Keeping it Simple

Day 4 Breakfast - Grapefruit, 2 Eggs Scrambled with Turkey Sausage Lunch - Egg Salad wrapped in Lettuce Wraps Dinner - No Cross Fit today....but extremely sore from yesterday....did squats with weights and my lower back is extremely sore! Allergies still crazy...and getting some energy back but still not ready to go run a marathon!

Here I go with another try at a Whole 30. On my second week of Cross Fit and ready to make a serious change with my eating and my body....something needs to give here. Getting down to one pair of jeans left in my closet and I refuse to buy any more until I am back to where I know I can be....so LET's DO THIS....Both feet in! DAY ONE was May Day - May 1st. Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs with Sautéed Red Peppers and Onions Mixed in with a small side of shredded potatoes. Lunch - Shredded Beef on top of Cauliflower Rice. Dinner - Hamburgers and I had mine on an Eggplant Bun. Snacks....Apples and Watermelon DAY TWO Already want to let it go....got a bad case of allergies on Day One and it had my head just all clogged up for my first back to real life day of the week...you know husband is off in Nebraska working and kids at school. I headed to Cross Fit...Check - Got that in...Last part of the WOD, a mile run, I got the 800 meter mark and there went my knee....so much pain...

This morning...I am having an at home morning with of course my little side kick angel. Hubby just got home from a goose hunting trip and we have about another 9 geese to de-breast and put in the freezer. So we can do something with them in the newer future...make jerky, sausage, smoke...something? So as I take the goose bones (why do I not want to say carcasses here? Is it the idea of a dead animal sitting on the side of the road that I relate with that word...and here I am roasting them to make poultry broth out of them.) Well, anyways, I took them out of the oven and was getting the water ready for them as I noticed how happy it makes me to be able to walk outside my door and grab parsley, thyme and sage to add to my pot. I just love being able to grow items that are real and I don't have to worry if something has been added to it...colors, artificial flavorings, preservatives. Well, it made my heart happy and brought a smile to my face. Addie played in the garage while ...

Usually off to church and home by now...but today it is a lazy Sunday morning. Seahawks are now on for their first season game and coffee is brewing! The morning started with Addie crawling into bed and waking me up...crawled right over the top and into the blankets next to me...pulling them up tight under her chin. Ah the moments. Soon there after we were off to the garden, Addie and I to collect whatever we could find. Looking for tomatoes to add to the ones we have been saving so we can start the canning process...going to try to roast them today and then can them. We will see how it goes. Farming, gardening, canning all trial and error in my opinion. After collecting tomatoes and pulling a few weeds we came across where the mole had been and realized that we would be picking a cantaloupe and trying it this morning since the mole had already had a sample of it. Yummy it was tasty, definitely would of been better in a few months...but that was not going to happen so we enjoye...

As many of you know, we moved. I had great intentions of sending out a Christmas/We Have Moved Card....then it turned into a Valentine's Day/We Have Moved Card...and well now here it is..."We Have Moved." Give me a call and I will share our physical address we would love to have you swing by and see our new place. Family Pic On Our Property A Little Peak Of The House...Oh And Our Beautiful Kiddos We have been busy with a little bit of everything from new chickens, new goats, basketball season that turned into baseball season, planting a little, trying to slowly get the yard done, organizing and continually cleaning! Really where does the time go because as I type what we have been up to, I really feel like it is not much but it seems like we do not have much down time. There is always something on the agenda. I am sure I do not feel alone in this. As summer quickly approaches and another school year is added to the books. It is amazing to see all that has...

Kids are back in school.... We are almost all unpacked.... I am in my new home.... Trailers are long gone off of the property.... Elk were grazing along the lake when I woke at 2 am.... Baby is napping and I am enjoying a cup of coffee watching the fog over the lake in front of the warm fire.... BLISS!

Day 159 - Planning on it being the LAST in the trailer! Ready for this...here is the last week of our trailer living in as much of a nutshell as I can get it. Really though, are you ready for this? Let's start with Thanksgiving... We left on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving...we left a hustle and bustle of workers...us feeling like we were on one of those Renovation TV shows...where they send you away for the night to return to this state of AWE and AMAZEMENT. OK not to burst the bubble, this was not the case here. So we left with: - the bathroom tile being finished - contractor's workers pressure washing, picking up "last" of garbage, any other odd end around - plumber finishing - bulldozer smoothing things out around the house - window washer coming while we were gone We returned with: - window washer half way done - plumber not finished - bulldozer - not done with the job to our idea of done - bathroom tile...needing yet more tile to finish?...

This tree is on the property adjacent to ours. It is a bittersweet tree for us...it blocks an amazing view of Mt. Rainier, but it also a lookout place for a few local eagles. This morning this one was there as I exited the garage and it was like it said, "Goodmorming," to me or to our little kitty. I quickly turned around and closed the garage door hoping that Fluffy would survive the eagle's hunt. The eagle stood on watch for at least an hour and Fluffy survived the day.  Nightly visits over to the house are the norm when we are not off at a school function. Sorry E...it is a head shot. Washing all the kitty off for the day! He is allergic and gets asthma and puffy itchy eyes if there is not a good removal of kitty dander nightly.  Tonight this picture  is of Toby getting Addie out of the bath. Thank goodness for long baths and showers...HOT WATER that does not run out in minutes and helpful daddy!  Preston in his room getting a l...

Window Washer...I am sure you are sitting on the edge of your seat waiting to hear more... Well, the window washer showed up this morning, as one of the boys went over to check on the kitty before school. He came back reporting that "Daryl the Window Washer" was here.  I went over and introduced myself and asked if he cleaned sills as well as windows? He said that no he doesn't usually but he would this time. First, what? every other time I have had windows cleaned the window washers exceeded my expectations...with crystal clear windows and beautiful window trim. As the window washer started, I went about my day and went back to see a completed window or two when the contractor got here. I again, asked the contractor...will he be cleaning the trim on the windows as well. (I think I am saying this wrong, not the trim...but the actual frame that it sits in.) The contractor said yes and I asked him if he would take a look at the ones that he had completed and make note o...

Day 146 We were told that our move-in date would be this Saturday...movers are scheduled (high school football players...) we are ready, kids are ready, the house is not ready. As easy as it could be to jump the gun and move in...we are resisting the temptation.  Why, I know you are asking... - the house cleaner is wondering what she signed up for and I am not sure that my idea of housecleaning and hers are the same? Ug... - the fireplace has a missing piece and it was suppose to come in the day before move in day --- it is delayed.  - the tile installer will not be returning until Monday...two days after "said move in day", he ran out of tile...had it expedited...ran out of other tile had it expedited...ran out of the main tile and after calling today realized that it was not expedited....frustration.  - the plumber will be returning tomorrow to hopefully finish. - the painter is returning tomorrow but he did tell us that he would be returning after ...

Will living on the lake ever get old? I love that yesterday, my dh stepped out of the trailer and said, "We live here!" I think this thought often and think of how blessed we are on a daily basis. God is good and we get the chance to see his wondrous works everyday and living out here on this peaceful lake I take more time to think about all he has given us. Morning Fog Breathtaking Sunrises A Fishing Blue Heron Playing River Otters Shining Through - Showing Us His Presence Picturesque Views Amazing Sunsets Really - how beautiful?

Day 139 - The number of days since we slept in our previous house. When building a home there are a number of emotions that one goes through. At this point it is a daily sometimes hourly thought of we are one day closer to moving in. Then within moments that can be put on the back burner with we are one day closer but two days further or maybe three days further from moving in. (Or the feeling of never moving in has passed my mind once or twice.) This feeling can start in the morning and change any number of times throughout the day, or sometimes on a good day it never changes. Today was a "We are one day closer day," and it ended that way as well. Yeah! Being about two weeks from move-in day I am hoping that most days go this way from now on. But staying open minded so we don't have any huge emotional let downs. At this time, the laminate floors are in the vinyl is in some plumbing trim is in...(did you know that this is what toilets and faucets are referred ...

Day 121 As I sit here at 5 a.m., it is a little chilly here in our “palace.” I keep turning the heat up and realize that no matter what I do, it is blowing cold air…uh-oh. Good thing we have secondary heat options and everyone is hunkered down in nice warm down comforters with shelter over their heads.  To-do for tomorrow…figure out why the heat is not coming on? Maybe our of propane? I hope it is such a simple fix. (update...I turned the stove on- well attempted to, and we are out of propane!  Thank  Goodness!!) I started out here thinking I was going to give a house update. So here it goes, wait all I can think about is cuddling up by our fireplace that is on the way to our new home. Well, there is an update…the laminate floor guys were here to install the laminate. (They are done and it looks amazing! YEAH - one step closer.) But back to the fireplace, we built a hearth for the fireplace to sit on and it is “almost” finished…it is missing the key element...