Wednesday, April 1, 2015

To Do Nothing and Be So Tired

Well days like today that I think I haven't accomplished anything and am exhausted just don't make sense.

Then I remember and account for my day.

Got up, took Felicity to school.
Gregory is sick (day 4 with very bad strep), so he's home with me.
Made myself and Gregory something to eat.
Surfed the internet a bit, trying to make plans for our vacation.
Mixed up yet MORE milk for our 4 baby goats. Bottle fed them.
Fed the horses.
Let the chickens out.
More work on our vacation.
Clean up the kitchen
All the while trying to force liquids into Gregory so he doesn't get any further dehydrated.
Wash 3 loads of clothes.
Hang all loads on the clothesline to dry.
Tidy up the family room.
Let our 6 dogs in and out let's see....maybe 8 times!
Bring clothes in from line and fold them. They are ready to be put away.
Clean up the kitchen...again.
Separate bulk packages of meat I bought at the store on Monday.
Make hamburger patties for tomorrow night's dinner.
Cook tonight's dinner.
Put leftovers away.
Wash dishes.
Make more milk and bottles. Bottle feed the 4 baby goats.
Feed the horses.
Feed and water the 50ish chickens and tuck them in for the night.
Continue to force yet more liquids into Gregory.

And I think to myself "I didn't get anything done today." Yeah, right.



Too darn tired for a shower. That will have to wait until morning.

I'm one tired Momma of 2-legged and 4-legged babies.

Good night.

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Beginning my journey with essential oils...

I have known about essential oils for years, but just never really delved into them. A couple of my friends are distributors for Young Living and between them and what I had seen over the past few years, I knew the YL oils are, by far, the best on the market. Yes, they do cost a little more than the ones you will find in regular stores (when you can find them) , but the quality is worth the cost and results. I decided to become a YL distributor as well. Not necessarily to go into a business really big, but more so to use them for my household and any friends that have interest.

Yes, when I got my Starter Kit, I was still skeptical. I won't kid you. I have been struggling with some issues from the side effects of a medication I take. Depression, over the top OCD behaviors, etc. So I figured I would give the EO a go and the worst that would happen is my house would smell really good.

I also have a back injury from a slip and fall accident and many mornings, it aches pretty badly. One morning when I took my son to school (after my Starter Kit had arrived), his teacher/my friend, told me to put 3 drops of the "PanAway" oil in a little bit of grapeseed oil (her choice of carrier oil) and rub it on my back. Yeah, okay, I thought. So I did. In less than 5 minutes the pain was completely gone!! I could not believe it! So I put the "Joy" oil in my diffuser (that came with my kit), in our house. Eh, I thought...at least the house will smell good. My husband was home from work on R&R and that particular day I noticed he had been kinda grouchy and grumbly. Within about an hour of starting the diffuser, I noticed his mood lifting. I felt better in general, as well.

I have been doing more reading and research and even my Podiatrist and his wife use YL oils in their household. He did reinforce that the EO do not take the place of required medical care, which of course, I already know.


A few nights ago my daughter, Katie, called me nearly desperate for help with my grandson. He is 5 months old, has severe GERD and had not slept but about 45 minutes all day that day. He was fussy and irritable and just would not rest. So I went to her house, took a little flax seed filled cloth sachet I had and put several drops of Lavender oil on the sachet. In a matter of about 5-8 minutes, Oakley was sound asleep and slept through the night and was in a wonderful mood the next day! Lavender is one of several oils that will help your mind and body relax so you can rest and sleep.  So many baby products are lavender scented, but JUST scented. Not EO infused, so they do not provide the same properties that real EO provide.

Peppermint is a great headache reliever, as are a couple of other mints and beyond that, the PanAway is a non-fail for me for any pain so far. PanAway is more expensive than the mints, though, so I have learned to try Peppermint first, then if that doesn't do the trick, then move to the PanAway.

My younger daughter, Felicity, hud her knee on the neighbor's trampoline then met with a tree branch on her way home in the dark that left two pretty good cuts/scrapes on her leg. She agreed to let me doctor her with my EO, which surprised me. I used Tea Tree to clean the cuts and PanAway on the knee for pain and also on the cuts for pain. Before I was finished, she looked up at me and told me she really didn't think the EO would do anything and she was definitely a doubter. But they made a believer out of her!


A carrier oil is what you use with many EO to basically make it go further or to prevent skin irritation when the EO are used topically. Like my friend, I also really like the Grapeseed oil as my chosen carrier oil. It absorbs quickly and doesn't leave a greasy feel behind.

I'm learning more and more every day.

You can find Young Living oils here.

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Her Journey Home

Last night, we went to look at a baby mare that I was considering maybe getting for Gregory. I had seen the ad on craigslist and told the guy the story about Gregory. He said he would love to give us her for Gregory, because of his situation. 

In the ad, it stated that she was trained to trailer but not much else. Trailering is important, so that we could get her home. She had an injury to her back elbow, we knew we could heal it, but the owner kinda just blew it off and it obviously had not been doctored and taken care of.



So, off we go to look at her. SWEET girl. Immediately took to Gregory. We all fell in love with her. So then we are ready to get her in Brandy's trailer.....not happening!!! FOUR times she reared herself back and fell to the ground. The fourth time she did this, she gashed open her face just to the inside of her eye. The owners acted like they didn't even care.

Brandy jumped into action. The eye needed stitches, so she called the emergency horse vet. The vet was in emergency surgery and the best he could do (he knows her and her equine knowledge) is sell Brandy the things we need to stitch the cut. He told us NOT to attempt to trailer her anymore. We had no choice but to walk her home.

We were 4.8 miles away from home. We walked it. Brandy got one of our neighbors that has horses to help. Felicity and Stetson began the walk home with her while Brandy went to the vet and I went home for supplies.

Brandy did the suturing on the side of the road by the railroad track at less than half way home.  The horse had already gone down again refusing to go over the railroad tracks. 



So many people stopped and offered help.  There was a huge storm brewing. After the sedation and stitches, Brandy and our neighbor were able to finally cover her face and coax her over the railroad tracks. She has so many little cuts, her hurt leg and her eye. She is here though. We walked the entire way home.


Felicity walked all but about a half mile, I walked with her a little over 60% of the way. 


We left our house to go see her at 6pm. We got home with her at 10:50pm.

Her name is now Journey. Rightfully earned.


Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Recipe - Steakhouse Salad

This is my interpretation of a salad from a major steakhouse restaurant chain.

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Steakhouse Salad
Iceberg lettuce (I cut the head into 6 wedges)
Cherry tomatoes
Purple onion
Chunky blue cheese salad dressing
Blue cheese crumbles
and…Balsamic Reduction Glaze

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Source

I had no idea about the Balsamic Reduction Glaze, so off to google I went. I found this recipe & tutorial. Mine turned out perfectly. However, it took mine nearly 4 hours. I think I cooked it just way too low in the beginning, once I turned the heat up a tiny bit, it thickened right up. Of course you can purchase Balsamic Glaze ready-made at the grocery store.

Place the lettuce wedge on a plate. Place a few cherry tomatoes along the sides of the lettuce. Garnish with a few slivers of sliced purple onion. Drizzle chunky blue cheese dressing over everything, to your taste. Drizzle glaze over everything, lightly. Even let a few drops hit the plate for “presentation”. Sprinkle a few blue cheese crumbles on top. There you have it! Enjoy!

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***I love your comments! Thank you for letting me know you stopped by! Please know that I read each and every comment left, though I am not always able to respond to each one, I do when I am able.***

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

My Day in Photos - July 15, 2014

We spent the evening at Brandy's house watching the trainer work with her horse, Mirage.

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And my favorite of the day...

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All of my photos are taken with my iPhone camera. I use many different photo apps for effects, etc.


***I love your comments! Thank you for letting me know you stopped by! Please know that I read each and every comment left, though I am not always able to respond to each one, I do when I am able.***

To Do Nothing and Be So Tired

Well days like today that I think I haven't accomplished anything and am exhausted just don't make sense. Then I remember and acco...