The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

No.65: New Habits, Little by Little: Cooking at Home (December 2017)

When I think of this December, the Bible verse that comes to mind is: “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.”  This month was full of celebrating and mourning, of laughing and crying.  We definitely ate out more than normal, but one thing is true: it doesn’t matter whether we’re in our dining room at home or a greasy pizza joint states away.  The beating heart of a family is around the table.  Ticking off the days before Christmas, we made delicious meals and treats crowded around the kitchen counter.  And after celebrating the life of my grandmother, tables full of aunts and uncles and cousins gathered together to eat, reminisce and share stories.  How fortunate am I?  May I never forget what a gift I have in family.

Week 22 (cont.):
Friday, December 1: waffles for the kids, Home Chef for date night (sirloin steak with brown butter bordelaise and brussel sprouts and roasted potatoes)

Week 23:
Saturday, December 2: P’s birthday! apple-gouda smothered chicken with brussel sprouts
Sunday, December 3: panko crusted chicken fingers with homemade french fries
Monday, December 4: simple tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches (SO good!)
Tuesday, December 5: beef and broccoli ramen noodles (I didn’t have a lot of the special ingredients, but made it work.)
Wednesday, December 6: skillet Italian meatballs and pasta
Thursday, December 7: slow cooker kielbasa and barbecue beans
Friday, December 8: popcorn and cocoa for the kids (while watching The Polar Express!), Home Chef for date night (ranch chicken with jalapeno popper twice-baked potatoes and green beans)

Week 24:
Saturday, December 9: chicken and bacon pasta in a garlic cream sauce
Sunday, December 10: leftovers
Monday, December 11: tacos
Tuesday, December 12: Refrigerator Clean-Out Night
Wednesday, December 13: salisbury steak meatballs with egg noodles
Thursday, December 14: Oktoberfest brats and roasted vegetables
Friday, December 15: homemade pizza for the kids, Home Chef for date night (ribeye steak quesadillas with pico de gallo)

Week 25:
Saturday, December 16: out for burgers before we looked at neighborhood Christmas lights
Sunday, December 17: slow roasted pulled pork
Monday, December 18: Memere’s wake. out for pizza after the wake
Tuesday, December 19: Memere’s funeral. late luncheon after the funeral
Wednesday, December 20: we were exhausted from our trip and just grabbed anything
Thursday, December 21: taco salads
Friday, December 22: cereal for the kids, steak and potatoes for date night

Week 26:
Saturday, December 23: A new Christmas “Adam” tradition: barbecue from our favorite local spot
Sunday, December 24: Christmas Eve! french onion meatball sandwiches, pizza dip
Monday, December 25: Christmas Day! Mom and Dad brought over leftover ham for panini sandwiches and pecan, blueberry and pumpkin pies
Tuesday, December 26: we snacked all day and just grabbed whatever for dinner – the joys of that post-Christmas fog!
Wednesday, December 27: spaghetti and homemade meat sauce
Thursday, December 28: simple tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches
Friday, December 29: homemade pizza for the kids, Home Chef for date night (sirloin steak and loaded potato wedges with smoky mushrooms)

Week 27:
Saturday, December 30: pot roast and potatoes in the Dutch oven
Sunday, December 31: New Year’s Eve! chicken thighs, mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts

No.64: Books & Family Goals for Epiphany 2018

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Due to upcoming schedule conflicts, we held our second annual Epiphany dinner last Saturday night.  (Liturgically incorrect, but we’re going with it…)  As we ate our pot roast and potatoes, we chatted about family goals for the new year.  Our top three are:

  • Out-do each other in kindness.  We are a team and we should seek ways to serve one another.
  • Be brave.  We are new to this town and feel a bit isolated.  We are ready to get out of our comfort zone, invest in our community and make new friends.
  • Cultivate a habit of reading.  This isn’t really new but something I want to continue.  We are going to finally go get those library cards, help J with his fluency (so reading isn’t so exhausting for him) and get Sophie started on simple stories.

After dinner, everyone ripped open their gifts wrapped in gold paper and cozied up by the fire.  It was something out of a storybook and the perfect way to usher in 2018.  Our Epiphany books:

 MARK – Musashi: An Epic Novel of the Samurai Era by Eiji Yoshikawa

 ASHLEY – Thrush Green (Book 1) by Miss Read

 M (age 11) – The Ruins of Gorlan by John A. Flanagan

 D (age 9) – File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents by Lemony Snicket

 J (age 7) – The Adventures of Tin Tin (vol.1) by Herge 

 S (age 5) – Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo

 TJ (age 3) – Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scarry

 P (age 1) – Little Blue Truck (the board book version) by Alice Schertle and Jill McElmurry

No.63: My 2018 Goals & Projects List

Happy New Year!  After a year of rest (except for that whole buying and selling a house part), I’m ready to roll up my sleeves again and get to work.  This list is ambitious, but exciting.  If I can complete even half of it, I’ll be happy.

HOUSE TO HOME PROJECTS

I’ve spent six months getting a feel for how we use each room in the house and I’m ready to get started on all of the projects I’ve pinned on Pinterest!  The list in my head is a mile long, but I tried (tried!!) to be realistic for one year.  
  • Paint the first floor. // I’m leaning toward Benjamin Moore’s Classic Gray throughout.
  • Paint Sophia’s and the little boys room. // Colors TBD.
  • Paint the shutters and the exterior doors. // Color choice is Benjamin Moore’s Wrought Iron.
  • Strip and restain/seal the front porch.
  • Add one more rocking chair and a porch swing to the front.
  • Plan out and create front flower beds. (Possibly hire out?)
  • Have dead and fallen trees removed from our property.
  • Buy a console table for the front hallway and decorate.
  • Hire an electrician to replace the living room fan, front hallway light, dining room chandelier and outdoor lanterns.
  • Hang curtains in the dining room.
  • Create a gallery wall of black and white family photos in the living room.
  • Work on the little boys room: paint their headboards, purchase one more mattress and decide on bedding.
  • Find a special piece of artwork to add to the master bedroom.
  • Build a 10-foot table for the back porch.

HEALTH AND FITNESS 

Pace myself. // I tend to go full steam ahead for a few months and then crash and burn.  (Rinse and repeat.)  Hoping to avoid that this year by giving myself permission to slow down, taking frequent social media breaks and finding pockets of quiet, alone time to recharge.


Drastically reduce my sugar intake. // I am, no joke, addicted to sugar.  But I’m not getting any younger and I know it’s time to make some big changes.  This is one of those goals that I know is good for me, but I’m definitely not excited about, hah!

Make major progress on the Amerithon Running Challenge. // The Amerithon Challenge is a virtual fitness challenge which has you spanning the United States – 3,521 miles!  You can choose your mode of travel (run, walk, swim, bike, a mix of all, etc.) and there is also the option to do the challenge as a team.  I decided to go it alone, solely tracking my running mileage.  I’ve been chipping away since July and predict that it will take me two years to complete.  I really want to be a better, faster runner and this is just the challenge to help me toward that goal.  
Run another half marathon and decide about running a full. // I’m excited to visit the same course I ran in 2015 and see if I can beat my first time.  I’m still undecided about the full marathon and probably won’t make that decision until further into the year.    

Learn a few self-defense techniques. // I recently read a handful of scary stories from female runners, so I’d like to learn some things to stay safe.  My husband and boys are learning Jiu-Jitsu – I’ll have to start paying attention. 

FAMILY

Learn new things directly from the source. // I’ve been thinking a lot about things my grandmothers passed down to me and how thankful I am for both the skills and the time together.  I really want to continue that with other family members this year.  So for example, my mom makes delicious strawberry jam.  Instead of just Googling for a recipe, I want to put a date on the calendar and learn right beside her.

Start a savings account for traveling to see out-of-state relatives. // This goes along with the idea that close relationships are a choice, regardless of distance.  Time to save those pennies for plane tickets!

Brainstorm new ways to spend time with my siblings.  // With my baby sister turning 20 this year, we’re turning a corner – they’ve all finally joined me in adulthood!  I’d like to explore new ways that we can spend time together, both with and without spouses and children.  Ideas: monthly Sunday dinner at my parents, meeting for breakfast and giving experiences as gifts (an escape room sounds right up our alley)


Create new memories with my husband and my kids. //  More traveling.  More exploring.  It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, as long as we’re together.

A HODGE-PODGE OF EVERYTHING ELSE

Keep up with a year-long photo project. // I started a project a few years ago where I photographed what I was doing while drinking my morning coffee.  Thinking it may be a good year to try again.

Start a One Line a Day five year journal. // I’ve always wanted to do this!  I like the idea of having five years of memories in one little book.


Check off tasks on my 100 Little Things list. // As of this writing, I’ve completed 19 tasks since August.  I hope to keep chipping away – there are a lot of interesting things still to do.


Read 25 books. // I’m reducing my number (I read 38 in 2017) in an attempt to focus on quality vs. quantity.  There are some large books I’d like to get through this year. (I also think I should maybe start focusing on my to-read list on Goodreads.  The total there is 441 books!!)

Dip my toes into homesteading. // I don’t see us getting farm animals anytime soon, but I do love the idea of having a big garden, regularly making homemade bread and learning new skills.

Invest in our new community. // Join the local Facebook group.  Attend the parades downtown on Main Street.  Meet the neighbors.  Shop from small businesses.  Volunteer at church.  Take the first steps to know others and have others know us.

Dive deep into faith. // One of my favorite priests always says, “You can’t fall in love with someone you don’t know.”  My faith is precious to me, but I also know that there is SO much more to discover and learn.  I’d like to read, watch and pray widely this year.

Be creative again. //  This goal is purposefully vague.  I’m allowing myself the freedom to let it unfold naturally.  Maybe more blogging?  Scrapbooking?  Revisiting favorite handcrafts or trying something new?

No.62: My One Little Word for 2018: Roots

We’re just days from 2018.  Don’t think I’m too crazy, but this is one of my favorite times of the year!  I love a blank page, a fresh start, and the process of imagining the possibilities for the year ahead.

It’s also time to choose a new word.  This will be my sixth year, which is mind-boggling to me – how time flies!  My one little word for 2017, Slow, turned out to be the grounding point I needed when my life was clearly the opposite.  The process of buying and selling a house consumed my life for three long, stressful months.  And with the return to homeschooling, the pace really hasn’t lessened much.  Yet the biggest lesson I learned is that slow is a mindset.  I no longer believe that busy equals productivity.  I’ve (sometimes painfully) pruned back many areas of my life and have kept only the most important parts.  I’m more cognizant of quality versus quantity.

Slow.  It’s just one little word, but I’m a better person for it.

On to 2018.  I’d been throwing around some ideas, when a few things really stood out:

  • Mark and I finally feel like we can settle down in our new home.  Unless God has other plans, we’re here for the long-haul.
  • My grandmother’s death earlier this month (and then really feeling the weight of being grandparent-less) has me reflecting on family in a whole new way.
  • Closing my little home decor shop took a part of my identity with it.  I’ve been doing a bit of soul searching – who am I and what do I want to do?
So with those things in mind, my one little word for 2018 is….roots.

root (n): “the fundamental or essential part”
root (v): “to establish deeply and firmly”

In 2018, I’d like to prioritize and strengthen my roots
… in my role as a daughter
… in my role as a sister
… in my roles as wife and mother
… in my role as a friend
… in my new home
… in my garden
… in my new community
… in my faith

I think it’s going to be a good year.  Do you choose a word?  What’s yours?





PREVIOUS ONE LITTLE WORD CHOICES


(2013 // Intention, 2014 // Brave, 2015 // Thrive, 2016 // Learn, 2017 // Slow) 

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