For the Glory Of God

I've been pondering my next blog post for a while now.  It seems like I don't usually have a shortage of things to say, but I often have a shortage of intelligent things to say *HA!*  But over the past few weeks, one particular thing has been on my mind - one thing that I think most people ponder, at least at some point in their lives.  And that one thing that I've been thinking about is this:  What is my purpose?  What am I here for?

I've always been a bit of a dork.  I was one of, if not THE, most unpopular girl growing up in school - ridiculed and teased beyond belief, beat up on the play ground - you all know the type.  I spent most of my childhood into my teenage years just trying to fit in, but never really found that place where I felt "at home."  Because most of the people around me pushed me away, I immersed myself in the one thing that would always need me - my pets.  I know that sounds pretty ridiculous, but it's true.  I can't ever remember NOT having a pet (other than my first few years of marriage before Brian and I moved out to our farm - and lonely years those were!!).

I can remember being a toddler and having our first family dog - a German short hair named Gypsie.  Next was our English spring spaniel - Sandy, my black lab/German shepherd mix - Lady, miniature dachshund - Heidi, black lab/Irish setter rescue - Duke, a tiger salamander I caught on our school playground that we named (shockingly), Tiger.  Hamsters - Gizmo, Missy, and Tucker.  And a list of Chinese fighting fish (betas) - I rarely had less than 3-4 at a time (in separate bowls, of course, as the males have to be separated or they kill each other).  There was my first, Fido (who, ironically, was the last of ALL of the fish I had to die), Star, Fantasia, Smokey, Crimson, Azul, and the list goes on and on...

As with most young pre-teen girls, I began babysitting when I was about 12.  By the time I was 14, I was nannying full time during my summer breaks for families with no less than 3 children.  The day I turned 16 (literally), I was working full time (in between my home schooling classes) at one of our local day care centers with children ages 2-5.  Although it was a job that paid relatively well, especially for a young high school student, I never really enjoyed working with kids.  However, the expectation of girls doing child care was one of those things that I thought I was supposed to do and that it was something I just had to grow to enjoy.  But no matter how much babysitting or nannying I did, working with kids just never became my niche.

As I grew older, I guess I assumed that a love for kids would just "come to me," after all, that's what ladies are supposed to do, right?  Be the nurturing, mothering type?  Even after I had my own daughter and I started getting roped in to working in the nursery at church, I just never developed that passion for little people that I see SO many other women have.  Don't get me wrong - I absolutely adore my little girl - she is my greatest joy!  But, I don't particularly get excited about changing other children's dirty diapers or wiping snotty noses.  I'm just not wired that way.  And, for many, MANY years, I thought there was something wrong with me - especially since taking care of kids is something young girls are taught to do from a VERY young age!

Then, one Sunday morning, our pastor was doing a sermon series - I can't even remember which one it was - but he said something to the effect of, "Working with children is not my gift - you don't want me to do it.  If I do, you're children will never be the same and you won't be happy parents."  That really struck me.  If it was OK for our senior pastor to not be gifted in working with children, maybe it was OK for it to not be my gift either.

After that sermon, and mind you, this has only been within the past 3-4 years or so, I began to realize and accept the fact that working with kids was not my cup of tea.  It's not that I don't like kids - there are actually some children that I adore and seek out to talk with and get special hugs from - but I lack the creativity, patience (and sometimes even the stomach), to love and be effective with them.

So, I started exploring the natural love and talent that began developing in my heart as a young child so many years ago - a passion for animals.  I stopped trying to force myself to be something I wasn't or function in a capacity that wasn't my strength, and began focusing on my abilities and my strengths.

Over the past few years I have been awed by where the Lord has brought me and how He has continued to develop my gift of working with animals - something He could not have done had I not allowed myself to see past what others expected of me and clung to what God needed of me - the purpose I truly believe He created me for.

What does my purpose look like?  Well, let me tell you that it has taken MANY forms!  From rescuing a sea gull with a broken wing to trapping and re-homing stray cats.  In January of 2010, I took in a stray dog that had been roaming a 20+ mile radius of the country and named her Faith.  Faith ultimately became a "poster child" for a non-profit animal rescue, Animal Lifeline of Iowa, and touched the lives of MANY school children in the greater Des Moines area.

Faith

God has also brought many opportunities for me to expand my skills.  One afternoon, my husband was working on installing siding on our house.  He was sitting on the roof of our porch, right outside our bedroom window.  I was inside sitting on our bed with the window open talking to him.  The next thing I know, Brian says, "Ummm, Honey, we have some horses on the yard."  Now, we've lived at our farm for 7+ years and in ALL this time we have never even SEEN any other horses in our neighborhood let alone had any on our yard.  It ended up that a neighbor down the road had a pasture WAY back from the road - a field you couldn't even see from the road.  At that time of the summer we'd gotten a huge rain storm that had washed part of his fence out and allowed all 9 of his horses to escape their pasture.  As a herd animal, the horses were drawn to our farm where our own horses were grazing.  Although I have 2 beautiful horses, I would LOVE to have more and when I saw these 9 gorgeous animals strutting across my lawn, I looked up and said, "Thank you, Jesus!"  To which my husband replied, "No, Dear, we can't keep them!"

I saw the situation as a way to hone my skills.  My husband wasn't nearly as thrilled with the predicament, but I could hardly contain myself.  Even with completely strange beasts that could easily charge if spooked, I felt a tremendous sense of courage as I walked outside with a coffee can full of grain into the herd of 9 some 800+ pound animals.

It was getting dark, so I knew I needed to work calmly and swiftly to contain all of the horses.  In the country where we live, there are few, if any, fences separating the fields and the 4 lane highway is a mere mile straight west across the field from our house.  With no fences to stop them, and night closing in, the horses needed to be corralled not only for their own safety, but for the safety of people as well.  I eyed one of the horses that seemed to lead the herd.  I slowly walked up to him with my hand held flat.  He took a few steps toward me, then bucked and ran back.  I stayed with him and he eventually came to me and ate grain out of  my hand.  From there, trust had been established, and I ended up having all 9 horses literally follow me down to one of our empty lots where they were fenced in and safe.  Shortly thereafter, the neighbor that owned the horses showed up at our farm with a HUGE sigh of relief.  All of his treasures were safe and I gained a whole lot more confidence in my ability that night!

Our 9 Visitors - April 30, 2012

 
In addition, I've been given the opportunity to do some dog sitting for friends and family - something I love to do!  We've had many visitors to our home over the past several years - Peyton, Lucky, and Catalina, to name a few.

Another recent adventure has been that of a miniature pot bellied pig named Miss Ellie Mae.  I've blogged about this whole story before, but as a recap, I came across a "wanted" ad, on Craig's List about a family looking for a miniature pot bellied pig for their autistic son.  After sensing the Lord's leading, I was able to find, acquire, and ultimately introduce Miss Ellie Mae to the this family who immediately fell in love with the little piggy and made her part of their family.

Miss Ellie Mae - taken during her 2 day stay with us.

Miss Ellie Mae in her new forever home with her new forever friend, Dakoda.

My most recent encounter happened just last weekend.  We own a second acreage about 4 miles from our home and last Saturday evening, Brian drove over to check on it.  He no more got out of his truck and he heard something breathing hard and snorting behind him.  He turned around and there was a horse standing there obviously agitated and on the defensive.  He walked toward it a bit and it started bucking and took off running down the gravel road. 

Brian came back home, where Madeline and I were camped out, and yelled up the stairs, "Honey, I need some help."  I asked him what was wrong and he told me about the horse.  I asked Brian to go down to the barn to get some grain and one of my lead ropes while I got Madeline suited up to be out in the cool night air.  I grabbed my spotlight on the way out the door and we headed back to the other place.  I also called the county sheriff to come out and help as we had no idea where the animal was, it was pitch black outside, and we were going to need help tracking not only it down, but the owner as well.  After walking our 3 acres of land, and searching the gravel road and adjacent fields, the deputy found the horse down a long lane and called us to come back to catch it.  I was seriously thrilled at another opportunity to learn and work with an animal who was obviously in need of a human hand.

I walked toward the horse and it turned around and ran a ways, turned around again, and ran straight at me.  I stood my ground and she stopped about 5 feet in front of me.  I started talking to her and reached out my hand with some grain.  She spooked and ran away, so we started all over again.  Eventually, I was able to earn her trust and get my lead rope around her neck.  The deputy figured out who she belonged to and we returned her to the safety of her pasture.

Over the years I've seen the Lord do GREAT things in the lives of people through animals.  Studies have even shown that interaction with animals can lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, and relieve depression. According to Stephen F. Winner, a co-founder of the Silverado Senior Living Aspen Park Community in Salt Lake City, the presence of animals "infuses our environments with life'' and brings demonstrable medical benefits, including reduced depression and lower blood pressure. But perhaps just as important is the boost to self-esteem that assisting in the care of an animal can bring.  At this particular facility, a "mandatory minimum ratio'' of one dog and one cat for every 10 residents is maintained to help improve the quality of life for nursing home residents.

But, in order for these animals to have the opportunity to impact the lives of people, humans have to exist to prepare those animals for service.  As unusual or unconventional as it may seem, I believe with all my heart that the Lord has given me this gift - the ability to work with animals to impact the lives of others.  Many people have criticized me for my passion - I've even lost friendships because I've refused to buy in to others' opinions that "they're JUST animals" and not worthy of any kind of physical or monetary investment.  But I'm choosing, instead, to follow the Holy Spirit's leading in my life and whether I eat or drink or whatever I do, I'll do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Our beautiful horses, Penny (left) and Philly (right).

 

Our cat, Johnathan

Our second cat, Jedediah, and treasured friend, Lady, who sadly passed away in March of 2008

Our dog, Zip

Our sweet sheep, Rosie

On a final note, I must give credit and praise to my awesome husband, Brian.  He has supported me through all of my shenanigans and adventures and has always encouraged me to try new things.  Not just any husband would allow their wife to bring a pot bellied pig in to their home (literally) or bring home a 1 week old bottle lamb that ends up having to stay in the house for nearly 2 months to recuperate after being kicked by a horse and suffering a broken jaw.  Brian has been my greatest supporter, my constant encourager, and my most trusted friend and I couldn't imagine embarking on this trek we call "life" with anyone else.  I love you, Sweetheart!!

Brian napping with Zip, 2005

Brian teaching Madeline how to bottle feed Rosie - May, 2010

 

The Unveiling

I've never been a big fan of Halloween.   So, when we had Madeline, we decided we were not going to promote Halloween, but instead, celebrate harvest and the Fall season.  We participate in our church's Fall Fun Festival, in lieu of trick-or-treating, so that Madeline gets to enjoy wearing a non-scarey costume and get some candy. 

We have also participated in our local Taco John's Cutest Kid in Costume contest for the last 2 years and have actually won both times!!  So, this year, we're going for the tri-vector win!!!

Below are photos of Madeline's costumes from the time she was 7 months old till today...

                                                   October, 2009 - 7 months - Caterpillar

                                             October, 2010 - 19 months - 1950's Poodle Skirt
                                

                                            October, 2012 - 2 1/2 years - Mary and her Lamb

                                              October, 2012 - 3 1/2 years - Elmo Ballerina               


This year, with Elmo, I decided to try my hand at making Madeline's costume.  I'd seen some ideas on Pinterest and combined several of the tutorials into my own design.  I was QUITE pleased with how the tutu turned out and we received LOADS of compliments!!

Stay tuned for my next blog entry where I'll show how to make this super cute tutu step-by-step including other Seasame Street character ideas and suggestions.

Until next time...

Tracy

Miss Ellie Mae

I've always loved animals.  Ask anyone who knows me and they'll confirm that's true.  I've had pets for as long as I can remember and I don't want to imagine my life without them.  To an extent, they make up a big part of who I am.  Animals teach us SO much about life - they teach us about unconditional love, friendship, commitment, and even life and death.  They teach us about responsibility and discipline.  And, if we let them, they can even teach us about ourselves...

I've always been a huge proponent of animal therapy - I just wish more people would wake up to the fact that animals CAN and DO change people's lives.

Since moving out to our farm, we've slowly been adding critters to our crew.  We started with our dog, Zip, and then our cats, Johnathan and Jedidiah.  Next we got all new fencing put up around our property and were able to bring our beautiful horses home.  Lastly, but certainly not least, came our sweet sheep, Rosie.  I've been wanting to add a miniature pig as well as a Jersey cow to our Ranch for quite some time, but Brian has been hesitant to let me bring another "hay burner" home (i.e., another mouth to feed).  For fun, though, I always keep a close eye on Craig's List and the classifieds in our bi-weekly Farm Bureau Spokesman magazine for anything of interest.

It was during my "just for fun" internet cruising today that I came across a "Wanted" ad on Craig's List.  It was posted by the parents of an autistic child who had had what they called a "therapy pig" for their 4 year old boy, Dakoda.  Dakoda suffers with Aspberger's Syndrome and, long story short, his parents got him Peach as a means of helping him deal with the challenges of day to day life.  (You can read all about Dakoda and Peach here:  http://peachthetherapypig.wordpress.com/).  Sadly, Peach passed away unexpectedly and they were looking for a new pig to be a forever friend for Dakoda.

After reading the "wanted" ad, and devouring the contents of their entire blog, I was SO moved that I decided to go on a mission to try to help find this little boy a new miniature pot-bellied pig.  I really believe that it wasn't just coincidence that I came across this ad and the blog, but a Divine Appointment instead.  Why would I think that?  Well - not only was a reading a story about something so near and dear to my heart, but this family had JUST relocated from Florida to, where??  Pella (actually, Peoria - about 10 minutes east of Pella)!!   

I responded to their Craig's List ad just to offer some encouragement and an offer for the family to come visit our farm so they could meet some "neighbors" (when you live in the country, "neighbors" encompass anyone living in a 20+ mile radius - it's just how it works out here!) and so their boys could interact with our animals.

Next, I starting scouring Craig's List looking for a miniature pot bellied pig.  Interestingly enough, it didn't take me long.  Within just a few minutes, I came across an ad that had been posted just yesterday (October 13, 2012) that said this:

"I have a 4 month old female miniature pig needing a new good home. She is so smart and loves to have her belly rubbed. Only asking a small re homing fee.  Will send pictures to very interested persons. Please email to post. Thanks for looking."

 I quickly sent an email asking if the pig was still available, how much the re-homing fee was, and for some photos.  Within 8 MINUTES I had an email back letting me know Miss Ellie Mae was still available and that they were only asking $75 OBO re-homing fee for her.  I immediately responded with an offer of $50 and said I could pick her up right away.  Forty-five minutes later, I had a response, a phone number, and a meeting place - and Brian, Madeline and I were out the door to go pick up Miss Ellie Mae.

With the way the events of the afternoon took place, I didn't NEED any further "writing on the wall."  I KNEW God had orchestrated this whole ordeal SO perfectly and I am SO excited to be a part of it.

Just in the last hour, I've heard back from the family.  Craig, Crystal, and their 2 sons, Dakoda and Landon, we will be coming out to our farm this coming Tuesday to visit and meet Miss Ellie Mae.  They are VERY interested in making her part of their family and we couldn't be more excited for them!

So, for now, Miss Ellie Mae will be gracing our home with her presence.  I will continue to work on potty training, get her on a proper diet/exercise regimen and, most importantly, revel in the utter joy of being used by Jehovah/Yahweh, using the gifts He's given me, and even, just maybe, the opportunity to bless a total stranger.

Until next time...

Tracy

Random Facts...

This post is a conglomeration of little facts about me.  Nothing all too special, important, or ultra-personal - just a few of the inter-workings that make me, ME!  Enjoy!


Current Projects:

Preparing for an upcoming baby shower
Finishing the wall paper border in the kitchen
Upcycling a curb-side-special dresser
Getting our farm ready for Winter
Teaching Madeline letter/number recognition and reading basics
Brainstorming ideas of what to do with our investment property.  SO many possibilities!!

My current favorite Itunes songs that are on repeat (all from "The Piano Guys"):

A Thousand Years
All of Me
To The Summit
Game Day
Peponi (Paradise)
Just the Way You Are
Michael Meets Mozart

My 2 Greatest Personal Prayers:

That the Lord would bless Brian and I with another healthy baby.

For Madeline to come to know Jesus as her personal Savior at an early age and that He would protect her heart, body, mind and soul as she grows up into the woman He wants her to be.

A Few of my Favorite Things:

*  The crispness of Fall
*  Long, hot (uninterrupted) showers
*  Yoga pants (and I don't even DO Yoga - yes, I have tried, and it was ugly!)
*  A cup of coffee in front of the fireplace
*  When Brian puts his hand in the small of my back and walks with me - especially when we're out in a crowd of people, at a restaurant, or a store.  That little gesture makes me feel so safe, "claimed," and protected.
*  Pinterest (yup - I'm an addict)

*  Hugs and kisses from my sweet little girl and the words, "I love you most, Mommy!"
*  The way my horses "talk" to me every morning when I let them out of the barn
*  The feeling of accomplishment when the evening's tasks and chores are complete, my family is fed and bathed, and I relax in knowing I've done my job well.
*  Spontaneous forehead kisses from my husband
*  Keeping up with friends and family via Facebook
*  Wrinkle free sheets and a freshly made bed
*  The soft glow of white Christmas lights
*  Home cooked meals
*  Piano music, a cozy blanket, and candlelight during a snowstorm
*  Tracking down that "impossible find"
*  A good ice hockey game - especially the Detroit Red Wings or New York Rangers


My Favorite Color(s)

Green is my absolute favorite color!  Especially in shades of olive.
Earth tones - deep reds, browns, and rusty orange

 That's about all I can come up with for now.  Want to know more??  Just ask!! 

Until next time...

Tracy 


 

Of Cholerics and Plegmatics...

It's the end of another productive day.  I only wish my husband could actually SEE what I do all day long instead of just taking my word that I actually did something!  *LOL*  SO much of what a homemaker does goes unseen and there's certainly no exception in our house.

As summer moves in to fall, there's always much to be done - not just around the house, but around the farm as well.  Outdoor toys need to be put away, I need to get my stock of flowers cut and transferred to mason jars so they can root over the winter, dig up my geraniums so they can hibernate in the cellar over the winter, winterize the barn so the horses and sheep stay warm - there's never a shortage of work to be done.  Today, though, I tackled the daunting task of sorting through Madeline's clothes and switching out spring/summer ones for fall/winter outfits.  I tell ya, if you ever see my daughter running around the house naked, it's certainly not due to a lack of clothes!  I'm SO grateful for hand-me-downs and consignment shop deals!

I ended up going up to Des Moines with Madeline and Brian tonight.  Normally Wednesdays are "Mommy's Night," but the bolt that Brian needs to fix my Jetta was in at the dealership, so I tagged along to run errands while they were at church.  I must say it was nice perusing through Hobby Lobby and Kohls all by myself, but an hour and a half just flies by way too fast!  I did, however, successfully get what I needed/wanted at both places and scored some extra good deals in the process.  A pair of capris and 5 shirts at Kohl's for $23 made for a very profitable trip for sure!

As part of Brian's "Men's Fraternity" Bible study, he and I both had to complete a questionnaire to determine our personality types.  I've taken lots of these in the past, and the results of this one were consistent from the others before.  I am a Choleric with secondary Melancholy.  Brian is pretty much a straight Phlegmatic.  Brian and I always get a kick out of sitting and reading the descriptions of each personality type - we just laugh and giggle as we read the list of traits and find the ones that fit us each to a T.

"You are a born leader, dynamic and active and have a compulsive need for change.  You often feel that you must correct wrongs.  You are very goal oriented, see the whole picture and organize well.  You seek practical solutions to problems and move quickly to action.  You excel during emergencies."

Yup - that's me.

But then there's also, "You can be bossy and impatient.  Their strong personalities can lend to weaknesses, such as being opinionated, stubborn or insensitive to other's feelings."

Yikes - yup - that can definitely be me too!

As for my dear husband, "The phlegmatic personality is low-key, easygoing and relaxed.  They are patient, well-balanced and calm.  They are sympathetic and kindhearted. They have a calming disposition in times of trouble.  The phlegmatic will take time for others and is not hurried.  They are very patient with children and make wonderful parents.  They can take the good with the bad and do not easily become upset.  They are competent, steady, peaceful and agreeable."

That's definitely my guy!!

However, on the flip-side, "They can be unenthusiastic and do not get revved up very easily.  They can possess a quiet will of iron that is as immovable as a rock. They can be very stubborn and never admit it. They can be...a little selfish at times. They can be...sarcastic, and teasing."

Hmmmm...sounds pretty familiar!! 

Isn't it amazing, though, that despite our triumphs and many flaws, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made," (Psalms 134:19)!  Praise the Lord!!!

Curious about your personality type??  Check out:  http://personality-testing.info/tests/4T.php

Until next time...

Tracy
      

Ahead of the Game

I'm actually feel like I'm somewhat ahead of the game today and am sitting down to blog at a semi-normal time of the day - at least for most people.  It's about 1:45p.m.  The dog found something especially fragrant to roll in this morning, so she's already had a bath, the tub and shower have been scrubbed, lunch has been made/served, and now I'm in the middle of doing laundry while Madeline has a little bit of quiet time with PBS's The Dinosaur Train.

I recently discovered a new group of musicians called The Piano Guys (thepianoguys.com) and have been totally enthralled with their music.  It's amazing!  A mix of classical and pop created by piano, cello, and electric cellos.  I've been keeping YouTube and Itunes busy watching/downloading their music and self-made videos.

I've always loved music.  I started playing the organ when I was just a kid and moved on to school band playing the clarinet and the bassoon.  I'm no musician by any stretch, but I excelled most at creating and playing music by ear.  I can honestly say my band instructors in school were far less than impressive and I quickly got bored with mediocre teaching.  I wanted to learn more.  Unfortunately, our family's finances didn't allow me to take piano or violin lessons, something I really wanted to learn.  Even now, as a thirty-something wife and Mama, I still love to watch/hear talented musicians perform their craft and I love the anxious awe and butterflies that swell in my stomach as I watch the seemingly effortless movements of fingers across piano keys or strings.  It entrances me! (http://thepianoguys.com/portfolio/all-of-me-jon-schmidt/)

So, I'll continue to dabble on my antique upright piano that's out of tune and has seen it's better days, and live vicariously through those who have taken the words "talent" and "musician" to a completely different level of perfection!

A New Strategy

I've struggled with my weight my whole life.  I've NEVER been petite in any way - even at my lowest weight, I was still a size 10.  You just can't deflate bone mass or structure - and my body is definitely a solid one.  In my never-ending quest to lose weight, I'm always looking for new ways to cut corners and cut pounds without setting the bar too high - if the path to my goal is too daunting or I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, then it generally isn't a path I'll stick too cause discouragement sets in and I resort to my method of self-comforting which, ironically enough, is eating.  It's such a paradox, isn't it!? 

Anyway, one of the toughest parts of loosing weight for me is exercise.  I don't just dislike working out - I hate it - I LOATHE it - the thought of it makes me want to hide.  I hate sweating, I hate watching the distance or timers on workout machines, I hate putting in all the effort thinking that I've burned like 1000 calories just to find out it's more like 10.  I despise it!  So, I ended up finding an at least partial solution that seems to be helping - something that I've also been able to stick to which, for me, is really important! 

What is my solution you ask?  Well - it's exercising in the shower.  Yep - you heard right.  I don't like to sweat, so exercising in the shower keeps me feeling cool and the water is definitely relaxing.  I obviously can't do any kind of major cardio routine, but I can definitely do muscle work and stretching. 

Here's my routine (oh and a little disclaimer - I am NO fitness expert - frankly, I really have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to fitness - so my descriptions may not be exactly accurate, but I'll do my best):

I try to do about 50 jumping jacks before I get in the shower.  It gets my heart rate up, and I get the sweating part over and done with before I jump in the tub. 

Next comes my leg work - 20 squats, 20 scissor leg lifts on each leg, 20 backward leg lifts on each leg. 

Then I do a bit of standing ab work - from a standing position, I hold my arms at my sides and, alternating sides, I lean and reach with my right hand to the side of my right knee - come back upright - pause - then do the same to the left.  I do this 50 times.  Then holding my left hand behind my neck I bring my elbow down to touch my left knee as I bring it up.  I do this 20 times on each leg. 

Lastly, I punch it out - I hold my fists in front of my chest and twist my waist to the right and punch my left hand to the right.  I come back to center then do the same to the left.  I do this motion 50 times alternating right, left, right, left, etc.

I try to do this routine 5-6 nights a week - it usually only takes me about 10 minutes, but by the time I'm done the muscles in my tush and thighs are screaming.  It may not be perfect, or even correct, but I've been feeling a whole lot better and am hoping that I continue to feel and see results!!

Down 22lbs. and counting!!

Tracy

The End of a Productive Day

It's 11:00p.m. and I'm finally sitting down to just chill for a bit.  The day has been pack full of business and fun.  I successfully delivered 4 totes of kid-o clothes and toys to one of our consignment shops in town - 3 more bunches of stuff going to 3 different locales, and I can call my purging project officially done!  My storage room isn't even that big - only about 15 x 8 - but I can't believe the amount of stuff that was in here!!  Crazy!  I'm SO grateful for hand-me-downs - I really haven't had to buy a whole lot for Madeline - but it was definitely time to clear out.  I now have her stored clothes (from birth until she's about 6) in 10 totes - down from the almost 20 that it was.  In addition to all the other stuff I got rid of, a little more than half of my storage room is not my crafting area, so I'm pretty excited about that!  It'll be nice to be able to spread out my projects without little hands getting into everything!

The neighbor that rents our grain bins is also working on repairing/partially replacing one of the 3 bins we have.  At some point, before we bought our farm, someone put grain that was too wet in the bin and caused the steel rings to buckle resulting in a grain bin with a dreadful lean.  So, in order to fix the problem, the whole bin had to be disassembled - I currently have 3 sections of bin sitting in my front yard - the buckled sections removed/replaced, and then the whole works has to go back together again.  To add to the "fun,"  whoever originally laid the concrete slab that the bin sits on didn't put re-rod in the concrete so the pad itself ended up breaking apart so it too needs to be replaced.  Brian was out there today with the tractor helping to remove the old concrete so the new pad can be laid next week.  It's been fun seeing this project come together!  Yet another one of those times when I'm so glad to be surrounded by an awesome team of "do-it-yourself-ers."

My little Jetta is also on the mend.  We ended up having to order a bolt that, I believe, goes from the block to the timing belt housing - it had to come directly from the VW dealer, so we'll be waiting for it to come in on Wednesday.  Then, we should be ready to go back together!  Would sure be nice if we could be back up and running by next weekend.  This $70+ per week to fill up my Jeep is a killer!!!

I got extra spoiled today with Subway for lunch and Breadeaux for supper.  We invited our renter in to join us for dinner too, which was great!  It's always nice to be able to share a meal with a neighbor!  After dinner was bath time for the Princess, some "Dinousaur Train" wind down, prayer time, and bed.  Brian and I enjoyed some time out in the shop together - him working on the car, and me kicking back in my lawn chair snuggling with my cat, JJ.  It was nice to have some Mommy and Daddy time!

The alarm clock is set for church in the morning, and I'm off to download some new Itunes music from The Piano Guys.  A perfect way to end the day!

PS - on a side note, I'm more than 5 months soda free!!!

An Inexpensive Dresser Re-Do

Madeline has a nice big white dresser in her room. I've always thought it is rather plain and wanted to spruce it up a little bit...

I bought 2 bunches of flowers at Dollar Tree. 

I took the flower itself off of the stem and removed the flower center leaving me with 2 petal sections.

Next, I removed the drawer pull from the screw...

 ...put the petals on the screw...

...and put the drawer pull back on.

AND...VOILA!!  Easy Peasy!

A Six Week Summary

My goodness, where has the time gone!?  My last blog entry was back in July!?  Seriously??  Seems as though I have some catching up to do.

As I'm sitting here writing, the air compressor in the garage is cycling.  I have a feeling it's going to drive me nuts, but I'll do my best to ignore it.  With that, here's the skinny:

My Jetta TDI is down yet again - SO blessed to have a husband who's a mechanic!!  Hopefully will have her up and running soon!

Grain bin furthest west is in the process of getting repaired/replaced.  Will be nice to not have the leaning tower of Teachout out there!

Storage room has been successfully purged of all unwanted crap and I've been able to move my crafting stuff in to half of it - very stoked about this!!!  Step 2 of the purge is next - delivering and re-homing all of the junk I'm getting rid of.  I'm seriously befuddled as to where all of this stuff came from - but I'm glad it's on it's way out!!  ;-)

I'm SO glad the sweltering heat has subsided!  Today was a lovely 74 degrees - sure beats the 100+ plus we had for several weeks this summer!  I must say, Fall IS my favorite season - I just love the cool crisp mornings and chilly evenings around the fire pit.  Bring on the jeans and sweatshirts, baby!!

Started home schooling Madeline this week and finding it to be quite a challenge.  She is SUCH a busy kid!!!  Getting her to sit down and focus has been challenging to say the least.  But, I'm hopeful.  She really likes to learn and picks stuff up very quickly - I just hope I can keep up with her!!

Since my car has been down, Madeline and I have been spending a lot more time here at home.  My Jeep, although I LOVE it, is just too much of a gas hog to drive any more than necessary!  So, I've been working on getting a whole bunch of started projects done around the house.  Thus far I've successfully finished painting our home school room, reupholstered the footstool that goes with my rocking chair, refinished a vintage lamp shade, repaired/stitched numerous lost buttons on shirts and loose seams, started switching out Madeline's summer clothes for fall ones, and deep cleaned the whole house.  There's plenty more to do, but I think I've had a good start!

A couple of months ago, Brian introduced me to Deadliest Catch on Netflix.  It's a reality show that originally aired on the Discovery Channel about one of the deadliest jobs in the world - crab fishing on the Bering Sea.  Needless to say, I got hooked and watched every episode of all 7 available seasons in record time!  There's so much I love about the show, especially the dynamics of all of the captains, deck bosses, and deckhands on each boat, and now I find myself aspiring to venture on one someday myself!!  My love of the ocean is definitely calling!!  I would love to experience a crab season on the Northwestern (the boat who's dynamics I like the best), or the Time Bandit (those guys are just nuts!) cooking and taking care of the crew.  I think that would be a really awesome opportunity.  I'm not so sure my husband would be nearly as excited about that as I would be, but we're all entitled to our dreams, right!?

Until next time - over and out!

Homemade Bathtub Crayons

Today I made homemade bathtub crayons for Madeline.  I admit it - I'm a TOTAL Pinterest junkie!!  Here's what I did:

I bought a 32oz. bag of glycerine soap at Hobby Lobby.  It was $9.99, but I used a 40% off coupon so it was $6.00.

I bought this sports bottle ice cube tray on Ebay for $6.98 (with free shipping).

I took 1 bar of the soap and melted it in the microwave for 30 seconds using a Pyrex glass measuring cup.

I bought liquid coloring at Hobby Lobby (right by the soap making supplies).  You get 3 colors (red, yellow, and blue or purple, green, and orange) for $3.29.  These colors do go on sale from time to time for 50% off, so if you live near a store, and can wait to buy your supplies on sale, that's the way to go.  Since I live an hour from the city, I'm really not ahead making a trip all the way to Des Moines just to save  $3.29, so I ended up paying full price for them.

I added 30 drops of color to the melted soap and mixed it well with a spoon.  From the info I'd gathered on Pinterest, it was said that adding more color was better than less so that the crayons show up when they're used in the tub.

Next I poured the colored soap in to my ice cube tray mold.  My mold holds 27 cubes, or crayons in this case, so I just kept doing my process over and over making different colors of crayons until my mold was full.

I put the mold in the freezer so it could solidify.  Next, I took the blue rubber bottom off my mold, and ran hot water over the whole mold to loosen the crayons.  It didn't take long and, Voila! the crayons slid out!

My first time making homemade bathtub crayons was a success!!  Total cost was in the neighborhood of $20 for 27 crayons (compared to $4 for 8 ($.50 each) when you purchase the thin Crayola ones in stores).  Next time, though, since I already have the mold and colors, my cost should be more like $6 for 27 crayons ($.22 cents each) - CONSIDERABLY less than buying in stores!! 

A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That...

Today has been a great Sunday!  Had a great time celebrating at our annual God and Country service this morning at church.  For those of you who don't know, Brian, Madeline, and I attend First Federated Church in Des Moines.  It's a WONDERFUL place of worship and a place where we've met many great people and have made many wonderful friends!  We're so blessed to have a church home and family as great as what they are!

Today has been one of those days when I've had tons of thoughts and emotions flooding my mind.  Either I've heard a song or have seen a friend's post on Facebook that has started some kind of rambling in my head.  So, in this blog entry, I'm going to share some of those random thoughts - hopefully something you read will resonate with your own experiences or circumstances and you can find comfort in the fact that you're not alone.

A sweet young lady from church, who is also one of our baby sitters during our Life Group meetings, posted this on Facebook today.  She said, "2 months ago right now, I was working with no idea what was to happen at 8 that night. Life can change in a heartbeat, literally. I love and miss you, dad."  You see, this little gal lost her father to a heart attack 2 months ago.  My heart has really ached for her today.  I can't and don't want to imagine loosing my dad at 31 years of age and I can't even imagine being a teenager - let alone a teenage girl, and not having your daddy any longer.  Memories of my wedding day came flooding to my mind - of my dad walking be down the aisle and placing my hands in those of my husband to be - memories and experiences this little gal won't get to know.  I just can't imagine.  I just want to scoop this little gal into my arms and hold her tight and bear the burden of that pain for her just to give her heart a rest from the ache.  But the truth is that although she is hurting now, her father is rejoicing in the presence of his Savior because he had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  He had put his faith and trust in Christ Jesus and had claimed His promise that "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved," Romans 10:9-10.  How awesome of an opportunity we have to know a living God - one who created us, loves us, and even died for us so that we may one day spend eternity with Him.  What a comfort - what a blessing!  

If you're reading this entry, it's not by accident.  Whether you're nosy about the happenings in my world or you're just plain bored, something brought you here.  If you don't know Jesus Christ as YOUR personal Savior, let me encourage you to get to know Him.  If you'd like to know how, message me or go to www.firstfederated.org.  Hover your mouse over the "About Us" tab at the bottom of the screen and click on "What We Believe."  From there, click on the "How You Can Know God" link that will download a Microsoft Word document that further explains what a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is all about.

That's all for now.  Good night!


 

A Whole Lotta Nothin'

It's been a pretty uneventful day!  I really don't have anything entertaining or witty to share, so I'm just going to list the highlights and low lights of the day.  So, here we go:

Highlights:

1 - Brian took Madeline and I out to eat at Pizza Ranch tonight.  It was FABULOUS;

2 - Little girl has had no recurrence of her fever, so I'm confident she's on the road to recovery;

3 - It's 11:30p.m. and it's storming - I just LOVE the thunder;

4 - Got to set up a hopeful Mommy Night Out for tomorrow night - I SO need this;

5 - I made some more sun catchers in really cool shapes/colors;

6 - I've been able to stick to my guns and remain pop free for 5 weeks now.

Low Lights:

1 - I found a carpenter ant in the breezeway today - HUGE dislike;

2 - The high wind and humidity pretty much kept us inside all day, also a bummer;

3 - My pea plants are dying - apparently they've had too much water - go figure;

4 - My little car needs an another alignment and tire rotation - the one we had done a couple months ago apparently was either done wrong or just didn't hold - GRRRRR.

Like I said before, nothing too memorable, but at least the highs outweighed the lows!!  I'd call that a pretty good day!!  Over and out!

80% Full...

In my quest to lose my remaining "baby weight," I'm always looking for simple things I can add or change in my daily routine to help boost my weight loss confidence.  Little things - things I can stick with - not the HUGE dramatic crazy things that people do to lose weight - things that are impossible to keep up and wind up being terribly frustrating instead.  

A good friend of mine lives in China and shared a bit of Chinese wisdom with me last summer.  She told me that the Chinese people only eat until they are "80% full."  At first I chuckled - 80% full!!??  But it makes total sense!!  Statistically, it takes something like 30 minutes for our brains to tell us that our stomachs are full.  Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I know I can cram several trips to the all-you-can eat buffet down my gullet in less than 30 minutes for sure - and what does that result in??  A terribly over-stuffed mama who swears, "I'll NEVER do that again!!"  In reality, though, once the hunger pains start screaming, our first instinct is to shut them up, right?  And, in the process, we end up with far more calories than we need.  

***RANDOM THOUGHT - serve your food from the pots, pans, or bowls on the counter directly to your plate before you sit down to eat - DO NOT put the meal directly on the table.  This reduces your habit of returning for seconds, or thirds, or, or, or...

Another funny tidbit about eating - did you know that when you are about 80% full, you naturally sigh - or take a deep breath!?  Another friend shared that with me and I have found, at least for myself, that it's quite true!!  If I pay attention when I'm eating and stop eating when I sigh, I've actually had enough to eat and I feel satisfied.  Now, I'm certainly not saying that I don't always "listen" to my sigh - often times I tell it to take a hike so that I can finish the remaining delectables on my plate.  In reality, though, my body DOES tell me it's satisfied and I just need to get my brain (and my stubborn independence) to agree.

So, here's my new plan:  I'm going to only eat until I'm 80% full - until I sigh that satisfied sigh - regardless as to whether there is still food left on my plate or not.  I'm confident that in time, I'll visually learn how much food it takes for me to get to my "sigh point" and will only put that amount of food on my plate, thus further reducing the temptation to over-eat.  

All of this is theory, mind you, but I figure it's just another one of those little things that couldn't hurt to try!!  So, here's to 80%!!!!

The First of Who Knows How Many...

Well - I've finally done it.  I've created a blog.  Really not quite sure what I'm going to do with it, but I figured, eh, why not!?  I think I'm going to use this blog to share some of my personal thoughts, ideas, and projects - things that maybe aren't quite so Facebook appropriate.  Ya know - those thoughts that you may want to remember later, but don't exactly want to put out there on Facebook for the entire world to see.  Or those random conversations we have with ourselves in our own minds - those "what if" convos that I sometimes think would be fun to actually type out.  So, here's to my future in blogging - CHEERS!