Friday, May 31, 2013

Romania ( part 1)

 In 2006 I traveled to Romania with a group from our church.
While there, I took these pictures. The above photo is of the traveling Gypsies. Below is a family that was working.

Monday, May 27, 2013

My Flavored Water








Summer time is around the corner and in the south we need to drink lots of water for our hot and humid days. I don't do so well in the heat, I can easily come quite overcome with the heat due to sweating so much and my lack of interest in drinking water. Awhile back I saw this "recipe" of sorts to naturally flavor you own water and I tried it. I LOVE IT! 





Here's what I did:

Sliced a lemon and squeezed a little of the juices into a pitcher. Throwing all the slices in as well.

I took a few fresh strawberries from a local farm and squeezed them a little to get some of the juices out and threw the berries (and juice) in the pitcher.

I sliced 1/4 of a cucumber and tossed it in the pitcher.

Then I went outside and plucked a few pieces of fresh mint growing in my yard and put a few sprigs of it in the pitcher. 

I added some ice cubes and filled the rest of the pitcher up with water and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight before I tasted it.

Now I can pour a glass of flavored water and squirt a few  drops of stevia for a little sweetness. (In these pictures you will notice that I dropped a few frozen blueberries to use as ice cubes)

I am trying to replace my sodas with flavored water. I stopped drinking sodas awhile back and then broke down and decided to drink one... that was all she wrote, I started back to drinking them! UGHHHH 

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Our flock is growing

 Remember when I told you that WE BOUGHT PLYMOUTH ROCK and took them to the grocery store with us? The chickens above are those black chicks we got. One of the chicks died but these three are healthy and thriving! (They are the Plymouth Rock aka Barred Rock)
 When local dogs killed my Leghorns last weekend I was very sad. When I saw that someone in our town was selling Ameracana Chicks that she hatched I couldn't wait to buy 4 of them!
 They are all 4 under a heat lamp in my bathroom. I made a waterer with a Mason jar and holes punched in the lid. I have it upside down on a saucer.
Now I have 5 laying hens (2 are Rhode Island Reds, 2 Ameracanas, 1 Wyndott) and 3 juveniles chickcs (Barred Rock) and 4 Ameracana baby chicks.  and one rooster!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

My baby is a teenager

 I cannot believe my baby is growing up ! Shes a teenager now. We recently celebrated with family at a local restaurant in our town. After dinner, we had cake that a friend of mine made and then my Baby Girl opened her gifts.
 She was shocked at the amount of cash she got but was excited at the same time to finally have enough money to buy a new IPod (since hers bit the dust awhile back) This time we have a warranty that covers everything! YAY!!
 She says she feels reconnected to the world.
 Since giving up my Droid, I know how she feels but at the same time, Im feeling less stressed.
I love this girl, but shes growing up so fast!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!

Monday, May 20, 2013

Tragedy

The morning of the prom, I walked down the the coop with a bunch of strawberry caps to share with the hens. I spotted one of the leghorns outside of the run. As I said out loud,  How did you get out here? She turned and I saw that something had gotten hold of her. I noticed feathers everywhere and I ran to the coop and looked the flock over, My other two leghorns were missing. Eventually we found their bodies. Something got into the run and attacked my leghorns (our best egg layers, our most calm hens) I took the injured one inside and placed her in the tub so I could examine her and wash her (as I cried) It was then that I realized that we couldn't nurse her back to health. My husband had to put her down. While we took care of prom stuff that morning my husband went to Southern States and bought traps to put outside of the chicken run. I only have  five egg laying hens right now and those don't lay every day. The ones that are left lay brown, blue and green eggs. We not longer have white egg layers. I wont be able to sell the eggs for while because we simply don't have enough eggs.

RIP my 3 sweet Leghorns :(

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Prom 2013

It was a very busy day (that didn't start very well, but that's another story) 
My future Doctor started the day by having her hair done, picking up flowers etc... (the usual)
and then we stopped in town to meet her friends after I took a bunch of pictures.


 Her hair was beautiful and she was gorgeous! Naturally, I took lots of pictures!
 She has turned into such a beautiful, smart and responsible young lady. Im so proud of her!
 My family met us at the Museum of History because they have a gorgeous yard for photo ops.
I got my sister to take a few photos of my and the girls.
 We thought her daddy was going to be working but thankfully he didn't have to.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Peace and Contentment

 I don't have a cellphone right now. I sold it because we needed the money. Im sure Ill get another one later but for now, Im disconnected. Right now I miss my phone (from time to time) but in other ways Im less stressed, Im relaxed, and content.
 Sometimes I think about how life would be if I didn't own anything and life were more simple. I think about how life would be if I weren't so stressed about conforming to what everyone expects. I think about owning a beautiful home with the perfect amount of decorations and my home looking like those in magazines. Most of the time, I just want to be comfortable. Most of the time, I just want my children happy and comfortable and not embarrassed about where they live.
Once in awhile I think about how life would be if I were able to walk away from all my belongings and just live without cell phones and computers. How would life be if I could just enjoy the beauty all around me. Listening to running rivers and the waves in the ocean, watching as flowers and grass wave in the wind and enjoying every moment.

Staring at a stack of bills working lots of hours, being exhausted, stressing over who might stop by and what they will think when they see that we have no "Real" floor in our living room but just pressed wood particles, that we have unfinished walls and parts of our floor that needs replacing.

I crave peace and tranquility.

Peace. Peace like a river in my soul.......

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Diamond Candles (my new love)

 Have you ever owned a Diamond Candle? I first saw them online and thought how cool of an idea it is! A soy candle that is environmental friendly and has a ring hidden inside! Each candle is worth either $10, $100, $1000 or $5,000!!! 
 You must burn for about 10 hours I think to get to the ring (which is covered in plastic and then foil)
Its so hard to wait until you see that foil packet sticking out. I used tweezers to pull it out after burning only two times.
My fragrance is Cinnamon Tea. I love the blue stone in mine which is close to my birthstone color!
If you have had a Diamond Candle and blogged about it, comment under this post so I can read your blog post! I love them!!!!

ps my mom is getting one for Mothers Day!

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Proud Mommy noticing the little things

 This week I attended a ceremony that I have attended twice before. All of my girls are now inducted into the Beta Club for their outstanding GPA . This week my youngest was inducted into the Junior Beta Club and I'm so proud of her!
 My 11th grader was there serving punch as she is a current member of the Senior Beta Club with a 4.0 GPA
 Its the little thing in life that make us Mommy's proud of our babies. Even if they aren't babies anymore.
 Life has been tough lately with my husband and I working long hours. Attempting to pay the bills and struggling at that. I no longer have a cell phone or pretty fingernail those were "wanted" things not "needed" things. We wont be going out to dinner for Mothers Day and all of this is a little depressing.
I try to stop and notice the little things like this Dandelion growing in my yard. They may be considered a weed but I love them. They are the flowers that my children always picked for me and those innocent acts of love are priceless. I also love watching children blow them when they turn to wishing flowers :) 

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Plymouth Rock Spots

 My chicks are developing their spots! The are growing feathers on their wings and little tail feathers are showing. They are still scratching around in the brooder under the heat lamp. They are so cute but haven't gotten used to being held yet.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Freckled Lemonade & My Girls

 THIS WEEK......  I took two of my girls shopping. We were in search of prom clothes/shoes/jewelry and nice clothes to wear at the Beta Club Induction Ceremony. Then, we stopped at one of our favorite places to eat and enjoyed their Freckled Lemonade.
 So thankful that my husband made this brooder for the chicks. He cut a square off the lid of a tote and mounted chicken wire over it. It snaps shut and allows air in and out as well as the heat from the heat lamp. As you can see, my daughters cat came to visit the chicks and they were safe!
(We had foil on the top to deflect some of the heat as it was getting too hot.)