Cute picture from earlier today. My Chiweenie’s name is Gauge.  He has the right idea 🙂

Hello Lovelies,

Long time huh! For the past month, I’ve avoided this blog to be quite honest with you.  I had a lot on my mind and took the time to really decompress.  I started this blog back in 2013 and not at a very good time in my life.  Since then, I’ve been divorced, dating, now married.  I’ve lived in an apartment now a house.  I’ve struggled and at times not eating to feed my son now to I’m paying off past debt!  I started a series giving one frugal penny pinching idea each week and another series focusing on how I made it as a single mama on one income in Mom, Inc earlier this year.  They don’t seem to grab attention but my blog is my brain dump mixed with little projects such as DIY or cooking and even my black thumb gardening. In between, I write random posts.  I talk as if you were right in front of me which often is my style of writing.  I write how I speak and I literally have a full blown conversation with my monitor.  🙂 It’s quite comical. Understandably, food is the most popular because I mean who can’t resist good food porn hehe. I still haven’t decided if both series will continue.

Over the past week or so, I’ve come to realize exactly where my family is headed and I re-grounded myself.  Yeah, I had an idea and a ton of plans before, but now I work from home. Everything has changed and no I don’t mean I’ve grown lazy or that my home is now messy.  Quite the opposite.  I can now be mom which is a feeling I’ve never felt before and primarily because I’ve worked full time as a parent for 13 years since my son was 9 days old. I’m not kidding! 9 days. The slow times lately at work are really emphasized because I’m alone. This has given me an abundance of time to think.  I’m on a headset with no place to go eight hours a day! Planning it is!  One thing I noticed is that recently it has been so easy for me to fall back into old habits. Spending money, putting my 4″ heels on having date nights out, getting my nails done, coloring my hair among other things involving household purchases, family nights out, it’s out of control.  It hasn’t been out of control for very long, in fact it has been about 5 weeks, but it is enough time that it showed me that it doesn’t make me happy.  The happiness was immediate yes, but contradicted all of the hard work I’ve done in the past 4 years.  I’m sick to my stomach and I’m disappointed in myself.  For the past 4 years, I’ve devoted my time and energy to pinch pennies so much that unless I’m actually sweating, my AC doesn’t get turned on or I save zip lock bags. I’ve told my husband numerous times that if he turns it on I’ll break his fingers LOL! I watch everything.  It is so easy to finally have a little money, give in to society, and live like everyone else. I’m in a large city among upper middle class with 4.5 million dollar mansions less than 10mi away.  I’ve stayed here to give my son a great education with its exemplary status schools. I have to work ten times as hard to pinch pennies because I’m surrounded with every temptation known to mankind and a common attitude of keeping up with the Jones’s.  My home is 5 feet away from either neighbor if that gives you a hint.  I’m in the land of development homes.  It’s just no longer me or what I stand for. Since moving in this home early last February, we’ve wanted to eventually purchase this house. To make it as efficient as possible with gardening and frugal living.  Now, I don’t want to.  While this city has been wonderful giving me the strength to stand up as a single parent and say “give me your best shot!” now no longer suits the needs of my family as a married family. I just can’t help but feel an emotional tie to this place. After all, my life ended and began here.  In the past 6 years I’ve fought every step of the way.  I was a single woman with a child working almost an hour from home and trying to be “soccer mom” and maintain the level of living one needs in a huge city.  It is bittersweet to have the realization that this city no longer fits. I do believe God has a plan because seeds of thought just don’t happen.

I’m wanting some feedback from all of my readers and people who follow me if you live on land and are self sufficient how did you determine where you live and how did you go about finding land that you can homestead on? We are in the city for two more years which is fantastic because one just can’t “jump” into homesteading.  It’s a process and I want to do it the right way seeming we have ample time.  I’d love to  hear your beginning homesteading stories!

Happy Friday!