Annie's All Natural Coffee Maker Cleanser

This morning, as I eagerly anticipated that first sip of coffee, my fingers drummed the counter. When the coffee was finally in my cup, doused with a bit of almond milk, I took the first taste.

What I expected was a tasty, wonderful mouthful of a richly, brewed drink. What I got was bitterness. It was time to clean the coffee pot.

Cleaning a coffee maker is relatively simple. I am sure that they sell some sort of coffee maker cleansers somewhere, stock full of chemicals that you in no way want to ever ingest. Ever.

Instead of some high priced cleanser, let me let you in on a little all natural secret of mine. This little secret will cost just a few pennies, and a bit of wait time.

If you read my blog with any regularity, you will know my secret weapon of choice for all sorts of things. Its name is vinegar.

Annie’s Coffee Maker Cleanser

• Pour vinegar into carafe. For large (12 cup) carafe, use 2 cups of vinegar. For small (4 cup) carafe, use 2/3 cup of vinegar.
• Pour vinegar from carafe into the holding tank, where you normally would pour the water.
• Leave filter basket in place. This is a great time for it to get a cleaning as well.
• Turn on coffee maker.
• Let the vinegar run through the coffee maker.
• Turn off coffee maker.
• Pour vinegar from carafe into holding tank, taking care not to burn yourself. The vinegar will now be very hot.
• Repeat three times.

While the coffee maker is running the vinegar through four times, I take this time to clean my sinks, and prepare them for cleaning their drains. This little tip is found here.  Since the vinegar still is useful, and is already hot, why waste it? Right? After the vinegar has ran through the coffee maker for the fourth time, just pour the vinegar from the carafe, down into the drains as directed in the drain cleaner post. In this way, you are killing two birds with one stone.

Ok, back to our coffee maker….

• Fill carafe with water.
• Pour it into the holding tank.
• Run water through coffee maker.
• Once the coffee maker has finished filling the carafe, pour the hot water down the kitchen sink. I pour half down one side, half down the other.
• Repeat six times. Yes. Six. For a total of seven times. I have found that it takes seven times to completely rid your coffee pot of the vinegar taste. If you want to chance it and live life on the wild side by only running water through a total of six times, do it. (I am currently on round number five of running water through the coffee maker as I write this post.)
• Your coffee maker, filter basket, and carafe are now ready to be used again.

If you have found that your favorite coffee now seems to have a bitter taste to it, clean your coffee maker. If you find that your coffee is taking forever to brew in the morning, clean your coffee maker. If you can no longer see through your carafe, clean your coffee maker.

For only a few cents, you can have your coffee maker back in like-new condition, and your favorite coffee tasting like a little bit of Heaven with each eagerly anticipated sip.

 As Aristotle said, “Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities. “

~Annie

Annie's Bathroom Rug Freshener

 If your family is at all like mine, then you will be able to relate to our bathroom rug dilemma.

Long before the bathroom rugs are in need of a washing, they looked trampled down, old, and neglected. If I washed them every time they looked this way, I would be washing them daily.

Instead, I have come up with Plan B.

Annie’s Bathroom Rug Freshener

• Shake rugs outside.
• Spray vinegar solution that we used for our upholstery freshener onto rugs, being sure to lightly and fully cover them. Be sure to test the solution in an inconspicuous spot on your rugs first. I have never had an issue, but you never can be absolutely sure until you try it.
• Place in dryer for 3 minutes. Seriously. Just 3 minutes. That is all it takes.
• Return to bathroom floor.

You will find that your rugs have returned to that “just home from the store and looking fabulous and fluffy” state. They will smell lovely too. Trust me.

I find this works well if you have company on the way, or if your mother just called to say she will be dropping in for a visit in ten minutes.

Have a wonderful day, my friends. Enjoy this extra blessing of snow while we have it. Very soon it will be a distant memory.

Remember what Thomas Edwards said, “To rejoice in another's prosperity, is to give content to your own lot: to mitigate another's grief, is to alleviate or dispel your own.”

~Annie

Setting up the Chicken Coop

Now is the time of the year that tiny chicks are making their way into the homes, basements, and outbuildings of many a soon-to-be chicken farmer.

It is also time to learn what to do with those chicks in order to take proper care of them.

I talked about what breeds of chicks I prefer to get according to my needs, here. However, before those chicks make it to your home and you are stuck with them in your bathtub for lack of a better alternative, it is time to start planning a course of action.

Housing
Once the order for your new flock has been placed, be sure that you have a warm and secure area for them to live for at least 3-5 weeks. This can be a large box, an old washtub, an empty livestock waterer with a screen placed over it.

The screen serves two purposes: to keep the critters out, and to keep the chicks in as they grow. They will become very curious, and will try to hop out.

Water
Chicks drown very easily, so the best waterers to get are the type that screw onto a mason jar and trickle out only a little water at a time. These can be found at any local farm store.

As the chicks grow, at about 6-7 weeks, you can change the waterers over to shallow pans, never filling them with more than an inch of water at a time.

Once full grown, you can put up to three inches of water in the waterer.

Feeders
The best types of feeders that I have found for baby chicks are long, shallow, and have a bar running down the middle across the top of them. The bar keeps the chicks from hopping in the feed and defecating in it.

As they get older, you may wish to switch to a feeder with no top bar.

Once full grown, you can use a shallow, large pan for the feed so that the chickens are able to spread out a bit as they eat. Based on how many you may have in a flock, you may want to split the feed up into two pans.

As a point of reference, I have ten chickens and use two pans. This ensures that all of your happy chickens friends get enough food.

Feed
I use a special medicated feed for my just-hatched chicks. I do realize that there are different camps on this one, but I find it to be the best choice for our homestead. The feed is specially designed for chicks, and helps them get a jump-start towards a healthy life.

After the initial bag of medicated feed, I then use a grower mash for meat birds. This helps the chickens develop their meatiness.

For my future layers, I use a laying mash. This mash helps the hens ready themselves for producing wonderful, nutritional eggs. Hens should begin laying at 10-12 months of age.

You should be sure to purchase some small gravel for the chickens. Sprinkle it throughout the feed every once in a while. This gravel will make its way to the chickens’ gizzards, which serve as a type of stomach, digesting and grinding up the food. You can find this gravel at a farm store as well.

Coop
Coops can be made to fit your needs, as well as the needs of your chickens. Be sure that the sides are tall enough that the chickens do not fly out. If this is not possible, make sure that the coop has netting across the top.

A nesting box/roosting area will help your chickens feel safe and comfortable at night. I have found that although we have six nesting boxes for nine hens, they all cram into two of the boxes. They seem to like being all crowded together.

Make sure that they have plenty hay in their boxes so that they stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

I keep my chickens year round. This may be done as long as you provide a heat lamp for them if you live in a colder climate. They will usually lay from March through November.

Enjoy your happy, cheeping fluff balls while you can! All too soon, they will grow into gawky, gangly adolescents, and finally, plump, beautiful hens and roosters.

There is nothing more relaxing than watching your flock strutting, scratching the dirt, and enjoying their new home.

As Anatole France said, “Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up another. ”

~Annie

My Doey

Today is my best friend’s birthday. Yes, I have a handful of best friends, and they all mean the world to me. However, Doey (obviously not her real name, but the nickname Little Bug gave her when she was a toddler) is in a class by herself.

Let me tell you a bit about Doey. We became friends when I was working as a summer missionary at Camp Good News in Indiana. Her mom and my aunt thought it would be a good idea for Doey to show me around. By the end of the evening, I was really hoping she might want to be my friend, seeing as I knew hardly anyone else in the area. She did, and that was that.

At the time, she was 28 and I was 19. I am sure she thought me to be a mere child, but she never let on if she did. Every weekend of that first summer, we got together and went to supper, the movies, the local fair…. anything was a go as long as we were together.

That fall, I went back to Purdue, yet I didn’t forget about Doey. The next summer, she was by my side at the camp, both of us cooking our summer days away. It was a blast, and a best friendship was born.

You see, Doey is that special person that everyone needs in his or her life. She seems to be able to do anything. She has traveled all over the world. She has gone on fall round ups out west. She can bake like a dream. She can put a tired cranky baby to sleep in a flash. She is the real deal.

When I lost my two babies, she came and sat with me. Really, there was nothing she could do for me, but her presence in my home comforted me a great deal.

When my father died, she was with me every step of the way. I became so despondent and depressed, yet she never left me. We had planned a trip to Montana. I was so weak that she had to do everything for the trip. Yet she still took me.

I will never forget watching Doey load up the rental car, driving to where we were going next, unloading the car, setting everything up, and basically babysitting me for three weeks. Was it fun for her? I doubt it. Did I need that time in my life to heal? Absolutely.

I came home from Montana healed, refreshed, and ready to be a better wife to JP. And for that I have Doey to thank.

Doey and I are in almost daily contact, although we have never lived closer than an hour from each other. Nary a day goes by without a text or phone call. When it does happen, I miss her dreadfully.

Doey is my rock. She is one of the absolute best Christians that I know. I have never witnessed her judging anyone. She just loves on them, and if they are really lucky, she bakes them something.

Doey has taught me how to relax. How to burp Little Bug. To slowdown a bit. To not judge others. To share my possessions. To pray first. To always trust in our Lord.

Little Bug calls her Aunt Doey. To me she is so much more than a best friend. She is the sister I never had. She is my family. And I love her more than words could ever express.

Happy birthday, Doey. You, of all people, deserve a wonderful, happy day. May you be blessed beyond measure, today, and always. I love you.

~Annie

Annie's Asparagus

One day, while my dad and I were driving down a country road near my childhood homestead, we stopped along side of the road to buy a few pounds of asparagus from a local farmer.

After a few minutes of chatting, it became apparent that the farmer was looking to hire another picker. I immediately grabbed a pair of gloves, got the rudimentary details of the ins and outs of asparagus picking, hopped on the cart, and was off. Thus began my three year career as an asparagus picker.

I loved it. Everyday, after school, I would rush home to feed the animals, rush off to baby-sit and tutor, then finally rush off to pick asparagus. Those few seasons of my life were some of the happiest of my childhood.

We all worked for Mrs. Kohlhagen. She was a wonderful boss. On really hot days, she would meet us at the end of the row with a special treat. Sometimes it was a soda. Other times it was a candy bar. Coming from such a poor family, those special treats seemed absolutely amazing to me. I can still remember how delicious an ice cold Pepsi and a mostly frozen Kit-Kat tasted after several rounds on the asparagus cart.

I rode the cart, which was pulled along by a tractor, about three inches above the ground. I would then lean over to my right and pick the asparagus as we went by. Anytime there was a mound of dirt that stood higher than three inches, that dirt landed in my lap. Needless to say, I was absolutely filthy every single night. And I relished in it.

There was something very freeing about becoming filthy within five minutes of starting work. We picked asparagus from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. We then sorted it out, keeping only the best stalks, from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. In the morning, the freshly picked asparagus took its journey to groceries all over the area. Everyone wanted Kohlhagen asparagus. It was the absolute best around, and everyone knew it.

Twenty years later, I still think back longingly to that time in the fields, and to that wonderful, perfect asparagus. Mrs. Kohlhagen spoiled me as to which asparagus is worthy of my time. To this day, I will stand at a pile of asparagus at a farmers’ market and individually select only the best stalks. Once you taste the difference, I bet you will too.

In order to select the best stalks, look for asparagus that is close to the size and width of an unsharpened number two pencil. Make sure that the tips are not seedy. The tips should be curved to a point on top and very clean.

Although some people do like the fatter stalks, I find them to be woody and tough. Also, seedy stalks seem to collect dirt in them. Imagine taking that first bite of asparagus and ending up with a mouthful of gritty dirt.

Since I normally pay by the pound for my asparagus, I ask the seller if I may snap off the whitish areas at the bottom of the stalk. Some say yes. Some say no. Most stand in amazement as I sift through their huge pile of green, potential yumminess.

Once you have selected and paid for your asparagus, you are ready to take it home and prepare it.

Annie’s Asparagus

• Chop off bottoms of stalks. I do this by gathering them in my hand, lining up the bottoms, and cutting off the dried out bottoms. If you do not plan to use your fresh asparagus for a few days, you may do this step, then place all the stalks in a jar of water, in your fridge. This will keep your asparagus fresh until use.
• Place asparagus in covered dish that can be placed in the microwave.
• Add 1/8 cup of water. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.
• Place lid on dish.
• Place in microwave at 80% power for ten minutes.
• Remove and check for tenderness with a fork. Fork should be able to easily go into each stalk tested.
• If stalks are not tender, repeat above steps at 3-5 minute intervals.
• Once tender, remove from microwave and serve.

I have found this to be the easiest and most delicious way to prepare asparagus. By steaming it, I am able to keep all of the nutrients in tact as well. You may add butter if wish, but I have found that our eclectic family enjoys the taste of the asparagus that shines through after being steamed.

Enjoy the first day of Spring, my friends. As you go about your day, remember the words of Henry David Thoreau, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”

~Annie

Annie’s Easy Peasy Seedling Starters

Although there is no sign of warm temperatures in sight in my quaint little Northwest Indiana town, Spring in only two days away. This fact turns my attention to starting my spring and summer gardens.

While it is still definitely too early to be planting my real garden, it is not too early to be preparing the seedlings that will eventually find their way into the homestead garden plot.

JP and I choose to be a single income family most of the year so that I can be a stay-at-home-mom to Little Bug. Because of this, we live on a strict budget. We have no extra money for fancy seedling starters.

We have found this method to work wonderfully with all type of seedlings. From flowers to veggies, this inexpensive seedling starter recycles, as well as saves you money.

Annie’s Easy Peasy Seedling Starters

• Gather gallon sized milk jugs with lid in place. It is best to have at least one per variety of seedling you want to start indoors.
• Clean and dry out milk jugs.
• Cut jug almost completely in half, just under the handle, leaving 3 inches uncut.
• Fill with soil until one inch below cut on milk jug.. Not dirt. Dirt and soil seem to be used interchangeably, but they are totally different. Soil is used to grow plants. Dirt is usually unable to grow much of anything, including weeds. I like to use an organic, moisture holding variety of soil from the local farm store, but any soil will do.
• Using a permanent marker, write variety of seed on the milk jug so you won’t forget.
• Plant seeds. It is ok to crowd them in. They will not be in there long enough to get overcrowded.
• Water.
• Flip top of jug over onto rest of jug.
•  Place in sunny spot. It could be a windowsill, your living room floor; anywhere the sun will hit it.
• During the part of the day when the sun will hit it, flip top off of jug so that the seeds (and eventually seedlings) can get as much sun as possible. If it is warm enough, you can even take your seedling starter milk jugs outside for the day, however, be sure to bring them in at night if the temperatures get too chilly.
• When there is no sunlight, flip top onto jug, covering the seedlings. This will create a mini greenhouse for your precious seedlings.
• Once your garden plot has been tilled, the seedlings are at least several inches tall, and it is warm enough outside to plant, gently transfer seedlings. If you have more than you need, leave some in the jug to make sure that the planted ones take. If they don’t, transplant more seedlings into your garden. If you do not need the left over seedlings, give them to a friend or sell them at a farmers’ market.
• This method works great for container gardeners as well.

So there you have it, a cheap and relatively easy way to get your seeds planted and growing into seedlings.

Enjoy the remaining days of winter, lovelies. Very soon we will be wondering where all the cool breezes are as we toil in the hot sun.

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”  ~ Harriet Tubman

~Annie

Annie’s Stain Pre-Wash Treatment

If your house is anything like ours, y’all get a lot of stains on clothes and towels that you may not mean to get stained.

Sure we all have our “work clothes,” but sometimes you just get sidetracked and before you know it, you have your Sunday-go-to-meeting attire filthy.

Never fear! Annie’s Stain Pre-Wash Treatment is here! (Courtesy of my sweet mama.)

This stuff works phenomenally well. Remember me telling you about how dirty I got my clothes on the night of the fateful meeting with the skunk?  Yep. This is the same stuff my sweet mama used on my clothing, and there was nary a stain to be found!

Annie’s Stain Pre-Wash Treatment

• Clean out and clearly mark old spray bottle or dish soap bottle
• Add one cup liquid laundry detergent
• Add one cup ammonia
• Add one cup water
• Shake

That is it, folks. So easy. So simple.

To use:

• Test in small spot to make sure it is safe for your garment. I have never had it not be ok, but one can never be too careful when it comes to our favorite clothes.
• Generously douse stain, allowing it to soak in mixture for at least one hour.
• Wash as you normally would
• After washing, look for stain, if still there, do not dry. Repeat above steps until stain is gone.

My sweet mama has used this recipe for years, saving all sorts of my favorite clothes from certain demise.

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

~Annie

My Spiritual Birthday

34 years ago today, I gave my heart and life to Christ. I have never looked back.

At the end of a night service, as Pastor Lee Hartman led the altar call in the basement of Heritage Baptist Church in Roselawn, Indiana, I went forward to accept Jesus’ gift of salvation.

I knelt down, my father and my pastor on either side of me. Seeing as I was only three years old, my pastor drew pictures to ensure I understood. Of course I understood.

God had sent His only Son, Jesus, to earth to die for my sins so that I could live with Him forever in Heaven. All I had to do is accept this wonderful gift of salvation. It was free and priceless at the same time.

Here I am, 34 years later, still loving God. At age 19, in the chapel of Camp Good News, I accepted God’s call to work with children and to minister to them. 18 years and 40 mentor kids later, I am still open to that call.

At age 30, I accepted God’s call to work and minister to adults as well. I am in the throes of this part of my life, and I love every minute of it.

Being obedient to The Great Commission, I have traveled all over the United States, as well as all over the world, telling others of God’s love for them. I have had many, many amazing experiences during those times. Experiences that only God could have ordained.

I got to know JP on one such missions trip. We became fast friends, and have been inseparable ever since.

I do realize that my blog is primarily about homesteading. However, today I want to take time out of my busy, never-ending schedule, pause a moment, reflect on, and be grateful for, all that God has done for me ever since I gave my whole life to Him.

As one of my heroes of Faith, Billy Graham,  said, “God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, "I love you."”

I am so glad that He loves me. He loves you too. Always has, always will. Nothing that you can ever do will ever change that. Remember, as I said in a previous post, God doesn’t make mistakes.

Have a wonderful day today, my friends. Live your life to the fullest, everyday choosing JOY!

Annie

My Journey Through Debt: Part 9A: Food From the Garden

Throughout my childhood, my family did not have two thin dimes to rub together.  We went for long stretches without electricity. The telephone was a luxury we could not afford. New anything was completely out of the question. However, we ate like kings and queens.

My sweet mama made sure we never went hungry. Ever. By the time she would pay the bills that she could from her meager paycheck, she would have $6.00 left to stretch through two weeks of food. Obviously a family of four was not going to make it on $3.00 a week for all the food that we consumed. Enter, the garden.

My sweet mama’s garden was more than just a tiny plot of land dedicated to a salsa garden or salad garden. My mama’s garden was meant to feed our family of four year round. You name it; we grew it.

Whatever we grew, we canned. Freezing our food was a bad option back then since our electricity was shut off so often. Instead, mama canned everything she could think of. Hundreds of canning jars lined our pantry. I honestly felt sorry for my friends that were not able to “shop” out of their pantry full of home canned goods.

That desire to have a garden and preserve food has been passed down to me. Not only is it cheaper to grow and preserve your own food, it is much healthier. When you grow your own food, there are no preservatives in them to make them shelf stable for years upon years. Those chemicals do not enter your body, leaving you a healthier individual.

The garden we had growing up was huge. It was my job to hoe it, water it, and harvest it. I hated that garden at the time, but I loved the food that we ate from it  all year long.

JP and I now have a much smaller garden, but we still grow a lot of our own food. As a part time agronomist, I work daily, 8-18 hours a day all summer long, yet still come home and tend the garden. No one can tell me that they do not have time for a garden. We all make choices in our lives. My choice is to have a garden so that we are able to save money and live a healthier lifestyle.

I preserve a lot of what is grown in our garden. Besides canning, I also freeze and dehydrate food in order to make it last longer. More on the “how-to” in later posts.

The money that I saved by growing my own food was put towards the principle of my debt. As I have said in earlier posts, every little bit helps.

For those of you that live in apartments or rentals and have no land that you are able to till into a garden, may I suggest you consider doing container gardening. While you will not be able to have a large harvest, you still would be able to have fresh, organic vegetables at a fraction of the store price.

As I battled the debt pit that I was seemingly drowning in, every little bit of momentum up and out of it was a Godsend.

Is it easy to keep up with a garden and preserves the fruits of your labor after a full day’s work? No. Is it worth it? Only you can be the judge of that. It truly depends on how much you want out of debt, or how healthy you want the food your family consumes, to be.

To me, it was definitely worth the time and effort to keep a garden. Remember, you are not in this alone. If you have a family, get them involved. Or ask your friends to help you. The garden can be a place of laughter, joy and fun. A place of family. A place of healing.

As Alfred Austin said, “Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are.”

Have a wonderful day, lovelies!

~Annie

Annie’s Melt-In-Your-Mouth Steaks

Steak. Just the name sets JP’s mouth to watering. A well-prepared steak is one of his favorite foods.

Over the years, I have perfected my steak recipe. JP has been a patient guinea pig, always encouraging me, never getting angry, when I seemingly ruin a perfectly good cut of beef.

Everyone has their own way of preparing steaks. I do realize this. However, after many Food Science courses at Purdue, in addition to my sweet mama’s years of experience and advice, I have finally perfected a tried and true first-bite-makes-them-close-their-eyes-and smile-with-delight recipe. Today I am going to share it with you. Don’t tell my mama that I keep giving away the family recipes, though. Okay? It will be our little secret.

Annie’s Melt-In-Your-Mouth Steaks

• Select your steak. Everyone seems to have his or her favorite cuts of steak. Everyone also has a different budget allotment for food. Often, as is the case in our household, steaks are a special treat. I enjoy a good rib eye or T-bone steak myself. JP loves a porterhouse or sirloin steak. Whatever your preference, this recipe is guaranteed to make your steak tender, juicy, and delectable.
• Place steak on plate. It doesn’t matter if you are taking it from your freezer, fridge, or grocery.
• Cover steak with white vinegar. I have a shaker bottle that does the job nicely. Do NOT skimp on the vinegar. The vinegar will break down the amino acids in the meat, resulting in the melt-in-your-mouth meat you are craving. I do realize that some of you that are reading this believe that you must beat the tar out of a steak in order to tenderize it. That is simply NOT true. Each time you hit the meat to “tenderize” it, you are bursting the cells that are found in the meat. Those cells hold the flavor of the meat. When you burst them, you lose flavor. The more you hit a steak to “tenderize” it, the less flavorful it becomes. There is zero need to beat the steak when using vinegar. The vinegar does not burst the flavor cells. Ever. It simply softens the muscle fibers, leaving you with little bites of Heaven. The less you handle the steak, the better it will be.
• Shake the following spices on steak: garlic powder, onion powder, dehydrated onions, Montreal steak seasoning (optional), kosher salt, and black pepper.
• Place plate on counter top where it is able to sit in peace until it has been brought up to room temperature. I typically take my steaks out of the freezer in the morning and let them marinate in the vinegar mixture all day.
• Start grill, making sure it is on its lowest setting.
• Gently place steaks on grill.
• Close lid and walk away. I realize that it is in all of us grillers to hover, checking the progression every few minutes. Don’t. Remember, the less handling of the steak, the better. Also, every time you open the grill’s lid, it causes a dramatic temperature shift, which is not at all good for the meat.
• Wait 5-10 minutes, depending on how you want your steak (5-medium rare, 7-medium, 10-medium well,) then flip steak once, using tongs.
• Wait the same amount of time again, giving the other side of the steak time to cook.
• Test steak by gently pressing down in middle with tongs. Do NOT cut into steak. When a steak is cut while on the grill, the delicious juices run out, leaving your steak dry and flavorless. Medium rare- tongs easily press into steak. Medium- meat gives some resistance when tongs are gently pressed into steak. Medium well- tongs barely press into steak.
• Remove steak from grill. Place on clean plate.
• Walk away. Let your scrumptious steak rest for 5 minutes. By allowing the meat time to rest, it is able to evenly distribute its juices, making for a juicy bite of steak every time.
• Serve with tongs. Do not spear the steak. Once again, you will lose those hard earned juices.
• Enjoy your yummyliscious steak!

This method of steak preparation has served me well over the past several years.

Remember, meat must be cooked slowly over a low heat in order to get the best from it. When I serve steak, no one ever asks for the steak sauce. It doesn’t need it. The flavor of the beef comes shining through and tastes delicious.

Enjoy your day, my friends, and, as Democritus, said, “Happiness resides not in possessions and not in gold; the feeling of happiness dwells in the soul.”

~Annie

The Infamous "Annie and the Skunk" Saga

The following incident truly did happen to me....eight years, and a lifetime, ago. It is one of my absolute favorite funny memories. Of course at the time it was not funny at all. Now it is pure hilarity in every form. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

February, 2005

OK, so there I was, being the good daughter, cleaning mom's house. As I took my leave, I was feeling pretty good about life.... mom’s house was clean…the dentist appointment went well…I would be home in time for Jeopardy...life was good!

I pulled out of my parking spot and started around the drive that I had used EVERY TIME that I had gone to mom's house for TWELVE years. I drove about ten feet and realized...uh oh... I AM STUCK!!!!! OK, no worries, I would just get mom and she would operate the van while I pushed.

I got mom, told her to gently accelerate in reverse. Now folks, I know my mom. Why I even asked for her help is beyond me. I love my sweet mama, but she is not the go-to person for anything mechanical. This includes getting a van unstuck. 

She got in and FLOORED it! I mean, mud everywhere. I pushed and I was making headway. I was feeling strong, I was feeling muscular, I was feeling mud up and down my entire body! We are not talking about a little mud either; I mean my pants were covered, my shoes were goners, my shirt was weeping.

My mom got out of the van and started laughing so hard she had to cross her legs and hobble inside to use the restroom. She called Bob. God bless Bob. He came to my rescue, pulling my van out of the mud, under the watchful eye of my mom.  I was finally on my way home.

Since my clothes were thoroughly covered in mud, my mom gave me some of her clothes to wear home. Y’all, I am 5’9” and my sweet mama is 4’11”. I have absolutely nothing against short people. However, I threw on a pair of her sweat pants and a sweatshirt, and looked like I was on my way to a flood. The sleeves of the sweatshirt went up to my elbow. The bottom hem of the pants went halfway up my shins.  No joke. I didn’t even worry about shoes. There was no way I would fit into any of her shoes. I just borrowed a pair of her old socks and went shoeless. In the middle of winter.

Sticking with the theme of the evening, my gas tank was on empty, so I had to go to the gasoline store looking like the creature from the mud lagoon. There was mud on my face and in my hair also. I was putting $30 in my tank, praying no one would show up at the gasoline store before I could make my exit. I got  to $28 before another car arrived on-scene. I talked myself into remaining calm because, “Hey! It’s Wheatfield, we are all hillbillies, right? I will fit right in!” Of course the fashion police arrived in the form of teenagers from the local high school. They took one look at me and thought, “Honey, go home and think about what you went out in.”

I survived the gasoline store, and started on home. Mom has pretreated my pants with some ammonia-based mixture, and placed them in a brown paper bag. The fumes were slowly killing me. I rolled down all of the windows to get some fresh air. As I did, BAM!!!! I hit a skunk! I mean come on folks! The night had to get better, right? Nope. It didn’t.

The skunk's final act before departing this world was to accurately spray into my van, through all of the open windows. Now I was driving home, windows down, crying and throwing up because of the smell. I was muddy, cold, and smelly.

I finally got home and the first thing JP wanted to know was why I did not go to a car wash. I thought he was joking. He was not. I started crying harder. I got the frozen hose out to spray off the van, and he said I need a pressure washer. Duh. I knew that. I just did not have it in me to drive all the way back into town.

JP told me to go inside and take a shower (I really was that smelly), However, I did not want to get my entire house smelly. My solution to this dilemma was to go downstairs and undress, placing the offending clothes right into the washing machine.  After I did this,  I then remembered something...I had to run through the unheated entryway in the middle of winter with no clothes on!

I was smelly, muddy and freezing, all the while sobbing. JP just stood there, continually asking me why I was crying. Now, I love my husband, but this was too much. Guys, if your wife is muddy, smells like a skunk and is standing naked in the freezing cold entryway, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!

I hopped in the shower, also taking a bath for good measure, and went to bed, thinking that I would do better in the morning. No such luck.

 The next morning, I emptied an entire bottle of Febreeze on the van’s upholstery, saving a few squirts, and dro,ve 25 miles to work at 6:15 a.m. with the windows down, in the middle of February. I got to work, sprayed MYSELF with Febreeze for good measure, and went into the school. I hunted down the janitor (who was the only other person at school at that time of the morning), told him my story, and make him tell me if I smell. After splitting his sides from laughter, he said, "No, you smell just fine."

 I left the windows of my van down for obvious reasons. All throughout the day I had concerned staff members tell me that my windows are down. At lunchtime, I finally I went out and rolled them up.

We sold that van a few years later. The skunk smell never did totally go away.

“A sense of humor... is needed armor. Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.” ~Hugh Sidey.

~Annie

My Journey Through Debt: Part 8B: Contentedness With Who I Am

Once I realized that I was spending money I didn’t have, on people I didn’t like, for things I didn’t need or want to do, I knew I had turned a corner.

It had taken me almost 30 years to realize that I did not need to please everyone in the world. That I did not have to have everyone like me. That there was absolutely no way that I could gain the approval of every person I knew.

I finally realized that the only approval I needed was God’s. It was a very humbling and hurtful time in my life. I was hurt that so many people had used me, and that I had allowed it to happen. I was also humbled by God’s grace for me.

I slowly formed a new outlook on life. My true friends stuck with me, even though all of the meals out, concerts, and extra activities were replaced by nights at home playing games, watching movies, and eating home cooked meals.

I found that these true friends wanted to be around me for me, not for what I could give them. This discovery helped me tremendously in the coming months and years.

Knowing that my friend set (and believe me, it was a much smaller set than I had had during my freefall spending days,) wanted me for me was mind blowing. These people were in my life and wanted absolutely nothing in return. I believe that it was God’s way of showing me His love as I slowly climbed out of the debt pit.

It was at this time that I started making better choices for what little money I had. Since I now knew that my remaining friends did not expect huge, luxurious gifts, I was able to give them smaller, yet meaningful gifts on their special days with the confidence that they would be appreciated.

I was also able to invite friends and family over for a meal that I made myself, at a fraction of the cost that it would been to go out to eat. I rediscovered old games from the basement that I hadn’t used for years. I also found that I truly enjoyed watching movies from the vast movie collection that I had built up over years and years of garage sales.

The bonds between our family and our friends strengthened as we spent more time face to face. My relationship with God strengthened as I spent more time with Him in prayer and in His Word.

As I said in yesterday’s post, contentedness, to me, is coming to a state of peaceful satisfaction. After fighting against my own self for so long, I finally gave my battle to God. He took it from me, and in return, a sense of peace washed over me.

Eventually, along with that peace came the satisfaction that I had so desperately sought for oh so long. The satisfaction came when I started walking fully in God’s Will.

Was my journey over? No. Not by a long shot. However, I now had my support system in place to help me on my journey. Make no mistake about it; the journey that you are on is not one to walk alone.

A support system of friends and family are extremely helpful during the times that you may wish to give up your climb out of your debt pit. They are there to encourage you, to cheer you on, to march forward with you, shoulder to shoulder.

I have come full circle in the realization and contentedness with who I am. Today, I will leave you with a story that I hold very dear to my heart and read over and over during this time of my life. Credit to Abundant Life Church for excerpts.

I love MAX LUCADO’s story in which he describes a fictional village inhabited by wooden people called Wemmicks. If you’ve read it then you know that Wemmicks are the creation of a wood carver named Eli who lives in a house above their village. All day long the Wemmicks engage in one activity. They give each other STICKERS. If a Wemmick is pretty or talented he or she receives yellow STAR stickers. But if a Wemmick is not pretty or talented, then all day long there are given gray dot stickers.

The hero of the story is a Wemmick named Punchinello. He had no star stickers and was covered with so many gray dot stickers that he rarely went outside and when he did he hung around with other Wemmicks who were covered with dots. He felt better in comparison to them.

One day he met a Wemmick named Lucia who had no stickers at all on her wooden body and when Punchinello asked her how this was possible, she directed him to visit his creator, the woodcarver, Eli. Let me read to you what happens when Punchinello takes Lucia’s advice and goes to Eli’s workshop:

Eli scooped him up into his arms and said, "Looks like you’ve been given some bad marks."

"I didn’t mean to, Eli.  I tried really hard" said Punchinello.

"Oh, you don’t have to defend yourself to me, child. I don’t care what the other Wemmicks think."

"You don’t?"

"No, and you shouldn’t either. Who are they to give stars or dots? They’re Wemmicks just like you. What they think doesn’t matter, Punchinello.

All that matters is what I think.  And I think you are pretty special."

Punchinello laughed, "Me, special?  Why, I can’t walk fast.  I can’t jump.  My paint is peeling.  Why do I matter to you?"

Eli looked at Punchinello, put his hands on those small wooden shoulders, and spoke very slowly. "Because you’re mine. That’s why you matter to me."

Punchinello had never had anyone look at him like this-much less his maker. He didn’t know what to say. "Every day I’ve been hoping you’d come," Eli explained.

"I came because I met someone who had no marks," said Punchinello.

"I know.  She told me about you."

"Why don’t the stickers stay on her?"

The maker spoke softly.  "Because she has decided that what I think is more important than what they think. 

You see, the stickers only stick if you let them. The stickers only stick if they matter to you. The more you trust my love, the less you care about their stickers."

Eli lifted Punchinello off the bench and sat him on the ground and as he did, he said, "You are special because I made you. And I don’t make mistakes."

As Punchinello walked home he thought, "I think he really means it." And when he did, a dot fell to the ground.

You are special. ALL OF YOU! All of us are PRECIOUS in God’s sight. And there is a great freeing power in that knowledge. When we know how priceless we are to God, stickers don’t stick and the cell doors in our lives swing open.
~Annie

My Journey Through Debt: Part 8A: Contentedness With Who I Am

Probably the biggest step for me to take in my debt journey, after Realization, was learning contentedness.

 The definition of “content” is, “In a state of peaceful happiness. (Adj.)” and  “A state of satisfaction. (Noun)” I derived from this that in order to be content, I had to come to a state of peaceful satisfaction.

My frame of mind was far from peaceful or satisfied. I was in constant worry. Worry about the accumulating bills. Worry about the mail (and consequently the credit card bills) arriving at the house before I got home. Worry about JP finding me out.  I was also completely dissatisfied. Dissatisfied with how I looked. Dissatisfied with my clothing. Dissatisfied with my possessions. Dissatisfied with my life.

I tried to satiate myself by buying more stuff. I would get a little bit of happiness from the purchase, but then reality would set in, coming along hand-in-hand with worry about the money I had just spent. This would lead to dissatisfaction. Which would lead to me purchasing more stuff.

The cycle was never-ending, repeating itself over and over, until I was found out. Once I no longer was able to remain in the crazy cycle, I found a relief. Do not get me wrong. I was not happy, nor was I joyous. However, there was an inkling of peace.

The peace came from knowing that I had a plan. I would, eventually, be able to crawl out from under the mountains of debt.

As time marched on, the peace inside of me grew. It grew into satisfaction. I came to understand that material possessions or people couldn’t give me happiness or joy. In order to find absolute contentment, I had to look inward.

For most of my life I had been a people pleaser. Sadly, a great majority of my debt came from trying to please others…through gifts…through purchases…through me spending money on people that I wanted so desperately to impress. Once I figured out that those people were just using me, I was able to curtail most of my spending.

I was spending money I didn’t have, on people I didn’t like, in order to impress them with things I didn’t need. All along, God was whispering to me that I didn’t need to spend that money. That those that wanted to be my friend would love me and want to be around me, even if I had no money, that my true self worth was not to be found in stuff.  And you know what? He was right y’all.

Once I found my true self worth in Christ, I became much more confident in telling people “no.”  I no longer felt the need for their acceptance. I no longer cared what they said or thought about me. I was completely satisfied in being me.

As is usually the case, once the money well dried up, the users moved along, leaving me with mountains of debt. I hold no animosity towards them. All I feel is sympathy and pity, for they, themselves, are not content with their own lives.

As I regained the peaceful satisfaction of life, I was able to focus on those things that truly meant something to me. More on that in a later post.

As you walk this journey through debt with me, do not feel disheartened. I am sharing my journey with you in hopes that it will help others come to their own realizations. That the debt cycle will be fought and conquered. Many of you write to me, sharing your own debt stories. As I have said, we are all in this together. One day we will all be able to stand up and be free of the weight, the shame, and the worry that debt brings upon us. You can do it. I know you can.

As Thomas Jefferson said, “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”

~Annie

Annie’s Natural Upholstery Freshener

As spring-cleaning time approaches, I will be sharing little tips for your cleaning pleasure. I love to organize. LOVE it. Cleaning? Not so much. However, I do realize it is necessary, and try to make the best of it while I clean away.

To freshen up the upholstery on furniture that has started to have an odor from daily use, pets, too many gym socks, etc., here is a tried and true, inexpensive idea.

Annie’s Natural Upholstery Freshener

• Obtain a 32 ounce spray bottle.
• Pour 8 ounces (1 cup) of white vinegar into bottle.
• Pour 24 ounces (3 cups) of water into bottle.
• Shake well.
• Test spray on hidden section of upholstery to ensure that it will not ruin the fabric. (I have never once had this mixture ruin anything, but you can never be too careful.)
• Spray entire piece of furniture with mixture, paying special attention to highly used areas. The piece of furniture will be damp.
• Allow upholstery to dry before using. I have found that a fan will help in the drying process.
• This spray may be used on carpets as well.
• While the white vinegar does have an odor while wet, once it dries, it will have no odor and will have taken away most, if not all, of the odor in the treated upholstery or carpet.
• If necessary, repeat steps until odor is gone.

A wonderful friend once gave us a much-needed sofa bed that had been left in their new home when they moved in. The former owner of the house had smoked around the couch for years. When I first got the couch to our house, I set it outside and doused it with Febreeze and other products like it. All it did was mask the odor for awhile.

My mom, who is my go-to person for all things natural, suggested the above vinegar-based spray. While it did take three applications, the smoke smell did come out of the upholstery. We were able to freshen up the sofa bed for hardly any money, and we were able to do so without using harsh chemicals.

I now use this mixture whenever I have upholstery or carpet that needs to be freshened up a bit. It is quick, easy, and inexpensive. If only all spring-cleaning projects were as easy as this one….

Enjoy your day, lovelies. And remember, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.”

~Annie

Choosing Joy Through The Tears

Before having Little Bug, JP and I tried to have a baby for ten years. Ten. A decade. An entire decade of hoping and praying for a baby. Before Little Bug came into our lives, JP and I were pregnant twice. Both times, both babies went to the arms of Jesus before they were born.

We named both babies. We had memorial markers made for both babies. Those markers now reside in one of my favorite parts of our homestead: my flower garden.

Those markers were the single most healing gesture that could have ever occurred for my heart. JP decided to have one made after we lost our first baby.  He had her name, dates, a scripture, and a phrase engraved on her stone. Sadly, another stone for her brother joined hers, just 15 short months later.

We have never made it a secret that we lost our first two children. The hardest part of dealing with it publicly was Mother’s Day. I tried to avoid most places on Mother’s day. Church was especially rough, because the church we attended at the time would ask the mothers to stand. While it seems as a lovely way to recognize mothers, it left me in agony. Do I stand and get the odd looks from everyone, since I obviously have no child in my arms? Or do I remain seated and quietly deny the life, albeit short, of my baby? After the first year, I just stayed home.

When Little Bug was born into our family, JP and I agreed that she would know all about her brother and sister that were now in Heaven. Little Bug visits the markers as much as I do. Not in a somber, solemn way, but in a happy-go-lucky, little girl way. She always announces so proudly that she has a brother and sister, but that they are in Heaven.

 While I used to cringe at her proclamation, I now smile with joy that my daughter will never allow her brother and sister to be forgotten. The idea that the lives of our first two children would be forgotten was one of my biggest fears. I have no pictures. No clothes. No mementos of any sort. Just my memories.

Even the horrid memories of my times in the hospital are cherished, for they are part of my babies’ stories. When I lost my babies, every little memory associated with them became precious to me, locked away forever in my mind, to be replayed over and over.

I now am able to look back at those times with smiles. JP and I are able to talk very openly as to what life would have been like for us with an eight year old, a seven year old, and a six year old. We are able to laugh and joke about how I would be bald from pulling out all of my hair. We are able to choose joy through our pain.

Every once in awhile, ignorant people will make extremely rude comments to Little Bug or to me about her being an only child. As if we planned it that way. As if we wanted it that way. As if we wouldn’t give anything, including our own lives, to have it any other way.

Jeremiah 1:4-5 says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” God knew my sweet babies before I did. He now has them with Him. I cling to His sweet promises that I will see them in Heaven. Because of these promises I am able to truly say, as this song says, without ANY hesitation, God is good. All the time!

Today, as we celebrate our baby boy’s birthday in Heaven, we choose to live our life to the fullest. Yes there have been, and will be tears. Yes there will be memories that chase away the smiles. However, because we have not made our loss a secret, there will also be family and friends to support us. To encourage us. To pray for us. To help remind us why it is we CHOOSE JOY though the tears.