A Little Catching Up... We've Been Busy!

Hey there! Here is a little randomness/update!!!

Things have been crazy here on the Huppstead! I feel bad calling our "homestead" Huppstead since we currently don't even have a homestead right now :(  All of our chickens got sick so... ehem.... I will spare you the details about that. We also thought our rabbits were sick so we got rid of them. Turns out they were actually fine..... yeah....

So on a happy note we are getting rabbits again! I must say, I can't wait! The auction we go to is really fun! Bidding on rabbits is a TOTAL BLAST! Can you tell I love it? Just in case you missed it, I LOVE IT!

We have new kittens! Four of them. They are two weeks old. Some of them only have one eye open. They look like pirates!

Bobo has had 5 seizures in about a month.... We took him to the vet and they gave him some medicine. We are trying to find a more natural approach. If you know any good ol' home remedies please let me know! :)

My aunt, uncle, and their little boy are coming home from Germany TOMORROW! They have been gone for three years. I cant wait to see them!

My other aunt found out she is having a baby! I have a hunch it will be a girl. I don't know why but I sure hope I'm right. I want a wee wittle baby girl cousin!

We babysat Hunter and Haley (my cousins... boy, there are lots of 'em!) last weekend. They are both so sweet! I could, and did, just squeeze them! :)

The weather has been beautiful the last two weeks! We have gone fishing twice. Once me, mom, the other kids, and my grandpa. The other time us and Dad. I love fishing!

Well, I guess that pretty much sums up the last month or two. Enjoy some random pictures (mostly selfies ;)) below that were taken throughout the month and Have A Good Day!

 The wittle itty bitty kitten!

 I LOVE my muck boots!

 Selfie!

Selfie!

 Selfie!

 And another selfie!

 Yet another selfie!

And the last one! :)

Random 5 - February 5th

Linkups. How fun!? Especially if your mom hosts it :)

So here are 5 random things about me or that have happened to me.

1. I've read 3 books so far! Only 96 to go ;)

2. School is going really good this year. I'm really enjoying biology!

3. I'm currently watching my favorite movie, Monsters Inc.! We are babysitting my 1 year old cousin and he didn't want to watch it so I am ;D

4. Speaking of my cousin.... he is already almost 1! I can't believe it! We babysit him every other weekend. I love it!

5. I can't wait for spring! Warm weather is my favorite. Gardens, fishing, hiking, swimming, getting new farmish animals, I  love it all!

If you want to read my mom's list or link up this is her blog

Book Review: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

I love survival stories. They amaze me. With a brother and dad who love reading about survival situations and trying out the things they learned, books of that type are often on our family read aloud list.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen is one of my favorites. It is realistic, easy to read, and a page turner. 

Brian, the main character, is a city boy who is faced with an unexpected challenge. He must beat the odds and survive. After his parents divorce, Brian spends the school year with his mom, summers with his dad. Flying to northern Canada to be with his dad the pilot suffers a severe heart attack and the plane does down. Stranded Brian must survive. He has no food, no shelter, and no way of getting help, all he has is the hatchet his mother gave him.

Hatchet is very well written. The characters are realistic. The setting clear. Paulsen does a good job of giving detail without drowning you with it and dragging the story. There was not a singe time I had a thought of "Get on with the story!" (Which happens a lot to me... I like something to always be going on in a story)

I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it for all ages!

*I will note that the reason Brian's parents are divorced is that his mom was having an affair with another man.  Brain recalls seeing her kiss the man. Brian's father never knows. The affair doesn't go into much detail.

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!!!