Snowmageddon

So I have lovingly entitled this winter as snowmageddon because it is never ending and crazy.  In the four years we have been living in the Bear Lake Valley I have never seen a winter like this.  We have always been told of the "Bear Lakers" but even those that have lived here all their lives haven't seen a winter like this in quite a while.  I thought you might like to see our totals for the year so far.....plus this will give you a good indication why we aren't quite ready to be getting the garden ready yet.

After seeing this don't you want to move to our valley???  Hope you are all looking forward to spring and playing in your gardens soon.  What are you planting this year?

A wrestling match that comes down to the last second

So let me put out this now....this has nothing to do with homesteading, prepping, gardening, minimalism, or anything like that.....it has everything to do with me being one proud mama.  Last week I had the pleasure of watching one of my sons compete at the Idaho State Wrestling Tournament.  This is his second year to go and as a sophomore we expected an improvement from last year but he did more than just improve.  He finished 6th in the 2A division in the state of Idaho for his weight class.  If there is one thing that I try to teach my kids it's that it doesn't matter how it finishes but you have to give it everything you have, always.  In life sometimes you win and sometimes you loose but as long as you do everything you can you will look back with no regrets.  This is what I hope they always remember.......and on this day he did.  He fought until the very last second....and in this match it was that second that mattered the most.  The VERY LAST ONE.  Click the link below if you would like to watch and share in my joy with me.


https://youtu.be/CgDTV8p9gFs

The Great Purge of 2017 Continues...my adventure into Minimalism

Something that my husband and I have been struggling with is the idea if it is possible to be a minimalist and a prepper at the same time.  Although we may not view it the same yet, I think it is not only possible but necessary.  Having a surplus of items incase of extreme situations can be beneficial but not when it comes to the extreme and resembles a hoarder, which so many preppers do.  So we are making baby steps in order to be semi-minimalist homesteaders.  Below you can see some progress I have made in the kitchen and other areas of the home.

This is the pile of clothes that were donated from my two teenage sons room.  Crazy the excess amount of clothes they had in their room.

This is the before of one of the kitchen drawers

This is the after of one of the drawers.  Still lots of stuff but for a family of 7 it looks much better!

This is the donate box.  One of about 10 that we took in our last trip to the hospital thrift store.  The profits for all the items they sell go to help fund the local hospital.  A very worthy charity we like to donate to.

Well the Great Purge of 2017 will continue.  Especially since our weather is still super cold.  Once it warms up here we will be spending most of our time in the garden.....as always.  I'll keep you posted!