{ Blogtober 2025 - Day 1 - Welcome }

Welcome to the very first day of October, 2025.  

 

Ahhhh I have been anticipating saying that for so long.  Not that the weather is at all reflective of the month we are entering, but that's ok, one step at a time.

 

With a new month, come new possibilities especially as we head into the busy but beautiful family gathering months of Fall and Winter.  It is by far my favorite time of year.  The food, the colors, the smells, the family gathered around a huge table chatting and laughing and enjoying delicious meals.  

 

Soups and stews, crunchy fall leaves, hot coffees and yummy teas along with slices of spiced cake.

 

Everything that we or, I, absolutely adore.  All smooshed into 3 months of pure joy and contentment.  

 

Before I start this Blogtober post, I just want to send you all a huge hug for the sweet comments you've already left on my previous post.  You guys are just so sweet and kind and you brought me to tears.  So often we think we are alone in the way we feel and think about things, then we realize we have like minded ladies who understand and commiserate with us.  Thank you, truly, it is one of the reasons why I will never leave nor delete this blog.

 

Now, let's move on.  

 

 

 

October, and with it Blogtober.  31 Days of daily posts about anything fall related.  You can keep it simple and just post a small little snippet, or go all out, or share a picture, whatever you want to do.  I thought this would be the best way to kind of jump right into more consistent blogging, so here goes.

 

These are the prompts I'll be following, in no particular order, just a list of upcoming ideas for some posts.

 

Comfort Food Crockpot Recipes 

Favorite Fall movies

Favorite Fall series

Favorite Fall books

Create a Fruits of the spirit playlist

Create a Nature Mandala

Make a Pumpkin Bouquet

Baking a pumpkin dessert

Fall Knits or Crochet 

Autumn scented simmer pot

Fall decorations around the house

Fall in the Bible

Fall Workout routine

Day in the Life

Gathering Pecans and Pecan Harvest

Fall Poem

A project on your to do list

Fall look back through my blog years 

Favorite seasonal cleaners

Favorite Fall candles

Around the house

Golden Light Moments

Youtube Vlogtober Favorites

 

There will be many more, obviously, to make up for 31 days in the month, but there will probably be some days where I simply share a fall inspired picture.  

 

I am so excited to participate in Blogtober again, I have done it a few years and you can go back and look at them here:

 

Blogtober 2017 

Blogtober 2018

Blogtober 2019

 

If you do Blogtober, be sure to let me know down below.  I would love to come see how you're spending this season 🍂🍂

Blogtober 2017 - Day 3 - A project on your to do list

Hi everyone, it's day 3 of my Blogtober 2017, and today it's all about a project on your to do list.

Honestly, I have so many, it was kind of hard to pick just one, but I guess the biggest one on my list right now is my dresser.  I've actually decided to put it in my bedroom as a TV stand, shelf etc.

I've also decided that I'm going to paint all my furniture white.  It's mostly black but I'm not liking it anymore, and really want to go a lighter route, so white it is.



This is on my agenda for this weekend, so we'll see how far I get with it :)

Blogtober 2017 - Day 2 - Completed Home Task

Good morning everyone :)

Well it's Day two in my Blogtober 2017.   I got the inspiration from a current Instagram Homemaking feature going on this month, but decided to do it on my blog instead.

I'm using pretty much all the prompts, except for a few that I changed here and there to better suit my blog.

Today's prompt is to share a Completed Home Task.  I didn't want to share the usual cleaning picture, so I am sharing another task that is also part of homemaking.  Bread!!!

I made two loaves of Raisin Cinnamon Bread, and today I'm making two loaves of Pumpkin Spice Bread.

Blogtober 2017 - Day 5 - Favorite Drink

Hi everyone, it's Day 5 of our Blogtober 2017, and today's prompt is all about our favorite drink.

Now I know that some of these prompts may seem a little weird, but keep in mind that the original idea for this monthly feature was a Homemaking once a day through the month of October. 

Anyway, my favorite drink is water with ice and lemon.  It used to be Diet Coke, matter of fact I drank so much of it, it was quite bad.

For the past month, I've switched to mainly just water, on the weekends I'll have a glass or two of some sort of diet soda, but the rest of the time, it's just water with ice and lemon, and I'm drinking about 64 oz a day.

It means lots of trips to the bathroom, but I've noticed such a change in my skin my dark circles under my eyes and my energy levels too.  It's literally detoxifying my body from the years of abuse.

So there you have it, my favorite drink.  What is yours?

Blogtober 2017 - Day 4 - Your Bible Reading

Hi everyone, welcome back to Blogtober Day 4.  I hope you've been enjoying these so far, I know it's not exactly my usual blogging material and I do need to sit down and do a proper catch up, but for the moment this is what I have time to do and I feel that at least I'm posting something on a daily basis :)

Anyway, today's prompt is all about our Bible Reading, so I thought I would share with you one of my favorite verses, because I've ashamedly NOT been reading my Bible lately.  Possibly why my life seems so completely out of whack at the moment, so that's another for my "Must Remedy" List.

While I was thinking about this very thing, and the fact that I didn't have a specific Bible verse to share with you, I ran across a very interesting Devotional by Renee Swope, titled "When your life feels like a mess."

It's from back in 2014, but I swear it could have been written a few hours ago and totally been about me and how I'm feeling lately.

By the way, a couple of you have asked if I'm ok, and I am, I'm fine, my marriage is fine, my children are fine, we're healthy.  It's just life in general, and kind of feeling a little out of whack with myself when it comes to eating healthy and exercising, not letting laziness take over, staying on track with my projects and things I need to do around here, including the blogging.

That's what I mean when I talk about my current *messy* state of mind.

Anyway, going back to the devotional, Renee talks about how at times when her own life feels like a mess, she asks God to remind her of times He worked in her life or others, in ways she could never have imagined.

I thought that was quite a poignant way to approach this, rather than stew in my misery or stay stuck, I need to remember that even if I feel like my life is meaningless, or pointless at the moment, there is always and I mean ALWAYS a bigger force at work and something I'm working towards.

Here's the biggest thing I took from it.....

In times when I feel discouraged or am going through a difficult circumstance, I need to pull closer to God and not allow those negative thoughts or feelings to make me stray or pull even further than where I should be.

Dear Lord, thank You for reminding me that You are always with me, just like You were with Joseph. When I face hard circumstances, I want to lean in and depend on You for wisdom, patience and grace. In all these things, I will remember that I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Romans 8:37, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (NIV)

I hope that if any of you are in a similar situation, or frame of mind, that maybe my words today and Renee's teachings can pull you out of the darkness and into the light, where we truly belong.

Have a beautiful Thursday night and I'll see you all back here tomorrow for Day 5 and possibly an actual chit chat post :)

Blogtober 2017 - Day 1

Alright, so I keep saying I need to get back on track with blogging, and I really need to because when I look back at how much I've blogged the month of August and September, it's quite pitiful.

I still have a lot going on, am quite busy and I don't want to bite off more than I can chew, so I thought that I would need something to basically ease me back into the habit of posting every single day.

I was on Instagram and saw this really cool idea, obviously it's for Instagram but there's nothing saying I can't just adapt it and do it here on the blog instead, right?

 Here are the prompts for this month, obviously I didn't post yesterday, so I'm starting today and shifting things one day, so technically even though today should be Day 2, it's actually going to be Day 1 for me.

I can't wait to share this with you each day in October, it will be quite fun :)  If anyone wants to join in, let me know and I can pop in a linky at the bottom.

Happy October friends!!!

Haven't started yet, but plan on starting sometime this week.

{ Blogtober 2025 - Day 8 - Looking at Fall through the years }

 

I said yesterday was the first real fall day, and today followed right in it's footsteps.  It is currently 60 degrees with the slightest of breezes that bring just enough chill to acknowledge the change in weather.

 

I would be remiss if i didn't mention yet again that Fall is my favorite season, but at the threat of becoming nauseatingly repetitive, I will say no more than that and just show you.

 

Over the years, starting back in 2006 when I first started blogging, I have welcomed in the season with a bright smile and a joyful heart.  So I thought for today's Blogtober, I would go back in my blog and do a little summary of each year.  I know, I know, that's almost 20 years of blogging and 20 posts of Fall content but I won't post it all, just one singular post from each year basically welcoming in the season.

 

Ooohhh I can't wait.  I have a hot cup of milky tea, the window open and the fresh air sweeping into the bedroom. 

 

2006 

 

 

Welcome Fall

 

 

2007

 

 

Love Fall Season

 

 

2008

  

A little babble here, and a little babble there

 

 

 2009

 

 

 It feels like Fall

 

 

2010

 

 

 Wanna see what I got?

 

 

2011

 

 

 Hello Autumn 

 

 

 2012

 

 

 Happy Fall 

 

 

 2013

 

 

 

Hello Autumn 

 

 

 2014

 

 

Very Fall like day

 

 

2015

 

 

Happy Fall

 

 

 2016

 

 

Crocheting again

 

 

2017

 

 

Fall is right around the corner

 

 

 2018

 

 

 

Cool temps and another rainy day 

 

 

2019

 

 

 

First real fall like day

 

 

2020

 

 

Temperatures cooling down, means fall is around

 

 

 2021

 

 

Fall weather, even if just for a few days

 

 

 2022

 

 

 

Time to move things around

 

 

 2023

 

 

Happy Homemaker Monday

 

 

 2024

 

 

September Days

 

{ Blogtober 2019 - Day 10 - Fall Look Back through the blog }

October 10, 2019 -Fall Look Back through the blog

Hi everyone :)

It is October 10th, so we are well on our way to being halfway through this month.  Insane!!

I do have to say that I'm excited for Thanksgiving, it is always something to look forward to.  All the family gathered together, the yummy food and then of course the preparations for Christmas.  It's a little strange thinking that we are already coming up to the end of the year.

But let's not get stuck on that and rather focus on the season we are in at the moment.

I wasn't sure what to post today, because I didn't have time to take any photos or do anything fun or interesting enough to share.  It was a busy day of driving back and forth and schooling with the boy.

I wasn't about to let a day slide though since I've been doing so well with the daily posting, so, I decided that I would take a look through previous years, going back all the way to the first year I started this blog, in 2006.

It might be fun to take a quick peek back and see how I've celebrated Fall through the years.  I'm going to show you a photo from the post along with a few lines of the beginning text, but I'm linking the actual blog entry for you all so if you're interested you can go back and take a look.

2006 - Welcome to Pumpkin Land

Let me tell you right now, if you don't like pumpkins, I suggest you move along because I'm surrounded by them, literally.

Yesterday we finally made it to the Pumpkin Patch, remember we had wanted to a while ago but they were closed and then hubby was gone for a while, so we figured we better get on out there with Halloween being only 2 days away.

2007 - I think Autumn deserves a new look

 I know you're probably laughing, I tend to change my template a lot around here, I think having the advantage of knowing how to do it tends to make me mess with it whenever the mood strikes me.

I do like this one for Fall, the colors, the changing leaves, the pumpkins, just makes me want to grab the family and head for the nearest Pumpkin patch. I remember when we went last year, still back in Idaho, what a blast we had.

Right Now!

Right Now, I am:

feeling... tired but content with a spotless house

enjoying... the sound of birds chirping outside and no other sound to distract me

wondering... whether I can wait for my new McLeod's Daughter DVD or just watch it online

listening... to Casting Crowns on the computer


 

It's been a long day.....

 Hi there, come on in and sit with me for a few minutes, I promise I won't take up too much of your time, I am kind of in a hurry because in 15 minutes the Ghost Adventures Live show begins.....7 hours long. Yippee!

But feel free to grab a donut, I just made those and they are DELISH.

 

Wednesday Night!

On my bedside table:

O Pioneers by Willa Cather

2011 Taste of Home Annual Recipes

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Romancing Miss Bronte by Juliet Gael

On board from Netflix:

The Tudors Season 3 - Disc 1

The Tudors Season 3 - Disc 2

Around the house

From a stomach virus to busy homeschooling to housework and other stuff, I've had my hands full around here.

I spend a lot of time in the kitchen.....

 Sunday Stuff

Had such a good, quiet Sunday, that I really hope that you all had one too.

My day started with me sleeping in, well, if you can call it that, but then again 7:30am is sleeping in for me.  HA!

 Pumpkins and Hay

I really do live in one of the most beautiful States in the US.

Idaho is gorgeous!

Pumpkin Carving

I am loving the mornings around here, just beautiful. We've been having the cooler temps but also quite a bit of rain, I'm just hoping it doesn't rain tomorrow night or we'll have very disappointed kids.

 Pouring down here in North Texas

Goodness gracious, the rain is just pouring down here in Texas, not just where I am, but pretty much all over the State, and we've even had some tornadoes down in San Antonio, floods in Austin and Dallas.....just a total mess.

New member in the family

Well ladies, I want you to say hello to the newest member of our household.

This is Marley!!!

After losing Lola almost 3 months ago, my heart has been so sore and so sad.  For the longest time I told my husband and kids, that I didn't think I would ever be able to have another pet.  I was certain of it, I wanted nothing to do with it.

Alpacas, Blueberry pancakes and wood pile

Good morning friends.  It's a beautiful Friday morning here in North Texas.

I am on my second of coffee, because I just need it today.  I slept pretty well but woke up feeling so incredibly tired still, I'm pretty certain it's a mixture of being sick with a cold, allergies and being a woman (you know what I mean *wink*).  My husband tells me I got triple damage this week LOL

Fall Days - Blogtober 2018

The leaves have yet to turn color.  I spend a lot of time looking out the window, from all areas of the house, just trying to catch that first glimpse that makes the bold statement that Fall is definitely here.