Goodbye...

The bad news is that this will be my last post on this blog. It has been fun sharing by life through pictures and stories on here, but it is time to move on. The good news is this is not the end. You can still follow my crazy adventures over on my farm blog. It  has simply become too complicated to keep up two separate blogs. I was making the mistake of double posting both here and there and now I have a big mess. So now I am going to work towards integrating both blogs into one, possibly moving to a new blogging platform, and hopefully making it easy for you to subscribe to either my more personal posts, my more farm related posts, or both. Thank you for reading my blog and I hope you will enjoy the farm blog just as well.  Come visit it at: http://engells-simplegiftsfarm.blogspot.com/

My little boys helping plant hazelnut bushes this spring.

A Winter Blog Update

It has been a little while since I have posted anything. But I have some good excuses, really I do. First off we have been down in California visiting my family and we were having way too much fun to post anything! Secondly I am not sure what I am going to do with this blog and have been avoiding posting until I get it figured out. You see I have two blogs. One for the farm and one more personal. Well I have been happily going along posting to both of them and often double posting to both of them. Uh-oh, little did I know that was a big mistake. Apparently duplicate content can negatively affect how your sites show up in search engines. Thanks to my friend Gretchen I am now aware of the error of my ways, but I am still not sure what to do about it. I might keep both blogs separate, but delete the duplicate posts or I might try to merge the two together and only have one blog. Oh the agony of deciding! I am still undecided, but decided to go ahead and post for now.
So as I was saying we went down to California for a visit with my family. It was such a relaxing and refreshing time for us after our crazy, busy year of farming. The sunshine and sea breezes were just what we needed. While down there we relaxed, visited family and friends, played games, went to the beach several times, went window shopping in a couple of cute villages, went out for coffee, stayed up late watching movies, took the boys to the zoo, sat on the back porch, visited farmer's markets, and just relaxed.
I also turned 30 years old while down there. It is hard to believe that I am that old already. I had a very nice birthday. Andrew took me out for breakfast and I got crepes, my favorite! After that we went shopping in San Luis Obispo. We didn't buy anything but had lots of fun looking in all the shops downtown and going to the mall.
Now that we are home I am feeling motivated to get back on schedule and get organized. Spring will be here again before we know it, I'd better get ready for it!

My amazing sister playing two games at once. Hand and foot
with us and Uno with David

The boys had a horse ride on Misty, my old pony.

Blood Oranges are so beautiful

Drinking Tea with Aunt Melissa

The table on the back porch set for a tea party.

Two Cute Boys!

Looking at the parrots at the zoo.

Watching little animals at the zoo.

Looking at the Sea Elephants

Watching the Sea Elephants

Sea Elephants laying on the beach

At Morro Bay

Playing in the sand

Digging in the sand

Toes in the sand

Running in the waves

Simple Safe Household Cleaner

Having children has made me reevaluate many of the things I do around the house. When it comes to cleaning my house I only want to use products that are safe and non-toxic. I don't want my kids or even myself around all the harsh and toxic chemicals that are in conventional cleaning products. I have been pleasantly surprised by how simple and easy it can be to make many cleansers myself. White vinegar is one of my favorite all purpose household products. Recently I discovered the idea of soaking leftover citrus peels in it and using that as an all purpose cleaner. It works great in the kitchen or the bathroom. It cleans up my greasy stove nicely and is great on my cabinets, mirrors, etc. I have made it with orange, lime or lemon peels, and they have all turned out great. They each add a pleasing scent to the vinegar plus they have great antibacterial properties and help cut grease. The last batch I made with lemon peels and added a few sprigs of fresh rosemary. I think you could make several combinations of citrus and herbs depending on what you wanted. Many herbs have their own antibacterial properties and with a little research you could decide which ones you wanted to use. The process to create this cleaner is so simple!

What you will need: glass jar, any size you want distilled white vinegar citrus peels of your choice a few branches of fresh herbs if desired spray bottle strainer and funnel

Method: Simply place leftover citrus peels in the jar. Gently press down and cover with vinegar. Screw on a lid and let sit for about 3 weeks. Strain vinegar into an empty spray bottle. Use full strength on surfaces such as greasy stovetops or dilute with half water for cleaning mirrors.

Here are a few herbs you might like to add:
Thyme - has antibiotic and disinfectant properties
Sage - effective on germs and also has many anti-fungal properties
Rosemary - anti-microbial properties
Lavender – disinfectant, antiseptic, natural antibiotic properties
Peppermint - antibacterial properties
Cinnamon Sticks - anti-fungal and anti-microbial

Lemon peels and fresh rosemary in white vinegar

After sitting for 3 weeks simply strain into a spray bottle

The finished product!