There are a lot of things that cause a person pain, it can be different for everyone and can dimmish a person as long as it continues. I spent years in that constant state of pain. Always putting someone above myself. I wasn’t taking care of myself. I let myself go mentally and physically and lived in this world where I thought it didn’t matter. I would spend an extra 5 minutes in the shower as tears rolled down my face or sit in my car in the garage for a couple of seconds just to prepare myself for whatever I was about to walk into.

 I was questioned on everything I did when I did decide to do something for myself. Whether that be putting on an old dress I hadn’t worn in years or styling my hair a way I preferred it. Yes, something that small would raise a flag and I would be questioned about it. Who was I dressing up for? Or you know I don’t like your hair like that, why would you do it that way? It pulled at my self esteem and made me hate myself.

I let my health go the most, I was under so much stress trying to be the best I could, I was the single income in the house, and I was supporting myself, my eventually sons and I was supporting the person I thought would be there forever. Little did I know I was being taken advantage of.

I was eating all the crap, all the things I have been telling you to stay away from. I just didn’t care that I had gained weight, but it wasn’t just that, my overall health was horrible. So much so, that when I was 8 months pregnant with my second son, I had a mini stroke and was hospitalized. It was just a small scare, but I think that was really where a turning point set in. I realized how much I had suffered over the years and that my kids deserved to have the best mom I could be, and this wasn’t it. Being a single parent is extremely hard and you need to be at your best, always. I have been trying really hard to practice more self-care and I know in the end that will make me a better mom for it. Nothing prepares you for parenthood but by taking care of yourself, you’re ready to take on the world. I experience that firsthand this weekend.

Over the weekend, it happened. My oldest son looked at me and said, “why don’t I have a daddy?” the question struck me to my core. I knew one day he would ask, and I thought I was prepared to answer him. It turns out he asked me a lot sooner than I thought he would. He doesn’t remember the time he had when his dad was around. At only three, his dad was only around for 1 year of his life, how many of you remember the first year of your life? I had to gather my composure and calmy explain to him that he does have a father, someone who was there when he was born and someone who helped create him. That man, though not here today, cares for him as much as he can care for him. He seemed to have accepted my answer and told me “But I have mama”. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes, but I knew I needed to hold my composure. I told him yes, but you have so many others here to protect you and care for you too. Then he started to list everyone else in his life, with my help of course and we moved on from the subject.

Although, that conversation made my heart ache, he took away from it all I needed him to take from it, and that is that he has a family that is extremely supportive and loves him very much. I am sure the conversation will come up again and I will just try to be prepared in the best way I can. Taking care of myself is the first step in the many steps I will take to be the best person I can be and although I have ups and downs, I try to stay on track. I realize I lose my patience sometimes and apologize for it. We are all human.

So, do the dang things that make you happy and forget those who judge you. Be happy, be you!

Happy Halloween!

With the Halloween today, and thanksgiving soon to come and as Christmas is just around the corner, I get a lot of questions about gifts for the boys. Everyone thinks buying for a small child is easy but I find there are so many toys in the world now that my living room, porch, and their rooms are overrun with toys.

I have been seeing recently where parents are requesting instead of toys this year to purchase them experiences instead. While I love this idea because it makes a great memory part of me wants them to have to toys, they ask for.

This year my boys LOVE farm equipment so they asked for square balers and tractors and combines and everything in between. So, that is what I sent to family to get them. In the next few years, I am going to be transitioning to the experiences pathway because I think the memories the make will be worth so much more than any materialistic items.

In case anyone else is looking for great, long lasting farm equipment I highly recommend the 1/16 scale ertl or dicast toys. They are metal and sometimes plastic but my boys absolutely love them! I purchase most of mine off eBay, amazon, or a great site is outback toys.

Something else I am doing this year is my kids loves animals almost as much as I do so they are going to be receiving Russian tortoise. A tortoise is a somewhat easy, low maintenance animal and a good started pet to learn responsibility. If you are thinking about getting a pet for your kids, I encourage you to do a lot of research on the animal you are thinking about!

Also, remember to explain the meaning of Christmas whatever you religion or lack thereof is, explain why you celebrate Christmas and encourage your kiddos to be involved in the festivities. Since I had Garrett, I started up the elf on a shelf tradition and he loved it and so did Lincoln last year. I think they will definitely be more into it this year as well so I am excited for Louie (our elf) to make his first appearance in December. Stay tuned to my Facebook and Instagram accounts for updates on his daily activities!

I love this Christmas season and I cannot wait for the traditions to continue I have started with my family!

Hopefully, this will give you some inspiration for your kids this year!

Something I have always done as a child and hope to one day do again with my boys is raise our own chickens. I love fresh eggs and I cannot tell you the last time I purchased eggs from the store. I am fortunate to have family who have chickens as well as some friends, so I always have the ability to pick up eggs when I’m running low.

Let’s talk basics first, we won’t go into the whole who came first theory but there are some differences we should talk about. For starters, many people do not know there is a difference between chickens. Not just between laying hens and fancy birds and meat birds but also in color of eggs and so on. The picture above is the exact eggs I have in my fridge right now. They do not look like your typical brown eggs most would assume are farm fresh eggs, but they are.

There are many different species of chickens and if you want eggs then you need to stick with the laying birds, those species can include: Rhode Island Red, Black Giant, Ameraucana, Leghorn, Plymouth Rock, Brahma, Sussex, as well as a few more. These birds are specifically used for egg production. Any of these breeds and I am sure you’ll have an abundance of eggs.

Meat birds are raised for specifically, well, meat. These birds grow quickly with the single goal of gaining weight for meat products. Majority of the time, these are the birds you see in those ever so popular PETA videos– used to discourage people from purchasing meat products. If you have not figured out my feelings towards PETA, head to my Facebook page. They portray animal abuse as well as negligence. I will not go into my soap box with that, we will save that for another day. Usually, the videos include birds unable to walk due to the weight of their bodies and so on. My advice on that subject is to purchase your chicken from a local farm, like I do for my family. Eventually, it is in my plans to raise meat birds myself because I want to give my family the freshest products possible, and there is nothing as fresh as on the farm. If you decide to raise your own farm fresh chicken, species to look for include Broilers, Cornish cross, Jersey Giant, Leghorn, and Bresse. You will also notice there are birds called dual-purpose. That means they can be used for both meat and egg production.

Now, lets talk about egg color. Fun fact! Eggs are colored solely based on the chicken’s genetics, usually the color of the chicken’s ear lobe. That’s right, the only reason eggs are colored are because of the species of chicken you have. White eggs are no different than brown eggs, or even blue eggs. Ameraucanas lay, yes, a blue egg. Typically, we see white eggs in commercial grocery stores, this is because majority of the commercial laying hens are Leghorn chickens who have white earlobes or do not release any pigment on the egg, whereas other birds apply pigment—why we have different colored eggs.

Another thing you may notice at a farmers’ market, is that the eggs are not stored in the refrigerator and are often a little dirty. Eggs naturally have a film over the shell that protects the egg, if you do not wash the egg then you do not need to refrigerate it. Once you wash the egg, you remove that film and therefore the eggs need to be stored in the fridge to keep from spoiling.

If you have questions you should always ask a farmer and keep off social media, unless a credible source.

As always, support local and be sustainable!

I LOVE cast irons skillets! They give your food such a good taste and they are perfect for any homesteader, because they have so many uses. However, they can be a little tricky to clean or use if you haven’t done it before. My first time using cast iron I burnt the shit out of my food, it happens 🤷🏻‍♀️

Recently, I was given three that needed some TLC. So, in the video below you can see how I restored and seasoned.

You may need to add a couple more rounds of baking and oiling if your skillet is really rough.

Also, just a warning! It will get smoky in your house so, if you can, open some windows or be prepared for the smoke alarms to go off!

When I imagined this blog, I thought about a lot of things. Things that make me happy, things that make me sad, things that made me grow and how it has brought me here. So, why are you here? Is it to follow my beautiful family? Not that I would blame you, I do have some pretty amazing kids, but what is the real reason you stopped by here today? Or any day?

I have spent my entire life setting goals and following my dreams, as one should. Something I love to do is educate. I’ve built a career around it, guess what my favorite thing to teach about is, agriculture. As I told y’all before, I grew up on a dairy farm and I loved every minute of it. I also participated in 4-H and raised chickens, goats, pigs, and horses.  I pursued a degree in agriculture because I have such a passion for it. I always told myself I would never work a day in my life if I loved what I did and so far, I have been doing a pretty good job of that, including what I am doing now with this blog.

I am a big advocate for agriculture because well, without it we would be in deep trouble—but also because it is so important to me. In recent years agriculture has been under fire from animal activists, climate specialists, and so much more. I don’t consider myself an expert in any way, but I do have my opinion on the subject, you can do with it what you please.

So, let’s just start at the beginning. Animal treatment. As a farmer or rancher, you have one income, your products. That could be crops or livestock. Either way, that is your income. Now ask yourself this question, do I preform at my best without the things I need? The answer is probably no, right? Do you perform your best when you’re treated badly or in a toxic environment? No again, right? So, why would we expect our animals or crops to do it? The answer is simple, we wouldn’t. My blood boils when I see a video posted on social media or the news talking about a farm who has animal abuse present. One, because I know that is the last thing a farmer wants to see and two, my heart breaks for the animal. I will tell you right now, my family eats meat, but I purchase my meat directly from the source. Where I know how it was treated and I know exactly where it came from. This is where I use those words, support local. I personally think this is the best thing a person can do.

If the pandemic taught us anything it is that we are all more aware of where our food comes from and how highly we rely on imports, even now two years in and there are barges still sitting off the coast of California. Many years ago, we lived a simpler life, where a town was supported by the farms around it and the farms were support by the people of the town. There was no or little to no imports. Do you know, on average, our food travels 1,500 miles from farm to store? That is a lot of miles and a lot of time from being produced to on your family’s table. That’s why when you shop produce it is either over ripe or under ripe. Fruits are often plucked too early to make the journey, why your bananas are green sometimes. The same goes for your meat, its almost always frozen before being cut or served because it travels so far. Think about that the next time you purchase something from the grocery store. I am not saying it is all bad, its not. We enjoy our processed goods; I am not about to turn down an Oreo. 😊 I think as a society we need to focus on what is the best we can do, and my opinion is we should support our local communities and farmers. Not only are you helping your local economy, but you’re also helping that farmer too.

So, you will see me say support local, support sustainable often. Our farmers and ranchers are making strides toward a better way, and I think we can do them all a favor and support their efforts and let them know, it does not go unnoticed.

First off, I was going to start by saying sorry I checked out this weekend, but, in reality, I am not sorry at all. You will quickly learn family is the most important thing to me. I also take mental health very seriously.

Y’all, life is hard! Sometimes the best thing you can do is take time for yourself and do what makes YOU happy.

I have been really focusing on that this year. After the mental abuse I put myself through I tried so many things to help bring me out of that nasty funk. I found that I am one of those people who bottle everything up and then all the sudden explode when something finally tips me over the edge.

 THAT IS NOT HEALTHY!

 I started talking it out, explaining how I was feeling, I wrote it down, or created a bullet journal to track my daily habits and feelings. I SET GOALS; this one is huge for anyone. Goals are what make you excited, it gives you something to look forward to. I stopped looking back and focusing on what happened to me and started looking forward. Yes, bad things happen, what did I learn and how can I make sure that doesn’t happen to me again? I now have multiple lists of goals: daily, monthly, yearly, 5-year goals, 10-year goals, the list goes on.

I checked out this weekend because, one, I am a single mom of two, I work full-time, and I have stresses. Sometimes it all adds up and puts a weight on my shoulders. I get so tired of seeing people mom guilt moms for taking some time away from friends and focusing on their family or the opposite of moms being target because they enjoy a night out once in a while. Guess what? I do both and I’m not ashamed of it because I know I am a good mom, and my kids are happy and healthy.

This past weekend I checked out with family. I put my phone down and didn’t worry about what was happening on social media or who was texting or calling or emailing. I spent the days carving pumpkins, attending a circus, visiting beloved Amish country, and just spending my time with my kids. I know the memories we made will last a lifetime and the pure joy on their faces and the hype in their giggles will forever remain in my heart.

So, here I am, just reminding you, it’s ok! Take the damn break and focus on you. You deserve it for yourself, and your kids deserve to have the best mom you can be.

I focused a lot on being a mom and having those burdens, but I know not everyone reading this is mom. If you are and you connect to this, then GREAT I am doing my job. If you’re not a mom and still can relate, then hell yeah, I am still doing my job. I don’t care what your background is. My hope for this blog is to reach people who just need a little pick me up, someone who needs to see they shouldn’t feel guilty or someone who genuinely wants to make things better, not just for yourself but for your community or society as a whole. You’re going to learn a lot about me, how I operate, my thoughts and feelings, my beliefs, my passions and all the things I love. I hope you will see how real a person can be and help me restore faith in humanity.

We are all special in our own ways, take care of yourself and love yourself, every single inch of you!

Growing up on a farm I spent most of my days outside. It’s a part of who I am and now it’s a part of who my boys are. We spend majority of our day outdoors exploring anything and everything!

We spend hours in the creek behind the house flipping over rocks looking for anything we can find. I explain to them how everything in nature has a purpose and we are all part of one big plan.

We head to the farm and check calves and spend time playing in the dirt it in some cases in the fields where the pastures are a little more fertilized. I know that spending more time outside is not just good for them but good for me as well, being a single mama of two can be stressful and lonely.

Getting outside is so important. Did you know just 5 minutes a day can help reduce stress? So here we are outside dancing in the raining mist. I challenge everyone to get outside for just a short period of time today and everyday. Reflect on a stressful work week or maybe just enjoy some interrupted time with your family.

Did you get outside today?