The End of an Era!

 I never thought this day would come. The journey seemed sooooo long and tiresome but I'm here to tell you we made it. Our youngest has finally graduated. NO MORE HOMESCHOOLING!!!Woo! Hoo! I know some of you Momma's are like, awe...aren't you going to miss it? Nope. No. Nadda. Not one bit. (here comes an honesty bomb) It's no secret that I did not enjoy homeschooling my children. We did it to protect them from the garbage that is in our schools and I do love my children but other than that, yuck! It's not my gift. Am I glad we did it? Yes. Would I do it again? *insert crickets chirping*. Ha! Ha! 

So now you might ask, what will you do with all your extra time? I'm so glad you asked.  Oh I got plans and I'm kinda excited about the new found freedom. In fact I'm starting out with a bang by making myself a Summer Bucket list that I'll be sharing Thursday. I used to do summer fun with the  kids when they were younger but now that they don't need me like they used to I can be a little more selfish and plan some fun things for me to do this summer. I still believe in being intentional because I don't know if you've noticed but time goes by so much faster as you age. 

One of those goals is to blog more again. I feel like I can devote a bit more time to it and I always enjoyed it as a kind of diary of my life. Not to mention the wonderful people I've met throughout the years. I know it's not as popular as it once was but I know that those that need to find me will find me and I'm not looking to go viral or be popular or even make money. I'm just going to do it for the pure enjoyment of it. :-)

I'm also trying to be more active on my Homesteaders Heart Instagram account. So if you are on Instagram, you can also find me there. 

One of the fun things I want to start doing is What's Working for me Wednesday. I don't know about you but I learn a lot of new things on the internet. Some of them are actually handy and I want to start sharing some of the things that I really love or enjoy or things that I've learned that are actually useful. I know when I go to buy something, I like to read reviews and comments about said thing. So this is kinda my way of reviewing things I've been using for a while and genuinely like. 

So there you have it. I've come out of hiding and I'm excited to see what's next. 

Let me know you're still around and I'll make sure I come by and say hello!

HUGS,

Kim

Love Thy Neighbor

Easier said then done. Am I right?

I believe now more than ever people need to know that they are thought about, cared for and loved. I’m sure we can all agree that 2020 has kinda stunk. People are feeling isolated and alone and that’s not good for anyone’s mental health.

And neighbor doesn’t necessarily mean the house next door. It can mean anyone that is put on your heart to reach out to. Even that grumpy person that never smiles when you wave to them. Especially that person. *smile*

I just thought I’d share a few easy ways to reach out to people without being a freak.

But first a quick backstory. I started walking my street just over a year ago as a means to get more exercise in. Long story short, I have gotten to know a lot of my neighbors this way. So in light of how 2020 is going I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to show God’s love to these people. To show them that not everyone is bad. Which is what you start to think if you listen to the media too long.

So here’s what I’m doing. I am crocheting little pumpkin treat bowls and making handmade cards and handing them out to a few of my neighbors that I’ve gotten to know over the course of this year.

Here’s a few that I have ready to go. I’ve already handed out one and I’m making a couple more.

Now if you don’t know now to crochet, that’s okay. Here are a few simple ideas that don’t involve being crafty at all.

• A card and a just a cute bag of candy tied with pretty ribbon.
• Pumpkin spice coffee and a mug
• Special Autumn flavored tea and a mug.
• A card with a $5.00 gift card to a nearby coffee place.
• Or you could simply give them a nice card or even just a treat bag of candy. One or the other. 

The idea is to not overthink it and to not make it too expensive that you can’t afford to. Simple is best and I believe that even the simplest gesture will not go unappreciated. AND here’s the bonus part, it keeps YOUR mind off all the garbage that’s going on in the world and helps you focus on others, which in turn makes you feel a lot better!

So what do you say? Are you going to reach out to someone around you? Even if it’s ONE person. That one person matters.

If you do something please come back and share. If you’ve already done something please share and kudos to you! Also if you have ideas to add please do so in the comments so others can see. :-)

HUGS!

Kim

 

Stay Away!

 I don't know about you, but 2020 has been exhausting. Mentally, spiritually, physically, emotionally. You name it, it's exhausted me. It was getting to the point that all I could talk about was what was going on in our country. All the chaos and confusion. And I'm here to tell you something, I was plum wore out! I knew I couldn't go on that way. If you feel the same way, I'm about to tell you the simple solution that has helped me over the course of this week and hopefully moving forward.

Stay away from social media and the news. The End. But seriously, it's just that simple. I haven't looked at Facebook or Instagram and I for sure don't watch the news, and you wanna know what? I started to laugh again and think about other things again. I was spending more time in the word. (super important) I felt like crafting again and decorating my home again. I basically found myself again. I'm a happy person at the core. If you've been here long enough you already know that, but I was so bogged down with all the things that I somehow lost myself in the midst. 

Now I'm not saying that everything on social media is bad. BUT! It seems that for as much good, there is as much negative and I couldn't maneuver my way around it all so I just took a complete break from it. I encourage you to do the same. Maybe for you it's once or twice a week, but I at least encourage you to do something. Stress is terrible for your health and believe me, you probably aren't missing much. So do yourself a favor and stay away. Take the break. Do the things you love. Be around the people that make you happy. Read a good book. But most importantly stay close to the Lord because He's the only way we're going to make it through to the very end. 

I love you all and I sincerely hope you are all doing well. Tell me how you've been keeping sane.

HUGS! 

Kim

Calendar Choices 2020!

I was going to just post this on my Homesteaders Heart Facebook page but it got a little long winded so I decided to just do a quick blog post. You’re welcome.

The year is winding down and as we get ready for the upcoming holidays, I like to do a little thinking ahead.

I don’t know about you but I love a cute and fun calendar to hang on my wall. It’s just nice to quickly glance up and see what day it is (because half the time you don’t know)  or to look at a picture that just makes you smile for that month or to quickly jot down an appointment that you swear you’ll remember but know you won’t so you write it down “just to be safe.” etc. etc.

I’m going to show you which ones I chose for next year. I buy 2 because I put one in my kitchen and one in my office/craft room.

The first one is the Gooseberry Patch calendar. Now some of you who go way back with me might remember when I used to collab with Gooseberry Patch and review and give away their cookbooks. I will forever hold Gooseberry Patch close to my heart and loved the opportunity they gave me when blogging was still a big thing. I’ve had their calendars hanging in my kitchen for years and still love them!

The bonus thing about the Gooseberry Patch calendar is that every month there is a new recipe to try.

Now the second one I chose is the Lang Bountiful Blessings calendar. The pictures each month are just so fun and down homey. You can’t help but smile at each one.

 I purchase my calendars from Hobby Lobby on two separate trips so I can use my 40% coupon on them, which makes them VERY affordable.

Do you still do wall calendars? And if so, what are your favorites?

Have a lovely day my peeps!

Kim

The Virtual Ghost Town!

Yesterday I visited the ghost town that is my reading list. I wanted to see if anyone was still out here blogging. I missed blogging and I admit that I went through a time where I wanted to give up completely but managed to post here and there to keep things alive. I still blame Facebook for blogging’s demise. We’ve become an instant gratification society. But I have to admit I miss the community that made blogging great. I made some really good friends blogging and I miss that.

So as I was going through my list of people that I followed (and I literally clicked on each link) 85% of the blogs I followed hadn’t posted in over 3 years. Around 5% of the domains have been replaced with completely different people and content (not all good).  Another 5% posted, but not regularly. The only remaining 5% that posted often were blogs that have made a living out of it. And it’s not that I don’t like those blogs but I miss the personal aspect of it and these blogs are mostly sponsored posts now. *sigh*

So my question is this? Is anybody still out here blogging about life and family? I’d love to come visit you. And if you are some of the few that still read my blog, Thank You!!!

Have a wonderful day my peeps!

Kim

Book List #1

I don’t know about you but I like seeing what other people are reading. It gives me some good ideas of what I might want to read next. I recently purchased a few books from Christianbook.com and they just came today. Most of them I got in the imperfect section but there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with them. Always check that section first because you get a great discount! I like me a good discount, especially right after Christmas when I’ve been spending money like a drunken sailor. *hiccup* Anyhoo, here are the books.

I actually started reading Fervent last year but there has been such a gap of reading it because of the holidays, I’m just going to start it again, because it is such a good book.

The rest of them are just a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I like variety. I get bored pretty quick so I couldn’t read 4 books on organizing or 4 biographies all in a row. I have to mix it up. I’ll just blame that on my ADD.

Have you read any of these? If so, how did you like them? Which ones are you interested on hearing more about once I’m done reading them? If any. Feel free to share some of your favorites right now.

Have a lovely day.

Kim

Uncle Wiggly

Raise your hand if you grew up playing the Uncle Wiggly game.

When I was a kid I loved playing this game. This and Parcheesi were the two games my grandmother had under her secretaries desk in the living room and I would play them all summer while I was there.

I remember the original version had hard plastic Uncle Wiggly pieces and every time I would make my way around the board I would make believe that I was visiting with each character as I passed by. You know like the Cluck Cluck Chicken House and Bushytail Squirrel. I would try to move past the Bad Pipsisewah very quickly because he was kind a weird.

I literally hadn’t played this game since I was a kid, so imagine my surprise when I saw this lying in the back of a friend’s SUV. You see a friend from church came to pick something up at our house and while I was putting it in the back of his SUV I saw this under a stack of blankets. Needless to say I went a little nuts. Okay, a lot a nuts.

We then started to reminisce and I asked if I could open it and look at it and caress it and hug it and kiss it. Okay I didn’t ask to do all that but I might as well have. He must have known I needed him to let me borrow it by the way I was holding onto it and slowly walking away. Besides he said he had another one at home that he plays with his grandkids. Yes!

I know it says ages 4 to 8 and my kids are past that age and I’m a little past that age, but by golly they were going to play with me that night. Oh yes, they will play. And play we did. And boy did we have fun. I love the rhyming cards. They are so fun to read. After the first game we started making up our own rhymes and had each other cracking up. I love my boys!

Sadly my hubby had never even heard of the Uncle Wiggly game. So on his next day off it’s go time. I need him to experience these things. He needs to experience these things. I’m actually not sure how he’s made it through life thus far. Just sayin’.

I’m just thankful that I get to introduce these little things to my family. Pieces of my childhood that made me happy.

What was one of your favorite games growing up. Do tell.

HUGS!

Kim

 

Trying Something New

I'm always discovering new things on this phone. With that said, I thought I would try something new. I'm using my smartphone to write this post. I'm using the talk function. My family thinks its weird me talking monotone into my phone.  To be honest it is a little weird. Ha! Ha! Ha!
Do any of you use your phone blog?

OXOX,
Kim

Abraham Lincoln

For those of you who don’t do Facebook, I wanted to make sure I showed you this really cool picture of Lincoln that my hubby’s grandfather made by penning the Gettysburg Address to look like Lincoln’s head. Pretty cool huh? Such a talented man.

(Sorry about the Homesteader’s Heart in the middle but I don’t want anyone else claiming this as theirs. Because of the cool factor that it has it could be a target. *smile*)

Abraham Lincoln was one of our most excellent presidents. My daughter received this book Abraham Lincoln A Man of Faith and Courage (affiliate link) from my Dad a few years ago and she said it was awesome.

Who was your favorite president?

OXOX,

Kim

Dealing with the Blahs!

I think coming off of the holidays is always kinda hard. You’ve been going non stop for weeks and now it’s the new year and you think you need to have it all together right away. I mean everyone else seems to have it all together. Well I’m here to tell you, I don’t have it all together. 

I am so not motivated to do anything outside the every day life right now, which is okay. I think it’s a good time to just unwind, relax our brains and just do what we need to do and nothing more. I can’t go from one thing to the next so quickly. I need a break in between.

I can’t think about 30 days of organizing, or what books I want to read this year, or what curriculum I’m going to buy my kids next year, etc. (and all that totally appeals to me) but I’m just stepping back and letting each day come and each day go. No real plans or things thought out, just living (and homeschooling *smile*).

Speaking of just living, I had to show just how real I am on my Facebook page the other day.

This is our king size fitted sheet for our bed and this is how I folded it and put it in our linen closet. Didn’t bother me one bit. *smile*

What I really loved was the fact that there were so many of you who totally confessed to doing the same thing. You all make me smile and I love ya!

Have a lovely day my friends.
OXOX,

Kim

Do You Remember Seinfeld?

I remember back before I was married and had kids and obviously had a lot more time on my hands, I watched Seinfeld.

As I was sitting here contemplating my next blog post I realized that my blog is a lot like the Seinfeld show. It’s basically about nothing. Not that I don’t blog about something but my blog as a whole is not about one specific thing. It’s about life which in the case of Seinfeld is like blogging about nothing because you simply blog about your life happenings.

The Seinfeld sitcom was a huge hit based on this idea. So when I start to feel pressure about what to write, I need to realize that sometimes writing about nothing makes people feel closer to me than trying to be something I’m not.

The fact of the matter is, I am just an ordinary wife and mother who struggles at best to put two sentences together sometimes.

So “nothing” on this blog can come in the form of me talking about our day to day life of chickens, kids, gardens, gf cooking, homeschool, entertaining, decorating, crafting and just plain ol’ life.

With that said here is the clip of the discussion George and Jerry had about pitching a show about nothing. It’s hilarious. Enjoy!

OXOX,

Kim

Happy New Year!

One thing I love about having a blog is being able to look back and remember some key things that happened throughout the year.  You know like when I talked to you about the Genie Bra. Because that’s mind blowing stuff that I would never want to forget.

Okay actually I was looking back at things like the time we went Zip-Lining. Or the wonderful Valentine’s week I had with family and friends.

And then there was the post that went along with this picture. If you see nothing wrong with this picture then I suggest you go read the post. Just for fun. Some of you may remember it.

Oh and then I found the post about my hubby’s birthday and “The Ugly Cake” that I made. If you need a laugh today, I suggest you check it out. It really is quite humorous.

There were a couple of before and afters that actually got accomplished. Like the lamp makeover and the hutch makeover .

I showed my frugal side with a dry laundry detergent recipe and showed you my secret reading spot.

But it wasn’t all fun and laughter. For one thing it was the sickest year for us all. I can’t remember when we’ve all been sick so many times in one year. And then to top it off one of my precious friends passed away. It’s been a year full of ups and downs, but isn’t every year like that?

I’ll leave you with this verse. May it carry you into the new year full of hope.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6.

XOXO,

Kim

I Need Your Input!

 Update as of today April 17th. I am taking your advice and merging my cooking blog and it's recipes over to here. I am in the process of categorizing them under the tab Recipes at the top of my blog so be patient as I work my way through them all. Thanks a bunch for your advice. You have spoken and now I'm taking action.

I’m thinking about somehow merging my cooking blog with this blog so all my recipes would be over here, but I need your input.

If you’re even remotely interested in my cooking blog, do you prefer to have it separated with it’s own blog for ease of usefulness or would you rather it be here so you don’t have to hop to another blog?

Or should I just put a tab on top that links to my recipes on my cooking blog and keep my cooking blog separate?

I’m just trying to make my blog a little bit more user friendly. So here’s your chance to tell me what I could improve or what you already like about it.

I appreciate your time and advice.

HUGS!!

Beauty and the Beast~Part 2~Two Years Later…..

Well I thought I’d give you an update on my washer and dryer, because I’m sure you’ve not slept a wink thinking about what’s become of them. So here it is. Your official washer and dryer update.

A lot has happened since the first Beauty and the Beast post. I encourage you to read it so you have a grasp on why I’m even writing THIS post. Trust me you’ll come out of it a better person. Go ahead, I’ll wait till you get back.

Okay, now that you’re up to date on everything, here’s what’s been going on. Well for one things we moved. Yes, Ms. Sweetie Pie and Mr. Die Hard came with us. I did have a scare at one point when I thought the realtor had put my washer and dryer in the selling contract of our house, but it all worked out and here they sit in their new home.

 

Awesome picture right?

Ms. Sweetie Pie is now going on 4 years old and Mr. Die Hard is coming in at around 27 years old. But one of them had a little trouble recently. Which do you think it was?

Here’s a clue.

Yes, folks, that’s Ms. Sweetie Pie torn to pieces. You see she started leaking a little and things just didn’t seem to be coming as clean as they once were. As you can see it was in need of a good cleaning itself. Which really doesn’t make sense to me because it’s supposed to “clean” things so wouldn’t it stay “clean”?  But who am I?

Anyway, my super fabulous husband tore it apart, cleaned it and managed to get it all back together and it work. No more leaks! So she’s good to go for another 4 or more years.

I admit that I’ve been giving Mr. Die Hard a well deserved break because I’ve been line drying a lot lately. But it’s comforting to know he’s right there waiting for me when I need him.

Okay I’m curious. I want to know what brand washer and dryer YOU have and how long you’ve owned them.

HAVE A SUPER CLEAN AND ENERGY EFFICIENT DAY MY FRIENDS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

I had hoped to have our family picture taken by now but for one reason or another it didn’t happen yet. Who would have thought that us being cleaned up and ready at the same time would be so difficult?  Maybe next year.

In the meantime I’m going to spend a few days just enjoying the family and chillin’ out. I’ll be back later next week.

It is my hope that you have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

God bless you all!

Tell em’ Linus!

I’m actually very surprised that they still let this play each year. But I am so glad they do. Millions of people don’t even realize they are hearing the Word of God.

Don’t let us ever forget what Christmas is REALLY about.

Have a GLORIOUS day my friends!

I’m Such a Goob!

I admit that as an adult the Christmas Season can lose some of it’s wonder and excitement. I also know what Christmas is all about, and it’s not reindeer or Santa Claus or snowmen (though I love me some snowmen), it’s about the birth of our Savior.

BUT that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun in the celebration now does it? And that doesn’t mean that just because we’re 40+ years old we can’t get super duper excited over a 20 min. animated special now does it? Because I’ve got to be honest with you. I am SO looking forward to the next Prep and Landing Special that I can barely stand it.

Prep and Landing came on the scene last year as a 20 min. computer animated special and it has fast become one of my favorite most favorite to watch. It is totally ranking right up there with Charlie Brown’s Christmas. Oh yeah, baby!

Did I mention that it just came out on DVD? Yeah, it did. And I’m very excited about that but that’s not what this is about. They actually came out with another special called “Prep and Landing Naughty vs. Nice” which airs on December 5th at 8:30 pm EST on abc.  I’ve had it on my calendar for 2 weeks now. So unless I’m raptured or all hell breaks loose, you’ll know where I’ll be at exactly 8:30 on Dec. 5th. Care to join me?  I’ll make popcorn.

Go HERE if you’d like to see these little guys in action. They have a couple of shorts you can watch.

*This post brought to you buy a grown up who believes that on Dec. 5th for 30 minutes, all will be well with the world*

Have a lovely day my friends!

Technical Difficulties!

Well our "newer" computer has decided to quit working. My hubby thinks is a the power source but we won't know for sure until we take it to our friend's house for evaluation. Not sure how long that's going to take.

Meanwhile on the other side of the office, I'm using the ancient dinosaur computer that is basically on life support.
With that said, posting will be sporadic, if any, while we get the other computer fixed. We just rebooted the computer I'm using right now because it was acting all caliwonkers last week and we are a little afraid to download any "extra" programs on it, like our camera software and stuff like that. (I can't risk loosing communication with the outside world.)


I have some fun things to post, including a giveaway and now I'm dead in the water. *sigh*

So if I'm absent on my blog for a few days that's why. I'll keep you posted as reports come in.

Have a GLORIOUSLY FABULOUS day my friends.

Thank You!

Thank you for showing the comment love yesterday. I hope I didn’t make you feel like I expect you to comment every time I post. Because I do, I mean don’t. LOL!  I can’t expect someone to do something I don’t even do myself. I’m just glad that you are out there and every now and again just say hello and I’ll be a happy camper!

You all really do rock!

By the way I have another Gooseberry Patch Book Giveaway in the works so be on the look out for that. And yes, you will have to comment for that. Hee! Hee!

Once again Thank you for sticking with me and letting me whine just a little yesterday.

Oh and I was wondering if anyone noticed anything different about something on my blog? Just wondering!

HAVE A FABULOUS DAY MY FRIENDS!

Just Wondering about the Green Links

Is anyone else getting random green links in their posts using words they've written? My daughter pointed it out to me. How are they doing that and how can I make it stop? If you see a green link with two lines underneath it, it wasn't linked by me and I advice that you don't click it. If anyone has a solution for this please let me know. I've noticed it on a lot of other blogs as well, so I know it's not just me. Weird!

Update: The green links are messing with my mind. LOL! Sometimes they are there and sometimes they are not. Oy! Well just beware regardless because they were there yesterday on quite a few blogs. *sigh*