Happy New Year! 2017, Show Me What You've Got!

I had one of the sweetest afternoons that I've had in a while. It wasn't full of something out of the ordinary, exactly. It was just a moment of re-realization. I was sitting in the sunlight, reading in funny positions, trying to avoid getting a migraine from the amount of light coming in the windows combined with this virus that is holding on with a tight grip (yet losing). Occasionally, I'd close my eyes and just enjoy the warmth of the sun, something that doesn't often happen in the winter for me. The combination of less sunlight in the winter and busyness of my life often lead to very few moments of slowing down enough to just enjoy the simple things in life, like a sunbeam. As I sat there, listening to my children play in the snow outside (don't worry, I made them bundle up really well since they are still coughing), I thought about coffee. Coffee mugs, coffee spoons, lattes... you know, coffee. I enjoy coffee and I've missed it this week while I haven't drank any. Maybe in the place we spend eternity, maybe there is no coffee. Maybe there isn't coffee, mountains, rain on a metal rooftop, crashes of thunder following the awesome strikes of lighting, birthday celebrations, snow... sledding, snowball fights, snow angels. Maybe there won't be hiccups to laugh at, books to curl up and read, family gathering around a hamper to fold clothes and bicker about socks, vases to fill with wildflowers, dancing a dance you've never stepped foot in before. All these things can happen so quickly and almost become overwhelming along with all the noise of life... but if we do just stop, close our eyes, maybe block out the noise for a moment, we can remember to love, to smile, to embrace each moment. What if this is our only chance? Make a list of things you love and would miss if you couldn't ever enjoy, taste, feel, touch, hear, see, or smell again. It's fun! Do I expect eternity to be wonderful? Yes! Without a doubt, I have faith and believe, but I don't see any promises that my above list of things I love will be there. So, it's not exactly a resolution, but that is what I'm going to work on! I'm going to make an effort to slow down and "smell the roses" more this year. I'm going to continue to homeschool my kids the best to my ability, be there for my friends, renovate my house while living in it, and much more. But I also want to stop and close my eyes when the rain hits my metal roof, enjoy the sunbeams, laugh more, take more pictures, crack more nuts while thinking about my awesome grandma (she passed last month... she used to always have a bowl of nuts to crack and I'm taking up the tradition), play more board games with my kids before they leave home, write down memories, and slow my thoughts down while drinking my coffee and remember... I am blessed. No matter what comes and goes, I am blessed and at least I have this cup of coffee/tea, sunbeam, book in my hands, clean glass of water, or whatever the blessing is that I'm stopping to remember. We are all blessed! Cheers! Happy New Year!!! And just check out that last sunset of 2016!

Abandoned Blog

Clearly, I abandoned this blog for over a year!  I don't know where the time went... well, maybe I do.  Still, it just slipped by and is gone into the great abyss.  I bring with me memories and experience of buying and selling goats, sheep, chickens, thrift store items, dumpster diving finds, and things for other people.  Of children's school lessons, funny things they've said, and pains they've endured and healed from.  Of a road trip partway across the U.S. to the state of Michigan and back, seeing family members, new friends, and old friends.  Of abundant blessings that I still thank God for to this day; new tires, big checks, kindness, love, understanding, shoulders to cry on, friends to laugh with, a stray cat adopting us and cat food from people at church, treasures found, a healthy nephew born, lessons learned, Madeleine's eyesight (she had an accident that could have caused her eyeball to fall out on the one side), and so much more (both little things and huge things)!  I could continue down my lists of things I'm remembering as I look back, but that may just be one of those things that do or do not come up slowly on this blog.  Most who read this blog probably already know the things I've been through and some may remember them better than I.  :)  I've been enormously blessed, made it through plenty of trials/struggles, grieved losses, and made it here alive, a little bit older, and hopefully a little bit wiser.

Me, cutting hay for goats the slow way before getting a weed eater.  :)

Ethan, Madeleine, Robby, and Elizabeth with their Aunt Julie on our road trip to Michigan.

Elizabeth's 3rd birthday party at the park: we got rained out and the only dry spot to open gifts was Maya's stroller (Maya is my one and only niece... such a cutie!)

The nephew I spoke of with my beautiful sister!  I love this little man.  :)

What Elizabeth did to her birthday dress the first time she wore it.

Madeleine and Elizabeth playing dress up.

Elizabeth, Madeleine, and Robby (taking a picture of me) looking too cute.

Robby drinking his water while we waited for Ethan to finish his birthday shopping with Grandma on his b-day (Ethan likes to shop and go out to eat with his grandma for his b-day every year now.)

Robby (5), Ethan (9), Madeleine (7), and Elizabeth (3) ready for another school year.  :)

So here we go!  A new beginning in the blog world.  Maybe I'll even get back to writing articles as I did when I was writing The Wild Truth magazine.  :) 

One way you can catch up with many of my past adventures is to go to my YouTube channel HERE.  :)

Dumpster Diving Fun

Hello All!

I made a dumpster diving video that I'm finally done with! You can go check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEwXhvK9Duo.

Liquid Laundry Soap

Hello Y'all!

The sun in shining outside right now, but I don't dare guess it'll last. Hopefully it'll shine awhile after I'm done with teaching today. I'm working with the kids. They're done with math, writing, and reading so far. Now for Bible reading and grammar. :) Not much longer before I can go out and soak up some rays while I either work in the garden or on my chicken coop.

Last week I made 6 months worth of liquid laundry soap (really, it's more of a gel). It was only the second time I've had to do that since my seperation/divorce! I love how much money I save by making my own - it only costs me about $2 to make that much laundry soap. I made a video to share: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL7ESAmMGH4

Anyway, I should get back to teaching, then cook some lunch.

P.S.
I'm loving the new pencil sharpener I got on my last dumpster dive at an office supply place. I really needed a good one with all the pencils we use around here for school! :) I'll be making a video on dumpster diving soon, so keep an eye out for it if you're curious how I work it. ;)

Poem of the Dead

Mostly I put updates on Facebook now, but really I should visit my blog more often. I like writing longer things, but just don’t find the time for it often enough. In fact, right now I just stopped by to post a poem I wrote in December. I wrote it in a moment of pain and processing.

Poem of the Dead

December 4, 2010

The baby’s breath you brought me sits there

Dulling with time

It’s sweet savor seems almost sickening now

Sitting there

You’re gone

Nothin’ left but a chill with this cool wind

Time goes…

By

Your breath, your touch, your arms

Gone

My heart in pieces flutter away in the autumn wind

Summer is gone

Snow falls, I fill my chest to freeze what was left

Of me

Numbness is my friend

The love of my life, maybe

What curse led you my way?

What price could possibly be left for me to pay?

Jesus took it all on the cross

Yet sin still kills

This heart of mine

The pain you’ve left me with

Is the sorrow I shall live with

Happily ever after was always just a dream

But so was our love

And all that is left is a vase full of bad breath

My youth has faded

What is left of me?

Why did you take it all from me?

What did I ever do to you besides love thee?

That young girl who would smile

Love

Kiss

Bear you children

Tend your flocks

Weed your gardens

Clean your house

Is just sad

Lonely

Half dead

An aftermath of catastrophe

High Blood Pressure and Salt

I learned something new today; if you have high blood pressure and don't want to lower your salt intake, taking potassium does the same thing for your body! Salt and potassium balance each other out. The average person takes 1,600 mg. less potassium than is recommended. A good way to get more potassium in your diet is to consume more of the following:

Oranges
Cantaloupe
Avocado
Bananas
Strawberries
Apricots
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Cabbage
Cucumber
Eggplant
Cauliflower
Chard
Bell pepper
Squash
Brussels sprouts
Turmeric
Parsley
Spinach
Crimini mushrooms
Broccoli
Halibut
Tuna


Here is a list of some foods high in potassium and their potassium content from the USDA National Nutrient Database:

Potassium Rich Foods	Weight	Measure	Potassium Content
Raw, baby carrots	10	1 medium	24 mg
Raw Lettuce	10	1 leaf	19 mg
Raw Onions	14	1 slice	20 mg
Fresh Strawberries	12	1 strawberry	18 mg
Raw Garlic	3	1 clove	12 mg
Honey	21	1 tablespoon	11 mg
Raw Radishes	4.5	1 radish	10 mg
Raw Peppers	10	1 ring	18 mg
White Bread	23	1 slice	17 mg
Papayas	304	1 papaya	781 mg
Lima Beans	188	1 cup	955 mg
Plantains	179	1 medium	893 mg
Jerusalem Artichokes	150	1 cup	644 mg
Bananas	118	1 banana	422 mg
Oat Bran	94	1 cup	532 mg
Tomatoes	255	1 cup	528 mg
Cucumber	301	1 large	442 mg
Cantaloupe	160	1 cup	427 mg
Pears	275	1 pear	333 mg
Mangoes	207	1 mango	323 mg

Elizabeth Drawing

Here's a short video I made of Elizabeth when she was about 14 months old.