Craft Show and Concert

Time for an update! We have been SUPER busy here at Brown Acre lately. It is a rainy day and I have tons to do, so I figured why not procrastinate and blog a little....=)

The past two weekends have been a blur of activity. I had my first craft show!! It went so well, and now I can't stop thinking about when I can do another. People really responded to my things!! I was super nervous beforehand, but once I got there, got set up, and started visiting and meeting people, my nerves calmed down and I had such a good time.
I guess the reason I was nervous was because I put so much thought, time, and energy into coming up with cool ideas, picking out awesomely beautiful fabrics, and shutting myself in the basement letting the creative juices flow. I didn't know if anyone else would like anything I had. I knew I loved every piece, but who knows what the world would think (or Fairmont atleast=).
I got such great responses from people that I was simply blown away. People said I had an "eye" for color, targeted my market, and had well made, trendy things. WOW!!! Like I said, I had no idea it would go so well, but I am glad it did. What a good feeling to know that what you love, others love as well. What you spend hours on, people want to buy. I felt validated. I felt engergized. I felt more creativity wanting to seep out. LOVED IT!!!!
Sorry, this sounds a little like bragging, and I really am not trying to be "that" person. It was a good weekend, so I want to share it!! Here are some pictures.......

Aprons! My own reversible pattern. I combine complimentary fabrics for a fantastic fashion statement while stirring a pot of butter beans.

Shot of the table. I made some totes as a "filler" item. People liked them though because they were also reversible and eco-friendly shopping bags=)

Long shot of the tables I had. Owls, hairflair, totes, aprons, earrings.

Button Earrrings! These were a hit. I need a better way to display them though. I think next time I will elevate them on some kind of diaply piece.

Hair Flair. This was also a big seller. The craft show was in one of my junior high schools where I teach, so lots of the young girls were into these funky statement pieces.

Angled shot of hair flair.

 Owls!!! People loved these as well. I made one for KB a couple years ago for christmas, and decided to make a bunch for the youngsters at the craft show. The next day, Mom found a picture in a pottery barn (I think) catalog with very similar ones!! They stole my idea!! LOL

Then there was Kole. He was so good. He and Zach came half way through the show and helped out. The iPhone is Kole's go to for boredom. He ended up going home with GDaddy to play. They had a good time splashing in the creek=).

The following weekend I sang for a tsunami relief concert at the Fairmont Baptist Temple with some very talented bluegrass musicians. Our band name that we all decided on was Common Ground (since it is so overused, and kinda generic...lol). But when we got up to sing, our friend Joe (banjo player and best man at our wedding) announced we changed our name to "Megan Brown and the Dial Tones" (one of the guitarist's last name was Dial). So silly.

Here are a few shots from that. I have video, but I can't bring myself to post it here. The quality is grainy, you can't here the musicians well, and I cring at hearing myself sing. Anyone else do that? I notice every little mistake or weirdness in my own voice. I also hate hearing myself on the answering machine. But thats another story......

We have begun spring planting! Onions, garlic, lettuce, spinach, and carrots are in the garden. Potatoes will be next. I have four flats of tomato plants under the grow light in the basement (looks like I'm growing something else, if you know what I mean.....). We have had some REALLY beautiful days here in WV. I am so thankful for sunshine and warm weather. My mood instantly improves when I can get outside and get dirty=).

My tulips are blooming like crazy, the tree in the front yard has pink buds...it will probably bust out this week. The birds are chirping. The breeze is warm. Hello Spring. I have missed you!

Spring Break has officially started!! I have plans of spring cleaning, sewing, playing with Kole, reading, sleeping in, shopping, valley worlds of fun, and possibly a movie afternoon.

I sooooo needed this break.



Hopefully, I will post again soon. Back to the basement for some sewing/crafting=).

Update=)

Well, I haven't done a family update in a while, so here goes.

Kole-man is growing like a weed!! He is a silly sweet boy and is really doing well this year in 1st grade. We are so proud of him!! He made straight "A's" for the semester, and his behavior has improved greatly from a year ago in school. Mom and Dad LOVE this! We get GOOD notes home now! Here is a silly picture to entertain you:

Kole is doing to do a fun new program at FSU in a few weeks called "African Adventure". He gets to go after school and do crafts and sing songs and do experiements!! It is through the science program, and he is soooo into it. I'm sure that this will only last a few more years (meaning his enthusiasum for learning) so we are going with it for now!!

This child needs to be in sports! Unfortunally, his mother is always missing the sign ups for football each summer. Hopefully this year, we will figure it out=). We were going to try wrestling this year, but we decided to give Kole another year before going down that road. So, no sports at the moment, although I wish there were SOMETHING active for him to be involved in. For now, its just kinect games (which I might add make a person sweat!!!!)

Kole has some red ear slider turtles that we keep in his room. We don't "play" with them because they carry germs, but they are really fun to watch. We recently got a new set up for them called the Turtle Tub. It is massive. But really neat! They even have an area for basking and (gulp) egg laying. I don't know what I'll do if we have baby turtles, but it could happen, as I have found out (through some research) that one is a boy and the other is a girl. We may be shipping baby turtles to everyone in the family.

We are in the process of re-doing his room, piece by piece. It's gonna take a bit to get it done, but once it is, I will feel so much better! An unorganized room drives me mentally insane. We need storage in his room as well. Any ideas? He needs one big dresser (as it is he has three small ones....ugh). We looked at a neat "cubby hole" bookcase from Ikea, and we might go with that, but I am afraid its going to be costly to get enough storage for him.

Onto my next boy, Hubby Zach. He is doing well! Z is much happier now that he has a new job (and so is his family!). He now has soooo much more flexibility in his work. He can stay home if he wants to, or go to the office if the house is driving him nuts. The organization is called "WV Coalition to End Homelessness". He likes being able to focus on the one area of homelessness instead of being pulled in several different directions, like he was in his old job. He actually ENJOYS his job. He likes doing it. He works late because it is interesting to him. So weird. I mean, I like teaching, but when I walk out the doors on the weekend, I am done till Monday morning. Now, if I farmed or crafted for a living, I probably wouldnt stop working either=)!!!!!

Zach is still trying to be "Primal" as well. Eating primally basically means eating like a cave man. It works for him, and I am sure it would work for me as well, but I love bread. And other carby things. Alot. So I only do primal on occasion.

This is the cookbook. Our favorite recipe is Primal Enchiladas. SOOOOO Delicious!

We went on a wintery hike through the woods, recently,  in DEEP snow. That was a cardio work out for sure! Here are a few pics from that.

It was soooo cold and snowy!! These two pictures are of one of our favortite places. 27 Falls (I think it's 27...maybe its 21.....I dunno, but we love it!) You have to hike quite a bit to get to it. We were out there for a good while too.

So this was probably way illegal, but we were pretending to be survivor man. We wanted to see it we could make a fire with wet stuff. We got some some smoke, no fire. We would never survive the wilderness in the winter.

Its a family affiar!

Kole was "SOOO TIRED!!" and his legs hurt, so daddy zach carried him for a short while. This child is over 70lbs. I'm not sure how he didn't throw out his back.

Now what you've all been waiting for.....an update on ME!!! Haha, j/k.

(Edited- due to recent happenings in the news....lol)

On a sadder note, I was pregnant for a little while and now I'm not=(. I was supposed to be 12 wks. and a day, on the day I miscarried. I know people don't normally blog about things like this, but I felt like putting it out there. I always like to give the pink elephant some attention before letting him loose.

We had been trying for a long while and so we were very excited when we finally got pregnant. Nervous, but excited too. We told Kole right away, and he then told his teacher, the bus driver, his 20 closest friends, and the neighbors all about the baby!! So, we had to tell lots of people about the misscarriage, which totally sucks, especially because you usually have to tell them pretty soon after it happens (to avoid embarrasment on their part) and it is still a tender subject at that point. But bless his heart, he was just so excited too! So we were super bummed for a while. There are still sad moments, but as a family we are healing well from the tragedy, and have grown closer because of it.

All that being said, I know God has a plan. He is in control and I trust Him. End of story. Without that, I think it would have been more difficult to move past the hurt than it has been.

So anyways, onto another subject. I have been crafting alot! On the side of this page, you will see some new things I posted on etsy, but I have made many other things that I'm not selling=). I am currently working on a project for my nephew, River. He will be here soon!! I don't want to give away the surprise, but its gonna be great. I have also made several aprons (and need to make several more). I have been giving these away to my friends, but I figure they will be my walking advertisements!!

I wear button earrings almost every day. I love them!! They are on my site as well.

I promise that I will post some crafty pictures soon.

So all is well with the Brown's. Just pluggin along. Ready for spring and warm breezes. I need to play in dirt. We need sunshine and fresh air. And its coming!! Can't wait!

I have a dream.....

I know its a little after MLK day but that title of this post completely describes the day dreams I have been having lately (as in the past year or so). After read through my Murray's Hatchery catalog (for chickens and other fowl), I decided to put these ideas into a post to make it known to the world, or just those of you who still check my blog, what I would love to do with my life.

I want to farm. There, I said it. I want a large piece of land to play on and live off of. I want to be able to provide my family with organic foods and homemade things, as well as sell these to the people in our area that are moving towards a more Eco friendly lifestyle.

Do I really think we could survive, financially, with this dream? Its a possibility. It could totally fail and leave us poor and searching for jobs working for "the man" again. Or, it could be a huge success that would feature us in country living and inspire thousands all over the world. Ok, so maybe that it wishful thinking, but hey, it could happen, right?!?

I would start small, with things that we are already doing but on a larger scale. First, we would need land. Preferably land that was already being used as a farm, with barns and such. We would need equipment. Mucho dinero, yes. An investment, yes. A little scary, yes.

I would then purchase at least 50 chickens, of different breeds, but mainly just good egg layers. Here are the types I want most:

 

This is a crested polish chicken. They are so cool looking!!!

These are a smaller breed, known as sebright bantams. They are so pretty and cute! Small eggs though.

This is a feather footed friend. I love the interesting feet and colors of this one.

This is a white leghorn chicken. We currently have one, and they are amazing layers!! White eggs.

This is a Rhode Island Red chicken variety. We also have one of these. BIG brown eggs, really consistent layer!

Now these are cool. Ameraucana (Araucana) chickens lay tinted eggs. Kind like pastel Easter eggs! Any kind would do.

This is a Dominique breed. Early American, featured at Williamsburg. Really pretty breed.

This is a light Sussex chicken. Really good egg layer as well.

This is a speckled Sussex. Good egg layer and really pretty!

This is a Buff Orphington chicken. I like the coloring in these. Pretty Blondes.

So there are many others that I am looking into: Black Star, Red Star (both commercially made for egg production), Cuckoo Maran, Plymouth Rock, Barred Rock, and any Sex-linked chicken (also made for good egg production, usually a combination of a couple breeds).

When I have all the chickens I want, I would start selling farm fresh eggs at the farmers market, to neighbors, and others in the community. Not a huge money maker but I believe that this project would pay for itself in the end, while providing my family and relatives with free fresh eggs. Plus, the variety of eggs we would get as well as their freshness would be a draw for customers who are used to the white walmart eggs. We could also sell and use the meat, although I would have to hire someone to butcher as I tend to get attached to my girls.

Here's another thought: There are people in this community that would love to raise interesting chickens in their small backyards. It is a new movement, check out The City Chicken, if ya don't believe me. We could raise chicks and sell those, as well as pullets (in between chick and chicken sized, kinda like teenagers=).

So there is the chicken plan.

Next, I would focus on the garden. We have one now, but if we were really gonna do this, we would need to increase it's size to provide not only for us but the farmers market as well (or hopefully a larger customer, like a hospital?).

Zach and I came across a really cool website about Spin Gardening. The basic concept is to rotate high demand, high yielding crops for the maximum profit in smaller plots of land. Things like salad greens, micro greens, green onions, etc, as well as corn, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and potatoes. I would also want to try out some veggies that are not easily found at our farmers market like:



This cauliflower, named Romanesco.

Rainbow carrots!!

Eggplant



Micro greens

These are just to name a few. I will continue to brainstorm and research what would do well in this area=).

Off seasons have the possibility to be difficult to make money at a farmers market, but I was thinking homemade breads and canned goods.....?

Another thought for items at the farmers market.......FRESH FLOWERS!! I got this idea when we were at the market at Williamsburg. There were vendors who sold beautiful flowers of all different kinds, along with their veggie goods. Marketed right (in tin inexpensive watering cans), these could be a huge hit. There is nothing like that at our local farmers market.

So on this land I would also need an area for an orchard. On our current property (right around an acre, hence the name, "Brown Acre", that we use when speaking of our yard), I have several fruit trees that I have planted since moving here. The oldest one was planted three years ago this month. It is growing but no fruit yet. I currently have a granny smith apple tree, red delicious apple tree, Winesap apple tree (good for apple butter), a pear tree, a peach tree, and a plum tree. None of these are old enough to put on fruit, but I am looking forward to the day they do!! Maybe this is the year=). This past fall, we discover a paw paw tree on our property. They are fairly common in this area and have fruit that tastes like a mix between a banana and a pear. Its small, but produced fruit that tasted good! This year I will probably plant an apricot tree.

If we got land and had a farm, I would totally increase the size of the orchard and include many different types of each variety. Not only could we sell these as fresh fruit, but we could also can them for pie making, etc. I like this idea.

After we got started with the above mentioned plans, which I realize are HUGE, I would want to include some livestock on our property. I'm thinking goats or sheep. Can't decide yet. Goats would be beneficial for their milk, not only to drink (?!?) but also for making goat milk soap. This would be another thing I could provide for my family, and sell at a farmers market. Sheep would be cool and interesting, because I have a good friend, Melissa Irons, who not only is my friend, but also my husbands best friends wife, and neighbor (she literally lives right down the road), who is very into knitting. She just got a spinning wheel this past Christmas and we could use the sheep wool to make our own yarn!!! How could would that be?!? She knows all about dyeing the wool as well. This could be a huge hit in our area as well, because we have the "in" with knitting groups and shops.

My last idea of the day is to continue with the homemade items that I already have on my etsy shop, just expanding a bit. I could sell aprons at a farmers market, and even a few crafty type stores that are in our area. I am also really digging my button earrings. I think those would go over well in the shops around here.

I got an embroidery machine for Christmas from my awesome hubby. I am still learning that basics of embroidery, but I have made two new aprons, one for myself, and one for Zach, with embroidery on the front (his name, and a big M for me). I have a couple other projects lined up as well. Maybe I will post some pictures of these at some point.

I know these are big ideas and we would have to start small. But we have already started some of them, and I can continue to dream! Farm life isn't easy, I am aware. I think I would really love this lifestyle, and wouldn't mind that hard work, because I would be happy doing what I love.

I don't know if these dreams will ever really happen, but just writing this post is exciting! I'm putting my thoughts down on paper (or screen), and just that feels good.

I am sure more ideas will continue to flow through my daydreams, and I will write about those as they do.

For now though, this has been a VERY long blog, so thanks for reading!!!



Help With Blog Design

Ok, So I am super frustrated with my blog design. I can not get the template the way I want it. Blogger now has this new thing (or new to me), the design tab. I, at first, used this and didn't like the results. So I tried to get rid of it. It wont go away. So I then went to a blog template site and tried to use one of those, but the design from blogger kept overriding the template I had chosen from the other site.

Grr.

Does anyone know how to fix this? What are good websites to find templates? How do I get my Banner to display what I want it to? I've seen several other peoples blogs and their banners, and they are able to make them larger with a photo or other decor. I want this too! But I can't figure it out.

So if you have some tips for me, please let me know=)

Cluck, Cluck!

As some of you already know (others will be shocked) we added three chickens to our acre this summer. We eat a carton and a half of eggs every week on average, and we were looking for something more economical and organic. Ok, and this just seemed like farmy fun times to me.
So, I went on a search in early May to find some chickenes for sale. I knew I wanted full grown chickens because I was too impatient to wait for eggs, and we did not have the equipment for chicks. I looked in the local bulletin and discovered a posting for 1 yr old chickens for sale at this farm in between Mannington and Fairmont. I called the man up and made an appointment to come and pick up the chickens.
Well, when Kole and I arrived at the farm, I knew things were not good. All of the animals were sickly looking, underfed, and had poor homes. The man who owned this place told me later that he was legally blind, but I still do not feel that is a valid excuse. I should have reported this situation to someone, but I didn't. I did ,however, "rescue" two chickens and the small price of ten dollars.
I brought them home in a crate and set them up with good food and water in the chicken tractor our friend Joe had created for us. Kole named them. The white chicken is Patricia (the most beautiful name in the world Kole says) and the red one is Victoria (after Zach's boss). They looked awful. And the definately were not giving us eggs. The sat in the egg box for most of that first month and looked pitiful. Here are some pictures so you can see just what I am talking about.

The below picture is of Victoria. She is a Rhode Island Red. She was missing most of her feathers, one eye would not open, and she would barely eat or drink anything.

You will notice that both chickens combs (the floppy part on the top of thier heads) were very small and pink. This is a sign that they are not laying and may even be sick.

Well, I tried everything to get these chickens to feel better. At first, I just thought they were underfed, so I made sure they had fresh water and more than enough food everyday. That wasn't working. SO I then decided that Something must be wrong with them. We were sure that Victoria was going to die. She just wobbled around, couldn't see, and barely ate anything. I wanted eggs!! I told them that everyday but they didn't listen to me. Since I though Vikkie was on her way out, I decided to get another chicken.

A friend of mine told me about someone she worked with who had a farm and a bunch of chickens. She said he would probably give me another one. It was hilariously disturbing when she came over to my house the next day with a box. She said Frank had given her a chicken and then given her a tour of his farm. She brought the box up to the chicken tractor and reached inside to pull out this chicken. The chicken was dead. And rigor mortis had already set in. I suppose the heat got to it on her hour and a half tour of the farm. We were very sad (she laid in the grass and cried), but I couldn't help but find a little humor in the situation.

Later on that week, I went with my friend to meet Frank the farmer. His farm was amazing. Lots of healthy animals that loved him. 300 acres of forest and farmland. I loved every minute of it. Frank is an older farmer who came to America when he was a young man, from Spain. He made his own chorizo and we got to sample some while on our visit. Frank told me to pick my chicken, so I did, he caught it and into the crate it went. We immediately left the farm (so as not to bring home another chicken for my husband to bury), and I sat the crate in the front seat with the air on full blast. And that is how our Barred Rock chicken, Francine, came to join the flock.

Francine (named after farmer Frank) layed eggs for about a week. Then she stopped. I was furious. I couldn't figure out what was going wrong. I researched the itnernet and found several things that could be wrong, called the vet and got some suggestions, and made a plan.

I went to tractor supply and bought vitamins and electrolytes, deworming medication, and an antibiotic to treat any number of poultry diseases. So much for organic eggs. Or so I thought.

I treated these little buggers for anything and everything. Still no eggs. This lasted for most of the summer.

Meanwhile, I had been a little lazy about watering my garden and we had a big rain mid August. A bunch of tomatoes split and had gnats flying around them, so I threw them in the chicken cage. The girls went nuts over them. So whenever I had a funky tomato, I threw it in. Low and behold, a week or so later, the girls started laying. First, Francine started up again. Then one day I went out and there were two eggs waiting on me. One was bigger than my hand!! And darker than any Francine had layed. I knew it had to come from Vikki (the one we thought would die). They have been laying faithfully ever since. I kept wondering though what was wrong with Patricia. She still wasn't laying although she looked much better.

Then it happened. Three days ago, Patricia layed her first egg. It is the smallest of the three, and completely white (she is a white leghorn), but there it was!! I was so pumped. So, for three days in a row I have gotten 3 eggs a day.

I don't really understand it, but successfully rescuing and recovering chickens to the point where they can lay eggs is a real sense of accomplishment for me. I feel really good everyday when I collect our eggs.

Oh and if you were wondering, the eggs are considered to be organic, because the meds they were given were out of their system by the time they started laying (read it on the directions).

Here are some "now" pictures for you to enjoy. They really do look so much better!

Here is Francine. I love how much character she has! And her feathers kinda remind me of a zebra.

Big floppy red combs mean eggs!!

And here they are!! One day, three eggs. I get so excited every time!!

Now you know all about our chicken saga of the summer!!

While I am no expert at raising chickens, if you have any questions about how we did things (or do things now) please ask=). I love talking about my girls.

I've done it again....

Yes, I have backed myself into a corner by not posting a single thing for SEVERAL months. Please forgive me. I will update as well as I can, but there will be events forgotten and I can only ask for your forgiveness=).

This summer was fantastic! Lots of relaxing, working in the garden, picking up new hobbies, hanging out with friends, reading great books, mini vacations, spending time with Kole, swimming in various locations, cleaning the house (ok not so fun but I do feel good when its done), crafting, sewing, etsy making........ The list could go on.

Overall great summer. There were times when I was a little...purposeless...so to say. But now that school is back into full swing I am longing for a purposeless day=)

A few new hobbies that I have picked up: Playing the lap or mountian dulcimer and basket making (I've got to get the reeds to really start this though=). Oldtimey fun stuff.

I'm not awesome yet, but I plan to be=). I am teaching myself how to play and have started with some chording. I just LOVE the way it sounds. The drone reminds me of a bagpipe.

The garden has done well this year. We did all raised beds, and it was ALOT of work to put together, but in following years we will only have to add a little dirt and be done.

All of the raised bed sides were made from fallen trees from our back lot. We cut them to size and pegged them into place. Then filled with dirt, compost, and fertilizer. And voila, the plants did grow. We had some kind of blight with all viney stuff this year, the deer somehow got in even with the fence on, and the mexican bean beetles LOVED my green beans, but the raised beds are the way to go. Even after all that, I got tons of produce and have put up many cans of tomatoes, salsa, chili base, beans, and peppers.

We most recently got back from our labor day trip to Colonial Williamsburg. We went with my inlaws, John and Linda. It was such a treat to get to spend that time with them in a place they just can't get enough of! We all really enjoyed the rich history (expect for kole sometimes, he just wanted to swim in the hotel pool=).

John and Linda on the bus. One of Kole's favorite parts of the trip=)

This may be the only picture of the two of us. We are also on the bus. The bus takes you from one end to the other, or back to your car at the visitors center, etc. There still is alot of walking involved. Very Primal.

Kole made a friend and they played chess for atleast an hour, may more. These two were crackin' me up.
Arg! Kole the pirate strikes again!

There was a fife and drums parade. Kole wanted to follow them around town. So we did, because it was too funny watching him walk/dance around williamsburg.

There was an amazing maze in the palace court yards. Can you find Kole in the picture above? How about below?

There was a really cool canopy of trees in the palace garden as well. This is Linda checking it out.

Finally, Here is our navigator. He had a kids atlas on his lap, a pirate hat on his head, a gun (fake of course) and a pen in his hands, and a crazy look in the eyes. He needed a nap!

So Williamsburg was lots of fun. I am going to post more pictures on Facebook as soon as I can get the time.

Lets see, what else.......Oh I had a kidney stone this summer! It was AWFUL! But it came out and I have cut back on DDP so I'm praying it will never happen again!

We got to spend some time with Kbelle a few weeks ago. She is so stinkin' great. I just love her.

Here they are at the pond.

A few seconds after this picture, the net was at the bottom of the pond.

Dad loves taking his grandkids fishing and outside.

Kole decided he should give Keirrabelle some sound advice.

JUMP GUNNER!

Oh yea, Lets not forget about Tiff's wedding and our adventure to COS!! This was such a fun trip! I just wish my boys could've gone. But I did have a really amazing time with my family and siblings.

Tiff looked AMAZING!!

Grandmomi and I got stuck in Dallas for the night on the way home. Stupid airports. She just wanted to sleep in the airport, she said. I said, You're crazy!

I developed laser vison in COS. Go figure.
Ok, well thank goodness for pictures because I would forget everything if it wasn't for them!

I started a new teaching job this year at a different school. I definately miss my old schools. I made good friendships and relationships at each of my previous 4 schools of the past 2 years. But, the program was cut and I had to work.

I am liking my current situation a little more now. It has just taken some time to get used to things at a new school. I haven't really been able to develop any friendships here (because I am in a seperate building, alone!) but maybe that will come later on.

The sad news is I may not have a job next year teaching FACS. The county we live in has cut the program down so much and it really looks like they are doing away with it all together by next year. I will have to work in a different county, hope to get a high school position, substitute, or get out of teaching. I haven't decided what the best plan of action is yet.

I have missed so many things with this blog, but it is time to wrap it up. I'm actually typing this part (the rest was ready) during my planning=).

I'm going to do better about updating. I think. Atleast i'm really gonna try!

Holy Moly

I haven't posted since FEBRUARY!!!!! What?!?! SO sorry to those of you who faithfully check my blog (there probably are not many left). I am going to try and do better.

Its been a great summer! Busy and fun. Maybe that was why I didn't post.=)

Its already back to school here in Marion County. Noooooooo!

I am actually at lunch right now, so this is totally acceptable to be writing during the day (right?) but it is almost over. And my afternoons show no mercy. So I will leave you with a promise.

I will do a large update on all things that have passed in the months I have ignored this blog. Pinkie Swear it.