It's been awhile...

Hey everyone! I know that it's been awhile but my priorities have changed for the moment. I think I've hit my early twenties crisis. I'm being pulled in all sorts of directions.
Part of me says go back to school and become a domestic historian.
Part of me says travel the world. Germany, England, Italy. Sigh.
Another says stay where you are and don't let anything remove you from this place.
Out of the three, the first two are reasonable. The third requires less work. Yeah, I am a bit lazy
For the past three months or so I've been battling with weight issues. For those of you that found me via Mrs. Q's blog you're probably thinking "What?" Yes, I've been dealing with being overweight for most of my life which only contains 20 years. That has been my focus lately. Not gardening (although it would actually help), not creating a imaginative homestead. But it's about me and knowing that my body is hurting and needs some attention. Seriously. Thankfully, I'm headed in the right direction. In three months I've lost over thirty pounds which has made me VERY active even though I have a lot more to go.
The original goal for this blog was to revert to a more made from scratch life which still stands. That's the ultimate goal. But for now, the main goal is to get back to nature and enjoy the warm summer on buare skin and the smell of sun.
Peace.

Crafts for Under $1

I found this really neat craft site called dollar store crafts. There are a lot of very interesting crafts in here! Take a look yourself!
My favorite section is the $1 and under section that features a lot of recycled crafts.

Blog Award

Hey everyone! I'm hoping you're having a happy new year! The other day I received the versitle blog award from Penpal from Northeastern Colorado!
But it has strings attached! Here are the strings:
1. Be sure to thank and link back to the person who gave you the award
2. Share seven things about yourself
3. Pass the award to other bloggers who you think deserve it
4. Be sure to let the bloggers know you chose them to receive the award

Here's my 7 things!
1) I love getting mail and haven recently rented a P.O. Box as my Christmas present to myself.
2) Homesteading has been an on and off relationship.
3) I'm excited to start sewing with my new sewing machine.
4) I want to go to college but I'm afraid that I don't remember anything from high school.
5) I really think I need to socialize with people some more and not shut them out.
6) I have several crushes but am not in a relationship and never have been.
7) I have had the same digital camera since 10th grade, 5 years ago. It still works!
Now it's my turn to send this off. The award goes to The Mobile Homestead Woman! She's so talented she deserves it!

Snow!?

I just got in from shoveling snow and cleaning off my car. Man, it's cold out. I had a cup of hot chocolate and sat for a little but I'm still pretty cold. My fingers where half frozen to the snow shovel by the time I was done. On days like this I really want to spend the day baking breads and cookies and the like but unfortunately, I'm due to be at work by noon. I hope all of you that got hit by the snow are warm and safe!

The Best Christmas

I personally felt that this was the best Christmas in years. I got a lot of things that I wanted including my family together for dinner.
Last night I got my biggest and best present, a new Brother sewing machine which I've taken the liberty of naming Martha. I can't wait to get on her and sew some long awaited items, such as my fleece throw and apron. Everything that I got was very useful; a frost cover for my car's windshield, cute notecards, soap, a usable bag, s really nice smelling hand car kit, and some money which I've already invested half in a electric blanket and the other half is to join weight watchers. I truly do appreciate the smaller more thoughtful gifts then money.
So Merry Christmas everyone! Tomorrow I'm thinking about hosting another small giveaway since the other was a dud, but I'll have to see what I can dig out.

Last Day

Today is the last day to win a handmade Christmas card. Since no one has entered to try to win it, I'll include a small surprise along with the card. So get your entry in now!
To win a handmade Christmas card click here

Bacon!

Ode to the Salty Sweetness
In my house this pork product is outlawed by my mom not because it's unhealthy but because it makes the house smell like bacon and gets grease everywhere, even if one uses the grease screen and cleans up when done. To her it's alright that she cooks scrapple (for those unfamiliar to this breakfast food, this is a Pennsylvania Dutch treat made of cornmeal and pig 'parts') and that I wake up to the smell of that, which I do not like. My dad did the unthinkable, he purchased some. Of course I had to cook it for breakfast which brought cries of disapproval from my mom. It was a completely substandard product anyway. I'll purchase better stuff from the butcher the next time since I only get to eat it every once in a blue moon, it'll be worth it.
Do any of you have a favorite food that you do not like to cook?

A Handmade Holiday: Christmas Cards

I did this last year as well because making cards seems to make that 44 cents to mail it worth every penny. I've also found that many of my friends and family really enjoy getting the handmade ones.

Making cards is really easy. They don't need to be really fancy or full of store bought embellishments. A nice stamp and some scrapbook paper will make a nice card like I sent all of my friend's last year.
This year I spent a little more money and bought embellishments for the for the front of the card. Some decorative ribbon from the clearance pile and some on sale raised decorations. Both only costing me $2 total.
To make your cards look even more perfessional, make lined envelopes out of wrapping paper. It's easy. Trace the envelope on the wrong side of the wrapping paper. Cut it out. Cut about 3/4" off the bottom. Slide it into the envelope. Glue the top flap to the envelope and ta da! A fancy envelope!
If you're in the mood to recycle; take last year's cards, if you saved them and cut them in half at the fold to make postcards. But make sure that you don't send the same card to the person that sent it last year! This will save you on postage as well. Postcards only cost 28 cents to mail within the US so you'll be saving the environment and saving on some postage!

GIVE AWAY!
Please comment below for a chance to win a Christmas card designed and made by me! You can either have me make the card out to you and send it or I can send it blank to you for you to give to someone else. Your choice. The card that will be given away will be a version of the ones pictured on the left. Just comment below and left your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win! The winner will be announced Sunday, December 19 so get those comments in!

Finding My Humanity

In this world of fast food, 9-5 jobs, television, and internet, we find ourselves only part human. The other half is controlled by our fascination of things appearing with little or no work required.
After watched a few PBS specials focusing on different time periods, I began to yearn for what they had. Yes, it's hard to let go of the computer for a night and maybe the television for a day. But think about how good you feel afterwards. You feel more apart of the universe then someone trying to control it.
On a personal level, I started what I call "human hour" for myself where I turn my computer and my television off and do something. Read a book, do some crafts, or write a letter. Perhaps if I had a willing participant in my house I would play cards or a board game but unfortunately, my parents revolve around the computer or TV.
When I go to bed at night my brain is tired from all the exercise it did and usually end up falling asleep at 10 pm.
Do you have some sort of 'human hour'?
As for my Christmas gift posts I'll be doing double posts this weekend to make up. I've got some fabulous ideas in mind!

No Sweets Week

I declare next week, Decemeber 5-11 no sweets week. It's going to be hard. It's gonna get messy but no sweets for a week for me! No cake, cookies, candy bars, lollipops, or chocolate bars. I'll, of course, stock up on fruits to keep my sweet tooth happy. But no processed sweets. Zip. Nada. Ziltch. Null.
Who's with me?