SRKindredSpirits

 I'm 33 yrs old and I got my first speeding ticket today. I was driving through Carmel, IN.... on my way to my first consultation with my new surgeon. I've never driven though Carmel before, and every street I took had a detour that routed you to another street that had a detour, that routed you to another street that had a detour..... so after my 3rd detour reroute in a strange, busy city, I was started to worry that I'd be late - even though I left a half hour early....  Anyway, the speed limit was 40 (last I saw) we were on a 4 lane street and there were cars all around me. I was in the right lane. There was a guy behind me honking his horn for me to go faster (I was going about 47...) anyway, the guy passes me on the left and as soon as he does, there are police lights behind me. The officer said I was doing 50 and sure enough, the speed limit had just changed to 30 and in the confusion, I didn't see it.... so yes, I admit I was speeding , but I d

Fourteen years ago, I was a single mom. I made $12,000 a year, and lived paycheck to paycheck. It wasn't much, but it paid the bills. I provided for my daughter and I. Life was good . We were happy . A couple years later, I married this  great guy . He was every thing I didn't know I wanted. He lived in another state. Owned his own home. Had a good job. Was a man of good values. He loved God. He loved me. Loved my daughter. Asked me to marry him. I said yes. Life was good . We were happy. Over the next few years, we worked hard making our little piece of land into our dream home. Had a two more kids. Hubby continued to have a good job. We bought toys, but never living out of our means. Life was good . We were happy.... most of the time....  Every now and then - we felt something was wrong, but could never figure out what, so life went on. Last year (2015) we paid off the house/farm, bought a new car, bought a new tractor, and w

Our oldest daughter got her first real job this summer, which has made us realize that our season of life is once again changing! Don't get me wrong - I'm happy that she has a job, that she is growing up, learning new experiences, and becoming a responsible member of the community....     But at the same time, I realize that life is going to be different. She isn't always around. We have to check not only my husbands work schedule, but also her work schedule before we plan things.  So, we have been trying to fit in more quality family time.... Simple things like target practice.... Going to museums.... Having more campfires and making s'mores.... Taking walks and bike rides/visiting the cemetery.... This year our family did the local Walk for Life fundraiser.... Playing games....  Watching movies and eating popcorn.... Going on small trips Nothing fancy or extravagant.... just trying

I am becoming fascinated with just how much an Instagram account can tell you about an individual.... for example.... On my I nstagram #srkindred - it's about my home, hobby farm, decor, living simple, good food, and my hubby, and kids pretty much sum up my life - with a little bit of my home business and blog mixed in... Love the feeling of pulling into my drive and knowing I'm home.... #home #srkindred #countrylife #lovemyhome #rachclarri  is a fitness master! She knows how to kill a workout and is all about helping people reach their fitness goal - join her fitness challenge and live a better life... Her life is about fitness, and family! "You can do anything you set your mind to." -Benjamin Franklin Join me in redefining life and enjoying it, if you are looking to change your lifestyle through health, fitness, finances, family or freedom, this is the challenge for you! •support to get you through the rough days •motivation

It's no secret that I have struggled with my weight most of my life. I remember after getting my 8/9 yr old pictures taken - I was handing them out to my friends and I remember feeling ashamed that I was 'fat'. It was the first time I realized that I didn't have a waist... of course it didn't help that my best friend Carla, was beautiful, thin, and all the guys liked her! As a teen, I wasn't huge, but I wore a size 10/12 (the same as my aunt) all through my teens. I weighed around 125#. The time I weighed the least was when I was 17 years old and two months pregnant with baby #1, (morning sickness and plain poverty does that to you) I weighed 110# and fit into a size 6. *Note: I am 5ft. 1in. tall. After baby #1 was born, I kept gaining weight until I was at 160# (size 14) despite the fact that I walked everywhere I went and ate very little. Three years later, I was seeing a dietitian and was back down to 129# and a size 10. I gradually started

When I moved into my first apartment at the age of 16, I knew that I wanted some of my mom's recipes. So, I made a homemade recipe book, and spent a few days writing my favorite recipes down. You see, my parents were in the process of moving to another state (Pennsylvania) over nine hours away. I knew that I couldn't just go home and look through mom's recipes when ever I wanted.  Through the years, I added to my homemade recipe book, collecting any recipes that I thought looked good.  Fast forward thirteen years down the road. I was married with three kids. I had a Taste of Home magazine subscription, recipes from other magazines like Country Side, Better Homes and Gardens, and lots of recipe books that people had given me over the years. I had a whole shelf and a half full of recipes. When I wanted to try a new recipe, just the idea of looking through the stacks of recipes made me stop - there was so many, I didn't even want to sort through them.  I never use

So my oldest daughter and I took a weekend trip to celebrate her 15th birthday (a few months late).... Note: I don't usually do big birthday celebrations . For example, last year the poor kid got a cake - nothing else! However, I thought that we could have 'mom and daughter' time - something we don't get a chance to do very often.... It started out great! I had planned for a good time in Louisville, Ky. Hair cuts, and color, eating out someplace nice, a full day and half of thrift store shopping, a great hotel complete with swimming, a hot tub, popcorn, soda, movies, painting our nails, eating birthday cake and living it up.... just her and me. Let's just say... Louisville had other ideas.....  I-65 had construction  most of the way there.... which made us delayed, but we stayed positive, singing with the radio and eating junk food! After driving for a few hours, we had very full bladders. We get to our first destination, only to discover that

We moved the chickens to the barn and turned an old chicken coop into a  'She Shed '. Our oldest daughter, Faith (15 yrs.) shares a small bedroom with her 6 yr. old little sister. There's not a lot of room, and with their nine year age difference, they don't have a lot in common. So, I thought we'd make a 'She Shed' for Faith to use as her own art studio... a place to get away, a place to relax, a place to breath. We took out the nest boxes, roosts, and all things chicken related, gave the whole thing a good scrub with Shaklee Basic H2 and Basic G to disinfect it , and let it dry. Then we mixed up  The Prairie Homestead's Whitewash  (we added 1 bottle of purple rite dye to tint it), and the kids and I got busy painting it on. We didn't quite have enough to do the floor, so left it original. I was planning on painting it white, but never got that done. (story of my life...)     It really brightened up the inside. After the

I love this book and want you to love it too, so....  I'm giving away a copy - right here on my blog...  keep reading to enter! The last couple years, I have been choosing to have more joy in my life. We have gotten rid of clutter , figured out priorities, cut back on stress in our life, and paid off our home. Life is good, but you know what??? Joy and happiness are two different things -and my life could use a lot more holy happiness in it! Get this.... God is a Happy God - and He wants us to be Happy! A. W. Tozer said that the people of God "ought to be the happiest people in all the wide world!" I think too often as Christians, we put a limit on our happiness in God.  In The Happiness Dare, Jennifer says "God gave us the created world - with sugar, bluebirds, audio books, words with friends, art museums, and sex. You have permission to enjoy food, friendships, and a cool swim on a hot summer day. the devil didn't make art, laughte

I sometimes talk with people who claim that anybody can wear anything and look good. I disagree. Faith, my daughter and I decided to test that theory, by each dressing in all four types of the Dressing Your Truth Program . We used clothes, makeup, and accessories that we already had and really did try to dress as much as we could in each of the four type styles, even if we didn't like it.  We both wore the same color of makeup for each of the types. We started with Type 1: Faith had a light aqua t-shirt, white shorts, a multi colored striped belt, a bright orange zipper bracelet and gold circle earrings. (It was harder for me to find a Type 1 outfit, as I have been trying to clean out my closet since I started DYT and living with less) . My shirt had multi color circles, which I pared with a white sweater and gold circle earrings. We puffed our hair on top to give it an upward motion and we completed the look with blue eye shadow, light pink lip stain