Books Galore!

Since I'm doing a reading challenge this year I've been researching books, looking back at books I've read, going through my bookshelf, and reading through my old "reading lists." I love books. I've always had a passion for books. I love reading them. I love writing them. I love the smell of old books and new books. If we stop at or near a bookstore I have to go in and look at them. I am a book nerd!

My Top Twelve Favorite Books:

~ The Bible
~ The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
~ The Lord of The Rings Trilogy - J.R.R. Tolkien
~ The Giver - Lois Lowry
~ The Canadian West Series - Janette Oke
~ Bud, not Buddy - Christopher Paul Curtis
~ A Thousand Gifts - Ann Voskamp
~ Journeys of Faithfulness - Sarah Clarkson
~ Carry on Mr. Bowditch - Jean Lee Latham
~ Johnny Treeman - Esther Forbes
~ Tuckets Travels - Gary Paulsen
~ The Hatchet - Gary Paulsen

I might add a link later with a review (I gotta write them first ;)) to some of them.

What are your favorite books? Leave a comment! I would love to hear from you!

2016 Already?!

Wow, is it really 2016?! I love the beginning of the year; resolutions, challenges, goals, pushing yourself forward.

I didn't pile myself with things I want to do this year because I always get discouraged when I don't finish all of it.

My 2016 Goals

~ Learn to play at least 2 Christmas songs on my violin by, well, Christmas ;)

~ Read 100 books

~ Master something. Whether it be my crocheting or sewing or maybe something completely new.

~ Blog more (I'm not promising myself this. I can't seem to find things to blog about and like I said above I don't want to discourage myself, I want to uplift and motivate myself. I'll try my best though :))

~ Read the whole Bible

See, not much but they are things I feel I can accomplish

*

This goes along with my goal of reading 100 books...

Last year I did a reading program with my library. You had to read 100 books in exactly a year. I really enjoyed doing it!

This year I'm making up my own challenge. By December 31st I want to have read (or listened to) 100 books. No prize, just the satisfaction of doing it.

Would you like to join me?

I Love My House!

So much goes on around here in the summer. Rabbits, chickens, kittens, ducks, gardens,
 mowing, etc. etc..

We have 7 ducks right now. They are so messy!

These little guys are about 2 weeks old. One jumped out of their box for the first time yesterday. I love it when they do that!

This one is my favorite! Isn't it sweet!?

This is our (me, Carter, and Morgan's) buck, Pudgy. We are going to breed Mini Rex's and sell them.

Feeding time is crowded!

Dad's make shift compost bin . . . 

This chicken ALWAYS poses for pictures! ALWAYS!

These guys are guarding their nest that's on our porch. Sometimes they swipe at you too close for comfort!

Remi is getting so big. He is almost 5 months old!

These guys are getting big too!

I love all of the plants!

The view from my house is beautiful. I admit . . . I take it for granted!

How To Bleach a Pair of Jeans

Bleached jeans are the fashion. The problem? Every single pair of bleached jeans you can buy are skin tight. I personally don't want jeans as tight as they make them. I decided to bleach a pair myself. My first attempt worked great . . . then it backfired. My second try worked pretty well. It's not a drastic change because of the way I did it; but I like them.

Here's how to do it . . .

Materials:

- Bleach (any brand will do)
- A pair of jeans (maybe an old pair too, just to test it out before you try your favorite pair)
- A spray bottle (I used an old hairspray bottle)
- A place to work (I did it outside where I didn't have to worry about bleaching the house....)
 

Fill your bottle with one part bleach and one part water (some people use one part bleach two parts water. It's your choice).

Lay out your jeans. Make sure if you're working inside there is newspaper or something laid out to protect things from the bleach.

Evenly spray the bleach mixture on your jeans. The more you spray them, the more drastic the change.

Set your washer on a fast wash setting. Throw your jeans in without detergent. 

When they are done let them air dry on a clothesline. Then . . . Try them on!!!

Are we too busy??? Naw..... well maybe.

We have been beyond busy the last two months. Like I mean seriously. BEYOND BUSY! I'll fill ya in. ;)

- As you already know we have a new puppy. He is bad. Not horrible, just a puppy. He needs a LOT of attention. He is so smart though! He is 9 weeks old and can sit, lay down, fist bump/shake, sort of stay, and we are working on roll over. His potty training is going good too.

- We have three new cats. Two of them are females, both pregnant!

- We have had chickens for a few years. Only 2-6 at a time because we just wanted some eggs. This year things changed. We have 41 chickens! We wanted meat chickens so we went to Rural King and bought 30 chicks. Then Mom went to Rural King again and bought 6 more. The three layers we already had stopped laying so we bought three more layers at an auction.

- We also bought two ducks. They are so messy! Like, they are really gross! Blah.

- We are trying to be very self sufficient and want to raise all of our own meat. That's why we also bought 4 meat rabbits at an auction. The two females are pregnant! One is due really soon!

- Speaking of the auction, the last three Wednesdays we have gone to an Amish auction. It is so fun. They sell rabbits, chickens, calves, goats, plants, eggs, and there is a flea market. It's not really an Amish auction, most of the people are farmers, it's just in Amish country.

- I have been studying for my learners permit. I get it in 25 days! I have a lot of practicing to do. Since at the moment I can hardly turn without going over the curb I don't think I will get to drive home...

- We are going to do school through the summer this year. :( I don't mind actually. I get bored halfway through the summer and can't wait to start school again!


Now don't go thinking we are the insane animal people. We just started a mini farm overnight! You know. No big deal. ;)

Remington

I have wanted a dog for years. Specifically my own male AKC German Shepherd. Since I have 4 other siblings, and we can't have four dogs, I will have to wait until I am an adult. My older sister having Bobo, her service dog, didn't help

On a Facebook group I found someone selling Australian Shepherd/German Shepherd/Husky mixes. They were adorable and in our price range (Puppies sell for a TON! Even mutts.) I showed Mom and Dad and said it would be a perfect family dog. After looking into it they agreed!

Remington (Remmy) is now a member of the family. At 6 weeks old he is sooooo cute! He is also really good. He only wakes up a few times at night to go outside. When we put him in the kennel he goes right to sleep.

When he's sleeping you can pick him up and move him around and he stays asleep . . . perfect for pictures! ;)

I love you Rem!

An Update

I haven't blogged in FOREVER! We have had so much going on. Seriously.

- My aunt (my moms sister) came home from Germany with her husband and baby. We haven't seen them in over a year. They were here all of December.
- My other aunt (my moms other sister) got married. We hosted the bridal shower and my mom was in the wedding.
- My uncle (my moms brother) and his girlfriend are going to have a baby. We just threw a shower for her.
- I've started selling scarves on my Facebook. I'll post more about that later.
- I've been busy with school. This is my first year of High School and it's tough.
- I am doing a reading challenge at my library. I have to read 100 books this year. That's 8 books a month!


Well, I think that's about it. I hope things slow down so have time to post more often, for real this time . . . but right now I have schoolwork to do.