This Is The Why We Got Started Post: “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly”

This is the post I have needed to write for three years but haven’t wanted to because for me writing reaches me at such a soulful level that it’s easier to write to you guys about drying your clothes on the line or the honey harvest but here is the motivation that started this journey.  Even though my husband and I  had seeds planted for this lifestyle years before and even though we had been canning food and growing a garden my mental attitude had not completely shifted from Deprivation to Abundance!  You have Abundance too all around you…..Richness and Resources are at your disposal every single time you fix an appliance, grow a plant, can applesauce, and make home-made laundry detergent you are creating a self-sufficient resourceful abundant lifestyle!  You may want to go and refill your coffee or grab a beverage because it’s a long post but as you probably already know I have a lot to say 😉

People have asked me……….Why do you have a blog?  Why did you start it?  How do you feel about sharing so much private information?  What’s the point? Well when you hear my story you will understand and I am not saying we live a perfectly pure chemical free life but we strive to do so.  You will also hear some of my philosophies about life that you may or may not agree with but here’s the thing I have a voice and I’m not afraid to use it.  When people judge me for whatever my actions are or whatever I write  I know that is because they are insecure about their own path so I don’t take it to heart.  When people fear those that are strong-minded, courageous, and action oriented it is because they are not.

So in 2009 I was at work and my friend noticed that my eye was swelling really bad she pointed it out to me and I went to the bathroom and I pretty much  freaked out because my eye lid was so swollen and there was absolutely no reason at all for this to happen.  My friend as luck would have it was a School Nurse and she was convinced by my symptoms of weight gain, dry hair, dry skin, swelling etc… and the fact that I was being treated for hypothyroidism that something serious was wrong with me and she recommended that I see a very well known endocrinologist she was familiar with.  So I tried to get in with him as soon as possible and shortly after meeting me he diagnosed me with thyroid Cancer………there is no worse phone call to ever get and have someone mention the C word…..other than to hear that about a loved one.  So I was strong for my family, I was strong for my work and I kept going no one knew how many times I cried in the shower at night and the days I waited to find out which particular cancer I had were terrifying.  Once I found out that it was a very curable type of cancer and I entered into plans to have surgery and treatment mode I kept living my life thankful for a doctor that didn’t give me too much time to think about things.  The other thing that was going on was that I was just about to get my Associates Degree after years of waiting and working I had finally finished……I was told I could have my surgery and still graduate but two days later I didn’t have the strength to take the drive and walk across the stage but I did get my diploma.  The cancer had been removed and my future looked promising little did I know that two weeks later my daughter would be struck with an illness as well.

The issues and the scares in 2009 made me the person I am today honestly I don’t like the person that I was prior to that nearly as much as I like the person I am today and not because I wasn’t nice and not because I radically changed but I was not as spiritual I did not accept others for exactly who they are and I was not as joyful!  Did you hear that?  I was not as joyful?  I love life!  I love it everyday and most days I am so grateful to be hear on this journey and I love the folks for the most part ha ha (adding a little humor) that I am on this journey with!

I have been blessed that where we live is just amazing we are surrounded by people that want to join others on their journey as well and amazingly as I focused on connecting with positive people that wanted to share ideas as well as us.  We joined gardening clubs, beekeeping clubs, we made new friends, and forged stronger friendships with friends we had already made.  I don’t take my days on earth for granted in fact I cherish them I hope when you read my blog that you realize that. In fact could not have gone through that year or the other 24 years we have been married without the support of my wonderful husband he was my rock and still is.  There is not a day that goes by that I’m not grateful for him.   My Mom was so generous with her time and she came down and helped nurse me back to health so my husband could return to work and she was such a support for me and especially my kids during such a tough time.   Our friends in Wilmington were amazing sending cards, dinners, and good thoughts our way…….truly showering our family with love and blessings.

So here are some of our philosophies that get us through here at our Lil’ Suburban Homestead!

• 1.  Wake up each day and make up your mind to embrace the day!
• 2.  Do your hardest job first each day.  (I do this at work and home I just like to getter’ done) LOL!
• 3.  We don’t have room for toxic people I don’t like to dwell on this but I refuse to follow your rules I am on my own path so if you have a set of rules you think I should follow keep them to yourself…..Just sayin’…..

4.  I heard this in a recent speech by Ashton Kutcher Oh I mean Chris…lol but it’s true Opportunities look a lot like work!  If you don’t think that canning, raising chickens, beekeeping isn’t hard work than it is not for you!  Homesteading is a sweaty dirty job but once you get good at it…it really does get easier!

5.  Help others whey they they are in need that is what we are on this earth to do….Oh please don’t confuse this with enabling 😉

6.  The more of the own food/herbs you can grow the healthier you and your family will be!

7.  Don’t use pesticides just period don’t do it!

8.  Create a habitat for critters in your yard just not the kind that come eat your chickens.  That’s a little chicken humor but seriously all of those critters were here before us and they will be here after us too.

9.  Plan & Prepare For The future

10.  Saving Money is just as good as actually depositing money in the bank.

11.  Fixing stuff is just as good as actually depositing money in the bank.  (Okay bankers I get you don’t earn interest but you also learn new skills 🙂  And money you keep in the bank is earning interest)

12.   Eat unrefined whole foods.

13.  Make it a priority to be active!

14.  Read and read often it’s good for the soul!

15.  Make like-minded friends.

16.  Approach life with Passion!  Don’t be passive.

17.  The only way others can learn from you is to be transparent so do it share what you know!

18.  Nap, Rest, and rest some more!

19. Be true to yourself and build your own path!

20.  Enjoy life and make time to celebrate and listen to music and create feasts and spend time with family and friends!

By the way for those of you who are not familiar with us or our blog and it’s first time stopping in just know my husband and I are no strangers to financial hardships especially when we made the decision to have me stay home with our children.  We have both worked hard our entire marriage and have been appreciative for the opportunity to do so so please know that my advice is given on a spiritual level but if you are reading this and thinking what might this lady know about hardship trust me I have commuted for an hour and 10 minutes one way in Maryland/Washington DC commuter traffic with my baby in the car seat every day, I have duct taped the bottom of my shoes, I have lived with window ac that didn’t always run right, water that was questionable, I have driven cars without air conditioning for years at at a time, I have dealt with horrible day care situations until I finally threw the towel in and stayed home.  I digress but I will happily plow into our tough earlier years any time just not quite in the mood to go all the way there this evening.

Thanks so much to all of you for reading about our journey and how I got here and why this lil’ blog is so important to us and hopefully our posts have inspired other readers.  If nothing else if you ever say to yourself ever….”I can’t do that…..I can’t can, or I can’t fix stuff”…. maybe you can’t do it tomorrow but you can envision it and before you know it it’s happened.  When we first got married I was frustrated because I did not have enough canning jars now I have more canning jars than I have food to can and as my family gets smaller I will share our canning jars with a new generation of homesteading ladies because sharing with others is the magic of the journey we are all on.

Have a great week and I am so appreciative of your valuable time and you stopping in here at our place……:)  You know you are always welcome here!

Fondly,