A Perfect Pair

Beer and donuts?

Oh yes. Especially if its my husband's Uberstout and Samoa Donuts from The Urban Poser. This is a cheat meal. A perfect cheat meal.

Sober January Sucked. But Actually It Didn’t.

I just wrapped up thirty days of sobriety. And then I celebrated with a beer. Quite a few beers to be truthful.


First off, why in the world would I do this to myself? Thirty days without a drop to drink? I must have not been thinking clearly when I challenged myself to this. That’s what it was, a challenge. I knew that I was drinking more than I should on a daily basis. There is evidence of this woven all through my posts. There are odes to wine, days where I whined about drinking too much, posts written quite inebriated. I wanted to flex my willpower. My self-control that I couldn’t seem to find for a long while.

There was also the weight gain. After nearly three years of drinking Warren’s amazing homebrew and exercising less and less, I packed on close to thirty pounds. This month has taken a decent amount off me but I still have 10lbs to go before I am happy and 19lbs before I am back to the weight I was. But this post isn’t about weight or loving my body. This post is about drinking.

I began this after the total debauchery of Christmas. I started before the New Year and didn’t even drink on New Years Eve. I kept a daily journal. Looking back over it, I can see that the first week was a bit of a struggle. I kept forgetting that I wasn’t drinking. Once seven days were gone, I was  more at peace with it. It was like, “Oh, I have got this. This is easy.” Week two was smooth sailing. Midway through week three I started to lose it. Like seriously lose it. By the beginning of the fourth week I was mad. Just plain livid that I had set this stupid goal and I was too stubborn to not finish, but I wanted to drink so badly. My journal is inappropriate to even share here. The feelings that came up were not pretty. One day the only thing I wrote was “Fuck.” No explanation point. Just a period. Just period. I’m done. Stick a fork in me. But then, all the sudden there was an end in sight and my mood brightened. I was back to being fine with not drinking but awfully excited about the fact that I had X amount of days left before I could.

A few things that I realized while I wasn’t throwing back pints of beer and bottles of wine:
* I am highly productive when not drinking. I can keep up with the housework better, I get the dishes done after dinner and do a final sweep of the house instead of waking up to a mess.
* I read more actual books and spend less time on the internet and my phone.
* I don’t make as many mistakes when knitting.
* I got really really organized. Completely redid my homeschool binder and reworked our schedule.
* I got to bed earlier and woke up easier.
* I am a better teacher and more involved with the kids. My patience is greater, my voice kinder, my actions more deliberate.
* It was a huge relief to not be thinking about when I could drink every single day. I just knew I wasn’t so that thought completely left my mind. It used to torture me each day.
* I found that I could still be around friends and visit with Warren without having to have a drink in my hand as a security blanket.

Now what?

Now I know I can do this. I have been there, seen it, felt its benefits. After drinking heavily last night, then paying for it this morning, my mind is pretty set. Drinking on the weekends is how its going to have to be. There will be no weeknight drinking. I need to be my best, my most energetic, my authentic self. I need to be present for my life.

That’s the answer. Be present. Quit putting off your best self for later. Later isn’t always guaranteed. Why are you waiting to curb your addiction to your iphone in order to pay more attention to your family? Why are you waiting for a better time to quit smoking or take a break from drinking? The benefits don’t start until you decide to change. Life is now. Right now. You will never get back this second or minute or hour or day.

I feel like I have lost a lot of moments to drinking.
I don’t plan on turning into a teetotaler, but I do plan on being mindful of my alcohol intake.

Favorite Things: The Guy Edition

Time for another gift post!

This one is for the main man in your life. Husband, boyfriend, father, brother. Once again, all gifts are from Etsy. Buy handmade! Support artisans!

 

Engraved Beer Growler $19.50

 

 

 

Waxed Canvas Artisan Apron $150

 

 

 



Wood Guitar Hanger $35

 

 

 

 

Men's Shaving Kit $25

 

 

 

 

Men's Knit Slouchy Hat $38

 

 

 



The Tiny Farm In The Fall

Oh man Fall is here!

She is so so here.

She came swooping in wearing her gorgeous orange dress, blowing things around, shaking it up, sending a chilly wind across the fields.

I love it. Every single bit of it. The cold rainy weather that is happening right outside my window. The gorgeous painted shades of the trees. The frost in the mornings. Just now I smelled the very first whiff of woodsmoke of the season.

We've been working hard on our little piece of land which I shall now refer to as The Tiny Farm from here on out.

This is basically what we have accomplished in the past few years. One chicken coop, one raised bed, and a whole bunch of fruit trees that need some serious pruning. That big red barn in the back is not ours. I wish it was and maybe someday we will acquire the land and buildings next door but not right now.

These chickens and that little raised bed give us some nourishment and satisfaction.

 

 

 

This Fall we decided to add a bit to The Tiny Farm. Starting with six blueberry bushes and three blackberry canes.

 

 

 

And then Eli and I started on a project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn't quite get the shed finished before the new additions arrived.

 

Oh hello, I'm a goat.

Oh yeah. That's right. Goats!

 

 

From L-R: Milkle, Willow, & Flower

 

A few days after the girls moved in, Mags came over to help me finish the shed. I mean...these gals deserve better than a tarped half finished home.



There was planning, and lots of power tool usage, with intermittent beer breaks for me. Warren's IPA is absolutely bomb. So good I had to put it on a pedestal.

We nearly finished that evening, but dark came quickly and we had to abandon it right before we put the tin roof on. Completely finished pictures to come.

 

The Tiny Farm is a work in progress.

Relax and Have a Homebrew

My husband has this funny brewing book that says periodically through it that if things go wrong, "Just relax and have a homebrew."  Or something like that. He says that to me quite often.

Yesterday was great! I mean it....actually really great. My energy was at its peak. The kids were content all day. They did their lessons and played until bedtime. If you remember we are a not television during the week kinda house, unless we are watching a movie as a family on a weeknight. No mindless teenybopper shows at all during the week, and can we be honest....they aren't even funny! On the weekend they are allowed to watch Netflix but after nearly a year of it being like this they hardly watch a smidgen on the weekends. But back to my point. They all were caught up in their own things all evening long. Dinner and baths and haircuts for the boys all went smoothly.

Eli had been tasked with a job before the husband went back to work. Using the grain mill (the hand cranked kind) he was supposed to grind up nearly 10lbs of grain so Warren could brew when he got home that evening. This all went pretty smoothly until one bowl slipped off the counter.

Eli looked horrified. The second this hit the floor his head whipped around searching for me and my reaction. I am not known for my pleasant reactions. But since it had been such a good day and everyone had been so good, it hardly even bothered me. As I began to help him clean it up, I heard a crash from the bathroom. Cash was in the shower and had managed to pull the curtain down on himself. It was a one thing after another kind of night. And I took it well. There was no need to have a homebrew!

Besides,  sneaking in a little math lesson in measurements is alway a good thing!

Snapshots From Yesterday

 

My husband makes the best homebrew and I drank far too much of it yesterday evening.

Crafted this sweetheart ragdoll and listed her in my shop. She is a steal at $25. Won't you give her a home with a darling girl? In trying hard to turn my hobbies into a business I started reading this book. LOVE IT! A great resource for anyone who adores handmade.