Saturday Night

Last night was one the ubiquitous banquets in town. I had never heard of such a thing but they have them for every animal - elk, turkey, pheasants, whatever. My in-laws love to go to them but Travis doesn't care for them and neither does his nieces. Usually they just go - which I imagine is a nightmare - they aren't the best behaved and it really isn't for kids - but yesterday and 6:45 in the AM!!! my sister-in-law called and asked if we would watch the kids. We had so much fun with them. Had dinner, played outside, played on the Wii, we ran into town and got a movie and ice cream. You can imagine how excited Travis was to rent the Hannah Montana movie. He was really hoping for Monsters vs Aliens, but once the kiddos saw Hannah Montana that was it. The little one drew pictures and pictures of chickens. So cute. For the most part they were pretty good. They are my nieces and I love them but they also terrify me because the thought of having such spoiled rotten kids - they literally do not know what the word "no" means. They don't even slow down or pause. But they were good about helping set the table and feed the animals before dinner. Anyway, we had fun. I asked Travis if I could have three - his response was only if they were boys - I think Hannah Montana really scared him.

Pushiness

It is so frustrating when people don't call you back. My Small Health Issue has failed to resolve so I called the Dr's office 3 hours ago and nobody called me back. Now that I have finally gathered the gumption to call back they are closed. I hate to be pushy but I need an order for blood work. So do I call back tomorrow or hope they remember me? Eck. I hate both options. I made a super healthy, fruit filled, dairy free sweetbread the other day. Travis thinks the combination of banana and blueberry is weird, but I thought it was super yummy. Next time I am going to try to replace some of the white sugar with agave . . . I like the idea of using agave but don't yet feel comfortable using it in recipes.

Dairy Free Banana Blueberry Bread

1 cup blueberries
1 5/8 c flour - I used 1/2 c wheat, 1/4 c wheat germ and the rest white
1/2 c oatmeal
1/2 c walnuts
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 c applesauce
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 c mashed banana - about 2 bananas

Coat blueberries in 2 Tbsp flour. Stir in the next 6 ingredients. In another bowel mix applesauce and sugar until dissolved. Add eggs then bananas. Mix wet mixture into flour mix until just mixed. How many times can you write "mix" in one sentence? Bake in greased bread pan at 350 for 60-90 min.

Chickens & Ducks

Work has been kicking my butt lately. But I could make a 40 hr week complaining about THAT so let's just move along - to beedy eyed, feathered critters!

It is migration season - spring has officially sprung, despite the snow storm yesterday. Travis and I took his momma down to the valley to see all the migrating cranes, geese and ducks.





Look how big the coos duck's feet are!



On Tuesday we went down to the ranch store and got 15 little peepers. We got three different kinds - New Hampshire Reds, Black Australorp, and Barred Rock. All the chirping noises makes the cat very edgy. For now we are keeping them in a big box in the garage, when they are too big for that, it should be warmer and they will move outside.



Right now they are still so little and soft but it won't be long until they are big enough to go to their coop outside. Chicks are fairly low maintenance. A large box with high walls and sawdust is enough for their home. They just need plenty of chick food - medicated is best because they could have a disease that they will spread to everyone else. They also go through a lot of water and will kick their sawdust and poo into the water, so you need to make sure they have enough clean water. At this size the dumb things can drown, so you cannot give them too much open water. Our garage isn't heated so we have a heat lamp over their box. If they get too cold they will huddle together and can smother each other.

Chickens like to peck. If they peck another chicken hard enough to draw blood, it is important to take the hurt chicken away from other chicks - into solitary! Chickens can peck a hurt chicken to death. The only other thing you have to check on is their little chicken bums. If they have poo stuck their they can get plugged up and die. Actually seeing all this written out makes chicken care sound a lot harder than it is! They are really very easy and in a few months they will be providing lots of yummy fresh eggs and hopefully even some egg money!



It's still cold but sunny so we are headed off to go fishing!! Or, more accurately, Travis will fish and I will curl up in a camp chair and read a book in the sun. What a great way to spend an afternoon.

Ooey- Gooey Homemade Mac & Cheese

What a pretty, snowy weekend we're having here. Travis and I have been lazy all day today. We ran a few errands in town, played on the Wii, and laid on the couch reading and drinking hot tea. Is there a better way to spend a snowy Saturday?

We ran to the farm & ranch store in town, to budget how much new stuff we will need when we buy chickens. Only around another month until it is time to go pick up the little peepers! We are going get going on the coop pretty soon. We already have the wood, chicken wire and the plan so now we just have to find some motivation.

In our contiunal quest to avoid spending money at the grocery store, last night I made home-made Mac and Cheese. Kind of made up the recipe, here it is:

4 cups cooked pasta
1 tsp butter
1/4 c milk or 1/2&1/2
1/4 c cottage cheese
2 TBSP sour cream
4 1/2 c Montery Jack Cheese (honestly, I think it would be better w/Sharp Chedder but I didn't have any)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 slice American cheese

Stir togeather over med heat until warm and and super cheesy. Prepare to feel five years old again & enjoy!

Pilates

Can I shout out to the Internet how much I love Pilates!!!!! I feel so loose, stretched and NON-achy from head to toe. Amazing.

Control

Last year I read a couple articles here and here. Now, if you do a little research it is easy to find lots of people saying this is not a great idea, that the study is misleading, etc, etc. However (Alert - TMI - Alert)BC makes me insane and nobody really cares for condoms, do they? We're married, happy together and want to have kids. If something happened, the timing wouldn't be perfect but we would be happy. BUT what really surprised me was a recent conversation with some college friends. None of them are in long term or serious relationships, they get all twitchy talking about marriage, kids, etc. And not a single one of them are using any kind of birth control other then pulling out. These are all educated, intelligent women - so why aren't they doing what every health class and public service announcement advocates?

Some are like me, they don't like condoms or the Pill. Others are more hippy dippy and don't like taking synthetic hormones. Although I am making the same choice they are, it seems so easy to judge. Many are still in school, or working part time, low paying jobs. They don't want kids for 5-10 years yet are doing something that seems so risky - maybe even irresponsible?

Bottom line - I worry about them, a little because I think they are courting an unwanted pregnancy, but mostly because they are eschewing even the attempt to prevent STDs.

On a less controversial note, here is my leaning tower of German Chocolate Cake that I made this weeked. Yum.

I'm Saving Up . . .

I think one of the hardest parts about the economy & Travis not working as much as usual is that we had planned on trying to have a baby this winter. I guess maybe it wasn't meant to be right now . . . First I had a health thing and now this. But it is so hard - I could practically see little blue eyes & we had even picked out names, figured out where to put the crib in our tiny home. But now our savings are being used to just get by so we have to put off our plans. I miss somebody who has never even been conceived.

On a positive note my cake turned out pretty good. German Chocolate isn't my favorite but my father in law loved it.