Living Off Grid

living off grid is a dream of mine - and we are working on it!- so you better believe that i am gonna post this giveaway on my blog so i can gain another entry !!
go HERE to Forgotten Way Farms to enter to win

Six Prizes - Six chances to win
1st Grandpa Jakes Campfire Cooker ($139.00 value)

2nd One handcrafted Peddler drying rack (49.00)

3rd Homesteading for Beginners vol. I- II-III ($45.00)

4th Plunger Washer ($29.00)

5th  Erin’s Super Green Drink Mix 1 lb. ($25.00)

6th Erin’s Sick Tea ½ lb. ($17.00)

Blueberry Cream Muffins

a quick and easy recipe that yields 2 dozen . i took it from all recipes  (again!) and changed it a bit for my liking. -- i swapped coconut oil for vegetable oil.


Ingredients

4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup coconut  oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sour cream
2 cups blueberries
Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 24 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
In large bowl beat eggs, gradually add sugar while beating. Continue beating while slowly pouring in oil. Stir in vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, salt and baking soda.
Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture alternately with sour cream. Gently fold in blueberries. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.


linked with  Deep Roots at Home

Thank You

i was given an award! i am so honored! it is the liebster award. in German this stands for dearest, beloved, or favorite. i was blessed to receive it form Renee at Glow Academy.

thank you so much Renee!! now for my picks!!
 1-Blessed Homemaking 2-Legacy of the Home 3-In the Nursery of the Nation 4-On Just Couple of Acres 5-Graceful Little Honeybee and of course Glow Academy!!
 thank you again Renee!

Anatomy of a Cupcake

Source: http://frugaldad.com

One of my Favorite Books

I want to let you know about a deal Amazon has going on for one of my FAVORITE books!! Believe me, you won't be sorry you get this and it's only $4 and change. i paid $20 for my copy lol THIS BOOK IS SO ENJOYABLE!!! it is one of 10 books that i would take with me (i have a 3500 books!)if i moved and couldn't take them all. Seriously! Karey Swann gives recipes, food info, holiday meals, produce schedules, and witty interesting banter thru out the book. You will meet her family as well. so go check it out!! (yes i am an affiliate, doesn't change my opinion!)

A Gift From The Holy Spirit

CLICK THE BUTTON FOR MORE GREAT 5 MINUTES!

VIVID
let's see - the first thing that comes to mind is how vivid feels. pain, joy, grief, happiness, bitterness, regrets- i have felt all of these/ and  remember all of these. these feelings are a part of me. i can pull these vivid memories up anytime i want and feel them just as intensely as i did when they first happened.




the pain and grief of losing babies. 6  all told.  my children i have not held (yet!)
joy at the miracle child that some said would never come.
happiness , maybe seen and felt in hindsight, but how happy i felt taking care of all my littles (4 under 4 )
bitterness at events unfolding that created pain and grief in my life. tornadoes come to mind.
regrets- i should have said that and i shouldn't have said that. don't you have some of these?




i believe the heart holds memories just like other muscles. we exercise and our bodies remember how to form and work and our hearts and minds remember feelings. 
ah, a gift from the Holy Spirit. because without the vividness of my memories- who would i be?

DIY ON SALE

Click here to visit Cottage Mama eBooks. This eBook is a collection fantastic do-it-yourself recipes and tutorials. You get nearly 50 pages of money-saving recipes, tutorials, and concoctions that will nourish and nurture both you and your family!
 $3.00 That's all folks! Just $3.00 and you can start creating!
 just click the words, not the picture and you're all set. :) visit the website too and learn soooo much. Little Natural Cottage yep, you guessed it- i am an affiliate. but that doesn't mean it's not a great book !

GATOR!

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on a field trip a few years ago, dressed like indians in real skins and an aligator! the man is not my dh :)

Decorating as a Christian Woman

my first post got messed up so i am resending it :)

don't get me wrong. there is nothing wrong with a nicely decorated house. there is nothing wrong with picking out a new sofa and making sure the pattern is one you like.
 HOWEVER
there is something wrong with how today's world sees a nicely decorated house as a badge of honor. as if the person who makes the most money and can afford the nicest decorations wins.
there is something wrong when someone buys a house and rips out all the new appliances simply because they are white and they prefer stainless steel!  or reject a home from their maybe list because the bathroom doesn't have 2 sinks!  there is a perfectly functioning sink right there and you are complaining while children in other countries don't have clean water?!   (and really- i don't care what you are doing, i don't want anyone in the bathroom with me ever!!)


no where in the bible does it talk about how our houses are to be decorated! no where does God specify what color chair to have or how many paintings should be hung on the wall..

even in Proverbs 31 when the bed is mentioned, it doesn't mean "make the bedspread pretty so all the ladies will like it but rather it is talking about creating an inviting bed for your husband and you.  (~blush)

i have learned to stay out of the shops unless there is something i need. now i admit, last time i needed towels and cruised the aisle at walmart, i also stopped to stare at the pretty glass items on the clearance rack! BUT i didn't buy any and i didn't think myself too unlucky not to have gotten any. i did come away with the towels we badly needed.    and later, in a month or so, i will be buying bedspreads for each of my children. they NEED new beds desperately  and these were ordered. since their current bedspreads are looking very ragged, and daddy has put away the money to buy all this,  we will be purchasing those too.
BUT , how many times in the past have i looked at bedspreads and bought them because i liked the color and was tired of the old one. it wasn't a need, it was a want. while we can buy wants sometimes, it shouldn't be a regular thing!

i celebrate sabbath on saturday (starting on friday evening) and when i first began doing so i wondered how i would be able to go into town and shop at thrift stores since i am not supposed to shop on the sabbath and the stores were closed on sundays!! can you imagine?! i was putting  knick  knacks before God!!!

ok so now i am over missing shopping on the sabbath and i don;t always look down all the aisles when i run in for a gallon of milk at wally world. BUT sometimes  i still get dragged down and begin to think that my home is not very nice and i feel badly and loudly tell my husband  ( and God)

HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN? well God's Word tells us.



2Ti 3:6
For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts.

answer me this- when something creeps into your house does it announce itself loudly? no! it slips in unnoticed and makes itself at home without you noticing. until it's too late, if you notice it at all.  how could something do this? magazines arrive in the mail, the show househunters appears on tv  and martha stewart appears everywhere at holiday time.  if we women don't stay home tending to our families there is the chance that we are at a friend's house, admiring their new coffee table , which  makes ours look outdated and downright ugly. ( and we will tell our hubbys about it this evening)
1Ti 5:13
And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.

how are we "silly " women? because we allow these things to tell us to be unhappy with what we have!
Hbr 13:5
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Phl 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

let me ask you- is it virtuous to be coveting the rich person's bedroom suite?

2Ti 3:2
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

do we really want to put knick knacks before God? do we really want to throw away thousands  of dollars of items because they are not the newest model? ( i mean really, you refuse to own a home because it doesn't have granite counters? really? )
ok i have said my piece.

linking with   

Homemade Yogurt

well i mentioned i made yogurt and in 1 day i had 5 people ask for the recipe lol
it is so simple that you will not think  it worthy of praise i assure you but it is good and easy.

i bring 1 gallon of milk to a slow boil. once the bubbles start to form i pour in one cup of storebought yogurt in plain, slowly stirring. ( i do this to get started in yogurt making, otherwise i keep a cup of the homemade yogurt on hand to use as a starter.  think how you do sourdough starters)
i don't let it totally boil , just start to. after i add the 1 cup of starter i take it off the heat and pour into a bowl with a lid - i use my crockpot bowl-and stir well. i let it sit on the counter for 6-8 hours or so, with the bowl wrapped in a towel- think like  a turban after you wash your hair.i refrigerate it  after the 6-8 hours are up.

in the morning i stir fruit and honey into it and serve. i also top it with granola sometimes. the honey is a must in my opinion, gives it more flavor. this yogurt will be thinner than the storebought ones so don't think you did it wrong :)
and that's it!