Are You Ready?

As you all know our economy is in a downward spiral....things are going to get BAD. Now of course we all shouldn't be in a panic and riddled with fear...but we should use our common sense and get ourselves as prepared as possible. I have known for a few years that things were going to get bad....Gilbert wasn't on board at the time and it was hard for me to take the initiative. Well he is all for preparing now...hopefully it is not too little too late. We will just do as much as we can and trust in God for the rest. Let me tell you though I am NOT playing around...I am going to try as much as can to be frugal and make some money to try and pay down are debts and stock up.

Here are some great reads and links to help you get ready for what lies ahead.

Captain Daves
SHTF Daily
Survival Blog
Backwoods Home
Anna Matrix
Millennium Ark
The Z BLOGcastosphere
Duh Daily Scoop
End Times Report
Mrs Survival
Free 4 Him

The Last Days of Summer

Last week was still very warm here....it was in the mid to high 80's the whole week. Well this week is cold in comparison today it was about 67, gloomy and rainy. It seems like it is to stay that way now ....the next 10 day forecast doesn't get any higher than 70 so it seems like it is actually going to start feeling like fall.

Monday and Thursday of last week Gilbert was off so we enjoyed the nice weather and had some fun family time. I know I should have named my blog "my life in pictures" he he....so I am going to bore you all with some more pics of our "last days of summer"

Soccer is always fun to play on a warm sunny day

It seems like 1 yr old would much rather eat a crab apple off the ground

Or maybe he will get in on the "action" after all (notice the optical illusion..he really was kicking the little soccer ball that is behind the big ball..but at first glance it looks like he kicked the big one..he he.)

Gilbert practicing his soccer skills ;-)

The soccer fun ended when we got distracted by this little froggy

Got to rest a little

And my sweet 3 yr old who never wanders far from Mama's side



Then on Thursday we had a little fire...we roasted some brats, then we we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores.

Here are some of the pictures that turned out odd from using the night scene setting..kinda neat..I think..he he.



Right now I have some wonderful scented candles burning....taking a break in my clean and comfy house....drinking some whole made gingerbread coffee. Aaahhh..this is the life ;-)

So much to do.....

I have been trying to get all the dis-organized areas of my house organized....on Saturday I got the toy closet cleaned out....whew..that was a chore. But now I have everything in separate container and easily accessible..YAY!!! I also got my room pretty clean and the upstairs hallway. I also deep cleaned the downstairs bathroom and organized one of the home school bookcases!!

Today I want to get the kitchen deep-cleaned and the upstairs bathroom. Later this week I am hoping to get most of my fall decor up and then I am going to put an autumn tour of my home up..I thought that would be fun. If any one else is decorating for fall and putting pics up, let me know as I love seeing how others decorate :-)

Right now Gilbert is Grocery shopping....when I shop from the "regular" stores I go, but when we shop from the "Mexican" store then he goes. Later he will bring home a yummy lunch of tortas (BIG Mexican sandwiches). I think he is taking off work this afternoon so he can get a little rest (he works 60-70+ hours per week) and spend some time with us. We are taking off school today and we will make up for it on Saturday, as Gilbert works all day on Saturday anyways.

I am going to work on my home management binder today as it needs a total makeover..he he. Hopefully I can get that done and try to post some pics of it later this week. Well I better be going...I have lots to do. Happy Monday!!!

Enjoying the moments

Sometimes I tend to be a perfectionest. You know I want the house perfectly clean and every thing perfectly organized...you get the point. But when I look back over the last year I never say to myself "Hmmm....I really wish I would have spent more time cleaning, organizing etc" no, I look back and think , did I spend enough time with my kids? Did I love on them enough? Did I play with them enough? Did I just sit back and breath them in? These years are going by so quickly and we never know what is around the next bend.....I want to take more time to really enjoy my kiddos. Laugh with them , play with them, read stories to them and create wonderful memories with them........I leave you with some pictures of our "moments" of summer. Remember you house will always have something for you to do...but your children they will just be little for awhile!!! Take some time today to love on them and just enjoy them :-)

My Autumn Notebook

I love looking through fall magazines and such to get some inspiration, I always find great ideas for recipes, crafts and decorating. Well most of the time I set the magazine aside with intentions to go back to it later and it tends to get forgotten. So I came up with an idea.....I made an autumn notebook. I took a cheap sketch book and made a pretty cover. Then when I find neat fall recipes, decorating ideas and such I clip them out and glue them in my notebook. I also write down little quotes, poems and sayings that I find and add a few sketches. Here is a peek at my notebook.






These are some of my supplies: some fall magazines (most of them given to me from my neighbor) Some scissors with little decorative edges, glue stick and some colored pencils.
I love just sitting down at the end of the day and filling up my autumn notebook....what a wonderful thing to pass on to my girls someday :-)

Weight loss ~ revisited

I know I have said I wanted to lose this extra baby weight for awhile now. I have not lost a pound..nope...I am still 130. I know to some that sounds small but for me that is overweight....I am 5'1" and small boned so my ideal weight is 105-110. Anyways...I REALLY want to lose this extra weight. Soooo....yet again...I am going to get back on track with my exercising and eating better. Lately I have been eating really bad. Too many desserts and just to big of portions in general. And I am usually a big water drinker but lately have not been good about that either..yikes...I even have been forgetting to take my vitamins!!
So this is what I am going to do for starters

~Drink A LOT more water
~Start taking my vitamins EVERY day
~Take a walk with the kiddos every day (weather permitting)
~Try to exercise 5 days a week
~NO more desserts
~NO more soda
~Smaller servings
~NO eating after 6:30 pm

That is what I am starting with..I will keep you all updated on how I am doing :-)

Fall is in the air

I don't know about you...but fall is my favorite season. I love the how the leaves change beautiful colors and then fall to the ground and crunch under my feet, snuggling up on the couch with the children sipping something hot and yummy. Oh and the smells.....cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, pumpkin...heavenly. How I enjoy a delicious stew simmering on the stove or a scrumptious soup in the slow-cooker. Baking cookies, breads, and muffins!!! Candles aglow and that warm comfy feeling of a cozy home.

Oh, how gracious God was to us when he made there to be such wonderful changing seasons..how blessed we are by His magnificent creations.

I will be starting to get my house ready for fall soon....oh how fun!! Colors of gold, rust and dark greens..so pretty!! Lots of candles, pumpkins, Indian corn, gourds and garlands of leaves. I will be switching my light comforter to my much thicker comforter. Getting all the flannel sheets out of storage to be washed and dried. I would like to try and get all my major organization projects out the way so we can just hunker down and read, sew, play games and HAVE FUN!!!

What about you ? What are you doing to get ready for fall? Do you have any favorite family traditions for fall?

Quiet Mornings

I am still here..just busy. I have been trying to figure out a schedule with starting school afresh and all. Lets just say that I am still working on it. However, in the last week I have been able to wake up earlier (with some help from The Lord) and *wow* how much smoother things have gone. It is just lovely coming downstairs in the quiet morning, sitting down, studying the Bible and spending some time in prayer. Its especially pleasant if you make yourself a nice hot cup of tea or coffee and light a candle. What a difference it has made starting off my morning with my quiet time rather than waiting till the afternoon or evening...amazing. I would like to aim for earlier but we will have to see.

Anyways...I have to go and get my banana bread out of the oven :-)