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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.