Long time no see!

     Okay, so I've been doing horrible at blogging so far.  I feel bad for anyone following my blog, but maybe this is just me.  Heck maybe I should start posting my grocery lists, I might be able to find them when I need them that way!  But anyhoo, I got to go to the consignment sale in Springfield at the Fairgrounds this morning.  Of course, all of the stars had to align immediately and stay that way for me to be able to go...but lo and behold they did!!  
     I did end up taking sis because Keith thought we should have a "girl's day out" which is code for he didn't want to stay home with someone who is smaller than him that can tell him what to do.  Tana (my friend/neighbor/cousin) asked me to go with her, and we had a great time.  She is a shopping ninja but I already knew that because we get her hand-me-downs!
     When you walk in the e-plex it is like a HUGE garage sale, but very well organized.  Lots of moms hunting and dads carrying bags or babies. 
     We made a bathroom pitstop first thing, and when we walk in the bathroom there is lady changing a little boy's diaper on the change table and he is SCREAMING.  While I was waiting for Tana the lady turned to me and said very sweetly..."Do you have a cell phone I can use mine won't work in here?"  I say sure and she takes the phone and dials.   As soon as the other person on the line picks up (her husband?) She SCREAMS "I CAN'T BELIEVE I LET YOU TALK ME INTO BRINGING HIM...HE JUST PEED ALL OVER ME AND HE WON'T STOP SCREAMING...COME GET HIM NOW!!!"  "AND BRING ME A CLEAN SHIRT I AM NOT GOING TO STOP SHOPPING!!!"  Then she hands the phone back to me mumbling something about video games.  If this was you, I am not judging, I have been where you are (except for the video game part) and I feel your pain.  I think the moral of the story is that most boys do not make good shopping partners.  It took me a little bit to get my shopping mojo back after that but I managed. 
     All in all it was great to get out of the house and spend some time with friends!  Now, I'm off to balance my checkbook...

It's Monday!

And we hit the floor running.  After a restful (?) Sunday we were able to get Keith and Colton out the door and off to summer school at 6:30 with some bacon and egg biscuits.  I decided it would be a good idea to do my outside work first while it was still reasonably cool.  So Conner, Sis and I headed for the berry patches.  Of course I had to follow Conner's directions for finding them...and after walking around the fields alternately dragging the wagon and carrying Sis on my back for about an hour this is what we got...looks pretty pitiful compared to the bucket of berries Keith and the boys got but they took the truck. 

After that Conner & Sis played in the turtle pool with the hose while I did a little weeding.  I have more kohlarabi!  And peas! And lettuce! And basil!  I was hoping the basil wouldn't come back from the trim I gave it until later this week but it looks like it will be ready in the next day or two.  Uuuuuggghhhh.  But I'm grateful, really.  Or if not, I will be later.  Much, much later. 

 

These are the pretty parts of my garden that I have weeded.

So now I'm crashed out on the couch eating (what else but) a salad and I don't know if I can get back up before Keith comes home!

Kola-who?

     Okay, so it has been a busy week and I haven't gotten to post so now I have to make up for lost time!  The last time I left you I was on my way to make pesto, and PESTO I have made!!  I have made over 10 pints so far and frozen most of it.

       My Kohlarabi has also grown big enough to pick, and so we all had our first taste yesterday.  The big K said that he heard it was poisonous so he wasn't going to taste it.  There was only 1 pin on pintrest about how to prepare and all the google recipes seemed questionable so I just ate it raw.  Delish!  Better than croutons on a salad I say, and I will definitely be growing more!  Sweet, crunchy and earthy tasting with no heat.  We have been eating snap peas and lettuce and we've grown one lonely jalapeno?  Definitely not enough to feed a family but I'm getting better!

     I am hoping next week to try and put some pesto up in some cute jars for gifts.  Something like this...

    

     And now since I have worked so hard this week, it's off to have some fun!  Hope you have a great weekend! 

     Just a side note:  in case you were wondering the little miss has been keeping herself busy while I have been hard at work...

Nope, that's not lipstick. It's...wait for it....hot pink ink from a stamp pad. 

In her own words "oh no, oh no, oh no".



    

Once a Year?

Okay, so from looking at my past performance, if I make one blog a year I will be doing better than I have!  No pressure!  Really enjoyed going to church this morning (it is a miracle we made it) and it is so nice to FINALLY stop for a second.  Seems like we have just been running.  Keith and the kids playing with legos.  Of course Colton is moping on the floor in here with me because he can't "win".  Didn't know legos was a competition?  Only with my son...

Tomorrow I will hopefully be making pesto again, I'm going to go early and get groceries.  Anyone know if it is better to cut the basil in the morning or afternoon? 

Turning a tunnel into an Entryway

Okay, so I haven't been posting but I have been busy (sorta) I am getting frustrated trying to make our home look presentable, and I don't have any money to waste. So I rediscovered houzz.com and took a few pictures and posted our entryway. I got back these inspiration photos, which I adore. I am now in the process of trying to put together a fun entryway with a shoestring budget. But it was soooooo fun and encouraging to get such great advice and inspiration.

Really like the floor, and the light from the door but it'll have to be one heckuva CL find!

Love the gallery pictures, and I L.O.V.E. the light fixture, don't know how long a shelf like that would last around here.

This bench so fits our family and this farmhouse. Got the slab believe it or not, working on the legs. The slab came from some really great guys here in Conway, very professional and they do amazing work with reclaimed wood. If you're looking for well built contemporary furniture look them up http://www.ozarkbarnwoodfurniture.com/ I may finally get to meet the DEN OF METAL ARTS people?

I love pintrest and my blogs but I am ready to MOVE FORWARD! Hope you are having a good day! Mark 1

Angela

Hitting the books...

Well, we are back at it! Had a great school day today, I'm sure it helped that the sun is shining. We are doing 1st grade Abeka with Conner which we are all less than enthusiastic about, but I did it with Colton and I have the curriculum so...





We are doing Sonlight with Colton (3rd grade) and it is MARVELOUS, so much fun, so interesting. It has eliminated a lot of battles and I am reasonably confident he is keeping up academically and probably learning a lot more than average in some areas.



Sis is thoroughly enjoying her new shoes from Aunt A. she loves that she can put them on all by her self and so do I!

We ALL got to play outside and it was wonderfully beautiful. Being outside always puts me in a better mood. Of course the boys found some charcoal outside and decided to paint their faces with "war paint" which we are still trying to get off. Hope you are having great day too!

1 John 4 - yes again- He loves us because He chooses to! So let us love each other.

So many changes!

Well, 2011 certaonly brought a lot of changes for our family. We moved from here



To here



I didn't fully appreciate how different things could be and I guess I kinda expected life to be pretty much the same no matter where we lived.

Which meant that routines, rooms, shopping, relationships/friendships, schedules, church, and school all changed!

It has been a TOUGH year but I feel like we have all learned a lot.

We have learned:
1. To depend on God even more. He IS faithful.
2. To stick together as a family.
3. Starting a garden from scratch is almost impossible. (wait I already knew that one!)
4. It is nice to live on the backside of nowhere because it is quiet, and beautiful, and private.
5. There truly are places still outside the reaches of modern technology.

I am truly looking forward to what we will all learn this upcoming year.

I am looking forward to learning to eat more fruits and vegetables, having a bigger better garden, doing some serious decorating, growing our church, growing our relationships and most of all...
I am looking forward to being conformed to His image, but it is huge to know that He loves me right now, today simply because He chooses to.
John 4 - The woman at the well.

Thanks for reading, have a great day. And remember He loves you, just because he chooses to!




Angela