What a year!!

2017 has almost come to an end! I knew it was coming, and it still kinda snuck up on me.  It has been such a busy year, but also so very relaxing and peaceful.  

I thought today, I would finish the year with a photo recap of 2017.  I hope you have enjoyed following along so far, and I hope to hear from you in 2018!

Prepping the Land for our Cabin

Building Pallet Shed/Hubby's Future Workshop

Spring Found Us Farmsitting for Neighbors

Vacationing with Good Friends in Smoky Mountains

Check Out the Orange Lines for Planning Cabin Layout  

Delivery of Stone for House Site

...And Here Comes the House!

Hubby Capturing a Swarm of Bees

Electrical Work - Endless Fun! 

Walls Going Up for Bedroom & Bathroom

Visiting Friend = Trip to Local State Parks

Clearing Out Brush & Small Trees

Apple Tree in Fall Splendor, Framed by the Front Porch

Downsizing, Downsizing, Downsizing! 

(This book helped so much!)

Addition of Tractor & Bulldozer (not pictured)
Should Help Outside Work Tremendously!!

Started Genealogy Blog, Met New Cousins, Revamping Genealogy Dept.
at Work, & Family Reunion

Anxious to see what 2018 will bring!! Come along for the ride!

Arctic Weather...Warm Hearts!

Frozen Waterfall at Oliver Winery

I hope everyone has had a Merry Christmas, or Happy Hanukkah, holiday this year!  Many of you wanted a white Christmas, and got that. I did like having the light brushing of snow that we received.

However, as beautiful as the photo above is, I am not a huge fan of the freezing temperatures that were needed to make it so beautiful.

Cold, I can handle.  But when the weather guys start using words like "arctic" and "freezing", then, immediately I am over winter and ready for spring!! ❄❄❄

I think this year, I am going to try to keep warmer by having a much warmer heart.  It probably won't thaw the ground around me, but it might just make the world around me a little warmer!

I think that I am a nice person, and try to do kind things for friends and strangers alike.  But, I do let the cynical, complaining, and rude world around me get to me a lot more than I should.  

So, starting today, I am going to try to be even nicer to everyone I meet.  To open that door for the next person, to have a few more kind words ready for the people I meet. For those rude, cynical, complaining people...maybe a prayer or two to go with those kind words.  

Let's flood this world with kindness in 2018.  💞

And, yes, I even want you to be kind to yourself.  Be kind to others, but also don't let them be unkind to you.  

In fact, it starts with you being kind to yourself first! Talk to yourself the way you would want a friend to talk to you when you need encouragement. 

Be good, Be nice, and take care of yourself and the world around you.  

Who knows...it might just be one of those trends that catch on!!! 

(and make those arctic temperatures feel just a little warmer...maybe!!)  LOL

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Happy Blogversary to Fledgling Endeavors!

Wow, it has been five years already!! I cannot believe it! But according to Facebook, it is.  I couldn't sleep this morning, so I thought that I would cruise around on FB for a while. 

Found this little gem in my On This Day section...

My "On This Day" find this morning on FB

Five years ago, I had many dreams, and interests that I wanted to follow.  One of them was to become a writer.  But, I was scared to death to put my writing "out there" where other people might possibly read it.

Gasp!! I could never do that! It would be horrifying!

But...slowly, but surely, I started taking baby steps. 

Three of my fellow writing friends and I started a writing group at the library where I worked at the time. I started writing with them, and it wasn't as scary as I thought. No one laughed at me. No one made fun of me. In fact, everyone was very supportive.  They actually liked what I wrote! 

So, I started taking more baby steps. I wrote a small article in November of 2011 for a local newsletter. 

Between encouragement from my writer's group, and my own research into the free blogging sites, like Blogger here, I eventually took the jump.

I followed my first public fledgling endeavor, by starting Fledgling Endeavors! I put my writing out there in the most public of places - the World Wide Web!

And that was just the beginning of following my dreams, and passions.

In the past five years, my husband and I have moved to our dream property, where we are working to make life as sustainable as possible.

We have tried our hand at raising rabbits, and keeping bees. When we are all settled here, we will continue following those passions.

I work at a job I love...where as part of my job I get to follow another passion:  Genealogy.  

My genealogy page on this blog grew to the point that it received its own blog:  This Hoosier's Heritage.  

Five years ago, I stopped just researching everything to death, and started taking those baby steps.  

And where exactly has that taken me?

• To a beautiful and peaceful place I love to explore
• To a job I love that includes all of my passions: books, helping people, genealogy, learning new things
• More quality time to spend with the hubby
• Less stress

On to new endeavors!! 

With no city lights around, I have been looking up at the night sky more and more. I was just starting to learn some of the constellations, when it started to get colder everyday.  I will continue looking up, just not for very long right now.

This spring, you might find a post or two about this new passion...when it gets warm enough for the stars to start beckoning again!

👉Where has the last five years led you?  What passions has it made you follow?

Tell us all about it!