It's Been A while

"It's been a while."

That seems like an understatement. Its only been 4 years since my last post. But who counting... right?!?!?!

Let's recap.

In July of 2015 I went back to school. Yessssss! This is an amazing thing right? Mom to 7 kiddos, wife, homemaker, gardener... student? Yes, I went back to college to achieve my goal of becoming a nurse. While at first it was super hard to adjust back to becoming a student it was even harder to do that and still run and maintain a home with so many children living in it and their own special issues. But I did it. I completed summer semester 2015, fall semester 2015, and spring semester 2016.

2016...I was now a certified nursing assistant. I start summer semester of 2016 but life hit the hardest rough patch I have, to this day, gone through. One thing lead to another and by fall semester 2016, specifically December, I was a single mom again with my kiddos.

2017... the year of rebuild. Throughout the 2017 year my kids and I built a new life for ourselves, still in northern MN. I quit school, truck died, bought a car, worked as full time as I could at our local hospital and stayed with good friends, lost a best friend all until...

2018.... We got a new apartment!! Small.. super small, but JUST right for the 3 of us! Freedom from the negative narcissistic world NEVER felt so good!! I started back in school summer semester 2018, ACED it... fall semester 2018... ACED it, offered a spot in a sorority. New position at work, with a raise. Fishing adventures with my best friends. Hiking along the North Shore. Nothing but adventures!!

2019... Here we are. Quit my hospital job, finishing my last semester of all prerequisite. Picked up one part time job and looking for another to get through summer and all our planned adventures. Officially accepted in the fall 2019 LPN program and I will graduate as a LPN in the spring of 2020. I will be a nurse! I am picking back up my blog (Oh, how I have missed posting new and fun things we have tried) to share our adventures and our new found ways of temporarily living the city life.

Amanda, Mom#2, Amama

Thanksgiving 2018

Ducking from a bat blocking Amanda and I from going in the house

Hiking with my, not so little anymore, Em

Yoga adventures... adding to them yearly

Fishing adventures... adding to the adventure yearly!

Floating the Mississippi

Road tripping

The oldest boy is now 20!!!

Now that we are all caught up enough... here's to more to come from Simply Always Me in 2019... cheers!

<3 T

Garden 2015: Week 7

Garden 2015: Week 7

Honestly.... its week 7 in plastic pots..lol Nothing much has happened or was done this week. It got cold again at night and rained quite a bit. SO for the past week my garden has lived on my kitchen table and living room windows. Inside my inner garden master is screaming "SAVE ME!"

I know the Squashes (Zucchini, Patty Pan and pumpkin) and aching to stretch their roots and the cucumbers are not far behind! Sadly, the garden still is not tilled yet as 1 we haven't had a whole lot of time and 2 the weather hasn't been helping.

Anyways, this will be a short post this week, with hopes, fingers crossed and breath held for a better update next week!

Week 7 Picture collaboration....

So, I admit.. I had an off week.. it was gloomy all week, my sinuses were killing and the kids.... well there is six of them..

I did get a chance to give the chives a huge hair cut...

Then I checked the radishes... YES!! they are up!!

That's all... nothing major happened this past week.. but fingers crossed for a better week 8! in the mean time catch up on what you may have missed:

Week 6
Week 5
Week 4
Week 3
Week 1

<3 T

Simply Always, Tina

Mom's Series: Bear Poop

My mother likes to collect recipes she finds from magazines, newspapers, friends, TV shows..you name it and give them to me when I come to visit her in Georgia. I tell her all the time how much I love them and appreciate them.. however, I haven't been showings so... So in honors of the recent Mother's Day I finally decided I was going to work my way through these recipes, when I remember..lol!!

I started with one I received last summer when I spent 3 weeks with my mother and Aunt Dottie (who is turning 101 in a few weeks!). I was going through a very difficult personal time and found it relaxing to write some of the recipes she had on index cards, then of course cheating and taking pictures of the index cards with my iPad. :) It made the time a bit easier and of course made me smile with the thoughts of creating some of these things for the kids!

First the recipe:

Bear Droppings:

And this is what I did...

I had 1 cup of chocolate chips and about 2 oz. of almond bark.

Instead of adding shortening, I added coconut oil. 1 tbsp.

While all that was melting I measured out 2/3 cup dried cranberries and 2/3 cup a peanut butter trail mix...

Then choose to put in some marshmallow for fun.. Not because that's what bears eat...

Mixed it all up and set aside patiently awaiting its warm/hot chocolate bath!!

Once the chocolate, almond bark and coconut oil had melted all together, I removed it from the heat and set it on a hot pad...

Then I added the dry to the melted... Stirred it all up.. Then dropped by the tablespoon full on to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper..

Then placing it in the refrigerator to chill for a nice after school treat!

What will I create next on this wonderful stack of recipes mom gave me?!? Maybe one a week! How about Mondays?! OK sounds good to me too!!

See you next week for Mom's series!

<3 T

Simply Always, Tina

Garden 2015: Week 6

Here we are into week 6 of Garden 2015.. other then being in limbo to get the seedlings into the ground.. I have now planted the radishes directly into the garden. I have also trimmed the chives back twice now..lol Spring is here.. however the next weeks temps say differently. Week 7 may start inside.. AGAIN!!

Ok this week lets start off with the new.. and the old.. the chives:

Here I am, starting of Sunday morning right, with a chive hair cut!

Now this particular batch I allowed to dry out side in the sun as a whole. Once it dries I will chop it up and save it for later culinary use!

Radishes:

Now on to whats been growing already...

Marigolds and Sunflowers:

Sweet Peppers:

Hot Peppers:

Cucumbers:

Patty Pan Squash:

Zucchini:

Pumpkin:

Tomatoes:

Broccoli, Cauliflower and Cabbage:

Broccoli:

Cauliflower:

Cabbage:

Onions:

Strawberries:

Garlic:

Ok, so another new part.. Potatoes.. nothing much... just cut them down to seed and allowed to dry out

And to end week 6.. A look at what the garden currently looks like.. while it awaits a turn over with the tiller... oh only a few more weeks I hope!!

Come on frost free nights and the threat of snow- no-more!! I green thumb, hand you name it is itching to get in the ground!! I have so many ideas.. CAN NOT WAIT!!

in the mean time catch up on the past few weeks:

Week 5
Week 4
Week 3
Week 1

<3 T

Simply Always, Tina