Hi there!

This was a week of playing catch up on mail, groceries & cooking, laundry, putting away Christmas gifts and writing for several clients.

Don’t we all have those weeks?

Playing catch up was totally worth it! Our time in Missouri was so. dang. fun.

This week was also miserably, miserably cold here.

I didn’t even leave the house yesterday.

You know what I’m looking forward to?

Setting Baby J down into the stroller and going for a nice, long walk down the dirt road south of our house.

What I’m Reading…

This week, I read Money Saving Mom’s Budget, it’s similar to the Dave Ramsey theory on budgeting + decluttering + coupon tips. I’m not a coupon-er, but lots of people are. It doesn’t seem really practical for me, because I basically only shop at our one grocery store. The coupon people seem to go to multiple stores, that’s just not practical for me in a rural area.

Do you use coupons?

The Richest Man in Babylon was recommended to me by my Uncle Jon. It was published in the late 1920s and was one of the original “personal wealth” books to bring fourth the idea of “paying yourself first.” I bought my copy used on Amazon.com and it’s highlighted and marked-up by the previous reader. It’s pretty neat to see what someone else thought was important in a book.

I also read a couple days of my Jesus Calling devotional. I’m starting to tire from this devotional, I’ve been using it for almost two years. It’s been really great.

Do you read a daily devotional? Any recommendations?

I also read this blog post about making homemade bread in a bread machine. One of my friends mentioned making bread, and I remembered that my Grandma gave me a bread machine almost two years ago…and I’ve never tried using it. So, I’m going to try and give it a shot.

We’re stuck in the house all day. It’s freezing cold. Why not?

I really don’t even care about eating the bread (okay, that’s a lie), I just love the smell of it baking. It takes FOREVER to bake and the whole house smells like heaven.

Anyone know of any good (read: simple) bread machine recipes for wheat bread? 

What I’m Sewing/Quilting…

Sometimes, I talk myself out of sewing because I feel like I should be cleaning or writing. And, then sometimes…I tell myself to stop being so dang serious and just sew for a few minutes. I sewed one afternoon this week and it was very fun. I’m still working on my first Quilt as You Go blocks and having a great time. If Joslyn wakes up or needs something, its no problem to be interrupted. These blocks are improv & easy, so there’s no need to remember a complicated pattern.

I haven’t done any hand sewing this winter while we watch TV at night, I miss it. Last winter, I worked on this quilt. Next week, I’m going to try and do a little bit. Joslyn is going to bed between 7-8 these days, so I should have a little quiet time for handwork.

On the Farm…

We’ll be selling our feeder calves on January 19th. Can’t believe that we are that far into winter already! Then, it’s almost time for calving. I’m not ready for that yet. We all need more sleep before the heifers start calving.

Everything takes longer when it’s -10. Enough said.

Here’s my theory on the Law of Farm Time.

Can I just throw up a bunch of cute baby pictures now?

I’m just another mama with an iPhone in my hand, snapping pics of my adorable bundle.

We went to Tan-Tar-A and the Cattleman’s Convention while we were in Missouri. It was very fun!

When I was a kid, Tan-Tar-A was better than Disney World, I didn’t even really want to go to Disney World…but give me Tan-Tar-A, bowling, a cattleman’s dance, the Black Bear restaurant, escalators, a revolving door and swimming in the hotel pool…we were in heaven.

Just one more…