Nothing Is Finished

So, I have not blogged in a LONG while. Everything is absolutely crazy right now, and nothing is completely finished so I have no 'complete' thoughts to post.

Project #1- Weight loss
     I grew up a fat-kid. After my Junior year of high school, I decided I was no longer going to be fat so I lost a ton of weight. I did good in keeping it off till I got pregnant with Little#1.  I gained 100 pounds, literally. Not proud. Well, about a year and a half ago I decided to really get back on it, and lose the the baby weight (the youngest was over 2). Yeah, I'm a little slow. Anyway, I refused to be the 'fat girl' in a friend's wedding. So I was successfull and lost 77 pounds in about 6 months. I weighed about a month ago and realized I had put 30 back on. NOT HAPPENING! Holy crap! So....Long story short....I have no great new recipes to post because the Mister and I are dieting (like lettuce and protein). So far I have lost 15, and have 48 more to go.

Project #2- The Farmhouse Table
    I showed the table in a previous post. I am still so proud of it.  The benches took a back burner to everything else, and we have managed to put them off till this past weekend. Off to Lowe's we went to pick up lumber.  There was not a good selection so we made due with enough lumber to make one. Mister cut it out and put it together, and I put the first coat of stain on it about 2 hours ago, so there will be a post on it soon.

Project #3- Homeschool
     The littles are doing great with homeschool. This was a surprise, and not something that I had planned or strove to do.  Again, we live in an area with HORRIBLE schools. We decided to go through the summer, and I am so glad. We have finally gotten into a comfortable groove, and I am actually enjoying it.  They amaze me with how quick they pick up stuff! They are all officially ahead of what the public schools require.  I am so proud of them.  We are also enjoying the freedom it gives us. They do school in the mornings before lunch, and then they are free the rest of the day. We also can take 2 weeks off for Thanksgiving instead of Christmas!

Project#4- Full Remodel
    We are about half way through a full remodel.  We were only suppose to be here in Texas for a year, but that changed on us.  We found out we are stuck here for 2 more years. I decided to fully remodel my house because I really was not happy with it.

•  Floors (acid staining the concrete)
• Walls (Grey throughout entire house)
• Swapped the littles' rooms
• Knobs
• Light fixtures
• Redo Cabinetry throughout
• New trim around windows

     Oh yeah....we finished the girls' room.

  This is the only room that's done. We wanted to test one room before we tore the entire house apart because the acid staining is a 50/50 thing. It either turns out beautiful or does not work at all. We are completely tickled! The picture truly does it no justice. The light glare makes it look like something was on it, but it's supper shiny! Oh, and we spray painted the cheap brass ceiling fan to oil rubbed bronze and I absolutely love it! I am going to hit up LOWES when the entire house is finished and buy different globes for all the fans.

   Once this was done, I began tearing up the rest of my floors.  Let me tell you, this is a HUGE job! I did not realize how much work this would be on my own. The house is 2600 square feet, and I am a one-man band. Right now, all the old flooring is up except the kitchen and classroom, and it's vinyl.  Vinyl is the worst! All the trim is piled in my garage, and all our belongings are boxed up in random corners of the house. I hate the mess.  We are also going to build new beds for little #1 and our master.  Right now our mattress and his mattress are on the floors. Not a happy place.  Hopefully, it will all be complete within the next 2 weeks. I cannot wait! The house will finally be normal again, and I will have tons of pictures and goodies to post.

Project #5- The yard

    I have no idea what to do with it.  I am thinking of painting the front door navy and planting hydrangeas in the front flowerbed. I am also checking into pricing on screening in my back porch. The squirels are butt-holes. They keep tearing up my patio furniture and stealing my potted flowers. Little demon spawns from Hell. Yeah, I said it. They are bullies and make my Rotty cry. Seriously...tiny fur covered douche bags.

Project #6- Christmas

   We have decided not to do the crazy Christmas that we always do. We spend tons of money on sooooo much stuff and within 2 months, half of it is broken or forgotten. I threw away and donated 7 black 50 gallon sacks of toys when prepping their rooms for the floors. This year we are doing a big gift and few meaningful presents, and that's it. We are building #3 and # 2 a kitchen set, and #1 a Lego station. They will get some doll clothes, accessories, and Legos so there will be some small things to open, but no more. No more fillers. We have become a society that does not appreciate the quality of things in our life. It seems that everyone has joined a race to aquire more stuff than anyone else. We do not step back, and appreciate the good things in our lives. I refuse to raise children that follow this same ungrateful cycle. Anyway, back to the point. I am excited to get all these pieces built and finished so I can share them.

So there you have it. All my craziness in one little bundled up description. I look forward to sharing the finished projects!

Homeschool

We recently pulled the littles from our public school system and began Homeschooling.  The littles were continuously coming home bruised and beaten up.  Everytime anything was questioned, I always recieved the same responses of no knowledge of an incident, or of them blatantly being harmed by other children.  Anytime this was questioned I would be told how those children came from "troubled homes". My question was "Don't you think if their parents had been held accountable, instead of excuses, that these kids wouldn't be coming from "troubled homes?"  If their parents were held accountable now, things would be different. Make them get a job instead of mooching off the government while staying home doing drugs.

Anyway, back to the subject- Homeschooling

We are brand new to this and still have a lot of learning.  Our back room was empty so we made a classroom.

We tend to be a little on the thrifty side so I made sure to look into getting items I needed for the best value.  My first need was a large white board.  I checked several stores and websites, but they were all so expensive.  I checked about paints and what-not. Then it dawned on me: White bathroom paneling. Off to LOWES I went! I paid $11 for a 4x8 sheet. It works great for my dry-erase board. We actually framed out one of the windows for it and then added cheap 1x3's for trim. I made our calendar with the left over piece. I drew out a calendar grid in permanent marker and used stick-on numbers and month. This also gave me the option to fill in weather with my dry-erase marker.

Every classroom needs tons posters and visual stimulation. I found some great posters at Dollar Tree. You get 2 for just $1! I then laminated them so I can use dry-erase markers when teaching. We found their desks at Big Lots for $9 and I hotglued their name tags and supply baskets (pencil dividers from Dollar Tree) to the tops. Oh, and my desk came from our local thrift store. $6 for the locking desk, and it even had the keys!

We still have a long way to go, but today was our first day of school, and it was extremely gratifying to teach the littles and see them respond with excitement.  They did awesome! I am thankful that I am able to do this with them.  We decided to do this because of horrible circumstances, but it has turned out to be a gift to our family. I will be posting more on our system in the future. Right now we are figuring this out. I have a couple of ciriculum resources that I'm using, I'll let you know which work best.

Happy Homeschooling!

Memorial Day Dedication

I'm sure if you are on Facebook, you have seen all the dedications to the veterans and Fallen.  To some this is an abstract thought, but to this family, Memorial Day is an important day.  Yes, my husband is in the military, but in the past 9 years we have lost some extremely good friends. These were friends that have changed our lives for the better.  There is no greater gift than lives lost protecting our country and freedom.  Our home has always been known for the place to come for "Momma" to feed you.  We have celebrated holidays, births, deaths, and just good times jammed into small houses with small tables. It never mattered where we lived, or how many people, all that mattered was Family and camaraderie, a place to gather and share a meal, and know we all loved each other.  Over the years we have gained so many friends that became family.  With that said, we also lost friends that will also be family.

After a lot of sweat and a little blood, the table is finished.  We felt it was appropriate to put it together today. Now we have a proper family table for the ones that are still with us.  As we come together to celebrate occasions, we will always the remember the one that no longer are here to gather.

Happy Memorial Day

Thank you to all that serve and to the families of the Fallen.

We used the plans found at http://ana-white.com/2012/11/plans/triple-pedestal-farmhouse-table 

If you are in the market for building home furniture be sure to check out her website.  It is absolutely amazing.

Pinterest Daily

Soooo, like many other ladies in the world, I have discovered Pinterest! Oh yes! I realized last week that I use it everyday. I use it for cooking, sewing, cleaning, and trying home remedies. I have found some awesome things, and I have ended up with some horrible non-edible messes. I am just amazed at how technology has given us an outlet to share the neatest ideas. Again, just another awe moment on technology, and yes, I truly believe our phones are powered by magic. With all that said, I'm going to start blogging my Pinterest adventures every few days. Hopefully you will find some great inspiration, or maybe just a good laugh. One thing that will be clear, is how much of a total dork I really am.

Monday- I was reading a blog on tons of things to do with old baby beds. You would not believe how clever some people really are. I was not in the need of  any benches or tables, but I NEEDED a puppy gate for my Rotties. I love them with all my heart and we kennel them at night, but sometimes I just need to contain them for just a bit in their own room. It gets a little crazy sometimes with the littles and dogs, and company, and the mailman, and the random doorbell ringing. Gracie (my hateful heeler) just jumps it because she thinks she's not a dog :-) After a few measurements, Mr.Man and I set off to the garage. He used the jigsaw to cut out simple U's for the gate to rest in because I hate the swinging. It always ends up broke in my house. Then I measured the doorway and cut the sliding side of the bed to fit. Ta-Da!

Not too bad if I say so myself. *Pictured is my sweet Lucy*

Tuesday- This was my regular bread day, no pinning. I make all our breads homemade and freeze them so they are ready whenever I need a bread. I like this better than the prefab biscuits. This way I KNOW what's in them. *Unfortunately, I do not get to eat any for awhile because I'm still 'fluffy'. It is nice to have in the mornings for the littles. I can pop a few biscuits in while they get dressed, and BAM, hot breakfast before the bus. I made 6 batches of regular biscuits, 2 batches of cheesey biscuits, 2 batches of cinnamon rolls, and some loaf bread. I just wish strawberry season would hurry up and get here so I can stock up on my preserves. 

Wednesday- Oh for all that is good and holy, I made the best burgers. I found a Pin that had no link. It was a picture of a burger with a pineapple slice wrapped in bacon. I knew this would be great! I used my usual burger recipe and then just added the goodness. Not sure if you're drooling yet, but you should!

Pineapple-Bacon-Burgers

2 pounds ground beef

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup Dale's

Sliced pineapples

1 pound bacon

• Mix beef, onion, and Dale's
• Pat out patties  
• Top with pineapple
• Wrap with uncooked bacon

I assume you could grill these, but I fried them in my cast iron on the stovetop on medium-high. I used a lid so that the burgers would cook through faster without burning the outside.

Now today was the kicker.

Thursday- Honey Mustard Chicken topped with cheese, bacon, and mushrooms. For the Original Post Let me tell you, it was AMAZING! Erika was on the money with this recipe! Be sure to check their blog for some really great recipes. I used my trusty cast iron and there are no words for how good it came out! I followed her recipe except for the cheese, I didn't have Monterey so I just used cheddar. The honey mustard glaze was the best I have ever tasted. This is definitely a MUST! 

Thanks for reading! Bare with me and I promise to get better at this. Next week I will remember to take more pictures.

Oh, and as always, don't forget to smile.

Bathroom Garden to Hide Stage Fright

We have this weird window in our bathroom that creeps me out. I have been reassured by many saying "You can't see through it", but I hate it. You have no idea how it feels to have stage fright in the middle of the night. I was playing around with the thought of curtains, but it's just above my jacuzzi tub. They were so awkward, I took them down. Then I had the idea of growing ivy and making a lattice for it to grow and cover the window. The more I thought about it the more I wasn't satisfied. I do not work for something that does not pay or can't eat. 

When in doubt and need randomness, where do you head? Number 3 and I went to good ole WalMart and bought a window box. We decided to plant some veggie seeds that we had left from last year! 

After much debate we used cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes. I love the way the plants smell and you can't argue with food! Number 3 was so excited about choosing and getting to play with dirt in the kitchen.

After a few days we were surprised by a few sprouts. We are at week number 2 and the tomato plants are getting huge! The cucumbers are little slower, but they are coming along. In the next week we are going to try putting up a lattice using handy-dandy 550 cord. Oh yeah, we believe in a healthy dose redneck around here. I am hoping with a little luck that they will blossom and fruit. After reading several resources, I'm not sure if they'll fruit because of the lack of pollination. Who knows? It would be nice to have enough tomatoes to make sandwiches and salads in mid-Winter, and enough cucumbers to pickle a few jars here and there. Either way, at least my window will be covered soon and I can have privacy in my master bathroom.

First Signs of Life in the New House

After buying most of the furniture we are finally getting settled in the house. This is definitely taking longer than any other move. We have literally started over! We were excited to sell everything and buy all new, but Mr. Man and I had no idea that starting over would be so much work! 

Anyway, sorry to ramble! I love Chickens in the Road blog because she always posts the neatest things! A long time ago she posted about re-growing celery in a bowl of water, and I thought "How neat!" Here is the original post Well now that we are living in a populated neighborhood instead of in the country, my growing options are limited. I want to grow some things in my bathroom window, and I figured this was as good a place as any to start. 

 I "planted" my celery. I was worried that it would not work because this celery sat in my frig for over a week.

As you can see, we still have a lot of growing to do, but it amazes me how fast this has grown in just two weeks.

If you were wondering, no, I haven't been sitting in my bathroom watching this grow! I have been working room by room while waiting.

Isaac's room was first. My little man is a nut! Yesterday he came running out with a cape on and announced, "My superhero name is ExtraLarge!" 

Then it was on to my girls' room! They are what you would expect from a 4 year old and 3 year old. Everything is pink and purple and looks as if Princesses exploded in their room.

Then it was onto the living spaces. I still have one living room that's not done. I firgured I'd mess with it later. A giant Christmas tree room keeps coming to mind ;-)

Then came our room. We have a king size memory foam mattress.  After looking at tons of beds I decided to build my own. There were two big facters 1)I'm cheap 2)if I can build it myself, why not?! I guess those two reasons are really just one, but back to the subject. Here is my new bed. I still lack the extra throw pillows, but you can see where it is going.

We are not doing the major decorating in this home because we only have 21 months left here. Now that the bare necessities are done I can move onto important stuff! Like kiddos and crafties! After lots of work I have my craft room up and running! It's not pretty or cutsy, but it is functional and actually really nice. 

So that was my last few weeks in a nutshell. Now that all is settled, I promise to post more often. I hope you enjoyed! Here's a parting thought, just in case you have not smiled today.

I Promise this Won't Become a Habit

First and foremost, my heart goes out to the victims and their families.  This horrible event has changed more lives than anyone will ever know. It is yet another situation when questions should be asked to help prevent this happening again in the future.

This post, and posts like these will not be habit. I do not believe in shoving my political views in people's faces, but this has weighed on my heart for awhile, and then listening to the news at 3:30 am broke my heart.

There is a good question that needs to be asked today. Is a handgun or vehicle more dangerous? If I do not have my pistol on me and really have the urge to kill someone, I would just run them over. If in doubt, backup and run them over again. The people killed yearly by vehicular man slaughter far outnumber the people killed by handguns.

Be prepared. Today we will be pelted with more politicians and such with more gun restriction purposals. They will spew at how the guns are at fault, but keep this straight, a psycho man killed those poor people, not a gun. Gun laws are at their strictest, but yet crime is at its highest.  It looks like this would make people open their eyes and realize we are going about this all wrong.  Instead of a state deciding who can and cannot own a gun, why not let EVERY citizen own a gun? We let EVERY citizen get a license to drive a vehicle.  I think there needs to be a serious reevaluation of the laws. Why not require anyone of a certain age who wants to carry a weapon to take a class? There should be a training course, written test, and actual skills test. Then be issued a gun license exactly like their driver’s license.  Then if there are offenses their license would be revoked, again, like a driver’s license. The class should be as extensive as  driving tests are meant to be.  Classes on general care, cleaning, handling, gun ethics, caliber, quick response, and accuracy should be taught, and then required to pass. There are a hundred different things that I have not mentioned, but I think you get the gist of what I am trying to put across. Not to mention, the economical boost. It would be an industry that would expand tremendously and create jobs. That is something this economy needs more than anything right now.

If there had been one, just one, responsible armed person in that theatre, there would only be two people in the hospital right now, the victim of the first shot fired, and the gunman. He would have fired that first shot and then the situation would have been handled. Gun laws do not stop criminals from carrying. They only make it harder for upstanding citizens to be armed. It took over two years for me to legally own a handgun in New York. Then, I was still not allowed to carry it. I am not trying to say this would be the perfect fix, but it would definitely be a better option that what is being placed right now.  I hate to sound like a close-minded old man, but carrying a gun is our Constitutional Right, but in law making, that really does not seem to have any bearing anymore.

Ok, I have said my piece. Thanks for reading.