Worried? Nah.

Tap, tap, tap...hello? Are you still there? (((Anyone?)))

A friend asked if I was concerned about backlash for my non-church-attending admission. I thoughtfully, honestly had to say, no. I am not. Anything I confess to you folks, I'm {pretty sure} God already knows. ☺

If we've been cyberspace friends for long, you may be aware I recently took a long break from consistent blogging. It's a lot to fit into an already busy day in a life full of young people who crave (and need!) my attention. The reason I made my way back around to it, ultimately deciding that it is worth my while, is because I missed the process and discipline of it. I discovered that using you for free therapy blogging was therapeutic to my soul. (And, trust me, mama needs a little therapy! And the chorus sang ♪AMEN♪) Collecting my thoughts, and jotting them down is tremendously cathartic for me. Writing is something I enjoy and I'm a very open, transparent person by nature. Seriously. I'll tell you anything you want to know. If I felt like I couldn't say what I wanted to say without fear of retribution, I would not be a happy human. So, I unapologetically share my journey, about any and everything I feel like talking about on any particular day for whatever reason, especially for close friends and family who care to read with kind eyes and hearts. Trying to gain readers so that random people I don't know can peer into our lives and judge me isn't so much my aim. My readership is blessedly small {thank you for taking the time!} and as far as I know, it is full of only friends - both in real life and online. Therefore, I am free. I don't worry. I just type. ♥

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Found here, I bought these little lunch bags early this year and they have RID us of the use of small plastic baggies! (And the chorus sang ♪AMEN♪)

Even the man of the house uses them in his lunch. He is that secure in his manhood.
We just throw them in the wash between uses.

Speaking of that guy, he just spent an entire day fixing and changing parts out on bikes for his dependants who pop tires like the Whirley pops corn. God love him for that. I know I do.

3 new teeny tiny baby kittens joined our one remaining, bigger orange cat (Hansel) in his efforts to mouse the property. He {may} appreciate their {snuggly} company. {Ever so slightly.}

Our only new purchase to report is a fish net for Onyx to clean the bowl (a converted cookie jar found at ARC) of his two free fish from school. Meet Bruno and Mars who do.not.like. being dropped on the floor when it's time to clean their cool, unique, {GREEN!} cookiejarbowl because their over eager, fresh faced 9 year old owner has to retrieve them with his hands.
(You're welcome fishies, you're welcome.) We have bought several used items - headphones, various clothes, 2 pairs of boys shoes from the thrift store and 2 pairs from Ebay, slippers, a funnel, a hand juicer, etc.

See this? It's going to be VANILLA. Oh yes it is. Who knew you could make your own vanilla? I did not. Until someone (Thank you Sandy!) told me. And then I did. So, I am. It's obviously not ready yet, but you can believe that it smells diggity-dog-gone-licious. Oh yes it does.  We'll see if it makes it into my baked goods rather than my glass....

Reading (Old Yeller) on the trampoline at night. Hello SUMMER! Welcome, my friend. How I have missed you.

My baby, (Old Brown). You would not believe how much joy this dog brings me.
Everyone should have a little Arrow in their lives.  ♥

One more thing, if you happened to use the homemade dishwasher detergent and felt that it didn't work as well as say, something like Cascade, that's because it doesn't.

We've been using a "green" alternative - no phosphates - no bleach - for years, so we

haven't noticed a difference between homemade and store bought.

{Our dishes were already not all that clean.}

By the way, want to come over for dinner? ☺

If you love a good squeak on your nice, clear glass you can see the reflection of your own face in,

it {may not} be the product for you.

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Time to go mow a bit of the prairie...