I've moved the Romantic Mom Blog....you can find me over here! Feel free to visit my archives....in fact, please do! ...as well as all the links, gadgets, and buttons in the sidebar. Come join me and see what's new! : D
I'm now introducing a new feature.... or type of blog....to this site called Style Stories that I hope you'll have fun shopping and browsing at your leisure. You can also find these posts listed under the category Shop the Story. I'll incorporate the idyllic aspects so intrinsic to Maine with wonderful products I've discovered on Amazon to help transport you....even if it is only from your armchair. Enjoy! Well, for some bizarre, yet to be explained by Weebly reason my photos aren't going up, that's what's up....or what's not up. Soooo, I wanted to post a few links I've come across recently....since I can't share the photos from along the coast I took last Sunday...gorgeous wild flowers....blue sky, ocean....so incredibly full of color right now! (I'm seriously considering moving this blog over to Blogger. I'll let you know if I decide to defect!)
By the way, speaking of photos, I came across this site called The Photographer's Life...great tips on how to turn your photos into cash. Love the concept....as I'm sure many of you camera-slinging-types like me do, too! Recently I just finished the Total Money Makeover book by the 'King of No Debt' David Ramsey that my friend, Denise G. loaned to me. What a great book....wish I'd read it like YEARS ago. Better late than never, huh. I'm eager to get the wallet with the cute little handy-dandy envelope system in it....and yes, actually put it to use! Also along the 'Budget' lines, I've been perusing the Money Saving Mom site....a very cool site my frend, Heather, has referred me to on several occasions....but I never took the time to really dive into it. Silly me, once again! She's got so many tips and coupons, and ideas...great for the 'home economist' as she puts it. What else is not up? We went to go look at the wonderful farmhouse that I was really hoping would work out for us. However, it appears there are going to be some snags with that whole deal. Not sure if we can work through them eventually....or if we need to move onto some other plan. Keep you posted on those developments. Wrestling with the question of do we rent or do we try to buy? Right now we're majorly leaning in the rent direction....for a number of reasons. I guess I'm just looking for a stepping stone at the moment. Something that allows us to re-group and be more flexible at this stage of life. I know the idea of renting is totally un-American, but it sounds rather appealing to me...at least at the moment. Meanwhile, I did make my own nest in the Twitter tree....finally. Been holding out for how long now? You can take a look at my tweets over in the sidebar...or feel free to join in on the conversation. And guess what...I can't get any photos to load in my profile box there either. What's not up with this stuff??? Hang in there with me....hope to have some new photos loaded soon! xoxo : D Well, I'm officially back in the saddle again....so to speak. I ran into a major drama with my domain name....as in losing it entirely....slipping between the cracks at Weebly (my web hoster) into the netherlands of cyberspace. So for all of you who clicked onto the Romantic Mom and got nothing but a link to some dating site....that was why. Yes, I was not a happy camper....more like a panicked, tremulous, tragedy-has-struck-my-world camper. I seriously thought that I'd lost everything....every cotton pickin' thang!
BUT tragedy was averted and it's all been remedied now. I do still enthuse Weebly luv to everyone and still can't find any deal....as in build-ur-own website-for dummies out there who allows me, the goober on all matters 'web design' related and otherwise, to pull something resembling a website together....and all for pretty cheap. I transferred my domain name (theromanticmom.com) over to Go Daddy for only $7.50. Then I'd been told that there was a way to 'point' the domain name back to weebly. Of course that had me intimidated into do-nothing mode for a couple of weeks. I finally called the Go Daddy hotline and a really nice guy named Michael walked me thru the all of 3 second process. Seriously...2 seconds if your computer's faster than mine is. Then 24-48 hours later my site is back online again. Whew....so I'm back in the saddle. No more drama for at least 2 years now....since I pre-paid for 2 years....to save myself this kinda drama. So, speaking of drama, dating service for my domain name was the least of it lately. Like 3/4 of the known universe, we had our share of troubles over the past couple of years. The past 2 winters have been especially harsh....and not just weather-wise....tho that's been rather harsh too. However, I happen to LOVE snow....and all the fun things I can do in snow. Watering and feeding animals, shoveling snow, super-high winds with snow....um blizzards. Not so much fun. Add to that all the financial problems with high heating bills, no work, business falling thru the floor, etc. Not fun. Long story short, we were faced with a big decision this Spring. We've been struggling ever since we moved to Maine almost 7 years ago to hold onto our 40 acres and build a log home out of pocket. Unfortunately, that whole endeavor has gotten the best of us. We made the decision to forfeit that whole thing and move on. It was very difficult, heart-wrenching, all of that....but we feel that it was really the right thing to do given our family situation. Now we have some money in the bank, my husband can concentrate on his new job, we don't have to spend every blinking moment wondering how we're ever gonna get a roof over our heads. We've also out grown the house I co-own with my dad that we've been living in since we moved up here, and that's on the market now, too. Big whew. So what are we doing? Good question. Well, if everything goes the way we hope it does, we'll be moving into a big farmhouse with a beg beautiful attached barn......that I've always adored...with lots of fields behind the barn, lake and stream nearby....quintessential New England. I'll keep ya'll posted. Honestly, this is just the skim the surface, get to the point version of the story. I'll fill in more of the gaps as time goes on....and when I'm not so in limbo. In and amongst all of that, I also went and got my Insurance certification this past March...passed that majorly arcane 3 hour exam the first time. Couldn't believe it! I haven't studied for a test like that in 20 yrs...since I graduated from college. More on that later as well. I'm actually excited, tho, about a new beginning....and so are the kiddos! New summer adventures, for sure! : D What is it about Spring....with its hint of wispy yellow-green leaves, thick green grass, sunny yellow daffodils, dandelions, and billowing forsythia bushes...that brings out the sense of fresh starts and new beginnings? Well, I must say that our family is definitely experiencing all sorts of new beginnings in our lives this year. It's rather tumultuous and unpredictable...just like the essence of that quintessential tousled, tangled cottage garden...when in early Spring we have no idea where wayward, gypsy flowers may pop up and surprise us! But with each new burst of bloom comes the anticipation of growth, fresh experiences, stretching tall, arching out, and reaching up, up, up towards the sun. I just planted my first window boxes with round yellow pansies....I'm drawn to a yellow-themed early Spring this time around. Soon the yellow will give way to purples, blues, and shades of pinks. I've also lined my kitchen windows with small pots of wonderful herbs. However, it's still too cold....even that menace Jack Frost is urking about...so I dare not get too ambitious too early. I must say it's so tempting though! So small pots and window boxes it is for now. There's certainly one thing Spring in Maine has taught me well....patience!! Hope you're all having a terrific Spring!
This is my daughter's bunny, Truffles....or I should say...was Truffles. We sadly lost one of our bunnies this winter. However, we're now looking forward to Spring and new batches of baby bunnies! We need two actually....our youngest is now ready for a bun-bun of her own as well. Bring on Spring....babies and blooms! : D Hello everyone! And Happy Winter!! I realize that I've been absent for way too long...and I do hope that you've found plenty to peruse even without my posts. Please forgive me! I'll try to throw a few more blogs up here a bit more regularly now. As it is, we're still immersed in four feet of snow....and yep, we love it!! Perhaps a hint of Spring is in the air.... but please... don't make me give up on winter yet! We're having a Harvest Party A Harvest Party Weekend actually.... Harvest Party-Roof Raising !! We hope to finally get the roof up on our log home... and have a little fun while we do it! October 2-3 On our land in Plymouth, Maine We'll have smoked turkey, chicken, with other scrumptious pot luck dishes & desserts. Big Bonfire Sat. evening ** Anyone who would like to bring a tent for camping out is welcome ** Any and all are invited to come join in on the fun! And we'll try to fit some work in too! ** Please contact me for directions & info ** So yeah, it's been awhile since I last posted, hasn't it !! Hope you're having a wonderful summer...planting gardens, walking beaches, soaking up lots of sunshine and the great outdoors. We've been over on our land since early Spring...and basically 'unplugged' except for a Blackberry phone with teeny tiny keys. And my other computer is officially crashed at the moment. Being as tech-y dysfunctional as I am, I've not been able to update like I hoped I would nor access Facebook for those who look for updates over there, too. I'm really sorry 'cause I've got SO MUCH that I want to share and show you! Maybe we can remedy this situation soon.
As we speak I'm on a computer in our local library typing away like a mad-woman...majorly suffering from withdrawals here. Something similar to a severe lack of chocolate but in my case it's a computer screen...an actually huge, very LARGE computer screen...that I'm quite positive can be seen from across the street. Don't believe me? Someone just cruised out of the thrift store over there waved...and corrected my spelling. Seriously! OK, excuse me, that was the librarian. So what have ya'll been up to?? Gotten some emails and of course I always love to hear from you anytime. We're putting in a much larger garden this season and also trying some charcoal amended soil that seems to be working really well. We're doing a series of raised beds with wood chips along the paths. This summer we're concentrating more on getting the infrastructure in place...as much as I was hoping to get more planted. Ya know how it goes, never get as much done as you hope for! But the squash and tomatoes are going nuts. I also put in a separate herb garden that's really lovely right now...especially the basil! Let's see, there's marjoram (smells heavenly!), sage, thyme, rosemary, Italian parsley, dill, some shallots (may need to be transplanted), chives...interspersed with geraniums, daisies, and phlox. Gorgeous? I'm lovin' it...totally! I do have some photos/videos loaded on iTookThisOnmyPhone....if you'd like to peruse a bit of our summer fun! Our Spring 'baby' had her 6th Birthday this month! What is it about May and Birthdays?? Vibrant greens and yellows... the promise of more blossoms and blooms to come... And of course DANDELIONS! with pretty presents! Our Birthday girl also got plenty of Spring sunshine... This Spring we celebrated over on our land... a great novelty for us all. We've seriously unplugged, unloaded, and continue to simplify, simplify! It's all about nature, the outdoors, and just a very few treasured toys to enjoy. This being the case, our son is busily (and with undaunted determination!) building his own hut...cutting down the trees, dragging them out of the woods, peeling the logs...you name it, he's doing it all! While our girls are thrilled over their new glass dolls... ready for picnic tea parties and wonderful woodland romps! |
I've moved my blog to...
The Romantic Mom blog
The Romantic Mom
Let's Chat!
what else am I doing?
|