Introduction

This is about the third time I have started this blog. No worries though because I don't think anyone has really read it yet. As if you couldn't tell I am new to the blogging world. I'm not really sure how this works, but bare with me and I am sure I will figure it out.

The reason I have decided to blog is to alleviate some of the boredom from being home alone all the time and some of it is to allow myself to get some of my ideas down on paper, so to speak.

I am obsessed with the idea of homesteading. I grew up in the country. It was a long time ago, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. As a child, I had a whole valley as my playground. My mom was an avid gardener. I quite clearly remember toiling in the dirt next to her. I also remember raising pigs to slaughter. I was quite attached to the first pig. I named it after my best friend, even though the friend didn't take it as the compliment it was meant to be! The first slaughter was difficult for me because of this. However I learned very young the price we pay (and the price the animal pays) for our food. Throughout my childhood I remember times were tough. But we always seemed to have enough food; we even had some to share. Our neighborhood consisted of three houses in the valley and we were always hosting game night which was pretty much just about every night of the week. In fact if we didn't have company it was odd. I was raised in a single parent household. My mother worked very hard to make sure we were well taken care of. My father died when I was young and I was raised on a stipend from his work years until I was eighteen.

At about the age of ten on, I was too busy and too easily embarrassed to pay much attention to the things my mother did to provide for me. All I could think about was getting out of "the life". I did just that. I still don't like living in town or in a city, but even worse than that, all these years later I have finally realized my mother was on to something.

I realize this because I have two children. Most of their lives I have worked really hard for this business or that company and barely made ends meat. I couldn't figure out how my mother raised me with so little income. I have missed most of my oldest daughter's childhood because I was working all the time. My second child is just now reaching puberty and I have missed half her young life. She's having trouble in school; the school says she has ADHD and wants me to get medicine from the doctor to allow her to concentrate. I say my child is a healthy child with a lot of energy who just needs a few acres of land to roam and a healthy diet of food without additives, preservatives, and a whole lot of other things I can't even name.

A couple of years ago I attempted a garden to help supplement our food bill. I fell in love with gardening. Who knew it was so exciting! However, I did not pay attention when my mother did all this back in the day and sadly she left me about ten years ago. My biggest regret is not realizing sooner all the wonderful skills my mother had. Now if I have a problem I cannot call her on the phone and ask questions. Although I was raised in the country I did not retain any of the valuable knowledge my mother tried to give me....instead I feel like a beginner.

I am tired of trying and failing to make it working for some one else and going deeper in debt! In '09 the company I worked for went bankrupt, in '10 the company I worked for shut down the place I worked, in '11 once again the company I worked for shut down the place I worked at. In '12 I finally got a job, thinking I was extremely lucky, but it was a sham from the beginning. I interviewed for one job which has a certain rate of pay and a certain schedule. Well when I started the job I was actually given another job with a lot less pay and a horrible (nights) schedule. After working there for about three months the owner's son called me and left me a voice mail stating I was fired!!! I was suppose to be the manager of a food establishment, instead I was the night clerk at a convenience store! I barely made above minimum wage! The supposed reason I got fired was missing too much work. I had to make a three day trip because of a family emergency. The boss knew of this ahead of time and approved it. When we got back from this trip I spoke with him and asked him if I could take more time off in two months to go back and check on the situation. He said no problem give him the dates. I gave him the dates with about six weeks notice. Again he approved the time off. When I got back the butt head fired me! So now I am stuck at home without a job again.

My husband works. He drives truck for a pop company making local deliveries. Don't let anyone fool you, this is back breaking work. Half the time the equipment doesn't work, there isn't a loading dock, and in the winter time some of these stores don't remove the snow or treat the ice in the dock area. In the last year he has had two hernia surgeries and we believe he is working on another one. Most people believe these pop companies pay good money. Again, don't let them fool you. After taxes, insurance, and child support for one child my husband brings home less than three hundred dollars a week for a family of three. This might sound like a lot, out of that he has to pay his car payment, insurance, and gas for work. He also pays the co-pays for all medical bills including the child he pays support for. So really the income we can use for rent, utilities and groceries is less than two hundred a week. Oh and in this state I have to pay school fees to the public school system to send my daughter to a crappy school. Nice.

So I come from a simple country life where having very little seem to give us quite a lot and now I am living a life where we are going into debt trying to work and unable to put adequate food on the table for our own little family let alone help anyone else out! Homesteading makes sense. I would take care of the homestead and my husband would work outside the home, at least in the beginning.

We have several obstacles in our path, but I believe with hard work, perseverance, and a tad bit of luck we can get to where we want to be. Wish me luck!