Fit as a Farm Hand week 2

Here is the permalink if anyone else wants to join in.

Weight loss..... None

Exercise Plan..... I was doing really well with the treadmill and the Wii until I developed a bump on the back of my ankle. I don't know if I sprained it or what I did. It is really sore and I am stepping down wrong to compensate, so I haven't been doing anything. I know no excuse....

Diet.... LOL! I'm just going to laugh now. With a little one home all day for the past few days we have been eating on her schedule not mine.... So we have been eating all types of stuff I would generally not eat.

But she is back at school today. The doctor yesterday said she is right as rain and back to school she went..... YEAH!!!! And even the doctor said that keeping her home was probably the smart choice since the kids are pretty physical at her school.

We did homemade chicken noodle soup last night with store bought noodles. Tonight we are going to have roast with carrots, corn and mashed potatoes. I am suppose to make bread tonight. I need to see if I have enough white flour. I have started to switch over the wheat but to make the transition easier for them I am doing 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat flour in the bread. I figure by spring we should be on to full our wheat flour bread.

I have a question for those that do make your own bread. Can I use whole wheat flour in place of white flour in everything? Such as cookies, cakes, biscuits, french bread, sourdough? Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

I have been going through boxes. You know I thought that I had shredded everything. But apparently I didn't. So I am thinking that I will have Picky monster start shredding stuff for me. It will be fun for her for the first 15 minutes. And let me tell you there is way more then 15 minutes work there. LOL!

Gotta Run,
Yart

Snow

We finally have snow! It has been coming down since around 11am with no signs of stopping. We have gotten maybe 4 inches. But that makes me so happy. I love the sparkly, clean, bright white snow. Everything looks wonderful. Now I know for those that have to drive in it, I feel bad. But the monsters are hoping for a snow day tomorrow. And if it happens I won't have to leave to go anywhere until 5pm. Then the plows and the salt trucks should have done a great job clearing the roads.

Thank you all for the well wishes for my littlest monster. Her nose has already started to heal. Grim changed the bandage today and said it looked a lot better. I can only change bandages if no one else is around. I get so sick to my stomach. And it's not just a family thing, anyone's boo boo's make me sick. I know you all wanted to know that nasty tidbit about me.

I need to really get cracking on this basement. I have some really high hopes for it. But can't do anything until I get off my arse and get rid of stuff. Cleaning is the easy part. Going through stuff to see if I absolutely still might possibly one day down the road need it. LOL! I went through the house a couple of years ago and tossed out and gave away so much stuff the garbage men were leaving me hate notes and friends stopped answering their phones when I called. I was a pack rat, on the verge of being a hoarder. Due to some personal problems, I had the opprotunity to take a good hard look at my life and see where some desperate changes needed to be made. And I made a ton of them. As with anything the clutter creeps back into our lives when we're not looking. So game plan and lists here I come.

Gotta go and hang that last load of laundry for tonight. And maybe empty out a box or two.

Gotta Run,
Yart

Irish Rose Creations Giveaway

I just love this site.... She does such beautiful work! Even if I don't win her work is gorgeous to look at!



The drawing will be held February 2nd.

Gotta Run,
Yart

Blogs and Answers

I had a thought that as I go through all of your wonderful blog that if I come across something that I will post my response or answers here. Plus it gives me stuff to write about when my life has one of those uneventful days.

Kathie, over at Two Frogs Home asked "What moments are you enjoying?" And of course I still have to go through Grim's computer to upload pictures (that is why there haven't been any recently). But I digress.... I am enjoying:

1. having a full pantry (so I don't have to go out in the snow)
2. having two big bags of yarn that will keep me busy
   
3. having lots of big, heavy blankets to crawl under at night
4. having taken off the whole month of January from Bingo
5. having animals that want to cuddle when it is cold

Yes, most of what I am enjoying is about warmth.... LOL! I love the winter and the snow, but I dislike very much the cold.

Barb over at The Big Red Barn was talking about growing hops. Well, that got me thinking. I talked to Grim about it and since he is a home brewer this is one of the first times he has been really excited about this whole farming thing.... (he has always wanted property not all the farm stuff that goes with it, that is my dream). So we are going to sit down this week and start to plan how to make it happen. Grim at the earliest can retire in 14 years. That way he can still work as we get the farm set up. So we are thinking that we if set up a 5 year plan, we can make it happen.

1. Make a list of debt
2. Pay off debt outstanding debt
   
3. Stay current with all current bills
4. Create budget

You know stuff like this. I mean we have been working on this stuff but without a formalized plan it has been willy nilly at best.

Phelan over at A Homesteading Neophyte has said that if you live in zone 5 or 6 it is time to get the cold weather seedlings going. And since I am so new ( wet behind the ears.... LOL) I am going to take her advice and get them started. I need to go to the dollar store and get the aluminum pans with the plastic lids. I used them last year to start some seeds. They worked really well. And of course where they went, I can only guess.

Did I say uneventful earlier.... I so know better.

And of course right as I am writing this blog, shit hits the fan... I had to take my youngest in to the ER. She's fine, she bumped her sister and had a cup of hot chocolate dumped in her face. Luckily, we got her into the shower right away and then off to the hospital. She has mostly 1st degree burns with a spot of 2nd degree burn. They gave me cream and bandages to come home with. I have to take her into the doctor on Monday. She was a trooper, she never even cried. The er doc said that there shouldn't be any scaring. It is just like a really bad sunburn..... Woooooooh! I was scared wittless. But thank the Goodess, my baby won't be scarred for life!!!

I am off for the night!

Gotta Run,
Yart

Fit as a Farm Hand

Edited* I forgot to add the Permanent Link to the post that the challenge is on..... So here it is Fit as a Farm Hand at Ship full of Pirates.com. That should do it :O)


I figured I better sign up for this one! I haven't been doing very good this past 2 weeks. At least with the treadmill. I have been playing with the Wii... I got the Biggest Loser for the Wii and after I did the first workout I couldn't move for 3 days. I hurt so bad, even sitting was painful. But with the monsters back in school and my life getting back to some type of normalcy. I did manage to get on the treadmill for about 15 minutes last night. But then Grim came home early from work so off the treadmill I came.

I will have all of my chores done so that I will have time to watch Martha. Then I am going to try out my new protable DVD player. I asked Santa for one so that I could keep it in the living room and do my exercising where it is warm and I have plenty of room to move around. Yeah!!! I bought the flat diet exercise video months ago. But I forgot I gave my brother my DVD player from the basement.... I thought I would get a new one.... Really I don't know what I was thinking... LOL! So I have been waiting to try it out.

As far as my weight..... Haha, like you thought I was going to post that on here.... Not on your life. Grim reads this and he doesn't need to know how much I weigh.

But I did want to let everyone know that I did walk for most of the month of December and I didn't loose the 20 pounds.... I don't think I lost anything. My diet hasn't changed. But I have noticed that I am firmer. So maybe it is a muscle -vs- fat, thing!!

Gotta Run/Walk
Yart

Jumbled New Year

Well, where has the time flown already?!? With today being the 4th, I didn't feel like I have accomplished anything. Maybe cause I haven't.... LOL! At least nothing substantial. I have been out reading blogs since I have been very lax about keeping track of what is going on in blog land! I stumbled across a few new blogs...

All Natural Mama
A Gardener in Progress
Blueberry Hills Homestead
Viggies Veggies
Burbs and the Bees
A Life Full of Blessings
Tigress in a Jam
Mama Craft
I am so looking forward to more of their posts.

I have also come across a few ideas.

The first one comes from Deep Inside my Broom Closet. Now I know that this has been re-posted on a ton of sites all over the net. But this is the one that most of them link back to, so I will use it.

This is direct quote from Anastasia's blog:

"One Little Word was started by a Ali Edwards in 2007 on her blog. You can go to One Little Word 2010 by clicking on the link."

"Essentially the idea is to choose a word (or let it choose you) that has the potential to make an impact on your life.
Maybe you want to invite something or maybe you are hoping to subtract something. Maybe your word will be practical or hopeful or creative or fanciful. Maybe you need a big word, something in-your-face that will challenge you everyday. Maybe you need something smaller and quieter that will whisper gentle tidings as you make your way throughout the year.
Whatever word you end up with, make sure it is your word (not your sister's, mom's, partner's, child's, etc). You can share it publicly or keep it close to your heart." by Ali Edwards

Normally, my word is Possibilities. But this year I am going to try for "FREEDOM". Freedom from anything that is weighing me down; debt, weight, material objects and so on!

Over at The Ward House, Annette was talking about learning things from someone before it is to late to learn them. In her case the realization has come from her husband hurting his back. Which got me thinking of stuff Grim does around here that I really have no knowledge of. So I started a list of things that I would like for him to teach me. He is gone for work way to much for me not to know what to do if I need to.

1. Change the furnace filter
2. Light the pilot on the furnace
3. How to shut off the water from the main
4. Start the chainsaw.... Even if I never use it, at least I will know how to.
5. Light the pilot on the hot water heater

I'm sure that there is more that he does but I think that list is a work in progress.

I also stumbled across a couple of things to do with the monsters.
The first on is The Pooka Pages for Pagan Kids
Coloring Pages, stories, crafts, spells, herbal lore and seasonal Magic for little witches!

The second one is The Great Back Yard Bird Count. It is going on February 12-15, 2010. It is a great way to teach your children about the birds in your yard or neighborhood.

Gotta Run,
Yart

2010

I am actually typing this early in the day on New Year's Eve! I just wanted to make sure I was able to wish everyone a Happy New Year! I know that I won't be in any condition to be on here.. LOL! I have never thought tipsy typing was a good idea.... But anyways.

We are going to the post for about 6:30. Once there we are going to order our NY Strip steak dinner. Then we only be there until about 10, then will be going to another club. And that is where we will stay until after the new year! And to answer the question, yes, we do have a DD. If she wasn't able to go then I would not be drinking.... But thank the Goddess for DD's and all it will cost me is a steak dinner. Not a bad deal!

On New Year's Day I will be hanging out in my room folding clothes and watching tv. The monsters will be going to their grandmothers to spend the night. So I don't know if I will make it down here to get on the computer.

Oh, I made it over to Michael's. They have yarn 1/2 off. So I got 20 skeins. 4 are going to be used for a shawl and the other 16 will be used for making hats. And then the left over yarn will be used to make squares. Then one day when I'm bored I will sew them together to make an afghan.

Here are a couple of Simplicity links. 50 Simple Soups and 45 Homemade Foods You Can Make Yourself (but never thought you could). I am going to try and share a couple of links every post.

Gotta Run,
Yart