The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

No.271: 20 Things I Love – A Gratitude Journal vol.12

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waking up to a pink sunrise
Lucy’s excitement when she sees me in the morning
pancakes for breakfast, made entirely by the big boys
tiny wildflowers in the yard
rearranging the kids’ bedrooms (so clean! so much more room!)
finding bookstacks by their beds, just like their mama
a homily at church that felt just for me
an unexpected compliment about my family from a sweet little old lady
running again after many months off
our mail lady, Linda, who sadly is retiring at the end of the month
cold glasses of raspberry iced tea
starting a new book
homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream
four Poshmark sales in one day (a new personal record)
excited conversations with the kids about learning to play instruments this fall
starting plans for the upcoming school year
ceiling fans on hot, humid days
watching baby birds being fed by their mama
a water table that keeps the little ones busy for hours
fireflies at dusk

No.270: Five Lucy Favorites

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Lucy is four and a half months old and we’re finally starting to get the hang of this puppy ownership thing.  I’ve been reflecting on the things I’m glad we purchased (and mourning the wasted money we spent on things we shouldn’t) and here are my top five:

1 // KONG TREAT DISPENSER
Lucy loooooves this thing.  We portion out some of her daily kibble and she goes to town.  It keeps her busy for awhile, which is huge!  It’s also one of the only toys she hasn’t destroyed yet.  Five big stars.

2 // WUBBA
When we took her home from the breeder, she came with a baby Wubba that smelled like her littermates.  As she’s grown, she chewed it to pieces.  We replaced it with a bigger one and while I still don’t think it will last more than a few months, it’s one of her favorites.  (I like it too except for the incessant squeaking.)

3 // PEANUT BUTTER DOG TREATS
Her favorite treats and our go-to when we really want good behavior.

4 // FROZEN YOGURT IN A KONG
I’m starting to see a theme here that the biggest hits are the ones that deal with food, hah!  Another treat that keeps her busy for long stretches of time is filling a Kong with plain Greek yogurt.


5 // BREAKAWAY COLLAR
Since she’s still a puppy, she obviously is crated at night.  After reading some horror stories about dogs strangling themselves, we bought her a breakaway collar and now can sleep without worrying at night, even with her silly shenanigans.

Now for my SOS: I hope you fellow dog-owners will help a mama out!  What are your tricks for teething?  What toys are worth the money and hopefully won’t be destroyed within minutes? 

P.S. All of the links above will take you to Amazon, but I paid much less for almost everything over at Chewy.com.  Highly recommend. 

No.269: My First ScallywagAThon

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Last month, I randomly came across a week-long readathon called the ScallywagAThon.  I loved the graphics and got all excited to complete it…only to realize that it was last year’s challenge and 2019 had something entirely new.  Ahh, always late to the party.  Since I had already had figured out most of my books, I went with it anyway.  The goal is to complete at least four of the challenges in a week’s time, which is way faster than I read, hah!  So instead, I’ve just gone at my normal pace.

Here is the “path” I chose, the books and my short thoughts on each:

1 // SIREN’S SONG – HAS MERMAIDS OR SIRENS
I picked The Mermaid by Christina Henry.  This is a historical fairy tale about a mermaid who leaves the sea to become an attraction in P.T. Barnum’s show.  The premise had a lot of promise, but the book itself was just…meh.

7 // SHARK BAIT – HAS RED ON THE COVER
I picked Big Girls Don’t Cry by Connie Briscoe.  This is a coming of age novel about an African American girl in the 1960’s.  I enjoyed how it explored her struggles and growth through the years.  Head’s up though – there is quite a bit of sexual content.

B // THAR SHE BLOWS – A BOOK THAT’S EXPLODED WITH POPULARITY THIS YEAR
I picked Click Here to Start by Denis Markell.  This was a bit of a stretch, but both of my big boys read and loved it, so it’s definitely popular around here!

9 // BLOW DOWN THE MAN // A BOOK BY A WOMAN AUTHOR
I picked These is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 by Nancy E. Turner, an American saga told in journal entries about a brave woman living in an unfamiliar frontier.  I didn’t realize until I started, but this would also work for Prompt #6, Treasure Map – A book that has a map in it.

Have you completed the ScallywagAThon before?  What path would you take?

No.268: Poshmark Summer Selling Challenge

I haven’t talked about it much, but we’re still plugging along on the way to debt freedom.  Unfortunately, we’ve had quite a few discouraging hiccups so far this year, but such is life, right?  After a bit of moping and whining, we dust off and get back to work.  We’re not quitters!

Last month, I was chatting with the kids about ramping up my Poshmark game and trying to earn some extra money this summer.  We discovered that I had exactly three months before school starts up again.  When I asked them what my target number should be, they excitedly exclaimed, $1,000!  So that’s my big goal for this summer: make $1,000 in three months on Poshmark.

Jotting down some numbers and notes here so I can remember what works and what doesn’t.  Maybe it will inspire you to take on a reselling side hustle too.

FIRST THE NUMBERS…

Starting active inventory on May 20: 95 items
Current active inventory on June 20: 191 items
Items sold: 23
Net Profit (after my costs and Poshmark fees): $278.55

NOTES

My big goal for this first month was to increase my inventory and get in the habit of listing new products every single day.  I started treating it like a business vs. a hobby and I saw a big difference in results!

  • I have a zero debt policy when it comes to investing in inventory.  To start things along, I went through our closets and took out outgrown or unworn pieces.  Many sold quickly which gave me the cash to seek new product.
  • I took some of the earnings and reinvested in liquidation product from someone on ebay.  95% of the clothes were sellable.  There is always risk involved when you can’t personally inspect the pieces, but I’ve wanted to try it out and was mostly very pleased.  
  • I tried to list two or three new items every day, taking Sundays off.
  • Poshmark just started a new “Home” market, so I listed a few things to dip my toes in that section.  I’ve had some interest, but no sales yet.
  • I shared my entire closet three times a day (when I first wake up, around lunchtime and at night) and some of my closet in between those times.  I had the most engagement and sales in the morning or late at night.
Most of my profit this month went right back into the business for new inventory, but I did use $60 for an extra payment on the student loan I’ve been focusing on for the past year.  Only $526 to go!

Less Materialism, More Intentional Living

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