Crush it!

3 rules:
Love your family.
Work super hard.
Live your passion.

So I have the 1st rule down. I left CML after over 15 years (not that I had a choice) to take care of my family. I freelance around my good wife life!

It's hard. Money is tight but it's manageable and I love taking care of my family. I'm finding ways to make it more streamlined and .... well easier.

Rule 2. I think I have that covered too. At least it goes hand in hand with loving my family! In my humble opinion.

Rule 3. Working on that. The stress of money does get in the way at times but I'm actively working on taking things 1 at a time. Working on 1 project a day. Follow my Instagram @patientfarmer for more active details!

I haven't gotten very far in the book, at bit of backstory to fill some pages.....I'm sure there's a point. For all I write like that I don't read very much of it....

It has convinced me to keep up with my vlogging.....so check that out on YouTube! Patient Farmer is my tag there as well. It's like the blog....my life on an urban homestead!

A for warning:  this post is a bit of a downer/rant....

I have so many ideas floating around in my head. All of them though take money to begin. Money and time. 2 things I have very little of....ok none of!

So I need to tend house, rear my tiny human .... and make money. Easy.....said no one ever! Our ancestors didn't do this alone. There was a whole family unit working together or servants. So I need a sister wife!

Some researching has born little fruit. Most of the stay at home ventures are:
1) surveys - I spent months taking surveys for hours a day only to be told I don't qualify for the paid surveys....waste of time!
2) blogging - this requires affiliated links (something to look into) and an interesting topic. My scatter brained blogging...yah not...

Elance now called upwork has finally given me 1 job. Dan might be right about that site. Like a craigslist for freelancing. People wanting a lot of work for very little pay. People who don't have all their documents ready or done correctly. They just don't know what they need before they post a job and hire someone. Sigh. I'm still applying for jobs on it but have only gotten the 1 job....that still isn't published because the artist doesn't wish to redo the work at the correct dimensions.

I've sorta got the saving money part down at least. I've saved close to 1k by making our curtains. (or half way if I compare them to cheap box store curtains). $126 a month in baby food by making it at home (assuming they are 1.50 a meal). $50 a sheet by mending the ones Georgia snags (so far $150). I make our soap now. Bars which we use for body and hands. We mix our own laundry soap. Sadly, small stuff. I can't figure out how to save larger. Tips? Leave a comment!

I've added a meal planner to my planner! It's kinda hard to fill out..... I'm so used to planning the day of because I fail at cooking. And shopping to be truthful! A work in progress!

I am starting to vlog in addition to this blog. Mostly garden stuff. We'll see how that flies. I don't expect monetary rewards from it so no sweat there!

Big sigh. Time to go clean the kitchen again, pick up toys and prepare for grocery shopping once Aidan wakes up from his morning nap.

Well the ball is rolling faster on my studio. It's empty now save the 2 desks for sale.

We're still tossing around color ideas and playing with some designs. It'll not be attached to the walls like initially planned but free standing, and cut up into a tilt drawing desk and flat top with shelves underneath. I'll post some sketches .... once I have some nice ones made rather then my sketchy sketches! 😏

While we finalize we'll be taking base molding off to clean up and repain and repair/paint the walls. Seal the window and rehang curtains. I am super excited about my repurposed "curtain rod"

Passive heat

Concrete floors have enough thermal mass to retain the heat from the sun for a day or two. The key is getting the sunshine to actually heat it up.

From my browsing of google on the subject, carpet & wood covering the concrete will hinder it's abilities to absorb heat.

So today I'm trying something new. It's sunny so I opened all east & south facing curtains and rolled back 1 rug. That leaves 2/3rds of the floor (roughly) exposed to the sun.

I have a tiny problem with frosted over windows though. Not sure how to prevent that without getting a dehumidifier which will run nonstop.

Garden update:  veggies are planted. I asked Heidi for a few seeds we didn't have. If she doesn't have them in her bank then the local nursery in spring will do. I'll plant the herbs directly in their pots in spring. I'll also start the pears here soon as well once I find an acceptable container for at least a 2 year growth.

And the jacket repair and modification begins!

A little info:  our wee Georgia ate out the pocket with some bubble gum when she was a puppy (like 2 years ago). I'm finally gonna fix that! Plus, I'll be adding a few more pockets! 1 specialty for concealed carry.

Dan had a professional fix the underarms because they dug into his pits.....he failed and just made it baggy under the arms. Not lowering the pit area at all. So I gotta fix that.

That same professional was supposed to modify the hump to hold a Camelback. With that I'll be cleaning up the area, reinforcing the opening and installing the bladder.

Patches need added.

All my work will be using the massive scars he left along the sides. Let's see if I can make this no longer made, expensive, leather jacket comfortable to wear!

I step out onto the patio first thing in the morning. Throw back the curtains and am greeted my a mass amount of condensation! So I tromp uostairs to get a towel or 2 and mop it all up. MOLD!

So I gotta fix this issue before me mold makes a home. Technically this is a whole house problem. Just not as bad as that room they slapped together.

So first the cause(s):

*poor insulation

*excess moisture via plants

*warmer then outside

*breathing

*cooking

*showers

Fixes:

*dehumidifier 

*remove plants

*charcoal

*insulate

*open windows

In reality the only think I can really do would be add charcoal to the room. Place them into a bowl. However, the doors get opened multiple times a day to let the dog out and being winter that just lets in more moisture. 

I would have to constantly empty a dehumidifier. We have one in the basement. It was a 2-3 times daily chore. It now empties into the subpump.....

Ultimately when we have to get a new furnace it will have a built in dehumidifier! 

Further research required. I still am giggling at JSB and all their proclamations! 

My winter garden is coming along nicely! Spinach and bok choy growing and looking so cute!