What do you think?

Over Christmas, my brother-in-law made a comment to me once he heard my sister and I talking about Pinterest.com.

What he said was something along the lines of how he thinks it just a web-site for coveting.

NO.  Absolutely NOT.  I disagree wholeheartedly!  I've gotten so many good ideas from there.  I've tried recipes, and discovered new ways to make things myself.  I've admired the way others have decorated their homes, or what outfits they have put together.  

It has sped up my creativity when it's been lagging.  PLUS, it's like a huge bulletin board for me to pin up my likes/to-dos, etc.  What could be any better?

So, I'm gonna link you with some of the great things I've found...

1.  Homemade fabric softener.

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I didn't even believe this was possible...but it works.  I've tried it, and it makes 2 bottles worth!  Plus, you get to pick the fragrance you like best.  It's worth your time.  It's so much cheaper than buying it in the store!

2.  Bathroom Storage Tier

There was no link to this...but isn't this cool.  I imagine all Grace's bathroom items all in order.  Whether this happens or not is another matter.  BUT, I can totally make this myself!

3.  More Bathroom Storage

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I already have these exact boxes...and they would fit above the kid's sink.  I might have to try this...toothpaste, brushes, hair bands, etc. all over the counter is starting to drive me nuts!

4.  Boys sports bedroom

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This summer when I was "re-doing" Evan's room in a sports theme, this picture came in handy.  I'm still tweaking his bedroom, but every idea helps.

5.  Binder/organizer

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 I already have the expanding file.  I already have a vintage book, it's just a matter of putting this together.  It would make a totally original file on my desk!

6.  Ribbon Organizer

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 I have ribbon up on my craft area going all over the place.  Isn't this the coolest and most cost effective solution?

7.  Magnet Boards

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I found a bunch of these old serving trays for $1/ea. at Goodwill one day.  I plan on painting them and selling them in my Etsy store when I get my inventory stockpiled.


8.  Fabric Flowers

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Since this is the "newest" fad around, I have found many tutorials that have showed me how to make these.  I wear them on scarves, blazers, sweaters, and I've even put them on purses.  They are awesome!

9.  Last, but not least...Game Storage

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I have tons of games with big boxes that just aren't easy to store...this seems like a good solution.  I'm gonna try it.

I have MANY more pins on Pinterest.  You can see them all here.
I LOVE the site.  I think it's the best thing since sliced bread.  You can search for anything, and most likely find it.  It's a blank mind's best friend when you know what you're looking for, but can't find it in other searches. 

I highly recommend visiting it.
Tell me if YOU Pinterest!

This is what I vow...

I've been reading alot already this new year.
Now, this is no surprise, I read everyday...I can't get enough reading, but I've been reading some, I guess you'd say, interesting subjects lately.
I already told you that I read this over Christmas because my sister got it for me.

It was great, it was awesome, it was radical.
Then, while I was at the library the next week, I got this book.  Just by accident, just because the subject sounded interesting.

It was even more radical.  The story was all about a couple who reside in British Columbia and who decided to start at 100-mile diet.  They ate no food out of season, or what they couldn't get from 100 miles away.  They ate, and this is totally my opinion, some very disgusting things.  They lost alot of weight, and craved food like mad, and hardly every shopped in a grocery store, and paid extravagant amounts of money for things they had to travel 100 miles to get, but it was a good book.  I took away SOME things from it.

Then, every spring, and it's about that time for me...I read this book, which I own.  A friend recommended it to me a couple years ago, and I read it, and loved it from the first moment.

It too, is about a family who decided to eat just what was in season, for one year.  They also ate at restaurants that supported local farmers by preparing food in season, and grown locally.  It's a good read, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in this sort of thing.

You're wondering where I'm going with all this right?

Since I loved a part of each book, and each book talked about how important it was for us to eat things grown in season...I decided I wanted to do something for my family in 2012.
I decided I wanted to be more conscious of what we eat.  We need to eat healthier.  I want  need to lose weight, and I want the food we're eating to not cost us a fortune every time I get it from the grocery store.

This means, I will grow more in my garden this year even though that means more work, more weeding, and more planning in the beginning stages.
I will also do more canning.  (I can't believe I just said that.  I do alot as it is...) But I want to be able to know the ingredients in MY canned products are real things, and not some fake fillers.

I will buy products from the new local bulk store in town because I know they buy from a man locally who grows lettuce and other vegetables in a greenhouse over the winter.
I want to be more conscientious about this.

Now, I'm not gonna get as radical as the people in all the books I read.  I'm not gonna suggest to Brent that we buy a cow and milk it ourselves, and make our own butter and cheese (although that sounds pretty cool, just alot of work!)  I want to start slowly, and work myself up to maybe some things more out of my comfort zone.

So, today, I started small.  It was our last day home for Christmas Break, and I told the kids I would make them bacon cheeseburger pizza.  In the past, we've just bought frozen versions of this.

I got out the Boboli whole wheat crust that I bought at Meijer.  (Yes, I should've made my own, but I am terrified of yeast.  We don't have a good relationship, and I can never get it to work.)

On the crust, I put some of my Pizza Hut copycat pizza sauce that I canned this fall.  (By the way...it is GOOD!)

Then I browned 2 lbs of hamburger that came from one of my uncle's cows.  My grandparents traded it for 2 dozen eggs last week.  (A great deal in my opinion.  Can't get more local than that considering I can see the cows from my backyard.)

To the hamburger in the skillet, I added a little garlic and some Italian pizza seasoning.
I used Cheese from the store, and bacon too since we are already out of the bacon from the pig we butchered this fall.

Into the oven at 450 for 10 minutes.

It was pretty good.  I'm making it again on Friday when Brent is gone.  The kids must've thought it was good too, cause it was mostly gone by the end of lunch.

So, hold me accountable if you must.  I will try to do the same for myself.  I want this experiment to work.  I want to stay in my grocery budget, however, so I will not pay exorbitant amounts for my food.  I will use what is currently in my freezer that I spent all of last summer and early fall putting away.  I will used my canned grape juice and pizza sauce, jelly, and tomatoes, and I will plan to can some other things as well this summer.

Hopefully soon, I will be healthier.  I will be more in shape, and I will be happier about what I'm filling my family's bodies with.

So, welcome 2012!  Here we go!

Is this what hibernation feels like?

Our school vacation is almost over and I couldn't be more sad about it.  However, we've been livin' it up for the majority of the vacation.

Now, to most people, what I'm about to say, may not be considered livin' it up, but to us, it's great.

You see, we got a Wii for Christmas (yes, we're the LAST of society to get one) and Brent and the kids can't seem to stop playing it.  There have been contests before lunch, after supper, and right up until the ball dropped on New Year's Eve.  This, however, has allowed me plenty of down time to work on scrapbooking, card making, sewing, and every other project on my list.  It's been AWESOME!

Last night, it FINALLY snowed.  We haven't had a decent snow since before Thanksgiving.  It's Winter, mother nature, we need to see it for pete's sakes!

So, that means, they might go outside today and get pulled on the sled behind the 4-wheeler.  Something they all enjoy. 

We have 3 more days (counting today) before we go back, and I plan on making the most of them.  I have a copy -cat recipe for Mrs. Meyers hand soap to make (I'll share more later), some jam and jelly to can, more sewing to do, and some small furniture to move.  You see how my job really gets in the way of my to-do list? 

So, while I'm contemplating all this, I'm linking you up to Rachel Ray's top 12 recipes of the last year.  It happened to come on TV this morning while Brent was channel surfing, and we all watched it (or rather they watched it, and I listened from another room.)  Some of the recipes I've made, and some I'd like to try.  Maybe you'll find some you like too.

I hope you all are already having a ROCKIN' NEW YEAR!  Welcome 2012!