Everything But the Kitchen Sink

 

 I am really stinking at this whole blogging thing in 2013!  It is mostly due, I think, to the fact that I spend my precious few blogging moments during "quiet time" doing something decidedly LESS fun...exercising. 

Blech.

But! I have lost 13 pounds so far!  I think it is pretty ironic that I am telling you I lost 13 pounds and have posted pictures of the lard biscuits I made last week and the scones that are often my breakfast.  Weird, right?  But you have to understand- I don't believe in dieting.  I don't believe in living life without lard.

I am betting you might be wondering how I am losing weight then, am I right?  So here it is:

I started recording my calories using myfitnesspal.com. It is a free calorie counter or online food journal and has almost all the foods you could possibly imagine eating in it and their caloric/fat value.  It tells you how many calories you need to eat and it is your job to not go over.  I eat any food I want, but at the end of the day, I have to stop when I reach my limit.  Recording my foods has helped me to see just how much I am sacrificing for that cupcake.  Thanks to this, I happily stay away from those things that take up too many calories.  I'd much rather have 16 discs of ghirardelli chocolate and seconds on supper than a cupcake ANYWAY.  Not getting reimbursed for this recommendation (too bad!), just letting you know.

Also, I switched from the Jillian Michaels Ripped In 30 workout video that I hated (she is NOT a nice person.) to Biggest Loser Calorie Knockout video- which is so much more pleasant.  (HUGE understatement.)  One of the exercisers is named Rebecca, so the leader often says things like "Good job, Rebecca" or "Beckah's got a hop in her workout" and I pretend they are actually talking to me.  Dorky? yes.  Helpful?  totally.  I try and exercise three times a week but I only really HAVE to exercise when I overeat my calories.

It ain't no get-rich quick thing... those 13 pounds have taken me MONTHS to lose-- but even though I secretly DO want to see fast results- I would rather take it slower and keep it off than lose it quick and gain it back.  18 more pounds to go.  

Now- no more talk about weight.  ICK.  Who wants to talk about WEIGHT?

MOVING ON-----

I am determined to blog today.  I started this blog post at 4:00am and it is now 1:45 and I sent the children out just now to enjoy this 69 degree January day for an hour before the looming grayness bursts into droplets.  Not so I can blog (surely, no!) but for them to get fresh air.  Yes...yes.

Thank you all for your kind concern on my back.  I am feeling just as spry as ever again- and I *might* have even tackled Matt without any serious repurcussions since we last spoke.  I will never take for granted a back that works properly and painfree walking again.  Ever.

I can not BELIEVE it is almost February!  Can you?  Craziness.  January and February are supposed to be my "slow months".  Those two months are the small window of opportunity between gardening/harvesting/canning season and handmade Christmases.  It is cold and I am reclusive and I don't even THINK about opening a gardening catalog even though they come practically every day. But sadly, this year---it hasn't felt slow at ALL. If I am going to get my "restful" months in, it better happen quick!  Any valentine plans?

Speaking of restful---

For you knitters out there- two questions.

1)  Do you knit in absolute quiet or can you knit with distractions....say, children running in circles around you and big kids asking whether or not they can have peanut butter crackers from the next room?  Is this something that is learned or must I resolve myself to only knit when I am crowned with gray and sitting upon an empty nest?

2)  What would be a good first "real" project that is not a dishcloth or a plain knit 1 row/ purl 1 row scarf?  The knitting class is starting on fingerless gloves in two weeks but a fat lot of good that does me TODAY.  Any suggestions?

And for you non-knitters~ whatcha making for supper?  I'm hungry.

Tomorrow I'll be posting a January in Review post...even though it seems sinful to have had a whole month pass.  See you then!

She LIVES! (though hobbily.)

WHAT?!?  It's been over a week since I blogged? 

Well, I thought there was no better way to reintroduce myself than with this photo.  All must be forgiven when baring your bum HEART out like that.  Wouldn't you agree?

So much to say, so little time to say it- you won't mind if I do a bit of sundry blathering, would you? 

How have I been during my absence?  I have been hobbling around like an old woman as a matter of fact.  Matt and I went to go see Le Mis at the theaters (a date!) and when we were returning to the car, I was hobbling and holding on to his arms for support so he says " Can you make it to the car, Grandma?"  Yep.  That bad. 
It started with throwing my back out- dealing for a few weeks and then, when it started feeling remotely better, I got a WEE bit rambunctious with Matt (a little incident of tackling him on the bed).  When I told my Mom the story she heard the "rambunctious with Matt"  part and said "Woah Woah Woah- you can  stop there!"  She just couldn't believe it was a totally innocent bed-tackle. 

~~~~

SO yeah- we went to see Le Mis.  I enjoyed it.  Matt sat down and the opening scene begins and men start to sing and he suddenly says (in NOT a whisper, mind you) "This is a MUSICAL?"  I guess the Russell Crow bit threw him off.  Actually, the fact that Russel Crow could sing threw ME off- but Matt tells me he is (and has been for many years) actually part of a BAND.  Husbands are good for factoid Russel Crow trivia- or at least mine, anyway.

~~~~~~~

Did you notice no "Beauty" picture for last week?  Would you believe that I didn't pick up my camera ONCE last week!?!?   Believe it, my friends.  Every now and then the stars collide and I with them.  Battered and bruised, I am.

~~~~~~

We had company over the weekend and I spent wee small hours of the morning preparing for them.  It was a "you haven't seen the house yet" visit- which means the WHOLE house must be spiffied, because you KNOW the tour is inevitable.  So, at 3:30 in the morning (after having gone to bed at 11 the night before) I got up and hastily swiped cobwebs and mopped crumbs into cracks and swirled poisen in my toilet bowl and yes, POSSIBLY filled the dryer with stuff to hide.  And while I was at my scurrying, I was thinking to myself how wonderful it is to have company over-because it finally FORCES you to do those projects which you have been successfully avoiding for the last few months.  And it is true!  Today- it is SO nice having everything "just so" and where it ought to be~ excepting, of course, the contents of the dryer which will be tackled TOMORROW. ;-)

~~~~~

Also over the weekend~ two SEPARATE people, knowing of my newfound soap-making adventures, dropped off garbage bags of animal fat for me.  One of sheet fat from butchering a few of their sheep and one of beef suet, supposedly the BEST animal fat for soapmaking.  I was elated and so grateful for it yesterday.  Now, after 7ish hours of rendering it all into tallow, cleaning lard layers from every possible surface and smelling boiling fat for the entire day...well, let's just say I am not feeling  grateful so much as I am feeling sick to my stomach.  Boiling animal fat is no lovely smell, let me tell you.

BUT!  I now have plenty of free tallow for more soapmaking so that is a perk!  I think the next batch I make will involve calendula. 

~~~~~

Tomorrow is knitting class at the library and I was supposed to be finished a dishcloth that I am only nearly halfway done, so I better get cracking.  Matt is out of town tonight so I can knit and watch movies all night on the computer in bed, snuggled in with a hot beanbag, Matt's shirt and a vanilla chai tea.  Not the same as Matt- of course, but overall, not a bad ending to the day. 

Just had to pop on here first and say "Howdy"- been missing my bloggy pals.  How is everyone?  What's going on in your neck of the woods?

BEAUTY 2::52

I resolved to find beauty with my camera once each week for the year....

Handmades (from the holidays)

It wasn't a completely HANDMADE Christmas this year- but it came very close!  I'd say it was definitely a 90% Handmade Christmas.

Almost everyone got something handmade.  Matt and his two brothers were the only ones who were gypped.  Poor Mattie.  (But since he is a Valentine Baby, there is hope for him yet!)

I really enjoyed the making but I also really enjoyed the challenge of finding what handmade gift would be appreciated by whom. 

Better still, thanks to last years' resolution to work on things through the year- it was the least frazzled handmade Christmas I have had!

This post is long on pictures so I'll try to make it short on words.  (We'll see how THAT goes...)

Homemade peppermint soap, handknit dishrag, homemade vanilla and personalized-etched baking dish.

Totally stole this idea from Magic Cabin.

Probably the gift I was most excited to give- a picture book of syrupping for Gary who threatened that last year was his last year of making syrup.  Who knows if it is true- but I do know he LOVED the book!  And I got it during a buy 1 get 1 free deal, so my children will have one to look at and remember with too!  Score!

Crochet-edged pillowcases and brown sugar scrub

A crocheted hunting hat for my nephew in his first hunting season.

Charicature food plates for the boys of the family.  They can make broccoli beards on themselves!

Some canned goods, homemade soap, handknit dishcloth and my postcards.  ;-)

Homemade vanilla and an Indian Sari table runner (that I DIDN'T make but suited the receiver)

Betsy McCall magnetic dolls.  I made two containers- one for each of my young neices and Adele' grew green with envy so I made her one too for her stocking.  That was A LOT of cutting.  The free printables are here.

Towel set (not made) paired with some Cinnamon Vanilla soap I made for my brother who just got his own house.

Homemade Maple Syrup

Homemade craft kits for the preteen girls of the family.  How to Make Candles and How to Make Body Spray, to be exact.

Jalapeno Jelly basket.  (I had TWO requests for Jalapeno Jelly for presents this year!)

More homemade pillowcases

We have a three present limit for the children at Christmas (besides stockings, of course) which usually includes a BOOK  (surprised?), a handmade present and a purchased present. Here were their handmades...

A first aid kit for Corynn.  It included a real stethescope and thermometer, bandages and plantain salve.

Andrew: A scabbard for his sword.  Papa made this one!

A chicken purse for Adele'---she has been begging for a purse for ages.

The poor hen has been stuck to her side ever since! 

For Judah- a pint size farm.  I was gonna go the train route but saw this idea and HAD to do it.

We kinda like farm stuff around here.

And of course, practically the whole of our neighborhood received apple or pumpkin butters.  

I love giving handmade.  And I am pretty sure everyone appreciated GETTING handmade.

Now....what to give NEXT year.......  ;-)

2013: Resolved

Confession:  I wasn't wearing makeup so I overexposed this picture on purpose in order to hide my (many) flaws.  Overexposure hides a multitude of sins. 

  
You knew it was coming, right?  

Goal-making.  Resolutions.  A roadmap to a new year and becoming a new, more disciplined person.

The thing I most like about resolutions is not in the beginning (though the lists are fun to make and think about and the expectation and anticipation around it is exciting) but actually, in the end.  The flip side.  The end of the year, when I can look back and see how far those goals got me- through dedication, through (sometimes) hard work, often through diligence and always because I was resolved to think about them, to take notice, to consider those things important.

Even if I don't make every goal to the "T", it is the striving to be better- more complete- more disciplined that makes it worthwhile.  And then, finding out that in the end, I actually WAS those things....that makes it FUN.

This year was particularly hard to consider making any sort of plans for the new year because the foreseeable future seems plenty bleak these days with all the economic woes and Christian blows we are facing in our nation.  A teetering nation, we are.

And yet- I suppose that it is times of unrest that require the most steadfastness and dedication to what is true and noble and good.  So, resolutions I will make.  And there are many.  Some more noble than others, as you will see, but all are mine.

HOPESTEAD GOALS~  
(Matt has his own list for Hopestead.  These are mine.) 

• Plant several Christmas trees 
• Plant an asparagus bed
• Plant several fruit trees
• Cut back very overgrown Lilac Bushes
• Prune Apple trees (second year)
• Begin concrete plans for Hopestead Herb Farm 

FINANCIAL GOALS~

(I'll be frank here.  This economy scares the bejeebers out of me, especially now with Christian businesses potentially going out of business thanks to ObamaCare(s not a lick) so I am putting our family on spending-lock-down this year in order to best use our finances to prepare us for the worst (while hoping for the best).  The figures you are about the read are really crazy considering Matt's take-home pay which is very modest...especially for these figures.  I am being VERY hopeful and maybe a tad-bit unrealistic here.  LAUGHABLE, really..  But, you know what I like to say~ "If you shoot for the moon and don't succeed, at least you are among the stars!"  Any dollars I can set aside toward these goals will be well worth the efforts in the end.  Best case, we get our house paid off faster just because I was unjustified in my fears. Is that a bad thing?  I think not.)

• Give Matt $40.00 per paycheck (because he's earned it, after all.)
• Pay $10,000. toward principal of house (on top of mortgage payments.)  
• Save $5,000 toward a new van (ours has 130,000 miles on it so a "new" one is inevitable.)
• Save $1,000 to put toward investing

To even remotely accomplish the above goals I need to:

• Reevaluate our budget and spending and completely overhaul it to accommodate our CODE ORANGE, LOCKDOWN status.  :-)  (Yeah.  Smiling NOW.)
• Cut all unnecessary spending.   (ouch.  It hurts already.)

I have no idea how we would/could/will be able to do this- but I am shooting for the moon here, people.

PERSONAL GOALS~
(These are the non-trackable, SILLY things.  The biggest non-trackable, not-silly goal I have for myself this year is to be more fearless in speaking the Truth to people who need to hear it, especially those people I LOVE.  This is hard for me because I often don't want to hurt peoples' feelings or make them angry and I worry too much about peoples' opinions of me.  I am going to be working on this but it is not something that is "attainable" or "trackable"- two things that I think resolutions need to be in order to be do-able.  The goals in this list make my life more beautiful- not my spirit, necessaril but are both attainable and trackable..  Silly stuff, like I said.)

• Read through a not-dorky devotional.  (Any suggestions?)
• Learn to knit socks. (Tell me you didn't know this was coming...)
• Decorate, even thriftily, the childrens' rooms.
• Make something for myself to KEEP.  (My family tells me I have a bad habit of giving away everything I make.  So I will try and KEEP one thing for myself this year.
• Invite people over for dinner at least once a month.  This includes people around the community as well as friends and church family.
• Lose 5# a month until I reach my goal weight.  Which, if the "average for my size" goal weight- should be in March; if the "Got Married This Big" goal weight- should be by May.
• Wake up to send Mattie off to work each morning (while conscious) and make him lunches to take with him.
• Reestablish family read-alouds 
• Begin reading the Classics (using Susan W.Bauer's The Well Educated Mind as a guide.)
• Take one photo a week finding Beauty.  I was talking to a gal a few months back who said that I often take mundane moments and make them beautiful by photographing them.  I love that about photography- it gets you to see the beauty even when it is hard to find.  But that she had said that about me was more than generous, because I haven't felt like I have done that in ages.  So, this year, I knew a personal photo challenge was in order.  Once a week.  My life IS beautiful- this shouldn't be THAT hard, right?  
• Get a church website up and running...preferably sooner rather than later since the elders of our church have been waiting for two months already...
• MAKE something once a month.  Maybe a Christmas present.  Maybe not.  Just MAKE.  Because it is good for me. 

Do you have any goals for the coming year?  

Shiny

Tomorrow is our Newman-side-of-the-family Christmas, which means I can still blog Christmas things and not feel guilty about it.  This is good because I happen to have (more than) a few Christmas-y pictures from a visit to a local museum in December.

Art.  History.  Trains. Christmas. A Mansion.  All wrapped up in a billion shiny bows.  I went with my sister and her littles and by the end of the night, was thirsty from all my drooling.

I love how Andrew has his arm around his sister.  Awww.  Sweet brother.

My train boy was in his glory.

Lots of displays about how different countries celebrate Christmas.  I loved Denmark.

Then there was the MANSION part.  A real home, once upon a time.  Unfathomable (to me, the peasant class.)

I want this for my home.

This one too. 

Blurry- but it is all of us.  The museum must have been quaking in their boots when they saw us walking in!  

I spent my New Years Day de-sparkling the place...such a sad, plain, empty space it is now.  Without all the glitter- it was easy to spot all the dust bunnies and cobwebs from a month (or two) of neglect so I charged after them. I moved furniture and mopped under it all.  Washed walls and windowsills.  Sorted.  Polished.  Shined.   It felt glorious to start the new year with clean, fresh slate.  And when I was done, I realized the house looked sparkly again-just in a different sort of way.

Been thinking about the future a bit too and all my hopes for the new year.  I'll share them one of these days.  I don't know about you, but I think that this time of year is just plain fun.  Brimful of possibilities, life is.

2012

 

I sat the other day and thought about all we accomplished in 2012:  

~ helped make 70 gallons of maple syrup
~ learned to spin wool
~ got a miniature horse
~ hung on hammocks
~ watched the Middle Barn fall down
~ cleaned up the Middle Barn wreckage
~ built a treehouse
~ had a date in the treehouse
~ made a hankie shower curtain
~ went on a dinner cruise for the first time ever
~ read lots of books
~ painted the living room trim
~ rewallpapered the bathroom
~ painted the bathroom
~ spent the night in a HOTEL.  That had a pool.  And I didn't pack bathing suits, knowing we couldn't AFFORD a hotel with a pool.  But the cheap motel was booked solid.  Lesson: Always bring suits.  Period.
~ Built a "coat closet" in mudroom
~ skidded many loads of logs out of woods
~ spent holidays sawing them up at the sawmill
~ glued maps all over the school room wall
~ spread turquoise all over another wall
~ built a stone foundation for the entryway to the barn
~ built a grand entry into the barns
~ re-sided a portion of the barn
~ rented dumpsters and cleaned all the outbuildings and garbage dumps around the place.  Made enough money on scrap metal to pay for the garbage dumpsters AND a woodsplitter.
~ split 18 cords of wood for the winter.  NOT enough.
~ hung hundreds of loads of laundry
~ put new ceiling in mudroom
~ planted a first-ever SEPARATE pumpkin patch.  Loved it.  Will never go back.  Ever.
~  replaced our washing machine
~ started drinking "sweet water"
~ fixed roof on barn
~ tore down the drop ceiling in the living room
~ made soap for the first (and second and third) times
~ taught a class at a library on herbs.  Made lavendar lemonade, peppermint tea and chamomile muffins for the occasion.
~ Sold an old tractor and bought a less-old tractor
~ spent many sweaty days doing garden work- the largest we've had.
~ set up a saw-horse summer kitchen.  (A brilliant idea)
~ had many parties
~ had Hopesteads' first-ever hayride
~ spent lonely nights when Matt was gone
~ had many happy homecomings
~ got electricity out to the barns
~ started attending a knitting class where I learned to INCREASE.  (wahoo!)
~ Started "officially" homeschooling TWO children
~ planted two filbert trees
~ paid several thousand dollars extra toward principle on our mortgage
~ went to the doctors twice.  Once for a Judahbear.  Once for a Mama.
~ spent many-a-day canning and preserving summers' bounty
~ pruned apple trees
~ spent a summer organizing all our clothes and stuff in storage.  (That was fun.)
~ Had two yardsales and made over $300.00 getting rid of said junk in storage.
~ had our first really successful year of corn planting
~ Found a signed, hardcover, first printing of an Eric Sloane book that Matt DOESN'T already own for FREE in the library Book Barn.  For FREE.  It was a great, (did I mention FREE?!?) Christmas present.
 ~ built a cabinet around a gifted dishwasher in the kitchen.  Still not working-but some time.
~ cleaned out the back half of the basement
~ dug out a new drainpipe for the kitchen.
~ killed (not enough) mice
~ planted over 30 perennials- most GIVEN to me by neighbors.
~ laid a new foundation for the front of the house.
~ sang carols at a nursing home
~ began a new hobby.  Carving wooden spoons.  (My first will be done very soon!)
~ started dreaming of building a log cabin in the woods.
~ listened to a million (not-funny) jokes but laughed anyway because I love the jokester.
~ lost 10 pounds (in the last month) after a year of trying
~ made almost all the gifts given for Christmas
~ Tucked children into bed night after night and snuggling into Misters' warm arms...wondering how I have things so good.

Looking forward to seeing all that the Lord has in store for our family in this new year of our Lord, 2013.  Maybe less work?  But I somehow doubt it...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!