Hello 2018 and Happy New Year everyone! I have a great feeling about this year and can’t wait for the adventure to begin.

Matt and I cannot believe that two years ago we were still unpacking and getting things settled at our little cabin. At that time we were just a family of two humans, one pup, and four hens – my, how things have changed!

The past two years have been a whirlwind of remodeling (master bath and kitchen), redecorating (pretty much every room), learning experiences (first-time horse and honeybee ownership), and building up the homestead (garden install, fruit trees, workshop, “barn”, and round pen). Now that we have gotten most of the major projects tackled we can sit back and plan on what we want to tweak, modify, or add moving forward.

The past few days have been frigid for us in Central Texas and between running to the barn with warm water for the horses, since their trough is frozen, I have been working away indoors to spruce things up for my new venture. (I confess, I probably did not protect the garden as much as it needed for these below freezing temps, but fingers crossed the brassicas make it!)

If you follow my Instagram or Facebook feed(s) you will see that I recently completed my Introductory Herbal Course from The Herbal Academy and have started working with herbs to create teas and herbal remedies. Completing this training inspired me to revisit my massage therapy training and to begin practicing again! Our empty bedroom was begging for a use, so I spent this weekend buying a new table and starting the decorating process.

My goal is to add a vintage hutch to store my herbs in in the empty nook and to see a few clients a week at the house to add a side income. Eventually I hope that I can also market my herbal creations as well as our honey and veggies. #holistichomesteadgoals, people!

In addition to this, I plan to begin Reiki training to add to my massage repertoire and hope to pursue my Intermediate Herbal Course and possibly Massage Therapy Instructor training. Of course, this will be in addition to my office job for now, so wish me luck as I set out to overwhelm myself! 😉

For the exterior we have some loblolly pine saplings to get in the ground soon to add trees back where we lost some during storms this year and I would like to add to our food forest following permaculture principles.

Matt has been toying with welding and his first project, a firewood storage rack, is almost complete – it just needs a protective coat of paint and to be loaded up to feed the fire pit. His welding projects will likely increase in size and we hope he will have time to work on some additional furniture projects and to have some time to relax and enjoy the homestead a bit more. We will likely add some additional bee hives and hens this year to replace those we have lost, too.

What are some projects you would like us to share this year? What are your project plans? I hope 2018 is a wonderful year for everyone!