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Thursday, December 8, 2011

Making Money Online ICS

So I requested payment from http://www.instantcashsweepstakes.com/invitations/ref_link/335129 this morning and have already received my 2 dollars on the same day (through paypal) to celebrate I made homemade brownies!  OK I topped them with cream cheese( which i beat eggs sugar and vanilla into).  I have no idea how they'll turn out since its a new brownie recipe but it sure sounded good and the batter tasted awesome!
This is the brownie recipe
http://www.food.com/recipe/whatever-floats-your-boat-brownies-32204

Sunday, December 4, 2011

OPENSKY

WWW.opensky.com Love this website seems a bit pricy but they have a ton of neat stuff!  Plus when you sign up you get a 10 dollar credit and when your friends buy something you refereed you get 25 dollars to spend and you cant beat that!
 http://osky.co/sTGik6 to get your free 10 dollar sign up

SUPERPOINTS.COM

So I've been doing www.Superpoints.com, it's a pretty simple site they do offer surveys to do but I've just been clicking the super lucky button.  I found a link to sign up because you have to be referred and so far it seems simple and easy to do.  Has anyone tried it?  Do you want to?
http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/rq6exy
 http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/hgdfd1
http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/x8s0aj

It works on a referral system you can get what your friends make if your at gold.  I'm at the basic member level and only get 30 clicks a day.   If this isn't for you and you want to just earn money through paypal consider http://www.instantcashsweepstakes.com/invitations/ref_link/335129
this website does super short surveys and as you continue to do them you get a higher trust level and more surveys!  They are almost always 3 questions and super short plus payout is two dollars which is nice! 

Monday, November 21, 2011

Do You Need Superpoints referal codes?

Super Points referrals I have them if you want them just sent me a message here and I will post them!

New Fun Website For Some Extra Christmas Money?

http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/gpbscu It has a daily click button and I guess you start off with 5 and get more as you go up I'll prob just stick to the click to win instead of doing surveys for more money unless I get a lot of time on my hands! As you get referrals you get more clicks faster payouts and so on...we shall see what this one brings

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Thrifty Chicken Food

So yesterday we spent an hour or so walking around the corn field picking up ears that when combining had been missed.  I'm not sure why why the chickens aren't out there picking but maybe they're just lazy.  Today I have to run in get my pay check and then do some shopping.  It really makes me realize I need a new job when my fiance will work 3 days of overtime and make more then I will in a month...yea...to bad he is paying off his house and paying to fix up the barn.  I keep telling him when he brings me home a bunch of corn I need some more chickens since I just have bantam chickens and they don't lay worth crap they are good moms though.  

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Making Some Money Online!

So I'm always looking to make some money or get some free stuff online I can't tell you how excited I get when I open the mail and there's a box of stuff for my to test!  Ok yesterday I got was toilet paper but hey it's free and I get paid for it!  I also got a five dollar check and free t-shirt. 

I'm going to post a few links the first if you sign up is for free lingerie when 10 of your friends sign up!
http://www.adoreme.com/33294

This next link is super quick surveys and it pays through paypal and they match whatever money your friends make so if you have a lot of referrals you can make decent money I know the girl that referred me makes at least 15 bucks a month and shes won 50 bucks 3 times because her referrals did!  I just like it because there so short!
http://www.instantcashsweepstakes.com/invitations/ref_link/335129

I can give people some more links if they're interested in making money online!

A Day Off Sort Of...

Ok so I've been working my part time job and haven't done any blogging sorry!  Lately I've actually been getting some decent hours at work 10 and 11 hr shifts!  I guess that still doesn't add up to much when its minimum wage and I'm not full time.

On a side note I've been doing a lot of coupon clipping.  Am I an extreme coupon-er, no!  I wish!  I just go through the coupons then look at the local store which only doubles up to 50 cents and doesn't double on stuff on sale.  Sometimes items on sale would still be cheaper at wal-mart!  I figure it's a small local store I don't have to drive since I work in town anyways so it is probably still cheaper shopping at the local store with coupons.  I like that I can check the flyer and then write down my coupons next to what I want despite my fiance teasing me about my cheat list!  It just makes sense to clip them!  I get 2 papers a week and I get them at dollar general because they are cheaper then anywhere else in town 50 cents cheaper.  I figure if you have a few minutes you can go online check your stores flyer then look through the coupons and get what you need at a reduced price!

So since it is Sunday I will be heading into town to get a couple newspapers!  I will most likely get some potatoes to make my fiance a dish he's been asking for I believe it's Shepard's pie.  You make mashed potato's and then cook up hamburger, carrots, celery, onions and peas which I don't add!  Then add some Worcestershire sauce which Nick wont eat so I can no longer add it and it really makes it!  Add some flour to the burger to thicken it and then dump that in a bowl and top with mashed potato's; it's great and simple! 

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Another Beautiful Day In Life

Life is what you make it.  It's the small gestures that mean the most.  My mom always was one for making the most of everything I guess that really helped me perhaps her sayings didn't make as much sense as they do now.  I know now with a fiance I live with and a job I'm not thrilled with I have to look at all the small things in my life that do make me happy!  Like getting him to put his dirty clothes in the hamper ha ha.  I also know it's the small things him getting a box of canning jars he thinks I'll like or stopping in at work and having dinner with me.  Just those things mean the world to me.  Corny,  I know but if people looked at the little things perhaps we'd all be happier. 

So Tired Lately

So lately I've just had issues getting house work done and I've been very tired.  Not sure if I am homesick or lacking vitamins or what.  So I ordered some vitamins and got points while doing it.  I think they were cheaper then buying them at wal-mart at least the one I got anyways.  Nick is trying to lose weight so I am trying to help him by cooking better with less carbs.  Or If he does get carbs there from veggies not boxes of pasta.  He also has been complaining about grocery's and to be fair we do like to eat; and eat well!  I have been trying to get more into coupon clipping but seriously we don't use a lot of brand names because usually even with a coupon they're more expensive.  So we've  been eating a lot of chicken and hamburger ( what we have most of in the fridge)  and squash the one thing that did well in my garden!  What's your trick to coupon use?

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Making Some Money Online

So I'm doing surveys and am part of several websites that give you points just for opening emails or doing surveys and have made hundreds of dollars with them if you want to join send me your email and I promise I will only send you ones I've made money with.  I know it sounds sketchy but it's worked for me.  I;m going to try and post a banner of one of the sites I use for my free amazon gift cards. 
<a target="_top" href="http://swagbucks.com/refer/countrychic84ny"><img alt="Search & Win" title="Search & Win" border="0" src="http://prodegebanners.sitegrip.com/images/swagbucks-468x60Alt1.jpg"></a>

Ugh I cant get it to work but if you click on the swagbucks.com/refer bit you can sign up and get extra points in your account I only use the search engine and get amazon gift cards but they also offer pay pal payments too...and just using it as a search engine to get points rocks.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

No Roll Pie Crust

So here's my deal, my mom makes the best rolled out pie crust, I did not inherit that skill. I can manage but there never pretty and it always ends up making me mad.
1 and 3/4 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
3 tsp sugar I sometimes add more depending on what I'm putting in the shell
1/2 cup butter ( I use butter I prefer the flavor I'm sure you could use oil)
2 tablespoons of milk
Mix the dry ingredients in the pie pan then add the liquid. It seems a bit greasy but seems to make a nice crispy crust when cooked. I found it to be like a shortbread consistency.
I've been using it for my pecan pies. I think with a little less sugar it would be good for quiches. I don't cook the crust till I've added the filling. If you are going to make a custard pie though you should cook it at 350 for 10-12 minutes just make sure the crust is golden brown. Plus you only make the pie pan dirty when doing this!

Getting Paid to Write Articles

I keep seeing these articles about getting paid to write for web sites.  Even Yahoo, claims they will pay you for the right article and yes they have to approve it.  Has anyone had luck with it?  I'm curious because my fiance really hates my dead end job and I haven't found anything else.  I keep looking and hoping to find something I'm qualified for that I wont hate but so far no luck. 

http://timothyjward.hubpages.com/hub/Get-Paid-To-Write-Articles1

http://www.englishmajor.com/2011/07/26/the-perks-of-working-from-home/

These were 2 of the pages I cam a crossed

Monday, August 1, 2011

Tasty Simple Use For Zucchini

I slice the Zucchini slim and layer it on a pan after a couple layers I dump sauce on.  I really like the garlic tomato sauce by hunts.  You can usually get it for a buck or less a can.  I then put some shredded cheese on and repeat till I've used an entire squash up.  Nick said it would make him fat but I didn't even bread it and I used a blended cheese Colby/Cheddar I believe.  Didn't use a ton of cheese to keep it slightly healthier and it was still amazing.  We're getting overrun by squash and if Nick wont eat it so be it I really enjoyed it!

Making the Most of IT and Letting the Chickens Eat Grasshoppers

Ugh it has been so hot and gross here it's unbelievable.  On a crap note we have grasshoppers everywhere.  They have eaten one of my currents and several plants.  On a good note the little silkies are enjoying chasing down the grass hoppers and eating them.  I wish they would go after the bigger ones too.  They seem to eat the little ones but the big ones not so much.  The older hen and rooster just seem to eat my plants.  I'm thinking stew!  I'm joking of course, I love the old silkie rooster he's not afraid of anything and always comes right up to me.  There's not much prettier then a Cochin even though ours has some attitude and is constantly broody.  I figure if they eat the grass hoppers they aren't eating the corn so I can save that for when there's less abundance and it encourages them to remove some of my pest a win win situation. 

It's the Little Things That Matter

So I hate not seeing my fiance much but I make the most of the time we have.  I try to do little things for him special dinner grabbing his cell when he has left it upstairs.  Little things like this show we care.  He buys me my favorite Italian ice pops and gives me great hugs.  I know it's corny but I think most people don't realize how vital the little gestures are.  They can make or break a relationship.  I often talk to friends who are in relationships and they complain how their significant other can't be bothered to remember a birthday or help with house hold  chores.  I think sometimes we just get busy doing other things and don't think how something as simple as doing a load of laundry can make someones day easier. 

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Work and Then Garden Time

So work goes from 11-5 today for me and the plan is to actually write down when I work next week.  Things are good here except my cars lights didn't turn off last night at work.  It has daytime running lights and apparently I had to turn the lights back on to turn them off.  Then I realized I had a slack tire as well, lucky me.  On a good note I have Sunday off.  Maybe I'll try to can something.  I got a recipe last night from a co-worker for pickled peas which tasted really good.  Have to try a batch or two of them.  Ok off to get ready for work and find that can of fix-a-flat. 

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Swagbucks= Free Amazon Gift Cards

So I love swagbucks.  I use the search engine a couple times a day and figure i get at least one five dollar amazon gift card from them a month.  I highly recommend them and if you can get your friends to sign up you will get the rewards that much quicker.  Yes they do offer other gift cards I just like amazon.  If i did the surveys and other offers they have for points I know I could make a lot more gift cards but I just like the search option.

Finding the Right Dress and First Cucumber From the Garden

So it's a day off which I love the moneys nice but the job just makes me mad.  It isn't hard work it's just the constant abuse about my work skills.  I know suck it up find a better job with better people.  So anyways last night Nick went thrift shopping without me to be fair I was at work.  On a good note he brought me home some canning jars.  So I went to the garden and picked my first cucumber!  Yay!  I know we'll be doing pickles soon.  I need to find a good recipe.  Any thoughts on good recipes for pickles?

On another note Nick says to me last night we need to set a date to get married.  I'm like OK haven't thought much about it...He says next summer?  My dad wants to get us a cow as a wedding present!...ha ha well we have talked about getting a cow for milk and beef.  Now i need to figure out where to get married and what  the dress will look like.  I've already decided to get it off eBay since it will be much cheaper.  the plan is to search around for a dress shop figure out what looks good then go from there.  I have an amazing sister who's great with hair and nails and makes amazing cakes!  So that will cut down some bills.    Yes those will be her presents to me. 

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

What To Do ABout People Talking About You Behind Your Back?

So I've been working at a fast food place.  The main employees are all related to each other.  They like to talk to each other and constantly seem to be putting down others.  The main boss seems to be a sweet and I guess easily taken advantage and pushed around lady.  Keep in mind these are just my impressions.  I wouldn't mind the job if they didn't always talk crap about me.  I know they do it to everyone else so why should I be surprised right?  I try not to talk about anyone I work with to someone else I work with, it's just not polite.  So anyways I'm looking for a better job.  Something that pays better then minimum wage.  My fiance pays all of our bills except my student loan.  I would love to be more of a contributor to our fiances.  I'm not sure what to do.  The thought of working with them and the constant put downs is depressing.  I know I need to suck it up.  This isn't a job I'll be doing when I'm 40.  I guess I know I'm doing a decent job despite what they say.   I need to accept the fact that if they want to put me down they can.  I know that this is not a life time career for me as it will be for some of them.  Any thoughts?    

Easy No Roll Crust

So I like to make Nick treat and he loves pecan pie so I searched for a crust recipe and found this. 
http://www.food.com/recipe/my-no-roll-pie-crust-51537
 I thought it was pretty awesome.  It was pretty simple and trust me I hate rolling out crust.  They never look pretty.  This crust looked greasy and I did use butter.  I was a bit worried but when we tasted it it tasted like shortbread cookie.  I will try adding less oil and more milk next time perhaps some vanilla.  Nick liked it and that's a great thing.  The pecan pie recipe I used; neither of use was a huge fan. 

Monday, July 25, 2011

What to Make for Dinner on another Hot Day?

So I'm headed to the grocery store to get some stuff we need.  I think I will look for something I can make and serve cold since it's another muggy, groddy day.  I have a squash I will prob cook up for me wiht garlic onions and butter.  I like it that way.  The next squash I'll egg and bread since I think Nick will like it better that way.  So  no huge plans for the day other then shopping and cleaning.  I want to make the house look better for Nick to come home too.  He's got a long week ahead of him so I will buy some apples too, so I can make him an apple pie.  He likes having stuff he can eat easily on his way to work.  So give me some suggestions for a tasty dinner. 

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Our Treasures From the Auction Sale and Thrift Shop

So spent the day with the Nick and got a sunburn.  Actually we got a bunch of neat little things at the auction got some more dinner ware that matched our set.  I got some blankets to use as a fill for my quilts.  We got some tools and files.  We got his mom a spiffy little antique egg beater; my words not hers.  Then we went to the thrift shops!  At the first one we had a 30 percent off coupon so I got some pants for work and we got some more canning jars mostly jelly since they're more expensive then canning jars.  Nick's mom got a bunch of boxes of canning jars for a dollar a piece (for the box) for us at the auction sale she went too.  We got a bunch of books as always.  We got a bunch of movies too at the pawn shops.  We just managed to get a bunch of little things that were nice.    

Auction Sale on My Day Off

So I couldn't sleep this morning...Ugh.  So I got up checked all the animals and made sure everyone had food and water.  It feels like it's going to be a hot day so I want everyone to have lots of water.  We're headed out when Nick gets up to an auction.  I think the one he wants to go to is right in town.  I cleaned out his car; he had a lot of soda cans and Tupperware containers in there.  I cleaned his car because it's a big escort wagon and will hold stuff easier then the little Malibu I'm driving.  I never know what we'll find at these things; sometimes it's books or generators or even dishes.  We usually find some new treasure to add to our collection.  I always love when they sell you the boxes and no one will bid then you find something great in the box you didn't even know was in there.  I got a brand new can opener which I love because Nick just had the cheap hand crank ones and sometimes those just don't work.  I'm hoping to get a few more canning jars at one of these auction sales since I am hoping I will need them this fall! 

Is anyone else having squash growing really slow?  I've got 4 or 5 zucchini on a plant that I swear haven't grown at all.  Ugh I hope Nick will get out of bed soon yes I know he works way more hours then me but I was thinking I'd buy him breakfast and drop off my check before the auction.  Oh well we'll see! 

Now it's time to let in the cat who the swallows are attacking! I will let you know our haul later!

Friday, July 22, 2011

Making a Tasty Dessert!

So I wanted to make carrot cake but then found out there were not enough carrots.  So now I'm going to make some no bakes since I will be going to work and want to make something tasty for Nick to eat when I get home.  Yes, I know he can feed himself but I like to do little things to let him know I was thinking about him.  No bakes are great because they don't warm the house up much on these hot days.  Here's two recipes I found....
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cooking-live/chocolate-peanut-butter-no-bake-cookies-recipe/index.html

http://www.food.com/recipe/no-bake-chocolate-oatmeal-cookies-23821

I think they're pretty similar you can add coconut or whatever you want.  I like to add a little coconut and take out some of the oatmeal. 

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Raspberry Dessert

So after making those biscuits I think whoever does the drop in flour is insane.  Mine tasted weird the next day and had random bits of flour in them where apparently I didn't do it right.  So maybe if I had a pro make them they'd be OK.  For tonight I made the pat and cut out method with some added sugar since I'll be using these for dessert and maybe some for tomorrow for breakfast with nutella...YUM...!  I picked the rest of the ripe raspberry's rinsed them with water and then added them to the raspberry's Nick bought ( I would have bought the frozen cheaper ones).  I washed those as well; and they didn't look worth the 1.98 he paid for them but whatever it's what he got and I can't complain because he does a really good job shopping!  So after I rinsed them I lightly sugared them so hopefully I'll get some nice sweet juice to dump over the fresh biscuits and use the rest of my whipped cream up tonight. 

Bats in the House and the Joys of Animals

So yesterday my two cats are freaking out and attacking the recliner.  I figured there must be a mouse in it since I heard squeaking.  I flipped the chair over so they could get it but I didn't see anything.  Later that night when Nick got home I told him about it and as he sat in the chair I heard the squeaking again.  He tells me that it's not a mouse but a bat from the sounds of it.  I hate bats, I don't know why but they just creep me out.  So I have to admit I'm glad I didn't find it when I flipped the chair over.  SO right after Nick leaves it comes out and flies around the living room and of course it flies circles over top of where I am.  I crawl over open the door does it go out?  No, of course not.  So it's now either in the bookshelf, or its behind it.  I wasn't sure and neither were the cats.   Ugh, I admit I'm rather freaked out.  Also when I went to the garden this morning there was a doe at the far end of the garden who snorted and stomped at me.  After she ran into the woods I could hear her smashing around right along where my corn is.  I figured from her actions she had a fawn somewhere nearby.  Then on the way to work I almost hit a pheasant.  All I could think was with the way my day is going I will hit that bird it will go through the radiator and ruin my day.  Then I'll have to listen to Nick telling me "this is why we can't have nice things".  On a good note I did miss the bird and made it to work OK.  Sadly the location of Mr. Bat is unknown....

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Strawberry Shortcake w Real Whipped Cream

So I have all these biscuits from the other night and had to use them up in someway.  So I decided for dessert to cut them in half and cover them with strawberry's or frozen raspberry's.  I plan on slicing the strawberry's and just lightly coating them with sugar.  I will let them soak in their juice and the sugar until after dinner.  Then I will dump them onto the biscuits and put a big glob of whip cream on there.  How do you make your own whip cream?  You take heavy cream and beat it till it's light and fluffy then stir in some sugar to taste.  It makes an awesome, tasty, and easy dessert.  As a bonus it's good on these hot days!

Cheap Cold Dinner on a Hot Day

So I've got a pasta salad going for dinner.  Pasta is really cheap and simple.  So far I've added some diced tomato's, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder, salt, some Italian dressing, I also tossed the onions I thinned from my garden in the food processor and added them as well.  Now thanks to advice from a friend I plan to brown some chicken from Nick's sister and toss that in too.  This way I will have a complete meal for dirt cheap.  Yes, I know I have an advantage since my future sister in law gave us the chicken breast.  You can add any meat you have handy; tuna, chicken, or whatever you think will be good.  It just makes a nice meal on a hot day.  I actually wasn't sure what to make for dinner and asked friends and they both suggested pasta salad.  They also think I should add olives but since I hate them I will not be adding them.  I;m sure they would be a good addition to people that like them though.

Got some work done in the garden today.  With all the mulch I've got down you wouldn't think there would be any weeds but there are.  We have this grass that takes over everything out here, it's terrible stuff.  I thinned the onions as stated above to encourage the others to grow bigger and be worthwhile.  I may have to do it again this year.  I  have my onion tops in the dehydrator.  I'm going to dry them and store them to use in soups and other food or for a garnish.  This way I don't waste anything.  I cut and washed everything then took the bottoms and placed them in the food processor and put the nicely ground bottoms in a bag in the freezer.  I can add them to my cooking too.  I picked some beans to have tonight.  I think we'll just eat them raw since they are so nice and small.  Plus this way I don't have to heat up the house any more then I already have.  I picked my broccoli too it's been such a waste this year.  All my plant have had small heads that if I didn't pick very quick they flowered and were a waste.  I figure we'll eat that tonight too since it will be better fresh.  The goal tonight is to plant one more row of peas since mine haven't done much.  Maybe this last row since I plan to plant it out of the shade will do better.  I need to get that tree cut down before next year.   

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Chicken and Biscuits for Dinner

So chicken thighs were on sale today when I went to the grocery store.  I got them for 99 cents a pound.  I had the urge for chicken and biscuit and now I'm thinking why?  It's so hot in this house.  Well I'm making them anyways and since last time Nick said my biscuits were good but not as good as some others he had tried...I;m trying 2 new recipes.  The recipes I'm trying are on these pages. 
http://www.food.com/recipe/southern-buttermilk-biscuits-26110

and
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/293054

I'll let you know which I prefer.  I think why my biscuits are slightly tougher is because I pat and shape them more then I should.  I just hate when they fall apart though.  On a side note I came home tossed the chicken thighs in a pan with some water and started cooking them with some onions, celery, and garlic salt.  Once the chicken is all cooked I'll scoop it from the pan, let it cool and then remove the meat from the bones.  I'll thicken the water/juice the chicken cooked in with some flour (mixed with water before adding to the juice).  Then about 20 minutes before Nick gets home toss the biscuits in the oven and see if he has a preference or if he can actually give me a compliment.  He will probably tell me he doesn't want to eat hot food.  Then I'll eat all the biscuits and gain a ton of weight. 

Saturday, July 16, 2011

So You Want to Raise Chickens?

I think for people who want to raise their own chickens and haven't had much experience you should start small.  You can go to TSC and get 6 chicks its the minimum number they require you to buy.  Start the little guys on chick starter (I use medicated).  You can also buy this feed there.  You can buy a large number of chicks if you prefer from Murray mcmurray or another hatchery if you so desire.  TSC doesn't carry all the breeds hatchery's do; and I know I like weird chickens.  So when you get the chicks home they will need a light for heat, food and water.  Make sure the light is keeping them warm if they huddle under it they are not warm enough; at the same time you don't want them to hot or they will cook.  My set up for my 6 chicks was a fish tank with a couple of old oven racks on top with the light clipped into them and when they got older set on top of the racks.  Make sure if you put down paper for them instead of shavings it's down tight so none of them get under it and get crushed.  You can buy brooder set up kits.  This may be the best idea for the novice chicken grower. 

Once the chickens are big enough to go outside make sure you have a shelter where they can get in at night.  If there is no shelter you will lose some to predators.  Right now my chicks are 2 months old and living in a big dog carrier in my garage.  I let them out in the morning and shut the garage door down then open it at night and they go back in their carrier and I shut that so they don't wander around our garage.  The garage doesn't have our cars parked in it either.  It's not pretty but until we get the barn fixed up it works so I don't have to worry about predators.  To keep our feed bill low I let them go outside and eat all the bugs and grass they want.  I love seeing them spread a crossed the lawn chasing bugs or picking grass.  My old blue Cochin seems to enjoy digging in the ant hills.  I have smashed some of the corn Nick brings me home from work.  I know I have an advantage since my fiance job allows him to bring me home corn that's been dropped on the floor and whatnot. 

Chickens are great though they know who feeds them and tends to follow that person around.  They can be pretty nice pets.  I always enjoy fresh eggs with there lovely orange yolk.  Chickens are a pretty cheap start to having some sort of self sufficiency.  I like to think mine are cutting down on the bugs biting me and eating my plants.  In the winter they need cover and food provided for them.  We feed ours a lot of scrap food to.  I figure if they will eat it, it will cut down on the corn I feed them.  We had our roosters in a dog kennel with a calf hutch in NY and that worked great.  They never froze there combs and it seemed to keep them warm with the chickens we had in there.  We usually put a tarp or something over the door in the winter to keep the wind out.  Where they were was pretty sheltered.  It was a cheap house for the birds we didn't want.  I know your asking me why didn't you kill them?  No one in my house kills things.  I know there goes half the value of chickens, the meat.  If you want to raise your own meat birds I'd make sure you get a heavier breed a Cornish x or something along those lines.  After a year in age they get rather tough so unless your making canned chicken you want to kill them young. 

So think of it this way chickens pretty much fend for themselves if you have some lawn for them to run around on.  You'll get fresh eggs.  You can get your own home raised meat.  They're nice to watch running around.  If you get some and don't do well you haven't lost a ton of money on them.  Chickens are pretty reasonable at TSC.  They usually start selling them in April and they don't sell for a long time.  Usually they have a mixed variety of bantys, sex links (which are usually Rhode island red leghorn crosses or something along those lines).  The hens will be red roosters will be white if they're a sex link.  They usually also have broilers which are a meat bird a Cornish cross. 

So good luck if you decide you want to raise your own chickens and have fun with it.  We used to feed our little guys spaghetti to watch them run around with a small noodle (we cut them small) and the others chasing the one with a noodle in his mouth.  Remember you can always keep them in a pen and just pick them a handful of grass or weeds from your garden as a treat.  Any questions leave me a comment or email me!

Another Day of Minimum Wage Work

Ugh worked from 9-2.  Which is a lot shorter and nicer then the past two days.  I'm glad to have work even if fast food service isn't my dream job it's still a job.  :-D I will be able to pay my loan without having to worry which is nice.  Hopefully I'll find something better some day.  So my garden is doing OK it wishes it wasn't so hot too.  I will have zucchini soon and I;m very excited about that.  My beans also look good and have some small beans showing.  Nick tells me I'll be over run soon; he may be right. 

On a good note the mail was a letter from my grandma and a 20 dollar check for a survey site.  The survey site is actually kind of fun.  You can wrack up points by doing surveys or just answering short questions.  If your interested in making some money online let me know.  I'll send you to their site.  Yes, the check came pretty quick!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

What's for dinner?

So my plan of Shepard's pie was shot down when I realized we have no carrots.  I love Shepard's Pie it's basically hamburger cooked up with onions, carrots Worcestershire sauce and you can add peas (eww).  Then you dump mashed potato's (seasoned) on top of that and bake it till the potato's are slightly browned.  It's awesome cheap and tasty.  Now I don't know what I'll be making.  I thought about Salisbury steaks which is hamburgers with cream of mushroom soup on them.  I don't know though, I might have to go back to the freezer and find something different.  I do know I;m going to make cream cheese brownies for dessert I think Nick will like them.  If he doesn't well I'll have to eat the whole pan by myself.  Sigh! 

On a good note I got called back so start work tomorrow at the other job.  We'll see how it goes.  I mean its minimum wage and it's part time but it's a job.  It will look good on a resume as something other then farming and if its part time I can always look for something else. 

Interview is Over Now What to Make For Dinner?

So here's the deal I found the location of my job interview fine.  I thought the woman doing the interview was absolutely amazing.  She just seemed like a very good person and made the interview go smoothly.  I think it went fairly well; but being that I'm don't have a lot of experience I will still be applying else where.  Do I think I'll get the job; no.  I'm realistic about my chance there were a ton of people applying so why choose someone with no experience when there are other options.

Anyways, now I need to think of something for dinner.  I got out hamburger because I was going to make shepards pie.  It's one of my favorites except I have no carrots.  So now I'm trying to think of something else tasty.  Maybe salsbury steaks; which is basically hamburgers with cream of mushroom soup.  I'm going to do cream cheese brownies for dessert. 

On a side note I got a call back and start work tommorrow yay me!  So wish me luck at my part time minimum wage job! I figure at least it's a job. 

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Life is toooooo Short Not to be Happy

My mom used to say that to me when I had my black days.  I try to keep it in mind whenever Nick and I argue or things don't go like I want them too!  I keep thinking I need to try to make the difference in my life to make myself happier.  I'm bored at home so I need to find a job plus any extra income will help pay my loan quicker.  Plus it be really nice to be able to help Nick with bills.  He's so good to me paying for food.  I try to think about that when we argue too.  He also makes me laugh like no one else; except maybe my sister, they have the same humor! 

I think that sometimes we don't look at what we have and be thankful for it.  Sometimes it takes hearing a friends less fortunate times or seeing something in the news to make me think about my life.  Then I feel terrible.  I'm sure I'm not alone in not thinking about the gift I have been given till I get a message slammed into me.  That's why I try to be happy no matter what.  I don't want to be unhappy so I need to appreciate all the gifts I have.  Yes, my best friends and family are in NY but they're amazing people and I am lucky to have them in my life.  Another saying my mom says Life is What You Make It.  So here I am in SD; I chose to move here for a guy.  Who I think is amazing even if I don't tell him enough.  So I chose to go to SD because I think this is the man who will make me happy for the rest of my life.  CORNY, I know.  I always wanted to be one of those old couples in the store holding hands who look like they're 80.  Nick and I will be the couple bickering and threatening to beat each other with our canes.  We're like that now tho!  I do know we're happy together and despite our relationship being different I am happy with it! 

So go out do things you like to do.  Go hike in the park its better then a movie you get exercise you can talk see the sites!  Spend time with the people you love.  They're the ones who make you happy right?  Live your life to the fullest.  It doesn't mean you have to spend money; travel or have the latest things.  It just means look at your life and be thankful for the wonderful things and people you have in it.

Monday, July 11, 2011

More Beans Planted

So here's the deal I decided to soak some beans and then planted them where the leaf lettuce used to be.  I am hoping that these will come in long enough after my ones that are flowering right now to give me a break.  Spent the day at my interview hoping it went well but if not I will find something eventually!  I love the thought of living out here with our land and growing most of our own food!  We just got an awesome catalog with all sorts of neat seeds the address is www.sandhillpreservation.com definitely worth checking out if you want a specific kind of plant or chicken you can't find other places.  Even my dorky fiance who seriously remembers all the genius and species didn't know some of the plants.  Yea that makes me happy he's one of those people who's insanely smart and good at everything I've seen him do.  Yea, makes me want to hit him with a frying pan sometimes. 

Sick of Leaf Lettuce

So this morning I went out and harvested some lettuce.  It's a nice green lettuce with very little taste or crunch.  I know I'm supposed to pick it in the morning I know I should refridgerate it for awhile.  It's still dull in a salad despite the fact I know it's from my garden.  I ripped out a bunch and plan to replace it with the beans I have soaking in a cup of water.  Why soak them you ask?  I soak my beans since it seems to make them sprout faster.  Since it's going to be hot ill really be watering them.  On a good note my fiance amazing man that he is set me up a watering system.  He brought home huge tanks with valves on them and then hooked the water thats being pumped from the basement (we run a sub pump here a lot to keep it dry) into the tub and I get the water for the garden!  Which is a bonus since the hose no longer runs acrossed the yard to the ditch where I almost mowed it over! 

Any thoughts on leafe lettuce what to do with it?

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Bargain Seeds

So Nick and I did some grocery shopping today we were totally out of milk and eggs.  These are a staple in our house.  Well we went to his local grocery store and got what we needed then headed to Dollar general and I found their seeds on 50% off when they were originally three for a dollar that makes an awesome sale price!  Some ended up being 15 cents instead of 17 so that was great!  It made my day.  Then we went to Alco and got some canning jars some discounted movies and I found a coupon for 20% off any item.  So of course I put it towards the most expensive one!  We also had our coupon of 2% off for spending 100 bucks at the store.  So we saved a little bit more.  I do like that; we support local and get a nice bonus.  I know 2% isn't much but it's still nice.  If you don't shop local you lose those little stores that sometimes carry the best things you can't find anywhere else. 

So if you buy your seeds on sale like I do just make sure you store them someplace they will stay dry and they will be fine for next year and; hey if you can save yourself some cash it makes it better. I like having my seeds early so I can plan and start them in all the windows!  We use yogurt cups to start them.  I also usually use barn yard dirt but since I'm off the farm ill have to dig a pail of Nick's lawn up!  He has great black dirt here.  I dislike most seed started I end up wither random weeds growing in my seeds. 

Anyways off to watch a bargain weird movies with Nick. 

Saturday, July 9, 2011

MM Steak Dinner w the Fiance's Family and Canning Jars

So we spent the day basically with Nicks family who are really nice people.  I had to laugh because when we pulled in his brother asked if we'd had dinner and we hadn't.  So he went and got more steak out.  I think Nick knows when steaks being cooked.  On a good note I know have a car to drive to and from work so can schedule an appointment to interview! Wish me luck.

When we got home my little young silkies were outside catching bugs that the light by the house had attracted I admit they were cute and I was glad to have a few less bugs but I didn't want them to be somethings dinner so I chased them back in their pen for the night. 

Ugh I drove one of nicks cars home and kept felt like I was getting bit.  I starts slapping myself and definitely killed at least 3 mosquito's!  Why do they like to eat me so much!  I know I will be scratching myself all night!  On a good note his mom sent a new recipe and a bunch of canning jars home for me yea she rocks!  She also included some bug spray the dry stuff of the kind that I usually use.  It's the outdoor version and has more deet in it so I'm hoping it will work as good without making me feel greasy.  Thanks Again to the future mother in law. 

Friday, July 8, 2011

Tasty simple dinner

Shake and bake is rather expensive for little old me.  I use flavored bread crumbs that you can buy a large package of for a dollar or so.  Tonight's dinner consisted of beat greens lightly steamed with garlic salt and butter and let me tell you what it still tasted like dirt.  So tonight were having pork chops dipped in bread crumbs and cooked in the oven.  Yes, I did buy the family sized pack on sale and put it in bags.  So I also sliced some potato's up didn't bother peeling them; just dipped them in butter then flavored bread crumbs with garlic, onion powder, salt and a little parmesan cheese.  I just mix those ingredients together and then it's easier to just dip them and throw them on a cookie pan.  I also did a mix of noodles to add something else to the dinner.  I try to figure at least one veggie not including the potato's. 

So now I'm waiting for the fiance to get off the phone with the barn guy so we can sit down to dinner.  I've already eaten all my potato's slices and they were super tasty.  I like them baked in the oven its simple and cooks in about the same time as the meat! 

Yes we're (OK he is) investing in the barn.  He's having it fixed up and tinned.  I admit I wish it wasn't so expensive to have it redone with wood because its a beautiful barn and tinning it just seems like it will make it like every other barn around instead of the majestic barn it is.  I admit though it's his barn and his money so I guess I have to let him do what he wants as long as it saves the barn.  He tells me it would be cheaper to bull doze it and put up an all steel barn!  Some day I'll post a picture of this beautiful old barn. 

What to Wear to a Job Interveiw

So I got two call backs for job interviews neither is my dream job; but any job is better then nothing at all.  So now I have to decide what to wear?  Neither is super professional so is a polo and nice dress pants OK?  I haven't done a resume in years either I don't have a clue where my old one is!  I know I'm horrible!  I just have always worked for my parents so why anyone would hire me for experience is beyond me at least I'm willing to work extremely hard to prove I can do anything that needs to be done.  Any advice would be great!  How can I WOW my interveiwer?  What should I wear? 

cell phones and bad luck

So what a crap day my Nick slept in and then was pissed I hadn't set my alarm for him.  My cell which has had issues finally died today.  The one blue cochin egg I had that pipped was deformed and died when it hatched.  Sometimes I think if I didn't have bad luck I'd have no luck at all. So I guess I'm feeling sorry for myself a bit and should just suck it up and get Nick closest reorganized like he asked and then do my work out.  Then I have to work some more on the lawn like Nick wants me to do and see if I get enough grass clipping in the garden for him.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Dinner

Every night I try to figure out something Nick will like for dinner, after his long day at work.  I got out veal cutlets but now how should I prepare them?  Should I egg and bread and fry them?  Or should I do veal parm?  I never know and he doesn't say much ever about whether he likes something or not.  If he doesn't like it he usually makes some small comment.  So this morning I ask him what do you want for dinner?  His response is "meat".  So maybe i'll egg and bread some and then make some into a parm and leave some plain and he can tell me what he likes better.  I plan on serving it with cheddar broccoli noodles by Lipton; I think?  I like to add cream cheese to mine to make them creamier.  Not very healthy I know but yum.  I tell myself I will only have a little so I can stick as close to possible to my diet!  I also have left over coleslaw from last night and I figure hell be eating some of the lettuce greens and beet greens in a salad to start gotta use them up.  If we don't eat them the chickens and geese get them.  Saves me money on feed I figure instead of compost its valuable treats for the chickens plus they pick as much grass as they want.  Nick usually brings home corn for them too sometimes it to big for them to eat so I have to try and smash it down to size.  He seems to think a hammer on the driveway is a bad idea...Any thoughts on easy smashing of whole corn? 
OK off to start dinner even if I do have at least an hour till he gets home!

Fresh Garden Lettuce

So here's the deal; Nick sets his alarm for 5:30 am and then lets it go off until 6-ish when he gets out of bed.  So I get up at 5:30 and start Breakfast, feed cats, and chickens.  I read and have been told by a friend that I should pick my garden lettuce in the morning before it gets hot.  Supposedly the lettuce is crispier because of the colder night temperature.  I don't know about you but I haven't notice my leaf lettuce being crispy.  Sometimes it's bitter and I find that if I leave it in the fridge over night it will be much better.  I also cut some beat greens because I thought Nick really liked them in his salad or cooked.  He said no it's mustard greens.  Ugh!  I didn't plant any of those!  So now I have a gallon bag of fresh homegrown lettuce in the fridge.  Let me tell you what it's nice to see and all but rather bland.  I usually chop some onions and either add some store bought iceberg or some cabbage to mine to give it a bit of a crunch.  Otherwise I see Nick eating his salad with long teeth and to be fair I can't say I blame him it's mushy and has a gross consistency (to me) without some crunch!  I'd love some suggestions on what I can do to add some more crunch or pizazz to my salad?  Oh, and I usually add some of my homemade salsa to the salad since we don't have ripe tomatos yet. 

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Saving Some Money

So since I started this thinking that I would write about how we save money I figured this blog was about due!  So tonight I plan on cutting apart my ALL YOU magazine.  This month has 56.76 dollars worth of coupons in it.  I admit its one of my favorite magazines.  I know you can get this magazine at walmart.  I have a subscription to it.  To be fair I paid 97 cents for 3 issues.  I am a member of mypoints and if you want to join they rock.  I love them; I cannot say what amazing luck I've had with them.  They sent me a 5 dollar gift card to use to magazines.com and I used that to get my 3 month subscription to ALL YOU.  I also received 500 points for getting my subscription.  With the points you can get gift cards, air miles, money in your paypal account and basically they have any kind of gift card you could want.  http://www.magazines.com/ also sends me gift cards for 5 dollars randomly and sends out coupons for 5 dollars off certain magazines.  On a sad note I'm not sure they sell all you anymore.  If you want other cheap magazines for less then 5 dollars a subscription leave me a comment and I will look up the place I use to get my sister her bridal magazine and my brothers car mags for Xmas.  Yea I'm thrifty they like their gifts tho! Also magazines.com will send you sign up bonus', they randomly send out emails and give you a chance to give 5 friends a 5 dollar gift card and when your friend uses the gift card you get a 10 dollar one even if the friend finds a magazine for 5 dollars so doesn't spend anything!

OK back to the magazine with all the coupons.  After reading through it and reading about healthy foods and ways to save money I cut this bad boy up.  I figure even if I spend the 20 bucks for a years worth of the magazine I should get my money out of it.  Seriously though if you want to save some money instantly don't buy brand names.  I know the packages are prettier on the cereal and there's a free gift but seriously does it taste better to you?  I guess I usually don't notice much difference between brand name and store brand.  We do indulge in certain thing I don't like Wal-marts canned corn as much as other brands so I go for a different brand.  Nick likes litehouse blue-cheese dressing so he gets that.  We also never buy water we just drink the tap.  To be fair we have very good well water.  I know your thinking but coupons are for name brands usually!  Well if the coupon doesn't make it cheaper then the store brand and you like the store brand as well don't use the coupon!  Simple stuff.   I love the grocery store at home.  It's small and usually way more expensive then wal-mart but every week they have sales and the sales make their items a better buy then walmart and when paired with a coupon (under a dollar our store doubles) you can really save some money.  Not to mention do your little local stores carry things that wal-mart and bigger ones don't?  Our store carries a large pack of fake crab meat.  I love that stuff and hey carry the small size which is a brand name the smaller size is less then half the size of the bigger package and cost the same!  We always buy the big package and divide it up.

Divide up your meat!  I grew up on a farm so was lucky having our own beef cut the bill a lot.  Now that I am off the farm we buy more meat at the store.  Though I have to admit I rarely buy beef I just don't think it taste right.  Not to mention my fiance has connections and bought some beef from a friend who was selling part of a cow.  I know people will raise a beef  and then sell it in quarters or half and you can have yours cut how you want.  Nick just got hamburger but it taste so much better then store bought and way less greasy!  I usually buy my boneless skinless chicken at wal-mart and get it for 1.78 a lb and just get home and divide it into individual packages which saves me money instead of buying small packages for 2 people I get the family pack and freeze excess.  We also buy our pork in large packs I like the picnic roast usually cheap and yes it has a lot of fat on it but boy does it taste good!  When I can get it for 1.20 a lb or less I grab a big one and cut it into several pieces.  Yes its messy and a pain but that's a bargain.  No I don't buy brand name bags.  I usually look for a large package of bags which is cheapest in the long run.   

Another Auction Sale? What's for dinner? Sweet Potato Advice?

So Nick shouldn't have to work at his full time job this weekend.  I think he will probably work at his part time tho.  I;m rather hoping he takes Saturday off since there's an auction sale right in our little town!  It's so nice to just go to the sales when there only a few miles away.  Of course the last one we went to we ended up filling the car and Nick went home to get the truck so for a total of 53 dollars we filled them both.  I admit most of it was books but if your like us those are treasures.  So I've left the paper with the auction sale on it on his chair and we'll see what he says tonight.  It's just a fun time we get to spend together.  They usually sell food there too basically hot dogs.  It's one of the fun "date" like things we do.  He usually picks out stuff he wants and I don't see much I have to have.  I do like to go and look for neat old things I really want to get a sewing machine so I can work on my denim quilt I have a bunch of squares cut but none sewn together. 

There's also an auction on Thursday night but he has to work which is a shame because it's a literature auction.  Oh well.

So tonight I'm making some coleslaw (this is a pain I'm a miracle whip girl he only eats mayo).  I'm going to try mixing them and see if he notices it to much.  If he does well he can just eat the steak, baked potato and I think I'll cook up the rest of the small shrimp with garlic and butter for dinner.  I mean what man can complain about a surf and turf dinner?  I guess he can but I have a bunch of big cast iron pans and a marble rolling pin....He likes baked potato's I like them mashed but I'm avoiding carbs as much as I can so popping his potato in the micro will be easier. 

Speaking of potato's; how many of you have grown sweet potato's in a colder state?  I'm attempting to grow some and I think next year I'll just buy them.  I love them but from what I've read about the curring them with heat so they get sweet it seems like a lot of work?  Nick said his mother grew some and they got as big as his head.  I don't know about that especially since he likes them sweet with marshmallows and I prefer them with butter and garlic salt.  Let me know your gardening stories please!

Another Day of Fun.

So I just got back from my walk and hope I didn't sweat all the sunscreen off I put on.  I got a horrible sunburn on my forehead yesterday and look rather tomato like.  MMM lunch was some fresh broccoli out of MY garden with some dressing and some of the left over roasted chicken I made the other night.  I've been walking at least an hour a day and doing an ab and arm work out.  I am hoping to lose around 40 lbs by Xmas we shall see.  I want to get a kick boxing (or something similar) tape I can do any suggestion for a fun tape I can do from home?  No dance tapes please!  I stink at them my sister is the dancer in my family and when I imitate here everyone laughs...I have no idea why... :-D. 

I had my dessert early and it was a handful of fresh raspberry's.  We'll just keep that from Nick since to be fair they are his raspberry's.  I figure first come first serve.  I am watching my zucchini like a hawk since i have several 2 or 3 inch squash and I know I'll forget to check them and suddenly they will be these huge things! Which will be good for bread but I want to cook some up in just a little butter with garlic and onions.  I love them like that.  I know my dad prefers to egg and bread slices which is good too, but then what isn't good egged and breaded? 

My beans are finally flowering and my corn is above knee high and yes it was by the 4th of July.  I'm not sure if that saying applys here to corn knee high by the fourth of July?  That's the saying in NY if you want your corn to be developed by harvest.  I am jealous though the corn in the fields (cow corn I call it) is waist to chest high on me.  I admit it was in before mine, fertilized a lot better and so on but still.  I love sweet corn it's one of my favorite things to get out of the garden.  Nothing like corn on the cob freshly picked.  My mother always said Grandpa would wait till the water was boiling then go pick the corn so it was especially sweet.  I think today they have played with the corn enough that its still sweet for a few days.  I know despite growing some corn in our garden we bought a bushel of day old corn (day old is half price) and it was still amazing.  At home in NY we are lucky to be very close to a large area that has many barns that sell just veggies and fruit.  Its always amazing to go see all the corn and just baskets of broccoli and so on.  We usually buy extras or just go there because they have it ready before our garden is.  Plus the veggies are a local business and it's always nice to support local!  The veggies there are cheaper then your going to get in the store anyways.  Not to mention there s a great ice cream place by the one!  The one farm has berry picking and they encourage you to eat as you pick!  Can you guess my favorite place to go?

I'm hoping to start picking mulberry's in a few days Nick has some trees on him and if we go to his parents I'm hoping to pick some there since there's are better then here! 

I'd love some suggestions for squash recipes and work out tapes leave me some comments please!

Friday, July 1, 2011

Auction Sales

So I've been busy a lot and haven't been on much.  Not that anyone appears to be reading this anyways :-(.  So heres the deal Nick and I rarely go to the movies or do traditional dates; we do however enjoy going to auctions.  We spent a saterday at one and made a decent haul.  He bought a bunch of small stuff for 1$ it included 4 garden hoses and a few other small things.  The hoses are what im using to water the garden so i don't have to lug water so far! He als bought himself a rather nice gas powered welder which he tells me he can use as a generator too.  I leave that sort of thing to himself though i told him i'd be intrested in learning to weld hey ya never know when it would come in handy!  He also bought a big white van like a 1991 or so I tellh im its the kidnapper van theres no seats other then the front and it has no windows.  He tells me it's going to be my car...oh joy!  On a god note it will be good for hauling stuff around and it went for about scrap price and yes it runs good! 

Tell me are auctions a big thing around you?  Here in SD where I am now they seem to be a pretty regular thing and I'd never been to one while living in NY. 

Grass clippings = less weeding

So it's humid as all heck here but I wanted to get something done.  So I went outside watered the garden since some of the plants looked like I felt.  You know how you just feel rather listless and limp on these hot muggy days well my plants were all rather limp and sad looking so they got some water.  Then I spent an hour or so mowing some more of the lawn and luckily Nick has a lawnmower which catches the grass clippings in tubs.  So after they fill which isn't long, I drive over and dump the grass/mulch where I can use it easily to mulch around the plants.  This saves me money buying plastic to put down or mulch or hay to keep the weeds down.  My least favorite part of a garden is weeding.  You never seem to get ahead; well at least I don't!  So the mulch wont stop all the weeds but it stops most and not only do I get exercise the lawn looks better and some weeds are smothered with the grass I put down.  Another good thing about using the grass is when i harvest everything I don't have to worry about pulling up plastic to keep it from being tilled up next year.  I Know that they will be tilled into the dirt and be fertilizer plus the lawn looks better from being mowed. 

Friday, June 17, 2011

Easy cheap dinner!

So Nick is heading in to his second job and i never know how late he'll be so dinner will be in the crock pot tonight!  I love crock pot dinners!  Why?  Crock pots take forever yes but they cook all the flavors together so nicely!  Plus once you dump your ingredients in you really don't have to do anything and then dinner can be served whenever you want.  OK so we got a large picnic roast (pork) it was on sale for around 1.18 lb.  It was a large roast so I chopped it into 3 pieces, I would have done 4 but the bone was to much work to cut around.  So tonight the largest chunk is dinner.  Anyways; in a frying pan I used the left over bacon grease from this morning to lightly cook onions, some finely chopped celery, carrots, and some mushrooms.  I know bacon grease is bad for you but it adds awesome flavor and I wanted something to cook the veggies in so it saved me using some sort of grease I had to pay for!  I then browned the meat a bit just because I like the taste it gives it when browned.  I also added a bunch of potatoes after cutting off the sprouts some had!  After dumping the meet and veggies in the crock pot I dumped a can of cream of mushroom soup over everything and added some garlic powder.  This will cook for hours and all the flavors will mingle together into a tasty dinner!  All I have to do later is scoop a little bit of veggies out and cut off some meat.  This will feed us several times and the total cost of the meat was around 10 bucks.  So I figure dinner cost us around 10 bucks with about a third of the meat and the veggies and soup added.  I figure if I can feed us 3 times out of the crock pot dinner I've done a decent job!  I admit I can't wait till I'm using my veggies out of my garden.

If you don't like pork you can use beef or chicken or whatever you want.  If i had been in a hurry I would have just tossed all the same ingredients into an oven bag.  If you haven't tried an oven bag I highly recommend them.  You can toss all the ingredients into the bag including the soup; and it cooks fast and keeps the meat nice and moist plus clean up is much nicer just toss the bag away!  I like adding the soup it helps with the flavor keeps it moist and; hey I don't have to make gravy!  Not to mention all the veggies taste great so even Nick who isn't a big cooked veggie person will eat them.  Now the debate is do I make rolls or not?

Making Money Online

So since I don't have a job at this point I've spent hours surfing the Internet for jobs I can do from home.  I have no particular gift for sewing or crafts so I avoid etsy.  Mostly I do surveys it gives me something to do and earns me a small income.  SO I guess  I haven't discovered those ones that offer to pay you 75 dollars a month!  If Anyone does find them let me know.  I just mypoints a lot and have made 100 bucks with them in under a year!  They have a lot of ways to make money using them.  They offer daily emails that give you 5 points a piece just for clicking and if you already shop with someone you can earn points by clicking on the stores website through my points.  Searching also earns you points.  There just a super easy place to earn some money with stuff you already do.  Not to mention they also offer surveys and some of them are rather long but if you have nothing else to do and could use some money it works.  I have done surveys through a ton of websites some actually pay fast and are worth it while others get all the info they need then tell you sorry you didn't qualify. 
My latest adventure is data entry I've signed up for a website and am hoping its legit on making money.  I took a test for it and they will let me know if they have any work for me to do.  We shall see I'm really hoping I can find something with a slightly better income then my surveys that  I do on a regular basis.  I probably make a hundred or so bucks a month doing surveys part time.  Like I said some sites are better then others!

If your interested in websites I've actually made money on leave me a message on here and I will gladly forward you links for the best ones that I've actually made money on!  Plus they send you stuff to test and try I do love getting free stuff in the mail!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Container Gardening

I suppose the people that usually do container gardening are ones with little space.  For me it's because my fiance works a lot and I don't want to run the borrowed tiller!  Bad things seem to happen with my operating equipment.  Nick always says to me this is why we can't have nice things when i break something.  To be fair though he broke 2 chairs while visiting my family.  We're slightly destructive I guess.  So back to the containers I'm planting in them because a) I need more space, b) I've got a lot of barrels c) I'm hoping I can have a longer harvest time since I can just move them into the garage when it starts to get cold and finally d) if I want fresh herbs for my cooking I can just walk out the front door.  I know your thinking how far away is the garden not that far but the bugs are horrible here especially where my garden is.  It just will be convenient for me.  I'm hoping it works well; I guess if it doesn't I wont waste my time next year.  If you go on you tube you can see plenty of awesome videos on how to make your own garden while getting the most out of your containers.  I likes the barrel they had lettuce growing out all of the holes in the side of it.  It was pretty and convenient.  The plan is to eventually get Nick to get my strawberry barrels done co I can have them close to the house for easy picking while avoiding the deer.  Ugh the deer have pretty much decimated our poor raspberrys' I tried spraying them with hot pepper spray maybe it will help.  Maybe I should just invest in a licence this fall and get some venison to go with my veggies!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Another Day Gone

Another day gone and as always I never seem to get as much done as I want too.  I admit it, I took a nap today because I just felt tired.  I did get all my herbs planted and my potato's in grey tubs!  However I didn't hook up my incubator as planned I know there's still time tonight so I think after this entry I'll head out and hook the thing up.  I know I'll be looking for directions online since I can't remember if I'm supposed to add water now or later and what;s the perfect temperature to hatch.  Is the temp for hatching chicken eggs 100 or 99 or does it not matter a degree.  I'll probably get them in there turn them everyday 3 times a day and none will be fertile; just seems to be my luck sometimes. 

I tried another cornbread recipe using molasses instead of brown sugar more milk and less butter but Nick tells me he doesn't like the molasses after taste so it's back to the drawing board. 

I guess i get lonely at night because it seems to be the worst time of the day for stuffing my face.  Does anyone else see the trend where later in the day they tend to lose their will power?  I;m sitting here searching for instructions on my incubator and I think ill just plug it in set the thermometer in and see what the temp says in the morning and then call my amazing mom for advise!  Oh yea I've got homemade popcorn...I wish I had more will power I guess it's the lonely factor my fiance is the only friend I have here and with him working 2 jobs I rarely see him.  So I'm a lonely eating machine! 

On a good note I made a few bucks doing surveys from home not much but something!  Also I love this site and have earned a lot of gift cards from them just from using them as a search engine.  They give you points randomly for searching and you can turn them in for gift cards.  I always do amazon gift cards because hey I love amazon.  I'm going to try and attach a banner to sign up through it helps me if you do it through my banner if you don't want to that's fine.  Thanks to those of you that do!
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So tomorrows plans, do the dishes, put the eggs in the incubator, get my flowers planted, feed Nick left overs!  Hopefully get some more surveys done make some more money really hoping some of my checks will be here soon!  I do love seeing the free boxes of samples and checks in the mailbox!  Maybe I can con the fiance to take me to the thrift stores this weekend there's always a bargain to be found.  Since we don't go the movies much we usually spend around 20 bucks at the pawn shop and get a stack of DVDs.  I usually figure 3 bucks or less per DVD is our average spending price.  I do love the bargains.  Thanks for reading!

Herbs

So this morning I got up fed the chickens, geese and myself.  The chickens are out hopefully eating some bugs while I decided to have cornbread left over from last nights supper of cornbread and chili.  It's weird cooking for just 2, I'm used to being with at least 3 other people so here I always make to much.  On a good note I don't like my chili to burn my face off and yet Nick likes food hot...so you see the problem?  Well I made the chili with a slight kick and figured he wouldn't like  it but he did tell me it was pretty good!  Yay!  Of course the cornbread rocked!  Yes, I ate to much.  On a good note I made the cornbread with brown sugar instead of white and whole wheat flour instead of the white flour it called for.  Less processed is better for you!  OK at least in my opinion.  Nick told me that it seemed pretty heavy and he likes it a bit lighter so i guess more baking soda next time?  I'll post the recipe since I liked it so much and hope you will enjoy it too.  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grandmothers-Buttermilk-Cornbread/Detail.aspx

So I'm sure people looking at my title are like where do herbs come into this.  That's my plan of the day!  To get my herbs in the cut off barrels Nick made for me.  Sounds easier then it is.  I have to fill the wheelbarrow full of dirt lug it over to the house dump it in the barrels and did I mention I have a lot of seeds and barrels.  I know its going to be a pain now but when i can have fresh herbs I'll be loving it.  What we don't feed the chickens goes into a compost heap and we have a lot of nice compost I plan on using.  I'm hoping to get enough dirt from the pile that I don't have to go get it from anywhere else.....we'll see.  I refuse to buy bags of dirt when the soil is so nice out here.  We have black dirt and when he plowed my first garden here there was only one rock in the whole 40'x60' lot.  No this really isn't as big as I wanted but next year we'll start earlier and go bigger!  I also plan on getting the potato tops i cut off in and seeing how those do!  wish me luck lugging all this dirt around.  Yes i am still going to go for my walk because of all the corn bread I ate!  I'll take pictures of my barrels once I'm done!  Some of you are thinking where is her big strong man for all this?  We'll he's at his secnd job.  He tells me it's to keep me in my life of luxury.  Ha Ha. 

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Working on Losing Weight Without Huge Cost

So I figure the garden will help me eat better and get exercise.  I've packed on so much weight from my high school time that I just feel tired all the time.  I've been walking an hour every day.  It honestly makes me feel better, except for the shin splints!  i figure its cheap exercise.  I already had the sneakers so the only cost is the bug spray I use!  I  have never seen bugs like there are here in S.D.  I seriously look like I have hives from spending time in the garden.  I'm using the deep woods bug spray which sort of works.  Any suggestions for keeping them away would be awesome!    I'm looking for some good advice on DVDs I can do at home.  Since I don't have the money to spend on a gym membership or gas money to drive the 40 Min's to the gym, I'd love some feedback!  I use listia to get most of my DVDs.  It's free and seriously I've got a lot of neat stuff off of there.  It's like eBay but instead of money you get points.  I'll post a link that if you sign up through you will get an extra 100 points and so will I.  So thanks ahead of time.  http://www.listia.com/signup/233313
This site is awesome it makes me feel like I can still have little luxuries without worry about the money spent on them!  I do love my movies.  :-D

Anyways back to the weight thing you would think doing all the cooking I could handle losing some weight without an issue.  I do cook healthy I just have an issue with portion control and I'm used to living with 3 or 4 other people; not just Nick and I.  I do love homemade breads and sweet rolls and....well you get the picture.  I have a portion control issue :-D.  I need a little self control.  Tell me your story's?  I've done Atkins and lost weight but then packed it all back on.  I need something that I can handle not feel super deprived.  I currently walk a lot work in the garden and drink lots of green tea to help me feel fuller.  I'm also trying to manage my portions and not eat to late at night.  This is hard for me since Nick works the night shift I'm usually lonely, bored, and eat late. 

Ugh I'm drinking those powdered weight loss supplements.  I have 2 different kinds.  The one flavor is lemonade, it's not horrible.  The other is peach and seriously if i hadn't paid for it, I'd toss it, its terrible.  On top of that I haven't noticed me shedding pounds like crazy. Ha Ha.  Who knows.  Leave me  a comment on your battles. 

My Chicken/Goose Project


So the other pet I have running around is a blue Cochin hen and a silky rooster.  I know I need some more chickens!  I'm working on getting some money together to get some!  Fresh eggs is amazing and you can always use eggs for something!  Mmmm homemade pudding with fresh eggs is amazing!  The color is much nicer when using free range eggs since they get outside to get the grass the yolks are much yellower almost orange.  OK I know its crazy to get excited about chickens but I do.  The other benefit to them is meat.  Harsh sounding huh?  What do you do if you have  a bunch of roosters tho?  I personally can't kill them.  It's one of my failings as a provider.   I have been trying to get my fiance to get me a thermometer so I can try hatching out my chickens eggs she was in with a blue Cochin rooster so I'm hoping ill get a few chicks. The little guys/gals (hopefully mostly hens) are silkies also just different colors.  In the picture with the blue Cochin or the grey chicken as Nick calls her I'm feeding them the sunflower seed rolls nick didn't like.  I try to keep my feed bill pretty low!  They eat a lot of grass bugs and whatever scraps we have left over.  I always have food on hand for a treat and the babies have to get special crumbles because everything else is to big for them. 

If your wondering if the chickens bug my garden; no they don't.  Most likely because they have so much room to run around the yard.  Nick has about 11 acres so the chickens tend to just free range around that and come back to their pen at night. 

I also have 2  geese.  They seem to be pretty worthless!  I like them tho, that's why their here!  They were both free and I think one may be sterile since last year she sat on eggs and none hatched.  There a good warning when someones here...geese make some serious noise when someone pulls in the driveway.  No they aren't even worth anything for eggs since she doesn't lay very well.  I guess I wouldn't like her so much but she was a friends pet and when he died the family brought me her.  She is a lovely sweet goose with pretty blue eyes.  However her mate is mean; he bites and hisses!  If your going to go for the better deal get chickens they're smaller, eat less, take up less space, make more eggs, and make a lot less mess! The geese do mow down the grass nicely tho!

My Story and the garden

All of my life I've lived in upstate N.Y. till I met my fiance and moved to S.D.  Talk about a change!  I went from hills with trees to flat ground with corn and soy as far as the eye can see.  Did I mention there's not many jobs out here?  OK I should rephrase theres not many jobs for someone with my skills.  I grew up and worked on the same farm for the past 27 years.  I do have 2 college degrees an associates in liberal arts, and a BS in English.  The primary jobs I've seen in the paper here are concrete worker and nurse.  Now if it was a cow nurse I'd be all set unfortunately it's not.  So I have a lot of time on my hands while looking for a job!

Most days involve cooking and cleaning.  I like the first hate the second but seriously who likes cleaning?  My fiance who lived here when I met him has 2 jobs.  No, he doesn't have any college degrees.  He just seems to be good at whatever he does.  Yes, I do wish I had the skills he does but I don't so here I am looking for a job on the computer and it seems my only option is Subway.  Has anyone ever worked there? 

My fiance pays most of the bills but I have student loans I need to pay back so I'm sure your wondering what I'm doing for income right now.  Basically I've been doing as many surveys as I can.  What a living at home with surveys is it possible?  Well so far I haven't made myself a millionaire. 

The trick is to be as thrifty as I can and try to help cut the fiances bills too.  So he doesn't decide I'm dead weight and kick me to the curb.  I have put a huge garden in to help with the cost of food.  Since I came late in the year a lot of the plants I've always started in the house would not have made it to harvest had I tried my regular methods.  So I bought a bunch at the local nursery.  It was rather nice to put peppers, tomato's, and squash in the garden with buds already on them.  I figure if I'm going to go through the effort of a garden I'm going to have a big one!  I want to be able to can up a lot of food for this winter.  It will cut the cost of veggies and hey I actually know where these came from.  The seeds I planted in the garden (ones with a shorter time to harvest) were my valentines day present from my fiance.  I figured for 50 dollars I could either have pretty flowers for a week or a winters worth of food.  Yes ladies, I like flowers too but I like  food way more! 

So my garden doesn't have anything fancy.  I have several rows of beans and peas.  Why so many?  Mostly because it's something easy to can or freeze plus we both like them.  I wont can the peas they'd just be mush.  So the plan is to freeze them and can the beans!  I planted several short rows of corn and am hoping for good pollination with it.  Whenever you plant corn go for short rows from what I've heard its the best way to get your corn pollinated.  Without pollination no corn.  Yes, readers I will let you know if my garden was a flop or not!  I also have a lot of onions planted.  Why?  Onions will last a long time if properly stored and they are awesome in cooking.  Plus a bag of 100 starter onions you can usually get for less then 2 bucks!  Plant them shallowly for bigger onions as I understand it they will grow bigger because they dont have to fight the dirt to expand.  Not sure if its the real reason but I seem to have better luck planting them shallow. 

I planted a ton of winter squash, no it's not my favorite or his either but it stores well and I'm sure with all the online sources I can find at least a couple recipes I like.  I also have about 3 hills of zucchini and yellow squash.  Again, I know some of you are asking why?  Well because of all the good things you can make with squash.  I know most of you are just thinking bread?  I have a great  recipe for brownies with zucchini and found one for cheese fried zucchini I plan on trying.  If you want the recipe comment I will gladly email them to you. 

We also have a bunch of potato's planted out there.  No I didn't buy the seed potato's they sell in the store.  You can if you want but i figure if i just cut the potato's that have started to sprout and save them in a baggy in the fridge I can plant them in the garden.  I have several hills of potato's and am thinking I will plant some more in barrels.  Why barrels well because I hate digging potato's and I'm thinking if I find a dark barrel I can just flip the thing over dump it on the lawn and no digging or stabbing any of the potato's!  Why a dark barrel?  If light gets to your potato's it causes the skin to turn green and are not great for eating.  Why because a reaction with the sun causes the production of toxin which can make you ill.  I found this post if your interested in it.  http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=5658.  Below you will see a picture of the potato tops I've saved for my barrel project.


I also have broccoli and cauliflower this is my first year attempting it.  I know I have to tie the leaves shut to keep the head white any pointers on cauliflower would be awesome! 

We have tons of okra and carrots planted,  Why Okra?  I planted several rows because my fiance likes it pickled and the pickled stuff at the store is spendy.  So I'm hoping to save him money and make him happy all in one!  We shall see I may regret it when I have an epic failure with my pickling this fall!

Well now that I've wrote a short novel I'm actually going to work on some surveys and I will let you know if I make any money today! Thanks for reading please comment!