Life and love in the country

Grow Babies..Grow!

2012-01-30T15:42:00.000-05:00

Remember when I told you we were planting a garden? Well we just started! :) In my spare room is now a make-shift garden area thanks to a plastic tub, a fish tank and two sun lamps. To some it may look tacky but to me it looks like food and savings! Long live the thrifty life!

Thoughts in my head..

2012-01-29T18:24:00.001-05:00

I hadn't planned on this year being big. In fact I hadn't made any plans at all and then fate stepped in. It started with a need and a wooden pallet from a friend. Suddenly an idea grew..and grew big. The garden idea went from a few buckets to taking up most of my backyard. This was the catalyst for my "Green Snow" movement to get out of debt as much as possible this year. The brain child for

Join me!

2012-01-27T16:11:00.000-05:00

http://www.momsplans.com/2011/12/introducing-the-debt-snowflake-challenge/

What did I miss?

2012-01-27T08:56:00.000-05:00

So our household is on day three of no true t.v. service.I just had to share my thoughts on it, now that we're truly tried it out. As culture we have a serious crush on our t.v. and in some cases revolve our lives around it. We (until recently) were no different and I was blind to it. Before we canceled our service I went through the DVR list and wrote down everything we watched and the last

I love green snow!

2012-01-24T16:05:00.000-05:00

I can honestly say I love snow..the green kind anyways! So what's green snow? Well actually it's a green snow ball..made of money! :) I've taken up the snowball debt reduction plan and I'm already seeing green. It works like this: 1.Make a list of all your debts starting with the one you owe the least on. 2.Now find some money you can put towards your debt. (This was the hard part since I

Did a 1950's mom make you fat?

2012-01-15T10:49:00.001-05:00

I stumbled into this article searching something totally unrelated and just can't resist sharing. The article is titled "Are 50's moms to blame for obesity rates?" My first thought was "Are you kidding?!" How in the world can they be to blame for the children of 2012 being fat? The article claims that thanks to the 50's moms, the children of the 80's became fat. In my mind the 50's mom made

The secret killer in your food

2012-01-14T10:51:00.001-05:00

I came across these videos and I had to share! Whether you're for or against knowing that there's toxins being allowed in your food, that's up to you. It's not my place to judge, I'm just putting this out there. These videos aren't very long but they certainly are life changing. part 1 part 2 part 3 Personally I like my food be as nature intended and not as a scientist thinks would be

The difference a month makes

2012-01-14T09:41:00.000-05:00

Thirty days isn't that long as a time but that doesn't mean that big things can't happen. A month ago today I was at the allergist staring at this massive list of things I can't eat. I simply asked the Dr. what I was supposed to eat..he had no idea. Thanks. And so started the venture to eliminated all allergens from my diet. I didn't think I'd changed that much until just now as I looked at how

One step closer

2012-01-13T09:24:00.000-05:00

Until now we've only grown strawberries for our son in a bucket on the back deck. This year that changes and I'm giddy about it! Our backyard is beyond useless for playing in thanks to fire ants and our neighbors barbwire fence and not big or level enough of anything fun..so it's just wasted space. Until now! We finally took the leap and got clearance from the city to dig. Turns out every

Panties 2.0 (with pics)

2012-01-10T20:48:00.001-05:00

My first pair of boy-cut panties came out small so I tried (and failed) to size them up. Instead of semi-sexy panties they looked more like blooms. So off I went to find a pattern better suited for my limited skills. I stumbled into Burdastyle.com and found a free pattern called "Cheeky panties" and "Cheeky panties 2.0" that solved my problems. Some printed pages, taping them together per the

I made undies!

2012-01-02T18:18:00.003-05:00

I have this list in my head. I call it the "Why not?" list. Basically it's a list of all the things I want to learn to do just because there's no reason not to learn how. On this list was learning how to make my own undies. They couldn't possibly be that hard to do..and so the search was on to find a pattern and directions. Taking apart my favorite pair was not an option. It took awhile to find

Battlefield: Kitchen

2011-12-31T18:56:00.000-05:00

I never liked the kitchen. If you knew me when I was younger than you would understand. To me the kitchen was nothing short of a battle field and down-right torture to be in. Nothing about the kitchen or food was appealing.Foods' sole purpose was to make you not hungry,period. I have some great memories of meals and loved ones that made them but that's it. I never learned to cook, never cared to

Little book, enormous help

2011-12-31T16:23:00.000-05:00

The Pony Express brought me a book I ordered and honestly, I could cry. It's called "The Gluten, Casein and Soy free shopping guide" and I can't imagine ever living without it. (Honestly I'm likely to live longer because of it) This little pocket sized miracle has changed my life. It's my new lifeline and compass. Gone are the days spending hours to search for a recipe that doesn't sound too

A little Christmas magic- our way

2011-12-22T10:07:00.000-05:00

This year is different then all those before...we're home this Christmas and our son is finally old enough to see the magic. Ever since he was born I had this idea to make Christmas truly magical and started to devise a plan. And this year that plan has taken shape! On December 1st we put up the snowman advent calender and started the countdown. I explained to him that when the snowflake reached

The invisible 0.2%

2011-12-21T18:14:00.000-05:00

How would you feel if someone poisoned your food and didn't tell you? Some bites you go unscathed and other times you aren't so lucky. Your favorite food suddenly makes your lips and tongue go numb, you feel you chest get tight and itch inside and then your throat starts to swell and you begin to become light-headed...you can't breath and it's hard to talk...and all you wanted was to eat. You'd

Reinventing the wheel

2011-12-18T10:03:00.001-05:00

That's pretty much what I've been doing..or so it feels. I went to an allergist and found my suspicions were right, and then some. I'm allergic to just about everything when it comes to food. You would think that eating a mostly vegetable diet would be the key but since I'm deathly allergic to pollen so even that's an issue. So why do I feel like I've been fated to reinvent the wheel? Well,

All new kitchen thinking

2011-12-09T09:40:00.001-05:00

So yesterday was an experience..and not a fun one. Called the Dr. to make an appointment to get this allergy under control and then decided I'd better go through my cabinets. Turns out just about every food I stock piled had soy and so did all my broths and breads! So then I vowed to just simply make something I could have..the cookbooks failed me. My butter had soy in it and I was out of almond

Forced to eat healthy..or die

2011-12-07T17:58:00.002-05:00

Alarming title right? I'd like to say I'm kidding but no, I'm not. Apparently the powers that be felt that I don't eat healthy enough and decided to force me to eat a very strict diet..or stop breathing. I have become severely allergic to soy. One little bit of anything that contains soy and my tongue goes numb and my throat swells and starts to close up..sometimes stomach and chest pains come

A sad day brings a new friend

2011-12-05T17:51:00.000-05:00

Well dear readers I'm sorry to say that Templeton has left us. It was a very sad day in the house, the fish took his last swim (he was on borrowed time) and later that night Templeton became sick and passed in his sleep. Turns out he was sick when we got him and sadly he passed before we could get him help. Lucky for us he was sleeping soundly so no suffering and nothing to explain to our son

A designer look for a thrifty price

2011-12-02T18:45:00.001-05:00

Awhile ago I went through our dressers and kept only what we truly needed. The rest I set in a bags in the closet, just in case my estimated needs were wrong. It's been months now and we haven't needed anything from those bags so I've started using items from them for crafts. That's how my newest brain-child came about. My homemade couch throw pillows have seen better days for sometime now. The

An unexpected friend

2011-11-28T09:20:00.002-05:00

About two years ago our son was given two gold fish. For a two year old that was a great pet but his desire to hug and kiss the fish let us know that down the road the fish would leave us and become something more suited for our sons' nature. Recently we lost one fish to sickness and the other won't be far behind from the looks of things. We knew it would soon be time to talk about a more

To tree or not to tree...

2011-11-26T16:48:00.000-05:00

I never understood the point of a Christmas tree. I'm not talking about from a religious stand point, I mean from a practical one. Don't get me wrong, it's pretty to look at and I have some great memories of decorating one and pictures with one as a background but in general I never really cared for the idea of them. Hear me out before you decide I have no Christmas spirit. A Christmas tree in

A midnight thought to ponder...

2011-11-18T17:30:00.000-05:00

I had this thought at about midnight the other day and thought I'd share. Does being rich really mean you'll live longer?I'm not talking about improving your life, I'm talking about literally expending the amount of years you'd live. Here me out before you answer. What if you could compare the life you have now with your life if you were rich from this point? Think about it. Your car needs

Will wake for yarn

2011-11-15T09:10:00.000-05:00

This winter I decided to teach myself to knit. I have to say that it's different than I thought it would be on a few levels. I've just learned the basics but so far it's not that hard, it's just a matter of attention to detail and patience(something I'm learning). Knitting has taken over every second of my days that I can spare! It's yucky out so that's a good reason to knit, waiting on the

Making a better "me" and a lesson in perfection

2011-10-20T16:14:00.000-04:00

Every winter I try and teach myself something new. It doesn't have to be anything big, it just has to be something that challenges me. Last year it was freezer jam and before that it was bread from scratch. Both have turned out well and gave the confidence to try my hardest thing yet...knitting! Most people think of knitting as something that only little old ladies do but the fact it, it has it's