97*F in Joliet, IL

This day has me thinking about the neighborhood swimming hole . . . I would literally happily jump in fully clothed!!
Wonder how badly that would traumatize the local teens?
Bwahahaha

Day 155/366

Day 140/366

A quick photo of me . .

My Paid Workout Program!!

I walked 1,235 steps so far today . .
Well on my way to (hopefully) 10,000 steps by bedtime!!!

Day 100/366

I walked 88 steps so far today . . . getting ready for work . . .

Retirement Dreams!!

I retire in:
9 Years
6 Months
28 Days
8 Hours
58 Minutes
33 Seconds

My Paid Workout Program . . . Tracking Progress on Pedometer App

I walked 1,073 steps so far today . . .
I still have the same sore throat and ear aches, but have bills to pay and a teen son to support alone . . .
Gotta make the money!!

Plans vs Reality

I walked 19,826 steps so far this week. I really want to hit 10,000 steps/day or 70,000 steps/week, but I've been dragging this week due to an infection in both ears and a sore throat.
Isn't that how it is sometimes? We make a plan and reality hits us in the face with a far different plan.
Have to keep going forward regardless.

My Paid Workout Program ~My Pedometer App. .

I walked 369 steps so far this morning . .
Need to get in a good workout today!!

My Paid Workout Program!!

I walked 1,029 steps so far on today's workout!!
Good to keep old tired bones moving.
Have you found a way for your job to pay you to exercise? 
:~]

Down My Rabbit Hole. .

       I've been praying and thinking a lot lately about our future plans, trying to make sure I take Matt's plans and mine into consideration. I'm looking at our desire to own our own businesses yet be mobile/vagabond/gypsy in our lifestyle.
       For myself, my business is selling quilts and baby clothes I design and sew. I can either sell online or to boutiques in towns we visit.
       And I feel called to help the homeless in the towns we visit. Set up gardens for them and share Jesus's love.
       And Matthew? Although he is very firm about wanting to be a business man and own his own business, he has yet to settle on a specific category. That's okay! At 15-years-old, it's enough to have this much of a plan. As he tries different options he will find something he really loves  do and that will be his money maker.
       My next prayer turned toward mobile homesteading. . . . as we travel I would like to forage/harvest in each area thereby adding truly fresh food into our diet and eating seasonally appropriate foods. Beyond that I'd also like to raise some of our own vegetables and fruits as well as most of our own herbs!! This will take a bit of creativity in an RV, so it's good we have the next 1-2 years to practice and organize before we get on the road. The other item I'd like to homestead is rabbit stew. I'd like to raise rabbits. I've had indoor rabbits before so this will be no big deal.
       My next prayer was finding way to have clean water. I really would prefer rain water as neither municipal nor well water is too appealing right now. Between the flushed prescriptions, pesticide and herbicide runoffs, vehicles leaking toxic muck and discharge from factories that ends up in our aquifers, we are voluntarily drinking poison!! I have a basic plan for collecting rain water on our mobile homestead and will be implementing it shortly. (This information will be in a future post.)
       After a day of prayer I can see the rebuilding of my rabbit hole is going well . . .
A Happy Future Awaits!!!

Arthritis

After a night feeling my hand slowly cramp up, seeing swollen arthritic knuckles this morning was no surprise. Red and sore is the story today. . . . I've taken ibuprofen for the swelling . .  this is the first time I've tried this (I usually block it out) . . . we shall see how much, if any, this helps . . .
This repeated scenario had me thinking on my way to work . . . what would happen if this became so bad I couldn't work? If I had to go on disability my check, last time I checked, would be between $500-700/month!! That's not enough to raise a son, obviously. This is part of the reason we've worked so hard for so long to decrease bills/expenses. The cheaper our lifestyle is, while adding in as much free fun and luxury as possible, the easier it will be to retire on basically no income.
And, based on this potential/highly possible scenario, I am starting my own business selling the items I make . . . hand made knit stocking caps and hats, baby clothes and quilts . . . I've found that changing my activity regularly eases the pain and swelling. If l arrange my days to include some hand sewing, gardening, wood carving and making dream catchers (and a tiny bit of knitting) I should be okay.

So,
What is your plan?
Would your SSD check be enough to support you?
What if there is no money from the government?
Have a plan . .
Work the plan!

Down My Rabbit Hole . . .

       Good morning! How is your rabbit hole looking? Have you stepped back to take a good long look at it recently?
       I've been reassessing mine daily (minute-by-minute OCD-style!!) and am seeing some things I need to address. . . 
       First, I must say our new mobile homestead is something we should have done years ago!! There are always tweaks to make, tiny adjustments, but we are incredibly happy!!! And, as an added bonus, everyone associated with our new mobile homestead is so sweet . . . we couldn't feel more welcome there.
       And the rest?
     Well, I have been looking into setting up online sales of the items I make . . . that is the next logical step in running my own business and being able to be totally mobile . . . now where did I put the list of potential business names??!
       What are you currently doing to revamp/remodel/rebuild your rabbit hole?
      

My Pedometer App ~~ Sabbath Day

I walked 8241 steps . . .
Yes, an odd assortment . .
Early morning cleaning . . 
Hours of bookkeeping . . .
A hike with Matt . . .

Down My Rabbit Hole . . .

Good morning to you and yours!! Hope your night was peaceful . . . mine was, but listening to the trains can be distracting . . . so can worrying (have to stop that!!) . . . yes, we had trains at the house as we were a two (2) minute walk from a very very active train yard. . . But, we knew those noises well ((why were they getting progressively louder??!!!)) . . . the trains at our new homestead are insignificant in comparison, yet still unfamiliar . . . this will take time to adjust is all .  .
Meanwhile we woke to a sunny morning and fresh, hot coffee . . . scrambled eggs for breakfast . . .  a few quick stitches on my quilt top and we were off to new adventures!!  My sweet Matt headed to a really nice library at USF to study (he's making awesome progress!!) and I began my work day . . .
And so, my sweet Mad Hatter contacts me on messenger periodically :)
I haven't seen that fuzzy Cheshire Cat (not yet anyways) . . .
And the others? Mostly quiet . . .
My day will be prayerful and peaceful . . . looking to God for direction as we move forward . . .

Down My Rabbit Hole!!

A blissful quiet day of intense prayer as I worked . . .
The Mad Hatter was off on an adventure of his own . . .
The Cheshire Cat was nowhere to be seen . . .
The March Hare has been quiet lately . . 
Absalom has been unusually quiet lately (that's worrisome) . . .
And the others . .?
Well, um . . . .

Down My Rabbit Hole . . .

         Good morning!! Welcome back . . . how is your rabbit hole this morning? Mine is OK . . . it's do-able for now . . . "plausible" . .
        I have been thinking ahead to how I'd like my rabbit hole in the future . . since it's truly up to me what counts as acceptable in my rabbit hole, I have to take a few more solid steps to improve the outlook  . . .
Obviously my first step is moving and selling a house I can no longer afford . . next step. .? Well, I need to get my online business set up finally . .
And you? Are you truly happy in your current rabbit hole? Could you see your next twenty (20) years exactly as it is now? If not, what steps are you taking to relocate, or (at minimum) redecorate your rabbit hole?

Vitamin D3 Deficiency

What does vitamin D3 deficiency feel like? For me it is an incredible amount of pain in my bones.  . yes, in my bones of all places. . . 

I knew I was miserable . . knew I didn't feel well (I'm Really Really good at blocking out pain) and thought I was needing more protein in my diet . . but, no matter what I ate, I never felt better! 

Finally, I ended up with insurance (Obamacare forced me to finally reapply for a medical card) and went in for a checkup . . I mentioned to my new doctor how much my arms hurt at night. .  never the arm I was laying on, but the arm laying on top of me!! 

Right away she knew what was causing this . . she ran a quick test then put me on 50,000 EU of vitamin D3 a week for a month (taken in weekly doses) . . that's a lot of vitamin D3/ dose!! 

Almost immediately the pain began to subside . . . I found I wasn't so exhausted all the time from being awake all night in pain . . and my daily chores didn't cause excruciating pain any longer! 

Finally, I was me again. . .

After my follow-up visit a month later my doctor ran another test and advised me to take 8,000 EU/day. 

As often as possible I sit in the sun, even if only in my car on breaks and lunches at work. That little bit of sun trickling through the windshield adds an extra dose of a vitamin I absolutely must have . . . and, very soon, Matt and I will get back to hiking . . . that will be more time in the sun/more natural vitamin D3!!! 

My Paid Work~Out Program!!

Well, happy Monday, folks!! Snowy and pretty here. . . this morning I was so excited to see my car thermostat reading 21*F outside!!
Heat Wave ;)

My Paid Work~Out Program ~~ Sabbath Day . .

Hey there! Welcome back . . .
What are you up to this Sabbath day? Me? I've been on my workout for about half an hour now . . .
Believe it or not, this workout is sometimes (usually) good for my arthritis pain .  . have you tried this?