Dear Diary 1/19/23

This week I've been super busy trying to rein in our spending on food.  It's been difficult.  I love protein bars.  They are expensive!  

So, I've been making the expensive granola, homemade breads, precooked beans, rice.   Mostly I've frozen a lot of it.  Dinners have been made from these items this week.  The biggest hit I believe was the giant pretzels.  Those were awesome.  The real trick is dunking them in boiling hot baking soda water before baking.  

Tonight, will be precooked wild rice with some vegetables of some sort.   I kind of got to where I hated cooking for a while, especially since the pandemic panic has went down.  

I like old cookbooks, they are fun to look at. Especially with some of the things said about women.  

This one, had a section about the drudgery of cooking over open fire.  It’s from 1935.  Another challenge is finding an appetizing recipe in some of these books!

I did try a chocolate chip cookie recipe from a Better Homes & Gardens Cookie Cookbook circa 1975.  They turned out yummy!  They look very ugly, but they will eat, the 8 year old test subject approved.  Only honest pictures here.  

Homeschool Isn’t for Kids!

Dear Diary,

Today was a typical homeschooling day. Have some nonsensical arguments with my sweet 8 year old, say “why are you up?” 15 times, getting asked for snacks twice as much.

And then you will get the reward, when you see lightbulb go off in their head.  And don’t forget, they get bored with any curriculum quick (at least mine does). They will hate things, then months later, like it.

I’m not trying to scare anyone off homeschool, but this has challenged me more than any job, exercise routine, whatever.  

But, you get the joy of being there for every day.  I know what she’s eating.  I can get all the hugs I want. I know exactly where she’s lagging behind. 

Thank God for lunchtime, I can squeeze in a workout.  Check out Melissa Bender sometime.

After lunch we made homemade granola, tortillas, and frozen chocolate bananas.  Cooking teaches ELA, math, and science. I love real world subjects that teach a lot of subjects in one.  I get some things done at the same time.

Dinner is always a searching mission. We are vegetarian (besides some cheese and eggs).  And reinventing the wheel on a good vegan cheese recipe.  Sometimes it’s just a sandwich.  We don’t eat out much anymore, most places don’t taste that good anymore.  

I am really trying to make an effort to reduce grocery spending.  Like everyone else.   Good thing we have laying chickens.  I love eggs.  We also have a Kune Kune pig named Heavy D (D for Duty).  He thinks he’s a dog.  And he’s part bulldozer. 

It’s time to try to relax and think of something I can crochet.  The stuff is addictive, especially if you can’t stay still.   And TV just doesn’t cut it most days.  

Tomorrow is Saturday. Hopefully I can get to the flea market this weekend.

 

I Haven't Blogged In Six Years!

My life has changed tremendously in the last six years, since my last blog post.  I'm now 46, with an eight-year-old daughter, homeschooling, working from home, raising chickens, a Kune Kune pig, Turkish Kangals, and the list goes on.  I'm a jack of all trades, and master of none!

I decided to stay at home with my daughter, and the plan was to let her go through elementary school, then start homeschooling.  Then my husband had several health issues/surgeries, Covid hit, shootings all over the place.  AHHHHHH!!!!

My two years of homeschooling have made me have the biggest respect for teachers.  A lot of bloggers make homeschooling sound great, loving and wonderful.  It can be, other days I'm ready to run away.  We are off for the summer now, but I'm already gearing up for 3rd grade curriculum.

I'm an eBay, Etsy, and Poshmark seller.  I refurbish watches, deal in vintage/antique items of all kinds.  My home looks like an antique/vintage store.  Poppin' tags as they say, if the kids still say that.  I quit my work at home job with a major window manufacturer, after they decided to scale down.  

That's when my eBay side hustle turned into go or blow time.  I had to; my husband went into early retirement.  Two hip replacements, a heart valve surgery, back issues, needing shoulder surgery.  Every day is a struggle for him, and he's only 53 years old.  That's what being a race car driver and working on a pit crew for NASCAR will do to your body.  

Blogging may not be another hobby I need to take on right now, but I'm one of those people who always needs something to do.  Maybe I can give a little hope to someone who wants to be an online seller, or a beginning homeschool parent, or collecting Pyrex, crocheting, art, watch repair. 

That's one thing I have to say is wrong with society these days, is making life look so easy and great on social media.   Life is hard some days, but that makes you appreciate the good days.   I had days recently where I didn't know if I'm cut out for homeschooling, then Texas happened.  I decided then I may be crazy by the time she graduates, but that's the sacrifice I'm going to make to keep her safe.  I don't sugar coat anything with her, and paint pictures that won't happen in life.  

Peacock Brooch

Monet Brooch

Ecclissi Sterling Silver Watch

Antique Butter Press

Kune Kune Pig, aka Heavy D

New Jersey Black Giant Chickens | Farm Raised With P. Allen Smith

Pulling Weeds

This morning as I pulled weeds out of my garden and was cursing the devil grass growing in it, I remembered when I was young pulling weeds out of my Dad's garden and how bad I hated it. It would be the middle of summer, and to me at the time it was like child abuse!
Now it's like therapy to me to be out early in the morning taking care of my own garden, and wondering how long I have with my own child before she is cursing me for ruining her day.

Our nephew is just 12 and is already so lazy it's not even funny.  Video games are not good for a child's well being.

Now that I'm at home, these seemingly menial tasks are now what keeps me going.  There is something about getting outside and getting dirty that is good for my mind.  Pulling weeds reminds me to keep the weeds pulled out of my life and do my best for my family and most of all God.   He gave His life for us that we can live a better life.

Where Have I Been?

Funny, but I just realized it's been two years since I have posted to this blog.  I guess I'd been in a bit of a funk with a lot of in-law problems and wasn't feeling very cheerful about life.  I was in a very bad movie with even worse actors.
In a funny twist of fate, God decided to bless us with a beautiful little girl last July.  Now I'm a stay at home mom, at the ripe old age of 39.  With about 45 chickens, a ewe sheep, three large dogs, and a cat.
I waited a very long time to have a child.  We decided to just see if it would happen, and it did.   That was one of the best times of my life, especially after the bomb going off with the in-lords (husband coined that term).  Then guess what, more in-lords showed up, and I started my battle with postpartum depression.  There, I said it.
With all the new people around to take care of, the animals, a garden, home, breast feeding issues, I found myself just going deeper and deeper.  Your husband can't understand why you're not happy when he's taking care of you.  I'm not a fan of pharmaceuticals, but I had to get help.   I felt ashamed with my Bible belt upbringing I couldn't just pray it away, and try everything but what's going to start helping make it go away.
Some hard to face facts about having a baby I wasn't prepared for:

1. Sleep deprivation
2. Being at home all the time
3. Loss of freedom
4. Flabbiness and your family's ability to point it out after only 6 weeks of having the baby.
5. Breastfeeding hurt like a mother!

I'm not trying to scare anyone, but they're a reality.  And all the reading I'd done couldn't prepare me for the fact all babies are individuals, they don't come with a book.  I wish some people would have prepared me a little, but they will tell you later they didn't want to scare you.

I guess I need to write these things down for myself, and maybe it will even help my daughter one day to know to speak up for herself.  I'm not very good at that.  Postpartum depression is a serious matter I wish wasn't happening to me.

The First Columbine Plant!

This is my first successful attempt at growing a columbine plant!