Come Here Often?

Oh......hello. Funny seeing you here. More like funny seeing ME here. It still amazes me how life can get so busy and pull me away from things, things I really enjoy doing like coming here and writing and sharing with others. My poor neglected blog. How I've missed you.

Well a lot has been going on around here. A lot of really great things. We've begun to really embrace the homesteading lifestyle and are incorporating more and more of it into our day to day. Several months ago we began learning about canning. After growing some of our own food and preserving things in the dehydrator, I decided to take it a step further and try my hand at other methods of preservation. The only downside to this has been that I didn't grow anything I could water bath can, so I had to get my canning items from the store. Regardless, we now have several jars of apple butter, apple pie filling, peaches and pears. It's been such an amazing journey learning how to make things from scratch and get a slight glimpse of what the pioneers lives would have been like. It's really set things in motion for me to obtain a lot of that lifestyle myself. It's incredibly fulfilling.

During my time away from here I've also been working on several projects, all of which I will share here soon. For now though, I will share a group I started on Facebook called Love:Squared. Quite some time ago I had the idea to make blankets for people in need, but I didn't think I could do it myself because of the amount of time it takes to make just one blanket. So I thought that maybe if I got others to help me it would go much quicker, and would also be a great demonstration of people coming together to help others. The easiest way to piece together a blanket is with knitted or crocheted squares, or granny squares. So I started my Facebook group to encourage people who are interested in helping to whip up a square and send it to me. Once I get enough squares to make a blanket I'll stitch them all together and off it goes to wrap someone up in warmth and love. If any of you are interested in helping me with this project, please check out the group page!

So here is an idea of whats to come on my blog. I'm going to be sharing about my new adventures in couponing, some handmade products I've been working on and the opening of my first Etsy shop (so excited!!!), our journey into homesteading and a self-sufficient lifestyle, projects (for the kids, around the house, and lovely crafty things), more talk on homeschooling and sharing what we're up to, to name a few. I'm very excited for whats to come and to share it with you!

I hope you're having a lovely fall so far ♥

I Have an Enemy

Yes, that's right. I have an enemy. I am in a battle that I seem to be losing no matter what I do. I've tried turning the other cheek, but no matter what, my enemy will not cease from invading my life.

Who or what is this enemy I speak of?




Ants. I have ants in my house. I have ants in my yard. They won't go away and I want to cry :( I had an ant problem last summer and I hoped beyond hope that I had gotten rid of them after all of my attempts. This is not so. Last year they had started coming in from behind a baseboard heater in my kitchen. After taking the advice from a friend, I sprinkled cinnamon around the heater (because natural and non-toxic is always the best route to go with if possible) which deterred them and for a couple of days I didn't see anymore ants. I thought I had solved the problem. Silly girl. Beside my kitchen is a bathroom/laundry room combo and as I walked in one day to do a load of laundry, I found those wretched little things, again from behind a baseboard heater. I put an ant bait thing nearby but it didn't help all that much. The summer went by and eventually the ants went away. Blessed relief. When the ants started coming in again this year, I can't say I was very surprised, but I had clung to the hope that maybe they had found a nicer area to invade, somewhere centrally located perhaps, with a big deck and a view of the ocean so they could entertain the queen. Apparently these ants aren't in the market for a new nest right now. I was preparing myself for the same situation as last year with them in the bathroom. Well, they've decided to switch things up a bit. This year they are visiting me via underneath my sliding glass patio door in my kitchen, and from behind a baseboard heater in my living room. ARGH!!!! I should tell you that I am generally I very living-creature sensitive person. Live and let live is what I usually say. If there is a spider, beetle or other creepy crawly in my house I will more often than not scoop them up onto a piece of paper or into a glass and put them back outside. The only time this doesn't apply is if it has wings, or if it really ticks me off. Ants really tick me off. I've spent the last 4 days squishing, diverting, blocking, spraying, watching, waiting, and pulling my hair out screaming  ever so calmly doing what I can to stop them from coming in. I even sprayed a "barrier" of Raid along the ground where the yard meets the house. Instead of keeping them away, they are crossing it and then dying in my kitchen. BUT STILL COMING IN. Lovely. Last night I decided to do a little research on ants to see if there was anything else I could do to stop this madness (because yes, I feel like I'm losing my mind) and read something that I had completely forgotten about. When you squish an ant, or even agrivate it, they release a pheromone that their nest mates smell and then come rushing to help. So after all the squishing I had been doing on my kitchen floor, I realized that more were probably coming in because they were coming to carry their fallen sisters (another thing I learned) off to the ant graveyard (and yet another thing I learned). This really seems like I can't win here. I've sprayed around the initial baseboard heater they were coming in from, only to discover a few here and there coming in under ANOTHER baseboard heater in my living room. I know the only way I'm going to get rid of them once and for all is to wipe out the nest and in turn the queen which I've been trying to do. I've come across two entrances to their nest in my yard and sprayed both with a substantial amount of spray (this should tell you I'm at my wits end if I'm spraying chemicals into my grass, something I don't condone. Chemicals are yucky.) and all they've done is created new entrances elsewhere. Tomorrow I have a pest control guy coming to have a look at the problem. My Mom set this up for me. I guess she could hear the desperation in my voice when I talked to her on the phone last night. God Bless her. I've seen so many ants this last week that I feel like they are crawling all over me. I just want my house and yard back, and in turn, my sanity. I read ant nests can be up to 20 feet deep, that ants can travel up to 700ft to find food, and the queen can lay hundreds of thousands of eggs.

Lord help me.

Quick Update

I want to start by saying thank-you for the warm comments regarding my baptism, and for my new followers!

It's been kind of a crazy few weeks for us which has left me no time for blogging. I was feeling a bit under the weather and as I started getting better, Gabe came down with a bad case of Croup (is there a good case of it?? Doubtful). He was really sick and I, of course, was really worried. Taking care of him took up most of my time and I fell behind on a lot of things. I missed one of my Bible college classes and in turn fell behind on my class reports. Ugh. It's been chaotic. BUT!  Gabe is better now, I'm better and all caught up, and that's all that matters :) I'll be back to update shortly.

The Morning Says Hello

What a greeting I received from the sun this morning! The perfect way to start off any day is with a little inspiration.

Yesterday I went on another organizing mission. It's starting to get a little obsessive. I guess there are worse things in life. One good thing about my cleaning attack was that I came across all of my old cross-stitching. I'm going to tell you something right now. This is perfect example as to why my resolution for this year is to finish what I started.

This here is my very first cross-stitching project ever. I did this one maybe, 18 years ago? That's not a typo. Notice anything about it? How about the fact that it's not finished!

Then there is this one.

This was started shortly after the first one. Don't adjust your eyes. It is still in the embroidery hoop. This one holds quite a bit of meaning to me as I was just a girl when I did this, and years later I had a little blonde daughter of my own that loves to pick me flowers.

Here we have another.

This one I started a couple of years after the last, but again, unfinished.

THIS one, I love. And this one I actually completed.

This I began shortly after I found out I was expecting Vaeh. I worked on this throughout my entire pregnancy in the hopes I would hang it over Vaeh's crib when she was born. Didn't happen. But at least I finished it! The stitching anyway. This one was a big project. To give you an idea of the size, I took a picture of it next to Gabe on the floor.

So there you have it. This is my year to finish what I started. At least I'm not in over my head. I don't think.

Free Hugs For All!!

I just wanted to send out some virtual hugs to all of my virtual friends (and real life friends!) tonight. I had a wonderfully chaotic but fun day today, I received two hugs from two new friends, and I want to share the love. So hugs to you all, and make sure you go and hug someone and make their day. I promise it'll feel really good and make you, and them, smile :)

{{{HUGS}}}

Confessions Of A Single Mom

Okay people. I have a confession to make. It's a doozy. Are you ready? Here goes........

I have a crush.....on Mantracker. Not only am I totally addicted to this show but I have a major, major crush on the guy. I'm sure I've got it pegged as to why. This guy is a true cowboy. *drool*. He's got to be, at best, twice my age but I don't care. He's a hottie. If you aren't familiar with the show, please tell me what rock you have been hiding under and then get your butt in front of a tv and WATCH IT!!! The guy, Terry Grant, tracks people in the wilderness with such a skillful relentlessness, you can't help but get sucked in. And he does it on horseback. Nummy :) It's not just me either. Vaeh thinks he's totally handsome and thinks I should marry him. So Mantracker....Mr. Terry Grant....if you ever read my blog I will put it out there that I would gladly accept a marriage proposal from you. It's the will of the children. We must oblige.

If you'll excuse me now, the commercial break is over and I have to return to watching Mantracker.

Sweet dreams everyone!