Tuesday, March 23, 2010

PUTTING OUT FIRES



I started these new organizational goals this year so that I may improve upon myself…The year is one quarter gone, and could it be that I am even MORE unorganized? If not, it certainly seems so, and not just at home but at work, where organization is not generally a problem!



It is all quite disheartening…Nonetheless, I am vowing and praying and working harder. I cannot let this conquer me. I have prayed that the Lord will show me how to overcome, and that He will help me to listen to His answer…As I work hard, of course.

Because I am the kind of person that is not mundane, I have always shied away from anything that is so. I don’t like eight-to-fives, wearing the same eye shadow for 20 years (I have a MOST organized friend who did just that), or eating pizza every Tuesday…It just isn’t me.

On the flip side, I fear that being this way, which is not in and of itself bad, also lends itself to being unorganized. I flit here there and everywhere delving into many projects and exciting things at a time…So much so that like the spokes of a wheel, my life is a circle of splinters going off in different directions, and I'm the crazy woman in the middle!



So…While I enjoy my none-mundane self, I detest the mess it keeps me in…Thus, the organizational goals and quest to meld the me that I like to be with the me that I want to be.

I KNOW I can do it! I just have to find the way!

Over time, I have searched for someone who has found the way…Or at least A way…Generally, these people are women who enjoy the luxury of staying home…Since I am not able to do that at this time, I needed someone who works a for-pay job and ALSO successfully keeps a home…Jitterbug over at Destination 1940 is just such a woman.

She has been having a time of it lately due to health issues and in this paragraph, shares a realization…

If there's anything good that's come out this, it's that I've realized how much my life before The Experiment resembled a sick person's. I had been physically healthy for years. My ulcerative colitis had been in remission for five years, yet I was still living the existence of somebody mired in illness. Buying supplies as they occurred to me. Eating catch as catch can. Opening my mail once a month or so. Clueless about how much money I had or where it was going. Moving in a fog from bed to work and back to bed again. I was forced to live like this for the past few weeks --- and it appalls me that I lost half a decade of my life to that lifestyle by choice. It was one thing during the years that I was actually dealing with illness and surgeries. Another thing entirely when the surgeries were over and my body was physically in good order. That's the toll that depression can take on somebody.


Thank you, Jitterbug; this really struck a chord with me…My life, while very healthy physically, has been lived as “somebody mired in illness”. I indeed feel as though I “[move] in a fog from bed to work and back to bed again”…And that is NOT okay!

So…Onward with determination I march…Not trudge…March!



One more note…Today, “Organized Tuesday”, as I somewhat sarcastically deem it, was one of the least organized days. Because of the aforementioned challenges and also my great yearning to become more self-sufficient (which sets forth a whole NEW list of to-dos :/, I get down on myself and truly feel as if I am just flailing about in life putting out fires…Not strolling through in a systematized manner…Flailing!

Upon arriving home tonight, I wearily sat down and opened the computer…

My oldest daughter, whom I love so much, had a beautiful message waiting for me…

We had been discussing a woman from Pastoral Symphony Farm. This dear lady impresses me! She has NINE beautiful and wonderful children, home schools, gardens, cans, makes her own syrup from their maple trees, sews all of their clothing, cooks from scratch, etc., etc., etc. Now, dear Mrs. G would be the first to humbly say that she isn’t that great…But, (whisper) she really is. :0)

So…I had been remarking to DD about Mrs. G and how I wished that we had done more self-sufficient living while the children were growing up. She wanted a link to
Mrs. G’s blog, which I gave to her, and this was her response…

thanks! i remember you talking about the "pastoral symphony farm" now.
i think it was just as cool that you always practiced being frugal and so taught that to us. not being so wasteful and dependent on use-and-toss items is an important part of being self-suffient too! plus--it's kind of hard to have a farm to live off of when you live in town lol but i liked that we had several gardens and helped you a few different times with canning and making applesauce. we actually really DID do some self-sufficient things!


I think that it is lovely how the Lord uses others hands and sometimes their words to show His love to us…That just made my night.

So…Onward I go…Hoping to move from putting out fires…From fire to smoke…



And then, on into the clear air or organization.



Have a Wonderful Wednesday, All!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

DRESSING FOR LESS



DRESSING FOR LESS…

I really must find a better system for taking pictures, as putting my arms up to hold the camera does not allow for the correct fit of the outfit to be shown…

At any rate…Here are a couple of pictures of Thursday’s inexpensive outfit…

As mentioned before, I really don’t recall where I procured many of my clothes or what I paid, so these are guesstimates…

BLAZER…

I don't recall where I purchased this, but it would have been around $20.



BLOUSE…

Given to me by my mom...



PIN…

I THINK that Mom also gave this to me at one point...



SKIRT…

Purchased at a thrift shop for around $7...



BLACK POINTED-TOE BOOTS…

I got these at a classy second-time clothier and purchased them for $30 just over a year ago...This shop takes in only the very nicest of items and offers consignments by appointment only...

Excuse the poor photo quality...The maid forgot to clean the mirror...:/



ROUGH BREAK-DOWN…

BLAZER…

Number of times worn: 25…?
Price: $20
Today’s cost to wear: .80

BLOUSE…

Number of times worn: 30
Price: $0 (Gift)
Today’s cost to wear: $0

PIN…

Number of times worn: 30
Price: $0
Today’s cost to wear: $0

SKIRT…

Number of times worn: 20
Price: $7
Today’s cost to wear: .35

BLACK POINTED-TOE BOOTS…

Number of times worn: 20
Price $30
Today’s cost to wear: $1.50

TOTAL COST OF TODAY’S OUTFIT…

$2.65


Not bad!

The whole idea is to...

USE WHAT YOU HAVE!...

If you were given a gift, use it!

If you find something at a garage or estate sale, use it!

MIX AND MATCH...

So many outfits can be made by altering the way you wear a piece of jewelry or an item of clothing.

MAKE DO...

At one point in my life, I found myself with just the clothes on my back…literally…

For two weeks, I had one outfit to wear…It was a sundress, and a spaghetti-strap under tee…

I wore it that way or without the under tee for a bit of variation, or I would fashion the dress into a skirt by tying it a certain way, and wear the tank for a top…That gave me a total of three outfits.

There certainly was not a lot of variation each day, but it was all I had, so I made do.

Most importantly...

HAVE FUN!

Monday, March 15, 2010

A SIMPLER TIME



Did you ever yearn for a simpler time?

No time is or will ever be simple; however the struggles of yesterday were different…

Today, we have ease of body…We do not toil to break the sod so that we may eat…We do not have to depend upon our physical efforts to survive…

But…We labor mentally…We have to struggle greatly to keep up with the ever necessary changes in technology…We have to fight off temptation like never before…

So…let us take a look back to a time where media, smut, and pollution of the mind did not rear their ugly heads at every turn…

Let us take a look at a simpler time…



Quilt from Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum...Walnut Grove, Minnesota



Dugout site of the Ingalls family...Walnut Grove, Minnesota

"Laura Ingalls Wilder lived 1.5 miles north of Walnut Grove along the banks of Plum Creek from 1874 to 1876. Charles and Caroline Ingalls settled on the property in May 1874 declaring their intent to homestead it. After three consecutive crop failures they decided not to complete the homestead process. Instead they purchased the land in July 1876 from the United States for $413 and resold it immediately for $400 to Abraham Keller." (Walnut Grove, MN website)




Taken from the official site of The Little House on the Prairie

Do you ever feel as if you were born at the wrong time in history…?



Image taken from www.calicoannie.net

At the end of a hectic day…Or any day for that matter…It’s important to relax the mind from the world of stress…

So…Take some time for yourself…

Brew a pot of relaxing herbal tea…And sit back, relax, and think of a simpler time…



Cove Fort



Cove Fort



Cove Fort

THE SEASON'S CHALLENGES



I don’t recall whether or not I have written about the coming season and my feelings toward it…If I have, please bear with me…

First of all, I would like to thank anyone who takes the time to read my ramblings…I appreciate the take you take to stop by and visit…

I pray that you may find peace in life as you go through each day, and I hope that I may inspire you, in some small way, as I am inspired by my friends in blog land…

For isn’t that why we are all here…To help one another…?

Back to the new season…

SPRING…

It is such a beautiful fresh time of year!



At the same time…I feel very overwhelmed.

One of the biggest challenges in my life is SUCCESSFULLY melding work outside of home with work at home…

Thus, the Organizational Challenge that I am accomplishing this year…

So, as I consider both of those (work outside and work at home) full-time jobs, it’s a lot of work…And, now I am forced to add another job…The Yard!



While Hubby takes care of all of the mowing and weed eating and shares in the watering, I still put a lot of hours into watering (we have poor soil) and also have flower beds to tend to and a small garden to grow, weed, and care for…

I shouldn’t complain, as we DO NOT have a large or extravagant yard…But…

Each year, I spend quite a bit of money on flowers that die…One bed is on the West and right against the house, so it is like an oven that is constantly on broil…The other bed is on the North AND in the shade of two trees, so I struggle with getting plants to grow there as well…

On top of that, one of the trees on that side of the house has beetles that come each year and eat everything in sight…We keep trying to control them, but have never been successful in eradicating them…

Each year, it’s the stress of trial and error as far as which plants to buy and which pest controllers to use…Nothing is plain and simple maintenance…

And…

Bob Dog likes to run THROUGH the flower beds, eat plants, AND dig holes… :/ He also joys in hopping into the container gardens, eating the plants, and pulling out the dividers… :/



This causes the stress of deciding how to alleviate these issues, which kind of fencing to use (if I decide to go that route), and how to keep it from looking junky…

All of this takes a lot of time…



“Is it really worth it?”, I ask myself? “How can I streamline it, and is there anything I can cut out or am WILLING to cut out? (I tend to be an I-want-to-do-it-all person…Not always good).

And so…while my PLAN is not yet formulated, I am definitely going to MAKE one before the season fully upon me…

I am always open to other's thoughts if you have something that works for you...



Otherwise, I will stress myself out, and who needs more stress, right? ;)

Saturday, March 13, 2010

ST. PATTY'S AND A BEAUTIFUL SATURDAY



What a marvelous day it was!



The luck of the Irish came early this year…After all, Wednesday isn’t a real plausible day to celebrate on, so the town held the parade today...



One year, it was almost called off because of insurance…Or lack of attendance…Or some such thing…



This year, however, proved to be three times longer than last year…And the crowds were great…



At first, I didn’t think that the littles would end up getting any candy…

As the fire truck drove by, the fireman said, “We can’t; it’s against the rules.” Against the rules to give out candy at a parade?...

Now THAT would just not have been right!

The real deal...And the new rule (I just hate rules sometimes...Well, a lot of times)...Is that they can no longer THROW the candy…But, they can still come and individually hand it out...

The little people ended up making out alright...



It was, indeed, a green kind of a day…







There were green beads…



Green shoes…



And green-colored clowns…



After we said goodbye to our beautiful daughter, mama, papa, and family…





We ran home, got Dog, and took him to get some exercise…


I enjoyed the exercise as well! It was such a beautiful day…



Then, it was time to ride!

How lovely it is when the weather warms up…

And the scenery is good…



I mean…And the scenery is good…



We rode all over town...Here and there…

DS was at work, and we stopped and saw him...I shopped Glocks and a .38 Special...

Diamonds and guns are my favorites to look at when I go in…

DH looked for a leather jacket, but they had just had a sale, and the selection was slim…

While there we met the CUTEST little dude! He was “fwee” years old…His daddy had a bike “just like” ours (because it was black ;)…And his daddy had a helmet “just like” mine…

That little lad was absolutely adorable! I could’ve taken him home!

Babies and Puppies...There is nothing like 'em!



Can you tell the generational difference here?



Like father like son…Well, not so much…;)

I think this is El’s fourth bike, and he has always gotten these rocket-types…He has ridden ours but prefers his style.



DD, on the other hand, has wanted our exact bike (even before we got it) for a long time, which is unusual for her age.

We went helmet shopping at Cabella’s…





Just kidding...

We did go helmet shopping at Cabella's, but we didn't look for Spiderman...

I love the way there store is decorated…







It was getting pretty chilly by the time we headed home, so we stopped at a wonderful little coffee shop along the way...



And got two specials…

Irish Crème Steamers…Mmmmmm

The air was crisp, and the mugs of hot sweet goodness went down so smoothly…



We sat outside…

And just relaxed…



The fire was so mesmerizing…

It just calms the spirit…

I remarked to DH that I could do this every day…He said twice a day…



Once home again, Hubby fixed the oven…

It had been going out for awhile, and I was just limping along with it...But rather than buying a new one, we thought that we would save money and just purchase an element…

One element…



For $150! Is that crazy or what?!

There was an adorable vintage-looking stove/oven combo (ours are separate) that I would have loved!

It didn’t have any frills…No self-cleaning oven…No digital time clock or buttons (read "less to go wrong")…And it was gas to boot, which I prefer…For only $300!

So, by the time the other element goes out...And I think that it may be already...We could have purchased a whole new unit for the same price…

Oh well…One week and $150 later…I at least have a working oven again, and for that I am thankful…



While he worked, I whipped up a quick little meal…

I had some thawed chicken breasts that needed to be cooked…

I had been planning on making enchiladas (kind of like last week when I just happened to ask DH to bring in the frozen turkey from the garage freezer so that I could cook it up and the oven decided to go on the fritz…;)…

So, without an oven, I par-boiled the chicken breasts, seasoned them with salt, pepper, onion powder, and chicken bouillon granules, and cut them into chunks…Being that I was on a short time-frame, this made the juices infuse the meat nicely and more expediently...



They cooked in the seasoned broth, which I then served over some quick-cook brown rice...



I buttered and peppered the beans, and it made for a fast and tasty little meal.



I’ll most likely make my enchiladas tomorrow, then, with the left-over turkey I’ve been keeping…

We had to run out one more time for necessities…Milk, bread, and the like, so loaded up Bob Dog, and off we went…

Had to stop for a tasty treat milk shake…Don’t know why I’ve been craving them so much lately, as I’m not generally a big ice cream eater…



While we sat in the car and ate our treats…Dog ran (or rather meandered around the car wondering why we weren’t coming out…

Then home again…Home again…Sweet sweet home…

And so that was the end to our perfect day!

Have a wonderful Sunday, and I pray that we will all make it a blessed Sabbath…