A SIMPLER LIFE

A Day in the Kitchen

2012-10-21T22:31:00.000-05:00

Oh what a wonderful day it was. The kids went off to their dad's for the weekend, so I enjoyed the morning in the kitchen. Lately I've been making Artisan Bread, but today I decided to get adventurous and tackle making my own sandwich bread. And boy-howdy, am I glad I did!

One of my favorite blogs to follow is Living and Gardening in the Ozarks . The author inspired me and I hope to one day be as self sufficient as this wonderful lady is.

Not too long ago, she posted her favorite bread recipe. I've been wanting to make it for quite some time. Well today I finally did it! Here are the results:

It took everything in me not to try and slice into them immediately. The house smelled heavenly. When I finally did cut into a loaf, it was beautiful, and the flavor was incredible. When the kids got home, they gave it a taste test and decided immediately that they didn't want store bought bread ever again. I'm going to have to agree with them.

Once the bread was finished, I decided to use the overripe pineapple someone had given me and make a pineapple upside-down cake, and then decided to make fried chicken for dinner - with mashed potatoes, gravy of course, plus some glazed carrots. Now we are all fat and sassy, and ready to curl up in bed to listen to a show on The Preparedness Radio Network . There are some really great homesteader themed shows on there. I recommend it to any of you out there looking to become more self sufficient. Everything from food preperation/storage, to wilderness survivial, to herbal medicine.... and the list goes on. Really great shows.

Well, now I'm just rambling. I think it's time to turn in for the night. Thanks for stopping by!

A Comparison of Several Commercial Emergency Foods

2012-10-14T22:14:00.001-05:00

Hello, again! It's been quite a while since I've posted here. After the loss of my father, and several change of jobs over the last few months, things are finally settling down again. But with the state of the economy, there's no telling how long that will last.

One of my priorities is to save up on some long lasting, quick fix meals for use in an emergency. Recently I ordered some samples of several different brands of freeze dried foods. Tonight, my best friend, myself and all of our kids got together to test them out and compare products. So how did they measure up?

I ordered from 3 companies: Daily Bread (Lasagna with Meat Sauce), Wise Foods (Chili Macaroni, and Cheesy Lasagna), and E foods direct (Tortilla Soup and Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole). My friend brought over a package of Mountain House (Chili Macaroni) that she purchased at Walmart. Here is how they measured up-

Chili Macaroni - I was most excited to try the Wise Foods brand because it was the one marketed by them most companies. I was sadly disappointed. While the Mountain House brand was thick and meaty, Wise foods brand was runny and bland.

Lasagna - Again, the Wise Foods brand was thin and runny. The noodles very small and thin, and the flavor was bland. The Daily Bread brand was much thicker and heartier, though I wasn't very pleased with the flavor or it, either.

I was unable to compare efoodsdirect with the other brands directly, since the sample pack came with entirely different entrees. We started with the tortilla soup. I have to say, a great deal of thought went into the preparation of these meals. Instead of 2 servings per package, these contained four. Five of us at and it was very satisfying even stretched that thin. The flavor was very pleasant with the perfect amount of seasoning, and wonderful texture. Next we tried the Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole. Another home run. I was extremely satisfied with both of these meals. I still have a Creamy Potato Soup sample left to try on another evening, or save for a rainy day.

After trying the various brands, I found that the flavor and quality of the efoodsdirect products far exceeded the other brands. I love the fact that the foods do not contain any GMO's, tranfats, or MSG. In addition to very flavorful foods, efoods also included a planning guide, and a cd to help with planning. To put it simply, I was very impressed with this product.

Eventually I would like to be able to raise all my own foods, but if something happens before I have the opportunity to learn not only to grow my own food, but store it as well, it would give me great piece of mind to have food put back that tastes good and leaves me feeling full.

What are your back up food storage plans?

Happy New Year and Hot Process Soap

2012-01-09T16:53:00.001-06:00

Well, it would seem I'm off to a bit of a slow start this year, but I think it's still early enough to wish everyone a Happy New Year. Things have been a little difficult so far, but seem to be smoothing out, finally

Today, I finally got around to making a batch of hot process soap for the first time. I didn't take pictures during the process since it went pretty fast, but I followed instructions that I found at Candletech, in conjunction with my own recipe. I made a one pound batch which requires 16 oz of oil/fat (I used 8 oz lard, 4 oz coconut oil, and 4 oz olive oil), 2.3 oz lye, 7 oz water, and essential oils. I used peppermint, tea tree, and pine needle oils. The house now smells heavenly.

Since the soap is hot processed, its ready for immediate use once it sets. I used some that I flaked out of the crockpot once I'd filled my molds, and fell in love with the rich lather. It really beat my original lard/lye cold process soap, and left my hands feeling soft and clean. The bars themselves didn't turn out as pretty as I'd hoped. I think I didn't quite mix it long enough to develop a good enough trace, so its a little crumbly in spots, and I took them out of their molds a little early for fear they would get stuck in the thin plastic mold. But once they've been used a couple of times, no one will notice anyway, I'm thinking.

So finally I'm off to a decent start of a self sufficient year. It is time to start planning the garden, but I'm just not sure I'll get it in in time this year, with all the work I'll have to do on the garage, getting it ready to turn into my business. I may have to refill my homeade self watering containers so they can be moved around during the construction. Tomorrow it's back to work at Mom's shop, and I'm looking forward to it.

What new things do you plan to learn this year to make yourself more self sufficient?

Errand day and homeade laundry soap

2011-12-27T19:02:00.001-06:00

It had been a busy day full of errands, and planning for opening my grooming salon. The amount of work ahead of me is overwhelming at times, but simple projects help me keep it all in perspective-

Today I finally got around to making another batch of laundry soap. I don't know why I always put it off, considering it takes me all of 15 minutes to make it. Yes, I know it takes about the same amount of time to buy it in the store, but after making my own, I'm not sure I'll ever go back to store bought - not to mention the cost difference alone is worth taking the time. This is how I make mine:

Ingredients:

1 cup washing soda

1/2 cup borax

1 bar pure soap (not beauty bar), grated

3 gallons hot water

1. First bring some water to a boil and dissolve grated soap in it.

2. While it's melting, fill your container with 3 gallons hot water (from the tap is fine)

3. Add dissolved soap to container of hot water

4. Add borax and washing soda to mixture and mix well. If you dont have washing soda, you can put baking soda in a glass dish and bake at a low temp for a couple hours, this changes the chemical structure of the soda, making it washing soda by drawing out moisure.

5. Seal container with lid and set in a warm, still place for 24 hours.

A half cup per load should be sufficient to get your clothes clean. Depending on your water, more or less may be required.

I hope to get around to making a batch of bar soap this week. I'll try and post pictures of the process, since it will be my first attempt at hot process soap making. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Wishing Everyone a Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T10:13:00.003-06:00

It has been a long time since I've truly enjoyed Christmas, for reasons I won't go into at this time. I always breathe a sigh of relief the day AFTER, because life returns to normal. But this year has reminded me why I used to love it. Last night I had a small get together with friends (which felt like a huge get together due to the size of my humble home). We spent the evening snacking on treats that I spent the day whipping up, playing games, and laughing until we cried. The sparkling christmas lights added to the intimate ambience, and we spent the evening thankful for each others company. It's funny, but when you bring together a bunch a people who dread christmas as much as you do and just have some fun, somehow a bit of the holiday spirit creeps back in. At least it did for me. So much so that I forgot to take pictures. I was too busy having a wonderful time with my dearest friends, and the kids.

The kids went to their father's house last night, so the house is quiet this morning. A bit more cooking and off to Mom's to spend the day. But before I do, I thought I'd share my favorite recipe for friendly get together's (It's on the back of the Knorr's Vegetable Soup Mix package):

Knorr's Spinach Dip

1 package Knorr's Vegetable Soup Mix
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 cup mayo

16 oz. container sour cream

1 small can water chestnuts, diced

3 scallions

Mix all ingredients and chill to let flavors meld. I like to bake a sourdough boule until crispy, cut off the top and hollow it out, reserving the cubes of bread for dipping, and fill the hollow boule with the dip. Of course its also a great dip for crackers and veggies. And it's as simple as that.

Wishing everyone a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

My Favorite Christmas Treat

2011-12-17T04:24:00.000-06:00

Yes, I know, treats aren't just for Christmas, but I tend to not cook/prepare 'junk food' very often, so at Christmas time I splurge a little. My favorite confections to make during the season are Oreo Truffles! And they are SO easy to make.

Oreo Truffles

1 bag Oreos
1 brick cream cheese
Almond Bark or chocolate chips to coat (may use white, milk chocolate, or semi sweet)

In a food processor, pulverize oreos. Add cream cheese and mix until thoroughly blended. Refrigerate until able to easily roll into walnut sized balls. Melt whatever you are using to coat the balls, and dip. Allow to dry on wax paper until set.

You can use whatever kind of oreo you like. Some of my favorites are the mint, peanut butter, and original. I prefer not to use the double stuff because the large amount of cream seems to give less of an oreo taste.

What are your favorite treats?

It's going to be a busy weekend. Son has a wrestling tournament today, and son and daughter have a band concert tomorrow, so not alot of down time for writing. The coming week will also be full with grooming pups for Christmas. If things get a little too crazy this week, Merry Christmas everyone!~

The Course of Change

2011-12-12T18:30:00.000-06:00

For the past 5 months I've been working towards becoming more self-sufficient in the area of employment. For 17 years I've worked as a nurse. My life has had to revolve around my job. I cannot begin to tell you how many birthdays, holidays, school functions and friendly gatherings I have missed over the years. I felt like my entire life was slipping away from me.

Five months ago I began apprenticing in my mother's dog grooming shop in a first step to becoming self employed. It has been a very long five months, grooming during the week, and working weekend doubles in a nursing home on weekends. Sixteen hour days were really taking their toll on me. I was miserable, exhausted, and extremely unhappy in the position I was in. So today, I took the next step.

I resigned from the weekend job.

It's a little scary, taking that step, but thankfully I'm now in a position to be able to spend some time focused solely on the job at hand, which is getting my garage converted into a grooming salon, and focusing on grooming. At least for a couple months.

So now is a time to become extra frugal. I'll be looking for more ways beyond what I'm already doing to be self sufficient. Every decision I make will be with the idea in mind that I need save money everywhere possible.

So what are your biggest money saving activities/ideas?

Dreaming

2011-12-09T06:23:00.001-06:00

As the ability to buy land draws closer I've begun to develop a more certain view of what I want in my head. That requires alot of planning, or in my case, day dreaming. I tend to take the romantic approach to planning - keeping in mind the realities involved in day to day homesteading.

The Dream: A home, built with my own two hands (and a few borrowed ones), on enough acreage to grow most of my own food. A pasture big enough to grow the feed that it would require to nourish one or two cows year round. I want to raise a steer, pig, chickens... even milk my own cow, eventually. I want enough room to grow enough crops to feed my family, and maybe even take some to the farmers market to sell. I don't worry about earning a living with my homesteading, as I will soon be self employed anyway. I want a nice wooded area on my land that can supply the wood I need to warm my house in the winter, and shield the house from the road and the north wind. Some flat, some gently sloping would be very nice. A creek where a pond could be built would be nice, but isn't a requirement.

In looking at my dream, I need to really study any land I look at - for soil quality, water table, location, zoning codes, schools, and a big one for me, internet availability. Here in rural Oklahoma it can be difficult to get anything but dial up when you live outside of city limits. This may be negotiable though if I find the perfect piece of land.

As I research the various components of my dream, and hunt for land I will keep you posted. Let the journey begin.

A Day for Cooking

2011-12-06T18:47:00.001-06:00

Today was a cold, gray day. A perfect kind of day to spend in the kitchen.

The day started at 5:30 this morning, when I got the hankering to make homeade buttermilk biscuits from Greg's Southern Biscuit recipe found at allrecipes.com. They didn't rise like I would have liked, but the flavor was incredible. I think I rolled them out a little thin, which probably explains the lack of leavening. I made a batch of homeade sausage gravy to go with them.

Tanner decided they were so good they made his eyes cross.

This afternoon I decided to whip up a pot of split pea soup. Let me say that as wonderful as this soup tastes, it is NOT pretty. But paired with my Hawaiian Sandwich, it is incredible.

Here is my recipe:

Amy's Split Pea Soup

2 1/2 cups split peas

8 cups water (or broth)

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced onion

1 cup diced ham

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a soup pot, bring to a low boil, then decrease heat and cover, stirring occasionally until peas are cooked completely.

Hawaiian Sandwich

1 Hawaiian Sandwich roll, or 2 slices Hawaiian bread

2 slices havarti cheese

2 slices ham

1 pineapple ring

Arrange ham, cheese, and pineapple ring on bread. Butter outside surfaces of bread and grill in panini press or skillet until cheese is melted and bread is toasty.

We enjoyed a lovely cold weather meal, and then my daughter and her friend decided they wanted to get in the act and bake some chocolate peanut butter chip cookies. I think there was more goofing going on than there was cooking but they sure had a fabulous time.

The highlight of my day occured when I received my mail for the day. Happily tucked into the box were the books that I've been waiting for for about 2 weeks.

The first, More Straw Bale Building: A Complete Guide to Designing and Building with Straw has me daydreaming about building my home... again. The second is How to Build Small Barns and Outbuildings. I love to sit with my books on these nippy winter evenings. Can't wait to curl up with these tonight. In fact, I think I'll go and do that now!

Survival Bags... check

2011-12-05T05:49:00.001-06:00

In a previous post I mentioned checking my Bug Out Bag (or BOB for short), and had forgotten that not everyone is familiar with what one is, or why they are a good idea to have handy. So I decided to write a little about them this morning:

As many of us strive to become more self sufficient, we feel empowered and in greater control of our lives. But lets face it. No matter how much control we have over our environments, things can still happen that leave us feeling helpless and in danger. Natural - or not so natural - disasters, financial collapse, civil unrest, or any number of things, probable or not, are POSSIBLE. Sometimes we get too comfortable and forget that things can go bad in a hurry. Take, for instance, the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan) The purpose of a BOB is to make sure that if/when they do, that you have increased your odds of survival. (Additional bags can be made to keep in your vehicles. How many times have you been stranded in a broken down vehicle with nothing to eat, drink, or keep you warm? Not fun.)

You want enough of any item to last you approximately 72 hours. This is more easily managed and portable. Your personal choices of inventory will be dependant on effectiveness, preference, and the size of the bag you want to carry. The base components of your BOB include water, food, shelter, and first aid.

1. Water: This can mean bottled water, purification tablets or iodine, water filters, or any number of other options.

2. Food: Again, you can make this as simple or as complicated as you would like. I like to include protein bars, vacuum packed tuna packets, trail mix, etc. Some people choose freeze dried foods, MRE's, or other food that requires some preparation. I choose not to, because many of these require use of water to prepare, fire, utensils, etc.

3.Shelter: Again, depending on the size of pack you want to carry, you can take something as simple as a poncho, a tarp, or a emergency blanket; or you can pack a tent on a frame backpack, so many options. Eventually I will put a blanket and rope with each pack. I learned how to make a hammock from a blanket and rope on a diy video, and since I sleep in hammock when I'm camping, these seemed the simplest to me. That combined with a tarp in case of rain... Mind you, I don't live in a very cold climate, although it CAN get well below freezing once in a great while. Additional seasonal clothing can come in handy too.

4. First Aid: I always make sure to carry feminine hygiene products since they are dual purpose. Pads are great for pressure bandages on heavily bleeding wounds. I carry Coban (vet wrap is cheaper) to secure thick bandages. Tampons can be used for bloody noses, etc. I will also pack triple antibiotic ointment, needle and thread, super glue (yes, you can glue cuts back together, and is basically the same as skin glue), assorted bandages and gauze, and medical tape, an ace wrap, oint for rashes (ie caladryl), peroxide, or normal saline. Ibuprofen, anti-diarrheal meds, etc. The list can get long and complicated. Personalize your list to your needs. (I.e. - if you aren't allergic to poison ivy/oak/sumac, leave out the caladryl)

In addition to the basics, you can add whatever items you think you may need. Common items include:
1. flashlight/batteries or windup... if battery operated, you'll need batteries too.
2. emergency radio
3. fire starter kits
4. Bug repellent, sunblock
5. whistle
6. compass
7. survival knife
8. fishing lures/line
9. signal mirror....

Remember to check your bags every few months for problems, leakes, and make sure everything is in proper working order.Make sure your knife didnt rust from a leaking bottle of water, your food isn't out of date (if it expires), your bandages are clean, etc.

So now that you're thinking about it, what items would you put in your bag?

Survival, Sanity, and Something Sweet

2011-12-01T20:33:00.001-06:00

When I got up this morning I had several things on my 'to do' list. I knew I wouldn't get them all done, but I'm proud to report that I got a good start on the list.

I decided to try something fun and different for breakfast, since my kids like over easy eggs and toast. I made 'Toad in a Hole'. I'm still not sure why it's called that, nor am I sure that there aren't other names for it but the kids loved it. And it's simple. Merely cut a hole out of the center of the bread, put it in the skillet and crack an egg in the hole. Cook to your desired doneness... is that a word? Sis decided just to pick it up and try to eat it with her hands. That didn't last long.

Once was breakfast was over, and the kids were off to school, I decided to inventory our bug out pack. So far I have only made one bag, and its only partially stocked. I add more items as my finances allow. Currently, I have fire starters, water, protien bars, ponchos, emergency blankets, fishing hooks, vet wrap and a whistle. I plan on adding more first aid items, something for purifying water, more food options, a rope, a blanket, and a few other things. I also plan on making two more bags so each of us has one. The protien bars had a 'best by' date of yesterday. I don't know how long they stay good, but they are going to have to stay there a bit longer until I can replace them

Once that task was complete, I moved on to my office. It looked like something had exploded there. So I went through every file folder, drawer, and surface, and tossed a giant bag full of stuff I didn't need any more. Thankfully, tomorrow is garbage day! Yikes. It sure feels good to sit here in my clean office.

Last but not least, I decided to make a sweet treat. I made the chocolate cake from the recipe on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa box. Unfortunately, the center fell in a little and I couldn't get them out of the pans. So rather than a layer cake, we are eating one layer at a time!

I still have two rooms to get done tomorrow, and my belated spring cleaning will be done. I feel so much better already. It's amazing what a relief it is when you clear out the clutter!

Housekeeping day

2011-11-30T20:16:00.002-06:00

Today was a busy, productive day. I took advantage of the fact that I had a couple days off to start on some housekeeping that should have been done a long time ago. First I transplanted some herb seedlings (cilantro, parsley, and oregano) that I started a couple of weeks ago for the kitchen. I reused some peat pellets, so I'm not sure how well they'll do, we shall see. I'm obviously only halfway through in this picture. Forgot to take a picture of the completed task.

Next, I cleaned out my indoor greenhouse and moved it from the warm, dark living room, to the much lighter laundry room. Hopefully that will give the little guys the little extra to make it.

When I cleaned out the greenhouse, I found my pot of seed packets and inventoried what I had. By the looks of it, I'll only need to buy tomato and bell pepper seeds this year, if everything sprouts. I know it seems awful early to be planning my garden, but one can never plan too much. My favorite crops so far are my Black Beauty zuchinni and armenian cucumbers. I've yet to have a very successful tomato or bell pepper crop. Maybe this year will be the year. (Fingers crossed)

By the time I finished with those tasks, the cleaning bug had hit full force. I cleaned out the kitchen cabinets and got rid of lots of very useful but seldom used kitchen appliances so that I could find the things I actually do use. I'll be posting on our local Freecycle group to give them to some who needs them. If you're not familiar with freecycle, its a wonderful way to keep your things out of the landfill, and find things that you can't buy. I think most communities have freecycle web groups.

This afternoon, a friend took a drive with me to look for property. Seems that land here in central oklahoma is running about $3000-$5000/acre on average. Now I just need to decide if I want to buy a smaller piece of land and own it, or finance a larger piece of land. I'm leaning toward owning a smaller piece. The last thing I want to do is sink a bunch of money into something and be at the mercy of the bank if my grooming shop doesn't make it. (Terrible that I'm planning for possible failure when I haven't even opened shop yet. Not pessimistic, I say. Just realistic.)

This year I plan on making all of my christmas gifts (except for the kids' gifts). I'm hoping to get a start on that Monday with my first batch EVER of hot process soap.I've made cold process, but like the hot process SO much better. Funny thing, but after I used homeade soap, I can't make myself buy commercial soaps or body wash anymore. The one thing I don't think I'll ever give up is my shampoo though. But who knows. Anyone have a great shampoo recipe?.

Haircut at Home

2011-11-29T20:52:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I decided that I just couldnt take it anymore! My son's hair was driving me crazy. He wanted to keep it longer but it just looked... well, AWFUL. I decided I wasnt going to pay someone to trim it and leave it long when I had scissors at home. Heck if I messed it up too badly, I have clippers here too!

Before

After

And the coup de gras? He actually liked it! Too bad, I really wanted to get my clippers out. hehe. I also gave myself a trim, which turned out fairly well. My daughter, however, declined and is holding out for my regular stylist to cut it. Maddening, since all she needs is a trim. She doesn't even have bangs! lol. Oh well,

Haircuts in a salon $30

Haircut at home $0

Money saved $30

Think we'll start saving money on haircuts more often.

Getting in the Spirit

2011-11-27T20:36:00.000-06:00

In spite of the fact that I'm feeling a little under the weather, its been a lovely evening. The kids came home early enough to put on a little christmas cheer with me so we spent the evening decorating. I decided to let them put the tree up all by themselves this year. I tend to be a bit of a control freak, so kudos to me! I only made a couple of suggestions, but shut up when they decided to do it their way lol. Most of our ornaments are hand made with love.

Even Lucky got in the Christmas spirit... or at least he was dressed like it!

And what cold Autumn night is complete without homeade hot chocolate with fresh whipped cream?

The lights were stretched on the shrubs... not sure if I'll get anything else done this year.

And when all the work is done, we got to sit back and enjoy the beauty of the season.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Natural Building Techniques

2011-11-27T05:12:00.002-06:00

For quite some time I 've been reading up on various natural building techniques, including Cob, Adobe, Earthbag, Cordwood, and Strawbale. With the possibility of being able to buy land soon looming, I have become more pressed to make decisions about what I want, and how I'll achieve my goal.

My primary goal is to build a home with my own two hands (and those of some friends), that is molded from all natural materials, off grid, utilizes passive solar techniques, and incorporates both indoor and outdoor living areas.

Some time ago, I thought I had settled on earthbag construction. I fell in love with the curves, circular designs and the fact that they are very inexpensive to build. I found these pictures at Cal-Earth. One of my favorite sites to study for earthbag building is Earthbag Plans. There are so many neat ideas, many not realistic for me, but fun to look at just the same

Recently I have begun reading more about straw bale homes. What I love about them is the use of thermal mass to insulate, faster erection of walls, and availability of straw, since I live here in rural Oklahoma. In addition, you still have the creative freedom to sculpt your home through the plastering process. I found a lovely site that shows the process in detail at House of Straw.

I realize that my biggest challenges will be the actual cost of building, and the manpower of getting the job done to make it the most economical choice.

My plan is to first find a piece of land. When I find the piece that speaks to me, I will spend a year just observing the land during the seasons for changes - become familiar before building, spending plenty of time there simply absorbing the landscape. I know this will help me not only make better decisions, but will also give me the time to begin saving the money to do the actual building.

Of course, seeing as I'm still learning this whole process, this plan may change many times between now and the completed process. But I promise to keep you posted along the way!

Homestead Stuffing

2011-11-24T19:03:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! We had a wonderful day with friends, old and new. And for today's meal, we brought two dishes. One inspired the title of today's blog:

I was late getting started making our traditional Sourdough Stuffing last night. Normally it is made using our heirloom cast iron meat grinder. As fate would have it, we forgot to bring it home from Mom's house last year, which I'd forgotten until I started looking for it. So I decided to use my food processor.... but we couldn't find a vital piece of the equipment. In the end, I made do with what I had on hand: A knife, a cutting board, and my hands - the way it was done for centuries.

May I say I liked it better than any other year in history. From now on I will be making it the same way, and will always call it Homestead stuffing! lol

Homestead Stuffing
3 Sourdough Boules
2 cups milk
2 bunches celery
2 onions
2 eggs
1 stick butter
poultry seasoning to taste

Let bread stale either in room air or in the oven. Put milk in a pan and add bread, allowing it to soak up the milk. Squeeze milk out of the bread, and tear into small pieces. Chop celery and onion finely. Combine bread pieces, celery, and onion and mix well. Beat eggs and stir into bread mixture. Melt butter in saucepan and pour over bread mixture. Mix well. Add Poultry seasoning to taste. Bake in 350 degree oven, covered, for 1 hour. Uncover and bake until top is crusty.

And of course, don't forget the most important ingredient for a happy Thanksgiving: Remembering to give thanks. Here are just a few of the people I am thankful for in my life:

My daughter and her best friend

My son

And my dear friend (with his daughter)

2011-11-22T06:56:00.003-06:00

Autumn is in full swing again, and I'm loving the color that always abounds.

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of my car accident. It seems like every day since that day has continued to revolve around that crazy 15 seconds. Tomorrow will again be another crazy day. Ironically it will also bring an ironic closure to the entire experience. I won't go into detail, but to say that it will all be over soon.

Unfortunately, I have been so preoccupied by those events that I had forgotten what my ultimate life goals are- To become self sufficient and gloriously happy in the simplicity of my life. As I mentioned before, I have continued to make me own laundry soap this year. I have also continued to make my own tootpaste. My daughter isn't easily impressed, but my son loves the stuff and won't use the store bought anymore.

For those interested, here is my recipe for homeade toothpaste

3/8 cup baking soda

1/8 cup salt

1/8 cup glycerin

enough water to reach your desired consistancy

peppermint or other essential oil to taste (cinnamon, clove, vanilla, or whatever you enjoy)

Mix all ingredients together and pour or spoon into the container of your choice. This recipe fits perfectly into a 3 oz travel container like the pink one in the picture.

A change of direction

2011-11-18T14:08:00.001-06:00

My journey to change the way I live my life has taken me in a new direction. I have decided to make a dramatic change in careers. After 17 years as a nurse, I have begun apprenticing as a dog groomer in my mothers shop. This is the main reason I haven't posted in such a long time. Between working as a nurse full time (weekend double shifts), and grooming dogs 4 days a week during the week, I have been pretty busy.

Today, as I sat here at the computer, it occurred to me that this year has just flown away from me. Last time I posted it was cold and snowy. Since then we had a turbulent spring, a record breaking heatwave, and unprecedented earthquakes. My weren't those exciting. No, really! Having grown up in California, I've actually missed the quakes I'd grown accustomed to. Now my children have experienced them too! My son just stood there with a silly smile on his face, and my daughter was completely unimpressed. She kills me.

I began apprenticing in Mom's grooming shop in July. It has been alot of fun so far.

There are days when I wonder if I've just lost my mind. The thought of being self employed is more than a little scary; Especially the idea of not having a guaranteed paycheck. But the pro's are pretty great too, and I think they far outweight the cons. I'm ready to be my own boss!

As for self-sufficiency, I'm am working at that in baby steps. I am happy to say I haven't bought laundry soap in a year. By making it at home I would estimate than I've saved about $300 this year. Since my garden never made it into the yard last year, I hope to spend this winter preparing some raised beds, learning to grow mushrooms, and growing fresh herbs in pots indoors. And of course, research, research, research!

It's Just Around the Corner!

2011-02-16T19:28:00.002-06:00

After several weeks of what has become affectionately called 'Snowklahoma', we have finally been blessed with beautiful spring like weather. So once again, I checked on my beautiful seedlings, watered them, and looked them over. And this is what I found.

My onions are still spindly and laying over. Is this normal? I have no idea, since I've never planted onions indoors before, but I suspect they have not seen enough sun. So I will continue to baby them and attempt to keep them safe from the mice. Orkin man is coming to save me this Friday!

On a brighter note, my tomatoes have finally developed their first beautiful little true leaves. I can almost taste the homeade pasta sauce already!

The collards are also producing their first true leaves like my tomatoes. Keeping up with the Joneses I suppose. But they are long and spindly and laying down like the onions. Not sure about those since I've never raised these either.

I've heard we are in for another round of snow, which is still disheartening with spring fever already kicked in, but I'm so thrilled to have these little reminders that spring is around the corner. Happy Planting.

2010 in review

2011-02-13T09:28:00.001-06:00

It would seem I went MIA again, but it has truly been a busy year. First, I took the most amazing vacation with my children. We spent 10 days in California, watched my oldest child graduate high school and visited DisneyLand, CaliforniaAdventureLand, Universal Studios, San Diego Zoo, Sea World, and the beach. What a wonderful experience. Because of the vacation, my garden died, and because I played catchup all summer, I never got the fall garden started. That will not be the case this year. No matter what, my journey towards self-sufficiency will come first.

I learned to make homeade cold process bar soap, liquid laundry detergent, toothpaste, and have made plans to tranform my back yard into a beautiful food production space full of raised beds, and a stone or brick patio to enjoy it from.

I enjoyed a long sports season with the kids. Tanner had a knee injury that ended his season early, but we are hopeful for a good first year playing school football. And sister, well, soccer is her passion, so most of the fall season was spent rushing from one Saturday sporting event to another half way across the state! But I wouldn't have traded it for anything.

Two days before Thanksgiving I was in a car accident which caused a few problems and requires me to attend physical therapy three times a week for the time being... another usurper of my time. Hopefully that will be over soon. And that is pretty much 2010 in a nutshell. Now maybe I can keep up with the coming year!

Scattered

2010-02-04T08:02:00.000-06:00

I can't help but sit here feeling like my brain is running in too many directions. Work, weight loss, writing, kids, home remodeling. I'm sure there are more, but those are the main ones right now. I'm such a scatter brain. Am I the only one who has a hard time just completing a thought before racing off on a different one? What the heck is wrong with me. If I didn't know better, I'd call it adult ADD!

I plan on doing a little writing today. So far I've managed to re-enter 90 pages. Only 180 to go! I'm just taking it a chapter at a time, and I'll worry about the editing after I've got it in, printed, and can sit on my couch and reread it, and make notes in the chapter. I've been brainstorming the new book, which just isnt flowing well. Seems I need to really start retraining myself to daydream. My creative process has been dulled by years of ignoring it. Time to kick it in the pants. So this weekend I will start writing the new book. Just write, and see where it takes me. As I've so often heard lately, "You can't edit a blank page!"

The weight issue, well, thats STILL an issue. One that has me so overwhelmed that I've decided that it is the one area of my life that I am going to put in someone elses hands. Not entirely of course, but I need help. So that plan is to get my butt up bright and early on Saturday and make my first appearance at a Weight Watchers Meeting. In addition, I will re-up at the gym (one of my favorite places -once I'm there. No, really), and see about finding a personal trainer. My biggest complaint/excuse/issue is that I hate working out alone. I'm a competitive spirit, and solo work outs bore me to death. And since I'm a bit of a loner anyway, there isn't a large pool of friends to draw from for support. My solution will be to hire a physical trainer. Someone to keep me accountable and motivate me. Costly, maybe, but no more so than my current habits. My goal is not to add to them, but to replace them. God Willing!

I HAVE managed to play guitar this week, learning "Already Gone," by Kelly Clarkson. Would you believe that until last night, I didnt realize how much better it would be for me to transpose it down by 2 steps. Now, not only in my range, but it uses and follows the same chord progressions of half of my favorite songs! Duh! lol Still haven't gotten that broken string fixed on my blue baby, but had forgotten my other guitar is home now. (Note to self: Buy strings.)

Starting Fresh

2010-01-31T15:55:00.000-06:00

I've spent the last few days retyping several chapters of my book so that I can go back and begin editing. Now I feel as though my brain has been mixed in a blender. In one sense, I feel like I've forgotten everything I learned from my first writer's group (on iVillage, all those years ago!). But then as I read over those early chapters, I'm stricken by how horrible they are!

I mean really! I can only hope that as I continue to type later chapters I will begin to see the growth I thought I'd experienced during that time. Somehow, in school, I never had a proper grammar class. Tenses, punctuation. Everything I know, I've learned by reading. But let's face it, writing instinctively, and knowing the rules are very different things. I really need to go back to middle school and LEARN the things my teachers assumed I already knew.

I also pulled out some books I'd purchased years ago. "The Complete Guide to Editing Your Fiction," "No More Rejections-50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript That Sells," "45 Master Characters - Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters," and "20 Master Plots - And How to Build Them." My goal is to start reading more on the craft. And in addition to doing and reading crits on my romance writers group, and re-entering the rest of the chapters on my wip, I am going to start a NEW WIP, something that will allow me to freely create without worrying about the rules.. I'm so NOT a rules girl!

Well, I'm off to Florida, where my next adventure begins!

Another winter storm.... and Off to a slow start.

2010-01-30T12:49:00.000-06:00

My daughter with an icicle from the eaves

What a month it has been. What a WINTER it has been. I'm truly not used to this much snow and ice in one year. But I have to admit it's been nice. This is the third storm this year that has given me good cause to hibernate and relax. I will not, however, deny that spring is ever more anticipated with each storm. Below is a picture from my front door this morning.

Seems I cannot seem to fit in all the things that I've wanted to, so I'm still juggling with my schedule. Exercise has been the most difficult, though there is no reason, only excuses. Seems I've been spending more time just trying to get my life in order. All organization and no moving forward.... yet. I spent yesterday with my novel, and finally got it all organized. The hard copy who's pages had gotten a bit shuffled. The few different typed versions of Chapter one. The folder of research. I spent the day getting it all organized, then put together a new Chapter One, a compilation of the other versions, so that now I have a version I think I am happy with. I THINK. I find that no matter how many times I revise, it's just never good enough. UGH.

I now realize that my hope to accomplish so much every day was just unreasonable. So now I'm working on prioritizing. I reconnected with my romance writers crit group. I realize writing is the one thing I expect to do a minimum of 5 days a week. First I plan on finished getting the hard copy of my WIP (I'll refer to it as Flight for now on) retyped, submit a chapter a week to the group until its done, and finally join RWA (Romance Writer's of America). I plan to submit to at least on contest this year, and get a feel for them. I hope to have Flight completed by the time school lets out this summer. I also want to start a new WIP to get the creative juices flowing. Editing is so energy draining for me.

The music is something I do for pleasure, but it will come second to my writing. I plan to learn a new song each week (and commit it to memory). Now that doesnt mean I'll perfect it, but I will learn it and play it a couple times each day, I will also print it and add it to my songbook. This weeks song is "Already Gone" by Kelly Clarkson. (This song will most likely extend into next week, since a moment ago I broke a string while tuning. ACK! well, at least I have to pay a speeding ticket in Stillwater this week. I can buy new strings while I'm there!.)

The weight loss part of this metamorphosis hasn't proceeded as I'd hoped. I'm finding that I am really struggling with emotional eating. Under the right circumstances, I find I binge eat. I can do wonderful for a week, and spoil the whole week with one day! I'm still trying to figure out how to approach this. I don't really feel like I need to go to counseling to deal with it. Just voicing how I feel, or journaling should do it. (Those will go on other blog, don't worry *chuckles*) needless to say, I still need to fit in the exercise part.

I suppose my biggest challenge is working around a demanding job when my office is in my home. It's so easy to just keep working at the end of the day. I think I really need to put a clock on my desk and set the alarm for 4:30. And make myself stop. If I don't I'll NEVER take care of ME! I truly need to schedule my day. And setting boundaries on my work hours is the first step. So I will work from 8:00 to 4:30. I will make those hours productive so that I dont feel the need to work later. Now that those are set, I will make the agreement with myself to fit one hour of exercise in during the morning. And one hour of 'get ready' time. Which means I will need to get up at 6:00 on weekdays. Ugh.

Now the question is, where do I fit in the time for writing and crits, while still making time for my family. I will certainly have to just start with something arbitrary and then tweak it as I need to. For now I think I will try to do one critique a day at the end of my workday or during a lunch break. The writing I will do in the evening after the kids go to bed. Will 1 hour a night be enough? I just don't know, but we shall find out. When I get on a roll, sometimes it's near impossible to stop. (This particular blog post is case in point!)

The music I'll probably reserve for weekends and maybe one or two evenings during the week. When I need break from the writing.

Tweaks will most definately follow!

Happy New Year!... okay so Im a week late!

2010-01-08T11:05:00.000-06:00

Sorry I have been absent for the past week. After the holidays I took a little me time to get organized and to be honest, lazy! lol. But now it's time to get back on track!

We had a wonderful time on New Years Eve. I had a small get together here at the house, just a few friends and their children. I spent two days preparing food (not an ENTIRE two days), but since I had such a picky bunch, it was a challenge. One friend is a vegetarian (but will eat seafood). Another wont eat veggies. In the end I prepared a shrimp cocktail platter, meat and cheese platter, crab stuffed mushrooms, spinach dip in a sourdough bowl, a veggie platter, deviled eggs, mini bbq chicken and pineapple kabobs, fiesta rollups, baked potato skins, and lil smokies wrapped in crescent dough and baked. Everyone found food they liked and chowed down. Then we settled in for a good game of mad gab. I'd never played it before, but what a hoot! Guess thats the next family game to buy.

The Feast

Dearest Friends

And more

And more... Im blessed.

Since my birthday was Sunday, the 3rd, we decided to celebrate on Saturday, and headed to the Looney Bin Comedy Club in Tulsa. What a great, and inexpensive way to celebrate. Note to self: Go to the comedy club more often!

Of course, over the course of that weekend, I gained back the few pounds I'd lost the week before, but I got back on track Monday, and have lost all of them again, plus another. And I haven't started exercising again yet. Which brings me to my next decision... what do I do with the the money I received for christmas. I'm torn between a body bugg or an eliptical machine for my home. Guess I'll go price the machine today and put some thought into it. I would like to get a gym membership as well, but I know me. And I'll be more likely to get that workout in EVERY day if I have the machine at home. I've got hand weights and videos, and the eliptical would be a great addition, since I could use it and watch my shows at the same time! (DVR is wonderful.)

I have been struggling with a sore throat and severe headaches this week. Not sure what that is about. I don't feel ill. So I'll just keep taking my vitamins and resting a little more, and see what happens I guess. In the mean time, I'm trying to figure out if I need to turn down the offer to play a set at the songwriters showcase this Friday night. I'm kind of starting to lean that direction, but I'll wait it out just a little longer. I hope everyone is having a wonderful New Year! (And am I the only one who hasn't taken down the tree yet?)

An invitation

2009-12-28T21:59:00.001-06:00

My New Baby

Today, I got an unexpected phone call from the owner of a local bar. He called to invite me to perform at their Songwriters showcase on January 15th. What an exciting way to start the New Year! As always, I'm a little nervous, but looking forward to the opportunity to be on stage again. Guess it's time to get my head in it and write another song. Would hate not to have new material and do the same stuff I did last time! Now I just have to pray for some inspiration. I havent written a new song in years. But I DID make it one of my New Years Resolutions, to begin creating again. The universe was definately listening, and is now pushing me lovingly along.