Work | Schedule
In the past, I've found it difficult to keep up with the blog/business and not create tension with the responsibilities that come from being a daughter at home, like dishes and toddler entertainment. Plus, as nice as it is to think I can multitask by answering emails in between loads of laundry, it's actually very hard on me mentally to switch gears like that. So, this year we've tried a new schedule where I am wholly home-focused 3 days a week and then totally business-focused the other 3 days. I switch off this "mamma's helper" position with my sister Emma who also has a business/school she needs to focus on. It's been working out really great for us! I can get in a 40 hour work week and get all the house projects done that I want to. I love cleaning and cooking, but not when there's business responsibilities hanging over my head. Likewise, I love blogging and business, but it's stressful when there's a mountain of laundry waiting on me. This scheduled balance has been a huge blessing for me.
(Left Snap taken at like 2 am, right picture of a day's hemming work!)
Work | Fresh ApparelHemming, hemming, hemming! I have mailed out about 40 skirts to the Kickstarter backers so far, with very positive responses! L.C. King is still working on sizes 28-34, so I've been delivering sizes 35-51. I'm almost finished with fulfilling the pre-orders/backer-orders of the larger sizes and am hoping to put the remaining inventory up for sale on FreshApparel.us within the next few weeks. There's been several late nights/sleepovers at the "office" and I foresee several more still to come. I still have t-shirts in stock, so if you're looking for a super comfortable t-shirt for summer, check 'em out! I've been considering ordering more sizes of the thermal hoodies, but with winter almost over I'm not sure if that would be wise or not. 26 is the minimum screen-printing order and I'm not sure I could sell that many. Thoughts?
(Taking an outfit pic for instagram faaaail)
Work | Fresh Modesty
I have so many post ideas, y'all, it's insane... but most require either a photoshoot, sewing project, lots of Pinterest research, or further Bible study on my part. Skirt hemming has been my top priority for a while now, so taking even 3 hours to put together a blog post feels wrong because of my responsibility to my backers. Honestly, I haven't worn anything worthy of blogging for quite some time. It's been jeans and t-shirts for working on the house and jeans and t-shirts for hemming. My make-up routine has even been reduced to foundation and mascara every third day. Part of the reason for this is because I haven't taken the time to cultivate my wardrobe lately and it's desperately lacking in several key pieces that would make getting dressed nicely on busy days easier. Just being real here.
(My new boot shelf, our living room in the middle of cleaning)
Family | House Projects
My brain thinks in terms of "projects" and frequently I will get obsessed with an idea until I make it happen. Earlier this year, that idea was purging our basement. Last week, that project was finding a place for all my boots. This week, I attacked the living room and spring-cleaned it within an inch of its life. I steam-cleaned every soft surface and Awesome-sprayed every hard surface, including the floor under the stove and the wall behind the fridge. I know not everyone enjoys cleaning, but I find a ridiculous amount of satisfaction in it. I found this quote and it sums up nicely how I feel, "I was not merely cleaning an oven; I was improving the world." -A.Z. A clean, happy house exudes an air of excellence and welcome that is inspiring to me. I could do a whole post on this topic, but I'll stop here. ;)
With the pigs in the freezer, the chickens given to friends, and the puppies all gone to good homes, "Farm work" is pretty much non-existent right now. We're gonna have to start mowing here soon though, which ain't no cake-walk.
Fun | Snow
It's been several years since our area has gotten any amount of snow to speak of, so the two weeks or so of ice/visible snow we had were quite exciting! We enjoyed two days of sledding on carhoods pulled behind ATVs and were thankful for a new truck with 4-WD to get up our driveway when the snow refused to melt.
Fun | Columbus Trip
For many months now my sister Emma has been learning to call square/ Appalachian/ folk/ English country dances with live music. She volunteered to call a dance for Foundation Church's annual Sons of Saint Patrick event near Columbus, OH two weekends ago. We traveled up there with a group of friends and had a wonderful time! God shined His face on us in the midst of a stomach bug that threatened to ruin the weekend and kept me paranoid the whole time. ;)
Fun | Teach Them Diligently Convention
Just as I was finished recovering from that whirlwind weekend, Teach Them Diligently was here! Fresh Modesty had a booth there in 2013, but the past two years things have come up that I wasn't able to have one. This year I just attended sessions, perused the vendor hall, and kept Blimey Cow company at their booth in the slow parts of the day. ;) I really enjoyed meeting a few readers of Fresh Modesty, too! Audrey, Emily and her mom, and Cecilia, thank you for saying "hi!"... I feel like I'm forgetting someone. My apologies, someone!
Health | God is Gracious
As most of you know, I have Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and some other strains of tick-bourne illnesses. I go to a wonderful, effective doctor, but the treatments can sometimes be exhausting/painful as they kill off the bacteria. Because I've had so much work on my plate with Fresh Apparel, I've taken some time off from treatments. In the past, this has helped for a little while, but my fatigue, headaches, occasional vomiting, and body aches would come back within a few weeks, telling me I needed to start treatment again. As of right now, I'm able to function pretty normally without the treatments. This is a huge answer to prayer! Although I will need to focus on my health again at some point, my physical ability is not a hindrance to my work/life like it used to be. Thank you so much to everyone who has been praying for me!
Study | Natural Make-Up
I've done a few posts this year on how I'm transitioning to homemade/ natural makeup. Well, the first thing on my list to master is liquid mineral foundation. I had about an hour to work on it last week, with the idea that I would make it and share the recipe with you all (yay something to blog!) but it didn't quite... turn out. I got the color correct and the consistency awesome, but I used glycerin as the liquifier and it's just really gross feeling on the face, even after "soaking in". So, I'm going to have to work at it some more before I share. :)
Study | A Way With Words
This past weekend at TTD I bought a book called "A Way with Words: What Women Should Know about the Power They Possess
" by Christin Ditchfield. It has 12 chapters on different types of words and it's set up with Bible study questions at the end of each chapter. I've been using it for my devotions this week and have been very blessed by it.So, there's a general summary of some things I've been up to lately. I would love to hear the highlights of your week!
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