Business Opportunity

I posted this to my other blog.


Let me start by saying this: I am not a "get rich quick" kind of gal. Nothing can or should can be achieved without hard work. I do not promote a product or a business unless I 100% believe in the company.

That being said, I was told yesterday of a wonderful opportunity with a company that I have had previous experience with...

For the month of May, Melaleuca is offering a special promotion:

Sign up 8 customers and receive a bonus of $1000... yep!

This is a company that I was introduced to more than 2 years ago and was a faithful customer for about 18 months. I LOVE the products and how the company is run and their focus on helping families achieve their goals.

I am going to be honest here... As much as I love the products, I did not promote the business side for one simple reason... because I didn't believe I could.

Since then I have renewed a friendship with someone who proves that what you set your mind to you can achieve... and don't take no for an answer!

This person is crazy, faces life head on, and acknowledges no obstacles... only ways to overcome them.

She is good at pulling me out of the comfort zone of my mind and helping me to realize that life doesn't have to stay where it is at. If you don't like where you are at or something isn't working for you, change it!

So, with this renewed sense of direction I am going to jump out on a limb here... Come this Saturday, May 25, I would like to rejoin Melaleuca with at least 8 people who want to change their way of looking at life.

The beauty of this company is that it is internet based. You don't have to have an inventory, you don't have to do parties(unless you want to), you don't even have to talk to anyone face to face(unless you want)!

I have heard of at least one mom who makes a living from her family, has customers and team members all over the country, and has never left her home! She markets on-line and on the phone.

Check out this page Melaleuca On A Mission

Watch the videos, do some research. This is a solid company with a solid financial history and a mission to help families.

I have tried many different products for cleaning my house and taking care of my families health needs. I can honestly say that Melaleuca, hands down, gets my seal of approval.

Their cleaning products are concentrated so you use less. The spray cleaners are refillable with each refill making anywhere from 2-6 bottles of spray so you are not being charged for the water in your product! Their vitamins are the most effective ones I have taken besides the line a doctor prescribed to me when I was a teen. All of their products are nontoxic, safe for your home and the environment. They have a line of sports nutrition that is the best I have ever used. Weight-loss aids, first-aid supplies, makeup, snacks... you name it they have it!

This coming Sunday celebrates 13 years of marriage to my wonderful husband. I would love to celebrate that milestone by securing the financial future for us and our children.

Do you know 8 people who are concerned about the health of their families, the safety of their cleaning supplies, and the quality of their nutrition and vitamins? Would they like to make extra money knowing that the products they are sharing are safe, effective and checking account friendly?

If you are interested you can e-mail me at theashlandmanor@gmail.com
I will answer your questions to the best of my ability.

We have until May 31 to get everyone in on this promotion. Will you join me?

The Imperfect Way To: Build a Pallet Garden

Just about every morning, before I get out of bed, I check in with my self. I ask me what I need to do to nurture me today... I always answer with something different... A pedicure... an aromatherapy bath... yoga... chocolate...

Today... I answered with gardening... some time spent grounding myself by burying my hands in the ground.

I have had this old pallet sitting in my back yard for almost a year now. I knew I wanted to make a pallet garden I just wasn't sure how... Then it got to hot... then it got to cold... then it rained...

Now it is the first week in April and I have almost missed the Spring planting time for my arid climate! 

Even though there are about 75 other things I could be doing... I took myself out the back door to soak up some vitamin D and set up my garden!

Mavis over at One Hundred Dollars a Month has a wonderful pallet garden tutorial here and a vertical pallet garden tutorial here... she is my hero...

Anyway... I have this old pallet...

Materials you will need:

A pallet

Something to back your pallet with

Scissors

Staple gun

Staples

Garden soil

Seeds

Water

I don't have any garden fabric... Which is recommended... and getting some is not in the budget... so I am improvising! I am using a double layer of plastic sheeting that we bought to mask off areas during our construction.

Take your backing of choice and staple it really good to the back of your pallet... I meant to take pictures of it all stapled but was to excited... forgive me?

 

 

I bought this bag of organic soil at my local Home Depot. It is a 3 cubic feet bag and cost under $8.00 

 

Cut a hole in the top of the bag and dump it in!

(You can plant right in the bag... a topic for future gardening fun..)

 

Here it is with all the soil smoothed out. You have to be sure and push the dirt under the rungs of your pallet... The roots of your plants will need to spread more sideways than normal so you want to be sure to have the soil even.

 

Here is what I planted:

In the very back section:

Snap peas

Tomatoes

The first narrow row:

Bell peppers

The next narrow row:

Celery

The front wide section:

Onion sets

Spinach

 Calendula

I am taking a chance with the celery and spinach... I am late in planting them... But gardening should be a fun case of trial and error! 

My plan is for the peas to grow up the side of the chicken coup and the calendula will act as a shade for the spinach. 

I will need to water this probably twice a day. It is shallow and the sun just sucks the moisture out of everything around here!

Now... we wait and see what develops...

Groceries For The Week

Money is tight. You hear that everywhere you go. People are losing their jobs, having to get creative or just plain cut back on not only luxuries but also on the everyday necessities. We have had to tighten our belts and our purse strings a lot recently. We are not wealthy by ANY stretch of the imagination. Our children qualify fro free lunch but we do not qualify for government assistance... which is fine... We have had enough to meet the bills, buy the gas and groceries, and have a little "fun" money.  

Now things are very tight. I am not sure where the funds are going to come from to meet our needs... but I do know that God is faithful and has always provided what we NEED.

In the meantime, the bills still need to be paid and we still need to put gas in the car... so that leaves the groceries and the "fun" that is feeling the squeeze. I am focusing on the groceries for now. Later on I will share frugal fun... once I get that figured out! 

Here are the groceries I purchased this week. Keep in mind there are 5 of us. Hubby, myself, and 3 growing and active children. As well as a turtle, a cat, one remaining chicken(thanks to one of the dogs), and 5 dogs. I haven't figured out the animal needs yet... trusting that they will be provided for when the time comes.

I purchased all of my groceries at Walmart. I will do this for the first month or so as a baseline cost. Then I will start bargain shopping elsewhere.

I try to cook as much as I can with whole, natural foods. While I do prefer to use organic, that really doesn't fit into my budget at the moment. But I do have a few tips I will be sharing along the way... So stay tuned! 

 4-pack of Charmin  $3.36

1 roll paper towel  $.97

1 box Kleenex  $.97

2 bars Fels Naptha soap  $1.94

1 can shave cream(store brand)  $1.67

2 boxes mac and cheese(store brand)  $1.36

2 Cup-o-Noodles  $.50

1 lb thin spaghetti  $.82

2 lb white beans  $1.88

1 bag egg noodles  $1.00

1 pkg corn tortillas(24ct)  $1.68

1 loaf clearance Italian bread  $.96

2 bags romaine hearts  $5.96

3 pack bell peppers  $3.88

1 bag green onions  $1.15

1 pkg hot dogs  $1.00

1 lb lean ground beef(clearance price)  $3.35

1 doz cage free eggs  $2.68

 3 lb frozen chicken breast  $7.98

1 bag frozen mixed veggies  $1.67

What is not in the picture is a card I bought for my secret sister and 2 boxes of soda that hubby gave me money for.

My total, after tax, came to $49.57... Just barely inside my $50 per week budget.

Now, I know I could have saved even more money by cutting back on the quality of my meat, eggs and toilet paper... but I need to keep a few luxuries!

I will be making videos throughout the week detailing how I am using these ingredients. 

I hope this helps someone with struggling to provide for their families in these times. Just remember you are not alone!

My Hair

I, like most women have had a life-long, on and off, love-hate, relationship with my hair. It has been a multitude of lengths from my waist when I was in my teens, shoulder length when I started having children, above chin my chin after a frightening bout of alopecia, and currently bra strap length. It has been layered, permed and highlighted.... but, the one thing I have never done is change the color... I love my deep copper/ginger hair color!

I have tried various hair care theories and "miracle" products. Here is my conclusion....

I LOVE long hair. I come from a traditionalist family where a woman's hair is her crowning glory and is kept long. I also have a love for historic fashion.... which included LONG hair, always pinned up in beautiful up-dos.

One of the recent changes in my life is that I have started going to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts to pursue a degree in massage therapy with certificates in aromatherapy and cranial unwinding... and that is only the beginning. Going to a holistic healing school has made me take a hard look at how I live my life and what products I am using to care for myself, my family, my pets and my home.

So, here are the goals for my hair:

1. Length- currently bra strap length (BSL) with layers. I would like it to be waist length, not sure if I  will keep the layers or not yet.

2. Health- I have naturally wavy/curly hair, fine but a lot of it. It tends to be dry , especially the ends.

I am working up a hair care plan and home formulated care products using essential oils and other natural products. No chemical/mainstream products. as an incentive I am getting rid of all my styling products.... GHA!! very scary....

Another thing I know I need to do is wear my hair up most of the time to help maintain moisture and prevent breakage.

Each week I will post pictures of my styles for the week and what my routine has been and any fabulous experiments I have discovered.

Ready.... Set.... Go!

My Newest Hobby

When I say I have a new hobby my wonderful husband just laughs.... You see, I have many, many, MANY hobbies. So for me to say I have a new one... isn't really anything new!

But I think this one might just make that man of mine smile... as long as I stick to it. What is my new hobby you are wondering? Well... it is organizing...(shhh, don't tell anyone)

Organizing is not something I have EVER though I would enjoy doing, or be able to do for that matter. I love the look of organized spaces. I love organizing supplies. I went into one of those organizing super stores once... had to almost be dragged out I was so overwhelmed... And there in lies the problem.

I never know where to begin!

So, when I stumbled across this wonderful banner.....

I thought..AHA! Here is where I start!! (go ahead and picture me doing a happy dance now)

Here it is... my first totally-ish organized space. It is calm, it is beautiful... and I am totally excited to do more!

I must mention.... The Man and I are starting to work out a financial plan. That is code for "no more spending". That means that whatever I organize wither has to be done for free or come out of the grocery budget... Which means it has to be done for free. The people around here get pretty cranky if I mess with their food...

 The total office space. It is actually a corner of my living/dining room. I just updated the bulletin board that is hanging above the desk. The Man brought it home from work a couple years ago. Now it will be our planning/dream board for our new financial journey :)

 This is the left side of my desk. On the top is two of our new binders. I am not sure if I will use separate binders for meal planning and emergency preps or try to fit it in my Home Management binder. In the wicker organizer is extra printer paper, the current grocery ads and receipts, envelopes(that I use more for organizing than actually mailing anything), scissors, hole punch, extra printer ink, and all my pens. In the first cubby is my label-er, my pin cushion for the bulletin board, a crystal dish that was my grandmothers containing hand sanitizer, chap stick and a sharpener and the three whole punch. On the bottom are some clip art books, a zipper pouch with my permanent markers and a note pad.

 Close up of the verse at the top of my plan/dream board.... seemed appropriate :)

 My note card holder made from scrapbook paper. I stuck it up using some of the ticky-tack stuff. I copied the note cards out of my clip art books. We will use these to write our financial goals and other plans on. We can also use them for our blessings jar I will show in a moment.

 The right side of the desk. The mail sorter has some pictures and the ticket for a spaghetti dinner at church that I don't want to lose, the envelopes for the UPC codes on the dog food(we buy 12 and get a free bag), and my action folders-To Do, To File, To Shred.. they still need labels. In the pretty box is all sorts of cords... most I have no idea but we can't lose them!... or so I'm told. The bottom is my financial planning books. The printer sits on a small filing cabinet the has all the homework supplies in it(pencils, sharpener, crayons...)

And finally our blessings jar. This is new for us this year. I saw the idea on Pinterest and had to join in! If you don't know, you write down all the good things that happens to your family during the year and place them in the jar. On New Years of the following year you sit down as a family and review all the blessings you have received.

There is my beautiful "new" office space. I love it! It inspires me to continue and make the rest of my home this beautiful.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit. Please come back for the kitchen!!

The Wedded Life

The benediction that falls upon the homes of a country is like the gentle rain that descends among the hills. A thousand springs are fuller afterward, and along the banks of a thousand streamlets flowing through the valleys the grass is greener and the flowers pour out richer fragrance.

Homes are the springs among the hills, whose many streamlets, uniting, form, like great rivers, society, the community, the nation, the Church. If the springs run low the rivers waste; if they pour out bounteous currents the rivers are full. If the springs are pure the rivers are clear like crystal; if they are foul the rivers are defiled. A curse upon the homes sends a poisoning blight everywhere; a blessing sends healing and new life into every channel.

Homes are the divinely ordained fountains of life. It is not by accident that men live in families rather than solitarily. The human race began in a family, and Eden was a home. The divine blessing has ever rested upon nations and communities just in the measure in which they have adhered to these original institutions and have kept marriage and the home pure and holy; and blight and curse have come just in the measure in which they have departed from these divine models, dishonoring marriage and tearing down the sacred walls of home.

From Home Making by Dr. J.R. Miller

Welcome to the homestead!

A while ago, Candy at http://myblessedhome.blogspot.com/ asked her readers to post tours of their home. Well, here is mine!

We bought this home last summer, such a God thing! We should not have been able to purchase anything, much less a house... but it happened. It was the first house we looked at.... 20 houses later and 3 rejected offers on other "dream" homes, we got this one! Turns out it couldn't be more perfect than if we built it ourselves, funny how God knows these things ;-)

It is just shy of 1400 square feet and was built in 1948, all block construction except for the addition. I love that when the monsoon comes I don't feel like my house is going to blow away!

Front of the house. My son posing with the chihuahua and his little soccer ball. That is a jar of sun tea busy working on the side of the driveway....
Our gigantic grapefruit tree right outside the front door. It is starting to bloom, the fragrance greets you when you open the door:-)
The last of this years crop. That basket is huge! Hubby pulled all the fruit off so the tree could put more energy into flower production. This years crop is only really good for juicing... The tree did not get enough water last year because the house sat empty for 8 months before we moved in. The fruit has good flavor, just a little tough.
The welcoming committee!
My little starter garden. Hubby and I are still in negotiation as to yard space :-S I currently have, in the back row: pumpkins, peas and apple mint. In the front row: nasturtium, bell peppers and thyme.
Our cat wondering what I am doing...
Grapefruit blossoms :-D
The two books I constantly refer to as I figure out how to homestead on a largish lot in the middle of a sprawling metropolis!
This is the wall that will house the piano in a couple weeks, it is currently next door at my mom's house. The pile on the floor is bound for Goodwill.
My antique sewing table. The lamp belonged to my grandmother. It has little vines painted around it. The books are form our recent trip to the library. There is not usually a license plate there.... long story....
The family table. It is made of alder and was custom finished. All of the chairs will eventually be white...
The home school corner. I home school my two younger children. The oldest has currently decided he wants to attend a school in our neighborhood. The laptop is here because the desk is in the "project room". We just sit at the table right now when we use it.
My center piece. The handkerchief belonged to hubby's great-grandmother. The rose quartz is a candle holder we bought at a local museum. In the pink vase is a plant clipping from my son's first grade teacher and the other jar is a lemon balm clipping I am hoping will grow roots.

One of our many book cases. The bottom two shelves are the kids books. The rest are novels and story books. The room to the right is the "project room" aka the family room. I will add pictures when we are done with the remodel... it is a mess!
The bar and window looking into the kitchen

This is the rocking chair my dad bought me when I was pregnant with our oldest. I made the sunflower pillow and hubby's grandmother made the throw. The eagle picture is a piece of artwork my parents bought after they were married.

Here is the first counter you see when you walk into the kitchen. The cabinets above hold our everyday pantry items. In the corner is my sugar and oatmeal, two bowls of pecans from the back yard waiting to be shelled and an egg carton that I use to hold everyday items like scissors, my cell phone, pencils...etc.

A continuation of the same counter. On top of the microwave is the butter bowl, some napkins, and yes, another license plate... don't ask. the shelving unit was built by my hubby and holds my massive collection of cookbooks. The containers on the bottom shelf are for brown rice and whole wheat flour. Next to that is a basket of onions. The coffee cups used to be my parents and are older that I am! I don't use them but think they are pretty...

Here is my beautiful stove! I was nervous about cooking with gas when we first moved in... now I don't think I could ever go back! The pot on the stove has some navy beans that are in the works for tonight's dinner. The stool next to the stove is a favorite hangout for the kids when I am cooking.

The kitchen sink. The upper cabinets are original to the house! I have my collection of canning jars in the little nook waiting for peach season to come around! On the counter to the right is my notebook for shopping lists and my daily planner. Behind that is my knife block, coffee canister, cutting board and Home Management Binder. I keep my master schedule, meal plans and such in there and transfer it to my daily planner. My kitchen is to small to leave the big binder out all the time. The blue bowl to the left is some broth waiting to go into the beans.

My beautiful fridge that my in-laws bought us. I was thinking of fashioning an ice-less fridge.... but this works! Yes, that is Jack in his kitchen! Hubby works for him so we thought it appropriate ;-) When hubby's store was being remodeled he snagged this picture for me!

This is an adorable little laundry basket hubby bought me at a discount store. It holds my kitchen towels that I try to wash a couple of times a week.

This is the little landing on the way out the back door. Behind my ironing board is my future studio. It is small and there is nothing in it right now... a project in the making.

Looking out the back door... Here is our tree that turned out beautifully after hubby trimmed it. We are going to put a little sitting area out there :-)
Here is the shed that one of the previous owners put in. He built it himself so it is solid! already wired for electricity and it has a loft... lots of storage! The area to the left of it has been reserved for a special project (details to come ;-)
This is our looong patio. The kids love riding their scooters up and down it. The far end will eventually have raised concrete planters for my garden.
A picture of our faithful watch dog! She is avidly guarding the dog food kept in the metal bin ;-) There is also the kids collection scooters and bicycle and a pot that will eventually hold the grape vine I found growing wild under the tree! (that is mom's house:-)
This is my beautiful washer and dryer that hubby bought me last spring! Unfortunatly we have to keep them on the back porch for now. This whole area will be closed in as a screened in porch sometime in the future.....

I kept the tour to only the public rooms. Some of the angels were sleeping and some really needed to clean their rooms! Maybe I will do a separate post later on...

Hope you enjoy!