Homesteader Training

I'm sure you're probably thinking "what in the world" and you'd be right to wonder. I've never really seen myself as much of a homesteader … I don't really like gardening and you won't find me butchering any animals. I'd just as soon buy my veggies pre-chopped at the store for convenience and I also like to tell myself that my chicken breast only ever "lived" in the grocery store case. 

Near the end of the year last year, my Mom shared with me that a friend from her Life Group (from church) was hosting a monthly class at her home/farm called Simple, Wholesome & Natural that would teach some homesteading principles and I figured - why not join my Mom for some classes. I signed up and we have now been to two classes... and let me tell you, it's been an experience. 

The first class at the end of January was about learning to be thrifty - something that I can appreciate as Ryan and I are working toward some financial goals this year for our future. Alongside the tips and tricks for being more thrifty, we also cooked a meal of Chicken Noodle Soup and my Mom and I chopped up the delicious celery for the soup. It was incredibly delicious - and I can see the reward in dicing your own veggies... I suppose. *wink*

I will say - there were two moments that had my Mom and I in fits of laughter (which is hard when you're trying to be quite). Each of the participants introduced themselves and shared a bit about themselves... and one woman shared that her family raised "meat rabbits" and this almost made me come unglued. Who knew people raised fluffy wee bunnies to eat?!?! Our host also asked if anyone in attendance had ever taken care of a chicken from pen to pot - and I quietly told my Mom: "If we walk into the kitchen and there is a chicken with fur (I know - it's feathers) still on it... 1. I will scream and 2. I'll have to leave". Thankfully - no chickens needed plucking! 

Our second meeting this past weekend was on all things bread - and who doesn't love a good carb? Truly, if you don't love a good carb... we probably can't be friends, ha-ha! We learned all about milling your own flour and I have to say, I was (still am) so intrigued! It was fascinating to see the seeds turn into warm, soft flour that had the most wonderful smell! I would absolutely be interested in getting a flour mill for myself and making my own breads, muffins and more.

The group was a little smaller this time - and we each were assigned a bread product to make. My Mom and I chose Chocolate Collagen Muffins and some of the other treats made were Banana Bread Muffins and Garlic Breadsticks - which were all divine! We milled our own einkorn flour to whip up our muffins, cooked them up and oh my goodness, they tasted amazing! All the delicious muffins were the perfect appetizer to the wonderful salad, pasta and garlic breadsticks - we have not left hungry; that's for sure! 

So far the whole experience has involved learning and laughter - especially when meat rabbits are discussed! Next month we will be learning about all things pig-related and making lard lotion. Thankfully, there will be no butchering of actual pigs because I don't know if I could handle that - but I will gladly report back about the lard lotion. Hehehe... 

January Book Review

I know - I know - it's literally almost March! I'm telling you; I feel like I am playing catch-up and man, did I get some serious reading done in the month of January! So let me get right down to all the books I read in the month of January... before February is done and March arrives! 

The Fury by Alex Michaelides: This is a tale of murder. Or maybe that's not quite true. At its heart, it's a love story, isn't it? Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex-movie star & one of the most famous women in the world. Every year she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather & spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island.

I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time - it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind... and a murder. We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our friendships concealed hatred & a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat & mouse - a battle of wits, full of twists & turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence & death, as one of us was found murdered. 

Who am I? My name is Elliot Chase & I'm going to tell you a story unlike any you've ever heard. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐of 5 - I read this book in two days; it was a great book and a good read; however, I didn't really find any of the characters likable. *shrugs* 

The Lady's Mine by Francine Rivers: 1875. When Kathryn Walsh arrives in tiny Calvada, a mining town nestled in the Sierra Nevadas, falling in love is the farthest thing from her mind. Banished from Boston by her wealthy stepfather, she has come to claim an inheritance from the uncle she never knew & a defunct newspaper office on a main street overflowing with brothels, saloons & a seemingly worthless mine. Moved by the oppression of the local miners & their families, Kathryn decides to relaunch her uncle's newspaper - & then finds herself in the middle of a maelstrom, pitted against Calvada's most powerful men. But Kathryn intends to continue to say - & publish - whatever she pleases, especially when she knows she's right.

Matthias Beck, owner of a local saloon & hotel, has a special interest in the new lady in town. He instantly recognizes C. T. Walsh's same tenacity in the beautiful & outspoken redhead - & knows all too well how dangerous that family trait can be. While Kathryn may be right about Calvada's problems, her righteousness could get her killed. But when the handsome hotelier keeps finding himself on the same side of the issues as the opinionated Miss Walsh, Matthias's restless search for purpose becomes all about answering the call of his heart. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐of 5. This book was fine. It took me a little longer to read because I honestly struggled to get into it at first. This was a book club choice, so I pushed through but I can't say it was my favorite. 

Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer: Worry, doubt, confusion, depression, anger & feelings of condemnation: all these are attacks on the mind. If readers suffer from negative thoughts, they can take heart! Joyce Meyer has helped millions win these all-important battles. In her most popular bestseller ever, the beloved author & minister shows readers how to change their lives by changing their minds.

She teaches how to deal with the thousands of thoughts that people think every day & how to focus the mind the way God thinks. And she shares the trials, tragedies & ultimate victories from her own marriage, family & ministry that led her to wonderous, life-transforming truth - & she reveals her thoughts & feelings every step of the way. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐of 5. This book was the perfect read at the perfect time; it was so helpful to me while dealing with pretty intense anxiety throughout the month of January. I cannot recommend this book enough, especially if you are someone who (like me) deals with anxiety or depression!

Mercury by Amy Jo Burns: It's 1990 & seventeen-year-old Marley West is blazing into the river valley town of Mercury, Pennsylvania. A perpetual loner, she seeks a place at someone's table & a family of her own. The first thing she sees when she arrives in town is three men standing on a rooftop. Their silhouettes blot out the sun.

The Joseph brothers become Marley's whole world before she can blink. Soon, she is young wife to one, The One Who Got Away to another, & adopted mother to them all. As their own mother fades away & their roofing business crumbles under the weight of their unwieldy father's inflated ego, Marley steps in to shepherd these unruly men. Years later, an eerie discovery in the church attic causes old wounds to resurface & suddenly the family's survival hangs in the balance. With Marley as their light, the Joseph brothers must decide whether they can save the family they've always known - or whether together they can build something stronger in its place. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐of 5. I devoured this book in 24 hours! It was an easy read and the story drew me in almost immediately. This book was a great read and I am so glad I grabbed it up as my Book of the Month for January!  

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods: On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found... For too long, Opaline, Martha & Henry have been the side characters in their own lives.

But when a vanishing bookshop cast its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder... where nothing is as it seems. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐of 5. I loved this book so much! It was a Christmas gift from a friend and it kept me company while I sat in the ER for almost six hours one day! It's such a great read; a wonderful story with some magic and mystery thrown in! Completely unique! 

A Court of Wings & Ruin by Sarah J. Maas: Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin's actions & learn what she can about the invading king threatening to bring her land to it's knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit. One slip could bring doom not only for Feyre, but for everything - and everyone - she holds dear.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre endeavors to take her place amongst the High Fae of the land, balancing her struggle to master her powers - both magical & political - and her love for her court & family. Amidst these struggles, Feyre & Rhysand must decide whom to trust amongst the cunning & lethal High Lords, & hunt for allies in unexpected places. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐of 5. This is book three in the series and I am absolutely enjoying these books! I have been devouring them; this one was over 700 pages and I blazed through it in four days! I still think the second book in the series (A Court of Mist & Fury) is my favorite! 

A Court of Frost & Starlight by Sarah J. Maas: Feyre, Rhysand & their friends are still busy rebuilding the Night Court & the vastly altered world beyond, recovering from the war that changed everything. But Winter Solstice is finally approaching & with it, the joy of a hard-earned reprieve. 

Yet even the festive atmosphere can't keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, her concerns for those dearest to her deepens. They have more wounds than she anticipated - scars that will have a far-reaching impact on the future of their court. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐of 5. This was a very short interlude style book in the series and while I enjoyed reading it; I guess it didn't have much plot beyond "it's the holidays - let's celebrate!" It was a peaceful interlude but just didn't rivet me as much as the other books have. 

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Seven books in one month might be a record for me (in recent years). Certainly all the time off was helpful with my crushing some reading goals but I doubt that I'll manage to get through seven books in any other month this year! I guess we shall see! 

2024 - Word of the Year

Do you choose a Word of the Year each year? It's something I've done for the last five years now and each year, the word that I end up "choosing" ends up applying so perfectly to my year - it's nothing more than the Lord at work in the little things in life - you know?

In 2020 - my word was Intent. In 2021 - my word was Progression. In 2022 - my word was Peace. In 2023 - my word was Confidence. And now - for the year 2024, my word is Trust. I have to say that this word is truly so timely for this time in my life and I was blown away when I took the quiz to generate my word.

That's right - I took an online quiz at Dayspring.com to generate my word. I have used this quiz every year and I am always so amazed by how the word that I arrive to at the end of the quiz always perfectly aligns with my year! And boy has this word already proved timely for the start of my 2024! 

I will confess that at the end of the year; the job I was in had become nothing short of a constant stressor, I was coming home multiple times a week in tears, exhausted all the time and after a particularly charged interaction the week before Christmas - Ryan and I knew that a change had to be made. I had contemplated leaving the job on and off for the last year - and it really felt like the Lord had been telling me even more strongly that it was time to move on. My health was beginning to be affected and a job is never worth compromising your health! 

The decision really came to a head when; on New Year's Eve, Ryan and I ended up at the emergency room because I was having chest pains. The stress from my job, the decision to leave my job and the very scary proposition of potentially being "jobless" for a time - it was all overwhelming me to the point that I was having physical repercussions! What would follow over the next month would be multiple ER visits that resulted in blood draws, x-rays, a cat scan, a GI cocktail and multiple follow-up appointments with doctors and specialists.

I would like to say that in the midst of all of this - I completely trusted the Lord. I would love to say I knew that no matter what the health outcome was or the job situation, that I was filled with trust. It is literally "my word" and yet - I definitely needed some work where that trust was concerned! 

Even in my less than amazing ability to trust - the Lord has shown up and shown out in so many ways! Ryan and I were so concerned about what might be causing my health issues but after all those visits it was determined that my heart is completely healthy, I don't have GERD and I was just dealing with severe anxiety! That anxiety is real y'all and can seriously affect your life - but praise the Lord it was nothing more serious!

Even in my less than amazing ability to trust - Ryan and I ran the numbers and confirmed I could actually be "out of work" for a while with no real impact on our finances (thank the Lord we completed Financial Peace & became debt free in 2023). However; the Lord in His goodness, provided! I began submitting applications, had an initial interview and a second interview and y'all - my last day at my former job was January 10th and I got a call on January 12th that I'd been hired for the new job. What's more - because of the way the pay calendar works - Ryan and I didn't miss a paycheck and I was still able to have 3.5 weeks off to recover and relax! Won't He do it?

I would love to say that with a year that started with so many signs of the Lord's moving and working in our lives, I am just filled to the brim with trust. But - the Lord knew that it was something I needed to work on and so, day by day I am doing that. I am working on myself and working to know that in all things - the Lord is working them for my good. I may not always understand why things happen the way they do, but I am working to be more trusting - because His way is always the best way. 

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Do you choose a word of the year? Feel free to share if you do! 

A Three Day Weekend

Another weekend in the books - I cannot believe that we are days away from the last weekend of February! I feel like I say this every year, but time flies faster and faster with every passing year! We had a good weekend; a really restful weekend, and it was lovely! 

Friday after work, I popped by my parent's house and grabbed my Mom and we went to Woodstock for the Buttercup's Galentines Night! They had tons of vendors and Flour and Water, the bakery next door also took part - so we grabbed some treats before perusing the shelves at the Buttercup! We didn't make any purchases, but I saw plenty I loved! We met up with Ryan and my Dad for dinner at the Woodstock Moose Lodge and then headed home to wait and see if the forecasted snow would arrive!                

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We were under a Winter Storm Warning with a predicted 4-8 inches of snow overnight - and while it did snow - it certainly wasn't anything like what they predicted! I would say we got maybe an inch of snow in most areas and it was not the most substantial of snow. Once the sun came out; which was basically as soon as the day started, it began to melt! I told Ryan that I wanted to hike a portion of the lake trail in the snow, so we figured we'd better head out shortly after breakfast if we wanted there to be any snow left...

The portion where the trail started was plenty snow covered - but as we moved around the lake, there were portions of the trail where it didn't even look like it had snowed! We were able to spy so many little creature prints around the lake as we hiked; what looked like dog and deer, and my special favorite were the prints that appeared to belong to a raccoon! 

As luck would have it, right about the time we emerged from the end of the trail into the parking lot at the lake - my Dad came through the parking lot to see what the lake looked like in the snow! So we hitched a ride back to the house, got cleaned up and then headed out for an afternoon of shopping! 

We found some really great bargains at some of our favorite consignment and thrift shops and I discovered I had two gift cards in my purse worth about $125 - so we had ourselves quite the afternoon around town! We had a chill Saturday evening; having some pizza and catching up on Masters of the Air on Apple TV. 

Sunday feels like it passed in a flash! We went to third service and then stayed after for the annual vision meeting - and that wasn't done until almost 2 PM! After a lunch of Mexican food, Ryan and I tooled around town some and got home shortly after 5:45! We had a very low key evening; we watched an episode of Home Town and actually ended up getting to sleep pretty early!

I was off work on Monday (yay for that government job) and honestly - I didn't do a whole lot! I read, fiddled with a puzzle, did some laundry and was generally just a bum. Which you're supposed to be on your day(s) off, right?

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Weekend Recap - Valentine's Getaway

It's Monday and we are already closing in on the midpoint of this month of February! Are you kidding me? I'm back to really savoring the weekends now that I'm a member of the workforce again - and my first weekend after being back to work was wonderful and relaxing; just what I needed. It was probably what Ryan needed too!  

After work on Friday, Ryan and I made the drive (about an hour and forty minutes) to Gordonsville, Virginia to stay for the weekend at Shenandoah Crossings! We made it into town around 7:00 and grabbed a quick dinner at The BBQ Exchange - which has been named as the best BBQ in the state of Virginia! The pulled pork, macaroni & cheese, ribs and pork belly were delicious... but I was less than impressed with the baked beans! 

After checking into our cabin and getting settled, we opened a Valentine's gift from my parents: a little travel bucket filled with some of our favorite treats, some doodads and a gift card to Well Hung Vineyard (yes - that's really the name). Ryan then surprise me with a bath pillow and a bamboo bath tray and then proceeded to fix a bath with candles and bath bombs - because that man knows me too well! It was the most wonderful surprise and a wonderful way to wind down and start the weekend!

The weather was a bit overcast and threatening rain on Saturday - so after a relaxing start to the morning and some breakfast, we figured we'd better get out and explore in case rain rolled into the area. We poked around the resort, walking down to the lake and also peeking at the game room and indoor pool for later in the day, and then headed over to the General Store and Stables. 

We spent some time with the horses and Ryan ended up buying some treats so that we (mostly me) could feed them! The horses were pretty hilarious; especially a horse and mule that were tied together and seemed to be "fighting" with one another - those two were a whole mood! We perused some antique stores and other stores in the (very) small town of Gordonsville and we decided to just have a picnic lunch in our car when the rain arrived shortly after noon. 

After our picnic lunch, the rain had passed and so we drove about ten minutes to Barboursville Vineyards - where we actually didn't do a wine tasting - I know, that makes no sense, does it? Barboursville Vineyards has the ruins of an antebellum house that was designed by Thomas Jefferson, for the former governor of Virginia - who was named Barbour. The house burned down on Christmas Day 1884 and the ruins are now a part of the vineyards charm... and they are honestly the reason we went to Barboursville. I wanted to show the ruins to Ryan! 

After our time at the vineyard, we made a quick Walmart run to grab some supplies for our dinner, then headed back to the resort and spend some time playing in the game room: we both won a game of air hockey, we raced cars and motorcycles and played some pinball. Ryan even won me a stuffed elephant from the claw machine! Then we spent some time in the hot tub before heading back to our cabin for to relax and enjoy dinner!

Ryan made the most amazing meal of chicken (steak for him), scalloped potatoes and asparagus! Everything was so divine and I cleaned my plate! I enjoyed some non-alcoholic wine with my meal - Ryan has gotten into the non-alcoholic beer, and so I decided to give the wine a try - and it was a win for me! We had a wonderful and relaxing evening and when we woke up on Sunday, the rain had definitely arrived in full force!

Our last stop after checking out of the resort was Well Hung Vineyard for brunch! We did decide to try a wine flight here - we did the Sweetness Flight and I loved every single one of them, which is a pretty bold statement for me! I had the Banana's Foster French Toast and Ryan had Chicken & Waffles, before we climbed into the car for a rainy drive home! 

Somehow I neglected to share a picture here, but for the Super Bowl festivities I joined my sister and my Mom in playing Super Bowl Eras Bingo - which was something a friend of Lindsey's sent to her! I was the first to "bingo" - and amazingly none of the squares that got my bingo were Taylor Swift related, although plenty of the squares on my card were! It was such a lovely weekend and I can't believe a three-day weekend is on the horizon! Y'all have a good Monday!