http://yourmemoriesbymandy.weebly.com/  Here we are, a relaxing Sunday morning before a relaxing Sunday day! The weekend before now has been a busy weekend of visiting with friends who dared to make the long drive out here, and back, to see us. It's weird how our apartment life seems so far behind us now - a closed door that I dare not forget but care not to open again. Since we moved in, nearly two months ago, we've been able to have family and friends over to visit and even stay overnight. Our open house brought thirty-nine people into our house, comfortably! We (I'm sure I can speak for all of us here) absolutely love having the space and the surroundings to enjoy having guests, which was not the case in our apartment. I also appreciate knowing that we have still have good ties with friends and family, even after the years that we did not see much of them because of our apartment. It is so nice to have people over, to cook outside and sit on the porch in good weather...

It's that time of year again - time to reflect on what I did and did not accomplish last year, and time to prioritize what I would like to accomplish in the coming year. I should preface this blog by saying that my resolutions are goals. I use them as guidance, but they are not law or reason to punish myself should they not work out. This works out better for me and my ego! So here they are.  My New Year's Resolutions for 2011: Get a job! Looks like we are good staying in the SW Ohio region for Shelby's work, so we're running with that. Which means I can seek employment, preferably teaching, or something somewhat in the education field. Get a house!! Oh, how we've waited for this! We should be ready and able to get our family farm sometime before the kids end this school year! We're forecasting our buy using Shelby's paycheck only, but we're definitely going to need to get my career going, as well, to keep up the pace.  Fruits, veggies, chicken...

We're getting a home. Soon. Like, first half of 2011 soon! It all seems a little surreal and, as usual, I am cautiously optimistic, but very excited nonetheless. Extremely excited! We have been working towards this goal for so long and it feels so good to be so close to the dream. We have an idea of what we want, what we don't want, what we are willing to, and not, tackle to make our home...well, our home. The hardest part is telling people about this venture. Somehow the news turns on the lecture in people, like we haven't been discussing this for the past fifteen years. We are 46 and 36 years old, people - we value your opinions and advice, but what we really want is your excitement. We're happy to talk about our dream - we welcome the opportunity to share! But please don't try to give us a reality check by telling us how hard it is to own a home or what we should buy or how we should buy it. We don't care about resale. I know, it's crazy! We want this hom...

The hardest thing to do right now is wait...I'm kind of done researching and planning until we know what we're researching and planning for, and I'm ready to live life like we love to do. But...the benefit of limbo is the reflection  of who we are and what we want. Today is a dreary, hum-drum day, and I feel like doing nothing. I will, however, take a moment to sum things up. What I want for us: At least 5 acres Off grid A well Awesome vegetable garden - totally organic Berry patch started with the raspberry, blueberry, blackberry bushes and grape vine we have now Fruit orchard including the apple, peach, and nectarine trees we have now Lots of trees, including the starts we have now (sycamore, hickory, tulip, maple, and pine) Water gathering and recycling features Composting and recycling capabilities - I'd like our trash to be minimal Bees 2 Goats, lots of chickens, 2 sheep, a cow, and maybe a pig Lots of outdoor living space Space for living, workshop...

It's Monday morning and I'm hustling to recover from a weekend away with Shelby in Pennsylvania. We were only away for three days, and Kaitlyn did a great job of taking care of the kids and keeping up on house chores. So, a little bit of laundry to catch up on and some other odds and ends, including a trip to the grocery, is all I need to get back in gear. The weekend was awesome, once we got past the suck traffic jam on I-70, which added three hours to our trip because everyone was detoured off of the highway (eastbound and westbound) around some sort of an accident. The source of our trip was a work event of Shelby's with Duquesne Light. We were able to help with a bulb giveaway at Home Depot on Saturday, which was a lot of fun and happened to coincide with some beautiful weather. Besides the event, we were able to visit  with the Duqquesne and surrounding Pa. ECOS teams for pizza, a cookout, and drinks - everyone was awesome :) We also were able to  have a little "s...

Now, where was I? Oh, right - I was on a rant about my neighbors...snapped a little... Since then, the guy next door (same apartment of said rant) drop kicked a kitten into the yard after fighting with his girlfriend. My boys happened to see the kitten hit the ground, or it may have been just after it hit the ground, twitching and dying. He did it in an angry moment, and he apologized to me and my wife, who upsettingly let him now how horrible his action was. The kids were upset, and so was Shelby. The police were called, but of course the neighbor fled before they got here and the sister's baby daddy refused to help - he is now (legally) banned from the apartment. The guy next door eventually came home, and he is in jail. Lesson: killing is killing, and death is death, animal or human, angry or not. The abandoned apartment next to theirs is squatter free, for the most part, except I know that people have been in there, to sleep or hang or whatever. Animal control will be in to gat...