The chickens moved outside!

It's taken me forever to get this blogged about. Good grief, life's busy right now!

(Pearl perched on a kitchen chair)

One day about a month or so ago (about the time the picture above was taken), I went into the chickens' room (my poor office) to find them roaming freely. For fear that my office and house would be permanently ruined, I called Mark and told him "they're going outside tonight whether you're ready or not!" God bless him, he got them into their coop that night, and they've lived happily ever since. They always get excited when we dump fruit and vegetable scraps and fresh grass into their chicken run for them. That, and they get excited when they see Mark and make a distinct clucking sound (a hen call??).

(Mark working inside the chicken coop)

The coop is pretty awesome if I can say so myself. We bought a homemade dog house for $30 and made some cheap renovations including a perch, linoleum flooring and insulation (leftover from a previous project). The nesting box hasn't been purchased or installed yet. The fencing for their run was a little costly, but we have to protect those little chickies from getting eaten by dogs, possums, raccoons and it seems everything else that wanders outside. I'll be sure to get some pictures and post them asap!

Sarah

Chickens!

We got chicks a few weeks ago. They’re adorable and fluffy, and soon these hens will lay delicious eggs for us! We’re spending around $3.50 for 12 eggs right now, so the idea of (almost) free eggs is very appealing.

However, we didn’t take the decision to buy chickens lightly. Chickens live for years and there is a (small) cost to maintain them, so we did a lot of research beforehand to determine whether it was wise for us to purchase them. Once we decided to, I looked at the Breed Selection Tool at MyPetChicken.com and picked Rhode Island Reds. We discovered that this breed lays about 5 extra-large eggs per week and are hardy in winter (extremely important in Nebraska). I was pleased to see that this breed handles confinement well, isn’t normally broody, and is generally “easygoing”. From what I’ve seen so far, they are calm (although sometimes nervous), sweet little creatures. The one downside to this breed is that the adults grow to be fairly heavy, at 7-8 pounds.

We went to a local farm supply store and found Mini and Pearl. Mini was about 1 week old and Pearl was over 2 weeks old. We also bought a heat lamp, a bulb, a waterer, and a food dish.


“The girls,” as we like to call them, are growing quickly. One day, I walked into their room and found that Pearl had grown dramatically in just hours. Of the two, she is by far the largest and has remained that way since we got her.

Today, we took them outside for the first time. We made sure that we stayed with them to protect them from predators. It was a joy to watch them “fly” and take in their surroundings. They seemed to enjoy the feel of the grass and the sun on their little bodies (I’m sure they’re sick of that heat lamp by now).

Mark is working to get the coop done ASAP so that they can move outdoors (with a heat lamp for evenings, of course). I’ll post pics of the coop as soon as it’s done!

Until later,
Sarah

I made it!

I did manage to ride to work today.  I was a little tough since I didn’t leave on time.  I decided to drop my daughter off at daycare as well which added a little time to my ride.  Overall it took me about an hour for the whole trip.  Since I was running late I took a more direct route using city streets instead of the bike path.  I made it to work a lot faster but I think I will take the bike path whenever I have time.  I enjoy the trees and fresh air on the bike path a lot more than choking on the exhaust.  I also enjoy that a lot of the bike paths go under the major streets and therefore I don’t have to stop.  On one part of the major street I rode on there are a lot of businesses and a lot of cars making crazy right turns and trying to run me over.  I had to be very careful not to get run over.  I did find that taking the streets is quite the interval workout compared to the bike path which has gradual grades instead of the up and down on the streets.

To Stephanie, I was happy to see a lady pushing a child in her stroller and wearing her other child in her orange Mei Tai.  It reminded me of the Mei Tai you made for my wife. 

Riding to work

I decided to start riding my bike to work to get some exercise and improve my health.  I hope as a secondary effect that I will save some money on gas as well.  So far I have done 3 test runs to get a feel for how long it will take and how tired I will be when I get there.

On the first run I only had a short amount of time so I rode about half the distance to work in the mist and rain.

On the second practice run I made it all the way to work (6 miles one way) and back with the kids in the bike trailer.  I went really well and I felt great when I got back home.

On the third practice run I rode to a park close to work so that the kids could play for a while and eat the sack lunch my wife packed.  On this ride I almost died.  The trip there is slightly up hill and that day there was a 20 to 40 mph headwind.  Unfortunately, the wind stopped on the way back so the super humid air was a killer.  I hope that tomorrow I will be able to do my first real ride to work.   I would like to go today but have a meeting after work that I have to drive to.

Beech-Nut Baby Starter Kit

    Get great coupons on Beech-Nut products when you sign up for Beech-Nut's newsletter!

   Since registering, I have received coupons for: "Save $1 on purchase of 2 cereals" and "Save $1 on any 3 products" along with other valuable coupons. Today I received coupons for 1 free cereal and 2 free baby foods (in the mail)! It did take about 2 1/2 months for me to get my coupons in the mail, but it's still a great deal if you ask me!

~ Sarah ~

Half-Price Frappuccinos at Starbucks!!!!

**May 7 through 16 (between 3-5 pm), you can get a 1/2 price Frappuccino at Starbucks! Limit 1 per customer.**


(Thanks, Deal Seeking Mom, for the heads up!)

FREE Cotton Shirred Cami at Lane Bryant!!

Approximate $19.50 value. No purchase necessary! Limit 1 per customer.
Print it off quickly- companies almost always limit the number of coupons that can be printed. The coupon expires on May 10th.

http://www.lanebryant.com/content.jsp?pageName=AIcampaignTY


(Thanks to Mojo Savings!)

FREE bum-Genius All-in-One Cloth Diaper (free with $10 purchase!!)

A FREE bum-Genius AIO diaper?? Crazy talk! This is awesome-- Spend just $10 on bumGenius, Flip or Econobum products (including accessories) at the Green Diaper Store, and you'll get a free Bum-Genius AIO diaper!!!!!!!! Ask around, you'll hear lots of compliments on bumGenius products. Even better, that's an almost-$16 diaper for free! FREE!!!

So here's how: Go to http://www.greendiaperstore.com/index.php. Put at least $10 worth of qualified items in your cart, enter code bgspringaio. In the comment field, put the size you want and color choice (girl/neutral or boy/neutral) for your free diaper. You'll receive your diaper with your purchase! Just in case, here's the website's coupon link: http://www.greendiaperstore.com/info_bumGenius-Coupon-Sale.html

But move quick. The deal's over May 31st!

Ta-Ta for now!

Sarah

Crockpot Yogurt and Greek Yogurt Recipe-- HUGE Money Saver!

Why Make Homemade Yogurt??

Simple-- it was incredibly easy, and once I figured out the price difference, I realized that I have no other option but to make my own! Here's the price break down:

Price comparison per 32 oz. carton:
Dannon All-Natural Plain = $2.87
Homemade = $0.94

Cost comparison per year (104 cartons, 2 per week):
Dannon All-Natural Plain: $298.50
Homemade: $98.60 (includes 1 organic yogurt for initial starter)

I used local milk and organic yogurt for my starter, so you can make your yogurt for much less than I did (especially if you take advantage of sales)!

So, Without Further Ado...

You won't believe how easy this is. The mixture will sit in the crockpot for a while, so I've found that starting in the afternoon is a good time for me.

You'll need:

• A crockpot, a whisk (or a spoon), and a thick towel. You may also want some containers for the yogurt- I like the Ziploc 2 cup containers. This recipe fills 2.

Ingredients: 

• 8 cups (half gallon) Milk- Whole milk works best, or you can get adventurous and use other milks (such as goat's, rice, soy, almond and coconut) You can thicken milks by adding one packet of unflavored gelatin after stirring in the yogurt.
• 1 small carton of plain yogurt (Must have active cultures!!! I would recommend one with milk only as an ingredient--ie, Dannon All-Natural Plain).

 Here's How:

•  Turn crockpot on "low". Add milk. Cover and cook for 2 1/2 hours.
• Turn crockpot off. Leave for 3 hours. (Keep the cover on)

•  Scoop out 2 cups of the milk and put it into a bowl. Mix in 1 small container of yogurt using a whisk (OR use yogurt from your last batch!)

•  Return to the crockpot and stir.
• Keeping it unplugged, put the lid on and wrap the entire crockpot (even underneath) with a heavy towel for insulation.

•  Leave sitting for 8 hours. (I leave it overnight)
• If it needs thickening, you can whisk in 1/4 cup tapioca starch.
• You're done! Fill containers and place in the fridge! Your yogurt should last 7-10 days. Don't forget to save 1/2 cup as starter for the next batch.

To Make Greek Yogurt:

•  Follow the same steps as above, except before placing in the fridge, you'll want to line a mesh collander with a coffee liner and let the liquid drain out into a bowl.

To Flavor Your Yogurt:

• Just prior to eating, add your flavors. Some ideas are: honey, almonds, walnuts, fruit, vanilla extract, sugar, undiluted coffee and coffee syrups.

Enjoy! Please leave a comment if you have any questions.

Thanks to Crockpot365.blogspot.com for the basic directions!

Homemade Rice Milk Recipe - Money Saver!

Due to food intolerances, my son has been drinking rice milk for over six months. The price of store-bought rice milk can really add up over time. The exciting news is that you can make it yourself for incredibly cheap. It takes 3 hours simmering time, but actual hands-on time is about 15-30 minutes.

Ingredients:
   1 cup long-grain brown rice
   8 cups water
   More water for diluting
   1 tsp. salt
   2 tbsp. safflower oil or sunflower oil (optional)
Supplies:
   2 large pots
                                                        Mesh strainer
                                                        Blender

                                                     Ladle

                                                        3 Qt. container for storage

Thoroughly wash the rice. Pour 8 cups of water into a big pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Mix in the Safflower oil. Pour in the rice. Cover the pot and lower the heat to let the water simmer (leave small steam hole open). Cook for 3 hours.

You will end up with something that looks a bit like a soupy rice pudding. Add the salt.

Fill your blender halfway with water and halfway with rice. Blend until very smooth.

Strain once through a fine mesh strainer into a large pot. Strain, for a second time, into the original pot from the stove.

Pour the finished product into a large container and store in the fridge.