So tired my teeth hurt . . .

I said that in a Facebook post earlier this week.  And I was.  And I am.  I have busier this December than I would really like to be.  BUT there are reasons for the busyness.  It IS intentional, which to me, somehow feels better than when I just let my/our schedule get filled with too many lovely, but not necessary, things. 

But my December has filled with watching children (this isn't new), taking care of the Simple Family (also not new), trying to live a simple life (also not new) PLUS I am doing some freelance training for 2-3 hours most days (new) AND I'm trying to build a small business (new).

What small business do you ask? Well, most of my readers probably already know about it, but I'll share here now too.  I was going to wait until things were a little further along, but I am going to go ahead and share what it is AND what I envision it becoming.

Over the years, I have taught some class in "simple living" through those Women Living Wisely classes.  However, my friend Joy and I stopped offering them a couple years ago.  I, however, continued to get requests over the years to learn how to do things like preserving food or crocheting or making laundry soap.  I wanted to, but never really got around to organizing anything. 

Then in August, after yet another person said something to me about it, I decided, I am going to do it.  I'm going to start offering classes.  And so I started a Facebook page about it (You can like us at http://www.facebook.com/SimplyLivingInTheCity) and titled it Simply Living In The City.  I called it that because it sort of went along with my blog here, but it also opened it up for me to talk about learning "simple skills" in any urban setting.  It is basically "urban homesteading" - but I am unable/uninterested in having chickens/goats/bees, etc. in my backyard so I don't talk about/teach classes on those topics.  And I decided to have a topic of the day, so each day I post something about gardening.  Or soapmaking. Or canning. Or sewing.  You get the idea.  I love hearing how other people are trying to live a Simple Life.  Their Way.

I decided to offer my first class on the third Friday of September.  I decided to do Preserving Food, since it was that time of year anyway.  I posted about the upcoming class on on the Facebook page. And my personal FB page.  And a local entrepreneur FB page.  And crossed my fingers.  And people came. 

I made a blog for Simply Living In the City (You can check it out at http://simplylivinginthecity.wordpress.com) for recipes and tutorials and handouts and pictures and videos.  I'll be honest and say that I haven't been able to update it as much and as often as I would like, but that will be changing after the new year.)  I will blogging most days over there - but don't worry, I'll still post here.  I still want to talk about MY family and how we are living the simple life.  Or to post 700 pictures of our trip to Disney World.  :)

I taught a class in October about Making Your Own Dairy (so, so easy, and so, so fun!) and then November was Beginning Crocheting and Knitting.  Yep, I learned how to knit! I've made TWO dishcloths so far.  (Hold your applause, please!)  And on this Friday, I'll be teaching a class on Making Your Own Soap.  They are held every third Friday, and I've got them scheduled through next August.

And after that? I'll be offering the same type of classes, but at the local community college.  Right now, I'm offering the classes for free, but next fall, I'll be making money from it.  Not a ton, but that isn't REALLY my goal.  I'd like to cover my costs, and a little more, but mostly, I just want to help people learn how to do things like garden.  Or use a pressure canner.  Or make a t-shirt quilt.

And that's not all. (Oh, that not all! LOL) I will be also opening an on-line store! I am hoping to open in February and you can go there to get all sorts of "Simply Living" supplies.  Cast iron dutch ovens, water bath canner, gardening netting, organic yarn, yogurt cultures.  That sort of thing.  Right now, I have to go to several brick and mortar/online stores to get all the "Simply Living" supplies I need, and I'm guessing that plenty of people have to do the same, and so I wanted to create a place where you could find everything (well, most things) in one place.  I'll keep you posted on our grand opening, hopefully sometime in February 2012!

AND I'm working on a book.  I've been working on it off and on, and now I'm definitely on.  I'm writing and looking for a publisher.

So I'm busy.  And in case you hadn't noticed, it is also the holiday season.  I am trying to find snippets of time to work on gifts, so that fills what very little free time I have left. 

But I'm also intentionally slowing down soon.  From December 21st until December 27th I'm not working on ANYTHING but gifts and spending time with my family. 

But until then, yea, I'm a little tired . . .

Women Living Wisely - What is that again???

You may have heard me talk about this on this blog before. Women Living Wisely is an activity that held on the 3rd Friday of every month and we talk about ways to live simply and providently. We follow the topics from the LDS Provident Living site - Education, Health, Employment, Home Storage, Finances, Humanitarian Aid, and Social and Emotional Strength. My friend Joy and I put it together a couple years ago when I was really starting to get excited about the idea of trying to live simply. It is sponsored through our church, but anyone is welcome to come.

Last night, it was Women Living Wisely night (or as we often write it - WLW) and they talked about Employment. They talked about the balance between home and work as well as ideas for getting yourself going on accomplishing goals. And they talked a lot about how there is a season for everything in your life as well. From all reports, a nice night chatting with other women and getting ideas and support. I couldn't make it last night because we were have a slumber party for some child who will be turning 10 soon . . . .

But Women Living Wisely has become something Important to me. I've learned so much about these topics - some of my favorites have been stress management, what to do with wheat, discovering your potential, and being Fit for Life. Learning from other peoples experiences is truly invaluable. But the other thing that I have gained from Women Living Wisely is support. So often, I feel like there are so many things that I need and want to do - with living a simple life, but also in my life as a parent and as a woman. It is hard to juggle it all, and it doesn't help when you feel like you are doing it all alone. And when I meet with these women, I realize that I'm not. They are there to support me, I'm there to support them, we are there to support each other. And to laugh. A LOT. Because laughing helps you get through anything - a little bit easier.

Tuesday: Literacy and Education - Books, Books, Books!

That is our topic for Women Living Wisely (a women's group that I belong to. We get together on the 3rd Friday of every month and discuss/do a project, etc. related to one of the six areas of provident living.

I'm really psyched about this meeting. We are doing a book swap, and then we are all supposed to bring a book to discuss with the group. The catch is that you are supposed a book that changed your life. I'm still thinking on this one. So many books, and so many different times of my life, that it is hard to narrow it down to one life-altering book. The last thing we are doing is making little handmade journals/mini-books.

But I'd love to hear from any of my readers that don't plan on going to Women Living Wisely - What is the book that you read that changed your life??? And Why? Or How??

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Post Script - By the way, I've felt much happier the last few days since I shared my little vent. Something to be said for letting it out, I guess!

Monday - Health

OK, I didn't do that well on my exercise last week. (BIG shock, LOL) I did do better than the week before though. I exercise two days last week, and I have exercised yesterday and today. (I'm on a roll!)

What I wanted to talk about this week was Fitness. We had our monthly Women Living Wisely meeting and the topic was about Fitness (physical activity and healthy food). The presentation was really good and I learned many things, but the one thing that I took away from the evening was that the important thing about Fitness (and most things really) was that you need to find things that you will do on a consistent basis. The other thing that I keep thinking about was how I need to make a lifestyle change. I don't just need to look at this as something that I'm going to do for a week or a month or a year or even 5 years.

So I'm going to start a fitness journal (just a cheap spiral notebook). I'm going to record my short term and long term goals, my food intake and my exercise, my weight and measurements, and benefits that I'm noticing.

What Do I Do With All That Wheat?

was the topic of this month's Women Living Wisely meeting. We had a bigger than normal turnout, and I feel like people were able to get a lot of the meeting. I talked about wheat and the common ways of using it (flour, cracked, wheat berries, bulgar, wheat grass, etc.). Everyone was supposed to bring something made out with wheat and the recipe for it. There were some seriously YUMMY food there, and a lot of people were very original with their uses too. After we sampled everything, then we started grinding wheat with grinders that people had brought. It was really good to find out who in our group has what, and what the different grinders are like, etc.

(When I get a chance, I'll post the handout and the recipes up in the documents area. Hopefully within a week.)

I know that storing wheat is one of the most basic items to store, and many people who store food focus on acquire the basic items first (wheat, water, salt, sugar, pasta, rice, dried milk, legumes). It was not the way that I decided to start though. I decided to start with canned goods, and then exanded it to frozen food, then hygeine and paper goods, and my goal was to have a three month supply (well, two weeks of water). I am pretty close to my goal for those items, and so my next goal is to start expanding our basic food storage. Part of my hesitation for storing the basic items is that I don't have storage space for those items. So my goal for 2009 is to move things out of our seasonal/long term closet and put them in our garage, put shelves along one wall of the closet, and store 3 months of the basic items for each member of the family. I am using the following chart and times it by 5 for us (and then by 3, for a three month supply for 5 people). The cans are #10 cans, unless otherwise noted. I also plan on buying a hand grinder for 2009. The electric grinder is budgeted for 2010. But now that we had this meeting, I know who I can bring a meal to in exchange for letting me use their grinder. LOL. Except not really. I totally plan on bartering for the use of the grinder for this year. I think that it is more provident for me to do it this way. And that is sort of the overall goal.

Wheat - 3 cans
Flour - 1 can
Rice - 2 cans
Oats - 1 can
Macaroni - 1 can
Pinto Beans - 1 can
White Sugar - 1 can
Powdered Milk - 1 can
Shortening - 2 3 pound cans
Salt - 2 8 oz. shakers