About Me

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I am a cloth diapering, breastfeeding, cosleeping, baby led weaning, extended rear facing, eco conscious, married mommy to two beautiful children. They have changed my view on the world we live in. It is now my number 1 goal to make it the best I can for them to grow up in. I find myself always rethinking how I want to live my life and often feel like sharing my findings and thoughts with others. So I guess here's my chance :o) I will talk about topics that interest me. If you dont like them or dont agree, well... there's nothing much I can do!

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Energy reduction challenge - 2nd update.

Alright. So we are about to get our 3rd statement of the year but before we do, I figured I'd take a look at the numbers for the 2nd part of the year. I was pretty bummed out when I first saw that our energy usage was up but decided to not give up my goal when I started looking at all the aspects.

Here's our energy usage for statement period compared with the same time last year.


Our use is up but so are the other homes. And we are still using less than other efficient homes according to Efficiency NS. I decided to go take a look at the average temperatures to see if that could have played a role and it did! The average temperature in 2014 for the 2 month period was 3 degrees Celsius colder than last year.

Looking forwards to the next couple statement periods, we should definitely see a drop. Since we are no longer paying to heat our home, we have consistently used less power year after year during the warmer months. We'll see what this year's numbers say soon enough!!

Our home energy report
Getting things ready

Monday, June 16, 2014

Meal planning is changing a bit

Last summer, we picked up our farm share on Thursdays. Since K was often away with work, I spent many weekend evenings over at my parents'. The fresh vegetables would normally sit there until Monday when I started cooking out own meals again. Even with K home this summer, weekends will hopefully still be pleasantly chaotic with camping and beach trips. I don't want any of our vegetables to go to waste so I need to figure out what else we can do.

So I'm switching our farm share pick up to Tuesdays. The location is further away but by making the trip part of our regular grocery day routine, it shouldn't be too bad. AND the new location is at a farmer's market so I can pick up other things at the same time!

Our meal plans for July to October will look different now. They will go from Wednesday to Tuesday.   Really looking forwards to sharing pictures of our weekly score as well as sharing the new recipes we decide to try. Until then, here's our plan for this week!

MMexican lasagna
THamburgers
WPork chops
T*Family outing
FPizza

Monday, June 2, 2014

Time for big changes. Join me!!

At several points in your life, you go through big changes. My biggest change was when I became a mother four years ago. I love my life now. I stay home with my 4 and 1 year old.  I enjoy cooking our meals from scratch. I am fit enough that I ran a half marathon last month. And now, I am looking forwards to gaining better control of our home by becoming a better homemaker.

Organizing and cleaning of my home is probably where I need the most help. We have a lot of stuff that is just taking up room that we are slowly working on getting rid of. Staying on top of cleaning often takes a backseat to any other activity. Sometimes I don't have time, sometimes I simply don't want to. But then when my home gets out of hand, it feels very chaotic. Enter the new online community Hardcore Homemakers.
"I started this website because I love cheering on my friends as they strive to improve themselves and their homes, and I am spurred on by the celebration my friends share with me when I take steps to make my abode more of a haven each day." - Emily Chapelle (creator)
I have tried other things before. Lists, routines. Things never really stuck. No surprise there since I have ALWAYS been bad at being "told" to do anything that requires lots of time and energy. Life or my plain ol' laziness got in the way. Sometimes, even though others don't see it as an achievement, the fact that all the toys are organized and put away can be a huge deal in our home. And I love when I can share that with others and they truly understand my happiness and will continue to cheer me on.

You must be thinking there that there must be some sort of catch. Well there is but not really. There is a fee to join this community. For just 12$ a month (US), you get access to daily task that never take more than 15 minutes to complete, weekly pep talk radio shows to help unblock mental hurdles, free printable planners and checklists, and free and ebooks. If that isn't enough, join for a year (126$) and not only do you have access to the monthly perks but also to discounted ebooks and online courses and a private Facebook group where we can share our questions and accomplishments. They even have a generous referral program if you want to share with others.

Still unsure? Skip the Starbucks for a couple days and give it a try. I am looking forwards to finding my awesome, finally becoming the hardcore homemaker I've always wanted to be and hopefully you will join me!

---> http://hardcorehomemaking.com/?i=fqzgMNwbkNu  -My affiliate link :)