The Homesteading Carnival: #83 Routines

Over the past week or so I've really tried to get into a good routine of going to bed at a decent time, rising at a decent time, and doing more around the house. Sometimes we may not wanna do that but I know that it does feel wonderful!

One routine we are trying to get into is getting our garden in early. Last year it went very poorly as we were planning on vacation and we just didn't start it early enough. CindyS at Small Homestead is already ready on the ball, and is planning on their Family Garden May Feeding A Community, saying, "Our family garden will provide for our extended family this year. We will be planting enough to feed four families fresh and some canned produce."

Lindsay at Off the Urban Grid is sharing great information on Beekeeping in Your Backyard: Questions & Answers for Beginners. This would be an excellent addition to your garden and homestead. Nothing like home-grown honey.

My dad is not only the mailman, but the lightman. He's always turning off the light in some room, and within the past few years the barn so we've tried to get into the routine of making sure to turn the light off. The Family at Once Upon a Family asks the questions "Who keeps turning on the barn light?" Motion detector lights are great until you can't figure out why it keeps turning on when no one is out there.

If we didn't have some many in our family we'd probably have something every night for desert, but we're getting into the routine of having a treat once a week, and Belle at Homesteaderbelle's Blog is sharing her Pistachio Pudding Recipe, which looks mighty fine!

The soup that travelcat4 at Eco Friendly House And Garden also looks purrty good. They said with Chunky Soup Recipe - Any Veg Will Do!

Piotr Stepien at we overstep is getting on a veggie routine where using "less packaging. Reduce pollution. Save money on pots, stoves, microwaves and electricity bills. Go raw like millions of other people." with Raw Vegan Food.

I am desperately trying to get into the routine of sewing my own clothes, napkins, and other items. Stephanie shares some great Quick and Easy Handmade Burp Cloths posted at Make It From Scratch.

So, I think everyone could get into the routine of saving money and budgeting better. Silicon Valley Blogger presents High Yield Savings Account Interest Rates: Changes Ahead? posted at The Digerati Life, saying, "Where do you put your household savings? Here are some suggestions for where you can park your savings for the best rates during this recession."

And, if we all started throwing out junk products, and started using organic as Amanda Dixon at The Daily Planet with a great Review and Giveaway of some organic liquid foundation from La Bella Vita as has then we'd all be healthier! Sometimes it's worth the money!

My dad is a mailman, and now gets all National holidays off, including Presidents and Tracey at "Glue on her fingers, dirt on her toes, she makes laughter wherever she goes" shares a great way to Celebrate President's Day.

After all this routining the last thing I'm gonna do before hitting the sack is checking for dust mites on your pillows as Aparna at Beauty and Personality Grooming reminds me. "Dust that gets accumulated in our houses is a host to millions of germs and microorganisms. Dusting and cleaning the house in itself is a cumbersome task, what with dust settling on sofas and beds, carpets, curtains and clothes. We all bother so much about insects, mosquitoes, houseflies and do our best to get rid of them. But we often forget about the tiny, almost invisible creatures called dust mites, which are present and booming in millions in the cozy comforts of our homes. These dust mites often play safe by sneaking into spaces between bedclothes, carpets, stuffed furniture and similar soft objects. The only diet of these dust mites is flakes of skin that the humans shed. And these minute creatures can make us vulnerable to various allergies, even asthma. Getting rid of these troublesome creatures entails a lot of effort. Carpets, floors, beds – all have to be vacuumed and cleaned at regular intervals."

I hope you are all doing well and enjoyed this edition of the Homesteading Carnival. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the homesteading carnival thc using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Miss Jocelyn, founder and publisher of the Feelin’ Feminine site, is a senior homeschool student with a passion for writing truth. She blogs from her heart at A Pondering Heart, designs blogs at A Pondering Heart Boutique, and is also the Sr. Exec. Marketing-Manager for GGMagazine.

Technorati tags: the homesteading carnival thc, blog carnival.

#77 New Year's Resolutions Edition

The year of 2008 seemed to go by so quickly in everyday tasks, but seemed to drag on through the trails and tribulations I faced. My unofficial motto became “Life is hard. God is good.” This year is going to be better than last. I'm going to strive even more to be better. To be the big person. To take the high road when everyone else seems to take the low one.

The year of 2009 will be remembered as one of the best years the Lord reigned in my life. I'm going to put my talents to more use and to learn some new domestic arts so I can better be a home-manager when I'm grown.

Every year I write out a list of goals I should like to complete before the next end of the year, and shamefully I still have things on my list from last year that were set aside due to situations or other activities. I suppose they weren’t in God’s plan for my life then.

• o Learn to sew well enough to make aprons, skirts, and bags.
• o Use the fabric I bought in 2007 for planned projects.
• o Dip and make candles
• o Master the art of bread-making
• o Master the art of soap making
• o Learn to embroider and crochet
• o Make a new quilt of quality

I know that for many of the above I can head over to HowToMe and learn something of worth. This week she presents How To Make a Bib from a Hand Towel posted at HowToMe.

Belle at Homesteaderbelle's Blog is putting her sewing skills to use. She offers custom-sewn items and is having a Quick-Change Cloth Pad Give Away!

• o Master the art of bread-making
• o Master the art of soap making
• o Grow a big garden and can enough food to feed us over winter

Ah, bread-making. Why do I have such trouble with it? Not sure, but with more practice and tips like Sourdough Basics Part 1 by Susan at Homemade Livin' I might get it sometime soon. You can enter to win a DVD on The Art Of Bread-Making if you're having trouble too.

Rachel has already put the recipes from above mentioned DVD to use. She made delicious Pizza Dough Or Bread Stick last week for lunch! Delish!

Kathi at Homestead Treasures shares some of her beautiful homemade Goat Milk Soaps that are just lovely - I bet they smell excellent too!

"Let Them Eat Pie!" says Miss Hannah as she shares some of her recipes on pies and crusts. Sounds tasty!

Shannon shares some recipes for cookies and fudge in Ornaments, Carols, and Other Traditions posted at Song of My Heart. Sounds yummy to me!

• o Finally complete my Hope Chest. I started building this a year ago and due to time constraints and supplies I wasn’t able to finish it in a timely manner. Winter always stinks too because we have no heated outbuildings I can use.
• o Learn Hebrew and Spanish fluently
• o Learn to play the piano, guitar, and clarinet
• o Rise earlier
• o Exercise daily
• o Grow a big garden and can enough food to feed us over winter

I'd like to think I'm a scheduled person, but a schedule or "get up" "go-bed" isn't exactly the right thing for everyday life. Ruth McLean at But First, We Have Coffee shares the Motivated Moms Scheduler.

Speaking of mothers, what kind of legacy did your mother leave you? Come share your story and enter to win a copy of an audio-workshop on Motherhood: Building A Legacy.

Jacque at Walking Therein shares about a legacy starting and going with her children in What A Beautiful Sight! "I woke up to a beautiful sight of my children learning to knit and crochet with Grandma this morning."

• o Complete my schoolwork, especially my algebra and mathematics.
• o Generate enough business to continue support my single-mom-friends and children.
• o Change the oil on the vehicles
• o Grow a big garden and can enough food to feed us over winter
• o Fence in our property for the goats
• o Own a dachshund
• o Go horse-riding
• o Learn to hunt

Grandma Rosie posts new things everyday and always has something that can help you in your home-management. She posted about Seasoning Cast Iron which I found very good. Nothing like old faithful..."Seasoned Cast Iron can be considered the "grandfather" to today's "nonstick" cookware. Cast Iron Cookware must be seasoned properly and it will last a life time."

Blogs can be a wonderful way to learn many different arts and skills. I find that blogging as been quite beneficial to my life in every aspect, and I plan on using both blogs and websites to help me this year and I complete my resolutions, what about you?!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Miss Jocelyn, founder and publisher of the Feelin’ Feminine site, is a senior homeschool student with a passion for writing truth. She blogs from her heart at A Pondering Heart, designs blogs at A Pondering Heart Boutique, and is also the Sr. Exec. Marketing-Manager for GGMagazine.

THC: The VERY Late Addition!

Oh dear, where has the time gone? My host for LAST week never responded to doing the carnival and with thanksgiving I was unable to focus on finding a new one! My apologies. Here is last week's AND this week's. Please enjoy the links. Sorry, no fancy wording or photos. LOL I was looking through the links, and there are definitely some you will want to check out.

Cory presents Frequent Small Meal Diet posted at Eating Healthy, saying, "Did you know that eating many small meals every day is actually healthier than the traditional 2-3 large meals?"

Belle presents Homemade Laudry Soap: How to make it (tutorial) posted at Homesteaderbelle's Blog, saying, "This post tells and teaches how to make homemade laundry soap. It make five-gallons of soap!"

Condo Blues presents Three Easy, Natural, and Free Fall Centerpieces posted at Condo Blues.

Sahara Reins presents Decorating for Fall and Feeding the WildBirds posted at Fowl Visions.

MoneyNing presents Dependent Day Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) posted at Money Ning, saying, "FSA are one of the few ways of helping us save money on child care that can get very expensive! Remember to take advantage of it for the year of 2009!"

Lauren Rose presents Choosing the Best Plants for your Garden posted at Own Home Style .com, saying, "How to choose the best plants for your garden"

Kathi presents Pie Crust posted at Oak Hill Homestead, saying, "The easy way to make pie crust"

Abi presents lighter side - Broccoli - Green Bean Casserole posted at lighter side, saying, "New twist on your traditional Green Been Casserole"

HappyCampers presents Breakfast For A Crowd: Ham & Eggs On Croissant posted at Reese's View Of The World.

Raymond presents Save Money On Heating Costs - Sacrificing A Bit Of Comfort For Frugality posted at Money Blue Book.

Stephanie presents Winter Comes Too Soon posted at Stop the Ride!.

Stephanie presents Cooking Rabbit posted at Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood.

Patti presents Upcycled sweater tutorial: posted at Audrey Blissful, saying, "I just love using things I already have around my house to make clothes for my little girl. I thought other homesteaders might want to give it a try."

Amanda Dixon presents Homeschool Memoirs: Award The CATEGORIES! posted at The Daily Planet, saying, "If I could award my family members any awards, these would be the ones I give them!"

Danielle Hull presents Dressing for Spinach Salad & Choc Chip Toffee Bars posted at Teaching, Learning and Encouraging.

Abi presents Kitchen towel hanging posted at lighter side.

Her presents How To Sew a Simple Purse, Tote or Bag posted at HowToMe.

Belle presents Hanging clothes in the House posted at Homesteaderbelle's Blog.

Tomato Lady presents Hand Hemstitched Linen Handkerchiefs posted at Little House in the Suburbs.

Alex presents Free Printable Calendar Selection posted at Home Life Weekly, saying "I have put together a selection of easy to make free printable calendar for you to use help you get organized and plan ahead for the year of 2009."

"I want chickens. There, I said it. I’ve been tossing the idea around in my head for a while but hadn’t put it out there in words yet. For a lot of people it sounds a little … wacky. Chickens, as pets. Crazy. ".... Summer presents The Chicken Story posted at Wired For Noise.

Lady Rachel presents Apple Trees & Big Red Barns posted at Rachel's Reasoning -, sharing photos of "Just some photos of our barn and our crab apple tree in the first snow of the year here in Indiana!"

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the homesteading carnival thc using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Also, I am putting together the hosting schedule for the next few months, please let me know if you want to host. As you can see you do the carnival as fancy or plain as you wish. Please EMAIL if you're interested in.

Amanda at the Daily Planet will be hosting next week!

Blessings!

Seasons At Home

I'm sorry I can no longer endorse Seasons At Home magazine.

Blessings!

notebook . . . easy to make . . . easy to use

You must check out this simply adorable personalized notebook that my dear friend, Emily Rose, made. She posted what you need and how to do it, with photos. Oh so cute! And can be made for either a boy or a girl, just depends on the paper you use.

notebook . . . easy to make . . . easy to use by emily rose

I am going to have to try this myself. I got to see her's live and in person yesterday and she did a fabulous job!

Blessings!

HonCin Face Scrub

Since June I have been using a new face scrub that works wonderfully and is safe and all natural for your skin. I make it myself and the ingredients are very simple. You use cinnamon and raw honey, and that’s all. Honey contains many, many vitamins that are good for your body inside and out. A Spoonful Of Honey keeps the ailments down, but add cinnamon to the mix and you’ve got some powerful stuff.

CinHon Face Scrub:

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

2 tablespoons of honey

Now you can make the face scrub right when you’re going to use it or before and preserve it by sticking it into the refrigerator. I haven’t been able to do it yet, but I’d like to make some and put it in an old mask tube or face pump that way when I need it I can just squirt it out.

Because honey is naturally runny the scrub may run if you choose to leave it on for a while working like a mask, especially if it’s hot out. I prefer doing this over just washing my face with it because it is able to work on my skin longer. The info from where I originally got this recipe says to leave it on overnight but I have yet to figure out how this is done, especially because I do toss and turn during the night. If you use this scrub continually for two weeks, and especially leaving it on for at least half and hour, it is proven to remove zits from the roots.

The cinnamon is actually pretty grainy so when you go to wash it off go in a circular motion to scrub any dirt or dead skin off.

The first time I used this I was desperate to get rid of a nasty zit on my forehead and when I had applied it and rinsed it off half and hour later my zit had gone down a considerable amount. My face also felt SO soft and smelled like honey too!

I really enjoy using this and it takes nothing to make. Yes, the honey may be expensive but it’s natural and not anymore, if less, that what you’d have to pay for some good organic face wash. Go on and try it! You’ll feel the results instantly!

Blessings!

Flip-Flop Cake

My sister, Lady Rachel, was looking at bettycrocker.com the other day for recipes, and stumbled onto some really neat cake ideas. Ideas for, not only birthday cakes, but for any occasion. There were quite a few designs I liked, but I think my favourite was the Flip-Flop one, though I'm not a flip-flop type of girl. They have the recipe and supplies you need on the site, and a tutorial video too.



How to make a flip flops birthday cake

Flip-flopping on what to serve for dessert? Create the talk of the dessert table with delicious colorful "sandals." Print out this template and use it as a guide to cutting and assembling your flip-flops.

Prep Time:45 min

Start to Finish:2 hr 30 min

Makes:15 servings

Get recipe

This cake idea could be used for a birthday, a girl's night, a or a summer get together. Very cute idea, and you can add whatever candies or frost it whatever colour you want!

I also enjoyed learning a few tips on how to decorate a birthday cake and get the "dome" off the top after it's done baking. I really enjoyed looking at the bettycrocker site, and though they tell you to use boxed-cake mixes it's a pretty resourceful site.