New Year and a New Me?

I have started this post several times then deleted every word every time. I've started off each time from a different angle but the whole post was going to say the same thing. I guess you could say it's about New Years resolutions but I didn't want it to be classified as such... but it is what it is.  

This coming year, 2014, I hope to change the way I eat.  There. I've said it.

I have done a lot of reading lately that suggests (and I had already read this years ago so it wasn't really "news") that gluten and leaky gut are causes of RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) which I have been living with for almost 8 years now and other autoimmune diseases. The Dude and I  were practically vegetarian (lacto) recently but somehow meat has pried it's way back into our diets.  I have a hard time digesting meats but sometimes I really enjoy eating it which of course makes it a little hard to give up.  During Summertime there's nothing quite like a burger hot off the grill is there? And when The Dude takes me out to dinner I often get a nice steak or chicken in pasta.  There's another weakness of mine: pasta.  In fact, I have a love-hate relationship with all breads and pastas. I love them and they love my stomach and thighs which in turn makes me hate them. They're also loaded with gluten. The eating plan I am going to try and follow is high in protein and has NO gluten which translates into me eating lots of meats and no breads, crackers, cookies, or pastas. 

Rats.  I really REALLY like pasta. But I hate pain more than I love pasta. The trick will be to keep reminding myself that when I want to cave and eat some. Will power is key. Self-discipline. 

 

Can I do it?

Will I do it?

I say yes to the first but "I'm not sure" to the second.  I've never been one to follow through with anything but if I can just stay disciplined enough to make it until I can FEEL RESULTS... then that will be proof enough and I would THINK motivation enough to keep going and make it a lifelong change.

I'm not out to lose weight (I weigh somewhere around 127 or 128 lbs and I am 5' 5.5" tall.): I'm out to get healthy and to lose PAIN. 

Now... pain.  I'm not sure how much of the pain I'm feeling these days is due to inflammation or active RA. I know that some of it is caused from the deterioration of cartilage in my joints (wrists and elbows especially) but I would like new xrays just to SEE and hopefully one day compare to later xrays taken after I'm eating better and feeling better.

Rheumy doc appt is set for New Years Eve. I've asked him before of his opinion on the gluten causing or affecting RA. His opinion was that he's seen studies that suggest it could and others that say it could not. Wouldn't it be awesome to have him (he's at Vanderbilt University Hospital by the way...so I think he must be pretty good) document my diet change and xrays and have record of my history of meds andd other treatment.  This is the plan.

New Years day is just a day that happens to be coming up soon (and I'm anxious to get started) and (this is the MAIN reason) it's a SUPER easy day for me to remember!  If I were to begin the changes on, say, January 13th for example... it's just another day and has no special meaning to me so I would therefore never remember it.  I could start on one of our family's birthdays but THIS IS COMING UP SOON (and I'm anxious to get started). ;-)

So, there we go.  Not really homestead related except that soon I hope to once again be eating eggs from my own chickens again as well as my dairy coming from a new goat or two. ;o)

Guess I'd better get to planning!  Happy Homesteading!

Fall is coming! Am I ready?

Nope. Well, maybe.  :)

It's that time of year again... kids going back to school, hunting for warmer clothes in the attic... anticipating the warmth from the gas logs in the early morning hours.... and the view of the river from my windows (which is hidden when the trees are all in full leaf). But it's also time to check the stockpile of home-canned goods to see what else I need and what I can get from the farmer's markets or produce to put up for the colder months when local produce dwindles.

What do you put up in your pantry? I really try to take into consideration what we eat a lot of and try to stockpile that stuff but to be honest usually the jelly and sauerkraut are the only things we will all eat. No one in our house is overly crazy about pickles yet I always make them, every year. I actually started fermenting them so I won't be making the "regular" kind anymore.  I really LOVE fermenting stuff!  I've been making sauerkraut, ginger carrots, ketchup, kimchi, kombucha and fruity kombucha for a while now and LOVE.IT.
So, what type of things are kept in your pantry at any given time? We always have rice, canned and dried beans, potatoes, onions, flours, sugar, sweet pickles, dill pickles, multiple flavors of jams and jellies, relishes I've made and bread.

So, what's been going on in our neck of the woods?  Well, we are slowly getting things finished around the house, bit by bit. Hanging up tp holders, working in the yard (still cleaning up from construction and destruction<--my kiddos), working to try and fix the leak in the basement so we can start building down there, mourning the loss of our Great Pyrenees and all of my chickens, target practice with raccoons and The Dude's new rifle... just to name a few things.

Life is definitely different with just myself and the Cupie Doll at home every day.  I still can't believe we have 5 kids in school this year! I will say, though, that it's allowed me to get back into my cleaning groove.  For those of you that know me IRL (as my son would say) and have known me for a few years know about my OCDish behavior with cleaning.  I used to clean my entire house, top to bottom (yes, including baseboards but not windows) every Friday. However, we lived with my MIL for a year and a half and then moved into a brand-new home that I'm not quite used to. I've been trying to get back on-board with Flylady but most days I've already done what the daily chore is and so I end up getting bored with it.  I have been trying to keep the kitchen and living room/dining room area clean and shining my sink before bed every night although I'll be the first to tell you that I'm not perfect (Flylady preaches against using that word!) and maybe 1/3-1/2 the time it doesn't get done before bed.  I've been making beds daily and trying to keep one step ahead of the laundry and it seems to be working.  Or it was until Cupie Doll's diapers started repelling and leaking everywhere.  Listen, if you're going to be sleeping with me in my bed you canNOT have leaky diapers! So I've tried stripping them (unsuccessfully so far) and today I'm trying some other method.  Hopefully it works.

I'm trying to be more frugal and also make healthier meals/snacks for my kids.  I can't afford to pay for 5 kids school lunches every day and also send snack money for the 2 youngest! I'm pretty sure I'd come out a lot cheaper by making my own.  Today my oldset daughter took the remaining pumkin bread/cake as her snack.  She LOVES that stuff! I just finished making some basic granola bars with what I had on-hand but I've yet to cut them or try one.  I also made the No-Bake Energy Bites that everyone has seen floating around on Pinterest, but I put a few extras in them to make them into a type of no-bake lactation/energy bites!  WOOOO!

I'd like to know some of your favorite fall/winter meals. I'm thinking of starting some OAMC again for some of the more common meals we eat.

Are you a meal-planner? What kinds of meals do you prepare for your family?  Do you go more towards easy and simple or healthy and hearty?  I'd really like to know. Share or link to the recipes in the comments!

I've also created a small crafty-biz called Green Fern Goods.  Find me on Facebook!  It's just for the random things I feel like making. I've made some small taggie blankies and listed them but will be adding more things soon. I have a quilt project in mind along with some other fibery goodness.  Stay tuned!

Comment and let me know you're alive and paying attention.

xoxoxo

Wow. You all deserve an update!

So, I'm not sure when my last post was but I knew I had to update because so many things have happened.

For one, we finally moved into our new homestead house!  YAY!  We moved in officially on March 23, 2013.  THEN.....

Exactly one week later we welcomed our newest little squish into the family.  She was born in water and into her Daddy's hands in our home.  Isn't that wonderful?  It was a very long, very hard labor for me but she's here and very healthy and that's all that matters, right?

In other news, we have 2 new puppies.  Both of our GPs moved over to the new house with us but then walked back home and eventually disappeared.  I have no hopes of them returning and I'm very sad about that.  They're two very beautiful dogs and someone probably took them or picked them up.  I hope they're happy. :( The two new ones we have are half boxer and half Labrador. And I have to admit they are so much more fun than the GPs were.

We also had about 7 or 8 chickens when we moved here but they all quickly became someone's dinner and it wasn't ours.  I later saw a raccoon in the front yard one evening and it was then discovered after some reading that they LOVE chickens and will do anything to pull them out of their pen.  Even if it's one leg at a time.  Well, then my folks came over and brought 5 more chickens and a rooster.  Man, he was a beautiful one too.  Notice I said "was"?  Yep.  Well, we tried to move the pen to a safer location on the property and they got loose.  They were mostly game hens too and not used to being loose so they were impossible to corral and catch so it was pretty inevitable that the raccoons got them.  But not before The Dude got one of theirs!  So, now we have NO chickens OR roosters but we have the 2 puppies (who aren't looking like puppies too much anymore lately!) and the cats (which I wish would find a new home).

We just returned from a camping trip which was cut short due to raining off and on for 2 days.  All of us went.  Even the baby (who is now 3.5 mths old by the way.) I was ready to come home anyway.

I saw something neat on Facebook around the beginning of Summer and wanted to try it out with our family.  It was a "100 Things to Do This Summer"  chart.  We made one and have it hanging up and check things off as we do them, but we don't even have all the 100 spots filled yet!  It really is a challenge to think those type of things up!  I mean, you could put anything on there at all but I wanted to be realistic and put things that we could probably actually accomplish.  Like "going to Grandma's" or "camping trip" or "picking blueberries" <-- we just checked this one off yesterday! Other things on the list that we've accomplished are picking strawberries, making homemade jam, VBS, make homemade pizza, family movie night and some others that I can't remember.  This weekend we will be going to Grandma and Grandpa's house and taking them a present (which counts as "Making a Craft") to them for a late anniversary present.  Grandma's been wanting one and maybe we will take a picture and post it after we've finished it. :o)

Let's see, what else?  Well, the basement floods every time we get a hard rain so that's a huge pain... and we have no garden this year but I think The Dude has decided he wants to build a big greenhouse and grown things year round.  I think this is an excellent idea.  No weeds to pull, no hoeing to do, etc.  Hey, I can't help it that I'm more on the lazy side. ;o) We would also like to try out the Aquaponics/Hydraponics.  Some day!

I've also made some ginger carrots and more sauerkraut (this batch had roasted jalapenos in it and is SO tasty!) lately as far as fermented stuff goes. I was gifted quite a bit of corn recently too and have put a lot up. We LOVE corn!

Totally off any of the above topics: I am trying to lose that 10 lbs after having the baby (I call her Sweetie-Pea) and am eating a lot of junk lately combined with my new addiction to A & W Rootbeer.  erg.  So tomorrow I am going low-carb again because I know it works for me.  After I lose those 10 lbs I will change over to a more plant-based diet.  I can't wait to be smaller.  I hate when parts of me jiggle when I walk!

Signing off!  Just thought I'd get back into blogging because SOON I will have 5 kids in school and it will be just me and the Sweetie-Pea home!  Won't that be exciting?