A Journey to Homesteading

Wow... it's been a while...

2011-07-25T15:32:00.002-05:00

Well... I didn't realize it had been a year since I had last posted! Not a whole lot has happened in that time, but I will catch up nonetheless.

We live in Joplin, MO, as most of my readers know... Our house was spared by the tornado that ripped through our town, however, as we all were, we were still affected. Many of our friends and neighbors lost their homes and their lives, and our daily lives were changed. You can't drive through town without seeing or trying to go somewhere that isn't there anymore. Our garden was also affected by the tornado (however not as much...). Our first tomatoes had blossom rot on them that we can only assume was from debris from the tornado. Much of our corn was ruined from the hail and wind from that storm.

I have been assisting a couple elderly ladies for around a year now. One of them I help in her home 4 days a week doing personal care and cleaning tasks that she can't do on her own. She and I have become great friends and I look forward to our time together. The other lady I meet with every 2 weeks and run errands for her that she can't do on her own as well as some minor cleaning tasks around her house. Both of them help me out with donations as they can to compensate for the time I spend with them. I have been blessed so much over the past year by doing this! We are however praying for our financial situation to change a bit so that I might be able to stay at home more again.

Our garden this year is doing very poorly between lack of time to devote to it and the terrible heat combined with no rain. It rained last night about 1/4 inch and that was the first rain in 2 weeks. That rain was almost an inch and the first rain in almost 2 months. The crab grass is higher than our corn, and stuck in the clay soil so much if we pull it out we risk pulling out all of the plants. We have gotten some tomatoes and cucumbers as well as a bountiful crop of early potatoes but I am afraid our summer garden is pretty much done.

We planted potatoes in car tires this year. It was more of an experiment than anything. We took 2 tires, tore up the soil under them, and planted our potatoes. Amazingly enough, without any care besides some occasional weeding and watering, we doubled what we planted! We have definitely decided we will do this again next year.

I haven't made laundry soap in a while, I got some great deals with coupons on liquid soap, so we have been using it up. We are handwashing all of our laundry again, in the bath tub. In the summer heat, we can hang up laundry at night and have dry laundry by morning!

Pantry List

2010-05-17T21:36:00.001-05:00

A question was just posted to one of my yahoo groups asking what all was kept in your pantry to help stretch your budget. So, I typed mine up and thought I'd post it here for you all... Feel free to ask questions or suggestions :)

Here's my basic pantry list (as I can think of it from my head), all dry ingredients... there's more that's frozen.

*Flour
*Sugar
*Cornstarch
*Cornmeal
*Brown Sugar
*Powdered Sugar
*Cereal (whatever I've gotten free after coupons)
*French fried onions
*Dried Fruit for snacking (I buy fruit when it's under $.99 a lb and dehydrate it myself to save money)
*A few Hamburger Helpers
*Ramen
*Cooking Soups (Tomato, Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Chicken, Cream of Celery, Cheddar Cheese)
*Rice
*Ketchup
*Mayonnaise
*Tea Bags
*A few Kool-Aids
*Crystal Light (when I get it close to free after coupons)
*Crackers (usually bought only with coupons)
*Popcorn (kernels, and we either airpop or stovepop)
*Tomato Sauce
*Tomato Juice
*Tomato Paste
*Mushrooms
*Pasta (many different kinds, usually whatever I can get cheapest with coupons)
*Dried Beans & Peas
*Spices & Herbs (I usually grow my own herbs and dehydrate them)
*Dehydrated Veggies (I buy carrots, celery, etc. when I can get it really cheap, or grow my own, then dehydrate them myself)
*Other Various Soups (Chicken Noodle mostly, and whatever I can get really cheap with coupons)
*Canned Veggies (Green Beans, Corn, Peas, Mixed Veggies, whatever I can get cheapest with coupons)
*Bread Crumbs (Most of the time make my own and freeze)
*Canned Fruit (whatever I can get cheap with coupons)
*Pudding/Jello (only when I can get it free/close to free with coupons)
*Cake Mix/Icing (only when I can get it free/close to free with coupons)
*Molasses
*Honey
*Jam/Jelly/Preserves (usually can my own, or buy it when it's free after coupons)
*Peanut Butter (Buy only with coupons when close to free)
*Gravy Mixes/Jars (Only when very cheap with sales/coupons)
*Bouillon
*Sure-Jell
*Cooking Oils

Pictures to follow... Weather permitting

2010-05-12T11:43:00.002-05:00

Well, we've been gone on vacation for a week, and got back on Monday to find our garden growing by leaps and bounds! The potato plants (nearly all of them) are about 6-7 inches tall, some of them flowering already! The tomatoes have finally seemed to get over transplant shock and are growing (and some of them flowering!!!). The cucumbers have started growing and vining up the support. We have corn and beans finally popping up. Everything is growing so well! Every time some one comes over to the house we have to take them over and give them a tour of the garden lol. Well, the camera is still MIA, so weather permitting I'll get hubby to help me take the webcam out and take pictures this afternoon.

My herbs & flowers are doing very well too. When we got home my sage was flowering (the one I thought wasn't going to come back from last year!!!) so I pinched off the flowers. My spearmint that I just planted last week, has already begun to try to fill out the pot we put it in. Most of the other herbs are just trying to get used to their new pots, and all the rain we've had.

My begonias are starting to fill out in the pot I put them in with some other plants, as well as the hypoestes that are all 3 in one pot together.

The irises & daffodils have finally all died off for this year (except for 1 iris bloom that waited until we got back to wither). Hopefully by next year I will have a flower press so I can keep some of these beautiful blooms!

Pictures from the garden :)

2010-04-21T08:54:00.004-05:00

Wow! Hard to believe that this is the plant that I left in the back seat of the car 2 years ago and have kept trying to kill ever since :) It looks great! Every year I put it in a bigger pot and it fills it up! Hoping someday I can get one of those huge $100 pots to let it fill!

The Irises are opening!

More onions pop up every day! I think there are 5-6 in this one now!

Lots of onions!

Cucumbers!

Tomato plants

The potatoes are getting big :)

And, I couldn't post without more of my beautiful irises!!!

This is my favorite, I was hesitant to post it, so please don't steal it :) Creative copyright and such :)

Gardening, at last!

2010-04-19T15:54:00.005-05:00

Well, we have finally got enough done in the garden to post about it! :) We got the potatoes in before the last snow in March, but they're about 3-4 inches tall now. We got the tomatoes, peppers & cucumbers in last week. Today we planted corn & lima beans, and we're planning on planting green beans tonight. We also got some onions planted in some window boxes last time a couple of our little friends came to visit to help. Here's pictures! :)

Impatiens, and our unnamed plant that we think might be yucca.

In this one you can see the rows of peppers on the far left, tomatoes & then the potatoes on the far right.

We planted the cucumbers in a circle and then put the wire around so the cucumbers can climb.

These are the onions that the kids planted March 19th. In the top pot, there are 5 sprouts coming up, and in the bottom there are 2-3!

Our irises should be blooming any day!

Here's all the flowers & herbs ready to be potted. I ran out of potting soil, so they are sitting here in the wagon for easy moving in and out of the sun, and easy watering until I get some more in a couple of days.

These last 2 are of the garden and what is done so far :)

Spring is here!

2010-04-02T01:31:00.002-05:00

Today was a beautiful day! It was 80* with mild winds, gusts up to 25 mph. Perfect weather for line drying clothes. We could have had a revolving door with all the laundry we were taking in and out! :)

It's supposed to rain tomorrow and tomorrow night. We are planning on going over the weekend to get the tomato & herb starts to put in. We're also hoping to get the garden tilled again before putting the tomatoes in. We should be getting our seeds for beans and such any time too.

We have daffodils coming up everywhere! They are so pretty! I am going to try to take the webcam out tomorrow to get some pictures (I still can't find my camera...)

Snow Snow Snow

2010-03-22T21:09:00.001-05:00

Well, we were snowed in for the past couple of days. Today it's pretty much all gone though.

Friday it was 70*, we were out in the garden, tilling & planting. Went for a walk with my friend's kids, it was a great day!

Saturday morning we woke up to 38* temps, and a forcast of snow. Within a few hours the snow was falling. By that night it was below freezing, and there was 6 1/2 inches of snow on the ground.

Sunday there was no church, there was another 2-3 inches on the ground, and when we woke up there was sleet coming down. By afternoon it was all over, but we had lots of snow...

Today it is 53* and most of the snow is gone. Tomorrow is to be in the 70s again...

Census Time is Here!

2010-03-15T14:50:00.003-05:00

We got our census in the mail today! We were so excited because it is our first census as a married couple, and out of our parent's homes. It was very easy to fill out, however, as a genealogist I was very disappointed that they had cut it short to the 10 questions this year. I enjoy sifting through old censuses and learning more about my ancestors that I never met. How am I to know more about their every day life by only seeing age, race, and where they live on there??? The most fun censuses are the ones that ask about if they are in school, what their occupation is, if they have a radio, and silly questions like that. I love learning the mundane parts of their life that I never would have learned about otherwise.

Sorry about my ranting... we have filled out our sorry little census and it will be in the mail tomorrow...

Spring Cleaning and Living Simply

2010-03-13T15:21:00.002-06:00

I have begun working on decluttering our lives and our home. I am going through methodically and sorting through everything we have, asking myself, do we use this? is it useful? do we love it? And, because the extra money would help, I'm starting to sell it through craigslist and websites such as that, if it is not needed in our home. We have begun walking more, to places that we are able to. I am also beginning to find ways that I can bring money in while I am at home, one way being selling things we don't need :).

SNAKES!!!!!

2010-03-05T17:38:00.004-06:00

Well, Spring is definitely here! Hubby found a snake outside (in the front yard, by the front door) this afternoon... I'm not impressed, but I'd much rather it be out there, than inside... Warning... There are snake pictures in this post, but they are dead... We think it was a garter snake from what we found online.... Grant is very proud, that he got to kill a snake!

Spring is coming!!!

2010-03-04T19:26:00.002-06:00

The robins are jumping around in the yard, the grass is turning green again, and the daffys are popping up!!!! I've been harvesting chives for about a week now!!! Hubby's got a 10 x 10 place in the backyard set up for a raised bed salad garden (It can be removed later Tabby, lol). We're hoping in the next few weeks to be able to borrow a tiller and be in the garden!!! :) What's going on in your garden?

$30 Challenge!

2010-01-23T00:11:00.000-06:00

So, we sat down the other night to figure out our budget. DH asked me, how much would I need on an average week for my household budget (personal care items, cleaning, food, etc.), and I said, well, on average here lately, I've been spending between $30 and $40 a week. So we decided that for a while at least that my weekly budget is $30. I'm going to keep track of my progress on my other blog (www.adventuresofacouponqueen.blogspot.com). I'll post my shopping trips, menus, recipes, and everything else I do to stay within that budget. We also bought me a book tonight, that I'm going to post things that I learn from. We bought The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half by Stephanie Nelson (The Coupon Mom). We also ordered my very own shopping cart so that I can start taking public transportation more for my shopping trips, and I can walk to the stores within walking distance (within a mile from the house). I can't wait to see where this takes us!

Dawn

Cool contest I found to win free groceries for a year

2010-01-18T00:26:00.001-06:00

"Even if you don't want to enter, please click so I get an extra entry!!!"

Hey, I just entered this contest on Cozi.com to win free groceries for a year. All you have to do is put in your email address.

Even if you don’t enter, please click the link to help me win. (I get an extra entry for telling you.) Thanks!

View >>

New Experience.... Home Haircutting!!!

2010-01-15T21:42:00.005-06:00

Ok, so Grant decided his hair was too long...

So I began cutting... We decided rather than trying something hard, I'd just do finger length.

Here's the back 1/2 done

All Done!

Crazy man Grant!!! :) Looks good!

Why did you cut all of Pa's fur off, Ma??? Is this what is gonna happen to us if we aren't good???

Lots and lots of hair!

Then he trimmed his beard up... Looks really good!

It's snowing again...

2010-01-07T03:22:00.001-06:00

Right now it is 12* with a wind chill of -5*

SNOW!!!

2010-01-05T15:33:00.002-06:00

The icicles around the bathroom window

:) Still have to dry laundry somehow, even if it is below freezing outside!

This is the garden :)

Pretty in the snow!

This one is sideways, cause I couldn't get it to turn, but it's pretty nonetheless. It's one of my windchimes.

Pictures courtesy of my wonderful husband who went outside this morning to take pictures for me! We're supposed to get more snow tonight!

2010-01-04T13:37:00.004-06:00

Ok, the computer decided to let me post pictures today.

These are during the snow, at about 1 in the morning...

These are the next morning :) So pretty!

With this snow we got about 4 inches, on top of what hadn't melted yet.

This is sideways, but this is an icicle that is growing outside our bathroom window.

Snow!

2010-01-03T01:50:00.003-06:00

Well, I was going to post pictures of the snow tonight, but I can't seem to get it to work. I'll try again tomorrow. We have the computer back now. :)

Awesome Shopping Trip!

2009-10-01T14:04:00.002-05:00

I went shopping today and got $78 for $27! Mostly air freshners, but mostly either free or for a dollar or two. Below is a link to my coupon blog with pictures and more info.

http://adventuresofacouponqueen.blogspot.com/2009/10/awesome-shopping-trip.html

I am here...

2009-09-23T23:37:00.002-05:00

Sorry there hasn't been anything for a while... We're having computer problems. Hopefully to be fixed soon. :( But, I can run it in safe mode and be able to get on the net. At least I have that. My friend who is an absolute computer genius is on the case and trying to figure out how to fix it. :)

Round and Round I Go

2009-09-18T13:14:00.005-05:00

Wow... I am having a very very very bad day. Night before last I was pulled over, in front of my house no less, for having a break light out. We didn't know it was out of course, and so I told the officer that. Once I finally got through the stop, I went on with life. Yesterday went as usual, and was fine, and we were planning on my dad fixing the light (it's his car), tonight when I go over there to go to a women's retreat with my mom. Today when we went to go cash my paycheck, I noticed that my license was gone. The last place I had it was when the officier pulled me over. So I called the police station, and they don't have it. I have to wait until 10pm tonight to call and talk to the officer. So we out to get by check cashed and as we pulled into the bank parking lot (I was going to use the atm to deposit my check, as i don't have a license) I got pulled over again. He gave me a warning on both counts (brake lights and no license) and said to get both fixed. So we then went to the O'Reilly's to get the brake light fixed. Finally after 1 hour of working on it, they got the brake light and the turn indicator working, but the middle brake light is still not working. AND, the guy told us that a different bulb would work so HE opened the package, and put it in, and it didn't work, and then HE said that since WE opened the package he couldn't refund it (HOW'S THAT WORK?????) So now we're trying to figure out if we have to go to the dealer to get the right bulbs, or if we're fine without the 3rd brake light. And, I still don't have a license. So now, after we find out if we can legally drive without the 3rd brake light, we're gonna go get me another license so that I can legally drive. I have to work tonight from 5-9:30 and then I'm headed to Kansas for a women's retreat (obviously the devil doesn't want me there!!!!)

::edit:: UPDATE: I called non-emergency police to ask about the brake light, they sent me to the license agency (makes no sense to me, but ok...) they said they have nothing to do with that so to call the driver's license testing center, so I called them and they said they didn't know to call the Highway Patrol headquarters, so I called them and they called me back after doing research and said that by Missouri Statutes it has to be lit to pass inspection, but does not have to be lit to not be pulled over. If it is not lit you must have 2 working brake lights to make up for it. So there you go.

::edit:: UPDATE #2- I'm an idiot! We found the license! So I'm again leaving after work tonight to go to my women's retreat... After all this, I think I'm completely in need of it!!!!!

Tomato Juice!

2009-09-16T13:00:00.007-05:00

Washing the Tomatoes out in the sink to get yucky's off...

Sterlizing the jars

Princess helping mommy.... She sat on that stool pretty much the entire time!

Boiling the tomatoes to make the skins fall off.

Ice bath, to loosen the skins.

Tomatoes post ice bath

Peeling Tomatoes

Boiling down for juice

Juicing tomatoes

Pretty Juice!

Filling jars with juice, and some with whole peeled tomatoes

Waiting to go in the canner

Boiling in the canner.

Looking pretty in the pantry!

... And getting caught in the rain...

2009-08-10T16:30:00.003-05:00

We were out picking limas when a big storm came up and caught us! DH sent me inside with the limas that were already picked, and he stayed out in the rain to keep picking.

Here's how much came in with me. about 1/4 to a 1/2 the wash basin full.

Here's DH as he came in from picking. He had just dumped the rest that he had picked into the bucket. The crazed look on his face was him laughing at the storm that he had made it!

Now he's trying to be serious. HA HA HA!!!!!

Here's all the green beans that we got. We planted heirloom beans this year, only 2 packets worth, not realizing that they don't reproduce after picking. So this is all we got this year. But next year we'll plant a whole bunch more!!!

Yay! We finally have a computer!

2009-08-08T00:34:00.003-05:00

Yay! So we finally had the money to get a computer. It's not the greatest, but it will work for what we need it to do right now. So now I can update more often. We don't have internet at home yet, and probably won't for a while, but I can get on several wifi hotspots close to home. So I know everyone's been wanting to see how the garden's been doing, so here's some pictures (we got a new camera about a month ago too)!

Lots of green beans!!!! They're getting ready for the first picking!
The limas are starting to get beans in them. I can't wait!

There are so many tomatoes out there... now if they would only turn red!!!

The peppers are so big! and I'm amazed at how many can be on such a little plant! This is one side of the plant and the other picture is the other side.

This pepper is huge! I'm not sure I could palm it!

Well that's all for now, but rest assured now that I have a computer at my disposal there will be much more often posts, with plenty of pictures!!!!

2009-07-07T13:09:00.001-05:00

Just feel all I do is work and turn around then go back.

The garden is growing!

2009-06-04T12:40:00.002-05:00

No pictures yet, the camera is down. But my dad came over last night and tilled up a bit of the garden, and we now have 2 tomatoes, 1 red bell pepper, 1 basil, and 30 ft of limas, and 45 feet of green beans and 1 wide row 12 ft long of peas. Also 5 sweet potato plants and 1 potato plant that came up volunteer! I also have some strawberries in a pot. We're hoping to have more of the garden ready soon to plant some more soon! Hopefully I'll be able to put pictures up soon too!

2009-06-02T15:24:00.001-05:00

Free rootbeer float night at sonic tomorrow night 8-midnight!

2009-06-01T10:35:00.001-05:00

FWD: Redbox free MONDAY rental. CHECK OUT WITH COUPON CODE FM63H7. Expires at midnight CST, 06-01-09. Fwd to friends. Call 866.733.2693 for help. Text STOP to

2009-05-24T00:23:00.001-05:00

On the road on my way to visit family and see my sister before she goes and spends the summer in florida.

2009-05-14T23:08:00.001-05:00

Went to the taste of home cooking school with my mom tonight. lots of good free stuff, lots of good recipes and a really good day with mom!

2009-05-11T13:15:00.001-05:00

I got my washboard in the mail today! i cant wait to use it!

2009-05-11T10:27:00.001-05:00

Redbox free MONDAY rental. CHECK OUT WITH COUPON CODE 6A43JK. Expires at midnight CST, 05-11-09. Fwd to friends. Call 866.733.2693 for help. Text STOP to q

New Blog

2009-05-03T15:21:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to post here and let everyone know that I have a new blog. I felt like all my couponing was taking away from the purpose of this blog. So I started a new one. it is www.adventuresofacouponqueen.blogspot.com. Hope you will join me there for my couponing adventures. I will still have this one for our adventures toward homesteading!

2009-04-26T23:34:00.001-05:00

I just discovered that i can post to my blog by texting from my phone. This is a test of that!

Shopping Trip #2

2009-03-26T15:24:00.008-05:00

So here's the update from my latest shopping trip. I finally got time to do it, sorry everyone it hasn't been before now. I know how excited Tabatha has been to see what all I got! I didn't get pictures of everything, but I'll tell you everything I got and tally it all up.

Arm & Hammer Essentials Cleaners - Coupon BOGO free - $2.69

Febreze Candles (Original Price 7.39) On Sale 5.39 Coupon BOGO Free

Kroger Hash Browns & Crinkle Fries - (Original 1.95) On sale 2/$3

Bar-S Bacon (Original 4.39) On sale BYGO Free - 2.19 each

Chicken Drumsticks (On Sale $0.95 a pound) 14 drumsticks for $4.11

Mushrooms 8oz. 2/$4 (New Price all the time)

*The dinners, Stouffer's and Lean Cuisine Meals originally 2.75, 3.19.

I got all of them for 2.29 with a $5 redeem thing they had

*The hot dogs I put in the pictures because I was going to get some different ones because they were on sale for $0.99 a piece, but then I looked down and the Kroger ones were always $0.88. It pays to look around!

*The Butter was originally 2.59 and I got them for 1.99. My Dillon's does this quite often, and I saw on QueenAcres Homestead, where she canned butter. I'm quite excited to try this, as I love real butter!

*The "la Creme" yogurt, was a splurge. It's my favorite kind of yogurt, and it was on sale for $2.50 (from $2.55), and I had a $0.55 off coupon.

I was excited beyond belief when I saw this! Milk is still really high around here, and these were still at least 1 1/2 weeks from expiration, and marked down to $1.14! So I bought all 3 and froze 2.

Rice-A-Roni on sale for 0.99 each!

Portabello Mushroom Caps $2.50

Wheat Thin Artisan Crackers on sale 2/$5 Coupon BYGO Free!!!

Triscuit Crackers on sale 2/$5 Coupon $1.00 off purchase of 2

We found these at Walgreens, original $2.59 Sale Price $1.99

This is a classic mistake, that taught me to watch as they ring up and ask questions. The Cereal and Cereal Bars were supposed to be in my "buy 10 items get $5 off" deal. Apparently only some Kelloggs cereals were included (not mentioned) and I wasn't paying attention until I got home. oh well. I still saved:

* Fiber One Cereal Bars - Original 3.55 Sale price 2.50

* Betty Crocker Potatoes - Original 1.69 Sale Price 1.59

These were included in my buy 10 save $5!

*Powerade $0.49 each! original $1.10 (I bought 11, and we're going to use them as our refill bottles for pop, tea, kool-aid, and water for lunches!!!)

*Alfredo Sauce 2.99 Sale price 2.49

These were kinda splurges too.

*Softsoap - Original 2.79 Sale 1.50

*Colgate - Markdown 1.59

*Kodak Black & White Cameras - Markdown 5.29

*Adams 3 month Flea Control - Markdown 6.99 (original 13.99!!!)

*Hair Dye (I can get at DG for $3) Original $4 Sale Price 2.49 Coupon $1 off

*Hair Dye Same as above, but i had another coupon for $2 off!

*the toothbrushes were Marked down to 0.99

*Herbal Essences Sale 2/$7 Coupon $1 off 2!

These are all from Walgreens.

*Raisins 2.99 Coupon $1.99 each!

*Dad's Root Beer Throat Drops Sale Price $1.79

*Axe Hair Gel 6.99 Free by mail in rebate!

*Fructis Shampoo 3.99 Coupon 2.00 off!

*Pantene Shampoo & Conditioner Sale Price 2/$8 Coupon $2 off 2!

*Gillette Shampoos Sale 2/$9 Coupon $1 off

*Gummies Sale price $.79 each

*Lifesavers Markdown 1.39 each

Sale price 2/$5

Also got:

Peeps $.39 each!

Purex Laundry Detergent 72 oz. $8.99 BYGO Free

Walgreens Cookbooks $3.99 Sale 3/$10

7-Up 2-liters 0.99

Total Spent: 269.77

Total Savings (not counting markdowns and some sale prices and rebates): 92.87

I'm sure with rebates, the sale prices, and markdowns we saved at least another $100! And we had so much fun!

Grocery Shopping

2009-03-25T12:26:00.001-05:00

I have pictures from my last grocery shopping endeavor, but there's alot to sort through. I'll try to post them tomorrow as I have the day off. I'll post what I spent and everything. I spent around $200-$250, and got around $450-$500 worth of stuff!

More pictures...

2009-03-10T16:02:00.003-05:00

More of the pictures that couldn't be posted yesterday...

This is one of the pipes that we found in the garden plot... They are about as long as my lower arm, and bigger than my hand around... They are made of a terra cotta type substance.

:) Here are the first things to grow in the garden! This means that it's ok to have the garden there!!!

Here's the progress of the daffy's as of yesterday, I don't think any more popped open today. They are looking so good!

We went walking to pick up cans today, and found some plants that we don't know what they are so I thought I'd post them on here to see what we can find out. This one is the first. It has velvety leaves.

This is the second. We took a far away picture, as well as a close up. It looks like Bamboo to us, but I've never seen Bamboo green, just dried, and I didn't know if bamboo could grow in our climate. UPDATE: We just answered our own question with this one! Click here for the Missouri Conservationalist Magazine Website where we found out the history of Bamboo in the Ozarks!

And this is the last picture for today. I am trying my hand at hand washing clothes. We didn't have the money to go to the laundromat for a couple weeks, and really need clean clothes. I put hot (boiled) water in the bucket, some of my homemade laundry detergent, then the clothes, then finished off with more boiling water. I swished that alot with a mop handle, then let it sit for a while. Swished some more, then rung them out. The water was disgusting! This picture is at the beginning of the second wash. I decided to try running them through soapy water twice, then rinse several times, then hang dry. Really not as much work as I though it would be. Rather enjoyable, as long as I don't do to much at once. May start doing it for all of our whites at least!

My hands are dirty.... Yay!

2009-03-09T14:23:00.002-05:00

This is all you get today... I took more, but the camera batteries died. We were in the garden most of the day yesterday and from 9-1 today. We went inside then because of rain scares. Here's what we've done so far...
This is the total amount "tilled up". Wait till you see all the rocks we've gotten out!

This is only one pile of rocks, thre's another pile the same size! There's a bunch of pipes in there, we think they were sewage pipes from the house that was there.

Here's the other pile, it's a little neater.

Here's the half done and that's ready to be planted. It's rockless, glassless, and everything. I sat and cleaned it out with my hands!

This is the other patch. It's pretty much just dug up. I've worked some by hand, but we've just been trying to dig it all up and get the big rocks out. Then I'll go back through and get the glass and little rocks and other things out.

It's pretty cool, we've found all kinds of glass, from dishes and such, marbles, a jack, a piece of a comb, nails and some other stuff. Kinda like an archaeologist, huh?! Hopefully if we keep going at this rate (this is 2-3 days worth of work done), we'll be done by the time we want to plant!

My Coupon Binder, and the growing garden!

2009-03-05T15:09:00.004-06:00

This is my coupon binder! I found the binder at Sam's Club for $7 or $8 on sale.

This is what you see as you open it. To the right I have my pouch with scissors in it (2 pair so if someone else is helping there's one for them too). Behind that is one of the provided dividing pouches where I have pens, pencils, and a calculator. To the right are all of the coupons!

This is the farthest to the left. Where I have all of this weeks current ads.

This is what it looks like inside the right side. I used baseball card pages that hold 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 & 9 coupons.
This is what it looks like filled. I have sections for Food (Beverages, Canned Goods, Produce, Baking/Cooking, Snack Foods, Grains, Frozen/Refridgerated), HBA, Cleaning Products, Household Supplies, & Resturants.

The garden is growing again!!! We spent about 1 1/2 hours last night with the potato fork and hoe, working it up. We're hoping by next week we can have lettuce in the ground! The part that's dug up so far is the lettuce bed, that way even if we don't have the rest dug up yet, we can get it in the ground.

The daffy's are slowly coming back. Here's the pitiful one that I've been taking pictures of.

And here's a sideways (still can't figure that out) picture of the rest of the blooming ones. You can't see if very well, but the one closest to the porch also has some blooms on it.

The right to dry our clothes in the Sunshine!

2009-03-04T15:02:00.003-06:00

I found this picture on http://www.laundrylist.org/. It is a grass roots movement to regain the right to line dry our clothes. I had no idea that it was illegal in some places. I know that some home owners associations prohibit it, but for it to be illegal? Wow. Well, that's all I have to say for today. Just wanted to share this photo, and to share that website!

Spring is on the way!

2009-03-03T12:35:00.004-06:00

Ok, for everyone who's been asking... Here's the house! Ok, the front porch has some of the garden tools on it right now, because the back porch has our washer and dryer in it, and the front porch shields them from the rain. But isn't it cute!

Here's the daffy's before the snow came. They were doing so good!

This is them after the snow... :( They are drooping and pitiful now.

Here's the garden, starting to be plowed up. He's "tilling" with a potato fork, that's why its taking so long.

And this is our wonderful plant that we don't know what it is. We got it from a friend, who dug it up out of her garden and we put it in the car, and forgot about it. A week later, we remember it was there, in the hot car, without water. We planted it in a pot, and hoped for the best. It's still going! It died at the end of the season, and we picked it all out, and left the pot, hoping the roots were still good. Here it is, coming back! A friend said they thought it was a yucca, but we have yet to find out.

P.S. I just got an email from Red Box (the movie rental kiosk at walmart).

It's March Movie Madness for redbox, so get in the game… on Wednesdays! Visit redblog every Wednesday in March for your Free Movie Wednesday code. Then visit your local redbox kiosk for your FREE 1 NIGHT's RENTAL.

Yay for free movie rentals!

Shopping Spree!

2009-02-25T10:55:00.002-06:00

More pictures! We went shopping with our tax refund check. The below pictures are what we got, with $50!!!

6 pounds of ground pork for 1.99 a pound, costing 1.96 each! We dug out all the ones that were this price, as all the others were at least $3.00 a pound. These were vaccumed sealed and frozen.

We're debating how much the pork chops were (we don't have the recipt here) but in the picture it looks like it was $19, but I thought it was less than that. But there were 8 huge pork chops in there, and the chicken was a 6 pounder for 88 cents a pound! All the others were 98 cents a pound.

The boil in a bag rice, I don't usually buy, but these were $1.92 each, and they all had $1.00 coupons on them! We hunted down all of the ones with the coupons on them. So we got them for 92 cents each! The Clorox Dish Cloths and Kitchen Towels were on sale as well. Starting price was $5.96. We got the Dish Cloths for $2 and the Kitchen Towels were $3. The other item in the picture is cloth napkins. We've been meaning to buy some to last us until I get a serger to make some. They were $2 for 4 napkins.

Ok, so this was kinda a splurge. These are a new product that they had on sale for $2 instead of $2.98. We got some to try and loved it so went back and bought 6 bags to freeze!

This is my new pot rack. Not sure if another will be going up next to it, but here it is. Tabatha gave me the idea, and so I thought I'd thank her for that as well. It's just a shelf hung upside down. We bought the shelf for about $5 at Wally World, and then we bought hooks to hang it with, and S hooks to hang the pots with.

Daffy's... we think

2009-02-23T14:45:00.002-06:00

No pictures today, but we think we have Daffodils coming up in the front yard. The irises we planted last fall seem to be spreading some as well.

I have started my very own coupon binder, and will post pictures of it soon. Haven't gone shopping with it really yet, but got to use a 20% off coupon at Big Lots yesterday, and got $39 for $33. Got some 1/2 off v-day stuff, and lots of groceries. Some scrapbooking stuff too. I love their scrapbooking stuff.

Ok, well I'll post more tomorrow (hopefully).

An organized Kitchen... almost!

2009-02-16T17:39:00.005-06:00

More Pictures!!! I just can't stop now that I've figured it out!

Max again, being lazy, what he does best!

Princess & her Pa looking out the window "Whatcha looking at guys?"

This is what the babies got for Christmas. They were gorging themselves when they didn't have food out all the time, and they drink so much water we couldn't keep enough out for them! Got them at Dollar General for $2.50 each!

Ok, these are back to the kitchen. I was thoughtless for a bit, and took them all upright, and can't change them on this computer! This is the baking/cooking cabinet.

The vegetable cabinet.

The Fridge Door. All clean and pretty!

The inside of the fridge. The canned veggies are in there so that we think to use them quicker (DH's idea). It's so pretty clean!

The above the refrigerator freezer. This is used for the meals ahead, ice making and snacks. We haven't been grocery shopping yet this month.

I bought myself a toaster oven yesterday! It was only $10 at walmart (I hate that place but sometimes can get good things on clearance.) I'm still learning to use it, as I've never had one.

The freezer all organized. The top shelf is baking stuff, the next is meat, next is veggies and the bottom is fruit. In the door we have pot pies, freezer jam, frozen soups and jiffy mixes.

The top shelf of the freezer.

Next to the freezer we have a 5 gallon bucket for flour, and one for sugar, a small trash can of rice (we bought it for that purpose before having free 5 gallon buckets), and my containers of organized cookie cutters. More pictures tomorrow maybe!

Updates with pictures this time!!!

2009-02-14T15:20:00.010-06:00

So I thought I'd add some pictures today, since I finally found the cord and learned how to do it. I don't have any pictures of the house on here, other than the project we've been working on.

This is Princess, our American Shorthair calico. She is about 2 1/2, and finally growing past some of her kitten-ness. When we first got her she wouldn't sit still for anyone, and was very fiesty, biting and clawing everyone. Now she will try to be good for pretty much anyone. She sleeps with Grant & I and when other people come over, she at least tries to snuggle up against them!
In this picture she's helping us with the sorting and organizing of the cabinets.

This one is Max, our Russian Blue. He is our baby. We've had him since before we got married. He's like 4 years old now. :( He's growing up too fast. He is a snuggler and such a baby. He wants to be with whichever of us is awake and in the house, and if no one is awake, then he needs to be near the one sleeping. They both are also great watch-cats. They both seem to take turns watching the door and seeing who comes in. Especially when I'm home alone sleeping.

Now I'll show you our project that we're still kinda working on.

First Grant cleared out all the cabinets... This caused some stress for a little while, as you can probably imagine, but it really helped getting everything out in the open so we could see what we had.

Here's all the store bought canned veggies, (we didn't have as much home canned last year, and some was given to us.)

All the "grains" and such went on top of the upright freezer.
For some reason some of the other "grains" made it onto the floor beside the freezer, along with beans and pasta.

Here is Grant modeling with his vienna sausages. He keeps telling me that if I go to visit one of my homesteading friends for a while to learn stuff, he will live off of vienna sausages and bread for the entire time I'm gone!

Here I am making my inventory of groceries.

These are of part of the inventory. I started with meat, and made a boxes for the amounts that we want to keep on hand, then I'm going to laminate them, so that when we use something we can mark the box, then when I go grocery shopping (hopefully eventually once a month) I can know what we need.

And this last one is Princess helping mommy make the inventory. She seems to like being involved. Thats all for now!

Things to come...

2009-02-13T17:25:00.002-06:00

Yay! We spent all day yesterday morning orgainizing our freezers, refrigerator and cabinets. We finally got our upright deep freezer to our house, its been at a friends house since before we moved. We have been working on making up an inventory so that we can keep track of what we have and what we need. I have taken pictures of the whole escapade and as soon as we can track down the cord will be posting them (yes, I will finally have pictures!!!). Will update tomorrow!

I'm Back!

2009-01-23T16:21:00.002-06:00

I don't know how often I'm going to be able to post, until we get the computer and internet at home, but I'm going to try to keep this fairly regular again. I miss getting to write to everyone and getting support and hearing from everyone. We've been very busy lately.

*The house still isn't organized, however one room down, three to go. I have the bathroom completely organized for the time being. That's the first room that is going to be remodeled (as of right now.) We are working on the bedroom tonight, which shouldn't take long with both of us working on it.

*The garden is coming along nicely (as nice as it can in January). We've temporarily lossed our sanity, and have decided until we get the tiller that we are hopefully getting this spring we're going to do it by hand. We've been raking dead grass for what seems like forever, but everytime we work on it it makes us feel so good knowing that we've done it ourselves with our bare hands and simple tools. We've going to start on spadeing it soon.

*We've both been working like crazy. Grant (DH) is still working at the kids rehab place. He still enjoys it, but we're hoping soon for him to move to a day position. What we're looking at will be wonderful, as he'll work days, and work teaching the kids about gardening. :) The best of both worlds. And of course, me with another momentary lapse of judgement and my move to management. I can't believe the things that people do to people in service postions. I saw it as a cashier but I'm the brunt of it as a manager. Sometimes I just want to scream at them, but then I remember why God has put me there. It is a blessing to see how many people are blessed by me being there.

Well I think thats all for now. We've starting outlining the garden, now we just have to come up with the money in the budget for seeds and plants. Hoping for a patio blueberry bush and strawberries in a pot on the patio as well. I bought a strawberry pot with my birthday money. More later!

I'm still here!

2009-01-21T17:56:00.002-06:00

So, this will be a short post, but I wanted to let everyone know how we are doing. Sorry there hasn't been a post in a while. I will try (key word; try) to post a longer one tomorrow. I recently got a promotion at work and am now the third key (lowest manager) at work. I went from 20 hours a week if I was lucky to now between 30 and 40 hours a week and got a 50 cent raise! So needless to say I've been quite busy. We're hoping with tax money that we will get a computer and a couple months of internet so that I can keep up with this and my yahoo groups better. I think that's all I'll do for now, but I'll post again as soon as I can.

Happy Chicken Day!

2008-11-26T14:30:00.002-06:00

Well, You're probably wondering why I said Happy Chicken Day, instead of Happy Turkey Day... This year's holidays are very meager, but still very blessed. We've had several chickens that we bought a while ago when Walmart had the 98 cents a pound chickens and we had money and time to walk that far all at the same time. We saved the biggest for roasting. Well, my parents are working on moving to Indiana this coming spring/summer, and they are up there for this weekend, so we knew we were going to be on our own for the first time. And we both have to work on Thanksgiving, I from 10-1 and Grant 3-11 and 11-7. So we had our feast last night. We had our Roast Chicken which turned out excellent (The first time I'd ever roasted anything without a bag!!!), Stuffing (from a box), Au Gratin Potatoes (from a box), No-Bake Pumpkin Pie Dessert (From a box), and (this one you'll never believe) Cool-Whip from a box! Most of that was given to us, or we bought at ridiculously low prices. The Cool-Whip in a box we have at Dollar General, it's called Dream Whip, and you just mix up a packet with vanilla and milk, and whip it until it's the right consistency. It's shelf stable, that's why I got some, and it didn't taste too bad!
Well, as my parents were leaving for Indiana this morning, they brought us their extra car so we could use it for the weekend. So, I went to work (not having to walk for the first time in months!) and when I got off we went to get my new Driver's License. (I've been living in Missouri for 4 years and married for 2 and still hadn't switched states or names.) So now I'm official! Then we came here, and we're going to get the Christmas decorations out of storage this evening, and finally clear out the junk from the house that has needed to go to storage since we moved and we couldn't get it there!!! Maybe by Christmas my house will be company worthy!

~*~Dollar General Sale Report~*~
*70% off all Halloween Decorations (this doesn't include scarecrows and pumpkins, those are harvest...)
~~~*~~~Thanksgiving Sale~~~*~~~
Not all stores got in all items
---All Week---
*ALL TWO LITER COKE PRODUCTS $1!!!!
*The Zone Wireless Gaming System $39 (regularly $49)
*Axe Holiday Gift Set $8 (Regularly $10)
*Black and Decker Coffeemaker $15 (Regularly $20)
*Flying Alarm Clock (It really does fly) $5 (Regularly $8
*Portable Dvd players $25

---Thursday and Friday only---
*Wrangler Jeans $8 (regularly $12)
*Net 10 Phones 1 penny w/purchase of phone card ($30-$100)
*Emerson 1 GB MP3 Player $12 (Regularly $18)
*100 count mini lights BYGO Half Off (Regularly $3)
*The ad states that there are "Wheelie knock off" Shoes in the sale, they have been pulled because of technical difficulties, we are hoping they will be brought back at a later time...)

Free Book Offer from Oprah and Snapfish.com

2008-11-14T19:26:00.003-06:00

Until 11:59 pm on November 22 you can go to snapfish.com to make your own photo book and recieve it for free (with shipping and handling, usually around 6.99), a $20 value! I just went and made mine of my wedding photos. You get 20 pages of photos, and you can add extra pages for a minimal charge. A warning though, because of the overwhelming response to it, they said they are having a wait time on customer support of about 1 hour, and it takes a while to check out. They said the best time to check out with it is weekdays mornings and afternoons. You can save your book and return to it at another time! A good Christmas gift, or keepsake for a special family event!
The page is www.snapfish.com/info18, and I believe that it is also on the homepage with a link stating For Oprah Viewers (or something like that).

The last week...

2008-11-10T12:53:00.002-06:00

Ok.. So I think it's been at least a week since I posted, and I'm sorry for that. With it getting colder I just don't have the motivation every day to leave for work 1 or 2 hours early to go to the library. Today, however, Grant had the day off, and I don't go to work until 4, so we walked the 2 miles to the Christian College that we both used to attend, to get on the computers there. We have managed to get a few things done around the "homestead." I baked bread for the first time in our new house. I baked the Betty Crocker White Bread recipe for 4 loaves. I must say that the electric stove and I are not on the best of terms right now. The bread was supposed to bake for 20 minutes, after 5 it was burning, and i pulled it out and we tried some and it was cooked, except for a couple of the loaves were still doughy on the inside, but not too bad. Hopefully sometime soon I'll have some extra money and can get a thermometer for the oven to find out if that's the problem. We also worked on boarding up the holes in the ceiling, which seems to have helped, and we started on some of the holes in the floors. We hung up blankets over some of the windows, and started re-arranging the bedroom to maybe make it warmer. My office is for the most part set up, but not organized yet. The living room/craft room is a completely other story. Most of the stuff that needs to go to storage is housed in this room for now, and with not having a running car, that makes things difficult. We're hoping to talk someone into helping with this for payment of some cookies or homemade bread or something.

Why Can't People Just Be Honest...

2008-10-23T13:24:00.001-05:00

I'm kinda upset right now about something, and I figured I'd blog about it... My assistant manager at work hasn't shown up for 3 days. That counts as a full no call no show quit. I'm really upset by this, as he was the only guy that worked there and that made me feel safe in a way, and I worked with him the last night that he worked, and he didn't say anything to me about it. Yes, I guess it could have been a fluke accident and he could be laying in a hospital bed and can't get word back to us, but it still makes me mad that we were finally starting to gain a relationship and actually enjoy working together and actually talk to each other when we were walking home at night and he didn't even say anything... Ok, so I suppose that's the end of my rant for today. I just wish people could and would be honest to the people that are around them.

So, on the up side, that gained me an extra full day, and an extra hour on the day I was already working. As of right now, I don't know what will come of the situation, if there will be promotions, or someone coming in from the outside. I have mixed feelings about this, I don't want someone coming in from the outside to reign over us, when they haven't been there to gain our trust and respect at all, but I don't think that the Lead Associate would move up, and I don't want a key holding position, so that's probably what will happen. Good thing this is my weekend off. I plan on baking alot of bread to be able to pound out my frustrations with. And maybe some cookies... I think I deserve some cookies right now...

Applesauce

2008-10-22T12:02:00.002-05:00

For anyone that wanted it... Here's the Betty Crocker Applesauce recipe:

8 tart apples
water (1 cup to 1 quart apples)
1/2 cup sugar
dash of salt
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/8 cinnamon or nutmeg

Wash, pare, core and slice the apples. Place in a sauce pan. Add water. Simmer until the apples are tender. Stir in remaining ingredients. Taste and add more sugar, if desired. Cook 1 more minute. Serve cold. [It was also pretty good warm] Elegant topped with whipped cream or ice cream.

Are Angels in season?

2008-10-20T16:27:00.003-05:00

My poor sleep deprived husband had some good ones for me this past weekend. He came in from work on Sunday morning and asked me if Angels were in season. I of course was flabbergasted as to what to say to him. He was completely straight faced the entire time. He asked me again if Angels were in season. I asked him what he was talking about and he said they watched an episode of Home Improvement the night before and Jill (the mom) had asked her youngest son Mark if he wanted some fresh Angel Food cake, and he said no. She then in turn said, why not, it's made from fresh Angels! So then my poor sleep deprived husband decided he wanted to know when Angels were in season so he could have some fresh Angel food cake with fresh Angels. He also wanted to know if we had to kill the angels to get their hair for Angel Hair pasta.

I was then reading to him from the new Amish Cookbook I got, Cooking with the Horse and Buggy People Part 2, and he decided that he needed to become an Amish bishop. Of course, by now I knew he was just completely wacky with what he was saying so I decided to let him run with it. He was outraged by the number of convenience items that were in this cookbook. There were a couple recipes with instant potato flakes in them, some canned items from the store, and a couple with refrigerated tube biscuits. So, he decided that he was to become an Amish bishop so that he could outlaw such items, as they were not "simple." Then.... here comes the good part... he decided that on 5th Sunday, all the Amish men in his district would wear Hawaiian shirts and all the women would wear tie-dye dresses!!! He couldn't decide which part of the dress or if the whole dress would be tie-dye, but the idea of it was enough to make me laugh... I had to share with you!

Here's a recipe from my new cookbook!

Dick's Bundt Rolls

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup nuts
2 tubes buttermilk biscuits

Melt butter and add remaining ingredients except biscuits. Mix well. Grease tube bundt pan. Place half of sytup mixture in bottom of pan. Place biscuits on end around tube pan. Pour remaining syrup over top of biscuits and bake at 350* for 30 minutes. Let set for 5 minutes. Remove from pan.

Sounds yummy!!!!

Update on the house...

2008-10-17T14:12:00.002-05:00

I had another 3 day "weekend" this week, as I will for a while, so I got alot done on the house. The kitchen is nearly completely unpacked and functional. The only thing left to work on in there is cleaning all the dishes that just got packed dirty (bad idea... next time I think I'll rent a dishwasher (can you even do that???)) and finding them a home, and sorting to decide what goes into storage and what's getting sold. Very hard decisions...

God has blessed us this past week with provisions for winter. I sent Grant (I don't think I've ever used his name before... that's my hubby) to the store yesterday to get some groceries for this week (when it takes 4 -5 hours to do a shopping trip and you have to walk at least 2 miles to the store and carry everything home, you try to do it as little as possible...) and he came home with very sad news... The sweet Vadalia onions are out of season. :( With my stomach problems this is the only kind of onions I can eat, and I wanted some to put up for winter. Oh well... The day was not a complete loss. He managed to find an apple tree across the street that the owners don't do anything with. So he asked them about anyone picking it, and they said no one picks it, no one tends it, so if we want them, we can pick every apple off the tree!!! So yesterday he brought me home a 5-gallon bucket of apples (we're not sure what kind, the little greenish colored ones, they are kinda tart but still sweet at the same time...) and worked up half of them. I made a batch of applesauce (just a small batch, the Betty Crocker recipe) that we had some of last night (it was amazing...) And saved some of the worked up apples in the fridge for today, in lemon juice of course. I still have 1/2 the bucket left to work up and I saw the tree today and it was still pretty full of apples! Thank goodness next week's weekend is sooner than later!

Well, on to my onions, I was pretty sad that I wasn't going to get my onions, but Grant went to the store today (this time to Walmart :( I don't like that store) to get a couple other things that the grocery store didn't have. He said as he was getting to the produce area the gentleman was bringing out a flat of Sweet Onions!!!! He said that one was the only store in town to get any, and that flat was the last shipment of the year!!! PTL! So he bought me 3 bags at $3 each, and a set of pantyhose to save them in, so I spent the morning tying my onions into pantyhose. I've never done this before... We'll see how it goes.

We're hoping with our tax refund this year to buy a computer and get internet set up in our house, so maybe by January or February I might be able to post everyday, and actually get recipes up!

Washing Machines

2008-10-10T13:46:00.006-05:00

I'm thinking of getting a new washing machine. Now, before you think, "Now, Dawn, you've talked about how much in debt you are, and how much money you need every month to pay bills." Hear me out. I'm not going with the latest Kenmore or Maytag. I'm thinking of one from Lehman's!

This is the one I would love to have! Home Queen Wringer Washer

Uses much less water than an automatic washing machine
Requires no water pressure, and really gets clothes clean
Stainless steel tub holds 14 pounds of clothing!
42 1/2" Hx24"OD, 139 lb.
One-year warranty on parts only
Made in Saudi Arabia

But it costs an amazing:

$899 for the 120V, 60 cycle, 7.5 amp
$949 for the 230V, 50 cycle, 3.5 amp

and both of these have an added $175 for freight.

SO.... I'm thinking this one looks like it might be closer in my future...

Lehman's® Hand Washer -

Easy, thorough washing-Agitator's pendulum motion slashes effort and shortens wash time to just several minutes per load. Triangle-shaped agitator forces water and detergent through clothes as they gently roll and turn, and keeps clothes fully submerged - never floating on surface or lodged in corners.
First-rate construction-We worked with a local manufacturer to ensure the highest possible quality, with important features and improvements over other models. Rust-proof, 304 stainless steel tub and handle mount. Clear plastic lid with knob lets you see inside as you wash. Unit is welded for extra strength (other models are soldered). Wooden legs with steel reinforcing crossbars at each end. Heavy-duty plastic fittings are easily replaceable and found at most hardware stores.
36"Hx231/2"Lx23"W, holds 15 gallons, 30 lb. USA made.

And it only costs...

$650 with a wringer
$499 without the wringer

Ah.... someday....

Days off are nice...

2008-10-04T13:13:00.002-05:00

Well, I go back to work on Monday... I know I'm going to be homesick for staying at home, again, as I will have not worked for 5 days in a row, making it possible to cook and bake and unpack (some) and spend time with my husband. We think we have figured out a plan to where in about a year we'll have most of our debts paid off and I can quit work and stay at home again! Then I can work on preparations for gardening and the winter and plans for our house we will someday build and my crafts I want to sell and everything else. We have found a church on our walks that is less than 10 blocks away from the house. I think we might try it soon...

My Display at the Library

2008-09-30T13:24:00.004-05:00

This past month I had the display at the local library. I filled the display case with the bells that I have been collecting most of my life. My first one was at a Bible Study Christmas party with my mom when I was very young. I wanted to share it with you today. Here's what they said on the website about them, and pictures of them in the display.

Dawn has been collecting bells since she was five years old. She enjoys searching for bells when traveling and family & friends bring Dawn bells that they find on travels also. Check out the bells in various sizes and from states & countries.

Life is a little better... 3 days off coming!

2008-09-28T14:06:00.002-05:00

Well, the Father-in-law has come and gone. And it really wasn't as bad as expected. He took me grocery shopping! We got all caught up on buying laundry soap making stuff, and toiletries and some of the groceries I couldn't get close to my house for good prices. I even went with him by myself.... I was very intimidated, but it went well. We talked about alot of things, and he has shown that he really isn't as scary as he and everyone else tries to make him out to be. He took us out to eat a couple of times (a great treat, as we haven't been to a restaurant for quite a while). We got to go to the church that we are members of, but haven't been to in a while, as it's 4 miles away and we don't want to walk that far and then walk to work, and walk around work and walk home from work (I WOULD DIE!). Very good to go home again. Oh, and I have 3 days off this week, in a row! I'm hoping to get my craft area organized so I can make some curtains for the house, and get some baking done!

Well, we think the money problems aren't going to be as dramatic as we thought. They still may be somewhat. And, Katie, we are planning a rummage sale, but it's getting to late in the year for it now, and I'm really not ready, and I can't get off work, so we're going to have one, with my landlord in the spring. I'm wanting to start making some craft items to sell online, but I'm really nervous, as I've never done this before. My mom has been buying some of my plastic canvas baby blocks from me though, that's been some good extra money.

Dollar General Update:

We have an ad starting today, lots of good stuff on sale. I'll try to post it tomorrow, but I'm not sure, I don't have one with me. I do know that we have this going on:

*Clover Valley Soda - Buy 2 get one free (3 for $1.50)
*Green Dot (Summer Stuff) Still 70% off
*Red Dot (Back to School) is 50%
*Seeds are 90% off!!!!
*Yellow Dot (Summer Clothes) are 50% off

Most stores should have at least some of their Christmas stuff out, and we've got some really good stuff this year. Halloween and Fall Home stuff is also out already!

Money Stinks...

2008-09-26T13:35:00.002-05:00

Well, my Father-in-law is in town to visit for the weekend. Ok, so he's not here yet, but he's coming in this evening, and leaving Sunday afternoon. The house is not finished getting unpacked, both DH & I are working all weekend, my friend that just got married is coming in tomorrow to see me for a bit, and take me to a rummage sale, and we some how have to make money appear from nowhere. I have rent, old landlord, and storage unit rent all due in the next 2 weeks. I'll get paid 2 times, DH gets paid once. And our bank account is already over-drafted (long story short, I hate banks...) So please pray for us as we go through this. It should be interesting. I did end up with two days off this past week, so that was good, I got a chance to rest and work on the house. We did, however walk the mile to Wal-Mart to find out that they don't cash personal checks (I should have known that), and walked home empty handed. It has been an emotional week, and I'm sure its bound to get worse before it gets better...

Help Fund Free Mammograms

2008-09-23T12:48:00.002-05:00

One of the blogs that I follow regularly, Thrifty Mommy, had a link to this site on her site today, and I thought I would pass it along to everyone here. All you have to do is go to the site and click on the button, and sponsors pay for free mammograms for women who can't afford one!

Here's a recipe from the 1970 Pillsbury Bake-Off!

Pie Crust Peanut Crispies

1 package (9 1/2 oz) Pillsbury Pie Crust Mix or 2 Sticks Pillsbury Flaky Pie Crust Sticks, crumbled
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 tablespoons water

Oven 375* Makes about 48 cookies

Combine all ingredients. Stir until mixture forms a dough. Shape into 1-inch balls, using about 1 teaspoon dough for each. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten with a fork which has been dipped in sugar. Bake at 375* for 8 to 10 minutes until light golden brown and slightly puffy. Cool cookies slightly before removing from cookie sheets.

More good deals!

2008-09-21T13:51:00.002-05:00

Well... On the way to work yesterday we went back by the rummage sale, and I got some more stuff... This time I got a stack of cookbooks for $.25 each, a book from the 60's on manners (it's a school textbook), a willow tree angel for $1.00!!! and I got one of those old plastic tupperware (I think) measuring/mixing bowls for $.10!!!! I'm very much looking forward to the idea of having internet at home someday, as this whole walking a mile to get on to check my email is not such a hot idea somedays.

The Cookbooks I got are:

Pillsbury's Bake-Off Cook Book (1970)
250 Ways to Prepare Meat (1940)
Money Saving Main Dishes (1970)
Joys of Jell-o (1963)
A Book of Famous Old New Orleans Recipes (ca. around 1978)
Recipe Magic with 57 Heinz Soups (1947)
All States Bicentennial Cook Book (1976)
250 Ways to Serve Fresh Vegetables (1940)

No recipe today, I have to be at work in a bit and still have alot of emails to sort through... Sorry :(

Plain Living and the World...

2008-09-19T12:23:00.002-05:00

My husband and I have been walking alot lately. Our car is back to being broke down, and since we live in town and want to get in better shape anyway, we've been walking everywhere. Today alone, by the end of the day we will both have walked at least 4-5 miles. (We went grocery shopping today). Anyway.... I've been observing people as we walk, the way people treat us and look at us in our semi-plain clothing.
For the last 8-9 months of my senior year I attended a Bible Holiness High School. In doing this, I had to adhere to their dress code of long skirts, shirts with elbows and collars covered, hair up. I have been trying to follow this more often now, out of convenience and comfort, as well as feeling more led to dress more modestly. I still wear shorts and pants around the house and doing outdoor work, but if I'm leaving the house I throw on a skirt. And with it being warm, and when the sun is out, I've been wearing a hat to cover my head and face from the sun. My husband has been wearing short sleeve or long sleeve button up shirts and long pants, accompanied by a felt hat most of the time while outdoors.
During our walks, we've noticed that alot of people are nicer to us, opening doors for us, letting us cross the street before they pull out, and such. The funny part is alot of people drive past with their mouths open, staring at us. I laugh as this happens, but it also makes me think. Makes me think about our brothers and sisters in the Amish and Mennonite communities, our Quaker brothers and sisters, our other plain brothers and sisters, and what they go through everyday, humbling themselves before God and others with their dress.

Well, I was going to continue on with the University of Oklahoma notebook, but with us walking, and it's fragile state, I'm going to take a break from it, until I can figure out a way to transport it without compromising its fragile state. However, on our way to the library today, we walked past a rummage sale that looked of interest. We walked up and I thought I was in heaven. It looked like an older lady was cleaning out years of party ware and cook ware as well as her sewing and craft stuff. There were other things as well, but I didn't look at that as much. I bought a good size bag full of recipes and recipe books for $1!!!!! I also got some mini cake tins for $0.75, a fry basket in really good shape for $0.25 and some copper colored metal salt and pepper shakers for $0.25!!!! There was also a rubbermaid tub (the smaller of the larger tubs) full of plastic canvas, embroidery, and cross stitch, some projects started, alot of untouched patterns, but it didn't have a price on it. The little old man wouldn't let me buy it without talking to his wife, so my husband is going back after I go to work to try and get it. I'm hoping for $5! There was alot of fabric and patterns, that I might go back tomorrow and look at. Well, here's a recipe from my pile!

Gingerbread

1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted fat
1/2 cup sour milk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon soda
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
nutmeg

Mix ingredients in order given, sifting soda with flour before adding.
Bake in slow oven in greased shallow pan.

(After note: 300*F for 35 minutes)

Clothesline Poem

2008-09-17T18:36:00.002-05:00

I recieved this in a group I'm in and just had to share it.

A clothes line was a news forecast
To neighbors passing by.
There were no secrets you could keep
when clothes were hung to dry.
It also was a friendly link
For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two.
For then you'd see the'fancy sheets'
And towels upon the line;
You'd see the'company table cloths'
With intricate design.
The line announced a baby's birth
To folks who lived inside
As brand new infant clothes were hung.
So carefully with pride.
The ages of the children could
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed
You'd know how much they'd grown.
It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
Haphazardly were strung.
It said, 'Gone on vacation now'
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told,'We're back!' when full lines sagged
With not an inch to spare.
New folks in town were scorned upon
If wash was dingy gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way..
But clotheslines now are of the past
For dryers make work less.
Now what goes on inside a home
Is anybody's guess.
I really miss that way of life.
It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best
By what hung on the line!

Well, I have tomorrow off work, so I might be able to come up and post a receipe or two. The old landlord finally had us sign a promissory note, saying we would pay $300 a month for several months to have him paid off. Hopefully we'll be able to come up with all the other bills paying $300 a month to him, $275 a month to the new landlord, $180 to a credit card, and other various bills. Ah, life... I can't wait for our debt free days on the farm. Someday....

Less Common Ways to Prepare Fruit

2008-09-13T11:15:00.002-05:00

Ok... I think I've just decided to stick with the 1936 University of Oklahoma Home Ec. Notebook for a while. There's alot of good stuff in here. I was totally born in the wrong era. I so wish I could have gone to college during the era of the housewife!!!

Less Common Ways to Prepare:

1. Apples: polished and sliced crosswise;

peeled, scored with form from stem to blossom end and sliced;

balls, cut with a vegetable scoop.

2. Avocado: cocktail - 1/3 avocado, 2/3 pineapple cut in dice, lemon juice salt and paprika;

another cocktail: cut avocado and fresh tomato into balls, add french dressing;

salad: add mashed avocado to French dressing and pour over lettuce or other vegetable; combine with grapefruit or asparagus;

a sandwich filling: crush and mix with mayonnaise.

3. Bananas: peas in a pod

peel opened petal wise and served on paper doilie on plate with a fork;

bake in peel, slit open, add a bit of butter, serve hot.

4. Fresh pineapple: separate buds; serve 5 or 6 on a plate with a mound of sugar; use pineapple quills for garnishes

5. Grapes: cut in small clusters, serve on leaves of grape or hybiscus;

separate the grapes from the bunch leaving the short stems, dip in melted fondant.

6. Grapefruit: In basket or half grapefruit

In halves -- edges garnished with chopped parsley

7. Lemons for garnishing:

see illustrations on cards and in New Book of Cookery p. 395

prepare at least 6 ways

8. Oranges: on ribbon;

in blanket of whole orange;

sections in peel;

lunch basket oranges;

orange roses made of peel are nice candied and as a garnish.

9. Strawberries: Serve clean and cold, unstemmed on a leaf.

Fold back blossom and dip in malted malted fondant

10. Tangerines: Prepare as oranges on ribbon

or as sections in peel

11. Cranberries: Candied- (prick berries to prevent bursting)

1 cup sugar plus 1/2 cup water; boil to a thread (242*F)

Add 1 quart large red cranberries and simmer 5 minutes.

Remove from fire. Cover pan and let stand overnight.

Next day heat slowly and let simmer until berries are transparent.

Strain out the berries and drop into a platter of granulated sugar.

Place in a slow oven to dry a little.

Party Iced Tea

(Prepare 1/4)

1 quart hot water

Few sprigs mint or 1/2 teaspoon mint extract (spearmint)

2 cups sugar syrup

2 lemons

4 Tablespoons tea

ice

Steep the tea with the mint leaves 5 minutes. Add the syrup and lemon juice and strain. If the extract is used add it after straining.

And since I won't be on tomorrow, since it's Sunday, here's a bonus recipe!!!

Orange or Grape Albumin

(Prepare 1)

1 orange, juice or 4 Tablespoons grape juice

1 egg white

sugar

chopped ice

Add the white unbeaten to the fruit juice which has been sweetened to taste. Cut in the white with scissors. Chill or add chipped ice and serve. The egg should not be evident at all.

Meat to Fruit Combinations... and then a recipe

2008-09-12T15:15:00.003-05:00

This is out of the 1936 University of Oklahoma Home Ec Notebook as well...

Appropriate Combinations follow:

Chicken -- Cranberry Sauce

Jellied Gooseberries

Pickled Peaches or Pears

Pineapple

Apricots

Cold Meat -- Lemon

Duck -- Orange Slices

Current Jelly

Fish -- Gooseberry Sauce

Pickled Pears

Pickled Peaches

Apple sauce

Ham -- Fried Pineapple

Fried Apples

Lamb -- Baked Bananas

Current Jelly

Mint Jelly

Mutton -- Current Jelly

Mint Jelly or Sauce

Pork -- Apricots, glazed

Apples, sauce or fried

Quince

Plums

Roast Beef -- Raisins in stuffing or as a sauce

Cherries

Bananas, sauted

Peaches, roll in cream and brown with meat

Pears

Tomatoes

Squab -- Current Jelly

Turkey -- Cranberries, sauce, jelly or ice

Veal -- Apples, glazed, tart

Venison -- Current Jelly

Gooseberry sauce

Plum sauce or jelly

Spiced Tea

(Prepare 1/4)

1 quart tea beverage (Orange Pekoe and Oolong are good types to use)

2 lemons, juice

2 cups sugar syrup

1 Tablespoon whole cinnamon, cloves, ginger

1/4 teaspoon mint extract or mint leaves

Make a syrup of sugar and water using about 1 cup sugar to 2 cups water. Add the spices and boil for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the lemon juice, extract and tea. Serve hot.

I thought with the weather turning cooler in some places (it's getting warmer again here) this might be a nice warm drink to cuddle up with a good book with.

The Cookbooks have arrived!

2008-09-10T16:16:00.005-05:00

So... now that I'm officially moved (YAY!!! Now for the yucky part of unpacking and organizing while working...) I can get back to what this blog was created for. I'm really excited because my cookbooks that I posted about before arrived yesterday! So I'm going to start posting recipes and such from them and a couple others that I have lying around. Just to give you an idea of what I'm using I'll give you a bibliography (big word for a list of the books I'm going to use).

Hows and Whys of Cooking
By Evelyn G. Halliday and Isabel T. Noble (both Home Economics professors from the
University of Chicago)
Printed by The University of Chicago Press in Chicago, Illinois in 1929
(This one is it's 3rd printing, the first was in 1928)

Ladies' Home Journal Cookbook
Edited by Carol Truax
Printed by Doubleday & Company in Garden City, New York in 1960
(This one is a first edition!!!)

University of Oklahoma School of Home Economics Advanced Foods Course Notebook
Most of which is written by Laura A. Miller
Printed in 1936
(You can find pictures of this one in an earlier post, it's the coolest!!!)

Ok, so here's today's sampling of what is to come.

From the University of Oklahoma Home Ec Notebook

Iced-Tea Cubes

1 orange, juice
3 lemons, juice
2 cups water
3 inches whole cinnamon
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon mint extract

Pour 2 cups hot water over the spices and let stand until cold. Add the fruit juices and extract. Maraschino cherries may be added for garnish. Freeze in the electric trays. Serve in iced tea.

I think that's all I will post for now. I can't wait to try this though. DH's grandma was a home-ec teacher who went to college at K-State (Kansas State University) in the 40's. He said she used to make this as a special treat, just for the Grandkids.

********Dollar General Savings!!!***********

The lawn and garden stuff has gone to 70% off!!!! That includes the decor/kitchen/and other stuff that's with that. (Anything with a green dot)

The summer toys/swim stuff is 50% off!!!!

The summer clothes are now 50% off!!!! (anything with a yellow dot)

The back to school stuff is now 25% off!!!! (anything with a red dot)

Moving 101...

2008-09-06T11:34:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I hate moving. I have always thought I liked moving, but I think that was because I was in denial as I have moved too many times to count in my life (literally, it definitely is over 15 times in 22 years.) I would so much rather just pack everything up, have a mover come, and move thousands of miles, than move across town.

We are still not completely moved. Our old landlord is being hateful about it. We are late on rent for him, one of the many reasons we are moving. He is trying to bully us into moving out before our 30 days is over. We emailed him about a week ago telling him that we would be moving. He has been emailing us for that week telling us he wants us out immediately. I told him that we would move as quickly as I could and that his bullying would do no good, as we had already talked to the police, and they told us that as long as we are out by our 30 day mark, we are good. Praying that he doesn't do something stupid.

Our new house has prooved its challenges, but we are loving it. I have pictures, but until we can get them developed onto a cd I have no way to get them onto here (the same with the wedding I was in). The cats are enjoying it, there are a few holes in the drywall that they climb in and out of. We mapped out our garden, and started the compost pile last night. I think he said the garden will be like 60 ft x 30 ft. It's pretty big. I can't wait for all the canning and freezing next year! I'm really looking forward to making soups and stews this winter. I need to go to the storage building and get the heaters out, it's getting cold. It's been rainy and cold the last few days. One reason we haven't got much moving done. DH got a bit sick from moving in it the other day. He seems to be feeling better.

I'm really excited because I got my membership packet from Mary Jane's Farm yesterday. I'm an official Farmgirl!!!

Well I think thats all for now. I'm going to try to keep updating every few days, but right now with moving and I'm going to be picking up extra shifts at work next week, I'll do what I can!

Moving... part 2

2008-08-26T17:41:00.003-05:00

So... the hateful landlord emailed my husband back and said we now have to be out of the house by Friday and have it cleaned by Saturday at 2 when he comes to change the locks. And that a new tenant is moving in on Sunday. And mentioned something about court. So we emailed him back and said that we will be out of town on Saturday (as he wanted us to come back over and do some last minute cleaning after he inspects it) but could do the last minute details on late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. I hate to miss church, but I have a feeling, that for this to go well, since I am using up all of my days off for the coming week for the wedding and moving, that we will have to skip church and move. We also told him we would pay him an outrageous amount (more than we are paying in rent for the new house) every month for several months, to more than pay him off. Praying that God with soften his heart so that he not take us to court.
So we think that we have found a home for our freezer full of food for the couple of days between, but we still can't figure out what we are going to do with our two cats for those days. :( We can't afford to board them, I'm not leaving them in the car, and I don't want to leave them in the hotel room while we're gone (given that the hotel may or may not allow animals).
So now, all I'm left with is packing, moving and my checklist of other things... Let's see.

*Get a storage unit - done
* Get more boxes
* Get car door fixed (explain that one later) - hubby's at home doing that now
* Get mail forwarded - done
*Switch over electric - we have to pay them, and then they will
*Turn off gas - I have to remember to call them when they're open.
*Turn on water - ditto

Evicting Ourselves...

2008-08-25T08:58:00.003-05:00

So.... we're behind on rent... and we have a hateful landlord who has been doing not so nice things to us. So we decided to evict ourselves. We emailed the landlord to tell him we will be out by the first of the month, we rented a storage unit today (we got a 10 x 10 for $37.50) and we can start moving things into the new house on Sunday. So bright and early Sunday morning we will be moving things to the new house. We are hoping to have everything to the storage building that goes there before then, so that we don't have that much left to do Sunday. This will be a crazy endeavor, as you may recall that we are going to a wedding Friday and Saturday. Well.... DH isn't working at all this week except for Wednesday 3-11 (He had vacation time to take for the wedding), and I'm working closing today, opening tomorrow, opening wednesday and off for the rest of the week. Pray for us as we do this. We really feel like Satan has a hold of this house that we are moving from, I have had a headache everytime I start to pack, and have had to work alot while we are doing this. Pray.... Thanks in advance...

Yay! Ebay!

2008-08-20T15:58:00.000-05:00

We bought some awesome stuff on Ebay yesterday and I just had to show everyone... I will totally share some of the stuff out of the notebook on here when I get it next week in the mail!!! There are pictures following the descriptions, they are just the pictures off of ebay, but it gives you an idea of why I'm so excited!

HOWS AND WHYS OF COOKING HALLIDAY AND NOBLE. THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO HOME ECONOMICS SERIES. COPYRIGHT 1929. HARDCOVER 179 PAGES. WELL USED AND STUDIED BOOK, LOOSE SPINE, WRITING IN PENCIL SOME STAINING, NO MISSING PAGES.

This is an incredible collection of literally several hundred vintage recipes taken from the typewritten notes of an advanced home economics class at the University of Oklahoma during the years 1935-36. There are approximately 136 pages that are typed on 8 ½ x 11 inch papers and are in a metal-edged binder. Some of the rare and unique recipes are:
Rhubarb Punch
Cream of Cherry Soup
Steak & Kidney Pie
Marshmallow Peanut Brittle
Icebox Cake
Poinsettia Salad
Water Lily Salad
Chocolate Cornstarch
Welch Rarebit
Prune Pudding
Hard Soap
Mock Sweet Breads
Penuche
Loganberry Sherbet
Junket Ice Cream
Vinegar Taffy
Mint Dumplings
Ripe Olive Bread
Tomato Jelly
Creole Stew

The list goes on and on! The student wrote in some personal notes on some of the pages, including the cost of making the recipes. There are also some interesting charts included. The pages have some worn edges, some small tears and some spotting on them. They are somewhat fragile but very legible and usable, especially considering they are over 80 years old. This was a rare find from an estate sale.

Yucky Mildew and other stuff...

2008-08-20T13:49:00.000-05:00

My front living room closet has a leak in it that has been there since we moved in. I thought it had been fixed or magically went away or something, but I hadn't opened the door for about 3-4 months, and I got in there the other day and all of my scrap fabrics and remnants I had bought and put away for another time had gotten wet and mildewed... :( This made me sad. But this gave me a chance to tell everyone about my laundry soap!!! I make it myself, and it started from a recipe out of the Reader's Digest "Homemade" Book, and it's kinda starting to evolve. Here's what it is now:

1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup soap flakes ( I use ivory right now, but thinking about changing... maybe safeguard)

1/2 cup color safe bleach

1/4 cup borax
1/4 cup washing soda

You use 1/4 cup of the mixture in a load. I make up a huge batch at one time, and store it in a rubbermaid type container (the shoebox size, but wanting to move up in size).

I also use liquid fabric softener in the wash, as I line dry all of our clothes now (unless I need something in a hurry, because I don't plan ahead enough yet) Wanting to try vinegar, but don't want my clothes to smell like that...

I washed my mildewed yucky fabrics and other things in this, and I only had 3-4 pieces, that looked like they were probably stained before hand, that I had to throw away, and there's still a few more that I will probably have to throw away most of it, but there was 3-4 yards there, and some of its still ok, so I'll wait till I can save the ok parts.

I'm really excited because we discovered in all of the remnants a piece of lovely sage green colored fabric with a print on it similar to a paisley. Theres probably about 2-3 yards of it, and I wrapped it around myself and there's enough for a skirt!!! Now I just have to find a pattern, and get new sewing machine needles (I keep breaking mine, as I'm more daring than my sewing machine...)

P.S. BTW, I've started another blog for the personal story stuff, so that this one can be completely homesteading/homemaking related. It can be found at http://www.farmgirlsdreams.blogspot.com/ Just thought I'd let you know...

Mary Jane's Farm...

2008-08-18T14:56:00.000-05:00

I have recently been introduced to the wonderful world of MaryJane's farm. I absolutely love her website and I can't wait until I have $40 that isn't going somewhere else, so I can sign up for the farmgirl connection, and subscribe to her magazine. We went hunting for a place to buy her magazine around here, and the only place we found it is at our TSC (Tractor Supply Company). I'm so excited about this one, as it has some patterns in it for bloomers and some skirts and some really cute camisoles!!! I can't wait until I have room to sew!!!! For anyone who wants to check out her website, it is www.maryjanesfarm.com She has things to buy, and ideas, and all kinds of wonderful "farmgirl" things!

Life...

2008-08-12T15:16:00.000-05:00

As I have gotten older, I know that I haven't learned everything there is for me to learn yet, but I have learned a few things. It frustrates me very much when people look down on me or me and my husband, because we are young or because we haven't been married long. It really frustrates me that in America, the middle class doesn't really have a place, even though this really is a country founded for the middle class, and to get rid of the classes, isn't it? According to the government, my husband and I aren't poor, but because of all of our bills, we don't have the money to cover everything. And because we "aren't poor" we can't get assistance. I see this as a very big flaw that someone needs to fix. There are too many people out there like us who need help and can't get it, and too many people who are just doing what they have to to get the assistance. Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. Because I work, and my husband works, and we don't have children, we can't get food assistance. We make right at the amount for the cut off... if we made $50 less a month, we could get assistance. If I was pregnant, we still couldn't get food stamps, but we could get WIC (I think, I really haven't looked into the requirements, as it really doesn't pertain to me right now). Until we have a child, we can't get the help. Well, I neither want to bring a child up in a home like this right now, or do we have the money to take care of a child. I have too many friends who sit at home, with their $400 a month in food stamps, and their husbands work to pay the rest of the bills, while we are slaving away, trying to keep the electricity on and a roof over our heads and our butts out of court! My DH has decided that he's going to write to our congressman about this, and I haven't decided yet if I'm going to just sign my name to his or write my own, but something has to be done about this.

On a happier note.... I've decided that I'm going to start posting the Dollar General sales on here to help everyone... (I work at DG). So, here's what we have on sale right now.

* Most of the swimming/sunscreen/outside toys are 25% off right now.
* The gardening/outdoor entertaining stuff went to 50% off.
* Also we have a few wedding items and some blenders/snocone machines and the like that are 50% off.

And if you can find them,
*There are some automotive/stationary/and kids toys and various other things that are now 90% off!

Hope someone can get some good out of that!

Date with my honey at 1:30 am

2008-08-11T18:34:00.000-05:00

Tonight from 1:00 am to sunrise (times variable by when the moon sets) there will be a meteor shower! We are planning on heading out of town somewhere (not sure where yet) to see it. It will probably be cold again tonight (last night it got down to mid 60's) so I might make some hot chocolate and take some blankets.... :) Sounds romantic!

Finally a Bridesmaid...

2008-08-10T13:59:00.000-05:00

Well, in 20 days I am finally going to get my chance to be a bridesmaid! There have been 4-5 friends who have told me that I would get to be a bridesmaid, and either they got married at the courthouse or they got married far away and didn't invite me or something, but I've never actually made it to the wedding being a bridesmaid. I'm very excited about this one! My dress is a two piece (making it easier to put on by myself), the top is sleeveless but very high necked, and the skirt is ankle length. It is green. Have I mentioned I'm excited yet? :) I think that's all for now... Oh, we have a tomato about ready to pick! BTW, DH told me to let everyone know that our tomato plant is in a 5-gallon bucket, that makes it more impressive that we have 12 at once!

Stolen Bicycle...

2008-08-07T17:38:00.000-05:00

I am very upset, and I just wanted to let everyone know that it is not ok to steal a persons mode of transportation. My husband and I's bikes were stolen this afternoon and I am very mad about it, and even more mad about the fact that in this day and age there is nothing we can do about it. In Mayberry, people would have gone to jail for such a thing, and now we can't do anything but sit at home with no way around town. Something is wrong with this situation. Why can't I just move to a farm, where all of my equipment would be locked away safe in the shed. Just because I can't afford something like that doesn't mean that the hoodlums should come and steal what is rightfully mine. The thing that is very aggrivating about this is the fact that my husbands bike was on our front porch, right next to the door. They would have had to come up on the porch to have stolen it. That's some pretty brave stupid people if you ask me. Ok, well I think that's all for now...

Day Dreaming...

2008-08-07T14:57:00.000-05:00

Today has been a day for day dreaming. This has been my 3rd day off in a row, getting to spend them all with DH. I love weeks like this! The only problem is they make me hungry for the days to come when I will be a stay at home wife and mother, tending to my garden, and my home. We first went up to Dollar General, where I work, and bought some gardening things, some window boxes and such. We are trying to plant as much as we can in containers, and then we'll do the rest (hopefully) at another location, as we are about to go month to month with our lease, and we're hoping to not be there much longer. We're just looking for somewhere we can live for the next 3-5 years until we move to our dream.

We then went to get our hair cut, at the local beauty school. Can't beat $5 a hair cut, especially when all I get done is a simple trim. I love tips such as this. Then we went to another Dollar General (our "metro" area has like 10) looking for more gardening stuff (It's 25% off right now). We made our way over to Big Lots and Atwoods (In the same shopping center, for added savings on gas!) and got a birthday present for a friend, and some discount groceries. Now we're at the library using the computers (more savings as we don't use the electricity for the computer or the phone/internet bill!)

***** Our Tomato Plant has 10 tomatoes on it right now!!!!!!! *****

A Journey...

2008-08-06T18:20:00.000-05:00

(this post has been moved from my old blog...)

That is definitly what this has been and what it continues to be. My husband and I have been married for a year and a half, and we are continuing on the road to self sufficiency and debt free living. When we began December 2006 we were $23,000 in debt, and trying to live on one income, in a small apartment in town. We are now $18,000 in debt, both of us are working, and we still live in a small apartment in town, but this one it a bit bigger than the last. We have begun the transformation.

We have a small clothesline that we have erected outside, and a small retracting clothesline that is in our bathroom for unmentionables. We have a small, container garden of herbs and a tomato plant on our front porch. We are currently looking for an empty lot somewhere close in town that we can rent to put in a canning garden next spring. Although we live in town (UGH...) we are continuing these things that I'm sure our neighbors think are crazy. We make our sun tea (in two separate jars, unsweet & sweet) daily, and hang our wash to dry. We walk and bike to work and to run errands, and ride our towns "trolley" for public transportation, and when our car is running, if we need to get somewhere else we take it.

We are not alone in this journey. My parents, who are moving to Indiana in a year, to further the dream on our family farm, are also slowly making their way to self-sufficiency and debt-free living. We also have our "fur-babies" that keep us company as we travel along. We have two cats, Max (a 2 1/2 year old Russian Blue) and Princess (a 1 1/2 year old American Shorthair Calico with an attitude). They help keep spirits light.

I hope that I can give inspiration to others traveling on this road, or others who have not yet begun that have a glimmer of the same dream. I hope that I can share ideas that I come up with, and that the vintage homesteaders out there might be able to help us along the way as well. Someday, we will make it to the dream!