Episode #01 New Year and Lifestyle Design

Being that its just after the first of the year. We alwayshear about resolutions and how different things are going to be in the newyear. In one way or another. We will dive into that topic and cover some of my opinionsand thoughts on that as well as share a recipe that Ashley tried in her newInstant Pot and hopefully get you motivated to push in a new direction or justgive you a little nudge toward something you have always wanted to do.  

Homestead updates….

January in Illinois. Snow on the ground and the tempsfalling into the teens next week at some point. We did get about 7 inches ofsnow over the weekend. It’s always crazy the drifts that you can encounter whendriving. Sometimes you may think “ I can make that” but then the next one mayget you to turn around and head back. It’s almost a guessing game depending onhow hard the wind is blowing. The next day is always fun too after the driftssettle in for the night and the plows are off the road.

I did get the snowblower out. That old thing keeps going. Nothingfancy but it clears a path.  My goal fornext year is to have a snow blade of some sort either on my pick-up or on thegarden tractor.

AND the struggles of getting the Christmas decorations down.Yeah I know it should already be done but the tree was so nice to have up. It isnow taking over our living room with its shedding needles and droopiness. Need to get it outside as soon as today.

WoodShop

the workshop is slowly getting some work done to it. With Ashley working full time and me working two jobs and also being new parents it gets hard to find the time but, you have to work for what you want, hence today’s episode right? I do have a few wood working projects in the schedule.

Food and Family

Ashley got a new Instant Pot for Christmas and she has been loving it! It seems to take the time and cut it into a third on some recipes. I think this thing was done in under 45 mins from frozen chicken! The Chicken was frozen in our deep freeze, we had bought a couple whole chickens a few weeks back and learned how to butcher them. As a side note, we saved the bones to make broth with for a later time. We are going to to try and make some and can it in pint jars so she can use it in smaller amounts since it’s only the two of us.

She made a Chicken Pot Pie recipe that she found online, and I have to tell you it was amazing!! She changed it up a little bit. Ill have a link in the show notes to the edited recipe that Ashley customized and also one to the original.

Emma came up on 5 months oldon the 13th of January. She’s going so fast. It’s hard tobelieve that she’s out of her newborn clothes and moving up sizes so fast. It reallyseems like Ashley was just going to bepregnant forever, but now I can’t reallyremember what it was like before having her. It is an amazing thing to be aparent.  Thankfully she still likes hernaps so it gives me time to get this podcast out to you. I’m sure soon enough youwill hear her little voice on here. I can’t wait to be able to talk to her andsee her have her own ideas. But for now,we will have to take everyday for asspecial as it is.

Main Topic:

New beginnings or starting over is never easy. Don’t foolyourself into thinking that just becauseyou have time on your hands to dosomething that it will come easy. I have been caught in this trap many times.And as new parents, we never have thetime that we think we do.

Everything starts out with good intentions. That’s where all the best Ideas come from, right? Then need to change. invention truly isthe child of necessity, not to sure where that quotecame from but it’s as relevant as ever.

Happy new year! Maybe I should have started with that. Ihope everyone had a great Christmas and a great and safe new year’s eve! Ispent new years eve ringing in the new year with my family in my recliner,studying the back side of my eyelids. I mean I was reading those puppies hard when Ashley woke me up to tell me she wasn’tabout to miss her kiss at midnight. Allin all, we had a great Christmas andHoliday season. Great food with family and friends. It was Emma’s first Yearfor the holidays so it was exciting, though next year she will be a little moreaware of what this time of year means.

What does this time of year mean to you? Does it remind youthat winter is about to set in and the cabin fever is about to take its toll onyour vitamin D lacking brain? OR, do you get excited and start planning outwhat the new year will bring?

I’m kind on both sides of that fence. I think about all theplans I have to get things done and how things may just shape up for me in thenew year, but I also think about all the plans I have that involve the outdoorslike, getting to work on the chicken coop and getting the garden going, youknow, the things that still have to wait until after old man winter has let upa little.

A lot of people set new years resolutions. I used to be oneof those. I mean it honestly seems like a good time to get things in order andbreak bad habits, lose weight, pay off bills and do all the things you said youwould do last year right? Well If that works for you,  great!!Let me start off by saying I am not poo-pooinganyone that wants to change, quite the opposite,I am here to support you 100 %. For me,it just never seems to work out that way. Most people set resolutions to justfail in the long run and get disappointed that it didn’t work out in one way oranother and then they wait a whole year to try again.

This is where having a plan comes in. goal setting and even a small amount of research can make a big differencein the outcome of your “resolutions” or as I like to call them, goals, mainly becauseits easier to say.

If you are starting out new with something the obvious placeto start is looking back at where youcame from. Not for long. Just enough to learn what it is that you want tochange.  Look at what you learned fromthat experience and make the next chapterin your story that much better. Honestly, being forced to start over or having to change something can be a greatlearning experience if you take what you learned and apply it moving forward.

 Did you lose a job andneed to start over?  That can be adisaster! Believe me, I know how that works first hand. I was recently forced tochange my path and it can be tough.

Or maybe you want to finally quit smoking or take that firststeps to start eating better. You can doanything you want, but you need to start. And starting is the hardest part. Martin Luther King once said “ Takethe first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just takethe first step.”

This is so true in all facetsof our lives. Never had a garden before and want to grow your own food. Start small…plant a couple of tomato plants or something that you know you will eat or use andlet it be. Then maybe next year you can move on to a bigger area or grow more foodto can. You don’t have to do everything all at once, as a matter of fact, it’s probably not a good idea to jump into raising 30 chickens if you have never done itbefore. Get 5 or 6 and see if you like it. See if its something that speaks toyou. If not then you can dispatch the chickens and butcher them and you willhave some fresh meat for the fall and you never have to raise chickens again. Butyou tried.

This is where I believe, lifestyle design comes into play. At least for me. Knowing that I can try something with a plan that I spent a littletime on and move toward a goal in smallsteps. 

I have a couple podcasts that I  listen too on a regular basis. The Survival Podcastwith Jack Spirko and also Living Free in Tennessee with Nicole Sauce. Both of thesepodcasters touch on lifestyle design. (I Have a link in the show notes to theirwebsites I suggest you check them out). Jack Spirko talks about being prepared for life, in general, it’s simplyjust being a responsible adult and to be responsible,a person has to have a plan of action.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you need to sit down and analyze everything you do or are going to doand get stuck in ( as Nicole Sauce puts it) Analysis paralysis. Because a planwithout the action only gets you part of the way there right?  Just simplytaking a small amount of time to plan out, or think about what you need toaccomplish and then put that plan into action.

That being said, lifestyle design comes in all shapes andsizes just as people do. Which is a good thing.You need to find what works for you. I can tell you what works for me. Small bites. Seeing the larger picture or project andbreaking it down into small bites. For example.The workshop I am working on. The pole building isn’t very comfortable in the winter, so it needs to be insulated, so I’mstarting with one wall section at a time first filling any and all air gaps andholes with some expanding foam then framing up the wall (only in that section)to add insulation and plywood. What is the best way to eat an elephant? Onebite at a time.

So as I will still be working in my workshop doing car repairs and small woodworking projects that I have planned, a little at a time thebuilding will become more and moreinviting to work in and warmer in the winter with it eventually becoming climate controlled.

This is all leading to mymaster plan. One of the many things and probably the most important thing Ihave learned from listening to and reading about lifestyle design is. Deicedwhat your main scope or focus is and aim everything you do in that direction.

If you want to start eating healthier and preserving yourown food. Do it. But start small. Take the first step even though it may behard to see the end of the road now, every step you make is getting you closerto that goal. So sit down with your family and make that Excel sheet and startthat budget, but make sure you get started.

Well, I hope some ofthis has spurred a little bit of actioninside of you. Let me know what you thoughtof today’s episode or let me know if you’d like more on this topic. You can leave acomment over at Handsonhomestead.com or you can shoot me an E-mail at Handsonhomestead@gmail.com. Eitherway, your feedbackis greatly appreciated. Or, if you want to Just say Hi, we would love to hearfrom you! You can also Check us out on Facebook and Instagram.

Until next time keep yourhead in the clouds and your hands in the dirt.

Links

The Survival Podcast with Jack Spirko

http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com

Living Free in Tennessee with Nicole Sauce

https://livingfreeintennessee.com/