Simply McGhie

Last Post

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 12:20:00 +0000

Well after almost eight years writing here at Simply McGhie, it's time for an end and a new beginning. This will be my last post on this blog. Don't be saddened though. I'm still going to be blogging, but at a new place. My new blog is called:

The Excited Writer

It's not going to be just about writing. It's going to be about everything that I'm excited about. Just take a trip over there and you will see a better explanation. I believe that writers and non writes alike will enjoy it.

This blog will be going private soon.

So . . . adieu.

Where Were We?

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 18:37:00 +0000


Princess August 29, 2012

Have you ever looked back through your photos to see what you were doing that day a few years back? It's a great way to remember where you were and how much things have changed or the kids have grown. August 28-29th of 2012, this little firecracker wasn't even in school yet but she was one smart cookie. She still had fine hair the curled in the most gorgeous ringlets and she could balance a string of monkeys off anything.

In August 2012 we were just thinking about moving. We were outgrowing the house, the school Big Brother was going to wasn't very good and I didn't even know I was pregnant with Taz yet. One month later our house was on the market and we were packed to start a new life in a new house, new ward (well, sort of old ward), a new school, with a new baby on the way. It was sort of a whirlwind.

The past three years have been wonderful. There's been some very definite struggles but balanced out by unimaginable blessings. So if you haven't yet, look back at this day last year, or several years ago. See where you were and where you've come from then. I bet you will see some wonderful things.

The End of Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Thu, 20 Aug 2015 16:58:00 +0000

It's that time again. Today was the first day of school and I was one of those moms who got teary eyed for their kid's VERY FIRST day of school. Tank is in Transitional Kindergarten now. If you don't know what Transitional Kindergarten is, you can get more information about it HERE. We feel this will be very good for him because it will give him the additional support he needs to go alone with his speech therapy so that when he gets to 1st grade and above, his speech won't be such a hindrance to him. He may still have to take speech for a very long time but T-K will definitely help. So for this little guy he will go to T-K, Kindergarten, then first grade.

Princess is a big 2nd grader now. She was super excited this morning and all I had to do was help her fine her classroom and she was good. Big Brother (Formerly known as Golf Boy) didn't want my help. He said he could find his class all on his own. So . . . off he went.

Last Friday we did one last fun thing before school started. Bryce had the day off from work so we went up to Shaver Lake. We pretty much spent all day there and had a great time.

It was a fun, relaxing day. Now we are back to the school grind. We're hoping for a great year.

Joy In His Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 05:32:00 +0000

11 years of marriage

I wish I had a picture for today. Today was one of those perfect days full of tender moments where I just knew I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing in that exact moment. Life's been full of those for me lately. Before you go thinking that I'm bragging about how perfect my life is, just know that I'm not. There's so much that is difficult right now. Bryce and I have felt hindered at nearly every step and that nothing we were wanting to do was working out. We were having a stupor of thought if you will. Then we finally made a decision about something and my mind at least, has had peace. That doesn't mean that everything is better now, but things are going to be all right.

Today though . . . was beautiful. The weather was amazing. Overcast, cool, slightly breezy, no smoke . . . The kids were playing nicely together and I was hanging laundry out to dry. As I hung clothes on the line, I was listening to some beautiful cello music and this moment of peace washed over me. In that moment my life was perfect. I thought to myself how much I love my life. Now I don't love the underemployment and I certainly don't love how nothing seems to be working out how we want it to, but I do love what I am doing . I'm loving my family and doing exactly what I'm supposed to right now. It's hard to describe, but it's a peace that comes with knowing that I am doing what God wants me to be doing. Yes, we aren't doing some of the things that WE want to do, but that's ok. Heavenly Father has a plan for us and as long as we can align our will with His, we will continue to have these moments of absolute peace, moments of perfection and moments of joy.

Joy in eleven years of marriage.

Joy in motherhood.

Joy in His plan.

The Clothesline: Symbol of Hope and Self Reliance

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 18:23:00 +0000

I am so happy right now. We have been living in this home for almost three years and in that time I haven't had a clothes line. We just couldn't figure out how to put one up or where. Finally this morning as I was doing laundry, the idea of how to do it came into my mind and I went right to work while the idea was still fresh. The clothes line extends all the way around this shade structure and as I was hanging up some sheets, my soul was filled with peace. I know I've written about it before, but there's something very therapeutic about hanging clothes on the clothes line.

I've been doing a lot of things the old way lately -things I used to do but moved away from because of convenience. We are trying to save money where ever we can so that we can make it through this trial of underemployment as Bryce gains experience and education for his new career. Everything he is doing is absolutely worth it because in the long run it will be better for him (because he will be doing something he loves) and we will be better able to support our family. So in the mean time I've gone back to making our own tortillas instead of buying the pre-made-you-cook ones from Costco (aren't those delicious by the way?), making our own bread (sometimes I would get lazy and just buy it), back to making my own laundry detergent, making our own granola bars, homemade yogurt and anything else that I can make rather then spend the money to buy it.

So, enter the clothes line. I know that perhaps drying clothes on the line won't save me that much in the long run but for me it's a symbol of hope and self reliance. I have hope that things will get better and hanging the clothes on the line brings peace to my heart and a sense of being self reliant. We can do all we can to take care of our family even when things are tight and our family will still have everything they need -love, shelter, food and clean clothes.

Another thing that was magical as I hung up clothes was the fact the Taz (Baby H) was so excited. I hadn't realized before today that he'd never experienced what it was like to have a clothes line. The other three kiddos have memories of playing through the sheets as they blew in the breeze. It was so sweet to listen as Princess explained to Taz what a clothes line was and how we used to have one at "the old house."

I hadn't realized the memories I am creating for my kids. We may not be able to always go on awesome vacations and my kids certainly don't have the coolest toys, but they have something pretty unique to a lot of other kids their age. They are learning what to do when you run out of propane for a week and have to heat all your water for baths and washing dishes (yes, that recently happened). They are learning how to take care of animals and have respect for the contribution they make through eggs or meat. They are learning the importance of clearing brush for fire protection and the role it plays in the health of the trees and plants we leave to grow. They are learning so much by being able to live out here in the country and learning more as we make efforts to save money. Hopefully these will be lessons they can take with them into adulthood and be more adaptable and capable because of it.

So, clothesline=hope and self reliance. That's my take on it.

Last Day of School 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 02:21:00 +0000

Last day of school! Last day of school! No one was singing this chant more enthusiastically then me today. It's been a good and challenging year for each of these guys. They all grew so much and learned a lot. There's just one thing . . . they were so burnt out at the end. Now they don't have to worry about homework or tests or people being mean at school (something Princess is experiencing -sadly I think she's going to take after me in that). And now they get to relax -and drive each other crazy in the process. It's going to be a great summer! (Scroll to the bottom for a first and last comparison)

last day of school 2014-2015 school year

1st day of school 2014-2015 school year (yes, the best we could do that day)

Full of Life

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Sun, 17 May 2015 07:04:00 +0000

It's been over a month, almost two since I last wrote a blog post on here. Sorry. Life's been full and crazy and I honestly haven't had the time to put together this post. So let's do some catch up. At the end of March, some very dear friends of ours were having a baby that they had just adopted sealed to them. A few years back they had moved all the way to Washington. My friend Allyson and I were able to drive up together to share in their special day. The special even took place in the Columbia River Temple and let me tell you, it is amazingly beautiful. Wow!

As Allyson and I headed back home, we decided to take a little bit of a scenic rout. We stopped at a couple of waterfalls as we went through Oregon. As a side note, Oregon and Washington have so much water! It was a sight for sore eyes to us parched Central Valley, Californians.

I don't normally take a lot of selfies but I wanted to send a picture to Bryce and the kids to show them where I was at. This is Horsetail Falls.

I can't remember the name of this water fall, but it was beautiful. It reminded me of a couple of scenes of Rivendale in the Lord of the Rings.

Easter weekend (April 4th-5th) was a wonderful weekend. I stayed up to take pictures of the rare blood moon eclipse.

That Sunday, our ward Choir performed a special musical Easter Cantata. It was such a wonderful experience to sing about the life of Jesus Christ. Even now, over a month later, I am still singing some of those songs. Sorry no picture for you.

During the last couple months, we were also very involved in track. Track this year was a struggle. While the coach was awesome, the track meet line up wasn't all that great. Golf Boy ran the 100m, 200, and did the long jump. Here he is coming in third place for the 200m.

Then there was other school stuff. Each year the schools in our area put on what's called the Pine Needle Festival which is all about reciting poetry, like one big poetry jam. I actually participated in it several times when I was a kid. Crazy hu? Anyway, Golf Boy and Princess were both performing in it. I had to juggle trying to be in two different places at the same time. Luckily I was able to catch both. Sadly, the pictures didn't turn out.

Towards the end of April, my grandma had to go in and have some work done on her pacemaker. I think it was either replacing the battery in it or replacing the whole thing. Anyway, it was an easy surgery but took longer then she expected. So on a rainy and gloriously thundering afternoon, I went up to her house to take care of her dogs. Look at this place! Can you believe that this is where I grew up? Is it any wonder why my favorite color is green? I love being up there, especially when it's raining and thundering. The thunder echoes through the canyon and when the rain falls, it's like an orchestra as it pelts a thousand different kinds of leaves. I had mentioned on my writing facebook page that I got to run here. Imagine joyfully running through the rain and thunder on this absolutely beautiful and serene road.

Baby H, or as we now lovingly refer to him, Taz, turned two years old. We had a quiet celebration at home with homemade pizza and cake. This little guy is so sweet and precious. Our lives have been so blessed because of him. He is so kindhearted, smart, loving . . .

and mischievous, climbes on everything and a bit of a daredevil.

Yes . . . he's found the stash. And yes, he climbed up there all by himself.

You know, life is awesome. Right now life is so full and I couldn't be happier.

In other news, Bryce is graduating!!!!!

. . . and if you are intersted, I have a short story up on Random Outbursts of and Excited Writer. Check it out and comment on it. It's part of a blogfest that my writing group is putting on and we are trying to get enough entries to have it be a charity fundraiser. If it gets to that point I'll give more details. There's still time if you want to participate too. Cut off is May 23rd.

Muddy Tubs and Fuzzy Heads

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 22:44:00 +0000

One of my great joys in life is to watch the kids play outside in the sunshine and dirt. It just seems natural -organic. They are always so happy to dig holes and push cars over dirt mounds. I think my kids could win the gold medal for dirt accumulation on their bodies and I don't mind one bit. It gets in their clothes, all over their face, in their hair. Ok, in the hair isn't as much fun. Something else I love, is to bring them in when they are all done playing and to wash the dirt off of them. As the mud rolls off of them, they transform from little gold mining dwarfs, to my fuzzy headed little boys who are happy and full of life. Is there anything better? Well maybe, but for now, I'll take this.

What a Morning Without Power Has taught Me

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 04:52:00 +0000

This morning, our power was out. We live in the foothills and it isn't unusual to experience the occasional power outage. Growing up in the mountains, power outages were a frequent occurrence and my grandma always taught us to be prepared. We always had portable water storage for washing and flushing toilets, a supply of drinking water, a way to heat water and food, a way to stay warm in the winter and anything else to be able to wait out the outage. Sometimes they would only last for a few minutes but sometimes, as in the case of the winter of '99 (I think anyway), we were snowed in, without power for a full week.

This morning the power was out for about six hour (at least, that's our best guess). And you know what? It really wasn't a big deal. Here's what I came to realize:

1. My grandma taught me well. We were very prepared. We had water for drinking and bathing (sparingly) and a heating source for that water. We had oil lamps and flash lights to light the dark places and our freezers were stocked with frozen water jugs to help keep the temperatures low when the power was out.

2. A morning without the noise of the T.V. or other electrical noise, was really nice. For once, the kids actually played nicely together.

3. It's easier to conserve water when there's no power. We don't have a gravity feed for our water to the house so after Bryce had run some water to get ready for his early church meeting, there wasn't much pressure left in the lines. No big deal though. We warmed up some water on our camping stove and used buckets to wash. This helped us use much less water then if I had jumped in the shower or put the two youngest boys in the both after particularly smell messes. I was much more water conscious because I didn't know how long the power was going to be out and I knew I needed to conserve. What was interesting, was that as soon as the power came back on, I went back to using water exactly as I had before. I noticed this. When water flows freely, your usage becomes automatic. You don't think about it. Since we are in such a severe drought, this is something I need to be better at.

4. It's always good to listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. All day yesterday, I was prompted to do certain things. I was prompted to make sure the animals had adequate water (usually one of my morning chores). I was also prompted to check on our in house water storage. I was also prompted to wash my hair (confession, I don't wash my hair everyday), and to make sure I watered the little garden bed I had just planted. By doing all these things yesterday, I didn't have to worry about them this morning. Animals were taken care of, the garden bed wasn't going to dry up, and I was able to be clean and presentable for church. Had I not done these things, it would have been a stressful morning.

So to sum it up? If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear (or worry, or stress). Oh, and it's not so bad to be without electricity. However, I am very thankful for the blessing of electricity and electrical devices. They make my life easier, allowing me to do much more with my time. Also, I think it would be very frustrating to write as much as I do without a computer to write on. Oh! Also listen to your grandmas who try to teach you what life was like back in their day. Their wisdom can be the thing that gets you through a power outage.

Birthday Hike

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 23:37:00 +0000

On Monday, I celebrated a birthday. It was nice and quiet with no fuss -just the way I like it. After I had spent the day running errands in town, my mother-in-law came over so that Bryce and I could go one a quick hike. I've lived in this area for most of my life and had never seen the top of Table Mountain and neither had Bryce. We set out about 4:30pm, right from our house and started walking. This first picture is near the top as you are heading up the trail.

Apparently mother nature is confused because Spring has arrived in our area, as evidenced by the abundance of wild flowers. There were so many wild California poppies -our state flower.

This is a shot of the very top. Since I know how the Table Mountains were formed, I had always imagined a stark expanse of obsidian or lava rocks. I never imagined a beautiful plane of grass with scattered trees and wild flowers. It was as if I had stepped into a whole new world.

We walked around for quite a while, just enjoying the amazing views. In this picture you can see part of Millerton Lake. Please pray for rain. The lake shouldn't be that low, especially at this time of year.

We stayed up at the top exploring until the sun set and then walked back home in the twilight. It was a fun, quick and invigorating hike and a great way to celebrate my birthday.

500+ Words A Day

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 21:39:00 +0000

Yes, I am still alive. Most of you see me on facebook anyway and already realize this. For others, this blog is the only reason you even know I exist somewhere out there in the world full of billions of people. Once again I have vacillated in and out of the realms of "yes I want to have a blog" and "this blog is no longer meeting that need I once had for it." I have kept this blog up for a long time as a sort of journal. It's filled with my personal thoughts, things I enjoy or am excited about. It keeps people up on what projects I have been working on or things that we have done. But it's also time consuming.

Every spare moment of time since . . . October (I think), has been filled to the brim with family, church, and writing. Sometimes I squeeze some soap making in there. Sometimes. And you know what? I love it. It's so fulfilling to be doing something I love.

a stack of writing -all the work so far that has gone into one book

At the beginning of the year, Bryce and I sat down and made a list of goals. We do this every year. Many of my personal goals involve writing. I have a master game plan created and I don't think I've ever felt this focused on something I've wanted. Some of my goals this year:

I will, by the end of the year, have my book ready for beta readers.

I will go to a writing convention or event.

I will look for a literary agent.

These goals have several mini goals attached to them -or steps to accomplishing them. Having my book ready for beta readers requires an extensive revision process. It also means that I've been reading every book on writing I can get my hands on, reading every blog that looks worth my time and . . . joining a writers group.

Joining a writer's group ties into my goal of going to a writing convention or event. I did a lot of research, trying to find a good convention. I found several awesome ones -clear across the country and requiring more money then we can afford right now. (Anyone want to buy some soap? :-) So, I started thinking of other ways to accomplish this goal. I will simply save, get better at writing while I wait, and go next year. I think this formula will actually work out perfect and leads right into the last goal of finding a literary agent.

So, I've actually already found a literary agent -they just don't know it yet (how's that for confidence!). I have three possible ones that I would absolutely love to work with. I have all their contact information and everything I need to know about them. I just need to get a whole lot better at my writing and . . . go to the writing conventions that they will be at so I can actually meet them in person. This is why my waiting until next year to go to these writing conventions will actually work out perfectly. It gives me that precious time I need to learn, practice, get better and actually have some work ready to go for other discerning eyes.

This of course leads me to the purpose of writing this blog post. One of my tasks that I have assigned myself is to write 500 words EVERY DAY no matter what they are. This isn't a difficult task. It's usually no big deal for me to crank out 2000 words or more a day, but I recognize that some days are going to be more full of life then others. And then there's Sundays. I have always set aside Sundays as a day of resting from writing. Today however, as I have stayed home with a sick little girl, inspiration has poured out of me while I have studied the scriptures, done indexing, read conference talks and studied for my upcoming Relief Society lesson. Writing is a process of creating and Pres. Uchtdorf has said, "The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit of the Lord, the greater your capacity to create." So, I'm going to go ahead and write on Sundays. However, I will write the things of the Lord. I will write in my journal, or on this blog, things that the spirit moves upon me to write. Now that's not to say my other writings (not written on Sundays) are uninspired, it just means I won't be focused on writing fiction.

Heavenly Father has blessed me with many great gifts. Creativity is one of them. I don't know for what purpose, but he has given me a talent and desire to write. I have often struggled with how this could possibly be useful in the work that he will have me do. I still wonder if I am on the right path for what he wants for me. But as a cousin of mine says, I am following those bread crumbs. I am constantly asking Heavenly Father if I'm going in the right direction and he keeps sending me little messages, confirming to me that I need to stay the course and he's revealing to me little possibilities for where this may take me. I think that's why I'm so excited. I am learning so much, devouring everything that seems to be placed in my hands exactly at the time I need it -and that's not just limited to what I'm learning about writing.

So, you may be seeing a lot more of me -or you might not. Those 500 words or more on Sundays are going to go somewhere though, even if it's a new file on my computer entitled "Sunday Writings."

Beautiful Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 19:18:00 +0000

We've been running around all week and it's been cloudy and rainy (which we are very happy about). So it was very nice to be able to stay home this morning. Tank and Taz(Baby H) happily played while I did some work and I am convinced that nothing makes little boys happier then dirt and sticks and dogs.

We are very fortunate to have such an easy going dog. The kids can climb all over Apollo and he never minds.

By the way, in case you were wondering . . . apparently it's Spring here and not almost Winter. Just take a look at all that green grass! Bryce actually commented this morning that he might have to mow -in December!

Teancum had to come and see what all the excitement was about. He wasn't impressed and left.

The boys even drew the curiosity of the cows. They are starting to get really big!

Isn't he pretty! Or maybe it should be handsome.

While we were in the back yard playing, Taz lit up at one point as if he had suddenly remembered something. He took off running and before I could catch up he was playing in the puddle in the driveway. By that point there was nothing to do but let him enjoy splashing. After all, he'd been eying the puddle from the kitchen window for a few days.

Now the sun is blocked by clouds and hopefully it will begin to rain soon. I made bread bowls last night and will be making clam chowder for dinner in anticipation of the rain. Crossing fingers!

It's December! Our Blessings Jar

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 19:29:00 +0000

Wow! It's December. Things have been crazy around here. My biggest craft show of the year went amazingly well -almost doubling what I made the previous year and Bryce is in that "End of the Semester" mode where's he's been writing papers and doing research like crazy. Amongst all that we managed to remember Thanksgiving and our year long experiment with naming our blessings and expressing our gratitude. Thanksgiving evening we opened up the jar that's we've collected these blessing in and read them, remembering the amazing things we experienced in a year. It was amazing. We were blessed so much and even though things were sometimes hard, we always had everything that was needed. Among those blessings included in our jar were my amazing in-laws (parents and siblings), the gift of motherhood and being able to be a stay at home mom, unexpected help from strangers and . . . Bryce getting a job! He's now working for the Fresno EOC in the IT department and loving what he is doing. So yes, he now works full time and goes to school full time. Speaking of school, we also recently found out that Bryce gets to graduate this next spring (pending completion of classes of course.)

So as you can see, we've had a lot of blessings recently, as well as being constantly on the go. So, back to Thanksgiving. These are some pictures from that day before we went over to Bryce's parents house. My Visiting Teacher had given the kids pictures of turkeys to write what they were thankful for and to color. The lists that they came up with were pretty good. Tank kept saying "Toothpaste" as something he was grateful because it was making us laugh. All the kids said they were grateful for rain which is something we've been in desperate need of in our area.

Something that I'm grateful for is my family. My kids drive me crazy, but they are a lot of fun. Life wouldn't be the same without them. Something else I'm grateful is this guy right here. He works so hard at everything he does. He's such a blessing in my life.

And of course, this guy. He's our goof ball, our class clown. If you couldn't already tell. :-)

New Flock

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 17:24:00 +0000

I have so much good news! But I can't tell it all right now. I should be wrapping soap like crazy for tomorrow's craft show. But I wanted to introduce to you our new flock of chickens. I have no idea what kind of chickens they are but they are beautiful. We have had them for a week and this morning is the first time we've let them out of the chicken run to explore their new home.

Our rooster is also absolutely wonderful. Aside from the 5:00am crowing while I was trying to write (very annoying), he is the first rooster we've had that I haven't immediately wanted to get rid of. He's very mellow, doesn't attack me (yet) and is very protective of his flock. In the evenings he ushers his girls into the coop and then sits guard at the door before it gets close up. When one of his girls goes into lay an egg, HE'S the one who does the egg song. I hope we continue to get along.

Ok, off to wrap some soap. Remember to come by the craft show tomorrow! More good news to come.

It's Craft Show Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 21:10:00 +0000

Well if you couldn't tell by the lack of blogging for nearly two months, I have been busy busy BUSY! I've been busy making soap and taking care of the kiddos while the Hubby is in school full time, and working/looking for work full time. Because I've got such a crazy life schedule as it is, I typically only do one big craft show a year and it's almost here. This year I will be offering several new types of soaps as well as your old favorites. I will also be offering for the first time, some lip balms.

This craft show is always a big hit every year and supports my children's' school. So, come visit us!

A Few Recent Art Projects

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 16:44:00 +0000

I've been doing some painting lately. I know I'm not all that great but I've been having fun with it. It's nice sometimes to create something pretty that you can physically see. When I write, I only see it on the computer and sometimes it's hard to get a visual on that to see just how much I've done. Painting has also been very relaxing for me. I can paint when I'm tired and can't put together a coherent sentence. I might make mistakes while painting because I'm tired but that doesn't seem to bother me as much. I finished the above painting last night and it is acrylic on a canvas panel. I've never painted on canvas before and I really enjoyed the texture of it. I went with a canvas panel mainly because it was on sale at the store. It's also been forever since I've painted in acrylics. I was in high school the last time I did it.

These pictures below are water color. Some of you have seen them already on facebook. I finished it a few weeks back for my Divine Nature 10 hour project that's part of the Young Women's Personal Progress program. I've always been kind of partial to water color painting but it can be hard sometimes. I'm finding acrylic to be a little more forgiving. Someday I'd like to try oil painting but I think I'll save that for when I can actually take a class on it. I know next to nothing about oil painting. What I do know is that it takes a really long time to dry. That's the extent of my knowledge.

I have also been making a lot of soap lately. I'm gearing up for my biggest show of the year and I basically only have a month left to get all my cold processed soap made so that it's properly cured in time. I will be having a lot more varieties of goat milk soap and hopefully some other products that I've never offered at the show before. Those will depend upon my time. There is so much behind the scenes show prep that goes on and this year I may be faced with having to buy a new printer to be able to handle the work load of printing so many labels. Our current printer has not been liking me lately.

I will have more detail about the upcoming show soon.

Little Moments

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 07:00:00 +0000

Sunsets are like Little Moments. If you aren't paying attention, you will miss the beautiful ones.

Little moments. Little fleeting moments so small yet so powerful that for those few seconds I am transformed. These moments come so unexpectedly. They still me. They open my mind and peace floods in. Peace. Peace. Comfort. Love. Assurance that in that exact moment I am doing what I am supposed to be doing. Divine Approval.

These moments come when I’m carrying a basket of laundry, when I’m hugging my littlest child, when I’m folding clothes late at night, when I’m helping my oldest with his homework, when I’m listening to the new young women choir sing together for the very first time. Each moment teaches me something new. My life, right now, is enough. It’s hard, but I’m a good mom. This is exactly what Heavenly Father wants me to do and what Iwant to do. I am doing good work.

It sometimes is hard for me to reconcile my dreams and aspiration of being a writer with the important role I play as a mother. The world pushes for women to be career oriented even to the point of sacrificing the domestic and family life in order to achieve it. While I know that there is nothing else in the world as important as raising my children, I still fall into the trap and even sometimes despair that I’ll never be able to achieve this dream I have of being a writer. After all, women younger then me have already been at the top of bestseller lists and seen their works hit the big screen. How in the world will I ever be able to compete with them? Then, when I feel as though I should give up on the whole notion of being a writer, something magical happens and words flow out of me that I didn’t even know I had and it’s amazing, wonderful and energizing. When this occurs, another little moment comes. A moment that stills me, enlightens me and assures me that what I have written is good and that I need to keep writing.

Do you know what I’ve figured out about these little moments? They are a testimony to me of just how much Heavenly Father knows me and loves me. He knows I worry all the time about being a good mom and that I’m not doing enough for my kids. He knows that I wonder if I’m fulfilling my church calling to the best of my ability while struggling to keep things operating in my home. He knows that I love to write and create beautiful things. He knows that I doubt myself all the time. He knows me better then I know myself. I am so grateful for these little moments. These little fleeting moments are helping me to learn who I really am. I am a lot better then the world would have me think I am.

This September Light

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 04:05:00 +0000

Have you noticed the light outside lately? It looks different. It feels different. It's like the in held breath before a long exhale. It's . . . beginning to feel like fall. The days are still hot but they are also getting shorter. The mornings are beginning to have that dewy crispness to them and everything around me seems to whisper that things are about to get better -gloriously better.

I have always loved the fall. October is by far my favorite month and the great thing about September is that it ushers in this wonderful time of year. Just think about it. In just a little while the leaves will begin to fall (though in some places, they already are). The colors will change. The air will take on that Autumn scent. Rain will fall -a lot of it I hope. I will be able to wear long sleeves again and Bryce will consent to my making soup. Oh hurray! I love soups.

The light though . . . that's my favorite. This light is like a warm blanket that envelopes you as you bask in it's orange brightness. Perhaps it is just me but it makes me tingle with excitement. Excitement for cooler days, rain, wind rustling fallen leaves, open windows, honey tea and soup.

Also, excitement for the gospel. Excitement for the hastening of the Lord's work. Excitement for harvesting in the vineyard (and I'm not just talking about grapes). Excitement for Golf Boy's baptism, a soon to be missionary niece, for tithing and for blessings more numerous then I could ever have imagined.

Speaking of love, have I mentioned lately how much Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you? Well they do. So very much. I know it and I have felt their love for me in my own life. I have felt their love in numerous ways these past few weeks. Peace and a feeling of calmness the moment I step into the temple. Comfort when I'm feeling sad. An offer of chickens and a pasta maker (I know . . . silly, but there's a story behind it). Having enough to take care of our needs. Laughing children and the reassurance that everything is going to be alright.

This September Light has helped me feel hope. That's what I've really needed lately. Hope. Hope that I can step up and take on the challenge of being a good mother while Bryce is gone a lot for school. Hope that he will do well in school and that he really will be graduating in the Spring. Hope that his job interview on Thursday goes well and that he does well on his test on Friday. Hope that somehow, someway, I can get my brain back and get back to writing those books that are currently stuck in my head and hope for being able to do some needed things that have been put off for too long. Oh, and maybe hope that I can declutter and organize, but that one's a little low on the list.

Now it's time for me to go make some honey tea for my sore throat from my fall time allergies that I'm hoping won't last for much longer. Oh, and maybe get some sleep.

Cliff Lake 2014: Day 4 -There and Back Again

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 04:46:00 +0000

Here we are on the final day of our hike. The morning started off smoky and cloudy. The wind had picked up and grew strong during the night and brought smoke over from the French Fire. It was a little hard to breath so we didn't do much sleeping in. As soon as it was dawn, we began packing up. By the time we had finished breakfast and packed, the smoke cleared away somewhat, making it easier to breath. We hit the trail early, leaving behind the beauty of the high Sierras to descend back down into reality. We followed the same hike out as we did hiking in. The overcast sky made all the vivid greens pop out. It was absolutely beautiful.

I feel so blessed to have been able to go on this hike with my amazing husband. While I missed my kids a lot, it was really nice to be able to have some "us" time. Some day when the kids are older, they will be coming on these hikes with us and I can't wait to be able to share these experiences with them. Hopefully they will develop a love for these quiet woods like we have.

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful Bryce who has made these past ten years the best in my life. Here's to many more wonderful memories together!

Cliff Lake 2014: Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 05:06:00 +0000

click on the picture to make it bigger.

Here we are at day 3 of our anniversary hike. This was a day that we kind of took it easy -sort of. We decided we wanted to hike to the top of Dogtooth Peak since the last time we were up there (two years ago) we were involved in a search and rescue and didn't really get to enjoy it. The panoramic shot in the above picture is about half way up where you can see several of the Dinkey Lakes (which aren't as easy to see in the picture) as well as a couple of the meadows we had hiked through the day before. If for nothing else, the hike up to Dogtooth peak was good because it really gave us a perspective of just how far we had walked the day before. The map below shows our general rout. In reality we did a lot of exploring and just meandered our way up to the top.

Here's a picture of the actual peak. Do you see that big pile of rocks? Yeah, we climbed all that. I will admit that it was a lot of fun and I felt quite adventurous.

When you get to the top of Dogtooth Peak, there is a little opening with incredible views and large chunks of quarts all over the ground.

Then if you climb a little more, it opens up and you are standing nearly at the top. Bryce got way to close to the edge for my comfort. I was content to just sit on a rock and enjoy the incredible view. Oh and if you are wondering, that is Courtright Reservoir in the background. It's basically a puddle.

The rock formations everywhere on Dogtooth Peak were amazing. I thought they were fascinating so I took lots of pictures.

After we had hiked all over the peak, we climbed back down off the big pile of rocks and had lunch in the little clearing near the top. As we were sitting there, we noticed a rainbow. Then we noticed the rainbow around the sun. The rainbow almost made a perfect circle around the sun. It was one of the most fascinating things I had ever seen. Definitely a first for me.

After exploring all over the place up there, we started to make our way back towards camp. There are so many pictures that I took of fascinating rocks but I suspect there's only a few of you who'd actually be interested in rocks like I am. If you are a rock person, let Bryce and I know. We'll tell you about all the minerals we found up there.

Here's a nice view of Cliff Lake as you are hiking back down to the pass. It really is a beautiful place.

As we meandered our way back to camp I took pictures of trees, and some more trees, oh and some other trees. I like trees and it would probably bore you if I posted all the pictures of trees that I took. I did get creative with some of them though.

When we got back to camp I decided I wanted to walk around the lake some more. Bryce, because he loves me, humored me and we strolled along the shore while I took pictures of . . . you guessed it -trees!

Oh, and some more flowers too . . .

Bryce even got in on the action and took some pictures with his phone.

Yep . . . though I love this one. It makes me smile.

The rest of the afternoon we relaxed. Bryce went for another swim. We played the card game "War." We ate some dinner. Played more cards. Then we just talked. It was nice.

Here's a panoramic shot of Cliff Lake that Bryce took. His phone really was invaluable when it came to the panoramic shots because despite the fanciness of my camera, it just can't do this.

Well hopefully tomorrow I will have day four, our finale day of hiking up.

Cliff Lake 2014: Day 2 -An Unexpected Journey

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 18:40:00 +0000

Cliff Lake August 1, 2014, morning

Well we are onto day 2 of our 2014 Cliff Lake anniversary hike. Sleeping did not happen for me the night before. There was a mound of dirt right under my back and no matter where I moved, I could not get comfortable. If for a brief moment I did actually manage to fall asleep, a part of my body would go numb and I would wake up because of it. It was quite possibly one of the longest nights of my life. Anyway, when morning came I couldn't have been happier. We ate a quick oatmeal breakfast, took some pictures of the lake (in horribly bright light), stored everything in the tent then took off for our next great adventure.

This day's adventure was going to be an exciting loop along some trails that Bryce and I had never been on. Well it proved to be an exciting loop that NO ONE had ever been on, or so it seemed.

We started out by trying to find the Bullfrog Lake turn off. I thought it was in one direction, Bryce in another. So at one point we stopped, Bryce dropped his pack and ran back down the trail to see if he could find it. Turns out I was right. :-) This is a shot of Bryce actually running along the rugged terrain. Yes, he enjoyed himself.

Ok, so once we were actually on the right path, headed to Bullfrog Lake, we lost the trail. Now we are pretty experienced hikers. We know what to look for as far as trail markers and such. We back tracked to the last trail marker we passed and looked everywhere for the right path. It was rocky terrain and there was no visible trail or markers that we could see. Anywhere! This is where I began to pray for help to find the trail. Bryce and I both felt prompted to go a certain way and we found a trail marker just a little ways down. Things were good.

We followed the trail markers along the increasingly steep path and then the trail disappeared again. More prayers. This is where we got out our map and compass because despite looking all around, there were no trail markers of any kind. We compared the map to our surroundings, figured out where we were and felt assured that if we followed a particular creek down, we would eventually meet up with Helms Meadow Trail which is where we were wanting to go anyway. We had missed seeing Bullfrog Lake but at least we knew where we were.

So down, down, down we descended into the depths of the forest.

It's a little hard to tell from this photo just how steep this terrain was. It was steep enough that we had to create our own switch backs and I believe we stepped in places no human has stepped in either a hundred years or ever. We saw a few deer and more then one bear track. There were fallen trees that we often had to climb over and my appreciation for nature's ability to take care of itself grew as I observed how large trees decompose back into the earth. It wasn't uncommon for us to see long lines of decomposed trees with new saplings growing up from the middle of them. Truly amazing.

After what seemed like an eternity, the forest began to open up into little meadows and natural springs. Water bubbled up out of the ground and flowed through meadows filled with wildflowers.

This part of the forest felt so alive with the sound of the springs babbling down the hill and the bees buzzing from flower to flower. The sun was warm and inviting.

We eventually made it to the bottom and found a running creek that had brook trout in it. We knew that the Helms Meadow Trail had to be around here somewhere. Using our compass and map, we followed the creek upstream until miracle of miracles . . . we found a trail marker! Then we found another one, and another one. We had found the Helms Meadow Trail. Oh, and a sign that said that Bullfrog lake was 4.25 miles back in the direction we had just come. Humm, that's no where near the 1.9 miles our map had said.

I imagine at one point that the Helms Meadow Trail used to be a highly trafficked place. There was a definite trail warn into the earth and trail markers on the trees along the way. However, we don't think it's used very much anymore. Thick layers of pine needed and leaves cover the path and mushrooms grew in spots along the way that had it been a more frequented area, would not have survived. It very much felt like we were alone out there.

We continued walking and walking and walking. It was absolutely beautiful but by this point we were beginning to run low on water. We went into conservation mode and continued walking. We had to keep going.

This little pond doesn't have a name, but we found it along our way in this little secluded meadow. We got eaten alive by mosquitoes here so we only stayed long enough to take a picture. This was about where the trail turned and started heading back to the Dinkey Lakes.

This is a panoramic shot that Bryce took on his phone of a very large meadow that you walk through as you are headed into the Lakes area. On my "Day 3" post you will see another picture of this meadow but from a different perspective that will truly amaze you. It is just past this point that we ran into the first hikers we'd seen in five hours. That's right, we hiked for five hours without seeing another human soul.

Because we were running low on water, we bypassed First Dinkey Lake and went to the next lake along our path which supposedly is Second Dinkey Lake. It's a little hard to know for sure from the map. We took a quick break then continued onto Rock Lake.

Rock Lake was the last lake on the trail before making the trek up to the pass. From here we climbed up and up, meeting lots of people along the way. Once we were at the top of the pass, we drank the rest of our water, (which wasn't much by this point) and hiked back down to our camp spot at Cliff Lake.

Here is a nice view of Cliff Lake as we hiked down.

We arrived back at our camp at 4:00pm which meant that we had hiked a total of seven hours. We also figured that it was about ten miles of hiking with several elevation changes. We rested for a few minutes, drank lots of water then went swimming. The water was very cold and while it felt refreshing at the time, it put my body into shock after already having been exhausted by the day's trek. Despite being fully dressed in a mummy bag, by body could not get warm and I shivered uncontrollably until I was able to get some warm food in me. We had a feast that night and soon I was warm and enjoying the rest of the evening.

If you missed it, you can find my "Day 1"post here:

Cliff Lake 2014: Day 1 -Our 10th Wedding Anniversary
and "Day 3"
Cliff Lake 2014: Day 3
and
Day 4

Cliff Lake 2014: Day 1 -Our 10th Wedding Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 17:41:00 +0000

On July 31st, Bryce and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. It's kind of hard to believe that it's been that long. It's sort of been a tradition of ours to go on hikes for our anniversary, starting way back from our first hike together on our one year anniversary. That was our nine day, seventy two mile hike that ended with a hike to the top of Mt. Whitney. Since then, whenever situations allowed, we have tried to go off on a hiking adventure. For our hike this time, we went back to Cliff Lake. I know, unoriginal since this was our 4th time going. But we love it there and it's a great place to go if you need easy access and can't rely on a "drop off" and "pick up." You can actually drive right to the trail head which is pretty nice.

OK, so onto the trail. After making sure everything was situated at home with the kids and my awesome mother-in-law, we got in our car and started to drive. We started hiking at 3:00pm and made it to Cliff Lake at 6:00pm. I have highlighted our rout on the map above. It's about a six mile hike with some intense climbs but wonderful views.

And we're off!

I would just like to point out that my husband is awesome. He took a lot of the load of gear so that I could lug my camera along and not have too difficult of a time. He's the best.

I would also like to point out that's I'm not really a photographer but I'm trying my best to learn my camera so I can eventually take really awesome pictures.

Onward!

The bridge.

Why a picture of the bridge?

Well because it's tradition. Here's the first picture we took back in 2009. It rained on us that time.

Cliff Lake Trail Bridge 2009

There were so many beautiful things along the way. I took lots of pictures of trees and sunlight on grass. I know, I know. Silly me. But I also happened to capture this beauty. A Hydaspe Fritillaries (Butterfly).


Hydaspe Fritillaries

See, lots of trees, lots of grass, flowers, logs, sunlight. Oh and look! A random sign on a tree. Bryce went to check it out and it's actually an "end of the line" marker for snow surveys. There was a sign of explanation as well as a request no to tamper with the signs.

About the time we began to make our major hike up, we saw a deer. I didn't have my telephoto lens on at the time so this was the best picture that I could get, that I then cropped and enhanced so you could actually see that it was a deer. This was the first of several deer that we saw throughout our trip. This is the only picture I got though.

As I mentioned before, we got to the lake about 6:00pm. We hiked to the back side, hoping to get the really awesome camp spot we had discovered the last time we were at Cliff Lake but alas, it was already taken -by the current or former (not really clear which) president of the Sierra Club and their party. They were a lively party as well. The forest rangers we talked to told us about them and how they had all kinds of food, including . . . brownies.

Anyway . . . as I was saying, we got there about 6:00pm and started to set up camp. As Bryce was unloading his gear, he handed me an anniversary card with several bars of chocolate that he had tucked away into his pack to surprise me with. Sometimes, sometimes he can be really romantic. I love that guy!


at Cliff Lake, waiting for dinner to cook.

Well there's day one for you. Because of the amount of pictures I took, I decided that it would be best to break our trip up into a few blog posts instead of one really long one. It's more fun that way.

Cliff Lake 2014: Day 2 -An Unexpected Journey
Cliff Lake 2014: Day 3
Day 4

Strawberry Limeade Water Kefir and Fresh Canned Peaches

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 22:21:00 +0000

Well I've had a busy day, busy week, busy month. But you don't need to hear about that. I seem to recall a mini grumbling in the last post I wrote. Anyway, I wanted to share with you one of the things our family has been trying out the last couple of weeks. Healthy, Pro-biotic Water Kefir. This was something that I've been wanting to try out for a while but I was a little timid about it. After all, drinking a mixture of bacteria and yeast . . . yuck! Well at least that's what I thought. But watching a video about how horrible the American diet and food industry is (seriously, ignorance is sometimes bliss) I was convinced to at least give it a try. We had already switched to a much healthier diet, but Bryce was still experiencing some health issue. We thought we would try this whole things out to see if it helps. Well after getting my water kefir grains in the mail, we dove into the process of making kefir water. After a lot of trial and error, including making a batch of vinegar by accident (not kidding at all) we have finally discovered something absolutely delicious. Strawberry Limeade Water Kefir. Here is a good video on how to do a basic water kefir.

What we discovered in our trial and error was that our kefir was ready after the first 24 hours. It's been so warm lately that that's not a surprise. I imagine that once the weather cools off (if it ever does) then it will take longer. The other thing we discovered is that we DON'T like letting it go for a second ferment out on the counter. The purpose in that is to give it some more carbonation but it also gives it another flavor that we just don't really care for. Also, vanilla extract isn't all that great (but I might be willing to give it another try now that we've sort of figured it out) and root beer extract, even though we love root beer just doesn't taste good in the kefir.

To make this Strawberry Limeade Water Kefir, we took a cup of pureed strawberries, half to a full lime chopped up and smashed to release the juices and one quart strained and finished water kefir. We mixed it all up, put a lid on it and let it sit over night. The next morning I strained out the lime chunks and put it back in the fridge until ready to use. This is seriously so delicious. It made all that time of trial and error (and reconsidering my sanity for even wanting to try this) all worth it. Even Bryce admits that it is delicious and I've had to restrain my kids from drinking too much. It is refreshing, slightly fizzy and a very healthy drink. I'll let you know later on if our health improves. I think it's still too soon for us to tell

Next are the canned peaches. I just canned these this afternoon. Bryce was given a 25 pound box of peaches a couple of days ago and today they were finally ripe enough to start doing stuff with them. So far I've only canned the seven quarts but tomorrow I'm hoping to make up a couple batches of jam. However, Bryce and I are the only ones that like peach jam so maybe I'll just can the rest. I don't know yet. I ran out of regular sized lids though so I'll have to get more before I can continue. Have you ever had fresh canned peaches? Well they are delicious! Even if you can them in light syrup like I do, they are way better then anything you could buy in the store.

OK I should go clean my kitchen now and maybe switch the laundry. I'm going out on a date with my husband tonight and I want to leave a clean(ish) house when I leave.

One Of Those Days

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Tue, 22 Jul 2014 18:24:00 +0000

I am having one of those hard days. Those days where you absolutely just have too much to do, a teething baby who won't let you put him down, a tightly wound little boy who is so frustrated that I can't understand what he's trying to tell me, a little girl who I had to send outside because I couldn't stand listening to her whimper and cry anymore that her brothers are mean and won't let her play with them and an increasingly defiant almost eight year old who doesn't want to do anything I ask him to do. That's not to mention the church calling things I need to do, the soap I need to make (by the way, a big thank you to all my customers who are so loving a patient. You guys are the best!) and a long list of other things that have been put on the back burner but are creeping up on me because they just have to be done at some point. Yet here I am. The baby is finally taking a nap and I have two free hands that I can actually use to do something productive like do the dishes or fold Mt. Laundry. But that's not what I want to do. It's what I should do but not what I want to do.

Right now I just want to go lay on the couch and go to sleep. Or, paint the sunflowers you see in the above picture. Since the kids are around and would probably want to paint too (and I just can't handle that right now), then maybe actually do some work on the book I started writing at the beginning of this month. Or, and you might think this silly, uninterrupted organization and cleaning. You know, being able to clean or organize ONE THING without being interrupted or distracted, only then to forget about it, leaving it half unfinished. Did you know I like cleanliness and order? Yep. I do. Which is why I should probably go clean something. But no, I'm procrastinating because I just really need a break right now. And maybe a really yummy salad made from the beautiful vegetables I saw at the farmer's market last Friday. That's where I found these beautiful sunflowers and I've been in the mood to paint ever since.

So . . . I will let Princess back inside and go get baby up from his nap (which was way too short). Then maybe, just maybe I'll get to do something relaxing soon. Something quiet. Oh, I do still have that chicken story to tell you. My hands are just needed right now to pick up Baby H.

Everything is Awesome!

noreply@blogger.com (Nichole McGhie) — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 18:36:00 +0000

"Everything is awesome
Everything is cool when you're part of a team
Everything is awesome when we're living our dream."

Well, if you haven't guessed by now, our home has been invaded by The Lego Movie. To be honest, I think it's a fantastic movie that was so well written and a nice change from the questionable messages of Frozen.

Anyway, we've been pretty busy as you probably have guessed. The pictures are not in exact order. I love the above picture so that's why I put it first. It pretty much sums up Tank's personality.

We were very blessed to be able to spend the 4th of July weekend at my Sister-in-law's house. We had a lot of fun with fireworks, swimming and spending time with family.

"Oooo fire!"

We also got to bring one of my nephews home with us. He kind of bounced back and forth between us and Grandma/Papa's house. On one of the days we decided to go to the lake and hang out. Everyone got in the water and had a blast.

And last but not least, a picture of the moon. A few days ago there was a super moon so I decided I would try and take pictures again. It was kind of trial and error. I really wish I could take a class on how to do stuff with my camera. I know just enough to know what it can do but can't remember how to get it to do it. Well this shot was taken when I managed to get it off of full auto and I could work with the brightness. Then I worked with it in Photoshop (something I am actually VERY knowledgeable at) and came up with this. If possible, look at it on a big screen. It's pretty amazing.

OK, well everything really has been awesome, at least the important things. I have a chicken story to tell you but I'll save that for another post. For now, keep smiling everyone. :-)