tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24224458465875244572024-03-15T22:50:11.164-07:00The Metz FamilyStephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.comBlogger553125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-38013571693916914562016-06-06T08:27:00.000-07:002016-06-06T08:27:33.941-07:00The Beginning of The Coop<div align="center">
As I mentioned in my previous post, I've spent a lot of years dreaming about my hobby farm. It's been an idea in my head, without coming to fruition for a long time. But at some point in life, if you want to achieve your goals and dreams, you have to stop thinking about them and start acting on them. My hobby farm will forever be a dream in my head if I don't act on it, so I decided to change that this weekend.</div>
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The goats will indeed have to wait until 2017 to come to the farm, as their space is still an overgrown pasture behind the garden, and I don't have the cash saved up for the investment required to build a sturdy fence and shelter yet! I'm saving as much as I can though, and that project is slated for October once the weather cools down.</div>
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However, the chickens are looking like another story! Saturday morning, after Hendrix's soccer game, we headed to Lowe's and came home with lumber!</div>
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I dug hole posts (by hand, thankyouverymuch), sunk my corner posts, then attached the cross boards to finish with the (quite) rudimentary frame for the coop! That took all afternoon on Saturday.<br />
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Sunday, after thinking and thinking of how I could keep predators out without having to sink hardware cloth two feet into a trench in the ground, I came up with a plan that I'm hoping is effective in it's duty. We dug the whole 90 square feet of the coop/run space down about 6 inches, laid down a double layer of chicken wire, then buried it again with the dirt. We made sure the chicken wire came all the way up the sides of the dug out space to completely seal off the ground under the chickens. This way, if a fox decides to dig under the pen, they'll come up on chicken wire, which will stop them from having a chicken dinner.<br />
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It was a weekend of a lot of physical labor, but also a lot of pride! I'm happy with what we have so far. Matt and I both get paid bi-weekly now, so once I can evaluate where we stand this coming weekend, I'd like to go back to Lowe's and put the floor on the coop, as well as frame out the rest of the run.<br />
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(Side Note: Matt and I recently paid off all of our credit card debt, and my one big, no-exception rule to all of this is that we finance nothing and pay cash for everything. We worked hard for three years to pay off this debt, and I'm NOT going back to that place EVER AGAIN! That being said, this whole thing is going to come together slowly, but that's why we're starting now for the farm to be in full swing in 2017!)</div>
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Fun Side Story: We had a no-electronics or TV rule yesterday. (Actually, in the last 7 days, the kids have had 2 hours of electronics time. Love it.) As a result, they helped us dig and replace dirt. I told Hendrix that he could use his money and purchase a chicken when it came time, and that it could be his responsibility. He got so excited, it made my heart super happy. Then, Jameson wanted his own chicken as well, of course. I agreed.</div>
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Hendrix was helping like a little champ, so I decided he'd earned his chicken. He - of course - went to gloat about that in his brother's presence, so I told Jameson he had to work and earn his chicken. So the rest of the day, no matter what he did, he'd end with "Did I earn my chicken, mommy?" Haha! It was quite entertaining.</div>
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Second entertaining side story. The dog took off running to the south side of the garden and came walking back with a dead possum in his mouth - or so we thought. The darn thing was playing dead! It got up and tried to escape, and the dog ran after it, so it started playing dead again. We all went inside, and Hendrix stayed outside to watch it finally get up and run off. Bleck.<br />
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<strong>What did you get up to this weekend?</strong></div>
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<strong>Do you have a busy week planned?</strong></div>
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(This is Hendrix last week of school - finally!)</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-80913310543570415322016-06-01T08:12:00.000-07:002016-06-01T08:12:03.098-07:00Our Next Adventure<div align="center">
If you're reading this, it means you follow my blog - THANK YOU! I have decided to go on a bit of a social media fast (other than this blog), so this link hasn't been shared anywhere. </div>
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Facebook posts have been making me legitimately angry (as in heart rate increases and I find myself gritting my teeth or clenching my fists) for a while, and I've become deeply disappointed in several people that I know and I respected (note past tense), so I've decided to just avoid social media all together for a time. It'll do me much good.</div>
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Now, down to business.</div>
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Guess what? We're NOT moving!</div>
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Hahaha! The last few "next adventures" have included a move - 1/2 way across the country on more than one occasion, and I'm ecstatic to report that our next adventure will not include packing boxes, driving a moving truck, or house hunting. Yay!</div>
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A bit of history - For several years now, the prospect of going off grid has looked great to me. Each passing year, watching the deterioration of humanity, makes it look a little more awesome.</div>
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We are not going off the grid at this point in our lives, though I refuse to say that will never happen. But we are going to start a small hobby farm/homestead, and I couldn't be more excited! I've never been one to be scared of hard work. With hard work comes a big sense of pride. I like feeling proud. </div>
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We are an outdoory family. Our television doesn't come on M-F, and time spent staring at screens is limited on the weekends. We're outdoors 7 days a week during warmer times of the year, and still try to be out when it's cold. We appreciate and respect animals, though I don't (and won't for a second) put the worth of an animal's life over that of a human. I feel that God put animals on the earth for us, as humans, to enjoy and benefit from, and it's a healthy and sustainable relationship.</div>
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I've spent the last few months doing a LOT of research, deciding how much money we need to save to get this dream of mine off the ground, and planning, planning, planning!<br />
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This isn't a dream that's going to happen tomorrow. I'm not a patient person, and when I want something, I generally want it now. But I'm also a planner and I hate being un-prepared, so we're hoping to get everything off the ground in mid- 2017. Here's the framework of the next 12 months:</div>
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<strong>Summer 2016:</strong> </div>
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<em>*RESEARCH!</em> *</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Lots of it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I'm currently in my second book on raising dairy goats. I started reading the books after I exhausted my online resources.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Next, I'll start researching chickens.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em>*SAVING MONEY!</em></span> *</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">We finally paid off our credit card debt last month, and are building our emergency fund. All other spare pennies are going into the fund to get the farm off the ground</span>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>*MAKING CONTACTS*</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I've reached out to several dairy goat breeders in the area, and I'm currently on two waiting lists.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">The kids (of the human variety- lol) and I are going to visit a local dairy operation next weekend to experience it and ask questions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I'm in contact with a backyard goat farmer in my hometown, and we will go visit that farm as well, next time we are in central Indiana.</span></div>
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<strong>Fall 2016:</strong></div>
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<em>*RE-BUILDLING THE GARDEN FENCE AND ADDING GOAT ENCLOSURE*</em></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I've got plans drawn out, and costs calculated. We'll drive the posts after the garden has been harvested this year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>*CREATING AND ORGANIZING PAPERWORK TO TRACK ALL EXPENSES*</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I'm not going into this farm with the intention of making a living (right away, at least), but I still want to know how much it costs me, what repairs were done and when, and how much I will maybe eventually need to sell products for to break even or make a profit.</span></div>
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<strong>Winter 2016/2017:</strong></div>
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<em>*BUILD GOAT SHELTER AND CHICKEN COOP*</em></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I've researched and have plans worked out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Goat shelter is 1st priority, chicken coop is 2nd. If chickens don't happen in 2017, that's ok. We can add them in 2018, or later in 2017 even.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">I'll probably start building in the fall, but building a shelter will give me something to work on during the long, dull winter months.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>Spring 2017:</strong></span></div>
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<em>*STOCKING UP ON FEED AND BEDDING*</em></div>
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<em>*BRINGING HOME OUR DAIRY GOATS!*</em></div>
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<em>*BRINGING HOME CHICKS/HENS*</em></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">As long as we have shelter and are ready for them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><em>*MILK THE GOATS AND PROVIDE FOR OUR FAMILY!*</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Beyond 2017:</strong></span></div>
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Those dreams are a-cookin' I assure you! :)<br />
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I invite you to follow along on this awesome adventure! I may or may not create a new website or blog dedicated solely to the farm, but that remains to be seen at this point. If that happens, I'll surely share that information!</div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com68tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-65173254488893510642016-05-23T06:40:00.001-07:002016-05-23T06:47:41.123-07:00Diabetes Family Camp 2016<div align="center">Still unable to find anything similar here in Michigan, we packed up and headed to the Indianapolis area this past weekend for the Diabetes Youth Foundation of Indiana's overnight family camp.</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center"><div><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DsSSZKjxiM8/V0MJ9ruh9rI/AAAAAAAAHwo/ZzFKeLp_FsM/I/photo_595591.jpg" border="0" class="bloggoimg"></div><br>We arrived and checked in around 1 pm on Saturday. We made our beds in our cabin, then headed to the campfire for an icebreaker! There were about 8 families in attendance with T1 kids of varying ages. As usual, Jameson was the youngest, and no one else his age was there. The next youngest T1 camper was a 7 year old girl. Still a good time though!</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">Saturday afternoon, after the icebreaker, we made stamped leather bracelets. The arts and crafts director purchased a bunch of belts from goodwill, cut them to the desired lengths, put snaps on the ends, and then we used stamping kits and hammers to imprint them as we wished. It was such a cool craft!</div><div align="center"><div><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gHQUpl75C5E/V0MJ9yEPPPI/AAAAAAAAHws/qolfm9AeJfw/I/photo_642763.jpg" border="0" class="bloggoimg"></div><div><br></div><div><div><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tQPPzmVKDoQ/V0MJ99Ion5I/AAAAAAAAHww/hoaiAF5M3e0/I/photo_328324.jpg" border="0" class="bloggoimg"></div><br>For Saturday night dinner, we had chicken parmesan, along with salad, broccoli, and angelfood cake and strawberries for dessert. They provided gluten free pasta and chicken for Jameson, with GF oreo cookies for his dessert.</div></div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">After dinner, we played "Minute to Win It" games in the dining hall. It was several small challenges, done in Parents Vs. Kids style. The adults won!</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center"><div><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kv5DhkU3SlU/V0MJ-OiMZLI/AAAAAAAAHw0/FC3SJqzdwBA/I/photo_201494.jpg" border="0" class="bloggoimg"></div><br>Saturday night, we made S'mores at the campfire, complete with gluten free graham crackers for Jameson. We all crashed before 10 pm!</div><div align="center"><div><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lkTnnfDo2zg/V0MJ-bOgsDI/AAAAAAAAHw4/7BzFUjM-5t8/I/photo_118245.jpg" border="0" class="bloggoimg"></div><br>Sunday morning, we had sausage, eggs, and French toast bake with grapes. (GF French toast for Jamers). Then, we headed out to the open field for field games. Parents vs. Kids again. The kids were given a ton of advantages over the parents, and they annihilated us, but it's ok. We all had a ton of fun!</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center"><div><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MwHnKlFEzx4/V0MJ-XVs0CI/AAAAAAAAHw8/bugpqTDZ37c/I/photo_106879.jpg" border="0" class="bloggoimg"></div><div><br></div><div><div><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PCL4gNU8GJM/V0MJ-tMuz8I/AAAAAAAAHxA/kplBuNr7tf4/I/photo_187582.jpg" border="0" class="bloggoimg"></div><br>We had a picnic/cookout for lunch at the campfire - burgers, dogs, watermelon, pasta salad, GF mac n cheese, and cookies. It was very tasty! As soon as we had eaten our fill, we headed out, as we had the longest drive home out of all the campers.</div></div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">We got home around 4, gathered the dirty laundry, started a load of laundry, then relaxed. We were (are) pretty pooped. </div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center"><div><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MvoFOj3768Q/V0MJ-0SQ7fI/AAAAAAAAHxE/PPZGcfplepI/I/photo_782604.jpg" border="0" class="bloggoimg"></div><br>We did find this turtle nesting in the yard Sunday evening. Super cool!</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center"><div><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4NcQnwzUQwU/V0MJ-_jtxbI/AAAAAAAAHxI/chF4ejp_ni4/I/photo_888653.jpg" border="0" class="bloggoimg"></div><br>This week, we are going to get the pool up, get my plants in the garden (my zucchini plants started to BLOOM this week - in their starter cups - oops), get started extending the garden fence height, and cleaning the house - a little bit each night.</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">Our May has been quite busy. Matt travelled the first weekend, we had company the second weekend, we all travelled this past weekend. Our plans this coming long Memorial Day weekend are to do as little "going" as possible! Matt and his brother increased the size of our fire pit last weekend, so we need to break that in. It should be a busy week, but lead up to a very relaxing weekend.</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">Hope you all have a great week!</div>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-40988036804914160662016-05-11T04:56:00.000-07:002016-05-15T14:44:14.465-07:00Workin' It Out: 5/8 - 5/14<div align="center">I want to document my fitness again, as I'm in battle with my ridiculously slow metabolism to drop 10-15 pounds. I consider myself a very average person who adores delicious food and red wine, but who also understands that a balance exists between enjoying those things and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. </div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">So with that said, here's this past week's fitness accomplishments!</div><div align="center"><strong><br></strong></div><div align="center"><strong>Sunday:</strong> Rest Day</div><div align="center"><strong>Monday:</strong> 3.13 Mile Run <br>(10:45 average pace - an improvement, again!)</div><div align="center"><strong>Tuesday:</strong> Gym - lifted Back and Biceps<br>30 minutes HIIT on the elliptical</div><div align="center"><strong>Wednesday: </strong>Rest!</div><div align="center"><strong>Thursday: </strong>Lifted shoulders and triceps</div><div align="center">30 mins treadmill - 26 straight running minutes! </div><div align="center"><strong>Friday: </strong>Rest!</div><div align="center"><strong>Saturday: </strong>lifted chest and back + </div><div align="center">30 mins HIIT on the treadmill</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">The breakfast I was loving this past week was a homemade concoction: Strawberry Banana Baked Oatmeal!</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">The baked oatmeal recipe is pretty basic, you just flavor it however you want.</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">For my basic recipe, I use 2 cups of oats, 1 large egg + 1 large egg white, and 1.5 cups of milk.</div><div align="center">For this particular recipe, I added 1 chopped banana and about 5 large frozen strawberries, cut into small pieces. I sweetened the oatmeal with 1/2 scoop of vanilla protein powder and 2 Tbsp light brown sugar. It turned out pretty good!</div><div align="center">(Although the picture was pretty worthless.)</div><div align="center"><div><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HNhroovjLl4/VzjtrYl9X0I/AAAAAAAAHv0/9pFbxYKJl5g/I/photo_798872.jpg" border="0" class="bloggoimg"></div><br>I cut the 8x8 square pan of oatmeal into 9 servings, and each one works out to be</div><div align="center">141 calories</div><div align="center">2 grams fat</div><div align="center">25 grams carbs</div><div align="center">8.5 grams protein</div><div align="center"></div>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-84856384394965369712016-05-09T06:14:00.001-07:002016-05-09T11:36:29.829-07:00Workin' It Out - 5/1 - 5/7<div align="center"><strong>Sunday</strong>: 2.4 mile run</div><div align="center">(2 minutes running, 1 minute walking, x10)<br><br><br><br></div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center"><strong>Monday</strong>: Lifted Legs + 30 minutes HIIT on the elliptical<br><br><br><br></div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center"><strong>Tuesday:</strong> Lifted back and biceps<br>20 minutes HIIT treadmill<br>(2 mins running, 1 minute walking)</div><div align="center"><strong><br></strong></div><div align="center"><strong>Wednesday:</strong><br>Lifted Shoulders and Triceps<br>30 minutes elliptical</div><div align="center"><strong><br></strong></div><div align="center"><strong>Thursday:</strong> 2.75 mile run</div><div align="center"><strong><br></strong></div><div align="center"><strong>Friday:</strong> REST</div><div align="center"><strong><br></strong></div><div align="center"><strong>Saturday:</strong>REST <br>(Matt was out of town, so I didn't have anyone to watch the kids so I could work out. Boo.)<br><br><br>I set a goal of 2 runs for the week, and I accomplished that goal!<br><br></div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">The breakfast I was loving this week was a Brownberry Sandwich Thin with 1 large egg white, 1 slice of Kirkland (Costco) Low Sodium Bacon, and 1/2 a slice of American cheese. It works out to </div><div align="center">175 calories </div><div align="center">7 grams of fat</div><div align="center">22 grams of carbs</div><div align="center">5.5 grams of protein.</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center"><div><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TxSQhuxgbxo/VzDYrRX7O7I/AAAAAAAAHvI/s4LXEikRzhs/I/photo_337967.jpg" border="0" class="bloggoimg"></div><br><br> <br></div>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-72937697721271903102016-05-02T07:00:00.000-07:002016-05-02T07:00:19.035-07:00What's New with the Metz Family<div align="center">
I haven't posted in a while, and I feel like it's time for an update post!</div>
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In a nutshell, life just isn't too bad, my friends. :)</div>
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Last December, when it was time to look ahead to the upcoming year, I made the decision that I didn't want to continue being an angry, bitter person. The years 2012-2015 weren't exactly easy for us, and some bitterness and resentment had been slowly building up inside of me. 2015 was the hardest of those years, and I became someone that I wouldn't ever want to be around, honestly. Sarcastic, rarely smiling, always mad about something. I knew that's the person I had become, but I felt like I had every right to be that way.</div>
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But at the end of 2015, we had been in Michigan for nine months, we were settled, and I decided I didn't want to be bitter and hateful any longer. I wanted to genuinely enjoy life again. </div>
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I've spent the last four months working on myself. I've done a whole heck of a lot of personal growth, learned a lot about myself, and accepted some hard life truths. I'm not perfect (because, do we ever really stop growing or improving?), but I'm in a whole lot of a better place than I was six months ago. And it feels great!</div>
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Hendrix is almost a first grader now. He's in soccer (through AYSO), and has two really good friends from school. He often comes up to me out of nowhere and just wraps his arms around my waist and it's one of the best little parts of my life!</div>
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Jameson is still Mr. Popular in pre-school. He's a complete goofball, so I'm pretty sure everyone just loves him. I'm telling you, God gave him his quirky personality for a reason! He'll start kindergarten in the fall, and he's definitely ready.</div>
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We've been attending a church right down the road from our house for about six months now and we just love it. It's a perfect mix of traditional and contemporary. The pastor delivers some awesome sermons, and he's hilarious, so he definitely keeps you engaged. </div>
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We've got 4 camping trips on the books for this summer, and I'm so excited! (I just wish the weather would warm up and stay that way!) I'm working on wrapping all the cushions in the camper to update the 90's look a bit, and also sewing some new bunk end curtains, so I'll make sure to share that project when it's complete.</div>
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We are headed to Diabetes Camp this month. I haven't found a family camp near us so far, so we'll be heading down to the Indianapolis area. It's ok though. It was a lot of fun last year when Jameson and I went. Hendrix and Matt are joining us this year. I'm really looking forward to it!</div>
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I'm working on getting my physical health back in check, now that my emotions are in a good place again. I've gone on a couple jogs, and it's my goal in May to run at least 2x per week, and keep up with lifting weights as well. I would like to lose 15 pounds, so we'll see how that goes!</div>
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Other than that, we've just been doing our thing in our little corner of West Michigan. This summer is going to be awesome, and life is good. </div>
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I hope you're all doing well! </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">We finally made it to the beach for the first time on Easter Sunday, and once again after that. It's breathtaking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Hendrix had his piece of art submitted in a Caledonia Art Day show at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. He was so proud.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvY15OFWTNciDnD-Fr3V-b_pVMtNv40swWX6mmCY6jC2ZpYGd09QcvAMI53V_9w7HJ2kQMdGegngqNmKOUYyyBaB8dDOWNvPryEneolTp4XHrzTxgiB24x8OG8rj3F_b635HknkFneStw/s1600/Kids02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvY15OFWTNciDnD-Fr3V-b_pVMtNv40swWX6mmCY6jC2ZpYGd09QcvAMI53V_9w7HJ2kQMdGegngqNmKOUYyyBaB8dDOWNvPryEneolTp4XHrzTxgiB24x8OG8rj3F_b635HknkFneStw/s1600/Kids02.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mohawks are cool these days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Our pooch has a favorite stuffed animal (in the background). Also, we re-mulched the front beds and they look great! More work to come on the next dry weekend.</span></div>
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Make this week a fantastic one!</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-32194717371790285512016-03-28T05:59:00.002-07:002016-03-28T06:06:06.589-07:00Easter Weekend 2016<div align="center">I hope you all had a wonderful weekend celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus. I know I sure don't deserve for Him to have given his life for me so that I can spend eternity in heaven, but that's a sacred gift that I receive, whether I deserve it or not. How's that for true love?</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">We were blessed with a very beautiful weather weekend! </div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">We took our camper to the RV dealership Saturday morning to get it looked at and "tuned-up" for spring. I'm telling you, we're packing up and hauling out at the very first sign of a warm-ish and dry weekend!</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">Saturday afternoon, we took the boys to the easter egg hunt put on by our church. They had the kids split up into age groups. Hendrix's group was by far the largest, and those kids were fierce. He only came away with four eggs, but he wasn't too dejected. Jameson got about 14, I think. </div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">We went back home after the hunt and played and relaxed.</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">Sunday morning, Matt had to fly out to Minneapolis for the week for work. He is helping bring on a small set of stores our company has acquired. So he didn't get to go to Easter service with us. So the kids and I went. It was so packed, in true Easter fashion, but that's ok.</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">The Easter Bunny brought kites for the kids, so after church, we had a quick lunch, then hopped in the car and drove about 45 minutes west to a secluded beach on Lake Michigan. It took us 51 weeks of living in Michigan, but we finally got to the beach!</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center"><div><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1IX_FJQk1UI/VvksOY93IWI/AAAAAAAAHtw/u-KjkjqXMvg/I/photo_640679.jpg" border="0" class="bloggoimg"></div><div><br></div><div><div><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3jJrMHwwW5M/VvksOrD9FpI/AAAAAAAAHt0/g0iJ2V3rxYc/I/photo_476820.jpg" border="0" class="bloggoimg"></div><div><br></div><div><br><br> My co-worker had told me about this beach that's really un-crowded. It became very obvious as to why it's not crowded after about 1 flight of stairs up the dune. Ha.</div></div></div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">At *almost* the top of the dune, there seemed to be a section of the stairs missing. Hendrix thought they might be buried, but I'm pretty sure they just weren't there. It was probably a 40-45 degree incline. We dug our feet and hands in that dune and scaled it. I expected Jameson to whine or struggle, I'll be darned if that sweet boy didn't just jump right in and climb. He was a rockstar.</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">We made it to the top of the dune, then descended down the 6+ flights of stairs to the actual beach. Then we laid and gasped for breath for 10 minutes. Ha! I'm kidding, but it was quite the workout!</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center"><div><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rAD2B0loGds/VvksO4czSKI/AAAAAAAAHt4/VqKQHjewBRA/I/photo_43079.jpg" border="0" class="bloggoimg"></div><br><br> Hendrix's octopus kite was really easy to get going, but Jameson's rainbow delta was a bit trickier. We flew the kites for only 20 minutes or so, then Hendrix wanted to get close to the water. Then Jameson joined. Long story short, they ended up pretty wet. Ha! They had so much fun though, and it did my heart so much good to watch them play tag with the little Lake Michigan waves.</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center"><div><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dZOr5nOHlxQ/VvksO5vdJmI/AAAAAAAAHt8/OImgW8gTr9g/I/photo_30600.jpg" border="0" class="bloggoimg"></div><br>We hung out for about an hour and a half, then started the journey back up and over the dune to the car. Going back down the wall-o-sand that we scaled up on our way there was SO much easier! You basically slid down it, and it was awesome. Hendrix was actually doing somersaults down it.</div><div align="center">(You can imagine the amount of sand we brought into our house when we got home.)</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">After the kids changed clothes and we cleaned up a bit, we decorated cookies, then I made pancakes and breakfast ham steaks for dinner. After dinner, we played a card game, and we were all in bed by 8:30!</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center"><div><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0Cz9UP70PqQ/VvksPIrb_CI/AAAAAAAAHuA/divmwqNYfis/I/photo_656870.jpg" border="0" class="bloggoimg"></div><div><br></div><div><div><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ppVO3VuYXOI/VvksPVixkgI/AAAAAAAAHuE/cnSbMptfuMk/I/photo_580047.jpg" border="0" class="bloggoimg"></div><br><br>I wish Matt could have joined us at the beach, but it was such a cool experience, and I know we will be going back, as soon as we can!</div></div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">I'm now in survival mode for the next four days (Matt gets back Thursday evening). Here's a little look at my week:</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">* Today, leaving work early for the dentist, so I have to make up that hour of time.</div><div align="center">* I only have tomorrow, basically, to make up that hour. But I can't stay at work too late, because I have to pick up the kids when Hendrix gets off the bus so I don't have to pay for after-school care.</div><div align="center">* Wednesday, I've got offsite training for work from 8-5. I'm normally off work at 4, so I don't have a choice but to pay for after-school care on Wednesday.</div><div align="center">* Each night when we get home (no gym for me this week), I need to take care of all the laundry so that we have clean clothes to pack for our mini road trip this weekend. As well as the dishes and general picking up so my house doesn't look like a tornado ran through it.</div><div align="center">* I have to get myself a shirt made for Marvel Universe, Live that I'm surprising the kids with on Thursday night. I cut the heat transfer vinyl this morning, and I can hopefully iron it on tonight.</div><div align="center">* I have to call and follow up on our tenants' rent payment. (Yes, it's the 28th and they haven't paid rent yet. I'll just leave that right there.)</div><div align="center">* I need to call and order Jameson a new Dexcom transmitter, because we got the "Low Battery" message on his receiver yesterday. Hopefully that doesn't cost a black market kidney.</div><div align="center">* I also need to call and make 4th of July camping reservations. (Not an emergency, but I don't want to wait until the last minute and have everything be full!)</div><div align="center">* Wednesday evening I need to pack the car as much as possible, since Thursday evening will be spent with Captain America, Thor, Hulk, and IronMan. (Ohmygoodness I'm excited.)</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">Sigh. I'm exhausted already.</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">BUT! It'll be worth it. We are heading to western Illinois this weekend to spend time with my mom and my grandma. It should be very enjoyable, and hopefully somewhat relaxing!</div><div align="center"><br></div><div align="center">I hope you all have a great week!</div><div align="center"><br></div>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-9045366551833367422016-02-24T09:31:00.002-08:002016-02-24T09:39:32.046-08:00Weekend Recap: February 19-21<div align="center">
We decided kind of last minute to make a trip down to Indiana this past weekend to visit our families. So glad we went! The temperature got up to 67 degrees on Saturday, and the skies were as clear and sunny as you could ask for. It was awesome!</div>
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We got to my parents' house around 7 on Friday evening, relaxed, and went to bed.</div>
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Saturday morning, we met Matt's family for breakfast at IHOP in Muncie. My plan was to eat lightly and keep it healthy, but that was a giant fail. I didn't go completely crazy though. I ordered 2 of the white chocolate raspberry pancakes with a side of bacon. However, the coffee was hitting the spot, as was the conversation, and I ended up drinking FOUR cups of coffee! (I have 1 cup a day on a regular basis.)</div>
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After breakfast, we headed back to my mom and dad's and spent the rest of the afternoon playing outside! We walked to the park twice, managed to swing by my niece's basketball practice, and then my dad cooked burgers and dogs on the grill. It was such an amazing day.</div>
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We were on the road before 8 and home before noon on Sunday. I snuck in a workout Sunday afternoon, then started feeling really blah later in the day. I'm now on day 4 of my second head cold in a month. Grr.</div>
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And after the lovely spring weather we had, we're currently getting pounded with a snow storm.</div>
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Spring is on the way though, and I'm holding on to that bit of positivity right now. </div>
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It was a great weekend, and I look forward to spending more time with the people I love this spring and summer!</div>
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Hope your weekend was fabulous and you're week has been good to you so far!</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-32823888737473340872016-01-11T06:00:00.000-08:002016-01-11T06:00:15.626-08:00Baja Chicken Salad<div align="center">
I spend a good portion of my day on either Saturday or Sunday, preparing for the work week ahead. This involves making sure the kids have what they need for the week (backpacks, nap blankets, show and tell items, homework, etc), making sure I have enough workout clothes clean and ready to go, pre-packing 3 days worth of workout bags (because I only have 3 workout bags. HA!), but most importantly - and most time consuming - is food prep!</div>
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It's that time of year were so many people focus on healthy eating and getting back to the gym - and I'm no different! I've been either working out on my own or going to the gym faithfully for the last four years. I lost 30 pounds the year after Jameson was born, but I've slowly put it back on. I've continued working out, but my diet hasn't been on point at all!</div>
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I still like to think I'm living a pretty healthy lifestyle, but like anyone else, there is usually room for improvement. So, I'm focusing on cleaner eating. Not "Clean Eating." I feel like that's really exclusive, and I don't want to completely cut myself off from everything. But I'm not in my twenties anymore, and my metabolism is reminding me of that on a daily basis. Clean<strong><em>er</em></strong> eating. This means less processed foods (not the unrealistic goal of no processed foods ever). More fruits and veggies. Lots of water. And continuing my same gym routine, doing my best to give 100% in my workouts.</div>
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I'm often extremely tired, no matter how much sleep I get, or how much I do during the day, so I'm hoping that fueling my body better and fueling it properly will help with my constant fatigue as well. (I'm going to see a doctor also - it's been quite a while since I've had a physical, and feel like that's an excellent move for a healthy 2016.)</div>
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I have eaten a lot of chicken for a long time, and it's still my favorite lean protein. But I do get tired of the same old grilled or roasted chicken. So this past weekend, I got creative!</div>
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I grilled a little over a pound of boneless skinless breasts, then once they cooled, I diced them into small pieces.</div>
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In a large bowl, I combined:</div>
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the diced chicken breast</div>
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1/4 c. plain, nonfat greek yogurt</div>
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2 Tbsp sour cream (full fat)</div>
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1 can of Baja corn</div>
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1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed well)<br />
a small amount of diced onion</div>
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lime juice to taste</div>
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cumin to taste<br />
chili powder to taste<br />
pinch of salt<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmznyEgyjsYqKvIdH-VTgEIqEsxh-Lhfky2I6PaEd_9YMzDKwFHvaemLK6kvF-oYXWDVegejDJ-dTwyruWh5NdTOalBYOp1zKXtobeYa_OOIQuF0kWGfsrhvzZ51xHwHZN3rigO0BoTBk/s640/blogger-image--1987073411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmznyEgyjsYqKvIdH-VTgEIqEsxh-Lhfky2I6PaEd_9YMzDKwFHvaemLK6kvF-oYXWDVegejDJ-dTwyruWh5NdTOalBYOp1zKXtobeYa_OOIQuF0kWGfsrhvzZ51xHwHZN3rigO0BoTBk/s320/blogger-image--1987073411.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJrmhuChJhA6waG7AidHi6ykG4F3bEsaqjSKupHOtWico3zDYHxH-OG8KxrAWYqeWY7oUG2JwcRWS854benLE8in-iY4_fyt-hIOcfINWk3nvAXqvUpVEXcFzlB-dBHW1Y_kfi6izuFI/s640/blogger-image-2055411980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJrmhuChJhA6waG7AidHi6ykG4F3bEsaqjSKupHOtWico3zDYHxH-OG8KxrAWYqeWY7oUG2JwcRWS854benLE8in-iY4_fyt-hIOcfINWk3nvAXqvUpVEXcFzlB-dBHW1Y_kfi6izuFI/s320/blogger-image-2055411980.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB5_B-9ZsJ93uXSFVyHr_BXADVg12Gy06RLpgDtzfrdjOLNL-t3rJ8zU8s_C4IVnVGMtzbVvap9_w-diQ0fCJaYSrFFoPZnaqm76RhKsSMQHG9yeu2Nyg1DtRMBmeufX0dauhkBrvIv-U/s640/blogger-image--226545640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB5_B-9ZsJ93uXSFVyHr_BXADVg12Gy06RLpgDtzfrdjOLNL-t3rJ8zU8s_C4IVnVGMtzbVvap9_w-diQ0fCJaYSrFFoPZnaqm76RhKsSMQHG9yeu2Nyg1DtRMBmeufX0dauhkBrvIv-U/s320/blogger-image--226545640.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfNicO4sT9Z3xeyUUB-xc2ATwsSWlS_BijcPJ2sg9xM1EuVpS852N9z3X6WBBdISdL6fw8VIQxjq-arrDRm1FPyzzhIJWtr_d64vyQM8N7uPf2TLhmNUHi4RL7SjVg3t7Be3_t1_u1g9g/s640/blogger-image-1473163608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfNicO4sT9Z3xeyUUB-xc2ATwsSWlS_BijcPJ2sg9xM1EuVpS852N9z3X6WBBdISdL6fw8VIQxjq-arrDRm1FPyzzhIJWtr_d64vyQM8N7uPf2TLhmNUHi4RL7SjVg3t7Be3_t1_u1g9g/s320/blogger-image-1473163608.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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I mixed it all together, then separated it into 6-1 cup portions. Then, I diced a head of iceberg lettuce and bagged it up as well.</div>
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All I have to do is grab a container of chicken salad and a baggie of lettuce and I've got lunch!</div>
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(This is FAR from all I eat during the day. I'm just focusing on my lunch entrée for the sake of this particular blog post.)<br />
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<em>Also, your definition of "clean eating" is likely different than mine. I think clean eating is basically self-defined, and that's ok. But I do think that we can all agree that this fresh, homemade, meal is a whole lot healthier of a choice than a hot pocket, pizza rolls, or anything from a drive through.</em><br />
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<strong><em>Did you make any health and/or fitness resolutions? Please share!</em></strong><br />
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<strong><em>Do you pack your lunch if you work? What kind of foods do you like to take to work?</em></strong><br />
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-82122389478674154592015-12-29T08:25:00.000-08:002015-12-29T08:30:15.067-08:00DIY Project: Grout and Caulk<br />
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You guys, I'm so excited to share this project with you!</div>
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We bought our house in April, and the only room that needed some love was our upstairs bathroom. The flooring was outdated, the cabinets were old and worn, and the shower was....well, a bit gross.</div>
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If you remember, our sweet little doggy <a href="http://www.themetzfamilyadventures.blogspot.com/2015/10/so-we-got-dog.html" target="_blank">helped us get the bathroom re-model started</a> back in September.</div>
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The insurance claim process was long and drawn out. We were going to have the contractor replace the countertop and re-grout the shower while he was there, but we felt like we should save money where we could for the time being, and it ended up being the best choice we could have made, because our rental property in Ohio caught fire the very day after we made that decision. (No one was hurt and the house didn't burn down, just added another fun little homeowner's claim to our life.)</div>
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So. Once the claim was complete and we had new flooring and a fresh coat of paint on the door, we thought about calling the contractor back to do the shower for us. Because if I wanted any work done in the house, it was to get the grout redone. </div>
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As you can see below, what grout was there was dirty and dingy, and a lot of it was chipped off or missing completely. Definitely gave a sense of "ugh" upon climbing into the shower.</div>
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But we did some research and realized that we could do the work ourselves for around $100, and when all supplies were purchased, it ended up being right around $75. Quite a bit of savings versus having a contractor do it.</div>
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If you follow me on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/themetzfamilyadventures/" target="_blank">instagram</a>, you might have seen this photo of me with some super hot goggles and a reciprocating saw in my hands! Holy moly, was the grout removal a MESSY job. Grout is this gritty paste when you put it on, but it dries hard like cement, and comes off in powder form. We'll be finding grout powder throughout the bedroom/bathroom hallway for months, I'm sure of it!</div>
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I spent a total of probably 4 hours removing grout. That's a complete guess. I didn't really keep a tally.</div>
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But seriously - how great does that look!? I turned to the old YouTube and Googles for advice and direction, got a little bit nervous, but just went with it, and I'm so glad I did! We easily saved a couple to a few hundred dollars by DIY-ing it, and it really wasn't that bad.</div>
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I put up a new shower curtain and got to use the shower this morning! (Shaving your legs in a stand-up shower is not pleasant, I must say.)</div>
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Matt put a fresh coat of paint on all of the cabinets and switched out the hardware so it's a little more up to date, and the bathroom looks great! We still need to change out the light fixture and frame out the mirror, but it's coming right along!</div>
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<strong><em>Have you ever fixed or re-done something like this in your own home?</em></strong></div>
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<strong><em>Have any DIY disaster stories to share?</em></strong></div>
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<strong><em>What about New Year's Eve - any upcoming plans??</em></strong></div>
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Have a good one, friends!</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-39719631982147379752015-11-24T07:12:00.000-08:002015-11-24T07:12:16.675-08:00My life is terribly exciting.<div align="center">
If you follow me on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/themetzfamilyadventures/" target="_blank">instagram</a>, you may have seen that I bought a deep freezer. It's funny the things that excite you as the years pass!<br />
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I have been wanting a deep freezer for a while now. We had one in Ohio, but it got left behind when we moved. The fridge/freezer that came in our house in Michigan is pretty small, and things have been falling out of the freezer at us when we open the door, but we don't really have $1,000 - $1,500 to spend on a new refrigerator right now.</div>
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Something I also bit the bullet on this past week was a Costco membership. I'd had a Sam's Club membership for several years, which came in handy for diapers and formula. But since we're past that phase of life (YAY!), I hadn't been going often enough to make the membership fee worth it. </div>
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However, we are on a pretty strict budget in 2016 in order to meet some big financial goals, so I'm trying something new: monthly grocery shopping. Dum dum dummmmmm. </div>
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I realize that not everything at these membership stores are a deal. I tend to break prices down to the unit to make sure I'm getting a better deal before I buy, and I've been doing some pricing research, and I'm very convinced that we can save the $4.60 per month in order to pay for the membership.</div>
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Something else I'm planning on doing in order to make life a little easier for myself on school mornings, is to do mass-baking days every couple months and bake up big batches of gluten free goodies such as muffins, pancakes, breads, pizza crusts, etc. Jameson takes a pastry of some kind to school three days a week (to match what his classmates are having as closely as possible), and obviously I don't have time to make something every week.</div>
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So this coming Friday (yeah, I realize it's Black Friday) is my first big grocery trip! It's going to be a bit of a slap in the face to spend almost an entire month's grocery budget in one trip, but I just have to remember that these groceries are going to last me almost five weeks, and focus on the savings!</div>
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I'll keep you posted on how it goes, along with my menu and grocery list planning process.</div>
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I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving! Make sure to put your screens away and look your loved ones in the eyes as you converse with them this weekend. It means more than we might think to let people know that - even just in that moment - that they're important to us.</div>
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See you all soon!</div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-60142751207733956052015-10-26T09:34:00.001-07:002015-10-26T09:34:39.038-07:00Leaves. A lot of them.<div align="center">
This past weekend was pretty low key. Jameson had his (second to last!!!) soccer game, then we came home and rested. Then I went and got my hair trimmed and we went to the library.</div>
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Can you tell I got it trimmed? I don't like how it's longer in the middle and shorter on the sides, but I also don't want to just hack that longer part off completely. What's a girl to do?</div>
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Sunday, Matt had to work. I took the boys to church. Matt was home by the time we got home from church and after lunch, we tackled our leaf carpet in the back yard. I wish I would have taken a before picture. It was ridiculous.</div>
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We laid down a 8'x25' tarp that we had used in the garden and raked leaves onto it, then pulled the tarp out into the woods and dumped them. Matt had done about 4 tarp loads when I got out to help him, and I think we did 6 more together. The last few loads went on top of my garden so that the leaves can compost and enrich the soil for next spring.</div>
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The yard looked great when we were finished.</div>
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I walked to the shed to put the rakes away and stopped outside the shed door to look at the yard. These are the leaves that *still* need raked. We just did inside the fence. Tonight and tomorrow we are going to tackle these.</div>
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This is pretty much how I feel about that right now.</div>
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But, oh well! A leafless yard under the forthcoming snow means clean snowmen. Because who wants to roll up a big round snowman's belly and have it covered in dried, brown leaves?</div>
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<strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">Have a good week!</span></em></strong></div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-84163918810229479622015-10-26T09:11:00.001-07:002015-10-26T09:11:30.175-07:00Ohio Trip.<div align="center">
As many of you know, when we moved from Ohio to South Dakota, we put our house on the market, and it sat without an offer for 9 months. We had someone inquire about renting it, we needed help with the mortgage, and someone moved in. She was a fantastic tenant. She paid her rent faithfully on time every month and took care of the place. But she moved out last march. *Cue giant sad face.*</div>
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Some people she knew that lived near her parents then moved in. Living 1,200 miles away from the house, we weren't as thorough, or even as picky, as we should have been, and we let them move in without references or rental history. (Long story short: Lesson learned.)</div>
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Anyway, we felt like we needed to get down to Ohio and check on the house. The inside of the house was dirty, but not falling in on itself or anything. The outside needs a full weekend worth of yard work, but again - nothing catastrophic.<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;">The sunrise headed east on I-96 from Grand Rapids.</span><br />
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But driving three hours to Ohio wasn't just for the house. We stayed with our good friends that live just down the road from that house. We went to the pumpkin patch, carved pumpkins with the kids, and watched the Ohio State game and drank apple cider sangria! (Me, not the kids. Calm down.)</div>
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((Side note to college football fans: how about the ending to the Michigan/Michigan State game!?!))</div>
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I didn't get many pictures of the pumpkin patch because I just wanted the kids to be able to run and have fun. It was a fun little farm, but good grief was it ever cold!!<br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jameson and I hung out in the goat tent for a while because it was a bit warmer.</span> </span><br />
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After the pumpkin patch, the kids played for a little while and we had pizza for dinner. I'm not scared of any pizza topping (with the exception of mushrooms and anchovies) and tried pepperoni and banana pepper. I'd totally get down on that again - it was delicious!<br />
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After dinner we got to carving. Matt helped Jameson and I wanted to help Hendrix, but Mr. Independent wanted to carve his all by himself, so I helped the other little ones.<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;">Apple Cider sangria. I made it with ginger brandy, but I think I'd like to add some caramel liquor to it the next time I make it. How good does that sound?</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;">Jameson chose a green pumpkin. Because why wouldn't he?</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;">This is what a Jack-O-Lantern face carved by a 5 year old looks like. It's awesome.</span><br />
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It's always great to spend time with family and friends, but it definitely makes for a long weekend of travel!</div>
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We were home this past weekend and we'll be home this coming weekend for Halloween, then we're headed to Indiana for an early Thanksgiving with family at my mom and dad's house. I cannot wait!</div>
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Hope you're all enjoying fall! It's slipping away much quicker than I'd like to admit.</div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-80044042865295094012015-10-20T09:33:00.001-07:002015-10-20T09:33:36.151-07:00Fall Hike.<div align="center">
The weather last Sunday was absolutely gorgeous! (This post is a little late, sorry.) The high temperature was 73 degrees, and it was breezy. The only downside is that a lot of the trees are much more bare now than they were before this weekend. :(</div>
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We went to church Sunday morning, had our rest time Sunday afternoon (not taking a Sunday afternoon nap should be against the law), then we all headed out for a little walk. Hendrix told us about a trail he learned of at his pre-school over the summer. It's actually on the property of the church next door to the school. There are no private property signs, or anything leading us to believe we should stay off of it, so we've hiked it twice now.</div>
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The trail takes a slow incline all the way up to this open field where there's a big bonfire ring. Along one part of the trail is a steep drop-off to a valley with a small stream flowing through it. Last time we hiked it, we wanted to explore the stream, but weren't sure how to get down to it. This time we found a trail that descended to the bottom. </div>
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It was so gorgeous and peaceful. We hung out down there for about a 1/2 an hour before heading back.</div>
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I look forward to hiking this trail another time or two before the flurries start to fly. It will also be fun to explore new growth next spring....and plow through lots of mud. But that's what little boys are made for, right?</div>
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After we got back, the weather was just too nice to sit inside, so we sat out on our deck. Matt and I talked and the kids drew pictures and looked at their library books. It was perfect.</div>
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I love the background to this picture. Our deck is second story, so all you see are the leaves on the trees. It's awesome.</div>
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Talking about the deck makes me realize that I still haven't given you guys a tour of our house! I'm hoping to start a big fall cleaning and organization binge, so as rooms come together, I'll try and share them with you.</div>
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Hendrix was adamant for a while that I not cut his hair, but once it started to get in his eyes, I think he got a little annoyed and he finally agreed to let me cut it, so I did that Sunday evening. Honestly, though, now that it's short again, I miss the longer hair look! We'll have to find a middle ground somewhere.</div>
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Hope you're having a great week! </div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-90422004963651351482015-10-07T06:00:00.000-07:002015-10-07T06:00:01.471-07:00So, we got a dog...<div align="center">
The kids have been asking for a dog for two years. We rented our homes in South Dakota, so a dog wasn't an option.</div>
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One thing we planned to do once we got settled here in Michigan was get a pooch for the boys. Enter Olaf.<br />
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He's a VERY calm dog. We were told he's an English Shepherd/Husky mix, but we aren't so sure of that. The vet, along with several other people, have told us his marking look like border collie and his face looks like I lab. So he's basically just a mutt, and he's an awesome boy. He's just over a year old, and the kids love love love him!</div>
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We didn't have a crate when we got him, and the thought of sticking a dog in a space slightly larger than its body makes me a bit sad anyway, so I thought we could try and put him in the bathroom while we're working during the day. </div>
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We gave the bathroom a test run while we went to church two days after we got him. He chewed up my bath sponge/loofah thing, but other than that, no messes. Monday through Wednesday, he chewed a few other small things, but nothing major.</div>
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When I got home Thursday (I was the first one home), I went to the bathroom to let him out and noticed a small puddle outside the bathroom door. I thought maybe he'd gone to the bathroom near the door or something. I opened the door and found the entire bathroom sitting under an inch of water!</div>
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Our sink drain had been running slow. We'd tried Drano, and were going to dig a little deeper to work on it that weekend. Olaf had jumped up on the bathroom counter and, in the process, turned on the sink faucet. My best guess is that it happened sometime shortly after we had left and the sink ran all day. Due to the slow drain, the sink overflowed and flooded the entire bathroom.</div>
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I stood there staring for a minute or two. There weren't enough towels in the world to soak up that kind of water, but I was in shock and disbelief, so I walked downstairs to see if I could round up several towels. </div>
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Our downstairs bathroom is directly under the upstairs bathroom. I walked into the lower bathroom to find the ceiling on the floor. It was JUST as awesome as you can imagine. The water had soaked through the floor upstairs, ruined the ceiling downstairs, and had soaked into the floor in the downstairs bathroom.</div>
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We filed a homeowner's claim, of course, and now both of our bathrooms are in complete chaos. They're usable, but a giant hot disaster. This is the current floor situation upstairs.<br />
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The first contractors were at our house last week tearing up the floors and running these huge dryers for 5 straight days. It's been deafeningly loud in our house.</div>
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The next contractor is supposed to come this afternoon to see about fixing the floorboards.</div>
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I'll keep you updated on the progress.</div>
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So yeah. We got a dog........</div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-55647784961927405272015-10-05T11:00:00.000-07:002015-10-05T11:00:59.996-07:00A Bit of Honesty.<div style="text-align: center;">
Guys, I enjoy blogging. My blog isn't super well known (despite going viral almost two years ago), and I'm far from famous. But I don't care. That's never been my goal. My original plan with this blog was to keep family and friends updated on our life, and that's still the goal.</div>
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Two of my favorite blogs, are written by two ladies who just live their lives doing what they enjoy, they blog about their days, some recipes, some fitness, and they aren't really dedicated to one thing in particular. That's always kind of been what my blog has been about, and I don't see that changing. </div>
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So, with that said, you can probably expect to see a little more from me, though I'm not committing to any kind of schedule or anything. Just sharing my life with those that care to know about it. :)</div>
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I think a good place to start is what's been going on in the last few months of life. </div>
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Six months ago, we relocated from western South Dakota to west Michigan. I said little to nothing about our move on any kind of social media because I was upset about it. Matt's warehouse/office in Rapid City was closing (he buys produce to sell to grocery stores), and he could either find another job in Rapid City, or relocate to the company headquarters in Grand Rapids, MI. Obviously, you know the route he took.</div>
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I'm a real person, so I'll be honest. This was a very difficult thing for me. I had friends and people in South Dakota that meant a great deal to me, and I genuinely felt a part of the community. I was five weeks into a new job that I really enjoyed when he came home one day and told me the Rapid City warehouse was closing. I remember simply walking upstairs to the bathroom without saying a word, closing the door, and crying. Because before it was ever discussed, I knew what the outcome would be.</div>
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I put my notice in at my job (which was extremely difficult), and started looking for a job in Michigan. I found a temp opportunity at SpartanNash (same company Matt works for). I wasn't thrilled about a temp job, but a temp job in Ohio in 2008 turned into permanent employment that lasted for four and a half years, so I tried to remain positive. I did end up getting permanently hired into the company, and the job is going well. But I'd be lying if I said everything is awesome with life here in Michigan.</div>
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I don't believe in the constant fake portrayal of perfection on social media. I could choose to show pictures of camping trips, smiles, backyard football games, my adorable kids, make comments about how blessed I am (which I am, don't get me wrong), and make it look like it's all sunshine and roses. But I try to keep it real. I'm lonely, and my heart is struggling.</div>
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I was talking with someone locally, and he told me that people in west Michigan are quite "provincial," meaning they don't accept new people into their fold. I've found that to be very true. I've reached out within the celiac community, the type 1 diabetes community, we've visited two churches, and I feel like I'm hitting brick walls. People will make small talk, but it's like no one is looking to form any kind of relationships or friendships beyond the ones they already have. I'm frustrated.</div>
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I'll be ok, no need to worry. I'm just kind of "stuck" in this funk right now. My sweet and ornery boys continue being the happiness in my world, and I'm drinking in their silliness as much as possible.</div>
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I'm also trying to refocus and relocate my fitness motivation that's gone by the wayside since we moved. I've put on a few pounds (nothing crazy), and they've been VERY stubborn. My focus is no longer a specific body fat percentage, or even a number on the scale though. It's health. I want to be physically fit, healthy heart, and healthy mind and soul. The last part has been the most challenging, but I'm a work in progress!</div>
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We're headed into the most crazy and busy time of the year, and with my limited spending budget this year, I hope to busy myself with some homemade gifts for the little ones in the family. (SEVEN kids besides my own to buy/create for this year. Ouch.)</div>
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There is an early Thanksgiving family get-together at my parents' house in a few weeks, and I'm ridiculously excited for that. There will be family in from Illinois, Missouri, Arizona, and Michigan.</div>
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So - lots to look forward to in the coming months. Hopefully I can break out of this funk. </div>
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In the mean time, if you have any positive vibes or prayers to send my way, they wouldn't hurt!</div>
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Thanks for sticking by me as I try to figure out how I want to continue being involved in social media, as well as work through a bit of a tough time in my life.</div>
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Posts moving forward will hopefully be a bit more fun and positive!</div>
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-31310434236220874962015-09-21T07:27:00.001-07:002015-09-21T07:27:27.594-07:00The Future of This Blog<div align="center">
Maybe you've noticed. Good chance is you haven't noticed. Ha! I've been sharing much less of my life here on the old blog. Posts have been fewer and farther between.</div>
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I can't really speak to what the future of this blog is right now. I'm going to be taking a hiatus (which I kind of have already been taking) to think about things.</div>
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I've been feeling like I want to step back a bit from the social media world, and this "modern" society we live in. Both for my own protection, and for the protection of my family. Also for my sanity.</div>
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I've had a Facebook account for ten years. It has its benefits, of course. Some of those are: <br />
Being able to stay in touch with those loved ones who don't live near to us. <br />
Seeing photos of our friends' children. <br />
Learning who's just found out they're expecting. <br />
Yes, there are benefits. But in my own life, the negative vibe far outweighs any benefit.<br />
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Social media is toxic.</div>
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I'm aware that the statement I'm about to make is bold, to say the least. But we all know boldness hasn't stopped me before. :)<br />
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<em>Social media has made my generation the most tragic generation in history.</em> <br />
Here's why I feel that way:</div>
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<strong>We're distracted to the point of being dangerous.</strong></div>
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Texting and driving is illegal, but we know very well it's still done all the time. We can't wait 15 minutes to check that text message we heard come in.<br />
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I'm scared to go for walks or jogs, let alone take the kids on bike rides. I don't know who's driving down the street that is paying more attention to their phone than they are the road, who's going to plow right into me.</div>
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<strong>We can't spell or use proper grammar. Either that, or we're too lazy to put forth the effort.</strong></div>
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I cringe when I read texts, Facebook statuses, or comments on articles. Not always for what they say, but the giant failures I see at their attempt to say it. My grammar isn't always perfect, I admit. But it's painful to read (or try to read) the things people want to say. Mis-spellings of very common words, not a punctuation mark to be found, and terrible grammar. Oh, it hurts.</div>
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<strong>We are very self-centered, and assume everyone cares a lot much about what we post.</strong><br />
We waited 76 minutes at the doctor office. We're sharing our 4th selfie.....before lunch. We share 13 angles of back-to-school photos. <br />
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It's awesome to love yourself and to love your family. But we find it extremely hard to accept that not everyone loves to see us, or what we post.</div>
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<strong>We're "bullies."</strong></div>
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(I hate that word, by the way.) We would never walk up to someone and call them an ignorant idiot to their face, simply because their opinion differs from our own. But it's nothing to call people names like that, and ones much worse, in the comment thread of a news article. <br />
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<strong>Besides being bullies, we're very judgemental.</strong></div>
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We read an article, posted by a news source that is obviously on one side of the political spectrum or the other, where details are often skewed and/or left out. We come down VERY hard on the people in the news stories, without having the proper facts. We are very quick to call people terrible parents, horrible people, stupid people, bigots, etc. But the truth is that we weren't directly involved in the situations about which we read, and we truly have no idea how things really went down. We (should) know by now that stories aren't reported correctly. Depending on your new source of choice, facts about the situation are mis-reported, under-reported, or ignored completely.</div>
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Speaking of facts....</div>
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<strong>We take everything as fact.</strong></div>
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Facebook is going to start charging a fee.</div>
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Ants and dogs won't even touch aspartame, so it's poison.<br />
Texas has started requiring drug tests to qualify for welfare. Share to show your support.<br />
Celebrity X has passed away! Please pray!<br />
Share this and JoeBob Schmoe will give you $5,000!<br />
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It only takes a moment to ask the googles for assistance in verifying whether or not something is true before sharing it. More often than not, a very bored teenager created this "fact," in an attempt to see how viral it could go, and we're sharing complete nonsense.</div>
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<strong>We don't know what intimacy means anymore.</strong></div>
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I'm not referring to sex. I'm referring to something that's shared with only a select few people. (And I'm referring to "shared" as something having been experienced. Not hit a re-post button on social media.) It's special, it's not shared with the world. Just you and your loved ones.<br />
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Laughing with your family and/or a group of close friends about something your child said or did is an amazing feeling full of warmth and love. Sitting with friends around a campfire or a table and laughing about your crazy shenanigans from 10 years ago....such a special feeling. That's not the case when it's shared with your 497 Facebook friends. In fact, it might cause stress or anxiety if you don't get "enough" likes quickly enough.</div>
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Which brings me to my next point.</div>
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<strong>We feel inadequate in the shadow of "perfection."</strong></div>
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It's really easy to hop onto Instagram and immediately feel like a failure. One of your friends got a new car, and you're still driving your car that's 9 model years old.</div>
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You get your work clothes at Goodwill because they're much more affordable and no one has ever known they're second hand. But your neighbor's aunt's best friend is showing off her new Michael Kors bag.</div>
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Your cousin is posting about how blessed she is to be these babies' momma and her life has never been better in all of her 30-something years. You've snapped at your kids 4 times today and you're currently not speaking to your spouse while you chisel dried cereal out of yesterday's breakfast dishes.</div>
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<strong>As a result, we're in debt up to our eyeballs.</strong><br />
See previous point. We get a brand new $35,000 truck so we feel adequate in today's consumer society, drive it a few years, then feel the need to get a newer one. <br />
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We feel the need to spend $1,000 per child to send them back to school in their Under Armor outfits, and do extra-curricular activities (which are not all bad, don't mis-quote me here), and buy them all the toys we think they need, and tablets, and phones, and 8 pairs of shoes.....all name brand of course.<br />
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As someone who is currently clawing her way out of credit card debt, I fully realize how crazy it all is. We no longer think of how much money something is actually going to cost us, but rather how much the monthly payment is, and whether or not we can fit it into our budgets for that month. We don't think long term about money.<br />
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<strong>The only way we experience things is through the lens of a camera.</strong><br />
Been to the zoo? To the playground with your kids? Anywhere? In the age of camera-phones and photo-sharing platforms, we're so desperate to get the perfect shot that we stop our children from running, playing, and having a good time, and we spend the most beautiful sunrise or sunset taking 84 photos of it, then trying to put the perfect filter on it so it looks even "better." My opinion is that it's more beautiful when experienced with your eyes and soul than any filter can make it. <br />
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<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/12/10/memory-loss-causes_n_4419560.html" target="_blank">A study was done</a> and showed that by taking pictures of everything, we're actually hindering our ability to remember those events, times, places, etc.</div>
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<strong>We don't hold conversations anymore, let alone smile at strangers.</strong></div>
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Stood in a line anywhere lately? Tried to speak to someone you don't know out in public? </div>
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Not only do people not acknowledge anyone else around them, they'll often become annoyed at someone else's attempt at conversation, or even a simple hello. It's sad.<br />
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The other day, someone I know shared a photo of her 3 young children "on a lunch date." All three of them sat across the table from her.....staring at tablets. And she was obviously on her phone taking a picture of them. I'm imagining being another patron of that restaurant, looking over at that scene. I don't see a mom enjoying time with her children. I see a tragedy.<br />
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They could have been practicing reading or math. They could have been drawing or coloring magical creations while they awaited their food. They could have been talking about the magical dragon world those kids created that morning. They could have been talking about......anything. But they weren't even talking. </div>
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<strong>Every molehill becomes a mountain. </strong><br />
<strong>(Always searching for our 15 minutes of social media fame.)</strong></div>
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We got bad service at a restaurant? We no longer approach the manager and respectfully resolve the problem. Instead, we post about it on facebook and see how many shares it can get so that we can damage the reputation of an entire restaurant because one of the servers was having a rough day.</div>
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Someone at McDonald's messed up our order? Instead of going back inside and politely asking them to correct it - which they'll do, I assure you, we rant about it on facebook and make someone feel like they're stupid and unworthy as an employee because they made a simple mistake on 1 of their 846 orders they took that day.<br />
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A few women (who really have no importance in the grand scheme of things) made foolish comments about nurses. While this was uncalled for and I have a great respect for nurses, people have been up in arms about the comments, have blown it out of proportion, and have started a "movement," all because of viral social media.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">I know some people are thinking it - I was one of these people who went viral almost two years ago based on a piece I wrote about modern parenting. So who am I to be talking down on all these things now?<strong></strong></span><br />
<strong></strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The beautiful thing about the passage of time is that we can learn. We can step back, look at something from varying perspectives, and learn from our experiences. I still back every opinion I wrote in that post almost two years ago that landed Hendrix and I in New York City. But if I were to do it over again, I probably would have worded it a bit differently to show more respect for people who *don't* feel the same way. <strong><em><u>Because those people and their opinions are no worse than me and mine.</u></em></strong></span><br />
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<strong>We're more divided than ever as a nation.</strong><br />
Racism has always existed. Obviously - look at the history of this country. But as we all know, it's flared back up with a vengeance. I think it's normal for these things to happen, but I believe 100% that social media has made it worse.<br />
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News outlets post a biased story, people comment with rude and nasty statements, and emotions flare. Fights break out in the comment threads of just about every article shared. The same thing happens with politics, parenting, morality issues, you name it. <br />
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Our "fighting" from our keyboards, paired with heavily biased new "reporting" has this country in a divided, tragic, mess.<br />
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Social media is the biggest downfall of humanity in the last five years, in my opinion. I got my first smart phone (Blackberry Storm) at the end of 2008. I believe there was a Facebook Ap, but it hadn't taken us by storm yet at that point. That didn't really start happening until 2010, as I can remember it. It's gotten worse and worse with the passing years. <strong><em>It's made us more anti-social, selfish, and angry than ever.</em></strong> </div>
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So with all of that said, I'm going to be stepping back. This is my personal choice - what everyone else does on social media is their choice and I'm not saying my way is right and/or your way is wrong. <br />
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I can't change what society has become, but I can change myself, and encourage those close to me to do the same.<br />
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I might be back, I might not. At this point in time, I can't make that call.<br />
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If you're interested in having my phone number or email to keep in touch, please send me a message and I'd be happy to share that information with those I know personally.<br />
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Whether I continue blogging or not, thank you to all of you who have shown me support over the years on my blog. I hope to catch up with you someday soon - over coffee! Not a Facebook message!<br />
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Take care, and God bless!</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-30234277120942877582015-07-31T12:08:00.000-07:002015-07-31T12:11:18.752-07:00Stop. The. Judgement.<div align="center">
Stories of children being left in the car. They're tragic, they're popping up far more than I'd ever care to see, and they definitely tug at my heartstrings. I'm sure this post will have me pegged as heartless and un-caring, but that's the opposite of how I feel about children being left in cars. It's horrible. But so are the comments people make about the parents.<br />
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Scroll the comments of any Child-Left-In-The-Car article on social media and I 110% guarantee you'll see a whole lot of this:<br />
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"That mom/dad should be left in a hot car to die."<br />
"Lock him/her up and throw away the key."<br />
"That person needs to be put to death for what he/she did."<br />
"(S)he totally deserves to die for what (s)he did."<br />
"Let me at him/her. I'll make him/her regret doing that soooo bad."<br />
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Sometimes, people do very cruel things that we will never understand. I'm not denying it.<br />
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But sometimes, human beings make mistakes. Let me share a story with you.<br />
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One day, when I lived in Ohio, and Hendrix was about 10 months old, I was driving to work on a typical day. This would have been late summer or fall. My mind was busy. I was focusing on one of the 13 never-ending to-do lists circulating in my head. Perhaps I was thinking about plans we had for that weekend, what I needed to grab at the store for dinner that night, I don't know. We live in an age of distraction now more than ever, folks. It could have been anything.</div>
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Hendrix's daycare was right next to my office - almost in the same parking lot. I had the radio on softly, and I pulled into work. I reached over to the passenger seat, started rounding up my things for work that day: my purse, my lunchbox, etc. Then I looked in the backseat. Maybe Hendrix moved, or maybe it was instinct, but I looked in the backseat, and there sat my sweet blond little boy. Not making a peep. Just looking at me. In silence, as he often was while in the car. Probably looked pretty similar to this:<br />
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My kids can't stay silent for more than 2.578 seconds these days, but when they were young and before they could talk, they didn't tend to be noisy in the car at all. If they weren't crying, you'd never know they were there.<br />
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I had driven right by Hendrix's daycare, pulled into work, and was getting ready to get out of the car and go into my office when I realized I had forgotten to drop him off and that he was still in the car. Fortunately, I ran him quickly to daycare, worked my day at the office, and all was well.</div>
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I pride myself on being a very loving, organized, has-it-all-together type of mom. I plan each week, down to the smallest details. I make menus, buy groceries on the same day each week, make sure my kids have what they need every day for special activities or snacks at daycare and school, etc. But I almost forgot my child in the car while I went to work one day.</div>
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Before you immediately make horrible comments about a situation, please consider that there are facts of which you are 100% unaware. Because you weren't there physically, in that car. You weren't there in that parent's mind to know all the thoughts, emotions, and distractions present.</div>
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You. Don't. Know.</div>
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In absolutely no way, shape, or form, am I condoning putting your child in danger. Yes, you should *always* check the back seat before getting out of your car. That's common sense.</div>
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But we are human beings. We err. We make mistakes. We forget things. </div>
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Stop crucifying someone for making a mistake, unless you've never made one before in your life. <br />
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And my best guess is that that's exactly 0% of the population with decision-making abilities.<br />
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Have a good weekend, friends.</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-55695755626553217992015-07-30T06:43:00.001-07:002015-07-30T06:43:26.270-07:00Circle B Campground - Angola, Indiana<div align="center">
As I have mentioned before, my bucket list for this summer is long, and time remaining in the summer season is short. It makes me sad, though I can't say I'm not ready for fall either. I guess we just have to make the most of the time we have left.</div>
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We finally got out and went camping this past weekend, and what fun we had! Our good friends from Ohio met us, so the boys got to play with their friends as well.<br />
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I got off of work a little early, we hooked up, and headed out around 3:45. We arrived to the campground around 6. It was sooooo busy! We had to sit and wait in the vehicle just to check in, but the check-in and pulling into our site went smoothly.<br />
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The boys got right to playing as Matt and I set up the camper. </div>
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Saturday morning, all the boys woke up and we discovered that all four of them had on Spiderman PJ's. Definitely couldn't pass up that photo opportunity. :)</div>
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Friday night, Hendrix was off playing, and then he came up to Matt and I and asked if he could go to the playground with his new friend, Caitlyn. Hendrix and Caitlyn were thick as thieves on Friday night, but she and Jameson became best buddies Saturday. Especially when we discovered that she has celiac disease like him. </div>
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Saturday, before lunch, we were going on a walk around the campground, and Jameson and Caitlyn were walking behind Matt and I. They were chatting it up, and Caitlyn was asking Jameson about his diabetes and his pump (you can see his site there on his left arm).</div>
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Without any drama or skipping a single beat, Jameson said to her, "That's my pump site. If I take it off, I'll die."</div>
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Ok, folks. I'm glad he appreciates the importance of getting insulin, and the reality is that without insulin he would eventually die, yes. BUT I don't really want him thinking he's that fragile, nor do I want him telling his friends this. People already don't understand Type 1 Diabetes, and I don't want to further spread any misinformation or a false sense of drama. (If there's one thing that grates my nerves, it's type 1 <strike>families</strike> moms acting like every high or low is the end of the world.) I didn't say anything, but I think we definitely need to sit down and have a talk.</div>
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He's started understanding that when he's low, he needs to eat and that when he's high, he needs insulin, so it's starting to make more sense to him now that he's older. I think it's a good time to be honest with him about both the severity of the disease - **<strong><em>IF not well controlled</em></strong>** - but also the fact that he's not a fragile little flower and that he can do anything he puts his mind to. </div>
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Aaaand that he's not going to immediately perish the moment we take his site off. Hahaha. Silly little boy.</div>
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Anyway, sorry for that little tangent.</div>
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Saturday afternoon, we headed down to the swimming beach and swam our hearts out! I didn't take my phone or camera with me to the beach for fear of them getting lost/stolen/ruined, so I have no pictures of our fun, but it was great. Hendrix fished with his buddy Wes, then joined us for swimming later. We swam for a couple hours, then the kids wanted to go to the playground, so we just let them kind of lead the way, and the moms followed and got to chat. </div>
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Good grief I miss being able to chat with my girlfriends.</div>
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Saturday evening, everyone pitched in for dinner. We had grilled chicken, cheesy potatoes, pasta salad, and fresh fruit with a very good fruit dip for dessert! We all ate plenty and it was delicious. </div>
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I was pretty impressed with the campground. You never really know what you're getting into when you base things solely off of a campground's website. I mean, what website is going to say, "It's a nice campground, but gets really crowded and the bathrooms tend to get pretty nasty when it's hot out." Ha!</div>
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As I mentioned, it was definitely full and crowded, but I'd say about 80% of the sites are seasonal (meaning people park their big rigs in May and don't pull them out until September/October), which I think plays a big part in keeping the grounds nice.</div>
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The bathrooms were pleasantly surprising. Nothing special about the toilets or stalls, but the showers were an unexpected piece of awesome. They were not cinder block or cement, as I expected, but rather fiberglass, stalled out showers. They appeared completely clean. Soap scum and the thought of sharing showers with strangers tends to really gross me out, but I felt comfortable taking a shower Saturday afternoon. Hot water was not an issue either.</div>
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There was not a pool, but rather a small swimming beach. The beach looked small and the water looked a little dirty when we checked it out in the morning, but when we went down to swim that afternoon, I didn't feel overcrowded, and the water seemed to have cleared up a bit. Maybe it was because all of the splashing kids pushed the dirtiness away. Ha.</div>
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The one thing I was most pleased with was the noise level. With the large number of people camping, and the close proximity of the sites, I was worried that people would be loud late into the night, but I had no trouble falling asleep, nor did I get woken up during the night due to loud or unruly campers.</div>
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Overall, it was a really nice place to camp, a good mid-point for the buckeyes and Michiganders to meet, and I'd definitely be up for camping there again!</div>
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We had a great weekend, and are already starting to think about meeting up for a fall trip.</div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;">Do you like to camp? Where's your favorite spot?</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black;">How do you camp: tent? pop-up? big rig?</span></strong></div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-5748191376013801882015-07-22T04:50:00.000-07:002015-07-22T04:50:02.886-07:00Garden Update - July 2015<div align="center">
Happy Wednesday!</div>
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I realized last evening that I haven't shared any garden progress in a while.</div>
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I planted a lettuce bed twice and it didn't come up either time. No idea what I did wrong. I know I planted the first time too deep. So I barely sunk them the second time - still nothing. Lettuce was a fail. I'll try again next year.</div>
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My cilantro came up and did great, but I couldn't use it fast enough, it seeded, and we now have coriander. Ha! My dill is thriving, and I need to get it picked and dried so I can use it all winter!<br />
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My tomato plants have given us a lot of grape tomatoes, and we've eaten them in salads all summer so far, but the plants are very sick right now. The leaves have all turned brown and they're dying a slow death. Sadness.</div>
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My sunflowers - they're a tragic story that pains me to repeat. I had a row of about 10 sunflowers. They were thriving. They were taller than my kids, and the top set of leaves were as big around as the steering wheel on my car. Then the deer came and decimated every single one of them in a single swoop. Gone. I'm still working through the heartache.</div>
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I've got a couple pods of peas on the far west side of the garden that I need to pick before we head out for our camping trip this weekend!</div>
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My corn is taller than the kids, and a few ears are tasseling. (Please ignore the weeds.)</div>
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My jalapenos and bell peppers are growing fantastically! I can't wait to chop some of those jalapenos up into salsa, and grill the bells!</div>
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The zucchini is also thriving. I haven't got a ton of flowers, but they're growing! Those will probably go into either loaves of bread or brownies. Yum.</div>
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My pumpkin patch is full and huge! I've had two female flowers that have opened up that I have hand-pollinated, though I don't think there's any shortage of bees. Now I'm just waiting for the bulbs to turn into big orange beauties! I'll try to get some photos of the pumpkin plants to share with you soon!</div>
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I've decided that I'm going to put any birthday money that I get this years towards a mini-tiller. I've tried to keep up with the weeds manually, and it's just impossible. I'm sure it's possible, but not in the amount of time I have to dedicate to the garden each day. I spend about a half hour a day watering, and a couple hours a week weeding. But with my full time job and busy life, I unfortunately don't have more time than that to dedicate to it.</div>
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A mini-tiller should do the trick. I can go up and down each row a couple times a week, and that should really help control the weeds. They're crazy!</div>
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<span style="color: black;"><strong><em>Do you garden?</em></strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><strong><em>What are you growing?</em></strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><strong><em>Any gardening tips you'd like to share?</em></strong></span></div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-21896049894502647712015-07-21T12:22:00.001-07:002015-07-21T12:22:25.685-07:00Fitness Rewind!<div align="center">
Living healthfully isn't a race to the finish. It's a lifestyle or a journey (which you've heard 8,000 times, I'm sure), and there are bumps in the road.</div>
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After I had Jameson, I started running and lost thirty pounds. I felt amazing.</div>
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I weighed somewhere between 125 and 130 pounds when we moved to South Dakota. If you follow me on Facebook (which is currently and temporarily de-activated, by the way), you might remember me posting the red bikini pic. </div>
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Then I decided I wanted to start lifting weights. I'm so very glad that I educated myself on female lifting. It's a super empowering thing to get into, and so interesting how it's not only the action of lifting weights, but the diet that really can turn your body into anything you want it to be.</div>
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But with weight lifting came weight gain. Some of it is muscle that I never had two years ago. But most of it is me trying to out-train my crappy diet and as a result, gaining fat.</div>
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I'm currently navigating one of those bumps in the road. I'm nowhere near where I was two years ago, nor anywhere near where I'd like to be. But I don't give up. </div>
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I'm going to start doing what I did three years ago to lose the baby weight and get myself back to where I want to be: tons of water, super healthy food choices, and running.</div>
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I tracked my mileage religiously, and plan to start doing that again. </div>
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There is no right or wrong body weight or body composition, but it's awesome to set goals for yourself. That's exactly what I'm doing, so please don't get offended because I want to lose body fat and get fit. I'm doing this for myself and no one else.</div>
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I have a <a href="http://therhotonfamily.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blogger friend and high school classmate</a> that is a runner. She just had a baby and is going to get back into running, and she does a weekly blog post on Mondays with the previous week's mileage. I think I'll do something similar.</div>
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It feels great to:</div>
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eat healthful and clean foods</div>
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get your heart pumping</div>
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be outside</div>
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shattering goals</div>
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sleeping well</div>
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enjoying treats in moderation.</div>
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And that's exactly what I intend to do.</div>
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Hope you can join me along the way!</div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-58029546891386874582015-07-06T07:43:00.000-07:002015-07-06T07:43:13.571-07:00Independence Day 2015<div align="center">
And here I am posting about July 4th. I can see summer flying by right before my eyes and I'm not loving it. I feel like we haven't done NEARLY all the things I had on my summer bucket list. We still have time, but as quickly as these last couple months have passed us by, the leaves will be turning orange before I blink again.</div>
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We have a camping trip planned for a couple weeks from now, and we'll be heading back to central Indiana again in August when our nephew is born (yay!). Then, Mr. Hendrix is going to be starting school. It's going to be a busy few weeks ahead of us!</div>
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This past weekend, Matt had to work on Friday and Sunday, while I was off. The boys and I decided to pack up and head to Portland for the weekend! I felt bad about leaving Matt home alone, but had we stayed in Michigan, the kids would have spent the weekend getting bored and fighting, which would have left me frustrated and snippety. So, Matt got three days of relaxed silence at home, and the boys and I had fun with family!</div>
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I got off work around 2:30 on Thursday, picked them up from daycare, and we headed out. We stopped for dinner, and arrived in Portland around 7 pm. The kids played for a bit, then went to bed. It was a relaxed evening, which was good because the next day was crazy. :)</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">This picture should have been an indication of the level of exhaustion that was to come!</span></div>
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Friday morning started out relaxed. Ha. I always say that coffee tastes better when you drink it in the company of people you love. The kids played while I drank coffee and talked with my parents. It was perfect.</div>
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After we formulated our plan for the day, we headed to Muncie (about 40 minutes SOUTH of Portland) to meet my good friend, Amy, and her daughter for lunch at Qdoba. $20 worth of food for the 2 boys and I and they each took about one and a half bites. Awesome. Anyway, we enjoyed Amy's company, and the boys liked seeing Kenna. </div>
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After lunch, we went back to Portland, re-convened at my parents' house, then put on swim trunks and headed to Berne (about 20-25 minutes NORTH of Portland) so the kids could play in the splash pad. They had lots of fun!</div>
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After we got back to Portland, we rested for a little while, I took a shower, then we headed out to my sister's house, which is in Ridgeville - about 25 minutes SOUTH of Portland. My sister lives in the sticks. Ha! We had a cookout and the boys continued to run out every last bit of their energy with their cousin Rylee.</div>
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They stayed the night at my sister's house, and they LOVED it! This was their first sleepover at someone else's house where I did not stay with them. My sister called me before they went to bed, and I walked her through adjusting Jameson's basal rate, and she called me at breakfast so I could help her dose bg and carbs. She's a nurse and a rock star, and it was a huge success. Saturday evening, Hendrix asked if he could stay with them again. Ha!</div>
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I used my "me time" on Friday night to get together with some friends and it was relaxing and fantastic to catch up with the people I've known so long, but have seen to little in the last few years of my life.</div>
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Saturday morning, we went to the parade downtown. Now, I've lived in three different states in the past 8 years, and I've been to several parades. They always leave me disappointed. I'm pretty sure the parades in my hometown are the reason for that. The parade went on for a good 40 minutes, everyone was very spirited, and it was just fun to watch. Love it. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Granny and Grandfather with their boys.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">One of the big sources of pride for Jay County.</span></div>
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After the parade, we had plans to go to El Camino - the best place to get Mexican food. They were closed. Booooooo. So we went to Pizza Hut instead. Gluten-free pizza is always iffy. It's hard to trust something that's prepared in the same kitchen as a food known for the abundant gluten it contains. But we tried it.</div>
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Not only does Pizza Hut serve GF pizza, they go above and beyond to train their employees on safe preparation and storage also. I was so excited to see this! Check it out:</div>
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After lunch, the kids played a little while, and we rested before heading out to the fairgrounds to have a cookout with my brother-in-law's family and watch the fireworks.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jameson was fascinated by Travis's half-missing finger. Ha.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">And this is basically how the week leading up to this past weekend went, versus the speed with which the actual holiday weekend flew by. Sadness.</span></div>
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We headed out Sunday morning around 8:45. After a stop for gas, a potty break, and lunch, we got back home around 1:30 pm. Jameson discovered that the fingernail polish that Rylee had put on his toes came off and he was distraught. These tears were legitimate sadness. No fit-throwing here. Just grief. </div>
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Sweet boy.</div>
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Jamers and I took a nap together, then we just messed around the house, the boys took a much-needed bath, and went to bed a bit early.</div>
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Matt discovered this ridiculous wasp nest under our second story deck while we were gone. That needs taken care of ASAP, but makes me super nervous.</div>
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Hendrix refused to nap all weekend, and insisted that he wasn't tired at bedtime Sunday night. </div>
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Alright, man. You aren't tired. That's cool. :)</div>
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It was a much-needed weekend with all the people I love. It's a LONG drive to Indiana (though much better than the 19 hours it was previously), but it's really worth the time and exhaustion. The kids just adore their grandparents and cousins, and play so hard they can barely walk.</div>
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We can't wait to visit again in August so we can meet our newest little family member, and the boys can play with their Metz cousins!</div>
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See you again soon, Indiana!</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-19033209478978080152015-05-27T07:06:00.001-07:002015-05-27T07:06:35.817-07:00Memorial Day Weekend 2015<div align="center">
Hi! I hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend. Can you believe we're already staring at the first of June!? I can't wrap my head around that!</div>
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We had one of the most productive weekends we've had in a long time. We did a ton of manual labor, our bodies were very sore and sunburned, but it felt so good. Do you get a lot of satisfaction from working your tail off in a manual way? I certainly do!</div>
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The first thing I did when I woke up on Saturday morning was head to the garden! My goals were:</div>
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1) Re-plant the corn and peas. I planted them too deep the first time.</div>
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2) Transplant my pumpkins.</div>
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3) Plant zucchini seeds.</div>
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4) Transplant tomatoes and peppers (purchased as starts).</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">One of my pumpkin starts.</span></div>
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Hendrix was off running around, but Jameson was my garden helper. We took a selfie with our matching mosquito hats. Ha.</div>
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After the garden was done, we took a lunch break, then set up the pool we got!</div>
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I really wanted to get the 48" deep pool, for my own selfish desires. But after thinking about it, I decided against it. I got the 30" deep pool. This way, the kids can both touch the bottom, and while they still need supervised 150% of the time, there's less of a risk and it will be more enjoyable for them. </div>
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In a couple of years, we can get the deeper pool, as long as it's something we will be using a lot. And I foresee much pool usage in this crazy humid Midwest.</div>
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We got the pool filled up, and it was green. Ugh. I balanced it, chlorinated it, shocked it, and it was just green. Very frustrating. So we turned to the googles and learned that we most likely had an iron problem. I took my fourth trip to WalMart for this silly pool, put a dose of Metal Control in the water, and it cleared up very nicely.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3njDotYuREWvLK3hcrDCkhECoZ-WO1n_WDCzq1QxvOAgxwqo_QX2ByE-tJRV_yywJHQirJhu8YtEa8dixHwSsNKRsblyjAvQNQ_5C6fTfziyeFDAp_DooHAicl3Yf6Bk103st88Z46Bk/s640/blogger-image--1753253701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3njDotYuREWvLK3hcrDCkhECoZ-WO1n_WDCzq1QxvOAgxwqo_QX2ByE-tJRV_yywJHQirJhu8YtEa8dixHwSsNKRsblyjAvQNQ_5C6fTfziyeFDAp_DooHAicl3Yf6Bk103st88Z46Bk/s320/blogger-image--1753253701.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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At the end of the day on Saturday, I was fried. No sunscreen was a big "oops" on my part. It's now Wednesday and it's just now starting to turn from pain to itching. Ha.</div>
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Saturday evening, we grilled some pork ribs and relaxed.</div>
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Sunday morning, we went to church, and when we got home, Matt got busy....</div>
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...building this!!!!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDa6CIMQhz1jyqa8DC49IWXV7ARmeSqBlRA3HBJJKqAy9xsdnPSbmrlU1tIIRwZIEdcPjONb747phy1sAg1puSWazXJNs9LtWLaN84Xhmkzc8UZCk9dwDR9kl2ADSieVyaVYfZsUrOxqA/s640/blogger-image--298314570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDa6CIMQhz1jyqa8DC49IWXV7ARmeSqBlRA3HBJJKqAy9xsdnPSbmrlU1tIIRwZIEdcPjONb747phy1sAg1puSWazXJNs9LtWLaN84Xhmkzc8UZCk9dwDR9kl2ADSieVyaVYfZsUrOxqA/s320/blogger-image--298314570.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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In my garden research this year, I learned that what the soil needs most is compost. I learned that it's difficult to find, and when you can find it for sale, it's really expensive.</div>
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So we're going to start making our own! Hopefully, next spring, I can amend my soil with nutrient-rich compost and it'll produce an even better crop of homegrown veggies. My soil this year is lacking it, I purchased a couple bags of mushroom compost and some chicken manure, but I feel like that's barely going to suit it. We'll see.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJlPqLY3Ltl3CpqBGN4SW8Pyi344_ETuCgIvWa-FmVbGzoiDPvKBBKRIcMKDbPOF-j-BggnHlo8wf2I57PjgfdgXzd-Re2DUd9VSk2BnKqt2nrZjBjHMIM7UaQQUddHodi7zlp5zr6A44/s640/blogger-image--1928506369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJlPqLY3Ltl3CpqBGN4SW8Pyi344_ETuCgIvWa-FmVbGzoiDPvKBBKRIcMKDbPOF-j-BggnHlo8wf2I57PjgfdgXzd-Re2DUd9VSk2BnKqt2nrZjBjHMIM7UaQQUddHodi7zlp5zr6A44/s320/blogger-image--1928506369.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-h7S3t_5EmNGM-0-rq8zTDs1W4DjGdYMoXVi_DIl0MqyrmpCTx_KalFG4kq_10TdMi01sT-RTPLhiarF9kzL_ahgaxV9xMC15TfsjZadLYWGKDDP2bSarUMPUs2XLaazFoL1oULD9ddw/s640/blogger-image-101190467.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-h7S3t_5EmNGM-0-rq8zTDs1W4DjGdYMoXVi_DIl0MqyrmpCTx_KalFG4kq_10TdMi01sT-RTPLhiarF9kzL_ahgaxV9xMC15TfsjZadLYWGKDDP2bSarUMPUs2XLaazFoL1oULD9ddw/s320/blogger-image-101190467.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Looks gross now, but it's going to turn into some mighty fine black gold!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdIfgJQZOjUGxnGnqEWdQRbSpgq8YewMKTHIh9GaOU64MX1DqNRFK92RDwBIIHPHI1RwHbZLEi5MuMpr_yTJI-kIvw4oUSDuR_5LOUogECpPnNVPpE58_s1AYVoTSy6NxUMUWh8wb9zg/s640/blogger-image--1973395609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdIfgJQZOjUGxnGnqEWdQRbSpgq8YewMKTHIh9GaOU64MX1DqNRFK92RDwBIIHPHI1RwHbZLEi5MuMpr_yTJI-kIvw4oUSDuR_5LOUogECpPnNVPpE58_s1AYVoTSy6NxUMUWh8wb9zg/s320/blogger-image--1973395609.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Small pile. But don't worry. It's going to grow. :)</div>
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We are re-training ourselves to put things into the compost bucket in the kitchen now, rather than the trash or the garbage disposal. We're using everything from fruit and veggie peels, egg shells, coffee grounds, basically anything that isn't meat or dairy! I've also added paper towels and shredded junk mail, along with yard trimmings, twigs, and dried leaves. Good, good stuff.</div>
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After Matt finished the compost bin (which was made 100% out of stuff we already had lying around the house, by the way), he got to work on our "thicket" as we call it. We don't have a bush hog or anything like that, but there are a ton of little stick-trees growing out by the garden. He pulled them up by hand (they came up easily), then mowed that area to make it much more pleasing to the eye.</div>
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The kids like to play back there, and I worry about all the bugs and possibly snakes in the overgrown grass.</div>
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Sunday evening, we had dinner and relaxed some more. </div>
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Having lived in the Black Hills for a little over two years (which are amazing, by the way), I had forgotten how GREEN everything is in the springs and summers of the Midwest.</div>
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Our woods have bloomed like crazy, and you can't even see the road from our backyard anymore. Love it.</div>
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Well, except for the mosquitos, of course. Turns out, West Michigan is the 12th worst place in the entire country this summer for mosquitos. Awesome.</div>
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Monday equaled much relaxation.</div>
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It was a very busy and exhausting weekend, but one I'd LOVE to repeat soon!</div>
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This coming weekend, our friends from South Dakota are bringing our camper to us! I could not be more excited to get the camper back, and am already planning a camping trip for the following weekend, hopefully.</div>
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I also have big plans for the interior of the camper, so stay tuned!</div>
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<strong><em><span style="color: black;">What were you up to over the holiday weekend?</span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em>Do you have any friends or family members who gave all in the service?</em></strong></div>
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<strong><em>What are you most excited about for summer 2015?</em></strong></div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-91005947063018973452015-05-12T12:29:00.001-07:002015-05-14T09:00:38.147-07:00Imagine With Me, For A Moment...<div align="center">
If you aren't aware of the high level of racial tension in this country, you've been living under a very large rock. Racial tension so thick you could probably grab a butter knife and slice right through it.</div>
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I tend to shy away from politics and current controversy on this blog here, but when I read about a news story and I'm sitting here with tears literally rolling down my face, I can't just ignore it. I also don't like to use the word "unfair," as it sounds kind of childish and immature to me. But I can't think of many better words that describe this situation.</div>
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Maybe you saw the article about the <a href="http://www.wbaltv.com/news/dundalk-man-recovering-after-beating/32610412" target="_blank">group of teens who brutally attacked a 61-year old man</a> and beat him within inches of his life.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0R3rOXJsnU0KXMgjJkzwh_oLqHzl0f3p1Yy0kDbyxyR5q40CqCzlD0nBap-TvI1lJ585-XcROafPZhdICfFxDztxQsET2mC9qVhxWjvnDEcY2zaBkFMkpmUCfmvKundUAHy2QkprmMoM/s1600/Richard-Fletcher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0R3rOXJsnU0KXMgjJkzwh_oLqHzl0f3p1Yy0kDbyxyR5q40CqCzlD0nBap-TvI1lJ585-XcROafPZhdICfFxDztxQsET2mC9qVhxWjvnDEcY2zaBkFMkpmUCfmvKundUAHy2QkprmMoM/s320/Richard-Fletcher.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Oh, what's that? You weren't aware of this story? </div>
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I wasn't either, until today. (Granted, I've been on social media a lot less lately, and this is exactly why.) It happened on April 22nd. That was 20 days ago, if you don't feel like counting. Almost three weeks ago, yet I hadn't heard a word about it until today, when it randomly popped up on my Facebook newsfeed. I decided to check Yahoo and MSN. Nothing, without a somewhat extensive search. The articles I did come across were anywhere from 15 minutes to 11 hours old. Brand new articles, mostly speaking of the charges these kids are facing now, rather than articles that reported what happened WHEN it happened three weeks ago.</div>
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Hmm, interesting, isn't it?</div>
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All we've heard about for the last five weeks are the riots in Baltimore, how these citizens are so angry and want justice. (Which they appear to have gotten, since the police involved in the case were charged with murder, manslaughter, illegal arrest. But I digress. What do I know?)</div>
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Yet, a group of teens who almost kills a man for no reason at all goes without reporting?</div>
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You'll notice that the article I linked above doesn't mention race of the teens. And it doesn't need to. Whether these kids are black, white, hispanic, or yellow with purple polka-dots, they're still a bunch of worthless punk-a** jerks. #notsorry</div>
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<strong><em>But imagine with me, just for a moment.</em></strong></div>
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Let's say a couple of Caucasian teens were fighting outside the home and on top of the truck of a 61 year old African-American. The owner of the home simply walks outside to try and break up the fight, and a mob of 40+ Caucasian teenagers attacks him and beats him within inches of his life. He is put into a medically induced coma because of the amount of damage that is done to his body.</div>
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What are you seeing? <br />
I'm seeing complete, utter, un-controllable CHAOS. More of Baltimore. More of Ferguson. More of whatever else is to come - because you know more is coming.</div>
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But the teens that did this to this man were African-American. The article doesn't state that, but follow-up articles that explain the charges against some of these teens do state that and they show pictures of these teens.</div>
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What happens? Three weeks pass and no one even knows about this story.</div>
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Does this make your blood boil? My chest is literally pounding with anger as I write this post. </div>
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The media skews, over-reports, under-reports, hides things, and is basically as corrupt as you can imagine. Don't rely on the media. However, facts are facts. This happened, and we SHOULD be angry that it was all but covered up. We should be angry that this man's life was all but taken, and that he'll never be the same - physically, mentally, or emotionally. We should be livid. But I do not recommend burning down our neighborhoods, or going out for "retaliation" on anyone. I do not recommend breaking into any stores to loot and steal from people who had nothing to do with any of this. I certainly do not condone throwing rocks or anything at other teens, just because of what happened with a group of them.</div>
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But anger? You sure as hell better believe I'm feeling ANGER.</div>
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There are unfortunate exceptions, as there always are. But generally speaking, my fellow Americans - the racists in this country, of which I USED to be proud to be a part, are NOT the Caucasians.</div>
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Have a good day.</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422445846587524457.post-87530876659398150052015-05-06T07:31:00.000-07:002015-05-06T07:31:05.521-07:00The Current Mayberry Routine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We don't have cable. </div>
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For the past few weeks, after we get the boys to bed, Matt and I sit down and turn on the classic TV channel that we do receive via our $13 rabbit ears (best investment!). The Andy Griffith Show is on every night between 8 and 9, and we watch that.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVCYAdEaNzB3JfOj2_jggq9YL4tCM76QVg_HcM45fCz120CSEZC8qfu-zzbxZdCIQ45pmrBZcKmdf1lyQayqRnFQx6_Zvhus7M5aNnAvhTUz32XO3RVzqGxG3j7kBZ8j5oBDvsV_XJttI/s1600/Andy+Griffith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVCYAdEaNzB3JfOj2_jggq9YL4tCM76QVg_HcM45fCz120CSEZC8qfu-zzbxZdCIQ45pmrBZcKmdf1lyQayqRnFQx6_Zvhus7M5aNnAvhTUz32XO3RVzqGxG3j7kBZ8j5oBDvsV_XJttI/s1600/Andy+Griffith.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I just adore the simplicity of this show. Language is never a concern, the jokes are always tasteful, and it has us belly laughing without fail during every episode. Love it!</div>
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<strong><em><span style="color: black;">Do you watch any classic TV?</span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="color: black;"></span></em></strong> </div>
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<strong><em><span style="color: black;">What's your favorite show? </span></em></strong></div>
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<strong><em><span style="color: black;">(I Love Lucy is mine!)</span></em></strong></div>
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Happy Hump Day, friends! Hang in there, the week's half over!</div>
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17926722749669438692noreply@blogger.com2