About Mary’s Journey to Homesteading

Hello and welcome! I’m Mary Woita, the creator and writer behind Boots & Hooves Homestead.

I am a Traditional Roman Catholic (Latin Mass), loving rancher’s wife and homeschooling mother of 4 children. I’m an accidental country girl – originally from Southern California and now living in the middle of nowhere Nebraska. It all started when I met and married my real life cowboy.

When I became pregnant with my first child, I began to research everything! Learning about the chemicals that were in cleaning products inspired me to ditch the toxins and create my own natural cleaning products.

But this is where the story begins. Moving to the middle of nowhere taught me a lot about country living (with a bit of culture shock thrown in!) and it is what catapulted my natural living journey. 

Like most of you, I grew up eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) and also referred to the Western Diet. The overly processed and convenience foods we grew up on did not contribute to our health or well-being. And in fact, I believe contributed towards my current health problems.

I have been battling a few autoimmune diseases – endometriosis (for 22+ years), rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia (both within the last 10+ years). And this is another huge motivator for living a clean & healthy life for my family!

My food philosophy is pretty simple. We strive for using real food ingredients, eating whole foods, and organic whenever possible. Our family also enjoys regular amounts of fermented foods & homemade bone broth daily.

Our family has been living this simple homestead lifestyle (12+ years), growing our own food, and living naturally for more than 20+ years!

All of this experience is what drives my desire for creating a better & healthier lifestyle for my family + encouraging our readers to make small healthy changes over time.