Want some easy ways to get yourself on the path to becoming more self sufficient? Here's some things you can do.
Plant a garden and use homemade compost.
Learn to preserve foods and sundry so they last.
Collect rain water
Use solar water heating
Replace any inside light bulbs to the energy efficient
Turn off things not in use and unplug chargers
Use solar lighting for outside
Fish or hunt for food (fun and relaxing plus its free!)
Bake/Make as much from scratch
Learn to fix your own car/appliances/house
Try raising a few small animals for multi purposes: EX: ♥Chickens♥: meat/eggs/manure
Fruit trees
Don't buy disposable items.
Reuse plastic containers from grocery items (cottage cheese tubs)
Use the clothes line on sunny days
If you have to use a dishwasher make sure its full and let air dry
Check with your electric company and see if they offer a "time of use program."
Use the barter system, Craigs list is great
Pay with cash Work down Credit card debt.
Everyone situation seems to be changing these days. And it wouldn't hurt to become a little more comfortable with your abilities to take care of yourself. Especially now with economy the way it is. I would say write down incoming funds honestly then all expenses. Find out how much you could be saving if you just took some extra steps. The main thing is getting rid of all unnecessary expenditures. "Throw away" money. Like interest to credit cards. Pay those suckers down first. That's extra money in your pocket every month right there plus you have it in case of a "real emergency".
I was told "oh it's just vertigo" by the dr's but OMG it really interrupts your life! Constantly dizzy. It makes it so hard to do anything. They gave me sea sickness meds and they don't help at all. Sleeping or lying down doesn't help either. My world is always spinning. UGH!
I made another appointment because I don't think it's "just vertigo" like they say. I don't think it should last a week. So, hopefully Monday I'll better understand this.
Well, yesterday I tried sewing something to take my mind off things. I had some pants I cut into shorts and I really didn't want to just toss the scraps. The pants were practically new. So with that and some left over material I made Caitie a new shirt. Its so cute.....
The faux pockets are my favorite!! It sort of makes it more girly. (They look crooked but they aren't. Its the way its hanging.) I tried to get her to wear it while I took the picture but she wasn't having that. She's a bit grumpy this morning. I don't feel like fighting her so the hanger wore it instead.
I have so many clothes that are too small for the kids but still in good condition, it's ashame to toss them out. And sometimes the kids don't want the hand me downs. So heres a good way to make something new using old stuff. Plus it doesn't cost you a dime!
♥Press Play♥
In Honor of Our Fallen Heroes
Thank You ♥
I got Bees!! Leaf cutter bees! They have totally eaten my poor peach tree leaves. I'm trying "nice" ways to keep them from my delicacy. But so far...nothing! They love them too much.
Apparently they use the the leaves to construct their tunnels. In tunnels they live in til the next season. They aren't mean attack you bees either. They just do their thing. Also, they aren't social bees. The female does all her own work nesting to get ready to lay all her eggs. Pretty neat.
So, my last resort will be to cover the tree from dusk til dawn with cheese cloth. I really hope this works! I want my peaches♥
The Leaf Cutter Bee
Obviously we eat a lot of chicken around here. And with trying to cut down on our spending, plus useless plastic bottles that will just fill up the landfills, I try to do as much from scratch as I can.
That includes my sauces. You can buy a bottle of BBQ sauce for as cheap as a buck, true. But do you know how long that bottle will stay in our landfills? Almost 700 years!! Wow! How many different bottles do you go through a year? We would go through a lot!! So.... Why not make it and save it in a mason jar. Then keep washing that jar.♥
Here is one of my favorite sauces to use with chicken and its simple!
Teriyaki Sauce:
Before hand:
Mash up fresh pineapple save all the juice n bits. Set aside.
1 1/12c soy sauce
2 1/2t freshly minced garlic
1t ginger
1c brown sugar
1/2c sherry
Place this all in a sauce pan on low heat. Stir constantly so sugar won't burn.
Once it's all nice and mixed with sugar dissolved add in the pineapple juice n bits...Stir some more. About 5 min. *Let it cool*. Pour it over chicken in a casserole dish and cover. Let sit in the fridge over night! Yum!
The trick is to buy items you can make a lot of things from. Then, buy in bulk. It can actually save you quite a bit of money in the long run. One sauce I can not for the life of me master is catsup. I use so much of it. In my BBQ sauces, in my "secret" potato skins dip, on the kids tater wedges. I would love to find a recipe for that!! That tasted good I should add. Cause I've found some out there and ahem... not so yummy!
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But we were played at the lake instead last week........
So this week we heard it may rain.........
So Hubby tried to hurry........
But it came too quickly. Yes, that is Hubby on a metal ladder...... This is at about 2pm.... It looks like dusk.
It wasn't until 2 days before we were to have them picked up that this "guy" decided he wanted to remodel his place. WTF?? We have a month long wait with the UofA, then a month waiting for him and now were have another month waiting back with the UofA.
I'm furious! I can't believe how he can run a business like that? Lessons learned yet again with this. I'm glad to have Big Willy for a little while longer. But, the others I'm ready to say C-YA! One of our bucks is in destruction mode. Hitting anything and everything with his horns. One sow may be preggers. We're shelling out 100+/wkly more on feed for these animals.
Not even the slaughtering part is going smoothly! We were looking forward to having our meat back next week.....Now it's looking like August since the UofA keeps them for 6weeks. So our appointment is now set for middle June and oh boy are we going to be ready!
On a high note our chickens are just so cute! I have an almost naked hen. She's the boss. Here lately for some reason I guess the less feathers you have the more important you are. This hen has absolutely no feathers from her head down her neck and back.. Just the wings and feet. At first I thought they must be picking on her so I watched a little...... Shes runs that coop! That's gotta be the best part is just sitting with my animals and watching how they have their own lives going on. Early spring we brought in some chicks and since their the newbies they have to prove themselves... I'll be taking some video of this is just so fascinating to me!
I have a niece who loves to send me things via email. She's a hoot. From funny to things to make you think. Sometimes I post them. Yesterday she sent me this. Its called the Praying Rocks if you tilt your head a little you'll see why.
Thanks Morgan!♥
I used Random.org to choose the winner and it was.... {{{drum roll}}} Nancy from Chicken Herder from Westville!! Yippee! I'll be emailing you Nancy!!
I was given this ward from my dear friend Shannon from Shannon Blogs Here. One of my favorite places to go and just hang.
Here are the rules:
1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
I love to ride the "EC train" I follow it til it dead ends. LOL Start at a bloggy buddy, drop, click on their blog of the day, read a lil and drop keep going! It's a great way to find another favorite.
1. MJ from Making do with the not so new
2. Angels in My Life
3. Ask Ms Recipe
4. John from Gay Dads in munchkin land
5. Dani from This Ain't No Effin Mom Blog
6. YOuth Care
7. Kristen from Working Moms Can Blog
8. Tracy from Crazy Suburban Mom
9. Stacie from The Divine Miss Mommy
10. Sandi from Pregnant With Cancer
11. Giggles and Dimples
12. Busy Little Elf
13. Homegrown Life
14. A Plain and Simple Kitchen
15. The Queen Speaks
{{{Apparently my song plays without pushing that button and I was busted by the "EC hall monitor" LOL Sorry. So now I placed a playlist under it!}}}
We had a blast!
In order for just a day trip to happen a lot of things need to be brought! The cooler is filled with drinks, hotdogs and sandwiches. The box has trash bags, cleaning wipes, towels, sunscreen, spare everything and toliet paper.....You never know what those facilites are like!
I love to make bread. Wait I mean I love to eat fresh baked bread. I hate making it. But I love eating it! Oh my goodness do I! Well, last year in the summertime I make my very first loaf of bread, of all seasons to start running your oven for long periods I know!
I have tons of old recipes from 50+ yrs ago that my mother in law left us. There are some from flour companies like 'Medal'. I guess they use to sell recipe books for 15 cents at grocery stores. With old school recipes in them like "icebox cookies" I know cookies but uhhh icebox?? I'm assuming its a fridge. But making cookies in the fridge? I havent gone through all the details of each recipe, only what I need. Anyone ever have them?
Its great though because trying to do things all Laura Ingals here, I need this! I try to make as much from scratch as I can. From BBQ and terriaki sauces to, well, breads. I sooo want to live completely free of modern-ness... off-the-grid would be cool. I love Lehmans! Go there and see all there great stuff! Very expensive on some stuff but I window shop...Or "Windows©" shop. I can not wait for my moms hand grinder so I can make all my homemade sausages and junk yum-mo!
Annnnyywho, I wondered off a little. But I love baking bread. I found out that those tons of mesquite trees I have outside I can make bread with. When we were little we use to chew on the "pechitas". But I didn't know you could make something with them! The "pechita", or mesquite bean in english, is great at stabilizing blood sugar and is low in carbs and fat! It's also rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, protein, and lysine.
Did I mention it's right outside my door for free??
Heres how you make the meal:
I rinse it a good once thru and dry it really well. Make sure its dry or it'll be pasty not meal like. It'll look like corn meal. I used my blender(All I got). Then I take out the skin that didnt blend down.
3/4 C. each of cornmeal and flour
3/8 C. mesquite meal
2 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. Each baking soda and salt
1 C. yogurt
1 egg
3 Tbs. Honey
3 Tbs. Oil
Combine dry ingredients in medium sized bowl. Combine the wet ingredients and stir into the dry ingredients just until combined. Spread into greased 8 inch by 8 inch pan. Bake 20 - 25 minutes at 350 degrees. For a unique Southwestern kick, add 1 tablespoon chipotle (dried, smoked jalapeno) flakes and 3/4 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels.
So good!
Other Mesquite Recipes
I grew up as a camper. We didn't go to fancy vacation spots. We went to the mountains! It was great. Mom would pack neat little treats and theres always something to do. My older siblings would go hiking up mountains with Dad. While my Mom, sister and me would do nature walks.
I always wanted a "guy" guy to do these things with. But I had for some reason liked prissy sissy boys that couldn't change a tire let alone keep me safe in the mountains. Hubby is awesome. He knows everything *swoon* there is to know about anything.
We love to fish. Scratch that he loves to fish I love riding on the boat and tanning. But the peacfulness is amazing. Last year at the lake (we try to go every year atleast once), our boat let us down. I ended up renting the Party Barge they have there. I didn't want Hubby to lose out. He works so hard and asks for little. But it spoiled us! We caught so much catfish we were in heaven! We were impulsive and went to check out brand new boats that weekend. Our was an oldie but goodie. We were looking at all the shiny newbies!
This was all before our "simple life" really started. We chickened out hours before they cashed our check. So we thought we had "Cheaper to Keep Her" til death do us part. Well, Hubby surprised us this week. Instead of spending all that money fixing her, he traded his Harley for a new-to-us boat! Yes I said his Harley! Now its not brand new or shiny, but it's newer than our oldie and it has six seats. Our old one had four. Theres drink holders, the pass through works, and we won't get stranded and have to use our trolling motor to get back!
Hubby loved his bike. But he says this is time to spend with the kids. He has years to be selfish when their gone. So true baby! I love this man! What a sacrifice.
I love it. It's small, easy to set up. And this will not be catching wind like that big gazebo! I know my kids are too old for this now, but I wanted to share this little find!
Jerky.com has an array of meats they sell. From traditional beef jerky and turkey jerky, to exotic meats. Like venison, alligator, ostrich, buffalo, and elk. They even have fruit jerky! They also offer jerky in low calorie, low carbs, and even no MSG! Also, this is all hormone-free, free range, and all natural products. With 6 different flavors your sure to find a favorite!
My experience:
I tried the pineapple jerky. I was expecting something you'd find in a trail mix. Dry, hard, with somewhat of a natural flavor. I was dead wrong! Their pineapple jerky is moist, thick, tender, chewy, and just filled with it's natural flavor. Added.. a hint of honey. Creating a delicious combination! I love that it's hand sliced and comes whole not in tiny pieces. Perfect to pack up for a hike, camping, or fishing trip! Or just as a quick, healthy, all natural snack for the kids to tide them over. I think I've been spoiled now! How can I ever go back to the old dried fruit? The answer, I can't. I won't.
Fathers Day is coming up next month and with Jerky.com's military discounts you can send some and save! Our guys gave us a wonderful day, this would be a great way to return the favor! Go check out their great gift packages and order! While you're there, don't forget to enter your email to win some jerky!
Lowest price guaranteed and free shipping on featured orders!
Wishing All My Mommy Bloggy Buddies A Very Happy Mother's Day!
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First some background:
My mom is an incredible woman, strong, loving, funny, and purdy!! Always has been always will be! When we were growing up Mom stayed home with us and Dad worked. I'll always appreciate that sacrifice... With 4 kids, I'm sure she wished she could get away for a little while sometimes. From 4am til 12am she was going non-stop. She definitely was not a couch Mom! No way! She still to this day doesn't have a dish washer or dryer or any other appliance to make her life easier. She did the yard and the housework.
About 9 years ago she had a triple bypass and didn't still slow down. She was diagnosed with diabetes.... Still a busy bee. Last year she was hospitalized with pneumonia and sedated for weeks in ICU. That was hard. The doctors said she would need months of physical therapy to get back to being mobile like she was . She couldn't even raise a finger.
They wanted her in a "home" to get the Dr care 24/7..... NO WAY Dad brought her home. Had them come to her. Meanwhile, with the support of everyone in less that 2 months she was walking!! It was about this time last year she was released and she is already back to her old ways! Going non-stop. Though she is trying to take it easier. I'm very proud and blown away. Both of my Mom and Dad.
Now for my favorite memory:
I was in elementary school, not sure how this came about, but my Mom had decided to make a club for me and some of my friends. We called it the "Girls Club". We did art projects, we'd sew, and go swimming. It was so fun! It's not that she had a lot of free time to do this for me, but she made time. Those were probably my best times in elementary. I know to this day old friends have mentioned it. So, I know it meant a lot to them as well.
I have a lot to thank my Mom for. But, I think the biggest one comes from showing me how to be a mother. To not be selfish, to take pride in everything you try, and have fun with it. I know I'm nowhere near the mother she is, but I'm trying. I had too great of a role-model.
I can't even begin to tell you how angry I'd be at my Hubby if he tried this!!
Too funny and the music is just perfect with it!!
Didn't you just love them! So sweet.
Have A Great Friday All!
Why is it that men (the biggest kids in house), are the instigators, they encourage recklessness and rough housing...BUT.... when a child actually does get hurt, they're the first ones to call for your help and freak out???
Let me paint this for you all... Hubby is a 6ft 250lbs man who has done A LOT of crazy things in his days (too many to list, just know he's probably done it or talked someone into doing it).. The typical macho, fast driving, do-it-yourself, Harley riding, redneck of a man. OK, so this big tough guy encourages our boys to wrestle each others and do things I call "crazy" (he once talked a kid into eating a cricket we bought at Pet Smart for $5 and the kid did it!).
So, yesterday while we were shopping for my beautiful freezer at Lowe's the kids as usual were running around the store climbing on the freezers and jumping off. Hiding between things and just plain not listening... I'm furious! Yelling "politely" to 'get the hell off the damn appliances!' 'Stop running!' etc.. and Dear Hubby is telling me 'leave 'em, we're the only ones back here.' He wanted to get this shopping done with. Aren't all guys like that? In and out as fast as possible.
Well, I pick it out and we wait for the salesman. Meanwhile, I go off and track down my older boys who are somewhere in kitchen design. Then, I hear a wail unlike I've ever heard. I run to the back and I see Hubby's face bright red, big eyed, just holding our 4yr old to his chest. He couldn't even look at him. I pull Wyatt close to me and look at his face and there's blood just everywhere! He was running (in socks), slipped and face planted it on the cement floor. I had never seen a man turn to goo so fast. We rushed Wyatt to the first aid station and cleaned him up. He had a pretty good bump on the fore head, but no broken nose or teeth. I just give Hubby that evil eye like I told you something would happen! But he felt so bad. I did the little "follow Mommy's finger" and asked him who he was..etc. He was fine. But Hubby wanted to rush him to the ER. I thought do you know how many scary moments you missed while you were on the road? This one doesn't even come in the Top 5! Wonder what he would of done, if it was him here when Anthony fell on the side of his handlebar and sliced his eye brow almost off??? Hmmm.... Or the time nah, I'm not gonna gross you out.
Maybe now he'll understand bringing it down a notch with them. Maybe??
All I gotta say about Wyatt's incident is thank goodness we build em 'Ford Tough', cause if that was me, I wouldn't be here typing.... I'd be sipping my food thru a straw, high on some happy meds, and probably needing a chiropractor for the rest of my life!
I wanted to show what we found wondering our old chicken coop... Snake season is here and thank goodness we moved those chickens!! This little guy was looking for dinner. He eventually went on his way. If there any snake savvy people that could tell me if this was poisonous, we know its not a rattlesnake but I'd like to know if its still dangerous.
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