I'm back. Did you miss me?

Hello beautiful readers. I pray 2014 has been kind to you so far.

I took off the month of January to pray about this blog, and I'm glad I did. January wound up being a VERY eventful month for me.

I started the year off sick. It was just the after effects - cough, tiredness - from the flu, but it wasn't a fun way to start the year.

Then my grandfather died and I made an impromptu trip to West Virginia. I spent the week before making arrangements, and the week after was spent recovering from the 11 hour drive (one way).

A week later I made a trip to the ER for severe abdominal pain. I'm not normally a sick person, so it took me by surprise. After several hours, multiple tests, and a shot of morphine for the pain, the doctor discovered that I had gall stones. Since the pain had receded, I went home to rest and then call the doctor a few days later (I went in on a Saturday night and Monday was a holiday). That Wednesday, my gall bladder was removed. I'm fine now, thankfully. Still a little sore if move in just the right way, or lean against something, but nothing really life-altering.

So that was my January.

February started off with a bang, too. One Choice released on the fourth, and I have been busy guest posting all over the internet, and lining up other blogs to visit. Here's the schedule:

2/14 - http://caroletowriss.com/
2/15 - http://www.inkfromanearthenvessel.blogspot.com/
2/17 - http://marylouwrites.weebly.com/
2/17 - www.kickbackandread.com
2/18 - http://creative-hodgepodge.blogspot.com/
2/19 - www.PotOfManna.wordpress.com

2/20 - http://kimberlyrjohnson.com/
2/20 - http://www.maryhamiltonbooks.com/blog/
2/25 - http://www.authoraubrie.net/
2/26 - http://sherrygloagtheheartofromance.blogspot.com/
2/27 - http://www.inspyromance.com/blog/
2/27 - http://jenniferslatterylivesoutloud.com/
2/28 - http://capturingtheidea.blogspot.com/
3/13 - www.angeladmeyer.com
3/26 - http://www.bridgemanfamily.com/hallee/category/readers-write/
3/27 - http://delialatham.wordpress.com/
4/18 - http://www.shannonvannatter.com/blog
4/18 - www.JamesRCallan.com
4/24 - http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

As you can see, the next few months are busy, and that's just the expected stuff. :)

So, if you haven't read about One Choice on my FB page, or one of the various places I have already posted this month, you can go here: http://gingersolomon.blogspot.com/p/one-choice.html and get all the pertinent information about the book and where to buy it. ;)

Oh, and by the way, for those of you wondering, this blog will remain.

My proposed schedule is to do devotions, reviews, and guest posts once per week. I'd love your feedback. What would you like to see here?

Thanks for following me and reading my ramblings.

Blessings,

Taking a Break...with a Few Words about the Farm

Wow, it's Wednesday already. This week has just flown by. Unfortunately, life has been super busy and will continue to be so for the next little bit, so I'm going to take a week or so off to get stuff done (see below for my tentative schedule of events).

Spring is a busy time. Grass grows, chicks grow, horses eat too much.

We received our new chicks last week. They are already growing feathers, though they're still yellow. The white will show up soon. No pictures of them today. Maybe when I post next time.

Yesterday, as I was moving said chicks to the barn, I noticed my horse tiptoeing around. Yes, horse's can tiptoe. LOL She's foundered before so I'm extra careful to keep an eye out. That discovery changed my plans for the evening. I had planned on finalizing my synopsis, and as much as I like to write, it won't pay the vet bill if she is indeed sick. So out I went to prepare a  dry lot--putting in poles and stringing electric fence--to keep them contained.

Elsewhere on the farm, we are produce from our strawberry plants, radishes, and kale. Broccoli, and cabbage should be ready soon. Also growing are corn, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, sweet peas, squash, and probably something else that I'm missing. Outside of the garden, we have an asparagus bed. This is our fourth year harvesting it, and it's doing well.

The front yard is bedecked with fruit trees, many of which are loaded with fruit, though we'll have to wait on most of it for some time. Some of the trees we have out there are: apples, plums, pears, cherries, apricots, and a few hybrids like apriums and pluots. The blackberries and raspberries are also growing well.

Okay, so away from the farm, well, the outside anyway. Last week was our last official week of school, though my children still have some work to finish. To celebrate we will be going to Six Flags over GA on Friday for their homeschool day. My children are excited.

Almost done, I promise.  :)

My coming week at a glance (and why I won't be posting):

Thursday (5/16) - leaving to spend the day in Atlanta; my brother's birthday
Friday - Six Flags; return home
Saturday - Funlympics with my church's worship team; my friend, Tanya is traveling to my house and together on...
Sunday - Driving to Ridgecrest, NC for the Blue Ridge Christian Writer's Conference(BRCWC)
Sunday - Thursday - BRCWC where I get to sit and listen to wonderful instructors, meet talented writers, and worship the Lord with my words
Thursday - travel home
Friday - collapse and renew, and fix whatever broke or fell apart while I was gone. :)

I covet your prayers for this schedule. For those that know me, you'll know this is going to pull every reserve I have to be this busy for the next week. And if you didn't know it before, you do now. :) I'd appreciate your prayers for traveling mercies for my family on Thursday and Friday, for Tanya on Saturday, and for the both of us on Sunday, and then again next Thursday.

You all are such a blessing to me.

May God richly bless you today,
Ginger

Life as a zoo keeper...

...I mean a home schooling mom, wife, and animal keeper

Schedule:

6:30 - rise and shine (me) - fix husband's breakfast/lunch, let out the horses to pasture, fix my breakfast
7:00 - wake kids, eat, exercise, devotions
8:00 - school begins - reading out loud for an hour to an hour and a half (A World of Adventure)
9:30 - start laundry (Mon., Wed., and Thurs.), check e-mail/facebook, answer questions, check schoolwork
11:30 - lunch, laundry, check schoolwork
12:00 - chores, round up the horses (they are being kept in a pasture free zone in the PM due to weight and foundering issues), laundry
1:00 - reading time (kids), and sometimes me, but I NEED to work on my book, so I have quit requesting books at the library :-(  , laundry
2:00-5:30 - free time (kids); me: laundry, check schoolwork, sometimes read/work on book and then fix dinner
5:30 (generally) - dinner
6:00 - 8:00 - kitchen clean-up (kids); me: do animal chores - check water/food, gather eggs; then go to whatever activity is scheduled for that particular night
8:00 - kids bedtime - regardless of age (older ones are allowed to read); me: tv time with my husband
9:30-10:00 - my bedtime

Of course this is just a general overview of what gets done in my home. Things change, of course, and we just go with the flow. Fridays we have off for now, but on Sept. 9th we will start our homeschooling co-op and we will get out of the house by 8:15 or so and return between 2:00 and 2:30.

Sacrifice is the word of the day/month/year/life. When I had child three or four (I don't remember which it was), I sacrificed my perfectionism on the altar of sanity. I want a "Better Homes and Gardens" house, but when there are at least seven of us home all day, everyday, I had to realize it wasn't going to happen. Happiness and sanity were more important. So while my home is picked up and vacuumed/swept daily (almost), it is not BH&G perfect and that's okay.

How's your schedule? Do you sometimes get frustrated, like me, with how much there is to do and not being able to get it all done? What have you sacrificed?