{ Why are you a homemaker? }

The question came as a bit of a surprise.  I don't have the habit of asking random people, why they chose to do what they do, because frankly it's none of my business.  So it always surprises me, when I'm asked why I chose to be a homemaker.

But the answer is quite simple, at least to me.

Because I was called by God to do this, and I was given charge of my home and my family to care for.

What is most important in your life?  

 

In mine, it is God above all, and my family next.  I have both of those things inside my home, so I take great pride in caring for both my relationship with my Lord and my family.

 

 

 

 

As the days have gotten colder, I have found myself even more eager to do my housework.  There's a certain renewing of spirit, if you will.  Maybe it's the candle light or the piping hot oatmeal wafting steam up as if in a dance.

It makes me want to bake, decorate, plan and prepare for hibernation.  Though that is really not possible, no matter how appealing it may sound.  But you know what I mean.  

Chopping firewood to keep us warm during the winter months.  Gathering the last of the garden harvest to freeze or can, until Spring comes around and we plant a whole new garden.

Setting a pretty table for dinner.  Placing pine cones and pumpkins throughout the house.

 

Then there's those days that I don't feel like doing anything, not even speaking, and I can't muster up the motivation or energy to blog or post anything on Instagram.  We all have those moments, when our spirits seem to cry out for a slow day, for peace and quite, and a cup of coffee or tea with a slice of a yummy cake or pie.

 

Those days I spend in silence, with just some soft music in the background, a good book and my pets at my side.

 

 

On my quiet retreated days, I still am a homemaker.  I move through the daily chores at a slower pace, I take my time, and I allow myself to soak in everything around me, taking extra time to watch the flickering candle light.

Or I really take in the scent of whatever I am cooking or baking.

Sometimes I sit back, close my eyes and go into deep prayer.  Not the kind of prayer that consistently asks for the Lord's help in certain situations, but the kind of prayer that involves me praising, loving and just listening intently.

Those are the prayers that seem to help me the most.  

So why am I a homemaker?  Because that's what God has instructed me to do!

{ Let's clean the house }

When I was a newlywed and had little ones, the thought of cleaning the house was usually something that would frustrate me.

I didn't have time, I had my hands full and I found that trying to clean while the toddlers ran under foot, was a waste, and so it annoyed me and the more I thought of it, the more I used to feel overwhelmed to the point that I would tackle the cleaning with a bitter heart and mind.

That whole demeanor radiated through everything that I did.  I'll be honest, I hated it, hated the mundane tasks and cringed when I thought about washing one more plate, making one more bed and so on.

Today?

I rejoice when I know that I have a full day for homemaking, without any interruptions.  Yesterday was one of those for me, so I grabbed the camera and took you along through my day.

Hope you enjoy :)

I can't be the only one that has noticed the mornings are starting to get darker again.  It's becoming a little harder waking up at 6am, especially when there is not a single light in sight.

Mondays are my bed linen changing days, so I strip the bed early morning, spray down the mattress topper, mattress and pillows with my homemade Febreeze mixture and let it air out for a few hours.

In the meantime I wash and set out to dry all the linens.    I'll be enjoying the wash line as long as I can, actually I think I've used my dryer maybe once this whole summer and it was during a rain storm and I needed Curt's and Jasmine's work clothes washed.

I would love to show you a shiny clean sink, first thing in the morning, but this is reality.  There are days that I go to bed with my kitchen spotless and then there are days that I load the washer after dinner and there are still dishes laying around.  So I pop them in the sink with hot water and soap and let them soak overnight.

I know, I know, not exactly what all the homemaking books tell you and truth be told if my great grandmother was here, she would no doubt let me know quite quickly that this is NOT the proper way to do things.

I can almost hear her voice and see her smile while she shook her head "Sandra, Sandra, you know better."

But I can't lie to you and I believe in being completely honest and transparent, and so here you go, a view of my Monday morning sink.  It's quite alright though, I popped on a documentary on the laptop and in no time the kitchen was set straight.

We've always lived in areas with hard water and the dishwasher is one of those appliances that is supposed to make my life easier, but at times makes it harder when I'm pulling out dishes that haven't been washed properly.  A few years ago I started using vinegar as my rinse aid, and it's done me a world of goodness, it really helps.

I love having a big pantry but it's in a constant state of disarray.  Why do kids just grab things and leave it all a mess?

My Polka Dot plants needed to be transplanted, and I've been putting it off.  Actually, I knew I had to do it but kept forgetting, there, that's more like it.

Since I had time yesterday, I took them outside and quickly got them situated in new pots.  They are thriving, growing in leaps and bounds and looking gorgeous.  It's so much fun learning about new plants, seeing the different colors on the flowers and learning all about their wants and needs.

I've been keeping my eye on these two cantaloupe and waiting for them to be ready to harvest.  I am still pinching myself at the thought that I grew these from seed.

I have gone back and forth on this living room color.  We didn't pick it, it was already here when we moved in.  I've debated painting it either white or a darker green, like a sage maybe, but I've also been thinking that it would be a lot cheaper to just accept it, and work with it and around it.

So I've thrown on some cheapy slipcovers on the ugly couches (I really dislike them but they are still in good condition and it makes no sense to be vain and go out and buy new ones, all in the name of keeping up with the joneses).

I'll keep working on this room, but for now, it's coming along and I'm slowly starting to like it.

One of the areas on my house that doesn't get as much attention as the rest, but definitely needs it, is the linen closet.  I don't know ladies, but I find that I will go in there, clean and tidy and soon enough it is a disaster.  I am going to assign the guilt to my kids because even though one is 20 and the other 16, they can't seem to grab ONE thing without tumbling everything else about.

I spent quite a bit of time in there, took everything off the shelves and wiped them clean, then got everything back in again, neat and tidy.

One way that I keep things organized, is by keeping the bed sets together.  I grab the fitted sheet, top sheet and matching pillowcases, fold them, then slip them inside one of the pillowcases from the set.  When I go to change a bed, I just pick out the set I want and know that everything is in there.

I don't have to go searching for the matching pillowcases or the sheets etc.  On the top shelf are the bedding sets and the bottom shelf holds the comforters and blankets.

After the house is clean, it's usually around the time I need to get dinner started or at least prepped, especially if I'm picking up Jasmine right in the middle of dinner time.

One tradition we have never done without and absolutely make sure that it happens, every single day, is having dinner at the table.

We live in a day and age where people tend to grab a plate and sit in the living room, or go to their bedrooms, no one eats at the same time, everyone eats here and there and so on.  Curt and I have always made sure that dinner time is family time, no matter what is happening.

It's important to connect, to sit down and talk about our day.  It's like clockwork, we sit, we dish up, we start eating and within a few minutes my husband will go around the table and ask each one how their day was, and then we ask him about his day.

If you were to sit at our table you would no doubt be included in all sorts of topics, it could be physics, gardening, video games, movies, news or whatever else.  I'm glad that my kids get involved and contribute to the conversations because honestly, I feel that nowadays most kids are raised by the internet and highly influenced by outside voices.

Curt and I are determined to be the loudest voice in their heads and hearts, no matter what.





Once dinner is done and the kitchen is clean and dishes taken care of, I start putting the rest of the house to bed.  This house is so big and I really don't need to be in every room, so I tend to clean and put to bed the part of the house that I know we won't be in the rest of the night.

Dining table is clean, curtains are closed and I usually light a candle for about 30 mins or so.

As the day drew to an end, my body ached but my heart was so happy with everything that I had achieved, and for the fact that at least for yesterday, I was fully immersed in my homemaking, taking my time, doing what needed done and what I liked doing, without any interruptions.

I'm going to finalize this post, get it published and then watch some TV.  I really enjoy Who do You think You are, especially the UK edition, so I've been binging those while working around the house.

It has made the niggly little itch start again for me to continue with my own family tree, and so I've contacted family members and have requested information from both my dad and mom's side.  I'm excited to find out more and learn where I came from.

I will have to share all that with you when I have more information and am further along in my genealogy journey.

Right, I need a motrin for this hormonal headache I have brewing, it also didn't help that I got completely soaked today while running to the hospital to pick up some meds.  Oh goodness!!!

Have a blessed night :)

Living my best life ❤️

It seems like every one is going on about "living their best life".  When I first heard the saying I thought it corny, to be honest.  But the more I think and reflect on it, the more I realize that, if everyone out there concentrated on actually living their best life, and not worrying about what others are doing with their lives, things would be so much easier and everyone would be happier too.

{ Why I left Facebook - The Dangers of Comparison }

"Sandra, you are more than enough".

Those words, those simple words were talked into my heart, a few months ago when I was struggling with my role as a homemaker and living with purpose.

I'm not going to talk again about our roles as homemakers and how important those are, if you look back on my blog archive, there are numerous posts on that subject alone.

I am however going to address the reason, or one of the main reasons why I left Facebook a few months ago.  It wasn't a decision I made on the spur of the moment, it was something that had been a long time coming and finally deeply ingrained in my heart by none other than God.

But let me backtrack a bit so this all makes sense.

I've gone back and forth with Facebook a couple of times, and have even gotten off of it for months at a time, only to return and get sucked right back in again.  The main reason was that my family and friends were all on there and it was a way of staying in touch, of seeing our family, of seeing the kids grow etc.

I was recently asked why I left again and so I thought I would address it here on the blog, because even though I've left, I haven't deactivated it.  I put up a post on there for my son's birthday on the 11th and I will put one up for my daughter on the 25th and my husband's next month.

Why?  Because I think they deserve that recognition on that day.  Other than that, I don't think you will see me on there at all.

Please keep in mind that I'm talking for myself.  I am no here to change your mind about social media, I'm not here to judge you if you use it daily, I'm merely here to talk about myself and my thoughts.

Aside from the fact that I find Facebook extremely boring, a waste of time, a playground for bullies and ridiculous fights, I think it is one of the biggest thieves of joy of our current times.

Let me explain why.

As homemakers we are often made to feel that we are not good enough, that we don't fit with the norm and that that we should be out there working, contributing to the homes and not being lazy.  It takes some thick skin to learn to let all of that nonsense just roll right off your back, but then you add in social media and the dangers of comparison kick into play.

I let myself fall into that trap.

We are a simple, down to earth family, and while we have enough money to pay bills and get food, sometimes eat out, there are a lot of things that we need to buy, need to fix or would love to do that is not possible on our income at the moment.

When you go on social media and see family and friends living it up, going on all these vacations to super cool places, eating out, buying this new thing or that new gadget, as a human, your first instinct is to feel some jealousy and immediately start comparing.  I'm guilty of that, or rather, I WAS guilty of that.

As I started my journey to a closer relationship with God, there are certain aspects of myself and my personality that I want Him to help me change or tweak.  One of those such things was the feelings of jealousy or the need to compare to others.

I knew that social media was a big issue for me, Facebook especially because I'm such a simple person, I don't like drama, I don't like confrontations and fights and more and more I was feeling like I didn't belong on Facebook because all of those things above seem to be what it's all about on that platform.

The more I prayed, the more God kept telling me loud and clear "Sandra, you are more than enough.  Stop comparing yourself to others, you are not them, you are you.  You may not have what they have, at the moment, but I have great things ahead for your and Curt, just wait and see".

Being the disobedient child of God I am, I kept going to Facebook, kept scrolling through all the way to the bottom, back up to the top and nothing had changed.  You may have 200 or 300 friends but really only see about 10, and they post the same things over and over, no offense to any of my friends or family, but it's true.

All the while God kept hammering into my head that I am more than enough, that I need to stop feeling inadequate or not good enough.  Every time I would pray and ask Him to show me what to do, the answer was always the same, I already knew what needed to be done, I just didn't want to do it.

This went on for about a year, until January when a light bulb finally went off and I knew what I had to do.  I made a short post on Facebook letting people know that I wouldn't be on there and wasn't sure I would be back. 

I closed the app down and walked away.

I was fully expecting to start doubting myself, to start feeling like I had to go in every day and just check real quick, but guess what?  I didn't!!!!

I don't miss it, I don't think about it, I honestly forget it exists unless a family member or friend mentions something about it.  I don't feel the need to go and look, to go do anything on it and I've even thought about deactivating it completely.

So you ask why I left?

First and foremost because that is what God put on my heart to do, and secondly because it was the biggest thief of joy for myself.  It made me feel so bad about my life and what I've accomplished and God knew that it wasn't healthy for me.

I don't regret that decision, I'm so happy since I've been off there, I'm calm, I'm content, I'm free for lack of a better word.

You may be wondering what about Instagram, isn't that social media too?

Yes, yes it is, but I find Instagram not as time consuming for me, I only really follow homemaking and crochet pages, I don't see drama and fighting and bullying going on there and I don't post on it daily either.  So for the moment, I am not getting rid of Instagram, but if I ever feel that need in my heart, then I will have no problem disconnecting from that too.

In the end the only things that really matter are my family and my real life, and I don't need social media to have those.

{ My favorite kind of day and a recipe }

For your house to stay in order, you have to make a conscious effort to stay on top of things.

If I could give advice to any new homemaker or wife/mom, it would be just that.  I know it may sound like such a ridiculous thing to stay, but over my 21 years of homemaking, I've learned the hard way.  Sure it's easier to let things sit until tomorrow, but tomorrow never turns out to be that day, instead things get put off until the next day, and then the next, and then it becomes overwhelming and you really struggle to finally tackle that task.

I've gotten into a very good routine and I find that if I stick to it, my house is constantly tidy, put together and clean, without needing a ton of attention on one specific day.

Sure there are days that it all goes to hell in a hand basket, days where my routine is changed because of unexpected things, or the weekend where you were out every day or spending time with family and let things slide a bit.  But Monday rolls around, and I nip that right in the behind and get everything in order for the rest of the week.

Monday was one of those days for me, the weekend had been spent enjoying time with family and doing the bare necessities, so when the new week came about I rolled up my sleeves and got started.  My favorite kind of day......full on homemaking.

{ Taking back our homes - Living Simply }

 Tasha Tudor

“I enjoy doing housework, ironing, washing, cooking, dishwashing. Whenever I get one of those questionaires and they ask what is your profession, I always put down housewife. It's an admirable profession, why apologize for it. You aren't stupid because you're a housewife. When you're stirring the jam you can read Shakespeare.”
― Tasha Tudor

{ Homemaking with a joyful heart }

Hello everyone, come on in and sit a little.  It is a cold and rainy day, the house is dark, the candles are lit and the coffee is warm, just perfect to sit and have a little chat.

The past week and a half, the Lord has been speaking to my heart on the importance of my job as a homemaker.  It's something that I take seriously, it's something that I enjoy and it's a job that I love wholeheartedly.

I've always loved homemaking, and from a very young age I was fascinated with it all.  While kids my age would play outside or dream about being a movie star or a doctor, my heart and mind was on being a wife, a mother and having my own home.

{ Being a homebody }

A few years ago, I used to struggle with being a homebody.  Not because of my own thoughts and feelings, but because of the way I was perceived by others, the comments, the digs, the "you're so anti social" and the constant need to make me feel like I was boring and didn't fit in.

It's hard to try and please people and society in general, when it goes against everything you think and feel.  I struggled, a lot, and then one day I thought, to heck with it, this is who I am and I don't need to apologize or force myself to fit into some mold that was created by society.

{ New cookbooks and the usual pottering around - Blogtober 2018 }

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My mornings tend to start in the same fashion, well at least the past few months.  I get up at 6am, make Curt's coffee and lunch, and then see him off to work.

Marley and I will then head back to the bedroom and climb back into bed.  I don't sleep, I just pop on the telly and catch up on some Youtube vlogs for about an hour or so.

But just that hour of quiet, the house still fast asleep, the sun just starting to rise and the day slowly coming to live, does wonders for my soul.  It really helps set the pace for the rest of the day.

{ Usual Monday }

I always find that my Mondays are pretty much the same.

The weekend means relaxation, taking it easy, not being so on top of putting things away immediately or tidying it all up and so forth.