Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Monday, February 7, 2011

The kids got "notered" by their sister


How cute and caring is that?  She left this note on the computer for the other kids.

Clothesline is shoveled once again

No sun - no problem.  The wind is all I need.  And a few willing kids.

More Peas Please

Our goal was to make sure our dogs had a healthy weight balance, by substituting 1/2 their dry dog food with peas and carrots.  The results are wonderful.  Not only are they loving the change, but they now go from their own bowl, to the other bowls in search for any leftovers.



This morning "topped the cake" with results.   We found one of the cats sneaking peas from the bowl right after we poured them in, and before the dogs could even get to the bowls.

My daughter told me that if your dog is overweight by even 8 pounds it could cause havoc on their health.  In our efforts to create a healthier diet for them,  we have drastically cut down on our dry dog food costs.  I can't say that making our own food is out of the realm of future possibilities either.

Journal Junkie ~Organizing Junkie

My spiral notebook, a journal for homemade Christmas gift ideas is over flowing.  I had to move it to a reused binder from the kids.  I reused their tab dividers also.  Now, I have patterns, craft ideas, recipes and more, nicely organized.  Of course I could simply add a file to my file drawer, but it would soon become a mess.  Now, everything is marked and there is a nice slot for my original "Christmas Journal."

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Etsy Giveaway

Visit http://ladaisi.blogspot.com/2011/02/etsy-giveaway.html for a giveaway.  Visit before or by Feb. 11th!

Friday, February 4, 2011

Surviving storm and sickness

My husband flagged down a guy driving a truck with a plow, and we finally got plowed out.  It wasn't without a few words of encouragement either.  They guy looked at the 5 foot drift covering the center of the U-shaped drive, and said he couldn't do it.  Well, he did, and we are glad he took what little amount we could pay him.

I was able to get out and get myself to the doctor, which would not have been possible without my mother.  I would have just crawled back into bed, again after day 5, but didn't.  It's a good thing too.  I have a big, honkin' sinus infection.

I was smart enough to bring along a driver, my son who is now wishing I was well again (ha ha ha!), and a lap sized crochet project.  There was a long wait in the waiting room, and I crocheted half of my first market bag.  I finished it today.



The kids, so far, have been pretty helpful.  Although another kiddo is congested today.  During the 3 days off from school, one of the girls baked Old Fashioned Butterscotch Refrigerator cookies.  The recipe is in the following book.  I had lots of sofa/bed time to read through my large stack of library books.


I am enjoying this book.  There is much more than recipes in it - poems and more.



Thankfully, the 4 pounds of dry pinto beans I cooked up have supplied us with many meals.  Since I am still not feeling well, I made a beef-less stew, by adding more pinto beans to it.  The cayenne peppers we froze from last summer's garden, are dicing up nicely for this stew also.  And of course, the tomatoes, and other garden goodies went into it, making it a healthy, low-cost, and delicious meal.

It's been nice to see the sun shine outside also.  Although, my medication states that I cannot be in direct or artificial sunlight (along with a list of warnings).  It makes you wonder what they use to make the stuff.



What do you mean I shouldn't be up here?!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Snow, Snow and More Snow

I don't care what you say, I'm NOT going in!