The Queen B

Country Living

 

Since moving to the middle of nowhere 2 years ago, I can't think of a day that I have questioned our sanity.

Until yesterday.

Well.

There was the weening of the calves (calfs?) day.  I hated country life that day. That day broke my heart.  There was constant crying for 24 hours ...

And the calves (calfs?) were not much better.

But the wonderfulness of the isolation fresh air and nature even makes the weening day a tiny blip in my memory.

Until.

Yesterday morning,  I looked out to see a truck with some sort of tank driving quite rapidly through the neighbor's pasture.

Unsure of what was happening, I stepped outside.

HUGE MISTAKE.

Apparently yesterday was the day the neighbor chose to fertilize his field.

There are no words.

Seriously.

None.

I wish you could momentarily smell what I was greeted with yesterday morning.

I've often heard of chicken litter.  And I've even smelled it from a distance.

However.

Nothing could have prepared me for this assault.

I called The King and asked what was happening.

He said he'd smelled it earlier that morning when he left the house and had been expecting my call.

I asked him what exactly comprised "chicken litter".

He informed me that it was chicken poop "and stuff" from the bottom of chicken houses.

Y'all.  It was so bad.

I did what any good mother would do, and immediately told The Princess to come outside.

She gagged.

We went back inside and locked the door.  My nose was burning.

I smelled a candle.  I stuck my face in the side of my cat.  I stuck my face in the load of freshly dried towels.

The Princess finally caught her breath and said that it smelled like the worst combination of sweaty feet and poop that she could imagine.

Can you think of a good combination of sweaty feet and poop? 

We stayed inside all day and never ventured back out.  By the time The King came home it had either gone away or I now have immunity.

Do you think the farming neighbors would find me too city-ish if I asked for a few days notice before the fertilizing begins next time?

I'D LIKE TO SCHEDULE A SMALL VACATION.

Welcoming 2012

Happy New Year!

It has been such a long time since I've posted.  

Life occasionally gets in the way of hobbies.

I have missed writing.  I have missed sharing life with you all.

As I slowly wade back into these waters, tell me something you are looking forward to beginning (or continuing) this year.

Welcome 2012.  I am so thankful you've arrived.

 

Big Changes At The Palace

I used to be terrified of change.

Even if I didn't love the situation in which I found myself, staying put was usually preferable to change and the unknown.

At least I knew I didn't love it.

Experiences of the last 2 years have changed that.  Some I've shared, some I haven't.

I certainly don't seek out change now, but I have come to appreciate it.  

Which brings me to this...  

We are homeschooling this year.  

I can't really tell you why.  I have loved our school.  There is no BIG THING that caused us to leave.

I simply felt a nudge in my heart that this is what we were supposed to do.

The Princess felt it, too.

There is no timeline or plan for how long we'll homeschool.  It may last a semester or the next 5 years.

We may clearly see why we needed to take this road or we may never know why.

All that doesn't matter to me so much.  

I just know that when God puts something in your heart, obedience needs to follow.

All that being said, I have a question for you.

We've chosen our curriculum.

We are just about ready to begin.

I've read lots of blogs about homeschooling which have encouraged me greatly.  However, most seem geared toward younger kids. 

The Princess will begin the 8th grade.  Do you know of any blogs focused on homeschooling older kids?  Or homeschooling only children?

I've found OMSH's posts on The Pioneer Woman's homeschooling blog to be very helpful.  

Edie's posts have also been very inspiring.  

If you know of any that I need to be reading, please send them my way!

I Heart Summer

My fun little game sort of fizzled.

Actually, I sort of fizzled.

I owe one of you a prize for the game.  I'll work on that this week.  I won't forget.

(hopefully)

(you may have to remind me)

***

This has been such a slow summer for us.  I have loved every second of it.  

We visited my Nannie in Florida.  

We've had a garden.

We've slept late.

We went to the American Idol concert.

We've spent time with people.

We've been home.

It's been a perfect summer.

 

Is This Getting Old Yet?

On to another of my favorite things...

Candles.

What's the latest & greatest?

What's your all-time fave?

Are there other smell good things that you love that I need to know about?

I'm kind of in a candle rut.

I've been burning this one.  I love the smell.  I just don't love the packaging.

I never said I was easy to please.

This is a good fragrance, too.

I like this.  

And this and this.  

The end.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

I am still investigating the skin care options.  

Who knew the oil cleansing method was an actual thing?

Apparently everyone but me.

I know you could hardly wait to see what we were going to discuss today.

Ready?  

It's healthy snacks.

Unfortunately, Kit Kat does not qualify.  

Here are a few snacks that I've been enjoying lately...

A friend introduced me to these little treats.  She loves the strawberries n bananas. I love the bananas and the fruit salad.  

I am also mildly addicted to these.  I especially love them on this.  

These are so very yummy.  I am scared to read the nutritional info on them.  

What do y'all grab at 4 p.m. when you find yourself standing in the pantry?

You do that, right?

More of My Silly Little Game

Well that was fun for me.

I hope that you also found some ideas for new cookbooks to try.

I'm thinking our next category will be...

Facial Cleansers/Serums/Potions.

I am needing something to fix my wrinkles and my pimples.

Both of which really tick me off.

I have no good suggestion for this.  I think I've tried it all.

And I still have wrinkles and pimples.

And dull skin.

With big pores.

I'm desperate.

Bring it on.

You Know How Sandwiches Taste Better When Someone Else Makes Them?

Well.  

Now that I think about it, that title has nothing to do with this post.  

It made sense to me for a minute...

I think I was going with how other people can make the plain stuff seem fancier?

Or something like that.

Basically I was hoping y'all would tell me some of your favorite stuff.

So I thought that over the next week-ish, I might ask for your favorites in assorted categories.

And at the end of this silly little game, I will give a prize to a randomly drawn commenter.

Let's start with cookbooks.

Tell me your all-time favorite cookbook.

I have several. It's hard for me to choose.  Definitely this one.  This one.  And this.

Thanks for playing.

Catching Up

If anyone is still checking in here...

Hi.

I've got some things to share.  I just can't remember what they are.  I remembered until I sat down with my computer.

The few I can recall:

1.  We got a new dog.

2.  We had a different new dog for less than 24 hours.

3.  The King has his TV debut next week.

I'll try to remember the other things.

If anyone is still checking in here.

 

My Mother Went On A Trip Across The World And All I Got Was...

Really, Mom?

You toured the countries of the Mediterranean and, um, this jumped out at you?

So totally disturbing.

SO TOTALLY DISTURBING.

You are familiar with the Wise Owls, right?  The ones who brought the gold, silver and GOLF BALL?!?

I'm going to focus on how it's the thought that counts.  So...thanks, Mom.

(I smell a payback.)