Got a new Computer

Yay, I have a new laptop, you know what that means, I no longer am at the mercy of my kindle. I have a keyboard and all the stuff I need to upload pictures and do videos. Hopefully I won't break this one. I took the time without a computer to learn more about running an online business and taking good photos and things like that. I also got a cheap camera tripod it's flimsy but it'll work until I can afford a more professional one, same with my camera. This also means I can get more done on my crafting blog and maybe make some actual crafting videos. I'm really excited.

New Years Resolutions and January goals

I'm a little late to the party but I guess I should share some of my new years resolutions and goals. My main goals are to be more self reliant and live a more natural life. So here are my goals to be more self reliant and more natural.

Homestead goals
-grow my garden and I vow to take care of it. My  blackberries are established I want to add raspberries and blueberries in the summer.
-Prepare my land for an orchard. We may not be able to start the permaculture forest this year but I get ready for the biggest part, which will be the full size fruit trees I intend to get someday.
-Prepare my land for animals. We already budgeted for 200feet of fence we intend to get a dog and a cat first before we explore keeping livestock.

Healthy living goals
-make more things from scratch. It's been hard to cook for my family since I started working but now that Christmas is over my schedule is not so crazy and I can make some meals and put them in the freezer.
-Drink more water.
-Do yoga. My husband an I have agreed to do yoga together although getting him started is next to impossible.
-Go for outdoor walks whenever possible. With the children and hubby.

Family and goals
-Read to the girls every day.
-read with hubby everyday.
-Start Claire on a kindergarten homeschool curriculum.
-Continue to breastfeed Abby.

Personal goals
-Get more organized. If I plan to run a business from my home I have to get my house in order.
-make regular blog posts and YouTube videos.
-Build up my business.
-Take a quilting class.

Those are my goals for the year. Here's to a good one.

Everyday Reasons to be Prepared

It's currently the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and I had the great displeasure of having to make a last minute grocery trip to Wal-Mart. I did the bulk of my Thankgiving shopping at the beginning of the month, right after I made my meal plan and made my grocery list, but there are always the little things that I forget until go time. I usually make the last minute trip the weekend before but I had to work making the shopping trip a little difficult. So I had to go two days before the day.
Let me tell you now, it was crowded, more so than it usually is and especially for a Tuesday. People were everywhere and I'm a person that does not like crowds. I saw how rude some people can be. Shelves were getting bare, especially for basic things like flour and sugar. I, saw a lady yell at an employee because they were out of the only brand of all purpose flour she wanted, apparently she couldn't wrap her head around using a different brand. Another lady was upset because they were out of the large containers of peanut oil and there was no other way for her to cook her bird.
Luckily I was able to get everything I needed without having to cry about the store being out. I hated the whole experience and the whole time I was thinking one thing "if I had a proper food storage I wouldn't have to be here." I couldn't help but wish I was more prepared. As I was thinking about being more prepared I couldn't help but think about the empty shelves. I know that this time shelves would probably be refilled within a week but what if this was more long-term. What if there was a food shortage or gas shortage or, more believable last minute Christmas dinner shopping. Now I'm even more in the mindset that I should start building a better food storage and a more functional homestead so I don't have to deal with all the people that have their heads buried so far in the sand that they can't cook a different way or use a different brand of flour.
I doesn't have to be a life changing or doomsday event to see the importance of being prepared, sometimes it's the everyday real life situations.

Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew

I finished reading Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. It is a good book with lots of information. It talks not only about organic gardening methods but also conventional gardening using the square foot method. His method is to space out vegetables perfectly to fit within 12" by 12" squares. The method is usually used for raised beds but it can be converted to just in ground, digging out or tilling up 4' by 4' foot squares to plant in.
The book brought up things like building soil, choosing the proper seed for your climate, and different watering methods for different climates. It also discussed vertical gardening, using and making compost, pest control, and specialized gardens for those with special needs (like a garden lifted off the ground.
I like that it discussed specialized gardens for children, ones that are smaller, grow fast, and require less attention.
I like how it introduced the idea without talking down to the reader like other books I've read. One of the neat things it included was the maps in the back that had the average first and last frost dates. Also the final chapter was a list of common plants and how much spacing they would need.
I enjoyed reading and really do want to try to implement this method in my garden next year, maybe then I might get a better harvest.

Toddler Pictures

My toddler got a hold of the camera here's some of the wonderful pictures she took.

168lbs

That's what I weighed this morning. I was really surprised. I haven't been eating well or drinking my water but I'm down over 15lbs. This is the lowest I've seen the scale since Claire was born. I wanted to cry when I saw it, even though it is not my goal weight it means I've progressed. I hope that me working plus breastfeeding will lead to even more weight loss.

August Garden Update (2014)

Well, yeah, this isn't going to be much. My garden is at the failure point again. The squash have been devoured by bugs. The only thing I have left is a few tomatoes and one cantaloupe that I hope will ripen. The blackberry did well and I got quite a few blackberries this year, usually just a handful a day. The peach tree did produce peaches but they got eaten, I didn't expect the peaches to get as big as they did but my tree surprised me. Also I discovered my grape plant is not a grape plant, it is a muscadine vine, I love muscadines so it doesn't bother me. Maybe next year, since I'm starting over my seeds, will be better, and maybe I'll bet my raised beds built. I'm currently trying to find cheap wood chips for a back to Eden garden. Maybe next year will be better since the babies will be older and much easier to take outside.
Happy gardening.