Until Danny from The Cottage Small Holder commented I did not realize my About page was blank. He is very right, one of the first stops made is to the about page to learn more about the writer. However, writing about my personal self is not easy. In my mind the paragraphs  read  like a poorly written resume, plastically fake or bragging. 

The most basic: age 44, married 26 years, 8 children & female 

Home: This place is 2.1 acres in the eastern Ozark mountains. The town died long ago, the community center is collapsed & surrounded by numerous cow plops. The soil is clay, the property is flat, the road floods easily, we drive through anyway. The house is not as sturdy as the other 100 yr old home but does keep out the rain.

Expected basics: College senior working toward a BSE in biology with the expected minor in maths and possibilities of minors in literature or history, on sabbatical for 12 years. I have taken 99% of a graduate level molecular biology class that ended with a car crash. I have serious gripes with the college system – the goal is to teach hs students how to cut up worms NOT genetic recombination! Due to graduation requirements….

Off the beaten path: Those 8 kids ranging in ages from 25 to 2. Homeschooling. Taking ballet class as an adult in a class full of 8 – 13 year old children. Conservative libertarian.

 Paid Work: A counter girl, salad maker at an award winning buffet, nurses aide for heavy care nursing home patients, a meat packer (beef), a lab assistant at the community college, a stockroom worker. I turned down the opportunity to be an assistant in the genetics lab, a difficult choice as it was an honor to be asked – undergrads are not usually considered. I do not regret that decision.

 Work: Besides everyday life? 4H leader, Studio for the Arts & Imperial Theater volunteering 

 Hobbies: Voracious reading, gardening, sewing, crochet, canning, cooking & baking and others I shall remember only after the publish button is clicked.

 Lifestyle: Self-sufficient, homesteading, frugality, learning (because it’s an adventure) blending together homesteading & gardening &  green & prepping – you can’t have one without the other…*music cue*…

Challenges: Avoiding soy products, bringing dreams into reality or reality into dream

 Never ending projects: See the above list & choose a favorite. Getting this home of one year closer to my vision…life is just interesting.

Possibilities

I dwell in Possibilities – -

A fairer House than Prose – -

More numerous of Windows – -

Superior – – for Doors.

–Emily Dickinson

The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson

No. 657

1862

Cast of Characters:

• Stephanie – yours truly
• Dh – the man who puts up with me & mentally cringes upon hearing the words “I have an idea”
• Grits - oldest daughter married to Davo, currently resides in Missouri. Mother of one beautiful child known as Little Bit and expecting another mid April.
• Fyah – oldest son, married to Mrs. Fyah. A member of the USAF trying to avoid freezing in North Dakota. Father of a handsome son Alex & adding a second son in mid June
• Nekeos – third in line, married to Mrs. Nekeos. Also a member of the USAF trying to avoid profusely sweating in Louisiana. Awaiting the arrival of a daughter in May. Shall tell me I’ve misspelled his name again – also known on this blog as Nikos (which irl is a friend of his).
• Seventeen – fourth child who has not chosen an online name yet. A hardworking young man who is almost past those annoyingly difficult years. For some odd reason is enthused with the idea of building his own home & being totally self sufficient – but too young to understand the limits of 2.1 acres.
• Thomas- Fifth in line, an 11 yo who will soon graduate to a screen name. Home-schooled, built to dance, favorite musician is Kenny G.
• Lindsay – Sixth child & second daughter often called Li or Lyn on her mother’s blog. She is an avid bookworm, made to dance, reserved and often assumed to be shy, brave and the first to conquer most physical challenges (while being a lady). 
• Zach – seventh child who would rather be outdoors than in, reached the talkative stage and is trying very hard to test the longevity of all the ears in his immediate family.
• Danielle- eighth child known as Little Missey in most posts. Born without a thyroid she visits Arkansas Children’s Hospital on a regular basis & takes Synthroid daily. Due to the very necessary medicine we are learning to avoid foods that will interact with her medicine - soy being the biggest culprit. 
• Assorted friends and family usually given an online nickname to protect their privacy. Explanations as needed.

Help..anything you’d like to know about me? Within reason of course.