First week of January....CHECK!

So, we are nearing the end of the first week of 2014. While I would love to say it's been a relaxing start to the year, but I'd be lying! :-) It has been fairly tame when compared to the holiday season, it has been chaos trying to keep animals warm and making all kinds of adjustments to allow for the negative double digit temps! I have heard complaints about it being too cold, that's understandable! It is cold! I have heard and seen people complaining about those complaining. It's quite comical to me. Since we have to get out in the weather, no matter the temps, I would love nothing more than to have fair weather all the time. That just isn't sensible though. We live in the Midwest, we expect cold and snow. However, the temps we have are not normal, these are record setting temps...as in, it's been 30 years since this area has seen temps like this. So, I really believe people have a right to complain it's cold. I personally love Winter, I love the snow and cold. I am not liking the current weather though. We struggle to keep our animals warm when it's cold and cool when it's hot. I would much rather it be cold than hot though! I have said many times, you can only legally take off so many clothes! ;)

Ok, so enough of the cold weather stuff. While life has seriously slowed down for us, it's a temporary slow down! As we are on the down hill slide from Christmas, it's just a short stint before the giant hill that encases our Spring. I am in garden planning mode, while doing some much needed deep cleaning, organizing, and attempting to find some peace within myself. Garden planning always begins in January. New seed catalogs arrive just about daily, and I am already itching to get my hands in dirt! I hope to get more landscaping done this year. Not to mention a few new gardens, some new trees and maybe even a few new flowers. One of the new beds(at least) will be herbs. I love my fresh herbs, but have a horrible time growing them indoors. We are redoing our ramp, so that will require some extra landscaping. I am anxious to get outside this Spring. For me, the gardens are the only good things about Summer! Right now, I am looking outdoors, admiring the beautiful snow, watching a few birds playing in it, and even the wind howling across our little hayfield is like music. This cold and snow is so beneficial for gardens. It has definitely put the gardens to rest for a short spell, and the snows will do much for hydration as they melt and allow necessary nutrients to soak into the soils. We haven't really had enough snow or cold spells in recent years to truly allow for replenished soils. Gardening this Spring will be fun!

Deep cleaning for me, includes scrubbing walls and windows, and minimizing all the "stuff" that has cluttered up around us. It means every single room has 2-3 trash bags, and clothing is sorted to get rid of. It means that functioning in clutter and mess is over until garden season is in full swing. By then, everything gets messy again because I have better things to do than worry about a clean house! So, all the curtains come down to be washed, all the blankets get washed, all the blinds get washed, all the furniture is moved to be vacuumed under/walls get washed, each room is sorted/organized and refreshed. While the cleaning schedule has been only done minimally for the past 2 years, this year I will be back on track!

Spring officially begins in just 73 days, March 20th. That means just about 2 months to get my house in order...both physically and figuratively!

As I begin my organizing, I am arranging my days to allow for "me" time. This "me" time will be for whatever I need...whether it's time in complete quiet, meditation, doing any number of the hobbies I enjoy or even just a soak in the tub. I have preached for years, and not listened to myself, that you can't do anyone any good unless you take care of yourself first. I have put myself on a back burner for many years to give my kids what I think they need/want. It's time for this Mom to take care of herself. I am going to ask for some volunteers each season for advancing my photography. I am going to get back to my crafting, spend every minute possible outdoors, and spend as much time as humanly possible working with my Mustangs. March until November will be busy, but with things I enjoy. It's high time that Salli gets to enjoy life instead of just dragging from chaos to catastrophe all the time! By the time October rolls around, I hope to be in a much better place, emotionally, to prepare for the holiday season, than I was in 2013.

Emotionally, I am letting go of baggage that has been with me, some of it for 30 years, completely! I don't forget, but it's time to let it go. As I have struggled with my inner peace, and getting back to solid emotional ground, I am finding that there are many issues that have basically held me back. After reading a great blog this morning, from a great writer, I am ready to be - perfectly ME! Even as I write this, I am reminded of part of her article that reminds us, we don't need validation from anyone else. We have everything we need within ourselves to achieve whatever it is we desire. We just have to lose the negativity and be willing to jump out of our comfort zones! I am JUMPING out of mine. After being willing to give up my drivers license just 3 weeks ago...I may just need it this year. I may just leave our little homestead more than twice a month this year!

So, for the first week of January...I think it has been overall pretty productive. Now, just to make the rest of my 2014 book, look just as beneficial and productive!

Find beauty in every surrounding!
~Salli~