Wishing everyone Merry Christmas!

Week- 49 

             It's been a busy week! Running to the grocery store to prepare for the winter storm headed my way! I'm all prepared to bundle down for the weekend and watch the weather. This will be the last weekend to relax before all the holiday plans start. So I think instead of going for a story telling we will stay home. 

On the way to run errands Adyson & I found something...in the middle of the road!!! We couldn't believe this guy was wondering the roads the day before freezing weather was due to hit us! 

I've been doing lots of searching this week for recipes in preparation for one of my goals for 2014. I've been playing with an awesome app too! I'm very excited about it! I can't wait to tell you about it, next year! I hope you guys will like it! 

HOMEMADE- I've made a new batch of  a few things! I love my homemade stuff. My skin has never been softer in the winter! You remember I have made these before and loved all of them! FACIAL TONER

MAKEUP WIPES

2 cups DISTILLED water 

1 Tbl face soap

1 Tbl coconut oil

1 Tbl jojoba oil

2 drops tea tree oil

Mix all together and heat in microwave for about 1.5 minutes

Cut a roll if paper towels in 1/2.

Use a container big enough to hold & keep wipes air tight, such as a pitcher (this is what I use, & pull wipes through the pour spout;) )

Put wipes cut side down in container. Pour liquid over the top & let sit for 5 minutes. The. Pull the cardboard out of the middle & start your roll! 

I have missed these. It's been a few months since I have made any but I will never be without them again. 

 BODY SCRUB-

Equal part olive oil and sugar. If you notice its too runny add some sugar. Put it in a container ( I used an empty body wash bottle) and set in the shower. I use this every other day. BE CAREFUL THIS WILL MAKE YOUR SHOWER SLIPPERY!!!  I wash/soap up and rinse then use the body scrub and really scrub it into my skin. Leave it on for a few minutes and gently rinse off. No more winter dry skin!!! All natural and healthy for your skin! 

READING- I've caught up on all my magazines, I had a TON of them! I hadn't read any since September. So I caught up! I love my magazines! Quick little articles, wonderful pictures, recipes, apps to try, new & up to date information. I cut out all my recipes & exercise/workouts, & stapled them into my spiral notebooks. I have 4 magazines I subscribe to, SHAPE, Fitness, Women's Health, Women's Day. 

                                              

Follow me on Good Reads to catch me on the latest book

I finished Haunted on Bourbon Street by Deanna Chase. Loved it if you like ghost stories, etc. Great, funny! Now I am reading The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox  and loving it so far! 


EATING HEALTHY- I've been loving having a small crock pot for breakfasts or smaller portions for just 2 people! I have made several breakfast casseroles and oatmeals since I got it. 

AWESOME BROWNIES

I am loving these for a treat/snack! They are awesome! 

REVIEW TIME-  
Last week we updated to the HOPPER with Sling. I am not that impressed. So the HOPPER is the main box( in the living room), and the girls and master bedroom have a Joey. (Yes 4 boxes in all) The feature of Sling is what sold me. Being that my husband travels I thought it would be nice for him to be able to watch his shows at his convenience (airports, hotel rooms, where ever he had wi-fi). This is not what its cracked up to be. 
Sling- When my husband watches Live TV on his device he takes up a "Joey/Tuner" from our home TV. So If Brittany is watching "A", Adyson is watching "B" and I am watching "C"  my husband has to watch what we are watching, and if he chooses to watch "D" then he will change our station!!! 
HOPPER- Same goes with the HOPPER, If Brittany is watching "A", Adyson is watching "B" and I am RECORDING "C" then we are stuck watching C. This " Record 6 shows at once" is for PRIME TIME TV only Monday - Saturday  6pm-11pm?? something like that. So it records the ABC, NBC,CBS, FOX, etc for those hours. 
It is nice that the girls can record what shows they want. However there are KNOWN system/software issues with the HOPPER with Sling according to the "advanced tech support" people I have talked to about these issues. Some of my shows do not record, although the HOPPER says its recorded. You can set up folders, so every one's recordings go into their own folders, but my folders don't work!
Everyone can press a button on their remotes and everyone can see what everyone else is watching. I can see from the living room or my bedroom what the kids are watching. The kids can press the button on their rooms and see what I am watching. That fact what not explained to me BEFORE I got the HOPPER. 

I'm still deciding if this is what we want/need or if we need to add a HOPPER to the bedroom. UGHHH decisions, decisions, decisions. 



My Christmas decorations- I love my Charlie Brown Christmas tree! My husband and the kids got it for me this year!! It plays music too!

A Special shout out to My Cousin Abby- Adyson Loves her TMNT sleeping bag! 

 

 
Every year since we moved into the house, Brittany has been putting bows on all the knobs in the kitchen. She coordinates them every year. It cracks me up. I love her to death and wouldn't change a thing!

He is one of my favorites, given to me by my Aunt Julie.

                       Merry Christmas!!! 

Week 42 & 43

The past 2 weeks have gone by so fast! Sorry about not posting last week, but I didn't have internet! The cable modem finally died. We had to go 5 DAYS without internet!!  Can you imagine? Oh it was horrid. :) 

Then Adyson and I had the crud for a few days. Let germ season begin! I have added an extra vitamin C  & D tablet to my diet along with  B complex.  I have been watching a lot of Dr. Oz lately I love his shows. I like the new up to date medical information he gives. So I am going to try his immune system booster. 

Doctor Oz

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/easy-fixes-boost-your-immunity-pt-1

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/easy-fixes-boost-your-immunity-pt-2

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/easy-fixes-boost-your-immunity-pt-3

( I AM NOT A DOCTOR, I AM NOT ENDORSING ANY PRODUCT. This is simply the diary of my life that I am sharing with you, and where I got my information. Please do your own research!)

REVIEW TIME-

I have to tell you we bought a new Linksys wireless router a few weeks ago. I really like it so far.  It can handle 7+ devices at a time and comes with  the option of a Guest Network with its own password!   Also has PARENTAL CONTROLS!!! Seems to be working great for us! 

I also LOVE the body scrub I found on Pinterest a few months back. I thought I had put it into a post earlier but can't seem to find it. I have been using this scrub since spring/summer started.  I love it and have since started using it all over my body every couple days and so far this fall/winter season I have not had to use lotion! Just remember this is an oil based scrub so your shower/tub will be EXTREMELY slippery when you rinse. 

I also LOVE the facial toner I made during week-20-21-22. So I haven't bought facial toner since! I love the smell and the way it feels! I'm 1 step closer to a chemical free life! 

IOS7- still not working correctly. As you remember from Septembers Blog I was having issues with Photo Stream. I have uninstalled everything, reinstalled everything, signed in and out of everything. Turned permissions on and off. I am getting very frustrated with everything. Still no luck! Anyone else having issues with Photo Stream? OH and the newest update 7.0.3 still didn't fix the issue!!!! 

Movie reviews- I didn't rent any movies last week because I caught the crud last week. It's that time of the year to start taking your vitamins and drinking your orange juice! Oh it was horrible last week sinus infections kick my butt! The  it turns into the chest congestion from the nasal drainage, yuck! So I used the entire stock pile of tissues, that's right all 10 boxes! My poor nose was redder then Rudolph. 

FARM HAPPENINGS- there was a death on the farm last week. Adysons chicken went to heaven. She broke her leg. Adyson took the news better then I thought. It went something like this-

Me-  Mommy has some bad news to tell you. Chicken Girl went to heaven last night. Since she is in heaven now she is not in pain anymore.

Adyson- OOOOOHHHHHH NNNNNOOOOO! Mommy I didn't say goodbye to Chicken Girl. (she has a sad, pouty face. She thinks this over for a few minutes) so mommy when are we getting  new chickens?

ME- well I'm glad you want more chickens but we have to wait until after Christmas and then your birthday before we get more chickens.

Adyson- I get to pick them out right? And I want to paint the chicken coop with rainbows. 

Me- sure honey what ever you want. (Thinking to myself, I'm glad my kids are resilient) :)

REST IN PEACE CHICKEN GIRL

READING - I'm still working on Angels & Demons. Since I wasn't up to snuff last week all I did was relax so I'm behind, I know! What are you reading?

Find me on Goodreads.com

HOMEMADE-  Since being sick last week. I am  stepping up the whole foods/healthy foods in our house! As most of you know I do not buy "boxed" dinners. I am working on getting the rest of the processed foods out of my house. 

 So I am excited to announce that I have FINALLY used up all my couponing, stockpiled dishwasher tabs!!!  I found a recipe on Pinterest about making your own dishwasher soap. It uses simple stuff from around the house (well their around my house) So hopefully you can make some too! If you have made homemade laundry soap you should have most of the stuff on hand.

DISHWASHER SOAP-

3 cups Borax

3 cups washing soda

1 cup Epson salt ( I got a big 10 lb bag at Sams Club for around $8)
1/2 cup citric acid. (don't freak out, I found it in the canning isle of the grocery store. I used this in place of the "lemonade packets" or Lemi-Shine rinse aid called for in most recipes) around $3-$4. 

Mix all ingredients together. Use 1-1.5tbs per load! PLEASE BE AWARE IT MAY HARDEN IF NOT STIRRED EVERYDAY. You can break it up and still use it. Or you can get little ice cube trays and pour powder into trays & let sit out for 2-3 days to harden. Just remember to buy to use trays that have small enough cubes so they fit properly in your dishwasher & a container big enough to handle all the tablets! 

So far I like it! I've only used it a few times so it's going to be reviewed again in a few weeks once I give it a good & dirty test!

CRAFTS- With Christmas coming I have lots of crafts planned for Adyson to do! Thanks to Pinterest I would love to do Adyson's hand in the clay and bake it. I also love the idea of the Snowman Orniments. There is so many. But I REFUSE to push the holidays. So we wont be starting any Christmas crafts until after Halloween. I just can't wait. 




Hope everyone has a great week! See you next time! 

Week 37 Its Football time!

                                     I hope everyone had a great week! Mine went OK. I had a few bumps in the road but I over came them. I have a love hate relationship with Fall. I love the idea of cooler weather, but with that comes preparing everything outside for the up coming winter. And me preparing to stay indoors for 4 months... UGHHHH... But I love FOOTBALL. I can't wait to see how my Seattle Seahawks do this year! GO SEAHAWKS! 


CRAFTING-  So last week to go with my Halloween Village for Grandma I also made her some decorative soaps for her bathroom. I shipped it Tuesday so she should get it this week! I wish I could be there when she opens it. 
I took the Glycerin Soap and melted it. It only took 1 small cube per soap(I bought a 5 lbs bag at the craft store for $18)

Then I added 2 yellow drops & 1 red drop of soap dye 

Then added the critters to the soap while the soap was still liquid.  

FARMING-  When the weather starts cooling off we start preparing for the winter. This weekend we made sure the hose pipes to the animal water was properly set up for winter. The electric cords for heat lamps ready to go. Also everyone got their Permethrin sprays. The cow stalls were cleaned out and muck dumped in the garden. 


 NO CHEMICALS-  I have done some pinning on Pinterest lately and I created what I feel is an AWESOME recipe for HOMEMADE cocoa! Pinterest Drinks So far I think its wonderful and simple to make. I had all the ingredients to make it. I read through all the different versions and tried a few. I tasted a few too. The ones that call for chocolate pudding mix in the cocoa I thought were a little gritty. So maybe the pudding doesn't dissolve? But I cut it out the 2nd time I made it, and LOVED it. I ALWAYS use milk instead of water to make hot cocoa, I love the creamy texture when I use milk. I haven't tried my recipe using water but its good with hot milk or coffee! 

Please understand when you make something HOMEMADE it does taste a little different then the commercial brand.  It took about 2-3 times of drinking it to "adjust" to the flavor now I love it!

My Homemade Cocoa (You can make this easily in bulk.)

Equal parts-

-Powdered Sugar
-Powdered Milk
-Unsweetened Cocoa
                                                                        


Mix all together. I measure out just over 1/4 cup of cocoa mix to 1 cup hot milk/coffee. Enjoy!!!!



MOVIES- 

Beautiful Creatures- is a great movie. Reminded me a little bit of Bewitched (the 1960's TV series) because her family doesn't approve of the relationship to a "mortal". It was a nice movie. 

End of Watch- WOW the language in this movie! Its basically the show COPS turned in to a movie. I liked the idea behind the movie very real scenes. I liked it, just NOT for young ears.When your 15 year old says " wow this movie has some language," you know its bad.

 READING- I know I'm in so much trouble. I still haven't read a book. Its been 3 weeks now? I'm going to start 50 Shades of Grey tonight!!!!

MUSIC-  I know I'm in trouble for this too! I am scheduling time to do this, this week. I'm tired of putting it off. I want to learn some Christmas music this year.

 GAMES-  Where's my Water? and Turtle Trek have become Adysons favorite games. When Jackie came home this weekend he introduced Adyson and Brittany to Minion Rush. Now all 3 of them are addicted to it! 

 SMOKE FREE----- ON SEPTEMBER 17 IT WILL BE 2 MONTHS SMOKE FREE!!

ENERGY EFFICIENT-  So is it just me trying to be energy efficient or is everyone trying? I am doing my best to switch out light bulbs to the new energy ones as the old bulbs blow out. But I HATE the new bulbs. To me they are not bright enough? Is anyone else having this problem? Please tell me I'm not the only one. I have tried the "bright" and the "day light" bulbs they just are not bright enough for me. What do you think?

I wanted to give a my daughter a shout out HAPPY 15 TH BIRTHDAY BRITTANY!!!!! I love you and I am very proud of you! I am glad to have you in my life. 

Brittany and Noah. We took them to Red Lobster for her Birthday! 

Until next week, enjoy yourself and life! Don't let moments pass you by. 

Week 33

                    The fair is in town. We went. Note to self for next year do not work out the day before especially my hips & butt.... I'm so sore I can barely move. (Not to mention with me eating extremely healthy for almost a month) Good (healthy)food at the fair is hard to come by. Me dying of thirst I stopped at the first place & bought a coke( technically Slice orange for those not in the South). I was excited to "splurge" on eating healthy, I took a swig and YUCK!!! It took everything I had to continue drinking the sugar bomb! I couldn't believe how much my taste buds had changed in a month. 

Adyson had the best time! She finally grew enough to go on 90% of the rides by herself. Exciting moment for her, sad moment for me. I realized how big she really is. You can see her videos on Youtube

Still smoke free!!!


READING- I'm still reading  The Lightning Thief. I know it takes forever for me to finish a book, its not that I'm a slow reader its the interruptions. If I had 4-5 hrs to sit and read from beginning to end I could finish it! I'm half way Its sounding similar to Harry Potter but with Greek mythology instead.  I love it so far!!!


EATING HEALTHY- has been going great! I have been using oatmeal a lot lately. I have found it tastes great in anything! I'm using it in my smoothies, pancakes, and actually making oatmeal with real fruit for breakfast! No more packaged oatmeal for us! I've been using honey as a sweetener instead of sugar lately.

Blueberry & Oatmeal pancakes topped with bananas & honey!!!
YUMMY!!!!!

Long cooking oatmeal with peaches, strawberries! 

I have also found a love for wraps! Add some hummus, spinach, turkey, cheese and wrap it up!!! Or you can try my favorite which is a chicken caesar wrap! You create so many different options its unreal!

I have also been loving 4C drink enhancers! These guys do a great job for the liquid drink enhancers. It only takes 1-3 squirts to a water bottle (depending on your taste buds). I found this 4 pack at Sam's Club for about $7.50, which is an awesome deal because individually they are about $3.00-$3.75 depending on flavors, each bottle has around 24 servings, so to me you get more servings then the "other drink enhancer powders". I also like the fact that it is liquid so it mixes better, and I don't have to worry about the wrappers from the powder packets. I keep one of these in my purse so I always have it! My daughter carries one in her lunch box. Its nice not carrying 10 little powder packets, the wind blowing the powder everywhere, throwing away the wrappers.... AHHHH I love these little guys!!!!
www.4cstore.com

                         

 EXERCISING- I have an exercise board on Pinterest so I have lots of ideas. In the 3 health magazines I get every month it talks about if you haven't exercised in over a year you need to start slow to prevent injury. So in my workouts that I started August 1, I do more floor exercises right now. I need to build up the muscles I have, along with balance. I do use the video that I posted 2 weeks ago, week 31. So I pick a workout from Pinterest or from my spiral notebook, everyday (well Monday thru Friday anyway). I also do the 30 day ab workout challenge! So by September I will be increasing my workouts and challenging myself more. I'm feeling great!

NO CHEMICALS- I'm still working on this. I am slowly transitioning from boxed/packaged stuff to natural products. I haven't run out of anything lately. Although the next time I run out of sugar I want to try the new Stevia that everyone is talking about. I'm always looking at labels now and I'm more aware of the chemicals that are in everything we use. I'm still looking for a good homemade dish soap! The recipe I tried doesn't cut the grease. If anyone has any ideas leave them in the comments below PLEASE :)

CRAFTS- I am going to be starting a special project soon! I want to make my grandmother a Halloween Village for her birthday/Halloween. If anyone tells her I will be very upset! I found the idea on Pinterest!!!! I can't wait to start I will post pictures throughout the process. Does anyone have any cute ideas they are going to start/do for Halloween???

GARDENING-
NOTHING went as planned this year! The sister planting (planting corn, squash, & beans together) didn't go over well, the beans over ran the corn & killed it.

ALL (yellow, Zucchini and pumpkin) my squash died beginning of August. I have no idea why. It all turned yellow and died. 

The garden still floods when it rains. So the husband and I are going to try to raise the bed and make some new planter boxes!

The dog dug up ALL my herbs while we were on vacation. I guess he missed me! So I will have to start those over.

The 3 tomatoes that survived are doing great! The poor green pepper plants are only 2 foot tall and producing mini green peppers! HAHA Same goes for the banana peppers!
How did your gardens do this year?

MOVIES-

The Raven- Loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's life or an adventure starring Edgar Allan Poe. It was a great murder/mystery movie set back in the 1840's? Similar to Sherlock Holmes in my opinion. Very interesting & would watch it again! 

Salt- great female "spy" movie! Loved it & might have to buy it! 

Temptation- Tyler perry knows how to write/direct movies!! loved it!!! Slow to start & a surprising ending!!!! 

The Possession- was a simple "possession movie" for me anyway. No scary parts just basically how a family deals with an issue like this.

Frankenweenie- was a Tim burton special  but all done in black and white. It was ok.

Hotel Transylvania - was a cute monster/vampire cartoon for kids. I loved it! 

Lorax- adyson loved it! I love Dr. Suess!!!

Mirrors- Seems to be the adult version of Poltergiest 3. Seeing things in mirrors and the "spirits" in the mirrors taking control. Its OK. 

Let me know what you thought of the latest movies you've seen. 

Week 31 School Starts

Well we are back from Florida, it was bitter sweet leaving. I miss the beach and relaxation, but I missed home even more. We got our school shopping done before we left so I didn't have that to worry about that. Now I've been playing catch up for the last week. Tending the garden, playing with the animals, Brittany mowing all the yards, etc. and ALL THAT LAUNDRY!!! But the trip was worth every minute. 

I've already been scoping out what the kids want for Christmas! Since there is 145 shopping days left. I think we are going to keep things simple this year, but we'll see as we get closer to Christmas. I'm getting ready to start my fall projects. One of them I found on Pinterest, and looks really cool. I'll be making a Halloween Villiage as a birthday present for someone special to me! I post before and after pics!

While down in Florida and learning to SUP (see pics from week 30) I wanted a waterproof case. After 3 days of non-stop research I finally settled on the Lifeproof fre case. I chose this case for several reasons.
1- Lifeproof has the most accessories for the case. This way I don't have to take the case on/off the phone all the time. Example- Lifeproof makes an armband for the case, so I can go running with my phone using the waterproof/dustproof armband, I can buy waterproof headphones and go SUP while listening to music! If I am going to pay $75 for a case I want it to have the best options/accessories available.
2- The best ratings for waterproofing. I have taken my phone in the ocean, shower (to listen to music) and have had a wonderful experience. If you are going into deep water, the case is only rated for a 6 foot drop into the water. So I bought 2 of those floats you use to keep your boat keys from sinking, and hooked it to my phone worked like a charm, my phone didn't sink more then about 6 inches!!! Very pleased.
3- Phone options available, meaning I can use the camera, volume buttons, etc without having to "unplug" a port/button to use my phone. 
4- Best color options. I wanted something bright and colorful, especially since I knew I would be in the ocean I wanted to see my phone if it fell. So I got "hot pink"! 
The only draw back to this case is the sound. By that I mean that the sound/call sounds a little muffled, until you get used to it. I can hear everyone, they can hear me just fine. The ringtones/music sound a little muffled but I have already gotten used to it, now it sounds normal to me. I am totally willing to give up a little sound to know that I can drop my phone in the sink, ocean or where ever and know it's waterproof! 

LOVE IT !!!

I can't believe Brittany started high school this year! She is growing up so fast. 

2nd day of 9th grade! (I missed the 1st day because the bus came 15 min early)

EATING HEALTHY- So I was playing around and also reading about fitness and nutrition while we were in Florida. I came up with this AWESOME snack. 

Banana dipped in peanut butter, then roll it in granola, now drizzle some honey on top!!!! YUMMY!!!! I can only eat 1 banana when its dipped, rolled and drizzled on, so filling!

We are doing great at eating healthy. I am drinking smoothies for breakfast and the possibilities are endless. My favorite so far is:

Strawberries

blueberries

spinach

greek yogurt

granola/oats

fruit juice

protein powder

Put in a blender and blend until smooth!! Yummy!!

I'M STILL SMOKE FREE- ALMOST 3 WEEKS NOW. I FEEL GREAT!!! 

EXERCISING- very proud to say I have gotten up at 515 the last 2 mornings and worked out. Just some floor exercises. Its only 15 minutes, which I can only do HALF. I did not realize how out of shape I was until I attempted to do this video. I must say it targets the main muscles (legs, arms, back, abs) so I will start slowly over the first few weeks and work my way up. I also found a cool Podcast on my Iphone. Its called PodRunner Intervals its FREE. The set I'm listening to is "First day to 5k". Its a Podcast you can listen to and it tells you when to walk, jog, sprint, etc and times you along with plays the music for you! Go check it out! 

 

Well until next week, have a great weekend!!! 

Yes this is Adyson wearing 5 inch wedges, she thought she needed these! 

Week 7

The weather still doesn't know what it wants to do. I'm hoping spring is coming soon. Getting very impatient for spring to get here. 

Adyson & Snowflake

Rella

FARM HAPPENINGS-

Tessa

We had exciting times on the farm this last week, it was time for everyone to get their wormer and bug treatments. It was fun mixing up solutions for the bug treatments, that was easy. Now getting the treatment sprayed/poured on animals, now thats a different story. The big girls (cows) did well. The goats, no way. Had to trap them in the stall and pray for the best. In the end I won, so I consider this a success! I only spilled 1 dose!!!!  This week I have been researching heavily on ORGANIC/NATURAL ways to treat my animals instead of using antibiotics and chemicals. Not having much luck. I know there HAS to be a way because I was reading the guidelines for USDA Organic and it said you can not give antibiotics, chemical treatments, etc to any animal. So how do farmers treat their animals for sickness, bugs (lice, fleas, ticks) etc? I don't know either.... Working on this. So if you have any information, send it my way PLEASE!


FAMILY TIME- This week Brittany helped me get the animals treated. We laughed, slipped in mud, got a dose of bug stuff on us. We have been relaxing together in the living room a lot this week. I made dinner 2 times this week and we have been eating left overs for the rest! that was kind of nice. 

HEALTHY EATING- I know these 2 recipes have "seasoning packets" in them. I'm looking for recipes to make my own taco, ranch and cream of soup mixes. I will be putting some of them to the test in the next couple weeks. 

Ranch Pork Chops

4 pork chops, ranch seasoning packet, cream of chicken soup, 1 can water) ~ 

Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.  You can easily double the recipe if needed. I made rice one night and noodles the next night to go with the gravy/sauce. 

Crockpot  Mexican Chicken

couple chicken breast, can of black beans, can of rotel, can of corn (or mexi--corn), 1 packet of taco seasoning, (YOU CAN add 1 hr before serving 1 -8oz cream cheese)
Cook on low 6-8 hrs. You can serve this over rice, tortilla chips, for tacos, burritos.

EXERCISE- gotten plenty of that this week. Mucking stalls, hay, chasing animals for treatments. Oh did I mention that I helped CHASE my neighbors cow through 2 pastures. This past week has been all about the animals finding holes in the fence. My neighbors dog got out. 
My goats got out once (crawled UNDER the fence in the creek bed, BUT all I did was shake a feed bucket and they came running back :) So fast walking, running has 

ORGANIZING- I found a trick in a book to organize all my cards. (I can't remember what book.) yes I know cards seem "old fashion" but I still send cards to many people throughout the year. I find them on sale after a holiday( valentines day, Easter, Christmas, etc) and save them until the next holiday. I used to put them all in a shoe box and dig for them when I needed them until now! I repurposed an accordion file. I labeled the tabs -address labels, envelope stickers, Birthday, thinking of you, sympathy, missing you, holiday,etc. So now they are all organized by category and protected from being bent/thrown in a box. I was also able to paper clip a set if stamps & clip 2 pens to the first tab so everything to write a card is in one place.

READING- lots of internet time. researching how to treat my animals naturally. Looking for ORGANIC ways to prevent/deter fleas, ticks, lice, etc. Since summer is coming. I have found Tee Tree oil is a GREAT oil to dilute in your shampoos and conditioners, lotions, soaps etc for skin problems and insect deterrent/repellent. Also Lavender oil. 
Also found great uses for olive oil. Olive oil is WONDERFUL for cooking and using as part of your beauty routine. 

CRAFTS- Adyson and I chose to make our Valentine cards this year. We took construction paper and folded it in 1/2. I cut out the heart shape. Then I took about 10 sheets of different colored tissue paper and folded them in 1/2 and cut a heart shape. I let Adyson glue the tissue hearts to the construction paper heart. She had a blast.

NO CHEMICALS- I found a "recipe" for homemade furniture polish. I was impressed with the POLISHING aspect BUT it doesn't CLEAN. So if you have any dried on spots from drink spills or food you will have to clean them up first BEFORE using polish. I HAVE NOT USED THIS ON RAW WOOD only furniture that has a clear coat/protected.  Best of all I love how my hands feel after using this polish, since its ALL NATURAL there was no need to wash my hands after using it. You can only make small batches of this because it will go bad (I haven't tried to refrigerate it, I made a small batch & used what I made), since I dust my house once a week I can take 30 seconds to make the polish as I need it. Best of all this is SAFE FOR YOUR CHILDREN TO BE AROUND.

Furniture Polish

2 tbl olive oil - (GOOD FOR YOUR SKIN TOO!)

1 tbl lemon juice (GOES BAD IF NOT REFRIGERATED)

small spray bottle- labeled (small 3 oz SPRAY bottle, found in the "travel" isle of the store)

Pour ingredients together in spray bottle. Put lid on and shake! For me a little went along way. Spray a little on a small space and TEST just to make sure it is safe for your furniture! Polish/buff with a clean dry cloth!

All of my furniture (coffee table, entertainment center, bookshelf, end tables passed) they all have a clear coat! I have NOT used this on my raw wood YET!

GARDENING- I have found that the Lavender plant has TONS of good things to provide us, insect repellent, wonderful smell/perfume to add to soaps, room deodorizers, etc. So I have decided to plant some from seed. Most say its a little difficult to grow from seed, so wish me luck! 
Going to make a "fertilizer tea" organic farmers use it instead of commercial stuff. Supposed to be really good for tomatoes, peppers and any other plants that need a little kick. When you do your own research about this process you will find MANY versions. This to ME is the simplest way to start getting into the "teas". 

Fertilizer Tea
a scoop/shovel of livestock poop (cow,horse (chicken poop use 1/2 scoop) & outside garbage can filled with water. Stir it up a little and let it steep for 3-5 days. Use to water your plants. 


My African Violets still have sent any shoots out yet. Its been 3 weeks.
My tomato, cucumber plants are about 6-8 inches tall!!! 
Green peppers are about 4 inches tall
kohlrabi is stumped. It hasn't done a lot in a couple weeks. 

Week 6

I'm trying to figure out if the weather knows what its doing. Cold & windy, tornadoes, rain now today its 55 outside, during the middle of February! I can't wait for spring. I am trying to wait patiently but I'm running out. 

I just realized that the last "update" Apple did screwed my phone up. It erased my icloud back up, erased all my notes, so far. Trying to restore from computer now. ughhhh So if this week's review gets a little weird you know why :) ok 11 minutes later & still no notes!!! Now on the phone with Apple tech, the update didn't "update" like it was supposed to. I have lost my all of my Notes!

Smoking- DONE! 

Family time- Has been going better this week. Eating meals together, chores together. Still need to come up with something fun for all of us to do. If anyone has any ideas put them in the comments! 

Organizing- Well Adyson's room is coming along. I got her involved in the process of her room. She wants it painted purple. She wants to get rid of all her babies & "junk" (she calls it) that go along with the babies. "I don't play with babies" is what she tells me. So this makes it easier to get stuff out of her room that she doesn't play with anymore. Her and I have this discussion all the time, if you don't play with it let's give it to someone who will. Adyson seems ok with this, she actually packed the garbage sack full with her babies & baby stuff, might I add she is very proud of herself!

Healthy eating- haven't bought anything junky from the store yet!!! still trying to eat up what we have here. I haven't bought a boxed dinner this year! (I did buy a few boxes of mac & cheese BUT I looking for a homemade recipe) I have found some great recipes on Pinterest ( I comment on the recipes I have tried).

Exercise- haven't done any yoga or stretching this week, BUT I have been active in the yard.  I have weeded/dead headed my strawberry plants, weeded the front walk way & made a compost pile this week! 

Reading- still reading lots of gardening books this week. I have ordered Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion (turned into a movie, it just came out) from the library, waiting for it to come in.


Tips for Container Gardening from Fine Gardening- This was great for flowers, not too much info about vegetables

The New Self Sufficient Gardener by John Seymore- This book was GREAT! Great tips!

The Weekend Homesteader by Anna Hess- This gives you  month by month steps on how to prep everything. It was OK. A few tips and some good kid activities.

The Vegetable Gardener's Container Bible by Edward C Smith- AWESOME book, I bought it! Explains in detail the soil types for your veggies, depth of pots, what plants you can grow together  and the plants you should keep separate!

Cleaning by Real Simple & Kathleen Squires - this didn't give me the information I was looking for. I thought this book would give me homemade cleaning solutions to the commercial brands. All this book gave me was a "schedule" (daily, weekly, monthly, annually) of what to clean in my house. 

Brain games- Haven't found anything new this week. Still having fun with the ones from last week. check them out here

STILL BLOGGING-

Positive thinking- its still a challenge to remain positive about everything BUT I am getting better. 

Craft- Adyson doesn't seem to want to help with Valentine cards. I think I need to show her the "finished" product, maybe she will want to help then!

Music- Only got in 30 mintues last week. I really need to buckle down and schedule myself music time everyday. 

No chemicals- I made my own DISH soap & LAUNDRY soap. It was not as bad to make as I thought. I did have to go and buy a 6 gallon pail/trash can. I have kept all my milk jugs, my soap did make 8 gallons & 3 laundry soap bottles. So approx 9.5 gallons & it cost me about $10!!! Cleans just as well as store bought. No perfumes. No dyes. 


 Adyson LOVED helping me stir everything. 

I had to buy Fels-Naptha soap, Borax and WASHING soda (not baking soda) I found all the items in the laundry isle of my grocery store. Then I used this video from YouTube for the PROCESS on how to make soap! 

For Dish soap I found Frugally Sustainable on You Tube,watch her make  dish soap
My ingredients were Kirks Castile Soap grated, WASHING soda, white vinegar & HOT water. VERY simple to make. Just remember- this IS NOT like store bought! It does not bubble much, and yes, it will make the water cloudy. . . Bubbles do Not make your dishes clean! The cloudy water shows there is soap in there-- Soap is what cleans, not bubbles.

Gardening- My African Violets haven't sprouted new shoots yet takes 4-6 weeks its only been 2 weeks. I planted a cut leaf in soil, and put a clear plastic bag over them to create a green house effect. The veggies I planted inside are doing great, my tomatoes are 4-5 inches tall. My cucumbers are 8-10 inches tall. I will have strong plants to plant this year! 

This year has been wonderful so far! I love being able to blog, and share my stories and adventures with you guys!