True story! I legitimately wrote a book. Okay, so it’s an e-Book – but I’m still a PUBLISHED author!
What’s New in Our World
Hello, friends!
It’s been a very long time since I’ve logged in and posted any sort of update or even said hello. So, firstly, hello! I’m glad to be back. I’ve been aching to post a blog lately, but can never seem to find the time. Life has become so busy, I barely have time for much these days. It is Friday night, however, and I’ve finished cleaning for the night so I figured I’d sit down and tuck myself into my desk chair, log on, and let my fingers do the talking.
Continue readingYou’re Gonna Buy it Anyway – Earn Some Cash Back! It’s Easy – Here’s How!
I wanted to put this out there into the world and tell you ladies about Rakuten. You can use it online when you purchase almost anything, and they also have an app so you can shop through them and earn anywhere from 1-10% back on every purchase on average! If you’re going to buy it anyway, why not take advantage of getting some cash back for it?
Continue readingBrag Post: My Husband is a General Contractor!
My amazing husband, who has worked so hard over the past year and a half, has finally passed his final general contractor exam – and he’s officially a general contractor! Well, almost. He filed for his company name, put through the application to obtain licensure, and now we wait.
He finally did it.
I can’t even tell you how proud I am of him for fighting so hard to make this happen. Even though his auto-immune illness tried to keep him down and hold him back, he pushed so hard and his dream is finally coming to fruition.
Proud wife, indeed!
Covid: It Just Doesn’t Let You Go
Let’s talk about Covid. I know, we’re all sick of it. I’m probably more sick of hearing about and talking about Covid than anybody I know. But I want to detail our experience with it since I don’t think I ever talked about it here.
Last year, towards the end of August into September, we battled the ‘C-word’. This was the time of the Delta covid surge here in South Florida. It was as if the entire community got it at once. My whole church got it that same week. It went through our whole house, hitting Little Richi first. I was second in line to get sick, then Big Richi, then Alex. One by one, it hit us all. One by one, we fought the fight. It’s been 6 months, and Covid-19 still hasn’t let us go.
Continue readingBeginning a Garden in Zone 10A
Spring has sprung – although it feels a lot more like Summer here in Southwest Florida- and it’s time to get my Spring crop planted and in the ground. We are in zone 10A, and that means most of the planting rules that apply to others throughout the country don’t quite apply to our zone. We have more freedom to plant whatever we like, pretty much whenever we like, without worrying about last frost dates and such.
We got the flower bed bordering the back lanai all cleaned out last week, and sowed wildflower seeds throughout. They’ve officially sprouted, and my guess is within a couple weeks, we will have beautiful multi-colored flowers such as Black-Eyed Susans, Alyssum, and others. It’s slow going, but it’s going!
I’ve gotten all of my seedlings started, and they’ve all come up beautifully. I opted for a cute little mini greenhouse that sits in front of the living room window where there’s plenty of sun throughout the day, and has really flourished. I haven’t used the plastic greenhouse covering, more so just the shelving unit itself to give the plants a place to sit. I think I’m going to have quite a few seedlings to gift to friends in church being that I went a bit overboard!
So far, I’ve got the following seedlings ready to go into their new garden home:
- Tomatoes – I have San Marzano, which make a fantastic sauce, and Roma varieties
- Peppers – Bell Peppers and Jalapenos
- Strawberries
- Onions – Sweet Georgia
- Rainbow carrots
- Green Beans – Bush Beans
- Yellow Summer Squash
- Calabrese Broccoli
I am so excited to get these babies planted and begin new seedlings to continue our harvest. I also want to try potatoes this year and see how they fare.
Next up for seed sewing is:
- Okra
- Golden sweet corn
- Beefsteak tomatoes
- Blueberry bushes
- Raspberry Bushes
- Spinach
I think that’s a good start! Richi is building me a new cedar bed this weekend, and I am hoping to have a few surprises coming up with some other new garden beds – so stay tuned!
What are you growing this year? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Can’t Sleep.
Hello everyone!
Been a little while..how are you all doing? It’s 11:42 PM and for some strange reason, as tired as I am I can’t sleep. There’s too much on my mind and I guess I can’t turn it off. Just one of those days, I suppose.
The weather has been exceptionally brutal here in SW Florida, with temps and heat indexes reaching 106-110°. I would give anything for some cool, beautiful fall weather. Super jealous of the dwindling temps my family is enjoying back home as Summer comes to a close.
Little Richi lost his first tooth the other day. It seems so crazy to me. I remember back when he was cutting that first tooth, and here it is, gone. The tooth fairy was generous and left him $3, a special letter, and let him keep his special tooth. Well, technically, she let me keep the tooth because…sentimental mama.
My hobbies as of late include lots of cooking, baking and church, and that’s about it. I am learning all there is about gardening as I plan on beginning a backyard garden very soon. I think I am going to grow pole beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers, onions, potatoes and carrots. Then if all goes well, I will expand that. I plan on having strawberry and other berry plants as well, and have started growing Haas avocado trees indoors as well as a lemon tree from seed. Super excited to see how far I can go and how successful I will be!
What have all of you been up to as of late?
Will post again soon!
An Envelope Full of Leaves.
Today was like any other day. Almost. Busy, full of cleaning, cooking, and working. Today though, there was even more cleaning than usual, as Little Richi seemed to have come down with the stomach bug last night at church. He threw up, we left and came home, and thus began what would occur for the remainder of the night. So, needless to say, I didn’t sleep more than an hour last night – and neither did he. I spent the majority of the day sanitizing things, washing things that were thrown up on, and hustling to get work done and turned in by deadline today.
And then, the UPS man came.
Continue readingHello! I’ve Returned!
Life has a funny way of getting in the way of the things we enjoy doing most – like writing, or having time to connect with friends and family. I don’t need to be the one to tell you that this past year and a half has been anything short of unusual – and a whole lot of crazy – but, alas, here we are.
The nasty ‘c’ word virus has definitely thrown this world for a loop. To tell you the truth, though, this year and a half has been one of the best years of our lives in my family. So much has gone right for us, for once, and we have been incredibly blessed beyond measure in so many ways.
I have been doing really well, and have mostly been working from home (yes, still), homeschooling Little Richi, and cooking and baking like no tomorrow. Which means recipes will be coming your way soon!
Richi is finishing up with Pre-K, and will be heading into Kindergarten in August/September. He is doing so well, and I am so proud of how far he’s come and all of the odds he’s beaten. To tell you the truth, he is well ahead of himself – and is actually sounding out letters and beginning to read! He just turned 5 in February, and he’s so incredibly smart and such an awesome kid. I’m so proud to call him my son. And I am still and forever will be so thankful to God for giving him to us!
He was saved and Baptised last month – a huge deal, in my opinion! And boy, does this child love the Lord! Again…proud mama over here.
To tell you the truth, we did have some sadness pass through this way over the past couple of months, though.
Our beloved Raven, a.k.a. Mrs, a.k.a. Mrs Raven, a.k.a. Mrs Woofen von Voofen Housen passed away at 14, almost 15 years old.
She died of old age, and at home – which obviously is a good thing. I expected it was coming, as she had a lot of health related issues in the last few months of her life. But, she was happy. And she was so, so loved. We miss her so much. It’s been really hard for me to process not having her here, especially since she was like one of my own babies. I was always with her. I miss her coming up to me when I come home from the grocery store, stuffing her nose into the bags and wagging her tail as she tries to figure out what I got for her. I miss her nails clacking around across the tile floor as she walks from room to room. I miss running across the room with her, playing with her, and taking her for walks. I even miss letting her outside to use the bathroom and filling up her food bowl. I miss everything.
Here’s a couple of updated photos of the rest of my crew – Alex, who never smiles for photos to the left, Marcus, who will be 18 May 27th, and Amber on her 20th birthday with her boyfriend, Brian. How time flies. How big children get. And how crazy life is!
My amazing husband is halfway through with school to become a General Contractor. Once he gets his license, he will begin his own construction company! So proud of him!
All in all, a lot has happened over the last year. But, the Lord has been so good to us and his Blessings are all over my family.
I am definitely sticking around and will be posting regularly again! I’m so glad to be back – and to have remembered my login – after all this time! 🙂
How are all of you doing? Let me know in a comment! I would love to hear from you all who still read the blog!
Take care, and see you soon!
Sarah
Protected: End of Summer Backyard Slip N Slide Fun
A Guilty, Authentic Rant of Epic Proportions.
Guilt. It’s one of those words that, although it’s 2019, people still tend to stay hush-hush about because of fear of looking less than perfect on social media. People don’t want to look bad in front of all of their followers, right? Why would they want to do a thing like that? Let me ask a better question: why would anybody choose to be authentic when they could be fake?
I guess I’m weird.
JUST A MOM MINUTE 