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!)