Always Changing Life

Vacation

2017-05-04T08:25:00.001-07:00

Chery

Back from a wonderful vacation with my family. The first part of our vacation was with my sister. What an amazing trip it was. Spending time with my sister and my handsome nephews. It was also the first time I have driven from Maine to Florida!!! I let my sister handle the kids since that is normally my job when we go some where and she is always driving for work. Was a nice change. We met up in CT and left early the next morning making our first days travel as far as Santee, SC 772 miles with 5 kids!!! Got a hotel room there that fit all 7 of us and was not overly priced and was nice inside. Up early again the next morning to make it to Kissimmee, FL, another 403 miles. Made a stop just outside Dayton Beach to visit a friend that i have not seen since I was like 9 years old. Was so good to see her and her parents. Then on to the resort. Arrived there got checked in and met up with our cousin that I have not seen since my Gram had passed away 8 years ago. All this seeing people was awesome but let me back up just a little, I had left Maine just 2 days prior where we had over 5' of snow on the ground and it was bitter cold. The best part when we got south of PA was not just that it was sunny but it was warm. Oh how I love warmth.

Waking up in SC in 60 degree weather was so nice. I got out of bed and stepped outside in bare feet and it was WARM. My kids all came out and said, "yes, t-shirt and shorts!" By the time we go to Daytona the only thing I wanted to do was put my toes in the sand if only for a minute it was going to be nice. So we did. We parked at a hotel that said no parking unless you were staying there and walked out to the beach and put our toes in the sand.The sand was warm and the water was great. But we had our cousin Lisa waiting for us so we got back in the car and off to the resort. We got settled in and spent some time at the pool and visiting and the kids we playing outside and my son loves animals had a grand time catching the anoles. We enjoyed our stay at the resort for the next couple of days in the beautiful sunny weather.

Next it was on to the mountains in North Carolina. after being in 70+ degree weather I didn't want to leave but my sister had booked this awesome vacation and didn't want to spend to much time in one place. We love to explore. So another 8 hours(579 miles) on the road to Lake Lure, NC. Here we stayed at another resort that was more for people who Golf. Was a beautiful resort and we enjoyed our time here as well but it was not as warm and not as much going on at the resort but it was nice to just sit and relax. We took the kids on one awesome hike up Chimney Rock. The views were beautiful and the steps were evil!!! LOL we did all 829 steps (it is like 1 giant stair case) My husband Jeff met up with us there on Friday.

My sister and I have not been on a vacation alone ever. It was so great to spend time together like we used to when we were kids. Just the 2 of us and kids being able to have all those sisterly talks. It was a bitter sweet end to the week when we had to part ways. I love the time I had with my sister and nephews. My kids got to spend some good quality time with their cousins. And we all were able to survive that long time in a car together!!

My sister headed home and we were on our way to Myrtle Beach!!!! This was our planned family vacation. A vacation on the beach where we could relax and explore all there was to explore on the beach. And that is just what we did. Pretty much every day we walked on the beach. We did go swimming and laid out in the sun and oh the looks we got. To the people who lived there it wasn't warm enough but the water was about the same temperature as it is here in Maine during the midst of the summer. LOL We all got a nice burn/tan. Nothing serious but enough to enjoy. We found a ton of awesome things on the beach including sting ray tails, star fish, jelly fish, sea urchins and a ton of cool shells. As the week came to an end none of us wanted to come home to Maine as we knew there was still feet of snow back home and cold. So we made our trip home an interesting one.

Leaving Myrtle Beach to go home most people just hit the high way and hammer down. Not this family we are nomads/ gypsies. We took more of a coastal root. Saw some beautiful country and saw some awesome things! We crossed the Chesapeake Bay tunnel Bridge, we have done this a few times before and it never gets old. Then it was on to Assateague Island with the wild horses. My husband and I had been there before we had kids on a trip to NYC! LOL that is another story (we were only going to NYC for the day and ended up at VA beach). If you ever have a chance to go here I highly recommend it. You are not to get close to the horses but to see them wild and free is beautiful. It is also a camp ground and even that is beautiful. We have not camped there YET!!!! From there we were off to Philly. We stayed just out side of the city and headed in the next morning to see the Liberty Bell and the Betsy Ross house. When we woke up that morning it was rather cold and all we had brought with us was sweat shirts. But my awesome kids went with it like they always do. We found a parking garage and took to the streets not seeing all that we wanted to but enjoying what we did see. But what else is in Philly???? IKEA!!! What is a girl to do with one so close? Go for a walk around IKEA of course! Kids don't enjoy this until we are inside and they can check out all the cool rooms and touch all the stuff! The next stop was not one I think many people have been to but well worth the trip. The Tear Drop Memorial in NJ. The wind was bitterly cold and I was disappointed in the fact that it looks like some one just chose a spot out of the blue and that there are not many signs telling you that it is there. You go out this long road where you can get on cruise ships and through a few ware house yards and finally you are there. I think they could advertise and make it easier to see. Anyway what a beautiful memorial from Russia. We unfortunately didn't spend to much time there because of the bitterly cold wind coming off the sound. Then it was back into the car and off to CT. But i love to challenge my husbands driving and patients!!! LOL took him right into Lower Manhattan! He doesn't care though he is so laid back and easy going. Also it is not the first time that we have been in the city just the first time in this part. Drove right through Chinatown, must go back and explore there!!! Then we were on the FDR Drive and what to do know but stop and go but we got a chance to look around at all the beautiful art on the buildings and enjoy the views of the East River. Made it to CT to spend the night with Nancy, she is like a second mother to me. Oh but the cold we so didn't want to continue on home it was so cold compared to the 70+ we had been in. But we did the next morning we headed out to make a surprise visit to the in-laws house. We had a nice visit there and were able to meet our newest niece. About 5 hours later we were home.

Traveling is my peace. It is my soul. I will never stop traveling and I can't wait to do it full time.

Dyslexic

2017-02-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

When you realize that the way you are teaching just isn't working. Not saying that every child has this issue but after so much research I have realized and have been told before that my daughter is dyslexic. This only means that i need to change how I teach her and nothing else. So while she is working i am trying to figure out what works best for her. Although i wish it was just stamped on her!

Background: If you ever struggled with reading or spelling or can relate on how this all feels. I was so mad at my mother when she held me back in 3rd grade because I was not a good reader. Although I realize know that, that year i was determined to figure out how to read better and with the extra help in school I did learn ways that helped me. I have watched enough shows on how dyslexia affects people in different ways that I to am dyslexic. No i have never been diagnosed nor do i wish to pay someone $$$$$ to tell me I am. I have also realized and my husband has realized that he to is affected. He was great in school as long as he didn't have to write or keep notebooks. I was opposite the only way i could remember was to keep notes and highlight in many different colors and rewrite my notes each night that i had taken that day. For those of you who are reading this you may say well a lot of people do that and this is just one example of how i coped.

Today: So we have started some programs with our daughter and have seen some great gains in a day. But i feel like it is always 1 step forward and 2 steps back. Just because she learned it today doesn't mean she is going to remember it tomorrow or even in 20 minutes from now. So we do a lot of work over and over and over again and then we break and go back to see just how much she has remembered. We are hopefully that one day she will learn ways to help herself when she is struggling on something new and we are hoping that we can help her train her brain so both the left and right side work together.

She is one amazing and loved kid no matter how hard it is for her to learn and no matter how much we have to do things again and again.

For those of you out there with kids with dyslexia hang on it is a journey. It is not always easy but you have to keep trying. I will never give up on my daughter or any of my kids. I hope they know just how much I love them and try to do the best for them!

Vacation

2017-02-02T17:07:00.003-08:00

Everyone deserves a little time away now and then! We try and go on vacation at least once a year. Thanks to my sister having a time share that we are able to use, it makes it a lot easier to vacation. A place to sleep is your biggest cost then eating out. We have always been very frugal or cheap! When we are traveling we normally stop at a grocery store and buy bread, sliced meat, cheese and a bottle of ranch dressing. That is just one way we save. This year we are going to Myrtal beach. Our 3 kids will be more then happy to spend every day at the beach and in the resort pool but because we homeschool I try to find something educational to do on the cheap. This year I am not overly worried about it though because with a ocean just feet from our resort there will be plenty to learn. Another way we save is by driving not flying. Most people think this is crazy to ride with kids for 15+ hours in a car but we load up with books on tape some great movies and there is always binder work! So in the next few weeks look out for some pictures of ocean views. Also, a few suprise pictures from other places along the way!

Phase 2 update!

2017-01-25T11:32:00.002-08:00

Ok so I last left you in 2015's big project which was putting in insulation and plywood. Here are a few of the finished pictures!

This is a clear view of the fact that we didn't have much insulation!

The only reason the wall does

on the left does is because that is the bathroom we redid.

Yeh!!! Shout for joy the plywood is all up!!!

We have a beautiful view, I must say!

Was time to rebuilt the platform that you step onto when coming through the front door!

Completely rebuilt and plywood for the floor I can't seem to find the finished picture!

Thoughts for the bathroom because we love

how it looks at the front door!

No completed yet!!

We built this 5 years ago. Time has come!

It looks so empty with out the car port!

Oh my things are about to get real!!

Moved out of the back bedrooms and time to fix the foundation!
H A Higgins & Son Inc workers took 1 week to dig pour and back fill!

We are ready for some concrete!

Phase 1: footing poured!!

Now to fill that empty space and

reward my husband for putting up with my

wild dream!

A foundation for a garage what more do men want!!

Oh that's right where we live they want it heated!!

Back to the house because we can't have

that big gaping hole all winter!! Phase 2 getting ready to pour the

wall!!

Here come the trucks! I think there were 2 or 3 just

for the garage that day!!

Walls are done and now for hauling in

that stone and pouring the slab!

Now it is time for the back filling

but first the drainage!

Getting the yard back into shape with a drain!

Cement is poured in the house!

Slab is dry and the week is through!

Crew is gone and now it is time for me to start building!

Husband is at work and it is summer vacation for the kids. This girl is out building a garage! 30' x 32'!

Was a long couple of day's putting walls together and finding help to stand them. I couldn't really help as I had hurt my back earlier in the year. Thanks to all of you who were here to help us lift these walls.

A break from the garage while we add some extra insulation to the back wall 2" foam. I am also patiently waiting on my windows for the bedrooms at this point!

Mind you this was a dance hall and we we were cutting the wall for a window we found palm trees!

Still waiting!

Mean while the garage is getting rafters!!

Good thing my husband is NOT bothered by heights like I am!!

Time to call in the monkey's who are not afraid to be up there! Thank you to our best man in our wedding

for coming to help till after dark! Also to another who was there to walk the nail gun back and forth!

To tired to cook for anyone time to go out to dinner! Then when we got home we remembered we didn't have a picture of it done so here is the first picture with it this far!

Roofing going up. I am used to this part, we did the roof on the house one summer! I get to stand on the man lift!!!

Believe it or not this was the roofing on the house

and we recycled it for the garage I just love that it looks like one of them really old barns!

Time for some fun and sunsets out to the lake!

What a long summer it was!!

Next post will have less pictures but talk about all the fun we had last summer and what we are up to know!

If you are enjoying my post and are interested in all that is to come follow my blog so you can keep updated and share with friends!

2017-01-17T16:49:00.000-08:00

I realized after 4 years of not blogging and looking back that there are a few pictures of the house I want to show. First of all the house started out as a Dance Hall for those of you who didn't know that already. First we had to move the box trailer we had bought to store all of our items in. Yes everything we own is in that trailer while he was moving it. All furniture and clothing that we were not using at the time. It was packed pretty much to the ceiling! Since we couldn't find anyone to move it a whole 100 feet my husband moved it with his pick up and the help of a great friend Kevin. The bed was filled with blocking and yes the legs are down but just off the ground, just in case the trailer slid off the truck. It was chained but this way we knew it would only ruin the bed sides!! Crazy and I have a video on you tube!

Before moving in and the last few weddings that happened here we

stripped the hard wood floors and refinished them.

This is what the kitchen started out as. It was a long 3 years before we

found some used windows to allow in some light!!

Next step was to get the 2 stall bathroom into 1 whole house bathroom.

This is what it looked like in the beginning!

We left the toilets as long as we could while tearing everything out no a great picture here.

Everything out and fixing the floor and running new plumbing!!

Flooring going down!!

Extra insulation. That is 2" foam boards!

Getting ready for the new leach field!

Picture above is where the leach field is. Below are my 3 kids all inside the bucket and playing in the dirt!

The days of the orphanage! All our friends that visited during this time would see the kids beds lined up and say it looked like an orphanage and it did but the kids loved it!

Finally making progress on the bathroom and able to use it at this point!!!

Starting the first remodel of the kitchen there just was not enough counter

space and not at all set up as we wanted it to be.

Late summer project make sure the north wall is insulated if nothing else this wall needed to be insulated as the house sits in a field and we get a lot of wind!

We also wanted a place to store our toys and outdoor things so we put a car port on the trailer that was also being used as storage.

Now back to building bedroom walls! This is the wall on the opposite side of the house from all the other bedrooms.

Here is to the start of what felt like the never ending dry wall!

That frame on the floor I build as a reading bench that was going to go in

that corner by the bookshelves Updated picture below!.

Reading bench in place and bookshelves being built!

The start to daylight in the kitchen!!! This is the first window we installed in the kitchen.

We bought it at an auction for $5 we knew we could always replace it later on

when we had the money and before we did the siding!

A year or so later we found these windows at the dump for free! MORE light in the dark corner!!

They have some water marks on the inside but just like the other one we can replace it down the road!

Here is the pantry we built with doors on it!

I believe there is another post about building it!

These over head cabinets were making the kitchen feel closed in sooooo....

Out they came!

The summer of 2015 time to get this place insulated on the other walls!

As you can see there was insulation in the walls they just picked and chose where

they put it! LOL

Insulation all in and plywood. Before there was no plywood!

It was amazing the house stayed as warm as it did!

This construction and more took place over 5 years. It was a long hard five years of all work and no play. We choose to complete on major project each summer and did little updates or additions inside during the winter! We have put a lot of blood sweat and tears into this home. My next post will show you what we did in the summer of 2016.

2013-07-31T07:21:00.002-07:00

Main wall in my house! Next is pictures!!!

Pantry I built in my kitchen!

Life

2013-07-31T07:11:00.001-07:00

Sometimes in life you have to let the things in life that mean the most go, you have to bite your tongue and listen, you have to do things that you don't want to no matter how bad it hurts you on the inside, and most of the time you will never tell or show people that pain. Sometime you just have to walk away and start a new. The courage to do that is more then what most people have. When you just need time to clear your head and figure out where and who you want to be in life but there is no time because time changes everything and taking the time means you might not be allowed back. That time is a big leap of faith!

Half Homemade and some mobo jumbo!

2012-02-27T12:15:00.000-08:00

So here are some things I have been doing this year to save us some money. The whole coupon things was fun while it lasted and while i was doing good at it but after stocking up on all my house hold needs i have been living a whole year off of what i stocked up on and probly have enough for another year. I have chose not to coupon for most of my food this year because I found I was buy more junk food then Healthy food. So here are a few things I have been doing with my stock pile.

Hand soap
Dawn Hand renewal Dish soap and water-----mix half and half and you have great hand soap!

Fabric softener
3 cups Vinegar, 2 cups conditioner, 6 cups hot water------ mix and use about 1/4 cup per load

Also been buying whole chickens when on sale and making like 3+ meal out of it. There are so many ways to save. We have also hooked up a new motor for our windmill that is producing more power. next step is to buy a grid tie inverter and then we will be putting power into the house!!! Also started looking into Hydrogen power for our cars we are going to build on and see what it does!!!

That is all for now i will be posting more on the Windmill and Hydrogen projects in upcoming post!!

Seeing through the cloud

2012-02-07T17:37:00.000-08:00

Why is it that some times

we are not strong enough to fight things alone.

No matter how hard we try

no matter how much we want to?

Then with a little help

we see the brightness and warmth of the sun.

We feel loved and ok again in life

and we can smile without the pain and darkness

without the tears that over come us.

No matter how strong you are you will fall but there

is always something/someone there to help! ♥

When is enough, enough?

2012-01-18T06:47:00.000-08:00

         Have you ever stopped and looked around at our ever changing life? have you ever wondered how much more we can cram into some thing so small?
         Lately I have been looking at things different and have decided that I am an old sole trapped into a young body. Like really do you need your iPod hooked into your car radio what is wrong with just the plain old radio? Do you really lack the ability to parallel park? Do you need your car to be the computer that you are reading this on? Car's used to be basic and run fine. They used to be made out of strong metal not plastic and tin foil. ever see an accident of an old car and compare it to an accident today? There is a huge difference and back then there were no air bags that put off gasses that you really shouldn't breath.
          I am not saying that every improvement in our life it not a good thing but some I think are just going a little to far.
          What happened to the day when people wore cloths that lasted longer then a month and the jeans they bought were strong and didn't have holes already in them? I understand it is all about fashion and what you like but personally I like a pair of jeans that last at least a year and doesn't fall apart on me. Even right down to my shoes. I bought a pair of shoes when i was pregnant with Haily that i still wear. She is now 3. I have bought a new pair as the other ones were starting to fall apart but at least the $70 I spent on them were well worth it and i got 3 years out of them and still using them just not on a daily basis.
        Cell phones really get me too. What happen to having a phone just to call and talk to someone on? Now your phone is everything from something to talk on to a camera to a e-mail to the web to texting to watching movies or reading books. WOW how much more can you cram into a thing that fits into your pocket before one day it just explodes?
              One thing that I do like it the fact that a TV is now no deeper then a inch and a half or so. LED TV, what more could you ask for it doesn't have that high pitched squeal an old tube TV has and it uses like no energy. That is a great improvement to me.
I just wonder what it is going to take for people to settle back down out of the fast paced life and money blowing to realize life can be simple. People used to have gardens and raise there own food and survive on there own they didn't depend on store and didn't have to have more and better things. What if tomorrow ever electronic in the world stopped working? Would you know what to do? Would you go through withdrawals like a drug addict? Who is really an addict? We all are in our own way there is one thing that we all can't live without we are completely addicted to it. It might be your phone your computer or an iPod or iPad. Can you put that down for a whole day and not look at it once or pick it up?
             I am sure there are many other things that have changed dramatically that i use everyday and don't think about but I do believe that somethings are better left alone. Why change a good thing?
         Like gas? why add ethanol to our gas and make it so we are getting 2% to 40% less MPG? I am not sure if you have realized that you are filing up your gas tank a lot more then you used to but I sure have. I have a mini van that is a 1999 that used to get 400 miles to a tank (about 12 to 15gallons) now that same van is only getting about 250 to 300 miles per tank. this is a big change how is the ethanol helping our environment if we are using more of it and putting out the same amount of pollution? Not to mention all the engine problems it is causing in old cars and new ones. I have read that cars that are less then 10 years old take to the ethanol without a problem but why should I have to buy a new car if I don't want to? Is this just another way of the government controlling us? That is a whole other discussion i wont get into. But really people if you have the option and there were regular gas with no ethanol and gas with ethanol at every pump for the same price or even just 10cents more which would you choose? I would choose the plain old gas the one that got me 400 miles per tank not the ethanol 250 miles per tank. Why should we be forced to change if we don't want to? Funny how air plains don't run ethanol gas, that is because the ethanol causes to many problems in the engines to make it worth the change over. So if they are not forced to update there equipment why are we? I want to have the choice when i pull up to the pump without paying more. It takes more to make ethanol then gas so why should it be more expensive? They say ethanol is so much better and renewable well if that is the case make it cheaper.
   So things to think about for anyone who reads this. When is enough enough for you? What can you live without? And do you want choices or just be forced to change for the good or not? Let me know what you think!

Winter Life

2012-01-14T15:58:00.000-08:00

We have been enjoying relaxing lately. Been playing wii a lot with the kids and we are all having fun doing it. Most of the winter I spend hiding away resting up for the summer to come. The girls and I have been going to the library a lot lately and I have been reading a lot of books I have found that I read a lot faster then I ever did before. Reading about raising chickens and gardening trying to get ready for a large garden this year and chicks. Kids want to be able to go out and pick eggs and we think it will be a good learning experience for them to have chicks that grow and lay eggs. Looking forward to having a large garden to do a lot of canning all year long that way we have food all winter. Any little bit helps. Looking forward to simplifying our life a little and getting a lot done without a lot of money. I have a lot of things I want to do this year and I will be happy if I complete half of them!!!

Pictures of our house

2012-01-11T10:48:00.000-08:00

Where the closet used to be!

No more Stage!

Partial wall gone to make room for Riley's closet!

Walls studded!

Walls studded from other end of house!

Last pictures are of the walls with some of the Sheetrock up! Need to get pocket door frames in order to finish Sheetrock!

Jeff finishing up Sheetrock between Riley and the girls bedroom!

Let me know what you think! Starting to look less like a barn and more like a house!!!

Laundry Soap

2012-01-11T10:30:00.000-08:00

So as many of you know I have been making my own laundry soap for a while now. I think like 2.5 years. I have been asked how I make it and since I made more today I thought I would post what I use. I started making laundry soap after watching 18 kids and counting at the time now it is 19 and we don't have cable or dish so I can no longer watch. I follow Michelle Duggar's recipe with a little touch of me.

1 bar of favorite soap (grated)
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax
5 gallon bucket
cheese grater
store bought laundry soap

Grate a bar of your favorite soap into a pot that is about half full of hot water. I almost boil this, making sure it is hot enough to completely melt soap.

In a 5 gallon pail put the 1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda and 1/2 Cup Borax with about 2.5 gallons of hot tap water. I don't measure the water just fill the pail about half full. Stir this until all melted and then add in the hot soapy water. I also add in about 25oz of store bought laundry soap. I do this because when I first started to make laundry soap i was noticing no matter how hot I got the mixture when it cooled i seemed to have clumps. I have found when adding some store bought laundry soap it doesn't clump. After mixing this all up I fill the bucket to about 2 inches from the top and stir again and then set aside for about a day to cool before i use it.

You can also add essential oils to this if you wish I have not tried doing so I use faberic softener sheets that are scented and have no need for more scent. I am sure you are thinking WOW 5 gallons of laundry soap but in reality when you take your old laundry jugs and fill them with your homemade laundry soap you only fill them half way and the rest with water. So you are really making 10 gallons for little to no money and time. I make this by myself in about 10 minutes. I have found it works just as good as any laundry soap I can buy at the store and it is cheap!!!

Shopping!

2012-01-10T17:57:00.000-08:00

Something I love to do but hate to spend money!!! So today the girls and i went shopping to pick up household items and food. We did pretty well, we saved over $60 all in coupons. That doesn't include the difference from store brand and mark downs. Anyway the girls were really good even though we were in the store 2 hours! Still managed to forget a few things but that is ok since i do not buy meat there i wait and buy local. Really excited to raise our own food this year and not have to spend so much at the store!

Tomorrow the girls and I will be making Apple Pie and Laundry soap. I will post the recipe for the soap when we are done and maybe even some pictures!

Chicken pox

2012-01-09T12:13:00.000-08:00

Chicken pox is circulating around the town i live in and i have choose to expose my girls to it. There are many pro and cons to all of this. My hopes are that they will break out and become immune to it there for not having to get the vaccine. So anywhere from today to 21 days from now if they did get it they will be spotted or not!

On the other hand not much is new but i thought i would let any one who is interested know that I think the Leap Frog Explorer Tablet is amazing! It was bought for my youngest (Hailey) for Christmas. The older kids Riley and Chloie got ds lites. I have found they all prefer to play on the Leap Frog Tablet. It is age appropriate for each of them and everything gets harder the better you do keeping them always learning. We have not bought games for it yet but it did come with Mr. Pencil and some other apps already loaded on it. I do think that some of there prices for other things are a little expensive. But the good part is what you load on to it from there on-line site is not just another game that is going to get lost! I see it as a great purchase if you have little kids. It ranges from pre k to 6th grade so looks like it will be around my house for a while!!!

On the other hand we took the whole weekend off from working on the house and spent time as a family. So hope to get the last little bit of walls up this week and weekend. Then it is just a little at a time with electrical and sheet rocking the inside of the bedrooms!!

Resisting erges

2012-01-07T15:07:00.000-08:00

Well, today we have been playing wii and reading. I started a new book on my kindle. Seems like a good book so far.

So on to the erg, I have wanted a Canon Rebel XSi for like 2 years or more, may not have been that model before then but have wanted one for a long time. Due to it being January and everyone is getting rid of there old things because they got new for Christmas I have found one that is reasonable priced but my goal for the year was to spend less and not fall into these traps. So hard to fight the erg we will see if i can make it past or if I end up with a new used camera!

Something i tried new today that I found on-line was rinsing my hair with 1 part vinegar and 3 parts water. I used apple cider vinegar cause that is what i had. What i have noticed: smooth hair!!! not sure if it is shinier but it is like silk feeling! Guess i will start doing this more often!!!

Up date on the house we put up the wall separating our bedroom with the house. Still need to put up one more piece of Sheetrock but in order to do that we need to do a few little things. Nothing major just decided to spend time with family today instead.

Chocolate Syrup

2012-01-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday i made some chocolate syrup from scratch. Found the recipe online and i tried it this morning I loved it!!!
This is what i used:
1 1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup coco
1 cup water
pinch of salt
1tsp vanilla
1 old cleaned out ketchup bottle

Brought sugar, coco, and water to boil added salt then boiled for 1 to 2 min and took off heat mixed in vanilla and let cool. Than i put it in the ketchup bottle to refrigerate and tried it this morning. I love it was great seemed like i didn't need to use as much as the store brand.

The 2012 Change

2012-01-06T07:46:00.000-08:00

So I don't do resolutions, I choose to call them changes in my life! Most people make resolutions and never keep them. Since i make changes it seems to work! In 2012 I plan on making a bunch of changes. Here are some of them:
Start making things i can from scratch - This doesn't mean i am going to throw away everything i have. I am going to continue using the things i currently have until they are gone and then make the same or similar product here at home with hopefully less chemicals. This includes meals, laundry soap, window cleaner etc.
Eat out Less - Last year we spent about $1000 eating out. I don't want that to happen again this year. I am not saying that i wont go out dinner once and a while but the drive through at McD's is not in my range this year!
Work on our house - This may sound strange to many but we recently bought a Dance Hall and for the past 6 months have been in the process of turning it into a house. We are trying not to run up debt making it what we want. So slow and steady is how it is here!!
More Family Time - Yes we do everything as a family now but i would like to have more quality family time that is not in front of the TV or running errands. I want that around the camp fire telling stories with no phones!!
Raising animals for food - Yup we have raised a pig before and it was great. We plan on doing it again. The kids have also asked for chickens so they can go pick the eggs!!! So in the spring we will be adding to our pet list!!

This is where i am leaving my first post. More to come soon and i will be posting pictures!