Making Changes

For the past few months I have been researching the benefits of an organic lifestyle, I firmly believe that we as Americans are poisoning ourselves and our children. Going organic in rural America is going to be a challenge but surprisingly our local grocery store has a really good selection of organic foods. I will need to make a trip to Lexington about once a month to stock my freezer and pantry but I will be able to buy the staples locally.






I have never had much of a green thumb but I'm going to give it my best shot and try my hand at a small garden this spring. I plan on starting out with tomatoes, lettuces, cucumbers and a few herbs. The information that is available on organic gardening is nothing short of amazing, it takes so little to make such a huge difference!

My Little Space in the House

before

after

The day I had set aside to scrapbook was spent organizing my space, it was a MESS! I cleaned out everything, I have a huge box of things to donate to my children's art department at school. I did get one page done for Jonah's book. Working in a well organized is so much nicer!

Wednesdays are for Weddings

Kristi at Kentucky Girl loves all things to do with weddings, she has started posting every Wednesday about different aspects of the wedding, this week she has posted some fantastic ideas for favors.

I watch Say Yes To The Dress every Friday night, if I were to be young & thin again I would go to the Big Apple and purchase a Pnina Tornai ball gown. What would be your dream dress if you were able to do it all over again (without a budget)? Tom & I will be married 15 years this fall we have always said would renew our vows on our 25th anniversary, I don't think a Pnina would look that good on a 50 year old woman.

Scrapbooking Made Easy

My house is clean, the sheets have been changed, groceries have been bought, the laundry is sorted and I plan on scrapbooking all day tomorrow. This evening while I was searching for some new techniques and ideas I came across Becky Higgins' blog her new Project Life kit is a yearly kit with monthly dividers and journaling cards all you need to do is add pictures and tell a story it is a great value, I ordered the Amber kit, I will keep you posted on my progress I think I may do a weekly update on this project.


If you scrapbook, what are you currently working on?

Cabinetry

I like the look of two colors, if we go with a new kitchen.

If we paint the cabinets, I really like this look.

We are a few steps closer to closing on our home and I'm trying to decide on what type of cabinets I want for the kitchen & baths. I have been looking at every website, magazine and blog about kitchen and bath designs so far I haven't come up with anything for the baths but for the kitchen I have a couple of completely different options. Our kitchen cabinets now are oak with a really shiny finish and Formica counters with the same oak trim; option one is to paint the cabinets, change the counters to a solid surface and add new stainless steel appliances, option two (which is what Tom wants to do) is put in a whole new kitchen top to bottom. Please leave me a comment and let me know which you would choose.

There's A New Blog In Town

If you are looking for an interesting new blog to read pop on over to Here On Hartland, my Aunt Kathy has started a blog about life in general and she has an interesting story to tell, here's a litte hint to perk your interest, that's her 4 year-old son and she's 54! She is one of the most beautiful people I know (inside and out) she is thoughtful, kind, giving, a fabulous mother & grandmother & aunt & sister and boy is she creative, I can't wait to see what she comes up with to share with her readers!

U-turn

How fast can you do a U-turn? In this family U-turns are a regular occurrence and happen pretty darn fast! The rustic house that we made an offer on was know where near ready to sell due to an unwanted divorce (the husband) once again this left us without a house to buy. After many hours of in depth conversations and much prayer we decided to buy the house we are renting, it needs so much work but we got an amazing deal and the property is perfect for our needs, it's just a horrible drive getting here we are 15 minutes to the nearest little town and 30 minutes to the even smaller town. In my adult life I have never lived in the "country" but the advantages to our choice are clear once you get here: we saved roughly $150,000 by buying in "the country" as opposed to "the city" (that just sounds wrong, LOL) the in-ground pool is fabulous, we have 3200+ square feet, I get to completely redo the kitchen and bathrooms (WooHoo), we lots of places for the boys to ride dirt bikes and Tom has land to build the garage of his dreams so he will no longer have to store his old Ford trucks. Things always have a way of working out!


Have a fantastic weekend!!!!

Weekend Update

We have made an offer on a house and are waiting on the sellers to get back to us with a counter offer, if we don't here from them by tomorrow we are going to make an offer on our second choice. The real estate market in our area is a seller's market all the way, we live in a rural area with limited subdivisions due to the mountains and economic issues. The house we have made an offer on is nothing at all what I thought our next house would look like but it's been totally remodeled, the one car detached garage will need to be torn down and a 2 car built in it's place. I like a more traditional home with good solid bones, this house is more rustic but I love the subdivision, the views are breathtaking it's as if you are living in a chalet in the Smokey Mountains. I plan on painting the exterior of the house a tan or grey with black accents, the kitchen was just replaced last year and it's FABULOUS, the back splash is stone to match the fireplace, love it! Our second choice is in an older subdivision and needs a ton of work, I just don't think we could ever get our money back on that house and I'm afraid when we start tearing out bathrooms and the kitchen we will get into more than we bargained for.

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I found out this weekend that my best friend from high school had a double mastectomy on Thursday. She went to the OB/GYN for her yearly exam with no problems, he found a lump and sent her the next day for a mammogram, within 12 days she had surgery and is now home recovering with stage 2 breast cancer. She finds out Wednesday when she starts radiation and chemotherapy. I'm ashamed to say that it has been two years since my last yearly OB/GYN check, I plan on making an appointment tomorrow. Please keep her (Pam) in your prayers, she has two teenage daughters and lost her own mother at a young age to lung cancer, she is a very strong person but is scared out of her mind.

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I have seen both my endocrinologist and family doctor within the last week, my endo says that my thyroid levels still aren't where she wants them, she has added an additional thyroid medication to take along with my Synthroid in hopes of converting TSH. I have been through the mill trying to find a combination of medicine that will work for me since my thyroidectomy in 2009. The plus side of adding yet another pill to my medicine box is this has the potential to help me lose a few pounds. I have gained a lot of weight since my surgery but I still feel better than I have in years.

Before we moved into this rental house I painted two rooms and touched up the ceiling in the foyer, while I was painting the ceiling I fell off a ladder and twisted my knee. Ever since that happened my knee hasn't been the same. My family doctor examined it today and thinks that I've torn the cartilage and/or ligaments, they are scheduling an MRI. I don't know what I'll do if I have to have surgery, it's my right knee.

Jonah's 10th Birthday!!!!

Today is my baby boy Jonah's 10th birthday! I don't know where the time has gone! He is truly a blessing and I love him dearly!! We have had a wonderful day!!!

The ONEder Fund

For almost a year I have been following a blog, Enjoying The Small Things. Kelle is an amazing Mom that has been blessed with a beautiful blended family, last year after a perfectly normal pregnancy she gave birth to her second daughter, Nella who was born with Down Syndrome there had been no indications of this throughout the pregnancy but in the face of adversity Kelle has chosen to embrace all things Down Syndrome. Her family has created The ONEder Fund in honor of Nella's first birthday, I urge you to please visit her blog and donate to this amazing organization, all proceeds go to the National Down Syndrome Association, Over $50,000 has been raised for the NDSA all because God blessed one family in Florida with a special daughter!

Crafter's Paradise

I'm so thankful to have a house to live in right now but renting a house is not like owning a home, I miss being able to paint a wall without asking permission. Every house we look at one of the first rooms I look for is a bonus room that the boys and I can share, that is one of the major pluses of the house we are renting.

photo from TaterTots & Jello

I have been pouring over home decorating magazines, books, and blogs looking for ideas for a craft room for all my stuff. Jen at Tatertots and Jello has taken her dining room from a room that was hardly used to a fabulous craft room, I wish she lived closer to me because I would hire her to design my craft space! I love the desk she has in the middle of the room, I have been looking for a desk like this for sometime now but everything I find is way out of my budget until now I found this one on Target's website and as soon as we are settled into a home I plan on purchasing two of them to create the look that Jen has in her room. If you have never visited her blog you are missing out, this gal is C-R-E-A-T-I-V-E!!

Paper Crafting

I love pretty paper of any kind; wrapping paper, stationary, cardstock and patterned paper, I even love paper plates and napkins. The next few days I plan on using my Cricut and lots of paper trying to mimic the designs in this months issue of Paper Crafts magazine. If you don't hear from me send out a search party, but most likely I'll be in the bonus room playing with my toys!

Sunday Reading

I've spent the biggest part of today reading magazines and doing laundry, If you don't own the House Beautiful~The Home Book order it today, it's fantastic!! I did stop long enough to head into town to restock the fridge and pantry, we are expecting more snow for the week ahead. Tom has a few big projects going on at work and had to work all weekend, I hate when he has to do this, thankfully it doesn't happen too often. I took the boys to lunch at a local pizza place that has games, they had a blast, then we headed to the dreaded Wal-Mart. The good thing about taking them grocery shopping with me is they carry everything in for me! While we were driving to town they informed that in 4 years Johnson will be driving and Jonah will be in 6 years, then they told me they would only be living with us for 6 and 8 more years and then they started talking about college, I almost wrecked! I think they are trying to make me completely gray by my 40th birthday, LOL!

Change of Plans

Because we woke up to this

I couldn't go here

So I stayed home and cooked the day away.

I made turkey meatballs with spaghetti & garlic bread, yummy

chicken salad with grapes & pecans

and a big ole pan of brownies!

Sometimes a change of plans is a great thing, I have enjoyed this snowy Saturday more than I have enjoyed a Saturday in a long time! I hope that you are having a great weekend!

Things I'm A Lovin'

I'm in love with my Hunter boots, living out in backwoods (LOL) you need a good pair of water proof shoes and these puppies haven't let me down. My darling hubby gave me a new Louis Vuitton Speedy bag for Christmas, thanks to FedEx it didn't get here until the 27th, but that's all water under the bridge now and Louis is definitely worth the wait! My mother surprised me with a beautiful pair of diamond earrings and they have fast become my everyday go-to earrings. The gift cards I received for Christmas are literally burning a hole in my pocket! I believe that I was born to shop!!! My little cousin Jonathan gave me the cutest note cards all with shopping quotes on them, they are too cute! Weather permitting I'm going to Lexington tomorrow to catch up on my retail therapy, online shopping is great but I love smell of Dillards and Talbots!

Have a great weekend!!

Five Minutes of Your Time

While I was blog surfing yesterday I popped in on The Inspired Room to see what she was up to and I discovered that she accomplishes more in 5 minutes than I do in an hour, pop on over and check it out, you'll be amazed! I started thinking about the way my mornings begin and what I could accomplish in just 5 little minutes if I only took the time. So this morning I tried it, I made my bed, washed my face, and packed my child's lunch in 5 minutes, WOW! Wonder what I could do in 10? Things like this are (to me) what blogging is all about, it's sharing your day to day life with your readers and learning from each others experiences, thank you Melissa for sharing 5 minutes of your day!

New Beginnings

I'm so relieved that 2010 is over, shew what a year! Throughout all of the so called bad things that happened to us in 2010 the blessings are bountiful and I praise God for the good and the bad. 2011 is all ready showing signs of hope and will be full of new beginnings for our little family. We are still renting but we are forever on the lookout for a newly listed house and now we are tossing around the idea of building.

I really don't care for New Year's Resolutions, I feel they automatically set me up for failure. However, I will be 40 years old in 10 short months and I hope to lose 40 pounds by October, that will only be a pound per week and that's very obtainable I just need to add some exercise and cut back on the sugar. Also, I want to work on my parenting skills, I feel that they are lacking and are in need of a little adjustment, wish me luck on this one my boys will be 12 and 10 in a few weeks.

I hope that each of you enjoy this New Year's weekend with your family and friends and that they new year brings you good health and happiness!