Book Review ~ Dead House

I grew up in the beginner days of R.L. Stine.  Back when Stephan King movies were popping out like weeds in a garden.  My grade school friends and I would one up each other's scary reads... You read Carrie?  Well I read IT!  Take that!  So I might have a thing for mysteries, and a wee bit of horror.
But I'm funny about my horror movies and or books.  Keep it clean please.  I like a good thriller, but I HATE demonic things.  HATE, like with a big old capital H.  Make me think for one second that you're summoning some evil spirit, and I'm out of there.  And this book straddled my delicate fence perfectly.
It goes a little like this... One girl, 2 souls.  One is your average teen, living in the sunlight, happy, friendly, pretty dang normal.  Soul #2 is her polar opposite.  Lives in the night.  Smokes, drinks, parties... the bad apple.  Both live in the same body... but the wonderful docs swear only one of them is really real...  
And then we get twisty.  Which soul is the real soul?  Or are both real?  And what happens when only one soul takes over?  And what about, just what if there's something else out there, something a wee bit darker playing the cards for both souls?  
So the cover jacket says this is the Author's first published piece... And I'm amazed.  It's a fun read, written as notes from a police file. There's pictures, and illustrations, but still remains grown up enough.  Could I put it down?  Sure.  Did I have guesses on the ending, a wee bit.  Did I want to finish it sooner than later, YES.  Best book ever, No.  But I liked it, and I think anyone who loves something new, and fresh, with a bit of mystery, and emotional turmoil will like it too.  
I need a rating system here.  I give it 4 out of 5... ummm, goats?  It was another one of those books where everything was going so strong, and well written, but the ending seemed to flat line for me.  I wanted more.  But none the less I still loved it, and The book was promptly added to my shelf to read again later.
So go, go get it, and support a new author who I'm sure we'll be hearing from a lot more in the future!
~~  Please note, I was not paid in any means for this fantastic review.  I grabbed the book from a table at a bookstore and took a chance.  (apparently some folks get paid to do reviews, I'm not one of the,... yet.  But the IRS makes me disclose all of this.  Because you know, they read my blog.  :)   )
~Em
Read any good books lately?

{Thankful, November 4, 2015}

Day 4... and no, I'm not talking tin foil... although tin foil does rock.  
Today I'm talking friends.  Those who toss a tin foil hat on their head right next to you without fear.  Those who get it, no matter what "it" is.  Friends who live across the country yet are always there.  The friends I've just met, the friends I have yet to meet, and the friends who have been there forever.  There's a few of you out there who keep me going.  You know who you are.  <3  Some days I owe you my all.  
~Em

{Thankful, November 3, 2015}

Hopefully this, Day 3, of my thankful post doesn't sound overly boastful.  Today I'm thankful for my talents.  Does that sound bad?  I'm always afraid of being too proud about anything.  I tend to cling to anything creative.  Something there screams safety, and memories.  I suppose I could be clinging to worse things.  :)  In a post written by a friend, she questioned what talents everyone wish they had...  And I never dreamnt that what I do daily, to help support my family, or to relax at night, would be things people only wish they could do... which seems sillier considering how much I still wish I could learn or improve...  And I suppose that means that those people we are envious of, probably, maybe are just as envious about us.  
The talent I want?  I wish I could sing, well.  Like famous Rock Star quality.  :)  No fears though, I'll stick to artistic expression with my hands.  
How about you?  Any talents you wish you had?
~Emily

{Thankful, Nov 2, 2015}

Day 2

These 2.  They drive me nuts, and wear me down, but I am still incredibly blessed, and thankful that both are in my life.  Need I say more? ~Emily

{Thankful, Nov 1, 2015}

Things have been beyond hectic and crazy here.  One of those exhausting crazies, where your head aches slightly always, and you avoid making a to-do list because you just might cry.  And you're just not sure if you're really getting ahead, ever...

Example.  My 12 year old car (I loved that thing, lol) died.  So through a lot of hard work and heartaches, and fights, we managed to buy a newer car... Which was a big deal, I'd been in an SUV for over a decade... And then a week later I am asked to join a new job, with dogs, in my car, ALL THE TIME.  (opps, maybe a tiny car wasn't the best idea)  And then my newer car breaks down, and we fight with the dealers, and it's fixed, for now.  And then the husband's car dies in the driveway.  Dead dead.  Two steps forward, a billion steps back.

This waltz has been going on all summer, and now fall, long.

With so many steps back happening all the time, the steps forward, the blessings tend to get forgotten rather fast.  (Like being thankful that you have a newer car that runs, when all you can think about are the two car payments you now have, as you shove 3 Golden Retrievers into you much too small back seat.)

So I'm going to do something I always hate doing... following memes.  My apologies in advance.  :)  Here's the beginning of my attempt of a month of remembering the good things, everyday.  Photo style.  (And maybe I'll remember not to ramble on for 2 hours with every picture)


Day 1 (November 1, 2015)

This summer I took a job with a therapy dog ministry (more on that one day, I'm sure).  In short they send me lots of Golden pups, and I train them.  Their main focus is to provide a shoulder to lean on, to comfort people no matter what, and it's probably one of the most amazing ministries out there... But I'm thankful to steal little moments with these pups, to be able to get my own little comfort sessions with them, as things go crazy around here.  This one I have bonded to the most (shhh don't tell), and even though I have to give her up soon, I'm thankful fo these little moments with her.  <3

What are you most thankful for this hectic holiday season?
Please feel free to share in the comments, or to link to your own thankful posts!

~Emily

May in the Garden ~ 2015

May was an extremely busy month in the Garden.  Not so many great photos, as half of the month was spent dashing between raindrops.  And my hands covered with mud, and then spur of the minute complete changes to EVERYTHING... But we now have a fence around the garden.  It's a start.  I'm still hoping that lovely chicken wire turns into pickets as time goes by.  :)  The fence was an impulse buy as my husband discovered trampled crops with stray dog prints dancing around in the mud.  Cedar poles that were on sale, and chicken wire... it works for now.  

So with a sporadic fence building after one has already started planting the garden, you end up with some funky spaces to fill.  Like what was going to be a simple marigold border around the garden, became an underwhelming start to an herb garden.  Good news, or bad news, depending on how you look at it, most of these are annuals so next year it can be planned much better.  But for this year we have Lavender, Rosemary, Sage, Lemon Balm, German Chamomile, Lemon Verbena, Parsley, Dill, and Cilantro.  And of course grass that I'm still working on clearing out.  The original garden only went to that oh so lovely log on the right hand side, lol.  Behind the herbs is a first year raised strawberry bed.  Like I said, we've been busy.  :)

There's been many challenges and successes already this year.  The great part was the half of the garden that we started with last year was super easy to weed, and the soil is already looking more like dirt and less like clay.  The disadvantages beyond all of the rain, was putting up a fence after the garden was mostly laid out, which is leading to crowded spaces, and unused wasted space (because apparently I can't garden straight, lol).  So getting in the max crop probably won't happen again this year.  And then I started late, and forgot to order seeds, and... well it wasn't a priority when it should have been.  

So with bad planning, and lots of space left to play with (awkward spaces of course) we have planted:

• 3 types of tomatoes, which sounds like a lot, but isn't even enough to feed us and can.
• Sweet Corn 
• popcorn
• green beans (pole and bush)
• potatoes
• onions
• garlic <-planted last fall
• lettuce/spinach/radish
• zucchini
• cucumbers
• watermelon
• pumpkin <- not enough to count, I'm filling in the huge gaps around the fence, hopefully the vines don't destroy the fence, lol.
• herbs
• sweet peppers
• egg plant
• strawberries
• Raspberry bush <-permanent plants from last year, but I'm still counting them.  :)

And then I might have planted lots of things that have nothing to do with food, beyond they feed the bees and butterflies, which help the food.  And they're pretty, which makes me happy.  And ummm, there was lots of awkward spaces to fill.  :)  So farm-ish garden is starting to turn French cottage-ish.  

And they're annuals.  I never buy annuals, but seriously, who could resist?  And they were on clearance.  

We also constructed a compost bin, and have worked in just enough room to build a sort of garden shed, just big enough to toss all the rakes, and shoves, and pots in, to keep them from rusting away.  There's still lots to do.  I need a movable raised bed for carrots, and I'd like to expand on the outside of the fence with cutting flowers, or roses, or something to #1 keep down on weed whacking, and #2 to continue on with the cottage portage garden look.   But at last there is some progress.  We've come a long way since this was taken a year ago:

And then just because, the goat:

And a guest that hung out with us on Memorial Day weekend:

How's your garden growing?

~Emily

Disclosure: I may receive monetary compensation, or products for my endorsements, recommendations, testimonials, links and ads to any products and or services listed in this blog. This helps support my homesteading and crafting habits, and is a huge blessing! Thank you for your support!

Book Review ~ #Girl Boss

Part of our Beachbody Team's "education" <-for lack of better words. includes reading personal development type books, when you can, if you can. But I'm not into that sort of "Self Development Mojo" type thing.  So I might be dragging my feet at this task, although the fact that I get an excuse to buy myself new books, almost makes it worth it.
First up is Sophia Amoruso's book, #GIRLBOSS.  Can we be honest real quick?  (I had never heard of her)  Apparently Sophia Amoruso is a famous, young, CEO and founder of a shopping empire known as Nasty Gal.  (I was still clueless, fashion queen, I am not)  
The book highlights how Sophia went from your everyday teen, hating society, fads, and trends, dumpster diving, and even stealing, to starting her empire selling vintage clothes on Ebay.  (Have I mentioned that White Goat Ranch has begun to list things on EBay this week?  :)  )  

Her book is neatly broken down into themes.  Creativity, Working for others, Taking care of your own business.  In these, Sophia writes about her own past life experiences, and her feelings and thoughts on how it's all relevant today with Nasty Girl, and how one might see a change in their own goals.

What her book isn't is a go-to guide on how to follow her footsteps.  There are no step by steps, do this or do that.  Which at first can be annoying, because the build up is so strong in the first few chapters, you really think that she's going to really take you somewhere in the book... But then you realize at the end, that even though she's not telling you what to do you, you feel a heck of a lot more motivation to do SOMETHING.  

That something could be to wash your hair.  (seriously, lots of crusty grunge talk from the 90's) Or to pop in some Betty Davis on the stereo.  Or to put in some umph into everything you do.  She might not offer all the answers or tips, but I defiantly got a pick-me-up from the book, and was ready to light the fire again.  I'd have to say the book would be a good read to most everyone.  Guys might get bored, in general, there's a whole lot of fashion talk.  But I think most will walk away ready to tackle something, even if one had no desire to ever be in business for themselves.  And bonus, there's no hokey "self development" talk.  

The entire book reads more like a memoir, or a story, than a how-to, which made for easy and light reading.  A keeper for sure.  And yes I'm listening to Betty Davis right now.  :)  

Be a #GIRLBOSS (click on the photo to purchase now!)

Have you read #GIRLBOSS ?  Will you be reading it?  Any favorites for business building and motivation that you'd like to recommend?

~Emily

Disclosure: I may receive monetary compensation, or products for my endorsements, recommendations, testimonials, links and ads to any products and or services listed in this blog. This helps support my homesteading and crafting habits, and is a huge blessing! Thank you for your support!

~May~

Another Winter done, thank you God.  One of these years I will just wake up one day and haul off to some place where the snow doesn't fall.  One day.  But for now, I'm too busy enjoying the beautiful Missouri Spring, and wishing it would never end.
It's been a super busy Spring in the garden, we built a rock bed for a new strawberry patch, planted potatoes, onions, spinach, lettuce, radishes, green beans, corn, tomatoes... and some more trees, because, ummm, trees.  :)  We also just begun work on a fence (yes five years in the making, we have a semi-garden fence!).  And then there's the yearly clean up of what I call, snake traps.  (Leave piles, branches, dead wood, dead plants, blech).  Always so much to do.

I still really want a wildflower garden, big enough to cut from All of the Time.  Although I love my natural spring bouquets of Daisies and Queen Anne's Lace, that luckily the goat does not like to eat.  :)

We have a a field, about an acre, give or take, that used to be an old pasture before we moved in.  I tried once to garden there, but the dirt is more rock than soil, and the snakes pretty much refuse to leave.  Without fencing, the land is pretty useless.  Grand plans are for a mini orchard one day.  

But for now, I'll just continue to loose hours taking photos of the "weeds" that claim it.  

And I have to say the most exciting part of this spring, has been watching the way too many trees and shrubs I planted last year, after their bloom, come back to life.  (Hello clearance half dead plants!)  And things like my white tea rose, bloom for the first time in 2 years, PINK flowers.  (I'm assuming the grafted top half died, during the bad winter of 2013, and this is the root portion of the plant coming back, I don't care, I have roses again!!!)

My toddler has been stalking this one for a year now.  Our first Raspberries!

And Spinach, because I'm a garden nerd, and I love pictures of my crops.  Spinach!  :)
How has spring been treating you?  

~Emily

Disclosure: I may receive monetary compensation, or products for my endorsements, recommendations, testimonials, links and ads to any products and or services listed in this blog. This helps support my homesteading and crafting habits, and is a huge blessing! Thank you for your support!

I've Got This

Something happened, in between a second child, and several minor health issues, and a bout of vitamin anemia caused depression, and life, and trying to work from home....
I had lost me.  Not in the deep way, of finding who one is within the universe... I was still there, just a wee bit consumed by messy pony tails, and a baby belly (from a 4 year old baby), skin that showed years of abuse.  I didn't like the me I saw.   And that wasn't because of anyone telling me I needed to look better.  It wasn't society shaming me.  I didn't like me.  I hated the mirror.  
So along came another minor (major to me, lol) surgery to correct some dental/jaw issues this February, and I was going to be on a restricted diet for a few weeks, and I thought, hrmmm, this could be my chance...

I ordered the bare bones package of Beachbody's 21 Day Fix Extreme.  (I might have been watching an infomercial for an entire day right before I bought it, shhhhhhh)
And I was floored.  Both literally exhausted to the point that I couldn't get off the floor, but surprised how the whole entire company works.  (I've tried a few home sales mlm businesses before, Avon, Tupperware, Damsel)  Their focus on every page... YOU.  
Needless to say I was sold.  I signed up as a coach, because I need more of this me thing.  I need MORE of the not feeling sick, and sleepy, and tired, and gross.  More of actually changing things I can really control.  And all the people in the world that feel the same exact way.  Then, I met my team.  And I'm never looking back.  

Look!  I even took a picture of myself!  That's pretty big, even if my face is covered.  This company, these people just make you feel good, even on a 100% icky day.  
I think the most important thing I have learned through this short journey so far, is that you think you're buying a program, but once you dig in, and press play, you end up developing a lifestyle that reaches far beyond the 30 minute video.  From eating habits, to workouts, to new friends who want the same thing, to a new attitude about how you can face anything, to just a better outlook period.  I'm hooked, and I've only just begun!  

I'm positive I'll be posting more on Beachbody programs, and teams, and coaching internships in the future!  But I'd love to share all I know about Beachbody and my team with you Right Now!  Send me a message at jemily383@gmail.com or catch me over at facebook!  I'd love to chat.  (Or leave your email here!)

~Emily

Disclosure: I may receive monetary compensation, or products for my endorsements, recommendations, testimonials, links and ads to any products and or services listed in this blog. This helps support my homesteading and crafting habits, and is a huge blessing! Thank you for your support!

~Just Go With It~

My blog crashed.  A great start to the weekend to log on, and find, almost every image, in an image based site to be wiped clean away.  (Apparently when you link your tablet to your google account, and run your blog via google, it likes to store every image in said tablet and take up all your memory... and I'm working on all of that.)  :)
After a few minutes of head pounding, and choice words, I decided it was time to makeover everything anyway.  I've been getting crazy busy lately to start with, and maybe it was just time to move it all on forward.  (Or that's what I told myself)
Besides all of the pictures missing in all of my old post (I haven't quite decided what to do there), you'll be noticing a few other changes.  

• New Shopping Site!!!  This is the biggest change, and the one I'm the most excited about.  Of course you can still shop at my normal Etsy shop, http://www.whitegoatranch.etsy.com , that location isn't going anywhere (unless etsy implodes, or explodes in ways that don't fit me).  But on my new site, www.whitegoatranch.com I do not have to pay as many fees per sale (which means your money is going more towards my shop rather than some online venue, which means, more product in my shop!), and I'm not as limited to what I can share with you, and I have more ways in which to interact with you!  (Keep an eye open for some design your own features I'm working on!)
• Supplies!  I now buy all of my supplies in bulk to get both you and I the best cost I can.  Which in turn means I need to buy 6 spools of leather at one time, instead of just the 1 I need, which means I'm running out of space in my wee little Martha Cave.  So I'm sharing all my deals and supplies with you!  Check it out, and get inspired!  www.whitegoatsupplies.etsy.com 
• My side bar over -> there is growing.  I'll be writing tons more about each link over there in the coming weeks, but I'm overly excited about all of it!  Clicking on the links takes you to my affiliate links, which continues to support my many hobbies and this blog!  Thank You!!!

And there's so many things I could write about, I've been a tad bit busy!  So stick around, check out all of the links, and keep the coffee flowing!  

Thanks for dropping in!

~Emily

Disclosure: I may receive monetary compensation, or products for my endorsements, recommendations, testimonials, links and ads to any products and or services listed in this blog. This helps support my homesteading and crafting habits, and is a huge blessing! Thank you for your support!

Houston We Have a Problem

Somehow, somewhere, all, and I mean all of my pictures from here got wiped off the face of the planet... or at least the face of the interwebs.  I'm working on it, or at least working on something, and just wanted to let you know that I'm aware that something goofy is going on here.  Pass the coffee please.  :)
~Emily

Disclosure: I may receive monetary compensation, or products for my endorsements, recommendations, testimonials, links and ads to any products and or services listed in this blog. This helps support my homesteading and crafting habits, and is a huge blessing! Thank you for your support!

Where Have all the Good Blogs Gone?

I started getting into blog reading about 9 years ago when my first child was born.  I was home, he was sleeping, and I'm not big into tv.  I quickly found my favorites.  Those that dealt with things that were important to me, ones that made me laugh, and those where the writers reached out and became friends with their readers.
I subscribed to my favorites, followed them religiously, chatted with them, felt like I knew them...
And then an ad would pop up.  Nothing harmful, nothing big, just a link on the side bar, go here, I'll get paid!  (okay so I have those too).  And then one day ads would appear in the middle of a post.  THEN every post would become an ad.  And then you have to click an ad to get out of this ad, to read about that ad, just to find out a recipe you've used from that blog for NINE years is now an item to buy off of Etsy.  
I get it, I do, we all need money.  We're all fighting tooth and nail to stay afloat, to pay the bills.  Trust me, I know.  BUT I feel betrayed, like my very best friend will only talk to me if I buy from her affiliate using her link.  And I want to talk to her, but about real things, not about which brand of paper towels paid for her to talk non stop about them that month.  
Oh and another thing, while I'm ranting, giveaways rock too.  But not when it's all you do.  Bring back the content bloggers!!!  Bring back the good stuff that's coffee sipping worthy.  Yes get paid for your time, do the ads but if you can't balance real life and Soap commercials, we're gonna have to break up.  
I miss you, we miss you, come back to us.