in our public schools, and to grow up knowing God's love and grace. I yearn for more time with my family, they still only get part of me when I'm not focused on doing my part time job that I have to fit in here and there when I get a spare moment! We live in a half finished, old, falling apart house, because we can't afford anything nicer. We just got married and plan to have more children, which means a drop in income for me. So now we have to struggle a bit more to make all the ends meet and to stick to our budget.

Four or five years ago, when I was a single mom and working three different jobs, I received food benefits from the government. At one point I made three dollars to much that month and they took away $100 of food. The social worker at the time said I should work less, then I won't loose my food benefits. That's when I lost it and said I would never use the government's help again.

The people who make the choice not to get help from the government take the hard route. And our reasoning? Independence, stubbornness, sweat equity, loyalty, honesty, integrity.............

The programs available are supposed to help you get on your feet in a time of need, not to make a comfortable lifestyle for you.

If I choose to not get married, to quit my part time job and live on child support alone, the government would be there to help me. I'd probably have a nice home, a fat belly from eating good food the government has bought for me, because of course I'd be able to increase my food budget. Is that a good thing? Look what kind of a society it has created!! Heck, I could even still stay with my partner, have more kids, and then the government would give me even more money! I want to scream, "But what about our families?!!!!!!"

The government is to blame for our needy, slothful, take-take American society!! And our government is to blame of our lack of strong families in our American society.

Why has our government created this?

Where's the support for the hard workers who work an honest living and pay tons of money in health insurance (it's required now of course, or we get fined) just to try to have a good life for his/her family? All they get in return is higher taxes, less support, and they become a slave to their job, all for the government and schools to corrupt their children and pull them down into the spiral of government help. Subsidize this and that. It's easy to to slide down there, it's comfy after all and then I could spend time with the kids more if I lived off the government, no more medical insurance to pay for, no more medical bills, better and cheaper housing, more food money to spend.

Where do you go if you want to be encouraged to work less, save nothing, and buy more food? the good 'ol US of A!!

So what's one to do when they sit on the fence and stare down the slippery slope of government help? I'm an extreme thinker, so here are two extremes....

More away to another country where they don't support laziness, or move off the grid into the woods and stay as far away from society and the government as possible.

Or ride the wave down; quit your job, apply for benefits, apply for subsidized housing from the government, get lots of food stamps to spend, be on the constant look out for grants available, and special help for those in need.

In the meantime for the people stuck in the middle....stay sane, enjoy your family, plant a big garden, be as self sufficient as you can (because some is better then none), make on honest living, and above all........be content where you are in life and with what you have. If you're on the edge and don't want to slide down, first thing is to stop looking around at what everyone else has whether it's the ultimate American dream, or the others living the high life off the government (our hard earned money). Keep your eyes on the Almighty!

For parents..........time with your family/kids is more important then money, any day.

As a side note: I know that are many people out there that truly have disabilities that don't allow them to fully live life, the problem is, there really isn't that much government help for those that are really in need. And receiving benefits can temporarily help out a family going through a rough patch of life, just don't make it the rest of your life.

The twins feeding the twins!

2010-07-22T19:53:00.001-07:00

We're helping out some friends by temporarily babysitting their baby goats until they can sell them. The kids are having fun bottle feeding them three times a day. We've had them for about a week now and they're about 6 weeks old. It's funny because they are also boy/girl twins.

Romeo and Sugar and purebred lamanche goats. It's also nice having some very tame goats around our goats who are still a bit skittish, although they're coming around to us with many bribes. And our goats get to teach the little ones how to eat grass. It's time to start weaning them off the bottle now.

Inspiration !!!!

2010-07-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

So I've been so inspired as of lately to talk to people about the importance of creating their own "paradise" so to speak for their family.

I think I want to start a movement called "Back to the Garden". I'm sure there's already one out there, but oh well.

Think of it......living like God intended us to live.....in nature, surrounded by plants and our family. What's more important at the end of our lives then that? And think if everyone started planting a garden, putting in fruit trees, berry bushes, etc, to feed their family. Think about how connected the family would be through all the working together, and the memories they would make planting, tending, watering, playing together, etc.

One important step of course would be for the parents goal to be to leave the property/home in the family always. Even if that meant having multiple generations living on the same property or in the same home. And the other part would be for the adult children to not sell the home when the parents pass away, etc. That would have to take a large shift in our society to not be so selfish, but it's possible.

If we all had our little "paradise" in our backyard, whether is was a tenth of an acre, an acre, ten acres, or 360 acres, the entire family would benefit. They would benefit nutritionally, emotionally, physically, and socially. And we would have a better connection to God, who created all the wonderful things the earth has to offer, the earth itself, and also to our family and community.

So why isn't this happening in and around our world more often? I often ponder questions like this. Sometime we as humans make life so difficult for ourselves. It should really be quite simple.

I wish I grew up with that type of connection, all I can do now is create a paradise with and for my family, so I can leave a legacy for my children and their future children.

More to come I'm sure...................................................................

Our trip to the Grist Mill in Woodland, WA

2010-07-11T13:09:00.000-07:00

Ever since we took our engagement pictures at this mill, we've been wanting to go back and bring the kids. We also went with our cousins, aunt and uncle, from Portland.

The covered bridge next to the mill

My sweet husband

The river powering the mill.

Spillway from the Mill

The kids with their cousin Naomi, wiht the mill in the background

Fresh ground flour to make yummy recipies. We came home with two types of wheat flour and also fresh ground corn meal.

The water powered grist mill, very cool to watch it in action.

Mt. Hood, from a moving car on the way to Portland

What's new for the end of June?

2010-06-24T21:39:00.000-07:00

Here are some things going on around our little urban farm.

The broccoli is finally big enough to start cutting.

We ate some fresh for dinner and then froze the rest.
Here's our first official picking of strawberries.
This doesn't count what we've been eating along the way in the past few weeks.
Again these were frozen and put into freezer containers for future use.

The baby ducks are getting big.

Here are our new goats that haven't been raised by people.

They're eating out of our hands now and allowing us to pet them.

Slowing but surely they're coming around.

Here's the mama chicken with her baby ducks. They're as tall as she is now.

It's so funny to watch them follow her around.

A fun Father's Day weekend

2010-06-21T15:24:00.000-07:00

For Father's Day we went camping up at Lake Cuchman friday through Sunday. It turned out to be a nice weekend, and thank goodness it didn't rain as much as it was supposed to. We all had a great time and of course took advantage of the lake and went kayaking. The kids were excited because they recently purchased their own kayak. It's "Spray" the orange-red-yellow one.

Fun times!!

The kids baught daddy a new bird feeder for Father's Day!

He's sure loves his birds, expecially the finches.

Update

2010-06-09T19:20:00.000-07:00

Since we've been back from our honeymoon, we thought life would slow down a bit. Well, we're still waiting. I guess it's all a choice really, but some things just have to be taken care of.
So what have we been doing in the last week and a half, you ask?

First off, hubby has had to work almost every day since we got home, including the weekend. When he did have Tuesday off, I had to do a bunch of work and then we made a made dash to finish unfinished errands, pick up left over stuff from the wedding, use some of our gift cards from the wedding (that part was wonderful, we have a pretty bed set now, comforter, etc) return un-used items from the wedding.
Thank you cards
the ducks hatched
two new goats
a strawberry box to finish (22' x 4' and 3 1/2 ' tall) not a little task
finance budgeting in order to transition onto one income
not to mention the normal stuff that has to be done, work , schooling, etc
Oh yes, oodles of name change forms, tax stuff, home titles, insurance, etc, etc, the list goes on...
the garden is finally growing well, as are the weeds
The lawn is also turning into a jungle.

Ok well, that's enough venting right now. I need to go get something more productive finished.

The baby ducks have arrived!

2010-06-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

The baby ducks were born on 6/4/2010
Two of them hatched succesfully after being incubated by a bantam chicken for 28 days. And now mama chicken is being a wonderful mother to the ducklings.
Something you don't get to see every day
Enjoy!

Back from our honeymoon!

2010-05-31T08:13:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from our honeymoon cruise to Alaska. The weather was absolutely wonderful, we enjoyed the spa daily, had awesome activities planned for each day, and of course ate like a king and queen.
All of the pictures (there are a lot of them) are now loaded onto our sharesite located at http://hmmsharsite.shutterfly.com

Spring Baseball

2010-05-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

William finally got to play spring baseball this year. We've had fun (when the weather cooperated). There were definately some days we would have rather been at home then piled under blankes and umbrellas watching the game. But then when the nice days come it's all worth it.
He's having a lot of fun! In their league they get a chance to play all different positions. Will has wonderful hand-eye-cordination, and hits the ball almost every time. It's funny though how serious he is when he plays. And sometimes when the ball is hit to him in the outfield, he's so worried about making a wrong throw that he freezes up and doesn't know where to thow it. But he's working on it. And the most imortant thing is that he has fun!

Trying his hand at being the catcher, so cute!

Progress on the raised beds

2010-05-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

We've been slowly but surely converting our garden area into 4x4 raised beds. The goal is to save water, less maintenance, and easier weeding.

For Mother's Day the kids built and painted some flower boxes. Some of the yard garden is seen behind them.

Still shoveling dirt

16 boxes in. All we need now is bark for the rows.

With the flowerboxes on the edge. I can't wait until it's all growing!!

Seaside, OR

2010-05-08T16:05:00.000-07:00

I have some catch-up blogging to do. Life's been a little busy :)

With only two weeks until the wedding, we've been busy wrapping up the last minute details. No matter how much you plan, there are always last minute things.

But we still managed to take some time for a "breather" and went to Seaside, OR for a few days. Although the weather was a bit crummy, windy and rainy (Oh ya, it's the beach, when isn't it windy and rainy?) we still had a great time relaxing and exploring. We went to the Seaside aquarium, played on the beach, and went to Fort Clatsop, were Lewis and Clark wintered over before their return trip home.

The kids doing their Jr. Ranger assignment to earn their badges at Fort Clatsop

Kite flying

hanging out at the beach boardwalk

Seals at the aquarium

The experiment

2010-04-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

For science today the kids made a little car drive using baking soda and vinegar.

I haven't posted much lately, as we've been very busy planning the wedding. 22 days to go!

I just had to share

2010-04-17T15:19:00.000-07:00

Little tidbits of information........

Raised beds

2010-04-11T20:07:00.000-07:00

With the weather getting a little nicer today we finally got around to putting in the raised beds in the garden. I've been wanting to do this for a few years now. It's a large undertaking but I think it will make weeding easier, less overall maintenance, and less water waste.
That's the hope anyway. 19 - 4'x4' raised beds in a fenced area approximately 30' by 30'.

It's a lot of dirt to move, as we're trying to use as much as we can from the existing garden space, so we don't have to purchase as much.

I'm tired, but feel good that we got 5 done today.

Saving money is like going on a diet

2010-04-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

As a soon to be bride, both subjects are close to my heart right now.

Really, they are very similar.
As we've been putting a lot of focus on our long term budget this week, it occurred to me that saving is like going on a diet. How?

Well. First you have to account for all that you spend..........and eat.

Then you notice where there's room for improvement on what you purchase.........and what you put into your body.

Next you need to examine how much you want to save.........make a goal, just like figuring out what your goal weight is.

Then you put together a reasonable budget.............or a food plan.

Next, that hardest part of it all, you need to diligently, every day, and every moment, examine what you spend.......or what you put into your body.

Is it quality? It is going to add to my life rather them take away from my life? Am I going to get long term (not short term) enjoyment from it?

We don't want to spend our money on junk, just like we don't want to put junk into our bodies, In both instances, all it does is weigh (ha, ha) you down and clutter your life. Is it necessary?

But to get long term great results, for both saving and dieting (reaching your goal weight, or staying healthy) you have to do it slow and steady. There is no short cut, no easy route, just patience and perseverance. You will thank yourself when you plan for your future retirement, as you will when you feel great and have a healthy body image.

Keep it up for the long haul.

Happy Resurection Sunday!!

2010-04-04T15:34:00.000-07:00

preview of engagement photos

2010-03-25T10:31:00.000-07:00

http://kikasphotography.blogspot.com/

Here's the link to preview some of our engagement photo's we took last weekend.

enjoy, Heather

Two more months...........

2010-03-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

Until the big day!!!
The wedding plans are all being finalized and finished up.
We did our official engagement pictures over the weekend (we be able to share them in about two weeks), and today I take my dress in to get fitted and tailored.
Yeah!!!!

Prayer

2010-03-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

I pray for contentment.
There are so many people in the world, and even our town that don't have much at all. And sometimes I get frustrated that I don't have the funds to fix the roof, build a patio and deck, and re-side the house. Well, those things aren't the things that make a person happy. Have a happy and hopeful attitude and having family is what counts. And in that respect I'm such a lucky lady!
So I pray that I stop wanting more and start being content for what I do have. Even if that means living with a leaky roof and an ugly house. I have my family, I'm happy, I get to spent time with my kids and not have someone else raising them. And I have a man that is home every evening. I'm thankful for all those things!
Amen.

Leavenworth, WA

2010-03-16T13:09:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend relaxing in Leavenworth, WA. We played on the Wenachee river, went mini golfing, went snow showing, visited some wineries, spent time downtown in the Bavarian Village, and soaked in the hot tub.

Here are some pictures from our trip.
For some reason I think that when I'm on vacation I don't have to stick to my good eating habits, and I also get my kids a few extra goodies for the vacation. I guess it's not to bad. But my, that fudge factory was sure yummy!! My body wasn't in too much pain, but my belly isn't happy with me.
Back at it this week!! Green Smoothies are the best!!

What a view!

The weather was beautiful but a bit chilly while we were there.

Last snow shoeing for the season.

Speeding and it's consequences

2010-03-09T16:47:00.000-08:00

I'm so lucky to have a wonderful partner that obeys the laws/rules, all the time. And when it comes to speeding while I drive, well......... I'm getting better at it, especially as of the last year. But I still drive about 4 miles over the speed limit most of the time. It's "safe" right? It's a well known fact that a police won't pull you over if your only going 4 miles an hour over. Right????

What message does that give our children? What message does that portray about our character? Hmmm. You might say, "it's only a little bit over."

Well, it's still breaking the law. Is it ok to break some laws, and not others?

Do we want our kids to listen and be obedient to us the first time we tell them to do something, or not until we tell them the 2nd, third, or fourth time? How many "warnings" do you give your child when they don't listen?

Do you want your child to be obedient only when mom or dad (the police) are actively watching?

My eyes have been opened, and I've seen the errors of my ways, as insignificant as some may see it! I wonder what will be revealed to me next? Good thing I never stop learning.

I'm going to do my best to obey ALL laws the government has made for us, and set an example for my children and people around me. And I expect my children to learn to obey all of the rules, including the house rules, whether I'm watching or not.

It's the little everyday choices we make that develop our character. And talking to your children about why we make those choices is equally important.

From an article I was reading

2010-03-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

A conversation between two Amish young ladies, who had lived in the "regular world" beforehand. They were having a discussiong while doing an all day chore of laundry, about balencing it out in life.

"You can be English and not have a TV, but we would still need electricity for the washer if we didn't want to do all this by hand."

"And the plumbing, " added Liddy, "don't forget, the machine needs water." I had forgotten; it had been awhile since I'd used a washer. Wringing water from long aprons, we reasoned that you would need an outside job to pay for that. Maybe we could work part-time to make just enough to keep the washer and dryer going. But then, in order to get to work every day, we would need a car- that notorious consumer of oil, insurance, and repairs.

Taking sun-dried trousers off the line and into the house, we came to the conclusion that when all was said and done, a full-time outside job was needed in order to avoid doing laundry by hand."

I find it interesting that you really do need at least one full time job in the family, just to live these days. That is, have a house, running water, electricity, car insurance, gas to drive to work and the grocery store. So........if we didn't need all those things, then we would be able to live simply and not have to be a slave to a job that takes us away from our family, just so we can have a nicer house, car, etc, and then the cycle continues. Sigh.

I think the goal should be to live as simply as possible so you don't end up having to be a slave to your our things. Growing more food at home, shopping once a month instead of twice a week, fixing clothes, passing down used clothes, using less stuff, using only what you NEED to, and not more (and that means, food, clothes, power, etc.)
But then there's the fine line of what type of lifestyle you want to have or portray. Most people don't want to live in a yurt that doesn't have power or elctricity to it. Because that means, work! And there's the line. If the Amish girls choose to not do their own laundry by hand, and instead choose to get a job to pay for plumbing and power, they are still having to work to do their laundry, it's just in a different form. And that different form of work is what defines what type of lifestyle we want to have.

Sound simple, doesn't it. But we all know it's not!!

Enjoy working with your hands!

The kids' new hobby

2010-03-02T16:09:00.000-08:00

We did a sewing project so work on sewing skills, math, and arts. Well, now the kids want to sew every day. I wish I could sew every day too, but we have a lot of other things to do. They designed it themselves, made the patterns, and sewed it up. They made journal covers for themselves.
I'm so glad they enjoyed it. Although for me it was a look ahead as to how they will do when they learn to drive! Enjoy the pics!

Family budgeting

2010-02-28T20:32:00.000-08:00

I'm so lucky that have a wonderful "soon to be" husband that's very good with details and money budgeting.

September 2009 I switched jobs to only work part time, and in doing so I dropped my income about $1000 per month, that's a big drop. Well, I don't think my spending reflected my drop in income as well is it should have. I'm not even a big spender, but all those little things add up quickly. I have to often remind myself of the lifestyle I lived when I was a single mom, working three jobs and still not bringing in a lot of money, we always had free fun and my mortgage was always paid. If I did it then, I can certainly adopt some of those things again. Sometimes having a decent job spoils you.

So starting in Jan 2010 we've been planing our budgeting together as a family of four and looking into the future when we'll be married, I'll be home with more kids, and we'll be living on one income. So in order for that to become a reality, we've started tracking and budgeting our money to get us to that place.

Of course we're paying for our wedding and honeymoon on our own, so that's a big ticket item/items that we want to get paid for.

Last week my wonderful sweetie showed me the spreadsheet from January with details on my spending for the family (not including wedding items), and I felt a pain of uggggg, not guilt, just uggg. Wow, I didn't realize how much I was spending on things that I really didn't need. And let me remind you that he only showed me the misc items, not the budgeted amounts for food, housing, and other fixed bills. As we're doing fine in that regards.

So, I'm happy to say that we went over the final spreadsheet for Feb this evening, and I cut my expenses in half. Yeah!!!!! And it wasn't that hard. I think the month of March should even be less.

You don't need money to have fun, and even when you have the money to do so, the funnest things are still usually the free ones.

God's words

2010-02-25T20:09:00.000-08:00

I've really been diving into the Bible the past few days and realizing that there are many things that are written in the New Testament that many Chirstian families and the churches do not teach or follow. And there is controversy out there, even within the "commentary" in my study Bible about the reasons for the Apostles to write to the different churches in the New Testament time and for them to be included in the Bible. It seems that some people think those were written for only those Churches and that if your "church" was not dealing with the same issues that that particular church was dealing with, then it does not pertain to you.

Well, what is written in the Bible is for all, today, yesterday, and tomorrow. We need to believe and obey ALL of what God says, and not pick or choose what to obey. Of course He says we are free from the Law, but there are many, many things that God has very clear instructions for that He makes very clear in the NT books.

My eyes have been opened to things I didn't understand before, I guess I wasn't ready. I've been doing a lot of praying, writing in my prayer journal, and asking questions to other followers. We'll see where this road leads. I know for sure it will lead me closer and closer to God! I need to depend on Him for everything, and have more faith for all areas of my life.

It's easy when you have the means to buy and do things that you want or need, but then you are not trusting God to do much in your life When you 'have it all' and 'can take care of it on your own', what's there left for God to do?

That's all for my thoughts today, at least that's all I'm going to write. :)

fibro's ugly head popped into my life today......grrrrr!

2010-02-20T17:52:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been awhile.
I can't even type straight right now because my body and brain are out of whack.
Why? I think it's a combonation of .........life.
I got stressed out this week. I had a little too much sugar. I had wonderful wheat breadsticks at the Olive Garden, but my body didn'tlike it. I drove to Seattle with the kids one day, I had deadlines for work, schooling, and my extracurricular activities that I may have sign up to do too much on.
Either way I look at it. , I failed my body. I'll be better in a few days. At least this is not what life is like every day. Useless and in pain.

Kitchen make over for under $150

2010-02-15T20:48:00.000-08:00

I was worried at first that red might make it look smaller, because the kitchen is so small, but I was wrong! It's beautiful !

I was scrubbing icky , sticky, gross, grease build up on the wall behind the stove.

We're not quite finished, but I couldn't wait to share. I'm still going to make some curtains for the window, put in a curtain over two spaces where there aren't any cabinet doors, and we plan on putting a fresh coat of white paint on the coupboard doors, and new white knobs.

RAW for dinner

2010-02-13T09:03:00.000-08:00

Not my actual photo, but it looked similar

Yesterday morning when I asked what everyone wanted for dinner, I had a request for everything RAW. OK, yeah! We'll ALL eat RAW for dinner.

I decided to make RAW tacos, using lettuce leaves and purple cabbage leaves for the shell, the inside was a mixture of soaked sunflower seeds, tomatoes, taco seasonings, and onions. Then we topped it off with avocado slices, tomato, and salsa (um, the salsa wasn't technically RAW, but it was without preservatives).

The kids didn't complain too much for about the different dish, but they said it wasn't their "favorite".

Then I made some mostly RAW fudge brownies for desert.

I mixed all the below in a food processor, with the nuts going in first.

1 c almonds

1 c macadamia nuts

1 cups medjool dates (pitted)

1/2 c cocoa powder (recipe calls for cacao powder, but I don't use it as it's highly addictive and a stimulant)

After I processes it all I put it into a plastic lined 8x8 pan and stuck it in the freezer. When partially frozen it cuts into squares easily. Then I usually put the frozen squares into another covered container and keep in the freezer and just take out what I need or want.

If your family isn't into eating everything RAW all the time, which most aren't, just try to substitute someting RAW into something familiar. Make sure they are eating cut vegies with their lunches rather then fruit (save that for the mornings or snack), use large lettuce leaves instead of bread for a tuna or sandwich wrap, just like you would use a tortilla. For dessert in the evening make a yummy and pretty fruit parfeit.

I also recomend for everyone's health substituting wheat products with gluten free products. More people have a gluten intolerance then they think. Give your digestive system a rest from gluten products for two weeks (oats, barley, and wheat) and see how your body likes it. If you decide to introduce gluten products back into your system, does your stomache hurt, or does your mouth get a lot of saliva in it after eating wheat products?

Our family is still half and half. The girls don't tolerate gluten products very well, and the boys are transitioning. The key is to finding good recipies that work, one example is substituting a good gluten free pancake recipie, and a gluten free or at least sprouted wheat bread to purchase rather then the regular wheat bread.

Happy eating!

Love your body by putting good things into it! You deserve it!

What's for dinner?

2010-02-10T18:37:00.001-08:00

It's so great to come home after a busy day, and not thinking or preparing what I'm going to make for dinner, and just put a bunch of stuff in a pot and make a yummy soup.

I went into the pantry and grabbed:
some canned tomatoes (from our garden)
some squash (from our garden)
potatoes (from our garden)

and then threw in some onions, garlic (from our friends garden), celery, some rice noodles, some leftover beans from last nights dinner, some spices, and vwaa, laa, dinner!

The rule of thumb is to shop at home first, pantry, freezer, and fridge, and use what's available. Most times you can get pretty creative and put something yummy together. Plus then you don't have to worry about running off to the store to get a missing ingredient, and it's also good for purdging through some things that might "need" to be eaten before it goes bad or freezer burned.

New colors

2010-02-07T18:31:00.000-08:00

We don't have money to re-do the entire kitchen, so we did the next best thing, paint it with some color. We have a very small kitchen, so I was a bit afraid to do dark, but we took the plunge and painted it a deep red color. Wow! It looks better then I imagined it would.

Now of course now we need to paint the adjacent living room and dinning room so they all go together, and no they won't all be red. I'll get some pictures posted soon.

We also put in five new (from the Re-Store) light fixtures in the house to update the very outdated and ugly ones that were there. And put in a plant and rearranged the living room. It's always good to have a change once and awhile.

Garden update: The radishes, peas, lettuce and chard I put in the two cold frames have sprouted already; we put in three more fruit trees, all semi-dwarf, an apple, pear and cherry; we made a larger compost bin near the garden. And we've planned out where and how to get the "community garden" up and running.

Homeschool update: My classes I've taught to our homeschool group are coming to a close, one more week, and all the 17 kids loved learning about environmental science. I would keep teaching, but with my schedule, homeschooling at home, working part time, my community involvement, and wedding planning I think I have enough on my plate for now. The kids are excelling in their reading and are enjoying their new wildlife books. Hailey has started and is liking violin lesson and Will starts baseball in March. Wheew!

That's all for now!!

The food we eat!

2010-02-01T20:13:00.000-08:00

Wow !
We house sat over the weekend and all I can say is, I'm glad we don't eat like most other Americans. There's a reason they call it the SAD diet. Standard American Diet. It was sort of an eye opening experience.

The family we were sitting for said we could eat food that was in the house. We each looked around the house to see what we could eat....umm....there wasn't anything. Luckily we had asked them to get us some fruit for the weekend. If being picky about what kinds of healthy food enter your body is spoiled, then I guess we're spoiled.

We looked in the pantry, all processed canned food, we looked in the fridge, again processed cheese, ugh, milk (we don't do milk), salad, oh maybe we would like that. We open it up to find iceberg lettuce with some old dried up radish type things in them, I guess that's how the store sells salad. Even the kids made a funny face at the cardboard, er, salad we had for dinner. And then I did one of those "steam in the bag" veggie mixed in the nucularizer (microwave). I felt so removed from the process it made me sad. Not to mention the limpish "steamed" veggies we ate.

I think once you grow your own food, you really can't go back to the store bought, processes, bagged stuff. I realized how proud I am of my family for eating well. And please don't think that we don't enjoy the occasional sweets and pies, in moderation of course. And we don't stress total elimination or deprivation of anything. No, my kids don't drink soda at home, but they are allowed to have some when/if we go out somewhere sometimes. I don't want them to turn into kids that go sneak soda and treats at friends' house because they are forbidden at home, just to feel a load of guilt about it later. We don't roll that way. I think the guilt would be worse for their health then the treat.

Happy eating!!!

Make wise choices...... as you pick up that food, and before it enters your mouth, ask yourself, "is this going to nurish my body?" If it's no, just lower your hand and drop the food.

Remember, if you feed your body junk, your going to feel like junk.

Seeds, seeds, glorious seeds.

2010-01-30T22:11:00.000-08:00

Well, as the eatside of the states is being hit with record low temps, we over on the westside of the states have had one of the warmest January's on record.

So what are we to do........start the seeds early.......why not?

With our weird and wacky weather we've have in the past few years, and it's only getting worse, who knows, it might snow in April. But I'm banking on a warm spring and summer this year, so why not get a jump start on planting.

The other day we put out radishes, spinach, Swiss chard, peas and lettuce into two of the covered boxes. One is covered with an old 4'x4' window, the other has a plastic hoop house over it. I'm excited to see when and if anything comes up. I don't know why it shouldn't.

We're throwing around the idea of getting the community garden up and running on our property. So I've been researching the idea and getting spring fever.

ta, ta for now!!

A new pet in the house

2010-01-25T23:01:00.001-08:00

We can turn just about anything into a homeschool project.
The kids were given a dwarf hamster from their great grandma last weekend. They've really enjoyed taking care of him, learning about him, and yeah.... writing about him. Luckily they didn't need much prodding to make a giant book about their new hamster Cuddles. They even put in an index. Way more fun then writing about something boring!

The Simple Pleasures!

2010-01-18T17:20:00.000-08:00

We have 5 laying hens, and today we got five eggs! I almost needed a small basket. :)

In the winter egg production usually slows down.

Lord, thank You for the bounty You provide in abundance!

I know I need to focus more on those small but wonderful things in life.

Why don't I get to sleep on time?

2010-01-15T22:25:00.000-08:00

Ok there are a few reasons.........

1)When my other half has to work nights all week and then sleeps all day and the rest of the family is home all day long, playing, homeschooling, cleaning, etc and "trying" to be quiet. Well, then for some odd reason I have to balance it out in the evening when "I" get quiet time, without having to shush anyone.

2) When I'm planning a wedding!! I have too many good ideas rolling around in my head, and research needs to be done!!!!

3) I've made a bad habit of staying up late and now my body is used to it.

4) I don't have the excuse that I need to get up early in the morning to workout, since I haven't been, since my wonderfulness isn't home to watch the kids at 6am when he does graveyard shift.

By the way, all of the excuses above are why I'm still not in bed.

I know how good sleep is for me.

Shift work is hard on the whole family when one person has to work it. There should be a rule that if they have a family with young children, they should be exempt from night shift.

Next week will be better! ;)

Fasting

2010-01-10T20:32:00.001-08:00

Our church is doing a corporate fast for 21 day, starting tomorrow.

I am fasting from eating after dinner time. I'm never really hungry after dinner, I just munch sometimes. So instead of this bad habit I have, I will pray instead and give it up for God during the fast.

A fast doesn't count unless you are giving something up that means something to you. If it was easy to do, then it wouldn't be a fast.

It will be a challenge, but I know I can do it.

Please pray for me. During this deliberate giving up of something, I hope that God will work on me spiritually, reveal things that need revealing, etc.

"The Call to Brilliance" by Resa Steindel

2010-01-09T10:14:00.000-08:00

I finished reading a good book called "The Call to Brilliance" by Resa Steindel.

It's about a teacher/mom/woman's journey in homeschooling her children and navigating the "system". It's a great story and a good read. Below I scanned and pasted in the last page of her book. I found it to be very inspiring and reminded me of why I started (although I'm not anymore) working within the public school system. As the Education Advocate for the school district it was my job to find out why kids weren't going to school and how to help the students, parents, and teachers, and principles to have better success in the school setting.

It was a difficult and hard quest, teachers are stuck between two very hard places, the state rules and their curriculum. Teachers have little to no time to build a relationship with the students and no room to be creative in the classrooms, let alone make learning fun and interesting. Unfortunately for too many schools it's about teaching the students to place higher on the standardized tests so the school can meet their AYP's (Annual Yearly Progress) and in return they can get more money. Well, guess what, that system doesn't teach kids anything, and most teachers don't like their jobs, but like their benefits.

Of course there are teachers out there who are trying to make a difference. And those should be highly praised in the school system, unfortunately they are not. they are instead looked at as being too invested into their students and "caring too much". It makes me sad.

I ruffled a lot of feather in my position as an education advocate, and yes, some teachers, principals, parents, and even a few superintendents started to get the bigger picture. But unfortunately my position was cut by budget cuts and now they all wish I was still there to support them all.

This is why I home school!
Sorry it's not very clear, I couldn't get it to scan into Word.

Snowshoeing and sleding at Mt Rainier

2010-01-05T17:20:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Paradise at Mount Rainier. We were all wanting some snow, so we made the two-hour trek up to the mountain. The snow up at Lake Cushman in the Olympics (near our house) wasn't low enough yet, so to the east we drove.

I was glad after coming up a steep ravine, in deep snow, with snowshoes on, and not be in pain. I don't think I would have felt so well if I hadn't started working out again. I feel like it's all coming back to me, my strength and stamina it is. Happy New Year!!

New Years celebration!!

2010-01-01T17:22:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!! Hello 2010!!

To bring in the New Year we had a fun dinner with sushi, egg rolls, rice, and sparkling cider.

We made New Year crowns, decorations, pictures, and popcorn necklaces.

After dinner we played a few games, shot a few bottle rockets, shot a few inside poppers, and then......went to bed at a decent hour, 9pm.

I hope your your celebrations was fun and safe.

On to 2010!!

Food

2009-12-29T22:12:00.000-08:00

What would happen if we ate only whole, living, natural things that God created? I'm not even talking about everyone eating all RAW food only, or becoming a vegan. Just good 'ol whole foods, unpasteurized, unprocessed, unspoiled, the way nature made it.

If food from the store has a shelf life of more then a month on it, then what nutrients are we really getting from it when we put it in our bodies?

What if we made a choice to eat only what was created by God, for us? There's actually a lotto choose from. But that means whole grains, not the processed pasta. Whole fruits and vegetables, nut, seeds, in their most basic forms. Pick and eat (for some things anyway).

How would that change our relationship with food, or with God? Cereal is not made by God, but fresh fruit is. There's always a better to food to upgrade to. Ex: Cheap wheat bread, to a whole grain wheat, higher quality bread. It may cost a bit more. But you can also eat a bit less every time. We don't want to put garbage into our body.

Some things I wouldn't let enter my mouth, I allow my kids to eat, why? It starts at the store when the purchase is made. And who does the shopping, me.

It's almost too simple. Sometimes I think we as humans makes things to complex.

My goal for this New Year is to slowly eliminate some of the junk we put into our bodies. Our family does better then the average American (we garden, can, etc), but more can be done. This is my goal, I hope others can think about what they can do also to change what goes into their bodies. Just ask the question, did God make it?

Investing in you food is better in the long run then investing in a health insurance plan.

Celebrate! Celebrate!!

2009-12-24T10:34:00.000-08:00

Don't forget the reason we celebrate this wonderful time of year.......the birth of Jesus Christ!!

It's hard sometimes to get caught up in the rushing and spending of the season, but take a moment to thank God for the best present ever, His son.

Merry Christmas!!

Church play 2009

2009-12-20T13:56:00.000-08:00

We had our annual church kids play this morning. Hailey was choosen to be Mary, and William was a shepard who had lines to read. And our little neighbor girl was one of the many angels. They all did wonderful and had a fun time. Hailey was excited to have a "real" baby Jesus to hold.

Fruit of the Spirit with kids

2009-12-14T12:18:00.000-08:00

The kids are working on a Fruit of the Spirit lesson for their Bible study at home. We decided to make a large tree in their bedroom and make the branches and trunk using crumpled up paper bags. As we do the lessons on each of the fruit of the spirit (Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and self control) we add leaves for the corresponding branch. Then if I catch the kids doing a kind, loving, etc deed, I give them a "fruit" (a circle sticker, the kind used to make prices at a garage sale) to put on the tree. As you can see, we've only done three branches so far.

Oh, and here is Hailey's up-do hairstyle. I'm practicing for the wedding. I lack some of the "girly" skills ! I was pretty happy how it turned out for my first attempt. I did mine also, but since I did my own, it didn't turn out as well. Not to mention I used most of the bobby pins on Hailey's hair.

Stared working out again

2009-12-10T13:25:00.001-08:00

So I started working out again.

I was worried that my body might not like the idea and protest against me.

So far, so good! No protesting!

It's been a year and a half since I actually worked out.

I like jogging on the treadmill and remembering the days when I couldn't make it up a flight of stairs without stopping in the middle and then after getting to the top I was so tired I just wanted to lay down and sleep. Darn that fibro!

Our weather has been below 10 degrees in the morning for the past week, and I'm usually up and out feeding the animals with the kids in that weather. It wouldn't have even been possible last winter with the fibromyalgia. My muscles used to tighten up and the hurt the entire day after something like that.

I'm so blessed!!

New glasses

2009-12-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

Ok, here's the new glasses.
I'm still getting used to wearing them, at least I'm not so blind that I have to wear them all the time.
It sure was nice to be able to see signs clearer when I was driving home. Oh and much easier to read the computer screen. :)

I didn't know how well I couldn't see until I could see!

I keep sliding them down and seeing the fuzzy I used to see, and saying "wow".

Not too bad.

A Quote

2009-12-07T14:17:00.001-08:00

If we continue to send our children to Caesar for their education, we need to stop being surprised when they come home as Romans. ~Dr. Voddie Baucham

minimizing and siplifying

2009-12-07T08:15:00.000-08:00

Living simple should be simple right?

Then why is it so difficult? why do I always seem to have paper laying all over the place, toys all around, office stuff everywhere, homeschool supplies all over the place?
This really isn't how I want it to be!
Grrrrr!!!

More time to sit around together and work on projects, more time to sit and read together, more time to play games.
Less time cleaning, organizing, and putting things away.

Ok I'm going to spend a half an hour every morning de-cluttering, and getting organized.
I'm going to ask myself, do I need it? do I love it? Does it add value to my life?
If not, then it's gone!

What do I do with all the books?

By the way, I was up early this morning, I went and worked out, and I'm feeling good!!

I went in for a vision test today......

2009-12-04T17:15:00.001-08:00

Uggg! I had to get glasses.

I've been putting off going to the eye doctor, as I don't have insurance.

And, well, things have been getting a little blurry.

sigh!

Discovery Bay and Thanksgiving

2009-12-02T19:12:00.000-08:00

We're back from our vacation to Discovery Bay near Port Townsend, WA.

We had a wonderful time playing on the beach, relaxing, swimming in the pool, visiting the bunkers at Fort Warden and Fort Flagler, going to the Olympic game farm, finding good yarn in the Port Townsend yarn shop, thrift store shopping, and spending Thanksgiving with family.

It was wonderful to be out in the middle of nowhere, with the closest chain store being 30 minutes or more away. There wasn't the slightest temptation to go to any black Friday sales. The Friday after Thanksgiving I was sleeping in and relaxing, just the way it should be.

Stopping for a boot pose

In the bunkers

Hiding in a cubby hole

More bunkers

Elk at the game farm

Grizzly bear, again at the game farm

The kids' Thanksgiving play for the grandparents

On the beach, it was really windy

Yep, that's a huge flashlight in my hand. We just finished going through some bunker tunnels.

How having Fibromyalgia has changed me

2009-11-18T21:29:00.000-08:00

The other day I was thinking about ways I've changed in the past year and a half, since Aug 2008 when my first symptoms hit me, literally hit me.

I used to feel like I could do anything, I mean anything! People used to label me as hard core. I was a good mom, but I also liked to go do fun things, push my body, hike, kayak, run, do triathlons. Even without doing those things, I could still stay up later and have time to read, and then it was no problem to get up early and go for a run, or just get up early and get things done around my house. It used to be like nothing to me. I could do all of it, and usually have energy left over! Sure, I would get tired sometimes, but not normally.

I think I've become softer, for lack of a better way to put it. I can't do all those things anymore. I get tired easier. I have to go to bed at a reasonable hour, I can't eat the same things I used to. My body doesn't respond the way it used to, to physical exsurtion, to stress, etc.

Along with the physical shift, I've also had to have a mental shift in how I see myself. Instead of that invincible, can do all, don't need help, go-go-go attitude, I'm aware of my own disabilities and capabilities.

It's not bad, just different. I've accepted it, I'm ok with it.

I think over all it's helped me to slow down, although I still need to slow down more. I see myself now in a gentler, slower pace way. I've been able to work on my inside me more, who I am spirtitally and emotionally.

I really have no choice but to accept (but not let it overtake) the way I am now. It's a fine balancing act. But if I didn't accept how I've changed, I think I would have to go through it from the begining again to learn the needed lesson. And I don't want to do that again!

People see me and say I look better and they think I've "beat" it and think I don't have to deal with it anymore.

I still have to deal with my symptoms every day, every hour, every minute. Whether it's the pain in my fingers, the stiffness in my neck and shoulders, my acute hearing, my creaking ankles, popping wrists, my tiredness, my sensitivity to foods and chemicals, or my forgetfulness.

It's all there. I just deal with it better. I hide it well from those who may not see me every day. But my loved ones know what I still deal with on a daily basis.

But above all, I have to remember that I'm a bit different then I used to be, but different isn't always bad.

My new swim suit

2009-11-16T21:25:00.000-08:00

I've been searching for a sporty, cute, but modest swim suit. I couldn't find one at stores, imagine that, so I made one. I haven't worked with the lycra fabric before, but I think it turned well, and it was actually quite easy. I found the pattern at http://www.modestswimwearsolutions.com/

I made it all black, as that's all my local fabric store carried. I think if I make one again I'll buy some fun fabric.

The Rooster's had to go - Viewer discretion advised!

2009-11-15T21:56:00.000-08:00

So, I had to laugh at myself this weekend. Here I am trying to be a RAW vegan, and I'm butchering some of my back yard chickens. What can I say? My kids knew exactly where their dinner came from Saturday evening. And no, I didn't wear a skirt to do the duty.

It had been about 15 years since either Keith or I had butchered chickens, but it all came back pretty quickly. The kids, including the neighbor kids, all got an anatomy lesson and they helped with the plucking. We also took the opportunity to talk to them about chicken factories, how "other" chickens are raised poorly and unhealthy, and why it's important to know where your food comes from .

He was actually screaming at me in the above picture.

I'm pretty sure he knew what was going on.

They were bantams, so they were pretty small.

I wonder what our neighbors think of us. We had a few strange looks as we were plucking chickens on our front porch.

And into the oven they go!

Chicken for dinner?

2009-11-11T08:43:00.000-08:00

The other morning I heard the creaking, croaking, sound of an adolecent chicken in full puberty trying to crow. Which means only one thing, that two of our young chickens are indeed roosters! Now there is no doubt about it!

And roosters are NOT allowed in the city.

So this weekend we'll be having fresh chicken for dinner.

Hmmm? Do I break my habit of not eating meat for some tasty farm fresh chicken? I just might!

Chicken Drama and Creaking Elbows

2009-11-02T13:56:00.000-08:00

We have some chicken drama going on here at Creekside City Farm!

We have a cannibalistic chicken. Yes, you read that right, we have a chicken actually picking the feathers off the other chickens and eating them!!!!

The first thought was the axe and oven. My son was really voting for that one, since it was his chicken getting picked on the most. Her rear was plucked bald and bleeding from one of the other chickens picking at her.

Vaseline was tried on the injured chicken's rear. It didn't work, it only evoked more picking and plucking from the other chickens. When I felt we were at a lost of what to do, and Internet searching ideas had failed us, we were blessing from far away with some farm girl knowledge. The wisdom came from Grammy in Big Sky country. She suggested we use good 'ol baby butt cream on the injured chicken's rear. "White, creamy, thick stuff works the best", we were told.

So off we went in our clogs and stocking caps for a walk to the local market to purchase some chicken butt cream. (The cashier looked at me funny, I wonder why?)

When we returned home I lathered the chicken's rear with the "unnamed" brand of thick , white, creamy,"lasts all night" bottom cream. And I, wanting to give the offending chicken another chance, stood up to the chicken hungry children and told them we were going to put the chicken in solitary confinement. Well, almost solitary. She was going to live with the ducks!

The ducks are bigger then her and I don't think she'll try to eat their feathers off. After all, don't cannibals only eat their own kind?

So we marched the chicken offender "Rocky" over to the duck pen, and put the chicken to bed without dinner.

The next morning the ducks were allowed to come out to play for the day like usual, but the chicken offender was still in time out, cooped up in the, um, coop.

The morning following the separation of the offender the rest of the chicken flock seemed happy and less stressed in their coop. It seems that removing the cannibal chicken was the best thing.
The injured chicken still had a creamy white rump, so the stuff stayed on all night just like the bottle stated. Maybe the stressed out litttle bantam chicken will start laying now that the cannibal chicken is out. I think the bantams were never picked bald because they are faster then the other victim and squawked louder when their feathers were snatched.

I hope you enjoyed some humor for the day!! It's all true!!

The plan is that the chicken offender "Rocky" will spend three days and nights in the duck pen cooped up. Then she will be allowed to roam free with the ducks during the day and the hope is that she will learn to go back to the duck house to roost at night. Rocky is a good layer, so we still want to have her around for the eggs. After all, she does need to earn her keep!

As for the creaking elbows (and knees, and ankles, and wrists, and fingers, etc), that's me. Winter is approaching, weather is changing, and my joints are protesting. It's better then a full blown fibro flare-up, but I don't think it will be as bad as last winter. I increased my green smoothie intake, that should help!

Have a great day!

Fall Poems and Art from the kids

2009-10-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

FALL

Plant a seed, plant a seed,

Plant a pumpkin seed.

Give it time, give it time,

Give it time to grow.

Carve a pumpkin, carve a pumpkin,

Now it's time for it to glow!

-Hailey

FAll

Birds coming.

Pine cones falling.

Leaves changing color.

-Will

Weekend fun at the pumpkin patch

2009-10-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

It wasn't raining to much, but it sure was muddy! We had a lot of fun. Corn maze, hay bale maze, tractor ride, pumpkins, animals.........

Back at it

2009-10-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

Well I'm happy to tell everyone that I've been progressively feeling better with my fibromyalgia aches, pains, and fatigue. I haven't had to take the anti viral for months now, and I haven't had a bad flare up since the end of June.

I lowered my stress level by changing jobs and working only part time, I've changed what I eat and don't eat. Although I still struggle with chocolate and coffee, mmmmm, so yummy.

I haven't pushed my body much, for fear that it won't take it and then give out on me again. So all hikes this summer, which really wasn't much, were short and easy. Lately I've been working on increasing my level of activity. A few weeks ago we went on a four mile kayak trip, and I did great. And I'm definitely noticing that I have a spring to my step again. And no, it's not only because I'm happy and excited to plan a wedding, and totally in love, of course that helps. But my my health has been better.

It's a good thing I've been doing better, because with that change of jobs it meant no health insurance. There's faith for ya!

This morning I went to the gym with the intent to make it a habit and start working out again a few times a week. I'm excited to be sore in a good "I've worked out" way, not a painful excruciating "I want to die" way. It's a good trade. I will easy my way into working out. Not only is my body still at risk of a flare up, but I haven't really worked out in over a year since the initial onset of fibro, so my muscles have become weaker.

I still love wearing only skirts and dresses , however I do wear pants on some Saturdays, as my sweetie likes to see me in them.
So, what does a skirted gal wear to the work out gym? See below. The skirt is stretchy, so it doesn't hinder my working out at all. Ready to go!!

Have a great rest of your week!!

Pictures from October 12th, Columbus Day

2009-10-14T16:45:00.001-07:00

I'll let the pictures tell the story!! It has a wonderful ending!!

After the tears I was all smiles!!

October 7th, 2009 Pictures to share

2009-10-07T07:58:00.000-07:00

The other day I looked outside to see what was taking the kids so long to let the chicken's out in the morning. Will's been in his coyboy phase again, so here he is in his PJ's helping to let the chickens out. In fact both kids were stil in their PJ's, and it was only about 35 degrees outside, with frost on the ground. Silly kids! They sure are cute though!

And here's a picture of our new vehicle. It's so comfy and roomy! I love it!

Tomatoes, tomatoes

2009-10-04T16:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend.........canning up the surplus produce and boxes of fruit in the pantry before it all goes bad. First batch of tomatoes are cooling, second one on the way. Later this evening will be pear butter, corn and picking more apples.

Oh...... and exciting news. I bought a new vehicle yesterday, and I LOVE IT!!
I purchased a 2000 Ford Taurus Wagon. It's extremely roomy, is an eight passenger vehicle, and gets about 27 mpg. It's hard to compete with that!

Ok off to do some more canning!!

Enjoy the begining of fall!!

Shortening the TO-DO list

2009-09-28T17:04:00.000-07:00

I'm just excited to tell everyone that something that has been on my to-do list for 4 years now, is finally finished.

The leaky roof is fixed!!

Ok, so it hasn't rained yet to make sure it's really fixed, but I think it is.

Fall is here, and it hasn't rained in awhile, so we seized the opportunity to get the roof leak patched up. The oh-so-well built roof has three different roofs coming together and it was leaking for who knows how long. The funny thing is that when I went up in the attic to see exactly where it was leaking, I found a few catching trays to catch water and interestingly enough, it was right where the leak was. Hmmmm? Who knows!

The 1935 house is more of a patchwork quilt of sorts.

Good thing the patch is not on the road side of the house, so other's won't see it.

One more thing to check off my list!!

Homescoolers don't get sick days.....

2009-09-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

They just have a difference pace day........

Hailey had a fever and a terrible cough today. I still took Will and his friend to their homeschool group today and Hailey stayed home with papa (who, by the way, sacrificed his sleep time, as he's been working graveyard).

I was pleasantly surprised and very impressed when I got home with the boys to find that Hailey had been working on school work all day, albeit in her pj's. After we got home, she did an oral presentation she had prepared for us, along with question and answer time, notes, a display, and map work.

I jokingly told papa I would go back to work full time and he could stay home and homeschool the kiddos!

What a blessing to have a partner who can help out, even with homeschool projects. And it's great for me to let go of always doing everything. I'm learning to let go and accept help. I really can't do it all. Can you believe I'm saying that? :)

We can home to her display up in the hallway. She did research and a report on Crater Lake (where wer're going to visit in October) and her favorite animal, the river otter.

Miss Hailey, in her pj's, sick, and still doing her schoolwork.

A homeschool moment..........

2009-09-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

Today during our day we had what I like to call a "homeschool moment". It's a moment when you look around, see your kids enjoying to learn and have a large sigh of relief and say to yourself "this is why I homeschool!"

Here the kiddos are, Will is reading a book while Hailey sits, listens, and knits. Of course I was sitting with them also, reading, helping, and knitting.

Cucumber Boats!!!

2009-09-13T17:43:00.000-07:00

Ever asked what to do with those oversized cucumbers in the garden?

Progress on the pantry on Labor Day

2009-09-07T20:16:00.000-07:00

We've been wanting to put a pantry in for awhile now. And with all the recent canning activity it was time to make more room. Fortunately we have an underground basement, which stays fairly cool and dry. So, with scrap lumber from the neighbors garage demolition, we started the pantry project.

The VERY sturdy shelves in place. We used 2x6 for studs (free) and 3/4 inch plywood for the shelves (a very good price). With our house being as old as it is, we now say that this is the strongest and safest place to be if anything were to happen. We built it strong.

The pantry with some of the newly canned goods.
We also realized that we need to build another shelf on the other side for more goods.
Next we need to move the dry goods from the upstairs pantry down to the new one.

Ahhh....it makes me so happy to see a well stocked pantry.

Pictures from the kids' birthday party! It was a messy one!!!

2009-09-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

Jello and whip cream with no utensils

Finger and body painting

Pie in the face!

Flour fight! This one was voted the funnest activity.

More of the flour fight.

We didn't even get a chance to do all the activities I had planned for the kids. As it was also raining pretty good during the party. But no one complained, as they we already messy anyway!!