Dateline: 2008-Jul-6
Budget Talk and More…
Tightening the budget belt has been on my mind lately. With the cost of gas continuing to go up as well as the cost of food and other items it is requiring an extra degree of thought to how the money is spent. One of the things I have been doing is instituting a “No Leftovers” policy. In the past if I had a few leftovers from a dinner I would not think to much of it. But now I have started to scale down how much food I make (especially with Leanne gone and Emily not always home for all meals) and make sure the kids eat what leftovers we have for lunch the next day… or I even serve them for dinner the next night if there are enough. I did this yesterday. I made Yummy Pinto Beans the day before and used 4 cups of dry beans (and a pound of hamburger added to the recipe) so it made a large pot of beans for us. We had enough for dinner last night too. I also will examine all leftovers that aren’t enough to serve a second time and see what new creation I can make from. Stir fry from leftover rice, chili over baked potatoes, goulash from a small amount of leftover spaghetti sauce, fried potato patties from leftover mashed potatoes, adding leftover pot roast to noodles or potatoes and adding a cream sauce to make a casserole. It is amazing how much I can save by thinking creatively with leftovers! I am also watching what I buy so it does not go to waste.. like too many tomatoes or fruit or whatever it may be. I am keeping my meals simple to make with a minimum amount of ingredients. So far my efforts have been noticeable on the budget! And I am still able to buy various organic products and still save.
The next area we looked at was how many cars we have on insurance policies that we don’t drive. My husband has a truck he only drives occasionally and we have a full size 12-passenger van we now only drive occasionally due to that $125 price tag at the gas pump fill up. So we talked with our insurance man and he said it was fine to put the cars on a comprehensive policy only as long as we are not driving them. IF we would want to drive them we just call the insurance company up and let them know we need the vehicle for the day and they adjust the policy for that day. The cost has been about $10 every 6 months for each vehicle.. which has been a huge savings. I have heard that not every insurance company will do this but I do know State Farm is one that will.
Driving with multiple purposes is also one way we are saving money. We live quite a ways from town so combining errands and shopping trips and not going into town more often than necessary is helping. Although things seem to come up some weeks that make this hard to do. So if I need to grocery shop I will also use that trip to go to the bank, the post office, combine the trip with appointments and so on. If Emily needs to go to the local college to take a CLEP test then afterwards we will grocery shop and I try and buy my gas at the lest expensive gas stations in the city when I am out rather than the more spendy ones that are closer to home.
In the home I am working harder at reusing as many things as possible like plastic zip bags or my bread bags. Also when I think I need something I stop and ask myself if there is something I already have that would work just as well. As an example a few weeks ago I made up a batch of homemade disinfectant cleaner and used some paper towels that my husband had sitting in the shop (he got them from cleaning out his dad’s house as normally I don’t buy paper towels). I needed a container to put them in but did not have one big enough to work. So instead I used a gallon size zip lock bag and have been reusing the bag since then. It works fine.
Another thing I already do to save us money is use cloth napkins. They are easy to make and I have a ton of them now. I purchased the fabric from Walmart on the $2 a yard table. I can get 50 napkins made for less than $3. I wash them once a week or so.
On the homestead:
Well my daughter’s trip to the west coast is almost over and I am happy to say I have had several opportunities to visit with her, Jonathan and my grandbaby Caden. We celebrated our holiday a few days early since Tobin had to work on the 4th. Here are a few pics of our time together…
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Leanne sent us another letter.. I think she is feeling a bit homesick and that makes my mama heart sad for her. But I know this will be a wonderful experience when she looks back. She is a real homebody and I figured before she left she would have some difficult adjustments to make. So we continue to keep her in our prayers daily. We all are missing her so much. She has 6 weeks left to go and this week her team leaves for Egypt. I hope to have more pics from the Teen Missions website to post soon.
Hope you all are having a great holiday weekend on your homesteads! 
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Dateline: Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Uncle Wayne
Friends,
It is with great sadness and grief that I write these words...
My Uncle Wayne passed away this morning. They removed the ventilator after my Aunt Nina told the Dr not to operate to remove the damaged brain areas. This would have most likely left him in some sort of vegetative state. That was one thing Uncle Wayne adamantly did not want to happen to him. He struggled to breathe and then just passed away....
Graciously and most generously, my Dad and brother Todd are coming here to pick the children and me up...they are leaving tomorrow and will be here Thursday am. We'll leave soon after to be on the road as little as
possible for the 4th....It's hard to know that we have to be picked up like this...I wish life was a bit different....but I can't dwell on what is not and just accept what is. I did check into car rentals, but with it being a holiday weekend, there's not alot left in our town. The only thing that would carry all five of us is a 4 door truck..at a cost of almost $300, plus the gas to get there. I did check into flights...how outrageous at a cost of almost $700 PER PERSON! Ouch!
Please keep us in prayer as we travel. And keep Toby in prayer as he holds down the fort here at home. It's hard to be apart during times like these. And keep my Aunt Nina and folks in prayer. My Mom has now lost both of her siblings. As much as my heart is hurting, I can't imagine the pain in their hearts.
Thank you for your prayers and words of comfort. I dearly appreciate them!!!
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Dateline: Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Not so great phone call...
My SIL just called...the Dr said his best hope for survival was to remove the damaged part of his brain. My Aunt Nina said he wouldn't want that...and we all know he truly wouldn't want that. So, they are now doing only comfort measures and do not expect him to recover.
Thomas and I are fixing to leave for town. His braces' appmt is at 1 and we have several other stops to make beforehand. One of those stops will be to the thrift store to hopefully find some clothes for me. I fear I will be making a trip to NY soon and need something better than my stained house clothes...
Thank you for praying,
Laurie
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Dateline: Tuesday, July 1, 2008
He called....
Oh, thankfully, my brother just called.
The brain pressure number is high....he's been between 12 and 20. He shot up to over 100, has gone down to 50 and back up again. From what I understand, this number is the pressure in his brain, the lower the better.
Also, his blood pressure is over 200 over something...my brother wasn't sure.
Just pray.....please pray.....
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Dateline: Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Please pray for Uncle Wayne RIGHT NOW!!
PLEASE PRAY RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't know the details....the phone rang just minutes ago, and in my sleepy stupor ( we went to bed at 2 after Toby got home, then were up from 3-5:30 with Natalie and Mary vomiting again), I didn't realize who was calling and by the time I did, (it was my brother in NY), he had left a message.
I've tried calling him back, but just get his voice mail, same with Mom...
Anyhow, his message said that Uncle Wayne took a turn for the worst about 3:30am today. His brain pressure and blood pressure both have sky-rocketed and if they don't come down, the Dr says it doesn't look good...
A little prayer for my brother to call me back soon would be nice....I HATE being so far away....especially when I can't get a hold of anyone...
Thank you!
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Dateline: 2008-Jun-30
Monday on the Homestead
Well the weather is just beautiful here in the PNW! We have had several days full of sunshine and heat and I just love every minute of it. I think summer has finally come to our little corner of the world.
For the last few days I have been cooking with my crockpot.. or should I say crockpots.. I have 2 of them a big 6qt and 2 or 3 qt.. I think that is the size. It is an old one that use to be my moms many years ago, but it works like a trooper. I love being able to put both of them to use for a meal. One day I put a beanless chili in the big crockpot and cooked pinto beans in the small one. When the beans were done cooking I drained the liquid and added a little more salt and some butter and smashed them up right in the crockpot to make refried beans (not that they were fried at all..lol..).. Sierra made a salad and the combo was delicious. Another favorite combo is meatballs in the big crockpot and mac and cheese in the small one and serve with a fresh green salad. I have been taking the crockpots out to my husbands shop to plug in and cook for the day to keep the house from getting hot. It has worked great! I make the meal while it is still nice and cool and then enjoy the day working around my home and the afternoon swimming and sunning with the kids.. 
dinner is ready to go when the family is hungry.
Updates from my daughter Leanne. She is now on week 2 of her two week boot camp. We have gotten one post card from her and the phone call she gave me when she arrived in Orlando and today I got a letter from her. Sounds like Boot Camp is rigorous and full of lots of hard work. She is a hard worker and I am sure she is handling that just fine but I think she is feeling home sick. They have them up at 5:30am and doing KP to prepare for breakfast and then the days are long and hot and sweaty and very busy. The Teen Missions website has been giving updates and posting pictures of the kids and what they are doing. We have been checking in to see what is going on. Emily was so excited today to find a picture of Leanne!! She was swinging across some water with a rope.. Leanne is very strong and from the time she was a little girl she would grab onto the rope swing that is out over our pond and swing and climb that rope, she loved doing that.. So we all had to smile to see this picture of her:
If you want to see more pictures of the 2008 Boot Camp at Teen Missions you can see that here
This last week my daughter Carolyn and her hubby Jonathan and my grandbaby Caden came to town for a visit. They are still here. I have seen them a couple of times and over the weekend they headed to the Oregon coast with Jonathans family. This week we plan to get together again. The highlight of the visits so far was when my little grandson Caden called me “grandma”.. just melted my grandma heart.. 
Another highlight was going out shopping with all my girls, except for Leanne of course, and she was very missed by all of us! But it was a fun afternoon and it was cute to get a couple of baby belly pictures of Carolyn and Hannah my two mommies to be. Here is a pic of all of my girls:
Tobin and the boys have been working like crazy around the property. They have been trimming trees, mowing, clearing out weeds and I have to say the front of our property is looking like a park! And the great side benefit from this work is that we have about 1/3 of our winter wood already. Jacob has done a lot of cutting and Isaac has been helping with the stacking and clean up. Tobin split all the wood that needed to be split and it is all stacked neatly in the bins… we all smile at it as we walk by.. knowing how important that wood is to our winter time comfort (even in the midst of summer heat 
). Here is a pic of our pond and some of the surroundig area..
Tomorrow Tobin and I celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary! We are going to go out to dinner tonight to celebrate. I have to say that the more years that go by the better marriage gets and the more in love and committed I am to my man. 
Maybe I need to follow the lead of my friend Laurie (Abundant Blessings Farm blog and mod of my board and very loved friend of mine )… she takes the number of years married and lists that many things she loves about her hubby.. if I have time I may do that and post it tomorrow!
That is all for today. I need to get some laundry going and get think about getting ready for my evening out with my hubby.. 
Have a great Monday on your homestead!
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Dateline: Sunday, June 29, 2008
Tragedies abound...
Today has been filled with bad news....tragedies abound for our local Home Depot family...
Toby received a phone call from one of the assistant managers from work...one of his co-workers did not show up for work....they called and called, but got no answer (he was a dept supervisor). The boss finally got his home address, mapquested it and went to check it out. When he got there, the door was locked and his truck was in the driveway. He called the cops cause he couldn't get in. They broke the door down...and discovered him dead on the couch.
Later this evening, Toby had another phone call from a co-worker. She told him of two more deaths....one co-worker's mother in law passed away. We don't know any more information about this....
And the most sad....a 5 year old grandson of an assistant manager died. He was at the Air Show in Huntsville. There was a storm, with straight line winds of nearly 50mph. This blew over tents and made a huge mess. The boy was killed when a generator fell on top of him.
The past week has been one of reflection for me. The events of the last week seem to just reinforce to me the brevity of life. From my Uncle Wayne fighting for his life in the critical care unit (he's still fighting...and seems to be improving!)....to the tragic death of a 5 year old boy.....Without Jesus, how does one get through such trials? Life can end in an instant...in so many ways.
Show those you love that you love them. Don't hold back. Forgive those who have hurt you. Hug those you love. Don't hold a grudge. Don't be too hard on your children. Don't withhold affection from your husband. Don't forget to tell your friends how much they mean to you. For you just truly never know when you will have your last opportunity to do so. I have always tried to live this way...but will be ever more steadfast in doing so. Life is fleeting...and I don't want to leave behind anything but great memories, love and friendship to those I treasure.
I've always said to my Honey that there is always time for a kiss. He jokes with me that I like to kiss too much. I joke back that there is no such thing. But, we've always kissed whenever we part....whether Honey's going away to work or just outside to feed the cats. I've always had it in the back of my mind that you just never know when that parting will be the last. The events of the last week have shown me just how true that is.
So, go kiss your Honey. Hug your children and tell them you love them. Call up that friend you've wronged (or who has wronged you) and apologize. Get in touch with those loved ones that you haven't spoken to for some dumb reason. Just reach out to those you hold dear....cause you just never know when you will have had your last opportunity to do so...
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Dateline: Saturday, June 28, 2008
Today's verse of the day...
Today's verse of the day really spoke to me...
Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
Luke 6:28/KJV
Words fitly spoken. Words that I needed to hear!
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Dateline: Saturday, June 28, 2008
Saturday's update
My Uncle Wayne continues to improve....both of his eyes dilate when a light is shone on them. He is moving his feet and hands when touched. My cousin tickled his foot and he moved it!! He got aggitated when the nurse was moving his head.
The pressure numbers are coming down..this measures the pressure in his brain. He's fighting....and that's the best sign.
It's a long road ahead, but I'm so thankful he's still walking it. I know this has been extremely hard on my Aunt Nina and cousin Dale. I wish I were there to give them some comfort...but I know that they know I am there in spirit...and praying for them.
Today is my cousin's son's graduation from high school. My, how time does fly! I know today is a day of celebration...and I pray that they are indeed able to celebrate...both the graduation and the fact that Uncle Wayne is still hanging in there.
We are wishing Monday would not come...or at least not so quickly. We've sooooo loved having Daddy home this past week. It will be very hard to see him drive off to work in two days. It will also be strange since he will be working 3pm to midnight. He's never worked this shift before. I am trying to see the positives in it...
We've been online looking at properties for sale. Nothing really jumped out at us as "the farm"....but it was fun to look and dream. Found some homes with 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms....wow...dare to dream! More than 1 bathroom? We wouldn't know what to do! 
Obviously, we have no idea when or even if we would move. I do know that it's a topic of discussion here in our home. It's one of those thoughts at the moment...
Guess that's my update for today...Time for Rebecca to get online...
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Dateline: 2008-Jun-28
New Soap and Lotion Scents for Summer!
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Click HERE for more information.
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