A Roller Coaster of Emotions!

It's amazing how quickly emotions can roller coaster!  I have run the whole gamut today.  I started off the day grumpy and tired (not a morning person!). Talking to a co-worker this morning about the upcoming women's conference made me excited!  I spent my creative writing class outside in the beautiful weather today, which gave me a great dose of vitamin D and made me feel very warm and fuzzy.  Just a short walk down the hall and a conversation with a student led me to disappointment and frustration.

As I hopped in my car (my little Mazda miata), I knew it was just too nice of a day to drive home with the top up.  The warm wind whipping through my hair was wonderful (alliteration lesson today) and I felt rejuvenated, but as soon as I got home, I remembered my lack of slumber the night before and I became sleepy!  I tried a nap, but I ended up watching the goats from my bedroom window.  I thought I heard one crying and took off running outside, but again - disappointment - when I realized it was the cow next door.

I did manage to get myself up to paint some boards I had promised Jerry I would finish for him.  That sense of accomplishment was nice!  Dinner with friends tonight was awesome!  I left feeling loved and included.  Then I came home and spent time on the phone with one of my kids who got cut from a team today (disappointment) and another who was being - well - a teenager (frustrated)!  I am ending the night with an issue that I cannot resolve (helpless).

I may not have gotten much exercise today, but I feel like I have been up and down a thousand hills of emotion.  Circumstances and people can turn my mood in an instant, and I have to work really hard not to react to those stimuli.  It is so hard, in times like these, to remember that God is in control.  I don't have to let my emotions control me, instead it have to remember that God has it all under control!  

Before I go to sleep and allow all of these wild weeds of emotions to take root in my mind, I am going to uproot them and PREPLANT as Philippians 4:8 tells me.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Pure

Right

Excellent

Praiseworthy

Lovely

Admirable

Noble

True

I can control what I choose to think about. I choose to get off of the roller coaster! Good night (peaceful)!

My Itchy Green Thumb (Winter Sowing) and Other Farm Maintenance

I am starting a grand experiment today - winter sowing!  I love digging in the dirt and I start to itch for gardening about this time of year, so this is the perfect activity for me!  I have been saving milk cartons for some time now, and I just got my seeds last night!  This afternoon, I am going to begin sowing some of my seeds and setting them out in my raised beds!  I'm so excited!  Now, if only the baby goats would come today, it would be the perfect Saturday!

Well, the babies did not come today, but it was a great Saturday anyway.  The weather was beautiful, so we were happy to have a farm maintenance day.

Carter moved and buried the dog fence so our chickens could roam again.  Renee cut stalks and burned them.

Jerry and Alden put some wire around the rabbit hutches so the chickens can't dig up the rabbit manure. Trevor searched the creek for the frog we heard (good sign of spring!)

Can you see the frog?

I started working on my seed project.  I decided to plant some flowers and some early vegetables.

My "Crazy Fish Farmer" friend, Tom, recommended that I use a mixture of sifted organic soil and peat moss for seed starter.  I shoveled a combination of regular dirt from our yard and rabbit manure into my wheelbarrow.

I used a screen to sift out the clumps, rocks, and leaves.  

I have never sifted dirt before, so I was amazed at the beautiful soil I made!

Finally, I added an equal part of peat moss.

This light and fluffy dirt should be a great place for new root growth!  Next, I filled the bottom of the milk cartons I had prepared earlier.  They are hinged under the handle and have drain slits in the bottom.

After the soil was thoroughly moistened, I added the seeds, labeled the cartons, and taped them shut. The little milk carton greenhouses went out to the garden to live until warm weather comes for good!

 I really hope some of the seeds actually sprout!  Now, we just need to build a good garden fence before spring so I can keep these chickens out of my garden!

Staying On Budget!

It was a busy day today!  We ventured out around lunchtime to complete our monthly shopping trip.  We did include several extra stops, but all in all, we just arrived home around 10:00 tonight.  I am limited to a $350 grocery budget for the month, so it takes quite a bit of planning to execute that!

We begin across the mountain at Sharp Shopper each month.  We visit the Dollar Tree there and then head back over to the SAMs in Charlottesville.  Today, we found a great special at Kroger and then finished up at our Walmart.  Overall, prices are up and it was harder to stay in our budget.

We found some great deals today!  Pita bread at Sharp Shopper was half price.  We always get our bread at the dollar store (Natures Own).  We remarked at how people are paying $3.00 for each loaf right across the street when that could get the same bread for $1.00 each.  Also, a great deal for cereal eaters, free milk with purchase of cereal at Kroger.  The worst part of our trip was watching a sample man at SAMs dump a whole container of fruit in the trash can because it was time to clean up. I was devastated!

We normally do not buy meat, but this month we did purchase some chicken breasts.  I am really working hard to bring more fruits and vegetables, and fresh foods in general, into our winter diet.  This isn't a problem during garden season, but harder for us during the cold months.  Most of our purchases though, were the normal things we buy each month.

Planning is the key to staying in my eager budget.  It is a lot of work for one day each month, but then it's done!  It is extremely gratifying to look into my pantry at the end of a long day like this and see it fully stocked and ready for a whole month!

After our big shopping day, we came home to check out our pregnant goats!  They should be delivering any time now!  Walking back through the yard, under the beautiful stars, I was reminded just how much I love my life!

Snow Day Limerick

I am gearing up for the poetry unit in my Creative Writing class.  I am alsowondering if we will go to school tomorrow with the impending inclement weather!  Since both of these are on my mind, I decided to write a limerick!  Enjoy!

There once was a school in Fluvanna

Whose buses were like a banana

Every time there was snow

To school they'd not go

For fear they would slip and wham ya

Hobby Farm

I just read the article in our local paper about "hobby farming."  The definition of a hobby farm seems to be a small farm with owners who have another stream of income.  The other term discussed in the article was "homesteading," which was explained as a family who is able to mostly live off of the things produced on the farm.  It was interesting to read about those two things and think about which category we fit into here on the funny farm.

Jerry and I both work.  We need both incomes to keep everything afloat.  I sometimes wonder if we are working to support our farming habits!  Truthfully though, we do grow and raise a lot for our family, but we are nowhere close to being self-sufficient!  We figured out a few years ago that we had to make a decision to go all out or scale it back - and we made the choice to scale it back!

At one time, on our little two acre farm, we had approximately 150 animals.  That number was mostly chickens, but it did include rabbits and goats.  We were, at the time, raising six different breeds of chickens and selling the birds and the eggs.  When the chickens were laying well, we were able to buy most of the animal feed with the egg sales.  We found ourselves falling behind though when the chickens molted or stopped laying because of the weather.

We really began focusing on our budget a few years ago, and when we noticed our animal feed budget becoming larger than the grocery budget, we knew it was time to scale back our operation.  We began to sell off and process the chickens and rabbits.  It was hard not to replace them, but it was also a relief as we cut back on the work as well.  Since that time, we have increased in goats, but we only have enough chickens and rabbits to sustain our family.  

It was really fun having a large number of animals, but it was also a big burden.  I can see us adding more at a later date, but for now, I'm glad this is only a hobby farm!

Productive Free Time

If you have been reading my blog, (or if you know me well) you know that I am not a big fan of snow days.  It's not that I don't enjoy the break, but making up days at the end of the year is not pleasant, and it throws my curriculum all out of wack.  However, I do have to say that these couple of snow days this week have been very productive for me!

I am very pleased to report that my writing project for the women's conference at church is complete!  That is a huge load off of my shoulders.  I am excited about the conference and eager to share what God had laid on my heart.  I feel really good about the work that has gone into it and it is a great feeling to have it done ahead of time!

Yesterday, Jerry and I worked some more in Alden's room.  The carpet is being laid this weekend, so I am trying to finish the mural first.  I added some leaves, but there is still more work to do.  I am pleased with how it is going so far.

Today, a bird got into the house.  I suspect that my cats brought him in.  It flew around my kitchen for awhile and then finally flew out of a window I opened.  While he was in though, he ate some dead bugs from the top of a light fixture.  I guess he was helping me spring clean!

My favorite project today was my painting of my goat, Pink, and her baby, Blanca.  I did the painting for a friend's silentl auction to benefit a bone marrow drive.  I was not excited about starting the painting, but, as usual, I couldn't stop once I picked up the brush!  I fell in love with this one!  The goats are definitely my favorite painting subject right now!

Other than a little laundry and gathering things for the free swap, that was my day.  We another snow day tomorrow - wonder if it will be as productive?

In Pursuit

My pastor preached about pursuit this past Sunday.  It has really caused me to think today.  I have always lived a life of pursuit, but pursuit of what?  I'm not really sure.  I have pursued jobs, pursued friendships, pursued dreams.  I am always pursuing the next nap!

I am in a strange place in life right now.  I am quite literally middle-aged.  I don't feel at all resigned to life as it is.  Don't get me wrong, I am very content.  I just happen to also be ready for whatever is next.  If it is another career, okay, though I absolutely love what I do.  If it is a new ministry, okay, though our current ministry thrills me on a regular basis.  I feel poised on the brink of - well - something.  As indefinite as that may seem, I'm okay with that.

So what does that mean in terms of my pursuit?  Am I done pursuing?  No!  I will pursue until the pursuit is over.  I will pursue an ongoing relationship with God and the work he has for me to do.  I will pursue a life of love and encouragement and helping others.  I will pursue being a better wife, mother, and friend.  I will pursue the use of my talents for God's glory.  I will pursue life! And I will enjoy it along the way!