Christmas Rush Is Over!

Weeks of preparation and in one swift day...it's over! We all had a great day. Hope you and your family did too. My kids were up at 6:00 am to check out what Santa left. (They don't believe in Santa anymore but it's still fun.) They both received an iPod Nano (their main gift...along with other stuff, books, DVDs, CD's, purse, clothes, etc.) We stayed in out PJs until it was time to get ready to go to spend Christmas with my husband's family. As always with farm life, we had to take care of the animals before we left. I really love going to my inlaws because they always have a buffet of heavy h'ordeauves including shrimp and scallops wrapped in bacon. Oh, and did I mention the deserts? Everything was so delicious! Needless to say, I pretty much gorged myself. I'll worry about working the calories off later. The rest of the day was spent opening gifts and enjoying time with our family. We are so blessed that we could all be together this time of year.

Last Minute Christmas Gifts For Teens

Still not sure what to get for your teen? I've found a few gift ideas that might help and not break the bank.

Radica 20Q
$10 Hi tech version of 20 questions.

iTunes Gift Card
$15, $25, or $50 Your teen can download songs from iTunes for $.99 per song or $9.99 for entire CD.

Flip Video Camcorder
$119 Film up to 1 hour of video then upload to computer. I know this is expensive but it is on the lower end for digital camcorders.

iPod Shuffle
$79 Tiny iPod that you can wear. Has 1GB storage space. Holds up to 240 songs. Comes with everything you need to start playing.

1.5" Digital Keychain Photo Frame
$30 Holds 60 photos.

DVD
$15 - $20 (depending where you shop)
Spiderman 3
Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix
Transformers
Ratatouille
Disturbia (for older teens)

Books (All of these are paperback so they are less expensive than hardcover.)
Great Tree of Avalon Series by T. A. Barron
Book 1: Child of Dark Prophecy
Book 2: Shadow of the Stars
Book 3: The Eternal Flame

Eragon (1) by Christopher Paolini
Eldest (2) by Christopher Paolini

Harry Potter Boxed Set by J. K. Rowling

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Lord of the Rings Boxed Set by J. R. R. Tolkien

Stocking Stuffers
School supplies: pens, pencils, colored pencils, sharpeners
Small toiletries: I can usually find small sample bottles of shampoo & conditioner, body wash, bubble bath etc.
Toothbrush
Nail Polish, Files
Sunglasses
Hand/Body Lotion
Candy
Fruit

Hope this helps!

Merry Christmas!

Remembering The Real Meaning of Christmas

Well, the holiday season is in full swing! Sometimes it is hard to keep our sanity isn't it? The Christmas decorations are up right after Halloween and it snowballs downhill from there with planning, shopping, and baking. It is so easy to get caught up in the madness and forget the one who's birthday we celebrate. Keeping this in mind, I searched for everyday symbols that I could share with my family and friends to keep our focus where it should be.

The Christmas tree

An evergreen tree symbolizes God's everlasting love. The lights represent stars of the heavens, and a big star on top represent the one the wise men followed to see Baby Jesus.

The Gifts

Giving a gift is an act of love like God's love for us in sending Jesus. Each gift, as beautiful as we can make it, reminds us of the perfect gift, Jesus Christ as our Saviour.

The Candles

As we light candles during the Christmas season, they remind us how we are to be a light unto the world.

The Bells

They are used to announce the birth of the Saviour and to call us to worship Him.

The Wreath

The circle, which has no beginning or end, reminds us of God's unending love for us as He offers us salvation.

The Holly

The holly's thorn like leaves remind us of Jesus' crown of thorns, and the berries symbolize the drops of blood He shed for us.

The Candy Cane
Is shaped like the letter ‘J’ for Jesus. Turn it upside down and it’s shape is a staff of a shepherd who were one of the first who came. The red stripes remind us of His sacrifice. The white is his purity. And like a candy cane this story is meant to be shared.

I found this wonderful article on Cathy's Christmas Cottage. She has many more ideas for a Christ centered Christmas. Stop by and take a look.

Homemade Christmas Gifts

During this time of year I really have to control my spending. In order to do that I started making gifts. Over the summer I make grape jelly and sweet pickles. These will go into gift baskets or gift bags. Goodwill and thrift stores are excellent places to pick up baskets, cookie cutters, napkin rings, glassware or other little trinkets for practically nothing. I personally like to find old ice cream dishes. They make great gifts that are filled with candy. Doilies can be soaked in a cornstarch mixture and placed over a bowl to dry. When dry they make nice containers for fudge wrapped in cellophane. Cloth napkins can be used to wrap homemade candy and are held in place with a napkin ring. Please feel free to post your ideas! That way we all can learn something.

Pets Need To Be Winterized Too

Don't forget your pets, especially if they live outside like mine do, they need to be winterized too. Place fresh straw or cedar chips in your dog's house and their favorite blanket if you think they won't chew it up. With my own dog I mix straw with cedar chips and place his blanket on top. His house is on a side of the barn that blocks those harsh winter winds. When the mercury drops below freezing I bring him into the garage at night. The cat has a box in the barn filled with straw and an old shirt but he rarely sleeps there. On most nights he sleeps in the garage on my daughters old sweatshirt. Last but not least is the rabbit. He has a small box in his hutch that is filled with straw to keep him warm. Of course, he will be moved inside on those nights when it's freezing.

Make sure all of your pets have plenty of food available. They need more energy so they tend to eat more. Don't forget about water. A heated water bowl is nice, but since I don't have one I have to check that the water supply doesn't freeze. If it does, I just break it up and pour some more water in there.

These are just a few things that I do for my pets. For more a lot more information, check out Yahoo Pets.

Brrrrr....It's Cold Here

It's about 45 degrees and windy today. I wish I could have stayed home, but bills need to be paid so off to work I went. It's even cold in my office! I miss summer!

The Rest of The Family

Meet the rest of the family..............


Tiger - He is the oldest (7 years) and is the king of the farm. Nothing gets by him.

Mocha - The youngest (8 months) and wins the
cutest award.


Chang - Just waking up from a long nap. Our best buddy. He's five years old and I think a chow mix. He has the blue tongue that chows have anyway.

Thanksgiving On My Mind

I’m sitting here at work thinking about all that I have to do for Thanksgiving. Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone I’m blogging at work! Anyway back to topic. Have you made your menu yet? We will just have the usual, turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole (my favorite with brown sugar, nuts, and marshmallows on top…mmmm good stuff!), cranberry sauce, and green beans or lima beans; not sure yet. But that’s pretty much it. I’ve got the turkey which I’ll have to take out of the freezer soon. Just not sure about dessert yet. Maybe pumpkin pie or coconut pie or something different, maybe say something chocolate. Who knows!?

French Fried Kids

Found this eye opening article on Denise Austin's website. Made me think about my kids that love all those high fat foods!

Do your kids love fried foods? If so, they're in the majority! Despite the repeated warnings about the childhood obesity epidemic, a study found that more American kids than ever are filling up on deep-fried fast foods. Harvard researchers tracked the diets of more than 14,000 teens and found that they doubled their intake of fried foods during the study period, from 1996 to 1999. The researchers say this trend is particularly troubling because eating patterns formed in adolescence tend to stick for life. The study also showed that most of the high-fat snacking didn't happen at home but in school cafeterias, after school at fast-food restaurants, and during take-out dinners eaten on the run.

So how can you help your teens resist the temptation of fried and other unhealthy foods? Show them the connection between their everyday food choices and a lifetime of slow but steady weight gain. Encourage them to choose a salad or a piece of fruit as a side dish instead of fries. While their sky-high metabolisms may mask the damage at first, teens' bad habits will gradually catch up over time. Convince them that that's a road they don't want to take!

Future Farmer???

My oldest daughter wishing she could drive the combine,
but she was just helping Dad make some adjustments
before picking the corn crop.

Thanksgiving, Are You Ready?

Time is going by so quickly. Thanksgiving is almost here. Are you ready? Well, it's time to start. Here are some things that you can be doing now to prepare for the big day.

1. Start by cleaning out the refrigerator and freezer. There are always leftovers so you want to have plenty of room in there.

2. If you have a large gathering, make a seating chart. Kids can even help by making place cards. Also, kids can help make decorations.

3. Go ahead and start planning some activities for those who are not content to just eat and watch football.

4. About 3-5 days ahead thaw your turkey if you bought a frozen one. The general recommendation is one day in refrigerator per 5 pounds of turkey.

5. Look over your menu. What can you cook in advance and refrigerate? Can anything be assembled early and ready to pop into the oven after the turkey is done?

6. Check your camera. Make sure your digital camera battery is charged. If you have a film camera like me, make sure you have film and fresh batteries for camera/flash.

7. The night before go ahead and set the table.

8. Make sure oven and stove are ready to go.

This will be the calm before the storm so hopefully your efforts preparing beforehand will allow precious time to enjoy your friends and family on the big day.

Got any tips I didn't mention? Share them!

Also check out butterball.com for turkey FAQ, menu ideas, and more.

What's Cookin' In The Kitchen?

Finally I found an awesome southern fried chicken recipe. You soak the chicken in the buttermilk mixture overnight. It takes a while but is well worth it!

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

1 qt. buttermilk
5 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. hot red-pepper sauce
2 (2.5 to 3 lb.) chickens, each cut into 8 pieces
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tsp. paprika
2 (1 lb) cans solid vegetable shortening

1. In each of 2 large, sturdy zip-top bags, combine 2 cups buttermilk, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp hot sauce. Add chicken to bags; seal bags. Marinate in refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight.
2. Meanwhile, mix flour, cornmeal, paprika, and remaining 4 tsp salt in another large, sturdy zip-top bag. Drain chicken in a colander. Add chicken, 2 pieces at a time, to seasoned flour. Close bag and shake until coated. Place on waxed paper.
3. Melt, 1 can of shortening in each of 2 12-inch-deep skillets over medium-high heat until rippling but not smoking. Add chicken skin side down to skillets. Fry 4 minutes, until first side is lightly golden. Turn pieces; cook second side 4 minutes. Turn chicken again, cover skillet with lid, reduce heat to medium, and cook 6 to 8 minutes longer on each side, until chicken is no longer pink near bone. Uncover; increase heat to high. Cook 1 to 2 minutes longer to crisp chicken. Drain on paper towels.
4. Cool chicken completely. Chicken can be served at room temperature or refrigerated overnight and served cold.

Note: I copied this exactly but, this is way too much chicken for my family so I used 1 chicken and halved the ingredients and it turned out fine. Also instead of using a whole chicken, I used chicken parts like thighs, legs, etc. And we ate it right away. Very tasty!!

The Chicken Coop

Let me introduce you to the ladies. We have 4 barred rocks(the black and white), 4 rhode island reds, 2 new Hampshire reds, and 1 black. They all lay brown eggs which are delicious, much better that store bought, in my opinion. Then we have the gentlemen which are 2 Auaracanas, and one white rooster( I'm not sure what he is) but he is the oldest. I am seriously considering doing something with the 2 Auaracans. They are about 7 months old and are always bothering the ladies for...well, you know.

No Rain, No Grain

This summer was one of the driest on record. We saw hot and dry conditions in our neck of the woods. Ponds and creeks became mud while yards turned brown. Corn stalks withered and died in the field. Yields are down by over half. Last year we averaged 130 bu. to the acre. Overall this year we are seeing 50 bu. per acre. Although not great, but better than expected.

Soybean harvest is underway. Too early to tell how we did.

How It All Started

I was raised on a farm but my husband had never farmed a day in his life. Even so he loved the idea of farming one day for himself. When we were first married we lived in an apartment in the city. With neighbors in such close proximity, we were longing for wide open spaces. Finally, we found our little piece of heaven in northeastern North Carolina. Just last year he took the plunge and quit his job to farm full-time. Financially it is tough right now. Since our children are older, I went back to work so we would at least have a steady income (albeit small) and health benefits.

In addition to farming, we also raise free-range hogs. They are not raised on concrete floors but are raised on the ground so they can forage for food like they are meant to. We also have chickens which are fun to watch. The kids and I collect their eggs and sell them. Then there's the family dog and cat. Ooops! Almost forgot...and the rabbit.

Living on a farm is hard work. I do have my days when I complain, especially on those where it might be raining or cold or both. I am so very thankful for what we have.