It sounds like an awesome inspiration, Velvet! You would really like my parents as they had a similar dream and live out in the middle of nowhere on a 14 acre farm with sheep, goats, chickens, and dogs. There were llamas and a horse at one time but the larger animals are not very cost effective.

I'm also trying to lose some weight and I'm trying to cut out all caffeinated beverages from my diet. Other things I'm trying to cut out completely is fast food and other over-refined/processed foods. It can be difficult, especially with busy lifestyles. I guess I luck out as I work from home, so it's a bit easier to adhere to a certain diet. I have found I really enjoy fruit infused water. Basically you cut up fruit into small slices and can put it in a sealed container in water and let it sit overnight. The fruit ends up leaving a faint aftertaste that makes it easier to enjoy just plain old water. If the fruit is especially tart, I use a zero calorie Sucralose packet to help kick it up a notch.

I think part of my aspirations is to finally have both myself and my husband busy and working full time again. Both of us are in a type of transitionary period. :/

@Mystic - Perhaps you could do work at home type stuff? I do customer support and pay ranges from $8-13 an hour and it's fairly steady income. I'm just in the process of being transitioned to another line of work due to a company dropping support with us. Kind of a long story. I've been with this company for 2 and a half years now and they've been pretty good to me.