Update from cardiologist appointment and a new project from Kathleen :-)

Happy Friday, almost Saturday as I type this it is 11:48 PM :-) Though I should be in bed I just have too much on my mind.

Wednesday I went to see a new local cardiologist who will become my regular one. Even though my blood pressure has gotten better, my pulse rate is still in the 90's even at rest and they don't want to see it that high. So they are increasing my medicine again.... I am going to increase the dose tomorrow so Jerry is home with me in case I have any trouble adjusting. No swelling or weight gain so that's a plus :-)

I did talk with her about my wanting to treat this as naturally as possible and by that I mean diet and exercise changes. I start cardiac rehab on Valentine's day and I'm hoping that's a good sign. I know I will have to be on medication the rest of my life, but I'm trying to avoid surgeries, transplants etc.

I asked her about getting back into my normal routine and she said I could slowly. I also asked if I could start any exercise before I go to cardiac rehab and again she said be cautious and listen to my body, but she did approve me to walk 30 minutes a day. Although I have to have someone with me. Whether it's breaking up the times or all at once. I was very happy to hear that as I'm going stir crazy. She did give me some hope that this could improve some. I see her again in March unless I have any problems and then they will schedule a new echocardiogram from there to see if my ejection fraction has improved any from the 25% it is now.

Today was my first day out and about in my yard since before Christmas when I went to the hospital and I felt so very blessed to still be here and get to enjoy it.

"Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better"  Albert Einstein

We enjoyed a walk around the pond and to visit the animals. :-)

The sun had come out, but for some reason my pictures didn't turn out the best... but I was just so happy to be out again. I just wanted to be sure to document another day!

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine"  Anthony J. D' Angelo

                       "Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience"   Ralph Waldo Emerson

      "Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you."  Frank Lloyd Wright

My dad was my walking partner today. We were trying to find what was left of the pine trees on the ground that were green to give to the goats :-)

He's been coming over each day to stay with me while Jerry and the girls are in school. I'm so thankful to have him.

                          I miss hanging out with Ruby and Annabelle and my chickens too! :-)

   "The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way it's animals are treated".  Mahatma Gandhi

Kathleen is entering a competition at her school for crocheting and today she made this unicorn purse! I just love it and her creativity! Oh and yes she's dressed like a unicorn, lol..... it was PJ day for when you donated money to their special olympics fundraiser :-) Hayley bought her the cute little cat purse she has on and she just loves it!

We also had a special night and ate dinner in the living room.... the cats were quite happy about that! LOL!!

                                                            Have a wonderful weekend!!!

                                                                         Blessings,
                                                                              Jill

Let's Start the New Year Right, Some Tips for Saving Money Part 1

Running a household can be so expensive, whether we decide to rent or own our homes there is always so much to do each day in maintaining them. Sometimes it can seem as soon as we make the money it is gone! It's been awhile since I've posted one of my money savings posts and I thought it would be a great way to start the new year.

           "Beware of little expenses, a small leak will sink a great ship"    Benjamin Franklin

     "Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving"   Warren Buffet

Thought I'd share our little container to save some change for vacations we hope to take. This had been a lot fuller, but we cashed it in last year to take a weekend getaway. :-) It can be quite surprising how quickly change can add up and make a difference!

Every year I begin a new book to record our bills, expenses that arise, savings plan, spending habits and more. It helps me keep everything all in one place and stay organized each month when the bills come in. I make sure to record dates paid and check numbers or the confirmation numbers from paying online. Staying organized is a must for good spending habits.

            "It's not your salary that makes you rich, it's your spending habits"  Charles A Jaffe

                                        Some suggestions for saving money in the kitchen:

1) When buying a chicken buy a whole one instead of just the parts. When you buy them already cut you are paying extra for the work involved to do so. Plus you can freeze what you are not using and use the bones for a good homemade broth, also saving money on the boxed or canned broths. Plus it's a healthier alternative.

2) Save the hard rind from cheese and add to the stock as you are simmering it for a wonderful added flavor. Remove and discard when it's done and strain the broth too.

3) To make store bought icing go farther, whip it with your electric mixer and let the air plump it up a bit. :-)

4) Couple of inexpensive desserts when entertaining: Layer vanilla ice cream in a bowl or nice sundae cup with crushed up cookie toppings. Top it off with a berry, you could even use a martini glass to spice it up!

Take a can of peaches and heat them up in a sauce pan. Add a cinnamon stick and a shot of brandy and simmer until it thickens. Serve over vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

5) When you finish eating a citrus fruit, save the rind and freeze it. That way when a recipe calls for the zest you can just pull it out and zest it! Use a microplane or grater to do so then just throw the white part away.

6) If you are lucky and live near a fresh fruit farm, consider going there and picking your own fruit. Cheaper and can freeze it for the year and it helps local farmers and homesteaders :-)

7) Stay away from bottled waters and invest in a filter for your sink or if you have one in your refrigerator use that and reusable bottles. Better for health, budget and the environment.

"The habit of saving is itself an education; it fosters every virtue, teaches self-denial, cultivates the sense of order, trains to forethought and broadens the mind"    T.T. Mungel

                                                   Some more ideas and tips to save:

1) When your socks come up missing one of their matches don't throw them away! They work great to place on your hand for cleaning your fans and blinds :-)

2) Don't throw your old towels away, you can cut them down into cleaning cloths so you don't have to buy paper towels.

3) If you need a frame for your pictures, check out yard sales and thrift shops to find a better deal then buying brand new.

4) If you have a water heater that is before 2004, wrap it in insulation and save 10% on your heating bill.

5) Install a low flow shower head and you could save more than 7,000 gallons of water a year!  a savings in your bill of $30.00-$100.00!

6) Plan meals at home and don't eat out if possible or limit the amount you go out. Check local grocery store sales and plan a menu plan around them. Also reduce the amount of meat you eat weekly and make some pasta or bean meals to help cut down costs.

7) Be sure to keep the air in your tires properly inflated. This will keep your car more fuel efficient. This is a good idea to check them weekly.

These are just a few quick ideas that can help you with saving and reusing things around your home for maximum benefit. I'll be doing follow up posts with more ideas soon :-)

"Where we love is home. Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts"   Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing".    Phyllis Diller

                                                                           Blessings,
                                                                                Jill

Animals We Love and a New Planner #erincondren #homesteading #goats #chickens

Squirrels.... it can be quite an interesting relationship with them it seems. They are so cute, yet so pesky! We have quite a few around our yard and we've given up thinking that the bird seed is only for the birds, lol. No matter what we try, they always seem to find a way to worm their way in to the food. So we enjoy taking pictures such as this one. Though planning a garden this year I will need to figure a way to keep them out of there! ;-)

We of course adore our chicken and goats! :-) I love watching them and spending time with them. This was the other day when they were enjoying some scraps from the kitchen from our veggies that were being prepped.

 Mirabelle, our very sneaky cat managed to open up the cabinet and stalk me for treats that she knows are on the countertop! Animals are smarter than we think that's for sure! It seems strange to me to see the Rice Krispie box on our countertop as well. I hadn't had Rice Krispies in years.... then in the hospital they had them and I decided I wanted some at the house for once in awhile. The little snap, crackle, pop making you feel like a kid again :-)

Elvis, well he can make himself comfortable just about anywhere, lol. He's a sweet heart... been with us a long time! Growing up with the girls. We are thankful for every day we have him.

Jerry has been so helpful to me trying to get through all these new adjustments with my health. He cut up and roasted vegetables for me to have throughout this week so I could easily reheat them while he was at work. I try to do some things each day, but get tired easily too. I think adjusting to the medicines has a lot to do with that. I'm getting a walk in each day as  I'm determined to try to strengthen my heart muscle back up. In February I start the cardiac rehab.

On black Friday I ordered a new Erin Condren Life Planner. I still enjoy creating my own, especially for journal entries, but I like this already laid out so I could plan ahead. This is a hardbound one, which I love! Being left handed I'm not a fan of the spiral bindings.

                                                            It arrives so nicely packaged!

                                    There are extra little surprises when you open the box too.

                                  I enjoy reading the newsletter they include in it also.

So far I've already starting filling out important dates, etc. I'll do another post including some of the pages soon. :-) Getting my year off to the right start, I'd be lost without my planners. I love writing things down and then being able to look through the year at at a later date. Digital is ok for things, but I will always be a paper girl at heart. :-) How about you? Are you caught up with the digital planning or still prefer paper?

                                      Hope you have a wonderful start to your week!

                                                                   Blessings,
                                                                         Jill

Wrapping up 2018 and moving on into the New Year 2019!

Happy New Year!!! I must say I'm glad to say good by to 2018 as it was another rough year for us. I'm really trying to stay optimistic that 2019 will be much better, 365 days of new opportunities. :-)

Since being diagnosed with heart failure I've had to come home from the hospital and rest... which leaves a lot of time for reflection and trying to sort out all my many emotions and processing it the best I can. It's literally a day by day process and an adjustment of medications to see what may or may not work. It also means cardiac rehab which I am waiting on them to call me from my doctor's referral so I can get an appointment set up soon. It means a lot of appointments, financial worry and so much more. Makes me want to keep up with my blog more regularly and document more of our lives for my girls. Perhaps some of what I am going through can also help someone else.

I told Jerry the other day I just needed to get out for a little bit that I was going stir crazy. Since it was the weekend and he was home I chose to go to a thrift shop that supports animal rescue. My whole family enjoys searching through treasures and getting great prices. :-) After that I suggested taking our large dog daisy up to get a bath at a nearby pet store. Our little dogs get groomed, but Daisy is tough to do at home since we only have showers in our house. She had a blast as we gave her the royal treatment! I love how Kathleen wore her farmin boots as she thought she may get wet in the process, lol... but I liked how they had it sectioned off.

                             She was even a trooper when she was getting blow- dried :-)

Don't ever question the devotion and love of a rescue dog.... they are always grateful and always add so much to our lives! :-) finding them I truly believe happens for a reason.

        She was also super happy and excited when she got to pick out some treats and a new toy!

                                               Love this picture of the three of them :-)

    "A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself"   Josh Billings

"My fashion philosophy is, if you're not covered in dog hair, your life is empty"   Elayne Boosler

"Before you get a dog, you can't quite imagine what living with one might be like; afterward, you can't imagine living any other way"   Caroline Knapp

On the ride home I found a rainbow nestled among the tree line.... tried to capture it the best I could from the moving window.... but it's there if you look closely..... reminding us of his promise.....

    After her bath and playing with her new Santa toy, Daisy was pretty worn out....lol. SPOILED!

Jerry has been super sweet to me trying to help me rest and adjust to my new lifestyle, which has salt (2000 mg) and fluid (1500 ML) restrictions. Not to mention I'm making the choice to eat much healthier. This is one of the meals he made me, some chicken tenders, butternut squash and strawberries. :-)

We did stop by our super Walmart to grab some quick groceries and Kathleen has been wanting something to organize her baking items in the kitchen. She found this cart on sale for $15.00, it was 1/2 off. She was so excited to get it home and set it up all by herself. She didn't even take her jacket off first, lol.

At one point Jerry had tried to help her and she said " no dad, I have this.... I can do it myself". Yes my sweet girl you certainly can! You can do anything you put your mind to!

                     All set and ready to go! She did a great job assembling and organizing it!

This was  New Year's Eve last night just hanging out with her dolls and watching New Year Rockin Eve. I sure miss seeing Dick Clark... it has been a tradition since I was younger to watch him every year. With me not feeling the best this year, it was a very low key night at home. But we were all just relaxed and enjoying each others company.

Kathleen made chocolate covered strawberries and apples so I could enjoy a snack too. She used her new candy melter she got for Christmas. You can see in the background Jerry was really enjoying them too! Great job Kathleen, they were delicious!!!!

              Hayley's friend Courtney came over to celebrate with us too and spent the night. :-)

                                                                       (Google Image)

I hope you all have a very happy, healthy, successful new year!!! My Perfectly posh business is getting a new catalog launch with new products! Can't wait to share them all with you! If you'd like to check out my website here is the link. We list all the ingredients in each product and they are naturally based with good for your skin ingredients.... no toxins! :-)

                                                                             Blessings,
                                                                                  Jill