popping in with a statement

Lots going on in my heart today. I wish I had pictures to share. I hardly EVER share pictures anymore because of the computer that I blog on doesn't hold our pictures. But I just have a thought....and a quote. Do you live your life constantly thinking about another person's reaction? Like....well, the dining table has to be kept in the dining room because if we ever had that family over they would think it's strange if the table was in the family room. I think weird things like this all the time. Or....what if we stopped being involved _______, or started doing ______.....what would they think? It's a constant battle. Decisions to make. Trying to hold myself back and let my husband lead. Keeping in mind the 3 littles who are following as well. I have this quote hanging on a board in my house: "Never confuse the will of the majority with the will of God". I think I'll just hang it around my neck today. Keep reminding myself that I can't change people. Or families. Or events that have happened in the past. Or hurtful words that were said. A friend piped in with advice this morning. She said when there is family drama, you should pretend as though you're in a reality tv show. Probably the best advice I've heard all day. :) So badly wanting my children to grow with the knowledge that giving is better than receiving. And thankfulness comes from the heart....not circumstances. Off to catch up on laundry. Thankful I have 5 people who need clean clothes. :)

I found a treasure...

Feeling weary and discouraged this morning. It's no fun having little miracles who are sick. It's even less fun when you're the only adult in the house. But our cuddling was sweet last night....even though I did have to shower to rinse off the layer of snot she wiped on me. :) I found a treasure this morning. God knew just what I needed to set me back on track. To remember that these days are fleeting. Fast. And so I have traded a fun morning shopping with a friend, to instead drag all 3 to the doctors. And I will put on my happy face, embrace the day, and remember that these days are almost gone....

Just a Family

Who in the World am I????

Having a huge problem this week. I want to redecorate. I need to redecorate. Because when I'm busy and stressed and thinking too hard, that's the way I unwind. Of course it would make more sense to just clean up the toys, wash the dishes, and sit and relax. But no. That's not me. I'd much rather make more messes. I think it's subconsciously a need to unleash my creative side or something. So anyway, here's why this is so dramatic. I have no idea who I am. I think I've narrowed it down though. I need light and space. Those are two things that are very hard to get in my home. We have an interior unit townhouse. There are only windows on the front and back. But I really believe I can work with it. I know I can. I have to, because the hubby says we have to have $80,000 saved in the bank before he's putting the house back on the market. Only slightly joking. :) Here's my other problem: everything in my home is sucking light and space. Every piece of wood is stained very, very dark. Every piece of upholstery is very, very dark. My brand new floors are very very dark. My window mis-treatments (thanks in part to The Nester) are very very dark. What was I thinking? :( Now here is where my faithful readers come in. Yes, you. You know who you are. The always-quiet, never-comment, want-to-remain-invisible readers. Here's your chance to make yourself known. I am totally, completely in love with two styles. I've narrowed it down. At least for today. :) If I title them, I'm afraid you'll get confused and have a very different visual than what I have. I'd better just post some pictures. I don't need to hear whether or not you like them. Just whether or not you think they would work for me....my kids....my house....and okay, maybe my hubby too. So here goes. Option #1 consists of most of the photos on THIS blog. Whites, grays, Netherlands, burlap, slightly minimalistic, very simple. This would be so easy because I can repaint my cabinets, repaint the walls, repaint the furniture, and maybe just sell all of my upholstered pieces and buy white Ikea slipcovered couches. Sounds like an ordeal, but for some reason when I'm stressed or burdened I totally think I can handle it. :) Option #2 is much more THIS or THIS. Both have a semi-minimalist flair to them. I don't like to look at too many things at once. I want to make a statement. And keep in mind I have 3 littles, homeschool, cook, and really wish I lived on a farm. :) So.....what do you think? Traditional, calm, Swedish? Or young, eco-inspiring, bright, energetic? Planning on investing in stainless steel appliances before too long. I could never....I repeat NEVER go to a white palette in my home with my almond colored appliances. Eck! Better skidaddle. #3 is awake!

In case you wondered....

whether or not I practice what I preach, I now have evidence. :)

Top shelf : asparagus, frosting (which I may or may not have the reputation of eating by the spoonfuls), baby carrots, green and orange peppers, garlic bulbs, yeast, Mountain Dew (I don't drink coffee or coke. This is my caffeine jolt of choice!), blackberries and strawberries, and 1/2 empty bottle of wine (again....no comment please)

Middle shelf: cage free eggs, tortillas (flour and corn for our varying dietary needs), celery, milk, soy milk, homemade southern sweet tea (for the hubby. I can't even stand the smell of the stuff)

Bottom shelf:

5 large heads of romaine lettuce (used for juicing), homemade-from-scratch (no little powdery mix!) Beef Stew from Sunday dinner

Left drawer:

course bran (used for homemade granola for the Mr. and kids....my body at this point doesn't know how to absorb those nutrients), tomatoes, beets, cauliflower, and red onion

Right drawer:

Onions and lemons

This should feed us for an entire week. I've been asked to share what exactly we eat. Here are some of the ingredients we go through. Working on another post of recipes and more meal-by-meal information. Coming soon!

A Book Recommendation

The Mr. was traveling this week. He picked up one of those magazines on the plane and read the prologue for a new book. It captivated him and humbly got stuffed in his carry-on to bring home for the wife. :) If you know me at all, than you already know I'd much rather be stuck on the prairie with waist length hair and 12 children. The need for social and civilization would be non-existent because we would be growing everything on the farm that we'd need for our survival. This book has my whole dream penned down, cover to cover. Of course I've never actually read the book. Only the prologue. :) But I was able to find it on amazon today and I was given the go-ahead to place an order. So happy to have something to look forward to. I desperately need that at times like these when I feel like my life is one exhausting movie played over and over. Torn down by discouragement today but a glimmer of hope is starting to peak through. #1: the book is on its way. #2: my babies are napping. #3: there is a cold mountain dew in the fridge with my name on it. Later!

The Dirty Life

All I Want For Christmas

It's time for a light-hearted post! :) Perfect for a Saturday morning....my Christmas wish list. Just came across this site and fell. in. love. It's time we steer clear of the typical, mass-produced, furniture-chain-store-collection. Get creative, people! Take a look at these that The Painted Home highlighted. Then head over to his site and go ahead and purchase me a Christmas gift. Thanks in advance. ;)

Bottle It Up

This is what I do. I'm good at it. I keep shoving it and shoving it until I can't shove anymore. Then I explode. That's what happened last weekend. I've always been very honest with you. Strange thing is, I'm having a really hard time doing it now. I think the wounds are too deep, and have never been taken care of. I carried my babies and bought groceries at the same little store that my mama carried her babies and bought groceries in. I walked down the steps, through the hall, and opened the door to drop my little girl off at the nursery on Sunday morning. My mom made those same steps, week after week, with me. We took a little drive up a dirt road that lead to the first house I've ever lived in. I guess living a life that doesn't contain history is really pretty easy. The hard part comes when you are given the chance to travel back in time and relive old memories. I held it together in public, thank goodness. But when the sermon was over, and the congregation was asked to sing "It Is Well", I had to up and leave. I couldn't do it. I almost gagged on the words. It is not well with my soul. Maybe a new boyfriend, and then a fiance, and then building a new marriage, and then popping out 3 of my own babies was enough to keep me busy. I don't know. For whatever reason, I am wrestling with God right now. A dear friend has assured me that it's okay. I think it's just a phase. Something new I need to work through. My Heavenly Father brought to my memory the verse He gave me at the beginning of 2003's summer. Romans 5:3-4 says "And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope." I thought He had pointed that verse out to me before I met my first week's set of campers in case I had a home-sick little girl who would require an extra ounce of comfort. Little did I know what other circumstances would send me clinging to that passage as well. And here I am, 7 years later, still clinging. Angry and bitter, but still clinging. It's been a rough week. Lots of tears. Today He gave me another verse: Romans 12:12 "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer." Keep 'em coming, God.

Getting Away

My dad owned some land up north. It is pure heaven. :) We will be there for the weekend. I am attempting a no computer/no mountain dew/no nail polish/no razor weekend. I need to learn to find comfort in non-stimulants. My baby #2 and #3 have never been there. I wish they could understand the magnitude of what it means to me. Someday. There will be tears. There always are. Hoping that they refrain themselves to times when I'm under the covers, late at night. And really hoping it takes the "locals" more than 10 minutes to figure out I'm a flat-lander. :) Until I'm refreshed and recharged...

A Whole Food

Learning tons these days. If you have not watched Food Matters yet, shame on you. You can sign up on Netflix and watch it instantly on your computer. I think Food Inc has gotten a lot of recognition lately, but Food Matters is in a league all it's own. I'm starting my own health experiment. Many do not know that I am a licensed nutritionist and body-ecology expert. I'm looking for a panel of 45 volunteers. You have to be willing to follow a rigid procedure for 90 days. If you are not fully satisfied with your results after these 3 months, my health clinic will personally write you a check for $5,000 to cover the cost of your troubles. Do I see any hands being raised???

Okay, totally joking. :) I have absolutely NO credit to my name. Wishful thinking. {insert a wink and a sigh, here} Just seeing who was paying attention. Ha! I watched Food Matters today for the first time. Remarkable information. If you are, or are related to, or are married to a conventional practitioner, be forewarned. :) Did you know that two handfuls of cashews a day can be enough to cure depression? Did you know that the cure for cancer and almost ALL other diseases was found back in the '30's and '40's and yet legally your doctor can't tell you about it? Healthy people don't make them any money. Sad, but so true. Our economy depends on sick people. Did you know that chemotherapy is a carcinogen. Did you know that people being treated for cancer all across the country are given jello and white bread in hospitals (one of the many things that feed cancer)??? I don't want to keep quoting from the movie because I'm too afraid of messing up an important piece of information but please, please, please take the time to watch it.

Just an interesting tid bit to leave you with tonight. Are you familiar with Spirulina? They talk about it in the movie, and HERE is an article about it. Enjoy!

Flu Shots, anyone?

This just about blew my mind and once again confirmed that my children will NEVER be getting the flu shot. Just because your pediatrician is pushing it, DOES NOT make it safe. New studies (and statistics) have shown that 3% of people who DO NOT get the flu shot, will get the flu. But here's the surprising twist: 2% of people who DO get the flu shot, WILL GET THE FLU. Here's why it's not worth the risk: They have proven that people who receive the flu shot for multiple years in a row are at an increased risk to develop Alzheimer's disease. Interesting, eh?

It's His Birthday

7 years ago I became a camp counselor. I didn't go there with any high hopes but the morning that I loaded my '95 Maxima and left home my mom said "I'm praying you find your husband this summer". When the Bible says that "the prayers of a righteous man availeth much" it should've included righteous moms too, because that's exactly what happened. I met a handful of guys every day and with each new face also came the thought: "is he the one?" We were getting ready for our first week of campers when I was given a project of preparing signs. I think that's the first that I remember him. He was "the artist", so obviously he was in charge of the art work. :) He was funny and had the cutest freckles. I never sensed a morsel of ego in his personality and that attracted me. I was headed to Walmart with a group of girls and he asked that we pick him up something. Weird, I thought, but also really excited because I knew that just gave me another excuse to talk to him again. We slowly started talking more. At the beginning of the summer my parents said that any out-of-town counselors were more than welcome to crash at our place for the weekend or just for a home cooked meal. I decided it would be fun to invite some people over for lunch on Sunday. I asked him first, because that was truthfully my only motive for inviting anyone over. If he couldn't make it, then why bother inviting anyone else??? :) He seemed excited, so I invited 7 more people. Unbeknownst to me, word got out fast. That Sunday my parents ended up feeding 24 camp staff members. :) I remember them frantically defrosting extra meat from the basement freezer. My mom and sister knew that I was sort'f interested in someone and I was sure to point and mouth the words "that's him!!!" when he walked in the door. Our friendship progressed from there. I still have piles and piles of hand written notes. He is the one who introduced me to Oswald Chambers and the NASB Bible. It was remarkable to me that there could be one person who could talk passionately about God, soccer, art, and me, all at the same time! The 4th of July was drawing near and he was throwing hints around about how much he'd love to drive my car. I came up with the brilliant idea that he could drive some of us to see fireworks. That was the night I fell. Hard. He was just so stinkin' cute. And tan. And afterwards in an effort to not lose each other in the hoards of people he grabbed my hand. Be still my soul! It was LATE when we got back to camp. I was exhausted and still had to head home to repack my bags for a new week of campers. I called home and said "Hey dad. Remember when you said friends were welcome to crash with us for the weekend? Well....do you mind if I bring a friend home?" He said "sure Meg. What's her name?" "Um. Well. Hmm. Dad? Remember that guy....???" :) Seth was able to drive me and my exhausted self home. He told me to wake him up in the morning before we needed to head back to camp. WHAT!? I'd never woken a guy up in my life. He had no idea what he was asking of me. I debated asking him whether or not he slept in anything but his underwear but decided that it probably wasn't an appropriate question to ask "just a friend". I think that's when our friendship became more obvious to others. He started spending every weekend at our house and my dad quickly came to the conclusion that he talked too much and was too confidant. :) The pistol that met him at the door didn't even scare him. We spent a short weekend in NYC. That's a whole other post. Trust me. But it did end up with our first kiss while being locked in a hotel lobby before my parents had to drive up to rescue us because we had lost the car keys. See what I mean? A.Whole.Other.Post. When my dad found out he didn't hunt or fish and was a student at Bob Jones he literally asked Seth if he was gay. What an afternoon that was! One Sunday afternoon I had told Seth I needed some family time, so he stayed back at camp. My dad met me in our home office to ask where I thought our relationship was going. With tears streaming down my face I told him that this was the one. He wasn't so sure. He said "but Meg, you've said that before". "No dad. This is WAY different." I knew I had his blessing. I could just feel it. Little did I know that this was the last conversation I would ever have with him on this earth. Early Monday morning he came in to my bedroom to give me a hug before leaving for work. That was our last hug. I had a good week with my campers before hearing the news that he had been killed in a plane crash early Friday morning. Seth came in right after I had been told. He was planning on asking for my dad's approval the very next day. I really don't know how I survived that time without Seth. He continued to stay the weekends with us, even though I never returned to camp as a counselor. We would stay up until 4am. I tried to explain to him how my heart was literally hurting. I just remember night after night of sobbing in his arms. We officially became a couple on August 9th. After 8 months of a long distance relationship, he popped the question and I said yes! We were married 8 months later during a candlelit ceremony in December. Boy was it hard marrying someone who I had only dated long distance! There was so much to work through. So much adjusting. I became pregnant 8 months later, and then again 16 months after that, and then again 15 months after that. At least that part of our relationship was going well. :) Hehehe. Today is his birthday. He's 28. To be honest, I never imagined that married life would be this hard. I quickly found out how selfish I am. I also quickly found out that my assumption of marrying a perfect person was not a reality. :) I am thankful that my mom was praying. I'm thankful he still has his cute freckles. He is humble with his accomplishments, and honest about his failures. He rubs my feet almost every night and is the first one out of bed if one of the children has a bad dream. He never smells bad. Ever. EVER. He's a lot smarter than I am. (but I have much more common sense. hehe...) He is a family man through and through and will allow work to suffer if he knows we need him more. He wants me to stay home with our children, and allows me to financially. He never allows me to hang up the phone if we're having a fight and always reminds me that we never know when our last goodbye will be. It scares me to death when he gets on a plane. Or drives to work. Or walks to the mailbox. :) I can't imagine losing him. And even though we have our moments and our doubts, I would fight like a mama grizzly bear to save our marriage. I have. And I will continue to. I don't know why God blessed me with this man. I certainly don't deserve him, but am so incredibly thankful that he was His plan for me. Happy birthday, babe!

Home improvements...

We've been busy! My DH made the decision to pull the house off the market. Sniff sniff. I know it's for the best....I really do.....but a part of me is still mourning the fact that I lost "my farm". Remember? The one that we had a verbal agreement on, and were on our way to the lawyer's office when the seller decided to tack on $40K??? Yeah. That would be the one. I thought I'd be sipping hot apple cider on the front porch and gathering my harvest from this summer's garden. But no. God had other plans. SO.... we've decided to do a few little home improvement projects while we're here. Priority #1 has been a new faucet. Ours was the $19.99 builder's grade kind. We took a little family trip (OH how I love bosses who say "you've been traveling a lot....family is more important...why don't you spend a day at home???") to Ikea and scored big time. Our old spice rack we've been using for the past (almost) 6 years was wonderful but took up precious counter space:

Here's our new spice rack/buckets to hold the large amounts of tea I'm supposed to be drinking right now. We're heading back to Ikea to pick up another black bar and 4 more buckets which will probably just hold more tea.....or chocolate chips.....no, probably tea. :) Here's the new faucet, too! I LOVE it. Thankful for a hubby who knows how to do all this stuff!
This was my old faucet. B.O.R.I.N.G!
My boys are really into "being boys" right now. This morning I overheard a conversation where one of them said "let's fight! okay, just let me put on my helmet!"
And then there's this door. It's ancient old and covered in chippy paint. The only problem is that the chippy paint is the color of band-aids. :( So it has to go. I thought I could sand it down but ended up resorting to chipping and scraping it away. This is definitely a bigger project than I had anticipated, but it's getting there. Wait til you see where this baby is going when she's gorgeous. :)

Remarkable website.....and story-telling....

It seems I get the most responses from health related posts. :) This is fascinating to me. Thanks to all who sent messages via FB over the weekend. I am striking cords and rekindling friendships with so many, purely on the basis that we all have secret symptoms or concerns that we're not talking about in public. Or maybe you're not willing to bridge the gap between a minor inconvenience and a truly painful disease because you know all too well that your mainstream practitioner will prescribe yet another pill. :) For whatever reason, thanks for opening up and sharing! I will continue to do the same.
I found a remarkable website this weekend. READ THIS, please. And if you're a Hulu fan, take a look at this video. God has designed our bodies to heal themselves. Plain and simple. But there's no way our bodies can heal if we're bombarding them with toxins, lack of sleep, and a suppressed immune system. My Candida has nothing to do with my "southern hemisphere". :) Sorry for the confusion. I should have explained more but I whole-heartedly believed no one would be able to relate anyway, so why share more information? Wrong! Turns out SO MANY of you are dealing with the same things. So, welcome, new Candida friends! :) I have had health problems since the day my daughter was born. She will turn 2 in December. She was my third c-section, and I lost an insane amount of blood during recovery in the hospital. Thankfully they were able to pump me full of enough meds to make the blood transfusion unnecessary. I need to be really careful about how much personal information I share because I really have no idea who's reading this. If I knew you were all girls, I'd spill my guts. But because there is no way of knowing for sure, I would rather ere on the side of "private/conservative" than ere on the side of "your hubby doesn't need to be knowing this about me". Understood? K. :) Again, if you have more questions, please just FB me! I am an open book. Just not one I want every other man reading. :) So here's my story:
I was losing the aforementioned "insane amount of blood" during recovery, but sadly it didn't end there. After months of this new "normal", I had a myriad of blood tests, exams, and ultrasounds to check for anything serious. My OB said it was the result of having 3 c-sections in only 2 1/2 years. So what? We love having babies. Sue me. :P My blood tests were showing a significant amount of vitamin deficiencies. For some reason, I wasn't absorbing the nutrients I was eating. That was IF I was eating any nutrients at all. After baby #3 came along, I just felt like I didn't have time to care anymore. Just last week I had a bag of swedish fish and 5 pieces of pepperoni for lunch. No lie. Tack onto that the marathon of "taxing mommy body syndrone". I don't expect you to know what that is. I just made it up. :) It's my definition of being pregnant and/or nursing every. stinkin'. day. of my life. for ALMOST 4 straight years. No breaks. Not even a single day where I wasn't doing one or the other. Talk about a burnt out body. But I don't even want to hear your comments about that one. I loved every minute, and miss it terribly. :) ANYWAY, I decided to go gluten free because I have such a high family history of celiacs, and I already knew through blood results that I carried the gene. Going gluten free changed my life. I have never had more energy. Seriously. I remember being 12 years old on any given holiday and the females in my family would go hit the sale racks after our large family dinners. I have very vivid memories of being so completely wiped out that I would have rather chosen to sit on the couch next to my daddy and fall asleep to the football game. That's not normal! Unless you had a dad like mine who would slid hand-written notes under your door in the morning that said how much he loved you. Then maybe that would be normal. :) I digress... Now let's get to the present day at hand. My mom heard of a study that showed that a lot of people who are deficient in magnesium can go back to eating gluten IF they bring their magnesium levels up. Hm. Sounded like a winning plan to me, so off I tread to my holistic doctor to explain my recent findings. She agreed that it could definitely help, but after listening to my crazy symptoms she knew right away what my problem was. Candida. She said going gluten free was a fantastic first step, but now I need to take the next one. She'd like me to have a special 184-panel blood test done to check for other food sensitivities, but insurance doesn't cover that so it will need to wait a little while longer. Thankfully no meds are needed to treat my case of Candida, just a lot of will power. No flour, no sugar, no yeast, no vinegar, no fruit, no juice, no soda, no ice cold Java Chip after a mid-morning run to Target. :( Sniff sniff. This is like torture for me! I R.E.L.Y. on sugar. And GF snacks. And ice cream. And mountain dew. And starbucks. It's what I look forward to. It's my "reward" for finishing the laundry, or homeschooling, or sorting through bins of clothes, or getting out of bed. :) I said "Oh no! Does this mean I can't have Mountain Dew in the middle of the day for my daily dose of caffeine to get me through the evening!?!?!" Her response: "Yeah, you can no longer have soda, but (insert positive, excited voice here) you CAN have a cup of green tea!!" Oh jeez. Thanks a bunch. My doctor (who is a holistic practitioner) had a baby a couple months ago and put herself on the Mucho Insano diet. I decided to take a good, hard look at my doctor. Beautiful, healthy, long hair. Perfect skin. All of 95 pounds. Hm. Remind me to NEVER schedule Seth an appointment to see her.... She said she thought her "baby belly" would be there to stay after she had child #2, but it completely left after 3 months on the diet. Another plus: everything you're allowed to eat with this plan is everything that fights cancer. It completely eliminates cancer's reason to live: yeast, flour, sugar. SO....I've spent the weekend researching what to eat, what not to eat, and how to survive the withdrawl period. Not fun. I'm almost to the point of wrapping my mind around it enough to start. Almost. :)

Keeping you posted,
Me

Today...

She was desperate to use the dust-buster, but the batteries were dead. She resorted to picking up pieces of food and shoving them in the vaccuum by herself. :)

I dreamt I was in a cute vacation home. With a pool. And a nanny. Then I woke up. :)

It's 10:33am, and I'm still in my pj's.

I've been really convicted of discontentment lately. Think a tv-less, blog-less week would help to cure the problem.

I've been diagnosed with Candida. Not the gross kind where there is an excessive amount of moisture coming from the southern hemisphere, but rather the very inconvenient kind where the only cure is to cut all and every form of sugar out of one's diet for a whole month. :(

I cried last night. A lot. I am tired, missing my husband, and having a hard time picking a new paint color for our home. :)

I fed my daughter a bowl of instant oatmeal at 8:00pm in hopes that she would sleep through the night. It worked!

We have 5 computers right now.

I would choose blogs and books over TV and movies.

My 4 year old asked me if my baby was growing, because my belly was looking bigger. Hm.

Challenged myself to keep polish off my toes for a week. Still sticking to it!

Can handle boogers any day of the week, but simply cannot tolerate ear wax.

We are taking our house off of the market on September 30th. I have very mixed emotions.

I am headed to my mom's house today to rid her driveway of acorns so that I can use them here at my house to decorate with :)

I used my palm sander for the first time yesterday. No one warned me about the ramifications of being in that position, and using that mount of pressure, for that length of time. I could barely get out of bed today. I. Am. Sore.

Thankful it's Friday. Wishing I had exciting plans for the weekend, but still thankful it's Friday.

Nutrient Destroyers

I'm down another health-related road right now. I've been GF (gluten-free) for months, and many of my previous "weird" symptoms dissipated. Others still remain, though, and I was visiting my holistic doctor this morning discussing more options. I can give you more details later. I'm going to be really honest about this stuff because #1: I'm not a private person. :) And #2: for the slight possibility it will give one of you a light bulb moment to a life time of change. I am SO thankful for my doctor. She has never once sent me away with a medication. She always fires at the root of the problem, instead of masking the symptom. So today when I walked in and said "yada yada yada yada", she told me I needed a lifestyle change. My former "mainstream" practitioner would've prescribed a pill. I'm still doing my research, so I don't want to share a whole lot just yet. But I did come across this and thought it was interesting enough to share it with you. Everything we do, eat, and think has the potential to destroy nutrients in our bodies. Remember people, we are either fighting cancer, or feeding it.

Listed here are nutrient destroyers:

• Aspirin--destroys vitamin A, calcium, potassium, B complex and C.
• Caffeine--destroys vitamin B1, inositol and biotin, potassium and zinc and prevents calcium and iron assimilation.
• Chlorine in water--destroys vitamin E.
• Chocolate--contains caffeine and it is very irritating to the kidneys. High in fat, which can cause indigestion.
• Fluoride--destroys vitamin C
• Sleeping Pills--destroy folic acid and vitamin D.
• Menstruation--requires extra iron, vitamin B12, calcium and magnesium.
• Nitrates/Nitrites--Destroys vitamins A, C and E
• Stress--Physical, emotional and mental all vitamins are depleted.
• Sugar and white flour--destroys B vitamins.

This small article was found HERE

My very real situation now involves whether to down my daily, scheduled dose of Mountain Dew while my babies sleep, or grab the Red Raspberry tea bag I have in the cupboard. Maybe one more day of Mountain Dew....at least until I've finished my research. :)

Today's Purchases

How often are you supposed to replenish things? I've often wondered that. I remember visiting at other family's homes growing up and seeing the mom use pea green plastic spatulas. Pea green? Isn't that a 70's color? So she has used the same spatula for 20 years? Is that normal? I love new, fresh items. At the same time, I want enough "original" stuff around to build memories upon. I feel like I've come to a bit of a cross-roads in my decorating style. My house screams traditional. Heavy. Old. Then I walk through Ikea and fall. Head over heals. There is no possible way to empty my entire house and start over. But I still thirst for modern inspiration in my own little world that is decorated until I find out what "my" style is. :) Enough with the chit chat. My mom came over to watch the kids for a few hours so I could go out. I headed straight to Ikea for 30 minutes of shopping bliss!

I bought this 3-piece set for $4.99. The large basket holds my necklaces, the middle one holds my bracelets, and the small one holds SOME of my earrings. :)
I have quite an obsession with dishes. We were given a beautiful Mikasa set as a wedding gift from my grandparents. These will be the pieces I hand down to my daughter some day. In the mean time, a girl likes to have a change of scenery while she's chowing down on the same 5 recipes, week after week. Have I mentioned I'm not all that in love with cooking? :) ANYWAY, I've had the same glass salad plates for almost 6 years now. They are the same ones my mom uses. Come to think of it, my grandmother also owns some that look fiercely familiar. I never even had to take a second to think about it when I saw some new ones today for $.99 each! I couldn't find a picture online, so you'll have to use your imagination. They are very minimalist and sleek. Nothing like what I used to have. I LOVE them!
We spent the better part of last week in a hotel in Greenville, South Carolina. It.was.heavenly. King size bed, cable tv, and the freedom to leave my wet towels on the bathroom floor for some other woman to clean up. :) Life was so simple and enjoyable. There weren't as many choices to make. The blinds were some kind of 12-way ply or something that enabled the kids to think that it was as dark as midnight at 2 in the afternoon. Like I said. Heavenly. :) I've spent quite a bit of time trying to determine why, in fact, a hotel-stay can be so enjoyable. Lots of conclusions later, I want to share one of them with you. Newer, nicer hotels don't have throw pillows. This may not seem like much, but think about it. I currently have 2 "regular" pillows on my bed and 6, yes, 6 throw pillows. I have to make sure they get put back in the correct order, on the right side, and aligned perfectly every single day. At the hotel we had 6 "regular", white-pillowcased pillows. Oh the simplicity! And comfort! They were all so efficient. And versatile. And plush! So I was on a mission for more "regular" pillows at Ikea! I bought two today. I think they were $5 or $6 each. I chose the cheapest that they had. I wasn't really impressed with their white pillowcases, so I have high hopes of hitting Target sometime this week.
I think that was about it for my purchases. Unless of course you wanted me to include the bag of swedish fish I devoured on the way home. Thankfully I "saved" 3 for my kids to enjoy when I walked in the door. So there you have it! My highly enjoyable Ikea trip was a success! And fairly inexpensive! The hubby will be proud. :)

A Challenge to Myself

It has been awhile. :) Our summer ended, my "prep for fall by emptying and reorganizing every closet and cupboard in the whole house" began, and we started the adventure of homeschooling. Therefore, no blogging. But this week holds the promise of a few more cleansing breaths, so I've made a challenge for myself: blog. every single day. I always convince myself that whatever I'm going through, or whatever is on my mind could in no way be entertaining enough to put here. But that has never really been the purpose of my writing anyway. This is for me. For me to remember who I was, and what happened, and what it felt like. Not for you to be entertained. Or impressed. :) Because I struggle too much with that in "real life". Worrying about what you think, that is. And I long to be more honest. It's so much easier to let everyone believe that I'm loving life, or my house, or my husband, or my kids, or my hips. :) So, here's confession #1: I don't really trust God. I realized it tonight, and know that by stating that fact I've now taken the risk of getting 4 extremely long comments on how to change. So be it. Say what you want. The truth is, I feel as though I've allowed myself to believe that God, my God, is only associated with fear and tragedy. The "only-call-on-Him-when-in-terrible-distress" God. I haven't allowed myself to fall in love with the God Who loves me. I was writing in my prayer journal when the boys walked into our room tonight. My oldest asked what I was doing. I told him I was writing a letter to God. He then asked a question that just about stopped me in my tracks. "Mom, are you telling the truth?" Yikes! We've been talking a lot about the difference between telling the truth, and telling stories lately here at home. That's exactly what he wanted to know. If I was telling God the truth. How honest are we with God? I know this seems like a super-spiritual question to hear from the girl who only writes about laundry detergent and bath time, but I'm curious. After I was done praying, I opened my Bible to this:

Psalm 20
May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May He send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. May He remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests. Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He answers him from His holy heaven with the saving power of His right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. O Lord, save the king! Answer us when we call!

When your husband travels...

I am SO not used to this....him being gone. For the first few months I just sulked. I'll be honest. I thought to myself "How can one be so incredibly thankful for this job, and so upset about it all at the same time!?" I even threatened to fill out an application for him at Lowes'. :) But truth be told, he loves his job. I love his job. I just haven't made real good friends with this thing called "traveling". As a child I had a dad who was home. A LOT. He could come home for lunch, or dinner, or to go golfing, or to surprise my mom with roses. His office was only 5 minutes away. He took a lot of trips, but most of them were just for fun. He never really had to be away that much for work. That's what I'm used to. If you had told me 10 years ago that at this point in my life I'd be married, have had 3 c-sections, living in a townhouse with practically no yard, and have a husband who has to travel for work I do believe you would've seen my chin hit the floor. Never would've guessed. :) But God has a serious sense of humor, and apparently this is what He has chosen for us at this stage of the game. So before he left for this most recent trip, I spent an hour in bed just crying. I was nervous and upset and for the first time I understood why. I associate a dad who travels with one who never comes home. My dad boarded that plane on August 8th, 2003 for a golfing trip. He never returned. I told Seth that I fully expect that sooner or later, eventually, there will be a trip in which he never returns. It's the only thing I know. Another reason why I always dreaded his trips was because I felt like life had to be put on hold. I couldn't have fun, or get a break, or exercise, or see friends, or watch a movie. I would just timidly go throughout my day, awaiting the next disaster....a water pipe bursts, I get the stomach flu, a kid breaks their leg, I get raped in my bed with a gun held to my head. :) You know, just the normal stuff a mom worries about! So here was our conclusion: #1, trust the Lord. Duh. What did you expect? Sip on mimosa's every night? Hehe... #2, find fun things to do while he's gone. I hated his trips because it meant I had to go a whole week without exercising. He always watched the kids so I could go to the gym, or go to the barn, or go for a walk. We solved this solution by purchasing a treadmill. I've gotta say, it's been wonderful! We've also been able to implement more ideas, such as....get out of the house from 5-7 every evening. These are the worse hours every day, ESPECIALLY when he's not here. So now during naptime I pack snacks and drinks and activities. They all wake up around 4, they get a drink, get dressed, and then we are gone! The mall....the library.....the park.....church.....Target....you name it, we go there. It makes those evening hours go by SO much faster. By the time we get home they are all ready for baths, a HUGE snack (since they didn't have much of a dinner), watch a movie, read a book, and then to bed they go! I'm also not left with a kitchen full of dirty dishes because I never had to actually "make dinner". It's truly a win-win. :) We also don't talk about daddy being away. They know he's working. They know he's not coming home for dinner. But we don't just sit around and say "well, today daddy is in Vermont and we won't see him for another 4 days...." :) My husband cannot give 100% of himself at work if he knows we are all at home bawling our eyes out and counting the minutes down, OR if I'm calling every 20 minutes just to check in. :) So we've made changes. So far, so good. Who knows what the future holds. He may not be traveling for the rest of his life. But what if this is what God wants him to do until he's 60? Do I want to look back and say that for 15 weeks out of every year we sat around on our heinies and watched the world pass us by until he walked in the door again? Not a chance! I still get scared...and bored......and lonely. I have little things that I do that are rediculous. Like don't do laundry in the evening because I don't want to have to walk by myself to the basement to put it in the dryer. I also keep the gun within reaching distance. :) Heaven forbid if someone ever plays a trick on me. Shoot first, ask questions later is my moto. :) ANYWAY, these things have helped me. Still learning....but doing better. :)

A quick hello!

This has been our 3rd week of school, and I've had to do a lot of tweaking! :) The school room has been completely redone, once again. Pictures coming soon! At first my biggest goal with the school room was to make it pretty. Then we started school. :) I quickly realized "pretty" was not as important as "practical". We have incorporated a new daily schedule into our lives by using THIS book. I've realized that my 3 year old is just as bright, and has an even bigger interest in doing "school" than my 4 year old. I've also had to come to grips with the fact that I'm not supposed to replicate a "real school" with our home school. I've never wanted a starting point and an ending point to our school day. Charlotte Mason said "Education is an atmosphere". I have that written on a large chalkboard in my kitchen. I have decided to use it as a little bit of a moto around here, because asking 3 children, 4 and under to stay seated, or even to stay in one room until our "school day" was done was just not fair. Our curriculum is accomplished in the school room. Music class is done in the foyer. Our 2 hours of reading (that's a whole other blog post...) is done on the couch in the family room, and their "free time" is done in their rooms. We have taken the tv to our room. Keeping the tv in the family room became the most convenient thing to let bored or cranky kids do! We didn't want to get rid of it altogether, because there are times when I "need" them to sit still for 20 minutes. :) Now the only thing in our family room is books, and it is heavenly. And we have purchased a treadmill! Oh my goodness, I can't even tell you how excited I was about this, and how much I've used it already! So many new things, for so many new reasons. Can't wait to share more, but as of right now I have 2 hours until someone is coming to look at the house and I am still wearing my daisy dukes in a very messy kitchen. :) Until later....

Day 2 of Paisley's Room Transformation

Day 2 of the process took a lot of teamwork. Seth used a level, tape measure, and a TON of blue painters tape to mark off horizontal stripes with a width of 12". The room is 8' high, so it just made sense to make the stripes 12" for convenience sake. I followed behind him with Benjamin Moore Historical Color #10....Stuart Gold. My goal was to re-do her entire room using as little $$$ as possible, so I only bought 1 quart of paint and challenged myself to NOT run out. :) For this reason, I used a 4" sponge roller to do the painting. Sponge rollers don't absorb as much as other rollers do, and when you start running out of paint all you have to do is push a little harder and more paint comes out. I know I sound like a tight-wad-red-neck, but it really does work. :) I had Lowe's color match the Benjamin Moore color, because I was already at Lowes, yet again! At this point I am absolutely hating the project. I had yet to find fabric for window treatments, so I had no idea what the end result would be. Not to mention the fact that the Stuart Gold against Restoration Hardware Latte just looked down right ugly. :) The bright blue painters tape only added to my decorating woes. I was discouraged. I was tired. And I was sweaty. :)

Day 1 of Paisley's Room Transformation

Alright. This post is a week late. I've been putting it off because I still don't have her curtains hung. But enough is enough. I can at least show you what we've done so far. :)

My really good "before" pictures are on my hubby's computer, so this will have to suffice. Her nursery furniture was white. Her walls were Latte (or maybe Cappuccino???) by Restoration Hardware. Her fabric was a pink paisley print my mom scored at JoAnn's, I believe. And this, my friends, is my "baby" girl. Sniff....sniff...

Our air conditioner decided to break the same week I chose to do the renovation. Ugh. On the bright side, my dear sweet brother-in-law brought over a window unit to keep us cool at night. We moved the kids into our room for the week and it allowed us to work on her room after they were in bed. First things first: we emptied the room of everything. I had this dresser in my own nursery as a baby during the good old days of Potter County mountain living. :) It was looking a bit dated, although I don't think anyone is interested in knowing just exactly how dated. Seth takes it upon himself to remind me almost every.single.day. what new number I'll be approaching in December. :( Really don't like the fact that with every passing year, I'm rapidly approaching 30. ANYWAY.... I fell in love with Benjamin Moore's Historical Color 149, Buxton Blue, and had Lowe's just match it up. It totally needs a second coat and then a clear coat of SOMETHING to make it last, but I was lazy and in a hurry. :)
Ah yes, this would be him, cheerfully working away. Keep in mind this was only night #1. Hehe...
Okay. Her room is tiny, so I ended up removing the drawers of the dresser so that we could easily fit our tools on the "shelves". Not that you really needed to know that, but, in case you ever decide to paint a very small room, you can do it too! :)
That's all that got accomplished on Day 1! :) We emptied the room, I painted the dresser, and we collapsed in sweaty heaps on the bed in our ice cold, air conditioned room. :)

Looking Back

Three years ago today my second child was born. It took us months to find a boy name that we liked. We chose Logan. That is until I had an ultrasound. The very second we saw his little body wriggling around we both KNEW he was not a Logan. Logan brought visions of tweed jackets and comb overs and Harvard and polished shoes and brains. What we saw on the ultrasound screen was rock climbing and the color orange. I can't explain it. I know it sounds weird. But it's the truth! So we settled on Caden. We wanted all of our children's middle names to be after family members, so we chose John for his because it's the name of my FIL. My pregnancy was perfect. I had fully intended to do a VBAC, but at around 26 weeks my hubby came home one day with this: "I don't know why, but all of a sudden I'm not really comfortable with you doing a VBAC." And so I switched doctors and had my second C-section scheduled. My mom was having health problems at the time, so we flew my MIL up from South Carolina to stay at the house with Silas during our stay at the hospital, which was an hour away. I was prepped, poked, stuck and tied to the bed in the OR. I.was.nervous. My first baby had been a section, but by the time he was born I had already been laboring for 24 hours so I was willing to do anything just to get him out. This was different. I was only 38 weeks along. I knew what to expect. And I was scared. They allowed Seth to come into the OR a few minutes before they pulled him from my womb. When I got my first glance of him, I burst into tears and said "I LOVE having babies!!!" :) And then I said "oh my word he looks just like your grandfather!" Haha! He was my hardest baby. He wasn't necessarily bad, but it was the worst year for our marriage, which made bringing a new baby into the mix very hard. Seth had started his own graphic design business in the basement. He would work all day at his normal job, walk in the door for dinner, then walk straight to the basement to work until 2am. I had horrible depression. Silas was only 16 months old at the time, and not even walking yet, so in a lot of ways I was a single mother to two babies. We've grown a lot since then, and learned even more, but those days were hard. Recovering from a c-section with another baby climbing up your leg was insane. I used to call my mom to ask if she could just come over to help me lift Silas in his crib for naptime because I wasn't supposed to be lifting anything. When Caden was about 5 months old he developed a horrible yellow scab on his head. We took him to our pediatrician who then prescribed a steroid cream without even trying to figure out what had caused it in the first place. That's when we started visiting a holistic doctor. A few months later he would be up night after night, just throwing up for no apparent reason. We were finally advised to take him to an allergist who then diagnosed him with milk/egg allergies. He also happens to have the Celiac gene. Poor kid! :) The yellow scab turned out to be an allergy to wool, which WE figured out on our own after realizing he was wearing the same wool hat all winter long. Thank goodness we never had that steroid cream prescription filled! He's also allergic to kiwi's. He's been egg/milk/kiwi/wool free for almost two years and still doing great. So far Celiac has not manifested itself, for which we are very thankful. At his "sickest" point, his weight dropped so low he was only in the 8% percentile for his age. I learned a lot about diet and nutrition, and now he's thriving again! Caden has been an enormous blessing to our family. He is the brainiest kid we have. Maybe we should've named him Logan, after all! He answers Silas' school questions before Silas can even answer! He loves books, puzzles, the piano, and motorcycles, but his biggest obsession has always been animals. We were really hoping to get him a puppy for his birthday, but we've decided to wait to see if we move. He was my hardest baby, but he has been my easiest toddler. Never complains for naps or bedtime. Never has bad dreams. Never complains about food. Well, maybe never is too strong of a word. He's just such a good kid! When you have your first child you think that once you have him figured out, you'll have all of your children figured out. Caden opened our eyes to the fact that this is very false. :) I praise God for bringing him into our family, and allowing me to be his mommy. In the morning he tells me I'm "so skinny", and if I braid my hair he tells me I look like a "barbie princess". :) I can't believe he's 3! We love you, Cade! Happy birthday bud!

Something to wet your whistle

I'd like to say that Pais' room is almost done. And I guess it is in some ways. But let me just tell you how many hurdles I've had to jump through this week. :( I have completely repainted ALL of her bedroom furniture. Twice. I have also experienced the thought "oh my word. I hate it." at least 5 times every single day. I have spent every single nap time in that room, taping and painting and taping and painting, only to start working again as soon as the kids were in bed again for the night. Last night I was up until 1am working on the room, and then comforting a sick child until 3am. I.am.tired. I can get over the exhaustion. I mean, come on, my mother instilled in me a love for caffeine! But what I'm discouraged about is the end result (not to mention the fact that I have 5 loads of clean, folded laundry still sitting in the basement and the house is filthy). Word to the wise: pick out your fabric before you pick out paint colors. Duh! The paint itself needs one more coat, and then it's time to assemble the furniture, go buy a twin mattress, and start to figure out accessories, bedding, and window treatments. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to show you by tomorrow! Anyway, here were my inspiration pictures...

The Inspired Room

The Lettered Cottage

Anthropologie

What was that, Lord?

This weekend has been enlightening, in all areas. FYI: this won't be a very entertaining post. :) We have just begun our 2nd week of school. I can't believe that I can actually say those words. I have waited my whole life to do nothing more than be a wife to a wonderful man, a mother to beautiful children, and to spend my days at home educating them. I am living my dream! Our first week of school was full of short little "motivating" talks. :) These included things such as "slouching on the couch and mumbling does not count as obedience when I ask you to say the Pledge of Allegiance" and "You may do legos, but only AFTER your school is done". For this year our schooling is only focused on Silas, who is 4. If Caden wants to chim in and answer a question, or sit and listen as well, then he is MORE than welcome, but we have chosen to not push "book work" with him. I also felt that Silas would grasp a lot more if the two of us were working one-on-one, rather than slowing things down so that the other children could be involved. I pull out special toys, or projects for the younger two to work on while we are doing school. So far so good, except for one thing. I HATE my school room! :) The fact that it's in the basement is so hard. Growing up, we did most of our school work at the kitchen table. Mom could start dinner, or clean up lunch, or make us deliciously homemade chocolate chip cookies while teaching us at the same time. Haha! How convenient is that!? Having to carry children down the steps, take the phone down, extra toys, etc is such a pain. The other reason I hate my school room right now is because it is still full of furniture that I am refinishing. I do realize, however, that it would be SO nice to have all of the books and worksheets down there instead of doing the daily "clearing off the table" ritual. Oh well. We'll get there. Painting the laundry closet over the weekend really put me in the mood to paint some more! Today I am working on Paisley's room. She has had the same furniture, paint color, and curtains for 20 months! I'm getting tired of it. :) I decided to challenge myself and have decided to NOT use pink. I want it to be very feminine, but a little less "baby girl nursery" than it currently is. So I've been perusing the internet for inspiration. I picked out my colors, got them approved from the Mr., made my trip to Lowe's this morning and have spent this afternoon painting. We're having a house full of people over on Saturday and my goal is to have it done by then. Can't even tell you how excited I am about it! :) Can I also just vent for a second??? Hmm....do you ever just wish that people who weren't in your position, or weren't called to the things that you were called to, would stop sharing their opinion about what you're doing? Seth had shared some things about the direction we feel God is leading us with some "older" people the other day and was completely shocked by their responses. Negative, frustrating, God-less opinions. It doesn't deter us from heading in the original direction, but does sadden us that there are people out there with that mind set. And oh.my.word. the amount of people who think that I am responsible for making my husband "liberal" (not following the things that Bob Jones stands for). AGH! If only they knew that it was me begging him to wear a tie on Sunday morning, or that it was me asking if we could attend a church that only sang hymns, or that it was me who kept asking "are you sure we're allowed to..." I am stuck in legalism to the enth degree, folks! :) I just wish others would realize that. Wishful thinking, I guess. Anyway, back to the title of this post. God has been opening our eyes to others needs. Whether they be relational, or physical, or financial. We just have so much... He was slamming doors in the basement on Saturday and when I asked what was wrong his response was "I'm just so sick of this house, and this mess. We need more room, and we need more land, and we need our house to sell, and we need..." I had the fleeting thought of "I'm so glad you're here today, and have to live the entire day in this house, with this many children so you know why I am DYING to move" before God changed BOTH of our hearts on Sunday. We....have.....so.....much. The real problem is that we have too much. We have too many toys to trip over, too many clothes to wash, too many dishes to pile on the counter, too many rubbermaid containers full of decorative accessories that I don't know what to do with! :) It's insane. We all have closets....the basement alone has 5 of them. They are literally packed full. As of Friday you couldn't even put both feet on the ground in the garage. And yet I'd be willing to bet that there is someone in my church, or down the street, or a friend of yours that would give anything to have the extra clothes that my boys can no longer wear that I am sick to death of sorting through and trying to find a place for. I feel like I'm rambling on and on, but the point is we've been thinking a lot. If living in this house, or driving an older car means we can be more of a blessing to others, than why in the world would we do anything different? We'd do it differently if we were focused on ourselves, that's for sure. I love nice things. You have no idea how much I adore my Coach, or my Louis, or my Volvo. But if I love them too much, then I can't love you as much. I don't know....just my thoughts, I guess. Sorry to bore you. :( I guess I just wanted all of this written down so that someday I can look back and remember. I promise the next post will be more entertaining. In the meantime....our air conditioner broke yesterday and we've been relying on fans. :) Seth is so excited to see what the electric bill will be like this month, while I'm watching the thermostat in the kitchen hit 90 degrees. I have a whole new respect for the people who go without A/C every day! :)

It's Done!

My laundry closet is done! I think I'm thankful, for the first time ever, that there are dirty clothes upstairs because that means I have to do laundry today! :)

This morning we emptied the shelves, took down the shelves, filled in the holes, sanded down the holes, and moved the appliances out of the way. Total $ spent: free! :)

I had leftover paint from when we painted our kitchen cabinets, so I just decided to use that. Total $ spent: free! :) The shelves are from Lowes. 72 1/2 " long and about $14 a piece. We bought two of those, and six of the metal L brackets to hold them up. I think the brackets were about $1.50 each. Total $ spent with the specials screws and all: $40.

My white buckets on the shelves are from the days when I was an Arbonne consultant. There is a good chance you soaked your feet in there at some point. :) I filled them with fabric. Yes, every single one has fabric in it. And this coming from the girl who doesn't know how to thread her sewing machine. :) I have my drying rack stored in between the washer and dryer.

I am SO happy with it! The chandelier was not hung, because it could not be found. :( That's what you get when you can't walk through your garage, I guess. So thankful for the extra storage, and for the paint on those walls!

Good question!

Please read THIS from the Nester today. It totally made me say "what the heck? why didn't I think of that!?" My babies are sleeping and I'm supposed to be packing a picnic dinner for our trip to the park tonight to meet up with some of my hubby's old college friends. Instead, I think I'll just sit on my ever-expanding rump and consider my options of Nester's light bulb moment. Hope you all are having a fantastic Thursday! :)

A Confession

When you walk into my basement, I have these nice, bi-fold doors.

Behind those doors await mass chaos. I am very happy with every other room in our home, except for this one. It has never been painted, and lacks the storage space we need.

This is where I stash my "extra's". Babe, if you're reading this, I know I just asked you to stop at Walmart for juice. What you don't know is that we already have some, but it's in my "in case the economy collapses or we get a tsnuami" pile, not my "it's available to use right now" pile. Hehehe... The two rubber-maids are full of fabric and crafting supplies. I have high hopes of sewing dresses for our sweet baby girl, but every time I come to the point of having the extra time, I remember that I don't know how to thread the sewing machine! :( Also please note the ridiculously ugly light fixture. Builders grade from Lowe's, I'm sure. You know what's even sad-er? I've had a new chandelier to hang in there for months, but it just hasn't made it's way to it's rightful spot yet. :(

Above the dryer sits the sewing machine, stain spray, detergent, and wads of dryer lint. Lovely, huh? I do believe I see a bottle of Drano in there too. Ironic, because we don't even have a drain in our entire basement. Hmm...

In the creepy crevices between the dryer and the wall sit 4, yes count them FOUR antique wash-boards. Can't wait to get these out of hiding! (you might also notice a broken dressage whip. used during my days of "daddy's money can buy you happiness on a horse")

So my reason for revealing my confession? I'm challenging myself to get this room DONE by the end of the week. Paint, lighting, shelves, organization, and a major cleaning. I'll be sure to post pictures, paint colors, and the cost for the entire "renovation". Can't wait! :)

Inviting Controversy

So, this morning I am curious to know where you guys stand. :) The topic is economic collapse. Growing up, we were the family who was preparing for Y2K. Were you? We had friends who moved to a commune in West Virginia, I think, so they wouldn't have to deal with the disaster that awaited. We never went that far, but we had shelves in our basement that held a pretty large amount of pasta and canned beans. :) Of course nothing happened, and I never heard anything else about those friends. But if you YouTube "economic collapse" or "next great depression" or "stockpiling food", there are countless videos to choose from! :) Here's the deal: where do you draw the line between trusting God to provide for your needs and using your brain to prepare for a natural disaster, loss of job, or this gigantic, earth-shattering economic collapse that I am being told will happen in the very near future? I have certain family members who have gone as far as printing off lists from the internet of things that we're supposed to be stockpiling: generators, oil, food, water, medicine, etc. And yet I have other, very close family members who I love and truly respect who are fully supporting us in trying to sell our home and therefore have more bills, larger mortgage, etc. AGH! I am so confused. I'm not judging either party, but we're not really sure what we feel is right. On one hand it's VERY appealing to us to be 100% debt free and grow enough food to live off of for the year. Did you know that your local grocery store has enough food to feed your little town for 3 days. 3 DAYS? What then???? God HAS promised to provide for our every need, but sometimes I think people use that to allow them too many liberties. God has also provided us with a brain. That's like saying that savings accounts aren't necessary. I think every Christian thinks it's wise to have a savings account for emergencies, or just for the future. Or like those people who don't believe in life insurance. OH.MY.WORD. Don't even get me started. Did you know that THE BIBLE says in 1 Timothy 5:8 that if a man doesn't provide for his own household, he's worse than an infidel???? But what about food? Diapers? Water? And can I even go as far as to say guns and ammunition? Sorry bambi lovers, I was raised in a squirrel-eating-deer-hunting family. :) Even if it's just to protect your family. I mean, would you keep your life's savings in your mailbox? No, you keep it in the bank to protect it. Doesn't it make sense to keep a gun in the house to protect your family? I told you I was inviting controversy. :) Okay, guns and ammo aside, do you think our country is headed for economic collapse? Do you think we need to be stockpiling supplies? PLEASE share your thoughts! There are certain things that I'm totally open to. Guns? Not so much. I think that's a necessity. Life insurance? Sorry, that's another one that I'm not budging on. It is absolutely insane to me how so many men have $20K in a life insurance plan somewhere. Let me ring your pretty little neck and tell you that it won't even cover the cost of your funeral. Do you want your wife to have to ask the bank for a LOAN just to get you in the ground??? AGH! Okay, I've got to get off this subject. ANYWAY, the point is, do you feel it's right to protect your home and family with a gun? Do you think it's okay to have a savings account in case your husband losses his job? Do you think it's okay to store some extra food on a shelf in your basement? I think we have such extreme double-standards sometimes. It's smart to be saving for retirement, but you're not trusting God if you have 5 boxes of rigatoni on a shelf in your garage. Okay, I've said enough. You're turn! :)

Guns and Doctors

Doctors

(A) The number of physicians in the U.S. is 700,000.

(B) Accidental deaths caused by Physicians per year are120,000.

(C) Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171

Statistics courtesy of U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services.

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Now think about this:

Guns

(A) The number of gun owners in the U.S. is 80,000,000.
(Yes, that's 80 million)

(B) The number of accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups, is 1,500.

(C) The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is .0000188
Statistics courtesy of FBI
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So, statistically, doctors are approximately
9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners.
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Remember, 'Guns don't kill people, doctors do.'
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FACT: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT Almost everyone has at least one doctor. This means you are over 9,000 times more likely to be killed by a doctor as by a gun owner!!!
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Please alert your friends to this alarming threat.
We must ban doctors before this gets completely out of hand!!!!!
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Out of concern for the public at large, We withheld the statistics on
lawyers for fear the shock would cause people to panic and seek medical attention!