Eggs

Simple doesn't equal easiest. By living a simpler life I mean back to the basics. I am cooking from scratch more and want to make mayonaise, ketchup, bake bread, etc., and generally cook without using processed foods, we try not to eat foods with ingredients I cannot pronounce.
     Our first step on this new way was to get some chickens. We have five chickens and I love the eggs we get everyday. Here's a comparison of eggs from the store (right) and free range chicken eggs (left). There is a big difference, huh? Free range are lower in cholesterol and better for you.

     I love our chickens! They are funny. My son and I named them, but we couldn't remember the names after a couple days, so they are 'the girls.' During the summer we'd sit out on the lawn and a couple girls would actually hop up onto dear hubby and sit on his lap or the back of the chair for a few minutes. Another bonus from their eggs is that it inspires me to cook because the eggs pile up fast in the refridgerator. Having chickens is more work than running to the grocery store, but having them is part of the simple life.

Collage

When I was younger I made a collage board of "me." It was a good sized posterboard collage of everything I liked and gave anyone who looked at it a sense of who I am. I wish I still had it. Recently, I discovered 'Pinterest' and oh boy! is it fun. I have spent hours on it this week. I'm not sure if I should thank or curse my friend who introduced me to it, but I think I will thank her. Pinterest reminds me of the collage I had made years ago. On Pinterest you find things that you like and you can 'pin' them to your board. If you haven't already, go check it out. Hope you have fun like I do.

Actually, it was Pinterest that inspired me to start this blog. This blog is me, who I am, what I like, what I do. I have a lot of ideas of where this blog will go...stay tuned.

Back Story

My hobbies are quilting, gardening, and cooking. And now blogging. We live in western Montana in a beautiful valley between the Bitterroot and Sapphire Mountains. We have been here for 10 years and we love it. When we first moved here from Washington state, one of my goals was to simplify our life. I wanted to slow down and "smell the roses" as they say, whoever they are. There aren't any roses around us, but we had slowed down some....

Well... that was until we bought a business back in Sept. 2008. We moved this business from Seattle; and life hasn't been slow since. We're now in our third year and are finally getting a handle on it. There is so much stress in moving a 50-year-old business and piling it all in our shop and trying to get it set up when you don't know anything about it. We had about three days training from the previous owners (who sold it because it was time for them to retire). During this move, the phones kept ringing and the orders kept coming as we tried to make the move in location and ownership seamless to customers. Everything in boxes and a language of parts and part numbers that we didn't know. To complicate matters, the business was behind in technology conveniences of the 21st century. The previous owner was still using a Wang computer for the business. Now that the business is 'under control' I want to take time to slow down again. To de-stress. There will always be the daily stresses of work, but it is manageable.

Now, back to the start of this post -gardening and cooking have become hobbies of mine (ours) as we try to live a more simple life here in Montana. We have started growing our own food year 'round and are trying to stop eating processed foods purchased in the store. That brings me to cooking more and I have been enjoying that. I will share more about this as this blog grows (pun intended!)

Lose It

Ok. So here's the deal. I am approaching my 50th Birthday in three months! The saying is "You're only as old as you feel." Well, that was all well and good until about a year ago. That's when this whole menopause and middle age business started to attack! The biggest issue I am having is my weight. Ugh. I am 40 lbs heavier than I want to be, 50 lbs. heavier than I should be and 30 pounds heavier than I ever have been. THIS HAS GOT TO CHANGE!!!  Problem is my motivation. I don't really know why but I am having trouble getting motivated to do anything about it.

They say set goals. So, my goal is when I reach my target weight I get to go to Hawaii with my son and husband. I have been to Maui once and I want to go back. How am I going to do this?? First, I have joined the local gym; second I am going to use LoseIt! for tracking the food and exercise, third, I am going to hire a personal trainer at the gym, lastly, I am blogging about it here - you all will hold me accountable, right?

I CAN DO THIS. I have lost weight in the past when I got determined. I just need to find the right motivation. Along with going to Hawaii, my motivation is looking good at 50 years old.

Anyone with me?

Starter Exercise Plan