Frou Frou Gypsy in Combat Boots

 So, I think i have talked about it here, maybe not. I can't remember anymore. I am too lazy to look back and see right now.  I started a while back, hmmmmm maybe a year ago? I felt like i needed to get off my crazy meds.  My dose was low, lower than the "recommended" dosage. I had been on them for years!!!! and i just felt like it was time.  I have a sweet, kind, amazing friend who is going through similar things and we talk about our depression, our kids and our faith. When I told her i wanted off my meds she said, "I know what you mean about having chemicals in your body, like in some ways it might make you feel better, but you don't feel like yourself and then some of the side effects really suck." That made me think. a lot. I had not seen life without the numbing grey of my antidepressants in over a decade. Who was I without the meds? What was life really like? could I handle it? would i literally fall apart?? Could i survive the withdrawal? sigh....

Photo a Day May 2 wow. the hits keep coming. It seems like everyday now I hear of one more friend who is having issues in their life. Some are medical, some are relational, some need a job, some are mental, some are financial. Everywhere I look it seems like people have HUGE mountains to climb.  It makes me want to go to bed and cover my head. It makes me want to go into the woods and pray. That reminds me that God's got this. No matter how bad, how crazy, how out of control this world seems; God is still God.  Author of Everything, and every mystery.... Reveal yourself to me! You calmed the raging Sea and carved the Canyons deep; Now come and live in me! We Stand in Awe!  Creator God! Lord of the Universe,  Sovereign of all the Earth! Worshiping at your feet. Power and Majesty. We stand in awe of who you are Creator God! We bow our hearts before you now Lord Most High! When I don't know why to pray, which is o...

Ok, so I have so wanted to do this "photo a day" thing forever! I don't think i have ever even started one in the past, just downloaded the list for some time in the future. Well, NO MORE! Tomorrow is a new month...at least I think it is. (Thirty days hath September, APRIL, June and November...all the rest have 31, except for February which is just messed up....) ok, so Yes, tomorrow is May day! So, May Day has many different customs and rituals associated with it, but in Cynlandia (yes, I just made that up) it is seen as the first day of Spring and so new beginnings go right along with the theme! I have many new beginnings happening right now, so why not add one more? If you would like to join in with the photo a day fun check out Fat Mum Slim  for all the fun and games! I have even set this list as my desktop background so that I will be reminded EVERY STINKING DAY that i need to get off my lazy bum and shoot one photograph! I use to be a photographer in an earl...

This is the story of a boy. (you got that from the title, right?) He is the kindest, loving, most amazing child you could ever meet; except when he's not. He has always been sweet and kind and loving, but the past few years have showed us another side to him. He gets very easily frustrated. He is down on himself often and will hit himself in the head, bite his own arm or make disparaging comments about himself. He is struggling in school. even though he makes good grades, he has to work VERY hard to get them. He is absolutely growing up. At least his body is. Mom has been shocked to find underarm hair on her "little" boy even though the sweet blonde curls are still there along with the dimpled, fat baby hands. He is eleven. This school year has been the turning point, or maybe the breaking point. He has never been a strong reader, but he has always loved learning and loved books. When History class became a problem, we realized we had to do more. That "more...

I am late with this post. No shock there. Looking back at our "no spend Month"...what did we learn? did we make it? will we do it again? blah blah blah. Looking back, I have to say one of the biggest benefits for me was not once worrying about how much money we had in out checking account! For January, right after the holidays, that was a blessing.  We took $300 out in cash right at the beginning of the month, and that was the money we had to spend. Easy. If I am not constantly shopping from the checking account, there is plenty of money to pay bills with. We did  not starve or do without much. We had gotten into the habit of eating out, a lot, because I am basically a slacker and don't like to cook 7 days a week...and we are crazy busy some nights. This forced me to PLAN AHEAD and be prepared for those times. My son acted like he was being tortured for most of the month...but he, like me, can be overly dramatic. There were even a couple of occasions where one of th...

Kids at the Circus!  well, several people have asked me in the past week or two how my No Spend Month is going...so here are the latest numbers: Publix: milk hormel ham lunch meat total $6.92 (OUCH!) Publix: tomatoes vanilla yogurt, organic french bread cottage cheese total $11.31 CVS: 12 pk Coke Zero x4 total $10.80 Target: hair gel  total $5.44 ALDI: apples deli pizza organic honey nut toasted oats penguin crackers mustard crescent rolls x2 hot dog buns broccoli deli sliced cheese mozzarella bread crumbs milk cheese curls baking soda total: $29.97 Krystals Lunch Out for 4: $23.47 Doughnuts: $5.00 Circus and a soda $12.50 haircuts x2 $25.00 For a total of $130.41 for the "third" week. that is a grand total of $244.96 spent so far this month! whoo HOO! In the next day or two I will be buying a few more groceries, and I will wrack my brain for expenses that I may have missed. I will have a post in a few days abou...

I know you are wonder WHAT we are eating while we are on this NO SPENDING SPREE, right? In case you are, let me say that I am a mid-range couponer, so i tend to have a decent stockpile of staples in our house. I did not pile up things in December just to prepare for NOT spending in January, but I do have an extra freezer with some meats and other frozen things. I was trying to eat more WHOLE FOODS, healthy, and then fell off the wagon during the holidays, so I am still eating the food-like items that i purchased in my weakness during that time. Breakfasts are simple. I am not even awake when they happen. {Have i mentioned lately how AWESOME my husband is?} The kids, ages 11 and 8, eat either boxed cereal, homemade and frozen sourdough waffles, cheese toast or peanut butter toast. Hubby eats one of those or he eats the homemade granola that I made back in December that we are still munching on. I have been drinking a Visalus shake. I just read that they contain GMOs, so once my s...

Well, another weeks worth of shopping to report. I am doing "good" and "bad." but we will sort it all out in a minute. ALDI: apple juice sandwich bags gala apples Total: $7.20 ALDI: Organic Honey Nut breakfast cereal sandwich bread x2 fresh baby spinach deli rolls lunch meat sliced cheese bella mushrooms sharp cheddar 10 lb. potatoes half & half milk onions fuji apples diet cola beef broth brown rice Total: $35.02 Publix: Bacon organic salad blend zucchini ricola cough drops x4 green onions lipton decaf tea bags Annie's organic ranch dressing Total: $19.30 This represents a total of $61.52 for the week and $114.55 overall so far this month in Groceries.  Not too shabby if i do say so myself. This will get us through until Saturday, when I will go shopping again. Here's the "problem." I have $195.46 left in my cash envelope. so I have picked up $16.01 somewhere. I know i bought some groceries for ...

Ok, this is not my idea, but it is my take on it. Here is a link to where I read about it. There are 4 in my family, 2 adults and kids age 8 and 11. Our goal is to spend only $300 during the month of January on groceries, household supplies, and basically anything that is not a tithe, bill, medical expense or gasoline.  The people i have seen do this previously, have included gasoline in their monthly "budget" but I really don't see how we can cut our spending in that department so I am not including that. We started January 1 and this is what i have spent so far: Organic Harvest: $14.00 Jar of Salsa Peanut Butter Olive Oil Local Honey Chia Seeds The cost before coupons was $27.18 but I had a $5 off of a $25 purchase and a Living social deal that cost me $10 for $20 of groceries...so when it was all said and done, it actually cost me $14.18 since I had bought the living social deal earlier in the week. I found .18 in the bottom of my purse, so I didn'...