Sometimes it is the little things that make me so happy! My yogurt came out just like yogurt!! I dripped some of the whey, but I let it drip too long and the yogurt was pasty - still yogurt though! :) I am so excited!!!
I have come to a final decision (I think). I have gone back and forth about having everyone on the GAPS diet verses just me. Initially I thought it would be best if everyone did it as long as hubby was on board. We talked a bit and he is willing to read the book and do the proper cooking. But looking at my freezer and visualizing how much I think I will need for the whole family on a daily basis - well it means I might have 3-4 days worth of food prepared. If it was me alone, I would have 2 weeks worth minimum. The problem here is that I am working full-time. The thought of trying to figure out my own side effects, let alone everyone else's and work and plan what to eat seems like I might be setting myself up for failure - and here is why - I detox very severely. I seem to feel every little thing my body goes through. Plus I am very afraid of the mental and emotional side effects - when I get over whelmed I tend to want to throw the towel in - and I have the feeling I will get over whelmed with this diet while working. If I throw in the towel, I personally would suck up the side effects of breaking the diet, but I do not want to make my kids suffer. Plus I want to be a good role model for them. I know this is a huge prayer thing. And I am feeling strongly that I need to go this alone right now - by doing so I will come out stronger and more able to help my hubby and kids through the beginning parts after having gone through it myself. I am sure a lot of this does not make much sense - I am rambling as my emotions are pretty strong right now. :)
As for other news - hubby and are having big discussions on what to do next. Our contract ends here in March - we have been wanting to just go to our land but are trying to be reasonable about the money factor. Taking local full time jobs in the area would mean a big pay cut. We need to factor in expenses for building a new house and such. But we have both been feeling an urgency to just go. We have seeds for planting - we want to be able to start planting this spring - we can't do that if we are not there. :) We have been praying about this for so long now - 9 months. I think it will take a minor miracle to make it work in the next 10 weeks, but lately I have been feeling like we are meant to go there soon.
Well enough rambling - time to go get some groceries. :)
Yogurt Errors and Starting School!
OK, so I attempted to make my first ever batch of yogurt and POOF it did not work! :( It was just really sour milk! I was using raw milk, a thermos, and store bought yogurt. So today I decided to try again, this time heating up the milk to 180 as recommended and then allowing to cool to about 115. I only heated it up to 120 the first time because I read somewhere that you didn't have to heat up raw milk to the 180 temperature. It is still "brewing" so I will have to blog about the results later!
Yesterday I also tried my hand in making saurkraut. I won't know for another 5-7 days how THAT turns out. All I know is I stunk up the whole place with kneading the cabbage - everyone said they wanted to puke from the smell! Hubby couldn't get out the door fast enough for work!! Thankfully this morning the only smell was the chicken broth slowly cooking in the crockpot!
Tonight we have MORE chicken and I will cook more broth overnight. It has been crazy trying to prepare for the GAPS diet. Hopefully we can start in about 12 or so days. A lot will depend on the yogurt tonight. If I fail making yogurt I may be too upset to move on! :)
As for school - we started off with a bang yesterday starting the Charlotte Mason method using Ambleside Online. All I can say is I have studied this for the last 4-5 weeks and still feel so unprepared!! We are starting off slowly as I am waiting for quite a few books in the mail. I have many downloaded to my Nook, but there were quite a few not available. I am very thankful for Amazon!!
Yesterday we did a nature walk and gave the kids 15 minutes to draw something from nature. Then we did some copywork. That was our first day! Oh how exciting! Today we took a plunge and did 2 of the weekly readings!! We also did copywork but no nature walk as it was pouring rain the whole day! The narration part was pathetic from all 3 kids, but it was their first day of it! The funny thing is they all ask questions during the reading so I KNOW they are paying attention, but telling what was read seemed beyond their ability! Now I know why Charlotte Mason was so big on narration!!! It requires the children to actually think! And now I completely understand why so many kids come out of school not being able to think too much on their own. Me included! And I graduated with honors - but it took me until I was near my 30's to truly start thinking on my own!
OK, enough of the soap box - I have to go check on that chicken! :)
Yesterday I also tried my hand in making saurkraut. I won't know for another 5-7 days how THAT turns out. All I know is I stunk up the whole place with kneading the cabbage - everyone said they wanted to puke from the smell! Hubby couldn't get out the door fast enough for work!! Thankfully this morning the only smell was the chicken broth slowly cooking in the crockpot!
Tonight we have MORE chicken and I will cook more broth overnight. It has been crazy trying to prepare for the GAPS diet. Hopefully we can start in about 12 or so days. A lot will depend on the yogurt tonight. If I fail making yogurt I may be too upset to move on! :)
As for school - we started off with a bang yesterday starting the Charlotte Mason method using Ambleside Online. All I can say is I have studied this for the last 4-5 weeks and still feel so unprepared!! We are starting off slowly as I am waiting for quite a few books in the mail. I have many downloaded to my Nook, but there were quite a few not available. I am very thankful for Amazon!!
Yesterday we did a nature walk and gave the kids 15 minutes to draw something from nature. Then we did some copywork. That was our first day! Oh how exciting! Today we took a plunge and did 2 of the weekly readings!! We also did copywork but no nature walk as it was pouring rain the whole day! The narration part was pathetic from all 3 kids, but it was their first day of it! The funny thing is they all ask questions during the reading so I KNOW they are paying attention, but telling what was read seemed beyond their ability! Now I know why Charlotte Mason was so big on narration!!! It requires the children to actually think! And now I completely understand why so many kids come out of school not being able to think too much on their own. Me included! And I graduated with honors - but it took me until I was near my 30's to truly start thinking on my own!
OK, enough of the soap box - I have to go check on that chicken! :)
Christmas and Getting Ready For GAPS
We made it safely to PA 2 weeks ago and it has been a whirlwind since. I can now take the time to sit and edit pictures and blog a bit! It has been a very busy past 2 weeks!!! And I mean BUSY! Not only has it been busy from Christmas, but hubby and I had to go back to working nights on this assignment. That has really messed up my system! We both have basically been walking around like zombies! :)
We did however have a very wonderful Christmas and past 2 weeks. Last week we went to Christmas Village and met up with hubby's cousin for dinner. We also made a ton of Christmas cookies which I will be mailing out today - did not want to mail them out just before the weekend and have them sit longer than normal in some PO truck. I couldn't make them any sooner because of the move. Better late than never! :)
As for GAPS- it is something I have decided to just do. But I needed to prepare some broth and chicken ahead of time. I will also be making yogurt and yogurt whey so I can make saurkraut and fermented vegetables. I would not recommend starting GAPS without preparing food before hand. I personally tend to detox pretty severely and cannot imagine trying to cook while feeling so awful. I would love to start right after New Year's but will have to see how much I get prepared first. I will also have to decide whether or not the rest of the family goes on GAPS as well or whether I will do it by myself. It will come down to how much hubby is on board - I would be able to go this alone with the kids if I was not working FT, but I am still working so I KNOW trying to help the kids through detox will not be possible without huuby's complete full participation! We just have not had time to sit and talk all this through - hopefully we can come up with a plan this Wed when we both have off.
The other thing about GAPS - if any one is reading this that is thinking about going on GAPS - I would highly recommend reading the book and taking many notes - bulleting the stages and writing down what you need to prepare ahead of time. It can be overwhelming when you first read the book and think "No Way can I do all this". But now that I have re-read the book many times and written down the main points of the diet, it does not seem so impossible. The other thing I have begun to do is visualize what a typical day of eating will be like. It comes down to meat, stock, and soup the first few days (or weeks) for ALL meals. We as a nation are so fixated on preconceived ideas of what breakfast, lunch, and dinner should be. That line of thinking needs to be thrown out the window and I admit it is hard to just think about having soup for breakfast, but I am praying the visualizing will help when it comes down to starting the diet!
Now I will leave off with some pictures:
We did however have a very wonderful Christmas and past 2 weeks. Last week we went to Christmas Village and met up with hubby's cousin for dinner. We also made a ton of Christmas cookies which I will be mailing out today - did not want to mail them out just before the weekend and have them sit longer than normal in some PO truck. I couldn't make them any sooner because of the move. Better late than never! :)
As for GAPS- it is something I have decided to just do. But I needed to prepare some broth and chicken ahead of time. I will also be making yogurt and yogurt whey so I can make saurkraut and fermented vegetables. I would not recommend starting GAPS without preparing food before hand. I personally tend to detox pretty severely and cannot imagine trying to cook while feeling so awful. I would love to start right after New Year's but will have to see how much I get prepared first. I will also have to decide whether or not the rest of the family goes on GAPS as well or whether I will do it by myself. It will come down to how much hubby is on board - I would be able to go this alone with the kids if I was not working FT, but I am still working so I KNOW trying to help the kids through detox will not be possible without huuby's complete full participation! We just have not had time to sit and talk all this through - hopefully we can come up with a plan this Wed when we both have off.
The other thing about GAPS - if any one is reading this that is thinking about going on GAPS - I would highly recommend reading the book and taking many notes - bulleting the stages and writing down what you need to prepare ahead of time. It can be overwhelming when you first read the book and think "No Way can I do all this". But now that I have re-read the book many times and written down the main points of the diet, it does not seem so impossible. The other thing I have begun to do is visualize what a typical day of eating will be like. It comes down to meat, stock, and soup the first few days (or weeks) for ALL meals. We as a nation are so fixated on preconceived ideas of what breakfast, lunch, and dinner should be. That line of thinking needs to be thrown out the window and I admit it is hard to just think about having soup for breakfast, but I am praying the visualizing will help when it comes down to starting the diet!
Now I will leave off with some pictures:
Making the cookies!!
R and E playing at Christmas Village
G enjoying her hot chocolate!
Everyone enjoying their hot chocolate!
Chicken stock in my freezer!
Changes all around!
Life has been pretty stable and predictable the past 10 months or so. But everything is about to change again - the life of us traveling nurses! :) Tonight is our last night in our travel trailer for a spell. We are taking an assignment (3 months or so) in PA starting the 12th. I took 2 weeks off to get a handle on my ornament orders. Well tomorrow we head off to Rochester where we will stay with family for a week. Then the kids will hang there for an additional week while hubby and I head 5 hours away to PA for orientation. While there we will settle into a 3 bedroom townhouse! We are so excited! It will be sooooo much more room than we have been used to these past 2 years! We will then of course have to travel back to get the kids at the end of that week and try to settle into a new routine. Christmas will be close - but we will get a tree and decorate! After the holidays I will be focusing heavily on their schooling....
Many years ago when I was researching homeschooling, I remember coming across the Charlotte Mason philosophy of schooling - at the time the kids were quite young and I remember feeling it was "too loose" of a curriculum. I remember just passing it by and moving on. Well thanks to my very smart sister, I came back to it recently and realized it fit our kids perfectly!!! It truly embodied how we approach homeschooling with actually more structure than we use. And right now I can use some structure! We have been doing ACE paces and they have worked well, but I want my kids to get more out of their education. I wanted to start slowly - and transition one subject at a time. But now I will be attacking this head on and breaking new ground right after the new year - something I am very excited about! I have a lot of planning to do of course but I think I can get it all together before I go back to work. Once I have everything planned out we should be all set. It will then be a matter of showing hubby what to do on his days off. :) He wants to participate so it will be a matter of writing it all out for him!
The great thing is I have a bit of a head start - we have a problem with libraries because we are never local people - always from out of town and some libraries charge a fee for non-locals. So I invested in a NOOK and have started downloading a bunch of books we will need - they have a great Bible interactive app as well! Even if we continue to travel in apartments, keeping our load of books to a minimum is necessary. So the NOOK was a great idea. Now it is a matter of sitting down to write out a schedule - I will try to get a head start with a 3-4 month schedule. My next goal is a calendar!
Many years ago when I was researching homeschooling, I remember coming across the Charlotte Mason philosophy of schooling - at the time the kids were quite young and I remember feeling it was "too loose" of a curriculum. I remember just passing it by and moving on. Well thanks to my very smart sister, I came back to it recently and realized it fit our kids perfectly!!! It truly embodied how we approach homeschooling with actually more structure than we use. And right now I can use some structure! We have been doing ACE paces and they have worked well, but I want my kids to get more out of their education. I wanted to start slowly - and transition one subject at a time. But now I will be attacking this head on and breaking new ground right after the new year - something I am very excited about! I have a lot of planning to do of course but I think I can get it all together before I go back to work. Once I have everything planned out we should be all set. It will then be a matter of showing hubby what to do on his days off. :) He wants to participate so it will be a matter of writing it all out for him!
The great thing is I have a bit of a head start - we have a problem with libraries because we are never local people - always from out of town and some libraries charge a fee for non-locals. So I invested in a NOOK and have started downloading a bunch of books we will need - they have a great Bible interactive app as well! Even if we continue to travel in apartments, keeping our load of books to a minimum is necessary. So the NOOK was a great idea. Now it is a matter of sitting down to write out a schedule - I will try to get a head start with a 3-4 month schedule. My next goal is a calendar!
Here is our new NOOK.
As for other things - life will change quite a bit - having a "real" fridge and stove and kitchen will completely change the way we shop and cook. It will save us quite a bit of money and time. No more grocery shopping 4 times a week. We figured our fridge and freezer holds about 2 days worth of food on average. That changes drastically whenever we have a special event like baking pies - at one point I had the flour, sugar, and 20 + apples in the trunk of my car for days! I made 4 apple pies for Thanksgiving - it took over 6 hours total to make all of them as I could only fit one pie at a time in our oven. So with a "real" stove I can bring that down to 3 hours! :)
Anyway life will be crazy, but good these next few weeks - hopefully I remember to take more pictures!
We will get there....eventually! :)
It's funny isn't it when we find ourselves waiting for the next big thing in our life and realize we are missing the here and now. Not funny in the haha sense of course, but funny in that life is right there in front of us and we often miss it! It's like looking out to sea, imagining the adventures you will be taking on a boat and all the new places you will see....then missing the boat.
Hubby and I are at that point where we are looking too far ahead. We have so many plans for our land - I often feel like I forget about what is in front of me. So I stepped back this week and took a good look at myself - not good I must say. I have of course gained weight (way too much eating the SAD way), our kids are fiesty (though not out of control), our dog has been a hassle, and it just seems like we are stalled on the side of the road. We are still in NY - we are hoping to get a job in a few weeks in the south somewhere for better weather. We have been praying for an answer as to where we should go next. It seems God is still holding out on letting us know. :)
So I have made some adjustments in the things I CAN control - number one the weight and fatigue had to be roped in. I went back on a modified Maker's Diet. I still have to work so I must be reasonable. I have kept an ever so small portion of carbs and dairy in (I mean like 1-2 oz of cheese per day and about 3 bites of potatoes worth + juice). Not much - but enough to keep my body from severely detoxing. I cannot afford to be so fatigued from the detoxing - I would not function well at work! So out came my juicer and it has been such a blessing! I have read over and over the benefits of juicing, but never did it consistently. This past week I juiced 4-5 times and I have had more energy than I know what to do with the past few days! It is amazing! I know it is not the diet as the diet has always made me feel tired in the first few weeks. Plus I notice a difference in the kids - they seem peppier if that makes sense. :)
The dog has been a handful as neither hubby nor I have been consistent with training - never seem to have time! But hubby got the ball rolling this past week with some serious training and attention. And BOY has it paid off! He really is a very good dog - and truly smart. The past few days I have been working with him and not only is he soooo much calmer, but he listens and obeys! We still have quite a bit of work to do with him, but overall hubby made a lot of headway!!
The kids have been busy playing - very little school still as I have yet to clean the book cabinets out. That is our project for tomorrow. I realized the kids need a bit more direction with school - I am going to look into some other programs as I feel we need to expand more on learning. I will keep the PACES, as they work well for all 3 kids, but I want to be more focused with schooling them. R is going to be 10 next month and he is 1-2 years behind. He was very slow to start in the reading department. Now that he is reading, I am very much to blame for not helping him get further. I have been focusing on too many other things. My sister is doing the Charlotte Mason method - I may look into that. I will reasearch a few different methods and see what is going to work best for each of them. It will be hard with working, but I now seem to have much more energy.
Currently I am involved in way too many projects. I am almost done with the scarves. R's is all done and mine is almost complete. The girls still like theirs from last year so I may or may not finish theirs. I started a patchwork crochet blanket with 4 diffferent colors. I will post pictures when I get about 9 squares done. That will be my project to finish by next winter! :)
My other big project is truly consuming a lot of time - however sooo worth it! Not only do I earn money from it, but it is so neat to truly make people happy over something so simple! I am Polish and pierogi are a big tradition for holiday dinners. I made some pierogi ornaments for my mother's pierogi stand at the Buffalo market 2 years ago and they were a hit - never intended to sell them - just made a few to decorate her table tree. Well people kept asking to buy them - so I made more and ended up selling hundreds of them in a span of 2 weeks - including on Ebay - just before Christmas. So this year I decided I should make some to earn a little extra money - and I have already sold close to 100 in the past 2 weeks - I went and got a whole bunch more supplies as we are still quite a ways away from Christmas! I truly enjoy hearing how happy they make people!
I am still looking into the future - we need to plan for certain things - like planting fruit trees this coming spring, and building a chicken coup on our property. We still do not know when we are going to settle on the land - it changes all the time - but now we have to wait a bit longer as we felt called to buy the additional lot next to ours. We prayed for the last 6 months over it. And now it will be ours soon. We are all so excited about this! It is truly a blessing to be able to buy all that land!
But for now I will focus mainly on my children, their schooling, dog training, and my projects. I am also focused on eating all natural again and keeping our food costs down. I bought a 2 qt container today and quite a few pounds of oats. I am so sick of paying so much money for granola! I spent 1/2 the price buying bulk organic oats - and mixed together my own granola - oats, raisins (organic bulk is still decently priced), vanilla extract, and maple syrup (all organic). The kids tried a few bites and loved it! They have been crying about having eggs almost daily - and I can't stand giving them cereal. I have not had time to soak oats and grains for oatmeal and pancakes. So this was a good compromise. And better on our budget! Especially now that I am making my own vanilla extract! It still has 6 weeks to go, but it smells AMAZING! Can't wait to have our home made vanilla extract!
The juicing is adding to our budget though :( - it truly is more expensive to be healthier in the short term - however in the long run it truly pays off. I am just hoping we can get some decent apple trees on our property this spring! Apples are the base of our juice and get quite pricy when buying large amounts. But feeling so much better in just a few days time is worth it to me and my whole family. Berries are another pricy item and frozen berries make for cold juice. Can't wait to have our own berry bushes! :)
I will leave off with a few pics:
Hubby and I are at that point where we are looking too far ahead. We have so many plans for our land - I often feel like I forget about what is in front of me. So I stepped back this week and took a good look at myself - not good I must say. I have of course gained weight (way too much eating the SAD way), our kids are fiesty (though not out of control), our dog has been a hassle, and it just seems like we are stalled on the side of the road. We are still in NY - we are hoping to get a job in a few weeks in the south somewhere for better weather. We have been praying for an answer as to where we should go next. It seems God is still holding out on letting us know. :)
So I have made some adjustments in the things I CAN control - number one the weight and fatigue had to be roped in. I went back on a modified Maker's Diet. I still have to work so I must be reasonable. I have kept an ever so small portion of carbs and dairy in (I mean like 1-2 oz of cheese per day and about 3 bites of potatoes worth + juice). Not much - but enough to keep my body from severely detoxing. I cannot afford to be so fatigued from the detoxing - I would not function well at work! So out came my juicer and it has been such a blessing! I have read over and over the benefits of juicing, but never did it consistently. This past week I juiced 4-5 times and I have had more energy than I know what to do with the past few days! It is amazing! I know it is not the diet as the diet has always made me feel tired in the first few weeks. Plus I notice a difference in the kids - they seem peppier if that makes sense. :)
The dog has been a handful as neither hubby nor I have been consistent with training - never seem to have time! But hubby got the ball rolling this past week with some serious training and attention. And BOY has it paid off! He really is a very good dog - and truly smart. The past few days I have been working with him and not only is he soooo much calmer, but he listens and obeys! We still have quite a bit of work to do with him, but overall hubby made a lot of headway!!
The kids have been busy playing - very little school still as I have yet to clean the book cabinets out. That is our project for tomorrow. I realized the kids need a bit more direction with school - I am going to look into some other programs as I feel we need to expand more on learning. I will keep the PACES, as they work well for all 3 kids, but I want to be more focused with schooling them. R is going to be 10 next month and he is 1-2 years behind. He was very slow to start in the reading department. Now that he is reading, I am very much to blame for not helping him get further. I have been focusing on too many other things. My sister is doing the Charlotte Mason method - I may look into that. I will reasearch a few different methods and see what is going to work best for each of them. It will be hard with working, but I now seem to have much more energy.
Currently I am involved in way too many projects. I am almost done with the scarves. R's is all done and mine is almost complete. The girls still like theirs from last year so I may or may not finish theirs. I started a patchwork crochet blanket with 4 diffferent colors. I will post pictures when I get about 9 squares done. That will be my project to finish by next winter! :)
My other big project is truly consuming a lot of time - however sooo worth it! Not only do I earn money from it, but it is so neat to truly make people happy over something so simple! I am Polish and pierogi are a big tradition for holiday dinners. I made some pierogi ornaments for my mother's pierogi stand at the Buffalo market 2 years ago and they were a hit - never intended to sell them - just made a few to decorate her table tree. Well people kept asking to buy them - so I made more and ended up selling hundreds of them in a span of 2 weeks - including on Ebay - just before Christmas. So this year I decided I should make some to earn a little extra money - and I have already sold close to 100 in the past 2 weeks - I went and got a whole bunch more supplies as we are still quite a ways away from Christmas! I truly enjoy hearing how happy they make people!
I am still looking into the future - we need to plan for certain things - like planting fruit trees this coming spring, and building a chicken coup on our property. We still do not know when we are going to settle on the land - it changes all the time - but now we have to wait a bit longer as we felt called to buy the additional lot next to ours. We prayed for the last 6 months over it. And now it will be ours soon. We are all so excited about this! It is truly a blessing to be able to buy all that land!
But for now I will focus mainly on my children, their schooling, dog training, and my projects. I am also focused on eating all natural again and keeping our food costs down. I bought a 2 qt container today and quite a few pounds of oats. I am so sick of paying so much money for granola! I spent 1/2 the price buying bulk organic oats - and mixed together my own granola - oats, raisins (organic bulk is still decently priced), vanilla extract, and maple syrup (all organic). The kids tried a few bites and loved it! They have been crying about having eggs almost daily - and I can't stand giving them cereal. I have not had time to soak oats and grains for oatmeal and pancakes. So this was a good compromise. And better on our budget! Especially now that I am making my own vanilla extract! It still has 6 weeks to go, but it smells AMAZING! Can't wait to have our home made vanilla extract!
The juicing is adding to our budget though :( - it truly is more expensive to be healthier in the short term - however in the long run it truly pays off. I am just hoping we can get some decent apple trees on our property this spring! Apples are the base of our juice and get quite pricy when buying large amounts. But feeling so much better in just a few days time is worth it to me and my whole family. Berries are another pricy item and frozen berries make for cold juice. Can't wait to have our own berry bushes! :)
I will leave off with a few pics:
E going on a hike on the land - possibly our future driveway
Our 1st planned building site
Our new building site - this will be the view from one of our windows!
Scarves to keep the kiddos warm!
Pierogi ornaments
Home is....
...most definitely where the heart is. Home is NOT a house decorated all pretty for us. It is not 4 walls and a roof. It is where ever we end up TOGETHER. That is crucial - and how we as a family have grown so close. We do not have a house on our property yet....we are travelers. Soon, very soon, we will take up residence on our land and it will be our next home. We have had many many homes. But no matter where we are, we are home as long as the 5 of us are all together.
This past week, our most recent home - our travel trailer - bit the dust. We are blessed that our hot water tank started leaking. It caused hubby to pull it out to see what needed fixing, and in doing so he discovered a major leak from the roof that was dripping down the inside part of the wall (probably for many months now). That wall is soft and spongy and worst of all MOLDY. Hmmmm, all that fatigue over the past 6 months is now starting to make sense. There is little we can do to fix it - that is without investing a lot of money. So it needs to be scrapped - we cannot in good conscious sell it as is - mold is just too toxic. It is probably through the whole one wall of the trailer - possibly in all 4 walls.
Again we are so thankful - funny thing is the hot water tank is no longer leaking. I think God is trying to push us in a specific direction. I think we just need to pray and be more patient - especially me. I have a hard time with that patience thing. I get frustrated too easily. I need to learn to silence that brain and emotions of mine and try to just listen.
Anyway, life is otherwise good. I have my conference in 2 weeks. We went to Rochester and visited family the other day. We got a lot of stuff organized in storage. We are preparing for our next assignment - cleaning house - getting rid of summer stuff and preparing for the cold. R's scarf is done. The girls found their scarves from last year so I will take my time on their scarves and work on mine now.
Puppy is doing good. He went through a growth spurt I think - he got all thin on us - time to increase his food portions. That will make him happy! :)
Well off I go back to making scarves. It is helping to quiet my brain down - which is truly needed right now! :)
This past week, our most recent home - our travel trailer - bit the dust. We are blessed that our hot water tank started leaking. It caused hubby to pull it out to see what needed fixing, and in doing so he discovered a major leak from the roof that was dripping down the inside part of the wall (probably for many months now). That wall is soft and spongy and worst of all MOLDY. Hmmmm, all that fatigue over the past 6 months is now starting to make sense. There is little we can do to fix it - that is without investing a lot of money. So it needs to be scrapped - we cannot in good conscious sell it as is - mold is just too toxic. It is probably through the whole one wall of the trailer - possibly in all 4 walls.
Again we are so thankful - funny thing is the hot water tank is no longer leaking. I think God is trying to push us in a specific direction. I think we just need to pray and be more patient - especially me. I have a hard time with that patience thing. I get frustrated too easily. I need to learn to silence that brain and emotions of mine and try to just listen.
Anyway, life is otherwise good. I have my conference in 2 weeks. We went to Rochester and visited family the other day. We got a lot of stuff organized in storage. We are preparing for our next assignment - cleaning house - getting rid of summer stuff and preparing for the cold. R's scarf is done. The girls found their scarves from last year so I will take my time on their scarves and work on mine now.
Puppy is doing good. He went through a growth spurt I think - he got all thin on us - time to increase his food portions. That will make him happy! :)
Well off I go back to making scarves. It is helping to quiet my brain down - which is truly needed right now! :)
Birthday, County Fair, Water Leaks, and A YUMMY Dessert!
These past few weeks have been crazy wonderful! We had G's 6th birthday to celebrate...she wanted a day at the mall. Then we had cake for dessert. She wanted an oreo ice cream cake. Unfortunately it had an ingredient in it that I cannot have due to allergies. :( But everyone else quite enjoyed it!! It was the near last store bought dessert we will have for quite a while. We have all fallen backwards in health over the past 6 months or so and it is all related to diet. So time to return to the basics. I was going to attempt the GAPS diet, but after reading a very wonderful blog post regarding how hard it is in the beginning and how preparing batches upon batches of broth truly helps, I knew I had to pan that diet for now. I have an 8 cu ft fridge. There is NO room to freeze batches of broth! So we go back to our old standby...the Maker's Diet utilizing the Weston A Price Foundation guidelines. I did not tell the kids until today (day 1) to avoid the drama. They took it quite well. I bargained that I would make homemade cookies for the up coming holidays if they kept their whining to a minimum. 4 weeks of the first 2 stages will be hard, but it will help us come off the sugar load we have been on. By the time Halloween hits I should be able to make simple low sugar cookies and have them be supreme in the eyes of the kids! :)
Speaking of desserts, I have one up my sleeve that is a BIG hit! I got the idea from the GAPS book and tweeked the recipe a bit. Boiled apples. What I do is cut up about 6 apples and slice them. I then boil the slices for 5-10 minutes or until the apples are soft. Then I drain the water, and add about 1-2 tbsp butter (raw/fresh butter), 1-2 tbsp organic maple syrup, 1 tsp organic vanilla extract, and lastly dashes of cinnamon. I am not exact on my measurements.... everything is eyeballed. See below for pictures. My kids LOVE this! In fact they beg for more! It is a good substitute for apple pie - less sugar and carbs - and less mess and time! The funny thing is I find them to be ok, but not great. Our neighbor's granddaughter comes over often to play with the girls - she's about 5 or 6. I asked her if she wanted any and gave her just a few bites to try as her grandma says she is a very picky eater and does not eat healthy foods. Well she gobbled up her bites and asked for more! Her grandmother then asked me for the recipe! Too funny.
The other day hubby took the kids to the county fair while I was at work. They got to go on a lot of rides, watch pigs race, and pet some calves. They had a blast and are even more excited to go to KY to get our own farm animals!
Speaking of KY, we are praying God leads us there soon. We should find out early this week if we get approved for a mortgage for a modular home. We did not think they could even get the pieces to the home down our road because it is so narrow, but 2 companies sent people out there to measure, and lucky for us, they said they can get the house down our road! Now it is a matter of time and patience. Once we find out how much we are approved for we can sit down and pick out a house. Then in a few months we can move in! It will not come soon enough! Our trailer stood up well in the hurricaine, but with all the rain we are continuing to get, we have sprung a leak in the back. The floor next to our bed is soaked! Let's just say I was a BIT upset! It is going to rain for the next day or 2 and it is coming through the walls, not the ceiling. No way to seal it until it dries out! UGH! But thankfully God has blessed us with this trailer and that it is not leaking much worse ruining more than just carpet.
Here are a few pics:
Speaking of desserts, I have one up my sleeve that is a BIG hit! I got the idea from the GAPS book and tweeked the recipe a bit. Boiled apples. What I do is cut up about 6 apples and slice them. I then boil the slices for 5-10 minutes or until the apples are soft. Then I drain the water, and add about 1-2 tbsp butter (raw/fresh butter), 1-2 tbsp organic maple syrup, 1 tsp organic vanilla extract, and lastly dashes of cinnamon. I am not exact on my measurements.... everything is eyeballed. See below for pictures. My kids LOVE this! In fact they beg for more! It is a good substitute for apple pie - less sugar and carbs - and less mess and time! The funny thing is I find them to be ok, but not great. Our neighbor's granddaughter comes over often to play with the girls - she's about 5 or 6. I asked her if she wanted any and gave her just a few bites to try as her grandma says she is a very picky eater and does not eat healthy foods. Well she gobbled up her bites and asked for more! Her grandmother then asked me for the recipe! Too funny.
The other day hubby took the kids to the county fair while I was at work. They got to go on a lot of rides, watch pigs race, and pet some calves. They had a blast and are even more excited to go to KY to get our own farm animals!
Speaking of KY, we are praying God leads us there soon. We should find out early this week if we get approved for a mortgage for a modular home. We did not think they could even get the pieces to the home down our road because it is so narrow, but 2 companies sent people out there to measure, and lucky for us, they said they can get the house down our road! Now it is a matter of time and patience. Once we find out how much we are approved for we can sit down and pick out a house. Then in a few months we can move in! It will not come soon enough! Our trailer stood up well in the hurricaine, but with all the rain we are continuing to get, we have sprung a leak in the back. The floor next to our bed is soaked! Let's just say I was a BIT upset! It is going to rain for the next day or 2 and it is coming through the walls, not the ceiling. No way to seal it until it dries out! UGH! But thankfully God has blessed us with this trailer and that it is not leaking much worse ruining more than just carpet.
Here are a few pics:
The birthday girl!!
3 happy kids!
Oh how they love the merry go round!
The bumper cars were a big hit for R!
No, we can not take the calf home!
Boiling my apple slices! See the "counter space" around the stove top? That is ALL I have for counter space, hence why we are not doing the GAPS diet or making our own kefir, yogurt, etc.
The ingredients used for our boiled/baked apples.
The finished yummy product! The kids go bananas over this treat! Once we can introduce apples in the diet in a few weeks, this will be the first thing they will ask for!
Taking things for granted...
...is something we do daily don't we? We whine and gripe and complain about this and that. Some people throw hissy fits if their cell phones are out of commission for an hour. Some people have no idea what it would be like to lose everything.
Yet again, our nation is struggling with the aftermath of another natural disaster. Irene came close to us...however we are thankful it weakened before it did and that we are inland. It could have been so much worse if the hurricane stayed more over water and stayed strong. Albany and the surrounding communities are struggling. Not as bad as the coastal towns by far, but still, homes were lost, cars flooded, and a lot of damage from fallen trees and high water. We prepared ahead of time - battening everything done securely and taking our children and few prized possessions to a hotel. We were not sure if our 25+ year old travel trailer was going to hold up in this weather. No big trees around and we are on higher ground....but still. We were not taking any chances. So we stayed 2 nights in Albany close to work. We survived the restlessness that comes with being indoors for a few days in a row. :)
Today we came back home and found everything intact - not a wet spot inside. I was so utterly thankful! I nearly cried! The thought of having to go through wet belongings and find a new place to live was an overwhelming thought. But God blessed us and our home. :) The thing is for the last 2 months I have done nothing but complain about our little home. I have cried and stamped my feet over not having a suitable kitchen and bedrooms for the kids. Mind you for a year up to that point, I rarely complained, seeing the fruit of our labor and sacrafice. Not only did we pay off nearly all our bad debt, but we came closer together as a family. We have bonded like none I have come across. I still marvel at the transformation sometimes. However we have had some negative effects like poorer eating habits and some bad attitudes from the kids. I can't possibly make my own home made things like bread and kefir and yogurt. I have absolutely no room for those ventures. I miss making things from scratch and mine and hubby's waistline bulges are paying the price! I have stamped my feet at having to take down the table at night and put it back up in the morning - EVERY morning and EVERY night. It get tiresome and it has worn on me.
BUT today I rejoiced at seeing our home standing and dry! I am thankful to have a dry roof over my head tonight. I am thankful for the electricity still running and the food in my fridge (however small it may be). I will be thanking God for sparing our home and keeping us safe and will do my ultimate to not complain anymore. I am thankful for my children, no matter how crazy they may drive me some days! I will not take things for granted anymore. Every day is a gift, no matter how trying it may be. And it is our duty to make sure we make the most of each and every day to show God just how thankful we are.
Yet again, our nation is struggling with the aftermath of another natural disaster. Irene came close to us...however we are thankful it weakened before it did and that we are inland. It could have been so much worse if the hurricane stayed more over water and stayed strong. Albany and the surrounding communities are struggling. Not as bad as the coastal towns by far, but still, homes were lost, cars flooded, and a lot of damage from fallen trees and high water. We prepared ahead of time - battening everything done securely and taking our children and few prized possessions to a hotel. We were not sure if our 25+ year old travel trailer was going to hold up in this weather. No big trees around and we are on higher ground....but still. We were not taking any chances. So we stayed 2 nights in Albany close to work. We survived the restlessness that comes with being indoors for a few days in a row. :)
Today we came back home and found everything intact - not a wet spot inside. I was so utterly thankful! I nearly cried! The thought of having to go through wet belongings and find a new place to live was an overwhelming thought. But God blessed us and our home. :) The thing is for the last 2 months I have done nothing but complain about our little home. I have cried and stamped my feet over not having a suitable kitchen and bedrooms for the kids. Mind you for a year up to that point, I rarely complained, seeing the fruit of our labor and sacrafice. Not only did we pay off nearly all our bad debt, but we came closer together as a family. We have bonded like none I have come across. I still marvel at the transformation sometimes. However we have had some negative effects like poorer eating habits and some bad attitudes from the kids. I can't possibly make my own home made things like bread and kefir and yogurt. I have absolutely no room for those ventures. I miss making things from scratch and mine and hubby's waistline bulges are paying the price! I have stamped my feet at having to take down the table at night and put it back up in the morning - EVERY morning and EVERY night. It get tiresome and it has worn on me.
BUT today I rejoiced at seeing our home standing and dry! I am thankful to have a dry roof over my head tonight. I am thankful for the electricity still running and the food in my fridge (however small it may be). I will be thanking God for sparing our home and keeping us safe and will do my ultimate to not complain anymore. I am thankful for my children, no matter how crazy they may drive me some days! I will not take things for granted anymore. Every day is a gift, no matter how trying it may be. And it is our duty to make sure we make the most of each and every day to show God just how thankful we are.
Kentucky or Bust!!!
Well, the decision is made (however not finalized)....we are on our way to Kentucky! We prayed A LOT about this decision - either we go back to Rochester and live in our house for the next 2-10 years, then build in KY, or sell our house and make the journey to our land. We prayed that when we talked to our tenant, the decision she gave us would be our answer. We told her that we either needed her to move out at the end of her lease in Nov. or buy the house. We explained we couldn't afford the upkeep on 2 properties. She understood and stated she would talk with her husband and get back to us in a few weeks. About 10 days later she got back to us and stated they were planning to buy the house! Mind you, there are a few of us that would have loved to go back to Rochester for a few years, but we have been and will continue to let God lead us. We know He has our best interests at heart and will guide us.
So now comes the waiting game...continuing to travel until we have the house sold....then we can begin the building process. We know that while we have an "answer", God still works in mysterious ways. Will the sale fall through and we end up going to Rochester after all? Only God knows and we will trust Him completely. We are hoping that our tenant stating she is buying our house is our answer, but God does not always answer our prayers in our desired time frame! :)
Anyway, in the meantime, we will begin some planning....planning to take travel jobs near or in KY so we can begin work on the property....clearing out areas, setting up a no-till garden, and planting fruit trees and bushes. We will also be doing some heavy financial planning. We need to make sure that we can work with what God has given us. I still plan to stay home. I have started working on an internet business, and plan to have a natural healing business from our home.
For my GAPS training, I am re-reading the GAPS book. All I can say is OH MY!!! I cannot believe all the stuff I have "forgotten". It could not have come at a better time! The other day I was expressing my frustration over our diets and my slowly declining health to hubby. He took the reigns, went shopping, and decided to keep us on a path to whole food eating. I have been having a lot of cravings, but with reading the book, and knowing what is going on in my gut, I have been able to keep those cravings at bay (for now). With still having to work outside the home for now, going on the full GAPS diet may now be possible, but hopefully we can stay as close to it as possible.
Well that is all for now. In the process of trying to get bills and paperwork done. It is a rainy day and the kids are having fun playing with their toys inside.
So now comes the waiting game...continuing to travel until we have the house sold....then we can begin the building process. We know that while we have an "answer", God still works in mysterious ways. Will the sale fall through and we end up going to Rochester after all? Only God knows and we will trust Him completely. We are hoping that our tenant stating she is buying our house is our answer, but God does not always answer our prayers in our desired time frame! :)
Anyway, in the meantime, we will begin some planning....planning to take travel jobs near or in KY so we can begin work on the property....clearing out areas, setting up a no-till garden, and planting fruit trees and bushes. We will also be doing some heavy financial planning. We need to make sure that we can work with what God has given us. I still plan to stay home. I have started working on an internet business, and plan to have a natural healing business from our home.
For my GAPS training, I am re-reading the GAPS book. All I can say is OH MY!!! I cannot believe all the stuff I have "forgotten". It could not have come at a better time! The other day I was expressing my frustration over our diets and my slowly declining health to hubby. He took the reigns, went shopping, and decided to keep us on a path to whole food eating. I have been having a lot of cravings, but with reading the book, and knowing what is going on in my gut, I have been able to keep those cravings at bay (for now). With still having to work outside the home for now, going on the full GAPS diet may now be possible, but hopefully we can stay as close to it as possible.
Well that is all for now. In the process of trying to get bills and paperwork done. It is a rainy day and the kids are having fun playing with their toys inside.
A Simple Life Should NOT Include Processed Foods
I know there are many people out there who think this title is an oxymoron. Buying processed food is cheaper and quicker to make, therefore "simplifying" life. I will totally and utterly disagree! Eating all that processed food causes disease, hence causing sickness, missed days at work and school, and so forth. Life is not simple when the family is sick. Yet with life getting hectic again, I have to say I splurged on processed food this week. A horror for sure. We typically end up eating out 2-3 meals per week because of convenience. So I am keeping some cheap convenience food at home to prevent this over spending we have been doing. Here's what I bought: tuna helper, mac and cheese, and pizza maker. I doubt we will go through this in a week....hubby and I cannot stand the thought of eating that food again, but eating out is killing us financially and of course killing any healthy eating.
So I am in a fact making things more complicated by buying this food. I know this and I feel awful about it. But with working full-time, I simply cannot do it all. I want to go back to the 100% whole foods living where I spent the majority of my time in the kitchen, when we were sooooo much healthier! That to me was SIMPLE. Working full time, homeschooling, and trying to eat right is consuming my whole life. I have not had time to blog or launch my business. I know it is only a matter of a few more months and I can quit working outside the home. :)
What will I do? Well once we are settled somewhere (be it NY or KY), then I will start us all on the GAPS diet. I have given attention to quite a few different diets....they all include the most natural way to eat. But the GAPS diet is special in its approach. I am blessed with a wonderful husband who has literally pushed me to go to a seminar offered by Dr. Campbell-McBride, the founder of the GAPS diet. She is offering only 4 seminars in the US this fall before heading to Europe to give seminars there. Once I go through the seminar I will be a certified GAPS provider. Since I will be starting my own nurse/health consulting business soon, this will be an amazing credential to have. After the seminar, I will then start my training for TBA (total body analysis). I am VERY excited about all this and look forward to working from home, doing something that I believe in and enjoy.
Well I have to go run and pick up puppy from the groomers. Puppy is no longer puppy size. He is almost 8 months old and still growing like a weed!!
I will leave off with a few pictures of my quick trip south to see my sister and family:
So I am in a fact making things more complicated by buying this food. I know this and I feel awful about it. But with working full-time, I simply cannot do it all. I want to go back to the 100% whole foods living where I spent the majority of my time in the kitchen, when we were sooooo much healthier! That to me was SIMPLE. Working full time, homeschooling, and trying to eat right is consuming my whole life. I have not had time to blog or launch my business. I know it is only a matter of a few more months and I can quit working outside the home. :)
What will I do? Well once we are settled somewhere (be it NY or KY), then I will start us all on the GAPS diet. I have given attention to quite a few different diets....they all include the most natural way to eat. But the GAPS diet is special in its approach. I am blessed with a wonderful husband who has literally pushed me to go to a seminar offered by Dr. Campbell-McBride, the founder of the GAPS diet. She is offering only 4 seminars in the US this fall before heading to Europe to give seminars there. Once I go through the seminar I will be a certified GAPS provider. Since I will be starting my own nurse/health consulting business soon, this will be an amazing credential to have. After the seminar, I will then start my training for TBA (total body analysis). I am VERY excited about all this and look forward to working from home, doing something that I believe in and enjoy.
Well I have to go run and pick up puppy from the groomers. Puppy is no longer puppy size. He is almost 8 months old and still growing like a weed!!
I will leave off with a few pictures of my quick trip south to see my sister and family:
Cousins, cousins, cousins, and a grandma!!!
This is me holding "Squishy", my sister's youngest. My sister, mom, and 2/7 of her children left for a few hours and I was in charge of the remaining 8 children 3 of those were mine). This picture is a testimony to the fun one can have making children clean. I became the evil aunt/witch, hence the cape. I walked around with 2 swords (one large and one small - they got a swat with the small sword just for the fun of it and the large sword was to be used for the one's not working and cleaning - that was used only as a threat, as it never touched one of the children that day). Below are the smiling faces of the children hard at work!
G's favorite chore in the world: vaccuuming!! She loved it so much she had everyone else dying to get a turn! No joke!!
Ummm, Jed, I can see you!!!
Terribly hard at work this one!!!
E should have been smiling as she was actually saying she was having a great time, but she did not like having to pause for a picture....once she starts a chore, she HAS to get it done and done right!
Here was one reward....dress up time!!!! They were all done cleaning and had a blast playing all sorts of games!
Not sure if the boys here were cleaning or playing...either way, lots of smiles!!!
New glasses, science fun, and 4th of July trip....
Ok, so my eyes have been strained for the past year since returning to work. I used to wear glasses as a child, but stopped somewhere in college. My eyesight actually improved after I stopped wearing glasses. But with working with a lot of documents and computers, my eyes are just straining too much. So today my glasses came in. They are pretty and I like them and WOW can I see sooooo much better! But taking them off, I see worse than ever! I do not think these will be a permanent thing for me. Probably just while working. I need to beef up on my cod liver oil and other supplements. :)
As for science fun, we went to the Children's Science museum here in Albany. Knowing that Albany is the capital of NY, I just assumed it would be a big city with a lot to offer. Ummm, not the case. We are originally from the Rochester, NY area and Rochester is way bigger than Albany! I mean, WAY bigger. It's so weird. When we went to the science museum, I guess I was still hoping for something "big", but lo and behold, tis not. :( Not that it is not worth going, but the children's museum in Rochester is well, grand in comparison, and of course nothing compares to the DC Smithsonian museums. But the kids themselves did not care one way or the other.....they loved it as it was someplace new to go to!!! So here are some pics:
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As for science fun, we went to the Children's Science museum here in Albany. Knowing that Albany is the capital of NY, I just assumed it would be a big city with a lot to offer. Ummm, not the case. We are originally from the Rochester, NY area and Rochester is way bigger than Albany! I mean, WAY bigger. It's so weird. When we went to the science museum, I guess I was still hoping for something "big", but lo and behold, tis not. :( Not that it is not worth going, but the children's museum in Rochester is well, grand in comparison, and of course nothing compares to the DC Smithsonian museums. But the kids themselves did not care one way or the other.....they loved it as it was someplace new to go to!!! So here are some pics:
The kids in a small cave
The girls on a scavenger hunt
E on TV doing a weather report.
Learning about windmills
More windmill fun
Magnet fun!!
So in a few days we are off to visit family in Rochester. It will be fun to see everyone! We have plans for a picnic and time at the beach. The kids are so very excited!!! Of course I am tired just thinking of all the packing and the logistics, but I am very much looking forward to it! :) We will take 3 days for ourselves here in Albany. We need some time to do spring cleaning around here and to have some family time for ourselves. Hopefully in a few months we can find time to visit all the other wonderful family we have throughout the country! :)
Revisiting a few things....
I often read about something new, try it, and then put it aside for one reason or another. People often mistake me for someone who does not finish something she starts. It is a hard perception to overcome. But I know in my heart that I finish the things that I truly believe I need to finish....everything else is just an experiment. Most people do not experiment enough in life.... they go about their days the same as the one before. They might take a vacation once a year and that is their "experiment". For me, life is an experiment all in itself. I embrace new things whole heartedly as they help to mold us and change us and in my opinion lead us to become better people. So I end up trying something new and sometimes revisiting it when I either have time or resources or have learned more about it (like knitting for example).
This past week I have revisited the McCombs plan....a specific plan to rid the body of excess yeast. I know I have not won that battle given my extreme sugar cravings, mood swings, etc. I tried the Maker's Diet but kept failing because the side effects from withdrawing from sugar were too extreme and I am in no position to deal with those side effects with having to work still. The thing with the McCombs plan is that it states that there are few to no side effects because of the daily sweating (via sauna) that helps release more of the toxins that cause those side effects. The thing is living in a travel trailer does not allow for daily saunas or long hot showers. There just simply is not enough hot water to accomplish this. So this week the YMCA was offering a deal...no sign up fee. Plus there is no yearly membership....it is month to month. When we are finished with our contract here, we just terminate our membership and there are no fees.
So off we went to the Y 2 times this week....the kids love the play area and I love the sauna!! Oy, is it HOT! But just in 2 days, my skin plagued by eczema that will not fully go away, is already clearing up. Good point to remember....always shower after using a sauna to wash away the toxins. I did not the first day and was in a state of constant itching. However yesterday I showered immediately and had NO itching the rest of the day. As for the diet aspect of the plan....I am working on it is all I have to say. I have some left over things I need to get rid of so I will start that part of the plan next week or so. One step at a time. :)
The other thing that needed revisiting was the energy work. As in everything God gave us, energy work can be used for good or evil. I think people have a notion that it is weird or even voo-doo. However God gave us energy all around us....in every living thing, including the air we breathe. How we use that energy is up to us. Some people just do not realize it is there. But it is. So after much research (especially from a Christian perspective), I have started back into it. I have read the book "Quantum Touch" as that book seems to give the more logical and scientific approach to energy work. I was encouraged to continue this and get the live seminar on DVD after helping a co-worker last week after she injured her arm. She had her arm yanked pretty bad and felt something rip/tear. SHe swore it was her rotator cuff as she could not raise her arm above her shoulder. She was in a lot of pain and was upset because she said financially she could not possibly afford to take even one day off. She continued to work past the injury and it was evident she was in a lot of pain. So I offered to do energy work on her shoulder. She said typically she wouldn't but said she was willing to try anything because of the pain at that point. So after 10 minutes of energy work, she went back to work and I went home. The next day she came up to me and was so excited because the pain was nearly all gone. The day after that, she said it was 100% better. She was very excited and of course so was I. God is good and so his His Creation.
This past week I have revisited the McCombs plan....a specific plan to rid the body of excess yeast. I know I have not won that battle given my extreme sugar cravings, mood swings, etc. I tried the Maker's Diet but kept failing because the side effects from withdrawing from sugar were too extreme and I am in no position to deal with those side effects with having to work still. The thing with the McCombs plan is that it states that there are few to no side effects because of the daily sweating (via sauna) that helps release more of the toxins that cause those side effects. The thing is living in a travel trailer does not allow for daily saunas or long hot showers. There just simply is not enough hot water to accomplish this. So this week the YMCA was offering a deal...no sign up fee. Plus there is no yearly membership....it is month to month. When we are finished with our contract here, we just terminate our membership and there are no fees.
So off we went to the Y 2 times this week....the kids love the play area and I love the sauna!! Oy, is it HOT! But just in 2 days, my skin plagued by eczema that will not fully go away, is already clearing up. Good point to remember....always shower after using a sauna to wash away the toxins. I did not the first day and was in a state of constant itching. However yesterday I showered immediately and had NO itching the rest of the day. As for the diet aspect of the plan....I am working on it is all I have to say. I have some left over things I need to get rid of so I will start that part of the plan next week or so. One step at a time. :)
The other thing that needed revisiting was the energy work. As in everything God gave us, energy work can be used for good or evil. I think people have a notion that it is weird or even voo-doo. However God gave us energy all around us....in every living thing, including the air we breathe. How we use that energy is up to us. Some people just do not realize it is there. But it is. So after much research (especially from a Christian perspective), I have started back into it. I have read the book "Quantum Touch" as that book seems to give the more logical and scientific approach to energy work. I was encouraged to continue this and get the live seminar on DVD after helping a co-worker last week after she injured her arm. She had her arm yanked pretty bad and felt something rip/tear. SHe swore it was her rotator cuff as she could not raise her arm above her shoulder. She was in a lot of pain and was upset because she said financially she could not possibly afford to take even one day off. She continued to work past the injury and it was evident she was in a lot of pain. So I offered to do energy work on her shoulder. She said typically she wouldn't but said she was willing to try anything because of the pain at that point. So after 10 minutes of energy work, she went back to work and I went home. The next day she came up to me and was so excited because the pain was nearly all gone. The day after that, she said it was 100% better. She was very excited and of course so was I. God is good and so his His Creation.
Lowered my cholesterol and new bikes...
Number one, things have been hectic. I picked up a day of over time this past week and it nearly toppled me over! So not worth the extra money! Lesson learned!
This week though I mustered up the strength to get a few necessary things done, like a physical. Typically I do not go to doctors, but being a nurse and all, I need a yearly physical that states I am healthy enough to work. Blah blah blah. Ok, so I go get a physical and request some blood work. 4 years ago when I was really sick, my liver enzymes were really high, my cholesterol was 244, and some other things were pretty off. I had my liver enzymes checked a few times since and they have been fine since taking the milk thistle. Well a few other things surprised me this week with my results.
First, my liver is completely normal. Good. Next my cholesterol went down to 208. Not perfect, but my good cholesterol went up the HDL) from 64 to 74. Then the biggest change was the triglycerides the BAD stuff). It was 150 before, now it is 82. Then the other bad cholesterol...the LDL went from 155 to 117. I still need to work on the bad cheating I do. But overall the profile is significantly better. To boot I have been following the Weston A Price Foundation dietary guidelines for the last 1.5 years. We eat butter (no substitutions), whole raw milk, red meat at least 2 x a week, eggs at least 4-5 times a week, and all those other "bad" things for cholesterol. The bottom line is those foods are what helped DROP my cholesterol. The only thing keeping it from being extraordinary is my bad cheating (on donuts, cakes, etc). I will pretty much guarantee if I stayed on a strick no cheating plan for 3 months, my cholesterol will be perfect. In fact I am thinking of taking on such a task. It would be a testimate to the hard work of the WAPF and all they stand for. It would help to prove once again that the food God created for us makes us healthy! It is the food created in factories that makes us sick and unwell and leads to cancer and heart disease. White bread, fast food, "healthy" low fat frozen dinner meals, pasta, beef from unhealthy cows, eggs from chickens fed a bad diet, pasteurized milk and food products.... those are what is bad for our bodies. Just because it is labeled "healthy" or "low-fat" or any other such label does not mean it is GOOD for your body. Those foods are truly bad, denatured, and full of chemicals. All which causes the body to have to fight and fight to stay well. Eventually the body grows weary (at younger and younger ages) of all this fighting and people come down with ailments from heart disease, cancer, reflux, gallbladder issues, kidney stones, IBS, and all sorts of other problems. Add to that a list of chemically produced medications meant to help you, but only harm you in the long run, and well it is no wonder our country is ridden with so many health problems.
Ok, so the bottom line is, with the proper God-given food, we can actually REVERSE some health problems. I am living proof of that. I still have a long way to go given just how bad things were for me 4 years ago, but I have regained my life back and am fighting to reverse the lingering small issues left. And for anyone who wants to know, I lost 85 pounds so far since starting the WAPF way of eating - without any exercise regimen. I walked from time to time and even tried running, but the fatigue always wore me down. It is now time to start exercising...now that I am actually healthy enough to do so. :)
Now for the new bikes.....oh what joy!! The girls finally got bikes this past week. They are all so excited! Part of the area where we are is gravel and the other part up the hill is asphalt. So daily either hubby or myself take the hike up the hill so they can learn how to ride. R learned all on his own with his boyish daredevil tactics (riding down hill on the gravel trying to balance - always giving me anxiety!). Now he is all about standing up and peddling really fast. Oh those boys I tell you!! The girls are content going in slow circles and ringing their bells! :)
Here are a few pics:
This week though I mustered up the strength to get a few necessary things done, like a physical. Typically I do not go to doctors, but being a nurse and all, I need a yearly physical that states I am healthy enough to work. Blah blah blah. Ok, so I go get a physical and request some blood work. 4 years ago when I was really sick, my liver enzymes were really high, my cholesterol was 244, and some other things were pretty off. I had my liver enzymes checked a few times since and they have been fine since taking the milk thistle. Well a few other things surprised me this week with my results.
First, my liver is completely normal. Good. Next my cholesterol went down to 208. Not perfect, but my good cholesterol went up the HDL) from 64 to 74. Then the biggest change was the triglycerides the BAD stuff). It was 150 before, now it is 82. Then the other bad cholesterol...the LDL went from 155 to 117. I still need to work on the bad cheating I do. But overall the profile is significantly better. To boot I have been following the Weston A Price Foundation dietary guidelines for the last 1.5 years. We eat butter (no substitutions), whole raw milk, red meat at least 2 x a week, eggs at least 4-5 times a week, and all those other "bad" things for cholesterol. The bottom line is those foods are what helped DROP my cholesterol. The only thing keeping it from being extraordinary is my bad cheating (on donuts, cakes, etc). I will pretty much guarantee if I stayed on a strick no cheating plan for 3 months, my cholesterol will be perfect. In fact I am thinking of taking on such a task. It would be a testimate to the hard work of the WAPF and all they stand for. It would help to prove once again that the food God created for us makes us healthy! It is the food created in factories that makes us sick and unwell and leads to cancer and heart disease. White bread, fast food, "healthy" low fat frozen dinner meals, pasta, beef from unhealthy cows, eggs from chickens fed a bad diet, pasteurized milk and food products.... those are what is bad for our bodies. Just because it is labeled "healthy" or "low-fat" or any other such label does not mean it is GOOD for your body. Those foods are truly bad, denatured, and full of chemicals. All which causes the body to have to fight and fight to stay well. Eventually the body grows weary (at younger and younger ages) of all this fighting and people come down with ailments from heart disease, cancer, reflux, gallbladder issues, kidney stones, IBS, and all sorts of other problems. Add to that a list of chemically produced medications meant to help you, but only harm you in the long run, and well it is no wonder our country is ridden with so many health problems.
Ok, so the bottom line is, with the proper God-given food, we can actually REVERSE some health problems. I am living proof of that. I still have a long way to go given just how bad things were for me 4 years ago, but I have regained my life back and am fighting to reverse the lingering small issues left. And for anyone who wants to know, I lost 85 pounds so far since starting the WAPF way of eating - without any exercise regimen. I walked from time to time and even tried running, but the fatigue always wore me down. It is now time to start exercising...now that I am actually healthy enough to do so. :)
Now for the new bikes.....oh what joy!! The girls finally got bikes this past week. They are all so excited! Part of the area where we are is gravel and the other part up the hill is asphalt. So daily either hubby or myself take the hike up the hill so they can learn how to ride. R learned all on his own with his boyish daredevil tactics (riding down hill on the gravel trying to balance - always giving me anxiety!). Now he is all about standing up and peddling really fast. Oh those boys I tell you!! The girls are content going in slow circles and ringing their bells! :)
Here are a few pics:
Our little daredevil, going too fast to take a clear picture!
Check out those tassles!!! Oh and the baby seat was a HIT!
Wow, check out the tassles AND that huge smile!!!
Our handsome puppy at 5 months old....we love his coloring! All that good raw food we feed him!
He is a long-haired German Shephard- all soft fluff!!
Healthy Eating, Constructive Playtime, and Puppy Training
I have been MIA all week....no computer at all until today! I got caught up in a bunch of new things on my days off....very good new things!!!
First the healthy eating part is not new...just a reminder that I HAVE to get on the ball! My skin is breaking out all over again and the kids have various little things. We stopped the eating out and have made a huge effort to keep the junk out of the trailer, but I am guilty of bringing a little in here and there because of my sugar addiction. So I am gearing up for a start date as that seems to work best for me. I won't be telling anyone...not even the kids. They will remain on the Maker's Diet stage 3 where they can have wheat and milk. But for me, I am going to the strictest stage 1 where I will have withdrawal symptoms and whatnot. But there is never a good time to do this so now or never the way I see it!
On top of keeping the healthy eating going, I have decided to get the kids involved in little projects that will hone in on certain skills that will be constructive at some point in their lives. Toys just are not constructive in my mind....good for the imagination mind you, but they truly need something else. So off we went to Walmart and got the girls a big loom set and new yarn. There are 4 looms in different sizes. E had a beginner's one and did very well, making herself an apron with pockets, a bonnet, and a basket. G wanted to try and at age 5 I was not sure how she would do. But lo and behold she is doing exceptional! She is on her 3rd "napkin" - she remebered playing with her cousins in NC last year and thought play napkins would be a good idea for their play food. I am shocked at her creativity! It is so good to see them excited about something that will eventually turn into them making their own clothes and such! There was little for R to choose from, but we have decided to try to enrich his drawing skills. He is very good at drawing and will spend hours doing it. So he got some new supplies for that. Lately we have gotten into a new routine....a good one at that. Some days there are a few disruptions, but for the most part we have been consistent with getting up early, making breakfast, doing school, and then running errands. Play time after lunch, and reading after dinner.
As for the puppy....he is now 5 months old and getting bigger by the day. He was in need of some serious training since getting back from KY. So each day I have taken him out for simple command training. But the one thing I found difficult was taking him for a walk....at 5 months he was starting to walk ME! He is nearing 45 pounds and very strong. Our neighbor recommended the shock collar, but I am against those (except for the electric fences). I did some research and settled on the prong collar....best $10 I ever spent! He is a whole different dog! The first day he was a spaz... he wouldn't pull past what I gave him except the first time, but he was whining and spinning and going ape about it....basically he was ticked off, but we praised him up and down and now he is so easy to walk! For those with a puppy, I would highly recommend the Leerburg website for training DVD's and toys and such. We have learned A LOT from this guy and cannot be happier with the outcomes we are seeing. We got the German Shephard for protection purposes. They are great family dogs and very protective of their whole "pack", not just their alpha. And our puppy is earning high marks with us with his protectiveness towards the kids. Thankfully he is past the biting/nipping stage. Soon we will start having the kids do some simple training with the dog so that he learns to obey commands from all of us.
Just one final note...if you have a dog or puppy, I would highly recommend researching a raw diet. The raw diet is based on what wild dogs eat in nature....they do not get their food from a bag. :) We started our puppy on a raw diet from day one....3 months later his coat looks like silk and feels super soft! His teeth are pearly white and he does not smell, even after getting wet. We truly believe a truly healthy diet makes a stronger, healthier, and even smarter dog. We have weighed the pros and cons and the pros won out BIG time. We feed him all sorts of stuff...this morning was a knuckle bone, 2 chicken drumsticks, and an egg....all raw. He gets things from ground beef and turkey to pork chops and lamb. People have the misconception that it costs too much, but it doesn't have to. I shop for the dog once a week, buying things in bulk and taking it home and re-packaging it in smaller packages. I have so far only spent about $10-15 per week. What I would pay in vet bills and shampoo if I fed him bagged food would be higher in his lifetime.
Anyway, off I go to get ready for work. I love this new schedule!! 3 days on, 4 off every week. It has provided that extra consistency we all needed!!
First the healthy eating part is not new...just a reminder that I HAVE to get on the ball! My skin is breaking out all over again and the kids have various little things. We stopped the eating out and have made a huge effort to keep the junk out of the trailer, but I am guilty of bringing a little in here and there because of my sugar addiction. So I am gearing up for a start date as that seems to work best for me. I won't be telling anyone...not even the kids. They will remain on the Maker's Diet stage 3 where they can have wheat and milk. But for me, I am going to the strictest stage 1 where I will have withdrawal symptoms and whatnot. But there is never a good time to do this so now or never the way I see it!
On top of keeping the healthy eating going, I have decided to get the kids involved in little projects that will hone in on certain skills that will be constructive at some point in their lives. Toys just are not constructive in my mind....good for the imagination mind you, but they truly need something else. So off we went to Walmart and got the girls a big loom set and new yarn. There are 4 looms in different sizes. E had a beginner's one and did very well, making herself an apron with pockets, a bonnet, and a basket. G wanted to try and at age 5 I was not sure how she would do. But lo and behold she is doing exceptional! She is on her 3rd "napkin" - she remebered playing with her cousins in NC last year and thought play napkins would be a good idea for their play food. I am shocked at her creativity! It is so good to see them excited about something that will eventually turn into them making their own clothes and such! There was little for R to choose from, but we have decided to try to enrich his drawing skills. He is very good at drawing and will spend hours doing it. So he got some new supplies for that. Lately we have gotten into a new routine....a good one at that. Some days there are a few disruptions, but for the most part we have been consistent with getting up early, making breakfast, doing school, and then running errands. Play time after lunch, and reading after dinner.
As for the puppy....he is now 5 months old and getting bigger by the day. He was in need of some serious training since getting back from KY. So each day I have taken him out for simple command training. But the one thing I found difficult was taking him for a walk....at 5 months he was starting to walk ME! He is nearing 45 pounds and very strong. Our neighbor recommended the shock collar, but I am against those (except for the electric fences). I did some research and settled on the prong collar....best $10 I ever spent! He is a whole different dog! The first day he was a spaz... he wouldn't pull past what I gave him except the first time, but he was whining and spinning and going ape about it....basically he was ticked off, but we praised him up and down and now he is so easy to walk! For those with a puppy, I would highly recommend the Leerburg website for training DVD's and toys and such. We have learned A LOT from this guy and cannot be happier with the outcomes we are seeing. We got the German Shephard for protection purposes. They are great family dogs and very protective of their whole "pack", not just their alpha. And our puppy is earning high marks with us with his protectiveness towards the kids. Thankfully he is past the biting/nipping stage. Soon we will start having the kids do some simple training with the dog so that he learns to obey commands from all of us.
Just one final note...if you have a dog or puppy, I would highly recommend researching a raw diet. The raw diet is based on what wild dogs eat in nature....they do not get their food from a bag. :) We started our puppy on a raw diet from day one....3 months later his coat looks like silk and feels super soft! His teeth are pearly white and he does not smell, even after getting wet. We truly believe a truly healthy diet makes a stronger, healthier, and even smarter dog. We have weighed the pros and cons and the pros won out BIG time. We feed him all sorts of stuff...this morning was a knuckle bone, 2 chicken drumsticks, and an egg....all raw. He gets things from ground beef and turkey to pork chops and lamb. People have the misconception that it costs too much, but it doesn't have to. I shop for the dog once a week, buying things in bulk and taking it home and re-packaging it in smaller packages. I have so far only spent about $10-15 per week. What I would pay in vet bills and shampoo if I fed him bagged food would be higher in his lifetime.
Anyway, off I go to get ready for work. I love this new schedule!! 3 days on, 4 off every week. It has provided that extra consistency we all needed!!
Buying a car means FRUGAL for us!
We have an almost 7 year old SUV that has more than 165,000 miles on it. It has seen us from one side of the country to the other! We love our truck and it is still going strong! But the increase in gas prices had us wondering and thinking. We need the truck to haul the trailer. No doubt about it. But going to and from work 6 days a week between the both of us plus all the errands was getting expensive! To top it off, hubby's schedule changed from nights to days....actually more like 1 pm - 1 am. That leaves only a few hours each morning for one of us to scurry out and get errands done before the other has to leave for work. This left us flustered and we both ended up getting pizza once a week as we were exhausted by days end on some days.
So here is what we figured....all the miles piling on the truck was getting worrisome...it will only last so much longer. By getting an economy car we would use less than 1/2 the gas to get to and from work each week than we did with the truck. Will we end up paying more each month in payments than the savings? I figured it out and yes we end up paying more each month right now. But after the car is paid off and given the price of gas will only go higher, we will more than likely see the car pay for itself in 4 years. That does not include the price of wear and tear and insurance. However the convenience of having a second car will more than likely be worth that extra cost - it will definitely see us spending less in fast food! Yet another savings! Not to mention less stress! I cannot begin to mention how nice this week has been for the both of us, not having to get up at 7am, get the kids ready, and go out the door to get laundry done, shopping done, and any other errands done by 11 am. Fast food was the kids' staple on hubby's days off as he did this often to help me so I was not burdened with all the errands on my 3 days off. Less stress means a lot to both of us! Neither of us are morning people....never have been, never will be. Only one of our 3 children is a morning person. He gets up and is ready to go by 7. But the girls are like us....8-9 am suit them just fine. Typically we are all up by 8:30. Only once did everyone sleep in til 9!
Anyway, the bottom line is what works for one family will not necessarily work for another. Buying a new car worked for us in many many ways. We did not get the bottom of the line little eco box that would crumple into a tin can on the highway if it got brushed by another vehicle. We factored in safety, affordability, and room for the kids in the event the truck ended up in the shop. The car? A Chevy Cruze. 5 star ratings on safety and great options for the money. We could have bought used (the better way to go in most cases) but we have a family member who worked for GM, therefore allowing a discount on a new car. Savings all around.... on the car, and on maintenance.
So I am a happy camper...LOVE the gas savings!!!! Oh my, the needle on the gas gauge barely moves going to work!!! It is awesome! Since our truck is 15-18 miles to the gallon and the car is 35-40, we are seeing HUGE savings. I will do the final math after we have had the car for a month....see what the exact savings really is!
Anyway, we are getting more and more frugal. The land was enough to kick start our minds into thinking what we should and should not be doing. Our next big thing we are praying about is the "home" situation. Our travel trailer gets smaller each day it seems. I could fix the cushions and we can repair all the small stuff, but we cannot make it bigger for growing children. We are truly cramped....no biggee for the summer as the kids play a lot outside, but this next winter may see us either buying a bigger one or trying to build on our land. The thing is building on the land will take some time. So it is definitely a prayer thing! If we buy a bigger RV, we won't be able to move to the land for another year, but we would be significantly more comfortable. But if we stay in the RV we have now, it is another 1.5 years before we would be even considering moving into a house because of finances and time to build....1.5 years of high discomfort. Hmmmm, only the Lord knows what is truly best.
Off I go to clean and play!
So here is what we figured....all the miles piling on the truck was getting worrisome...it will only last so much longer. By getting an economy car we would use less than 1/2 the gas to get to and from work each week than we did with the truck. Will we end up paying more each month in payments than the savings? I figured it out and yes we end up paying more each month right now. But after the car is paid off and given the price of gas will only go higher, we will more than likely see the car pay for itself in 4 years. That does not include the price of wear and tear and insurance. However the convenience of having a second car will more than likely be worth that extra cost - it will definitely see us spending less in fast food! Yet another savings! Not to mention less stress! I cannot begin to mention how nice this week has been for the both of us, not having to get up at 7am, get the kids ready, and go out the door to get laundry done, shopping done, and any other errands done by 11 am. Fast food was the kids' staple on hubby's days off as he did this often to help me so I was not burdened with all the errands on my 3 days off. Less stress means a lot to both of us! Neither of us are morning people....never have been, never will be. Only one of our 3 children is a morning person. He gets up and is ready to go by 7. But the girls are like us....8-9 am suit them just fine. Typically we are all up by 8:30. Only once did everyone sleep in til 9!
Anyway, the bottom line is what works for one family will not necessarily work for another. Buying a new car worked for us in many many ways. We did not get the bottom of the line little eco box that would crumple into a tin can on the highway if it got brushed by another vehicle. We factored in safety, affordability, and room for the kids in the event the truck ended up in the shop. The car? A Chevy Cruze. 5 star ratings on safety and great options for the money. We could have bought used (the better way to go in most cases) but we have a family member who worked for GM, therefore allowing a discount on a new car. Savings all around.... on the car, and on maintenance.
So I am a happy camper...LOVE the gas savings!!!! Oh my, the needle on the gas gauge barely moves going to work!!! It is awesome! Since our truck is 15-18 miles to the gallon and the car is 35-40, we are seeing HUGE savings. I will do the final math after we have had the car for a month....see what the exact savings really is!
Anyway, we are getting more and more frugal. The land was enough to kick start our minds into thinking what we should and should not be doing. Our next big thing we are praying about is the "home" situation. Our travel trailer gets smaller each day it seems. I could fix the cushions and we can repair all the small stuff, but we cannot make it bigger for growing children. We are truly cramped....no biggee for the summer as the kids play a lot outside, but this next winter may see us either buying a bigger one or trying to build on our land. The thing is building on the land will take some time. So it is definitely a prayer thing! If we buy a bigger RV, we won't be able to move to the land for another year, but we would be significantly more comfortable. But if we stay in the RV we have now, it is another 1.5 years before we would be even considering moving into a house because of finances and time to build....1.5 years of high discomfort. Hmmmm, only the Lord knows what is truly best.
Off I go to clean and play!
LAND!
This post is more for the family section, but ties in well with living a simpler life....so it goes on the main page. We are currently in KY. It is beautiful our here in the eastern section. VERY green with rolling hills and small mountains. We are staying at a hotel about 45 minutes away from the property we are purchasing. The drive is breathtaking. Most people wave from their vehicles or yards as you pass by. There seems to be a few Amish communities as well nearby as we passed a few of them working on some land next to the road we traveled....as we passed they smiled and waved. Very friendly area indeed! We even came across 2 one lane covered bridges in the area. Very quaint!
The land is amazing! We are planning to buy 35 acres and we walked through only 1/3 of it today (maybe less) as 2/3 or more is forest. We came across turkey prints (the size of hubby's hand), an unknown egg, a turtle, and surprisingly very few bugs! Oh how exciting today was! The land is lush and green and we are so very excited to start planning how we will use it....for animals, growing fruits and veggies and wheat, building a home, and so forth. I only took a few pictures today as it was cloudy....tomorrow we meet with the county for the perk test. It is supposed to be sunny tomorrow so I will take many more pictures! But for now, here are a few.....by the way, ANY ideas are welcome on how to utilize the land, especially for growing and animals. We are new at this and plan to really think all this through, so we are reading and learning from others.
The land is amazing! We are planning to buy 35 acres and we walked through only 1/3 of it today (maybe less) as 2/3 or more is forest. We came across turkey prints (the size of hubby's hand), an unknown egg, a turtle, and surprisingly very few bugs! Oh how exciting today was! The land is lush and green and we are so very excited to start planning how we will use it....for animals, growing fruits and veggies and wheat, building a home, and so forth. I only took a few pictures today as it was cloudy....tomorrow we meet with the county for the perk test. It is supposed to be sunny tomorrow so I will take many more pictures! But for now, here are a few.....by the way, ANY ideas are welcome on how to utilize the land, especially for growing and animals. We are new at this and plan to really think all this through, so we are reading and learning from others.
The barn
Walking up one side of the property (the orange vests were used for precaution given turkey season just ended and we do not know the neighbors or their hunting habits)
Part of a clearing that borders the property. Might be good for a garden area.
R going to town with the sledgehammer on a broken tree limb.
The back of the property that may be good for goats and a few cows. Easy access to a stream here.
From the top of the hill seen in the last picture. Would be a terrific view for a house, but would have to clear some land as where I am standing to take this picture is right on the edge of the property line.
Another clearing....another area to decide upon. This is where we spotted a turtle.
A small clearing with potential....on our way down to the road.
A pond to be used for the animals....again decisions to be made as this is close to the road and not sure we want the animals there.
Just a vuew looking down towards the road. Some clearing could provide good areas for planting, animals, a house, etc.
Not sure what this belonged to....maybe a snake?
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