Those of you who follow my photography account on Instagram and then noted it in the comments on the blog here the last few weeks (or noticed others’ comments on the subject of recent blog posts) saw our big news: My eldest is getting married!
I know you will want details, so here they are!
Winter met a nice young man up at school last year. They became engaged earlier this year and are getting married in April after the end of the semester. She goes to school year-round, and there is a week between one semester and the next that starts in April (the school has a trimester program, but it’s technically three semesters of fourteen weeks each (fall, winter, and spring terms), plus a half-semester of seven weeks: summer term. They are getting married the day after finals (when they’ll both have finished their sophomore year), so they’ll have a week break before classes start again.
She’s taking a heavy course load (16 credits) plus working 15 hours a week right now.
Her wedding will be a very small, intimate wedding at the temple right by the school. They are not going to have a reception. The only thing I have to plan is what to wear! My husband and I are both very frugal, but she’s outdone us both in her frugality in this.
Garden: I worked long hours in the garden last month, filling my trash cans every week with prunings, but I’m still not done with last month’s list. I am also adding a few new things to the list.
- Sand and paint a bench. I purchased this bench (pictured above) in 2018 and I knew it would need to either be oiled twice a year or painted every few years. I used to oil another bench I own, and once I painted it, I loved it so much more. I decided when I bought this one that once the sun had done its damage, I would paint it. The sun here is very harsh and it eats a lot of things, but the paint on my other benches has held up fairly well for several years, and is just now starting to need to be redone.
- Plant seeds for warm-season vegetables, including red noodle beans and Armenian cucumbers.
- Plant more lettuce seeds every couple of weeks.
- Continue to weed the garden.
- Prune the hedges again.
- Purchase new soil and spread it in the garden.
- Run new drip lines in several spots.
- Plant flower seeds.
- Stake several trees.
- Reseed the bare spots in the lawn
- Train the jasmine to grow over the trellis by the front entrance.
- Fertilize the fruit trees, berry bushes, and rose bushes.
- Prune the lemon trees. I don’t prune these with the other trees but instead, wait until it is warmer.
- Transplant two rose bushes in the garden to a new place.
- Look for sales on a few plants for the garden. If they go on sale, I’ll purchase them and plant them.
Sewing: I did not get the dresses made for myself last month, but I did decide on a pattern for both of them. I’m using a modern pattern instead of a vintage pattern as it had more of the features that I want and didn’t require any great pattern changes. I did manage to cut out the pink velvet dress last month.
- Sew the pink velvet dress.
- Sew the blue velvet dress. This is the dress I plan to wear to my daughter’s wedding next month.
- Sew a new temple dress for myself. I had a dress I made and loved when I first went through the temple in 1997, but then I got married (2000) and had children (2001) and the dress no longer fit. I haven’t had a custom dress since then. The first tricky part is going to be deciding on a style and fabric.
Weight Loss: I did not achieve my goal of losing six pounds last month. Instead, I gained a couple of pounds enjoying all the treats that came my way! But, I lost those and am now again at the same weight I started last month (126.6). My goal for myself this month is to end the month down 6.6 pounds to weigh 120. My final goal weight is 115.
I’m already on my feet almost all day, every day, but this month I’m going to add in some additional exercise.
- Ride a bicycle five miles a day to seminary and back with my son on the weekdays. According to my app, I only burn 90 calories at the rate I ride, but I’ll take it! This takes me 50 minutes and means some rearranging of things in the morning.
Organization: I’m continuing my goal of organizing everything in the house this year.
- Organize a small space in my laundry room.
- Continue to organize the sewing room.
- Organize the outgrown clothing my children brought into my room.
Home Decor: Though I have several projects I want to do, I’m going to keep this category small this month in light of everything else that I have to do.
- Decide on the images I’ll be hanging in each of the frames on my gallery wall.
- Hang five other frames in the house; we’ve rearranged a lot and I have several pictures that need a new place to go in the house. We also brought a couple of images home from my husband’s parents’ house after his dad passed that I would like to hang.
- Choose, edit, and order a large family photo for my gallery wall.
Business:
- Add new images to my website and do a slight redesign with some of the images from a shoot that I’m doing this month.
- Continue to learn from the flash course I’m taking.
- Rewatch parts of some other courses I’ve taken before.
- Have my husband take new photos of me. We didn’t get to this last month.
- Read a business book from the library on branding.
- Practice!
Blog:
- Take more images of the garden in bloom to share! This month I will have over 1500 bulbs in bloom in my garden!
- Share the dresses when they are done.
What are your goals for this month?
Make the square foot garden boxes which is cutting ply board, paint, seal , weed barrier and fill with soil that needs bought. and hopefully planted with cool weather crops by end of March.
Continue to declutter first floor and basement of home and organize what is left. You can’t organize clutter * I repeat this in my head*
Hubby is finishing his paperwork converting his hauling hobby to a business, said dealing with the state is a hurry up and wait thing.
I declutter the sewing room and set it up so I can get some clothes taken in. I have some old and new clothes that needs the waist taken in. I have dropped from a 16 to a 10 in the past year…
Finish buying what is on the clothing buy list. We both need winter coats (Ohio) and they are usually on clearance now.
I think Winter and her soon to be Hubby have the right thoughts about their wedding… to me they are starting the marriage as they intend to go.. frugal.
love to read everyones comments…
blessed be
https://chefowings.blogspot.com/2020/02/feb-ending-planning-march.html
Would you be able to tell me what you use to fertilize your fruit trees? Thanks!
I took a class here that recommended the local nursery’s suggestion: https://www.starnursery.com/star-notes/610-fertilizer-mixture-for-established-fruit-trees
In the class, they said the way to make this organic is to use cottonseed meal or bloodmeal for the nitrogen, but triple the amount. For the superphosphate, I use bonemeal. This keeps the mixture organic.
PLEASE NOTE: The addition of soil sulfur is to lower the pH of our soil. We have a pH of 8.2 here in the soil and the water. Do not add this if you live in a place that has a pH of 7 or lower. If you live in a place where your pH is really low (like 4) you can add lime to up the pH and make it more neutral.
Also, cottonseed meal can lower pH as well. That makes it particularly good for our desert soil. I am using bloodmeal for my nitrogen now as the nursery sells it for less than cottonseed meal. They used to be the same price, but not anymore.
Finish decluttering the bathroom and cabinets, replace out of date medical supplies and buy an indoor plant which will enjoy the moist air.
Make an application for financial help with my elderly mother’s care.
Feed blueberry bushes and camellia with ericaceous compost.
Finish a baby quilt.
Make some greetings cards from craft stash on hand.
Research broadband and telephone fees from other suppliers and switch to a better deal.
Plant bulbs in tubs for the summer.
Go swimming more regularly and do exercises prescribed by the physiotherapist.
Practice crochet stitches. I expect there’s lots more to do the month but that’s all I can think of for now.
Brandy – thank you for some information about Winters wedding – they look so happy in your photograph.
We still have two more full months before we can start yard work in earnest. This month, I am going to paint my bedroom, and wash the inside of the windows and the window sills of my house.
I will be adding two to three more weeks of food to my food storage when my tax refund comes in. This will mostly be meat and fish for my freezer, and a few other odds and ends. The food will be items for my working pantry that get rotated out as I buy groceries each time, rather than all long-term storage food, though there is definitely some overlap between the two.
Congratulations to Winter! I can’t wait to see any pictures you take. And Brandy, you are amazing! I adore your posts!
Congratulations on Winter’s marriage! So exciting! Sounds like a wonderful wedding idea. Well thought out planning by the young couple.
Our goals for this month are planning out our gardens and building more raised beds. I am also planning on baking more of our own bakery items from scratch. Also, making up my own containers of chili and taco seasoning from spices I have on hand so I can just spoon it out as needed.
My goal for this month is to get my bedroom in order for the summer months. I’m about half-way there at this time.
I am also having the women in my family over for a bake and decorate party. *laughing* My daughters (my son too) and I have all been professional bakers at some time in our lives. My granddaughter-in-law wants to learn how to decorate cupcakes to look like succulant plants. It is a good excuse to all get together. So a little more planning and then buying enough icing tips for the party. Everything will be made from scratch. This will teach a bit of prudent homemaking for the young ones.
We are having a pig slaughtered tomorrow. This is my grandson’s show pig. It won grand-champion in it’s division. We will have freezers full of pork, but it took some moving around of food.
My goals look pitiful next to your’s Brandy, but it is all I have in me at the moment.
Congratulations on Winter, but please please help her to finish her education that is so important. It really disturbs me when these girls marry so young and then start having babies and don’t finish and then their husband needs help and they refuse as there are babies and those are important, but the poor young man is stressed to the max and more babies. No one wants to see their child struggle in a life of poverty. Eductation is so important. I know Winter has an excellent work ethic. You did a good job.
Kim,
She is halfway through college before she gets married. I think she’ll do just fine 🙂 She works very hard. Her fiance will do well with his degree, so even if that were to happen, they would be fine. She is a wise girl and she is really enjoying her studies.
Hi Kim,
Thank you for the congratulations! My parents did do a good job; I very much enjoy being completely independent. I do believe that when to have children and finish school would be a decision between me and my husband; thank you for your concern though.
From other things your mom has posted, it’s clear you are talented and have made excellent decisions, and seem wise beyond your years. Best wishes to you and your soon to be husband,
We are moving next month, so all of my goals are focused on that. Purging belongings, rotating through stored foods (and making a list of what to restock when we get settled, as our family size changed last year, as did some of our dietary wants/needs). I’ll start getting boxes together as other military families move in and are passing them along, and start packing smaller and less used items throughout the latter half of the month. I’m also deep cleaning small areas throughout the week. That way the week of the move, all I have to do is pack the essentials, do one final easy clean, and we’ll be ready to go.
You are so ambitious! I am so inspired when I see how much you set yourself to do.
I have a goal to start building some long term food storage. If nothing else, hurricanes can make it hard to buy food.
I want to, hopefully, start my container gardens that I tried to start last year. Maybe my husband won’t be hospitalized three times in one spring again.
I am about to finish painting some shelving to put up in my utility room. I will have a big job removing the odds and ends we’ve been using for storage, and going through all of that, but it will be worth it.
Start on the process of creating a “Rule of Life” for myself, to help me mature spiritually.
Sew a gift.
This month, I’m planning to finish fitting new blinds in our living room, fitting a dash camera in the car and installing a new fan in time for the warmer weather. I also have to give our tiny yard a pruning, weeding and mulching before spring gets going – and I’ll have to get some help to cut down one of our trees that is growing too large and grind out the stump.
I’m also going to bite the bullet and start advertising surplus stuff for sale – we have a king bed frame in the garage, but I could probably find 20 things that need new homes, not counting a few Goodwill runs! I also have a pile of batteries, tires and other recyclables that need to be taken to the disposal center – which would then let me clean the garage floor after a winter of grit and snow. Then onto the things I’ll find more fun – potting up a new selection of plants for the patio – and cooking! I’ll be dusting off the pressure cooker for oxtail soups and short ribs, and I have a bag of ‘Capuchijner’ – dried peas from The Netherlands, which are an extremely old vegetable from which modern green peas are descended – they get their name because they were the staple food of Capuchin monks in the Middle Ages – you boil them with bacon, or just soak until soft and fry in butter. I’m looking forward to seeing how they turn out! Thank you Brandy for your posts!
Your March goals are amazing. Mine are boringly simple this month.
1. Focus on weight loss. I’d like my figure back.
2. Focus on daily exercise and balance
3. Finish making my son’s quilt
4. Visit my parents
5. Complete the first draft of my book
Those are all very big goals! Good luck!
What a wonderful wall of nasturtiums around the bench!
On very very rare occasions, I see them in artworks or other creations, and always admire them. They are one of my (many) favorite flowers, or would be if the squirrels or other creatures didn’t eat all of mine.
They self-seed so readily! These grew all by themselves! Do the squirrels eat the seeds or the plants?
Ah, the serendipitous garden!
Something either eats the seeds before they sprout, or eats the whole plants when they are small. Perhaps squirrels for the first and rabbits for the second? They are supposed to grow well in poor soil. I got perhaps three plants for two packages of seeds last spring that I sowed in the ground. Maybe I should try to start a few indoors to give them a head start.
They do very well in poor soil. I think you’re right on squirrels for the seeds and rabbits for the plants. I don’t deal with either one here.
How is Winter getting married? I starting following you when she was just a little thing. Where has time gone? Congratulations, Winter, and may you have a wonderful, happy life!! I hope we get to see photos!
You’ve been reading for a very long time, then! Thanks for sticking with me!
I just love, love, love Winter’s frugality regarding her wedding!!!! I am so happy for her!!!! My March goals are to (1) exercise by walking (I will not talk about my weight…..lol). (2) Start looking for a foreclosed/and/or reasonable priced house/condo to rent out in the college town where my kids are located. This is a multi-purpose goal: it could “maybe” be a retirement home for me and be rented out until then, and it would be left to my kids when I die for them to rent out for income. (3) I need to revise my will since I don’t own some of the properties that were in my original will any more. (4) Complete a jury murder trial at the end of the month. (5) Continue to save for retirement. (6) Do more retirement prep in reading books on retirement/attending seminars, etc. I still don’t know when I will retire. A lot depends on my health. While I really need to keep working, financially, for five more years, I am just not sure if that is a reasonable goal for me. If I have to retire before then, I will just have to tighten my belt even more.
Congratulations to your daughter!
My goal for March is to establish a new routine. For a year I’ve had my daughter and the two grandbabies (ages 2 and 1) here most days. Now my daughter has started work full time and the grandbabies will attend childcare three days a week and stay with me for two days. During the days they are at childcare I will accomplish most of my outside tasks. I started today at the east side of our property pruning and tidying up. On the weekends my hubby will help me with the heavy chores I can’t do by myself. I will do more inside things on the days I have the children here at home, unless it’s something I can accomplish in the garden area near the play yard when we are outside after naptime.
Also in mid-March I will start my bell pepper and chile pepper seeds. At the end of March I will start my tomatoes. I will grow 25 to 30 tomato plants and many many pepper plants, so it is cost-effective for me to grow them from seed. I also never tire of seeing the tiny seedlings emerge from the soil.
My financial goal for March is to keep expenses as low as possible as we owe a bit on our income tax. With careful shopping and some making do, I should be able to pay this without using our savings.
I think Winter and her fiance are very smart. While it’s nice to have a party for a wedding if that’s what you desire, the most important thing is he couple’s commitment to each other.
We are traveling to Texas at the end of the month and will be visiting family for two weeks, so my goals are to get meals prepped to take with us (we are camping along the way, and I want to do all the cooking while we are staying with my in-laws, as my MIL is no longer able to handle that.)
I also am working on losing weight, but am doing so slowly — only about a pound a week. I have 11 pounds to reach my goal, so I expect it will be three more months before I reach it.
I want to clean and declutter my office, and finish at least one of the two sweaters I am knitting.
Congratulations to Winter!!!
–I want to work on a quilt I started about a year ago. I’ve worked on it all along, when I had time, and I’m closing in on it. It would be awesome if I could finish it!
–keep my daughter’s homeschool progress on track and my own house running, while continuing to help with an ailing family member for many hours a week–she’s struggling, but several of us are sharing the load
–stay $50 under my regular grocery budget and add that to a savings envelope
–continue growing little seedlings in the greenhouse, with help from my husband
–plant more seeds in the garden if it becomes dry enough, weed and put slug bait around the few seeds I did plant last week as they come up
–do some pruning around the yard. I’ve started, but there’s lots left.
–exercise 2-3 times per week at the Kroc center taking swim exercise classes or by taking walks
–go to a pre-surgery class with my husband for his hip replacement, get the house organized for that event–floor needs to be totally clear of clutter everywhere so he can use a walker and not trip anywhere
–deep clean 1 area–I’m not picky which–several need help
–try to find at least one day to have a date with my husband–looks like the 3rd week of March may have a day that it may work
–I’m sure there’s more, but that’s all my foggy brain can come up with right now;)
The good news is that I fulfilled all of my goals (except one) in February. The biggie was getting the taxes done and filed, and I did!
My goals are miniscule compared to Brandy’s and many of you–
* Celebrate our 52nd wedding anniversary on the 15th–“Beware the Ides of March!”
* As the precinct’s chief elections judge, I plan to conduct the March 10 election with 100% accuracy. I plan to cross train the newest member of the election board for two positions so she can fill in wherever needed in November.
* Tend to the seeds I planted indoors last week.
* Paint the desk/secretary that was mine when I was growing up. (It is 64 years old!).
* Begin unpacking the patio furniture from the shed so I can get to the garden tools when the weather warms up.
* Make an appointment with a lawyer to update our wills and special needs trust for our daughter.
* Begin ordering my primary Rx from Canada. I currently have a $255 co-pay every 90 days. I can order the generic version (approved but not yet available in the US) for under $100 (that’s the full price!).
* Buy an extra 40 lb. bag of dog food and top up beans, legumes and grains in my working pantry. I want to do this by the 15th.
* Make 2 gift-a-months (February and March). I got so involved in making heated rice bags in January that I kept making them (7!) in February.
I have few problems with your buying your RX from Canada but what I don’t understand why those in the U.S. are so complacent
and accept the outrageous prices for medicines there.
Great goals, Brandy!
My March goals:
BLOG
– update my pillar content posts and add in two or three more. This means updating 4 0r 5 posts for each pillar post, including lightening up the photography, changing recipe plug-ins, updating all the SEO, creating new pins for them, and trying to also create and publish new recipes, I try to do a bit each night, as that’s the only free time I have, but it depends on how much energy I have left at the end of the day. I do feel I am slowly seeing traction though, so that’s a good motivator. My stretch goal is to be able to launch a product in a few months, once I’ve created new opt-ins and leadpages and tripwires. I’m working towards that goal!
FAMILY
– get out to see my dad with my daughter twice this month. We phone call, and skype, and I send photos and videos each day, but I want to actually visit, preferably for a weekend once and a day another time.
– I also want to do a couple of sensory play activities with my daughter. I’ve done a jello dig and oobleck previously, and am looking into how to make kinetic sand or slime. Or I might just make playdough.
– And I’d like to have an at-home date with my DH, plus I want to make him a fancy flan-topped cake for his birthday (he hasn’t eaten it since he moved to Canada over 10 years ago, so it will be a nice treat).
HEALTH & FITNESS –
– I want to sign up for a free Baby & Barre class
– I want to try to make use of the gym in my condo once a week.
– And if I could lose 2 lbs, a modest goal, I’d like that.
For March my goals are:
1. To walk for an hour at least 4 days a week.
2. To finish reading Saints 2
3. To begin planting some cold weather veggies.
4. To complete my Sheet of Stamps quilt and to trim and organize the leftovers into my labeled scrap shoeboxes.
5. To add 2 more DIY mixes/convenience foods to my pantry.
I’m so happy for Winter and her fiancé! Can’t wait to see her and your dresses; you both have such beautiful, classic taste, and an eye for design, I’m sure they’ll be lovely. Congratulations!!!
Goodness; I can’t believe Winter is getting married so soon. I know she’s a smart girl and practical…it just seems so young to me (perhaps because I’m so old now).
My oldest had a very modest wedding and paid for it themselves including a reception at the church. They collected cups and saucers at thrift stores for a ‘take away’, found a new caterer that wanted to advertise her new business and had Afternoon Tea. It was lovely. We all pitched in with flowers and decorating, music on an iPhone, table coverings that are to become a quilt later and then with clean up. People still talk about how relaxing it was.
My goals are to get this house cleaned up. I need to purge a lot of clothing that is not being worn.
I need to prune the Poinsettia plant and weed the gardens. My pomegranate is not doing well and I don’t know why.
I’ve got some cross stitch projects that I should finish and a bit of sewing to do. I’m going to make flannel Kleenex for some gifts. My kids are into reducing their reliance on paper products.
I’ve made a list of pantry items that should be stocked and the number of items I’d like to keep in stock. At the moment I’m using up the things in this pantry at our winter home so they don’t go to waste.
I’ve been doing pool exercises every morning and I want to continue classes when I return North later in the season. Plus, I found that I will walk if I download and listen to a book on my phone. That should help with my weight loss and over all health. I’m going to try the 1 pound a month goal and see if I can last the entire year. Yes, I do need to lose that amount of weight….sigh….how did this happen? It sort of creeps up on you when you are busy not paying attention.
I ordered some vitamins online and a yogurt maker. I used to make yogurt all the time and got out of the habit so this is something I need to do again.
I’m going to start some sourdough starter when I get North and try baking with it.
I need to order some seed for the garden up North. Is it Territorial Seed that you use, Brandy?
I’ve got a stack of books to read so I don’t need to go to the thrift store for more. I already donated several bags of books to a friend for her church sale recently.
We recently had friends stay with us for 10 days. We chose simple things to do and it was inexpensive. They said it was relaxing and that was what they needed.
I had a new jigsaw puzzle that had several missing pieces in it. I contacted the company and they will replace the entire puzzle with no charge. I just have to fill out a form and I’ll have a new puzzle to do when I need to just sit and do something.
We just had new carpet put down in a master bedroom here and both my DH and I will move a mattress from another room that we find more comfortable. We may move the entire bed or just the mattress and box spring. The current bed seems to be too high to climb into and out of. I’m not sure if we can cut down the legs or not.
I need to print out this list to tackle so I don’t forget over the month.
Looking forward to pictures from Winter’s wedding. Best wishes to her and Kade.
I have been very happy with the seeds I have purchased from Territorial Seed. They have done well for me.
What is wrong with your pomegranate? Mine are just barely starting to leaf out right now as they go dormant in the winter. I sprayed them with Neem oil and I am going to fertilize them soon. I should have done it last month, but I do what I can on the days that aren’t too windy to go outside.
My pomegranate hasn’t bloomed in 2 years. Right now it just looks like a bunch of sticks with a few sparse little leaves on it. I had another pom that did very well blooming and small fruit but it blew away in the hurricane.
I’m just going to trim this current one and hope for the best for another year or so.
Patsy, does the tree get enough sun? One of mine stopped blooming when it was overshadowed by another tree.
That might be the problem. There is a giant Poinsettia right beside it. I didn’t expect that plant to get so big. Perhaps when I clip it back it might resolve the issue.
Thank you for sharing your March goals. I didn’t get all of my February goals completed either, but hope to get more done this month.
And I admire Winter’s wedding plans. So wise! I didn’t have an elaborate wedding but it still could have been simpler.
-I am working to get our house ready to sell. I had an interior/stager come by this week and make some recommendations. The realtor pays for the consultation. Fortunately, our house is in pretty good shape, other than some more decluttering. I’ve already painted two bedrooms, but the stager suggested that I paint the top area of my bathroom white. It’s currently a fabulous turquoise above the beadboard. I’ve just about got it primed and will finish the job this week. I also need to touch up the paint in the house in a few places and around the front door. I will also paint the laundry room floor. I have a room above the garage that I will stage once my husband clears out his tools. I plan to borrow a few nice chairs to put in the space.
-My husband has some tools to sell and I have found buyers for him.
-I have just a few hours’ work to finish my sweater and hope to do that soon, then start a cowl.
-I need to start working outdoors, doing some pruning and raking.
-I will be out of town working next week
-Really, my month is all about painting, decluttering, organizing, some preliminary packing, and making everything look great!
-I try to walk most days and have been doing some meditation. While my mind races, I do find that my day goes better when I start my day that way.
Winter Simpler 🙂
Congratulations Winter (and Winter’s mum and dad). And how refreshing they are just happy to have a ceremony. I have been to two weddings of nieces in the last year and they were extravagant, but probably fairly modest in comparison to some, but still cost a lot of money that I am sure could have been better spent elsewhere, especially since one of them now has a baby and is taking a year off work.
My goals for March are to systematically work my way through each room of my house – picking a room each week and donating items I am not using to my local charity shop. I am one room down and many more to go!
My goals are:
to finish assembling the 2100 photos into 7 (now 6) albums; I really hope to finish next week;
to tie up loose ends for our park history book — both research and footnotes (some things have to be ordered still)
then to supervise the editing and proofreading of the book by others;
to do taxes:
to complete the rebuilding of my emergency pantry.
Congratulations to Winter and her young man and all of you.
Both my daughters are marrying this year and even though they hare having small weddings there has been drama. My niece is marrying too. I need to ge try sewing machine going to make them wedding quilts.
What lovely news. Congratulations Winter!
My goals for March:
* Shred 10 years’ worth of old tax paperwork.
*Track our spending
*Inventory and organize the freezers
*Outline a writing project
*Finish assembling the granny squares into an afghan
*Finish the baby quilt I was commissioned to do.
*Get back into doing yoga once a week.
*Make sure I contact my father and mother in law at least twice this month.
*Continue working on my photo project. This month I need to select the photos I will put into a Shutterfly album.
*Move to the next step in my genealogy project. I am not sure what that next step is. Maybe that should be my goal for this project…figure out my next step. I have documents organized and have watched youtube videos on using Family Research resources. I actually went to the Family Research Center in Salt Lake last April. The people there were amazing! They were so patient and knowledgeable. Unfortunately, by the time I got home I had forgotten most of what they showed me. I did call them and again they were extremely helpful. I just feel overwhelmed by what to do next. Any suggestions would be very welcome.
*Read my Bible 10 minutes a day.
Congratulations on Winter’s engagement!
Marley: there are family history consultants all over who would be happy to help you! It doesn’t matter if you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or not. The family history consultants in my area are very helpful. Be careful, it is addicting!
I love reading everyone’s goals, it is certainly a motivator to be serious about tackling projects!
Health: Checkup with Dr. and Dentist this month.
Weight loss- 3 pound this month.
Do 4 minute exercise when at work, hopefully twice daily.
Increase speed of my 30 minute stationary bike time to increase heart rate.
House: Pressure wash exterior of house.
Polish kitchen cabinet doors.
Clean and declutter one room.
Sort genealogy binders.
Friendship: Meet with three friends individually, who are struggling .
Yard/Garden: Prune bushes and fruit trees.
Plant kale, lettuce, radish, carrot and sugar peas.
Continue spreading manure over beds.
Continue adding compost to big garden.
Marriage: Plan short weekend vacation with husband for the summer.
Work on weight loss of 3# month.
Thank you for introducing me to the Lose it! App. The last year I have gained an extreme amount of weight because of surgeries I was waiting to have. I couldn’t exercise so I ate instead. I just couldn’t get myself on the wagon again. When I tried the app I knew I was going on track again. I’ve lost 8 pounds in three weeks. I gave a very long way to go but I know I’m on the right track.
Merci beaucoup pour ton avis.
Not even a cake? Couldn’t that be your gift to your sweet daughter? You and Steve do what you can to make this a joyful day for a dear daughter. You won’t regret it, I guarantee.
She does not want a reception. We offered her all kinds of things (including a reception) and she said no to every single one. She is adamant that she doesn’t want them. We are giving them money as a gift. They pretty much want an elopement, but are willing to allow his parents and us to come to the ceremony. A larger celebration isn’t her style. The best gift we can give her is to do it her way.
I so agree the gift of listening and agreement is so sweet
Winter is truly a leader she has taken all she has learned and is not afraid to follow her convictions
Hi Isabella,
Funnily enough, I don’t like cake actually. I’m also very stubborn and my parents know that; they’ve offered me plenty and it really is my choice to have nothing. Parties, lots of people and fuss aren’t really my thing or my fiance’s and we like it much better this way. I’m more glad that my parents are listening to what I want than trying to give me everything.
Dear Winter,
I think you are very sensible in not having a big, expensive wedding. There is one thing though — your mother is such a great photographer that I hope you’ll let her take a few of her wonderful photos of you and Kade after the ceremony. The photos would be a wonderful keepsake. My best wishes to you on your special ceremony day and for a blessed future. Ann
HI Winter,
Your cake statement made me laugh out loud! My husband does not like cake at all and I can take it or leave it. We had apple pie instead of a cake. Everyone commented on that but no one complained – and we had no leftovers!
I’ve always thought a wedding should be a reflection of the couple having it. If you are happy with whatever you are doing, that should be plenty. As my Grandmother said, they got married in the Pastor’s living room with their two witnesses and were married far longer than many who have a large wedding. No reception of any kind, no celebration. They were married 67 years. We had a very large wedding but we love that kind of thing (we’ve been married 21 1/2 years and counting).
Congratulations on your engagement and upcoming marriage!
Lea
Thanks for your goals Brandy! I am so amazed at how much you get done in addition to homeschooling and mothering your children, and cooking from scratch! Winter is so wise to have a simple wedding. A blue velvet dress sounds just lovely! I had a small wedding, but if I had to do it over again, it would be even simpler. Maybe a morning ceremony with a simple lunch after. My husband and I paid for our wedding and we have talked about just giving the boys a monetary wedding gift and that’s it. That way they can decide to put some of it towards the wedding or (hopefully) use it to help them start their married life or keep it saved.
I have never gotten around to spraying with Neem, but I am thinking about it this year. My cherry trees are probably never going to do well in their spot as the pines around them seem to shade them enough that they won’t bear more than a few cherries. My apple trees could probably really benefit from some Neem. With our humidity here we have to fight a lot of diseases. I am giving myself one more chance to succeed with roses as I planted 3 David Austin last year and will finally replace the rest that died during an arctic blast a few winters ago. I am replacing them with The Fairy rose as it is supposed to be pretty care free. I love roses, but I like to garden organically so I am hoping this last try works! Otherwise, I am pulling them and putting in hydrangeas. They don’t bloom as much, but the ones I have are quite beautiful and don’t need much care.
I’m also interested in fertilizing our lawn with a manure spreader, like you do. We have over 2 acres and I think I could get bulk manure dropped off like we do our mulch. We don’t spray for weeds and I have learned that dandelions are very valuable both medicinally and for salads, plus the bees need them first thing in spring when nothing else is in bloom!
My other goals are:
– Start vegetable seeds indoors
– Finish deep clean of kitchen
– Clean and organize pantry
– Send my two older sons care kits with homemade elderberry syrup, homeopathic remedies, supplements and essential oils for antiviral and respiratory illness (one son is in Seattle where the virus is circulating and he takes public transportation to work).
– Walk every day the weather will allow. I am recovering from a few minor ailments and I need to focus on getting more exercise as winters here are long and I tend to not exercise as much. My doctor increased my hypothyroid med so with that and the walking, I should lose a few of the winter pounds too!
Have a lovely March everyone!
Happy March!
My goals for March are to:
– List items for sale on Facebook Marketplace and Poshmark.
– Meet with a nutritionist to go over some weight loss goals and diet modification. This is covered by my insurance.
– Enjoy a frugal, family vacation in sunny Florida!
– Clean out master bathroom drawers and under the sink.
– Clean out our freezer and assess what we have and will need.
Congratulations to Winter!
Congratulations to Winter! Brandy, you amaze me with your goals and accomplishments. When I put my goals out last time. They were for the year. They may change though. Mostly because I’m not sure I have time for everything I hoped to accomplish. For this month, I’d like to remain healthy. I’d like to lose a bit of weight. I want to organize my house. I’d like to look at seeds and plan a garden. If I accomplish those things I will be very happy. Oh, and do taxes!
I hope I’m not asking a question that’s already been answered. Is Winter designing/making her own wedding dress? I hope we get a peek as I always enjoy the sewing adventures of the Simper ladies!
Yes, she is making her own dress and veil. She is designing the pattern for the dress herself.
I love the goals posts. I see things you did not manage to accomplish from those posts as well and this gives more realistic picture. Otherwise it seems you accomplish everything you set your mind to and that feels me feel feeling low!
I definitely like to make a bigger list than I can accomplish!
Also i wanted to add, what a true dream future- daugter-in-law Winter must seem to her future in-laws by being eldest of big family and having such frugal parents, blogging to prove it 🙂 You can be proud and confident! Deeds speak louder than words, says an old saying here!
Congratulations to Winter and her fiance! An engagement is a happy and exciting time, no matter how simple the wedding is. A fairly frugal time for us, we had an electrical problem in our rental. My husband couldn’t fix ix it (he does most jobs himself). My lowest estimate was 850.0. I didn’t have 85.00 let alone 850.00! My sweet son was doing overtime but came on Sunday and fixed it. We wanted to give him something,even gas money but he would not no take it. My daughter in law and grandchildren hung out with us while he worked . when he was done (took 3 plus hours) he came in and said we could pay in pizza. so I bought 2 10.00 dollar pies and made the kids ice cream cones with ice cream from the freezer. 20.00 dollars, problem solved and a little party to boot! Brandy you and your husband will be in-laws,
Congratulations to Winter and her fiance. What a blessing to extend your family with a like minded son in law who shares your values and lifestyle. I married at 17 and this year we will celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary.
Congratulations to Winter and Kade ! I think this is the first time I have listed my goals for the month here on this blog.
Financial – As part of a bigger goal of paying off most of my debt in 2020 – for March I have one debt in mind to completely pay off by the end of the month. I follow DR and have my baby emergency fund at my goal amount. Any extra money that comes in will be 50% towards this particular debt and 50% towards extra expenses I know are coming up in the next few months. (I think this is similar to how GardenPat does it ?)
Homeschooling – take a few days off from work (using vacation pay) to take my daughter to a few extra activities – an aquarium and a living history museum.
Health and Fitness – run twice a week, run in one 5k race. Get my annual exams scheduled.
Personal – Finish watching a Great Course on Kanopy called Ancient Civilizations of North America
She does 50% towards paying down her mortgage and 50% in savings. But you can use the principal whichever way works best for you.
your daugher can have a “party” later. a pot luck party would be great..people always ask can they bring/make to help out. ask for a recipe card for the dish..i know u have plenty . all of them good.. oh and congrats
She does not want a party. She commented above about it. It’s not her thing.
My goals are far more modest. I work full-time outside the home so just keeping up at home is a daunting goal!
This week my goal is to get my house (including my guest room) back together, clean out the fridge, find everything my mother put away, and get all the linens refolded and situated.
Other goals are:
Treat the mold and repaint the inside of the living room cabinets.
Clean out under my bed.
Scrub the inside and outsides of my kitchen cabinets.
Spice inventory
Go to the gym twice a week
Continue meal planning
Work out a new budget with my husband
Amen, Brandy! I agree that the best wedding gift you could give Winter is to give her the freedom to have her wedding / wedding day the way she wants it to be. I think she is a very smart young lady. Congratulations to the soon-to-be newlyweds!
Wow where does the time fly.i started reading this blog as a sahm with my first born trying to survive on our single income. That’s probably about 12 years ago n now Winter is getting married and I am in shock. I will get over it… lol… congrats Winter May this season of your life be rich and blessed for each day it holds. Your mom has blessed many here with simple wisdom,encouragement and grace over the years. I know being a first born myself, take the best of it and make it yours n your alone.God Bless!