Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Tired.... but its a good tired...

I went saturday to purchase a bushel of peaches from a local farmer, they weren't quite ripe so they got put on the back burner and I canned up the tomatoes I had ready instead. I got 4 quarts. Nothing to sneeze at though, 4 quarts more than I had and the vines are full.
Sunday was a very busy day, I got up early and baked a cake, made a batch of icing and colored it and then worked up some roses to set to be placed on the cake later. We got everyone ready then went to church, after church we got a quick lunch and I came home to finish the cake. I think it turned out ok, not my best but it was a rush job as I didn't get home till 12:30 and I had to finish the cake and make 2 dishes to take to the cookout. And we had to be there by 2:00, admittedly we were about 1/2 hr late but it all worked out great as lots of other folks thought the party started at 3:00.
After the party was over I think we got home around 7:30, we went out to the garden to see if there were any more tomatoes ready, they have been trickling in slowly, and so we have been checking every day or so to make sure we don't miss any. Well what we found was a few tomatoes a couple cucumbers and a ton of weeds. So we went to pulling weeds and did so for about an hour. We all came in and got showers and got ready for bed.

Yesterday I decided the peaches were ripe enough to can so we get everything ready to work them up and then we got a call from my grandparents and asked if I would like some fresh green beans from their garden and I told them we would love some and so my gram said Pap had an errand to run and would bring them too me. I decided to keep Kara up a while longer before she went down for her nap so she could see her PapPap and we waited for him to arrive. It wasn't long at all before he pulled in and he brought more than just beans. He really blessed us with his generosity!!!
I sent him home with 6 big peaches, it was all he wanted and all I had to offer him, as I had nothing else ripe yet. I promised I would work up a few peppers as stuffed peppers for him and Gram, they love them.

Once Pap left I got the baby down for a nap and got busy. Later in the afternoon my good friend Emmy called and we arranged for her to come over so all the kids could swim and she helped me scald the last of the peaches and put them into jars. It wasn't long till it was 5:30 and she had to get her kids home and dinner started for her family and I kept plugging along vowing to finish the peaches that day. I did finish and took the last 4 jars off last night at 9:30. All in all I canned 25 quarts of peaches, did 4 loads of laundry, cleaned the bathroom and made breakfast, lunch and dinner and started snapping the green beans. I finally got to tired and gave up and went to bed at around 11:00 last night. Thankfully I guess the kids were just as tired as I was and they all slept through the night!!!

I was back up at 6:15 this morning, hubby's lunch is packed and the younger two are up and eating their breakfast, I've made the bed and tidied the bathroom  and my agenda today will be to work up the green beans, and If I get to it I'll work up the corn as well, in addition to breakfast, lunch and dinner, I hope to get a couple loads of laundry done as well.

Busy busy busy, and so tired but it is definately worth it!! Feeling blessed and thankful to be able to fill the jars and the shelves to get us through!!! I may not have money in the bank but food on the shelves is a great feeling!!!
I am headed off to get busy, what's going on at your homestead today??
Have a wonderful day!!
Dana

Saturday, July 28, 2012






It’s A Virtual Shelf Reliance THRIVE Party!





Welcome to Dana's THRIVE party! I’m Kendra, an independent consultant for Shelf Reliance, and I’m here to tell you all of the great reasons that you should have THRIVE foods in your home.





I want to start off by thanking ­­­Dana for allowing me to join you here today! In return for hosting this party, Dana is going to receive 10% of all party sales in FREE products, as well as earning Half-Off products! Yay!!







If any of you are interested in earning FREE and Half-Off foods, you’re invited to host a virtual party as well! Just let me know you’re interested and I’ll get you all set up.



Now, on with the party…



If you’ve never heard of THRIVE, you’re probably wondering what it’s all about. Well, THRIVE is a line of top quality freeze dried foods by Shelf Reliance.




Freeze dried foods are not the same as dehydrated foods. Instead of using high heat, as the dehydration process requires, freeze dried products are processed at temperatures down to -50 degrees F. Approximately 98% of the product’s moisture content is removed by vaporization, leaving the foods with their full nutritional components, tastes, colors, and freshness in tact. The benefit of doing this is the extended shelf life freeze dried foods offer, without the use of any additives or preservatives. Most THRIVE products have a shelf life of 25-30 years when unopened, and 1-2 years even after being opened!



There are so many benefits to having THRIVE foods in your home, not only for long term food storage, but for every day use as well! Let me share with you how these products are saving me time and money in the kitchen.



But first… why’d I decide to become a consultant for Shelf Reliance? Well, over the past few years, I have come to really strive toward four major goals that pertain to my family’s eating habits:





  • Eating More Nutritiously



  • Saving Money on Groceries



  • Spending Less Time Preparing Meals



  • Becoming Less Reliant on the Grocery Store



So, when I discovered a product that can actually help me achieve my goals in EVERY SINGLE one of these areas… I was in love. I was so excited that I couldn’t wait to tell everybody I knew about it. And hey, if I could make money while sharing my new-found love, why not?!



I must admit though… it wasn’t love at first sight.



In all honesty, when I first heard about “freeze dried foods” I was quite skeptical. For some reason I was somewhat put-off by the sound of it… as if the foods would be stale, and tasteless. How do you cook with freeze dried foods, anyways?



But when I got my hands on a bunch of THRIVE samples and had an opportunity to try them for myself, every misconception I had previously held to was immediately wiped away.



They were SO GOOD!!



And when my husband and kids loved it just as much as I did, I knew these foods were going to become a main staple in our home. (You can read my thorough product review with close-ups of the foods, and even watch a video of my kids taste testing THRIVE for the first time, HERE.)






THRIVE Can Help You Eat More Nutritiously & Save You Time







What is one of the major reasons why people don’t eat more nutritiously? We have all the fresh foods we could need available to us, so why do we still opt for fast food and boxed dinners?



Time. It’s all about time, isn’t it? The fast paced lives we lead today are often the reason we just don’t have time to prepare nutritious snacks and meals at home every single day. Chopping fresh produce and meat takes a lot of time. But there are those days when we just need something fast, which usually means a swing through the drive thru, or feeding our family unhealthy processed foods.



THRIVE has the solution to this ongoing dilemma! One of the great things about freeze dried foods is that they are already prepared for you. The produce and meat are washed, chopped, and ready to be added to any of your favorite dishes. The fruits in particular are delicious eaten straight out of the can for a quick and healthy snack (which is a fantastic way to get your kids to munch on something that is actually good for them!). The only prep work it takes to cook with THRIVE is allowing the food to reconstitute in a little bit of water for just a couple of minutes, then they’re as good as fresh!



Another thing I love about THRIVE freeze dried foods is that you won’t find any additives or preservatives in the majority of their products. Green beans are green beans. Strawberries are strawberries. Period. No salt, no high fructose corn syrup or sugar… nothing. So you can be confident that you are feeding your family pure goodness when you use these items in your every day cooking.



With THRIVE veggies and meats already chopped and prepared, there’s no reason you can’t have a quick, nutritious meal on the table in 30 minutes or less.



Okay, we’ve talked a little about how THRIVE can help you eat healthier and save time, but now I’d like to share how THRIVE can also save you money!






Save with THRIVE!



What’s the most expensive item in your fridge?



Organic produce?



Meat?



Wrong! It’s actually the stuff you throw away!!



Think of all of the produce and freezer burned stuff you toss every month. Spoiled grapes or berries, slimy onions, shriveled carrots or celery, sprouting potatoes and moldy mushrooms… so much of what comes out of the produce drawer in our fridge ends up being tossed straight into the garbage, doesn’t it?



On average, Americans throw away over 25% of their groceries every single month. That’s HUGE! When you add up how much of your money is thrown straight into the garbage monthly, it can really add up to a significant loss. For instance, let’s say your monthly grocery budget is $500, if you are like the average American household you probably throw away around $125 in spoiled food every month. And I’m betting that’s money you could really use!



Why not reallocate that portion of your monthly grocery budget toward foods that won't spoil?



Having THRIVE’s freeze dried foods in place of the produce that typically goes bad in your home will save you big bucks every month. You’d never have to worry about mold growing in your berries, or your veggies spoiling because you didn’t use them in time. Imagine that… no waste!!



Okay, so how else do we blow money on food?



Eating out, right?



How often do you eat out during the week? Again, it comes down to time, doesn’t it? Some days we just don’t have time to get a meal together at the last minute.



THRIVE can help you on those nights when the family is starving and you have no time to put anything together. Instead of blowing a bunch of money to pay for somebody else to make your food for you, have several THRIVE Express meals on hand! Almost all of these hearty, complete dishes are table ready in 10-15 minutes, and can feed your family for less than the cost of what one person would spend eating out! Just dump it into a pot, add water, and heat. It’s super easy, and even my picky kiddos love these soups.



(Just a head’s up, THRIVE Express meals are actually on SALE this month, and can be picked up for less than $6 per pack. A pack generously feeds four adults, and would be a real money saver compared to eating away from home.)



Take a minute to check out the selection of THRIVE Express meals that Shelf Reliance has to offer, and then make a note to have a few of these on hand for quick and healthy backup meals.



And how much of our money do we spend on impulse buys?



How many times have you realized that you were missing a key ingredient in the middle of cooking something? I know I’ve done it plenty of times! And it always meant a quick trip to the store to pick up the item I needed.



But running to the store for just one or two things isn’t a good use of time or money. You can’t forget to factor in the cost of your gas to get to the store and back. The pack of eggs you needed to run and get might cost you $1.50, but how much did the gas to get it add to that expense? Probably at least another $3.00. When it really comes down to it, that’s an expensive pack of eggs!



Not only that, but grocery stores know how to enlist those impulse buys. They’ve strategically placed tempting treats throughout the store, in hopes of catching your eye and begging you to grab just a couple of other things before heading to the checkout lane. I’m sure you’re guilty… we’ve all done it! So, that one missing ingredient that you ran to the store to get can end up costing much more than you’d anticipated shelling out.



Doesn’t it just seem wiser to have backup ingredients on hand for just such emergencies?!



Lucky for us, THRIVE carries just about every basic staple you would ever need. Powdered milk, powdered eggs, powdered butter, powdered shortening, even powdered sour cream … think of the things that you typically run out of in the middle of a recipe; you name it, it’s there. Add a little water and voila, you’re good to go.



As a side note, the powdered eggs aren't only easy to use, and are fantastic to bake with, they're actually cheaper to use than store bought eggs! With over 200 whole eggs per #10 can, using powdered eggs for all of your baking can save you a little bit of money as well. Not only that, but you can actually eat the cookie dough without any fear of salmonella!! That's enough reason to have some on hand, right there!



Another way you can curb your impulse buys is by signing up for Shelf Reliance’s “Q”. The Q has been best described as Netflix for food, and is a place where you can do your monthly shopping online without the distractions and temptations of a traditional grocery store. Every month, you choose what you’d like to put in your shopping cart, and they’ll ship it straight to your door. It couldn’t be easier. But, more about the Q in a moment.




THRIVE Helps You To Be Less Reliant On The Store



A recent survey found that the average American household has enough food to sustain themselves for three days. THREE DAYS!



But what if bad weather hits, like the recent derechos that caused thousands and thousands of people to lose power for a week, and stores are without power and unable to help customers? What if gas prices surge and truck drivers can’t make deliveries to grocery stores? What if inflation sets in and we can’t afford many groceries anymore? Or, what if you experience the loss of a job and have to live on an extremely limited budget?



There are so many variables that our food supply depends on, and a problem with any one of them can disrupt the entire assembly line. It is foolish to think that we will always be able to get what we need from the grocery store when we need it.



Having food storage, or a Home Store, that you can “shop” when times are tough is not only wise, it can be life saving.



I’ll share a little personal story with you. In 2009, the Lord started pressing upon me and my husband to start storing up food. We’d never in our lives heard of people doing such a thing, but with the slowed economy and all we thought it would be a wise use of our money. Turns out, it was. In March of 2010, my husband was laid off. Work was slow, and they just couldn’t afford to keep him on any longer. It took six months before he found another full-time job (which he was also laid off from less than a year later!). During that time, we used what money we were able to bring in to pay our mortgage and other bills. And because we had food stored up, we ate just fine through the whole ordeal.



Now that we have experienced first hand how incredibly important it is to have what we would need to feed ourselves and our children when tough times hit, we will never again go without at least a year’s worth of food stored in our home.



Think of it as food insurance.



We have car insurance, and home owners insurance to help us if we ever run into trouble, right? But what I hate about those kinds of insurances is that you pay the bill, hoping you’ll never need to use it, though if you don’t use it then you’re out all of that money you spent!



Let me just ask you, what’s more important… having a car, or having food?



So, why don’t you have food insurance?



Reallocating a little bit of your grocery budget every month toward building up your home store is an incredibly important thing to do for your family. And the best part is that you’ll be using every bit of what you buy!!



Shelf Reliance has made building your home store as easy as 123...




The “Q”



If you don’t know where to start with food storage, The “Q” that we spoke about earlier makes it super easy to build your home store on a budget. I can even help you set it up. First, you would enter how many people are in your household, whether they are children or adults, and the Planner determines their caloric needs. Then you specify how many months of food you’d like to build up, anywhere from 3 months to several years! Next, you tell the “Q” what you’d like to set your monthly budget at, and The Planner automatically puts items in your cart that would fit your family’s needs.



The Q is completely customizable. If your family has special dietary requirements, or just doesn’t particularly like bananas per se, you can exchange that item from your cart for something else that you’d rather have. Every month you’ll get a shipment of food sent straight to your door, and your home store will soon be stocked with everything your family would need for your specified amount of time.








Help Feed The Hungry When You Place An Order



As if THRIVE foods weren’t awesome enough, the founders of Shelf Reliance have created their corporate charity, Thriving Nations, which donates 5% of all THRIVE profits to helping impoverished people in third world countries to become more self reliant by teaching them essential agricultural techniques and economic principles.



You can feel good knowing that every THRIVE purchase you make is used to bless the less fortunate around the globe.



Now do you see why I love this stuff so much?!



Here’s Even More Great News!



As a special perk for “attending” this THRIVE party, every one of you is eligible to receive an exclusive discount of up to 30% off retail prices on Shelf Reliance’s webstore! That means that you can get everything you would need to help save your family money, eat more nutritiously, and grow your home store for cheaper than ever!



All you need to do is contact me at newlifeonahomestead@gmail.com, let me know that you were a guest at Dana's virtual THRIVE party, and I’ll add you to my customer list. You will receive an email with a password that you will use to log in at Shelf Reliance. Once you’re in, you will always see the discounted price reflected on the screen, and you will get that discount on every order you place.



But the BIGGEST discounts will be given for “Q” customers who set up a Q budget of $100 or more. Not only will you see the absolute best prices available on the web, you’ll also get specials including occasional shipping discounts, monthly “Q-pons” which you can use for even deeper discounts on your favorite products, and points rewards you can earn for free products.



Alright Kendra, I’m ready to place an order. What do I need to do?



Your Six Steps To THRIVE Success…



1. Make a list of everything you can think of that typically goes bad in your fridge, then make a plan to order the freeze dried form of these items so you never throw away spoiled produce (and money) again.



2. Make a list of the basic baking essentials that you tend to run out of in the middle of cooking, then make a plan to order their powdered forms so you never have to run to the store at the last minute again.



3. Make a list of the foods that you hate taking the time to prepare. Hate chopping onions? Get them freeze dried, they’re delicious!



4. Decide if building a Home Store sounds like a wise idea for your family. Then determine how long you’d like your Home Store to sustain you, and how much money you can afford to spend every month on your “Q”.



5. Email me to let me know that you’d like to be added as Dana’s exclusive party customer. I’ll get you all set up.



6. Log in to Shelf Reliance with the password you’ll receive in an email, and start using your discount! You can place a one time bulk order for everything on your lists, or you can set up a monthly “Q” and get all of your family’s needs on a budget.



Please remember to place your order before the party's closing date on August 5, 2012.



If you have any questions or need help getting started, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll be more than happy to help you with anything you need.



Thanks so much for joining Dana and I today!! It’s been a pleasure sharing THRIVE with you.





Thursday, July 26, 2012

Thursday 7/26/2012

Good Early Evening!!

I'm sitting here listening to the children play, and just catching up on blogs I like to read.

Today hasn't been a very busy day per say but busy none the less.
First I got hubby's lunch packed and got him off to work
Then our friend dropped her son off to spend the day with us
I got a shower and then made sure all the children were ready to go and we left for town.
We:
Stopped by my mom's work
went to the Boy Scout office to pick up a package for dh
went to get some lunch
went to the dollar tree
went to the grocery store
then back home
the 3boys went directly to playing games while I took little miss to my room and laid down with her to so she could get her nap.

* what is it about trying to take a nap that makes everyone you know is try to get in touch with you at that moment?? Seriously if your ever feeling lonely take a nap- the phone won't stop ringing!! I know I got at least 3 calls while trying to lay down with the baby. The phone might not ring all day but by golly try to nap and see what happens. Sheesh!!!!

Now I am thinking about dinner, the kids want tacos which is fine. I'll make some dirty rice as well since dh is burnt out on tacos!!

I also have tomatoes to work up, I'll save some out for dinner tonight but work up the rest. Dh went out to the garden this morning to see if there were any ready for him to be able to take a few to his boss- he works in the city so not alot of folks garden. He came in and said to me lol "THE TOMATOES ARE COMING THE TOMATOES ARE COMING...BRACE YOURSELF WOMAN THE TOMATOES ARE COMING" He is such a goof sometimes, but it did make me chuckle, I asked if there were really that many out there that were ready and he said a good many with lots coming on behind them, he had taken 4 off to take to his boss, and as soon as they were dressed the boys lit out of here all excited  and they picked this morning and came in with 29, 2 aren't quite ready still pink so they will spend some time in the kitchen window, So a total of 33 picked today. I already had 11 in the window so I should have at least a good 30+ to work up after I take some out for dinner tonight.
A small batch to can but every little bit adds up!!!

Well I guess I better get dinner started!!!

Oh and if you have a moment and wouldn't mind, would you say a prayer for my friend Tiffani, and her husband Mike and daughter Phoebe?? She tragically miscarried a couple of months ago and tonight they are having a memorial for their son who was taken so soon. She's a dear friend and I know she would appreciate it!!!

Have a great evening!!
Dana

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Catching up...

Good Morning!!
Its Wednesday and I am thankful for a day at home. I have a good deal of things that need caught up on around here, a busy day for me for sure.

Dh went to the dr on Monday for his Post-Op check up, they removed the stints and looked him over well and said he was recovering nicely, but they want to see him again in 2 weeks. He's back to work now, and he says without the stints he is much more comfortable and even the pain is more manageable without the stints in.

It was a productive week for me, I canned the peaches and got 27 quarts and 1 pint, I canned 5 quarts of strawberry-lemonade concentrate, 4 quarts of tomatoes and I grated and froze 5  2cup bags of zucchini.

The tomatoes are trickling in, I guess this will be the year of can a couple quarts every other day or so, which is ok I guess, it will keep me from working myself silly. I just hope to get enough from the garden to stock us up.

The upcoming weekend looks to be busy too. I am hoping dh will have time to fix my clothesline, it would be a savings to be able to stop using the dryer!! I know he also needs to put in his grams dishwasher and fix her doorbell, that is of course depending on how he feels, I guess it could be a very productive weekend or another weekend to just slow down and heal more. Hopefully he's on the mend and will be getting back to normal soon!!!

There is also a benefit dinner for my Uncle Jerry who is battling cancer, to help cover some of his medical bills. I don't know if we are going or just going to make a donation, again depends on how my hubby feels. I will be baking some things to donate to the bake sale. Everyone loves home baked goodies and every bit sold will help my Aunt and Uncle pay down those medical bills.

Our babysitter turned 16 yesterday and there is a little get together for her on Sunday sometime after church, I need to work her up a gift really quick, I think I'll make her some quilted potholders or something for her hopechest.

Lots of things going on, but our participation all depends on how well dh feels. The dr said it could take up to 6 weeks for him to even begin to start to feel normal again. Poor fella.

I know I've got lots to keep my busy here at home so staying home just might be a good idea!!
Enjoy your day!!!
Dana

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Happy Saturday

I'm up early after going to bed late...Not sure how that is going to work out for later but oh well... on with the day...

So a little update as to what has been going on in our little piece of the world.....

Monday 7/16/2012 The hubs had surgery to remove as the dr put it "An extremely severe deviated septum" Pretty much she broke out what bone she could then she chisled out the rest.....Sheesh!!!!! Boy, has he been through the wringer!!! He's still not 100% and I have no idea when he will be, its slow going on the healing for sure. She also put in stints I guess to keep his airway open and of course they are a bugger to deal with!!! Poor fella is pretty much miserable and in pain. The meds make him itch and knock him out, both of which he is NOT fond of. Its been a rough recovery for him to be sure. We go back to the dr on monday hopefully to remove the stints and hear praises of a great recovery but we'll wait and see how it goes.

The rest of the week was spent at home, just doing things around the house. I've pretty much caught up all the laundry, I canned 27 qts and 1 pint of peaches, the kids have had video game marathons with their friend who has hung out here a couple days this week. Last night I went to Ladies night with the girls and today...well today is still up in the air. With Dad home full time on recovery we aren't really making plans just taking the day as it comes and deciding what to do as the mood strikes us. Its nice for a change to just.... be, not to be on a set schedule, at least for the time being. When the hubs is released back to work, I am expecting a rude awakening and some balking on the kids part and mine as well probably as we get back into the groove.

The garden is really starting to produce and I feel like I am fixing to be busy but I am looking forward to it really, I love canning and hope this year is a bumper crop kind of year. I was a little worried about rain and without it and without hand watering ,worrying that things might dry up and not produce but its been raining for 2days with small breaks inbetween soakings and I think everything will be just fine now!!!

I'll still get a few things from the farmer's market, mainly peaches but it will be nice to be putting up whatever we can!!!

I hope you have had a wonderful week!!!
Dana

Monday, July 9, 2012

Monday 7/9/2012

Good Morning!!!

I am sitting here in the quiet, having got up early to make dh's lunch and send him off to work I have been the only one up for awhile, my middle child just came down the hall but he his not quite awake. The other 2 children are still asleep. I love lazy summer mornings!! We woke up this morning to
RAIN GLORIOUS RAIN!!!!!
Our garden, needed it to be sure!! The 2 short bursts of rain we got this past week has really made the pumpkins take off so I can only imagine what this awesome soaking rain will do for the garden!!!

How was your weekend??
Ours was busy but productive and wonderful!!!

Saturday we stuck pretty close to home for the most part, we did till in the garden, mow, and ran the weed-eater around the garden fence, dh repaired a piece of fence that it looks like a deer tried to get into the garden, thankfull it didn't.  We came in and showered because it was 101*+ and we were dripping after working in the yard, then we met up with a former scout parent and picked up our scout float from him and are storing it at my mothers for the time being. We came home and worked in the house some but the heat really zapped us so we were happy to just relax and watch a movie for the most part!!! I think the guys especially the Hubs stayed up way too late watching tv because come morning everyone was having a hard time getting up infact dh was still asleep when I left for church. I left him sleep and told the boys to stay quiet so he could rest and Baby Girl and I went to Church.

*Cute side note, I'll be cuddling Kara and ask if she is momma's "baby" to which she replies " I mommas howny baybee"  So I've been calling her Honey Baby!!

Church was wonderful!!! Kara was super excited to be there and she just chatted and chatted, it was a chore trying to keep her quiet during the service, our Pastor who has a young child hisself - Thanked God for the voices of small children because they are truely a blessing to us- during one of his prayers. He really is a great Pastor!! Of course Kara wasn't the only little person chatting and socializing!! I love our church!!
Soon all the littles were called up for children's time and then after led out to their "classes"
The rest of church was great!!!

After Church, Kara and I came home, I made lunch for all the kids and then made dinner for the kids and put it in the fridge, I tidied up a bit, then got myself fixed up and Kara and I went to pick up the sitter. We left the kids here in capable hands, with instructions on cooking the dinner,  then Mike and I went out to dinner and to a movie!! Gosh I can't even tell you the last movie I saw in a theater... I'm guessing it was maybe the Polar Express?? It has been quite a while.
Dh took me to Outback Steak House for dinner, it was AMAZING!!! Then we went to see The Avengers!! It was equally good!! We had such wonderful time!!! We came home and the kids were great, they had a wonderful time with the sitter!!! She really is a sweet girl, she is 15 and the daughter of a great friend and the best part is she only lives about a mile from us. GREAT with my kids and we adore her!!!

We ended the evening hanging out and watching a show with the kids, I crocheted a bit, I really should be more diligent about it concidering I have 4 babies needing blankets that are due before the end of the year!! YIKES!!! I gotta get busy!!!!

But that was our weekend, busy, productive, family filled,and wonderful!!!

My day today will be somewhat busy, I need to take dh's gram to the dr, do a little shopping and work on the laundry and then there is VBS!!! And this year I am a leader!! Whoo, I don't know what I was thinking when I signed up but I'll handle it and I am sure it will be a wonderful time!!!!!

Oh and before I forget it is Monday I probably should post our menu right??? :)
Tonight- BLT's and Cukes from the garden
Tuesday- Chicken alfredo with mushrooms and broccolli
Wednesday-Hamburgers and chips
Thursday-Lasagne and garlic bread
Friday- Hm Pizza
Weekend?? Thats kind of up in the air, if the temps cool down like its supposed too we will probably grill out being that its will be Dh's last weekend before his Septum surgery on the 16th, he probably isn't going to want much to eat and if he does it will probably be something soft that he asks for. Poor fella!!!


Hope you all have a wonderful day!!!
Dana

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Thursday 7/5/2012

Good Morning!!

Dh was able to fix the fridge!!! I can't tell you how excited that makes me!!
My plans for today are to take apart and clean out all the shelves and drawers of the fridge then put it all back together.
I also have sweet potatoes and zucchini pineapple to can today.
And laundry lets not forget the never ending laundry pile :)

A busy and hopefully productive day for sure!!!
Have a wonderful day!!!
Dana

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy 4th of July!!!

A great and sincere THANK YOU to all those who have served in our Military past and present!!!

An update:
Our power is back on after going out again last night in the middle of dinner!! I gotta say to lighten the mood,  I teased the hubby a bit that it was his doing as a suprise for me for our anniversary next week, that we were eating by candlelight!! He played along but wasn't as enthused as I pretended to be, we ate our dinner by candlelight and then set out to get things secured for the coming night. The storm that blew in, increased the humidity quite a bit, we went to my mom's who had not lost power to fill up water jugs and then stopped to get ice for the coolers. We took water and a cooler to dh's gram so that she would be ok, then came home and tried to get the generator going, we couldn't get it to start so we gave up and decided to deal with is in the morning when there would be plenty of light. We opened some windows hoping for a breeze then tried to sleep. The power THANK GOD came back on in the middle of the night, dh got up and closed the windows and turned on the air, as it was quite stuffy as there wasn't much breeze and the humidity was high.

Some friends of ours who live in WV still haven't gotten power back from the first storm last friday, I called this morning to offer our shower, washer/dryer and a hot meal but they are just fine they say, they have a generator and a huge pool to stay cool in, so they are just fine and ok which is a relief.

The new fridge parts came yesterday afternoon, dh got up this morning and got the new parts put back in, I am hopeing that they work and we haven't lost the fridge completely!!!

Our plans for today are to work a bit around here, then have dinner with friends!!

I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July!!!
Dana

Monday, July 2, 2012

Monday 7/2/2012

We had another storm pass through last night but thankfully we were able to keep our power!!!

Dh is off to work, no word yet if they have power in his office or not. I told him this morning if they didn't it would be nice to have him home another day. He agrees it would be nice to have another day off, he is really sore and tired from our weekend.

He cut up those 8 trees on Saturday for our neighbor in 100* temps with 100* humidity, he worked so hard and long in the heat that by saturday night his face was coved in hives from the heat. Thankfully we have the pool and he has been getting in, in the evenings to cool off. With our power back on it certainly makes sleeping better but everyone is still tired from such an eventful weekend!!!

He had me order the parts for our fridge and we even paid extra to get them here faster, hopefully they will be here by tomorrow so that dh can work on the fridge and get it fixed. I am lucky to have him, he isn't afraid to tackle the big jobs and by working on it ourselves, if he is able to fix it,he will have saved us a ton of money over buying a new fridge!!

My day today will be spent at home, working on getting the dishes and laundry caught up, there is a ton of that to do!!!

Not sure what dinner will be tonight, maybe tacos, something easy and quick.

Have a blessed day!!!

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Abundant Blessings in the aftermath of the storm

A horrible storm hit here Friday night. There were wind gusts of 80mph, rain and hail included. Thousands lost power, us included. Our power went out at about 2:30am Saturday morning. About a mile from our house, a tree had fell and snapped a power pole in half. And did I mention the temp as been 100* and the humidity seems like about 150%
To say we were miserable would be an understatement.
When we finally got up for the day, we found out one of our neighbors, Jeff, who is also a good friend had something like 8 trees come down. We decided to go over and help him cut them up, it was a long miserably hot day but we got it done.  Our power finally came back on at around 11pm last night.
In the mean time we also had borrowed a generator from my grandfather.  We hooked up the fridges and the freezer, and we were lucky that our extra fridge and the freezer did well. We weren't so lucky that our main fridge in the house died.  I'm not sure if it was the storm or age or what but it just gave up.  Even with the generator and then power coming back on the fridge never got cooler than 64* and that amount of time at that temp the parishable foods were just not safe to eat!! So sadly we lost alot of food.

Our chore after church today was to clean out the fridge, take all the bad stuff to the dump and then make a list and go to the store to replace what we lost.  We also ordered parts for the fridge and paid extra *ouch* for them to be overnighted to us.

Tonight while I was fixing dinner I heard a car horn, I looked out and it was our pastor, he heard that we lost all our parishables and brought us a car full of groceries!!!! How amazing is that??? I hadn't told anyone at church that we had lost everything parishable in the house fridge but he had heard through the grapevine so they say and said they wanted to help. It was totally unexpected and left us speachless!!

We got everything put away and finally had a late dinner of BLT sandwiches and cucumbers from the garden!! My husband agreed that this dinner really said SUMMER!!! We also said that it would have only been any better if the tomato had come from our garden. It was still good though!!!

Its been a long weekend and we are super happy that the power is back on!!!