The Cottage on the Hill

I have lazagna listed, but the thought of it just doesn't settle with me. I'm craving tacos, but I have no tomatoes. I'll have to run to the store the buy tomatoes and hard taco shells. I want hard tacos, not soft. The soft doesn't settle with me, either. Pregnancy is so strange! My food cravings and aversions make no sense whatsoever, but they're as real as the day is long. With Bubby, I lived on white cheddar cheez-its, frosted shredded wheat and grilled cheese sandwiches. I remember craving pizza, blueberry waffles, veggie subs from Subway and milkshakes. This time around, it's a lot more varied and the cravings are stronger.

Yesterday, I talked to my SIL on the phone and was able to voice all my preggy concerns. She promised to pray for me and I prayed too. Soon after, I got a tummy ache again! This time I'm not lamenting it. I also feel a stronger sense that this time my pregnancy will be fruitful. I'll feel so much better once I get past week 11, though. Hubby announced yesterday that he's taking 2 weeks vacation in November! Woo hoo! My mom is coming over tomorrow to help me clean the house...and boy, does it need it. My neighbor came over and gave me 2 grocery bags filled with ground beef, hamburger patties, a huge pork roast, a beef roast and stew beef. Oh, and I'm not going to be fostering goats. My friend found a home for them. I think I might actually put it to prayer to get rid of the fish and the tank. I truly don't want them. The fish were left to us by the previous owner of the house. The fish proceeded to breed. I now have 3 generations of gold fish in a 55 gallo...

My preggy ticker says I'm morning sick. Reality says otherwise. I'm not. While some might say, "lucky," it actually scares me. I wasn't morning sick very long with my last pregnancy and I miscarried. However, with my last pregnancy, I was very bloated but otherwise didn't feel pregnant at all. I had a TON of energy, a great appetite and felt great. With this one, I'm very tired. Doing too much makes me sore and very sleepy. I can't eat much at one time and I usually feel ill when I'm hungry and after I eat (usually have to lay down to digest). I have to eat at regular intervals to avoid feeling ill. So, I'm guessing that I've been able to manage my "morning sickness" into just about oblivion. Perhaps it'll come back, too as hormones change. I'm only at 7 weeks. If I remember correctly, with Bubby I had off and on days. So, I guess I won't worry. I'm too tired to worry. Oh, can someone clean my fishta...

I took it all to the Lord and I'm feeling better. I can actually function now. Still, I have to be really careful with what I eat and when and I down plenty of Altoids. Altoids are a preggy staple for me. The real gingerale has done nothing for me and churns my stomach just to think about it. Strange. But, that's pregnancy. :) Now, I'm beginning to enjoy my pregnancy, but I'll feel so much better once I get past 11 weeks. Then, I'll be more sure that this pregnancy is a keeper and I won't miscarry like I did last time. I got an issue of Cottage Living in the mail yesterday. That helped spur me on to tidy up the house a little. I still can't do too much. I'm still so sleepy and too much thrashing about sets my stomach off. Still, it's nice to get something done.

Ah! You may think this is some brave, super-mom keeping the house spotless while writhing in nausea and sleeping 15 hours a day post. But....it's not. Housekeeping in the first trimester? Almost non-existant. I vacuum in the morning. I clean the bathroom with lysol wipes when I can. (Usually, if I feel the need to visit my porcelain friend, I grab the wipes and clean while I wait for my stomach to settle.) The kitchen....I do dishes once a day. I take the garbage out when I can't stand the smell anymore. I make my son simple meals. For dinner, it's packaged easy-to-make dinners like frozen lazagna and hamburger helpers. I put stuff away when I can. I do laundry when it desperately needs it, but I admit that Monday's whites are still dry in the dryer. My laundry is in the basement and walking down stairs really churns my stomach, and walking up them leaves me winded. What's hubby doing, you may ask? Oh, he's just working 6 days a week to provide a l...

I've really had to lower my expectations of myself. I'm just too sick this pregnancy. I'm on a Cheerio and Seltzer diet. I can barely exercise at all, much to my great disappointment. I sleep for at least 12 hours a day. Otherwise, I spend a lot of a time prostrate. I love to cook, but cooking just churns my stomach. Food churns my stomach. Still, I have loving, hardworking hubby to feed and a sweet, caring son to feed. So, I managed to drag myself to the store today and buy enough easy-to-make/ready-to-make dinners for a week. Plus, I needed more seltzer and Cheerios. I look forward to my second trimester. The energy, the nesting..... My Pollyanna view of the whole thing is: at least I have a great excuse to rest, relax, and not have to do much at all!

In a letter to abolitionist and social activist, Julia Ward on Octover 16, 1878, Elizabeth Cady Stanton penned, "When we consider that women are treated as property, is it degrading to a woman that wae should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit." July 1869, Susan B. Anthony wrote, "I deplore the horrible crime of child murder...No matter what the motive, love of ease or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed...but oh!, thrice guilty is he who drove her to the desperation which impelled her to the crime." 1868, Matilda Electa Joslyn Gage (Native American activist, suffragist and abolitionist) wrote, "The subject lies deeper down into woman's wrongs than any other...the crime of abortion is not one in shich the guilt lies solely or even chiefly with the woman....I hesitate to assert that most of this crime of "child murder," "abortion," "infantic...

I found a couple of things that help ease my "morning" sickness: real gingerale and Boston music. My favorite songs are Amanda and More Than a Feeling. For some reason, just listening to them keeps my mind off my stomach.

It upsets, and I dare say, angers me that Christians get into this Hermit-Habit. We go to our familiar church, sit in our familiar pews (and get a bent nose if some new face invades our church or worse, our pew), go home to our familiar houses and forget about everyone else around us. When my father was forced into retirement after an on-the-job injury that wasn't his fault (he was safely parked and someone hit him), raising a family of 7 was very difficult. When he ended up in the hospital, a call was put out to provide meals for our family since dad was in the hospital and mom was with him (my brothers were old enough to watch the littles.) A local restaurant owner provided us with pizza every Saturday night for free. Otherwise, the only other person to step foward sent us a dish of baked beans. That was it! The reasoning? "I have my own family to take care of." "We're worse off than they are!" "I can't be bothered, I'm too busy."...

Day Off: Last night, Bubby wasn't breathing so well. He has a cold coupled with a possible allergic reaction to something he ate yesterday. So, I had him sleep on the sofa with me last night, keeping him upright. Needless to say, I got very little sleep. So, we're having a day off today. Lots of R&R for the both of us. Still, when he goes down for his nap, I'd like to get at least one project worked on. I might clean out more of the basement or work on the beadboard for the mud porch. For dinner tonight, I'm in the mood of pork schnitzl with homemade spaetzl(spellings?). Off Day: The news just keeps getting weirder and worse! Here's some of the news for the day: The Governor of New York has made it legally possible for illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses. The Governor of California has decreed that it is discriminatory for "Mom, Dad, Husband and Wife" to be used without also adding reference to alternative sexuality, especially in pu...

I received my first issue of the reinstated Victoria magazine in the mail today! Oh, how lovely it is, too. www.victoriamag.com I curled up on my sunny windowseat in my porch and went cover to cover. Through the nausea, fatigue, food aversions, and gas pains, I'm smiling radiantly because I know all the former means my pregnancy is going very well. The food aversions and cravings really destroy any idea of going "low carb" this pregnancy. I'm going to start a sidebar list of my food cravings. It'll be a funny little way to chart my pregnancy.

The idea popped into my head yesterday to cover my grandma's chair in tartan material. Ebay didn't have any Scott tartan and it was just too expensive to buy outright. Then, I remembered that hubby has 3 great kilts packed away in the basement. Two are blackwatch and one is a tartan I can't recall the name of. So, I grabbed the lighter of the blackwatch and covered the chair in it. The blackwatch matches the rest of the living room and it looks so cozy and perfect for the cooler months! The best thing is that it was FREE! Frugality is something I'm diving into for the winter months. I have a few rather impossible goals: 1. Use only 1 tank of gas per month 2. Keep electric bill under $80.00 3. Cut grocery bill to $180.00 a month Also, now that I'm pregnant, I'm going to need the space in Bubby's closet for baby stuff rather than my clothes. (The closet in hubby and I's room is pathetically tiny. Hubby has all his clothing in it because he prefers...

Looks like I might become the proud caretaker of two female goats. A friend of mine needs to find a home for her two goats and hubby said we could take them in! I've got my work cut out of me. They need to move in before Thanksgiving and that spot out back needs cleaning and the shed needs to be divided and prepped for safe and adequate goat housing. For Bubby's pregnancy, I allowed myself the pleasure of indulgences. I "ate for two" and gave in to every craving. I knew I was going to blow up like a balloon and that I'd have to work hard to get it off, but I was ok with that because I knew I could do it and I did do it. Not only did I go down to my pre-preggy weight, I lost 7 more lbs! For this pregnancy, I'm really trying to stay fit and healthy with healthful meals following the Nourishing Traditions diet and exercise. So far, so good because I'm not bogged down with nausea (I get little bouts now and again, but it's still early). Here's ...

Crystal at http://www.biblicalwomanhoodonline.com/2007/10/giveaway-10-copies-of-passionate.html is giving away 10 copies of this book! You must register by this Saturday, though!

My grandmother had a lady's chair in her bedroom. She eventually gave it to my parents who had it in their library room. Somehow, I ended up with it, and gladly so. I'm honored to have my grandmother's chair. However, the chair has seen better days. The upholstery is extremely threadbare and in the arms and seat, worn right through. A good portion of the horsehair filling is pulled out, no thanks to a curious dog. When we were filling our house with loved ones to celebrate our son's first birthday, I grabbed some fabric I had stashed away and did a quick 1/2 slip cover ~ 1/2 reupholstering job on it. However, the fabric just doesn't go with the rest of the living room and really isn't suitable. Reupholstering it is out of the question right now. The style of the piece makes it too difficult for me to do it myself and expensive to have it done professionally. Eventually, we will have it reupholstered, but for now, I need a quick and lovely and inexpensiv...

Luke 3:14 ".....and be content with your wages."

I can't ignore the sales this week! They're actually pretty good! I'm really trying to be more and more frugal. Here's what I'm buying today that really will save me money: 1 lb butter $1.88 (usually around $2.12-$2.23) 1 gallon whole milk $2.99 (usually close to $4.00) 1/2 lb roast beef lunchmeat $1.99 (usually around $5.00 and I don't buy it, but hubby needs lunchmeat for his work lunches and he loves roast beef. To save money, he only gets lunchmeat sandwiches every other week. On the non-lunchmeat weeks, he gets salad sandwiches (tuna, egg, etc) or peanutbutter) 1 lb American Cheese $3.99 (usually $4.99, but not the best deal. A couple weeks ago, it was $2.99. Still, we could use the cheese. If money is tighter than expected, I'll only get 1/2 a lb.) Golden Grahams Cereal $1.66 a box (usually hovering around $3.50-$4.00 and I don't buy it unless on sale, or I get the generic version. I get it for hubby. I don't eat boxed cereals anymore...

1. God. It is immensely important to spend time with the Lord each and every day. I find that if I don't, my day goes right down the drain. Everything else seems to fall into place more easily if I spend my time with my Savior every day. 2. Husband. Make sure the man you're supposed to be in love with feels loved! It's funny how the top two priorities in our lives are often the first two to be neglected when we get too busy. 3. Children. We wanted them. We gave birth to them. Now take care of them! Quit sending them off for other people to take care of. They only need a couple of extra curricular activities. They NEED to be with us. That also means turning off the TV, putting down the novel, and getting off the computer or phone when they need us to spend time with them. 4. Family. Thankfully, I was blessed with a very close knit family. It's easy to spend time with them. It is nice to stay in touch and not become strangers. I do need to improve in a cou...

I've been rather distracted these last couple of days. I guess finding out you're pregnant does that to a woman. :) So, I'm not getting as much done as I'd like. It also doesn't help that the nesting instinct that hits me like a ton of bricks every pregnancy distracts me into alternative projects. For example, I've taken up knitting again! Ok, I admit, I can't knit. I can purl. That's it. So, I'm purling a nice dish towel. Walmart sells "Peaches and Cream" cotton yarn and it's made in the USA. I found an "earth tones" skein and am using that. It's so pretty! Plus, the repetative clicking of the needles is rather comforting and restful for me. I feel so feminine and old fashioned while I'm knitting. Something about autumn and winter brings the old-fashioned out of me anyway. Also, lately I've read other women's posts about thinking they were born in the wrong era or wishing that things were more lik...

I'm so jittery! I can hardly sleep, I'm practically bouncing off the walls! Plus, I can't stand anything out of it's place. I don't mind, though. I'm getting plenty of housework done. There is scheduled rest times, too. There's nothing like curling up on my down mattressed window seat in my sun porch with old issues of Victoria Magazine. I refuse to fear another miscarriage. I'm taking it one day at a time, but I'm optimistic. So far, it's going (symptom-wise) much like Bubby's. Thankfully, no morning sickness yet. My family is so great! Today, after church, we got together and the 4 cousins were able to play. Everyone had a grand time. My parents' house was so gleefully noisy. The happy squeals of children is music to my ears. My dear mother made a huge pot of galumgies (spelling?) or Polish cabbage rolls. She also made a roast with veggies in the crockpot and two of her signature apple pies with crumb topping! Oh, it fel...

I didn't do too much today. I haven't been feeling well. I'm not sick. I'm just hovering around 60-70%. I ran my errands today and visited my parents. Then, while Bubby napped, I tried working on my business site, but an essential computer program crashed. So, I tidied a bookcase and got rid of some books and then went through my catalog pile and got rid of a pretty heavy pile of catalogs. For dinner, I made lazagna and used my homemade curdy-cheese. It was delicious and filling! I always make my lazagnas different. It depends on the ingredients on hand. Here's how I made today's lazagna: I cooked one box of lazagna noodles. I spread a very thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Noodles, then half the curdy-cheese, garlic and italian seasonings, mozarella cheese, fresh spinach, parm. cheese, sauce, noodles, sauce, remaining curdy cheese, moz. cheese and parm cheese, cooked ground turkey with minced garlic, italian seasoning, noodles, remainin...

Wednesdays are usually home project days. Today's projects were: cleaning out the walk-in closet, cleaning out two cabinets in the kitchen and painting window frames. (This evening, I have to can applesauce.) The projects went well. The closet is now a tidy, organized space and I was able to get rid of some junk. But the cabinets were a pleasure to re-organize. Both were stuffed full and in danger of avalanches every time the doors were opened. Also, I had things in each cabinet that really didn't make sense. Why keep most of my pots in pans in one cabinet, but some others in the other? The cabinet by the door, I decided would be better used for my least used items and as a sort of dry-cool storage (it butts up against two outter walls). The cabinet on the other end would be for my oft used supplies. For the winter, I plan to put a chair between the cabinet and the door for hubby to use to remove his slushy boots. Therefore, I didn't want to be moving the chair s...

My mother picked up a 5 volume boxed set of little cookbooks of recipes from Early America through the young Republic and Ante Bellum through Victorian America and the Westward Expansion. In the Victorian cookbook, there's a "Facsimile of a list of minimum utensils recommended for every kitchen of the 1880's. From Miss Parloa's New Cook Book (1884)." Utensils The following is a list of utensils with which a kitchen should be furnished. But the housekeeper will find that there is continually something to be bought. If there be much fancy cooking, there must be an ice cream freezer, jelly and charlotte russe moulds and many little pans and cutters. The right way is, of course, to get the essential articles first, and then, from time to time, to add those used in fancy cooking: Two cast iron pots, size depending upon range or stove (they come with the stove). One griddle One porcelain-lined preserving kettle One fish kettle Three porcelain-lined stew-pans, hold...

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